Chapter Text
A Life in Flames
A lonely figure is riding quietly for what it seems endless hours through the cold winter, the horse’s pace is slow one step at a time, the wind is blowing mercifully on the trees. The rider has no rush to get anywhere, in fact there’s only one thing as companion, doubts.
“Where do I go? What am I supposed to do?” The questions continued to pop up.
As the wind gets stronger and only with a few more hours of light before night falls, the figure decides it was time to call it a day. The horse needed some rest, and to survive the freezing night it was crucial to find shelter and sit near the warmth of a fire.
After a few more miles looking for some place, the best spot in sight was a small formation of rocks with some bushes and trees that provided some cover of the falling snow. It wasn’t ideal but it will have to do. After dragging some old branches that were laying on the surroundings and making a small wall to block the constant wind, the next task was to find firewood and start a fire.
“Fire.”
“What irony.” She thought.
As the flames gain life and lit the face of The Red Woman she allowed herself to rest sitting near the fire looking to the flames. It was a long day, the events passing through her mind over and over. Jon Snow becoming King of the North and discovering through Sir Davos her role on the death of princess Shireen ending with her banishing from Winterfell.
All her life was devoted to her God, The Lord of the Light. She always done what it told her to do. The Lord has given her power, purpose and it has saved her from death many times.
But on this last few months her faith has been challenged, she thought Stannis was the one who would rule the Seven kingdoms is what she saw on the flames, she was certain about it. But she was wrong. Stannis was defeated.
Since Stannis’s death The Lord was silent. She saw nothing on the red flames.
What this mean? Was she no longer The Red Woman, the priestess of R’hllor? Was she only Melisandre now?
The Lord of Light still had a plan or she wouldn’t have brought back Jon Snow. She just didn’t know what it was yet.
She continued staring the flames with a million thoughts. The wind changed the direction suddenly the fire seemed to gain life as it’s flames danced in front of her.
Melisandre’s heart skipped a beat, her breathing uneven, a heat in her gut. The familiar feeling she didn’t experienced in months and it meant only one thing The Lord was talking to her again.
“How can I serve, my Lord? I live to serve you, what can I do?” She said, relieved as a weak smirk appeared on her face.
She looked at the flames carefully and what she saw was the scariest thing she ever saw. Another world. Or worlds. She couldn’t be certain.
Buildings, hundreds of buildings, the architecture of them was nothing she could ever imagined. The landscape with all kinds of constructions, enormous towers, bridges and all sort of things as far as the eyes could see.
It was a big city, crowed with people and some kind of machines and an indescribable advanced technology it looked like small mirrors to Melisandre. The city was thousands of times bigger than King’s Landing, the capital of the Seven Kingdoms, or any of the cities of Essos or Sothoryos known. Everything was different, even the clothes people were wearing. The people of this world seemed move faster always in hurry, there were millions of people. Everywhere.
The images continued to play in front of her in the flames, it was all too fast and The Red Woman began to feel nausea from it.
“This…. place… What it is called?” the words trembled from her mouth.
The flames showed a sign with the words New York City written on it.
Melisandre saw a series of images display of five people, a man who appeared to be a Maester wearing a distinctive pair of gasses very thin, a chubby man with curly hair, a tall dark man with gentle blue eyes, a short woman with stoic expression and a tall beautiful woman with curly brown hair who always had an easy smile on her face.
It showed what this people had done, their lives, all the good and bad things.
But it focused more on the tall brunette, she also believed in some kind of good as The Red Woman believed on the Lord of the Light. The brunette called sometimes her god of The Machine or just She which Melisandre thought it was confusing.
But then everything in this world was confusing.
What she learned is that this group of people were fighting a war against an entity called Samaritan.
War requires sacrifice.
If you don't help me, someone might destroy Her, and innocent people will die.
The memory of young princess Shireen came back to her mind. She felt ashamed and guilty. Back then The Red Woman believed that she was doing what it needed to be done so Stannis and his army could’ve won. Tears filled Melisandre’s eyes and she cried.
But the life 'Ive led, a good end would be a privilege .
This tall woman had conviction on her God and also had done bad things much like herself, so Melisandre instantly felt empathy for the brunette, she was fighting a war trying to help people and eager to give her life if necessary in her search for redemption.
The two women had similar lives.
The Red Woman understood at that moment, that her path on Westeros had come to an end and her last action on this world was to resurrect Jon Snow.
At the end of the day, you still make choices.
So maybe the way for her own redemption was a choice. It was up to her and only her. She looked around and took a deep breath wiping some of the tears that didn’t seem to stop coming. After a few moments nodded her head, the choice was made. What she didn’t know is what it would cost her but she was willing to pay whatever price was necessary. And with that realization Melisandre felt a free like she never felt in her life.
Then the flames showed the tall woman laying down very pale and lifeless on a metal bed with a white sheet covering her body.
She was dead, but her eyes were open.
An enormous sadness filled Melisandre. She couldn’t accept it. The Red Woman begun to cry even more despite that fact she didn’t even know the name of the woman in the flames. She felt her lost like it was someone close to her like it was member of her own family. A family she had lost a long time ago.
“No!! No! Why show me all of this just to see her die?” She said as closing her eyes.
The Red woman lowered her head and saw the white snow and it hit her. She understood then.
“How can I get to this place, my Lord?”
The image of a familiar place where she had spent many years serving and learning about the God R’hllor, the Temple of The Lord of the Light appeared.
The temple was located at the city of Volantis. She had a long journey ahead.
The strange wind stopped blowing. The flames went back to normal. No more images were necessary.
The Red Woman had a destination, a purpose.
She owed herself that she would save the woman she saw on the flames, that by saving the woman’s life she would somehow redeem herself.
Melisandre laid and tried to found a comfort position to sleep. She braced herself and curled in order to Keep herself warm. When she slept she dreamed about those five people and the sacrifice they’ve done in order to help people they don’t even know.