Ghost
The boar roots in the earth, foraging for the ice truffles at the foot of the great pine trees.
Jon stalks with the wind, feet soundless in his elk leather shoes. He readies one of his heaviest arrows on his bow. This shot must be right and kill the boar instantly. He breathes like a whisper as Ygritte taught him and slows his heartbeat.
Thump. There between two trees, the boar buries its snout in the dirt.
Thump. This arrow will shatter its rib and burrow in its heart.
Thump. Jon’s mouth waters at the thought of roasted boar meat.
A whimper cuts through the forest and the boar spooks. Jon curses under his breath and turns to seek out the origin of the sound.
Despite the forest appearing frozen and cold, Jon knows it to be full of life. He wonders what animal could make that sound and hopes it is edible. Ever since the tribe has left their riverside settlement, the food has been dismal. It seems as though most big game has gone to travel too and Jon is tired of winter berries and ice truffles.
The whimpering sounds again and for a moment Jon wonders if he is about to find a foundling child. He hopes not. The food situation is bad enough without the need for milk.
There. Against the withered stem of a graying Weirwood, a small ball of white fur shivers. Too small to be edible. Jon sighs and knows he will be dreaming of that boar.
He kneels at the foot of the smiling tree and is suddenly overtaken by a whine. He cannot tell if it was him or the little wolf that made the sound and feels slightly nauseous. He carefully stretches out his hands to cup the trembling cub. He closes his eyes and when he opens them, he sees himself. Face gaunt and eyes rolled back to white. Jon gasps and suddenly is looking at the wolf again. He has never felt such vertigo before and for a moment Jon fears he will faint.
Calming his breathing, Jon begins to talk to the little animal in his hands. “Where is your mother? Are you hurt?”
The wolf cub curls comfortably in his hands. “Not scared, huh? What shall I call you, little cub?”
His fur is white as snow. Jon shakes his head. Too many things up North are already called Snow.
“I will call you Ghost. Do you like that?”
The wolf burrows into his hands and falls asleep.
—
Jon is careful to enter the camp. He hopes that no one will have missed him and that he can enter his tent in peace. He will need to find some meat for Ghost. Direwolf pups cannot survive on winter berries.
“Where were you?”
Jon starts. “Tormund! I can explain…”
“Jon, what about no one goes off alone, do you not understand?”
“I was hunting! I didn’t go far. Really.”
Tormund sighs and Jon thinks he looks tired. He has been tired and grumpy these past months. Jon feels bad for causing him more trouble.
“I found a direwolf pup. Look, Tor.” Jon shows him Ghost, who is still asleep.
“Jon-”
“I called him Ghost. He is so white-”
“Jon! This is serious! You know what is out there.” Tormund closes his eyes in frustration.
“Tor, I was there.” A missing hunting party. “I will never forget.” Jon shudders.
Ghost wakes up and yawns.
“We lost many that night, Jon. My father-” Tormund’s voice breaks.
“May he forever hunt in the Northern forests. I owed much to him, Tor. I miss him too.”
“Whenever I close my eyes I see his burning body. I see them.” Tormund shakes his head. “I have to lead now, little wolf. I would appreciate it if my best friend wouldn’t make my life harder.”
“I am sorry, Tor. Truly.” Jon gives his finger to the pup to play with. “I found him next to a Weirwood. I think he was a gift from the Gods. Fate.”
“Hmmm. And it figures that you want to take from our sparse meat stores to feed him, huh?”
“Please, Tormund.” Jon looks at him, knowing he will get his way.
He always does.
—
“So Jon Snow, I hear you acquired a direwolf for yourself?” Ygritte elbows him in the side as she sits next to him at the campfire.
“Don’t call me that. And yes, his name is Ghost.”
“Was Tormund very angry with you?”
“Not angry, more disappointed.”
“Which is worse.” Ygritte spoons through her bowl of ice truffle stew. “I miss fish.”
“I miss meat. Ghost spooked a boar with his whining. I almost could have given us a proper meal.”
“Moving the whole tribe like this can take another month. Who knows when we will have a good hunting party again.”
Tygride sits next to them. “Stop complaining, the two of you! Eat your food. It was a lot of work finding those truffles.”
“Any sign yet from Liore?” Jon asks her.
“Nothing.” Tygride sighs. “I hope no news is good news and that she remains safely at Hardhome. If no parties go this way or if Karsi does not want to send anyone to us, then that’s what Tormund ordered her to do.”
“Maybe once we reach that Mance Rayder, she will find us,” Ygritte suggests.
“Maybe my little sister is better off at Hardhome,” says Tygride as she looks at her food.
—
The dawn is barely in the trees, when Jon helps his mother pack their tent. It is made from the hide of the stag he killed many Moons ago.
Sometimes he traces the stab marks with his finger when he cannot sleep.
As Tiffany ties the last band shut, Jon whistles to call Ghost. He wraps him in the hide his mother gave him, to carry his wolf like a child. He grabs his pack and they are moving.
He runs a little to walk next to Tormund. “Where are we going?”
“We are getting closer to the Springheart tribe. You know, if they haven’t left yet.”
Jon nods, they have crossed multiple empty settlements in the last Moon.
“Do you know any Springhearts, Tor?”
“I know quite a few. We stopped there during the Wall raids. It’s as good as the midway point.” He looks down at Jon. “How is your wolf doing?”
“He is really calm. Almost tame. It's strange for a direwolf.”
Tormund chuckles. “You're quite the little warg, Jon.”
—
The sun is starting to down when a woman steps out of the treeline next to them.
“Valya!” Tormund comes forward to greet her.
She leads the way to the Springheart settlement, while Tormund quietly explains the wight drama that transpired at the Antler River.
“And ever since we have been walking. All other tribes between here and the Antler River have gone, it seems.”
“Yes, we ourselves have not been going North either. Most herds have gone too.”
“Did you meet Mance Rayder?”
“Aye.” She wrinkles her nose. “An old Crow to save us all.”
“Do you have any food to spare? Meat? We haven't been able to preserve much, this last Moon.”
“Aye, you're invited for our Sundown fest tonight. There will be meat and woodsap mead.”
“You are a blessing by the Gods.”
—
“Who is that woman with Tormund?”
“Jon, you just heard him say it. She’s called Valya.” Ygritte gives him her signature look. You know nothing is written in her eyes.
“Yes, but why is Tormund walking next to her?” The gleam in her eyes turns into the you’re an idiot stare.
“She is pretty, Jon, and Tormund is the leader of our tribe.”
“She’s not pretty,” Jon scowls. “She’s old.”
“She cannot be more than forty springs, idiot.”
—
“Brother.” Ned Stark turns to welcome Benjen to his solar.
“Your message seemed urgent. Vague, but urgent.” Benjen sounds frustrated. “I came immediately.”
“And I thank you, brother.” Ned pours two glasses of fine Doornish wine and passes on to Benjen. He walks to the door and checks whether anyone lingers in the hallway. Then he closes the door and locks it.
“Ned? What’s going on?”
“Benjen, I need you to promise me that you will not tell anyone what I am about to tell you. Promise it on Lyanna’s grave.”
“I promise.” Benjen sounds panicked. “Ned, did you kill someone? What happened?”
“It is nothing new.” Ned takes a sip and proceeds to talk. “Fifteen years ago, I found Lyanna dying in her birthing bed.” He takes a deep breath. “She married Rhaegar Targaryen.”
“What?” Benjen almost chokes on the fine wine.
“She bore him a son and died soon after.” Ned sighs. “I took the baby to a small village near the Wall. I didn’t know what else to do. I left him with an old woman. Mara or Yara, I don’t remember anymore. I told her to take him to the Watch when he was old enough.”
“Gods, Ned. And? Where is he now?”
“I don’t know. I named him Jon. I have never been back. I was worried someone might see me.” Ned hesitates. “I wanted to ask you if you could look for him. It was a village near the Nightfort.”
“And if I find him?”
“I need to know what he looks like. If he looks like a Stark… Maybe I could take him in as a bastard? But if he has any Targaryen in his face and his hair…The Watch? Maester Aemon still serves there, no?”
“I will try my best, brother.”
—
They enter the Springheart settlement. Jon is happy to be between buildings again, even if they look different from the houses he grew up in. Two girls with loose wavy, brown hair smile at him and Jon feels himself blushing.
“Come on, Jon! Tormund’s waiting.” Ygritte pulls him along.
Tormund is standing in a clearing and has already started to set up his tent. Soon the whole Firebrand tribe is busy readying their hides for a good night’s sleep.
An elder from the Springhearts steps forward and welcomes them.
“Tonight we will celebrate the changing paths of the sun. During our Sundown fest we eat, we drink and every woman steals a lover of her choice to keep her warm in bed. It would be an honor for us to have you as our guests.”
Jon does not really listen to what the elder says as he can smell boar meat roasting over the fire. He starts paying attention again when his bowl is full of steaming food. Finally, he can eat all the boar meat he dreamt of.
A girl sits next to him. “Hello, I’m Friede. What’s your name?”
Jon is unable to answer for quite some time as he chews his food rapidly. “Jon.”
He burps. “Uh… nice to meet you, Friede.”
She laughs. “Do you like the food, Jon?”
Jon nods enthusiastically. Then he looks across and sees Tormund laughing with the Valya woman.
“Who is she?”
“Who? Valya? She is my mother and she is a great healer.” The girl smiles. “Who is he? He’s handsome.”
She points at Tormund. “He’s Tormund. Uh… His father died a Moon ago and-”Jon trails off. “Um, he is chief now. He is my friend.” Jon smiles. “We hunt together. We went to Hardhome, have you ever seen it? You should, I got my sword there. Why is she talking to Tormund?”
“Probably for the same reason I am talking to you, Jon.” At Jon blank stare, she laughs. “Do you know what the Sundown fest means to us?”
Jon shakes his head. He can hear Ygritte’s voice going you know nothing and he knows that sometimes she is right.
“During the Sundown fest, we celebrate that the sun changes its path. Our wisewoman saw it in the stars. It is before the nights get darker, so to prepare for the cold each woman and girl of the tribe chooses a man to sleep with her.”
Jon is baffled. “And you want to choose me?” He looks at her in amazement for a bit, before he turns to look at Tormund again.
He is still laughing with that woman. He does not know why the sight makes him all hot and cold on the inside. He cannot bear to see them together any longer.
“No, sorry. Uh… I have to be with my wolf cub. Can I take some meat for him?” He stands up. “Uh…Thanks, good night.”
When he walks into the clearing he hears: “Are you not sleeping in her bed tonight?”
“Ygritte! What are you doing here?”
“I am making my choice.” She grabs his hand and pulls.
“Wait, wait, I need to give Ghost some meat.”
Jon enters his tent and attempts to calm his racing heart as he gently places pieces of boar meat in Ghost’s mouth. “Gods, you’re gonna be the most spoiled direwolf in the whole North!”
Just as he debates whether Ygritte will have gone, she calls: “Jon, are you done yet?”
“Yes, yes.” He crawls out of the tent and lets himself be pulled into Ygritte’s bed.
The moment his body touches the fur, he falls asleep. Ygritte turns around, after removing her outer layers.
“Jon? Jon? Son of a Thenn, he’s asleep!” She pokes him, but he is out as a light. Ygritte sighs and proceeds to snore next to him.
—
The following morning, Tormund wakes with an aching head next to Valya. She is still sleeping. Tormund quietly gathers his furs and dresses haphazardly. He glances at his bed partner and feels an inkling of regret. Next time she asks him, he will refuse, he decides.
He wonders if Jon slept with anyone.
—
Benjen rides alongside the Wall. In the distance, he can see Nightfort dark against the light. He has already been to most settlements in the region Ned gave him and he feels a little hopeless. The last village is not even a proper village, with most houses fallen into disrepair in a way that spells abandonment, not poverty.
Nonetheless, he sees some goats being herded by a young girl, maybe Sansa’s age. She looks at while he approaches, unmoving like someone nailed her to the floor.
“Hello? Is your mother around?” He moves to get off his horse and she suddenly runs inside.
A moment later, a woman steps out. She has a worn face and her hair is gray from stress and hardship.
“What do you want, Watcher?” The venom in her voice is clear.
“Apologies for disturbing you and scaring the girl. My name is Benjen Stark. Have you lived here long?”
“My whole bitter life, Ser. I have buried two husbands and five children here. And my beautiful daughter…” She sobs. “She was taken by those damned wildlings. You are useless! All of you on that Wall and still they steal children!”
“I am so sorry, ma’am …”
“My name is Eve, Ser.”
“When was your daughter taken?”
“Oh it was years ago. I complained all the way up to your Lord Commander, but he said that she was lost. That the North beyond the Wall was too big to find her. And that calls himself a watcher!”
“How many still live here?” Benjen casts an eye on the house behind her, which looks old, but patched up.
“Just us. Me and my two sons and the daughter you saw.” Eve sighs. “There used to be more people up here, but after they took my daughter, that baby and that old witch, they all left. Of course the harvest was poor that year too.”
“A baby was stolen?”
“Yes, the whole thing was quite strange. It was why I hoped you lot would search more. First the old woman Njara gets a baby from a rider. Or so she told me. She was a weird one, you know. She was a born wildling. Always up to the old Weirwood tree! Me? I was just married there, but I thought some nights she slept there.”
“And she got a baby?”
“Yes! It was nighttime already and suddenly this knock on my door, old Njara asking to borrow my daughter Tiffany, because of this baby.”
“Did you see the baby?”
“Oh, yes! It was a sweet boy. Tiff couldn’t stop talking, Jon this, Jon that.” She wipes tears from her eyes.
“And then they were stolen?”
“Yes, I last saw them going to the Weirwood. The old woman Njara and my daughter carrying the baby. They went every morning and every evening so I was not surprised to see them go. But then they just never came back!” Eve looks up at Benjen and says, “It was as if the Wall swallowed them whole.”
Benjen represses a shudder.
“Thank you, Eve. If there is ever any problem, please go to Castle Black and ask for Benjen Stark, alright? I will remember.”
She nods tersely, but he can see in her eyes that she lost her trust in riding men a long time ago.
He rides back to Castle Black, his mind racing with the different ways that little baby Jon could have met his end with the wildlings.
—
Many miles North, the Firebrand tribe says goodbye to the Springhearts and moves further west to Mance Rayder’s camp. Jon and Ghost are both well rested after dreaming of boars.