BLOODLINES ↠ JON SNOW

IV. CROWS NEST

IV.  CROWS NEST

THERE IT STOOD; THE WILDLINGS LAST HOPE OF SURVIVAL. Ice piled hundreds of feet high, echoing with the magic of the Children of the Forest. Amodera could feel it from where she stood, a few hundred metres from the gate that laid closed. Glancing across at Jon, she saw a hint of worry etched into his features; as if part of him did not believe they would open the gate.

He came to a stop, looking up at the figures atop the wall. The seconds that passed felt like hours, and Amodera could see safety slipping through her fingers. But, as promised, the groan of chains hailed the opening of the gate and the liberation of the Free Folk. A sigh of relief left her lips as Jon turned to her and nodded for them to walk forward. The wall had been the symbol of Wildling's plight for thousands of years; people punished for being born on the wrong side. Not that it mattered now, of course -- they had found a common enemy in the Night King.

Amodera led her people through the tunnel, feeling the weight of thousands of lives on her shoulders. There quite literally was a light at the end of the tunnel, and it represented everything the Wildlings fought for: hope, safety, survival. But even as they passed through in peace, the eyes of suspicious Crow's watched them with a piercing anger. It radiated off them like fire, and she couldn't help but wonder where that anger would lead them.

Castle Black was much smaller than she had expected. The Night's Watch had long been their enemy, and it's strength was well known throughout the Free Folk -- but it didn't look quite so menacing from the South side of the Wall. Perhaps she'd heard too many tales of long forgotten times; too many stories of the Wildlings plight. Amodera saw them for what they were now: outcasts playing at being soldiers. The Long Night was coming, and if that was all the soldier's they had, she feared they didn't stand a chance.

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Amodera stood to the edge of the crowd, watching as her people walked to their freedom. Feeling a presence beside her, the Commander turned her head -- olive eyes catching those of Jon Snow.

"I'm sorry I couldn't save your people." He spoke softly, as if the dead may hear.

Amodera shook her head, matching his gaze with a ferocity in her eyes. "None of us would be here if you hadn't come. Yes, thousands died, but thousands more live -- because of you. Because you had the strength to put the past behind you and fight for the living." The Wildling woman paused for a moment, looking out at her people as they were lead through Castle Black. "We owe you our lives; all of us."

Jon was silent then, looking down at the faces of the Free Folk. He could almost see the dread leaving their body as they put that 700 foot wall -- a symbol of their plight for thousands of years -- between them and the Army of the Dead. But the war was far from over, and that dread would return; it always did.

Turning, Jon met the faces of his Night's Watch brothers, who eyed their Commander with a new-found hatred. He stood next to the enemy they'd had for thousands of years, he let them pass into their land: now all they would ever see when they looked at him was their abhorrence. To them, he was a traitor.

The last few Wildlings walked through Castle Black, signalling for Amodera to join them. Glancing across at Jon, she offered him her hand, which he shook -- their new alliance echoing across Westeros. The Wildling Commander walked over to the gate, Tormund walking at her side. As she reached the gate, she turned back for a brief moment and nodded her head -- the simple motion speaking better than any words she could have said.

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The Night's Watch had provided them with land south of the Wall where they could make their camp. Amodera had never seen so much green. Even in the hottest of Summer's, snow stained the ground in the north, but here, there were rolling fields of gold, crystal waters that weren't frozen, and trees of almost every colour she could imagine. It was beautiful; but it would never be home.

"You've grown fond of the Crow." Tormund stated, walking alongside his Commander as their people began to set up camp.

"I respect him." She replied, turning to face her friend.

Tormund nodded his head, a flicker of a smile across his face. "I believe he is a good man, and those are hard to come by."

Amodera arched an eyebrow. "So you do trust him?"

"I do."

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AUTHOR'S NOTE;
Another small chapter, but I think it's important to show all aspects of the story and not just the action scenes -- so sorry if these chapters are a bit boring XD

Please tell me what you think; I love to hear your opinions! What do you think of Jon and Amodera's dynamic so far?

I literally love Tormund so much, so expect a lot of Amodera & Tormund chats cause they're gonna be BFF's

Thank you so much for reading, voting, and just supporting my story! I'm super excited for the next chapter, so that should be up soon (although I have my GCSE results tomorrow and then I'm going to a festival, so it might not be up till next week). Thank you all! - CAT

23 / 08 / 2017