Beyond The Wall is a place where bedtime stories are real. Where the nightmares come out to play. Where the Wildlings play.
Mara is a Wildling, but she's different. She wasn't born beyond the wall. She was born South of it. But no one knows where...
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I sat stiffly between Tormund and Orell on a log in front of the fire, as Jon and Ygritte brought some more firewood over to our little camp.
Tormund and I had selected fifteen of the strongest warriors in the camp, to round our group up to twenty, and while Tormund and I led the men, Orell had been scouting all day.
"Welcome back." I heard Orell grunt out, staring up at the pair as they walked in. Their hair was a mess, and I had a feeling that searching for wood wasn't all they had been doing out there, but I didn't say anything as they dropped the wood down.
"Orell says there are crows patrolling on the Wall. Tell me what you know." Tormund growled out, staring at the two. Jon froze, but answered.
"There are four to a patrol, two builders to check for structural damage, two rangers to watch for enemies."
"How often do these patrols go out?" Orell asked.
"It varies. If I knew where on the Wall we were heading, I could tell you." Jon snarked, but Orell just lifted his lip in a snarl.
"You'd like to know that." Orell hissed. Tormund let out a sigh, and glanced at me.
"There are nineteen castles guarding the Wall. How many are manned?" Tormund asked.
"Three."
"You sure of that?" Orell questioned, and Jon just nodded in answer, while Ygritte looked like she wanted to leap over and tear out Orell's throat for questioning her partner.
"How many men remain in Castle Black?" Tormund questioned.
"A thousand."
"Liar." Jon didn't take Orell's words lightly, he advanced on Orell, and even though he was shorter than him, Jon was much broader and I was sure he could put up a fight if this turned into one.
"What happens to your eagle after I kill you? Does he drift away like a kite with his strings cut or does he just flop had to the ground?" Jon threatened, and Orell rose to meet his threat.
"He's no crow." Ygritte said, her whiny voice scraping against my ears like metal on rock.
"Just 'cause you want him inside you don't make him one of us." Orell hissed at her, and I couldn't help but smirk. Ygritte pulled her dagger, and I knew I would have to step in.
"I'm not afraid of you." Ygritte said to Orell, but before anything else could be said, Tormund had thrown Orell to to the ground, and I had forced the dagger from Ygritte's hand, and shoved her to the ground as well. I looked up, Ygritte's dagger still in hand, and I glanced back at Tormund. He glanced at me, and then moved to face Jon, breathing harshly down at him.
"I like you, boy. But if you lie to me, I'll pull your guts out through your throat."
"One-thousand men." Jon said, while Orell and Ygritte pulled themselves up. Both of them stared at Tormund and I angrily, but neither of us said anything.
"Well. We'll find out soon enough Crow." I said harshly, and I walked away, hearing Tormund's steps fall heavily in the snow behind me, as I made my way to our tent.
As the leaders of this camp, we had the largest tent, and it was situated in the middle of the camp, standing proudly against the wind.
"He's going to betray us." I said to Tormund, as soon as we were both safely within the tent.
"I know." He said simply, sitting down on his mat that was situated a few meager feet from my own.
"How are you so calm about this? We should be doing something! He should be in chains. Not free to roam as he pleases, just waiting for him to abandon us." I hissed angrily as I paced in the small space.
"Will you calm down? There isn't anything we can do about it." Tormund said gently, and grabbed my arm at the next turn.
I stopped at stared down at the bushy faced man.
"It's not right. He shouldn't have trusted him." I whispered, knowing I looked as overwhelmed as I felt. Tormund didn't say anything, he just gave my arm a strong pull, and I let him pull me down into his lap.
I scrambled, trying to get comfortable against his broad body, my legs moving to either side of his body.
"You need to relax." Tormund grumbled, and I nodded, letting myself relax against him, as his arms moved to wrap around my waist, engulfing my body in his arms.
"Relax." His whispered, rubbing his hands down my spine, and I nodded again, allowing myself to be pulled in.
It happened before I could really prepare myself, but I was kissing him, allowing every inch of my body to be pressed to every inch of his.
He turned, flipping me underneath him, and I tightened my legs around his waist, pulling him flush against me, and soon, the Crow was the last thing on my mind.
