DAGGERS TO THE HEART Part 1 - GAME OF THRONES

Jon VI

The eyes of the training yard were constantly on Jon, especially Tyrion's. Despite Tyrion's genuine desire to see the wall, he knew the imp was here to spy on him, although he wasn't sure why. This meant Jon needed to act the part of a despondent husband, missing his loving wife. Of course, it wasn't entirely without a fraction of the truth. He was missing Sansa, but also Arya as well. And if there was one thing Jon was good at, according to Tyrion himself, was brooding.

Sitting alone eating his breakfast, he was deep in thought about some of the strange instances which had taken place since he'd returned to Castle Black. The first thing he noticed was Ghost's uncanny knowledge of Castle Black, as if he'd lived there for years. They both seemed to have an aversion to going near the spot where Jon died, avoiding it at all costs. Jon had even caught Ghost staring at it, baring his teeth. He was still trying to piece together the puzzle of Ghost and Castle Black when Tyrion joined him at the table. This was the imp's last day at the wall and he wanted to break his fast with Jon.

"Leaving so soon?" Jon asked.

"Well, the company is a little bleak for my liking. Yoren is scouting in Kings Landing, and I'm going to accompany him on his journey south. He seems like the only cheerful one here." he looked Jon up and down. "I mean, look at you, little over a sennight here and you are as dour and miserable as the rest of these sullen peasants, debtors, poachers, rapers and thieves. Not that I blame them, there's not a lot to do here except freeze your balls off, but since they're not allowed to breed anyway, I don't suppose that matters."

"Mayhap they have other reasons." Jon said.

"You're a smart boy. Surely you don't believe in gumkins and snarks and whitewalkers, and all of those horror stories that your wet nurse told you about. The only thing north of the wall are people like us who were born on the wrong side of it." Tyrion said.

"I don't know what to believe," Jon lied. "What I know is there's an increase in attacks in the north and more Night's Watch deserters than usual. All telling us the same stories of whitewalkers. The Lords aren't happy about it and the Night's Watch don't have enough men to deal with it. So someone has to talk to Mance Rayder and find out what to do about it. If they are telling the truth, we come to an arrangement to help the wildlings while we fight the whitewalkers. If they are lying, then the north goes to war with the wildlings themselves. I hope it is a war with the wildlings, and not the whitewalkers, because they sound even worse than the wildlings do." he took a swig of ale.

"And how will you know Mance is telling the truth?" Tyrion asked.

"Proof." Jon said. "I will want proof, and will need it for the northern Lords to believe what the wildlings say is true. If Old Nan's stories are to be believed; every man who dies becomes another soldier in their army. I don't know about you, but I don't want to add the wildlings to their army. The bigger the army we have to fight, the harder for the rest of us to defeat them. If the wildlings are on our side, we get that one hundred thousand soldier advantage."

"Just wait for them to give up." Tyrion said, but Jon could see he wasn't taking it seriously, which was pissing Jon off.

"I'm glad you find this amusing, Lord Tyrion, but unlike you, I grew up in the north. You don't know the tales of the north and long night. We can't wait out the army of the dead and the winter storms, because they bring the winter storms. They won't give up unless we are all dead. They can wait until we all starve or freeze to death to add us to their army. And if you think this is a northern problem, you are very much mistaken, my lord."

"I'll suppose I'll have to take your word for it." Tyrion said. "And what do you propose to do if you meet one of these so-called whitewalkers?"

"Without the right protection, there isn't much I can do. I can only hope we don't come across them until we reach Mance." Jon admitted, still hoping he would get hold of a wight so that he could get his hands on Longclaw.