━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━xxxSnow, and wind colder than ice whipped at the exposed skin of her face, and the clothes covering her body as she was dragged toward the Wall, toward Castel Black, by two men, one on either side of her. She wished she could say that the two taller men flanking her provided some cover from the harsh winter snows, but they did not, and her hands were not free to tighten the hood around her face so her darn nose wouldn't freeze. Gods, why did she have to get herself stuck in this awful predicament? Maybe this was punishment for leaving her family, for deserting her community, though she doubted that was the case; the Old Gods of the North didn't seem that cruel, they weren't like the ones the southerns supposedly had that seemed cruel and corrupt, the ones that they cut down the Weirwoods to worship. Bah, why did she even want to go over to begin with? Why did she want to enter into that? They were horrible, people who blindly followed and kneeled to a king they didn't choose, she didn't want to be anywhere near that, and that was everywhere south of the wall; the land was filled with people following all sorts of lords and ladies, kneeling beneath the ones they deemed to have higher worth. It was stupid, ridiculous, and yet, she wanted to see something more than snow, to feel warm sunlight place it's kiss upon her skin, not heavy furs and biting cold, and going beyond the wall was the only way to feel that. It was incredibly unfortunate, given what she was and the world she'd be going into, but it was truly the only way, and she wished that it wasn't, so then maybe she wouldn't be here now, in this humiliating and terrible situation. She had only meant to get close to the wall, to see it up close and bask in it's magnificence, and maybe follow it to either side to see if there was a way she could pass through, or get over, that had been all she had been meaning to do, how had it all gone so wrong, and gotten her into this tricky bind? What would her family think if they saw her now? Surely, while her siblings were laughing, her parents would be disgraced, and her heart fell at the thought of her mother feeling or thinking such a thing. Her mother, oh gods, what torment had she been putting her through ever since she left? How much pain had she caused her when she just up and left in the night, with no promise that she'd ever return? Gods, she was despicable. Her mother had always been kind, had always cared for her, more than any other awful member of her family, and she didn't deserve this. She should have at least told her mother what she was doing, and give her that peace of mind and assurance that she'd be fine, and would maybe come home someday if the world saw it fit, but she hadn't done that, she had just left them all without a word, and left her family to assume that she was forever dead and gone, never to return. She couldn't even go back and try and fix this now, there were very few ways she saw herself getting out of this alive, and none would lead her back home, or any place that would allow her to go there. She had no choice but to deal with the consequences, and the guilt, and hope that someday some miracle would allow her to go back a fix it, and tell her mother that she was okay. Until then, at least she had her siblings to think about whenever her mother popped into her mind, and she could quickly lift her mood with thoughts of how glad she was to be away from them, and of how terrible they had been. It probably wasn't much better to dwell on her bitterness toward them than wallow in the sadness and guilt she felt toward leaving her home, specifically her mother, without so much as a goodbye, but she didn't care. Her days, minutes even, were likely numbered, and until she knew she had more time, she was going to spend those minutes however the hell she wanted to, and right now, that was being bitter. Bitter at the two men who had caught her, and her insufferable siblings.
xxxDuring the years where she had been younger, they had been rather like pests to her, and the three of her siblings seemed to delight in the moments in which they made things harder for her, which only made her dislike them more. They were awful, horrible, and she was glad to be away from them at least. Before the fourth sibling and been born, the twins, Vellnar and Valness, both especially tall for their age, loved to tease Vella about how short she was, and about how tiny she'd be when they were older, which she hated, even now. She knew she was shorter than most, but she didn't need the twins to tell her that, or use her head as an unwilling arm rest to rub it in and prove a point, which they did as grown adults with enough sense and brain to know that wasn't right to do. That wasn't nearly the worst of it though, things got worse once the youngest sibling, Vararr, got a little older, and the twins quickly roped him into their schemes. Without them around to tell him what to do, her little brother was actually somewhat nice, and showed some remorse in what he did, but with them, he was completely different. He looked up to their two older siblings, and wanted their approval, and to get that approval, he would do almost anything. He would mess with her sled when the siblings told him to, so she'd look like a complete fool in front it the entire Frozen Shore, he would hide or take something of hers and put it somewhere high and out of her reach, so she'd have to suck up her pride and ask someone, usually her mother, to help her get it back. Those instances were always so humiliating, and unfortunately seemed to get him the most approval from the twins. Of course, they didn't let their little brother do all of their dirty work; they would still try and convince their father that she was doing all of that to them, that she was the trouble maker, and they always knew ways to get her angry enough to back up their point. She knew what they were doung, and knew better than to listen to their goading, but they always without fail, managed to find something she couldn't just sit there and ignore, and got her to show how angry and somewhat wild she could be in front of their parents, which always ended in glares from her father, Vello, and a look of disappointment from her mother, Sresa. Her mother knew what the twins were doing, and she tried to get them to stop it, so when she gave her that look, it could only be one of disappointment in her giving in, and letting them win, and that's what hurt the most. Maybe she didn't say goodbye because she was afraid of getting that look again, though she also knew that wasn't true. Her mother would be sad, but she would have supported her. Her mother had picked up on the hints Vella had given in the weeks before she left to let them know that was what she was planning on doing, and she had taken each one with grace, and kindness, and didn't even seem surprised. Vella had never really fit in with their community; she stopped using the sleds years ago- partly because of her siblings' meddling-, she only ever cared to have one dog, and often disagreed with most there. She spent her days out in the snow with Narwynd, hunting with only him, and then exploring when that didn't work out, all the while trying to get closer to the wall. She guessed her mother had noticed that, and saw it as only a matter of time before she finally did it, and quickly noticed her plan when she dropped the hints. She had finally gone and done it, finally left to go to the wall- and she hoped that her mother knew that-, but of course, instead of finding a way over, or even getting close enough to really look at it, she had gone and gotten herself captured like an idiot. She had just been meaning to look, just wanted to see it up close, but one of the rangers at her side had seen her, and her time of true freedom had ended. At least Narwynd bit one of them, that was quite satisfying to watch, although she didn't like the way one of them practically dragged him with her. He didn't need to do that, her dog would follow her anywhere on his own, even with two unwelcome strangers flanking her.
xxxFinally, the four of them reached the gates that lead through the wall, and she had to tear her gaze away from the Wall that took her breath away, and turn her attention from her mess of thoughts towards the gates as they opened that looked- no, that can't be right. How could something so glorious, so giant, so tall and imposing, so magnificent, house these ancient looking gates that looked as if they hadn't had any proper care in years? They did their job, sure, but carefully cared for did not seem to be a trait that could be put to them. It was surprising that they wouldn't constantly be attending to them when they were, as far as she knew, the only way to get past the Wall without climbing, going over, though then again, was it really that surprising to her if the two men at her sides were good examples of want could be found in Castle Black? Not really. They didn't seem to be the most brilliant of men, and if the rumors of the castle being filled with criminals that chose to take the black to avoid death were true, that would certainly make sense. She wanted to call them cowardly for doing that, but really, she knew that if she was in their shoes and given the same chance, she would choose the same. Sighing, she looked briefly down at the frozen floor, before looking back up at the gates to watch them slowly rise, and someone from within turned some sort of crank to open them after a short from one of the men at her side, the one to her left. She could hear the inner mechanisms working, and straining with age, and it seemed that Narwynd could hear them too, judging by the way his head tilted to the side and his ears swiveled, seeming to try and locate the sound. This would all be new to him too, so at least she wouldn't be in this completely alone.
xxxAfter what felt like several slow and grading minutes, the gates had opened enough to pass through, and to get her walking with them again, one of them gave her an unnecessary and rather rough shove forward, which caused her to stumble a step, and send the man a glare. She wanted to fight that, to protest it at least a little, but she knew better than that. She was at their mercy, and if she wanted herself and Narwynd to get out of this alive, she had a feeling she needed to do as they said, and not try and attack one of them again. She had already tried running when they first spotted her, and due to her shorter stature and the deep snow, they had quickly caught hold of her, and apprehended her with ease. Vella let out another sigh, though really more of a huff, and continued walking with them until they passed fully through the gates, and the two of them paused. The one holding Narwynd asked a near by man to take him somewhere to be locked up, and that had her straightening and refusing to move. Screw listening to them and doing as they said, she was not going to let them take her dog anywhere. "Hey! What are you doing? That's my dog, you can't do that! Bring him back, don't touch him!" Vella shouted, trying to wrench one of hands free from her captors. She watched as they ignored her, and the other man began leading Narwynd away after placing some rope around his neck. He gave a loud bark, and tried running back to her, but the man only gave a pull, and her loyal friend was forced to follow one of the crows with a low whine escaping his throat. She opened her mouth to protest again, still struggling against them, but before she could get a word out she was shoved forward once again, this time more harshly, and she went silent, though she still didn't make it easy for them to drag her, and continued to try and squirm away, while pushing against the ground with her heels, digging them into the earth. She heard one of them- she didn't care enough to see which it was- let out a very annoyed curse as she continued to make it difficult for them, and the smallest of grins spread upon her face. She nearly hit one in the head with an elbow shortly after, but he managed to duck his head out of the way before it made contact, which, although mightily disappointing for her, was probably for the best. She still needed to get out of this alive, and whacking one in the head was not a good way to convince them to just let her go and be on her merry way. She did secretly want to try that again though, and hope she did make contact "accidentally" as she tried to worm her way out of their grip, but before she even had the chance to try, she heard some new voices, and a flash of bright red caught her eye and pulled her attention to it, causing her to still. It was hard to see through the darkness and dim lighting, but there was a man there, not dressed like the others; in heavy armor and a blood red cape attached at the shoulders, with golden blond hair, and he was staring straight at her, his eyes boring in, and she swallowed, allowing the men to easily drag her toward them. He looked rather important, and she had caught his interest, which did not seem to be a good thing at all. If anyone asked her to bow to him or anyone else there though, she was either going to spit on their face, or their shoes. That was something that would not change, even if he turned out to be the king. She had no king, and they could not make theirs her own.
xxxThe closer they got to the men in the courtyard, the more angry she became, though she became more afraid too, and more worried with each step. They could kill her just like that, with no remorse, and leave her lying dead on the ground before she even had the chance to defend herself or convince them otherwise, and that thought was terrifying. What would they do to Narwynd if he was killed? They had already taken him somewhere to be locked up, what more would they do? The possibilities of that honestly scared her more, that dog was her world, and she couldn't let them harm him, she had to get out of this alive, or make sure he would be safe, no matter what it would take. That fear did not keep her from meeting the golden man's gaze as soon as she was able however; if his gaze held a challenge that she could not yet see, she had no intentions to back down from it, and give him the impression that she was weak, or willing to back down. She could see his hand resting on the hilt of his sword, and watched as he gave men in similar attire and colors some sort of order. Vella couldn't quite hear what it was, but she assumed it involved them going somewhere, as after what appeared to be some protest from them, they left the man's side, and he was alone with a few men of Castle Black who seemed to be of importance. Her eyes narrowed, and when they stopped before the golden man, and the two at her sides bowed, she simply fixed him with a glare. There was no way she was bowing to him or anyone else. She continued to glare at him when the man to her left, and the golden man's right spoke, and she couldn't help the grin that graced her features as he ever so slightly flinched at the foul word that escape the man's lips. Ah, so he's from a finer place, one with fancy things and dressy clothes. To be displeased to hear the word 'bastard' he had to have grown up in luxury, some prissy place where so much as a speck of dirt was considered a travesty and fit was thrown, and that only added to her guess of him being someone quite important, though, how important exactly was he? Did he have authority over The Lord Commander, king of crows, or was he in a position elevated above even him? Her grin faded as the man spoke again though, and her fierce glare was then turned on the man. "If you call my dog a beast again, I'll be the one biting your hand." Vella threatened him, her words leaving in a quiet hiss, and she fixed him with an even colder glare. Narwynd was no beast, he was the most loyal and friendly companion any of these men could ever have, and certainly the best friend she had ever had. Out of the corner her eye she could see the golden man attempting to repress what she assumed was a smile from edging onto his lips, and her gaze was then turned back to him. He seemed cocky, arrogant, with fancy clothes, and she had no doubts that he wanted to smile at the man's words. She didn't like him.
xxxHer attention returned back to the other man however, the one at her side, as he opened his mouth to speak once more, and she was about to interrupt him and remind him of her threat she had given him moments ago that she very much intended to go through with if he didn't listen, but before she could, he said something else that pulled her focus from the fact he had in fact, called her dog a 'beast' again. She blinked as he continued, ignoring the hideous smile working it's way onto her face as he finished. Her glare turned to squinted eyes of confusion, and her lips parted in disbelief. Not a wildling? How daft was this idiot? She was offended by the term of course, but she had never said she wasn't one, merely that she was part of the Free Folk instead, which he would have understood if he had any brains hidden inside his thick skull. How had he even gotten that she said she wasn't a wildling? Gods, he really was stupid, no wonder the gates looked neglected.
xxxThere were a few silent moments that followed his words, where Vella pondered how the man could have possibly fathomed that, and then the silence was broken, by the blond man, and she could feel his gaze sharply on her once again. She looked up to watch him, her gaze sliding back over to him, frowning at his smooth laugh, and glaring as he pulled the attention fully onto him with that irritating sound. Her eyes narrowed as she listened. He spoke of the legends told of wildlings, of how both men would be dead by now if they were true, and his words were full of amusement, his tongue slowly running along his teeth. He definitely wanted something, she knew that much, and she certainly hoped that it wasn't her, but deep down, she knew she had to at least be a part of it, as if she wasn't, he would just let them get on with it and kill her, or whatever else they had planned; people south of the wall didn't hold any such mercy for her kind, they saw the Free Folk as murders, raiders, and far words things, not friends and useful allies, and truthfully, not even all the other communities didn't see the others like that too. Her eyes narrowed further as he the proceeded to speak up again, continuing on, and extended the sake sentiments to a beast. Her frown deepened even more as he then went on to say that she should give her a chance to explain herself, his voice sounding like a purr. Was this what honeyed words sounded like? As he fixed her with the ghost of a smile, his words still echoing in her mind, she quickly decided that she really didn't like him. He already seemed too arrogant, too princely, more so than she had thought before, and if there was anything she wasn't fond of, it was that. She wanted to hold his gaze, to send him a challenge, but then she caught sight of the way his eyes glittered dangerously in the firelight, and she felt a shiver run down her spine. She had so far been lucky that none of the men around her doubted that she too, was a man, but now, with the way his eyes glinted into the light, and the intensity in which he stared into her own, she feared that if he stared into her eyes too long in the way he was now, that he'd see she was a woman, even with her face largely shaded and hidden by the hood still resting atop her head, and the darkness cloaking her features. She quickly looked away after a moment of meeting his eyes, acting as if movement elsewhere in the castle's courtyard had caught her interest. At least falling snowflakes catching the light in a specific way could provide a good excuse if she was asked, or suddenly noticing the castle that surrounded her, which wasn't entirely false. She was noticing it now, and her brown eyes trailed along the wooden frames that held the castle in place. Some of them were rotted, and as her eyes traveled along each one, she noticed how old it looked, realizing it probably looked as old as it actually was. She was a little disappointed with it really. Vella didn't know what she was expecting, after all she had no basis of what to expect, their worlds were too different, but she had been expecting something that wasn't this run down. It was rather decrepit, with crumbling stone in places she could just barely see through the dancing firelight cast upon the old walls, and it was not nearly as grand as she had imagined it to be. For a thing that held the name of something normally so grand, so pristine, something many desired, it was a pretty lousy castle, especially when compared to the Wall it was built to protect. The wall was magnificent in every way, even in the darkness it was menacing, yet beautiful all the same. The icy fortress stood tall, rising high into the sky, higher than she could see in the night, and the light from the torches caused the ice it was made of to glitter. She should hate it; it had been built to keep the White Walkers out, by her people and the giants so long ago, and now it was just meant to keep her people in, but she couldn't bring herself to despise it. It was too beautiful, and it was the key to getting to the other side, and feeling things like grass, and the warm sun upon bare skin. It was getting a few seconds too long to be distracted by such things though, so she slowly let her brown eyes slip back towards them, starting at her feet, and slowly moving up to the golden man's ones of icy blue. She imagined that in the daylight, they would rival the great Wall for their color. Letting out a puff of air in a soft exhale, watching as the cloud of vapor floated up into the night sky, she finally found the courage to speak again, and the ice returned to her glare. "If it's anything to you, I'd just like my dog, and my bow back. If you break that, I can't promise I won't break you, and if any of you want me to bow, it's not happening." Vella told them, glancing briefly to the Lord Commander. She knew there was no chance of them letting her go, and thusly no need to add that after she'd be on her merry way, no matter how much she wanted to let the words roll off her tongue. She wasn't sure what the Commander would be thinking, or how well he would take to her subtle threat, but it was too late to take her words back now, and trying to amend them would not help because they were already out and in the air, so she continued, straightening her form and returning her challenging glare to the golden man. "And we wildlings prefer being called the Free Folk. You won't like being called filthy southerners, I'm sure, so don't call us wildlings." Vella added, glancing pointedly at the idiot who had thought she said she wasn't one, and then looking to the golden man with a raised brow, curious to see his reaction to that. Had he not been there, she doubted she would have been so brave to say the things she was, as he seemed less likely to call for her head than the Lord Commander, but that wasn't the case, so there was no point in thinking it, and besides, for the moment, she was too intrigued by the thoughts of what he would say or do in response to truly care for that. That, and she wanted to know where her bow and Narwynd were. She assumed the bow was near him, as it, along with the matching quiver had been on the shoulder of one of the men holding her, and she no longer saw it after she had shouted for them to bring Narwynd back, but truthfully she had no idea where it was, and she just hoped that she'd find out soon. She had spend a good year making them both and getting them to perfection, and if she lost them to these brilliant minds or they managed to break them, it would be more than a small shame.