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JON SNOW

The sun had just started to come up. when he finally got up from the chair. His decision was made. By the dusk of the day, he would leave the wall and go north. There was nothing left for him here. With that in mind, he started packing his belongings.

An hour later, he was done with it. Everything except Longclaw had been packed into two sacks. He was tying the sword behind his back when a knock sounded on the door. A brother of night's watch entered his room a second later.

"Lord Snow, The lord commander has requested your presence in the mess hall."

He nodded and started following him, internally wondering upon the number of names he had been called over the years. The mess hall was barely half-filled. Even then, the number of free folk was much higher than that of the brother's of the night watch.
The new lord commander was a dour mid-aged, bastard son of a minor lord in The North. Jon had hated his voice since the first time he had heard it acting as Commander Mormont's steward.

"Lord Snow, the new recruits would be taking their vows today. Would you join them today, or you need more time to settle down?"

The last two words, the same ones he had used as an excuse half a moon turn ago, were filled with so much sarcasm, that he was sure even ghost would have rolled his eyes at it.

"No lord commander. I have settled myself as much as it was needed."

He waited for a second before continuing, knowing the entire hall was waiting for his next words.

"But I won't be taking the vows of Night's Watch, ever again."

His eyes were locked with those of the lord commander at the last two words. As expected, all the muttering in the hall stopped. The atmosphere immediately became tense. He saw both, his former brothers and the free-folk clutching their weapons. Before the situation could turn violent, the lord commander spoke up.

"You will leave the castle black before mid-day, Lord Snow. I will inform Kingslanding and Winterfell about your decision."

He nodded and left the room, not saying anything in response. He had already planned on leaving, just not in the direction the lord commander was expecting him to.

As he returned to his room, Tormund came in thundering through the door.

"King crow, where will you go. The kneelers will kill you if you go back to them."

He chuckled at the worried undertone of the words. How the times change.

"No Tormund. My life on this side of The Wall is over. The North is where I would be heading."

He bent to pick up the sacks, not seeing the worried expression go through Tormund's face. When he turned back, Tormund threw his arms around him, dragging him out of the door.

"Aye, you would finally be a free folk, snow. Let's leave this cursed place together."

A few hours later found him exiting the tunnel beneath the wall on the northern side. As the last of Tormund's people stepped out, he turned to look back, wondering what his ancestors would think of this moment.

The last known son of Valyria, taking the first step on his final journey. His thoughts ranged from the 40 dragonlords to Aegon and his sister-wives and finally his father. What would they say, when he finally meets them in the afterlife, if he was granted one. With one final look, he turned towards the North, leaving behind everything he had known from his birth in the tower of joy, all those years ago. He never knew that these actions were being noticed by some very powerful beings.

Far in the south, in a large red palace, a King took a breath of relief.

Somewhere, someone else noticed, that after 22 years, House Stark had finally destroyed House Targaryen.

(Two moon turns later)

He was washing his hands in his hut when Tormund's roaring voice accompanied the rattling of his door.

"Snow, come out. My daughter killed her first deer today. Come, we are celebrating."

He laughed at the already drunk voice of Tormund and opened the door to step out. As expected, Tormund was there, with a big full mug of ale in his hand. The person standing next to him was also of no surprise.

Val, the wilding princess had been following him since he had left the wall. She had insisted he had stolen her but respected his wish to not push for anything until he was ready. She didn't know that he was never going to be ready.

As he sat on the log around the fire, a small body immediately climbed into his lap. Queenie, Tormund's youngest daughter, had taken to doing so every time she was around. He raised her to sit on his leg, as she rambled on about her first kill.

Sometime later he saw three women and an old man approaching Tormund and Val, with their fingers pointing in his direction. An irritated sigh left his throat, which queenie caught on immediately. Some anger must have been visible on his face, because she immediately jumped off his leg, and rushed away. He would have followed her, but he wanted some answers now. The pointing and muttering had been going on since his first day with them, and he was starting to get irritated with it.

"Tormund, what is it? What do they want?"

"Nothing to worry about..."

One of the older women interrupted him.

"We want you to leave Jon Snow. You are a kin slayer. You bring bad luck. You must not be welcomed with us."

The small world, which had made with a lot of effort since leaving the wall, crashed.

(Early morning, next day)

As he tied his sword to one of the packs on the horse, the sound of twigs breaking caught his attention. His body tensed, as his mind recognized the heavy steps. Turning around, he saw Ghost, Tormund, and Val standing in front of his hut. No one said anything for a long time. Finally, Tormund was the one to break the silence. Gathering him in a bear hug, he spoke with a sad voice.

"I will miss you, snow. Will we see you again?"

"If gods will it, we will meet again my friend."

Tormund stepped back as he turned towards Val. The warrior princess, who had made it clear she wanted him for a long time, had tears in her eyes. He wiped the tears off, having grown fond of those deep blue eyes in all the time they had worked together. There was a question on her face. And he knew the answer.

"You have people depending on you here."

Resignation was clear on her face as she nodded. He stepped up to give her a small kiss.

"Maybe in the next life, Val." (He would laugh one day remembering this moment.)

She nodded again and left, her eyes full of tears. He took a minute to compose himself, wondering about the what if's. Finally, he turned to his oldest companion.

Ghost, the last of his siblings, was now as tall as him. Even with all the scars, he had received over the years, the dire wolf still looked fearsome.

He touched his head to his friend's snout.

"Not this time my friend. I am afraid this is the end of our journey together. It is only me from here on."

The feeling of understanding went through him as Ghost stepped back a few steps. Raising his head, his flurry friend let loose a loud howl.

A familiar pain, but much much worse than before, went through him. Deep inside him, something broke and dissolved, leaving him feeling empty. His entire body jerked and he fell on his knees. Fortunately, Tormund grabbed him before he could face plant himself. Taking a few moments to drown the pain, he looked towards Ghost. The dire wolf too had fallen its knees and was panting heavily. He knew what had happened. Ghost had broken the bond they had forged in all these years. He had felt the same pain earlier when Rheagal had drowned.

"Protect Tormund and his family, My friend."

Ghost stared at him for a moment, and then turned and left. He kept his eyes on his friend, storing the last sight he would have of him, for however long he may live.

Giving a final nod to Tormund, he mounted his horse, leaving without looking back.