THE NORTH BEYOND | JON SNOW

CHAPTER FIVE.

"I fucking hate this fucking cold."

One step forwards, my arms wrapped around me, my eyes peering for any sight of the legendary Wall. The one that's supposed to make me piss myself. In this cold, the piss would probably freeze before it got out.

"I f-fucking hate this fucking cold." It had become my only words I'd say to keep myself moving forwards and not a frozen corpse on the snow.

I couldn't feel my hands, only the arms I wrapped tightly around myself and I had no idea where I actually was, because of this gods-be-damned storm that seemed to never let up. Not to mention that the last food I ate was a squirrel I'd managed to bludgeon with my dagger miraculously. Half of which I'd fed to my wolf when she came trotting over, presumably smelling the fresh blood from wherever she was.

I let out a shaky breath and braced myself, before taking another step. The wind was stronger than anything I'd ever felt before, and I had to grit my teeth when it slapped across my face, cold and unrelenting before it died down slightly and roared its presence again stronger and somehow more colder than before.

That's the cycle I was stuck in: taking a step, then tensing myself with my head down against the cold, muttering an string of curses and taking another step towards what I thought was the direction of the Wall. I had no idea where I was or what direction I was travelling in. It was too late to go back to Craster's, he'd probably have my head the second I walked into his Keep, and I still had to try and avoid Mance's army wherever they were.

Sometime while I was waiting for the wind to calm, I heard a thump and felt my knees and hands on the snow. I don't remember falling to my knees, I only remember how inviting the snow felt, bitingly cold, yes, but I'd only rest for a minute or two. Lay my head on the pillows of snow beneath me, a minute at the very most. Surely I'd deserved it, just a minute, I promise myself, then I'll find that stupid Wall and I closed my eyes and let myself dream of the warm sun against my skin, the bright blue sky, soft sand underneath my feet. Just for a moment...

She dreamt of the sun, but not the resplendent rays of Dorne or Essos, but rather the polluted warmth of Flea Bottom and its rivers of shit and piss that flowed unrestricted. The smell was foul, and the people who lived there more so as they grew more and more accustomed to the filth they had to endure and call their 'home'.

Azure walked as a young woman, her hair shone black despite its tattered state, ridden with knots and her face marred black with dirt jumped over a river of shit that flowed at the entrance of her home. Azure covered her mouth suppressing her gags but felt surprisingly immune to the smell as though she lived with it every day. She had long since grew familiar with the smells of Flea Bottom. It wasn't called Flea Bottom without reason, she thought, as she walked to the brothel that provided with the money she needed to survive, to feed herself and keep a roof over her head. Every day she would remind herself of the same thing, she needed to eat, no matter what, she needed to eat. She felt strange hope as she walked to the brothel on a particularly stifling hot day in Flea Bottom, she looked up at the sky, and felt something tickling her face, lightly and gently then a hard nip and the dream started to fade, the blue sky of Flea Bottom is replaced with the thunderous grey sky of the lands beyond the Wall and the hope in her heart is replaced with a cold misery that crackles as it spreads through her and she opens her eyes and sees the blood red pupils of her wolf staring down at her.

I don't want to open my eyes, I only laid down for a second, but the damned thing is persistent, gnawing and nipping my face until and I rise shakily to my feet. The storm had stopped sometime, the whole place seemed normal again, no trace of the storm of the day before. I must have been asleep for a lot longer than I thought I was. Every part of my body burned from the cold and I tried, in vain, to warm myself up. My face felt stiff and my eyes held on my tears as I looked around at my surroundings. My wolf nudged me again, pushing me to start walking. I didn't understand the urgency in her, why it wanted me to go until I heard the faint noise of steps on the snow, the creak of a bow being drawn and by then it was too late, they had already found me. I look behind me, looking for a place to run, and see nothing but the snow everywhere as far as I could see.

I pushed my wolf away from me, "Go!" I whispered, but she remained next to me, baring her teeth protectively.

I shook my head, "Please, go." I begged as I looked around frantically but she wouldn't move. I pushed her again, but she was huge now, the size of a pony and if she didn't want to be moved, there was nothing I could do about it.

I pulled out my dagger, the handle was a plain white and the tip of the knife was covered in black, testing it in my gloved hands and touching the top gently. Then I lifted my hand up and threw it as far away from me as I possible could. I didn't need anyone seeing that dagger right now.

There were three of them that approached me, two with bows and one had a long sword still in its sheath. I grabbed my second dagger from beneath my furs and let it fall to the ground.

"And the third." The one of the sword steps closer to me and the other two follow him, their bows still drawn.

"I don't have a third-"

His arm strikes out and punches me, I grit my teeth and stay still for a second, ignoring my urge to grab him and stick my third dagger in his chest. Sensing a threat, my wolf crouches, pulling its lips back even further to expose its fangs and snaps it's teeth, a warning.

I turn my head around towards her, "Go." I mouth at her, as I pull out my third dagger and throw it down.

She backs away one step, not turning back, her teeth still exposed, then another, and she turns away, an arrow is let loose, hitting her in her back and she runs faster letting out a quiet howl as she escapes.

And I am left weaponless and at the mercy of Mance's Rayder's judgement. Fuck.