Val fell silent for a moment, looking at Jon, then toward Roger. "Oaths mean nothing to us Free Folk. You northerners trust your swords and your eyes. So do we."
As she spoke, she raised a hand and pointed at the sky. Jon followed her finger with his gaze. The morning mist had thinned considerably, and he could make out the silhouette of the snowy owl sweeping across the gray-white sky.
She continued, "For the next few days, until we reach Winterfell, that snowy owl will keep watching your column. If your people want to follow us to Winterfell, stay at least half a league behind us. Day or night, you are not to approach our column. If anyone crosses that line, I'll shoot you leaders first."
There was no room for negotiation in her words. To keep the household troops he was taking to Winterfell out of trouble, Roger could only bow his head and agree. Then he slowly rose and, at Val's insistence, went straight back to the Bolton camp.
Jon did not follow him immediately. Val glanced at him again. Her voice was quiet, but it reached his ears clearly. "Keep your people in line from now on, Jon Snow. We Free Folk never wanted to fight House Bolton here."
With that, she turned her horse and led her people back to their camp. The gray pony's hooves left several deep prints in the snow, but windblown snowflakes soon covered them.
The Free Folk did not break camp and set out until noon. A number of simple ox carts formed a long line, with the children and pregnant women protected in the middle. House Bolton's soldiers followed far behind.
Jon rode at the rear of the column. Whenever he looked up, he could see the snowy owl