A Storm of Swords ÔÇö Jon V
At the Queenscrown the wildlings test Jon with an old man's life; he fails their test and passes his own, and rides for Castle Black with Ygritte's arrow in his leg.
The chapter retold
At Queenscrown, Jon Snow's wildling company forces the loyalty test he has been dreading since he first agreed to play turncloak: a blade in his hand, and an old, defenseless Watchman's life in front of him as proof he means what he has been claiming. Jon cannot bring himself to make the killing clean, flinching at the exact moment his cover requires conviction ÔÇö and yet, in the chaos that follows, still manages to satisfy the wildlings that his loyalty, however complicated, is real enough to keep trusting.
He rides for Castle Black afterward with one of Ygritte's arrows lodged in his leg, fired the moment she understood which side he had actually chosen ÔÇö a wound that is both punishment and a kind of mercy, since a killing shot was well within her skill and she chose not to take it. The chapter is the closest Jon's undercover mission comes to collapsing outright, and it leaves him wounded, exposed, and finally, unambiguously, headed home to warn the Watch of the army he has spent the book marching alongside.
This movement: The Red Wedding
- Edmure weds Roslin Frey under the Twins' roof; the bread and salt are eaten; the music is wrong.
- Crossbows from the gallery, tent canvas cut over the feast outside, Grey Wind penned and shot.
- Robb dies with Roose Bolton's steel in his heart: "Jaime Lannister sends his regards."
- Catelyn opens her own face with her nails, and a Frey opens her throat. The North dies at a wedding.