Jon shifted his weight, his eyes watching the men carefully as they edged closer to him. His attention shifted from the approaching men to the bush Gwynne was hiding behind. A sudden pain stabbed his chest when he came to the realization that she was hidden only a mere few feet from the strange men. His nerves began to get the best of him when his mind reminded him that there were three of them and only one of him. And Gwynne being there only seemed to make it all the more worse.
"What are you doing all the way out here, boy?"
"And why do you have two horses? You've got a companion out here with you?"
Jon stood his ground, his fingers resting against the handle of his sword. It was still in its sheath, but if he needed to use it, it would be out faster than any of the men would blink. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He tried to be brave, but he was scared of something happening to Gwynne. If she got hurt, or worse, it would be his fault. She's out here right now because of him. He wouldn't be able to live with the guilt.
Silently, Jon prayed to the Gods to spare them any trouble from these men. He wasn't concerned about himself getting hurt. His only fear was something happening to her.
"Ain't got a tongue, boy?" One of the men taunted.
"I think it would be best if you left us alone."
The three men spun around as Gwynne came forward from the shadows. If she was nervous, she did an excellent job of hiding it from the men before her. Even Jon could have sworn he'd never seen her as composed as she was at that moment.
She crossed the small opening and took a place by Jon's side. She looked over the men who stood before her, her fingers intertwined and resting in front of her.
"We don't listen to bitches." The men turned his focus to Jon. "You have to have women to talk for you, boy? You're pathetic."
"He is the brother of Lord Robb Stark. Robb Stark as in the heir to Winterfell. Who is actually relieving himself not to far from here, who has a dozen of Lord Eddard Stark's men close by. You may have the upper hand at this moment, but I can promise you it won't last for much longer." The men glanced nervously at one another, suddenly rethinking their original plan. "I suggest that you leave, now, before anything happens that we can't undo."
Jon watched in silence as the men backed away like dogs with their tails between their legs. He heard them talk to each other to run and it wasn't long before they have vanished. He waited a few moments more, his eyes falling to Gwynne as she turned around to look up at him with a smile on her lips.
"Robb?" Jon asked.
The smile slowly faded from her lips when she sensed something was wrong. She knew Jon like the back of her hand. He could never hide anything from her for too long. "What?"
"You used Robb to try and get yourself out of trouble. Again."
Her heart skipped a beat. "What do you mean?"
"You told the wildling you were to marry him to try and scare them into leaving you alone. And you just did it again."
Gwynne could hear the pain with every word Jon spoke. She took a step closer to him, confused about why he would be upset over such a thing. "I don't understand, Jon."
"That's the problem, you don't understand! You have no idea what you're doing do you? To the both of us."
"Jon, please, I was only trying to protect us." She reached out an put a hand on his arm. A small gasp slipped through her lips when he pulled away from her and approached his horse.
"I could have protected us just fine on my own, Gwynne. Go back to Winterfell. I don't want you to come with me."
She stood in place, her mouth open as she tried to reason with him. Where her voice had gone, she wasn't exactly sure. All she knew was that in that moment, she couldn't find it. It wasn't until the anger had built up inside of her that she was able to find her voice.
"What did you want me to tell them, Jon? That you're Lord Stark's bastard?" The moment the words finally came from her mouth she instantly regretted even thinking them.
The hurt look on Jon's face would haunt Gwynne until her final day. "You won't have to worry about Lord Stark's bastard anymore, Gwynne."
Before she could speak another word, Jon's horse had taken off and galloped past her, leaving Gwynne standing alone in a cloud of dust.
Gwynne had lost track of how many hours she had been wandering through the forest, trying desperately to find her way back to Winterfell. Jon was long gone, she knew that within the first hour once he had taken off on horseback. She had stayed in that spot and waited until the moon had disappeared from view through the thick branches above her. At first, she was sure he would come back. But eventually, she realized it wasn't going to happen. He was gone.
Defeated, Gwynne finally gave up waiting and grabbed a steady hold of her horse's reign. She led the horse on foot on what she hoped was her way back to Winterfell. Her mind was swarming with hundreds of thoughts as she wandered aimlessly through the foliage.
It wasn't until sunlight began to peak through the leaves above that Gwynne finally collapsed out of exhaustion. The horse waited patiently by her side, leaning down towards the grass by it's hoofs to put hunger at bay for a while longer. She buried her face in her dirtied palms and finally let the tears stream down her face. Her entire body shook violently as she sobbed, the hurt look on Jon's face appearing in her mind over and over again.
"Gwynne?" The voice was hesitant, as if he wasn't sure if she were really there in front of him or if he was merely imagining the whole thing.
She lifted her head up and saw Robb standing in front of her. His hair was dishevelled, his clothes messy as though he had a restless night while wearing them. She blinked several times, at first sure he was just a figment of her imagination.
Finally, when she was sure she wasn't imagining him before her, she breathed a sigh of relief. "Robb."
He rushed to her side without saying another word. He fell on his knees beside her and wrapped his arms around her tightly, pulling her into him. "Are you okay? What are you doing out here? Is everything okay at Winterfell? Are you hurt?" He had so many questions that needed answering at that moment. He didn't care which she answered first, he just had to know everything was okay.
"He's gone."
They were meant to be hunting for the better of a week, but once Robb found Gwynne and brought her back to Ned, the rest of the hunt was immediately called off. She told Robb what happened on their way back to the other men. Jon had tried to run away and she had followed him. She didn't go into too much detail, but she did explain that Jon had succeeded in running away from Winterfell. She took it upon herself to decide that Robb didn't need to know the last conversation that was had between his half brother and herself.
Once they arrived back in Winterfell, Lord Stark summoned both Robb and Gwynne to meet him in a room he often conducted business in. They entered, closing the door shut behind them and turned to face both Lady and Lord Stark.
"What happened?"
Robb glanced over to Gwynne, watching her carefully. He could see the tears in her eyes as she took a deep breath to steady herself.
"Jon ran away. I went after him to try and bring him back."
It was Lady Stark spoke up. "Now why would you do something foolish like that? You went by yourself? At night? Were you trying to get yourself killed?"
"I'm sorry, my Lady. I wasn't thinking. I just knew that I didn't want him to go. I thought I could convince him to come back to Winterfell with me."
"And he just left you out there on your own?"
Gwynne hesitated before answering the question, terrified it would make Jon look horrible to the two people who raised him. "Yes, my Lord."
Cat scoffed and rolled her eyes. "And we allowed this boy to be around you all this time? Gwynne, he left you for dead."
That was all it took to break the young girl. Tears began to stream down her face as Cat's harsh words sunk in.
"Mother!" Robb wrapped his arms around Gwynne again as he shot his mother a look of disbelief.
"Cat, Robb, I think it would be best if the two of you waited outside."
"But father-"
"Robb, please. Give me a minute with Gwynne."
Cat walked across the room and put a hand on Robb's shoulder. Defeated, he let go of Gwynne and left the room with his mother.
"Have a seat, Gwynne."
She did as she was told, sniffing and trying desperately to stop the tears that were burning her eyes.
"I'm sorry that Jon left you there. That wasn't right of him to do. He should know better than that. I raised him better than that."
"It wasn't his fault, my Lord. I said something that I shouldn't have said."
Ned stood up, resting his arms in the small of his back. He gazed out the open window behind his desk, getting momentarily lost in the beautiful scenery that was Winterfell. "Do you know who you'll be some day, Gwynne?"
She watched him and shrugged. He couldn't see, but he knew her reaction. He knew her as well as he knew his own daughters. He knew what she was thinking, what she was feeling, and could easily guess what she was about to say.
"One day you'll be the Lady of Winterfell." He paused for a moment. "Everything that you see out this window will one day be yours to rule over." He paused again before looking at her over his shoulder. "One day you will be married to my son."
She understood what he was saying, but she still found herself confused. "My Lord?"
He turned to face her. "Cat and I have been talking. Both yourself and Robb are quickly becoming of age. Cat has told me you've already bled, which means you can give my son an heir. You've known each other your whole lives and I couldn't picture anyone else who would make Robb as happy as you would make him."
A voice in the back of her mind was screaming frantically at her. You can't marry Robb, you have feelings for Jon! You can't betray him, not like that. He'll never forgive you. "I...I had no idea." It was all she could muster up at the moment.
Ned smiled warmly. "Well, now you do." He studied her for a moment. "You love him, don't you?"
Gwynne felt the tears return. Ned didn't say a name but he didn't have to. She knew he was talking about his bastard. "I...I don't know." She had always felt safe opening up to the Lord of Winterfell. Now was no different. But she still couldn't bring herself to say it.
Ned let out a heavy sigh and nodded. "Did you know that Cat was meant to marry my brother? She was never intended for me. And truthfully, I never felt like I truly deserved her. But, over time, she learned to love me. And she has blessed me with beautiful children whom I cherish more than anything in the world. What I'm trying to say is that feelings ago away, Gwynne. I know it may not seem like that right now, but give it time. If you don't already, I promise you that you will learn to love Robb. And as Cat did for me, one day you will bless him with beautiful children who will one day be Lords and Ladies of Winterfell."
Robb laid his head down that night, his mind swarming with more thoughts than even he could handle. What really happened out there? Why did Jon leave Gwynne out there by herself? What could she have possibly said that would have sent his brother over the edge?
Robb knew of Jon's feelings for Gwynne. They were both smitten with her, that much was obvious. Years ago, both brothers had confessed to one another that they were beginning to look at her differently. She was growing up, becoming a woman, and it was something neither of them could deny any further. Did Jon's feelings for her only get stronger over the years like Robb's had?
A soft knock at his bedchamber door snapped him away from his thoughts. He sat up in bed as the thin sheet that was covering him fell into his lap. A cool wind slipped through the open window beside his bed, caressing his bare chest as he watched the door slowly open in the darkness.
"Robb, are you awake?" The small voice asked.
"Gwynne, what are you doing here?"
Your brother's face is haunting me every time I close my eyes. "I can't sleep. I'm worried about him, out there on his own." She closed the door behind her and crossed the room, taking a seat on the edge of Robb's bed.
He reached out and rested a hand against hers. "Your father told me something today...something I can't stop thinking about."
Robb watched her curiously. "What did he say?"
She took in a deep breath and prepared for him to laugh at her. "That one day I'll be your wife."
He smiled slightly. "I've heard the same."
"You knew? How long have you known?"
He shrugged. "I overheard mother and father talking about it a few months ago."
She was at a loss for words. He had known all this time and he had never said anything to her. Had he told Jon? Did he know? She was dying to know but she knew there were more pressing matters at hand. Jon's safety came before anything else.
"Are you going to go looking for him?"
Robb nodded. "I am, in the morning. Theon and I will go and bring him back."
She let out a shaky breath, resting her other hand over his. "Bring him home, Robb. Bring your brother home."
"I will. I promise." He lifted her hand and kissed it gently. "Go to bed, Gwynne. You look exhausted."
She smiled slightly at the feel of his lips against her skin. "Good night, Robb."
He watched her leave, her slender figure moving through the darkness of his room effortlessly. Even in the darkness she looked radiant. It wasn't long before Robb found himself smiling, shaking his head and he laid his head to rest on his pillow again. When he finally found himself asleep he found himself dreaming of Gwynne.
He hadn't laid with her and the anticipation of finally being with her on their wedding night was almost too much for him to handle. He sat on the edge of his bed, watching her in the dark as she approached him. She stopped before him and opened the robe that was covering her body. The moonlight lit her body just enough for him to see every inch of skin he had ever desired.
His breath caught in his throat when he finally saw her standing before him, as naked as she was when she came into the world. His fingers ached to feel her breasts, to feel the warmth of her skin beneath them. She inched closer and wrapped her legs around his waist, her arms resting against his shoulders.
She kissed his lips and he felt them curve into a smile against his. "Husband." She whispered.
He grabbed a steady hold of her and threw her onto her back, climbing on top of her. "Wife." He whispered back before he thrust himself into her.
"Hey, wake up, Robb!"
He jumped up in his bed, startled by the sudden voice in his ear. He looked up to see Theon standing over him with a wide grin on his face.
"I hate to wake you up like this, Robb, but we have to go look for your bastard brother." Theon took a step away from the bed and pointed to his friend's lower body. "And you might want to take care of that issue you have going on in your pants before you leave your bedchamber. You don't want to scare the women of Winterfell with that direwolf raging in your pants."
I know, it's been a while and I'm an absolutely horrible person. I agree 100%! Every time I get inspired to update this story, I'm at work an unable to. And once I get home, I'm too exhausted from staring at a computer screen for eight hours to stare at another one for a few more hours. But I'm going to try my best to update this on a regular basis. This story means a lot to me, and I'm dying to get everything out there.
If you guys have any feedback or suggestions, please, let me know! I'd love to know what you guys think! Hope you enjoyed it and remember to drop a review!