Chapter is up! Sorry about my delay, the holidays took me off track. But I am back, baby.
Thank you for reading and I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far.
Chapter updated on 09/01/2014.
Chapter VII – Hot springs
Anne froze when she heard the phrase and then turned slowly to see who it was. Jaime Lannister, the Queen's twin brother was standing there, a smug smile on his face.
"I am sorry. I think you are talking to the wrong person." She said. There was no one there except for the two of them and there was no way he was speaking with someone else. "Am I?"
"Yes, My Lord. I am just a normal girl; I do not belong to House Gael." She replied, keeping her face and voice calm. He smiled and Anne thought his smile was creepier than Theon Greyjoy's.
"When my sister, the Queen, thought she had seen the missing Lady Gael at the feast and asked Lady Stark to introduce you so she could be sure, I was a little skeptical. But I suppose we may have the wrong person then… There are probably hundreds of people with the same black hair, pale skin and hazel eyes." Jaime took two steps closer, his voice showing sarcasm and that he did not buy her story, Anne kept calm and glared at him, not moving.
"What is going on?" She heard Jon's voice behind her and she felt relieved, turning to look at her savior. "Lord Lannister here confused me with someone else."
"I see. We should leave now that this misunderstanding is over." Anne bowed slightly to Jaime before leaving with Jon, she had been holding her breath for quite a while now and when they were in front of the weirwood she finally breathed.
"Are you alright?" Jon asked, holding her shoulders, concern all over his voice. "I am… He knows who I am, Jon… He is going to tell…"
She tried not to panic, but the single thought of her father invading Winterfell to retrieve her made her fear grow so strong. "I must leave… I need to leave…" She said, pacing quickly.
Jon pulled Anne into a hug, caressing her back to calm her down. "Shh… It will be alright… We will protect you. We will tell father and we will protect you. You don't need to go."
"Can't… Breath…" Anne muttered, Jon was hugging her with so much strength that she couldn't breathe. He saw his exaggeration and let her go, his face was filled with worry and fear.
"Jon…" The young woman touched his face, standing on the tip of her toes and pulling him down, she touched his forehead with hers. "It will be alright…"
"I don't want you to go…" Jon never felt this vulnerable ever before in his entire life, the thought of her leaving brought tears to his eyes and he couldn't hide how much fear he was feeling on that moment.
Anne didn't know what to say, she feared the consequences of her father coming to Winterfell, but she feared leaving Jon the most. The look on his face made her feel like her heart was stabbed several times and ripped of her chest.
Their foreheads were still touching in a comfort act, each one trying to comfort the other. Anne moved away first, kissing his gently for several seconds before stepping away and turning to the weirwood.
She kneeled down, closing her eyes to start a pray and her movements were copied by Jon, as he too had a pray of his own.
They stayed quiet, immersed on their own prayers. Jon finished first and sat on the ground, waiting for her to finish, he watched her face and like every time he looked at her, he felt the desire to touch her.
Minutes later Anne finished praying and turned to look at Jon, smiling gently, he smiled back. God, how she loved his smile, only looking at him made her blush a little.
"Do you want to escape for a while?" Jon asked after they got up, Anne was brushing the dirt out of her clothes. "To where?"
"I know a great place." The young woman blinked a few times but didn't argue, letting Jon grab her hand and begun walking. She followed him back to the Great Keep and they stopped after walking down a few halls, in front of them was a normal wall.
"A wall! Wow! That is so beautiful!" Anne teased and pretended to wipe a tear from her eye and Jon pushed her lightly with an arm, she laughed. "Just watch." He pushed a brick and the wall opened revealing an entrance. "Woah, now I am impressed!"
Jon held her hand again, entering the passageway that was lightened by torches, but judging by all the spider webs, no one used it in a while. The door closed behind them and they climbed down the stairs.
Anne got breathless when she saw all the hot springs, that place felt so hot and she found herself sweating due the heat.
"It is beautiful here." They walked over one hot spring, the young man leading the way to one that wasn't so hot. "I like to come here to think and escape the world."
"Hiding the treasure all to yourself, huh?" Jon laughed and they sat in front of one. "It is hot in here." Anne took her coat off and Jon copied her movement, taking his own off.
"Is it deep?" She asked, touching the warm and pleasant water. "No, this one should reach your knees. Why? What are you doing?" He asked when Anne pulled her dress to her thighs and entered the water, standing on the middle of it.
"Relaxing. You should try." His eyes were focused on her legs, but she was too busy moving them on the water to notice. "I am fine here, thank you."
"No fun." Anne smiled deviously and kicked the water, making it go right straight to Jon, wetting his pants and shirt. "Hey!"
"Oh, my god! My legs moved by themselves!" She kicked the water again, with even more strength. "Again!"
"Anne, stop that!" He wasn't angry, seeing that he laughed when the water hit him. "Only if you come here."
"Alright, I will go." Jon rolled his pants u´p before entering the hot spring, the water didn't even reaching his knees. "You should shave your legs, My Lord." She teased, laughing, and he glared at her.
"Will you do that for me?" He played along, standing in front of her. "Of course, My Lord, it will be a pleasure!"
"Look, what is that?!" Jon yelled and pointed, making Anne turn immediately, but there was nothing there, when she turned, water met her face and chest. "JON!"
"What?! Only pay back!" He was laughing hard, but stopped when water touched his face; it was Anne's turn to laugh now.
They kept throwing water at each other until they were soaking wet and their stomach hurt from all the laughing. They exited the hot spring and Anne lied on the ground, still laughing. "I am all wet!"
"You started it!" Jon said, sitting next to her, they still had big smiles playing on their faces.
The young man let his eyes wander around her figure, her dress embraced every curve on her body because of the wetness and her legs were exposed, he tried to ignore this and look to her face, she was still smiling to him.
Slowly Jon got closer, leaning over to approach his face to hers and he let one hand ran on her cheek gently as she closed her eyes. He ended the distance between them, touching her lips with his.
It was a soft and sweet kiss; they moved their lips together like nothing else mattered in the world. He slowly sat back when Anne pushed him, without removing her lips from his, then she sat in front of him.
They wanted more, so Anne bit his bottom lip kindly and he returned by nibbling her upper lip. Such simple act had a giant effect on both of them as their breathing became heavier and their bodies hotter.
Jon embraced her waist with both hands and pulled her closer, forcing her to sit on his lap, both legs on the sides of his waist and he tried not to pressure his body against hers too much, but her chest touched his firmly.
His tongue began fighting with hers for control and he won, without any surprise. While his hands caressed her waist and Anne's hand travelled to his neck, scratching his skin really gently at the same time her other hand grabbed his shirt from behind.
Anne had never felt this way before. With Jon she felt complete, her heart quickened, her body heated and so many feelings and desires she had never experienced before appeared so strongly.
They pulled away for air and Jon kissed her chin, trying to control himself.
"Maybe we should head back…" Anne whispered, not moving away an inch. "We are still wet, people would notice…" He didn't want to go and any excuse to keep her that close was very welcome.
"Alright… We can stay until we dry…" She whispered again, touching his chest with her forehead and closing her eyes, her breathing was still really heavy and her body hot.
"Jon…" She called after a while. "Yes?"
"I overheard Theon talking about girls… Have you ever been with one?" Deep down she feared the answer. Jon was a handsome man and there was no way he had never been with a woman before.
"I never… I had the opportunity once… I was in a brothel with a woman named Ros, she had red hair and was very pretty and young… I couldn't do it." Anne slowly raised her head to look at him. "Why not?"
"I feared fathering a bastard like me." There was sorrow in his voice and the young woman felt sorry for him and even angry because of the way he thought. "There is nothing wrong in being a bastard. Your father loves you… I very much rather being a bastard than being used by my father like he wanted to. You last name shouldn't intervene in who you are or how you are treated."
"You sound really wise for your age sometimes." Jon said, trying to lighten the mood. "Well, according to my father, I am old now; no man would want a woman who already completed sixteen name days."
"You father is stupid." Anne smiled at his comment and kissed his cheek, she was still sitting on his lap, it was comfortable and she felt protected.
"Do you still want to leave Winterfell?" He asked, thinking about the encounter with Jaime Lannister earlier. "When I came here I was grieving and all I wanted was a hot meal and some time to rest before leaving again. Then I met you…"
He opened his mouth to talk, but Anne touched his lips with one finger, stopping him. "I never… Felt this way before… I never thought I would… I… Hm… I love you, Jon Snow."
Jon Snow felt his heart stop for a second before it began beating really fast, so fast that he thought it was going to leave his chest, run around the whole Westeros and then return.
"You don't need to say anything… Or even feel the same… I am glad I experienced this feeling…" She opened her mouth to continue talking, but Jon's lips against her stopped her from doing so.
The kiss was so intense and full with emotions, his arms embraced her waist with a lot of strength, pulling her closer enough to make her whole body be pressed against his. Anne's hand touched his cheeks as she returned the kiss with equal passion.
The kiss lasted less than the previous ones, but it felt different and it had so many feelings mixed that it was by far they favorite.
"I love you too, Anne…"
She had never heard these words before, neither had he, so hearing it from each other had a more than special meaning.
They just stayed there, in each other arms, and they wished this moment would never go.
"I am getting hungry…" Anne said, her head resting on Jon's chest, she still hadn't moved away from his lap and didn't want to, but her stomach was complaining about the lack of food.
"Let's go… We are already dry." He said and the young woman got up, stretching herself before picking up her coat from the floor and Jon's too, she handed it to him when he stood up.
"Put it on, I don't want you to die when we get outside." Anne demanded while she put her own coat. "Yes, My Lady." He obeyed, getting a punch on the arm after, what made him laugh.
The couple went back to the Great Keep, it was already in the middle of the afternoon, they had skipped lunch and their bodies seemed to have been missing it.
"The cookers will kill us because of our snacks." Anne commented while they walked to the kitchen. "They really are very protective of the kitchen, I think every cooker is."
"Well, imagine if I stole your favorite sword. You would be offended and mad too." Jon pondered about her comparison for a second before answering. "No, I would let you touch my sword at any second."
Anne's face became really red and Jon stared at her in confusion. "What?" He asked. "You have no idea of how dirty that sounded…" He blushed too, realizing what he had said.
"I… I didn't mean it that way!" He defended himself, still feeling really ashamed. "I know… But the human mind likes to change things."
They arrived to the kitchen and a few cookers and workers looked at them when they entered, but the couple just ignored. Anne whispered to Jon. "I feel like they are going to kill me." He laughed and they got something to eat, not taking long because of the murderous stares coming from the workers.
They left really quickly, running until they weren't near the kitchen.
"Ah, young love." Someone said, and they turned to look. Tyrion Lannister, the Imp, was leaning against a wall, drinking from a flask.
"My Lord." Anne bowed for a few seconds before looking at the dwarf, while Jon simply stared. "Aren't you going to say something, bastard?" He asked and Anne felt the urge to punch the little man.
"Why should I, dwarf?" The young woman elbowed Jon in the ribs without Tyrion seeing. "Have you thought about your uncle's proposal?" He asked and Anne felt confused. What proposal?
Jon didn't answer.
"I asked if you thought about going to the Wall, bastard." His voice wasn't arrogant or mean, it was plain and even sarcastic. "I did."
"And?" Anne didn't know about Jon's uncle asking him to go to the Wall and she felt insecure about it, if it was his uncle who asked, he probably was going to accept.
"I am not going." Anne turned to look to Jon, blinking a few times and fighting a smile. "That is a shame, I would appreciate your company on the trip there."
"Are you going?" Jon asked. "I always wanted to see the famous Wall and I admit I would very much enjoy piss from the edge of the world." Anne tried not to laugh, but failed, the dwarf smiled at her.
"Ha, someone with a sense of humor. My family doesn't think it is that funny." Tyrion said, taking a sip from his flask.
"Families can be difficult, My Lord." Anne said kindly. "I suppose your was then." The dwarf replied. "Aren't all families?" Jon said, trying to get the attention out of Anne.
"The young lady is right. Family can act for love, hate, passion, every kind of emotion and interests. Some don't stop being family, but others are just better if we let go."
"I think that family is the people we love and care about, not only the blood related, My Lord." Tyrion smiled and stepped away from the wall, taking another sip from the flask. "I guess you are right, young lady. Too bad you changed your mind, Snow, but I think you made the right choice."
The dwarf then walked away, leaving the couple watching him go until he was finally out of sight.
