DAGGERS TO THE HEART Part 1 - GAME OF THRONES

Jon XII

Once Mance agreed to the terms Jon brought him, he expected the clans to agree with their King. That notion turned out to be a mistake. Most of the Freefolk knew nothing of the goings on south of the wall. The Bastard of Winterfell meant nothing to them, however, the name Benjen Stark did. Being the nephew of a Night's Watch ranger did not endear him to the Freefolk despite Mance's assurances. This meant Jon needed to prove himself as someone with experience of living with the Freefolk and their customs.

One custom which plagued Jon daily, was women. Ygritte once told him they would claw their eyes out for him, she wasn't jesting. Women literally fought over him, only to be turned down. When this got to the stage of being a daily occurrence, Mance put a stop to it. This allowed Jon to relax and sleep without fear of a woman stealing into his tent, should Ghost leave him.

Jon relished the evenings in his tent. He could finally get some sleep and privacy. He was taking himself to hand almost every night, always thinking about Sansa. When he woke, he wondered if she ever considered him the same way. Then he thought about the torture she'd endured, and those desires were put to the back of his mind until he retired to his tent at night and took himself in hand again. After a week of doing this, Jon realised his feelings for Daenerys had diminished. He understood the situation, which caused him to believe he was in love with her. A prisoner falling in love with his gaoler. His feelings for Ygritte far surpassed his love for Daenerys, that he'd always been certain. Now faced with a living Ygritte, he no longer harboured those desires. Jon may have been forced into marrying with Sansa, but at least their love was genuine, and was a tried and tested partnership.

When Jon told Edd, Pyp and Grenn, of the prisoner agreement, they were understandably angry with Jon. However, when he made it known the Freefolk women were excellent lovers and may offer themselves as spearwives, the three men changed their minds. They suddenly immersed themselves in the wildling way of living.

Benjen's reaction was a different matter. He hated the Freefolk, and Jon offering him in return for Tormund and Ygritte was an insult. Benjen refused to speak to Jon for a fortnight. He eventually came around, understanding Jon's position and Mance's promises to keep him safe. Mance offered Benjen extra winter survival tips for the Watch to pacify him. Benjen eventually adapted, and Jon even heard a rumour his uncle broke his vow of celibacy. Jon said nothing, for he'd done the same.

The camp only moved a mile a day. By the time everyone packed up and set off, it was already past midday. Most set off at sunrise, because of the large number, children, elderly, infirm and animals, progress was slow. Only compounded by the misery of dense snow and high winds. From their initial camp on the Milkwater, was two hundred leagues back to Castle Black as the crow flies, twice that with the diversions. Some days, the weather was so bad, they couldn't move at all. Jon knew the journey had taken three months from the wall for him to reach Mance, at this rate it would take thrice the time to get back.

After five turns of the moon to prove himself to the Freefolk, an agreement was reached to allow Jon to head south with Tormund and Ygritte. Most of the clans were amenable to the agreement, but three were still against it. Although Mance had wanted everyone to consent, he had to admit the battle was lost. He couldn't risk holding Jon up any longer.

Jon, Tormund and Ygritte set out after the camp had travelled around a hundred miles. The weather had severely deteriorated since he left Castle Black, despite having the experience of the Freefolk, the journey would take at least three moons to return to Castle Black.

Crossing the Milkwater to get to the Fist of the First Men was a much shorter route than the Skirling Pass. Or it should have been. Tormund and Ygritte knew all the places for shelter and wanted to ensure they were always within a mile of a good cave to rest. As the weather slowly worsened, Jon was thankful for their foresight, spending two days in a cave when the weather was too bad to go outside. They were kept alive by Ghost hunting game for them, and even that was measly. Other than the weather, most of their journey had been uneventful.