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Rin
The first thing I noticed was the pain. It was strong due to the strength of my foe. I felt it as my mind again became aware of itself. Nothing much could hurt me nowadays, but R'hllor was more than your average foe. He had become so powerful that many claimed he was a god and the Red Priestesses followed him with a devotion he had not earned.
I opened my eyes and looked at his ceiling as I lay on his bed. The journey to the Nieth would be a long one and I needed my energy. Or else I would've flown to them days ago. During the majority of my journey to them I would not be able to land on solid ground and so sleep would be a distant friend for some time.
I put the backside of my hand on my face and let out a groan. The first time I had ever faced this false god, it had been a feat worthy of song and epic poems. Yet now it felt like another chore I had to do whenever I arrived in a reality that had Westeros in it. The people of the Nightmare would describe how I felt like going to a nine to five job or office job. Basically something that brought no joy or excitement to it. No matter what others said about my upbringing, I was glad I had never lived so dull a life.
My body was sore but luckily it allowed me to sit on the edge of R'hllor's bed. I was near impossible to kill and my body healed no matter the depth of the injury. My head could be torn clean off and I would not die. A great mage could put my limbs all across Westeros and yet I still would live. At least I assumed so. I was more than careful but injuries always happened. Alexander even assumed I was now immortal. Maybe if I allowed myself to die or was harmed by a powerful magic user I could die.
I tested the strength of my body by putting my full weight on one foot. I allowed the pain to flow through my body and observed it as if the pain wasn't mine. After taking some weight off the one foot I found the pressure that produced the least pain in my body. With the help of my other foot, I limped across the house to the fireplace. The fire was kept constantly burning as no one in Asshai, the closet piece of civilization in these parts, wouldn't come here. It was hard to reach and the legends kept the strongest of travelers away. Though from time to time humans had reached this place, but it was a more than uncommon occurrence.
"You know what I feel about this venture." Alexander said once I picked it up. "You need to bring R'hllor's body to the Nieth so they have proof he is dead and then leave this world. Forget the Targaryen whores. You have no loyalty to them."
"Because they're of a different reality or because they're Targaryens?" I asked with my mind.
The Kaari ancestral sword held the soul of the Last Dragon, the link between Kaari and dragons. A fact that even it had forgotten with all the memories it held within it. Hence it did not have a true name, but only names its wielders chose. The name Alexander marked me as its current wielder.
Alexander Isaacs had been a monster of the worse kind. A brilliant mind was inside his head but he lacked any sense of empathy. I was the only exception to his usual cruel demeanor. For a time I had hidden I hadn't died until we found ourselves changed and our love stronger. I had had Eve with him and Eyrie by his clone. If only I could have stayed in their lives, but the space time continuum wouldn't allow that joy for me.
"Because they're Targaryens." Alexander replied softly in my mind. "The last time you helped Daenerys, you were betrayed and had to kill her."
"Do you want me to get straight to killing her?"
"No, it would be a waste of your energy. For now she rules the Southern Kingdom peacefully and we don't know what would happen if she were dethroned."
"But you're worried that if I help her again I will have to end her life? Why would that affect you? Wouldn't you like to enter her flesh again?"
"You will become a part of me once you die and you won't be able to stand the pain of killing her again. I am afraid the emotional anguish will make you an unbearable part of me."
I smiled at how selfish it could be a times. Yet it cared for me deeply and would never betray me. The only reason it loathed House Targaryen was because it was a group of people from that House that had eventually killed it. Along with its own memories, there were the many from my House that must have had some part in forming that prejudice.
"Once Sarisa is full grown I will leave her side." I told Alexander. "Once she reaches adulthood I will leave this reality."
"You won't be strong enough."
"I have left my own children before."
"That was when existence itself was threatened. Your caring nature wouldn't allow you to stay with them."
"Not with the pups I had with Tristan."
"Leaving Sarisa will not be the same and you know that. We are connected and I can tell that you are lying now."
I didn't like it, but Alexander was right. With Tristan I didn't have the guilt to keep me with our children. Sarisa was not just a person but a reminder of something I had lost. When my Jon had died, I had been close enough to save him but not strong enough. Even after all my centuries of living, the guilt over Jon's death had never gone away.
"I might be immortal, but I still inhabit a body for now." I said in an attempt to get away from the conversation.
I put Alexander against the chimney so it couldn't continue to argue with me. I knew my sword was right, I shouldn't stay here and I wouldn't be able to simply leave Sarisa. It was as if I owed her a debt that could only be repaid with my life. The final decision on whether to stay or go would be made upon my return to Storm's End. I had to concentrate on my current mission or I would devolve into madness. Something that had happened once before and I prayed would never happen again.
Nieth were primarily meat eaters, though they did enjoy various plants from time to time. There weren't many plants growing around Asshai and so R'hllor had taken to hunting for his food. This made sense with his cruel and manipulative nature. Of course he would love to see life leaving the eyes of his victims. He would want to be in control like only a predator could be. His diet made it hard to find anything for my soup.
While I had eaten human in the past, it wasn't a food I would like to begin eating again. While a Kaari, I had spent a long time accepting my species as a human. It wouldn't do to eat one of my own kind. With how cruel R'hllor was, it wouldn't surprise me if there were sentient species in his meat storage.
I used my keen sense of smell to decipher what each piece of meat was. There were some human organs and skin that I put in a pot that hung in the fire. Everyone that could smell the smoke wouldn't be bothered by it. The depravity in Asshai was renowned throughout the known world for a reason. If only I could continue lying in the bed as Melisandre tended to my wounds. But the only time she had been here was after I killed R'hllor the first time.
It took a few minutes to properly cut up the meat I had chosen. Though I had made sure to get out any human meat, there was most likely meat of sentient species. Possibly even a human who had transformed themselves to the point that the scent of humanity had left them. My bloodsense was not as well honed when a creature was dead, after all. If I ended up eating human meat, or meat that had originally been human, at least I had taken every precaution available to me.
As I cooked my meal the scents became overwhelming. My body was tired and, therefore, hungry. I yearned to do my own hunting and feel the glorious moment when I tasted my prey's blood. Hunting was a thrilling experience that nothing else could replicate. The act was not just about feeding yourself, it was about feeling life itself. It was a reminder of a time when things were much simpler. It was a reminder of my pack and childhood.
When the soup was done I poured it into a bowl that was too big for me, but perfect for Nieth hands. I could eat the soup now, but it would be better for it to cool down some. This would give me time to make sure that R'hllor's body was secure enough for travel. It wouldn't do for his body to become damaged on the way to the Nieth. Chl'lor would most likely be the one I would talk to. In every reality that was the case. Sometimes he was a mere Wyvern Rider while at other times he was the ruler of his race.
I put my bowl on a table by the bed. The process took longer than it should have due to the pain still coursing through my body. Mostly I felt mere discomfort but I was aware my pain tolerance was masking the real injuries. Sometimes my own mind couldn't be trusted in important matters.
R'hllor's corpse was in a corner like a piece of trash. If you didn't know what was in the white bag you wouldn't think anything of it. Your eyes would pass over it without giving it a second thoughts. And, if you did spend a minute looking at it, you would assume it was trash to be disposed of soon.
I opened the bag and looked into R'hllor's sightless eyes. Like all Wyvern Riders, he was blind and the feelers on his face were cut off. This was done so that they were able to connect fully with their wyvern. Also like most Wyvern Riders that was between wyverns, he had been able to leave Sothoryos without comment. It wasn't until visions had alerted the Nieth that scouts had been sent to look for him.
I put a hand on R'hllor's neck to make sure he was dead. Of course he was dead. If he weren't I would have woken up to another battle. There was no logical way he would still be alive after our battle. The first for him, another of countless times for me. Because I had wanted to stay alive, his body showed signs of his final struggle. Yet none of his wounds were so deep that he couldn't be identified. The condition of his corpse was of the upmost importance to me.
I closed the bag and made sure it wouldn't open while in flight. Once he had rode wyverns and now he would be carried by a dragon. That was certain to be an insult to a Nieth. An insult that Chl'lor would appreciate and might make negotiations easier. Usually I had Jorah upon my back when arriving at Sothoryos and it felt like an eternity being away from him.
With aching limbs I managed to get back to the bed. I sat on the edge and looked around the room before starting to eat my soup. The taste of fresh meat was dampened by the water. It was not as good as biting the flesh of prey I had caught myself, but the taste was pleasant enough. Though the joy of eating was less of a concern to me than getting enough energy for recovery.
[Jorah,] I said as I sent my thoughts to my first love, the man I loved above all others. [I have defeated R'hllor.]
[How long did it take you to recover this time?] Jorah replied.
[The same as the last few times. I'm just glad he was a Nieth this time.]
[So we're staying?]
Jorah knew me so well that even a few innocent words revealed much. I always felt a need to be protective of any reality containing Westeros but didn't usually mind if I earned the faith of the Nieth. The only reason to care like I did was if I wanted to stay for awhile and needed their support if anything went wrong. Maybe Sarisa would get involved in a war and I had to call on the Nieth to protect her. They wouldn't like the idea of helping a human, but their honor would make them obey my wish.
[I won't make a final decision until I return to Storm's End.] I replied. [My need to stay by Sarisa's side might not be the right path. The choice is too important to make when we're not right next to each other.]
[We are close in spirit.] Jorah teased. [Do you just wish to use your feminine wiles to control me?]
[As you said, we're close in spirit. I can get you hard without my body being close to yours.]
I felt a chuckle in my mind from where he had entered it. I remembered seeing him all those years ago and being taken away by him. Love at first sight seemed like something only pups would believe in, but I had been swept away by it. Unlike many romances, we had never been torn apart by circumstances. Emotionally at least. My time being tortured in King's Landing had kept me apart from my love. If I had died then I wouldn't have seen what Daenerys had become. I wouldn't have had to kill her.
[How are you enduring Bronn?] I asked as I swallowed a piece of meat whole.
[It feels as if you are punishing me for some past wrong.] Jorah replied dryly. [But I can't figure out how I could have done anything worth this agony.]
[He is a good man.]
[The Bronn I first met was bearable. He had it in him to fight and die for you. He had it in him to make sure the Nieth integrated well with the Westerosi people. Though he did his fair share of complaining. This one has not proven himself to me.]
[At least his selfishness keeps his mouth shut.]
[That is the only benefit of staying near him.]
[You won't have to endure him much longer. Taking R'hllor's body to the Nieth won't take longer than normal. And then I'll be back at Storm's End.]
[And we'll make our decision.]
[That we will.]
[I miss you, Rin.]
[I can't wait to get back by your side, Jorah.]
I sent a wave of love and longing to Jorah and he sent a similar wave back to me. It made me cry out with how passionate it was. I wish I could spend eternity with him and have nowhere else to go. Traveling realities was not the same thing as there were always new things to do. We always seemed to get caught up in a coup, revolution, war, or any other various conflicts. We deserved the peace of eternal sleep. Or at least whatever living inside Alexander was like.
I ate the rest of my soup quickly. The warm liquid and remnants of meat went down my throat in just a few minutes. It had been good to talk to my husband as it reassured me. Our conversation also worried me as I didn't know if it was better to go or stay. But at least I had until my return to Storm's End to make my decision. Jorah also had that amount of time until we made a fateful choice. For some reason this choice seemed as fateful as when I decided whether to stay in the Nightmare or Westeros.
After eating I cleaned up and walked around the outside of R'hllor's house. Though house was giving the structure too much credit. It was barely a hut and sat on the top of a hill. This had given him the ability to be forewarned about enemies. Around the hut were jagged boulders that kept him hidden from the casual observer. In every reality his house had been slightly different, but always retained the same feel.
I reached out with all my senses and checked the magical barriers. Some of these barriers were benign and merely meant to alert me to danger. Others were fatal to any that dared even look this way by any method other than mere eyesight. Alexander had helped me come up with spells that would work so close to a place as cursed as Asshai. Even with all its knowledge, some of the spells were starting to deteriorate. Not to any degree that should cause worry, but I wasn't taking chances.
"****." I hissed through gritted teeth.
Without meaning to, I had begun to wear my body down. Reluctantly I limped back inside the house. It would be good to leave this cursed place. From this house R'hllor had formed a religion to watch out for those that would one day kill him. From this place prophecies had been twisted to suit a demented man's whims.
I lay down and took mental note of how my body was weary. If Alex had been with me he could've taken care of me. He might have even imparted more of his medical knowledge to me. What I wouldn't do to hear his voice once again. Jorah sounded and looked like him, but my husband could never sound as cold as Alex could.
My first dream of the day involved Alex surviving Alice's attack and coming to Westeros to live with me. I didn't want to wake up as then I would have to face reality.
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