Only when they were alone she knew that continuing to play her role was unnecessary. She liked not having to wear the mask, which she absolutely always carried in court, when she was alone with him. None of the others have ever met any other side of her than that. After Ramsay, this was the only way she knew how to act for herself.

Her blue eyes as cold as the unforgiving winter around them, motionless and distant. She really thought she had lost her old self for good, until she was reunited with him and he was finally able to make her feel this way again. Showing her that she wasn't lost forever.

Around him it was easy to be free again. It didn't matter around him if her face started to show softness or if her eyes grew warm as soon as they caught sight of him.

Again, here they were standing in their own little paradise. Flowers would be blooming in every colour possible if it wasn't for the thick layer of snow that covered everything in pure white. She imagined it would be quite wonderful.

Not that it really mattered since the white looked the same shade of beautiful to her when they were here together. His smile was too warm to let her feel cold anyway.

He knew this moment was only for him. That this Sansa was only for him.

Being already used to the coldness, the shudder coming from him showed her that he will never grow accustomed to the merciless winter. He returned her growing grin teasingly, making her heart flutter with affection at the feeling of warmth settling deep inside her bones.

"I enjoy your smile."

She really did. No matter if it was just a courteous smile or the hearty laugh he gave her just too often for her to ever feel down.

It made her whole body shiver, the fullness of being around him simply making her happy. When she finally felt free enough to return his smile in earnest she could swear his face grew even warmer as she did.

Those moments with each other were enough for them. The silence filled with intimate smiles and closeness had always been good enough for them in their own paradise. He was normally talking too much anyway.

"I'm in love with your words. "

she stated, remembering the first thought about him when she came back to him. Everybody including Sansa considered his stories to be legendary. His words made her smile in times she didn't know she was capable of. They comforted her at her darkest moments when she needed them the most.

One day she suddenly caught herself adoring every word coming from his lips no matter if it was one of his many stories, simple words, or just irrelevant bites. She loved them nevertheless.

Chuckling at his growing confusion she realised that they have never really talked much before whenever they visited the garden together. To be honest, there was no real need for her to tell him this now, because he knew how she felt even without words.

Despite knowing all this, in this particular moment her body felt unbelievably close to bursting if she didn't tell him right there. Nothing would explain this painfully growing feeling inside of her, making her feel bolder than ever before.

She stared eagerly into his eyes as if she has given him the most wonderful present and was waiting for a response. Holding her breath in anticipation, she felt empowered and at the same time she felt like giving her whole heart into his hands forever.

"I love you."

At first his mismatched eyes just stared blankly back at her but eventually his surprised look turned into pure warmth. His smile grew even bigger than before and she could only guess that her eyes must be holding the same heated intensity she felt coming from his ones.

In this moment, it was clear that she would tell him these exact words again, many more times because this was exactly the warmth she wanted to feel for the rest of her entire life.

note:

First of all, thank you for taking your time to read my first little 'story'. English is not my first language, so I apologize for all the mistakes (tell me whenever you find one please (:). I'm not really happy with my first written piece and I would be really thankful if somebody leaves me a review (no matter how short, I appreciate every kind of tips)