Hello! So just to let you guys know this is my first ever fanfiction. I do not have a beta or anything like that so if there are grammatical mistakes, I apologize. This is mostly a test chapter. If anyone is interested then I will continue. Regardless of whether you like it or not I appreciate you taking the time to read it.
I really love Game of Thrones and in particular Jon Snow. The more I watch it, the more I love him. Just to be clear this will be based on the show.
Also a disclaimer for all chapters: I do not own anything that George R.R. Martin, David Benioff, or D.B. Weiss has created. I do own my original characters and situations.
The freezing wind whipped though my poor excuse for a coat and laughed at my thin cape. It stabbed me with its icy fingers, whipping my hair around my face. That did not matter though; all that mattered was making it to the end. I kept on putting one foot in front of the other, forcing myself along the hostile path. I was almost there; I had to be for as long as I had been traveling. At this point, I was not even sure if I cared – I would make it to my destination or die trying. Either way I would be that much farther away from my past. The wind howled again, this time almost knocking me clean over. I fell down on my knees and buried my head in my hands.
"I do not have it in me! CAN'T YOU SEE! I'M NOT STRONG!" I howled at the gods. They had been silent throughout my entire trip; I highly doubted that that would change now. Nevertheless, the shouting had put fire back into my blood. I was angry; getting to my feet, I began to shout again.
"What have I done to deserve your anger? Was I not the prodigal child? I have done EVERYTHING ASKED OF ME! YET YOU FORSAKE ME!" My screeching continued as I trudged along the path. The gods knew that my anger was not really for them, but yelling about my frustrations helped to take my mind off the cold and the pain. Long after my voice had gone horse and my walk had devolved into a mindless plodding, I stopped. I decided that this was just as good as any spot to die. As I began to say the scared prays of Eilder, the clomping of horses distracted me.
"Here I am trying to say my prayers and some people just – HORSES! I HEAR HORSES!" My eyes flew open and I spun around wildly. There weren't any wild horses out this far, which meant that if I heard horses I was either going crazy or someone else was one the road. I was not sure whether to be afraid or excited, seeing as how both options were equally probable. As the sound of horses got louder, I decided to be cautious. I dropped down on my belly and hid in the ditch beside the road. Soon enough my cape and coat were coated in snow, camouflaging me in my surroundings.
It was not before too long when a carriage appeared on the road. It was not a fancy thing, created for the highborn. No, it looked more like a roving death machine – claptrap boards thrown together haphazardly with a rotting axel and mismatch wheels. It was an open design with no protection from the elements, an issue that the driver seemed to be fully aware. I decided that the driver and his companion were not a threat to me, and figured I would try to catch a ride. I climbed out of the ditch and shook myself off. Stepping onto the road, I called out to them.
"Hello, strangers. Could I trouble you for a ride?" I thought I needed to look small and non-threatening, but then I realized that I was small and non-threatening. All I needed to do was not seem like a complete lunatic.
"It depends stranger. How much trouble are you going to cause?" The driver, who I now saw was an old man, his life etched into the lines on his face and hands, stopped the cart. I could hear the laughter in his voice, which surprised me. It had been so long since I had been around someone who laughed that I was not sure how to act.
"Well if you are on this road, there is only one place you could be heading. So I suppose we are both trouble makes."
"Judging from the marks on your face I'd say that you are a bigger trouble maker than I. With that much black and blue, I have no doubt in where you are heading. My name is Nathaniel and this is my grandson Thomas. " It seemed that these men wore their ages easily. Thomas's face was as smooth as porcelain, his hands unworked, and he was about as big around as a beanpole. His golden eyes looked to mine and it struck me how young they looked, how innocent. He was still a boy, a boy being led to his untimely demise.
"As for you –"
"My name is Harper." Nathaniel fell silent and gave me a steady look. Finally he said,
"It was not a name I was looking for but I'll take it all the same." He looked me over one more time and inclined his head to the spot behind him.
"Climb on. There is still a fair ways to go, and you are going to need your sleep. There is a condition to my help though – Thomas is, well Thomas is still very young. If there were any other options, I would not send him to that place. There are not any other options though; I have a feeling that is something you can understand. You must swear to keep an eye on him. Just think of him like a younger brother or little cousin,." I quirked my eyebrow at the old man, and looked curiously at Thomas. Did he not have an opinion on the matter?
"He doesn't speak much, and by that I mean almost never. In all his eleven years I have heard him say about ten sentences." I looked between Thomas, Nathaniel, and the wagon. I knew would never make it on foot. These strangers where my one chance to make it to my destination alive. Plus I always wanted a younger brother, now seemed as good a time as any to get one.
"I can understand Thomas. Sometimes, life does not deserve our words. You have a deal Nathaniel. I pledge to look after Thomas to the best of my ability." Nathaniel nodded and whispered something under his breath. He held out a hand, and with a surprisingly strong grip, pulled me aboard.
"We have been making good time. We should be there around by nightfall tomorrow. Warm up, I can't afford to have either one of you freeze up on me."
I climbed into the back with Thomas and hunkered down beside him. Wordlessly he offered to share the blanket in which he was bundled up. I hesitated for a moment, but as the warmth from the cocoon he made reached me, any thought of self-reliance flew out the window. I scooted closer to him and took off my cape. I wrapped the blanket around us then tied the two ends of the cape together. I put the cape over our heads and thus created a tent of warmth. Before too long it grew quite cozy and warm. It felt safe, the safest I had been in an inordinately amount of time. Naturally I began to drift off to sleep.
We must have gotten lost because there was green everywhere. The trees were sprouting tiny buds, the grass was swaying softly in the breeze, and the sky was a vibrant blue. Everything seemed peaceful – I did not trust it. I took a step forward only to quickly realize that I had no shoes on. Actually, I did not have much of anything on to be honest. I got over the fact that I was practically naked in a strange garden, when I realized that I must be dead. I froze to death, Thomas and Nathaniel killed me in my sleep, or any other of a thousand circumstances that led to my death. I was just shocked that I ended up somewhere nice.
"You are not dead, although I am not surprised that that was the first thing that popped into your mind." I quickly spun around on my heal and searched for the source of the voice.
"You remind me of a frightened rabbit, hopping about nervously. Calm down, I am right in front of you." Despite the warning, I still quickly turned around and came face to face with the most beautiful woman that I had ever seen. She had long golden hair that seemed to float around her, like a warm aura. Her skin was slightly bronzed and emphasized the green of her eyes, which were currently assessing me. Her clothes – a cream colored fitted tunic and loose trousers – looked soft and light, perfect for the warm weather.
"I cannot help it. How is a mere mortal supposed to act when meeting a goddess?" Her laughter, like little bells, sounded around us.
"You are quite clever for a mortal. It took you no time at all. What, pray tell, gave it away?"
"It was the warmth. I know that I shall never be truly warm again in my life, not even in my dreams. I also highly doubt that I will end up here in my afterlife. Therefore, if I am not dead or dreaming, then it must be the gods doing. What do you want with me?" I shifted anxiously from foot to foot.
"Ah, nervous and impatient. The rabbit persona fits you well. I think I shall call you that. Yes, Harper Rabbit does have a certain ring to it. Can we not just sit and talk a while, maybe I just wanted to talk to you."
"Gods and goddesses never 'just want to talk', so if you could tell me what it is you want from me, we could both be on our way." I knew I was walking a very thin line talking to her like that but the gods made me nervous. They always had a hidden agenda.
"Hmph. I can tolerate a certain amount a wit, but I will not tolerate disrespect. Is that clear little Rabbit?" The air cracked and popped around her, feeding off her energy. She ran this place after all.
"Yes goddess. I am deeply regretful for my impertinence and I will endeavor to be grateful." I answered her. Basically, I will shut up and listen to you until you let me go. Once again, her laughter rang out around us.
"You are quite brave, little Rabbit, whether you can sense that or not. That is why I have an exceeding important job for you." I knew it! There is always an ulterior motive with the gods.
"What is it you require of me goddess?"
"You have lived an exceedingly hard life, Harper." She had my attention.
"However, not all hope is lost. We gods have listened to the prayers of the people, yourself included. Something is coming; something that your brethren below are not prepared for. How about I tell you a fairytale Harper, a strange and curious story, only this one is true." She looked at me expectantly.
"True stories are usually the worst. Still I am listening"
"Long, long ago darkness covered the land of man. It stretched from one end of the world to the other. There was nothing nor no one whom its filth did not affect. It was a vast and all-consuming winter. We gods grew tired of seeing the mortals suffer and so we created the endless summer. We banished the winter to the small crevices of the world. Then something unexpected happened; the mortal stop worshiping us. US, THE GODS, the ones who had freed them from their imprisonment, the ones from which all life stems.
A curious thing began to happen; you do not need to know specifics of what, but the gods saw that a change was again needed. Even through our anger, we understood that we could not just let the darkness take control again. Since its banishment, it had grown hungry, more desperate and dark, and so we came up with a compromise. There would be winter years and summer years. Mortals would understand their place and the natural balance would be restored. Our plan worked, and has been working for thousands of years, but we had over looked something. The true darkness that we shoved into the clefts of that world – it did not die out; instead, it festered like an infected wound. The Darkness is returning Harper, it is returning in force."
I just stared at her. I did not know what else to do. I already knew too much about the evils of the mortal world.
"Um, what?" I asked. For the first time since our meeting, the goddess looked befuddled. "I appreciate the story goddess, but I am not sure why you told it to me."
"You are going to be a catalyst for change. We have not forsaken you little Rabbit. We are bestowing you a great honor." I should have known that my rant was going to come back to haunt me.
"What am I supposed to do? You are a goddess. If you or the other gods are so worried, why not eliminate it yourselves? I am sure you would do a better job than I could." I stared at her questioningly. For a moment, she stared at me unbelievingly, as if it never crossed her mind that I would not want this honor. Then out of nowhere, she let loose a mighty roar.
"You…you…YOU UNGREATFUL LITTLE BEAST! Not only do I tell you a very privileged account of the world but you dare to make presumptions on what a goddess should or should not do. I AM A GODDESS! You are nothing more than a little mud man we gods stuck a conscious into! URGH!"
"Ah!" I sat up with a start and looked around for the goddess. My heart was racing, I felt like I was going to throw up and I am pretty sure steam was coming off my skin. I was probably just seeing things but I would not put it past the gods to make my skin steam.
"Whoa, everything okay back there?" Nathaniel's voice floated over to me. Nathaniel. Thomas. That's right.
"I am safe. I am in the back of the wagon. I am safe. I am in the back of the wagon." I repeated the phrase over and over to myself as Thomas gave me, an admittedly deserved, confounded look.
"I'll explain later kid. It is a long story," I slowed my breathing and brought my rapid heartbeat down. "and I have plenty of time to tell it before we get there."
"Actually, you are out of time." Nathaniel risked a glance at me "You have been out for about a day. We will be at the gate in five minutes."
I stifled a gasp and turned to look ahead. Before us stood the mighty northern shield, the most monumental fortification in all of the Seven Kingdoms, the first in a line of defense against the wilderness – The Wall. I could already see the black of the Night's Watchmen – on their clothes and in their eyes. We had arrived at our destination. We had arrived at the gates of the black abyss.