Jon had told her of his plans after receiving Ramsay's letter, and Aurelia was called to the rookery while on her way to see queen Selyse regarding those plans. She detoured to the tower, ascending with apprehensive steps. Arriving, she found no one there, but a short stack of sealed notes with her name on them sat on the edge of the large writing desk.
The ravens qworked as she gathered the parchments in her hand. She shuffled quickly down to the area where her room sat, nestled in barracks between the queen's residence and Melisandre's. Once inside her rooms, she studied each note before opening it. One was from Stannis, one from White Harbor, and one from a hand she did not recognize. She opened and scanned the missive from Stannis. It was a follow up to his intentions which Jon had showed her already. He asked for her to join him once he took Winterfell from the Boltons.
"If that happens, Your Grace," she murmured, "I'll need some new plans."
She opened the letter from White Harbor and read it, then reviewed it again. It was written in an elder speech of the northern waters, something her parents taught her as a child and which only a handful of people spoke. Lord Manderly knew this of her and thus sent his missives in this manner. Aurelia's recollection of the language was a bit hazy, but strong enough to make out the major details. One in particular which was of significant import.
The next letter was written in the same dialect and she realized soon the hand was Maege Mormont's, but not all the words were hers. As she read, she could hear men's voices in the distance, but focused harder on her message. Each word held import for her future plans and knowledge. She sat before the fire, tuned into the crackling of flames, memorizing the message in whole. When she could recite it three times through without error, she tossed all the notes in the fire. As they crackled black, there was a knock at her door.
She rose and moved to open it. Melisandre stood before her.
"Lady Moors, I have need of you. All have need of you."
"What do you mean?"
"There is much to tell, but for now time is essential and you must not panic."
"Panic about what?" Suddenly the noise she had blocked out flooded her ears and she felt her head begin to throb. "What's happened?"
"Jon," she called in the darkness, and he heard her as though in a dream. He had slipped into Ghost but her voice pulled him back. He had wanted to go. In the minutes of pain, betrayal, and blackness, he was ready to let it swallow him whole. He forgot her. Not again, his mind screamed. You do not ever forget her again.
He thought all feeling had left him, but he felt her hands raise his head, her tears hot on his cheeks as she cradled him.
"Not now," she said softly. "You cannot leave me now. There is so much - Jon you have to fight. For us. For - for your family. They are not all gone, Jon. We can bring them home. We can have a home, together. They need you. The realm needs you. And my love I need you. But you have to fight. Please."
Her soft lips brushed against his cold ones. "Please come back to me."
Voices scattered in his mind, distant, and he faded again. This time when he slipped into Ghost it did not feel like an escape. It felt like a renewal.
Aurelia raced down the corridors, tears streaming down her face. She burst into Melisandre's chambers.
"I know," Melisandre said before Aurelia had drawn a breath to explain. "He does not have much time."
"He's in the ice cells. His injuries-"
"They will be healed, if he is to be healed at all. You need to see to the wolf. The men are terrified, but that terror will turn to violence and I think you know the danger that poses."
"How do you-"
"Go now. Get the wolf back here. I will have him brought, and then you must leave us."
Aurelia trembled. "I will not leave him again."
"You will, because you must. For his safety as well as your own. I will come to you once it is done, regardless of the outcome."
"But if he does not return…"
"All the more reason for you to protect the wolf."
Aurelia hesitated, but Melisandre turned from her and gazed into her fire.
"Did you see this before?"
"Now is not the time, my lady. Delay could mean the end. Now go."
"The end of what?"
Melisandre did not answer and Aurelia sighed, finally turning and running toward Jon's chambers.
"The end of everything," Melisandre whispered to the fire.
When Aurelia arrived near the Lord Commander's door, a commotion surrounded it. She could hear Ghost scratching at the door. Men were pounding the base of it with their feet and the base of spears.
"Get back," Aurelia called out.
The small group turned toward her. She strode forward. "All of you, leave now."
"My lady, we were only-" one of the younger men tried before the heel of Aurelia's hand slammed into his throat. He stumbled back.
"Anyone else who stands in my way will have more than that wolf and myself to answer to. You want to help someone? Go help the men who just murdered the lord commander get shoved off the top of the Wall."
They all gaped at her.
"You heard me. Scatter. Now."
The men scuttled away, mumbling and nervous. Aurelia approached the door.
"Ghost," she called softly. The scratching stopped. She placed her hand on the door. "Ghost, stay," she said, trying to keep her voice from shaking.
She pulled out her dagger, working to pry the lock off the door. It came off easier than expected, the inside part covered in scratches with bits of wood shredded around it. She trembled. She reached for the handle and eased the door open. Ghost sat in the doorway, his head cocked to the side. Aurelia slipped in and closed the door, barely any space between her and the wolf. She looked down at him, his head almost to her chest.
She studied him, their eyes locking. "Ghost?" She murmured again, not sure now.
The direwolf raised a paw, landing it on her hip. Aurelia grasped it, running her thumb along it. She kept looking into his eyes, feeling tears welling in her own.
"Jon?" She whispered.
The direwolf huffed, then shifted his head forward, nuzzling her waist. Aurelia released his paw, dropping to her knees. She ran her hands over the scruff below his jaws, and then moved one hand up to scratch below one ear.
"She's going to save you, love. If you feel pulled away, you have to go. Please go. Please-" she choked on her breath, her tears starting to stream in trails down her cheeks. "Please don't leave me yet."
She leaned in and kissed the top of the direwolf's nose. His long, flat tongue slipped out and ran over her neck. She wrapped her arms around his neck and sobbed. The direwolf nuzzled her shoulder briefly and then shuddered, emitting a sound close to a whine. Aurelia eased back.
"Jon?"
The direwolf slipped from her grasp and started pacing around the room. Aurelia stood, leaning against the wall. "Ghost," she murmured. He glanced at her, then resumed pacing. "If this won't work, please let him back in. Please."
Ghost stopped pacing and circled twice before laying at the foot of Jon's bed. Aurelia moved to him, stooping to scratch behind the other ear before crawling into Jon's bed. She laid down, catching his scent on the pillow and began crying again. She did not feel sleep take her, nor Ghost climbing on the bed to rest beside her.