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Adrena stood silently in front Jon Snow's stiff, cold body. Her left hand rested on the end of her sheath, while the right was holding tightly to the handle of her sword. She could hear the men outside of the door, waiting for them to surrender which they'd never do. Adrena was not letting them take Jon's body and get away with this.
"It's time, Ser Davos. Open the door and the men inside can rejoin their brothers in peace. We'll even set the wolf free north of the Wall where it belongs. Nobody needs to die tonight." Alliser Thorne called from the other side of the door and Ghost growled, almost like he understood what threats were being made, and maybe he did. Davos turned to the men and herself that lined the room, his eyes serious.
"I've never been much of a fighter." He muttered before walking over to the table, his hand wrapping around the base of Longclaw, Jon's sword. She tensed at that and glanced away, the realization that Jon would never use that sword again setting in like a bolder falling onto her chest. She'd much rather have a boulder on her chest than feel the weight of Jon's death on her. Davos unsheathed the sword, his movements causing the others to do the same, like a domino affect. Adrena was the last to pull out her sword, her chest heavy and her eyes solemnly falling onto Jon one last time.
At the sound of an axe hitting the door, she was brought back to reality and she moved to stand beside Davos with Ghost trailing at her heel. The wolf growled viciously as the axe started to tear a whole into the wall. Adrena readied herself for a fight, her sword held up and her eyes filled with determination. Just before they could make a move, a thud sounded outside the room. Everyone turned to see a stream of Wildlings followed by the giant, Wun Wun. She relaxed her stance as the Night's Watch mean refused to attack at Thorne's orders.
"You fucking traitor." Thorne spat when Edd and Tormund made their way in front of the man. She smiled fondly, glad to see the two men alive and well.
"The only traitors here are the ones who shoved their knives into their Lord Commander's heart." Edd retorted angrily, spit leaving his lips as he spoke. The disgust and anger was clearly evident in his voice and she felt those feelings just as well.
"For thousands of years the Night's Watch has held Castle Black against the Wildlings." Thorne retorted and Tormund stepped up, his fists clenched tightly and his eyes set on the shorter man.
"Until you." A shout caught their attention as Olly ran towards Tormund, his sword ready and raised. Tormund was quicker than the younger boy and disarmed him without a thought. He threw the boy at another man who restrained him. Adrena watched with a smug look as two men grabbed Alliser's arms, pulling him back.
"Throw them into the cells where they belong." Adrena's lips were turned up in a half smile and she looked to her side, almost forgetting that Jon was no longer with her. The weight of his death came tumbling back and she stumbled with grief, her eyes watering. Davos, startled by her sudden movements, grabbed her arm and held her upright.
"I need to see him- to say goodbye." The older man's eyes glossed over with sympathy and if she had been like her usual self, Adrena would've snapped at him, but she didn't have the energy anymore. The brunette allowed herself to be guided back into the room where her friend's body lay, her hands trembling ever so slightly. Davos stepped back and lowered his voice to speak with the others in the room. One by one, they all left to busy themselves, and Adrena was left alone to grieve.
With a shaky hand, Adrena traced a cut on Jon's cheek. Every bad thought she ever had about him suddenly never existed. The simple realization that this was the man that she had spent years training to kill was a hard weight on her chest. He was dead and yet, she felt no happiness. He was no longer a target to her. Instead, he was her best friend. No amount of training had prepared her for this. Life would have been a lot simpler had she just killed him when she first laid eyes on him. He wouldn't have suffered like this. This was all her fault.
"I'm so sorry, Jon Snow. I failed you. After all you did to save my life and believe in me, I failed you. I should've been there with you. I should've stopped them. I should've saved you." Her voice dropped to a whisper and her chest heaved with a sob. She clutched at his hand, salty tears falling upon his cold skin. She squeezed his hand in between both of her own and let out a heavy sigh, the tears leaving trails down her dirty cheeks. The brunette stood up straight, slowly laying his hand down on the table and letting her eyes trail over him one last time. She leaned down and pressed her cheek against his chest, her hands resting on his shoulders. Unlike their first embrace, this one was cold and awkward yet it gave her some sort of comfort to hug him one lash time.
"Goodbye, Lord Snow. It was a pleasure to know you."
Adrena turned and made her way out of the room, feeling like the hands of death himself had wrapped themselves around her throat, choking her. Her eyes welled up with tears and a cry of pain left her lips, startling those around her. She was tired of losing the few people she cared about. It was unfair.
A pair of arms wrapped around her and she leaned weakly against the person, seeking any type of comfort she could find. It was hard to breathe as the reality that she truly had no one set in. Her and Jon's friendship hadn't been the strongest but at least she had him. Now, she was alone and had no place to call home. The thought made her sob louder.
"Come. Melisandre is doing something with Jon's body." The voice belonged to Tormund and Edd squeezed Adrena's forearm gently, grabbing her attention. She pulled back from his chest and sniffled, her shoulders still shaking lightly. He allowed her to lean on him as the two made it back into the room where Melisandre was cleaning Jon's wounds. Adrena wiped at her eyes and watched closely as the woman performed some type of ritual, cutting his hair and beard and throwing the hair into the fire. The red-haired woman started speaking in Valyrian, her hands resting on Jon's chest.
"Please." She practically begged and waited a few seconds before lowering her hands. She turned to Davos, refusing to make eye contact with Adrena, afraid to see the pure grief in her eyes. Tormund let out a scoff and left the room. Edd removed his arm from hers and she glanced up at him, shaking her head when he motioned for her to leave with him. He nodded in understanding and soon, it was just her alone in the room with Jon once again. She ran her eyes over his body, tears welling up once again but she refused to let them fall. Adrena let out a heavy sigh and slowly made her way to the door. Her hand wrapped around the doorknob, pulling it open. She stopped dead in her tracks when a gasping sound came from behind her. Adrena snapped her head around, eyes falling on her friend's body. The rapid rise and fall of his chest, his eyes staring widely at the ceiling.
"Jon?"
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author's note: hi haven't updated in a hot minute, kinda lost inspiration but i miss jon so i'm trying to get back into this
