I am asking you all to hate me. Feel free to do it - I certainly would. I don't think I can express how sorry I am for the massive gap between this update and the last. When I say massive gap I mean months. I understand if hardly anyone is reading this anymore but I hope you all are. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and I wish that you would please review.
Reviews would be helpful as it tells me if you have enjoyed this chapter but I also want you all to feel free to give suggestions if it pleases you. - PM me or leave a review and I'll try and see what I can do about suggestions and such.
I want you all to know that I love you all even if half or more than half of you have stopped reading this story. Once again sorry for how long it was. I had a moment where I couldn't think about anything to do with this story until this morning after dreaming about this chapter and having a completely clear mind for this story. I must admit that the chapters won't be everyday but I'll try to update every week and such. It is important for you all to remember that I do have a life outside of writing as well and need to balance everything with the time I have free during the week and such. You may also know that this isn't my only fanfiction either and beg you all to be patient.
I do hope you enjoy this chapter xxx Comet96 xxx Please review xxx
Danya had been right when she said that Mance would be holding a feast that night. Ygritte and Kale had demanded to go with Tormund, Mance had not disagreed and when he asked for more people to go he looked over to me and Jon. His eyes were telling us that we were going with Tormund and we could argue all night with him but it wouldn't change his mind.
It was Danya that had it set in his mind. She had seen it so it was to be. Half the time I wondered if she made things up just to keep herself entertained when people argued over her words. There had been many times as I child I had caught her laughing at the arguments she had somehow caused.
It had been two weeks since then and Tormund told us last night that we would be setting out early with the morrow's sun. The day had been spent packing away our tent and preparing our provisions for the journey we were about to face.
I had spent last night going over details with Jon. He was still unsure what we were planning on doing with Tormund on this trek, but once I told him Mance's plans he went silent. We were travelling to some unmanned part of the wall, a place where we could cross without being seen by any of the Night's Watch.
"You'll be fine without me right?" I asked him one last time as I stood by the exit of the tent looking in the eye hoping he would not lie to me. Jon was still weary around most of the clan yet these last two weeks had him and Ygritte getting alone well. It seemed that the two of them had no choice but to speak with each other and at least bond because of me.
"I'll be fine, honest." He called out as he dropped down onto the bed and packed a few extra clothes into his knapsack giving me a look that said I should leave now. I knew that he wanted to join me but Danya had told me to see her alone before we left for the journey.
"I don't think I'll be long," I told him before rushing out into the heavy snowfall and over to Danya's tent. It was warm within her tent, the fire burning heavy and the smoke covering the top half of the tent like a cloud floating low in the sky. She always liked her home like that. Stuffy with warmth and smoke. She said it helped with her visions, but I knew she adored the warmth within this cold. I knew that Danya had not always been living in the north there had been a time when she was living far in the south further than Jon's home in Winterfell.
"Those crows have been within your dreams again," she muttered as I entered the tent. She spoke the truth. Each night I had been visited by a crow. I knew it had something to do with Jon yet I still knew not what. "You should trust them, do not fear the crows, they only attack when you fear them."
I suppose her words made some sense now. Each night I had been frightened of the crow and when I showed my fear they turned into thousands of crows, pecking and ripping my skin from my bones. At first it was only one crow I saw and I always felt like I should trust him, there always seemed to be something familiar with the crow yet I would show my fear and more crows would surround me. As more crows appeared my fear became unstoppable until I was surrounded by thousands of crows.
"You shall trust the crow, follow him as he will lead you to your destined path." She spoke with such distance in her voice I knew then that she was seeing into one of her visions.
"The crow is Jon isn't it?" I whispered feeling my voice crack slightly at the thought of my husband still being the crow he stated he was not. Danya looked at me then and I knew that I was right. But as I looked at her I knew that it should not matter.
Jon had broken many of his vows for me. He had married me and possible sired a child within me. These were vows he had sworn not to break yet he had done so. He was still a crow yet he had honour and now he had to honour his vows to both me and the Night's Watch. I was his and I would follow him wherever he went.
"You are a single snowflake drifting away from the snowfall. You destiny is different from the packs. You will venture to a place without your kin but you will always have your crow beside you." Danya told me stepping away from the fire and turning to face me as she spoke. I could not tell what colour her eyes were in the tent in this moment but I could have sworn that they were red in that moment.
"Danya you speak about my future," I started looking around the tent for some clue how to go on with my words. "Do you see a child stirring within me yet?" I asked hoping she would tell me now if I was carrying the prophet child.
"A child is not clear in my visions but we knew it shall be there. Do not lose hope that the babe is not dwelling inside you yet child. We have plenty on moons to conceive the child."
"The child will need to be conceived soon, I only have over seven moons till my next name-day." I told her knowing that I would conceive the child while I was ten and six.
"That does not matter child, one or two moons over ten and six will not affect the world." She muttered dropping down to rest on the floor of her tent.
"You know half the time I have no idea what you speak yet I feel I know what you are trying to say." I whispered dropping my hands to rest lightly over my empty stomach. "My path lies with Jon. It does not matter if he turns his back on the clan, if he goes back to his brother crows. I will have to follow him. We have a child to conceive together and if he goes down south to The Wall I will have to be his shadow. He is my crow and I shall trail him until the end. Is that what you are telling me?" I asked the wise lady as she peered at me through her still red eyes.
"You understand more than some, child. I will not tell you what waits for you out in the world but whatever comes your way is part of your future. You will need to be with Jon through each step." She explained rising from her knees and grabbing my hand within hers tightly. "There is one thing you should know though." She whispered gazing at me waiting until I understood that it was important. I nodded my head encouraging her to go on. "You and the crow will find the blood red egg at the base of The Wall. Take it with you to Castle Black. Heat it and watch it. Jon Snow must be there when the ice cracks. This will be the guardian of your child. It will crack at least a moon before the birth of Snow's heir." As she ended her words she dropped down to the floor into a deep sleep, her eyes fluttering against her cheeks as she breathed heavily. The smoke around the tent grew until it was becoming hard for me to see her beside me, but I could hear her moving. I could hear her moving around the tent as if she was rushing around picking up things. "Let the smoke could your vision, let it take you away. Welcome it Etta, let it rule you." Her voice drifted over to me and as I let her words sink in it seemed to drift further away, making her sound like she was further away than she was.
I was surrounded by darkness as the smoke took over. As my vision returned to me I was in a brightly light tent, that was large and decorated differently to the tents I had grown up in. It was hot here, not the biting cold of the North and I knew then that I was no longer in my home. I could guess that I was even so far down South that it would be near Kings Landing.
"Etta," Jon's familiar voice called to me pulling my eyes from roaming around the tent as they settled on my husband as he stood at the entrance of the tent. He was wearing little clothing, not like the thick furs and boots we were so used to wearing. He was wearing brown breeches of a sort made of thin, light material and had his top half covered by a loose fitting shirt of a light colour. The clothing was similar to what I was used to him wearing but it was suitable for the hot weather we were in.
"Jon," I replied stepping towards him until I was in his arms. His hugs were just as I remembered. He was warmth and comforting and I sighed deeply as I pressed my face into his chest, breathing him in.
"Sam will be here with Faolan soon," he mumbled pressing his lips to forehead as he pulled away from me and ran his fingers over my face. "You have been hiding away in this tent for a while now. Who are you steering clear of?" He questioned running his hands down my arms until they settled on my hips, pulling my lower body closer to his. Between the thin fabric I was wearing I could feel every inch of him as he pressed close to me.
"I think you know who it is I am hiding from Jon," I told him stepping away from the warmth of his body and allowed the steamy air of the tent to wash over me. "Where is she now?" I asked my husband walking over to the bed that we had been sharing while staying within this tent.
"She was with Faolan," he informed me as he followed me over to the bed, settling down and trapping me within his arms to prevent me from moving away from him. "She is quite taken with him," he added as if I needed to hear this from him. It just seemed to frustrate me further.
"That does not make me feel better Jon. She doesn't like me, I could tell as soon as her eyes settled on me when we came here. She likes you fine and I can tell she loves Faolan, but he is my son and I don't like the way she looks at him." I told him pulling out of his arms and over to the smaller bed that presented a soft place from my son to sleep.
"He is my son as well Etta," Jon reminded me as if I actually needed to be reminded that we shared Faolan as a son. "You don't like the way she looks at him because she is showing that she loves him. She has a right to love him. Everyone loves him Etta and as his mother you tend not to like it when other woman treat him as their son. He knows who you are and no one could replace you in his heart as his mother."
"You tend to make things clearer for me sometimes Jon," I sighed knowing that I had just been overreacting when it came to this woman and my son. "She looks at me … I'm not so sure she likes me." I trailed on knowing that I was right. She had welcomed all of us into her home except from me. She stared at me before her eyes feel onto Faolan a miniature replica of his father.
"She is amazed by you, she is not sure how to react to you."
"That makes no sense Jon. She could have welcomed me like she welcomed you and the others. I am your wife, the mother of your child but she has shunned me and to do so publically."
"She did not shun you Etta," Jon stressed glancing towards the entrance of the tent as the large direwolf we had managed to bring with us entered allowing us to know that Sam would be arriving soon. "It's more like she is confused and amazed by you."
"What?" I mumbled feeling confused as he ran his hand down my back letting me feel the heat of his burning skin through the silk dress I had been given when we arrived here.
"You are truly a fascinating woman Etta. Could you imagine what they thought when we turned up here? You've got a son that was born from a prophecy and you have a dragon shadowing your movements, there to protect not only you but Faolan as well."
"And don't forget to mention you," I added as he stopped knowing that everyone important in Westeros knew about him. "A man from the Night's Watch, the same man that broke his vows and became a traitor and sired a child and married even though it was against his vows. And when you returned back to The Wall instead of being sentenced to death because of your crimes you were allowed to continue living and was aloud to bring your wife there with you." I turned to face him wanting to look him in the eye as I spoke my next words but the shuffling of the tent flap opening stopped my words and caused me to look at the small gathering that had walked into our tent.
Samwell was stood there holding Faolan in his arms as the dark-haired babe babbled along not even knowing that he was with his parents. Gilly and little Sam where with them as well, the little boy toddling beside his mother's side as eh slowly took a step towards the large, white direwolf.
"Did we interrupt?" Samwell asked looking to Gilly before shifting Faolan in his arms. I shook my head at them as Jon stepped away from me taking our son within his arms. He was so much like his father but there were difference that stood out. For instance Faolan had a mixture of steely grey eyes with hints of green. If you were to look at both Jon and Faolan together there would be no doubt who his father was. And just like Jon, Faolan's eyes flashed violet – it tended to be when he cried, or when his emotions got the better of him.
"No," Jon mumbled softly, pressing his lips tot eh side of Faolan's head before passing the boy to me as he turned to face his friend. I knew he still could not believe that Sam had joined us on this journey. The man didn't need to – he did not need to break his vows as Jon had but he had. He had been willing to sacrifice his life to come here with us and I knew it was for a good reason. There had been a good reason for us to leave The Wall and only a few people knew of it. One person had been Lord Eddard Stark. Before his death he had proceeded to write to Jon revealing certain facts that would change the world and sent them to Maester Aemon, who in return passed on the letter before he died. With that news Sam had willingly left the Night's Watch with his brother to help fight the horrors of the world.
It was important for us to be here because it would ensure the end of the White Walkers.
"She's coming to see you," Samwell directed his words to me as his eyes settled on me before dropping to the babe in my arms. "You can't hide anymore Etta," he added as the familiar feeling of panic washed over me at the thought of the woman coming to see me. I had every right to be scared of her. She had not liked me from the beginning and now she wanted to speak with me. I glanced to my husband quickly before nodding my head at Samwell's words before accepting the fact that she would be here soon. The Mother of Dragons would be here shortly.
My eyes fluttered open, pulling me away from the vision I had been in resulting in me loosing balance and falling back onto the hard ground, sucking the breath out of me. Taking in a deep breath I turned me eyes to Danya, now able to see her as the smoke cleared in the tent only to frown as I saw her slumped over asleep.
I knew she was fine. Many a times she had dropped into a deep sleep after a long vision like this. I was not sure what she meant though.
I glanced at Danya one last time before exiting the tent and stumbling through the snowfall back to Jon in our tent. Night had fallen faster as the days became shorter and it would be soon when we would set out for the morning's journey. I had one last sleep on a soft bed with my husband before we would be roughing it under the stars like the free folk used to do.
We were called to wake by Ygritte as she stormed into out tent and dropping small handfuls of snow on our faces to wake us. It was a horrid and cruel way to be woken, but it was the way of Ygritte.
"I will spear you Ygritte!" I growled pushing away from Jon as he held me to him, stuttering over the cold that had woken him. His face was red and I knew that mine probably was too.
"Etta stop," Jon warned grabbing my arm and pulling me towards him to stop me from going after the one I thought of as a sister.
"Why?" I questioned glaring down at my husband as he sent me a soft smile, leaning up and placing a kiss to my bare collarbone.
"Because you are as naked as the day you were born," he told me lowering his lips until they latched onto one of my breasts before pulling away and looking up at me. "I have no desire for the clan to glimpse at you like this when you are mine and mine alone."
"You win today Jon Snow but you will not stop me again," I warned him climbing from the bed and dressing quickly as he stepped out of the bed behind me, following my actions.
"I will if you go wandering around naked to the bone," he muttered back, pulling his tunic over his naked chest covering his toned stomach from me. I rolled my eyes at him but smiled slightly when his face broke into a very serious look. "I don't like sharing and I do not intend to do so with my wife."
"Oh the gods I love it when you get rough and pull out the wife name on me," I sighed fanning my face as I pretended to fight off a flush. I had not seen many married people in the clan but the only one I had to go off was Mance and Dalla and they did not act like Jon and I.
"Well if you insist on making me furious, I will always play with the name of wife," he told me, pulling me tightly to his chest as he kissed me deeply, biting my lip as he pulled away. "We should leave now, there is a group ready to leave, and we are part of that group."
"Of course dearest husband." I mumbled against his lips catching his grey steel eyes as his smiled down at me. As I gazed into his eyes all I could think about was that small babe I had seen in the vision. That was our boy, we had created him and I could not help but think of how much he looked like his father. If I had truly seen him in that vision then it was true that Jon was the Crow from the prophecy – that meant we were somewhat on the right track to stopping the White Walkers.
I should tell him about the dreams and the vision. He should know about the visions Danya had seen as well. He had the right to know. After all this would be his child as well. I sighed pulling away from him, giving him one last smile before leaving the tent to go after Ygritte.
"I'm going to miss you," I whispered to the woman as she stood before me closing my eyes as the tears were threatening to spill down my cheeks. I would not cry. Ygritte had taught me that. It would make you weak and those around you will see how weak you were and would think you wold not be strong enough to fight and protect away from the clan.
"I'll be with you," Danya promised running her fingers lightly over my forehead and for some reason I knew she was talking about my dreams. She would guide me through them – help me solve them. I had a feeling she knew about my visions as well. I knew that she had been with me although I had not seen her.
"I need to leave," I mumbled to her feeling the eyes of Mance on me as Tormund led his group away ready for our travel to The Wall. "Mance is glaring at me,"
"He will take care of you Etta," Danya said taking hold of my arm, stopping me from walking away and joining the others. "Jon, I mean. He will protect you, you should not fear him. Tell him what you saw, tell him about the dreams. Let him know that you will follow him anywhere." Danya glanced over to Mance before taking a step towards me, until her mouth was pressed to my ear. "We both know he belongs with the crows. Follow him back to his brothers. Let him know that you are his always. He won't leave you and you won't leave him." Her lips pressed to my cheek as she stepped away form me, nodding her head towards Tormund and the others before pushing me towards them. "Take care of Faolan," she called to me causing me to stumble slightly as I came to a standstill, turning my head over my shoulder to look at her. She had a distant look in her eyes and I understood then that she knew about my vision. She knew about my son. I nodded my head at her words before rushing forward and joining Jon's side as Tormund led us away from the wildling clan. We were on the right path – Danya told me that much.
Thank you for reading xxx Please review xxx Comet96 xxx