The wolves of Castle Black - Book 2 - GoT

Freedom and duty

A/N: Book 2 is here! I hope you enjoy this one as well! And if you do, please let me know! Votes and comments are always very, very appreciated!

The soup they shared tasted good, but the words coming from their mouths made it feel sour somehow. Ylina could tell Jon hated the fact that she had sent both Rickon and Bran away, especially considering she had allowed their disabled young brother North of the wall. Still, he trusted her better judgement. Ylina had always been quite responsible anyway. More than he and Robb, that was for sure.

"You know what is North of the wall, Ylina?" Jon asked, as the girl simply took a sip of her soup. He sighed. "And even so, you let Bran go?"

"You don't understand..." The girl bit her lip. "He begged me. He begged me so many times. I tried to argue, tried to tell him it was safer for him to stay, come with me to the wall, but he wouldn't listen."

"He's eleven, Lina." Jon countered. "You just decided that because an eleven-year-old decided he wanted to go North of the wall, he could go? Alone?"

"He's not alone." Ylina reasoned, causing Jon to scoff.

"As much as I care for Hodor, he doesn't count much as a company."

"It's not just Hodor." She said. "Summer is with them. And the Reeds."

"The Reeds?" Jon asked. "You mean the lords of the mudmen, who talk all the time about magic and the Children? Lina, they are..."

"You don't know what they are, Jon." Ylina interrupted her brother, suddenly growing defensive. "Not like I do. They are good people, Jojen and Meera, and I know they will take care of Bran. They have promised me."

"Well, you don't know the North of the wall like I do." Jon glared at her. "It's harsher than you think. And the people there..."

Ylina watched as Jon turned his eyes from her to his soup. He played with it in his hands for a second in silence and Ylina sighed. She knew her brother. Jon enjoyed his solitude and, often times, he would prefer not sharing his troubles and thoughts. Ylina thought that wasn't good for him, but how could she possibly say anything about it if she did the exact same thing.

"They say you broke your vow." Ylina whispered. Jon nodded, his eyes still glued to his soup.

"I have."

"They say you'll have to... They say they will punish you..."

"I can't tell for sure." Jon sighed. "But they should."

"Jon..." Ylina frowned. "But they made you, didn't they? They told you to get close to the wildlings. You only did what you were told."

"Some people don't see it like that."

"But if they... If they decide you guilty, you'll be deserted. Do you know what happens to deserters? Of course you do... You went with Father to behead deserters before, you..."

"Lina..." Jon smiled gently, placing his bowl of soup down.

He walked toward his sister and grabbed her own bowl from her hands to place it on the table beside her and pulling her in for a hug. As Ylina shoved her face in his neck again and wrapped her arms around him, Jon placed his arm around his sister's body and noticed how shaky she was. He grabbed his cloak and placed it around both of them, trying to share his warmth with hers.

"It will be alright, Lina." Jon promised, even though they both knew he couldn't tell for sure.

"It's just... I can't lose you, Jon. Not you too."

"You won't." He whispered, already aware of where this was coming from. "I will always be here to protect you, Lina."

"Don't promise me that." She mumbled. "He promised me the same thing. And I did too, back at him. I promised him I would always be there for him. We were barely children back then. Arya had just been born. Robb was ecstatic to have another baby sister and he told me he would always protect us. I told him he didn't have to worry too much, because I would protect him, then. He laughed. Back then, we didn't know how much weight our words could possibly carry, but when he left to war and left me behind... I worried every day and every night. Would he ever come back? Would I ever see him again? Would he ever hold me again? Some nights, I managed to lie to myself and pretend that, soon, we would all be back together in Winterfell, as it should have been. But some nights I couldn't... All I could think about was how in danger Robb always were and how I couldn't fulfill my promise to him. I couldn't protect him like I promised because I was stuck in Winterfell while he was out there, risking his own neck for his people and his family."