A/N: See end for notes!

VIII

The Wall

The air grew colder the closer they came to the Wall. Joanna had taken to dressing in every layer she'd brought with her, and still, somehow, the cold managed the seep through the fabric and under her skin. Riding was horrible, the wind whipping past their faces, but the nights were the worst. Every small breeze felt like torture.

Joanna wondered sometimes if this line of thought was simply her being dramatic; even her uncle seemed to be dealing with the cold better than she had been.

On their last night of travelling, Jon and Joanna were the last awake. There were several moments of silence between the two, waiting until they could hear the faint snores of the others to begin talking. This had become something of a habit between them in their weeks of travelling, as this was the only time that it was comfortable for them to talk freely.

"Tell me more about what lives beyond the Wall," said Joanna, breaking the silence of the night. Jon thought for a moment, trying to think of something that he hadn't already told her about. She had asked about the White Walkers first, then about the wildlings and the tales of giants.

"When I was a boy, Old Nan used to tell us stories of ice dragons."

Joanna's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Ice dragons?" she repeated. "What, do they breathe ice?"

"It's said that their breath is so cold, it can freeze any man to solid ice."

She was quietly delighted with Jon's response, and tried not to let the glee show through her face. A small, freezing breeze brushed across her face, and for a moment she imagined it was the breath of an ice dragon. She shuffled closer to the fire, pulling her heavy cloak closer around her shoulders.

"Do you think they're real?" she asked, somewhat embarrassed. Jon's mouth rose in a half-smile, and he gave a breathy chuckle.

"With Old Nan's stories, it's hard to tell," he answered.

"You'll have to find out for me," she told him. "If you see an ice dragon, Jon Snow, I want to be the first one to know."

"Is that an order?" he asked, an eyebrow cocked. She snorted quietly.

"Yes, consider it one."

"I see," said Jon. Joanna relished in his smile. "I'm not sure how the Lord Commander will feel about you going over his head."

"He'll find a way to make his peace with it," she assured. Silence fell between them for several moments. For the first time since leaving Winterfell, Joanna felt sufficiently warm. The heat of the fire on her face and the weight of their dinner in her belly had her eyes drooping before long, but the thought of moving from the warmth of the fire to the cold interior of her tent did little to encourage her to move.

"You look tired," Jon finally said.

"I am," she sighed. "But I know it'll be cold in my tent."

"We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow, my lady."

"I know." Very reluctantly, she pulled herself to her feet. "Goodnight, Jon. You should make sure you get some rest, too."

He said nothing, only giving her a small smile to send her off. She kept her cloak pulled tight around her as she trailed over to her tent, trying to cling to the remaining warmth from the fire. Jon's gaze followed her as she retreated. He reached over to Ghost at his side to wake him.

"Go with her," he bade softly. The wolf looked between the princess and his master briefly, before standing and trailing behind Joanna. He overtook her quickly, opening the flap of the tent with his nose just as she was reaching for it. She looked back at Jon, surprised, and he busied himself with putting out the fire to avoid her gaze. Smiling gently, she turned back to her tent to join her furry bedfellow.

The Wall was rather less spectacular than Joanna had made it out to be in her head. From afar, the first sight of the Wall looming on the horizon had filled her with wonder. Riding through the gates of Castle Black turned out to be something of a disappointment. And so much for the valiant warriors of the Night's Watch as well. The men here were hardly different from those she saw in King's Landing; the only difference was that the men here were colder.

The run-down castle was cold and unwelcoming. She had hoped for a respite from the cold of the wilderness now that their traveling was done, but Castle Black was hardly better. Her blankets were thin and threadbare, and she'd had to use her cloak as a blanket until she could ask for her fur covers to be unpacked. In the nights, the harsh wind whistled through the cracks in the stone wall. She often found herself wishing that she had Ghost to curl up on her feet like he had on their last night on the road, but she had hardly seen Jon or Ghost since their arrival at the Wall. That was perhaps the worst thing about being there.

But Joanna found enjoyment in the small places. The men of the Night's Watch were dirtier and older than those she watched in King's Landing or in Winterfell, but Joanna enjoyed watching them all the same. She tuned out the sound of Tyrion and the Commander speaking, focusing on the fight in front of them. Truth be told, she got the most enjoyment out of watching one person in particular. Jon was well-versed with the sword, and Joanna got a thrill watching him fight. The master-at-arms taunted him as he fought, picking out different trainees in the crowd for him to fight, and inevitably beat. None of it seemed to phase Jon. He fought with a mastery, and a little bit of brutality that, quite fittingly, reminded Joanna at times of a wolf. She remembered Desmera chiding her for staring at the men in Winterfell like they were pieces of meat, but then, like now, she couldn't bring herself to feel any shame.

"Well, Lord Snow," said Ser Thorne, once the fighting had stopped. "It seems you're the least useless person here. Go clean yourselves up! There's only so much I can stomach in one day."

"Charming man," Tyrion noted. They watched the recruits retreat inside.

"I don't need him to be charming," Commander Mormont said. "I need him to turn this bunch of thieves and runaways into men of the Night's Watch."

"And how's that going, Commander Mormont?"

"Slowly," the Commander admitted quietly. He reached into his belt, procuring a small roll of parchment. "A raven came for Ned Stark's son."

"Good news?" Tyrion reached out to receive the note. "Or bad?"

The Commander considered his answer for a moment. "Both."

"Then allow me to deliver it," Tyrion said. "I was hoping to have a word with him, to commend him on his skill."

"Be my guest," the Commander said. He nodded his head to Tyrion, and gave Joanna a quick acknowledgment before leaving them on the balcony.

"What news is it?" Joanna asked.

"If I had to guess, it would be about Bran."

She shifted on her feet, trying to be blasé. "Jon is a friend now, perhaps I should tell him."

"Perhaps you shouldn't," Tyrion said. "I think Lord Snow will have a hard enough time with his fellow recruits as it is without receiving visits from the princess."

Joanna wasn't quite sure how to respond to that. Tyrion took her momentary silence as an opportunity to leave. She blinked after him, a sinking feeling in her stomach. She didn't think that Tyrion had said it to hurt her, and frankly, she wasn't sure why it did. Regardless, she retreated to the room she had been given, her tail between her legs.

She had tried not to be upset or despondent. She had known for the entire trip to the Wall that she and Jon would go their separate ways upon arrival. Somehow, the hurt of being separated from her new friend managed to sneak up on her. But she had not come to the Wall to see Jon; she had come to the Wall to see the Wall, to enjoy the first (and perhaps only) time she could go away from King's Landing without her mother and father and the whole court at her back.

The following day, she asked Ser Arys to take her to the top of the Wall. Half a week she had been at Castle Black, and still she hadn't seen what she had truly come to see. Warned that it would be especially cold at the top of the Wall, she bundled herself in two cloaks, keeping them pulled closely around her shoulders.

The elevator to the top of the Wall was a wonder of machinery. For the entire ride, Joanna could only imagine the ways she would describe this to her sister and the other girls at court – especially to Myrcella, who had specifically requested to hear everything about the Wall so she could compare it to her books. Surely the highest spire of the Red Keep was not this high. The Wall had to have been one hundred feet taller, at least.

"Think of the poor sods who had to spend their days building this," Ser Arys laughed. "Thank the gods they built this instead of stairs."

Joanna smiled, the wind whipping past her face. She clung to the bars, peering out across the Gift. From this high, the men down in Castle Black looked like tiny ants milling about. At long last, they reached the top of the Wall, a small bell ringing to announce their arrival.

At the base of the Wall, it was easy to forget that the entire structure had been crafted of ice. The ice was so solid and weathered that it resembled stone. Up at the top, where a new layer of ice formed every night, it was surprisingly clear. The floor and walls were all ice and snow, with only a wooden frame and roof overhead.

The wind was blowing harshly, and she was glad that she had doubled up on her cloaks. Ser Arys trailed behind as she made her way down the length of the path, looking for a lookout opening where she could look out into the wilderness north of the Wall. She wondered what she would see out there, if she would be able to spot a wildling encampment in the woods, or if there would be nothing as far as the eye could see.

Several steps down the path, they happened upon Benjen Stark, walking back towards the elevator.

"Princess Joanna," he greeted. "Have you come to enjoy the view?"

"I have," she smiled. He turned to point back in the direction he was coming from, motioning towards the break in the ice wall.

"There's the nearest lookout," he said. "Careful not to get too close to the edge."

"Thank you, Lord Stark," she smiled. Benjen fixed her with something of a bemused look before giving her a polite nod and continuing back towards the elevator. She and Ser Arys headed to the sentry spot where Benjen had directed them, and upon reaching the opening in the wall, she paused. There, standing with his gaze cast out over the forest, was none other than Jon Snow. Joanna motioned for Ser Arys to hang back and stepped forward.

With careful steps, she sidled up beside Jon, looking down the side of the Wall. The white side of the Wall blended into the white snow on the ground, and it made it hard to discern just where the Wall ended. Ahead of them was a wide expanse of forest, and white peaks rising far in the distance.

"That's a long way down," she said quietly, amazed. Jon turned to her briefly, looking her up and down, before returning his attention to the wide expanse in front of them.

"I didn't think I'd see you up here."

"I didn't think I'd see you here, either." Starting to feel dizzy from the height, she stepped back from the ledge, seating herself on the stool next to the fire. "I'm glad I did, though. I was hoping I'd see you at least once more before I left."

He stepped down from the ledge as well, crossing to the fire and reaching out his hands to keep them warm.

"Well?" Joanna asked, cocking an eyebrow up at him. "Is the Night's Watch all you hoped it would be?"

Jon seemed to take a moment to consider his answer. "Not exactly."

"Seem like you belong yet?"

It had been meant as a joke, a reference to the time he told her he wanted to join the Night's Watch to fit in somewhere. He didn't seem to see it the same way. He shot her a quick look, but it was enough for her to glean the frustration. Not to mention, of course, the way he stiffened. She saw his jaw tense. Jon wasn't often very expressive, or very talkative – she had learned this, in the late-night talks with him while traveling to the wall – but this was a different type of silence.

"What is it?" He didn't respond, instead turning his head away. She took in a deep breath, a sinking feeling in her stomach. She looked down at her feet. "Does it have anything to do with the fact that my uncle seems to think I shouldn't be seen talking to you?"

Jon turned back to her, surprised. She met eyes with him, expecting a response. He turned away again before he answered her.

"Nobody told me what it's like here – what it's really like. The other recruits hate me, because I was trained by the Master-at-Arms in Winterfell. They think I look down on them because my father's highborn."

"That's stupid," she said. "Being highborn doesn't make you different."

"They're smallfolk," he explained. "They grew up poor, hungry. I thought they would look at me and see a bastard. Instead they look at me and see Ned Stark's son."

She nodded, frowning. "So, my uncle was right, then."

"I'm sorry," he said quietly.

Joanna turned to look out over the wide expanse of wilderness that was spread out before them. The wild lands north of the Wall. She had seen what she came to see. Disheartened, she stood.

"Before long, the men will look at you and see a brother in arms," she said softly. "You're still a trainee yet."

"Perhaps," Jon nodded.

"I hope I'll see you again before I leave," she said. He gave her a soft smile.

"It's a small castle," he shrugged. The corners of her lips tugged up into a smile.

Turning, she headed back towards the walkway. She looked over her shoulder, shooting Jon one more smile, before beckoning Ser Arys to follow her back to the elevator. With a deep sigh, Jon took her vacated seat, looking out over the edge of the Wall with the cold wind whipping his face.

A/N: Hello again everyone! Sorry for disappearing for a million years. Life got hella crazy, as it tends to do, and I lost time and motivation for a long while. I can't say I'm back for good, but with anticipation for Season 7 starting to ramp up, I hope not to be gone for eight months again. But, as always with me, no promises.

After a pretty solid eight months of no writing, I was a little rusty, so let me know what you guys think about this chapter. Hopefully the dialogue and characterization is alright - if not, please do let me know! Now that it's done, I'm more than willing to go back and do edits to make it a more pleasing read. I got to a point where I had to get it out, or else it would be stuck in draft limbo forever. I hope it was up to your liking!

This chapter is pretty solidly Jon and Joanna. I like writing these two, but like I said, I am rusty, and Jon has always been the hardest character for me to pin down. So let me know what you think!

Huuuuge thanks to ZabuzasGirl, RHatch89, HPuni101, Amy, Wombat8, Lt-Spork89, nerdylittlesecret, amrawo, kate langdon, and recey2010 for the reviews on the last chapter! As well as a shout out to everyone who's added this story to their follows and faves. I super super appreciate you guys reading, it's very motivating knowing that there are people interested in what I write. Sorry again for making you all wait.

I hope you all enjoyed, let me know what you think about this chapter! As always, if there's any constructive criticism you'd like to offer, I'd love to hear. Everything I write is written and edited by me, so if any glaring errors stick out to you, let me know and I'll hop back in and change them.

There's more Jon and Joanna to come next chapter! I'm 90% sure it will come before Season 7 premieres - maybe you'll even get two chapters before then ;)

Until next time,

Rex