"Ye can see everything from 'ere."

"Aye, this is how a bird sees it."

Taught by Waves leaned her back against the snow-covered platform, staring into the early evening's red horizon. The lands beyond the Wall stretched as far and wide as Ygritte's eyes could see. The Haunted Forest, the open ridges and valleys, mountains and hills. And it belonged to no one; no kings or lords could say it was theirs.

To Ygritte, the Wall's solidarity was a reminder of who she was. Of what she was. Here, she was free as the birds, unbound by any shackles, as all women or men should be. She was as peaceful as cloud and might drift away if she could. Warm air escaped the spearwife's nosetrils like a foggy mist and she looked towards Taught by Waves. The other girl had grown up by the ocean and spent her entire life hunting seals and sea birds, finding clams and crabs in piled-up seaweed, and had likely never set foot on a hill higher than a small berm. Not before marching with Mance. Ygritte could hardly imagine what she felt now.

"I could stay up here forever," she said, almost distantly.

Ygritte had felt the same when she and Jon had climbed the Wall. It seemed like a lifetime ago. Standing here, she was reminded how much had happened. She found it rather odd how quiet the Wall was. As if all life had died and withered away. Total peace. The cold silence was a bliss after working the pots in a noisy tight-packed kitchen for five days in a row.

The young women had snuck off to escape their duties at Castle Black. Ygritte was glad she had brought Taught by Waves with her this time. There were more important things to life than cutting onions and boiling potatoes. Unlike the Skirling Pass, where one's slightest misstep meant life or death, the worst thing that could happen at Castle Black was the soup being later than usual. And if anyone wanted food, they could damn well hunt it themselves.

As she was studying Taught by Waves, Ygritte couldn't help noticing how difficult it was to determine her age. The weathered face and half-sunken eyes hinted of some old age but the way she spoke and carried herself was almost childlike. Furthermore, her name was a mystery also. Ygritte knew the people from the Frozen Shore had strange names taken from the beasts and spirits from the region. All free folk knew the Great Walrus, the Stubborn Shell and even Chaser of Seals.

"I've been meaning t'ask ye, Waves, how did ye get yer name?"

"Oh? How long have ye been wanting t'ask me tha'?"

Ygritte stretched her arms liked a tired shadowcat. "Since I learnt it!"

The other girl smirked and cleared her throat as if preparing some high tale.

"When I was a girl, I was small and always frightened. Unlike the other children o' my tribe, I was afraid t'go near the sea. When t'others learnt t'swim, I would stand by on the shore and see them go so easily as merfolk. Pah! One day, though, as my father and I were hunting, lurking behind a small icebergs in his skin boat. I was watchin' the water, scoutin' for prey, when he suddenly tosses me in! I fight and fight to stay above when a great wave takes me. But instead o' drowning me, the waves carry me t'the boat. I have been a great swimmer ever since!"

"Half a fish," Ygritte laughed, impressed with the story. "How old were ye?"

Taught by Waves pushed a loose bang away from her snotty face. "I was six."

Ygritte nodded. "A good age t'learn t'swim."

"Aye. Ye ever had children?" Taught by Waves asked all of a sudden.

"What? What makes ye ask me that?" Ygritte said hastily.

Waves shrugged. "Ye have the age."

Ygritte punched her. Then she was silent. Stannis' thread still loomed over her head. Taught by Waves was the only female friend she had left.

"I am with child."

Taught by Waves looked at her with surprise. "Ye are? Really? Who is the father? Gods, he is not dead, is he?"

Ygritte shook her head. "No, no, no."

She was tempted to tell the Frozen Shore woman that her child's father did not want to be there for them but that was not true. Jon did, but his cursed crow brothers were more important to him, apparently, at least more important than his real family. If only he knew it would mean her death.

"He lives," Ygritte concluded.

"Well, is it someone I know?" asked Taught by Waves, intrigued by Ygritte's uncharacteristic secrecy.

"He is just someone," Ygritte teased.

"He is not a crow, is he?"

"Gods no!"

Taught by Waves laughed, poked her finger in Ygritte's stomach as a revenge for keeping the father's name a secret. The red-haired woman instinctively grasped a pile of snow instead and threw it in Waves' face. She was hit and fought to get the coldness from her eyes. She cursed at Ygritte but was laughed too hard. So she chased after her instead.

Ygritte ran until she didn't. She was stopped in her path when she bumped into a large figure. Rowan, the taskmaster, who had been walking the opposite direction. The crow was startled and the icicles in his red moustache dangled beautifully. He held a torch in his hand.

"Ygritte!" he shouted, "Seven hells! What are you doing up here? Is this where you and Waves are hiding?!"

"No, it's just me! I swear it!"

As she said it, Taught by Waves bumped into her back and the spearwives nearly fell over had Rowan not been there, catching them in his strong arms. They looked at the taskmaster, caught red-handed.

"Why o why did the Lord Commander task me with looking after unruly wildlings? Couldn't Mance have lead an army of tower builders? Or a decent gang of spice traders?" Rowan complained. "Get back to work, girls. I will not be making excuses for you again."

"Aye aye, milord!" Ygritte said and did a mock salute. Taught by Waves laughed girlishly from behind.

Rowan shook his head. The way he spoke was with extraordinary sympathy, but also with a restraint and a somehow eager seriousness, precisely like a crow would, not deviating from the subject by a word or revealing the least desire to enter more private or personal conversation with the young women. He seemed immensely proud of himself for that.

"Ye can't deny yer true feelings, lord crow," Ygritte teased, "Waves and I know ye love the both of us deeply in yer black crow heart."

"Nonsense!" the man snorted, "though I might have if you didn't run away with every task I give you."

As Ygritte and Taught by Waves solemnly swore they would return to Castle Black and sweep the floors twice as neatly as the day before and never run off again, Rowan guided them along the Wall's path. They finally arrived at the lift used for bringing its users up and down, Rowan lead out a thunderous curse.

"Someone lowered the lift! When I find out who, I will squeeze him like a lemon. Can't I go up here for three minutes without those damned lads bringing it down?"

The lift itself took much time to rise and sink and so they would have to stay for a while. It was cold and the winter winds bit mercilessly at Ygritte's cheeks. She pulled her fur cowl closer around her face, shivering slightly, her teeth chattering. Thankfully, she wore layers upon layers of fur, unlike the southern lads who had nothing but their silly tunics.

As they stood there, Ygritte found herself thinking how odd it was that the crows would decide to lower the platform. She didn't remember seeing anyone and she and Waves had been here for hours. Unless someone went up very recently and were now hiding somewhere...

"Rowan?"

The man peered down at the rising lift. "What is it, Ygritte?"

"D'ye see anyone afore ye went up here?"

He didn't respond immediately. He seemed to consider Ygritte's words as if he had accidently stumbled over them.

"No," he muttered, brushing his mustache suspiciously, "someone's just playing a trick on old Rowan. Is this your doing, girls?"

"How should we?" Waves protested, "we were up here all along."

As she said that, a powerful quake shook through the Wall and Ygritte was sent to her knees. Rowan and Waves rolled over on the snow. Rowan crawled towards the edge of the Wall and looked to see what had happened. The lift had stopped dead in its tracks.

"What's t'matter?" Ygritte yelped.

Rowan looked down. "The lift…"

The three on them laid on the knees, looking at the lift, tilted sideways and in no way capable of rising or falling.

"Ye kneelers love your tall and fancy buildings but how good are they, ah? A dry tent and a cozy fire, that is all ye need," Taught by Waves sighed.

Rowan squinted his eyes. "This was not a construction error, girl. Someone caused this."

The cold silence suddenly felt much colder.

"And where is everybody, by the way?" Rowan said, looking around the Wall. The sun had sunk below the horizon, bathing the Wall's cold sheath in a bluish hue. "Where are the rangers? And builders?"

Ygritte recalled how the place had been empty earlier. Nearly dead. She clearly remembered Jon explaining the crows' patrolling rules before the attack on Castle Black. There should beat least some crows nearby but the area was completely empty.

"There is no other way down than the lift. It will take hours for the builders to repair it," Rowan told them.

"But who did this? Ye said someone caused it, ye did," Ygritte insisted.

"Aye, but I don't know who," Rowan growled in frustration.

Ygritte felt Waves' hand on her shoulder, turning her and Rowan towards three indistinct figures approaching from afar. They wore long black cloaks and hoods concealing their faces. As they came closer, Ygritte turned her head to see two others coming from behind. It did not take much to realize their sinister intent

"Who goes there?" Rowan yelled as he waved the torch over his head.

The figures, from whose cloaks could be identified as crows, remained silent. Long knives and small swords flickered in the torch's flame, the light reflected in their steel.

"Stand down!" Rowan shouted. No response.

"That won't help much," Ygritte mumbled lowly. She was completely unarmed, as was Waves.

Rowan drew his steel. "Get behind me, child. You as well, Ygritte," he said and stepped in front of the girls. The sympathy in his eyes was gone and his grim voice almost unrecognizable.

"Move aside, taskmaster, we have not come to harm you," said one of the newcomers.

His voice seemed familiar to Ygritte and with the scars on the lower left of his face, she realized it was the crow she had fought off in the mead hall just a few days prior. Jon said the man had been lectured.

"Then what's your business?" Rowan demanded.

Another crow cawed, this one older, pointing his sword at Ygritte. "That savage covering behind you."

"Joss? Edwin? Is that you? Come to your senses, brothers!"

"It is you who must come to your senses, Rowan. The wildlings are playing us for fools!"

"The Lord Commander Snow tasked me with looking out for this group of wildlings. That's what I will do."

"Snow is weak and a traitor. He loves wildlings more than his own brothers. Look how much they eat. And when we turn our backs to them, they will thank us with a sharp knife in the back."

"Say that to him. I will not let you harm these ones."

"The girl you protect is Snow's own whore," another man said. Ygritte felt Waves' eyes linger at her but this was hardly the time to explain what was meant by it. The man continued. "She made him into the weakling he is. Snow will never have what it takes to lead while she is here to distract him. You must see it, Rowan."

Rowan pointed his sword at them. "Brothers or not, I will kill all of you if I must."

He turned his head towards Ygritte and Waves. "Get away. Run for aid. Make haste!"

But there was nowhere to run. The crows had them intentionally surrounded and the lift was broken. Ygritte tried to call out to Rowan and inform him of the attackers from behind, but he was already too busy pairing blows with his sword. Waves and Ygritte tried to keep the attackers from Rowan's back, but the two girls were easily pushed to the ground. A tall, fat crow snuck up from behind and planted a mean dagger in his neck. Rowan groaned, fell to his knees and spat out blood.

"You chose the wrong side, old friend," said the older crow who had spoken earlier. Ygritte recognized him, Edwin, as the one who had found her with Ghost the day before.

Ygritte and Waves tried to escape but the crows over them swiftly. Ygritte fought but her attacker, the blonde crow with the scars, tightened her arm behind her back, bringing her immense pain and forcing her into the cold snow.

"Let go of me!" the spearwife shouted.

The older crow kicked Rowan's corpse off the wall. It disappeared into the abyss. "Cut their throats and be quick about it."

Ygritte's heart was racing. As the crow behind her was taking out his knife, she jolted her body, thrashing her skull into his nose. He screamed in pain.

In the same moment, Ygritte spun around and with the force of her movement, punched her fist directly into his face. It landed, and he was taken aback. He shouted before regaining some balance and returned with a swing of his own. The impact of his fist downed Ygritte instantly, smacked on the side of her head.

Pain ran through her face, just below the eye where the blonde crow had punched her. She cowered on the snow touched ice of the Wall, her head spinning. The fucking bastard had messed her head up completely. Her eyes would barely open.

She heard a voice from behind her. "I got her. Oh, this just got so much worse for you now."

Then she felt the hard end of a boot being thrust into her stomach and all air was kicked out of her. She coughed and whimpered, suffocated in a blinded daze. From the corner of her eye, she saw Waves fighting against her own attacker, crying and kicking to escape. Ygritte tried to get to her but the blonde crow laid himself over her body.

He was heavy, not like Jon, and stank of sweat. His greasy hands were on her face, her breasts and around her neck. When he leaned in, she could smell his sour breath. She wanted to vomit.

"Jon Snow scowled me in front of the lads yesterday, 'cause I knocked you and the bitch out in the hall. A real shame I won't get to tell him about this," he said, as he began to pull at Ygritte's trousers. "No. You're barely a woman. You're an unwashed animal."

As he leaned in, Ygritte bit into his neck, closing her teeth around the veins and tore out a bloody string of meat. She splattered her face in a warm red mist. He cried, tumbled sideways and fell to the side, dying.

The crows stared at Ygritte with horror as she rose to her feet. Blood dripped from her mouth. She spat.

Then they were at her. There was only one way.

Ygritte stole the blonde crow's dagger, the weapon supposed to end her life. She grasped it firmly in her hands and jumped off the Wall.

The feeling of her heart being pushed into her throat and the wind closing its cold hand around her filled her with a fear she had not known since climbing the surface.

Ygritte tore the blade into the ice. A ripping noise filled the cold night as ice shards exploded to the sides. She fell several feet until she was finally at a still. Looking up, Ygritte was nearly thirty feet from the orange fires at the top of the Wall. The three crows watched her.

She held on tight. There was a long way down and a single misstep would surely mean her death. Pondering her means of escape, she realized she would not be able to reclimb the Wall without help. The crows yelled curses at her. She needed to think. It seemed impossible to collect her thoughts.

In fact, Ygritte did not have many options. She would have to surrender to the crows and let them drag her up. No fucking way. Maybe Waves or someone else would help her. That was pointless. Taught by Waves needed more help than she did, and the lift was broken. None would come.

Ygritte looked down. Pitch blackness. A few treetops reached out for her feet like fingers of a pine.

In the same moment, an arrow whistled past her. One of the crows aimed another one at her. Her time was running out.

Another arrow was loosened but the spearwife twisted her body in such an unnatural manner that she barely dodged it. Doing so, however, she managed to wrest the dagger half-free from the ice sheath of the Wall.

Looking down a second time, the treetops suddenly didn't seem so far. Although, Jarl and his boys had been impaled on those same trees.

Making a swift decision, Ygritte tore the dagger from the ice sheath and glided down its side, forcefully pressing the dagger's blade into the thick, uneven surface. The terrifying noise continued. Like an animal being skinned alive. It left a long wound in the Wall's frozen overlay.

Until it didn't. She was stuck. The dagger wouldn't budge. Looking up, she saw only darkness. Looking down; darkness. There was only her, the stars, and the ice of the Wall. The Wall she had known all her life. The end of the world. She was completely alone.

Tears began welling up her eyes. Before long, Ygritte was weeping loudly. The fear from shock from being nearly raped and murdered had not left her body and the idea that Taught by Waves might not have escaped made it all the more horrible.

She was so abandoned. Where was her war band? Where was Jon, Tormund, Ryk? It was just her and the child she carried inside her. Them alone, here, at the edge of the world.

She had cried so many times since she learned she carried life inside that. She had hardly cried before that. Now it all seemed so hopeless. She felt so lost in this unfamiliar place. She was a free woman with no freedom. A wildling taken out of the wilderness. Her own husband didn't want her and she had bent the knee to a southern king. Her child didn't deserve to be borne to a mother so pathetic.

"By the Gods…" Ygritte wept. Even if she somehow survived this night, Stannis should burn her in a few days. That seemed somehow the least of her worries. In fact, the thought of the fire and flames seemed almost nice right then.

Ygritte rested. She needed to gather strength before she could save anyone, let alone herself.

The pines were closer now. Much closer, almost kissing her feet. Jumping and hoping the trees would catch her, the way her mother would when she was a girl, was tempting.

Tearing a loose piece of ice off the Wall, Ygritte dropped it into the darkness in an attempt to estimate the depth. If it ever landed, it made no sound. So this was really a leap of faith. Ygritte thought for a moment: what did she hold faith in? The Gods? They had never helped her much. She decided to have faith in one day making a peaceful life for her and her child.

Ygritte made a leap into the darkness.

She was flying. Like a bird, finally. Then reality ensued and she was falling.

The hardness of bark and a million branches shook her back to reality. She felt the pine needles rip against her face. The branches hammered themselves against her body as she fell. She tried to relax her body, knowing that if she kept her muscles stiff, the impact of the fall would do much more harm. She pressed her eyes tightly together and covered her face with her gloves as she felt the branches beating her bloody. A thick offshoot slammed into her shoulders and she let out a cry. Her arms tensed and she felt another sting. It hurt so bad she screamed.

She was exceedingly lucky and shortly after landed in the snow. The last struck on her arm had slowed her fall just enough for her to fall sideways into a heavy snowdrift. Her body had only suffered some minor injury.

She allowed herself a short breath. She needed to move, she knew that. If she fell asleep in the snow, she would die. If she laid here for too long, a predator would find her, and she would be eaten. But she was so tired. So, so tired. Just a little rest…

No, there was no time for that. Taught by Waves needed help. Forcing herself to stand, Ygritte followed the Wall's massive structure and slowly started walking. The tunnel gates should be close by, she knew.

Beyond the Wall, a broken leg would have mean death. She would have relied on others to be fed. A very few people could survive alone beyond the Wall and Ygritte had always been part of a band. She had thought she and Jon would make their own war band, them and their children, but that was a dream long gone.

On her way to the gates, she found the horrifically twisted body of Rowan. His bushy mustache moved calmly in the chill of the night as the wind danced gently over the fine hairs. His eyes were blank. The blame in them followed Ygritte as she moved past. Soon they would be blue and Rowan should be still no more. But there was no way she could burn his corpse.

"I'm sorry," she cried and fell to her knees in front of the taskmaster's corpse. "I'm sorry I ran away. It was my stupid idea. I talked Waves into it. Me. I'm so, so sorry, Rowan."

His dead silence brought her to her knees, as if telling her to right the wrong. There would be time to mourn the dead. She needed to find Taught by Waves. No. She needed to find Jon. Or Ghost. They should get the lift to work and they would take her there and rescue her new friend from the frozen shore. Thoughts swarmed around inside Ygritte's brain and she realized just how hopeless it was. Rowan had said it would take hours to get the lift to work again. At least the crows would have nowhere to run.

When she finally reached the gates, she warmed her frozen fingers at the few torches outside. The gates were unmanned, and Ygritte called for help. She knew it was not her brightest idea to make her presence known but she saw no other option.

Not long after, two crows appeared with torches. They had crumbles in their beards and looked af if they had just been eating.

"Who's there?" said one of them.

Giving them a closer inspection, Ygritte realized these were free folk wearing crows' feathers. She was somewhat taken aback.

"Ye're from t'Haunted Forest," she stated, not as much as pointing out the fact.

The crow who had spoken laughed and put his hands up. "Guilty as charged!"

"Why are ye wearing crow feathers?"

"Me and my brother here, Fat Balder, he is actually my half-brother and not just a brother in arms! Well, we joined t'crows after t'southern king let us through. Warm beds, good food, real steel! Hah!"

Ygritte was bewildered by the idea that free folk would willingly join the Night's Watch. However, she did not have time to argue.

"Can I come in?"

The wildling crow nodded towards his quiet half-brother who began to open the gates. "Why t'bloody hell are you out here, girl? Gods, wha' happened with your face? You are bloodied all over!"

Ygritte explained herself. She told them how she, Rowan and Taught by Waves were attacked on top of the Wall and how she had slided down the Wall's surface. The wildling crows looked rather amazed.

"If wha' ye say is true," said the wildling crow, "that means those traitorous fucks are still on t'loose! We best hurry to t'Lord Commander afore we run into somebody."

The brothers helped Ygritte directly to Jon's chambers. As they arrived, it became apparent that a large crowd had already formed around outside the Lord Commander's quarters. More were arriving by the minute.

For a moment, she feared something had happened to Jon. That crows who had killed Rowan had come back to murder her husband. But her worries quickly faded when she saw Jon standing in the center of gathered people.

Her red wild hair must have stood out enough for Jon to notice her arrival and his face lit up with fear at the sight of her condition. He left the crows who were talking to him and hurried to her. Before he could say anything, Ygritte's body gave up and she collapsed into his arms, completely exhausted.

What happened next was a blur to the spearwife. She was brought somewhere, inside a dimly lit building. Her clothes were removed and she was placed in a bed. There were people; Jon, faces she didn't recognize. The world was spinning, threatening to collapse above her.

Through it all, she must have fallen asleep, because she was suddenly awake when a hand shook her gently. She jolted upwards, gasped for air. Close to her sat Devan. He looked scared by the spearwife's dramatic reaction.

"Sorry!" he said.

"Where's Jon?" Ygritte muttered, moving her palm to her forehead to ease the pain.

"The Lord Commander just returned," sounded a woman's voice. Ygritte discovered the red woman standing not far from her.

Ygritte blinked her eyes frantically, adjusting them to the light falling in from the window. It was morning, she discovered. Devan offered her water and she drank. He offered her food and she ate. The boy kept his head turned away, avoiding the sight of her undressed upper body. Gods!

"Wha' happened?" Ygritte wanted to know. "We were attacked by crows! Is Taught by Waves safe?"

"I'm afraid your friend has perished," Melisandre said. "Someone tampered with the lift's mechanic, rendering it useless. When the Night Watch finally repaired the damages, it was too late for your friend."

Ygritte drew a long breath. She hadn't known Taught by Waves very well and their friendship had been mostly one formed out of a common need for safety. And how it had helped. If the crows had really been after Ygritte as some form of revenge for what she had done to their crow king Jon Snow, Waves had lost her life because of her.

"Where are they? I'll kill them all."

"Not yet," Melisandre insisted. "Their punishment will come soon, I promise you. But first you and I must speak."

She came closer and sat next to her her on the bed. There was something odd about her face that Ygritte had not noticed before.

"How long are you due?"

Ygritte raised her eyebrow at her, not understanding.

"Your child. It's Jon Snow's, I assume. How far into the pregnancy are you?"

Ygritte counted her fingers. "About, oh, aye, none of yer fucking business. Ye and yer shit king still want me t'burn, remember?"

"Dear child, nothing could be farther from the truth. You have me mistaken if you think I should ever want harm upon an innocent soul."

The priestess laid her gentle hand on the younger woman's belly. It had not yet begun to swell and Ygritte didn't understand how she had learnt. Perhaps through her strange visions. Or maybe this was just something women learned in the south.

"Does he know?"

"Jon? Aye."

"And?"

"And what? He doesn't care. He loves his brothers too much, he does. Plenty o' children never learn t'know their fathers," Ygritte said irritably while putting on her clothes.

"You understand I must inform the king of this?"

"Do what ye like," Ygritte replied and was about to exit the chambers until Melisandre grabbed her by the wrist.

"Stay. Do not flee so hastily. The king will not have you executed you if you hold another's life in you. And by the time you give birth, I will have convinced him not to harm you."

"Let go of me," Ygritte hissed. "Why'd ye do that?"

"Why must you assume I hold some ulterior motive? I simply want to help you, child, as the Lord would have me so."

Ygritte licked the side of her mouth. She held very little trust in the red woman.

"I'm not as stupid as ye might like t' think. Aye, we don't learn t' read or write beyond the Wall, but we learn the smell o' lies from the truths. A stranger don't offer help without wanting something back," she said, holding the red woman's stare.

"A clever observation, girl. However, on this side of the Wall, you would be wise to remember that you do not simply refuse an open hand when it's reached out for you. The lamb that strays too far from its flock will meet a vicious end, and you, child, need to find your flock."

Ygritte bit her lip. She didn't have a flock, she knew. Jon wouldn't have her. She didn't have any bond with the other Free Folk and without Mance to lead them, she really had as little in common with the other clans as she did the crows.

"What is it ye want? Tell me; no lies." Ygritte sneered.

"Have more faith in those around you, child. In times to come, you will face the hardest times of your life. I know your existence have not been easy, but it was nothing compared to what you shall soon experience."

"My future? What are ye saying? Ye see things that hasn't happened yet?"

"I only see glimpses of what the Lord of Lights decides to show me. And he showed me you, suffering."

"So ye're warning me?"

"Yes," Melisandre answered. "As I said, the last thing I would see is anyone's suffering. If the Lord shows me flares of you, it means yours or perhaps your child's fate will be tied to the fight against the dead. Remember what I've said, child. The night is dark and full of terrors. Now go. Jon Snow wishes to speak with you."

Ygritte left the red woman's chambers with a bad feeling in her mouth. There was no way she could see her fate in the flames, was there? If she could, where was her warning when she and Waves were attacked atop of the Wall? I only see what the good Light Lord decides to snow me, my ass. The wood witches beyond the Wall might not have the ability to see things that had not yet happened but at least their magic was reliable. Pathetic southern miracle-workers.

Ygritte made her way through a drifting snow storm that shadowed Castle Black. With her stay at the castle, the weather had grown more hostile every day. She could hardly see five feet ahead, there was so much snow. After the attack during the night, she was frightened to walk alone. Any man could jump at her if he wanted to silence the surviving witness.

Though she would not have to. Ghost came out from the white shadows as if he had waited for her. The dire wolf's ears laid flat against his head and his eyes were wide and upturned with a great intensity in them that Ygritte rarely saw.

She held onto Ghost's white fur and trusted he would lead her to Jon.

This time, as she arrived by his chambers, there were guards standing outside. However, these were not crows but Stannis' men. Dark chainmail, broad swords and massive rounded shields with the king's stag inside a burning heart. Plate helmets obscured their eyes, giving them an almost inhuman look.

"Jon Snow sent for me," Ygritte spoke.

The soldiers looked at each other, then stepped aside.

Ygritte went in. In the forehall, she was met by Satin.

"There you are," he said, "are you feeling better?"

"Not really. What is this about?" Ygritte responded as they walked.

"The rangers found the brothers who attacked you last night. Jon wants you to point them out before he has them executed."

Even before entering, she could hear loud voices bickering over whatever they were bickering about. Inside the Lord Commander's chambers, she found Jon standing, resting his hands upon the desk, clearly frustrated and irritated, listening to a large group of older crows, snow in their hair, all cawing over each other. Some of them she recognized as crow leaders from the night she had bent her knee to Stannis.

"She is here, milord," Satin announced as they entered.

All eyes were immediately on her. Ygritte felt like entering a pit of vultures. She met Jon's eyes. They were sad, worried and above all; tired, as if he hadn't slept in many nights. His stubbles had grown thicker and his dark hair looked wild.

"Thank you, Satin," Jon said and the young crow left them.

They seemed to have been waiting for Ygritte and the trial began immediately.

"Are you aware of why you have been summoned here?" asked Jon.

Ygritte nodded.

Nevertheless, Jon explained. "Last night, you and another woman were assaulted at the top of the Wall by five brothers. You killed one and managed to escape while the other did not, is that true?"

Ygritte nodded.

"Are you aware that your companion has been killed?"

Ygritte nodded again. Hearing Jon speaking so coldly about death was unbearable. Hopefully their formal tone would hide the fact that they were husband and wife, although many crows in the room surely knew already.

"Rowan, our taskmaster, Rowan Loks, he tried t'protect us. They gutted 'im like fish, they did."

The crows cawed between themselves, and Ygritte realized they had been unaware that Rowan was dead. Stupid old crows.

"Best ye burn him while ye still have t'time."

Jon nodded.

When the older crows had quieted down, the proceedings continued.

"We captured those we believe did the deed. Do you think you could point them out to us, to prove what you say is true?"

"Aye. I won't forget those bastards' faces."

"Good. I hoped so much."

They went outside. There were many guards present, crows and stags alike. Jon gestured towards a group of ten crows who lined up in an orderly line along one of Castle Black's dark walls. Ygritte recognized some of them immediately. They had seemed somewhat relaxed, smug even, but when they saw her, their bodies tensed.

"What's this? I don't get it. Who are these others?" Ygritte whispered to Jon.

Jon spoke out loud. "We captured four brothers in the night. To make it fair to them, and to be sure you're not lying, you are to point out the perpetrators. We will know you are lying, if you point to one of the innocent six."

"Why would I lie? They killed my friend!" Ygritte shouted.

"I know, I know," Jon said, trying to calm her, "we found her body after all. This is a precaution to ensure we don't hang the wrong men."

Jon looked uncomfortable, like he was somehow embarrassed in his wife's lacking understanding of a justice system. It made her want to yell at him even more.

She gathered herself, eventually finding the calmness to take in a closer look. She thought it would be easy, but it was not. It had been night, they had worn hoods, and it was af if they had picked out crows who looked so much like the man beside the next.

One crow, she did recognize. The old, grizzled one. He stared back at her, his eyes filled with contempt.

"Him."

"Aye, we captured that one in the night. Edwin, step away from the rest."

The old crow simply did so, striding sourly through the fallen snow. He was put in chains.

Ygritte narrowed her eyes. One of the attackers had been tall and fat, she remembered, but many of them were tall and many of them were fat the way crows are. One of them, however, was both. He was a young lad with a light stubble who wouldn't meet her eyes.

"Him too."

"Aye, that's the second one…" Jon said.

"Fucking wildlings!" yelled the crow she had just pointed out. "Don't you see?! They will kill us all! Snow fucked this one and now the wildlings are gonna fuck us!"

"Take him away and lock him in a cell," Jon said, talking over him, and the crow was brought away. There was a sadness to her husband's cold voice.

Ygritte looked on as the man as he was being dragged away, still hurling insults and warnings. She would gladly kill him herself.

Jon also watched but his face was calm. The ordeal had shaken him, Ygritte could tell.

The rest of the trial was over shortly after. One begged for mercy and the final simply cried.

Through it all, Ygritte couldn't help the feeling that the four crows she had helped condemn to death were not alone in their opinion. The idea that Jon was indeed a traitor for for letting the Free Folk through the gates. The dirty, resentful looks the crows gave them both. How could Jon not see it? Or maybe he did see but didn't think so much of it.

At dinner, Ygritte consolidated with Frenya. When she had told her, what happened to Taught by Waves, the older woman had wept. After losing her own daughters, Ygritte wasn't sure how much more death Frenya could take.

A small ceremony was held for the dead. Rowan's body was found and burned along with Waves'. The Free Folk sung for the fallen sister and when Jon explained Rowan had died protecting her, he was given a song as well.

Jon had at first suggested to keep the causes of death secret. He said the Free Folk and the Night Watch would only turn at each other's throats again, if they found out what had happened. Word spread quickly through and it proved futile. A fury loomed over Castle Black.

Ygritte came to Jon's chamber again much later. They had fucked each other a couple of times since she was imprisoned, but tonight she didn't have the mood or the energy. There was also the pressing matter of their safety.

"You really don't believe me, do you?" Jon asked.

He had stubbornly tried to explain that the crows who had tried to murder Ygritte had only been a few bold ones. Some brainless twats with too little to lose. While Jon at least admitted that he was not as loved as when he was elected Lord Commander, he didn't believe anyone would really betray him.

"And even if they did, what then? Would they kill me? I am their brother. The men I trust would avenge me."

"Ye're sending all the men ye trust away! Where is Sam? Where is Grenn and Pyp? Ye sent 'em to the other castles, ye did, ye idiot!"

Jon watched the flames dance in the fire pit. His head rested in his hands, a stern expression coating his face. Ghost laid at his feet.

"Stannis and his band leaves t'morrow morning. Who knows what then, yer enemies might have ye outnumbered. Any crow could take yer pretty head then."

"Then I will have to take theirs first. Ygritte, listen to me: my brothers aren't fools. They know that we will be stronger together. If the Night Watch and the Free Folk fight amongst each other, if the Night Watch fights amongst itself, we'll die. All of us. Without a leader, the Night Watch would be a black headless chicken, darting around until it falls dead. They understand that. I trust them."

"Ye weren't nearly raped or killed by 'em, were ye? Of course ye trust them, ye stupid oaf! I don't like it here. I don't feel safe. I want to get away, I need to!"

Jon breathed in deeply.

"Go north. Tomorrow I'll send out a party to find Tormund and the rest of the Free Folk and bring them back here. You know the area. Take Val and a handful of Free Folk with you. They'll trust you."

"Not on yer life. I'm never going beyond t'Wall again, ye hear me? There is only death."

"I know it's hard to -"

"Ye know nothing, Jon Snow!" Ygritte shouted, angrily rising from her chair. "I'm going south. That was always the plan. That was why we marched with Mance - even afore I met ye!"

"No, Ygritte, you can't. This is a folly. When the northern lords learn Free Folk roam their lands, they'll hunt you down like beasts."

She shrugged indifferently. "They can try if they like."

"Listen to yourself! Go north, find Tormund and bring him here. Please, I beg you. You can't go south all alone."

"I'm not going alone," Ygritte stated simply. "I'll go with Stannis."

"Stannis?"

"He marches a large army, doesn't he? I'll hide among his men - won't know what I am!"

"Don't do this, please. I beg you. Think of our child," Jon took a firm hold of her shoulders. "I want you both to be safe."

"Ye want me t' be safe? she snapped, slapping his hand away. "Ye left me behind, ye fucking wanker!"

She waited for Jon to say something, but when he didn't, she continued: "Ye think ye can decide for me now because ye but a babe in me, s'that it? Ye know nothing, Jon Snow. I make my own decisions."

With a sigh, she left his chambers.

"Fucking unbelievable."