Reborn In Fire And Blood

Chapter 11

Jon

Jon rode by Erid on horseback, the cold nipping at his exposed face. Behind the wildling woman, the copper hair streamed and caught the few flying snowflakes. The two set out hunting the northern elk for camp, but it had started to come increasingly difficult, and winter seemed no sign of stopping.
Erid adjusted her bow strap before pulling the reins of her horse to a stop.
      "Tracks." She whispered, dismounting her horse as Jon followed. She was right, two separate hoof print trails.
They looped the reins of the horses to a nearby tree, as they pulled arrows from their bag, stringing them quickly. They slowly made their way through the weaving trees. In the distance, a repetitive clanking noise rang out. The two shuffled towards the noise, two stags were butting heads, their antlers interlocked as they pushed and shoved each other across the snowy turf.
      "They're stuck." Erid mouthed, and it was true. The antlers were interlocked, but they had not seemed to notice.
Erid quickly drew back on the string, standing up from her hiding spot, and firing a arrow into the neck of one of the stags. It dropped dead to the ground, bringing the interlocked one down too. It's hooves struggled and dug into the frozen ground frantically to free itself, but Jon knocked and released an arrow into its head.
"Lucky us, eh?" Erid spoke, fishing her arrow from the throat of the first stag.
Jon followed, tearing the arrow from the head as he bound the four limbs together of each stag.
"I'll go get the horses." He called, stumbling through the thickets. He grabbed the reins that had been left on the tree, and trailed them to where the deer lay. Jon tied one stag to his saddle, as Erid did the same. The horses couldn't go far from each other because of the joint venison, but camp lay not too far ahead. The duo rode back to camp. It was a silent ride, but halfway through Erid finally spoke.
"So Jon Snow. It's been a week." She looked over to him, referring to their nightly escapade they shared together.
"Aye. What about it?" He spoke, his face flushed with the thought of it.
"I should have had my moon blood by now."
Jon tensed, turning to her.
"You what."
"I think I'm pregnant. You're the one who deflowered me. You have to be the father."
"How old are you?" Jon stopped his horse, staring at the young woman.
"Only twenty. I've killed every man who's tried to take me as his bride." She gave him her well known smirk.
Jon began to freeze. A child? A wildling child! As a young boy he'd never thought about it. He always assumed he would be on the nights watch for his life.
"Well Jon Snow. What do you plan to do about this." She looked him in the eyes, her hand resting on her stomach.
Jon grabbed the reins of the horse, giving it a jerk as the horse began walking again.
"You put a bun in her oven already!" Thormud boasted, as Jon raised a finger to his lips for him to hush.
"Who knew a pecker so small may have the strongest boys."
Jon buried his face in his hands in embarrassment.
"Thormud. I don't know what to do."
"Well it's obvious what you've ought to."
Jon stared up at the ginger haired man.
"And what's that."
"You can't just leave her with a babe at her teat, with no man there for the child."
Jon began to panic, his face flushing.
"I know, I don't want that! But I never planned for any of this. I didn't think she would on the first-"
"Snow. You're thinking with your crow mind." Thormud cut him off. "You're a wildling man now. And we take our wives. We don't plan a fancy ceremony. We don't have a royal maidenhood taking. If you really want her, you'll break into that tent and defeat her at knife to knife combat, like every wildling man here."
"Thormud, she's killed every man who's tried. What if she kills me too."
The giant man gave Jon a smile.
"Well brother, I guess you'd be one of the unlucky ones then, wouldn't you?"