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Chapter 2 - 2. Familial Hopes

"I will join the Black Brothers on the wall." William announced solemnly.

A hushed silence fell in the cramped hall. The wooden floor creaked below his feet as he shifted in nervousness, the sweet scent of freshly baked bread seemed almost oppressive to his nose. He looked at his uncle, Haroy. He was a large man with gaunt looking cheeks and thick hands made rugged from years of farm work. His beard, large and falling over his chest, beaded with rare wisps white hair telling of his approaching old age. He had seen 2 winters, boy and man, and came out with a good future for his three sons. Farmwork was hard to begin with, here in the north.

His gentle eyes seemed to take on an entirely different intent as he bore his look into William's soul. William felt his hackles stand on edge and gooseflesh prickle his skin beneath the rough silk shirt.

"Do you know what you're saying?! Young man!" Then came the voice of his aunt, Cassandra, a woman aged upto 38.

"I do, aunt. I have thought this matter through."

"You've been listening to too many of that bastard's songs! You will not be going anywhere young man!"

The bastard she told of was a bard that had resided in their village for times ancient.

Well, as ancient as his grandfather would be if he were alive. He was a sickly man, barely alive and clinging to his deathbed. That said, he had earned his keep through work done for the past lords Tallhart. Every now and then, he would come by the local thoroughfare and tell stories to the passerbys; at least to those who cared to listen.

His own grandson — Alastair — also trained to be a bard. Though, his talent in such was questionable, leading people to doubt him as a bastard.

William had grown up hearing stories of the long night, of the age of heroes and the times when the children of the forest and the mythical Others roamed this land unbidden, of the Giants and of the dragons.

It was quite clear why his aunt would think hearing Old Won's tales would have him think about joining the Night's Watch.

During the Long Night, Night's Watch was like a band of heroes, brought together to repel the winter.

Truth be told, Old Won's stories had indeed influenced his decision. The stories told of great honour in the form of being the protectors against forces beyond the wall. But now, any passing man would know that the wall had dwindled far below it's heyday when it was formed during the Long Night.

Even still, William wished to serve. He had little family to speak of. His father, mother and 2 sisters were killed by a band of wildlings when he was 14, barely on the way to become a man.

After that, his uncle took him in and raised him till now; when he was 16 and ready to head out to earn his keep. His uncle had said many a times that he could join the farmland permanently and help in tending to the crops. Food was scarce in the first place up the neck.

But more than that, his desire rose from his wish to protect. He knew of the band of wildlings that lingered beyond the wall. It was a selfish desire to strike the wildlings that had ravaged his happy family with all he could.

And so, he would become a member of the Black Brotherhood — a guard stationed on the wall at the farthest region in the north.

"I cannot keep abusing your kindness, aunt. I have to go. I have already made my choice."

"Not if I have anything to say about it!"

Just then, a loud bang rang in the dining hall.

Bang!

His uncle slammed the table with his hand. William flinched. From the corner of his eyes, he saw that his aunt did too.

His black eyes again locked onto him.

"He has made his choice, woman." He bellowed. "But answer me this, boy... no, you should be man enough by now. Answer me this, William. Are you certain you will not regret your choice in joining the watch?"

The words lingered in the air.

"Are you certain you will not crave the joys of the flesh, care not for the joys a normal man may experience? You will have no land, sire no children and have no familial relations when you join the Night's Watch."

William hesitated. But he did not wish to seem like he was doubting himself in front of his uncle. Like he had said, he was man enough.

"I am certain."

"Then there is nothing to talk about." His uncle replied. It earned a groan of protest from his aunt, but nothing beyond that. His uncle smiled at him. It was the same warm smile that he carried everywhere. "Then, at least let us send you a proper goodbye."

Unknowingly, William's eyes glistened with tears unshed. He nodded.

...

The feast that followed was a modest one by the standards of any wealthy house, but by themselves, it was a pompous meal. Bread, Ale, Fish and Meat. Things they would have only on special occasions had been brought out today.

William's aunt was unhappy, but the man of the house had already spoken. She could not go against him. The three sons and William's brothers were also skeptical of his wishes to take the black, but they could hardly do anything about it.

The feast continued for a while, and ended with William, two of his brothers and his Uncle drinking together into the deep recesses of the night. William wasn't too good with alcohol, yet his uncle forced him to stay even beyond his brothers' leave.

He was feeling quite miserable after drinking so much. The burning sensation at the back of his throat didn't help the cause.

He stumbled towards his room after bidding his Uncle goodbye. Although the old man seemed to have not have enough yet. As per his own words, he had been able enough to drink two whole barrels of alcohol in his youth. How much of that was truth, William dare not ask.

His room was upstairs in the house. The wooden stairs creaked beneath his weight, and with an excruciating amount of effort to keep his balance, he reached his room.

He opened the door, but it didn't budge.

Raising an eyebrow, he banged his foot onto the wooden frame. A split second later, the door swung open, revealing a young man barely a man. This was Gray, the youngest of his brothers and 14 name days in age.

"What'd you want?!" He all but yelled at his face. He was quite angry at not being allowed to drink. His family had a strange tradition to not allow anyone but a man to drink. Usually, a drink with the father signified the coming of age for their house. It was a traditional that one would expect a noble to adopt; and even then, the nobles were not so crude to put an age limit on booze.

"What are you doing in my room?" William spoke after a hiccup. His ears were pinkish and his droopy and unfocused eyes was quite telling how drunk he was.

Seeing this, Gray sighed. He had drunk alcohol before, hidden from his parents. His brothers were quite lenient in that regard, in contrast to his mother and father. He completely understood the dangers of drinking too much. He had, after all, almost broke a chair on his father's head when he was sleeping after drinking too much. If not for his brothers' stopping him, he was not sure he would still have a man to call as father.

"Come along now. I'll take you to your room." Gray said and took William by the arm.

"Wha~t? This ain't my room~~" William asked in a sing song voice. The sudden force by which Gray pulled him made him almost lose his balance. A few shaky steps later, he followed along, grinning stupidly.

"Urgh~ You can't even walk properly. How in the name of the old gods are you supposed to serve at the wall." Pushing open the door to his brother's room, Gray nudged him forward and made him step onto the bed. His bed was situated the furthest from the windows, which were simple cavities barred by wood than anything covered with glass.

One of the windows was open at the time. William had not entered his room since the morning, as such, he had not the time to close it. Gray silently walked towards the window and reached out to grab the wooden frame. Unconsciously, his eyes went up to look at the night sky.

A pitch black canvas, upon which were hundreds upon thousands of bright lights, shimmering in the darkness. It was like a gigantic exodus of colours, migrating across the great void of the night sky. Gray's eyes softened as he looked upon the breathtaking scenery. Just then, he shivered, a cold wind blowing past his ears.

He sighed.

"Stupid..." He muttered under his breath as he closed the window and took a look at his sleeping brother.

His eyes were complicated. He shook his head and removes his brother's shoes. Then, after nicely tucking him in, he went to his own room.

"I wish..." He spoke as he walked along the small hallway.

"I wish you were not such an idiot... why can't you just stay here with us?"

...

A childish giggle rang through the brightly lit hallways of the palace. A small child ran through such hallways, followed closely by a gaunt man with a cunning face and slanting eyes. His smile was somewhat pointed, even a bit eager and his eyebrows were thick and bushy. His black hair, dark and dusty traced the sides of his face upto his ears. The man jogged with a content smile, his pace mild and slow.

In comparison, the child seemed elated as he ran with all his might, his laughter echoing all the more loudly in the hallway.

"Come come!" The child said, turning his head over his shoulder to peek at the man.

"hehe, you're too slow! Come along, father!"

The man only smiled in response to his son's words. It was rare enough for him to be at home, rarer so for him to be free enough to play with his son. Today was one of such days. His precious jewel was already 7 name days old. He had not been with him for most of that time, and it was something that he regretted. He regretted that he could not make up more time for them, both his precious jewel and his sweet Mirdath.

His son turned a corner, peeking lightly over the edge. A servant watched them playing from the end of the hallway, their face stoic and unfeeling.

Here in Pentos, Tarmy Almose was a renowned trader of spice, alcohol and silk. Well... calling him 'renowned' was pushing the boundaries of the word. In truth, he was, but a struggling businessman. His father, uncle and their father before them were old traders originating from Westeros. His grandfather had migrated to Pentos, when his father and his brother were mere boys and set up spice trade through the narrow sea. His grandfather had followed up in that regard, setting up outposts and giving a name to the trading company - Velarro and Velaros; named after his late father and runaway uncle. Though people just called the company Almose Brothers' Mercantile.

The company had climbed the trading ladder, establishing itself as an important trading company in Pentos and exporting spice, alcohol, silk, fishes and sometimes, even Myrish Eyes. Although, it certainly wasn't the best; far from it for that matter, the wealth it amassed was enough for eight of their generations to sit and eat.

The fallout happened when his grandfather died before he could officially pass on the company - leaving the matter of inheritance to the very brothers' it was named after.

Needless to say, it led to a power struggle. Both the brothers went on a race of armaments, visiting other cities, hiring sellswords and slaves to protect themselves from assassination attempts. Just five moons after his grandfather's death, the trading firm lost a lot of important capita. And when his uncle was thrown out of the power struggle after getting crippled from the waist down by an assassin the company went to his father's name.

Sadly, or perhaps fortunately, his father passed away, three short years later; caught in a terrible storm while travelling through the narrow sea; leaving the company to him by right.

Luckily enough, his uncle had not caused any trouble since then. No one even knew where he was. Tarmy wasn't in a hurry to figure it out.

"Come here, you little!" Tarmy yelled a bit as he chased after the cheerful child, this time putting some effort into his steps.

His blood, the 5 years old Alphonse Almose — who was named after his great grandfather — ran into the courtyard filled with beautiful bright flowers of orange and yellow and red and blue. Alphonse ran past a fountain, his head looking over his shoulder at the man who chased after him. His teeth revealed a small gap; his canine had falled out just a few days prior when he fell over after rushing out to meet his father upon learning of his return.

"You're too slow! You can't catch me!" The child yelled. Just then, he bumped into something, something that stopped him in his tracks and swept him back.

He stumbled back and landed on his butt. His eyes momentarily squinted as he looked up amid the shining light that poured from the sky.

A beautiful women stood before him, holding a charming smile.

Tarmy stopped. He too smiled.

"Mother!" Alphonse exclaimed, smiling his wide smile, showcasing the gap with his missing tooth.

Mirdath was a woman of 27 name days past, and the mother of his his two sons; Edmund and Alphonse. She was a beauty in all respects, a daughter of a merchant from Braavos, joined into the family to fancy a trade deal initiated by his father. Her hair had a fiery gleam and her eyes were black rubies. Her lips, somewhat thin and pressed together gave her a proper appearance as her hair cascaded down in curls along her shoulders and down to her back.

She was the love of his life. And behind her was a female servant who attended to her at all times.

"Mirdath." Tarmy greeted as he got close.

"My love." She greeted back.

Alphonse quickly sprang to his feet and hid behind his mother, giggling at him.

"Mother! Father has become so slow! He couldn't catch up to me!"

Mirdath smiled. It was a smile full of fondness and care.

"Little Al, maybe it's not your father whose gotten slower." Her eyes momentarily drifted to Tarmy's stomach, which had put on some pounds in the recent years with hint of mischief. She snickered. "But that it's you whose gotten faster."

Tarmy felt a pang of annoyance at her meaningful eyes, but nodded nonetheless.

"That's right, Al. You have gotten faster than before. I almost couldn't keep up."

"Ehh! Aren't I great?" He asked his mother who smiled tenderly at his words.

Before long, she lightly patted his back and urged him along.

"Now now, Al. You go and play. I have some things to discuss with your father." She said. Alphonse instantly had his expressions turned downcast, but Tarmy's next words soothed him.

"It's alright, Al. We can play all that you want later. Now go."

After that Alphonse offered no resistance. The servant led the boy away and they were both left alone in the courtyard.

"What is it, my lady?" Tarmy asked, drawing closer. He pulled her towards him and wrapped his hands around her waist. Then, lovingly, he kissed her cheek.

Mirdath giggled. Briefly, she remembered their younger days. Tarmy was surely vigorous back then. After she had become a woman grown, he would barely leave her side, to the point that just 9 months later, they had welcomed their first son — Edmund Almose.

"And what was that mischievous look I caught? Are you calling me fat?" Tarmy asked.

She chortled.

"Maybe. Maybe not. Who's to say?"

"Well, your eyes certainly said a lot." Tarmy leaned in and planted a kiss on her lips.

"When are you leaving for work?" She asked like she always did.

"In 4 days. It's a long journey over to White Harbor this time. If I can strike the deal, it should bring us sizable gold." He said. They were somewhat well off from the old days. When his father had died, the company was in shambles. He had raised it again into a presentable state, but it had lost its previous glory.

Before they used to have heavy trade relations with the other free cities, Stormlands, Riverlands and the Reach. Their trade network sprawled over the western coast of Essos and drawing valuable spice and silk from all over. Alas, one small feud, although calling it small was a bit insulting, had destroyed it all. Their sponsors had pulled back, their trade relations ruined and the gold spent, leaving a shadow of a company.

Mirdath had been devastated then, as was his father-in-law.

"How long will it take?" She asked, resting her head softly on his chest.

"Perhaps a moon or two. Maybe more."

She paused. "You should have Edmund with you this time."

"He has still much to learn here. Jumping in too quickly will only cause him to grow complacent or stressful."

"But!" Her eyes met his, and she saw finality in them. And she said no more.

"...Stay a little longer?" She asked.

She felt a slight tremble go through Tarmy's body.

Tarmy hated that phrase. But he loved it all the same. She always asked him that. To stay just a bit longer with her and the kids. He could not. He had to leave a sizable company for his sons. And for that, he had to leave.

"You know I can't."

"...We aren't getting any younger, husband." She said. "If you're away all the time, the kids will miss you. And you will miss their growth."

"..." Tarmy had no words to speak against this. Regardless, he shook his head. "I will be back at the latest."

"I hope so." The response came quick.

...

Donate some stones.

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