Jon Snow always thought winter represented what was stark, barren, ruining or ruined, but when his mates took him to Mole’s Town, the sights there gave him pause for thought.
After Ygritte and the wildlings sacked the village, it was never going to live up to its former pomp (if, indeed, pomp was an apt description), but the process was certainly underway. Commonfolk in need for shelter had decided to mend broken roofs and walls instead of making new ones. As the populace increased gradually, commerce returned to the streets. Dolorous Edd had decreed that the Night’s Watch supplied them with grain. After rock bottom, there was no way to go but up.
Jon had worried himself to death, waiting for a reply from Sansa, patrolling the top of the Wall wondering when the wight of Viserion would make its appearance, trying to pronounce the dragon commands Daenerys had left in a parchment before leaving. Samwell’s return made him forget his woes for a while, and they shared tales of Oldtown and the North when reunited, but the calm did not last. It was not before long that Edd decided to take him, Samwell and a couple of other rangers to Mole’s Town for some ale. He claimed it was to catch up after a long absence, but Jon suspected it was because his constant anxiety was spreading to the rest.
Be that as it may, Edd was right. It took a couple of goblets of ale for Jon to vanquish his fears. They spent a lot of time reminiscing over their days of youth, and even though Jon had just met the other rangers – Elron and Tim Stone, their names were – before long they chatted like old mates. “To the watch!” they said, clinking glasses together before downing them.
Heads turned in their direction in the inn, and it was not before long that people began to approach them. “It’s the King in the North!” they said cheerily. And now some wished to shake his hand, while others offered to buy him another cup. When the innkeeper heard of it, he even forgave Jon the debts they owed him.
Word travels swifter than sound. Even when Jon was at the Wall, worrying when his army from Barrowton would reach Castle Black, other men of the Night’s Watch treated him with more reverence than they would a king. They had heard tales of his bravery against Ramsay Bolton and Daenerys Targaryen. At times, when they came to ask him for consent, Jon had to wearily remind them that it was Eddison Tollett who held Castle Black.
Their serving girl was also keen to begin a conversation. “Before Mole’s Town was brought to its knees by the wildlings,” she told him, “I was the daughter of the owner of an inn. The wildlings killed my mother and father. Since then, I have been forced to fend for myself. I know what it is to lose a family and feel so helpless, so alone, unwilling to accept what the gods have left you with. I can only imagine how hard it must have been for you.”
The girl’s words brought back to Jon times of the past. “Sometimes,” he told her, “when I sat freezing at the edge of the world while my family died, I wished I would find them waiting for me at Mole’s Town. Father, Arya, Robb, Rickon…” his voice trailed away. The ale was taking hold of him. “Winter came for us before winter came. But now we have the north, and Sansa, and Bran…” Jon had to control himself, for he had almost slipped Daenerys’ name. “I will not let monsters take them away from me. Life has more meaning than that.”
“It does,” the serving girl said. “You have fought the wildlings, you held the Wall and you won back our home. If there is one man in Westeros for whom my love and respect will never die, it is you. The lions roared, the vipers stung and the kraken rose from the seas, but now it is our turn, a time for wolves.”
After they all left, a girl removed her face.
*
End of episode – S08E03 will be published on Sunday, 21st October 2018, 8:30 GMT
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