The King of Winters

Chapter-139

Jaehaerys

It was warm in Craster’s Keep, much warmer than the world outside.

Jaehaerys sat on a pile of furs beside the fire place, sipping on the onion broth the wives of Craster had given to him and all of his brothers. The broth was watery and hardly had onions but to Jaehaerys it tasted as good as the finest of stews that his father’s cooks brought out of the kitchens of the Red Keep. It was at times like these he seemed to miss King’s Landing and Winterfell the most, but he was a man of the Night’s Watch now and the men of the Night’s Watch never complained.

And so he forgot all the complaints he had as he filled another spoon, brought it to his mouth, and gulped it down eagerly. Some of the others were not as eager as Jaehaerys was though.

“Food and fire,” Giant was saying, “that was all we asked of you. And you grudge us the food.” His real name was Bedwyck, but the brothers of the Night’s Watch had taken to calling him Giant for his short stature. He was no more than five feet tall, but a fierce man regardless of that.

“Be glad I didn’t grudge you fire too.” Craster was a thick man made thicker by the ragged smelly sheepskins he wore day and night. He had a broad flat nose, a mouth that drooped to one side, and a missing ear. And though his matted hair and tangled beard might be grey going white, his hard knuckly hands still looked strong. “I fed you what I could, but you crows are always hungry. Crows always are. I’m a godly man, else I would have chased you off. You think I need all your mouths, little man?” The wildling spat. “Crows. When did a black bird ever bring good to a man’s hall, I ask you? Never. Never.”

Jaehaerys didn't want to get in between. Instead he just sipped on the soup graciously. His left arm trembled as he brought the spoon to his mouth, half in cold and half because of unfamiliarity. He was not used to using his left like he was used to using his right. But his right arm had been rendered useless as well. The fight with the White Walker saw his arm pulled out from the shoulder. Sam had done his best to set the bone back in its place, but the pain lingered still. Jaehaerys couldn't even hold onto his bowl for enough time. A maester might have known how to fix his arm for good, but they had no maester. Sam was all they had. And truth be told there were others who had it much worse than he did.

All about the hall, a ragged score of black brothers squatted on the floor or sat on rough-hewn benches, drinking cups of the same thin onion broth and gnawing on chunks of hardbread. Some of them were wounded but Jae could see that even the ones who weren't didn't have high spirits. When they’d left Castle Black, Brown Bernarr had been carrying bags of Myrish fire, mustard salve, ground garlic, tansy, poppy, kingscopper, and other healing herbs. Even sweetsleep, which gave the gift of painless death. But Brown Bernarr had died on the Fist and no one had worried enough to search for Maester Aemon’s medicines. Hake had known some herblore as well, being a cook, but Hake was also lost. So it was left to the rest of the surviving stewards to do what they could for the wounded, which was little enough. At least under Craster’s Keep they are dry, with a fire to warm them. They need more food, though. All of them did if they had any hope of making it back to the Wall from where they’d come.

Some of the men had been grumbling about it for days, but only amongst themselves. Clubfoot Karl kept saying how Craster had to have a hidden larder, and Garth of Oldtown had begun to echo him, when he was out of the Lord Commander’s hearing. However no one had said anything in front of Craster, at least not until today.

For all the talk of Craster about providing them with food and fire they weren't much. Even with the heat and smoke in Craster’s hall, Jaehaerys felt cold himself. Craster was a brutal man who ruled his wives and daughters with an iron hand, but his keep was a refuge all the same regardless of his niggardly nature. He had provided them with something when they needed it the most.