Thanks for the kind words! Enjoy!
He felt a stare on him and looked up. His light mood faded slightly when he met the cold eyes of Catelyn Stark. "Can I speak with you a moment?" she asked surprising nearly everybody at the table. "Maester Luwin gave me a few tips to help you care for Delilah's hand. They might disrupt the appetites around us." She said, gracefully getting to her feet.
Jon hesitantly got to his feet and followed the woman away from the table. He noticed her position herself just so, so that her body was blocked entirely by his and felt his whole body tense in preparation. Her smile dropped quickly, replaced by the hard frown he was used to. "Do you know what you're doing, Snow?"
"What?"
"That girl is highborn. The highest born person you could possibly hope to meet."
"Do you have a point, Lady Catelyn?" he asked tiredly.
Catelyn glared up at him. "You are a bastard conceived in a fit of weakness. Do not forget that, boy. She will have castles, land and an army while you will barely have a roof over your head. Do not get your hopes up that you have a shot in the hells with her. She is probably used to having boys fawn over her yet is still a maiden; you have no chance. Nothing to offer and nothing to gain."
"I realize that." He mumbled trying to contain his anger.
"Good." She said then plastered a fake smile on her face. "Now get some food before my husband has the tables cleared."
"Of course."
They returned to the table with a flourish of civility to appease his father's questioning look. Delilah's eyes immediately filled with concern as she took in the stillness of Jon's face. He tried to put some emotion into his features but knew the blank look was set. He sat down and stared at his plate willing himself to eat but could barely choke down a piece of bread.
He looked up to see Catelyn watching him intently, her eyes flickering to his plate. Jon held her stare until she looked away, her mouth set in a firm line. He couldn't stop the feeling of inferiority that settled over him. "If you'll excuse me." Jon said, getting to his feet.
"Where are you going?" Ned asked. "You've barely touched your food."
"I'm not very hungry." He said faking a smile. His gaze swept over Delilah but didn't hold her stare for longer than a second before he made his escape from the hall. The comforting laughs and yelling of the men around him, suddenly too loud caused his head to ache.
He debated moving up to his room but chose the square instead. His feet led him to the arms practice area. Jon picked up a sword that was really too light for him but the closest one he could find. He could still feel the disapproving eyes of his father's wife on him causing him to hit the straw body with the blade.
He beat the form until sweat ran down his back, soaking into the wool shirt. Every blow followed a memory of an insult or glare or snort of condemnation from Catelyn. Jon gave a final swing, the last of his strength driving the blade into the form. It flew off its post and into the nearest wall, straw exploding out of it.
"Impressive." A soft voice said causing him to whip around, sword in hand. He met Delilah's concerned eyes and dropped the blade to the ground. "Are you alright?"
"Fine." His voice was clipped and cold.
"Are you sure?"
"I said I was fine!" he snapped.
Delilah narrowed her eyes but nodded. They stood in silence until he brought a hand to his face, brushing the sweat soaked curls from his forehead. "What are you doing out here?" he finally asked.
"I needed a bit of air and heard the noises. Curiosity always wins with me."
"You should go inside." His tone left little doubt that he wanted her to leave. She looked down at her hands and Jon nearly gave in just to take her in his arms but he held his position. "Go inside Delilah." He said quietly.
The woman didn't say a word but turned on her heal and walked back into the castle leaving Jon alone to stare at the destroyed straw man. 'Very good, Snow. You've killed a scarecrow and angered two women in the span of an hour. Very, very good.' He thought shaking his head.
He dragged himself up to his chambers, immediately moving to the basin and dipped a smooth cloth square into the clear water. He rubbed the sweat and grim from his skin, then shed his clothes and ran the cloth over his body. By the time he was finished the previously clean water was dark with dirt and sweat. He threw the rag to the wooden surface before crossing his room to collapse onto his bed.
He pulled the furs over his body and slammed his eyes shut. He begged sleep to come, desperately pleading to every god he could think of to just let him sleep. His mind swirled with images of the beautiful redhead combined with Catelyn's words. His eyes snapped open when his mind twisted the image to have those words coming from Delilah's mouth, her sweet voice breaking his heart.
He rolled onto his side and closed his eyes again, allowing that to play out in his mind over and over again. 'If I can believe she would say that then I can stop this before it destroys me.' He thought, forcing the words to become truth.
"Nothing to offer, nothing to gain." Delilah's voice stated. The tone was so hard and so cold that a shiver ran down Jon's spine causing his fists to tighten around the furs covering him. "Nothing to offer."
He slowly drifted into a restless sleep, still hearing her voice repeat Catelyn's words.
The following morning, Jon stood in the square watching Bran miss the target for probably the hundredth time. He glanced over his shoulder to see Robb shaking his head then looked back to a defeated looking Bran. "Just focus, Bran." Jon said handing him another arrow. "Just breathe." Bran pulled the arrow back and took a breath, then released it. The arrow hit the top of the target but at least it hit the target. "Keep on, father's watching. And your mother." Jon added after looking back to see them standing above them.
Bran shot his parent's a tentative smile then loaded another arrow into the bow. Jon muttered another bit of encouragement but a sudden feeling of lightness taking over his tense muscles shook his attention. He didn't have to turn around to know Delilah was nearby. He heard her sweet voice speaking very quietly behind them; he would've missed it if he hadn't been searching to hear it.
His eyes widened in shock when he saw an arrow hit the center of the target and looked to Bran to see the arrow still ready in his bow. He turned his head to see Arya lowering a bow much too big for her, Delilah right behind her. His heart sped up at the sight of her bright smile as she watched Bran chase Arya, angry at having been shown up.
Her eyes turned to him, shadowing slightly as she looked at him. Jon looked away, following his siblings' journey across the muddy square. He felt a soft hand slide across his to his wrist and looked back down at her. "Good afternoon." He whispered, unsure what else to say.
"Ah, he speaks!" she teased. Jon narrowed his eyes urging her to continue. "Do you think I wouldn't notice your attempts to avoid me all morning? I'm not a simpleton, Jon. What did she say to you?"
Jon's mouth opened in surprise. "What? Nothing!"
Her arched eyebrow and disbelieving eyes made him sigh but he didn't speak. "You'd lie?"
"Clearly." He muttered looking down at his hands. Her fingers were working a slow, soothing circle along the side of his wrist. "She's looking out for you."
Her hand moved to his chin, jerking his face toward hers. "I don't need looking after. I'm not a child. I do not enjoy having my decisions made for me. Do you understand that?" she asked, her voice taking on a tone he'd never heard her use. Jon could only nod. "Good. Now stop ignoring me!"
He watched her walk away following the path Arya and Bran had taken. He only tore his eyes away when Rickon held up a handful of arrows. Jon accepted them with a smile and began to load them back into the barrel that held them. He felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end and looked up to see Catelyn glaring down at him.
Jon looked back down at the barrel and shoved the remaining arrows in with their mates. He ignored the eyes boring into his back, then turned to help Robb and Rickon gather the remaining arrows scattered across the ground.
