5 months before the Death of Jon Arryn

Alanna

Alanna was cooking the noonday meal when three men of the Night's Watch entered. Three men of the Night's Watch showing up in Mole's Town was not all that unusual. What was strange was that these three were here in the middle of the day.

Whatever the three were up to was none of Alanna's concern, at least not today. Often the men of the Night's Watch came here looking for buried treasure. This was what they called Alanna and women like her. But Alanna was six months pregnant, and the men of the Night's Watch were not interested in her right now.

Not counting the child still growing in her belly, Alanna was the mother of just one boy, whom she had named Mot. Mot went by the surname Snow, though he had neither been born in the North, nor to a Northman. She had given Mot the surname to avoid attracting attention, not that anyone was looking for her.

Like her unborn child, Mot had no idea who his father was. Unlike the unborn child, Alanna had a pretty good guess as to the identity of Mot's father. The boy was a living reminder of the happiest she had ever been, before Alanna had become a harlot. He was also a reminder of her darkest day.

Almost as if her thoughts of Mot had summoned him, he came climbing down the ladder into the Mole Town brothel. When he reached the bottom of the ladder, he turned to see the three men in black who had just arrived. If looks could harm, the three men of the Night's Watch would be on flaying racks right now.

When Mot had been a young boy, he had wanted to be a Man of the Night's Watch. About a year ago, another boy of about Mot's age had come through Mole's Town bound for the Wall, and Mot had accompanied him. Within four days, Mot had been back, disgusted with them.

Alanna knew Mot had many flaws. For most of them, she blamed his father for what he had done to them. But one thing Mot always did was keep his word. And part of the Night's Watch oath involved fathering no children. Yet he knew many of them had bastards in Mole's Town. Many more would if the whores in Mole's Town were not creative when it came to contraception. Mot figured a man should keep his vow if he was willing to pledge his life and sacred honor.

The three men disappeared into the back rooms, oblivious to Mot's stare, and Alanna walked over to embrace her son. A boy of twelve with hair that looked to have been spun of gold, and eyes with just a hint of green, a far cry from his mother's black hair and dark eyes. He pulled her as tight as he dared, which wasn't very, considering the size of her belly. He, like most men, was very much afraid of harming a pregnant woman and treated her like she was made of glass.

"How was your trip?" she asked him when he released her. Mot had taken a hunting trip with a few of the other whoresons whose mothers did not need them to work for a few extra coppers. For better or worse Alanna was very good at what she did, and this was one of the reasons the owner let her stay on as the cook, even when she was making him very little money. He could not risk her plying her trade apart from him if he wanted to stay in business.

"We caught a few rabbits" he said without much enthusiasm. "Nothing we couldn't have done here, without going away for a few days."

"Well, if that's all you did, you must not be too tired to help your mother with the evening meal. There's an apron back behind the kitchen. And mind the kettle, else I throw you in it."

He smiled briefly before walking back into the kitchen and temporarily out of sight. Alanna lived for his smiles. The boy looked so much like his father. Every time he smiled, it brought Alanna back to a happier time. She would cut the heart out of anyone who took the smile away from him.

As the pair finished up preparing dinner for the denizens of the brothel before the late night rush, the three men of the Watch climbed back up the ladder and out into the town. Alanna did not know why they had come, but the brothel had thin walls and she knew these men had not come for the ordinary reasons. One of them turned and looked at her, right before he ascended up the ladder, and in his eyes was a look of pure hatred. The man climbed up the ladder without incident.

Alanna froze in place. There was nothing remarkable about that man from the Night's Watch. He was absolutely plain in every way. His hair was dark, of average length and cut. He was not good looking, nor was he ugly. He was not tall, nor was he short. She would have looked right past him, probably had before, but she knew she would never forget his face now. That look in his eyes had been too strong.

"The stew is almost ready, Mother" Mot said, interrupting her reverie. "Should I get some bowls to start dipping?"

"No, that won't be necessary. Just stack the bowls beside the kettle. The girls will come and get some when there is a break. If you dip it out, it will get cold faster."

"Yes, mother."

"Mot" she called again, thinking of his time at the Wall.

"Yes, mother?"

"Did you know any of the three men who were just here?"

"I was only at the Wall for half a week."

"Which is four days more than I've been there, Mot. Did you know any of them?"

"No, mother. What is this about?"

"I don't know. But I don't like the way he looked at me."

Mot chuckled as he walked to her side with a bowl of stew. "If you don't like the way men look at you, perhaps you should consider a different line of work." He took a bite of the stew, and then almost spit it back out. With visible effort, he swallowed the gruel. "But perhaps not as a cook."

She slapped his arm playfully, but she could not banish those eyes from her mind. The way the man had looked at her had unnerved Alanna to the very core. But perhaps what terrified her was not how he had looked at her, but where he had looked at her. The Brother of the Night's Watch had not looked at her breasts or her face. No, the man with death and malice in his stare had been looking at her stomach. Alanna knew, though she knew not how, that the Brother of the Night's Watch was after her babe.