Chapter Fifteen - Samwell 2 - A Feast for Crows | A Song of Ice and Fire (ASOIAF)

Sam is miserable aboard the ship headed for Braavos. Gilly is inconsolable and he’s seasick. He can't understand her tears until Maester Aemon points out that she left her own baby at Castle Black, and that she’s nursing Dalla’s child. Simon and Mackelly try to keep down their breakfast.

Chapter Review:
Samwell Tarly is seasick aboard the Blackbird. He takes solace in his companions’ hopeful futures: Gilly will be a maid at Horn Hill, Dareon will recruit for the Night’s Watch using his singing, and Maester Aemon will retire at the Citadel, safe from Melisandre’s fires.

Gilly and her baby are miserable, rarely leaving their cabin. Sam’s fear of the sea dates back to his father Randyll Tarly’s harsh swimming lesson. This voyage is only his second, the first being a traumatic trip to the Arbor where he was bullied and rejected as a foster child by Lord Paxter Redwyne.

Dareon complains about Gilly’s distress. Sam defends her, understanding her fear of the unfamiliar ocean. Maester Aemon reminisces about his voyage to the Wall with Ser Duncan the Tall. Aemon enjoys the rain but becomes ill from exposure.

Violent storms batter the ship, intensifying their misery. The sailors blame their bad luck on having a woman aboard. When Sam asks Aemon for a remedy for Gilly’s distress, the maester reveals her sorrow is due to grief, not fear. Gilly’s baby is not her own; she left her child at Castle Black and took Dalla’s baby instead. Lord Commander Jon Snow orchestrated this swap to protect the child from Melisandre’s fires.

Sam is horrified and questions his involvement in making Jon Lord Commander. As the sea briefly calms, Dareon mocks Sam’s prediction of more storms, calling him craven. Burdened by the weight of recent revelations, Sam knows the worst is yet to come.

Characters/Places/Names/Events:
Samwell Tarly - Brother of the Night’s Watch, friend to John Snow. Slayer of Others.
Gilly - Daughter of Craster. Beloved of Samwell.
Maester Aemon - 100 year-old maester of the Night’s Watch. 
Dareon - Brother of the Night’s Watch renowned for his singing voice. Being sent south to recruit new brothers.
Blackbird - Ship of the Night’s Watch.
Skagos - Large island in the Ba