Witch of Winterfell*Game of Thrones*

Chapter Sixteen

THEIR TIME TOGETHER WAS SHORT.

They hadn't known each other for longer than a few months, but they had loved each other with every fiber in their being. Jon Snow and Ygritte weren't ideal but their time with one another was a sure gift from the Gods.

"You're nervous." Samwell Tarly points out, bringing his friend back to the present. Jon looks over to him, ready to deny the accusation. "You always play with that pendant whenever you're nervous."

Jon looks down only to find that his friend is right— he had been twirling the red gem between his fingers without realizing it. He let it fall to his chest.

"Is it really that hard to sign a paper?" Sam asks.

Jon huffs, looking back down at the parchment. The words are legible but that's to be expected from someone like Sam. He's literate and justifiably proud to be. It's his defense at times because of his size and his lacking ability to fight like his brothers of The Watch.

Still, his pretty handwriting doesn't soften the blow. The paper is a request for the Warden of the North to send men and supplies for the Watch. To ask Roose Bolton—the usurper that killed his brother— to aid him as the new Lord Commander didn't sit well. His father, Ned Stark, taught his children to value honor above all else. Roose didn't kill his brother with honor. He didn't take Winterfell with honor. He probably didn't even know what the word meant.

"He murdered my brother, Sam." Jon says after a moment. "It feels like I'm dishonoring him by asking for help."

"Listen, we swore to be Watchers on the Wall" He begins, "and we can't watch the wall with just 50 men. Roose Bolton is the Warden in the North—"

Jon opened his mouth to argue but Sam keep going.

"—and as much as we don't like it, we need more men. We need his help, Jon."

The Lord Commander sighed in defeat. Of course Sam's words made sense. He'd have to set aside his obvious loathing for the new Warden and do what's right for the Watch. So, Jon reluctantly scribbles his name onto the paper, and Sam does well to pick it up before Jon tries to rip it apart. He stuffs the paper into his neat stack and heads for the door. Even though the Maester is ill and steadily getting worse, Sam still has to be given permission to send the ravens out with the documents.

The doors to the Lord Commander's chamber opens, revealing The Red Woman, Melisandre. She gives Sam a once over with her narrow nose pointed in the air, giving off an arrogant sneer towards the short man before looking at Jon— who nods at his friend to leave the two alone.

"Lord Commander." She says in greeting once the door closes.

Despite not wanting to be the Lord Commander, Jon can admit that it sounds a lot better than 'Jon Snow, Bastard of Winterfell.'

"How can I help you?" Jon asks, but immediately kicks himself for sounding so cheerful. Melisandre takes that as her cue to walk further into the room. Her dark eyes immediately look to his chest as the pendant before she looks up at him again, something he didn't notice.

"I've come to ask that you ride south with us to Winterfell. There is no one here that knows the castle quite like you. It was your home once after all. I'd like to think you'd take pleasure in chasing the rats out of its halls."