They did not leave Castle Black that day.
Viserys told Lord Commander Mormont not to worry about them and to attend to his own affairs. He then took Rhaenys on a tour of the castle, from the Rookery to the barracks, then on to the smithy and the storerooms.
Finally, they climbed the Wall together and walked along the ice parapet at its summit. Rhaenys stayed beside him, looking around at sights she had never seen before.
The view from the Wall interested her most. Every so often, she stopped to gaze into the distance, taking in the vast Free Folk camp below and the beautiful, mysterious outline of the Haunted Forest, which appeared and disappeared in the mist not far away.
Not far behind them, a little red-haired shadow dressed in black was always there, silently following at a distance that was neither too close nor too far.
She never came too close or strayed too far away, rather like the tiny snowflakes Rhaenys saw drifting toward the Wall: plainly in sight, yet difficult to catch.
Rhaenys occasionally glanced back. When she saw Ygritte, her heart could not help softening a little, and she even considered inviting Ygritte to walk with them. After all, she did not believe she could make Viserys simply give Ygritte up.
Yet Ygritte never looked away when their eyes met. Sometimes she even met Rhaenys's gaze head-on. There was no hostility in those blue eyes, but there was a strange openness, as though she were saying, I'm right here. Look all you like.
In the end, Rhaenys said nothing. She merely glanced at Ygritte less often and continued walking with her arm linked through Viserys's, leaving Ygritte trailing behind.
Throughout the day, Viserys never took the initiative to speak to Ygritte either. She simply