Emmelyne watched the brothers of the Watch as they trained. Selyse and Stannis watched as well, talking to each other quietly. Emmelyne was sat with Shireen, R'hllor at the feet of both girls, gnawing at the bit of rotted wood. "So Jon Snow is your brother?" Shireen asked as they watched.
"Bastard brother, yes," Emmelyne nodded.
"Do you know who his mother is?"
A phrase appeared in Emmelyne's mind. Promise me, Ned. She shook her head. "Our father never told anybody. Not even my mother."
Shireen looked at her quizzically. "Why wouldn't he tell anyone?"
"I suspect he was ashamed. He never told and nobody ever asked. I suppose Jon's mother is dead. Dead or doesn't care."
Shireen nodded at this. "My mother doesn't care about it."
Emmelyne agreed with that, but she wouldn't tell Shireen this. "I'm sure your mother loves you, somewhere in her heart."
"I don't think so."
She wrapped her arm around Shireen's shoulder, offering a smile. "Your mother is devout to the Lord of Light, Princess. She cares about you, and she wants you to follow the same god as us all. The Lord of Light will keep you safe, Shireen. When you worship him, fire will never harm you."
Shireen didn't answer as she leaned into Emmelyne's side. "Are you alright, Princess?" Emmelyne questioned kindly.
"I wish you'd stop calling me that."
"What would you have me call you, then?"
"Shireen."
Emmelyne chuckled. "Are you alright, Shireen?"
The princess nodded. "I am. But we're leaving soon. I don't know why Father wants me to come with him. But I don't want to leave."
"Why don't you want to leave?"
"I like you. I like teaching Gilly to read. I like Ser Davos. But you're staying here and Gilly's a wildling, she can't come with me. Davos is coming, but I won't be able to speak with him very much. I don't know if I'll ever come back here."
"I'm not going to stay here forever, Shireen. We'll see each other again. I promise."
Shireen smiled. "Good."
Emmelyne sat with Sam and Maester Aemon, listening to Sam read a letter from one of Daenerys Targaryen's supporters. "'And though Daenerys maintains her grip on Slaver's Bay, forces rise against her from within and without. She refuses to leave until the freedom of the former slaves is secure,'" Sam read. "She sounds like quite a woman."
"And she's alone," Aemon said, "under siege, no family to guide her or protect her. Her last relation thousands of miles away, useless, dying."
Emmelyne knew it was true. Aemon's sight was growing worse, and he had been absent at many meetings due to an illness. But Emmelyne wasn't sure it was an illness. It was death. She took the old man's hand, offering him a smile. "Don't say that, Maester Aemon," she said.
"A Targaryen alone in the world is a terrible thing," Aemon stated, shaking his head.
Jon stepped into the library, and Sam turned to look at him. "Maester Aemon," Jon said.
"Lord Commander," Aemon greeted.
"Sam, Em, I'd like to speak to the maester alone."
Sam and Emmelyne stood. Emmelyne gave Aemon one last smile as she brushed past Jon, leaving the library.
Jon had an announcement to make. Emmelyne had questioned him on what it was, but he hadn't told her. Now, he'd finally revealed it. And the Watch was not happy. "You'd let wildlings through our gates?" one demanded.
"Men, women, and children will die by the thousands if we do nothing," Jon stated.
"Let them die. We got our own to worry about. Less enemies for us."
This brought forth some cheers. Sam stood from his seat. "Look, well, there is good farmland in the Gift. Land that no one uses now. A dozen abandoned villages," he offered.
"And why do you think the farmers abandoned those villages? Because the wildlings raided them for years. Cut them down just like they did this boy's people," a man said, pointing toward Olly, who bowed his head.
Emmelyne didn't like this. Alliser spoke up. "We've been fighting them for thousands of years. They've slaughtered villages. They've slaughtered our brothers."
"And we've slaughtered theirs," Jon replied.
Edd, a younger man with long brown hair and dark eyes, stood. "I will follow you anywhere, you know that. But they killed Grenn. And they killed Pyp. They killed 50 of our brothers. I can't forget that. I can't forgive it," he said.
Jon nodded. "You were at the Fist of the First Men. If we abandon them, you know what they become. We can learn to live with the wildlings or we can add them to the army of the dead. Whatever they are now, they're better than that."
Everyone began to argue. Emmelyne wasn't sure who she agreed with. She supposed that she didn't care what happened. The room was in complete anarchy. She raised a cup of the terrible wine to her lips, taking a long drink.
When it was time for Stannis and his men to leave, Emmelyne hurried out to the yard. Shireen caught her gaze, jumping down from her horse and running to the older girl. "I have something for you," the young girl said.
"What is it?" Emmelyne questioned, smiling.
Shireen held something in her hands, handing it to Emmelyne. It was a book. Words were emblazoned on the cover, 'The Dance of Dragons.' Emmelyne remembered Shireen telling her it was her favorite book. "Shireen, I cannot take this," Emmelyne said.
"Please. If you keep it, then you can give it back when we see each other again. I was teaching Ser Davos to read with it. It's very important. I want you to keep it safe while I'm gone."
"Alright, I'll protect your book for you. I'll miss you, little princess."
"I'll miss you, too. Make sure you keep teaching Gilly. Next time I see her I want her to be reading as well as you and I."
"I promise I'll keep teaching Gilly."
Shireen smiled once more, hugging Emmelyne tightly. "Goodbye," she said.
"Goodbye," Emmelyne chuckled.
The princess turned, climbing back onto her horse. As Stannis's party rode away, Emmelyne waved after them. A feeling gnawed away at her. She knew she would never see Princess Shireen ever again.