Work Text:
EPILOGUE
Winter had ended.
Not suddenly.
Not with celebration.
One day… the snow simply stopped falling.
And slowly, Westeros began to breathe again.
A dream of spring.
Soft snow drifted across the walls of Winterfell.
Sansa Stark walked alone along the battlements as the cold wind gently moved her grey cloak.
Below, the courtyard was alive again: men rebuilding, children running through the snow, fires burning in chimneys once more.
The North was free.
And for the first time since she was a little girl… so was she.
Sansa stopped at the edge of the wall, staring into the white horizon.
She did not smile.
But there was peace in her eyes.
Far away, the sea crashed softly against the bow of a lone ship.
Arya Stark stood at the front, gazing into the endless western horizon.
The unknown.
The wind moved through her dark hair as golden light reflected across the water.
She was not running.
She was not hunting.
For the first time in her life… she was choosing her own path.
Arya smiled faintly.
And the ship sailed on.
King’s Landing still bore the scars of war.
But it was alive.
Markets had returned.
Ships filled the harbor.
The streets breathed again.
The Red Keep still stood above the city.
But the Iron Throne was gone.
Melted.
Destroyed forever.
In the old throne room now stood a large circular table of dark wood.
No steps.
No swords.
No man above another.
Only voices.
Council.
Debate.
A kingdom trying not to repeat its mistakes.
Jon and Daenerys, now married and ruling on the Council round table, with their equals, even though the last word it was hers, were the lords of Westeros.
Tyrion Lannister with a place of honor in the round table.
The rest of the lords of Westeros in the round table, with the last word belonging to Jon and Daenerys. Tyrion as their biggest adviser.
There were two spots, the larger ones, the two ones that belonged to the head of the Council, Jon and Daenerys, married and ruiling.
Tyrion Lannister, as the head counseler, walked around the table, studying maps while the lords argued about reconstruction.
The round table was emptier than the previous morning. The two larger spots now empty. Some of the lord's ones too.
He was happy.
He was heard.
He was doing something good for the people.
He was good at it.
It had a purpose.
“If you rebuild the harbor with cheap wood,” he said tiredly, raising a cup of wine, “we’ll be rebuilding it again in ten years.”
Silence.
Tyrion sighed.
Some things never changed.
“There will never be a perfect ruler… only better stories told after the fire.” He said, raising his cup of wine, to end the day of work...for today at least.
Across the hall, Jaime Lannister watched the new guards training in the courtyard.
His golden hand rested on the hilt of his sword.
The scars on his face glowed under the sun.
He was no longer the arrogant man who once arrived at Winterfell.
The war had taken much from him.
But it had also given him something he never believed he deserved.
Honor.
“Get up,” he said when one of the boys fell. “Real men always get back up.”
"Is that what you are going to write in your book?" The lad breathed, tired with a little laugh.
Jaime paused. He looked his golden hand. Then, he raised his eyes with a smile.
“When they write about me in that book… don’t make me a legend. Just make me real.”
By the great windows of the Red Keep, Jon Snow, Aegon Targaryen, stood in silence, watching King’s Landing rebuild under the evening light.
He still wore black.
Not out of duty.
Out of habit.
But... With red traces too.
Targaryen.
Beside him, Daenerys Targaryen held a sleeping child in her arms.
Their child.
And another one was in the way.
After all they have been through, they made it. They found home. Peace. Love.
They deserved it.
Her silver hair caught the golden sunlight like soft fire.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
They simply watched the city.
The world they had saved.
The world that almost destroyed them.
The dead were gone.
The Night King gone too. Jon destroyed him once and for all in their final fight.
The Great War was behind, at last.
Winter was over.
Spring was ahead.
And with it, it was a dream. Finally.
Daenerys lowered her gaze to the child and gently stroked her hair.
“I never thought I would see this,” she whispered.
Jon looked at her in silence with a soft smile.
And answered:
“I did.”
Their eyes met.
And for a moment, everything else disappeared.
No war.
No crowns.
No destiny.
Only silence.
And something like peace.
Jon stepped closer.
His voice lowered:
“It’s over.”
Daenerys gave a small smile.
"It feels like a dream".
Real.
Tired.
Free.
"Of Spring", Jon whispered, brushing his lips against her own, kissing her. She returned it with a smile.
Jon placed his forehead gently against hers.
Then whispered:
“If this is peace… I never want to leave it.”
The camera slowly moved through the shadows of the Library in the Citadel until it reached a distant table.
There sat Samwell Tarly.
Alone.
A single candle lit the massive open book before him.
The sound of the quill scratching parchment was the only sound in the room.
Nothing else.
Sam finished the final line.
He read it silently:
“…and so ended the war that nearly destroyed the world of men, not with an absolute monarch, but with memory, justice, and a fragile balance between ice and fire, and...a little wine.”
He chuckled at the last words. Funny touch, it deserved.
The quill trembled slightly in his hand.
Then he wrote:
“Let it not be forgotten. Come back to this story.”
He set the quill down.
For a moment, he did not move.
As if he could still see them all.
Direwolves running through snow.
Dragons crossing dark skies.
Kings falling.
Heroes dying.
Friends disappearing.
Love.
Hope.
It was good.
Deserved.
Won.
What was meant to be.
Finally.
After everything.
An entire life turned into ink.
Finally, he closed the book slowly.
The camera lowered to the cover.
Etched into worn leather in fading golden letters:
A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE
Below:
A Chronicle of the War of the Seven Kingdoms — by Samwell Tarly
Sam gently ran his hand across the cover.
And then the music began — the main theme.
Very softly at first.
The old melody.
Like a memory.
The music slowly grew.
Strings.
Sad.
Wise.
Survivor.
Good.
Human.
Sam looked at the candle.
The flame trembled.
He hesitated for a moment.
Then softly blew it out.
Darkness.
Cut to black.
At that exact moment, the music exploded.
The screen on black still for mere seconds.
The main titlte music playing.
Solemn.
Immense.
Final.
The credits began to roll.
And Westeros became legend.
THE END
