6/16/17
Chapter 5: Into the Woods

I despised parties, but somehowI stood in the middle of one. Rap music blared through the speakers, and bodies danced together everywhere I looked. I made my way over to the bar and sat on one of the stools. At least over here, it was calmer.

"Having fun?" someone asked behind me. I turned around to a blonde man with bright blue eyes.

I shrugged, "Not a fan of crowds."

He tilted his head to the side and examined me, and I shifted in my seat from his piercing gaze,

"No you aren't, makes you anxious. You don't have control." he said. A strange chill fluttered down my spine at the accuracy of his words.

"Um, yeah. I should go." I muttered.

He grabbed my wrist, "No, forgive my manners. I am afraid I do not filter my words. Psychology major, I am good at reading people." he explained. I bit my lip and looked for the nearest exit. I already felt uncomfortable enough, and he wasn't making it any better.

"I don't even know your name." I said to him.

"Nor do I know yours. So how about I buy you a drink? We can get to know each other more" he said.

I sighed, "One drink. And don't even think about slipping in a roofie because I will kick your ass."

He laughed like it was a silly joke, "No roofies. Just a drink." he replied.

"Good, so how about that name?" I asked.

He raised his eyebrows, "How about that drink?"

Irritation shot through me instantly, and I tried my best to bite my tongue, "Sangria." I told him. He grinned and placed my order to the bartender. I had already flashed my ID at the door, so there was no need to show it now.

"My name is Kiera. Your turn." I said. He leaned back on the stool and crossed his arms over his chest, I noticed that he said some defined muscle, and that his skin was extremely pale.

"Hate my name, kind of archaic actually." he replied nonchalantly. I rolled my eyes, this caused him to chuckle under his breath.

I shot him a look, "The whole part of getting to know someone is getting their name." I said matter-of-factly.

He shrugged, "I'm more interested in you. What do you do for fun?" he asked. The bartender handed me my drink, and I sipped it lightly.

"I really don't go out that much, this is a rare occasion."

"Oh, so you're like one of those sexy shut-ins with a secret past." he said teasingly.

Against my better judgement, I laughed, "Sure, call it that."

He was quiet for a moment before he said anything, "Boyfriend?" he asked.

I shook my head.

Suddenly, his head shot to the right. He narrowed his eyes for a split second, but stopped when he noticed me looking at him.

He stood up, "Well, I am going to have to cut this conversation short. Pleasure meeting you, Black. I'm sure we will see each other again." he said. I was taken by surprise, I had never told him my last name. Before I could confront him about it, he disappeared in the crowd.

Present Day

"You haven't spoken much today." Jon said quietly from the front of the horse. I rubbed my eyes groggily and yawned.

"Just tired." I replied.

"Did you not sleep?" he asked, tilting his head in my direction.

I shrugged, "Strange dreams, I kept waking up."

"I apologize then, hopefully tonight you will rest." he said. I smiled at his impeccable politeness,

"Thank you. I do too."

The truth was that I was having a rough time adjusting to everything. I did not want to burden Jon with my problems, so I kept it to myself. Every night the dreams would come. I dreamt of my old life, of Kyle. These dreams made me miss home, and I would lie awake wondering if I would ever see it again. I wondered if Kyle was searching the earth for me, and every time it hit my heart harder that I might never see him again. Then, the nightmares would follow. I never remember what my dreams were about, but I knew that they were terrifying. I would wake up in a cold sweat, unable to fall back to sleep. I felt off about everything.

Five days had passed, the road had grown quiet and the woods became denser. Hills disappeared and became mountains, and the air became colder. I knew that as we traveled closer to the Wall, the temperatures would continue to drop. I only hoped that I packed enough clothing for it.

Jon never let me out of his sight, nor did his wolf- Ghost. Over the days, I have become more acquainted with the animal, and I was beginning to enjoy his company. Ghost traveled along beside our horse, and he was always watching.

"He knows you are no threat, he likes you." Jon had said to me a few days ago. We sat on the ground as the others did their business in the woods. I reached my hand out and scratched Ghost's fluffy white ear. He shifted his head and laid it in my lap, staring up at me with blood red eyes.

I laughed as he snorted into my cloak, "I think he does."

In these days, I began to also make acquaintances with Benjen Stark. The more I talked to him, the less intimidating he seemed.

"Has Jon always been good with a sword?" I had asked him. He chuckled and shook his head.

"When he was a young boy, he almost cut off his own feet. Picked up his father's sword, only to get caught in the act. He dropped the sword and ran, wasn't hard to find him though. He left a trail of blood." Benjen said laughing. I looked to Jon, who had a faint pink to his cheeks.

Benjen seemed to enjoy Jon's embarrassment, so he launched into many stories of Jon's childhood, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

It was getting colder by the hour, and it was painfully evident that Tyrion had not prepared for such weather conditions.

Upon asking him if he wanted an extra cloak, he politely declined. I know Benjen wanted him to admit that he was underdressed so he could be proven right, but Tyrion was not giving him that satisfaction.

The guards barely spoke, when they did, it was to Tyrion when we were out of earshot. This only aggravated the Starks more.

A few more days dragged by as we traveled further North. Wolves howled in the night, but Ghost never responded. He was always quiet and obedient to Jon. The inns began to diminish, and so did my patience. Along the way, a brother of the Night's Watch joined us, Yoren, and two boys. Yoren's appearance was ragged and dirty, but the two boys were worse. Their grimy appearance made me wonder if all men at the Wall were ignorant of hygiene.

Yoren referred to the boys as "rapers", they were destined to join the Night's Watch. Benjen had explained that it was the preferred sentence over castration. Being around them made my blood boil, because of what they did to earn their name.

Jon was unhappy with their arrival also, whenever he looked at them he scowled. The new company did not appreciate my presence, which only made me despise them more.

"Why is a woman traveling among your company?" Yoren had asked, he glanced at me with annoyance. Benjen was about to speak, but I beat him to it.

"My business is none of your concern." I replied. Yoren looked taken aback, but regained his composure.

"What business could a woman have at the Wall?" he said, challenging my words. His composure was cold, it was evident that he wanted me gone.

"Business that does not involve you." I replied. Yoren narrowed his eyes.

Benjen shot me a warning glance, he was clearly unhappy with my response, "Forgive her, she hasn't gotten much rest. She is traveling with us to speak with someone who resides at Castle Black on Eddard Stark's orders, she means no harm." he explained. I rolled my eyes, men. I thought bitterly, women were given no respect in this world. Yoren huffed and returned to tending to his horse.

The peasant boys merely stared, but said nothing. I could only imagine their thoughts. Jon seemed as if he was enjoying the whole exchange, and gave me a small smile when I stomped back to where he sat.

"Your world sucks." I muttered as I sat down.

He looked puzzled, "Sucks?" he asked uncertainly.

"Bad, low quality." I clarified, he nodded in understanding.

"The slander you use in your world…sucks" he replied, the word sounded awkward coming from his mouth. Despite my sour mood, I laughed at his attempt to incorporate my vocabulary into his sentence.

Days turned into weeks. My legs were raw and swollen from constant horseback riding. I desperately wished that I could wash my hair, since it was knotted and dirty. I decided that when we stopped for rest, I would try to comb it out and braid it. Jon was exhausted also, he had never traveled for such a long distance, and the trip was wearing on him. The only two who seemed to be content were Benjen and Yoren. Yoren and I had barely spoken since our first meeting. I had apologized for my rudeness, which earned a me a gruff nod. It was better than nothing, I had thought, I did not want to make enemies before I reached the Wall.

The woods were dark, and the road was nearly gone. It seemed as if a pack of wolves were following us as we traveled, but Jon assured me nothing would happen. As we ventured deeper into the wilderness, I began to get an eerie feeling. I felt on edge, like something bad was going to happen. Once again, I kept this information to myself.

"We will stop here for camp." Benjen announced as we reached a snowy clearing beneath the trees.

Relief flooded into me at the thought of getting off the horse, and I happily jumped off without Jon's assistance.

The men made small shelters out of branches, I had never slept on the ground before, and I imagined that I would not get much rest. I offered to help, but Jon insisted that I rested. I sat on a log and watched as he made a shelter. His black curls were covered in snowflakes, I suddenly felt the urge to run my hand through them, but I brushed it off.

I used my boot to draw lines and circles into the snow, it was just beginning to stick to the ground. It would get heavier as we got closer to the Wall. The snowflakes began to fall harder, I lifted my head up and stuck my tongue out, catching a snowflake. Snow always fascinated me, since I grew up in a constantly warm place that rarely saw winter.

I noticed Jon watching me, when I met his gaze he looked away quickly.

"Never seen someone eat a snowflake before?" I asked teasingly. Jon looked back at me, with faint red coloring in his cheeks.

"I am afraid I have not, my Lady." he replied. I noticed how worn he looked from travel, and decided to try and cheer him up a bit.

I grinned and gestured him over, "Come here."

He reluctantly walked over to where I sat and lowered himself down on the log.

"See look, you just tilt your head up and open your mouth. When my brother and I were younger, our foster parents would take us skiing. We used to have snowflake eating competitions. I always won." I explained, "You probably don't understand what I just said." I added after seeing his confused face.

He shook his head and smiled a bit, "I do not think I ever will."

"Well, it is quite simple. Tilt your head back." I began.

He looked at me doubtfully, but tilted his head back nonetheless.

"Good, now just open your mouth and catch one." I said. He caught one on his tongue and made a face.

"I do not see the enjoyment of the game." he said.

I looked at him and laughed as I realized the ridiculousness of it all, Jon Snow catching snowflakes in the snow. How ironic, I thought. Jon stared down at me curiously as my giggle fit continued.

"My Lady..?" he asked uncertainly.

"You just make me laugh. That is all." I said.

He shook his head at me, suddenly he reached out and brushed something out of my hair. He retracted his hand instantly and blushed,

"Forgive me, you had a leaf in your hair." he muttered. He stood up and walked away quickly. What was that? I wondered. I slowly reached up and brushed the place where his hand was moments ago.

It was nightfall, and freezing. After hours of combing through my hair with my hand and a stick, I finally braided into something decent. Jon left with the men to hunt, so I decided to take a walk around.

As I walked through the trees, the faint glow of the fire from the camp began to disappear. I knew I had gone too far, but I walked on anyways. It felt peaceful to be alone.

The eerie feeling returned. I felt as if someone was watching me. I turned around, but nothing was there. There was a rustling in the bushes, then everything became quiet.

Suddenly, I felt my arm being grabbed by something hard. I turned and saw a ragged face with cold eyes staring back at me. I screamed and pulled away. The pressure on my arm released, and I bolted in the direction I came from as fast as my feet could carry me.

I reached the camp panting, just as Jon and the others reached the clearing. When his eyes met mine, the worry on his face disappeared. He rushed over to me,

"Lady Kiera, are you all right? We heard a scream." he asked.

I took a deep breath to try and calm myself down, "I just took a walk, and something grabbed my arm. It was big." I said.

This caught Benjen's attention, "What did it look like?" he asked quickly.

I shook my head, "I didn't see much because of how dark it was, but it's face was all distorted."

Benjen turned to me, "Where were you when this happened?"

I pointed to where I came out from, "Over there, I guess I was out pretty far because I could not see the fire anymore."

Benjen nodded and turned to Yoren, "Come brother, let us go check the perimeter."

The two men picked up their swords and headed into the trees, I hoped whatever was there was gone.

I sat down on the log again and put my head in my hands, the adrenaline has left my body and the exhaustion began to set in.

I looked up at Jon as he sat down next to me on the log.

"You're hurt." he said quietly, looking at my cheek. I touched my cheek and felt the sting of a fresh cut.

"I didn't even know it was there." I muttered.

He dug around in his pack until he produced a cloth and a vile of liquid. He dampened the cloth and carefully pressed it against my cheek. I winced as the liquid stung the wound.

He pulled his hand back, "Sorry, my Lady." he said.

I shook my head, "It's fine, I can do the rest." I gently took the cloth from his fingers and wiped the blood from my face.

Jon looked at me with regret, "I should have stayed with you."

"Jon, it's fine. I was stupid for leaving the camp. It is my fault, not yours." I told him. He still looked upset, so I grabbed his hands and held them in my own, "It is not your fault. Nothing bad happened, I am fine." I repeated.

He frowned and stared down at our entwined hands, but released them as soon as Benjen and Yoren entered back into the camp.

"Whatever it was, it is long gone now." Benjen said to me. I sighed in relief, but a tiny thought nagged at my brain, what was it?

"We should rest now." Yoren said to Benjen.

And so we did. The men were soon snoring in their makeshift shelters within minutes. I sat in my own while Jon kept watch outside. The ground was cold and uncomfortable, but I was too exhausted to care.

Jon

After a few hours of keeping watch, I decided to get up and walk. I looked over at Lady Kiera, who seemed to be in a deep sleep. I noticed that the Lannister was not present in the camp, so I went out into the woods in search of him.

I found him, sitting by a tree with a candle. He was reading. Unaware of my presence, I walked up to where he sat,

"Why do you read so much?" I asked him. Tyrion glanced up from his book and stared at me with hooded eyes.

"Because Jon Snow, I am a dwarf. I require a special saddle to ride a horse, a saddle of my own design if you must know. I cannot walk without difficulty, I will never be a swordsman. My father was the Hand of the King for two decades, and I am a Lannister. Things are expected of me. My brother has a sword, and I have my mind. That is why I read so much." he said. I sat in silence and thought about his words.

"What are you reading about then?" I asked.

"Dragons." he responded.

"Dragons do no exist." I said. Tyrion laughed.

"Is it wrong to dream? Have you ever thought of it?" he asked. I shook my head, of course not. Dragons are not real, so reading about them serves no logical purpose.

He raised his eyebrows and continued, "When you are me, all you can do is dream. When your family labels you as the outsider, when you will never reach the height of a man, it is only right to dream of the day when you can ride a dragon and prove them all wrong. But you would not have that problem, because the Starks treat you so well, right?"

When I did not reply, he continued on.

"Robb gets Winterfell, and you get the Wall. Ned must have good reasons for sending you off…" he said.

I felt my face getting hot at his words, "Stop it." I said darkly, "The wall is for honorable men."

Tyrion laughed, "Honorable? Is that what you think? I'm sure those boys- your brothers- who travel with Yoren hold the same honor, being rapers and all. Who do you think goes to the Wall? Not people like your father, I would presume. How naïve of you, I could only imagine the treatment that your Lady Kiera will receive when you arrive. Being that the men are honorable and such." he spat.

"I told you to stop." I said, to my own embarrassment, angry tears were forming in my eyes. Tyrion was quiet, and a flash of guilt crossed his face. He began to take a step toward me, when all of the sudden, Ghost flew out from the trees and tackled him to the ground.

I felt the satisfaction of watching Tyrion writher on the ground under Ghost's body. He backed off of Tyrion and stood between us. Tyrion spat blood into the snow and pulled himself up.

"Why did it attack me?" Tyrion asked.

I shrugged, "Thought you were a threat, maybe. Or you just look like a grumkin."

To my surprise, Tyrion laughed.

"Gods, I do look like a grumkin." he muttered, picking up his books. I thought about his words for a moment, about the Wall.

"You're right about the Wall, aren't you." I said quietly. Tyrion looked at me and gravely nodded.

I stared at the ground, "If that is what it is, then so be it." I said, nodding to myself. If this were to be my fate, then I cannot run away from it.

Tyrion looked impressed, "Good, embracing the truth rather than denying it."

We walked back to the camp in silence. The men were just waking up, and Yoren was skinning some animal. The smell of stew filled my nose, and I felt my stomach growl in hunger.

Benjen looked at us in disapproval, "Do not go off again, Jon. We don't know what's out there." he said.

"I am sorry uncle." I told him. I glanced at Tyrion, who had sat on a rock, face contorted with pain. For a moment, I pitied the imp.

Benjen looked at where Lady Kiera slept, "You should wake her, we will be leaving soon. The quicker we travel through the woods, the better." he said, "Oh, and Jon?"

"Yes?"

"Don't get attached, you know the vows." he said sternly.

"I have no attachments." I replied, something small within me protested those words, but I ignored the feeling. No attachments.

He looked doubtful, but nodded nonetheless, "Good, keep it that way."

I walked over to where Kiera slept and gently shook her shoulder. She slowly opened her eyes and rolled over. I chuckled at her groggy state.

"Lady Kiera, you must wake up. We are breaking fast, then leaving." I told her.

She groaned and swatted my hand away.

"And I was just getting to the good part of the dream." she muttered bitterly. I laughed,

"Come, you can dream later." I said.

She sat up, pushing hair out of her face. I offered my hand, in which she took. I gently pulled her up, and looked her over. For the first time, I noticed the darkness under her eyes and the paleness of her skin. She looks ill. I thought.

"Come, you need to eat." I told her. She yawned and followed me to get stew. I poured myself a bowl, and then handed one to her.

"Thank you." she said quietly.

"Are you feeling well?" I asked. She looked uncertain for a moment.

"Not really." she confessed, "I think I just need sleep."

"Are you sure?" I asked.

She smiled a bit, "Yes." she said, but I was not reassured. When we reached the Wall, she will get proper treatment.

The others joined us and we ate quickly. We soon we were back on the road. Lady Kiera was silent, which told me she was sleeping. There wasn't any conversation, just the sound of wolves howling and horse's hooves in the snow. I let myself think about everything, the Wall, the sleeping woman on my back.

The men of the Night's Watch cannot take wives.

Kiera

Days blended into each other, I stopped counting after a while. The snow became deeper, and the wolves stopped howling. We were close, that was all I knew. The nights were brutal, due to high winds and low temperatures. Making fires became difficult because of the rapid snowfall and the wind. Even though I was covered in layers, I still felt chilled to the bone.

Jon had absurdly offered me his cloak a few nights ago, to which I declined. He has become more protective than ever, watching me every second of the day.

"I am not fragile." I told him when he asked me how I felt for the thousandth time this morning.

He chuckled, "No, you are not. But you do need medicine." he said. That I can agree with, I thought. I had no insight as to what could be wrong with me, because I rarely got sick growing up. I never got colds, or the flu. I was always strangely healthy. Kyle has theorized that my perfect healthy was due to my gifts, but we never could prove it.

I had been throwing up late at night, but I didn't tell Jon. He already had enough to worry about.

We had arrived.

After weeks of traveling, we stood at the gate of the massive Wall. Despite my sickness, I felt excitement buzzing through my body. I was ready to sleep in an actual bed, but more importantly, learn about myself.

There were shouts, and the black gate creaked open. We rode into the courtyard, where men in black clothing watched us with curiosity. Conversation of new recruits spread around the area. I had my hood on, as requested by Jon. He did not want to attract attention to me before I met Aemon Targaryen. The cover would not last for long, but it was better than nothing.

We dismounted as Benjen walked over to us,

"Welcome to Castle Black." he said.

A.N: Sorry guys! I meant to get this chapter out shortly after the other one, but this week has been stressful and I have been struggling to find time to write. Even my stress is stressed.

Finally we have reached Castle Black! I think that Jon is meant to go to the Wall, I don't think he would be where he was without going to it, so that is why I kept with the storyline I guess. I'm sorry to those who don't like it. Also, I know these two chapters were just traveling, I promise it will get more interesting.

Anyways, thanks for reading! I always appreciate reviews.

See you soon.