Chapter 119

"I will never do such a thing." Mance told him seriously.

"Oh I know that. I know that you did not become a King for any ambition of attacking the Walls for glory so that you could be immortalized in the annals of history. Though I'm sure that the such thoughts did cross your mind every now and then." He said "But the fact remains that despite your own wishes, you're a symbol to the Free Folk. A beacon that allows them to hold onto their identity as someone who belong to the true North."

"So what? You gonna kill me now?" Mance Rayder asked with a smile. And he was surprised to find that it was a genuine one.

The man in front of him considered the purpose of his life complete. He did not fear death.

He smiled back at him "No. Why would I ever do such a thing? I cherish people with talent Mance. And you're one of the most talent I've ever seen. No. I want you to pledge your loyalty to me, like your people did. I want you to work for me."

"Free Folk have a hard time bending their knees." Mance said with a chuckle.

"Yet, your people did it. Because I offered them a better life than what they had in the True North. I offered them my protection. I offered them a better life for their children. And they bend the knee. You have a wife of your own. One day you'll have children of your own. And my lands are an excellent place to raise children. Or so I've heard."

"It's definitely warmer than the True North." Mance said with a smile and he smiled back. A moment of silence passed between them before Mance spoke "If… I bend my knee to you, then what task do you have in mind for me."

He smiled at Mance's question.

"From what I know, before you came, the Free Folk were divided in hundreds of tribes scattered all over the North. The Cave Dwellers. The Hornfoots. The Ice River Clans. The Night Runners. The Men of the Frozen Shore. Hell, I'm sure that I you had found the Giants before me then they you would have convinced them to follow you as well."

They both chuckled at that particular memory all those years ago.

"Yeah. I remember that. Me, Tormund and a few others walked all the way up to the Giants to ask them for to join our cause." Mance said "I still remembered how… afraid I was, that one of the giant could just pick me up and break me in two like a toy. But I also knew that with giants in my band, I'll have an easier time convincing the others. So we walked all the way to the giants. And the first thing I saw when the saw the tribe… was you standing on top of the Leader of the Giants with the other giants bowing to you in submission." Mance said with a faraway look as he gazed outside the window, remembering the memory from all those years ago.

"You were just a boy then." Mance said with a smile "Hell, look at you, you are still a boy now. But when I looked at you that day. And when I look at you now. I can't help but think that… I would not mind bending my knee to someone like him."

Mance got down from the bed with some effort even as he tried to put the man back in the bed and then with the help of the bed, the man knelt in front of him.

"I, Mance Rayder, swear my Allegience to you Lord Domeric Bolton from now, till the end of my days."

"And I Lord Bolton, swear that you'll always have a place in my hearth." He said, feeling a little embarrassed at not knowing what he was supposed to say when someone gave him their allegiance like this. Oh well… It'll have to do.

Mance Rayder got up from his kneeling position, having a little difficulty for only having one leg so he helped the man and sat him down on the bed.

"You still haven't told me what I'm supposed to do." Mance pointed out.

"If you can go to unknown places and convince people who would rather kill you to follow you, then I think you can do just about anything else." He said "You'll be my Ambassador Mance. You'll go to other places when I'm unavailable and be my voice. Of course, you'll need to learn some things before I send you out but I think you'll just fine regardless."

"Hah! So she said." Mance Rayder said and burst out in laughter while he rolled his eyes at the man.

"Oh! I almost forgot." He said and took out a bionic magical leg from his Bottomless bag and gave it to Mance.

"It's not a real leg and you won't get a feeling from it." He told the man "But in the absence of your real leg, I think that this will do just fine."