Beyond the Wall 299 AC.
Val.
They had sailed to Eastwatch by the Sea. Val almost laughing when Benjen told her that they would be staying in the castle and the king would come to them. To sleep amongst the crows was not something she wished to do and yet if she wanted to go back Beyond the Wall, she had no choice. So she forbore the hateful looks, ignored the lustful ones, and kept as close to Benjen Stark as she could. The latter being something that she actually found herself enjoying as the man was not what she had expected him to be.
He was no longer a crow and instead was some sort of Lord of the North, though one without a keep or holding as far as she was aware. Despite his many years of fighting against her people, he didn't hate them as the other crows did and seemed to be supportive of what his nephew wished to do. But it was how he made her feel that confused, angered and delighted her in equal measures. Benjen Stark wished to steal her, it made her smile, and yet the longer he went without doing so the more she began to think that she'd need to steal him for herself.
She had planned to do just that, only for the king to arrive and her plans to be thwarted. Benjen spending the night in the king's room instead of his own and as fierce as she may have thought herself to be, she'd actually seen both those knights the king brought with him fight. So as she slept alone that night she came up with another plan, she would steal him on the journey to meet with Mance. Those cold nights spent by a fire looking for a way to stay warm would either give Benjen the will to steal her or take the fight from him when she stole him. Unfortunately, as she was to find out there was to be no long journey to Mance to come. It was to be a far shorter one than she had even thought possible in fact.
"What do you mean we're going on dragons?" she asked the woman with the witch's eyes, Shiera she'd heard her called.
"I mean we're to fly on dragon back to this meeting with this king of yours." Shiera said.
"All of us?" she asked disbelievingly.
"All of us." Shiera said.
Despite what seemed to be some trouble with the green one, she found that she was indeed about to fly on a dragon. Val found herself to be terrified by the mere idea of it, something she was glad to see was shared by Benjen. The giant guard, the violet-eyed one, the witch eyed woman, and the king all looked eager and so she made it seem as if she was too. The very last thing she wished was for them to think her people to be fearful of anything. She looked on as the king spoke to the dragon as if it was a horse, his words unheard by her but just watching him and the dragon speak together was like nothing she'd ever imagined. To see something so big react to a boy who'd not yet reached manhood in such a way, was impressive even to her.
Not that she'd not been impressed by the king during her time in King's Landing, both he and his queen though young were not as she'd expected. She found herself almost laughing thinking about how her people would react to him and what first impression he'd make on them. Val had thought him a green and weak boy only to see him spar, to find herself on the end of his blade, and to see how he controlled a dragon and a Direwolf. Now as they took to the sky she found herself certain that he was the one to save her people from what came for them. Only the gods would allow a man to control a beast as powerful as a dragon after all.
"Does he know where he's going?" she asked Benjen who was in front of her and hoped her voice carried in the wind.
"He knows." Benjen said after a moment, Val nodding and holding onto him tightly.
