Benjen

"When I was a boy I went to a tournament."

"Was it filled with death?" Edd asked.

"Is there any tournament that isn't filled with death?" Benjen asked.

"Not any of the ones I've been too," Edd said with a cheerful smile. "It does well to remind me that we can all die at any moment. You could be doing something simple… like chatting with a dashing young man while you waited for a gangplank to come down on a ship… thinking that all was fine and that soon you could get some food and rest… and suddenly a seagull flies in and drives itself right into your rectum, causing horrific internal bleeding that leads to your death. One that is so bad and yet so hilarious that even the Silent Sisters would break out into cackles as they tried to figure out if one bone belonged to you or the gull."

Benjen just stared at the young man before shaking his head. "I went to a tournament," he repeated. "My father did not attend so he left us in the care of one of his most trusted men, a grim bear of a man who I was sure would step on me if he didn't know right where I was at all times."

"If he were a woman there would have been a long and fruitful career in Lys of him doing that," Edd commented. When Benjen shot him a dark look Edd merely shrugged. "There is said to be an 8 foot tall woman, Lady Dee, who men pay for the pleasure of her stalking them through her manor. When they are caught she will press her bare foot against their face until they black out-"

"I will throw you overboard," Benjen commented.

"The water isn't that deep," Edd replied before tilting his head. "But I suppose there are rocks down there that might dash my brains in. That feels like a properly ironic death for someone of the Night's Watch… killed in warm water."

Benjen nodded and continued on. "Old Isaac had stared down Iron Born raiders and made them run of in terror with just a snort. And yet I'll never forget the look of terror on his face when my father told him he'd have to watch over us. I never understood that-"

"Fuck this!" Ygritte cried out and Benjen caught a blur of blue as the Free Folk Other easily leapt from the ship, soaring over the dock and landing on the shore beyond it before turning back towards the others. "Come on ya fucks! We got a city to explore!"

"Fuck ya!" Torrmund called out as he too threw himself over the rail, Rayne rolling her eyes but chasing after him while Steve focused on apologizing to the sailors before doing the same, giving chase after Ygritte and scolding her for leaping away without thanking the sailors for their hard work. But the Female Other merely grabbed his hand and tugged him towards the city.

Benjen just shook his head. "Now I do."

"Aw, look at our large and violent children go," Edd said, slinging his arm around Benjen's shoulder. After a moment though better judgment (and Benjen's glower) had him retracting his arm. "So, guess we should go retrieve our savage friends?"

"And remind them that we aren't staying," Benjen said with a weary sigh, knowing this could get rather difficult. The two of them began to head down the gangplank and into Braavos proper itself.

"Ever been to Braavos, First Ranger?"

"No," Benjen admitted. "But I don't think there is anyone who was readily available who has been so I was the best choice." The city was large, bigger than anyplace he'd been to in his life. The closest that could come to comparison was Harrenhal and the Tournament but that was vastly differently. That had been a single large castle (admittedly the biggest castle ever made) with thousands of tents stretched out around it. A chaotic and wild time, when Ned and Isaac had done all they could to keep an eye on him but had failed many times because there was so much to see. That had been, well,they tourney, which while a delight there was some much to see with every step he took. Even the tents that simply belonged to knights looking to make a name for themselves had been interesting to him when he was young because there were so many different armors and weapons to be seen. But there had been puppet shows; ones for children like himself, others that had been meant for all, and a few that Ned had pushed him away from because, as he now realized, the puppets had cocks and quims for watchers to hoot over. All sorts of games to play from darts to milk bottles to obscure Essosi games such as one that saw men roll small wooden balls up a ramp to try and get them into different holes to score points. All sorts of different foods, with what felt like every animal that existed, and cooked in ways that Benjen hadn't thought possible. There are been wrestling matches were knights wore bizarre armor and battled against one another; he remembered seeing a man dressed as a gravedigger battle a foul-mouthed warrior dressed in snake leather. Music had always been playing falling in and out of his ears as he had moved.

But Braavos… Braavos was something else entirely. A different beast.

Moving past the docks where a hundred different vessels from all over the world worked to either unload their goods or take on new ones the two of them came upon a long street filled with different wineskins, ale shops, taverns, and meal halls. And scattered amongst them were different wooden stalls, some with outdoor tables made of hardy wood, others barely a covered counter, offering more treats and tastes. What was truly amazing was the variety. Each place seemed to cater to a different taste and Benjen was mildly surprised to see several Westerosi sigils mixed in with the Esossi flags. There was one with the flag of House Martell that boasted the spiciest food one could find. Next to that was a Yi Ti Rice House where men were invited to sit on the floor and eat from wooden boxes. A Reachland Wine Shop that claimed to have over 10,000 different bottles available. An open fire pit next to a stall where a man shouted at them that he produced true Dothroki cooking and told them that his 'sweet horsemeat' would make them twice as strong after a single serving.

"Would you look at this…" Edd murmured to himself.

"I know," Benjen stated as they walked. It made sense, to have so many different foods available; after all, Braavos was a major trading post, with only the likes of Pentos truly to compete with it. 'And the Iron Bank assures that Braavos will always have the edge,' he thought to himself as they continued on. 'Sailors long for reminders of home so being able to eat at a place that is similar to what they know…'

"So many ways to get food poisoning," Edd said with a sardonic little smile, causing Benjen to roll his eyes. "Still I suppose we should eat first."

"We need to find the others and find travel to Meereen," Benjen reminded him.

"And we will, we will!" Edd declared. "It's just… do you really want to eat hardtack and salted pork for another week?" Benjen grimaced at that. Somehow the food on the ship had made what they got at the Wall taste like a Royal Feast. "We are doing very well on coin, aren't we? Especially after Steven won all those arm wrestling matches."

Benjen sighed at that. Steve had been worried about taking the sailors' money but none of them had actually bet they could win. Rather they had paid in order to be able to claim they had battled an Other. While he had thought it foolish it had allowed them to not only make back all the money they'd spent on chartering the boat but nearly triple what they could spend. And while he did want to be smart about the money because anything could happen…

"Look at it this way," Edd said, "the Free Folk are going to destroy things."

Benjen frowned.

"But!" Edd continued on. "We either can deal with it on a full stomach… or empty when we are forced to flee!"

"…fine," Benjen grumbled, patting the hidden coin purse (he wasn't foolish enough to wear it openly or give it to any of the others, even Steve). Honestly he was hungry and it would be nice to have a bit of peace before he had to deal with whatever nonsense the others got into. While Rayne and Steve were far more levelheaded Rayne was still a woman that could become a giant wolf creature and Steve had lived in a time where bartering was far more common than coin… he would probably find some place to get something to eat and then ask if he could work off his debt serving tables.

That caused Benjen to have the rather horrid vision of Steve bending down while sailors slapped his ass as he set drinks on the table.

"Maybe this one?" Edd suggested as he pointed to one place and Benjen scowled when he saw that the ale house served Lysini food… served by bare chested women who wore straps of cloth to cover their nethers and proclaimed that for a few more coins one could select to 'eat a server' instead. "We should sample some things, since we might not have the chance-"

"I will sell you to the Dothroki horsemeat man," Benjen growled.

"But that would make that old bog witch right when she said I'd die that way!" Edd complained with a laugh and Benjen honestly couldn't tell if the lad was fucking with him or not.

Realizing he'd need to be the one to pick Benjen looked around, trying to find a place that would get them fed without costing them too much (because he had a feeling soon he'd have to pay for the damages Ygritte and Tormund caused) while also not making them sick to their stomachs. Already one shop, which claimed to make the sweetest treats one could find, was warning of the mother of all bellyaches.

'Not the Dornish then,' he thought to himself, remembering how one time Yoren had managed to bring them Dornish spices to try and make their meat taste a bit better; they'd all ended up shitting out half of their intestines that night, terrified that the Night's Watch would end with them on privies. 'And not anything from the Reach… we haven't had enough fruits and vegetables recently so that will mess us up too. We need something hearty, that will sit well on the belly and get us through the rest of the day… maybe allow us to skip evening meal and go with just something light…'

"Ah!" Edd declared, perking up in a manner that Benjen had learned meant pain and suffering for him. "I believe that will do!"

He gestured towards a building that had been painted so that it looked like the there was snow and ice hanging off of it. Even the roof was white like any building in Molestown after a snow. There were barrels set out and a large log carved to look like a furry warrior with an axe in his hand.

"The Wendigo!" Edd declared. "Fine Northern Dining!"

"The Wendigo is a monster caused by someone consuming the flesh of another," Benjen muttered darkly. "It is not something to be lightly mocked unless one is courting pain and suffering."

"Sounds like my kind of place then!" Edd said cheerfully and he began to tug Benjen along, the First Ranger realizing that there was simply no way he was going to get out of this one. With a sigh he allowed Edd to lead him towards the establishment.

What he found inside was a nightmare made real.

It looked similar enough to the Great Hall of Winterfell that for a brief moment he felt the piercing gut punch that was homesickness. The long tables with benches that allowed one to easily pick up their plate and move someplace else if they were hungry. The smell of roasted meat, crackling and hot, wafting in the air. The laughter and cheers as men egged each other on to eat and drink more.

Yet it was also all… distorted.

Tapestries and carvings showed an altered history of the North. A man punching out a bear, someone riding a wolf through a burning forest… while playing a lute for some reason. Three men, each sitting on the other's shoulders, so that they were tall enough to poke the eyes of a giant.

Dogs moved about the hall, much as they did in Winterfell, but they had packs on that were filled with salted jerky and sealed casks of ale, which men happily grabbed. The serving women were dressed in fur britches and boots, nothing else. One wall was filled with barrels of ale and beer that had names that made Benjen's teeth ache at the cutesiness of it all. Take the Black Stout. Winter Brew is Coming. White Walker Ale. And at the very back of the hall, upon a throne of 'ice', sat a wood and stuffed leather direwolf king that watched all.

"We should have gone to the Lysini place," Benjen muttered in disgust even as Edd dragged him off to a woman with frizzy black hair who wore rabbit fur undergarments.

"Welcome my lords," she said in an attempt to have a Northern accent that made Benjen cringe. "Have you traveled up past the Throat to visit us here before you journey on? Perhaps to the Fearfort or Final Hearth?"

"Wow," Benjen managed to get out.

"Aye!" Edd declared gleefully, for once delighting in something OTHER than death and destruction. "This is Benjen Stark of Winterfell and we have come to dine here!"

That caused the woman to pause. "…honestly?" she asked, dropping the accent. "Because we get some Northerners in here…"

"Aye," Benjen finally stated. "I am Benjen Stark."

The woman looked at him like he was the sun finally rising over the horizon. "Oh… oh this is wonderful!" she declared. "We've always hoped to have a Stark visit!" She motioned for them to follow her. "If you want to sit at the benches you can but we have the high table for special guests… normally that is extra but we will charge the normal fee for you. I'm afraid that we can't crown you the King of Winter as that has already been taken…"

Benjen wished he could have been shocked when they were led to a table in the far back and found Ygritte sitting at the head of a long table, a wooden crown perched on her head.

"Kneel ya fucks!" she declared, lifting a goblet into the air. "Queen in the North!"

"Queen in the Fuckin' North!" Tormund declared, though considering his mouth was full of beef it came out as 'Ueen in a F-in Or!' "This is gonna make me rethink fuckin' kneelin'. If all ya have ta do is bend down ta get ale and meat served ta ya by lasses in furry britches then I find me a king ta pledge myself too!"

"You do and you are dead to me," Rayne commented with a growl, hunched over her plate like she thought it was going to be yanked away. Edd took a seat next to her and began to help himself, leaving Benjen to sigh and count out the coins needed not just to pay for himself but the others; he didn't know HOW they'd gotten a seat without paying first be figured with their chances it would be better to pay now before they were chased out. Once that was done Benjen took a seat next to a sheepish looking Steve.

"Sorry about that," he said with a bashful smile that would have been more on place a young lad's face than an old warrior like him.

"At least the food is good," Benjen said, nodding towards Steve's plate that was loaded with food. There were several platters that were half empty, telling him that Steve and the others had been at it for a good while and thus this had been their first stop. 'Good… less likely I'll be sitting here and have to deal with some angry shopkeep who is demanding that I pay for the damage they caused.' He began to serve himself, selecting some cuts of pork, hearty thick potatoes practically stuffed with butter, and some warm rolls with a strong crust but so soft of an inside that they were like clouds. One of the serving girls came by asking what he wished to drink and he asked for a dark ale, not wanting to know its name as he had a feeling it would be so embarrassing that he wouldn't be able to swallow it.

"How close is this to your home?" Steve asked.

"Have you ever seen a warped mirror?" Benjen asked. Steve, already tucking into his food, nodded in understanding at that. "I understand what they were going for but… it's a mumur's farce."

"Aw come now," Ygritte declared with a laugh as the serving girl returned with Benjen's ale, "this is great! Ya tellin' me you Northerners don't have women like this waitin' on ya hand and foot."

"We must wait on our gracious Northerner Lords," the serving girl said, a young thing with dark hair and skin far too tanned for anyone of the North. "We were but savages until the Wolf Kings showed us better."

"…what?" Ygritte said, her smile falling.

"I think she's saying they are supposed to be spear wives," Rayne said with a smirk.

Benjen could see the very moment Ygritte's brain froze and stop working.

Tormund began to pound the table, his thumps so hard that it caused everything to rattle and shake. "Ha! I am lovin' this place more and-" He let out a cry of pain when Ygritte slammed her goblet down on his hand. "Fuckin' hell, woman!"

"You think this is funny?!" Ygritte demanded, leaping to her feet and gesturing wildly. "Is that what ya want from me!? For me ta be prancin' around in furry whatits so ya can stare at me tits?" She reached up and gave her breasts a jiggle. "Oh, I'd bet ya'd like ta try! Cept if I did I'd smash your head in with 'em!" She waved her hand at her nethers. "Wanna give me a poke after rippin' off me furry unders? I'd suck your cock right off then crush yar middle with my thighs! Only one fuckin' man that can fuck me now!" She pointed at Steve who ducked his head in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry about all this," Benjen told the serving woman.

"My lord, this isn't even the strangest thing I've dealt with this week."

That caused Edd to perk up. "You mean having two people with blue skin isn't weird for you?"

The server shot him a level stare. "This is Braavos," she replied like that was the answer to everything in the universe.

Benjen and Steve just shared a look, shrugging. They had been told that Essos would most likely be far more accepting of the two Others but that confirmation… it meant at the very least that the group wouldn't need to deal with a mob chasing after Steve and Ygritte with torches and pitchforks screaming they were monsters.

'Though…' Benjen though sardonically, realizing that he was thinking of the dreaded Others as something other than monstrous. 'All my life I was told of the demons beyond the Wall… the White Walkers with their army of spiders who led the armies of the dead. And while that is true… I could never equate Steve or Ygritte with them.' The woman in question let out a screech and dove at a laughing Tormund, fingers out like claws only for Rayne to quickly grab her. Edd, for his part, simply reached over and snagged some winter corn to nibble on. 'Well, usually,' he amended as he set about eating.

As utterly embarrassing as the place was Benjen had to admit that it had good food and soon Ygritte decided it was better to eat than to bicker though she did make Steve and Tormund switch places as she didn't want him anywhere near him. Benjen, for his part, looked around the small hall, noticing that it was a wild mix of people. There were a group of sailors who were competing in a drinking contest… but not so much trying to see who could drink more but rather who could create the most disgusting combination of liquors that their mates couldn't stomach. A dark skinned man stood in the corner, wearing the odd combination of a red feathered cloak and dark leathers. Four short men with bare feet, not quite dwarves but near to it, hurried in and took a table before quickly demanding as much beer and food as the server could carry. Two women who glared daggers at anyone who approached their table were huddled together pointing at a map, hissing and whispering at each other. A young lad, probably a farmer's son along with an old man wearing long tan robes similar to a maester's walked over to a table where a pirate and his frankly astonishingly hairy first mate were sitting.

"We'll need to find passage to Mereen," Steve whispered to him softly. "I don't think it will be overly hard."

"What makes you think that?"

"I've been listening to people talking… it seems that many are trying to rush to get there, either by caravan or by boat."

"Unrest?" Benjen asked, worried that the Red Skull, with his lead on them, would be able to get to Daenerys first. Steve had told them that it would be difficult for the Red Skull to travel, as he wouldn't be able to march across the Wall and instead would need to find some way to cross the Narrow Sea completely on his own or make landfall somewhere along Westeros' eastern shore and then find a ship that would take him and the Winter Soldier, along with any other wights or thralls he created, to Meereen. That was where they had a better chance of beating him.

"No," Steve said with a shake of his head, taking a drink from his mug. "I don't understand it but they are worried about her having something called The Juggernaut. Have you ever heard of a device or the like called that?"

Benjen frowned. "No… nothing of the sort. It couldn't be her dragons, could it?"

"I doubt it," Steve stated. "They made clear they wanted to know who she would be giving The Juggernaut to. I don't see Daenerys giving up one of her dragons."

"No… the Targaryens clung to their dragons desperately and when they died out they guarded the eggs." He let out a sigh. "Well, there is no worrying about it now. We'll need passage-"

Suddenly there was a commotion in the Hall and Benjen snapped his head in the direction of the Summer Islander, who had a man pinned to the wall, a knife pressed against said man's jugular. But his position wasn't as strong as he might have hoped for two more men were behind him, one with a dagger against the man's side and the other holding a large bloodstained axe.

"Just a misunderstanding," the pinned man said, flashing a smile.

"There isn't any misunderstanding. I know who I was supposed to meet and you are not him."

"I am a friend of his," the man said and Benjen knew at once he was lying. "Just as the men behind me are my friends. And they would so very much be upset if something were to happen to me." He reached up and placed his hand on the dark skinned man's wrist. "So… let's put our weapons away and see about getting the cargo, shall we? Because you want to be my friend, don't you? Seeing as you have none."

"Oh, I don't know," Steve said and in a blur he was suddenly right next to the Summer Islander, glaring at the two goons that were backing the liar up, "I could be his friend."

"You… really don't want to be," the pinned man said with a hint of malice.

"See, that's the thing," Steve stated. "All my life I've been told what not to do. What I shouldn't do. I didn't listen then… don't think I'll be listening now. So-"

"Fucking fight already!" Ygritte roared, grabbing a large carving knife and leaping from their table through the air, grabbing onto one of the rafters to help propel her even further so she crashed into the man holding the axe.

That caused three more men to leap up from their seats and draw weapons.

"YES!" Tormund laughed as he hefted up a great sword he'd taken to wearing everywhere, his sister rolling her eyes as the large wildling cackled in delight and stormed away from their table. Off to the left the old man and the farm boy were trying to leave only for a man with a deformed face to walk up to them and begin jabbing the boy in the chest… only for the old man to draw out a thin Valaryian Steel blade and hack the man's arm off before guiding his charge away, not even looking back at the deformed man as he screamed in pain.

"Oh good," Eddd commented dryly, "the death and dismemberment I order has arrived." There was a scream and Benjen turned to see that Ygritte had tossed one of the newly added combatants at the sailors, causing their drinking game to come to an end as they pulled their weapons. The four little men dove for cover under the table, the youngest reaching multiple times to try and retrieve his mug of beer but failing thanks to the battle that was growing. The two women who had been discussing the map folded up their parchment and made for the exit only for one of the drunken sailors to come upon them; before either of the women though could react one of the serving girls came up from behind and kicked the man right between the legs, sending him crashing down with a whimper. The two women looked at her before nodding towards the door, the serving girl shrugged and tossing her tray at one of the goons that was trying to sneak up on Tormund, knocking him silly. The serving girl didn't watch her handiwork as she linked arms with the two women and headed off.

"Come on, let's end this," Benjen commented.

"At least we had a nice meal before we waded into battle," Edd replied. "Assuming the food wasn't poisoned. That beef did taste a bit off…"

Benjen tuned the young man out, drawing his sword and pointing it at several of the sailors who had been looking for a fight but had no one to trade blows with. The three of them looked at each other before shrugging and turning on one another, whooping and hollering as they threw punches at each other, eventually landing on the ground and rolling about. Benjen, for his part, rolled his eyes and walked over to Ygritte, who had sat down on the Ax-Wielding bugger and was rather gleefully smacking him in the face while taunting him.

"I think he's had enough," Benjen told her.

"If he has then he's a weak fuck," she commented. "North of the Wall this is foreplay."

"I believe its foreplay in Essos too," Edd chirped and Benjen looked down to see the man's pants tenting up. Ygritte wiggled a bit, noticing suddenly the bulge, and glowered at the man who gave her a saucy smile and wink.

Ygritte chose that eye to punch when she knocked him out.

"Fucking hells," she muttered as she got up. "Why is everyone in the world so fucked up? We Free Folk ain't this way-"

"See!" Tormund said and the others turned to find that he had grabbed a candle stick and was in the process of shoving it up one of the goon's asses. "I told ya it'd fit!"

Ygritte firmly snapped her jaw shut while Benjen glanced at Rayne who sighed before taking off her shirt, ready to switch to wolf form and stop her brother before he went to see what else would fit up in the man's ass.

That left them coming over to Steve, who had the original man that had started the entire mess with his lies pinned to a wall, fingers splaying in a way so that while the man felt his hand around his throat it wasn't a true choke out, allowing him to at least speak. Which was good because Benjen could tell that the Summer Islander next to the Other was VERY interested in getting answers.

"Where is the man I was supposed to meet with?" the Summer Islander demanded.

"I'd answer him," Steve stated. "And remember that all I have to do is twitch and…" He left that comment hanging in the air, causing the weaselly bastard to tremble a touch.

"Fucking hell! He went to Meereen, okay?"

Benjen raised an eyebrow at that. 'Meereen. Another person going to see Daenerys?'

The Summer Islander glowered. "And how do you know that?"

Steve tightened his grip slightly, causing the man to curse before he dropped his voice. "He pays me off for information, okay? I hear things and he pays me. Sometimes he looks the other way when I smuggle in things… Nightshade Teas and stuff like that. He told me he was leaving… and with the Sealord and his freaks going with him too I-"

"And you decided to try and pretend to be him so you could steal from people and force him to take the blame," Benjen said.

"Who the fuck are you-" The man was cut off by Steve's hand once more.

"This is going to be the last time we see each other," Steve warned. "Because this time I'm going to be polite and kind. I'm going to let you go on your way. I won't hunt you if you do. I won't be lurking in every corner. You get to go back to your life. But… if you tell me something I don't like… or failed to tell me something I should know… then if we do meet again it will be very bad for you. So… do you have anything else to add?"

The weaselly little man shook his head, understanding the threat. "Right… right… nothing else to say!"

Steve nodded and dropped him.

"Go."

The man nodded, rubbing his throat as he edged around Steve, moving along Benjen's side so he could avoid him and the Free Folk. "Maybe I'll just send some people to check in on you…" the man muttered.

He never finished.

It was rather hard when his head bounced off the floor while his neck gushed blood.

Benjen stared Steve down as he grabbed the man's shirt and Benjen used it to clean his sword. "Bastard had it coming," he muttered. Steve, after a moment, nodded in agreement.

"Now this is feeling more like home!" Tormund declared as he walked over to them, Rayne following after as she pulled on her shirt once more.

Steven shrugged and turned towards the Summer Islander. "Sorry for butting in but figured you needed the help."

"Its appreciated," the man said, holding out his hand. "Isamalwi Iso Malsosia." He glanced over when Tormund began to mutter the name… or attempted to at the very least, before shaking his head. "Call me Sam."

"Steve Rogers. This is Benjen Stark, Eddison Tollet, Tormund Giantsbane, Rayne Wolfsbane, and Ygritte-"

"Skullcrusher," Ygritted added. When the others looked at her she shrugged. "Tryin' ta think of a last name."

Sam just nodded at that, which made Benjen pause. "You don't seem all that startled by us," he stated.

Sam chuckled. "I'm a Summer Islander who used to live in King's Landing. I'm used to people looking at me. Plus we now have three people with spider powers swinging around. You aren't that strange." Before Benjen could wrap his mind around that bit of news Sam asked, "Stark… you wouldn't happen to have a nephew…" He trailed off, wisely not saying any names.

"A few. Robb, Jon, Bran-"

"Jon," Sam said in relief. "Jon Stark."

"You know him?" Benjen said, surprised.

"Good man. Very good man. He's the one that sent me on this little task. Well, his wife did… being Hand of the King eats up some of his free time-"

Benjen cut Sam off. "Hand… Jon is Hand of the Fucking King?!"

"Suppose that news didn't reach you yet. Yes, King Tommen named him his Hand."

"Tommen?" Benjen asked, thinking back to Winterfell and the pudgy little boy that was barely beyond being a toddler, at least in his mind. "What happened to Joffrey?"

"That is a… long story," Sam said.

"We have time," Steve said. "You can tell us on the way." Sam arched an eyebrow and Steve gestured at them all. "We are headed to Meereen as well."

"The Red Fucker is headed that way to turn the Dragon Queen into an undead slave," Ygritte commented.

At Sam's now surprised look Steve shrugged. "Like you said, a long story. But we can travel together… we're all headed to Meereen and there are safety in numbers."

"…alright then," Sam finally agreed.

Benjen knew that this was a risk. They barely knew the Summer Islander and now were taking him with them as they raced to try and get to Daenerys Targaryen before the Red Skull did. That this could slow them down, prevent them from being able to complete their task, possibly doom all of Westeros…

…but Sam knew Jon.

Lyanna's boy.

There was never any question… Sam was coming with them.

~MC~MC~MC~

OMAKE

Catelyn gasped as she saw Jon unsheathe his sword. "Bastard, have you finally decided to steal Robb's birthright?"

"I would never-" Only for Jon to pause. 'I've gone this far… I wonder what life would be like if I stole Robb's birthright…'

In his head Jon saw himself sitting on the throne of winter, a sash proclaiming him the Lord of North, while a sexy red head danced beside him.

"I'll do it!" Jon proclaimed. "I'll take Robb's birthright! Alright Lady Stark-" Jon blinked as he realized, when he was daydreaming, he'd somehow ended up outside riding a horse while eating a sausage. "D'OH! Eh, I'll steal it tomorrow."