Hi all! A big thank you and shout out to all my reviewers, favorites, and followers! You all give me the biggest smiles! Enjoy the chapter and please leave me a review! I always like hearing from everyone! I have written responses to everyones' reviews below as well.


The Wall

Three Weeks Earlier

The burn of a freshly lit fire warmed the hazy room slowly. The cold wind blew through cracked walls, setting the teeth of a man swarmed in furs to chattering. His gloved hands shook as he attempted to read a letter by the firelight. It was a short missive, written in a firm hand. Short enough to be wrapped tightly and attached to a raven. Confusion and worry pinched his brows, his eyes raised to the dancing flames. Their hunger licked at the stone set around them, flickering and fluttering with the growing breeze.

With slow, almost mournful actions, Robb crumpled the paper and let the flame's possessive sparks devour the weathered letter. He leaned against the stone fireplace with one hand, resting his forehead gently against it. Staring around the darkened room, his eyes alighted on the remnants of the last inhabitants. Furs, weapons, half eaten food all scattered about. Robb lifted his hand, it shook in the light wind. Anger flashed through his blue eyes, he clenched and unclenched the offending appendage.

The single door blew open, snow and an inrush of icy air swirled through and wrapped around the heavy room. Robb's eyes rose to behold the massive figure turn to slam the door shut quickly. The wind once more took up its battle in beating the frail walls in, it snuck through in places, but the walls held stubbornly as they had for centuries.

The massive figure moved to drop one of the heavy fur pelts graced across his shoulders. He shrunk in size quickly without the coarse fur. Shaking his curly black hair of lingering snow, he threw the pelt carelessly onto a chair and drifted to the fire, shivers wracking his body.

"How do you survive this cursed weather?" mused Robb, watching his shivering brother warm his freezing hands over the flickering fire. Jon grinned as he stared at the dancing flames.

"We are of the North, my king," Robb grimaced at the title. "Perhaps you have grown too used to your warm fires and feather beds," he finished softly, gaze flickering to his king in teasing.

Robb shook his head and laughed shortly, he turned to meet Jon's easy smile, allowing his own to appear a few moments. Sighing, he reached back and gripped a chair, setting it in front of the fire and nodding to Jon while retrieving another.

They settled comfortably in front of the open fire, both watching its flames attack the remaining logs with vengeance. Identical in all but looks, they could have been twins but for their hair color and Jon's heavy Stark features.

"The castle was like a walk in the crypts," murmured Robb, still thoughtfully gazing into the wavering flames, mind occupied with the bearer of a silvery head of hair.

Jon's gaze flickered to his brother momentarily, eyeing the heavy weight straining his face.

"I've sent most of the Night's Watch beyond the Wall. To keep the peace while we march the Wildlings through the tunnel." Robb nodded slightly, his gaze drifting to meet Jon's as he spoke again.

"I am grateful you came so quickly, I don't know if we would have held against an attack," Jon added, scanning Robb's distracted gaze and distant nod.

"Renly has agreed to send the remnants of the Westerlands' loyalists North to the Wall and House Ciroth has pledged five hundred Borderlands knights to boost your Watch." Robb paused a moment, gathering his thoughts. Sighing and rubbing the cold from his windburned cheeks, he continued.

"The Wildlings are now the North's problem."

"If you need men-"

"It's not men I need, Jon, I have men. I'm sending Davos Seaworth to Queenscrown with remnants of Stannis' men to keep the peace in the North. Lords Umber, Karstark, and Glover will set up patrols from their keeps to contain the Wildlings in the North." Robb's bright eyes finally met Jon's, their depths filled with uncertainty.

"I'm more concerned about the White Walkers though," he confessed, a shudder running through him. "Had I not heard it from your own lips, I would not have believed it."

Jon sighed deeply, taking his time to form a reply. His eyes never leaving the flames his brother had stared so deeply at. The glassy depths of his deepening eyes took to glinting in the reflected light.

"Winter is coming for Westeros, brother," his voice only a slight sound against the howling wind. In the distance, the tins of metal on metal and the steady huffing of horses could just begin to be heard. Eyes rising to Robb's warm face, Jon continued.

"The Walkers bring Winter with them, and every day it marches closer to the Wall. If the Wall should fall, we have to be ready." Robb nodded slowly, an unspoken promise passing between him and Jon.

Their gaze held for a few short moments, eyes exchanging memories and nightmares of young men. Jon broke into laughter, it's sound rolling and deep as music. Robb joined him seconds later. The heavy darkness in the room seemed to roll back with the welcome reprieve of dark words.

"What would father have said of us talking of children's tales in fear?" choked Jon, as his words came in short burst of air between the laughter. Robb shook his head back and forth in reply, gazing fondly at his brother in return.

"He would call us old wives taken to spinning tall tales to fool naive children," Robb deadpanned, sending Jon into a further fit of laughter. Robb chuckled half-heartedly with him, staring back into the fire distractedly.

Jon's laughter slowed down quickly as he noted his brother's hesitant mood. He studied Robb briefly, taking note of his tension and the strain pinching his face.

"I saw a raven earlier," Robb jerked his head back slightly with a tense smile but made no other comment to confirm or deny Jon's statement. "Bad news from Winterfell? Is Miriel unwell?"

Robb's brows drew over his eyes in dark focus, but his gaze remained attached to the blazing fire.

"Mother wrote," he responded, voice distant and expression pinched. His curls rustled as he leaned forward and rested his forearms on his knees. The fire licked the air near his hands.

"I trust that Lady Stark is well?" enquired Jon, tentatively. Robb nodded dismissively, gazing at his brother briefly. Jon sighed and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms and staying silent for a few moments.

"And Miriel?" he asked, hesitant in voice, mirroring Robb's bent over position in front of the fire. He rested his chin against his raised fingertips and studied his brother's conflicted expression.

Robb sighed, rubbing his hands through mussed up hair slowly. He frowned, his fingers twitching slightly as he rubbed them together slowly.

"Mother said she collapsed after I left and has been bedridden since," he added softly, his eyes examining his shaking hands once more.

Jon watched him mournfully, a slight tinge of Stark displeasure coloring his eyes a deeper shade of brown. He leaned back in his chair, resting his hands on his knees, his stance remained tense and defensive.

"Did she ever recover from the siege? Or her loss?" Jon paused, watching the confusion spread over Robb's face as his brows furrowed. The deep blue of his eyes sparked, a tinge of fear striking their depths.

"What loss?" he asked warily, his tone cautious, testing Jon hesitantly for answers. Jon stared back at his brother, words losing themselves to wary disbelief.

"Did you never read her letters?" he intoned, the strength behind his tone shattering whatever resistance Robb was thinking of summoning.

"No," he replied, shaking his head. "I could never bring myself to after father's death," He sagged lower in his chair and let his head rest in outstretched hands. Jon's voice rose in disbelief.

"You won a war on the back of the woman, your family is alive today because of her, and you can't bring yourself to read a few pages of her words?" he exclaimed, dark tendrils of Stark anger flaring from him like flames from a fire.

"Berating me will not fix the past, Jon," Robb replied, his mouth set in a firm line against his brother's angry tirade. Jon sighed, he rubbed the strain from his face and pausing for some time to gather his shattering thoughts.

"I'm not berating you, I'm trying to fix your marriage," Jon finally replied, his voice was soft. The gentleness was perhaps more suited to tame a skittish colt, but Jon's tone was calm and kind. He studied his brother; his brother, his king, his blood. The boy he had grown up with was long gone, a wintery man had replaced him. The smile was gone, the laugh less easy, and the tone hard. Robb had matured into a bitter man, and it suited him little.

"Don't lose her, Robb, else your guilt will make you the real enemy," Jon finally settled in reply. Robb smiled wanly but made no further comment. He returned his narrowed gaze to the dithering fire. They remained in silence, each pondering their own thoughts as the winds scraped against wooden beams.

The din of metal tingling had grown closer in the last few minutes. The steadily increasing sound of excited shouts and a massive throng of gathering people could be heard over the howling winds. Jon's head swiveled in the general direction of the loudening din. He stared a few minutes, letting his ears pick up distinct sounds amid the confused ruckus. Robb cocked his head in the same direction, listening to the sounds of migrating people with peaceful submission.

"We should join the crowd," murmured Jon, straightening against his chair, but hesitant to bend stressed limbs. "In case of an incident."

"They would be ill-advised to raise an attack against a thousand Cirtothian and Northern troops staring down their necks," responded Robb with a small amount of scorn. The corner of Jon's mouth curved upward, transforming into a slight smirk.

"Well," he started. "I never said they were well advised." Robb snorted, his eyes glittered slightly with the boyish charm he had possessed so fully as a child. His curls rustled as he shook his head in response, smiling at Jon warmly while rising from his chair.

"You've drug me all the way from my warm fires and feather beds to save your sorry asses from an ill-advised rabble? What is the Night's Watch coming to!" he retorted, Jon laughing in return before clapping a palm against his brother's shoulder.

Their furs were snug and warm from the lusciously heated room as they twisted them back on in silence. The winds continued to howl and beat against the blackened timbers, the swirl of snow could just be seen through the cracks and crannies of the wooden beams.

The brothers left the barren room. As the door was held open, snow and icy winds blew inward, setting their freezing grips against the heat and open flames. Fire and ice met in an upward blast, each curling their power around the other in an open caress. Winter was coming it whispered.


I hope you liked this chapter! Hopefully, it will clear up some of the confusion from chapter two. I had a lot of fun trying to write/butcher Jon's character. I'm mostly pleased with how he turned out. I'm having a hard time trying to decide what I should write about now, I want a filler chapter between this and Robb FINALLY reading her letters, but I'm not 100% sure what I want it to be about yet. I am always open to suggestions if you have something you would like to see me write about!

Kudos to my amazing best friend who came up with the title for this one-shot!


kmhappybunny240: Your review, as always, made me quite happy, though it also made me a little sad. When you brought up the fact about her having PTSD, I couldn't agree more. You also gave me an interesting plot twist with the fact that PTSD never really goes away. Sadly, the secret isn't out completely yet, although Robb is definitely suspicious and more than a little concerned. And boy is he going to feel bad when it is out... She will get some help eventually, could be a little bit down the road though.

FanfavBBC: I always have been good at over detailing things! Just call me Dickens. ;) I think my problem partially stems from not being able to define my writing style, I do need to spend some time doing that one of these days. You gave me quite the chuckle over the teleporting part. Imagine all the people who could have survived on GoT if teleporting existed! I do tend to skip or trivialize relevant information, I think I'm trying too hard to avoid redundant information. Perhaps the mid-ground is being descriptive about redundant information. Once again, thank you for the review and pointing out things I can get better at! I've never really had anyone who would critique my work!

BrookeWorm3: Thank you for your review! I hope this chapter will continue to keep you excited!

Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967: I'm glad you enjoyed it! It's probably my favorite of the ones I have written so far. It's just so angsty and heartbreaking.

The Awesome Guest Reviewer who left 3 reviews: Thank you so much for your reviews! I really enjoyed reading them! Okay, to be perfectly honest, I messed up with the Stannis thing... Yeah, I wrote that and then looked at my notes and realized it was supposed to be Renly, not Stannis. I am intrigued by Stannis' character though and I would like to see a writer do a Stannis with sense. It would be insanely refreshing to see. That is so true, it does take two to make a marriage work. I do believe you are the first reader I have had so far that is on both sides! Honestly, there is guilt, or about to be guilt, on both sides, so being on both sides is probably a safe bet. I will actually have an answer to your 3rd review in a couple of chapters or so. His mother probably should tell him, and probably would have too, I haven't worked out a reason yet as to why she hasn't. Oh well, all in good time!


WHO'S EXCITED FOR THE SEASON PREMIER IN, LIKE, TWO HOURS? THIS FAN IS! Does anyone have any predictions? I have the strangest feeling that Dany is probably going to be dead by the end of the whole thing. I'm not sure why I'm feeling that, but that's just my gut feeling. Granted, they're all probably going to be dead by the end, I mean, it's bloody GoT for goodness' sake! Anyway, happy reading all and thank you!


Winter is coming

Maria de Sanctos