Hardhome 299 AC.
Tormund.
He had thought a dragon and a Direwolf to be the most impressive things he'd seen that belonged to the southern king, yet as he watched the first few ships come into sight, he now believed it was them. Val had said the king had more than one of these huge ships and while he had no reason to doubt her word, a part of him did just that. Now seeing five of them on the horizon, Tormund found himself to be more than happy to be wrong.
As for the king himself, he was a strange one and not at all what he had expected. He'd thought very little of him at first, he was young, probably green, and didn't look to him like a man who could fight. Of course seeing him ride a dragon was impressive, seeing him with a Direwolf even more so but then he had found that the Direwolf was Benjen's and not the kings. His armor, the sword that he carried on his hip, even the men with him, all had impressed him somewhat, the boy king, not so much. Then Hranvir had to open his mouth and Tormund and each of the Free Folk had looked on eagerly at the fight that was about to take place, only there had been no fight.
What he'd seen was something that had shocked him and the others completely. A light that shone so brightly that he had to shield his eyes and only when the boy-king put his sword away was he able to look properly at him and Hranvir. Only to find that Hranvir was laying on the ground and the boy king had beaten him without even breaking a sweat. It made him revaluate things and he watched as the boy sparred with his guards daily, as he strolled through the camp and sought out the children, played with them, listened to them, and wore a large smile on his face as he did so. It made him speak to Mance and to find that he believed now as his old friend did, this boy king would see them to safety.
"Why does he spend so much time with the children, Mance?" he asked.
"He told Dalla and me that his wife is with child, Tormund, he's the same each time we speak here, he's even held mine own son in his arms." Mance said with a smile and Tormund looked at him curiously.
"A man who cares for babes then?" he asked and received a nod.
He turned his eyes from the water and the ships that sailed their way and to the boy king and those who stood with him. Mance, Dalla, Val and Benjen, Mother Mole and Styr, and yet the boy was speaking to none of them, instead, he was on his knees speaking to the group of children who'd be among the first to leave. Tormund didn't need to listen in to hear what was being said either, he knew they were being reassured that sailing on the ships was safe and that they and their families would be housed and protected, that they had his oath on that.
Not one person moved from the shore when the ships dropped their anchors and the boats made their way towards them. Tormund briefly wondering why there were so many looking on and then almost smacking his head when he realized that it had started, the Free Folk were truly going to leave this place. It excited and terrified him at the same time. The thoughts of being brought behind the Wall and away from danger were ones that he knew each and every one of the Free Folk had been having more and more since the boy king had arrived. Yet there were thoughts of what would happen once they got there and whether or not they'd truly know peace too. There had also been thoughts of betrayal though those had mainly gone away, this king was not here to play them false.
"I'll ask the men to bring the supplies with them when they return, we should have the first families ready to leave as quickly as we can, Mance." he heard the boy king say and he smiled as he moved to help with the preparations.
