Chapter 4

Sansa II

It was slow going up the hill as the fresh snow concealed a treacherous layer of ice. Sansa's breath caught as her horse slipped and tried valiantly not to fall, he was as weak and tired as she was but thankfully managed to get a foothold again. She felt giddy and sick, which was hardly surprising under the circumstances, and for the first time on their journey she was glad for the icy air.

"Are you alright my Lady?" Brienne called from her mount a few paces ahead.

"Yes, thank you." She lied.

Brienne reached the brow of the hill and stopped.

"What is it?" Sansa said urging her horse on.

When she reached the top her mouth dropped open in awe of the sheer majesty of it. She hadn't really thought about the Wall itself during their journey, of what it would look like, and it was higher and more imposing that she could have possibly imagined. Sansa dismounted, dropped to her knees and promptly threw up, whether from the sight of the Wall, the thought of seeing her brother again or something else she didn't know. Brienne's hand was suddenly on her back.

"Are you alright my Lady?"

Sansa nodded "better now" she managed.

"We'll be there shortly then we can rest and you'll be with your brother" she said reassuringly.

It was early in the morning and they had started out as soon as there had been a hint of light. No-one had slept that night because of the bitter cold but despite being so close to the Wall, it would have been madness to continue in the dark. She started to run through her reunion with Jon for the umpteenth time. Should she hug him? What if he pulled back from her? She was driving herself mad and needed to pass the time so decided to just take deep breaths, count to 100 and then start again. She was close to 3,000 when Brienne's horse stopped suddenly and Sansa nearly ran into the back of her. Before them was a big, badly broken wooden gate. Had there been a battle? It opened slowly as a horn sounded and they walked their horses though. A man in black greeted them.

"Who rides into Castle Black?" he enquired.

"I'm Brienne of Tarth, this is my squire Podrick Payne and this is Lady Sansa Stark. May we see the Lord Commander please?"

"We no longer have a Lord Commander" he stated.

Of all the scenario's Sansa had played out in her head this had not been one of them.

"Where is Jon Snow?" Sansa asked.

"He's gone" he replied.

Sansa's mouth went dry, she felt bile rising and tried not to faint "what happened to him?" she blurted out in a state of panic.

"A lot of things," he replied cryptically "he left yesterday afternoon."

He was alive, the relief was indescribable and a wave of emotional exhaustion rippled through her. A small crowd of men were gathering and one was walking towards them with considerable purpose.

"Sir, this is Lady Sansa Stark" their greeter said to him.

"Bloody hell," the man said staring at her in shock "you'd better come with me, your brother left me in charge, I'm Edd, oh…sorry for the language. Damon will take care of the horses."

They dismounted and followed him into a warm room, there were two other people inside.

"This…...is Lady Sansa Stark" Edd said.

"This is Brienne of Tarth, my sworn sword and Podrick Payne, her squire" she said.

The man in the room was clearly stunned "I'm Ser Davos Seaworth, I was Hand to Stannis Baratheon before his death and I'm very pleased to make your acquaintance". She felt Brienne flinch.

"I'm Lady Melisandre of Asshai," the woman said smiling mysteriously "and I also served King Stannis". Sansa immediately felt uncomfortable but turned her attention back to Edd.

"I don't understand why my brother isn't here, the man at the gate said there was no Lord Commander and that Jon was gone so I thought he meant dead. I didn't think you could just leave the Night's Watch?"

"It's complicated," Edd said "I suggest that we get you all some warm food and we'll speak once you're rested. Then I'll take you to the free folk, they have a camp just a few hours from here. I assume you've had a long journey?"

"Free folk?" Sansa was confused.

"You know them as wildlings but they're our friends now, well, Jon's friends, and you'll be safer there than at Castle Black."

"Jon is friends with the wildlings?" Sansa was sceptical.

"Why would Lady Sansa be unsafe at Castle Black?" Brienne asked, concerned. "Is she in danger?"

There's a lot of unsavoury characters here, she'll be safer at the camp," Davos replied.

"A wildling camp" Brienne said, unconvinced.

Sansa took a deep breath and asked the question she didn't want to ask. "Has my brother done something wrong, something terrible even?"

"No," Edd said with conviction "your brother is the bravest man I've ever met." Sansa exhaled, both relieved and, she realised, proud, but still utterly confused.

"I want you to tell me what happened now, yes we've had a difficult journey, from Winterfell, but I need to know."

"I understand," said Edd.

"I'll ride to Mole's Town now and find Jon, I'll meet you at the camp" Ser Davos said.

"Stop in the kitchen and get someone to bring some soup and bread would you?" Davos nodded and left.

Lady Melisandre didn't move until Edd gave her a raised eyebrow. "I'll join you on the ride to the camp," she stated as she left.

Edd walked over to the fire and added a few more logs, Sansa was looking around the room.

"Jon's room" he said having seen her surveying it.

Sansa nodded and remained composed as she sat down at the table though felt anything but. Edd began to tell her about her brother and some of it wasn't easy to hear. He'd not been popular when he arrived at Castle Black, a high-born bastard who was smarter and a better swordsman than everyone else. She would have thought they'd be grateful but apparently not; how lonely it must have been for him, not wanted at Winterfell and not wanted at Castle Black either. Edd told her how he'd become a prisoner of the wildling King so he could infiltrate them then escaped to warn the Night's Watch of their plans to attack. He'd been badly wounded and nearly died but when the attack came, he took command and led them to victory. Edd explained how badly outnumbered they were and knowing this, Jon went North of the Wall alone to sue for peace.

Sansa was staggered by his courage, it made her want to cry and she found herself thinking about her mother and wondering whether her feelings for Jon would have changed if she knew what he'd done. Then Edd told her about the white walkers and the army of the dead and she was lost for words. It wasn't that she didn't believe him, it was just so terrifying it didn't sound real. Jon had apparently convinced King Stannis to give him ships to help save the wildlings and he'd sailed to a place called Hardhome. The dead had attacked and Jon led the fight against them, even killing a white walker, though thousands of free folk were lost. Nothing could have prepared her for what came next.

"Many of the Night's Watch didn't understand what Jon was trying to do. He'd told everyone what happened at Hardhome, that we were facing an army of 100,000 or more but they were so blinded by prejudice they branded Jon a traitor and, I don't really know how to say it…they killed him".

"What?" Sansa couldn't comprehend what she was hearing. "Then, but, who is Ser Davos going…"

"The red woman, Lady Melisandre, she's some sort of witch and, well, she said a spell over his body and Jon, he woke up. I was there, I saw the whole thing."

"Are you certain he was dead to begin with?" Sansa asked trying desperately to make sense of it.

"He was stabbed six times, including once in the heart and lay on a slab for more than a day so yeah, I'm certain he was dead."

The graphic detail hit her hard but she pulled herself together "and he's no longer the Lord Commander because of that?"

"The oath we swear says our watch will not end until our death. Jon died so was freed from his vows. Most of us wanted him to continue, we need him you see, but he wanted to leave. It's true that there are still some that hate him and that's why it's not safe for you here. Jon gave the free folk land in the Gift and agreed with them that when they time came, they would join us in the fight but now I don't know what's going to happen, other than it's likely that we're all going to die of course, because they're coming for us".

There was a knock at the door. Sansa saw Brienne's hand go to her sword for which she was grateful but it was only men bringing food and buckets of hot water.

"It's a lot to take in I know so I'll leave you in peace for a while, eat, bathe, get warm and then we'll leave for the camp, it's not far but I need to be back at Castle Black by nightfall".

"Thank you for talking with me, and for your hospitality" Sansa said politely. Edd nodded and as he was leaving he turned to her.

"He thinks you're dead you know."

"I know" she said sadly as he shut the door behind him.

"I don't want to talk" Sansa said and she was grateful for their understanding. They ate their meal of soup, bread and cheese in silence until Brienne sent Podrick away to bathe elsewhere and filled the bath for her. As Sansa sat there in the water an almost overwhelming sense of sadness swept over her. She knew she should be happy Jon was alive but he'd also been murdered, stabbed in the heart, just as Rob had been and the army of the dead were coming for them all. If there were any Gods at all, how could they allow that to happen, and for good men like Rob and Jon to be murdered while monsters like Ramsay lived. She looked down at her body, it made her feel sick, the evidence of what he'd done all over her. She tried to imagine the bathwater washing away every trace of him but it didn't really work. She realised the water was getting cold so dried herself off and insisted that Brienne use it too, it was difficult to persuade her because she didn't think she could defend her properly but she eventually agreed.

Soon they were back on their horses and on their way to the camp. Lady Melisandre was with them and Sansa didn't know what to say to her so said nothing. It was mid-afternoon when they arrived but the light was already fading. They stopped at a large tent and Edd signalled for them to dismount. A huge red-haired man appeared with two young women.

"Edd? What's happened, who are these people?" he said.

"It's hard to know where to start but this... is Jon's sister, Lady Sansa Stark." The man stared at her in disbelief. "She turned up at Castle Black this morning and I was hoping that she could stay with you, for safety" Edd said expressing his concern. "Ser Davos has gone to find Jon."

There was a whining sound and someone poked their head around the entrance to the tent. Ghost? Sansa kneeled and he bounded over to her whining and licking her face. He'd got so big but was so beautiful, she was ecstatic and began petting him fiercely.

"He's such a good guard wolf" the man said sarcastically. "I'm Tormund Giantsbane and these are my daughters Elinne and Anja. I'm the leader here and friend to your brother so you're welcome to stay."

"I'm grateful and pleased to meet you, I understand you and my brother fought together at Hardhome. I'm sorry that so many of your people were lost." Sansa said sincerely.

He nodded in gratitude. "Who are your friends?"

"This is Brienne of Tarth, my protector and her squire, Podrick Payne."

"My daughters will organise tents, furs and firewood to keep you warm. It will be dark soon and a snow storm is coming so I doubt your brother will arrive tonight. Red woman, you may stay but you will not use any magic here, if you do, your God will not be able to save you from my sword."

After the tents were organised they all went with Elinne and Anja to collect wood and furs, the light was low by the time they finished and it had started snowing heavily. Sansa spent longer than she would have liked arguing with Brienne about her standing guard. Brienne needed to rest too and Sansa had Ghost, she also wanted to be alone. Eventually Brienne capitulated and Sansa spent hours arranging her tent, making a bed, putting furs by the fire and making it as homely and warm as she could. She didn't really know why as she probably wouldn't be there long but it made her feel better somehow.

She sat on the furs by the fire with Ghost curled up beside her. They were both warm and sleepy and she'd been rhythmically stroking the fur between his ears for half the night, it was so relaxing, she was contemplating sleeping on the ground with him rather than in the bed when suddenly his ears pricked up.

"What is it boy?" she whispered.

Ghost was on high alert and without warning he flew out the tent. She quickly and quietly followed him outside but couldn't determine which way he'd gone. She looked up at the sky but there was no moon or stars and the heavy snow falling in her eyes made her blink rapidly and disorientated her. It was late at night so there was no campfire light to guide her and sound didn't travel far in these conditions. She slowly and carefully tip-toed back inside, her breathing had quickened and she was shivering violently. She heard Ghost whine somewhere nearby and fear gripped her. Should she call out for help?

She crouched down as if to hide and listened, she thought she could hear something or someone outside. Suddenly the tent flap moved and Ghost's head poked through. She exhaled loudly "you scared me" she whisper-shouted at him "where did you go?" He trotted over nonchalantly and started licking her hand so she stroked and patted him. Then she saw something out of the corner of her eye and froze. There was a pair of boots standing in the tent. The boots took a step towards her, then another and she took a sharp intake of breath. She stood slowly, stared into the darkness and tried to speak but no words came out.

"Sansa?" a voice whispered.

It was his eyes she saw first, almost black, like his hair. She couldn't remember how to breathe properly and as hot tears splashed onto her cheeks she started shaking her head in disbelief. Was he really standing there in front of her? Jon closed the space between them, wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. Tears turned into quiet sobs and her whole body began to shake. He stroked her hair then gently pulled her head into his shoulder and pressed a kiss onto her forehead. He was bigger and stronger than she remembered.

She nestled into his neck and held onto him, he was warm and cold at the same time and she never wanted him to let go. As the tears gradually slowed her breathing returned to normal and she became aware that he was gently rocking her. She felt his chest expand and contract as he breathed in synchronicity with her and a deep sense of calmness enveloped her. She listened to the crackling sound of the fire as he held her and closed her eyes. For the first time in a long time, she felt safe.

Authors Note: I hope you liked that. A huge thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited or is following this story. Next, Jon.