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Adrena picked up a log from the ground, her stomach aching from the movement. She gritted her teeth and placed the log on the pyre with a grunt. She placed a hand on the wound on her stomach, that wound being the most painful out of them all. Her hand felt warm and sticky and she looked down cautiously, seeing the blood on her grey shirt. Adrena grimaced and looked around, hoping no one had seen. She didn't need anyone worrying about her; they had done enough of that over the last two weeks.
"God damnit." She muttered, placing a hand over the bleeding wound and applying pressure. The brunette snuck away to her room, throwing the door open and looking around frantically. Whispering to herself about how stupid she was, she grabbed a jacket and slipped it on. Her fingers shook as she buttoned up the jacket, not wanting anyone to the bloody shirt and flip. She grimaced at feeling the heartbeat in the wound but tried to ignore it and left the room. It was completely dark now and everyone had the fires lit, awaiting for Mance Rayder's execution. Speaking of the man in question, he was being led down the stairs to stand in front of the funeral pyre. Two guards stood behind Mance as he stood across from Stannis Baratheon. She hadn't really gotten to know the man but from what she heard, he had let the Red Woman take over his head. She was choosing to stay far from the two of them.
"Mance Rayder, you've been called the King-beyond-the-Wall. Westeros only has one king. Bend the knee, I promise you mercy." She watched with narrowed eyes, awaiting his answer and hoping he just agreed. She really didn't want to see an innocent man be killed for not bending the knee; it was too common in Westeros. "Kneel and live."
"This was my home for many years. I wish you good fortune in the wars to come." Rayder replied and Adrena sighed, shaking her slightly. She placed a hand on her stomach, the pain getting a little worse with her shirt stuck to it. The smart part of her brain told her to go see Maester Aemon, but the stubborn part said she didn't need to. The stubborn part had won.
The two guards brought Mance Rayder up onto the pyre, tying him to it so he wouldn't escape. She sighed once more, feeling bad for him and how he would have to die. Adrena would never wish for anyone to be burned; it's slow and painful which not even her worst enemies deserved. Quick and easy would always be the way for her to go.
"We all must choose. Man or woman, young or old, lord or peasant, our choices are the same. We choose light or we choose darkness. We choose good or we choose evil. We choose the true god or the false." Melisandre took the torch and walked across the ground, staring around her. "Free folk, there is only one true king and his name is Stannis. Here stands your king of lies. Behold the fate of those who choose the darkness."
Adrena's eyes stayed on Mance, begging this man she had never spoken to to bend the knee and take Stannis as his king. She somewhat admired his strong-willed and stubborn personality, and sometimes felt that maybe she would do the same in his situation. The man didn't want to seem weak in front of his people; he didn't want to let them down one last time.
As the fire grew, Mance began twitching from the heat. It was hard to watch when the fire started to burn his feet and then his legs, making him cry out in pain. Her heart broke for this man that she had never met before, hating that he had to burn for someone like Stannis.
As his cries grew louder, she grew more upset with this. She wanted to cry for him but she would never allow herself to cry over this. It was life; people died. Adrena forced herself to watch him and a gasp broke through when an arrow shot into his chest. Everyone, including her, turned to look at Jon who held the arrow up, no ounce of regret on his face. She watched him closely, seeing his eyes cold for once. It was partly one of the reasons that she followed him once he disappeared. For some reason, she wanted to make sure he was okay and it made her feel annoyed with herself. They weren't exactly friends so why did she need to check up on him?
"Jon?" She called out as she lightly pushed open the door, her eyes falling on the man. He sat in a chair, his shoulders hunched over and his head in his hands. She slowly made her way over to him, standing in front of him and her eyes cast down. He raised his head and made eye contact with her, silently questioning why she was here. "Why did you do it?
"I wasn't going to let him go out in that way. It's just inhumane. He didn't deserve it." He muttered and she nodded in agreement. He kept his eyes on her, still holding the same curious expression. Adrena held up a finger before moving to the cabinet and reaching up to grab the wine. Her jacket moved slightly up and she felt her stomach burn in pain which caused her to drop the wine, and double over. Jon immediately jumped up, coming to her aid.
"What's wrong?" He questioned in a concerned tone, a handing gently resting on her back. She stood up, moving away from his touch and glaring at him.
"I'm fine. Can you stop worrying about me all the time? I'm sorry that your girlfriend died, but I'm not her." She snapped at him and his face fell, a hurt expression filling his eyes. Like a switch had turned on in his brain, he glared right back at her.
"No, you're not her." He moved away from her and left the room. Adrena slammed her palm against the wall, wanting to scream at herself for being so closed off all the time. Her life had made her this way and she would never forgive her father for making her this way. Had he been a decent person and not gotten himself killed for being so horrible, she wouldn't be this way and she knew it. She was determined to change the mindset she had, even if it took forever.
