Ygritte planted her hands on her hips, her voice wild.
Yet the Wildlings around her burst into laughter and whistles.
They certainly liked this fiery redheaded girl.
But making her their leader?
That sounded more like an amusing joke.
"Hold on a moment!"
"I, Tormund, am the first to object!"
A thunderous roar rang out.
Tormund's massive body pushed through the crowd like an angry brown bear.
His trademark red beard bristled with agitation, and one thick finger nearly jabbed Ygritte in the nose.
"Her? The boss?"
Tormund glared at Lynn, his expression practically saying, Did someone slam a door on your head?
"Lynn, she's just a little girl!"
"Doria told me she hasn't even grown all her hair down there yet! She saw it herself!"
"You can't possibly give her such an important task!"
"My arrow can pierce your left ball from a hundred paces away, Tormund."
Heaven knew why she still hadn't grown any hair at her age, but Ygritte fired back without giving an inch.
"Want to see whether this little girl's arrows are hard enough?"
"I'm a leader of the Free Folk! I've wrestled Giants! I've climbed the Wall!" Tormund thumped his sturdy chest, producing muffled thuds.
"And you're letting this red squirrel lead us?"
"She'll probably lead everyone off chasing a real squirrel and plunge straight into a swamp!"
"At least I know what a swamp is!"
Ygritte shot back, her tongue as sharp as ever.
"Unlike some idiot who sees a she-bear and thinks she's a pretty woman just because she's hairy!"
"Whoo!"
The crowd erupted into deafening laughter.
Tormund's rugged face instantly turned dark red.
His little romance with Sheila the she-bear was something he would never live down.
But he really did like them hairy.
Myrcella stood to one side, still wrapped