BLOODLINES ↠ JON SNOW

VII. BLOOD MUST HAVE BLOOD

VII. BLOOD MUST HAVE BLOOD

"JON," AMODERA BREATHED. The man turned to face her, eyes widening in shock. He tried to speak, but no words came out -- only gasps of the crisp, Northern air. The Wildling woman ripped her cloak off, running over as Jon stumbled off the table. He fell into her arms, body shaking. "Easy, easy." She mumbled, wrapping her cloak around him.

The creak of the door signalled the arrival of Ser Davos, who ran over and helped to usher Jon into a seat. Confusion mixed with joy across the lines of the old knight's face "What do you remember?"

"T-They stabbed me. Olly....he put a knife in my heart." Jon stuttered as his dark eyes met Amodera's. She glanced across at the man before her; from his pained eyes to the bloody lacerations that littered his pale skin. "I shouldn't be here..."

"You were dead, and now you're not. That's seems completely fucking mad to me; I can only imagine how it seems to you." Ser Davos declared, a solidarity echoing in his words.

Despair flitted across Jon's face; the truth coming back to haunt him. "I shouldn't be here..." Jon began. There was an emptiness in his eyes, Amodera noted - something harsh and cold and lost. "I did what I thought was right, and I got murdered for it, and now I'm back. Why?"

"Maybe it was the fire God; maybe it wasn't. Maybe you'll never know," Amodera replied softly, kneeling before Jon. He had to be strong: now more than ever. He was the leader they needed -- every one of them. "But that doesn't matter. You go on. You fight. You die, again. That's the only life we'll ever know."

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Snowflakes fell through the greying sky; the cry of crows acting as the only evidence that Castle Black wasn't a ghost town. Wildlings and Men of the Night's Watch stood side by side in silence as Jon walked towards the gallows. A man back from the dead: to some of them he was a God, to others a ghost.

Amodera knew the truth; she could see it. Jon was terrified, and after everything that had happened, she didn't blame him. But here he stood, face to face with the men who had killed him - Ser Alliser Thorne, Jon's young Steward named Olly, and two other Night's Watchmen she didn't recall the names of. A rope laid across their necks; death coiled around life.

"If you have any last words, now is the time." Jon stated calmly, his expression as emotionless as he could manage.

"You shouldn't be alive." One of the Night's Watchmen hissed. "It's not right."

"Neither was killing me." The Lord Commander replied, pain and anger in his eyes.

"I had a choice, Lord Commander," Alliser Thorne began, "Betray you or betray the Night's Watch. You brought an army of Wildling's into our lands. An army of murderers and raiders." His eyes landed upon Amodera in the crowd, filled with such hatred she thought it might burn him up from the inside. "If I had to do it all again, knowing where I'd end up, I pray I'd make the right choice again."

Jon glanced at the floor, quietly composing himself before looking up at the traitor once again. "I'm sure you would, Ser Alliser."

"I fought, I lost, now I rest." He stated calmly. "But you, Lord Snow, you'll be fighting their battles forever."

Jon stayed silent, walking along to the end of the gallows where the rope sat that would deal their fate. His eyes caught those of his steward, Olly, who stared back - unwavering and cold. The Lord Commander sighed heavily, turning and unsheathing his sword. In a single swing, the lives of the traitors began to flicker away as they were strangled.

Dolorous Edd walked over to Jon as he sheathed his sword once again. "We should burn the bodies."

"You should." Jon stated calmly, pulling off his Lord Commander's cloak and handing it to Edd.

"What do you want me to do with this?"

"Wear it, burn it, whatever you want." Jon replied, walking down the stairs of the gallows as the Wildling crowd watched  in silence. "My watch has ended."

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A light knock on the door roused Jon from his thoughts. He was packing - to go where, he wasn't sure. All he knew was that his time as a man of the Night's Watch was over. "Come in."

Amodera strode into the room, before closing the door behind her. "You're leaving." She stated, arching an eyebrow at the man before her.

"I can't stay here."

Truth be told, Amodera understood why he would want to leave - but that didn't stop it feeling like betrayal. "You promised the Wildlings that we would be safe; that you would help us defeat the Night King. And yet, here you are, leaving us."

Jon walked over to her, a weary anger etched into his face. "When my father was beheaded by King Joffrey, I stayed with the Night's Watch. When my sister's were kept as prisoners, I stayed with the Night's Watch. When my brother was murdered by the Lannister's, I stayed with the Night's Watch." He declared, words filled with anger and loss. His eyes burned into her own, with a fire she had never seen. "I've given everything to the Night's Watch; I've given my life to it. And I have nothing more to give."

Amodera met his gaze with silence for a moment, before moving past him into the room and collapsing into one of the cold, wooden seats. "Being a leader is hard. We make choices that affect the lives of a thousand, and yet we are but one person, burdened with power." She began softly, catching his gaze once again. "You're a soldier, Jon Snow -- like me, like everyone else who has managed to survive in this world. And maybe you'll walk away now, but you will never forget that the dead are marching upon us. That is one thing you can never escape."

Jon paused, looking down at the floor. His mind was still plagued with the burden of his resurrection; he didn't know what to feel anymore. "You shouldn't have gone through all that trouble. You shouldn't have brought me back."

Amodera stood up, walking over to Jon until she was just inches away. "I went through all that trouble to save you." She replied, her tone gentle - as if speaking to something rare and delicate. "Because we need you."

Jon opened his mouth to speak as a single horn sounded from the south gate - signalling the approach of riders. The two looked at each other in confusion before Jon grabbed Longclaw from the table and walked out the door; Amodera close behind.

As they entered the courtyard, the Wildling Commander spied three people on horseback: a tall, heavy-set woman in shining armour, a young man of dark hair, and a slender girl with vibrant auburn locks. The latter turned slowly, eyes gazing the area until they met a familiar face. Jon's eyes lit up at the sight of his sister, and the two walked towards each other before embracing in the snow; part of a broken family reunited.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE;
I know it's been absolutely ages since I updated and I'm so sorry! I started college (UK) recently and have just been getting used to everything. I've been so busy recently that I just didn't have time to update until now!

Hope you like the new chapter; I'm going to try and update again ASAP because I want to write about the Jon & Sansa reunion more, and I want Sansa & Amodera to be BFF's XD

Thank you so much for reading, and please comment to tell me if you liked it! I love hearing your thoughts on what you liked and how I can improve the story. Thank you guys for all the support! - CAT c: