"We should start back." Gared urged as the woods grew unnaturally dark around them.
"Not until we track down the rest of the Wildings." Ser Waymar Royce said. "I will not go back to Castle Black a failure on my first mission." The young man looked over his shoulder, a hint of a smirk peaked out from behind his cloak. "Besides, it's unbecoming of a veteran of the nights watch to be frightened of the dark."
Gared scowled under the thick black hood of his cloak, but did not rise to the bait. He had been a man of the watch since he was a boy and a man of the North even longer. In the fourty years since then, he had been hand selected by Lord Commander Mormont himself to lead many expeditions into the endless wilds of the North. Gared had long since earned his wings and he was not accustomed to taking orders.
Especially from commander like this one.
Ser Waymar was the youngest son of some ancient house in the Vale. He was a handsome youth of eighteen, grey-eyed and graceful and slender as a knife. But at the same time he was soft and as ignorant as the South that raised him.
"In times like this, you should be," Gared said gravely instead. "You don't know the monsters that lurk in the dark. Especially so far up North."
"He's right, m'lord," Will stuttered from behind them. "I've grown up on old tales about the lands beyond the wall. They say skinwalkers n' direwolves crawl abou-"
"Direwolves?" Ser Waymar laughed as he slowed and dismounted his steed.
"Direwolves are very real, Royce. You should already know the dangers of these wilds if you are to lead this expedition."
"If I need instruction, I will ask for it," the young lord said tightly. "We have no time for you Northmen's tales of haunted forests."
"This is not a laughing matter." Gared said sternly. "I would like to make it back to the wall in one piece."
Royce silently glared at Gared for a long moment but Gared would not be swayed. Finally Royce rolled his eyes and waved his hand dismissively back at Will. "Fine. Then see to it that we have a fire."
The snow fell heavier the further the three men trekked into the forest. The cold was biting and unrelentless. It numbed Gates's fingers even through the heavy thick wool and the heavy black leather skins. Will's torch provided some light, which put Gared someone what at ease.
That is, until he heard quiet rumbles in the trees.
"Wait! Stop!"
"Gared, if you make one more mention about direwolves I'll-"
"Shut up and listen! You fool!" Gared glared at the lordling, grabbing the now lit torch from Will, and pointed it towards the forests ahead of them that were cloaked in darkness. The men quietly stared into the black as snarls filled the air and a faint outline of a yellow pair of eyes stared back. The sound of the snarls grew louder and the large white head of a massive direwolf crawled into the light. It crouched low and its long snout curled back as it bared its teeth at them. The beast's eyes rolled into the back of its head and it began to howl. One by one, a whole pack of direwolves crawled out from the darkness to stalk closer to their prey.
"Gods!" Gared whispered in terror as he unsheathed his sword. Will and Royce quickly followed.
"Get down!" Will cried as he dove headfirst into the snow. Quickly losing his grip on the handle of his sword, Gared tossed it to the side and he threw himself down. Royce, on the other hand, did not move.
He stared down the wolves and laughed. Unsheathing his own sword, Royce charged at the beasts.
"For Eddard! For the watch!"
Suddenly, the giant beasts jumped towards Royce, teeth bared, and claws reaching for skin and bone. One went directly for Royce's throat, the other bit off the proud nobles hand and the last sunk its teeth into Royce's right knee. And before he could make so much as a sound, Royce fell lifelessly into the heap of snow.
Gared lie deathly still as he stared in shock at the bloody scene just in front of him. Royce's blood seeped into the snow as the beasts feasted on the commander's corpse. Dragging his eyes away from Royce's mutilated body, Gared knew that this was their chance. Quickly, Gared got to his feet, and pulled Will up by his cloak putting as much distance between them and the wolves as possible before they could gain any interest in them. The wind blew even fiercer, almost like it as moving through the skin, freezing their bones and the snow quickly began to build up faster and faster as they ran as quickly as they could through mounting piles of snow.
"We just got so make it to our horses, and then head straight back to castle black." Gared yelled back at Will, who kept a close pace behind him. Gared's teeth clattered and his shoulders shook but he knew that as long as they could make it back to their horses, they'll be able to outrun the wolves. Then Maester Aemon or Lord Mormont can deal with, whatever brought them here.
"Shit!" Will suddenly screamed, throwing himself back into the snow. Will frantically grabbed at his sword, thrusting the shaking blade in front of him. Gared reached for his sword, only to remember he dropped it back with the wolves. Cursing himself, Gared angrily turned to Will.
"What's the matter with you, boy? If we stay out here the wolves will catch up to us! If the cold doesn't get us first!" Gared went to grab Will's cloak again when suddenly, Gared saw a light shadow move behind the trees, and it brought him to a halt.
"Who goes there?" Gared asked uncertainly turning quickly in a circle, scanning his surroundings.
"Is it the wildlings?" Will asked. Gerald remained quiet, but the woods gave no answer.
That is until Will saw movement from the corner of his eye. A pale shape gliding through the tall wood. He turned his head and saw a white shadow in the darkness. And the closer he looked at it, he began to see the outline of a face, staring back at him through blue eyes. A blue deeper and bluer than any human eyes he'd ever seen.
A shadow emerged from the dark of the wood. A shadow that was shrouded in white-blue as it stood tall in front of them. Taller than any man Gerald had ever seen. Its pale flesh white like a ghost. Its body thin and grossly bony. Its armor seemed to seemed to be an ungodly black, with a faint white shimmer ghosting the sharp edges. And in its hand, a long sword carved from, what it seemed to be, a shard of ice glowed in the unnatural darkness, its sharp edge cutting through the wind itself.
Will heard the breath go out of Gerad in a long hiss. "Come no farther," Gerald tried to warn through his trembling voice.
The shadow slid forward anyways on silent feet. A sound akin to the groan and scrapes of sharpening metal filled the air as its mouth moved and its words were mocking.
"Will, help me!" Gerald cried, turning to younger man. He was a brother of the watch. He had a responsibility to carry out his duty and protect his brothers. Even if it meant death. But Gared watched Will's face emptied as the shadow raised its arm and the pale sword just over Gared's head…
and Gared watched as Will ran.
Ran further away out of the forest and back towards Castle Black. The last thing Gared could feel was the cold burn of the sharp blade cut through his shoulder and down towards his chest as if it were cutting through silk.
And as his vision slowly faded to black, behind him Gared he heard the shadow's laughter, sharp as icicles.
——————
Tears flooded Will's vision as he ran towards castle black. He ran until his muscles cramped and he fell face first in the snow. On his knees, he looked around and saw he was alone.
Out of breath and out of strength, Will leaned on his sword and pushed himself back up to his feet. But when Will looked up, he was met once again with icy blue eyes.
Will tried to scream but long, elegant fingers brushed past his cheek and tightened around his throat, lifting him up off the ground until he was looking straight into the blue eyes at eye level. Will kicked his feet and clawed at the ice cold hand but it made no difference. Will closed his eyes to pray, waiting for his life to be squeezed from him.
But it never came. Instead, came a voice.
"The pact was broken," it choked out in the common tongue. Will's eyes shot back open and he stared back into the eyes full of burning ice. "The sacrifice must be made."