Sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry! I am a horrible person! School has been super busy, as well as me posting new stories and having to tend to them as well.

THANK YOU to Malyx Blackfyre! You are the world's most amazing fan, and I owe you a lot. Thank you for inspiring and motivating me to continue this, you're awesome. I would have entirely lost hope for this story, but you reminded me that there are actually people out there that like this. Again, thank you thank you thank you!

IN OTHER NEWS: I joined FictionPress; I finished a hell of a lot of books; and I now have a new favourite movie. 127 Hours is amazing! Everything about it is cool! I was seriously surprised that people fainted, vomited and had seizures because of the *spoiler* amputation scene. I'm only thirteen, and I was able to watch the entire thing through without skipping any. Anyway, cyber hug to Aron Ralston!

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE GIVE ME LOTS OF REVIEWS! They inspire me to write!

ALSO: YAY! This chapter is the longest so far, with a total 4257 words!

Daenerys ignored the door when it opened. She was sitting on the edge of her bed, trying very hard not to cry. She knew who it would be. It would be Jon, trying to make her feel better. He often succeeded, but that didn't stop her trying to stay away from him. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and turned to look at him. Jon's brow was furrowed with concern, and she was unable to stop the tears flowing from her eyes. He instantly moved to pull her into a hug.

They stood like that for a while, Jon hugging her as she cried. It took a while before she was able to pull away from him. Jon brushed some dyed black hair out of her face. She smiled at him. No matter what she had said, he had always been there to comfort her. Even when Dany had screamed and shouted, when she had told him to go away, he had always come back for her. Only now did she realise how primary Jon's presence in her life had become. Viserys was gone, but Jon had never left. It was true that Daenerys missed her brother, but there were some things she wouldn't miss. He used to beat her if she did something bad, or acted out of line. But she now didn't have to worry about that. She no longer had to live in constant fear of her own brother. Dany knew she had to be grateful for what she had. She had Jon, and a home and a job. Lord Stark had been so apologetic for what happened that he had promoted her to Sansa Stark's handmaid. She was happy to accept the job, as it gave much better pay, and it was much more fun. She got on very well with Sansa, and often spent time talking to her about various things.

Every day though, she would come home and cry about her brother.

Dany decided that the time for grief was over. She had mourned Viserys, and now it was time for her to get on with her life. She ran over to the window and pulled the curtains open, letting sunlight filter through the room and warm her face. She closed her eyes for a moment, smiling at Winterfell, already bustling with activity. She had a day off, and intended to use it to clean her house up a little. Daenerys hugged Jon again, but as much as he wanted to stay and help, he was wanted back at the castle, since he had duties to attend to. Despite not being a lord, he still engaged in the same things as one. Dany could tell that this greatly annoyed Catelyn Stark. She always stiffened when Jon was near. Lady Stark simply hated the fact that Jon was treated like Eddard's real son. Dany thought she should get over it, but of course didn't say a word of this to anyone but Jon. She would be flogged if she was heard saying anything like that.

Daenerys turned her mind away from Catelyn Stark and back to the task at hand. She decided to start on the outside. She pulled on a less lovely dress and grabbed some water and soap. She began scrubbing the walls, getting the grit out from the wood. After two hours, the house was clean, but her arms were aching. She ignored the pain in her muscles and walked back inside. After sitting and massaging her arms for a while, she began cleaning the walls and windows. It was easy enough, and she was finished this task much quicker than she had the previous one. She stood back to admire her work. It would do for now, and hopefully it would be a while until she would have to clean it again.

Feeling much more positive about the day, Dany moved about the interior of her house, rearranging furniture and dusting down cabinets and fixing up her bed, which had remained unmade for weeks now. A memory, unbidden, rose up and captured her.

Daenerys coughed. The fever that plagued her now had held her in its grasp for near a week now. It had broken last night, yet she still was to stay in bed for another few days to recover. She was aching with thirst. Viserys opened the door to their cramped living room. She had relocated herself to the couch, wanting a change of scenery from the bland stone walls that had occupied her vision for the past 6 days. Viserys blinked in surprise when he saw her.

"I wanted to be somewhere different." Dany explained before her brother could enquire.

"I never would have guessed. You've only been complaining for the last 3 days."

Dany giggled shyly, as only ten year old girls do, pulling herself into a sitting position so that Viserys could sit next to her. He did so, and leaned over to ruffle her hair. She ducked his hand, another giggle bursting from her lips. A grin displayed itself on her brother's face, and he raised both hands in a gesture she knew well.

"No!" she shrieked as his fingers begun tickling her sides. She laughed uncontrollably, writhing around on the couch as her brother laughed, though not so much as she. Daenerys attempted fending him off with her hands, and even her feet, but her efforts were quickly proved to be futile. Viserys was older and had longer arms than she. His barrage of action would not cease, and she found herself quickly winded, yet continuing to choke out breathless sounds of jocularity.

She wriggled from his grasp, darting across the room, pale hair streaming behind her. She felt his long, slender arms hook around her waist and lift her into the air. She squealed and begun cackling with amusement. Viserys repositioned his hands at a spot just above her hips, her most sensitive spot, and begun tickling her there. She collapsed, howling with mirth. Viserys eventually relented, and the two of them collapsed onto the worn rug in the centre of the floor. It took a moment for Daenerys to regain her composure, and even then, a few stray giggles escaped her mouth. Viserys cocked his head to look at her, and smiled in his unique big-brother way. It made her feel special, and loved.

"Ah, I love you, Dany."

Daenerys leaned over and poked his nose playfully.

"I love you too, Viserys."

Daenerys started when she heard the knock on the door, and wiped her eyes hurriedly. It would do Jon no good to know she'd been crying again. He would just begin to worry himself over her, and though she would rather he didn't, she found it quite sweet.

"Come in." she said, hoping her voice didn't waver too much. As predicted, it was Jon that entered.

"Hi Daenerys. Wow, this place is spotless! How long have you been cleaning?"

Dany laughed shyly, privately hoping she didn't sound ditzy.

"I'm not done yet, I still have to clean the tables down."

"Well," Jon said, "I don't have to be anywhere. Would you like some help?"

"Sure!" Daenerys said, inwardly cringing at how eager she sounded. If Jon noticed though, he made no mention of it, instead picking up a wet rag and beginning to clean. She stood, fixed to the spot, watching his muscles move beneath his shirt. He stopped and turned to look at her. Dany turned scarlet and murmured an excuse before scooping up her own rag and proceeding to help him clean. She prayed he hadn't noticed that she'd been watching him. If he had… her cheeks coloured just at the thought. How mortifying that would be.

She pushed the thought from her mind, focusing on the task at hand.

They were able to finish quickly, since both of them were working. Jon stood and helped Daenerys to her feet before wiping his forehead. He grinned and surveyed the room.

"Not too bad, Targaryen, I'll give you that."

Dany raised an eyebrow before smiling. Jon turned and gave her a crooked grin that made her stomach flutter. She hoped her face wasn't as red as it felt.

"Come on, let's go do something."

She blinked, surprised, before smiling and accepting.

Jon tried not to grin too much as Daenerys filtered through the stalls, gasping in delight at the expansive collection of silk. Northerners didn't oft have any occasion in which silk may be appropriate dress, but it was still used for tapestries, summer cloaks and perhaps blankets and rugs. Jon knew that there were a few ladies that had silk dresses, only worn on the very warmest of days in the north, right at summer's peak. He turned his thoughts from the uses of silk back to his current situation, and, almost instinctively, raked the crowd for Daenerys. She was almost out of his sight. He swallowed the slight anxiety that had risen and wove through the people, making his way towards her. She looked up when he approached and gave him a smile that left him feeling warm.

"Hey." She said, running her hands over the exquisitely smooth silk, the corners of her mouth rising into the ghost of a smile. It was clear that she was greatly enjoying this. Jon tried to prevent his own delight from showing. He was delighted though. She was being herself again. After what had happened to Viserys, he had feared that he may have lost that gentle, free spirit forever – changed into one of grief and blame. But he hadn't though, and she had come back to the girl who rejoiced in savouring silk and fresh bread. An idea came to him, something he could do to brighten her day further.

He nudged her gently, to which she reacted instantly, looking up with a curious look in her eyes.

"I know something you're going to enjoy a lot, are you in?"

She giggled slightly, unaware of how it made his stomach flutter when she did it.

"Okay, but what is the nature of this thing I'm going to like?"

Jon grinned at her acceptance, taking her wrist to guide her through the crowds.

"You'll see."

Daenerys let out another small groan of delight. Of all the things she had thought the surprise would be, cinnamon bread was not it. There had even been a small part of her brain that had engaged in thoughts so dirty, it made her turn scarlet just thinking about thinking about it. But now that she was here, she wondered why she had ever doubted that this surprise would include food. Jon knew how much she adored the fresh baked bread provided by the various bakers. He also knew she had a certain affinity for spices, and that cinnamon was among those she liked the most. So naturally, he would introduce her to fresh baked bread with cinnamon in it.

And by the seven, did she love him for it.

She grinned at him, hoping there was no residual cinnamon in her teeth. There didn't seem to be, for he gave her a coy grin in return. That, or he decided to make no mention of any food wedged within her teeth. That small thought only increased her liking of him.

He had bought her an entire loaf, and after a moment of watching her eagerly consume it, he purchased her another. This had made her flush, and slow a little in her hunger-induced frenzy.

Jon had simply laughed when he saw that, causing her face to darken it's hue.

She had managed to get away from the stand before she began to resemble a cherry any more, though.

Daenerys took the arm offered to her by Jon, and, still grinning, followed him back to the markets.

Catelyn tried hard not to appear as stressed as she was. Ned just had to do it, didn't he? She thought. He couldn't leave a single soul alone, should they be upset. He had contacted Robert Baratheon, of all people, to tell him of the bastard boy killed during the hunt. Of all people he could have gone to for consolation, for forgiveness, and he chose Robert. He could have easily come to talk to her, or even spoken to the boy's sister, Alayne. Instead though, of sending condolences to the one who had truly lost something that night, he had confided in his old friend, who in turn, had proposed a royal visit. The visit wasn't going to accomplish anything, except perhaps making her more hassled than she had been in years. She would be the one organising everything of course. Ned would be busy with his usual duties as Lord of Winterfell, and she would have all the extra piled on herself.

She couldn't find it in herself to resent Ned though. He was looking to a friend he hadn't seen in years, and his excitement was plain to see, at least to her. Though he may maintain the stony expression, she would never miss the gleam in his eyes, or the happy lilt to his voice. Both of these things would have been impossible to see, except to a wife.

Catelyn merely smiled at her husband, who seemed so glad to know that he would be seeing his old friend in a few weeks, and decided that the rest of the family should know.

She sat by the window, staring down at the direwolf she had been embroidering into a piece of navy fabric. Cat had been looking for something to distract herself from the daunting task of preparation that sat ahead of her. Her mind once again drifted to the bastard girl, Alayne Hill. She had been rather depressed the past few months as she mourned her brother. Catelyn had seen her, and had stopped to offer her condolences, though she was not sure it had accomplished anything, the girl had just forced a polite smile and thanked her. She was quite sweet. Beautiful too.

Catelyn glanced out the window, and was surprised to see the girl who had occupied her thoughts so frequently of late, down on the streets, walking. Cat blinked, and saw that the girl was walking beside, and making conversation with, Jon Snow. A smile came unbidden to her face. She had spotted him and Alayne together, and thought it was kind that Jon was befriending the girl.

Catelyn took a deep breath. She had tried when he was a child, but Jon had just looked too much like Ned, too much like the woman he had been disloyal with, that she found no love for him. Recently, she had tried to be more courteous to him, to be a little kinder, but the boy seemed able to take care of himself. His constantly solemn expression only ever seemed to drop when he was sparring with Robb, or when he was sleeping.

I suppose I'm responsible for that. She thought. It was most likely her years of dislike and hatred that had aged him so. Catelyn felt guilty for it. No matter who his mother was, she had no right to treat him like she had, but Catelyn just couldn't find it in herself to love him. It was her eternal burden, and one she was sure only she carried.

With a shuddering sigh, she turned back to her embroidery.

Jon was surprised at the news of King Robert's impending visit to Winterfell, of course, but his greatest shock lay with Lady Catelyn.

She had called him by his name, and not even the usual 'Snow' that he had come to expect from her. No, instead, she had actually called him Jon, something she had done perhaps four times in his life. It wasn't a bad thing, if anything, it was a pleasant surprise. He wasn't entirely certain what had warranted this change, but whatever it was, he thanked the gods for it. It was not as though he was expecting Lady Stark to treat him as her own son or anything, but she had been more courteous to him, and even that was welcome.

Daenerys was happy when he told her about this change, but not nearly as excited for the news of the king's visit. Her face whitened when she heard the news.

"He's going to kill me!" she exclaimed.

"Dany, relax. The king doesn't even know that you're here. He isn't going to kill you."

"But what if he finds out I'm Daenerys Targaryen?"

"Then I'll run him out of Winterfell if he even thinks about touching you!" Jon said.

Daenerys turned to face him, surprised. She stared at him for a moment, quiet, then rushed over and hugged him.

Jon returned her embrace, and felt her shaking as she leaned against him.

"I-, I'm just scared, Jon."

Jon hugged her even more fiercely in response, knowing that he would do anything to protect her. He hadn't been lying when he said that he would run the king himself out of Winterfell. Truth be told, Dany was the first person he'd met who understood what it was like to not fit in, to constantly be alienated. Of course, it would be worse if anyone knew that she was here. But he was the only one, and Jon was determined to keep it that way.

News of the King's impending visit spread like wildfire, with people now rushing to fix parts of their houses that previously had been falling into disrepair, to dust their finest tapestries and scrubbing the outside of Winterfell's walls. Snow was shovelled away from the entrance, only to be replaced by a fresh layer during the night. People were greatly anticipating the royal family's visit, though they weren't due to arrive for another month. In this time the entire Stark household became quite excited, and nervous. Arya wasn't looking forward to having to wear lovely dresses while the King and Queen visited, but after a few intimidating looks from her mother, and a few words from Jon, she begrudgingly agreed to it.

Lady Stark had not stopped calling Jon by his name, which was not only a small joy for Jon, but he could see that it pleased his father, and Arya also seemed less aggressive than usual when approached by her mother about wearing a dress with lace sleeves. Robb wasn't as fazed by the royal visit as the rest of the city, preferring to spend his time honing his swordplay skills. Sansa was swooning at the thought of the eldest prince nearly all day now, and Jeyne Poole had begun to do the same. Jon mostly did his best to skirt around them when they were like this. Bran was spending just as much time climbing as he always did, as free as always. Rickon was too young to understand what was even going on, so he was just as he always was, blissfully ignorant.

Daenerys continued to uphold her excessive anxiety, though Jon repeatedly told her that she would be fine.

Dany's workload inside the castle had increased by a great amount. She was now working longer hours, though she was also being paid more for it, so she wasn't upset over it. The castle was being scrubbed up and down, whilst everything in it was cleaned and dusted. Daenerys had callouses on her hands from the number of floors she had scrubbed. She also spent hours at a time cleaning tapestries, and was given a large mound of lace, since she was one of the only people in the castle who knew how to clean it properly. She mended dresses, flags and curtains, she polished armour and boots, and she scrubbed every stone surface of the castle. And, every night, she fell into bed and was asleep instantly. Daenerys no longer had any time to think about Viserys, so she supposed that it was helpful. At least, she never had time to feel anything but exhausted nowadays. One downside was that she never got to see Jon anymore, she was always so busy. She did see him around the castle occasionally, and whenever she did, he would give her a crooked smile that would make her try hard not to swoon.

Two weeks before the royal family were due to arrive, Daenerys, along with about 4 other girls, was told to clean the great hall from top to bottom. The other girls she was with, Millicent, Alys, Theia and Hilde, were quite nice, if a bit talkative. Daenerys listened to their discussion of the latest gossip half-heartedly, more focused on a particularly stubborn dirt clod. She started when she heard her alias, and realised they were talking to her.

"Yes?" she said politely.

"We were just saying, you're quite good friends with Jon Snow, aren't you?" Alys asked. The other girls giggled, and Dany felt her own face grow warm.

"Um, yes, why?"

They giggled.

Millicent leaned over a little, smiling. The others continued giggling, but also leaned in.

"Have you kissed him?"

Daenerys felt like her face was on fire.

"No! Why would you ask that?"

Theia giggled again.

"Well, he's quite handsome, isn't he? At least, for a bastard."

Dany shifted, uncomfortable.

"Yes, I suppose so."

Alys opened her mouth to speak again, but Catelyn Stark swept into the room to observe their progress, and they were silenced.

The weeks leading up to the royal visit were the tensest Daenerys had ever experienced, and not just for herself. The entire castle of Winterfell was more high-strung than they had ever been. Chandeliers were being cleaned and cleaned again. Tapestries were restored, and hung in their full glory around the castle. Daenerys was a little disconcerted to see her new home changed so much, all for one family, even if it was the royal one.

A great number of maids had now been assigned to the youngest female Stark, purely to keep her from being wild. From what Dany had heard, they had unsuccessful as of yet. Daenerys was surprised at how much trouble they were having. She occasionally was a maid for the girl, and she was wild, yes, but she knew where to draw the line. Daenerys never had any true problems with managing the girl.

Catelyn Stark seemed to notice this, and personally went to Dany and asked her to rein in her daughter. It was Dany's belief that Lady stark should just be happy her daughter was safe and healthy, though of course she didn't say it, and simply agreed to try.

Arya was happy that Daenerys was being her maid, and though she was strongly opposed to the idea of acting like a lady while the king was visiting, she didn't give Dany nearly as much grief as she had the other maids. She even let Daenerys do her hair. Dany herself was getting more and more anxious. She wasn't even able to see Jon as often, because he was so busy helping with the preparations.

His selflessness was her loss.

Finally, after what seemed like years of waiting, the horn blew, signalling the arrival of the royals. Dany was up on her feet at once, shaking with nerves. She quickly dressed in her best dress, like all the other maids were doing, and ran into the yard to join the assembling crowd. She was shunted behind the Starks, since she was just a servant, but she did get to stand next to Jon, who, seeing her discomfort, took her hand and squeezed it gently. Her anxiety dissipated a little, Jon was always able to make her feel better. The Stark family, including a now very pretty Arya, lined up at the front.

The horn blew once more, and slowly, the gates began to open.

Oh god, I am so sorry for the several-month delay, school is crazy, and it just slipped my mind, I have begun planning the next few chapters, so I have an idea of what is going to go down. Again, sorry sorry sorry, I am a horrible person for neglecting to update until now. Please forgive me.

You guys really are the best fans ever. Everyone, please send Malyx Blackfyre your love, if not for him, this chapter would not have been seen for another few months.

All my love to you guys!

~ BluePhoenix14