Fire and Blood

Chapter 23

Leaving Bran to go to the wall was hard. He wouldn't survive long, but I couldn't stop him. Castle black wasn't as welcoming as I had imagined. They clearly have never seen women before, especially not two woman with babies. The Maester requests our presence.
"Lady Roslyn, I know exactly who you are." The Maester says.
"Yes my Lord." I say rocking the babies.
"I'm not a lord, my dear. Not for many, many years. Every man who joins the Night's Watch renounces all former titles. Among other things. What is your name?" He says turning to Sam and Gilly.
"Gilly." She replies.
"Ah, for the gillyflower. Lovely." He says.
"Yes, my-" Gilly starts, not knowing what to call him,
"Maester." Sam says.
"Master." She repeats.
"Maester." Sam corrects again.
"And the child?" The maester says.
"She hasn't chosen a name yet." Sam says and she cuts him off.
"His name is Sam." She says, I take my leave.

That afternoon Jon returned. I was in the courtyard with my babies, getting ogled by the men, when the castle gates opened, everyone turned to look at an unconscious Jon Snow, as soon as he enters, he falls of his horse. I run down to help him, handing my babies to the first person I see
"Jon!" I yell and Sam and another man come over.
"Jon! Jon! Jon, it's us!" Sam says.
"I don't think he can see us." Another says.
Pyp? Sam?" Jon says, looking up at them.
"Roslyn?" He says when he sees me, it was like seeing him for the first time again.
"Hush, now. You're home. Carry him inside. Gently." I order as the men carry him up the stairs.

I sit with him for the rest of the day, his men are training. I nurse his wounds as well as I can as he sleeps. I turn to look at my crying baby when I hear his raspy voice.
"Roslyn." He says and I turn to him, rocking baby Robb.
"Jon." I say smiling at him.
"You look at gorgeous as ever." He says and I smile.
"You look like you've just been shot with an arrow three times." I say sitting next to him.
"You have children." He says, sitting up straight.
"I do." I say showing baby Robb to him.
"This is Robb Arryn, previously Lannister, previously Baratheon." I say laughing. Jon's head hangs.
"Last time I saw him, he was in the courtyard at Winterfell. "He said, " Next time I see you, you'll be all in black." I was jealous of Robb my whole life. And now he's gone." Jon says, I pull him into a hug.
"Robb died with honour, he died defending his family." I say as Jon grips my shoulder.
"Who's the father." He says looking at my child's blonde hair.
"Does it matter?" I ask and he nods.
"Jamie Lannister." I say guiltily.
"The men need me." He says standing up.
"Let me help." I say grabbing his clothes for him.
"It's fine, I shall see you at the hearing." He says and I walk off, soothing my babies at the same time.

"So you admit you murdered Qhorin Halfhand?" The Lord commander says, Jon looks at him in defeat.
"I didn't murder him." He says and the men look at him like he is stupid.
"No? You put your sword through a brother of the Night's Watch. What do you call that?" One says.
"He wanted me to kill him." Jon replies.
"A bastard son of a traitor. What would you expect?" I recognise this one, he used to be the head of the city watch, until Tyrion had him fired and made Bronn the leader.
"The Halfhand believed our only chance to stop Mance was to get a man inside his army." Jon says, that makes sense.
"Don't talk about the Halfhand as if you knew him. He was my brother." The commander says.
"Then you'd know he'd do anything to defend the Wall. The free folk would have boiled him alive, but letting me kill him..." Jon says and everyone starts to laugh.
"The free folk? Listen to him. He even talks like a wildling now." Ser Janos says.
"Aye, I talk like a wildling. I ate with the wildlings. I climbed the Wall with the wildlings. I... I laid with a wildling girl." He says, trying not to look my way, I wish I could be mad, but I can't talk, I've got two children with someone who isn't him.
"You admit to breaking your vows, then?" Ser Janos says, clearly finding delight in this hearing.
"I do." Jon says, why is he doing this? He loved the nights watch."
"The law is the law. The boy must die." Ser Janos says joyfully.
"If we beheaded every ranger who lay with a girl, the Wall would be manned by headless men." The Maester says, I like him
"There's a difference between sneaking off to the Mole's Town brothel and sleeping with the enemy." The commander says, i dont like him.
"While we sit here debating which rules I broke, Mance Rayder marches on the Wall with an army of 100,000." Jon says, silencing them all, who's Mance Rayder?
"Impossible. You can't get 50 wildlings together before they start killing each other." The Lord commander says, clearly thinking Jon is bluffing.
"100,000. He's united the Thenns, the Hornfoots, the ice-river clans. He has giants fighting for him." Jon says, i gasp, giants?
"Giant Ser Janos says, clearly finding this funny.
"Have you ever been beyond the Wall, ser?" Jon asks.
"I commanded the City Watch of King's Landing, boy." Ser Janos says, clearly about to threaten him.
"And now you're here. You must not have been very good at your job. I remember your command, you got replaced by a common thief." I say standing up. He clearly didn't like that.
"How dare you?!" He yells, Sam drags me back down.
"Don't." He whispers to me.
"There's a band of wildlings south of the Wall already led by Tormund Giantsbane. I killed their warg and three others. They shot me full of arrows. Their orders are to attack Castle Black from the south when Mance hits it from the north. The signal for the attack will be a bonfire. Mance said it would be the greatest fire the North has ever seen. That's the truth. All the truth." Jon says and he looks over at me and Sam, Janos allows him to sit.
"Do you intend to execute me or am I free to go?" Jon asks.
"None of us are free. We are men of the Night's Watch. But we won't be taking your head today, Jon Snow. Go on." The maester says, Jon nods and we all turn to leave.