A/N: Hi everyone! Apologies for the lengthy wait. I am making my best effort to get more out soon!
A huge thank you, as always, for the reviews, faves, and follows. Your continued support is amazing and I appreciate it tremendously! Enjoy!
"He's good."
Rose looked down at her brother and nodded in agreement with him. She leaned against the railing as they watched the new recruits at Castle Black begin their training. They had all just witnessed Jon Snow defeat another one of his future brothers of the Night's Watch. The Lannister siblings, accompanied by Lord Commander Jeor Mormont, watched as Ser Alliser Thorne barked at and criticized the young men he was trying to train.
Jon, annoyed with the elder watchman, looked up at Rose. She caught his eye and offered him a soft, supportive smile. He couldn't help but return the gesture with a grin of his own.
The two have not had a private moment together since their conversation in the woods while they were traveling to the Wall. The small smiles and gestures they shared from time to time were as close as they had been able to be with one another. Rose's apology coupled with Jon's confession had helped ease most, if not all, of the tension between them and they were certainly more comfortable around each other now. Still, there were lingering desires and each of them craved the other's touch one last time.
"You got an admirer now, Lord Snow?" Ser Alliser said, glancing up at Rose before turning his attention to Jon. He gave the bastard a smug grin. Jon's smile immediately disappeared as he looked around at the other recruits who were making snide comments and quietly laughing. He glared at Thorne with his eyes full of rage. Jon could deal with the bitter old man's rude remarks but Rose should never have to.
Rose could feel the burning stares of all of the recruits on the training ground looking up at her, as well as Tyriom and the Lord Commander. Her face was on fire from embarrassment as she looked around at all of the men. There was chatter among the recruits; words she couldn't hear from above and a few small chuckles from Commander Mormont and her brother.
Wearing his smug grin, Ser Alliser clapped Jon on the back and pushed him back into the middle of the sparring ring. "Grenn! Get in here and give the lady someone else to cheer for."
Jon met his opponent on the ground. He threw all of his anger into their training match. Throwing all of his might into his swing, Jon made the first move.
Still watching from above, Rose was mortified. The last thing she wanted to do was give Jon any trouble or become a distraction. As it seemed, she could not even look at him without humiliating him and herself.
She was taken out of her thoughts when she heard a loud clang of metal and a shout from a man in pain. The boy sparring with Jon, Grenn, was leaning over his practice sword with his hand covering his face. Blood was running through his fingers as he shuffled away.
Rose couldn't help but cover her mouth and look away. It was a lot of blood and the sight was nauseating.
"Didn't realize you were so squeamish." Tyrion said, looking at her suspiciously.
Underneath her mouth, Rose's lip curled in disgust. "I never knew so much blood could come out of one man's nose." She mumbled against her palm.
Ser Alliser grunted disapprovingly. "If that were a real sword you'd be dead." He glanced at Jon. "Lord Snow here grew up in a castle, spitting down on the likes of you."
Jon glared at the older watchman as he spoke.
"Pip," Thorne continued, "do you think Ned Starks' bastard bleeds like the rest of us?"
Pip looked at Ser Alliser and then at Jon before he took his place in the sparring circle. Jon met him in the circle, prepared to fight. He would win again, he knew it. He was better than all of the other recruits combined.
Rose knew it too and it was oddly exciting to her. She liked to watch him take the other men down, even if their matches sometimes ended gruesomely as it did with Grenn.
The recruits stared each other down until Pip made the first move. He lunged at Jon, crying out like a warrior on the battlefield. In one swift movement, Jon dodged his attack and struck him in the abdomen. It knocked Pip down and he curled up in pain.
"Next!" Ser Alliser didn't hesitate to continue after Pip fell. It was almost as if he enjoyed this.
Jon took a deep breath, preparing himself as his next opponent came forward. He blocked every swing that came his way. The other other boy was shocked. He left himself open, allowing Jon to grab him and throw him over his shoulder. Jon stood over him as the boy rolled around in pain.
Thorne grumbled and called in more opponents for Jon. This time there were two. Both recruits attacked Snow at the same time and the bastard managed to defend himself. He successfully blocked their attacks and kneed the long haired one in his stomach before hitting the bearded recruit in his face.
Up on the balcony, the Lannister siblings as well as the Lord Commander looked at each other in awe. They had just witnessed the bastard boy spar with every recruit there and defeat all of them. He had even managed to leave a few of them broken and bloody. It was only his first day.
"Well, Lord Snow," Ser Alliser began with an annoyed smile and attitude to match, " it appears you're the least useless one here." He flashed Jon with a conceited grin before returning to his usual, mangy appearance. He shouted to the rest of the recruits, "Go clean yourselves up. There's only so much I can stomach in a day."
Rose, Tyrion, and the Lord Commander watched as the recruits and Thorne dispersed from their positions. Ser Alliser made one last glance up at Rose before leaving. She eyed him, her brows arched downward in disapproval.
"Charming man." Tyrion said, sarcastically. Rose looked at him and scoffed, "A wonder he took the black rather than a wife." Her brother chuckled.
Lord Commander Mormont eyed the southerners. "Don't need him to be charming. I need him to turn this bunch of thieves and runaways into men of the Night's Watch." As he spoke, he watched some of the recruits make their way to the armory with solemn, hopeful eyes.
Tyrion looked up to him and then out in the same direction as the older man. "And how is that going for you, Commander Mormont?"
The Lord Commander sighed. He glanced at the Lannisters and then back out, over the balcony. "Slowly."
Rose was only half paying attention to the men. She was focused on watching the recruits and where they were going. Her goal was to steal Jon away for a few moments. She was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard what Mormont said next.
"A raven came," he said, fishing in his pockets for the small roll of parchment, "for Ned Stark's son. He handed the message to Tyrion.
"Is it about the boy?" Rose asked, concerned. Mormont answered with a single nod.
Tyrion sighed. "Good news or bad?"
The Lord Commander responded in a flat voice. "Both."
As Tyrion unrolled the message, the Commander said, "I trust you could send word to him." The dwarf nodded in agreement as Mormont dismissed himself.
"What does it say?" Rose asked, trying to read it over his shoulder.
Tyrion's eyes scanned the message before he let the parchment curl back up. "The boy will live. He'll never walk again, but he's not dead."
Rose nodded and looked over to the armory she had seen Jon go into. She knew it had been tough for him, trying to adjust to a new life. At least he would have some good news to make things easier, at least, for now. "Good. The boy is too young to die. It would be a waste to go at such a young age."
Her brother looked up at her, following her line of sight to the armory. It was getting too easy to know what she was thinking about now. "I agree." he murmured in response.
They were both silent for a moment before Tyrion reached over to hand the note to Rose. She looked down at the note and then to her brother. "What are you doing?"
"You should give it to him." Tyrion said. The corner of his mouth twitched as he tried to fight off a smirk. "A pretty girl and good news?"
Rose crossed her arms and stared him down with narrow eyes. She tried to appear annoyed with him, even though she would be more than happy to have an excuse to see Jon. "Didn't the Lord Commander ask you to deliver that message?"
"Yes, well, I need a drink so I'm trusting you to do it." He said, smiling and waving his hand holding the parchment in front of her.
She couldn't help but raise her brow. "You made a promise. It's not very honorable to to go back on your word like this."
Tyrion's shoulder slumped and he wore an exaggerated frown. "Gods, we have spent far too much time up here. You're starting to talk like a Stark!" His sister scoffed and put her hands on her hips. He continued, "Besides, I gave the old bear no words of mine; he's far too stiff to do anything with them."
Rose tilted her head curiously, thinking about what he said. Finally, she gave in and snatched the message out of his hand. She looked at Tyrion with narrow eyes and lowered the tone of her voice, "I am not a Stark." She said before turning and swiftly walking away. Her conniving brother watched her leave with half a grin on his face and a scheme in the works in his mind.
In the armory at Castle Black, Jon and his fellow recruits put away their equipment from today's round of training. He was storing the training swords when he heard somebody call out to him.
"You broke my nose, bastard." Grenn hissed through the dry blood caked on his lips.
Jon knew no matter what he said, this was not going to end well. He took a deep breath and turned to Grenn, smirking. "It's an improvement."
In less than a second, Pip and the other man in there with them were holding Jon by his arms. Grenn was face to face with Jon. One hand was holding the noble bastard by his collar, the other held a dagger to his throat.
"If I threw you over the Wall," Grenn growled through gritted teeth, "I wonder how long it would take for you to hit the ground?"
Pip leaned over , hissing in his ear. "I wonder if they'd find ya before the wolves did?"
Jon was prepared to fight his way through this bunch of scum until they heard the door to the armory creaking open. All four of the men turned to see Rose standing in the doorway, holding the large wooden door.
"You shouldn't be here m'lady. This ain't any place for a woman to be." Grenn said to her, keeping his deadly grip on Jon.
Rose saw the blade hovering over Jon's throat. She kept her composure and stepped inside the armory, letting the heavy door slam shut behind her. Crossing her arms, she put on a stone cold face, reminiscent of the stern look her half-sister, Cersei, often used. "Actually, I think I will stay."
"No, really, you should go." Jon said, pleading with her through his eyes.
Pip looked at Rose and then at Grenn. "We can't do this in front of a woman!"
Rose smiled halfway as she leaned against the wall, crossing her arms. "I grew up in King's Landing. My sister is the Queen and my elder brother a Kingsguard. I've seen men die before, more than you, perhaps. I've even seen their heads removed and put on spikes. It is quite a sight."
The three men who had ganged up on Jon were looking at each other warily as she spoke. Grenn still held the blade to Jon's throat. "What's that s'pposed to mean to us?" he asked, his eyes narrowed at the blonde girl.
She smiled sweetly at them and shrugged, speaking in a delightful tone. "Nothing, I suppose... Actually," she began as she started to walk towards them, "the spikes are quite bare from what I remember. I haven't seen a good beheading in some time." As she got closer, She studied each of their faces. "In fact, I was just thinking we could use some fresh faces up there and you all would look wonderful up there! Shall we go back to the capital together? I'm sure my sister won't mind some new faces. Did I mention she was the queen?" Rose tilted her head, smiling all the while.
"Y-you did, m'lady." Pip said, his eyes were wide. Grenn elbowed him in the stomach.
Rose's gentle expression dropped, as did her voice. "So, are we returning together to meet her?" She eyes all three of men surrounding Jon.
The recruits hesitated before dropping Jon. Grenn put his blade away as he motioned for Pip and their bearded companion to follow him out.
Rose and Jon's eyes followed them out. He didn't say anything to her until the wooden door shut behind his fellow recruits. "Rose!" He hissed.
She looked at him, narrowing her eyes and putting her hands on her hips. "Oh, I save your ass and you're going to complain?"
"They could have hurt you or, or worse! These men are all criminals!" He exclaimed, a mix of worry and anger in his eyes.
Rose waved a hand in the air. "Oh I've been watching you all spar all day. They couldn't fight wet parchment." Her face softened and she placed a hand on his cheek. "Besides, I know I could count on you to protect me if anything did happen."
Jon sighed and all of the anger left his eyes, leaving nothing but concern for her behind. "I worry about you Rose."
"Don't." She said, smiling and cuppin his cheeks in her hands. She leaned over and kissed him. Pulling away slowly, she added "You'll die young if you do."
He couldn't help but return the soft smile she gave him. "I don't plan on dying anytime soon."
"That's good to hear," she said as she pulled out the message intended for him, "considering your younger brother has woken up."
Jon's eyes widened as he quickly took the note from her and unrolled it, reading the words to himself. "I can't believe it..." he breathed, barely a whisper.
"Will you visit him now?" She asked.
He shook his head. "I don't think I'll have that privilege for some time. At least, not until I take my vows."
When he mentioned his vows, Rose's face fell. She looked down at her feet. "So you're..."
Jon looked at her, knowing where her thoughts were at. "I have to. You even said this is where I belong."
She nodded and then looked up to him with a sad smile. "I know, I just... sometimes I wish things were different."
He sighed and pulled her in close, wrapping his arms tight around her waist. "I know."
Rose embraced him as well, holding him as close as she possibly could. They stayed like that for a few moments before she looked up to meet his eyes. "I wish we had more time together. Tyrion and I are only staying a few nights."
"And then I won't get to see you again."
Rose took a deep breath, attempting to ignore is pitiful tone even though she felt the same way. "We should be together, one more night before we have to part."
He met her eyes and smiled dismally, "You know I want to, more than anything, but I can't sneak over to the guest quarters. I'll wake the other recruits and maybe even your brother."
"But I already thought about that." She said, hopeful, "I'll be dining with Tyrion, the Lord Commander and the other higher ranking men tonight. I'll excuse myself a bit early and you'll do the same with whoever you're with. We can meet in my room after that."
Jon couldn't help but place a chaste kiss on her lips after she explained her plan to him. "I'll do it."
She smiled at him, reaching up to tangle her fingers writhin his hair. "Good. I'll be waiting." She purred as she pulled him down to her for a more intimate kiss before they had to separate.
So far, it appeared is if Rose's plan was going to work. She had managed to slip away from her dinner with Tyrion and some men of the Night's Watch. Her brother was the only one who seemed to notice she was leaving. If her excuse wasn't that she was feeling ill again, even Tyrion may not have noticed. Though he'd been drinking with the men, he was still coherent enough to ask her if he should have the Maester send something or somebody up. She refused and asked to just be left alone for the night. Tyrion was suspicious, as he had been with her actions quite often as of late, but she convinced him to trust her and he was just drunk enough to listen.
When she made it to her room, Jon wasn't there. She decided to make the most of her time and undress for him.
Despite the cold, she wore nothing but her nightgown. It was silk, a bright crimson color, with ivory lace sleeves. Rose was freezing and tried to undo her hair by the fire as she waited. When she was finishing brushing her long blonde curls, she heard the creaky hinges on the door opening, slowly. She turned and smiled at her visitor.
"I was afraid you wouldn't come." She said softly.
Jon shut the door behind him and made his way to her, a grin spreading across his face as he neared her. He took both of her hands into his and pulled her in for a kiss. "I wouldn't miss this for anything."
Rose smiled sensually and draped her arms around his neck, leaning into him. He locked his lips onto hers and snaked his arms around her waist. One hand slowly reached up into her hair, the other slid downwards. His kisses started trailing her jawline and then he made his way down her neck.
She let out a small gasp of pleasure when she felt him begin to undo the ties of her nightgown. Her hands found their way to his chest and began to undo the laces on his tunic. They both fumbled with each other's clothes until Jon had slid her nightgown off and discovered she was completely nude underneath it. She grinned deviously and slipped his tunic off and then made her way to the laces on his pants. He let her pull at the waistband of his pants, leading him to her bed.
Rose laid down, anxiously waiting for Jon as he finished removing his clothing for her. "As much as I enjoy watching you undress I do wish you would hurry." She said with a smirk.
He chuckled as he finally kicked his pants off to the side. "As you wish." Jon climbed on the bed, propping himself up over top of her. As he gazed into her eyes, his devious, lusty smile softened into a much gentler, loving expression. "I really do love you, Rose, more than I ever thought possible."
Rose could feel her heart speed up and a fire start in the pit of her stomach as he spoke. She reached up and laced her fingers into his thick, black curls. As she pulled his head down to hers, she whispered, "I know." and pressed her lips against his.
Sometime around the middle of the night, there was a noise outside of the door that caused Rose to wake up. Jon stirred a bit, but he was still sound asleep. He was supposed to go back to the barracks after they were done but they were together so late into the night that it would have been awfully suspicious. Instead, they figured it would be easier to part ways in the morning.
Rose sat up, listening. She heard somebody walking, mumbling, and then a door open and close. It took her a moment to realize it was just Tyrion going to bed after his night with the watchmen. She had no idea what they could have been doing that lasted so late into the night. At some point in her life, however, she learned it was best not to think about her brother's comings and goings for too long. She laid back down and tried to fall asleep again.
After a little while of just laying there, staring at the ceiling, she knew there was no way she was getting back to sleep. Slowly and quietly, so as not to wake Jon, Rose climbed out of bed and searched for her nightgown. All she had to see was the light from the moon coming in from a single window; the fire went out some time ago.
She put her gown back on and went over to the sole window. Leaning against the ledge, she looked down at all of the snow and ice that covered Castle Black and made up the entirety of the Wall. As cold and frigid as it was, she couldn't help but admire it's beauty as it sparkled under the moonlight. Her eyes wandered up to the sky and found the moon. She smiled, seeing it was full. The last full moon was the night she met Jon, the first time they spent the night together.
As she stared at the moon, she thought back to that night. Rose could scarce believe it had only been a month since she met Jon and already felt so much for him. She glanced over her shoulder, watching him sleep. She couldn't help but frown as she eyed him. They had only had a month together and then they would be apart for the rest of their lives.
She turned away from the window and leaned against the cold, stone wall. Her eyes were still on Jon as they started to burn with silent tears. Rose wrapped her own arms around her waist for comfort and to try and keep herself warm.
A few tears fell before she felt a wave of familiar nausea. It always happened when she thought about leaving him. She absentmindedly placed a hand on her belly, making invisible circles with her fingers. In her heart she knew this wasn't the worst of it. It would only get worse when she actually leaves the Wall and him forever. Unfortunately, tonight it didn't seem like it would ever subside. Only moments later Rose found herself falling to her knees in front of her chamber pot again. She tried to make her retching as silent as possible but she knew she had failed when she felt Jon's hand placed comfortingly on her back.
When she was sure she was done, Rose slowly stood up and Jon guided her back to her bed. He murmured comforting words to her as he laid down next to her and pulled her close, keeping his arms wrapped around her. She took a deep breath, trying to calm down and focus on his gentle voice. Whatever illness she had, it was getting the better of her. She was tired of feeling this way and wished she knew what was causing it. It took everything she had to try and clear her mind of all the things that could be wrong with her. All that she wanted to do now was focus on being with Jon, memorizing everything about the way he was holding her and touching her.
They were both still and silent for a few moments until Rose was almost completely calmed down. She was starting to drift off again when she felt Jon's arms relax; he had already fallen asleep again. She snuggled closer to him and his arms draped further down her waist. Rose had managed to enjoy his touch for a few moments until something had dawned on her and caused her blood to run cold.
His hand had rested lightly over her belly. Suddenly, thanks to that small gesture from her unconscious lover, things were starting to make sense. Why she was ill... why she was acting differently... even the length of time they had spent together was lining up perfectly with the idea she had. The more she thought about it, the more she convinced herself it was true.
As tears began to well at the brim of her eyes again, Rose slowly moved her own hand down over top of Jon's. She held his hand and pressed it closer to her stomach. There was no doubt in her mind that underneath their intertwined fingers she was carrying their baby inside of her.