Sacrifice | Daenerys Targaryen

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A truce, whilst temporary and fleeting, has been made between the two Queens who wish to sit upon the Iron Throne.

Cersei Lannister has agreed to a truce after seeing the dead with her own eyes, but her reasoning is simple. If Daenerys Targaryen leads her people to fight an Army of the Dead, she won't have enough soldiers left to win the true war.

In the heart of Winterfell comes the Long Night, in which Daenerys and Jon lead their armies to fight against the man prophesized to end everything... the Night King.

Daenerys rides on Drogon's back... but she is not alone. She is joined by Lyla, of whom rides upon Rhaegal... and Jon Snow who rides upon Viserion, for Daenerys Stormborn is not the only one with blood of the dragon.

Lyla Bay's true name is Lyla Hightower, and Jon Snow's true name is Aegon Targaryen. They each share a claim to the throne, and while neither want it, many believe that Jon should be the one to take his seat.

Daenerys is the daughter of the Mad King, the very man the realm fought to overthrow.

But Jon Snow has one thing that neither Lyla nor Daenerys possesses... the heart of Westeros. Jon Snow is a man born in Westeros of Westeros. He is a man who has lived his life side by side with the very people who wish him to rule.

Alas, the realm is not run by a democracy, and so the people cannot simply pick their leader.

But the events of the Long Night seem to show otherwise.

The Night King is defeated, slain by the man with blood of both Ice and Fire... Jon Snow. Jon Snow slays the Night King with a dragon glass dagger and reduces him to ash, he fulfills his prophecy and falls to the ground as the last breath leaves his lungs.

It was no easy task, and certainly not a simple one. The Night King is a being of magic, and in order to be killed, magic must be destroyed, the very magic that not only created him... but brought Jon Snow back to life. Against the trunk of a weirwood tree, Jon Snow sacrifices himself to save the realm. He takes the Night King with him to the depths of hell as he falls against a bank of snow, thus making Daenerys the only true heir once more.

Winterfell becomes a funeral pyre, the bodies stacked and piled in the snow as each say their goodbyes. The body of Jon Snow lies in the middle of the pyre, close to Ser Jorah Mormont as both Lyla and Daenerys spill tears over the corpse. The pyre is lit, and the dead are honored, for their sacrifice has secured the safety and stability of the realm.

At least it is assumed.

Cersei Lannister banks on the idea that Daenerys has lost far too many soldiers in order to stand a chance. The Iron Fleet is armed with countless scorpions to take down all 3 dragons.

The day negotiations take place between the two queens, is a day when Daenerys sees just what horrors Cersei is capable of. Instead of soldiers on the front line, Cersei has placed women and children there, human shields to defend what has now become a Mad Queen.

Cersei stands atop a heavily guarded wall in King's Landing, looking down upon her enemies... with none other than Aera by her side, held hostage in a sick and twisted game.

Lyla's heart pounds in her chest, eyes unable to blink as she stares up at her child, her little girl... her only child. She does not hear the words that are exchanged, she's deafened by her pounding heart and watches everything in slow motion. She watches as Ser Gregor's hand, armed with a dagger, extends to the child's neck and slices straight through the skin, forcing the mother to watch as her own child bleeds to death.

The wail that escapes Lyla's mouth is one that is heart-shattering, bone-chilling and gut-wrenching. Lyla is guided back to the ships by the Unsullied, who do their best to protect the woman who desperately fights against them, struggling and flailing as she loses a piece of herself, the one bit of herself that kept her strong.