|
Post by Ray on Oct 10, 2017 14:31:45 GMT -7
They don't have to wait long. In a matter of minutes, the room fills with the small handful of people still left in Winterfell after the war, looks of bewilderment crossing the faces of a few, while Edric and Tormund step in, already knowing what must be in the contents of the letter. "When did you receive it?" Tormund asks, nearly roars, his eyes wide and brows furrowed tight.
"A few moments ago," Jon replies in a slow sigh, pulling the scroll free to drop it upon the table. Tormund surges forward, grabbing at it greedily with his hands and yanking it open ungraciously. His mouth moves silently as he skims over the words, having only started learning how to read in the time since they've left the Wall. But he seems to get the gist of it well enough.
"Fuckin' cunts-sake." Tormund huffs, throwing it back down and looking to Jon, "We're fucked."
"I don't understand," Sansa says, moving swiftly toward the table, "What is going on?" She asks impatiently, looking between Tormund and Jon and even looking to Katherine for some sort of explanation. Brienne steps forward, looking perplexed as well. But Edric just moves towards the window overlooking the courtyard and rests a shoulder upon the glass, grey eyes pointed northward.
"I received a letter from Lord Commader Eddison Tollett at the Wall," Jon says, voice adopting authority. "There's no...simple way of saying but...the wights have reached them. They're asking for help." He looks down for a moment, exhaling a slow breath through his nostrils, remembering those dead faces looking at them through the ice and snow. It's how he got separated from the Night's Watch in the first place, how he ended up frozen and half-dead in Edric's cave. He still has a thin, nearly-healed scar down his back from the icy blade of a rotten ax.
"Wights?" Brienne asks, shifting her stance a little. "What do you mean by wights?"
"The dead," Edric fills in, his voice even and unemotional. Brienne and Sansa look towards him, the latter's blue eyes going wide.
"Frozen fuckers that slaughtered Mance's army." Tormund adds on bitterly. "Have been slaughtering us free folk for years. Why do we think we wanted to come South?"
|
|
|
Post by Snowglobe18 on Oct 10, 2017 14:54:46 GMT -7
Katherine is actually starting to fail to understand just what was going on right now when Tormund practically roared his words and then started to read the scroll then it twigged that whatever is happening was on the other side of the wall and it was very bad. But then Tormund said about the fact they were fucked and Sansa spoke. If she was honest she was so lost herself.
Sansa looked at Kat and she gave a shrug because she honestly didn't have a clue what they were on about and then Jon said about the fact that he had received a letter from the wall and then he went onto explain just what was going on up there. He went into an explanation about wights and then started to wonder what exactly they were but then Edric filled in just what they were and she raises an eyebrow. The dead had risen at the wall? Katherine wanted to laugh and she probably would've if it wasn't for the fact that she was dead herself but she wasn't the frozen fuckers that Tormund had described and then he adds on the rest of what he was saying.
Katherine would've made a joke about how she thought he had come South for a southern bride and would've looked at Brienne if this wasn't actually serious. She moved her eyes over to Jon and then reached out for the scroll herself and read it. "Well then if the wall needs help we should send some men" she said and then looked up and over at Jon. Something inside of her knew that Jon would be the one to lead this one and that made her worry because if the dead was rising then... Katherine couldn't afford to think like that because if she did then she wouldn't let Jon go, she couldn't lose someone else but there was no way she could really stop him from going.
She put the scroll down on the table once more but her eyes were on Jon.
|
|
|
Post by Ray on Oct 10, 2017 15:51:27 GMT -7
"You expect me to believe that the walking dead are attacking the wall right now?" Brienne comments, her shoulders dropping an inch as her expression turns disbelieving. She looks to Jon, as if waiting for the punchline to this very unfunny joke. But he has none. There is none.
"I know it sounds insane, I thought that myself before I saw it, but it is real. Just as real as the two dragons flying over our heads, just as real as Edric," he says, looking towards the man who glances over at the mention of his name, "Just as real as..." He falters, his eyes falling away, failing to say the word that had almost left his tongue. Just as real as me. He's proof enough that the dead can come back to life, but by some shred of luck he woke without those hollow blue eyes and the stench of rotting hell. His mind turns suddenly towards Rowan at that moment, a strange thought beginning to brim.
"Yes, men," Tormund says, nodding towards Katherine, "That's what we need. A fuckin' army bigger than my cock."
"We can't take an army," Jon sighs, lifting his eyes and returning to the conversation. Tormund blinks in surprise, looking to him. "We've exhausted all of our alliances with two wars, people are just beginning to settle back into their normal lives, if we disrupt that now with tales of wights, they'll laugh in our faces and think us mad."
"So what? Sit on our thumbs and wait to join them?"
"We take a small group. Those of us in this room," Jon replies, glancing round to the three warriors standing before him. "And ride to the wall."
There's a beat of silence as Tormund stares at him in shock, Brienne in confusion, and Sansa goes entirely pale. Edric...Edric doesn't seem to have any qualms with that idea.
"You must be fuckin' joking." Tormund deadpans.
"I'm not." Jon says with a slow blink.
|
|
|
Post by Snowglobe18 on Oct 10, 2017 16:11:24 GMT -7
Katherine would've been the same as Brienne if it wasn't for the fact that she was one of those walking dead, but thankfully not the frozen ones that Tormund had been on about a moment before. She swallowed hard and the decided to add quietly just as real as me. The thought of anyone going North to help with the wights actually made her worry but they had asked for help and help they will be getting. She wouldn't be able to send that many men but she would send some up there.
Her eyes moved over to Tormund and raised an eyebrow when he said about his cock. She was sure she had a tease on the end of her tongue but right now that wouldn't be helpful in this situation.
Katherine looked back over to Jon when he spoke once more. "He's right" she said after a moment. They had exhausted everyone on their two wars and couldn't ask them to follow them again for a war against the dead, most probably wouldn't even believe them and they didn't need to be laughed at. They were slowly getting everything back to normal and she wouldn't be travelling to the North because someone needed to stay in Winterfell but she wasn't sure about Sansa, the girl was stubborn so she might end up going but Katherine would be staying behind to keep everything normal from this side.
It did hurt her to know that Jon would be going even though she hadn't actually thought he wouldn't go. They had been his men once and he would do everything he could to help them out.
She swallowed hard and then looked over at Jon "And I assume you will be leaving straight away, yes?" she asked and watched him.
|
|
|
Post by Ray on Oct 10, 2017 17:17:33 GMT -7
"By morning," Jon says with a nod, turning his eyes towards Katherine, "If Asher gets the message before then and heeds it. He"s not my favorite person but he has a strong sword-arm and we could use that."
"You're mad, you're all goddamn mad." Sansa's voice drowns him out, and it's only then that Jon finally looks to her, brows raising high in surprise. She stares him down, unamused, "If you think that five people against a supposed army of the dead capable of slaughtering an entire wildling army is enough." Jon catches Edric smiling vaguely out of the corner of his eye, almost as if he were proud of Sansa's outburst, "And you're okay with this?" She continues, turning her eyes on Katherine, brows knitting close, "Them marching off again on a suicide mission talking about monsters with the world's smallest legion?"
"I'm with her," Brienne mutters.
"Five people, yes," Jon replies, cutting her off before she can continue any further, drawing Sansa's hard stare back onto him, "And two full-grown dragons." He reminds her. "Fire is the only thing that can kill these wights, and we have two of the only creatures in the world who breathe it. We'll be outnumbered but..."
"I like them odds." Tormund huffs, starting to get on board with this idea.
|
|
|
Post by Snowglobe18 on Oct 10, 2017 17:54:55 GMT -7
Katherine nods once but if she was honest it was a sort of strained nod. Of course they would be taking Asher, although she wasn't actually that worried about losing him if he did go North with them. Those that were here were capable of holding a sword and it wasn't like there would be anyone attacking them and if they did then they would be very stupid. Not that an attack was coming because there wasn't anyone out there that wanted the North.
Sansa then had an outburst and she felt her eyes on her "No," she admitted and looked at the girl "im not alright with it" she said around a sigh. "But I know that if I tell Jon not to go he's going to go to the wall anyway" she moved her eyes away from Sansa and over to Jon. "Because that's what he does" her brown eyes were on Jon before she looked away. Katherine couldn't stop Jon from going even if she wanted too, he would saddle up a horse and go to the wall to help his friends.
Katherine looked back over at Jon when he spoke. She hoped those dragons would protect Jon because she couldn't lose anyone else but she couldn't stop him from going and would she even want too if she could? What was the point of freeing themselves from the South if they didn't take care of their own men? Even if the wall was actually neutral ground. "I'll be staying because there is still the issue of Rohan to be dealt with so that will keep us busy for a little bit"
|
|
|
Post by Ray on Oct 10, 2017 18:13:23 GMT -7
Jon glances momentarily towards Katherine as she speaks, replying to Sansa's angered words. A frown tugs at his mouth.
He knows this situation is not ideal. He'd much rather think of tomorrow as another day he can spend worrying about nothing more than the next snowstorm, the next roof they have to patch, the next hunt. But the world is not an ideal place. And if he chooses to ignore this letter, ignore this plea from a friend, then he'll be responsible for whatever horrors follow. This isn't a matter of heroism or bravado. He's not a man seeking out fame and songs. He simply must do what is right.
He looks away from her and sighs slowly, eyes slipping closed for the briefest of moments.
"Morning," he says once more, "We leave in the morning."
"I'll pack some ale." Tormund huffs, turning away towards the door.
|
|
|
Post by Snowglobe18 on Oct 10, 2017 18:26:27 GMT -7
Katherine watches him when he speaks and she slowly gets to her feet after Tormund moves towards the door. She had hoped there would be one more day before everything around them went to seven hells once more but Jon must do what he must and as for her she would have to deal with Rohan.
Her fingers tap lightly at the wooden table before she grabs her gloves and her cloak off of the chair. She wasn't sure just how bad it was going to get without them here but they would have to deal with whatever came their way and as for dealing with Rohan.. she would have to come up with some plan.
Katherine bit on her lip and went to say something but decided not too instead she put her cloak over her arm and made her way towards the door after Tormund. She probably seemed mad but seven hells she didn't know what she was feeling right now. They had gone through two wars and alright she was to blame for them both but the thought that Jon was going to go back to the wall scared her because what if he didn't come back this time? What if he died up there like he did last time?
She couldn't think about that not when she had other things to think about. Katherine understood what Sansa was feeling and it killed her to know that Jon was going back there but she couldn't stop him. She walked out of the hall and down towards one of the separate passageways and leaned her head against the wall.
Katherine felt her bottom lip tremble and she put her hand there to stop it but it wouldn't work especially when she felt the tears slide down her cheek. She couldn't lose him, not this time. Not when things were so good between them.
|
|
|
Post by Ray on Oct 10, 2017 18:53:09 GMT -7
Katherine leaves the Great Hall quickly, and Jon watches after her, jaw clamping shut.
He knows why she's upset. He understands. But what kind of man would he be if he let this slip into the shadows, forgotten, while they remain here in Winterfell pretending nothing evil lies just outside their door. What kind of man would he be to turn his back upon his friends. He does not want to go any more than she wants him to, but he must. He owes Eddison that.
"You don't have to go if you don't want to Brienne," Jon says after a moment, lifting his eyes towards the lady knight, "But you're a damn good fighter. Better than most. I could use your help."
"If my King asks it, I would be a fool to turn him down," Brienne replies with a formal tip of her head. Jon is taken slightly aback by her words, eyes flicking towards Sansa who seems to have calmed in the last few moments. She gives him a half smile, reassuring. He nods his head, looking back to Brienne.
"Thank you." He tells her. Brienne bows a little in reply before turning towards the door herself.
"You're still fucking mad," Sansa says, arms crossing over her chest. "But I know better than to doubt you by now."
"Oh, I deserve plenty doubt," Jon huffs out in a mirthless laugh, tilting his head towards her. Sansa steps closer to the table as he takes a heavy seat in the chair, already feeling exhausted. He scrubs a hand over his face, pinches tightly at the bridge of his nose, and wishes he'd wake from this nightmare. He looks up just in time to see Sansa pick up the scroll and finally read it for herself, blue eyes skimming the page.
"I'd forgotten how colorful Edd is."
"Yes, very colorful," Jon admits, letting his arm rest along the side of the chair. "But I trust him. More than the rest of them. Do I think I'm a fool?" Jon asks, turning his dark eyes towards Edric.
"I think we're all going to die." He says, letting his head fall back against the glass and bouncing his brows. Sansa throws him a scowl. "But I wouldn't call you a fool. Stupid, maybe. Too valiant."
"Thank you for your honesty," Jon mutters in bitter sarcasm.
"We can do this." Edric adds on, giving him a slight reassuring bob of his head.
|
|
|
Post by Snowglobe18 on Oct 11, 2017 12:10:26 GMT -7
It probably seemed silly but she was scared for Jon to go back to the wall but she knew that she couldn't think like that because she wouldn't be able to control her emotions and the last thing she needed was to lose control, it was bad enough she could hear all the heartbeats in this castle as it was. Katherine shook her head and then dried up the tear that had fallen, no one needed to see the Queen crying.
She cleared her throat softly and then put her gloves on before putting the cloak around her, Katherine couldn't go into the Great Hall because if she did then she was sure that she would tell Jon to go and that was the last thing she wanted to do. She understood that he would do anything for his friend and she loved him for that but there will always be the nagging voice in the back of her head that told her it was where he had died.
Katherine moved away from the wall and decided to go up to the one place that she hadn't been in a while. She climbed up to the ramparts and looked out over the town and saw the snow, it made everything look so pretty. She pulled the hood up over her dark hair.
She knew she must've acted like a child and she really did regret that they had seen it but the thought of losing Jon at the wall the last time still seemed so fresh. Katherine might not have known about it last time until they came face to face with each other again but there would be someway she would feel it this time, she believes that. She took a deep breath and felt the cold hit her lungs even if she didn't have to breath so much but it just seemed like an automatic thing that she kept forgetting that she was a vampire that is until the hunger hit her.
It looked so beautiful up here especially with the snow and Katherine knew she should go and find Jon and apologise but right now she just wanted to stay up here and let the scene before her make her feel a little bit better.
|
|
|
Post by Ray on Oct 11, 2017 21:30:21 GMT -7
Katherine is not out in the courtyard when Jon leaves the Great Hall, nor is she in her room when he climbs the steps of the Keep looking for her. He frowns, deeply, having not wanted this to be how things became. There would always be something on the horizon, always trouble. That's the problem with being a Lord, with being a King though he does not want to be. Even Ned rarely had a moment of rest, despite the years of peace he oversaw. There were roaming groups of wildling bandits, deserters from the Nights Watch, squabbles between houses, summons from the King, Greyjoy raiders, on and on and on to the point that waving Ned goodbye from the ramparts was more common that sitting with him at dinner.
And now it is worse. Now they have a continent in turmoil, an empty throne room, a thousand fields filled with dead soldiers, and winter bearing down upon them.
The moment of peace had been splendid, dreamlike. But from the start he had known it would only be a moment.
He leaves the bedroom and carries himself back outside into the snow drifts. His feet carry him to the Godswood, a place he has been reluctant to visit since all of this began. It's too quiet. Too solitary. He feels like the eyes watch him, knowing some dark secret Jon has only scratched the surface of, and it makes a chill clench around the fire of his heart. But he goes there nonetheless, looking warily upon the carved face, wondering how Ned found solace in such a place.
He used to, once. When he was young and dreamed of being truly his father's son. He remembers taking his Night's Watch oaths in front of the weirwood, and while he had been happy to do so, proud, excited, he had not felt what he always thought Ned must have felt taking his own oaths. Like there was a distance between him and these trees. A cold divide.
Jon does not notice the cloak upon the snow until he steps on it, does not hear the soft splash of water until a voice break the silence.
"If you came to pray, t'ey rarely listen."
Jon turns quickly, looking towards the frozen lake. Rowan sits submerged in the frosted water, her white hair a wet line down her back, the fabric of her underclothes floating slightly around her. She watches him with eyes that match the dark depths, head tilted curiously to the side. Jon just stares, fighting the urge to jump in and pull her out. He does not know how she looks so serene, so comfortable in waters that have iced. But she does.
"My father would have taken your head if he caught you swimming in this lake." Jon says, his words hard.
She seems unimpressed. "Not your fat'er," she reminds him, gently brushing aside a floating red leaf, "Not your lake."
"Get out of there."
"Why?" She asks, "Going to take my head?"
"Don't tempt me."
"Still scared of me," she tsks, "Wights and dragons and wolves, but the woman who brought you back you fear."
|
|
|
Post by Snowglobe18 on Oct 11, 2017 21:55:21 GMT -7
"You seem troubled" the voice said to her and she glanced back to see the one person she actually didn't expect up here "I saw you moving at such a speed that I got worried"
Katherine smiled softly at him and then looked back out towards the surrounding area. "Worried" she admitted and bit on her lip. She heard him move closer to her side and knew he probably shouldn't be up here but he was her friend, she was sure he could get away with it while she was up here. "You don't need to worry about me" she said and glanced over at him. "You know me, I always get over it"
"I do know you" Leith said and watched her before looking forward. He had to admit that it was definitely colder up here than it had been in the South. "And I also know that when you worry, you really worry"
Katherine wished that he didn't know her so well, she wished that she could hide everything from people but it always showed on her face, in her eyes. "I'm worried about someone, happy?" she said and scoffed.
Leith nodded his head once and then pulled his cloak closer around his shoulders. "Well you wouldn't be you if you didn't worry about someone but sometimes Katherine you need to know that you can't fix everything, sometimes you just need to let things play out" he knew that he wasn't the best person to give advice especially when he wasn't sure what she was worried about but Katherine worried so hard that it was impossible to make her stop sometimes.
Katherine closed her eyes for a moment and wished she could tell him, she used to be able to tell him everything because she was never worried that he would betray her trust but now it seems as if she can't tell him anything. Six years has changed so much between the two of them and it seems to have made their friendship die a little bit. Back in King's Landing she had been so pleased to know he survived and even offered him work in Winterfell to which he happily accepted but now she wasn't sure she could open her heart to him about her worries for Jon especially when it wasn't her secret to tell and she couldn't tell Leith because Jon didn't know him.
After a moment the two of them moved from the ramparts and started walking through the courtyard, she stopped him with a touch on his shoulder. "Do you like it here?" she asked and watched him. "I know it's so different from King's Landing and from working with your father, which I am sorry again about, but this is one of the best places I have known" she smiled softly.
"I like it but.." he looked around to make sure no one was listening before he leaned in and said "Tormund scares me"
|
|
|
Post by Ray on Oct 11, 2017 22:26:24 GMT -7
"But if it makes you happy," Rowan says, cocking her head to the side as she begins to wade towards the waters edge. She pulls herself from the lake, dripping wet from head to toe, black clothes clinging to her pale skin. Jon tosses her cloak to her, and she catches it against her chest. She does not shiver, does not shake, does not let her teeth chatter. She swings her cloak back around her shoulders as if she had simply taken a bath in lukewarm water, no colder or warmer than she had been before. She stands barefoot in the snow, droplets of water rolling down the sides of her face. "So. Why did you come to pray to t'e gods?" She asks, slipping her feet into fur-lined boots.
Jon watches her from a careful distance, one corner of his mouth pulled down.
She has a strange beauty. The kind no man would dream of, but startles in the moment. Her face is sharp and aquiline. Her eyes dark stormy skies set into a pale face. Her limbs long and lean. The tattoos that line her face are ones he's never seen before, on any tribe of wildlings, on any group of man. They make her look as if she were pulled straight from the canvas of a painting. But even beautiful, she unnerves him. As if his very bones knew that what he's looking at is not something earthly.
Ravens croon in the distance.
"The wights are at the wall." He tells her, finding no reason to lie. Even to her. She nods as if she knows, standing straight once more, letting her cloak hang open.
"And you t'ink the Aldaföðr will help you stop t'em?" She says.
"The what?" Jon blinks.
"It is not t'em who brought you back," she continues, ignoring his question, inclining her head towards the tree. "Nor t'e ones who have protected you since."
"I don't like riddles." Jon replies, furrowing his brows.
Rowan steps towards him, and in one quick motion clasps her hand around his chin, pulling his face sharply towards her. He hisses out a breath of surprise, palm grabbing at her wrist to pull her off, but she holds him despite his strength. "Death..." she says slowly, in a voice that does not sound all like her own. Her eyes have gone darker, swirling like clouds, "Is not the enemy, Jon Snow. You know this. You've seen this. You'll survive this. In that, have faith." She releases him, and the blue returns to her eyes like the flipping of a page. Jon's own hand falls away from hers, fear riding up the back of his neck like static. "T'e night is dark and full of terrors," she says, sounding normal again, sounding like herself, "But none stronger t'an you." She shrugs herself into her cloak and walks away from him then, dripping a line of icy water into the fresh fallen snow.
|
|
|
Post by Snowglobe18 on Oct 11, 2017 22:42:36 GMT -7
Katherine raises an eyebrow at him before saying softly "Tormund scares you?" she asked and then shook her head, a smile pulling at her lips and she looks down. "Well I do have to admit that that wasn't something I was expecting" she admitted before bringing her brown eyes back up to look at him.
"In King's Landing we never had wildlings" he admitted and watched as she had looked down.
"That is what you're going with? King's Landing had no wildlings?" Katherine shook her head and scoffed softly before licking her lip. "I got you there" she admitted with a nod. But there was people in King's Landing that was probably more scary than Tormund. To her he didn't seem all that scary but then again Katherine has never gotten on his bad side and honestly she didn't expect too.
There was silence between the two of them for a moment before Leith finally said "You might as well go and find Jon because I know that's who your worried about but Katherine don't let that worry push him away and anyway I have things to cook, you eating tonight?"
Katherine smiled at him, she knew she had to find Jon and apologise for disappearing the way that she did but Leith was right, Jon was going to the wall and she couldn't let her worry get in the way of that. Even if everything in her screamed to go with him, she knew she would have to stay here in Winterfell to sort everything out with Rohan. "uh, yeah I probably will" she said with a smile and then nodded when Leith asked her if she was going to be alright. She watched him walk back in the directions of the kitchen and she bit on her lip before looking around the courtyard wondering if Jon was still in the meeting.
She did want to find him but what exactly would Katherine say to Jon?
|
|
|
Post by Ray on Oct 12, 2017 11:15:55 GMT -7
Jon sleeps fitfully that night, his dreams plagued with ravens and bloodied battlefields. He no longer sees the Iron Throne, no longer hears his mother calling to him. Only winds and winter and hills turned red.
And the raven. Always there. Always watching. An eye held firmly between its beak.
He wakes in a cold sweat before the sun has risen over the snowy walls, ice flooding his veins, fire making his scars burn. He presses his fist to the one over his heart, wincing at the pain it causes, before pulling himself to his feet. Packing quickly and quietly until the sun rises, Jon does not let himself dwell on the dreams or on the pain. He's ready by the time the first light has broken into the courtyard, gloved hands strapping his bags to the sides of a horse, a faint frown riding his lips.
The distant call of the two dragons echoes through the clouds, and Jon's dark eyes flick upwards.
"You're not planning on taking a horse are you?" Edric's voice interrupts his thoughts, drawing Jon's gaze back towards him. The man is dressed simply, looking more ready for a day spent lounging than a ride to the North. He lets his own leather pack drop heavily to the ground by his feet.
"What else?" Jon asks, tugging a strap tight.
Edric's grey eyes shift upwards pointedly, before settling back down upon him. Jon presses his mouth flat. "You've ridden him before. Might make it easier to get him to go where you want."
|
|