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𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 103: 𝖂𝖔𝖑𝖋'𝖘 𝕹𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙𝖒𝖆𝖗𝖊.
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They had resumed their march after resting the previous day.
The wind carried loose snow across the tundra and reduced visibility to little more than a few dozen meters. The terrain did not help either. Sometimes they advanced along ice-covered slopes, while other times they had to circle around crevasses hidden beneath the snow, causing the line of their footprints to constantly stretch and contract.
Craster's Keep had long since disappeared behind them. If they maintained their pace, they still had at least a week before reaching Mance Rayder's camp.
Edward led the way without slowing down, while Aelia walked beside him, studying the terrain. Every so often she would move several yards away to inspect tracks half-erased by the wind before returning to the group.
Jon walked several paces behind, the rope coiled around one hand. It had been a "privilege" granted by Aelia after she ordered him to start making himself useful.
At the other end of the rope, Ygritte trudged forward with her wrists bound. Behind her came Tormund and the other two wildlings, tied together and forced to keep pace with the march.
A stronger gust hurled snow into their faces. Jon lowered his head and kept walking. Ahead of him, Edward and the others barely seemed to notice the wind, but he had to carefully plant a boot on an icy slope to avoid slipping.
That was when he found himself looking at Anna again.
The girl never stayed within the formation for long. One moment she would be walking beside Edward and Aelia, and the next she would wander off to touch the snow on a rock or watch a bird in the distance. Then she would come hopping back to their side as though nothing had happened.
Jon looked away.
Ygritte and Tormund were tied behind him. Every tug on the rope reminded him of his first ranging beyond the Wall. Ygritte had not stopped watching him since they resumed the march, and he did not need to turn around to know it.
He could feel the constant pressure of her gaze on his back, and the longer it continued, the harder it became to ignore.
Unfortunately, silence had never been one of the redhead's virtues.
Of course she eventually spoke, and her voice dripped with enough venom to kill an ox or two.
—Isn't it a little improper for Lord Snow to be carrying my leash? —Ygritte flashed a crooked smile.— Perhaps it would be more fitting to kill me outright. A filthy wildling, isn't that right?
Jon clenched his teeth. Hearing her address him after so long stirred something painful in his chest.
—Please, this isn't the time —Jon muttered.
Ygritte let out a short laugh filled with contempt before continuing.
—Well, look at that. Giving orders now too —she snapped.— Does Lord Jon Snow want me to cook for him as well? Wash his noble feet?
Jon gave the rope a slight tug and turned to face her.
—Really, this isn't the time —he looked at her seriously.— We'll talk about this later.
But the moment the words left his mouth, he knew he was wasting his breath. Ygritte had never accepted other people making decisions for her, and after everything that had happened between them, she certainly was not about to start now.
—Or what? —she shot back.— I don't fear a coward.
Jon stopped dead in his tracks.
—Don't you dare —he said through gritted teeth.— Do you think leaving you was easy? What did you expect me to do? Let you march south into a war that would leave thousands dead?
Ygritte met his gaze without lowering her chin, her pale eyes burning with anger.
—Oh, noble and brave Lord Jon Snow —she mocked.— Carrying the fate of the world on his shoulders.
Before Jon could reply, Tormund burst out laughing several paces behind them.
—By the Great Other's balls, if you're going to keep this up, go hide behind some bushes and fuck already —he said between laughs while the other two wildlings nodded.— It'd save the rest of us the noise.
Both Jon and Ygritte turned toward him at the same time.
—Shut up! —they shouted in unison.
Tormund raised his bound hands, still grinning, and continued walking without another word, content to let the lovers' quarrel continue.
—I never wanted to hurt you —Jon admitted, keeping his eyes on the path.— But I couldn't just stand by and do nothing.
Ygritte snorted.
—So your only option was to leave without even... —She cut herself off.
Jon looked at her. It was obvious that more than the fact that he had left, she was furious that he had left without telling her. Jon understood that, but he could not change the past.
—It was my duty —he replied weakly.— You knew what I was from the very first day.
She looked at him as if he were an idiot.
—And that made it easy for you, didn't it? —she spat.— Your duty before everyone else.
That stung more than he wanted to admit.
Because she was right.
—Of course it wasn't easy —Jon answered.— It was the hardest thing I've ever done, even harder than leaving my home or my family.
Ygritte clenched her fists inside her bindings.
—Oh, but it was —she growled.— You slipped away in the middle of the night without even having the balls to say goodbye or ask if I wanted to come with you.
Jon's eyes widened in shame.
—I couldn't ask you to choose. They're your people —he said, looking at her.— I wouldn't do that to you.
Ygritte barked out a humorless laugh.
—Ah, of course. Noble Jon Snow would never burden me with such a choice —she practically spat his name.— Better to leave without a word because I'm some helpless woman who needs protecting.
Jon remained silent for several seconds before speaking again.
—Would you have come with me? —he finally asked.— Would you have left everything you'd ever known to follow me? Would you have fought against your own people?
She stared at him again, offended by the question.
—You'd know if you'd had the courage to ask —she replied, looking away.— But now you know nothing, Jon Snow.
Jon kept walking while processing the conversation. He could not blame her for hating him, but the doubt remained, lodged firmly in his mind. Had he done the right thing by leaving without saying a word? Had it really been his way of sparing her pain... or simply cowardice?
He sighed.
—I wish I had never left that cave —Jon murmured.— I wish I had stayed there with you.
Ygritte seemed about to reply, but Edward interrupted them as he appeared at their side, his expression serious.
Edward had detected something several yards ahead and immediately alerted the group. The moment he did, Aelia drew her rapier and handed Anna back her sword, while the young woman sniffed the air with a slight frown. Jon and the others had no idea what was happening, but during the journey they had learned to trust Edward's instincts, so Jon drew Longclaw and took a defensive stance.
Then they saw it.
A white mass emerged from the snow, barely distinguishable through the blizzard at first, then gradually becoming clearer until it revealed the shape of a polar bear. Its skin hung in torn strips in several places, exposing blackened flesh beneath the fur. One eye socket was empty, and the creature advanced across the snow with erratic movements.
And it was not alone.
Another silhouette appeared farther back within the storm.
Then a third.
—Untie them —Edward ordered, pointing at the prisoners.
Edward stared at the creatures before him with a frown.
They should never have gotten that close without being detected, not with their senses or the magical perception possessed by Vlad's childer. But this was not the time to dwell on it.
Jon reacted immediately and untied Tormund and the other two wildlings. They rubbed their numb wrists while gathering torches and dry branches from the ground to use as weapons.
Aelia had already moved toward the left flank, while Anna drifted toward the right, studying the creatures with a curiosity completely inappropriate for the situation.
The first bear charged downhill, kicking up snow in its wake, but it had barely covered a few yards before Edward moved to intercept it. His sword described a short, precise arc, piercing the base of the creature's skull. The bear collapsed heavily into the snow and never rose again.
The second reached Aelia's position almost simultaneously. The young woman dodged the charge by the narrowest of margins and used the creature's momentum to drive her blade between its ribs. The bear staggered forward a couple more steps before collapsing onto its side.
At the far end of the formation, Anna waited until the last possible moment. When the third bear reached her, she stepped aside and shoved it with both hands, altering its trajectory just enough to make it lose balance. It rolled downhill and crashed into a rock.
Anna sprinted after it before it could fully recover and threw herself on top of the creature.
Instead of using her sword, she dug her claws into its neck and tried to overpower it through brute force, a reckless decision that immediately cost her. The bear's claws tore several deep furrows across her arms before she managed to pull away and finally finish it with her sword.
The body collapsed into the snow for good.
Anna stared at the blood running down her arms as though she had only just remembered that she could be injured.
Then Edward turned his head toward her and began walking in her direction. Judging by his expression, he was clearly not pleased.
—Group up and watch each other's backs —he ordered while checking the packs.— I doubt that was the only attack.
Then he pointed directly at Anna.
—And you, come with me. We need to talk —he growled, clearly angry.
Anna lowered her gaze with the expression of a child who had just been scolded, allowing Edward to lead her a short distance away from the group before stopping in front of her.
—What were you thinking? —he asked quietly, though the hardness in his voice left no room for doubt.— You had a sword, and you still decided to use your hands.
Anna frowned.
—I killed it, didn't I? —she said, turning her face away from him.
—That's not the point —Edward replied without taking his eyes off her.— This isn't a game. If you make a mistake, someone dies.
The young woman stared down at the snow without answering, and Edward used the silence to look more closely at her wounds.
The claw marks were still there, deep and open around the edges. They were no longer bleeding, but they were not healing with the speed they should have.
He grabbed her forearm and turned it slightly to get a better look.
—You haven't healed —he murmured, more to himself than to her.
Anna tried to pull her arm back.
—I'm fine —she protested with obvious annoyance.
—No, you're not —he insisted, refusing to let go.
A vampire would have closed wounds like those within seconds. Yet the tissue was barely knitting together, and the injuries looked more like those of a human who had only just begun healing than those of one of Vlad's childer.
Edward finally released her, but continued staring at the cuts while trying to piece everything together.
He had noticed something strange ever since they entered these lands. Their senses felt less precise, anticipating wights had become more difficult than usual, and that persistent feeling of discomfort had remained with him without any clear explanation.
Now he was beginning to understand.
It was not merely a matter of perception.
Magic itself seemed heavier here, as though every process dependent upon it had to force its way through an invisible current. And if that strange resistance was affecting their senses, it could also be affecting the regeneration of Vlad's childer.
The implication was far too important to ignore.
If he was right, their mission was no longer limited to capturing a wight. Understanding what was happening beyond the Wall might prove just as valuable.
He looked up toward Aelia, and she immediately came over, appearing beside them with her rapier still in hand.
—What's wrong? —she asked, glancing first at Edward and then at Anna.
—She's not healing the way she should —Edward explained, pointing at the cuts on her arms.
Aelia leaned closer to inspect them.
—Are they closing? —she asked uncertainly.
—Yes, but slowly —she replied after a brief pause.— Far too slowly. At this rate, a wound like this will take roughly three hours to heal completely.
Aelia frowned slightly as she looked at the cuts again.
—Maybe drinking blood would speed it up? —she suggested while examining the injury more closely.
—It might —Edward conceded.— But we don't have the freedom to drink from our prisoners, so we'll have to test that later.
Then he pointed at the wounds on Anna's arms.
—I think magic is weakened here. Our senses, our regeneration—everything functions worse —he explained, prompting the young woman to pout in obvious displeasure.— We can't afford unnecessary injuries.
Aelia nodded, immediately understanding the implications.
—Then we'll avoid direct contact —she concluded after a brief moment of thought.— We'll keep our distance and rely on swords and fire.
Then she turned back toward Anna.
—Did you hear that?
The young woman huffed, but eventually nodded reluctantly.
Edward did not give her time to argue.
—We don't know anything about this phenomenon or what's causing it —he continued, glancing toward Jon's group.— So the mission has changed. Anna and I will find the wight. You'll stay with them and meet Mance Rayder. I need his people to move their camps closer to the Wall and settle near it.
Aelia took several seconds to respond, not before shooting him a murderous glare.
—You're asking me to play babysitter —she finally growled, looking at him as though he had just assigned her the most unpleasant task imaginable.
—Basically. Though the important part is keeping them alive until Vlad can bring them across —Edward replied without changing his tone.— Besides, by the time the wildlings arrive, the Night's Watch will already be under our control, so it should be considerably easier for you.
Aelia let out an irritated breath.
—After this, Vlad had better give me a bloody mountain of gold —she said, dripping venom.
Edward chose not to answer. They both knew perfectly well how much she hated anything related to politics, which was precisely why she was usually the best choice whenever someone needed to impose terms without wasting time.
He then turned his attention back toward the slope. Now that he understood his perception was being affected, he stopped trying to take in everything at once and focused solely on the sound of the wind and the crunch of snow beneath marching feet.
That was when he heard them.
And he finally understood why that feeling of unease had never fully gone away.
Hundreds of creatures were advancing across the snow toward them.
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Alright, guys. First of all, sorry for the delay, and thank you once again for being here. I really appreciate your patience and the support you've continued to give the story.
As for my work situation, I eventually spoke with union lawyers, and they confirmed that I had grounds to sue the company. The problem was that the process would have taken months—probably more than six—and during all that time I would have had to keep working there.
And honestly, I'd rather have thrown myself out a window.
So I went with the simplest solution: I stopped showing up and let them fire me. That way I still keep the benefits I'm entitled to, whereas the company wanted me to sign a voluntary resignation and give all of that up. Thankfully, unions are public services in my country, so the advice didn't cost me a single euro.
The upside is that I now have a lot more free time to write.
As for today's chapter, you've probably noticed that it's longer than usual. This entire arc is my attempt to learn how to write longer chapters without resorting to filler or spending three paragraphs describing the texture of a chair's wooden armrest. I've been studying how some of the more popular fanfics structure their scenes and dialogue to understand how they manage to write 10,000-word chapters without making them feel tedious to read.
In fact, the latest chapter I've written already exceeds 4,000 words, so I hope future chapters continue improving in that regard.
That said, I still feel that this Beyond the Wall arc is a little strange from a writing perspective. I think the plot works and that it's necessary to establish the threats, the White Walkers, and the broader background of the Long Night, but I'm still experimenting with the format.
There is one thing I'm particularly excited about, though: everything I have planned for the Night King, his origin, and the true reason behind the Long Night is something I have honestly never seen in another Game of Thrones fanfic. So, as fellow fanfic readers, I'm fairly confident you'll appreciate the novelty as much as I do.
That's all from me for now. Hopefully I'll see you again soon, especially now that I have more time available for writing.
And if you'd like to support me, you'll find my P tre on below.
As always, it's a pleasure having you here, and I hope you enjoy the chapter.