Notes: Hello everybody!

Thank you all for the lovely comments and for the kudos. I also appreciate all the patience with the long periods without posting.

There are a lot of conversations about feelings going around this chapter, so I hope you enjoy this.

Chapter 8

The next morning Jon was feeling… Normal. There wasn't anything different about him at all. Maybe he was just a little bit less frowny. And a few maids were swearing to the old and new gods that they'd seen the king grinning, but nobody was sure about that.

Jon didn't feel different at all. It was just another day at Winterfell.

Then, just as he was reaching the open grounds, he turned a corner and found Edmund, who had his arms crossed and that Pevensie arched eyebrow.

Fuck.

"Good morning, lord Edmund." He offered carefully.

The eyebrow remained where it was. "You were flirting with my sister."

"What? Of course I wasn't!" The mere notion was preposterous.

"Yes, you were!" The young man accused. "What do you recommend to encourage affection?" Edmund repeated the words from the previous night.

"I was merely taking part on the conversation." Jon defended himself.

"Listen, I've seen that look before…"

"What look?" Jon demanded.

"The star-struck one when men look at her." Edmund offered flatly.

Jon had never heard anything more absurd on his whole life. Not even when Lord Reed came knocking on his door to let him know he was a Targaryen.

"Fire!" A feminine voice ordered somewhere on the training fields.

The two men traded looks and went in search of Susan -because it was obviously her voice.

She had her archers-in-training practicing on stationary targets.

"Here, Will." She put herself behind one of the younger boys, then she corrected his posture. "Try again."

When she turned around, most of the other men had slouched their postures. "If I have to correct another one of you, he'll be used as target." She informed them sweetly.

Everybody got back in the proper position in seconds.

"That is the look I'm talking about, Jon." Edmund said dryly from his side.

Jon cleared his throat before turning to the younger man. "I have a deep admiration for your sister, but it has nothing to do with… That." He finished weakly.

It was obvious that Edmund didn't believe him for a second.

Jon rolled his eyes. "Edmund, honestly, I…"

"Fine." Edmund cut him. "I believe in you. Somewhat." He added grumbly. "I just want you to know that she is my sister and I love her. That means that I don't care if you are a king, a man who came back from the dead or whatever. You hurt her and I'm going to kill you. Slowly."

Jon tried not to grin. "I can respect that."

Edmund gave him a firm nod, glad they understood each other.

Jon's eyes wandered back to Susan. She was looking directly at them, a suspicious look on her face. He just gave her a nod. She arched an eyebrow at him -really, it was a family thing – before nodding back.

Edmund was mad. There was no flirting there.

XxX

"Ouch! Ouch! Sue!"

Susan ignored her older brother's complaints and kept pulling him around by the ear. A pair of maids giggled at the scene and some men snickered as the two siblings passed them.

Susan eventually found an empty room and pushed her brother inside.

"Good Lord, Susan, was that really necessary?" Peter whined, massaging his abused ear.

"You better start explaining yourself." She informed him. "Now!"

"What did I do?" He wanted to know.

"What do you think you're doing with Sansa?" She demanded.

Peter sighed. "Sue…"

"I'm serious, Peter! I like Sansa very much and she's been through enough."

"I know!" Peter protested. "I'm also aware that I don't know everything, but I assure you, Susan, I'm not playing with her."

Susan didn't really think he was. Peter might have his flaws, but he was never the type of man to go around with women for fun. He was a bit of a flirt, but in a surprisingly innocent way. He'd never played with a lady's feelings. She didn't believe he was about to start with Sansa's.

However, as Sansa's friend and confident, Susan knew way more about her past than any of her siblings. She knew exactly what type of man Sansa had been forced to be with, what had been done to her.

Sansa also had admitted that, even though Peter hadn't done anything to her, he was a scary mixture of all the nightmares in her life: he was a blonde king, carrying a lion on his chest and with a name that still made Sansa sick.

Honestly, Susan was surprised she hadn't asked Jon to lock Peter away.

However, she had also realized that Sansa was, not only extremely strong, but she was also amazingly kind. She'd never condemn Peter because he looked like the monsters of her past. But she was still unable to see past that.

Susan didn't judge Sansa for that. Only she knew the horrors she'd faced alone: just a little girl, far from her family, away from her home… Sansa was a survivor in a very cruel world. She had the right to protect herself however she saw fit.

And Susan was going to make damn sure her brother understood that.

"Peter, be honest with me." She asked him, looking into his eyes. "What are you doing?"

Peter sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "At first, I thought her beautiful." He admitted. "That very first night, when we got here and talked to the King, this is what I thought. Then I started observing her."

"You were keeping an eye in all of them, weren't you?"

"I was." Peter admitted. "I didn't know if I could trust any of them, I didn't want to take chances."

"I know, Peter." She assured him.

"The more I watched her…" He sighed again. "The more I admired her. She's so…" He took a deep breath. "She's good. She's so… Completely…"

Susan watched her brother, amusement all over her face.

"She's beautiful, I'll admit. But it's not only that." He insisted. "She's intelligent, charming, smart, kind… I could go all day, Susan."

"Oh Lord, Peter, you're in love." She was surprised by that.

"I wouldn't say it out loud." Peter confessed. "I wish to be very certain of my feelings before I go around talking about them, because I don't want her to feel like she owes me any kind of answer. Right now, the only thing I know for a fact, is that I see her in a way I've never seen another before. There's something about Lady Sansa that it's bewitching."

Well, that was unexpected.

"I feel that if I don't keep my eyes open, she'll steal my heart away and I'll let it go happily."

"Aslan be blessed, Peter, you're making poetry now."

He groaned. "Susan! I'm serious."

"I'm sorry." She said honestly. "I wasn't expecting that."

"Neither was I." Peter mumbled.

"I believe in you." Susan assured him. "And I think it's good that you decided to wait more time, to understand better how you feel. Sansa deserves a man that knows exactly what he wants, a man who won't waste her time."

"I wouldn't dream of it."

"Also…" Susan took a deep breath. "This isn't my story to tell, Peter, but Sansa has suffered too much already. If you ever decide to court her, you better be on your best behavior and treat her like a queen."

"I'll do exactly that." He assured her.

"Good." Susan nodded. "But don't take too long. Sansa has many suitors."

"Susan, please." He gave her that arrogant smirk that she loved to hate. "I can take care of myself."

Susan snorted. She hoped that Sansa made Peter grovel.

XxX

"What are you planning, little lady?"

Lucy gave Arya her most beatific smile. "What do you mean?"

Arya snorted. "Don't even try. I can see right through that cute face of yours."

Lucy puffed delicately. "How preposterous. I'm an exemplary member of this…"

"Cut the dramatics, Lucy." Arya snickered. "Tell me."

Lucy sighed. "I think you won't like it." She admitted.

Arya just gave her a look, that made very clear her patience was running thin.

"It's about your sister." Lucy alerted.

If nothing else that made Arya even more curious. "Just say it."

"I really think she should court Peter. I mean, let him court her. You know, court each other." Lucy said in a hush.

"Fuck no!" Arya replied immediately. "I like you and Ed a lot, Lucy, but your older brother is a prick."

"He's not so bad, I promise!" Lucy hurried to defend him. "Peter is a bit arrogant –I'll admit –but he has a good heart and he's a good man."

"No." Arya was adamant.

"But…"

"No!" Her voice was final.

"So that means no Susan and Jon either?" She asked dejectedly.

"Wait, what?" Arya was now truly dumfounded.

"Oh come on! They were flirting the other night." Lucy insisted.

Arya snickered. "Flirting? Jon?"

"Yes! All that talk about dancing…"

"No way." Arya denied.

"I know what I saw." Lucy insisted.

Arya rolled her eyes. "I'll believe it when I see them actually dancing." She said sarcastically.

"That can be arranged…" Lucy tapped her index finger against her chin.

Arya gave her a wary look. "What are you planning now, little lady?"

"I think we should have a feast!"

XxX

Of course something had to happen. Things had gone too well for too long.

It was only logical that –at some point –something would happen.

To be fair, it wasn't that bad, even if it was a bit embarrassing. But Susan still wasn't happy to have to break a fight that her own brother started.

It all started with Lucy's strange idea for a feast.

Now, one can't play a player, so as soon as she came up with the idea, Susan and Sansa shared a look. Something was going on in her sister's beautiful mind.

Susan knew Lucy well enough to know that she was brave and a romantic. They had no battles to prepare for –at least not for right now –which meant she wasn't trying to raise the morale of the men. This was something else.

This was Lucy being romantic and wanting to play matchmaker. The question was… Who was she matchmaking?

The logic answer would be Sansa and Peter, but… Susan didn't think it was the case.

Sure, she knew –by Edmund –that Lucy was really interested in seeing that happen. Edmund even told her that he had talked to Lucy about it, and recommended that she waited a bit.

Susan knew it was possible that Lucy was waiting, the same way it was possible she'd just ignored Edmund all together and done whatever she wanted to begin with, but still…

There was something there.

Susan was going to find out what during the feast.

It all started very well. Everybody was happy; dancing, eating and just being merry for a while. They all deserved it.

Lucy had insisted on music. In fact, she'd insisted so much on it, that Susan knew it was part of her plan. Then it occurred to her: Jon. Jon had talked about dancing and… She had talked about dancing.

Oh no. Oh no.

Her baby sister better not be matchmaking her with Jon. The mere idea was preposterous, absolutely ridiculous.

She was going to kill Lucy!

No, she was overreacting. There was no way that this was Lucy's plan. It made no sense.

Besides, she knew very well it was impossible to matchmake a couple that couldn't be matched. Jon was a great man, but he wasn't for her, so Susan didn't need to worry.

She should have thought of everything else that could have possibly gone wrong, but she was only human.

Peter and Edmund had been talking and drinking with the Free Folk by one of the smaller tables. The men had started accepting Peter more after he proved he wasn't afraid of getting his hands dirty. Lucy was still the favorite Pevensie among them, but they respected all of them.

Lucy was pulling Davos to dance a song with her and Susan had just stopped by to check if her brothers weren't too drunk.

She'd just turned her back when she heard one of the men saying, "That sister of yours is mighty pretty. One of these days I might climb her window and steal her for me."

Susan just took a deep breath and decided to let it slide for now. It wasn't the moment to start something over a comment like that. Besides, she knew that the Free Folk had this custom: men would try to steal a bride and the woman would fight him.

She decided not to react, but Peter didn't have the same patience. She heard Edmund calling his name a second before she heard a crash. Susan turned in time to see the other men trying to pry Peter away of his opponent.

They had both crashed to the ground. The crash she had heard was the table, because Peter had actually picked the man up and thrown him on the table. The wood couldn't take it and broke in the middle.

"Peter!" Susan hurried over to them, just as Edmund and Tormund managed to hold Peter.

He was still fighting to get free. "You don't ever talk about my sister like that again!" He bellowed, still pulling against his captors.

"Peter!" Susan yelled on his face. "Out, now!" She ordered, pointing at the doors that lead to the hallways.

"He said…"

"I heard what he said, Peter." Susan cut him. "Now get out!"

Peter gave her a look, his eyes on flame, but pressed his lips on a hard line and nodded. Edmund and Tormund let him go and he left the place.

"Sue…"

"Go talk to Jon." She asked Edmund. "You know why he did it. Explain to the King."

"What are you going to do?" Ed wanted to know.

"I'll talk to Peter and make sure he doesn't get in anymore trouble. Assure His Grace that he'll apologize formally tomorrow once he's sober."

"Sue…" Ed held her hand for a minute. "I know you're angry, but you also know why he did it."

"I know, Ed." She assured him. "Now I have to go."

Susan left after her brother and Edmund sighed.

"What the fuck, little man?" Tormund asked, scratching his chin.

"I need to talk to Jon." Ed sighed.

"I'm very curious to listen to you."

Both men turned and found Jon right there, an immensely displeased look on his face. Lucy was beside him, a look of deep worry on her face. Arya and Sansa were a bit behind them, and nobody looked happy.

"Should I look for Peter?" Lucy asked.

"No. Sue is with him." Edmund took a deep breath. "I'm really sorry for this, Your Grace. You can be damn sure that he'll be apologizing a lot tomorrow; to you and your family and to Greval. And he'll also take whatever punishment you see fit."

Jon made a dismissive gesture with his hand. "I want to know why he attacked Greval."

Edmund gave Lucy a worried look, and that made her stare at him confused. "Ed?"

"Greval said… He'd like to steal Susan." Edmund finally said.

Lucy covered her mouth. "Oh no."

"What?" Arya wanted to know. "It's one of their customs."

"Yes, but Susan was stolen from us once." Edmund admitted, his voice low.

"Excuse me?" Jon's voice was rough.

"There was a prince that wished to marry her." Edmund explained. "I traveled with her to his land to consider the proposal. When it became obvious the kind of man he was, we decided to stop the negotiations and leave. We were almost back to Narnia when they found us and took her away."

"He forced her through the wedding ceremony." Lucy's voice was small and full of pain. "Made an unwilling priest celebrate it. But he was worried it might not be enough to consider it valid, so he decided to… Consummate the wedding."

Sansa gasped behind them. "Did they?" She wanted to know.

"No." Lucy assured her quickly. "She sunk a fork on his neck, and that was how we found her when we broke into the castle. She was sitting on the bed, dress drenched in blood, staring at his body."

"The thing is…" Edmund cleared his throat. "Susan asked Peter to accompany her to that trip. But we were having problems with giants, so he said to her this was more important than marrying her off."

"We never thought something like this was going to happen!" Lucy hurried to say. "But Peter feels it was solely his fault. He believes that if he'd been there, he could have prevented it. He could have spared her the suffering."

"So a man says he wants to steal your sister…" Arya started.

"He couldn't control himself. Even though he should have." Edmund hurried to say. "Your Grace…"

"Tomorrow, I'll hear what Peter has to say for himself." Jon cut the other man simply. "For now… We're in a feast, let us make sure the others are enjoying it."

XxX

Susan found her brother staring at the night sky. She took a deep breath before she approached him, the last thing she wanted was to fight with her brother right now.

Even if he probably deserved a slap.

She pulled her fur coat tighter around herself before she came to stand by his side. She didn't say a word, he might as well speak first.

"I'm so sorry, Sue." He finally sighed.

"What for?" She wanted to know.

"Fighting." He offered.

"You think that's why I'm upset?" She asked, turning to him.

"It is not?" He was a bit confused.

"I can't say I'm not upset over that." She admitted. "We're mere guests here, we stay by the grace of the King. We don't have the luxury of getting into petty fights."

"Petty? Susan, he said…"

"That been said…" Susan cut him firmly. "It's not why I'm upset."

"Then why?" Peter asked carefully.

"How do you think I feel, having to give you comfort time and time again, for something that actually happened to me?" She had to be very careful not to snap at her brother, because she wasn't trying to fight with him.

However, she was tired of having to tell Peter time and time again that it was fine, and everything that had happened with the Calormenes wasn't his fault. It wasn't, but that was not the point.

She had been kidnapped, forced into a wedding ceremony, almost raped. Why was she telling Peter everything was alright?

"I…" Peter stammered for a little bit, before closing his mouth, completely at a loss for words.

"You feel bad about what happened, because you care about me. I understand that." She told him softly. "But I'm exhausted of having to tell you this. Of having to think about how you feel, when I can barely sleep some nights, scared that he might come back, or that I might dream about his dead eyes on me." Her voice was a broken sound by the end.

"Susan…" Peter murmured completely shocked. "I'm so sorry." He hugged her, pulling his sister to his arms. "I'm such an idiot." He kissed her forehead and sighed.

"I'm not going to argue with you." She informed him, her voice heavy with tears.

Peter chuckled. "You are the smart one." He sighed again. "But I am sorry, Susan, for being so selfish."

"You're not selfish, Peter, you're just… Self-absorbed."

"Ouch!" He chuckled. "Just tell me what you really think, Sue."

She chuckled too. "Sorry." She turned to him and gave him a gentle smile. "No more jumping into fights to defend my honor, alright? I don't need it and it puts me on the spot."

"I promise." He spoke seriously. "I'm sorry."

"Oh, don't waste all your apologies on me. Tomorrow you're apologizing to the King."

Peter groaned. "Great. I don't like him."

"It's fine. I don't think he likes you either." She offered him patronizingly.

Peter wondered if his sister truly understood what he meant. Because he was pretty sure Jon didn't like him for the exact same reason he didn't like the King in the North: because his eyes were on his sister.

Notes: Peter is getting sickly romantic, but I can't seem to help myself.

Greval is just a random name that a Free Folk name generator suggested... lol

Also, I know I changed A LOT the whole situation with Susan and Rabadash. I did this to create a deeper bond of understadning between Sansa and Susan. I am NOT using the "rape as a wy to make the woman look stronger" bullshit, because I despise that. Susan is strong because she's an intelligent, caring and amazing woman.

Let me know your feelings.