warning: this story takes place after Elena's death so that's also the ending I'm gonna follow this time. Just remember that if you request a one shot that you should also tell me which ending you wanted :P.

Taverns weren't exactly the places to be in Westeros. Besides the usual drunken men that always succeeded in Falling in the weirdest possible ways, there was an occasional fire that just happened to break out, children that somehow managed to sneak in and drink alcohol which usually resulted in them causing trouble, the old men who were complaining about the younger generations while they themselves were drunk and of course: the whores that taunted the married men and seduced them into breaking their vows.

Sometimes you would even be lucky enough to meet your infamous serial killer somewhere in the back of the tavern, looking at everyone from behind his mysterious hood that covered his features. You'd only be able to see his mouth twist up in a sneaky, satisfied grin. Of course, you would only recognize him when it was too late.

It wasn't a good company to be amongst. Not that Damon cared though. It was the company he chose to be amongst ever since the war ended, ever since... well, since he lost everything.

"Hey fella!" The lady behind the bar yelled at him, saliva flying through the air as she spoke. She wore a corset that was way too tight for her figure and that showed too much for Damon to be able not to cringe every time he looked at her.

Damon lifted his eyebrows in response, his eyes focusing on a certain huge pimple that was located on the middle of her chin.

"Get yer ass out of my tavern, we're closing." She spat as she cleaned the tables, her dirty blond hair covered in things Damon didn't want to know of what it consisted.

Damon then only noticed that the tavern was almost empty besides a snoring, balding man sitting in the far corner. The guardian got up with great reluctance as his hand tightened around his bottle of whiskey, making his way towards the exit whilst trying not to fall.

He swung the doors open and almost fell forwards on his face as his eyes squinted together when the early sunlight met his skin.

"Bloody hell." He muttered as he covered his eyes with his hands. He sighed while taking another swig, looking around himself to find out where he was.

"Hey, Damon?" Steven's voice popped up in his head, making him groan out loud.

Damon ignored him as he started to make his way through the forest located around the tavern with no particular destination in mind. Not that he had any purpose now anyway after the death of his sister.

"I know you can hear me, Damon." Steven continued to talk to him mentally. "There's no use in ignoring me."

Damon chuckled as he took another swig of his whiskey, enjoying the way it burned his mouth. Try me, captain. Steven Had tried to contact him for weeks now. Maybe it was because he had disappeared after Elena's funeral without any word.

"Look, Damon..." Steven sighed. "I know this is hard for you, losing your two siblings in such a short period of time but I just want you to know that I-"

Damon sat down against a tree while listening closely, taking another few swigs to drown out the head ache.

"We're here for you. You're not alone in this one, Damon, you never have been. You have a family in us, the last guardians. We can help you through this." Steven paused for a few moments. "I know it all seems lost now and that it all looks like it will never get better, but it will. That is if you let us help you. You can't do this on your own."

Damon scoffed and threw away the now empty bottle, staring into the distance. He watched how his breath formed tiny clouds in front of him. After all, winter had come.

"Elena wouldn't have wanted you to be alone. She wouldn't have wanted her children to lose their uncle too. You're not the only one who's lost her, Damon. Keep that in mind."

Damon frowned deeply as he thought about his nephew and niece. He did love them truly, it was the reason he stayed away. He didn't want them to see him like this: broken, lost, useless.

"I can't help you when you shut yourself off from me Damon. Please, just let me help you." Steven begged. "Please, Damon, talk to me."

He wanted to respond to his friend, he really did, but he just couldn't muster out the words. He didn't even really know what to say anyway. He wanted to scream at Steven for thinking that he knew how he felt, he wanted to cry out to him for help, he wanted to blame him for letting his sister take the hit, he wanted to sob and express his feelings that he had hidden for so long.

But he couldn't do it. So, He waited for Steven to continue, for him to continue soothing him with his promise for a better future, with his words about a happy life that he could live even though Damon was never going to believe it.

He waited and he waited but Steven didn't speak to him again. Damon fell asleep waiting for his friend to sooth his pain, a pain that he knew would never go away.

~

"Excuse me, sir?" A soft voice woke him up. Damon groaned loudly and shielded himself from the now fully risen sun, crawling back against the tree.

"Leave me alone." He growled as he straightened his now aching back, looking around himself to find out where he was. Besides the enormous headache Damon was cold, too cold. He had been sleeping on the frozen ground whilst snow was falling down on him.

"Please, sir, I think you're hypothermic, you need help." The woman's hand reached out to him but he couldn't quite make out her face yet. He had trouble clearing his vision.

"I said leave me alone, woman!" Damon jumped up at the slightest touch from her, dusting her off him as he tried to stand up straight. He wobbled a bit on his feet and then regained his balance by placing his hand on the tree for support.

It was silent for a while as the woman tried to recover from the fright he had given her. She sighed deeply as she examined him, her hands tightening around a basket that she carried with her.

"You're one of them, aren't you?" She questioned.

"You're going to have to be a bit more specific."

"A guardian." She concluded as she watched the mark beneath his ear. She observed as Damon sighed deeply and a sad glint covered his eyes.

"Look, it's cold out here. By the looks of it you don't have a home to go to. Believe me when I tell you that these parts aren't safe for people like you." She explained. "Let me take care of those wounds on your arm and warm you up."

"Just..." Damon took in a deep shaky breath to try and calm himself down. "Stay away." He took a few steps backwards and noticed how his legs wobbled underneath him. His head felt dizzy and heavy, the world swirling around him.

"I don't want to hurt you." He whimpered before he fell to the ground, his vision going dark.

~

For the second time Damon woke up with an almost unbearable headache. He cursed under his breath, pressing his eyes shut to try and escape from the pain.

They snapped open immediately though when his hands touched soft fabric, his head seemingly feeling like it was floating in clouds. He sat up straight in a bed made of hay and old cotton, looking around him to find himself in an old cottage.

"You're awake." The same woman he met that day came in carrying a small tub filled with hot, steaming water. She smiled warmly as she stroked a strand of her chocolate brown hair behind her ear, revealing her warm brown eyes.

Damon frowned and looked down at his body, noticing that he wasn't
Wearing anything but his undergarments. His hair was moist and his body cleaner than before.

"You were frozen, I needed to get you a hot bath. I was worried you wouldn't make it when you didn't wake up." She said as she placed the tub on a table next to the bed. "I'm Diana." She smiled warmly. "Let's see." She reached out to him.

"Don't." Damon protested, backing away from her hand. His voice came out soft but his face was a whole different story. He sighed deeply, swinging his feet over the edge and planting them on the ground.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Diana warned him as she stood up, watching him closely. "You're seriously underfed." She examined his torso. She could see that he used to be very muscled yet now his ribs were visible through his thin skin. Besides that there were huge bags under his eyes, showing that he didn't get much sleep. Above all though she smelt the alcohol in his breath and knew how he looked like before she cleaned him.

"Tell me something new." He mumbled as he stood up slowly, testing the strength of his legs.

"What happened to you?" Her eyes were big as she watched him struggle. "I heard about you, you're Damon, the brother of the queen. I never expected you to be so-"

"Vulnerable? Weak?" Damon narrowed his eyes as he spat at her. "Guess again."

"No, irresponsible." She didn't back away. Instead, she folded her arms before her chest defiantly.

Damon huffed as he put on his clothes, existing out of his old black clothes that he wore under his armour back during the war. "I've got nothing left to be responsible for, woman."

"Yes, you do!" She protested. "There are tenths and maybe thousands of guardians out there who are running for their lives while you are here wasting your life on alcohol and the gods know what else!"

"You have no idea what you're talking about." Damon raised his voice.

"Yes, I do!" She shot back. "I've seen you around the past few weeks. You're wasting your days in that tavern back there, ignoring everything that's happening around you while feeling sorry for yourself. Well guess what; we all lost people we cared about!"

Damon snapped completely. It was like he had been holding on to an elastic band while dangling off a cliff. It finally snapped and hell was about to break loose.

He yelled angrily, throwing the tub of water on the ground with one swing of his arm as he unwrapped his wings from behind his back, knocking over at least 4 others pots and vases in the process. Instead of the normal shiny and strong wings even they had changed into thin, dull ones that hanged loosely behind his back.

Diana's mouth hung agape as she examined him, noticing that he even missed a lot of his largest feathers. She knew that he didn't lose them in an accident, he presumably did it to himself. Her mouth opened and closed repeatedly but she didn't back away, not even in the slightest faced by his outburst.

"Yes, everyone has lost people they cared about. That's what happens in a war." Damon said after he had calmed down a bit. His wings retracted, allowing some space in the otherwise with feathers filled room. "But they didn't lose everything."

"They still can." Diana whispered. "Even after your king, Robb Stark, defeated the Lannisters their followers have been hunting down the last guardians. Every single one of them, the children, the teens, the elder. None of them are safe from the wrath of the people, Damon." She walked up to him and looked at him pleadingly. "They need your help. You're the strongest guardian alive, after your-"

"After my brother died? Or my sister?" Damon wanted to get angry again but he didn't have the energy to do so. He just sighed and folded his damaged wings behind his back.

"No, after the war killed almost every village's guardian." Diana said.

Damon scoffed as he then chuckled without a trace of humour. "That's the funny thing about life, Diana. War never ends. People continue to be themselves, raging, pillaging and murdering innocent. It's a never-ending cycle that keeps on spinning no matter who's king or queen. No matter how many people try to help others it will always end in death. There are no fairies, there are no knights in shining armour who can save the day. You'd do good by accepting that." He watched her for a few moments. "Thank you for not letting me die."

"Wait!" Diana grasped his arm before he could leave. "You can't just... go. I need you!"

"Need me?" He frowned and then scoffed. "I suppose that's why you helped me, isn't it? You know a guardian who's in trouble, presumably your boyfriend, and you want me to help you help him."

"He's my sister's son." She looked down to the ground. She felt Damon's questioning gaze burning into the side of her head. "They've already captured him. He's to be hanged in a fortnight." Her voice broke midsentence. "He's only 9, Damon. Please, you've got to help him."

"Bloody hell." Damon cursed, turning away from the crying woman. "Nobody does anything without a reason anymore. Everyone just expects something in return, don't they?" He chuckled angrily. "You know what the funny thing is?" He turned towards her. "I can't help you. I really, really can't, no matter how much I want to."

He bowed down so he could look her right in the eye as tears continued to escape from the corner of her eyes. "You know why? Because every damn time I help someone, they either get hurt or killed." He watched how Diana processed his words. He then nodded, picked up his jacked from the cabinet and walked towards the door. "Good luck finding your knight in shining armour, Diana."

"Damon." She called out to him as he walked through the doorway, making him stop dead in his tracks. "I've never been so disappointed in someone in my entire life."

He nodded as he bit the inside of his cheek, his hand grasping the doorframe so tight that his knuckles turned white. He looked up at her. Diana could've sworn she saw so much sadness in them that she was afraid he would drown. "You and me both." He whispered and closed the door behind him, leaving Diana alone.

~

"So, then she started to call out for her mommy, the little pig!" A man burst out in laughter and joined the howling off his company, a few off them almost tumbling off their chairs in the process. Damon estimated that they were around their 40's, probably now enduring their midlife crisis.

He sighed deeply in annoyance, watching the whiskey in his glass as he twirled it around. He had to be honest with himself, he couldn't bring himself to drink it. Yesterday was the same, he almost felt guilty for drowning himself in alcohol. "Dammit, Diana." He cursed and slammed his glass on the table, sitting back with a deep sigh.

He couldn't get her words out of his head. Somewhere deep down he knew that she was right, he had to do something in memory of his sister. Elena probably would've gotten angry at him if she had ever found out what he was doing to himself. Truth is, Damon wanted her to. He wanted her to scream at him, to yell at him or even hurt him if it meant that he'd get her back.

But it was impossible. Elena was dead, he had to accept it. But he couldn't.

"Everyone!" Someone opened the doors of the tavern, holding them open as he looked at everyone with a large smile on his face. "It's about to start!"

Everyone immediately cheered and sprinted outside, waiting for whatever was about to happen. Damon frowned in confusion. "Whatever." He sighed and got up, leaving his whiskey on the table as he walked outside into the cold winter air. He squinted his eyes when the sunlight met his skin, looking around himself to find a dense crowd shouting and laughing.

"Burn the witch! Burn the guardian!" They chanted over and over, their fists pounding in the air in the rhythm. Damon's frown deepened even further. He decided to make his way through the crowd towards the front. He slipped through the masses, ignoring the complaints from the people he passed.

He breathed in deeply when he finally reached the edge of the large circle but his relief soon vanished when he saw the two people who were about to be hanged.

"No, let him go!" Diana yelled loudly as guards dragged her towards the rope that was hanging there, ready to be tied around her delicate neck. Tears streamed down her face as she tried to reach for her nephew. "Please!"

"Diana?" Damon mumbled quietly as he watched her being dragged towards the rope with her nephew by her side.

"My dear folks, the day of reckoning has come!" The major, judging by his fancy clothes, spoke loudly. Immediately the crowd silenced, listening closely. "For years guardians have raged war on our lands, provoked others into joining them and killing our loved ones. They promise security yet all they provide is violence." He looked at everyone around him as he pointed at Diana. "Now here we are, with a guardian and those who would help him survive. You all know what happens to guardians and those who aid them!"

The crowd cheered and chanted again. "Burn the guardian! Burn the witch!"

"He's just a kid, please!" Diana tried to tell them as she struggled against the rope that was tied around her neck. She cried loudly when everyone ignored her and spat at her, leaving her completely hopeless.

Time seemingly froze as Damon watched the executioner walk towards the handle that would kill both Diana and her nephew. He knew he shouldn't, but he wanted to save them. Not only because he was in Diana's debt but also because he knew it was what Elena would've wanted. But what then? The two would still be hunted for the rest of their lives.

"Whatever." Damon sighed and unwrapped his wings, lifting off the ground slightly so he could cause enough impact when he brought his fist down onto the surface, creating a shockwave that knocked everyone around him over. When the crowd was still recovering from shock he sprinted towards the execution panel, taking out a knife in his boot and jumping on top of the executioner, slicing his throat in a second.

He did the same with the ropes around the necks of Diana and her nephew as the crowd suddenly began to chant again, this time in a somewhat angrier tone. Out of the corner of his eye he saw people drawing their own weapons.

"Uuhm, Damon." He watched as her eyes widened in fright. "I don't think we're done yet."

Damon sighed deeply as he turned around. "Of course we're not." In the blink of an eye his body began to transform into that of a dragon, towering over the raging crowd. First they were petrified because of the magnitude of the beast. When he roared loudly though, everyone began to scatter, running towards their homes while screaming loudly.

Damon could've sworn that he saw a few men piss in their pants.

"Get on my back, now, before they regroup." Damon told Diana and her nephew.

"You don't have to tell me that twice." Diana helped the child get on Damon's back as he continued to roar, scaring off the enraged citizens. When both had themselves tightly wrapped around his neck he lifted his wings high and swung them, lifting off the ground.

He could feel Diana's soft hands grasping him tightly. Above all he could feel her strong emotions radiating off of her, his telepathic abilities picking up again. She was desperate and afraid, fearing for her nephew's life without even caring about herself. In some way it made Damon care for her even more than he did before. She had been one of the only people he has ever known that didn't only care about her own life.

His failures in the past stopped him from helping her even further though. "Where do you want me to drop you off?" He asked her telepathically.

"There's an old mansion near the golden hill." Diana told him. "It's the only place I can think off."

Damon changed his course while he was debating with himself in his head. He wanted to help Diana, he really did. If he left she'd be hunted down by the village for sure. Even if he helped her, he couldn't change that. He couldn't kill an entire village because of their believe that guardians were evil. He couldn't possibly protect all guardians from the people's wrath.

The mansion came into sight. It was placed right next to a sparkling stream, it's walls standing a bit aslant. He landed right before it, transforming back into his usual self when both had dismounted him.

"Thank you, Damon. For everything." Diana looked at him as she stepped closer. Instead of the former disappointment her eyes were now filled with wonder and almost a bit of pride. He nodded as an answer, sighing deeply as he turned away from her.

'You should move every so often, keep the people from finding you." Damon said as he examined the house. "If your nephew needs help controlling his powers there's a measter in Castle Black called Liane. He can help." He turned towards Diana again, savouring the way she looked. "Good luck, Diana."

"Wait!" Diana grasped his hand, holding it tenderly as she pleaded him with her eyes. "There's something I need you to see."

Damon frowned but followed her anyway when she pulled him into the house, her hand still holding his. When he entered he noticed the dishevelled state of it, saw the moss covering the insides of the walls. Yet there seemed to be some sort of life in it, almost like it was living. The house radiated a sense of familiarity.

"Diana, where are you taking me?" Damon asked her as he started to feel uneasy. There was something not right in there, something was telling him to run away and to never look back.

"There's someone I need you to meet." Diana glanced at him before opening a door, guiding him into a large bedroom with a king-sized bed standing amid the space. Damon's eyes glided over the chique furniture, his eyebrows knotting together when he saw the expensive decorations that decorated the room.

"Ethan?" A weak, soft voice spoke from underneath the silk sheets.

Damon's eyes widened when he looked at the woman in the bed. She was young, only a few years younger than Diana must've been. She had beautiful long golden hair and warm brown eyes. But they were glossed over and bloodshot, her lips swollen and broken. Her arms were thin and covered with bruises and her cheek bones showing prominently due to the thinness of her skin.

"Ethan!" She laughed weakly as she tried to sit up straight but her arms wouldn't let her do so. She let out a weak whine as they gave out under the weight, her mince body falling back down onto the cushions.

Damon's heart dropped to the floor when realization hit him. He didn't dare to look at Diana's nephew but he did either way, nerves building up in his stomach.

He let out a shaky breath when his suspicions were confirmed, tears of both desperation and complete disbelief filling up his eyes. The boy was almost 14 it seemed with raven black hair that hung before his clear green eyes, a strong jawline already showing through his white skin. Even though he had no idea what was going on the boy seemed to control his emotions, only his eyebrows knotting together ever so slightly but his expression remaining neutral and even a bit bold.

The likeliness was almost terrifying.

"Damon, I..." Diana stuttered when Damon refused to move a muscle. Her hands wove through her hair as she tried to think of what she wanted to say. "I wanted to tell you. I just didn't know how you'd react when I saw in what kind of condition you were. I..."

When she continued to stutter nervously she decided to remain silent, waiting for Damon to say something. She looked back at her sister to see her glancing back and forth between Damon and her.

"Ethan?" A heart-breaking sob escaped from the woman's throat, snapping Damon out of his trance.

He walked towards her slowly, sitting on the edge of her bed as he took her meagre hand in his. He looked at her eyes, taking in the happiness in them when she touched him

"I've been waiting so long, so long." Her voice was hoarse and broken. "I never got to tell you about our son." She knotted her eyebrows together as tears escaped her eyes. "You were gone, Ethan. You disappeared without a word. I didn't know what to do, I..." She sobbed. "I'm dying, Ethan."

Damon nodded, not daring to tell her that he was not the man she thought he was. She was dying, after all. He could feel the life fading out of her body. She'd probably been waiting till her son was returned. He glanced back at Diana who looked at him pleadingly, begging him to not break his facade. He saw the sadness in her eyes yet he knew she was ready for the death of her sister. So Damon turned back towards the dying woman and held her hand even more tight.

"I'm here now."

~

"So, Ethan's son? You saved Ethan's son?" Robb tried to clarify the story Damon had just told him. He had to be honest, Robb was surprised to see Damon back in Winterfell. He'd never expected to see the guardian again let alone see him bringing a woman and a child with him.

"His name is Anakin." Damon nodded as he folded his arms before his chest, his eyes looking over the courtyard of Winterfell as they stood on the balcony.

"Anakin." Robb spoke the name carefully as if trying to find out what he thought about the child. He sighed, leaning his elbows on the balustrade. "Honestly Damon, I never expected this. You've experienced quite the adventure out there."

"It changed me for the better." Damon stated, his eyes finding Diana in the crowd. He realized that he was growing fond of the woman, her warmth and her boldness. Yet he knew that he couldn't show it, realizing that it would only bring her into harm's way. For he had promised himself that he would never ever again show someone his love.

"You mean she did." Robb followed his gaze to Diana. "You know Damon, it would do you good. Start a new family, live a life far from the war. You don't have to help with fighting the white walkers. You've sacrificed enough already."

"Yeah, I don't know." Damon bit his lip as his eyebrows scrunched together in thought. "I think that time has passed for me. A normal life just doesn't work for me anymore." He shrugged. "I could say the same for you though." He glanced at Robb. "It's been a year. The ladies of Westeros are starting to get impatient."

"Well they might as well be for the rest of their lives." Robb chuckled. The soft smile lingered on his lips as he enjoyed the company of his brother in law, his eyes scanning the courtyard in thought. "So what do you think about Anakin?" He glanced back at Damon after a long comfortable silence. "Will he take after his father?"

"If there's one thing I've learned from all of this, it's that we shouldn't judge people through their heritage." Damon stated. "Take you, lord of Winterfell and son of the great Eddard Stark. Highborn yet caring for the lowborn, willing to sacrifice his life for the better of his people. Take Gillian, son of Karstark yet betrayed his family to safe you and Elena. Steven, son of a simple farmer yet one of the greatest warriors this world has ever known. Most importantly: Elena snow. Daughter of the Mad King, the one who burned all his foes. Yet she was the guardian everyone deserved. She wasn't anything like her father just like all the others."

Damon remained silent for a while as he thought about what to say. "Everyone makes their own self. We've all got the opportunity to prove who we truly are, not just the son or daughter of. We shouldn't judge people just because their parents made mistakes."

"You got me there." Robb nodded as he trained his eyes on Anakin. He was just a boy after all yet he resembled Ethan in so many ways. Somehow it still terrified Robb, afraid that the same story could start all over again. "So, what now? I sure do hope that you don't disappear again like you did."

"No, no no." Damon chuckled. "Like I said, I've changed. Elena wouldn't want me to spend the rest of my life in taverns. Instead, I think I might just to the exact thing that Diana told me to."

Damon glanced at Robb as a smirk played on his lips. "I'm going to start a school for the last guardians."