A Feast for Dragons

gestured. “This way.”
    Once there, it would have been discourteous not to break
bread with the banker, so Jon sent Satin off to fetch them food. The novelty of
newcomers had brought out almost all the men who were not on duty or asleep, so
the cellar was crowded and warm.
    The queen herself was absent, as was her daughter. By now
presumably they were settling into the King’s Tower. But Ser Brus and Ser
Malegorn were on hand, entertaining such brothers as had gathered with the
latest tidings from Eastwatch and beyond the sea. Three of the queen’s ladies
sat together, attended by their serving maids and a dozen admiring men of the
Night’s Watch.
    Nearer the door, the Queen’s Hand was attacking a brace of
capons, sucking the meat off the bones and washing down each bite with ale.
When he espied Jon Snow, Axell Florent tossed a bone aside, wiped his mouth
with the back of his hand, and sauntered over. With his bowed legs, barrel
chest, and prominent ears, he presented a comical appearance, but Jon knew
better than to laugh at him. He was an uncle to Queen Selyse and had been among
the first to follow her in accepting Melisandre’s red god.
If he is not
a kinslayer, he is the next best thing
. Axell Florent’s brother had
been burned by Melisandre, Maester Aemon had informed him, yet Ser Axell had
done little and less to stop it.
What sort of man can stand by idly and
watch his own brother being burned alive?
    “Nestoris,” said Ser Axell, “and the lord commander. Might I
join you?” He lowered himself to the bench before they could reply. “Lord Snow,
if I may ask … this wildling princess His Grace King Stannis wrote
of … where might she be, my lord?”
    Long leagues from here
, Jon thought.
If
the gods are good, by now she has found Tormund Giantsbane
. “Val is
the younger sister of Dalla, who was Mance Rayder’s wife and mother to his son.
King Stannis took Val and the child captive after Dalla died in childbed, but
she is no princess, not as you mean it.”
    Ser Axell shrugged. “Whatever she may be, at Eastwatch men
claimed the wench was fair. I’d like to see with mine own eyes. Some of these
wildling women, well, a man would need to turn them over to do his duty as a husband.
If it please the lord commander, bring her out, let us have a look.”
    “She is not a horse to be paraded for inspection, ser.”
    “I promise not to count her teeth.” Florent grinned. “Oh,
never fear, I’ll treat her with all the courtesy she is due.”
    He knows I do not have her
. A village has no
secrets, and no more did Castle Black. Val’s absence was not spoken of openly,
but some men knew, and in the common hall at night the brothers talked.
What
has he heard?
Jon wondered.
How much does he believe?
“Forgive me, ser, but Val will not be joining us.”
    “I’ll go to her. Where do you keep the wench?”
    Away from you
. “Somewhere safe. Enough,
ser.”
    The knight’s face grew flushed. “My lord, have you forgotten
who I am?” His breath smelled of ale and onions. “Must I speak to the queen? A
word from Her Grace and I can have this wildling girl delivered naked to the
hall for our inspection.”
    That would be a pretty trick, even for a queen
.
“The queen would never presume upon our hospitality,” Jon said, hoping that was
true. “Now I fear I must take my leave, before I forget the duties of a host.
Lord Tycho, pray excuse me.”
    “Yes, of course,” the banker said. “A pleasure.”
    Outside, the snow was coming down more heavily. Across the
yard the King’s Tower had turned into a hulking shadow, the lights in its
windows obscured by falling snow.
    Back in his solar, Jon found the Old Bear’s raven perched on
the back of the oak-and-leather chair behind the trestle table. The bird began
to scream for food the moment he entered. Jon took a fistful of dried kernels
from the sack by the door and scattered them on the floor, then claimed the
chair.
    Tycho Nestoris had left behind a copy of their agreement.
Jon read it over thrice.
That was simple
, he reflected.
Simpler
than I dared hope. Simpler than it should have been
.
    It gave him an uneasy feeling. Braavosi coin would allow the
Night’s Watch to buy food from the south when their own stores ran short, food
enough to see them through the winter, however long it might prove to be.
A
long hard winter will leave the Watch so deep in debt that we will never climb
out
, Jon reminded himself,
but when the choice is debt