Oathkeeper

Joanna

Joanna awoke with a start, her body flinging upright as she gasped. Her wide eyes gazed around the room quickly. The moment she realized where she was, she began to sob.

It had been a terrible dream. She was on a battlefield. All around her fires burned. Men burned. Lannister men. She recognized the sigil  of the Tarly's, something that now she was awake, didn't make any sense to her. Why would her father be fighting along side Tarly's?

She ran through the field, avoiding the fires and the men as their swords clashed. A great roar suddenly came from the sky, her eyes lifting, her entire body going ice cold even has the heat from the nearby fires nipped at her flesh. 

A dragon. A real, living dragon soared over her, casting its dark shadows upon her as it flew over. She looked up at it, horrified. It breathed fire, setting much of the field ablaze, men included. Her eyes fell back on the terrifying men the Lannister's and Tarly's fought. They were unlike anything she'd ever seen before. Their battle cry a terrifying sort of sound. And they fought with a sort of nearly unmatched ferocity. Though her father's men did not give up. They still attempted to fight. "Foolish", she thought to herself. "They're fools. All of them".

"Father", she whispered under her breath suddenly as a thought occurred to her. "He must be here. Somewhere. He has to be here". She had to find him.

It was then she heard a horrifying sound. One even more horrifying than that of what the dragon made. Or the savages. A Lannister man came running in her direction, his flesh peeling away from his bone as he burned alive. She watched, unable to look away from the horrifying scene as he collapsed to the ground on all fours before rolling over on to his back, dying. It was the most horrific thing she'd ever seen, men burning alive.

It was then she ran. She wasn't sure where she was going. But she wanted to find her father. She wanted to get far away from this horrendous scene. And so she ran, the battle raging on around her.

"Honor!", she shrieked, seeing the familiar gorgeous white horse she'd loved so dearly. He'd been her father's horse. And sure enough as her eyes laid upon the rider, she saw him. He had a spear in one hand as if it were a lance. Riding fierce and with clear intent, the spear ready.

Her eyes moved trying to see what her father was riding towards. And when her eyes laid upon it, she couldn't help but shriek.

"No! Father! Stop!", she shrieked, as he rode towards the grounded dragon.

"Father!", she screamed, her feet running as fast as she possibly could.

She fell to her knees as the dragon erupted it's fiery breath. She'd gotten close enough to him to see the sudden look of fear on his face as his eyes widened. But not close enough to stop him. She squeezed her eyes shut as the flames no doubt engulfed him.

It was then she awoke. Her body shooting upright. Eyes looking around the room. Her eyes welling with tears, and beginning to sob as she recounted the dream in her mind. It had been horrifying.

She flung the blanket back off her, climbing from her bed. Her bare feet running for her chamber door, and out in to the halls of Casterly Rock. She ran, making her way to her mother and father's bedchambers. But as she turned the corner, her body collided with another.

"Woah!", Jaime said, as the small body slammed in to his chest. "Joanna?", he asked, surprised.

She stepped back only a moment, eyeing her father in the dimly lit corridor. She needed to see him. She had to see his face. And once she confirmed he was very much alive, her arms shot forward, wrapping around him, sobbing in to his chest.

"Hey-", he said, concerned. "Hey, what's wrong? What happened? Are you alright, my dear?", he asked. She said nothing, only continued to sob.

"Joanna. Joanna!", he exclaimed. "Hey, what is it? What's the matter? Tell me!".

"I-", she stuttered looking up at him. "I had a terrible, terrible dream, father! It was terrible! It was horrible! You- you-", she began, but she couldn't bring herself to say it.

"I what?", he asked. "Hey, it's alright. It was just a dream", he said, as she sobbed harder in to his chest.

"You died", was all she could say. She couldn't say how. She couldn't talk about the burning men or the dragon.

Jaime gave a soft chuckle. "Look at me", he said, lifting her chin. "I'm not dead. I'm right here. And I plan to remain that way for a long while yet. I'm right here, sweet girl. I'm right here", he insisted, pulling her tightly against himself. Both arms wrapping around her, even as he clutched the rolled scroll in one hand  

"Let's get you back to your chambers", he said, taking her hand, but she yanked it away.

"No!", she exclaimed, her eyes filled with fear.

"Can I stay with you and mother tonight?", she asked quietly. He simply nodded.

"Mother is already asleep", he said as they made their way to his chambers. "It's very late".

"Why are you awake?", she found herself asking. A question that seemed to leave him struggling for an answer. She didn't notice him shove the scroll within his pocket quickly.

"I-", he said. "I had some things to attend to", was all he answered.

Both lie awake for a bit, whispering back and forth to one another as Corinna slept.

"Father", she whispered in the darkness. "All the dragons are dead, right? There's no more dragons, right?", she asked. He knew his daughter. Even in the darkness he could sense the fear in her. He didn't need to see her to know she looked scared.

His mind went to the parchment. A raven had arrived earlier that day for him from King Robert. Daenerys Targaryen was rumored to have a dragon. A small one, but small ones could still grow.

"They're all dead", he lied. "Now, get some sleep, my dear". 

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So um ..hi, lol  I'm back. And I'm going to try to continue all my stories here now. Sorry I sort of dropped off the face of the earth lol. PLEASE comment so I know to continue writing! Thanks for reading!