LESHA PART 2

The longer it took to travel to the Wall, the more anxious and unsure Jon Snow had become. With nothing much to do but think, he imagined what life would be like as a man of the Night's Watch. Would the weather be a regular kind of cold or blistering? Would the people there be honorable or indifferent? It was the latter that kept him thinking. Because right now, things weren't looking so great.

His uncle, Benjen Stark, had just returned a moment ago with three men trailing behind him. All of which were bound in tight rope. He could tell by their faces that they weren't the honorable type. He dared say they wouldn't even know what that meant. They were criminals who were bound bound for the Night's Watch. Just like Jon was, but Jon wasn't a criminal. He wanted this. He was sure of it.

"Sit. You'll be fed. Untie them," Benjen ordered them.

Tyrion Lannister lifted his eyes from his book and peeked at the men. "Ah. Rapers. They were given a choice, no doubt... Castration or the Wall. Most choose the knife," he said with a sly smirk, looking back to see Jon's uneasy face. "Not impressed by your new brothers? Lovely thing about the Watch... You discard your old family and get a whole new one."

Jon didn't respond, but a face popped into his head. A short-statured woman with a fierce look and wild, dark red hair. The Highlander woman known as Lesha. She would be at the Wall too. He had kept his promise and told no one about her being the Black Rider, but that didn't stop the hundreds of questions he wanted to ask her.

After a moment of uncomfortable and cold silence, Jon spoke up. "Why do you read so much?" he asked the dwarf.

"Look at me and tell me what you see." Tyrion said, keeping his eyes on his book.

Jon furrowed his brows. "Is this a trick?"

"What you see is a dwarf. If I'd been born a peasant, they might've left me out in the woods to die. Alas, I was born a Lannister of Casterly Rock. Things are expected of me. My father was the Hand of the King for 20 years."

"Until your brother killed that King," Jon spoke bluntly.

A faint and uneasy smile flashed across Tyrion's face. "Yes. Until my brother killed him. Life is full of these little ironies. My sister married the new King and my repulsive nephew will be King after him. I must do my part for the honor of my house, wouldn't you agree? But how? Well, my brother has his sword and I have my mind. And a mind needs books like a sword needs a whetstone. That's why I read so much, Jon Snow. And you? What's your story, bastard?"

Jon felt his jaw tighten. "Ask me nicely and maybe I'll tell you, dwarf."

Tyrion paid no mind to Jon's sharp tone and actually smiled. "A bastard boy with nothing to inherit, off to join the ancient order of the Night's Watch, alongside his valiant brothers-in-arms. "

"The Night's Watch protects the realm from..."

"Yes, yes, against grumpkins and snarks and all the other monsters your wet nurse warned you about. You're a smart boy. You don't believe that nonsense." Tyrion shook his head, but the unsure look on Jon's face didn't fade. It only worsened. "Everything's better with some wine in the belly," Tyrion said and passed him a skin of wine.

Jon took the skin and drank his fill, hoping the warmth would ease his worries. As the liquid poured down his throat, Jon glanced at the forest that was slowly being covered by tiny snowflakes. It was unnervingly quiet outside, aside from the rushing creek beside them and the rustling sound of cold wind passing through trees. He wasn't used to this kind of silence. Back in Winterfell, there was always something going on. There was always the sound of horses, blades grinding against grindstones, and swords clashing against each other in the courtyard. It was never silent.

The silence didn't last forever when the forest suddenly erupted with galloping hooves. Jon saw something dash against the white-dusted trees, a black and grey horse galloping into the clearing. Jon nearly choked on his wine when he saw the person on top. It was a rider… dressed entirely in black.

Benjen Stark turned his head as the Black Rider trotted to the group and dismounted. As usual, their face was covered in a thick wool scarf and hidden with a hood, but Jon could still easily make out the silver-ashen eyes looking back at him.

It was her. It was Lesha.

Tyrion looked up from his book, smirking with great interest when he saw the Rider. "If I'm not mistaken…that has to be the famous Black Rider, yes? The one responsible for bringing back the deserters of the Watch."

Benjen gave a hearty laugh as he approached the Rider. "Ah, did you come out here to guide us the rest of the way? That's out of character of you."

A soft voice came from underneath the wool scarf, and it was hard to mistake the prominent flare of the Highlander accent. "Yes, well… can't be too careful. Can't have another Ranger going missing, now can we." With a sharp laugh, the scarf was yanked off, and her hood was pulled back, releasing her dark red hair that danced in the cold winds.

Jon didn't take his eyes off the woman the whole time. She did say they would be seeing each other again real soon, but…he was still surprised that she was actually here. Yet, there was now another question that flooded into his head.

"So it's not a secret?" Jon spoke up without realizing it.

Lesha's ashen eyes flickered at him instantly, and Jon felt cold needle pricks all over his arms. There was something about her eyes that made them the most prominent feature. She had an unmistakable intensity in her gaze. Wild and unpredictable. Jon shivered, suddenly feeling exposed and vulnerable. He quickly looked away, feeling uneasy.

Lesha smirked at him the same way as last time. "I never said it was a secret at the Wall." She strolled over to Jon and crouched down beside him. "And it looks like you didn't take my advice either."

Jon tightened his jaw. He tried to glare at her, but Lesha wasn't fazed at all by him. Her gaze made it feel like she was looking through him instead of at him. "That's right. I didn't," he said.

Lesha laughed a little as her eyes trailed away from him. She caught sight of the rest of the men who were initially tied up. She felt her insides began to burn as she caught the intense gaze of one of them. As soon as Lesha's smirk fell, Jon noticed. He looked over at the man and saw his penetrating stare. How he looked at her made Jon instantly feel uncomfortable, and he could see him licking his lips, too.

"You really don't find yourself in a safe situation, Rider," Tyrion Lannister spoke up.

Lesha looked over her shoulder and saw Tyrion smirking at her. The dwarf was surprised to see that the famous Black Rider was a woman, but that only made him all the more curious about her. Clearly, it wasn't a secret at the Night's Watch if Benjen Stark knew.

Tyrion gently closed his book and gave his full attention to Lesha. "A woman of the Night's Watch. It's clearly not allowed…but it doesn't seem to be a secret amongst the men of the Wall. Something tells me…you have an interesting story."

Lesha looked puzzled at first before her expression turned playful and mischievous. Her smirk was wide, and her silvery eyes nearly had a wildness to them. "Probably one not as interesting as yours. You're that Lannister dwarf, are you. Almost didn't see you there," she snickered.

Tyrion couldn't help but grin at her bluntness. She had a sharp tongue, and he wondered how far she could take those crude remarks. "Yes, I'm sure you did, but I could hardly miss you. A mysterious Highlander woman of the Night's Watch. Maybe you could enlighten me on why you're here."

Lesha was quick to reflect the question back to him. "Maybe I could, but my story isn't so impressive. Let's just say…a series of unfortunate events led my ass here."

"And something tells me I'll figure it out myself once we arrive at the Wall. I don't mind asking the Lord Commander."

Lesha's smirk didn't waver and only grew. For whatever reason, she looked like she was enjoying the conversation at the moment. Jon couldn't help the feeling that Lesha probably saw it as a game. A game of words. A game of deception. Lesha had secrets to hide, clearly, but she was skillful enough to redirect the question in another direction.

"You seem out of place here, Lannister. Why exactly do you want to go to the Wall?" Lesha asked while standing up.

Tyrion shrugged. He knew what she was trying to do but decided to answer anyway. "No reason. Just thought It would be a marvelous sight, don't you think? Standing on the edge of the world, looking off into uncharted lands."

Lesha snickered a little. Because of her accent, her words had a sharp and playful flare. "Let me guess. You thought about pissing off the edge, haven't you. I've known many men who've done the same. I remember when I first came to the Wall. Got piss drunk and threw nearly a full bottle of wine off the edge. I hardly remember the affair…but I remember how mad Commander Mormont was at me the next day. Called me stupid and wasteful."

Tyrion smirked slightly. He could only imagine what she was like, which made him laugh a little. Yet, he knew now that there was more to her than met the eye. "You seem to have the right idea, yes. It's one of many things I plan to do while I'm there."

Jon was listening the whole time but still couldn't believe it. It sounded like a normal, civil conversation, but Lesha and Tyrion had transformed it into a game of truths. The dwarf was skilled at talking, but Lesha could keep up with him easily and never reveal too much about herself. Yet, they were able to make their conversation sound normal. And he dared say that Lesha…was a little charming, in a crude and blunt way.

Lesha looked pleased with herself as her smirk gradually turned into a smile. "You're a funny man, Tyrion Lannister," she said genuinely before looking over to Benjen. "In any case, the Wall isn't far. We should be upon it in a couple hours. If you round up now, I can take you there before nightfall."

Benjen nodded and looked around at everyone. "You all heard the lady. Get to your feet. We still got a lot of ground to cover."

As Lesha walked back to her horse, the rest of the group stood up and gathered their things for the last leg of the journey. As Jon kicked dirt over the smoldering fire, he glanced at the raper still burning a hole into Lesha's back. He could see the man's eyes traveling all over her body. Her legs, her behind, her slender neck. There wasn't a single place his eyes hadn't mentally undressed. Jon knew Lesha was well aware of it too. He could see her cold and weary eyes glancing over her shoulder every other minute as she adjusted her horse's saddle.

Jon took a sharp breath and began walking over, placing himself between the two. The raper's eyes widened slightly when his vision was obscured. He stared at Jon momentarily before promptly looking away and walking off. Once he was gone, Jon felt like he could breathe again. He didn't like that man's gaze and feared to know what was happening in his head.

Lesha looked back at him and scoffed, letting her hand fall away from her axe. "It's been a while since we've seen each other, Jon Snow."

Jon jumped a little when he heard Lesha speak his name. "It has been. I assume you're well?"

"It's been more of the same. Tell you the truth. I only came out this way because I was hunting. Didn't think I'd run into you guys," she said with a shrug.

"You were hunting?" Jon gave her an odd look before noticing the large mass on the back of her horse. He grabbed the blanket that was covering it and pulled it up, seeing the fresh body of a dead deer. There were puncture marks in its neck that Jon figured must've come from arrows. "Is that what you do at the Wall? You hunt?"

"I do many things," Lesha said, covering the deer back up. "By the way, have you thought of a name for your direwolf yet? Last time I saw him, he was nothing but a small pup."

Jon gave a small smile. He was happy to have a conversation he could keep up with. He laughed a little, trying to imagine his dire wolf as small anymore. "Well, he has grown considerably since the last we've met. He's not to the size of, uh…Maira yet, but he's definitely not small anymore. I've decided to name him Ghost."

"Ghost? Why is that?"

"It's because of his white fur, and the fact that he makes no noise."

"He's quiet? How quiet?"

Smiling to himself, Jon gestured behind Lesha. "See for yourself."

Cocking a brow, Lesha turned around and jumped when she saw a large wolf standing directly behind her. It had stark white fur and red eyes that looked to glow in the forest's dim lights.

"Fuck! Oh, fu…" Lesha took a breath and snapped her head to Jon. She could see him snickering at her reaction. "Oh, you think that's funny?"

Jon's smile was wide and bright. "I do. I really do."

"Lesha's lips turned into a thin line. She leaned her head against her horse and took a breath. Her heart was still jumping like mad. "Oh, fuck me…I saw something white in the corner of my eye. I thought it was Maira."

"I'm sure you did, but where is she now?" Jon asked, looking around, half-expecting to see the wild predator stalking the nearby forest.

"If she's not here now, then she's probably still out hunting for her own food. She'll join back up with us before we get to the Wall." Lesha grabbed the saddle and hoisted herself up in one swing. "Get on your horse, Jon Snow. I'm excited to see your reaction to the Wall."

Lesha turned her horse around and waited by the path for everyone to follow.

The forest soon turned white and thinned out the further up north they went. The chill in the air became bitter, and the wind blew through their thick wool cloaks like it was made of thin cloth. Frost touched down on their faces, and the two beasts, Ghost and Maira, were getting harder to make out as the snow on the ground thickened and turned white.

With Lesha leading the way, the convoy crossed over a large valley and slowly marched to the top of a hill where they could finally see it. It was the Wall. A massively tall and thick structure that was made entirely of pure ice. It spanned across the land as far as their eyes could see, with no end in sight.

Lesha chuckled and looked back to the convoy. They all had looks of pure shock on their faces, mixed with awe at the sight. Tyrion was smiling with amazement, while Jon couldn't even bring words out to express his feelings.

"Welcome to the Wall, gentleman," she said with a widening smirk.