Please note that I do not own any of George R. R. Martin's characters, nor worlds, nor places.

Jon Snow

The sounds of battle were everywhere, the cries of his brethren, the cries of the wildlings, they mingled together as one and despite the fight with the Thenn, despite almost failing, he could not help but wonder if Ygritte's cry was among them, if Ygritte was dying somewhere in the field… Would I defend her? Should I find her? Or will I walk away just as I did before? The thought caused him to choke up as he leaned against the pillar to regain his strength, wiping the blood from his face. He didn't have much more time to think of the what if's for the sound of an arrow notching in a bow.

He froze, the sound was all too familiar, one he had heard a dozen times before. Least if I should die tonight, it will be her arrow that pierces my heart, and not a wildlings knife. He turned slowly, and his heart raced from his chest, she is as beautiful as I left her. But her eyes looked exhausted, her body looked in pain and he knew that he had worn her down, his leaving had killed what little belief she had in him. She was not one to grow attached, that he knew, but she had attached herself to him for reasons unknown and he, himself, had grown attached to the fiery wildling. He had let her in his bed and in his heart, and he couldn't seem to shake her.

She stared at him as he smiled, and he watched as the corners of her mouth twitched but she held her gaze. She wouldn't talk, he knew that, for if she did her voice would break as would her focus… her determination. She wanted him dead, but she also wanted him to live, he could see it in her eyes. For all he did not know, these were things he did, and he was certain of them. He wanted to say her name, wanted to speak to her but before he could, a shadow slipped in behind her. His eyes flickered towards it, enough to give warning to Ygritte. Swiftly, she turned on her feet and her arrow flew through the air. The brother she had hit was no more than a child, he knew him by name, Olly, but Ygritte seemed to recognize him slightly as well, but only so much. Her eyes flickered with a realization but she didn't move towards the dying boy, instead she faced Jon, another bow notched.

"You betrayed me" She stated fiercely, her eyes burning like wildfire. He had nothing to say, he couldn't say anything even if he wanted to. She wasn't wrong. He had hurt her, betrayed her, left her in the rain, he had suffered her arrows, sure, but nothing would be as painful as her inner hurts, that he knew.

"I know" he remarked, softly, almost guiltily. Her bow dropped ever so slightly, the way it did when she hesitated the shot or thought it a lost cause. He was no lost cause, so this was nothing more than a hesitation. Still, he prepared himself for death, around him others were dying, yet for reasons unknown the two were being granted a type of peace, not a brother nor a wildling had stumbled upon them yet and so they stood.

"You know nothin', Jon Snow" she remarked, in the same tone she always did and he couldn't help but to smile. She re-notched the bow "Any last words, crow?" she spat, aiming the point of the arrow for his chest. She waited as his mouth parted to answer but as he did a man of the Nightswatch went for her throat. She turned her arrow towards him but she had little chance to release and no room to aim. Jon felt himself lunge forward in a sense of protectiveness, his hands shoving his brother to the side. He stumbled, faltered and stared in utter shock at Jon.

"You betrayin' us now? You worthless shit, protecting a wildling girl." he scolded, eyes burning with hatred "I knew you were no good, this her, the red-head yah fucked?" he taunted. At his side, Ygritte fumbled for the breath his brother had knocked from her, and too late she head readied her bow. The brother in black had disappeared with distaste, surely off to tell Allister of his betrayal They will name me a deserter for sure. I will be called a craven and a wildling lover just as they all assumed I was to begin with. This time I will have no defense for he saw it with his own eyes.
He stared for an awful long time, to long for his own good, hearing nothing around him.

"Ygritte" he stated, turning towards the place where she had been, but she was gone now, there was nothing left of the red head except and arrow she had dropped. She never leaves her arrows behind. He noted, his eyes searching the area desperately for the fire kissed girl he loved so dearly, but the only thing he found were slight scuff marks in the ground. Panic settled in his gutI have made the gravest of decisions… the worst of mistakes. To leave her… I have brought her death and even in my protection I have summoned her destruction. They have seen me defend her. They will know and when the battle is done I will die for it. I am sure. He had done nothing more than protect the girl he loved, he would kill any of the wildlings, save for Tormund and Ygritte, but he had never thought out of the hundreds and thousands that he should come across either

Now he was soon to lose one if not both of the Free Folk he had grown close to but worse was that it was Ygritte who had been dragged away, he knew it for certain. Ygritte was not one to drag away her victims, she killed quickly and easily unless she needed a hostage, but even then, to drag the person was not in her style. She would hold a knife to their throat and force them forwards her even an arrow pressed against their spines but she would never drag them.

He searched desperately for her, avoiding fights with others by sticking to the shadows, though occasionally he had to pull Longclaw from its sheath and defend himself, or put the sword through a man's belly, but his main goal was Ygritte, he barely noticed the men that fell at his feet. He wanted to call for her but that would draw attention to the issue, to him, and he could not hope for even a chance to right the situation should they find him searching for the wildling girl he had taken to bedThe woman I love, He thought more firmly on the matter. He would not let her just be the girl he had bedded, for she was so much more than that. She was his heart and soul. Even as he sat at Castle Black, even as he betrayed the secrets of the Free Folk he had only thought of her, worried over her, wished to die for her.

Honor truly meant nothing when it was set up against the love of a woman, for that was a battle lost every time. Jon had learned that the hard wayOr perhaps, the best way I could have. He pushed forward, only pausing when he caught sight of Ygritte, held firmly in hands of two brothers, She squirmed drastically, hatefully. "Let me go, you stupid crows!" she shouted, along with other obscenities. She was angry and rightfully so. Jon, himself, felt a fire burning in his blood. The two held daggers to her, one to her neck and the other to her stomach. When the dagger touched her stomach, Ygritte froze, her face flushed and her eyes seemed to swell with tears that would never be shed. Jon thought little of it, aside from being furious at the pain in her eyes.

"Let her go" he scolded, as the middle man turned to him.

"And why would I do that? She is nothin' more than a wildling" he laughed, and the two at his side followed. "I'm wonderin' if her hair is as red down their as it is atop her head" he teased, Ygritte spit at the boy in utter disgust but she dare not move.

"Touch me 'n I'll kill ya" she growled, her hands curling into fists. The boys brushed her off. Jon stepped forward, hate in his eyes but he acted intrigued. They do not know her for the girl I bedded, they only know her for the prospect of a girl they can lay with. This was good, he could play the part well enough, but he had never been one to disrespect women as such. Ned had always taught him better, but here they were, holding his love, and all he could do was pretend he was interested in raping her.

"I heard you like yourself wildling girls, Jon. May be that you'd like a taste of her yourself. Well, I could let you go first, surely, so long as you don't tell anyone else of it" the other brothers nodded in unison with the leaders words and Jon shrugged, a sting in his heart as he looked at the face of shock that had plastered itself upon Ygritte.

"Sounds fair to me, but I can hold my own, don't need you two holding her up like that" he remarked, nodding to the two brothers. They loosened their grip only slightly,

"She is a fiesty one, this one is. Be careful, don't want t' lose our prize" he stated with sincerity. He took Ygritte's arms tightly in his hands and shoved her backwards towards the tree. He assessed her, she had her bow and arrow still tucked firmly against her back, a good sign for at least she had her weapon.

"Can you get it off without moving much?" he asked, nodding towards her bow. She looked confused but at last she understood, recognition sparking in her eyes.

"Aye, I can" she stated with a nod, her eyes blinking up at him.

"Good, I need you to take out the two at the side, they have but daggers in their hands, the middle shall be for me" he stated, and she nodded silently. Her hand knocked the end of the bow, tilting the string up and over her head. She caught it with utter silence as his one hand reached for Longclaw. "Go" he urged and with that he released her and turned back to the brothers. An arrow caught one in the chest before he even had a chance to say a thing. The other two rushed at them, a sword in the leaders hands and daggers in the last mans hand. Jon pulled Longclaw from the sheath and aimed a deadly hit for the middle man. He dodged, leaving Longclaw to slam against a rock and bounce back to Jon. Jon felt his arms shake as he turned back towards the other, exchanging swings until his face twisted in pain and his body teetered frontwards and back. Jon shoved the sword through his gut, watching as the blood spilled from his stomach. Ygritte knelt behind them an arrow drawn, another firmly implanted in his brethren's back.

Longclaw slid from the man's gut with a sickening sound as he fell to the ground, eyes wide and staring, seeing nothing. Jon looked to Ygritte, her bow held loosely yet still drawn. "Why'd you help me?" she asked, her eyes betraying her skepticism.

"The same reason I always have." he remarked, but she scowled at his words.

"Always? Oh ya' mean the way ya' left me in the rain? The way ya' turned your back on me in the night?" she shot back, and Jon felt a cold since of sorrow enter his chest. She will hate me, she will always hate me. "Why don't ya' run back t' your crows, boy. Since ya' fancy bein' cold at night without a woman to warm your bed. Since you fancy leavin' the ones you claim t' love for some brothers who care less 'bout you than you seem t' know." she started, her eyes narrowing.

"Ygritte, I have always needed you. I fancy you, nothing and no one else." he reminded her stepping closer. She raised her arrow and aimed it for his heart, her preferred place for his death it seemed. Made sense. He had torn hers from her chest now she longed to do the same to him.

"Ya' need me? That right? So why'd ya' leave then? You promised me, Jon Snow. You promised me t' me face that you'd ne'er betray me, yet you left. I would'a gone with you. I would'a left." she pleaded, although her voice sounded as strong as ever. Jon felt his chest tighten.

"I could never let you leave your people for me, Ygritte, you know that" he stated softly, warmly. Her hand quivered as did her lip but she held her ground.

"Aye, but you left your people for me and me folk." she stated "I told you, you were mine as I was yours. That means we fight for each other no one else, but ya' lef' me in th' rain for your crows" She complained, her voice deep, filled with hurt and hate. She made a sound then, a pitiful sound, one even he could tell she hated herself for, but she did not let a tear fall. Not even for a moment.

"I had no choice, Ygritte, you know that. They wanted to kill me, they would have killed you for protecting me" he wanted her to understand, he wanted her to see it the way he did but she didn't. She glared on still, but her bow had fallen lower and an arrow no longer aimed itself at his heart.

"You don't know that. Tormund would'a ne'er 'urt me an' you know that" she stated viciously.

"No, Ygritte. I don't know that, Orell already tried to kill you once, and if Tormund hadn't done it than Orell would have. You were in danger, I had to make it seem as though it was not your choice… like you would never betray your people… because you won't" he stated softly, his eyes dropped to the ground "As I could not betray mine own…"

"Aye, but ya' jus' did, Jon Snow" she remarked, waving her arms at the dead around her. Jon nodded in awknowledge meant.

"Yes, I know… and I will pay the price dearly." he remarked.