The lion of the Night's Watch

Jaime POV

The first thing that greeted me when I left the ship was the cold. White Harbor was pretty far south in the North and was cold there already. Here on Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, the air was freezing. Once a gust of wind touched me, my skin became numb.

We didn't even stay a night in Eastwatch. As soon as we ate, we were pushed into carts on the way to Castle Black. Two dozen of us were going there. Others would be left in various castles on the way. I couldn't even look out the window to see the glorious Wall, as it was too cold.

Of course, I knew long ago that the Lannister men would be divided into various groups and left in different places, so we would not be able to work together. From the behavior of the people around us, I could tell there would be no kindness for us. The people here were like the lands around them, grey. They didn't hide their dissatisfaction with us.

I will have to accept that I will die freezing my balls on the Wall. Tyrion would laugh at my situation, so I laughed too. No one found any humor in my snickering, and my throat started to hurt from the cold, so I stopped. The cold freezes even the humor from people. Maybe that is why the Starks always have such long and stern faces.

…

I didn't know if I should be happy or desperate at arriving at Castle Black. One on hand, I finally have shelter from the cold, even if it isn't for long. On the other hand, there won't be a chance to escape anymore. Not that there was a chance, to begin with. But if I was desperate enough, I don't think anyone would be able to stop me.

"Jaime Lannister," a gruff old man greeted me once I left the carriage. "Welcome to Castle Black. You won't find much gold there, and the red you see will be only blood."

"Then maybe I will make the castle red with your all blood," I replied.

"You can try if you can beat a thousand warriors. If not, the only red will be your blood," The gruff old man responded. "From today onwards, I am your commander, Jeor Mormont. I heard of your skill with a sword, so I won't put you through training. Tomorrow morning you will say your vows. Rest for today."

Once I entered the dining hall, the binding of my hands was cut. For a moment, I consider taking a sword and carving out of there. Yet where would I go? With me gone, Edmure won't have anything to bind him from killing Tommen and Myrcella. I will have to stay there and do as they wish with me.

"Sit with me, Lannister," A man my age told me.

"You are a Stark," Not many had such a long face, cold grey eyes, and brown hair.

"I will tell you now, once you say your vows, you will be a ranger," He dismissed my words and told me. "More importantly, you will work with me."

"You don't have to watch over me," I said. "I won't run and can take care of myself."

"Lannister's word means nothing here, especially yours, Kingslayer."

"If you say so."

It seems that I will spend my days there quietly as possible. I don't think I will be in any position of power, especially when most of the men I see are from the North, the Vale, or the Riverlands. Every region has some reason to hate a Lannister, especially theirs.

I wonder if I killed any of their family members, maybe brothers or fathers. Well, it didn't matter. The word has probably already spread of how we burned farms and let someone like the Mountain do as he wishes in their lands. I don't think I will be able to sleep with my eyes closed, especially if I don't want a dagger getting to my heart.

…

"Night gathers, and now my watch begins. It shall not end until my death. I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children. I shall wear no crowns and win no glory. I shall live and die at my post. I am the sword in the darkness. I am the watcher on the walls. I am the shield that guards the realms of men. I pledge my life and honor to the Night's Watch for this night and all the nights to come."

I repeated the words as I was told. The essence of the oath was supposed to be an honor, duty, and sacrifice, yet I felt neither when I said those words. I wondered how many people here thought of honor, duty, and sacrifice. Probably not even one.

"Jaime Lannister to the rangers," Lord Commander Jeor Mormont announced.

"Come with me," Benjen Stark, the first ranger, told me. "This is ser Waymar Royce. You will be ranging with him for now. You will listen to his orders as he listens to mine and as I listen to Lord Commander. We won't tolerate disobedience."

"Yeah, sure," I replied. Benjen Stark looked at me with distaste and left me with a young man.

"I would keep my head down and listen to others, Kingslayer," The boy told me.

"Is it an order?" I asked.

"You think you are better than everyone else in here. You might be right," The boy told me. "But out there, beyond the Wall, you will need your brothers to survive, especially now."

"Why now?"

"Come with me. I will introduce you to your other brothers, who mostly will come with us on our ventures beyond the Wall," He ignored me and led the way.

We left the church and went to the courtyard of the castle. I saw as boys trained with older men. I noticed that most men are taught in groups of three or four. Every group was balanced. Where there were more robust men, there were weaker men in the same group.

"In the past years, there was an influx of men, but mostly they were old men and boys. They left their families not to burden them. Some of the older men are veterans of at least one war, so they know some skills. The boys are mostly useless when they come there," Waymar explained. "Still, more than half are put as stewards and builders, so they aren't useless completely. The ones who make rangers are put into the more experienced teams and have to work themselves to their skill."

"You think I will need to work up to your skill?" I asked with a snort. "None of them could even touch me."

"I heard about you, Kingslayer," The boy said. "The best swordsman in the Seven Kingdoms, at least until Lord Edmure Tully defeated you. And he is about ten years younger than you."

"Do you want to test me, boy?"

"I am skilled, but I know my limits," He didn't rise to provocation. "You don't need to prove anything. Most of the men here know of you and your skill with a sword. But you know nothing of what is beyond the Wall. You don't know the cold or the terrifying nights. You wouldn't last long alone beyond the Wall. I would suggest that you listen to us and learn from us."

I snorted at his words. There was nothing for me to learn from a boy like him. I was taught by the best about swords and war. He thinks too much of himself if he believes he can teach me anything. Soon enough, he will understand that too.

"We arrived, Kingslayer," The boy stopped in front of two men. "This is Will, a good climber and scout. This one is Gared. He was a ranger for forty years. He will teach you the best if you want to learn how not to freeze to death."

"A man barely older than you and a scrawny old man," I commented. "Don't say they are the best the Watch can offer."

"Lord Commander thought that you would think like that, so he already gave us a mission," The boy said. "Rest for tonight. Go to Donal Noye, the blacksmith of the Night's Watch, and collect your weapon and armor. We will leave tomorrow morning."

I wasn't there even for two days and would have to leave already. It was clear Lord Commander didn't want me here. He was mistaken if he hoped I would die to some snow and wind. The cold won't stop me. The Lannister gold is colder than anything they've seen.

…

The clothes and armor were a bit loose. When I complained, the one-armed blacksmith laughed and said I should be grateful that they weren't too tight. The sword was barely passable for castle forged one. I had to sharpen it myself. The food was bland, and the beer was too watery. The bed was hard as a rock.

"I hope you rested well. We will ride for the whole day, won't stop to rest till the night," Waymar Royce told me. "This will be your horse."

"What is our mission?" I asked, trying to hide my irritation.

"We will check on the outposts beyond the Wall. Some have gone silent."

"What will we be looking for?"

"Wildlings are expected," The scrawny old man said. "But we should be prepared for worse."

"Worse?"

"White Walkers," Will the climber answered me.

"And snarks and grumkins too?" I asked with a laugh. "Don't try to scare me with fairytales."

"A year ago, I would have said the same," Waymar replied. "But now, there are things that are impossible to explain. More and more rangers have gone missing. The wildlings seem to be running in fear from something that even they can't explain."

"Those wildlings are probably tricking you all, so you would be too afraid to go on the ranges."

"If only that were the truth, but it is hard to believe when wildlings disappear from their campsites and villages," Waymar replied.

"Why is it so hard to believe?"

"Because they leave behind their clothes, weapons, and food," Gared was the one to answer me. "All of these things are scarce. Some would risk their lives to get them, so it is hard to believe they would leave them behind."

I didn't ask anything else and just rode behind them. They were superstitious. I was afraid that they would jump every time a wind would howl. I would have preferred if I traveled with Benjen Stark than these scaredy cats. I would instead go alone. I didn't need anyone.

A.N. As always, If you want more, up to five advanced chapters, you can support me on pa treon. com \ ironwolf852