CHAPTER 7 | BETWEEN A PRISONER AND A SPY
AFTER handing out the afternoon portions, Maia made her way outside and into the courtyard. She was beginning to get used to the never-ending cold, and sometimes she needed the natural air to calm herself when she was in the kitchens too long. She had brought out the dress she'd been working on for a week, sitting down on a mound of hay under the cover of the castle's awning.
She had been trying to find a replica of the tree from her vacation for too long. There was nothing around Castle Black that came close to it, leaving her to believe that she had to venture outside the Wall. She figured that maybe – just maybe – if she became close with one of the men around her, they would help her. But on the other hand, many of them did loathe her.
Maia pricked her finger on the needle as she was sewing, watching the small amount of blood seep out of the wound. She brought the digit up to mouth and waited for it to heal. She began to watch the brothers practice with each other, the group becoming larger as the minutes commenced. Her eyes found Jon Snow, who was helping out a little boy that she came to know as Olly. The act of helping him was sweet to her.
"Good afternoon, Miss Sanders," a gruff voice said from above.
Maia looked up to see Alliser Thorne's terminally aged face, a frown plastered on it. She smiled softly in his direction.
"You might want to hold back a little on the salt next time you cook a roast for the Watch. It could upset some stomachs."
She immediately frowned, realizing a compliment would never fall from his mouth. "Well, Ser Alliser, I'll remember to care about your needs over others when I cook with Hobb this evening. I'm sure your brothers will love that your thinking of yourself over them."
Alliser released a scoff before walking away.
•••
"You're very beautiful."
Maia glanced up to see Shireen Baratheon smiling at her. She joined the child and Gilly in the castle's library to help teach the Widling how to read. She had met Shireen only a couple times before, but thought the girl to be better than her father. She never dared to ask about her face condition, because she remembered Derek speaking about her once or twice and explaining her "greyscale."
She grinned at the compliment. "Thank you, that's probably the best compliment I've received since I got here."
Maia continued her stare back to the book in front of her. She had found a particular book on nature, which she planned on researching the types of trees around the North in it. So far, she was ending up with nothing, and she barely had the patience to look through it.
Shireen was trying her best to help Gilly spell out a certain word when the elder girl spat out, "Why does this book seem like it's made for children?"
"Because it is," Shireen laughed. "I thought we'd start easy."
Maia looked up from the page she was currently trying to decipher. "Sorry to interrupt this fascinating conversation, but I have a question." Both girls made eye contact with the blonde. "Are there any white-barked trees with red leaves close to the Wall?"
Shireen looked at Gilly for a moment. "Are you speaking of a weirwood tree?"
Maia skipped to the W section of the book she held, her finger scanning the words until she found the one in question. A small illustration was sketched next to the term, and Maia instantly recognized it. She then nodded at Shireen's question.
"I think I remember Sam telling me once that the Watch take their vows before a weirwood tree." Gilly thought out loud. "There has to be one near, but it must be away from the Wall."
The blonde looked back down at the description of a weirwood, realizing she'd have to search far and wide to find one. She couldn't possibly do it alone.
Gilly was about to continue her reading, but halted herself to question, "Why do you ask, Maia?"
"I've only seen one once," she replied quickly as her eyes skimmed a page. "I'd like to see another."
"I would approach Jon about it." Gilly suggested. "Or Sam. They know a lot about things like that."
Maia shook her head. Jon had other things to worry about than her sudden interest in nature, and it wasn't like she could tell her true reason for research anyways.
Gilly squinted at the sentence in front of her as Shireen's finger helped guide. "And then ... he ... th – thoat?"
"Sound it out more," Shireen advised. "The U, G, H are silent."
"Th – tho – thought?"
Shireen nodded, excited that her staying within the remnants of this castle was doing some good.
The paired continued as Gilly found herself growing smarter each minute. "He ... h – hate – ed ... teem."
"Time," Maia interrupted. "It says, 'He hated time.'"
•••
On extremely unlucky days, Ed asked of Maia's help to take food portions to the prisoners of the Watch. He was usually the one to do it, but requested her assistance, explaining that he was "just too busy."
Maia covered the bowl of steaming hot soup with her hand, practically burning her fingertips. What she would give to have plastic containers again.
She tried her best to follow Ed's instructions, but it was hard to navigate through Castle Black, and Maia was sure she took the wrong turn five times. When she managed to find the exact look of the rooms Ed had described, she approached each door, looking through the barred windows. She knew she was looking for a specific man, one with fiery red hair and a beard to match.
Maia took note that a Wildling was present here. Gilly had mentioned how much the Watch hated Wildlings, though one was present within their walls. It didn't quite add up, but she was positive she'd heard a rumor that the Lord Commander was pretty affectionate towards their cause.
Maia spotted Tormund Giantsbane through the metal bars attached to his wooden door. She met his eyes when her foot creaked against the floorboards.
"I heard you were a spy, and yet they didn't lock you up." The Wildling leader mused, his chains clanking on the floor as he slid over. "How am I any more of a prisoner than you are?"
She cleared her throat. "I'm just here to hand over your meal."
Opening the small window on his door, Maia slid the tray of soup into Tormund's room. "Enjoy," she muttered bitterly.
Tormund grows to become a friend to Jon Snow, she remembered Derek describing. He knows he needs the help of the Wildlings to defeat the wars to come, and to do this, he must win over men like Tormund. He also fucked a bear, apparently.
Maia stood back up, and before she could register it, the bearded man's face was pressed against the bars. "Do you think it's because they all want to fuck you? I'm only chained because I don't look like a spy like you?" He spat to the side.
"These men at Castle Black have sworn a vow." Maia seethed, pressing her nose against the bars so Tormund could see the creases of anger on her face. "And I have more self-respect than letting them fuck me anyways."
The Wildling nodded. "Aye, so I'm more of a prisoner because I have a cock between my legs. I see how it is now."
She couldn't form a response. His answers were daunting, because why exactly was she treated any different than him? She realized the Watch's hatred for Wildlings, but she was thought to be a spy at first, so why wasn't she locked up as well?
Maia left her mouth hanging open, and when she realized she couldn't defend herself anymore, she walked away from Tormund Giantsbane. She could just hear him cursing under his breath.