The cold wind bitterly whipped against Akari's skin, biting her flesh furiously. In all her life, she had never been this cold - never. Not even in the winters of Japan. Her preferable season was spring, when the cherry blossoms were in bloom. They reminded her how fickle and fleeting life was, especially with all she had lost. Instead, she blinked against the snowflakes falling from the sky like the blossoms, and though they weren't as beautiful, it was as if time stood still. They were an icy, bitter reminder of just how alone she felt inside.

Isaac's strange black metal carriage had taken them to a castle, if you could call it that. It was basically a ruin - piles of rock and rubble in nearly every corner, with no true defenses. The only promising defense was that it was along a seven-hundred foot high Wall. Although, the sea was to their right, making it easy to see the ships that had sprung up on the horizon.

The leaders here, a black curly haired man by the name of Jon Snow, along with a redheaded brute called Tormond, a younger, quieter man named Gendry, and a kinder older man named Jorah Mormont, all seemed anxious to get beyond the Wall, into the dangerous unknown that they all seemed to fear.

"If you fear it, then why are you in a hurry to travel there?" Akari asked, when they all sat in a room with a splintered oak table. She and Isaac sat on one side, with another mentor and her tribute, leaving Jon, Jorah, Gendry, and the brute across from them.

Jon shook his head. "We don't have time for this. I think we should go beyond the wall, leaving Eastwatch to the invaders. There's nothin' here. Nothin' of value. They will pass right through."

Jorah nodded. "Aye, that we could. But what about the citizens south of the wall?"

"We could use it to help fight against the Invaders," Isaac said. Isaac reached behind him and placed the Trident on the table in front of him. "Don't ask me how it works because this is all new to me, but it can summon... creatures."

Akari glanced sideways at him. "Creatures?"

The younger woman with silver hair on the other side of the second mentor nodded. "I've seen all sorts of magical items that can do... amazing things. It's not that surprising."

Akari shook her head. "How many men do you have here, Jon-san?"

The men all gave her strange looks, but it was the brute who answered. "Not near enough to fight off Invaders and capture a White Walker."

With a sigh, Akari stared at the Trident in front of her. "With a lesser amount of men, and the poor defenses this castle has, we will never be able to repel them."

As the men began to converse about their strategic options, Akari stayed silent, deep in thought. Isaac shot her a few glances, but she continued thinking about their position and what they could do with what they had. A thought suddenly came to her, reminding her of the Ikedaya Inn incident. She remembered watching it unfold, unable to fight since her father was one of the samurai warriors there. The intense battle had been fought with katanas, the Shinsengumi's men against several traitors thought to be planning to assassinate the Emperor. The fight took place inside an inn, very close quarters, rendering both sides' numbers utterly useless.

"I have an idea," she said, interupting whatever Jorah had been about to say. "There is no way we can repel them. Any option we try will fail."

"What exactly are we supposed to do then?" the silver haired girl asked. "If we don't defend this castle then..." Her voice trailed off, but the mentor beside her, Isaac and even Akari were all thinking the same thing; the mentors' families would be killed. Perhaps the silver haired girl had family in danger as well.

Am I the only one with no one? Akari wondered. Out-loud, she continued. "Then we should not do anything."

"What are you suggestin'?" Jon had been the one to speak, but the others all looked at her the same way: wide eyes, as if she was offering up insanity.

"Hear me out, Jon-san. Rather than try to stop them, I am suggesting that we open the gates and let them inside the castle. It may be in ruins, but it is fairly large. We can use the size to our advantage. When they are inside, we can hide and fight them in close quarters - ambush them in groups when the are trapped in small rooms. The confined spaces will reduce their numbers. I have seen it before... Back in my homeland." Akari desperately hoped they all agreed to the plan. It was the only way she could see a way for them to get out of this alive.

***

By the time the moon had risen, washing the world in a silver and gray hue, the Invaders had closed in. Their long, narrow boats, slightly curved on both ends, rowed closer to the shore by the east gate.

Akari and Isaac stood atop one of the walls of the castle, along with the other mentor, whom Akari learned was called Sage. Her "tribute" was named Naolia and she told Akari that she had come from a land filled with magic. Akari had not believed her, at least not until Naolia had produced sparks from her fingertips. Likewise Sage also had magic, but this was much different. It glowed bright yellow and did not seem like anything Akari had ever seen before. Akari should have felt as if she knew everything she needed to.

Except that she did not. She shook her head, staring out at the moon reflecting on the dark blue sea. The waves crashed on the shore just outside where she and Isaac stood, several yards away from Sage and Naolia.

"You nervous?" Isaac glanced at her and shifted his eyes to her right hand.

When she looked down, she realized she had been clenching her katana, which once again hung from her left hip. The Fire Lord had been gracious enough to return it to her. At the time, it had taken all of Akari's self will not to strike him down. Instead, she thought of Isaac's mother and sister... Even though she did not know them, it was still incentive enough not to act out and get them killed.

In response to Isaac's question, Akari shook her head. "Not anymore than I should before a battle. All of this is just... Well beyond my understanding." Her words felt empty and insencere, when that could not have been farther from the truth.

Isaac chuckled mirthlessly. "I know whatcha mean. I -" He ran his hand along his cropped hair again, sighing. "I've seen a lot of things, dealt with a lot of situations, put away a lot of bad men... but this... Magic and Realms and strange lands with talking birds and Castle Lords... "

As his voice trailed off, she glanced at the weapon on his right hip: a gun, but much smaller than the ones she was familiar with. A shiver danced up her spine; guns had been what had slaughtered her comrades.

Isaac nodded. "Yeah. Speaking of, I'm supposed to give this to you. You're supposed to use it to help you."

"Keep it," Akari insisted. "Summon a creature to aid us in this battle."

Before Isaac could respond, Jon walked up the stairs behind them and gestured down below. "The Invaders are closing in. We should get into our positions."

Minutes later, Akari gestured to a doorway. "That leads inside the main hall, correct?"

Jon nodded. "Aye. I'll be in there with Gendry. Tormond will take his men in the back; Thorros of Mir will take his Brotherhood without Bannermen to the armory. The four of you," he said, gesturing to Akari, Isaac, Sage and Naolia, "will stay here in the quarters." He pointed to another door right in front of them, leading deeper into the hold.

Akari nodded, following behind Issac and Sage, who led them inside the long, dimly lit hallway.

Isaac pulled out his weapon as he nodded his head toward the first bedroom. "I'll hide in here."

"I will wait in this one," Akari said. The room at the end of the hall was much larger, probably a master bedroom. The room is at the end of the hall, which means that more men will charge this direction immediately, Akari thought. It is fairly sized but not overly large, leaving me enough room to manuver around eight to ten men. The other rooms were much smaller, which would have left me no room to dance around behind them. This...is perfect.

Now that her strategy was in place, she kept her right hand on the hilt of her katana. When the Invader's first man attacked the room, she would only have one brief chance, a small window of opportunity, to do her fastest move - a quick draw. Seconds after that, more men would trail in and then it would be too late for a quick draw. At that point, she would have to keep moving and be as quick as possible.

It was an audible sound now, the thundering of footsteps and men bellowing out wildly and loudly. Distantly, she thought she heard the sound of men fighting already - the clanging of swords and the squelching of flesh. Her breathing and pace of her heart quickened to alarming rates. The cold slithered up her skin, making her shiver. She exhaled slowly, slowing her breathing and her heart in the process. Her eyes were trained on the open door and the hallway beyond, waiting...

Suddenly, it become eerily silent. So quiet, it was as if she could hear the sweat beading down her temple, despite the cold. As she exhaled again, the frost in the air made her breath visible.

Sharp thuds penetrated through the walls, followed by more thundering steps. Her eyes landed on the first attacker - a bulk of a man almost twice her size. With a wild, deep outcry, he charged straight for her.

Her right heel brushed the back of the wall, leaving her left foot forward. Her right hand clenched around the top of her katana's hilt, ready to withdraw. She had to wait for the perfect timing...

His steps were large and he easily crossed the hall within a few paces. Just as he crossed the doorway, another step took him into the middle of the room. That's when Akari took her chance, darting passed his left side as she unsheathed her katana. She was so quick she had it out and sliced across his side before he had a chance to raise his axe. When she had fully passed him, she whirled around and sliced it across his back.

As he thudded on the ground, she wasted no time watching him. The next attackers lunged toward her. The first attacker swung his axe in an overhead swing, but Akari twisted to the left, viciously striking the wooden hilt of his axe with her sword. The movement sliced the hilt in half and the metal blade of the axe collapsed to the floor. Behind him, too large to get around him, the second attacker threw two axes toward her. Fortunately, she was fast enough to bat the first axe away with her blade, but the second whipped by her ear, nicking the tip of it.

Adrenaline coursed through her veins as she lunged forward, stabbing both of the attackers with her katana. In order to pull it from their bodies, she had to put her leg on the first man's chest to yank it out.

Behind them, an archer had an arrow nocked. Akari pressed herself against the second attacker's chest, cringing from his dying gurlges loud in her ear. Blood spurted out of his mouth, coating her. It was sticky and smelled metallic and coppery. When she heard the arrow peirce his back, she shoved him off.

More of the Invaders poured in behind him. An entire group shoved him aside, charging straight for her. Rushing back into the room, she raised her katana, not wasting any time lunging toward the first two attackers. In one quick movement, she drew her blade down the left one's chest and across the right one's stomach. A third man with cobalt hair jabbed at her with an axe, so she ducked. She stabbed her blade into the man's leg, and as he fell to the ground screaming, she jumped up as high as she could to avoid another axe trying to chop of her legs. When she landed on the ground, she yanked out her katana, realizing he was a tribute.

A war hammer slammed into her chest, making her gasp as she felt something crack inside her. With a groan, she bit her lip and collapsed on the ground. Her vision blurred, but she knew she had to keep moving. Keeping her weapon close against her chest, she rolled with it, out of the way of the war hammer's second attack. It slammed into the floor, shattering the wood and made a hole. It was stuck inside the hole, so she took the opportunity.

She rolled back over and quicky swiped her blade across the war hammer's owner, cutting his throat open. Blood spurted out in waves, covering her eyes and face. She thought she felt some of its metallic taste fill her mouth.

Ignoring it and the flare of pain breathing caused her, she hopped to her feet, immediately ducking down to avoid a swinging axe. Her hands held her blade downward, not enough time to block it. In a split-second decision she released her left hand from the hilt of her weapon and grabbed a chair right beside her. Just in time, she lifted it, blocking the man's blade. With his weapon stuck, she twisted the chair, jerking his wrist. As he groaned, she darted passed him, slicing her katana across his left side.

No more attackers came to the doorway. Breathing caused intense pain to shoot through her, so Akari leaned against the wall. She tried to take short breaths, but her limbs shook and exhaustion began to take over. Her vision had finally returned to normal, but her head was throbbing. There was no way to tell if any of the blood sticking to her face was her own, or a mixture between hers and the Invaders'. Her hair was matted and sticking to her scalp due to all the sweat.

"Akari, you alright?" Isaac shouted. She could see him through her open door, around the dead bodies that littered the floor.

She nodded, taking in a huge gulp of air. Pain exploded in her chest, so she winced. "H - hai."

"I'm out of magic energy!"

Isaac threw his weapon to the ground. "Yeah, I'm out of bullets, too. We need to stay together for the next few waves."

As Isaac limped into Naolia's room, Sage followed close behind him. Keeping her katana in her right hand, Akari winced and placed her left on her ribs, making her way into the room. Naolia had an arrow in her left shoulder, blood trailed down Isaac's leg, and Sage had a large cut from her left ear, down to her neck.

Akari looked at Naolia, who was about ready to take the arrow out. "No, leave it in! If you take it out without proper care, you will bleed out. Leave the arrow in until we have time to tend to it."

Naolia nodded with a light groan.

Isaac had just finished tying a cloth around the top of his leg, above a gaping wound. Akari wanted to feel shocked or surprised, but her time spent in the Boshun War had numbed her to it.

Bellowing thuds drummed as the next wave of Invaders approached. Isaac had taken his secondary weapon, a basic steel sword, out and had it ready. He'd also given one to Naolia, who didn't seem happy about it. Sage raised her hands, magic swirling in them.

Two burly men managed to squeeze through the door. Isaac clashed with one on the left, meeting his steel sword against a large war axe, while Sage threw the second man backward into three more, using her magic.

"Stop them at the door!" Isaac shouted.

Akari clenched her katana with both her hands, joining Isaac. This gave Naolia a chance to rest, while Sage shot magic at the men that Akari and Isaac could not kill. The doorway trapped the Invaders, only allowing two men in the doorway at a time. The rest were behind them, eager to fight, but unable to move forward.

Akari's limbs trembled violently, and breathing was difficult. Her blade blocked an Invader's sword, but he pressed against her, shoving her against the post of a bed. Her breath whooshed out as her back slammed against the post. He growled and took out a dagger with his left hand. She saw it too late, and her hands were trapped still trying to hold back his sword with her own. The only thing she could do was shift her leg upward to kick him.

He stabbed her thigh with the dagger. Agony exploded in her leg, but Naolia was there, stabbing the man in the back. As he fell, Akari limped backward, while Naolia used her uninjured hand to wield a sword and block the next attacker.

That man was the last to fall, leaving the doorway empty. Waves of pain burst in Akari's leg as she tried to keep her weight off it.

Distantly, grunts and growls resounded through the walls. The metallic clanging of weapons reached Akari's ears, making her curiosity rise. "Do they need help?"

Isaac pursed his lips. "They might."

Biting her lip to hold back a groan, Akari limped behind Sage, Isaac, and Naolia. She closed her eyes, each step sending jolts of pain through her leg. The hallway was empty, other than the dead bodies. Sage and Isaac stepped forward first, sword and magic raised.

Issac nodded. "You're clear. Get to the courtyard with Naolia, Akari."

Naolia looked at Sage. "What about you and Isaac?"

Sage turned the hallway and threw her hands up, forming a wave of magic in it. To their left, another group of Invaders charged toward them, obviously coming in through a back door. "We'll get this wave. Go!"

Akari nodded and clenched her katana. With Naolia by her side, they left the hallway and pushed open a door that lead straight to the courtyard. In it, three Invaders were all in combat with Jon, Jorah, Gendry, and Tormond. The largest only had hair in the center of his head and was the better fighter out of the group. He was in combat with Jon. Another large man kept up with Jorah and Tormond very well. The last, a skinner, brutal man stabbed Gendry, who collapsed to the ground. Naolia darted that direction.

Akari lunged forward, straight for the man attacking Jon. He fought with a war axe, swinging and twisting it in his hand with ease. Each time his axe clashed with Jon's greatsword, both of them pressed against the other, equally balanced.

Akari dashed behind him, slicing her katana across his back. Much to her surprise, he twisted to the left, avoiding her katana while keeping his axe against Jon's blade. Jon backed up, pulling his blade back, but the man was relentless, charging toward Jon again. Akari took the opportunity to lunge toward the man's side, but he shifted his wrist, throwing Jon's sword against Akari's hilt.

Pain exploded in her left wrist and she screamed, stumbling backward.

The man looked at her with wild eyes, sticking out his tongue to intimidate her. Jon viciously swung his sword toward the man's right shoulder. Rather than strike Akari with his axe, the man met Jon's sword. Somehow, he was able to kick Akari's side and still block Jon's weapon.

Akari jabbed her blade toward the man's abdomen, but he caught her blade with his left hand. His right swiped his axe toward Jon's left arm. At the last second, the man shifted it the other way. The axe jammed inside Jon's upper right arm. With a cry of pain, he stumbled backward, dropping his sword.

The man viciously slammed Akari's katana hilt against her chest. His strength surprised her, but she was hurt and weakened, exhausted from the other fights. The hilt pounded against her chest, sending explosions of pain pulsing through her. She gasped, unable to breathe and collapsed on the ground.

The man grinned at her, revealing blood on his blackened teeth as he threw her katana in the air and then caught it by the hilt in his injured hand. It was as if he felt no pain at all.

Akari's blackened vision blurred in and out as the man pressed his foot against her ribs. She cried out, uselessly grabbing his leg.

"Akari!" Isaac yelled.

Out of the corner of her blurred vision, she could just barely make out the shape of Isaac's body holding the Trident. Bright light burst from it and then disappeared. In the center of the courtyard, appeared a serpentine dragon, its body winding around in a circle to squeeze into the castle walls. The dragon's tail slammed against the wall, knocking part of it down. Stones and bricks tumbled down toward her, but her exhausted body refused to move. The Invader above her reacted quick enough and darted away. A different man leapt on her, and she heard Isaac calling her name, just as the stones slammed against them.

Whoever the new man was, he had saved her life.

Suddenly, the stones were lifted. Over the now mortally wounded man's shoulder, Akari could see Sage lifting the stones with her magic. Isaac was kneeling over them both.

"I am alright," Akari said, coughing, as Isaac gently rolled the man off of her. Blood coated his skin and his breathing was ragged.

Akari glanced at the stones from the broken wall, covering most of the courtyard. The dragon chased the Invader out of the gates, who stumbled over the body of a dead Japanese man - another tribute, Akari guessed.

While Isaac tended to the injured man, Akari lay back down. She took a shallow breath, staring up at the gray sky. Snowflakes fell, pelting her skin. Despite the cold, her exhausted body refused to move. Pain radiated from her thigh and chest as her vision blackened. Unconsiousness wrapped around her, choking her mind until she gave in to the darkness.

***

So once again, those of you who have time, feel free to score my entry. If you guys can't score it, then let me know so I can have my husband score it according to our new grading rubric. You guys can judge it however you want. 

Word count: 3,799 (word count is over by 649, so I lose 0.7 points for that and yes I know its terribly sad that I couldn't follow my own word count. I feel terrible). 

Awards I went for: Legends, Ragnar Lothbrook (because of his personality during the fight, i.e. smiling and grinning at her)

Deaths:

Axel - wordsmith-

Takashima Rin - Pardesi_Chick (I killed them off purely for story line purposes, so nothing personal! No punishments come out of it).

Ballots:

None. It wouldn't be fair to you guys