snow and stars| jon snow

xxii: the power of seven

Once everyone realized that their Queen was dying, pandemonium happened. They were unsure if they should honor her then or wait, unsure if they should leave or stay. There were years and shouts as Odda announced it formally, afraid to sit in her friends chair, and physically sick to her stomach to look at Pandora's chair.

The kingdom was in shambles. The Dornish has lost, but they had taken almost every ounce of Iltan morale down with them. They had also taken their Hand and their Queen, the things they needed most. The had a funeral for Pandora, not waiting for Andromeda to wake or not. They all prayed to the gods that she would miraculously awaken, and there were people guarding her room day and night, and the people within them.

Jon and Odda sat at Andromeda's bedside, just looking at her. She looked so peaceful. Not a smile or frown on her face, not any single expression. She was simply there, and in a state of death. Her chest was barely rising and falling, and her pulse was very weak, too weak. Her dirty crown sat next to her on the nightstand, and Jon felt terrible not to have it on her head.

Odda looked worlds worse than her dying queen. Her hair was stuck to her forehead and matted from not being washed for four days after hearing the news of the Queen. She barely got in the bath, and even that was as unproductive as possible. She sat there, just looking at Andromeda and thinking of her and Pandora. They didn't have to die, and they died so young. Maybe not Pandora, but Andromeda did. Odda sat and thought about her, about her goals and how ambitious the woman was. She was an amazing Queen who did it all for her people and who wanted to do it all, not because she had someone whispering in her ear about it. Andromeda was a kind heart all around, and she didn't deserve to be stabbed in it.

Jon sat across from her, bouncing his right leg and putting his head in his hands. He was breathing softly, eyes closed and thinking. He was devastated. This was the third time that his lover had died in his arms, and she was the most important to him. He had just gotten her back, and someone put a spear through her. It was a terrible way to die, and it wasn't instant at all. He had to look at the way her face became shocked, angry, sad, and then slack. He had to hold her as she fell onto him, piercing his own skin with the spear. He had to listen to the jumbled and nearly incomprehensible words leave her mouth, her premeditated last words. Jon has to watch the light of Andromeda's dark brown eyes leave, and that sat the worst with him.

He put his hand over her cold one, nearly in tears over it again. He couldn't help but blame himself for everything. He blamed himself for not watching the grounds around her, and he blamed himself for not staying focused during the battle. But mostly, Jon blamed himself for not taking her place. He didn't even spare a glance at Odda before he began to cry, a cry that Ned Stark wouldn't have been proud of. It was the cry he gave when he heard about the Red Wedding, and the cry he nearly gave at Ygritte and Daenerys's death. They were all personal, but Andromeda had become a part of him. He was hers and she was his, and now she was gone.

A grave soldier came into the room after a series of soft and considerate knocks. He stood by the door, his iron clanking. "Camorra Martell has been captured. He is being sent to Ilta as we speak, and should be here in less than a few day's time if the waters call for it." He left immediately after, the amount of sadness in the atmosphere unbearable to be in for too long.

For a while, it was purely silent. "You need some time." Odda said softly after dealing with the insufferable silence before standing and walking out of the room. That's when Jon really broke.

His throat made noises it never had before while he cried, gripping her hand even harder. He had the childish hope that she would wake up, but he knew that wasn't how it worked. He mourned for her even though she still had a weak pulse. She wasn't awake with him, so she was gone.