12 | THE WAR HAS BEGUN

In the middle of the night, Reyanna was awakened by a distant horn. Her eyes shot wide open and she sat straight up in bed. With her nightgown, she stepped outside on the balcony of her door. She knew that horn by heart. Jon had warned her that it meant wildlings were on their way. "Get ready!" A man from afar shouted at Reyanna. She nodded at him and hurried inside to get dressed.

The typical crow attire wasn't exactly suitable for her fighting style, so she desperately went ripping and tucking the black, feathery clothes so that it could be lighter and more movable. Once she was satisfied, she hurried to the wall. "Get the barrels! If you aren't doing anything, find something to do!" Reyanna shouted at the men as she hurried up to the top of the wall. Once she reached it, she looked over the edge. Far off in the distance, it was just like how Mance described it. Flames engulfed the entire icy forests right outside of the Wall. It was the largest fire she had ever seen.

Reyanna helped the men load the barrels full of flammable liquids onto the catapults, making use of herself since she had no authoritative role. She watched as the wildling army charged at the wall with their thousands of men— comprised of savages, beasts and giants. "Archers nock! Everyone else hold." Alliser shouted instructions at his men.

"Draw!" Alliser shouted, but was then interrupted by another wildling horn warning. Someone shouted something about down below, suggesting that Tormund's group had finally caught up to Castle Black and were there, attacking from behind.

"For fucks sake. We didn't arm the back." Reyanna mentioned to Alliser. She knew the 20 men holding the ground would suffer greatly.

"I'm going down there. Brother Slynt, you have the Wall." Alliser told before hurrying off downstairs.

Slynt looked around, quite lost as to what to do. "What are you waiting for?! Loose!" Reyanna shouted in Alliser's absence. Slynt had the brain of a nut and had no balls to lead a small army.

All of the men followed her cue, and shot arrows at the incoming wildlings. It knocked a few down, but not enough. Slynt copied her leadership style and began shouting orders at the archers to shoot at the wildlings. Soon enough, Slynt gave up on the orders because the wildlings persisted to charge at the wall. "No discipline, no training. Gang of thieves. That's all this is. I commanded the City Watch of King's Landing. Those men obeyed orders." Slynt whined.

"We can't just let them attack the gate!" Jon shouted at the man.

"The bars of those gates are four inches of cold-rolled steel." Slynt mimicked Alliser's meaningless words.

"Those are giants riding mammoths down there! D'you think your cold rolled steel is gonna stop them?" Jon shouted at the weak man.

"No such thing as giants. A story for the children." Slynt lied to himself to make himself feel better.

Grenn soon ran over to the three. "Brother Slynt. We just got word that Ser Alliser needs you below. You're the most experienced man he's got, Ser, and he needs you." Grenn lied to get Slynt out of commanding the wall.

"Needed below?" Slynt asked, then, without hesitation, hurried down to the ground— likely to hide instead of fight.

Reyanna turned to Jon. "Your up, Lord Snow." Reyanna patted his shoulder and hurried over to a post.

Jon nodded slowly and collected his thoughts before he began shouting instructions to the archers to fire at the enemy below. But, sooner than expected, the wildlings began scaling the wall. "They won't summit before dawn." Jon assured everyone.

"How do you know that?" One man asked.

"Because I've made that climb." Jon told.

"I think they're in a bigger hurry than you were." The same man mentioned.

"That's why we made the axe. And the pulleys so that some can walk on the wall effortlessly and pick off the pesky wildlings. A giant managed to shoot a couple arrows that tore through some of the wall's structures, but the men persisted in fighting. Barrels of oil were launched down at the charging wildlings and arrows continued to pour down upon them. But, a couple of giants still managed to get to the gate. They were trying to yank it open through the use of their mammoths and giants. Jon sent a few men down to hold the gate, but he knew it wasn't enough. They could only do so much.

Within minutes, Samwell joined Jon and Reyanna up on the wall. "What are you doing here?" Jon asked.

"The wildlings are over the walls. Ser Alliser's fallen. The castle won't stand much longer." Samwell informed Jon.

"Edd, you have the Wall. If they try the mammoths again, drop fire on them. If the climbers get too high, drop the scythe axe on them. Come, Rey." Jon led her and many other men down to the ground to fight the intruding wildlings.

As they were descending to the ground, Jon turned to Sam and Reyanna. "I don't want you out there." Jon told.

"You can't protect me forever. There won't be anywhere to hide if the castle falls." Samwell told.

"And what am I to do? Take a nap? I'd rather go down fighting." Reyanna scoffed.

Jon handed Sam a key. It was the key to Ghost's cage. "I need him." Jon told Sam. Sam nodded, understandingly.

"And you," Jon turned to fully face Reyanna, "don't die on me."

"I promise." Reyanna told him, seriously. Once they reached the bottom, Reyanna ran into the fighting blindly. She swung her sword at the faces of Thenns and others of Mance's army.

Soon enough, she met with the face of Tormund. His usual prideful and sweaty look was in full effect as he was fighting. The two encountered each other on one of the balconies, with their swords drawn. "I don't want to hurt you, pretty girl. But you left me for that pretty boy." Tormund's voice was hoarser than usual.

"You should've been prettier." Reyanna's face twisted up into a smile before she swung her sword at him. The two's swords had a dance off until Reyanna managed to nick his face. Tormund got real pissed and slammed his body against hers, sending her flying backward. Her teeth smashed together, managing to bite her cheek. The taste of blood seeped all throughout her mouth. The red liquid flooded her mouth so much, she managed to spit a bunch of it at Tormund. He hurried to hover over her, with his sword pointed at her throat.

"You're luck I like you, girl. Else you'd be dead meat for the Thenns." Tormund huffed, unable to conquer his feelings for the girl, then took off.

Reyanna sighed out in relief and plopped her head back onto the ground. But the fight wasn't over yet. And Ghost had pranced over to remind her just of that. He stood over her, eyeing her very carefully. Reyanna groaned, but knew Ghost was there to make sure she got up okay and continued to fight. So, that's exactly what she did. She stood back up and found the next wildling to take on. This time, with Ghost right by her side defending her from any other threats nearby. He certainly had taken a liking to her, probably because he felt the connection his companion, Jon, had with her.

At the end, the only wildling left on the ground, south of the wall, was Tormund. All of the men of the Night's Watch and Reyanna had gathered around him, with their weapons pointed straight at him. "Tormund." Jon addressed the savage who was still kicking, even with two arrows in his back. "It's over." Jon told.

"This how a man ends." Tormund stayed before swinging his sword at a nearby enemy. The two fought momentarily before Jon grabbed a crossbow and shot Tormund in the leg. Upping his arrow count to three.

Tormund fell to his knees, in pain and ashamed. "Put him in chains. We'll question him later." Jon barked at one man close by.

Tormund turned his head to look at Reyanna as he was being taken away to be locked up. "Don't let them do this to me, Reyanna! You're one of us! Not one of them! You coward!" Tormund screamed at the girl. Reyanna's face was simply stoic, anyway, you couldn't see any of her face because it was covered in Thenn blood.

* * *

That same night, once Reyanna and Jon we're finally scrubbed clean from all the dirt, grime and blood they accumulated during the fight; they met each other in Reyanna's room. They gazed at each other and silently spoke to each other. They both knew what the wanted.

To sleep.

The fight was exhausting and all of their muscles were already sore. They knew it'd be worse the next morning, too. Their feet were throbbing and they were still cold from the oncoming winter weather. Simultaneously, the two threw themselves on the bed and instantly knocked out, sleeping harder than ever before.

* * *

The next morning, Reyanna opened her eyes to see Jon laying next to her. He was already wide awake, having temporary duties to run Castle Black came with its downfalls. He had already told the men to burn all of the deceased bodies to avoid them turning into walkers. "We held them off for one day." Reyanna mentioned.

"Mance almost made it through."
"And he had more soldiers."
"They'll hit us again tonight."
"They know we're weak."
"We'll never beat them."
"You've got to go find Mance."

The two spoke back an forth, completing each other's thoughts and if they were one being. "They'll skin you alive if you kill him." Reyanna told. Jon nodded silently.

"You promised not to die." Reyanna added.

"So did you." Jon mentioned.

Reyanna sighed reluctantly, then pressed her lips to his. The kiss felt warm, and longing. It was a kiss given to him in case Jon didn't come back. It only gave Jon more of an incentive to not die on his new mission to speak with Mance.

* * *

Later that morning, Jon was just about to leave to go speak with Mance and possibly even get killed. But, Reyanna hurried over to stop him. She ran as fast as her thin legs could take her, but she did eventually catch up to Jon as he was walking to the gate with Samwell. "Jon!" She called, gaining the man's attention.

Once she reached him, she planted her hands on his shoulders. "I'm going with you." She told.

"No you're not." Jon snickered.

"I know Mance. I've known him longer than you have. Also, you'd have a better chance getting out alive with another person by your side." Reyanna argued her case.

"Or we'd both die." Jon shook his head at her.

"I'd rather die in the north, where I belong, than voyage to Volantis alone to find my siblings." Reyanna told.

Jon looked right into Reyanna's icy eyes. He noticed how strangely they glowed. They weren't the typical blue eyes he saw in his father or other people of Westeros, they were a more luminous and deeper blue. They looked just like ice. It was typical for people to be attracted to blue eyes, it was the preferred trait amongst the Westerosi, but her eyes were the signature Challinder icy eyes. It drew people in and captured their attention. No one could say no to those eyes. So, Jon couldn't help it but to say: "Fine."

* * *

The two walked, side by side, up to the distant forest past the wall to meet Mance. The morning air was frigid and ruthless. Dead corpses littered the path toward the forest, where Mance and his people still hid from the night before. Rey and Jon both know there'd be people guarding and ready to attack them as they approached the small group of tents in the forest. And just as suspected, a few wildlings with knives popped out from behind the trees and surrounded the pair. Rey and Jon simultaneously rose their arms up in surrender.

Mance appeared before the two without a word from the wildlings needed to be said. "You're wearing a black cloak again." Mance addressed Jon, not daring to look at the traitor that Reyanna was.

"We've been sent to negotiate with you." Jon spoke, then Mance led Rey and Jon into his main tent to converse with them.

"It appears my trusting nature got the better of me. It's happened before. I didn't think it'd happen because southerner who was raised since an infant north of the wall would suddenly remember her roots. And you, I was hoping your loyalty was real when you pledged yourself to us, Jon Snow. Truly I was." Mance grunted in regret.

"The Halfhand ordered me to join your army and bring back whatever information I could to Castle Black. He made me kill him so you'd trust me. I was loyal... to him and to my Night's Watch vows." Jon admitted his scheme.

"All your vows?" Mance asked, suggesting his incident with Ygritte. Reyanna knew he had had interaction with Ygritte, but their attraction was short lived.

"And what's your excuse?" Mance asked Reyanna.

"Excuses only please the one telling them. I have none. I am accountable for my family's survival. So, I executed actions to protect them. Winter was coming, Mance. And an army of wildlings aren't enough to protect us from the white walkers." Reyanna spoke quickly.

"Let us drink to that, then. To our survival." Mance respected Reyanna's reasons, but it didn't make him despise her any less. Some wildlings hurried to grab some alcohol and handed it to Rey and Jon. Mance already had his own cup.

Both Reyanna and Jon looked down at their drinks, weary if it were poisoned. "Of all the ways I'd kill you, poison would be the last." Mance assured the couple.

Rey and Jon then grabbed their cup and lifted it into the air. "To our survival." Mance spoke, then everyone else with a drink repeated his words.

Everyone took a large gulp of their drink. Reyanna was used to the nasty wildling drink, but Jon was not. He began coughing up a storm. "That's not wine." Jon gagged.

"No, it's a proper northern drink, Jon Snow. You did well. Fought hard. Killed some of our strongest men. One of our giants went into your tunnel and never came out again. Mag the Mighty." Mance mentioned.

"He's dead. He killed my friend, Grenn." Jon noted.

"He was their king. The last of a bloodline that stretches back before the First Men." Mance told.

"Grenn came from a farm." Jon told Grenn's less notable story. Then, they all cheered mournfully to the two deceased.

"Kullback, could I trouble you for something to eat? I don't imagine our guests have eaten anything for quite some time. So, you're here to strike a bargain?" Mance asked.

"Turn your army around and go home." Jon told. Reyanna knew he'd never accept.

"You know I know you're low on arrows, you're low on oil, you're low on men. How many are left, 50?" Mance inquired.

"I told Tormund and Orell. We have more than 1,000 men." Jon growled.

"I showed you everything I had. The whole army, 100,000 strong. And what did you do? You fired on us with everything you had. It wasn't much. As soon as I saw that, I sent 400 men to climb the Wall, and unmanned stretch five miles west of here. A lot of them will die climbing, but most of them will be over by the end of the day. It's me being honest with you, Jon Snow, which is more than you've ever done for me. My people have bled enough. We're not here to conquer. We're here to hide behind your Wall. Just like you. We need your tunnel. Now we both know that winter is coming. And if my people aren't south of the wall when it comes in earnest, we'll all end up worse than dead. You want to strike a bargain with me? Here's the bargain. You go back. You open the gates to us, and I swear to you that no one else will die. Refuse, and we'll kill ever last man and Reyanna at Castle Black." Mance proposed.

Reyanna looked down at her fingers and fumbled with them. Jon sat up straight and contemplated whether to kill him then or not. Mance seemed to read his mind. "Oh, that's why you're here. I reckon you could do it before any of them could stop you. They'd kill you, of course, Reyanna is smart so she'd manage to escape. They'd kill you slow, but you knew that when you came in here. Are you capable of that, Jon Snow? Killing a man in his own tent when he's just offered you peace? Is that what the Night's Watch is? Is that what you are?" Mance asked.

There was silence. But before anymore discussion could be made, loud warning horns were blared outside of Mance's tent. "Are you attacking us?!" Mance asked, pulling out his sword and pointing it at Jon's throat.

"No. It's like you said. We don't have the men." Jon rapidly spoke. Mance grunted and ran outside. Jon and Reyanna followed closely at his heels. Outside, right before the wall, was an army that matched the numbers of the wildling army but every man was on horseback— making them ten times stronger. It was an unrecognizable army, possibly owned by one of the kings from the War of the Five Kings. The calvary charged in on the wildlings, massacring those that fought back at them by the hundreds. Those that stood still and surrendered seemed to be safe, so Reyanna and Jon followed pursuit, but keeping their swords at hand in case anyone came to attack them, too.

"Stand down! I said my people have bled enough and I meant it." Mance shouted at his people to stop dying at the hands of these strangers. The massacre didn't take long to end, and when it did a tall man on a horse approached Mance with a menacing look.

The man and his comrades hopped off of their horses and stood before Mance and the people surrendering around him. Mance instantly threw his weapons down, indicating he was truly surrendering, so that the strange Westerosi men wouldn't attack them. The strangers held large yellow banners and wore heavy iron armor. They were no crow. They were no wildling. And they certainly were no white walker. "You're the King beyond the Wall?" The leader asked.

Mance nodded. "Do you know who I am?" He asked.

"Never had the pleasure." Mance shook his head.

"This is Stannis Baratheon, the one true king of the Seven Kingdoms." Stannis' right hand introduced.

Reyanna's eyes lit up in recognition of his name. Baratheon. The Targaryen bastards who took over the Seven Kingdoms. She also knew he was one of the five kings in the War of the Five Kings. "We're not in the Seven Kingdoms and you're not dressed for this weather." Mance stated.

"It is customary to kneel when surrendering to a king." Stannis mentioned, insinuating he wanted him to kneel.

"We do not kneel." Mance told with a scowl across his face.

"I'll have thousands of your men in chains by nightfall, have nowhere to put them, have nothing to feed them. I'm not here to slaughter beat dogs. Their fate depends on their king." Stannis scoffed.

"All the same, we do not kneel." Mance informed.

"Take these men away." Stannis told his men.

"What's a man of the Night's Watch doing in a wildling camp? And a woman wearing the clothes of the men of the Night's Watch?" Stannis' hand asked.

"I was sent to discuss terms with the King beyond the Wall." Jon told.

"I'm the help." Reyanna shrugged.

"You're speaking to the one true king, boy. You will address him as Your Grace." The hand growled.

"I know he's the king. My father died for him. My name is Jon Snow, Your Grace. I'm Ned Stark's son." Jon told Stannis.

"Your father was an honorable man." Stannis praised Jon's father.

"He was, Your Grace." Jon agreed.

"So was yours." Stannis turned to Reyanna. Her breath hitched. The Baratheons hated the Targaryens and Challinders. She worried he'd execute her.

"You must be mistaken—" Reyanna began to excuse herself.

"Even an idiot could recognize those Challinder eyes. There's something different in them that compels you to follow the person they belong to. You don't plan on using them against me, do you?" Stannis asked.

"No, Your Grace." Reyanna lowered her head.

"Good. What do you think your father, Ned Stark, have done with him?" Stannis asked about Mance to Jon.

Jon stopped forward. "I was this man's prisoner once. He could have tortured me. He could have killed me. But he spared my life. I think my father would have taken him prisoner, listened to what he had to say." Jon told the supposed true king.

"Very well, then. Take him." Stannis told his hand to do as instructed.

"Your Grace, if my father had seen the thing that I've seen, he'd also tell you to burn the dead before nightfall. All of them." Jon suggested, his eyes ominously insinuating the dangers of white walkers— a tale in Stannis' mind but a truth to many.

* * *

The men of the Night's Watch had a funeral for all of their fallen men from the battle a few days ago. All of the body's were respectfully burned. And they were given proper time to mourn before a new task befell upon them.