The Lord Commander strode into Melisandre's hall, his hand gripping the hilt of his sword. Ghost followed at his heels, head held high and strong as his master's.

"Why did you not inform me of her return?" He demanded of the red woman.

"You have pressing concerns, do you not Lord Commander Snow?" she replied.

Jon glared at her, wondering not for the first time how much she concealed from him not out of deceit, but out of fear over his feelings for Aurelia. He could convince most that their feelings ran deep but merely platonic. The witch and her fires told a different story, and Melisandre clung to the visions in her fires. She had seen Jon and Aurelia together, happy, not at the Wall but a place she would not divulge.

Jon had no expectation of such a desirable future. Yet Melisandre seemed determined not to let this vision come to pass. It caused Jon to question what other visions she actively fought against, and if any of them also involved himself or Aurelia.

"My pressing issues are not for you to prioritize," he clipped. "Where is she?"

"Resting," Melisandre replied as she waved a hand near the flames in the pillar which she claimed as the strongest fire for her visions. "Her journey was not an easy one, and as you were unavailable during her arrival I wanted to ensure her comfort."

Jon nodded, straining. "When she has rested, will you please inform her that I request her presence. If I am not in my chambers I shall be atop the Wall."

Melisandre gave a small, sad smile. "I will do as you ask, Lord Commander." Jon started to turn to leave, but the red witch's voice echoed as she called after him. "Though I should warn you that my fires-"

"Speak not of your fires." Jon spun on his heels to face her. "No one person can claim all knowledge of the future, nor of any time but the present moment they exist in - and even that is subject to be colored by their own feelings. All I care to know is that the lady Aurelia has returned safely from her travels and you will pass on my message to her when she rises."

"As you wish," Melisandre said calmly.

Jon gave her a curt nod, then left, clenching and releasing his left hand all the way back to his rooms.

Aurelia did not come to him before supper, and he declined dining in the main hall to wait for her in his chambers. When he had finished dining and consumed a cup of mulled wine, he made his way to the top of the Wall, to the spot where he once looked out to the world beyond the Wall with his uncle. She waited for him there.

Ghost trotted up to her with an easy gait and, after sniffing her hand, nuzzled it and panted softly as she moved her hand to scratch behind his ears. Jon approached her, his intended words failing him.

"Are you not cold?" He asked as he moved up beside her, Ghost backing away and sitting on the ice walkway behind her.

"My entire journey was cold," she replied. "I have grown accustomed to it."

Jon flexed his hand, wanting to reach out to her yet he held himself in check.

"Is Stannis returning?"

She shook her head. "Not yet. He may not return at all if the weather continues to worsen."

"What do you mean?"

Aurelia bowed her head. "I tried to warn him. The Northern lords may yet bend themselves to him, for a time at least. But winter is here, in the North, and Stannis is ill-prepared to hold it."

"Did he release you?"

"From remaining with him, yes. From his service, not really. It's difficult to communicate such things in letters." Aurelia raised her head again and gazed out into the darkness of the wilds, a sea of grey as the night wind blew snow around them. "I would not say his cause is lost, but without a decisive battle or better provisions to withstand the onslaught of the weather..."

"And if he loses?" Jon felt rather nonplussed about Stannis' potential defeat, whether in battle or due to weather.

Aurelia looked to him and replied, "Then Winterfell is lost."

Jon took a step closer to her, straining to resist pulling her into his arms. "I don't understand."

"The Boltons hold Winterfell. They seem intent on rebuilding, but the winter will delay that, if not outright prevent it."

"I sent Mance-"

"I know," Aurelia cut in. "And he will likely try to see your request through, coupled with an agenda of his own I've no doubt. That is my fear, Jon. All these men, they desire power, over the lands and over each other. Whether they wish to rule an entire kingdom or a small portion of the realm, or simply to take all they can until they are thrown down or die... none of them care for Winterfell as the Starks have. It is a strategic location, a monument, a possible stronghold if it can be rebuilt."

"And to you?" Jon asked, already knowing her answer.

She looked at him for a moment, her eyes full of words she dared not speak. When she took a step toward him, he relented, folding her into his arms.

"Everywhere you leave, all becomes lost without you," he murmured. "Winterfell, the north lands, here..." He trailed off and she held him tighter. She pressed her cheek to his chest as he bent his neck and rested his lips on top of her head.

"I cannot stay, Jon," she said softly.

"Where will you go?"

"Somewhere I should have gone quite a while ago."

"Where?"

"To find Lord Commander Mormont's sister."

Jon pulled away from her, the question lingering in his look.

Aurelia smiled as she reached up and brushed a section of his hair from his face. "She has something of great import which Robb entrusted to her. It is time I sought it out."

Before Jon could ask what, Aurelia lifted herself up on her toes and kissed him. He responded instinctually and wrapped his arms around her as his mouth devoured hers. His mind fogged over as her lips caressed his and she softly moaned his name. When she pulled back, he cupped her face in his hands.

"Please do not leave me again. I need you... I want you here with me," he said softly.

Aurelia smiled, sad yet warm. "I will not leave you so soon after returning, but I cannot linger long. We know what we desire, and what cannot be."
"Aurelia -" Jon began, but she stepped back and held up a hand.

"The world is changing, Jon. Yet not so much as to reverse events and decisions we have made until now. And yet," she sighed as she again gazed out beyond the Wall. "If we lose our hold on what is most important to us, if we give up hope, then there is nothing left to fight for."

She did not look at him, but held her hand out to the side and he took it. Standing beside her, gazing out into the lands of the North, Jon felt a sense of home, and a sense of purpose, he had not known for quite some time. He heard Maester Aemon's voice echo in his head. Love is the death of duty.

But what if love truly is your duty? His mind questioned back.

"If there is a way," he whispered. "We will find it."

Aurelia squeezed his hand and Jon smiled.