Heya.
I'm back with another chapter, and I just wanted to quickly say a huge thank you to everyone that reviewed on the last chapter, it meant a lot to me reading your nice words! Same thing again this round?
Anyway, I won't hold you up for too long, on with the chapter.
"Ah yes, Jon. I was looking for you. We need to talk."
The King in the North gulped down some anxiety, his mind casted to a few moments ago with the Queen. Had they been spotted or heard? Jon was certain he was alone last night in the corridor.
"Of course, Tyrion."
Leading him around the corner and into another room, presumably his quarters, Tyrion offered Jon a seat as he produced a vile of wine, gesturing it to him with a raised eyebrow. Jon shook his head, it was far too early for such indulgences.
"Suit yourself." The dwarf muttered, filling his glass until he found it hard to lift without spilling the dark rosy contents all over his hand.
"A bit early, don't you think?" Jon mused, a humorless smirk on his face.
Tyrion glowered at him, taking a large gulp from his cup before smiling at the bitter taste. "The end of life could be nigh, Lord Snow, perhaps we should all lavish in what we enjoy before it is too late." Tyrion sighed, a grim expression on his face. "But I shouldn't be so pessimistic, we do have a chance."
Jon gave him a peculiar stare, and Tyrion knew he should get to the point of this conversation.
"Well, I wanted to talk to you about our queen."
Jon froze up slightly, trying his best to react as inconspicuously as possible to her name, trying to remain calm at her name alone. How would he manage being in the same room as her? How would he resist not touching her tantalizing skin whenever she was close to him?
"Yes, Daenerys." Jon replied a tad too fast, coming off as eager.
"You... like her?"
Jon swallowed back the feeling in his chest.
"I respect Queen Daenerys on her bravery and-
Tyrion snorted at Jon's ignorance.
"Let's not play around here, Jon. Do you like her? Do you find her attractive?"
Jon tried not to appear as nervous as he was on the inside.
"She is a beautiful woman, yes." He croaked. Jon could've given the dwarf an entire speech about what he found attractive about Daenerys, but he left it at that. Tyrion raised his eyebrow.
"She is obviously a beautiful woman, that is quite evident. But do you find her attractive in any other ways?"
Jon became suspicious now, wondering what trap the crafty hand was luring him into. Tyrion was had a brilliant way with words, and Jon was more than aware of this. He was cautious of what the dwarf was getting him into.
"What are you getting at here, Tyrion." Jon demanded, cutting to the chase.
Tyrion sighed, taking another large mouthful of wine.
"I wanted to propose a marriage between yourself and Queen Daenerys."
Jon felt his heart skip a beat at the prospect. That couldn't possibly happen. He was a bastard and she was the beautiful Mother of Dragons.
"When all of... this.. is over and done with." He added.
"Well, I could- Perhaps I could-
"-Come on, Jon. Between you and me, it's obvious what you and our queen feel for each other. It's no secret."
The Bastard of Winterfell's attention spiked at that comment. What did Daenerys truly feel for him? Perhaps Tyrion knew, he was her hand, after all.
"What does she feel for me?"
Tyrion chuckled at his question, much to Jon's ire.
"Oh Jon, I suspected you were inexperienced in this area due to your history with the Nights' Watch, but surely you notice the looks she gives you. She may be the rightful ruler of the seven kingdoms, but her ability to hide her feelings for you is appalling."
Jon felt his heart jump in his chest once again.
"But enough about that, what I need you to do, is to go and consider my offer. You know where to find me."
And before he could even breathe, Jon found himself back out in the hallway again. This morning was proving to be truly hectic.
Arya stared into the comfortable fire mindlessly as it crackled and hissed, gnawing away at the kindling with it's powerful ember. The news was great, the news was all that she would ever want to hear. The moment she never thought could possibly occur had all of a sudden, fallen into place.
Jon Snow, her half-brother, was returning to Winterfell. She exploded with excitement at the thought of seeing her favourite sibling again, the man who respected and loved her, teaching her what he could in the time he was with her. She never believed she would ever see her beloved brother again, Her mind began to imagine and play out how she would react to seeing him again, would he be as ecstatic to see her than she would be to see him?
Arya had missed Jon, possibly more than anyone in the family. He was the only person in Winterfell besides her father that viewed her as the up-and-coming warrior she had always longed to be. Jon was always treated poorly by Lady Stark for being a bastard, yet his loyalty to his family never dwindled.
Arya felt a presence behind her, hearing soft footprints. She sighed, knowing well who it was.
Sansa.
"It's wonderful, isn't it? Jon coming back! I cannot wait for him to see you." Her sister smiled warmly, taking a seat beside her, a hand on her shoulder. Sansa knew how she favoured Jon above everyone else in the family, and was genuinely happy for her younger sibling.
"I never thought I would see him again." Arya laughed. She still couldn't fathom it, it didn't seem real to her.
"Well he's going to be overjoyed to see you."
Arya smiled at that, once again thinking how would he react to seeing her. She wanted to ask Sansa what had changed about Jon and his appearance since all those years ago, but decided she would rather find out for herself when the time came. He was King of the North now, and that couldn't have come easily to him. She wondered would his coal black hair still be curly, would his smile still make her smile in turn? She eagerly looked forward to their reunification.
"The Starks all back together again, who would've thought it." Arya remarked, relaxing into her chair. The fire once again caught her attention, and her eyes rested on it's glow once again.
"Sansa?"
"Hmmm?"
Arya looked slightly uncomfortable as she stammered to talk.
"Do you think Jon missed me too?"
Sansa chuckled at the question and how foolish it was.
"Of course he did. He missed you more than anyone."
Arya smiled again, remembering what he said to her shortly before he left for the Nights' Watch.
"I'm going to miss you."
She remembered his warm smile, his caring eyes, his crushing embrace.
Arya counted down the days until Jon returned to Winterfell.
"Marriage?!"
"Think about it, Ser Davos. It's not as ludicrous as it sounds when you put some thought behind it."
Davos Seaworth sighed harshly as he stared out into the darkening horizon.
"Do we really have the time to be thinking about that kind of thing right now?!"
Tyrion shrugged as he eyed the last few droplets of wine in his chalice.
"Even without much thought, you cannot deny that it is necessarily a bad idea. Just one that is poorly timed along with upcoming events."
"Don't you think we have better things to plan for? Like the army of the dead? We don't even know if we're going to still be around after the Great War, and you're already planning for afterwards!" Davos exclaimed.
"And they say I'm the pessimist." Tyrion muttered to no one in particular. "I'm simply pointing out that it would be a beneficial venture for both sides involved!"
Davos slowly nodded at that. "I suppose, but don't you think it's a little bit dangerous to be putting those thoughts in their heads before they go off to fight for their lives?"
"Perhaps. Maybe it will spur them on, give them some extra drive to victory." Tyrion suggested. "Or then again, maybe they will be too afraid to lose the other."
"It's worth looking into, after this war is won." Davos remarked, before strolling back into the cabin of the ship.
Daenerys let a shaky breath escape her lips as she climbed down the stairs to the lower decks of the ship. Avoiding him was just as difficult as she had previously expected, especially when that certain him was all she could think about.
Why did he have to be so enthralling? Why couldn't he be so plain and droll like most of the other men around her? Why did he have to be so fascinating and alluring and beautiful? She damned herself for letting him become so dominant in her mind, it was all she could see. He was all she could see.
That bastard.
That gloomy idiot.
That... marvelous warrior.
That brave hero.
That fair and kind ruler.
That smile that made her feel weak, the seldom few times she ever saw it.
How was she supposed to avoid him when all she wanted to do was curl up in bed beside him and forget about everything? Let it just be them and nothing else. Everything outside her chamber walls didn't matter anymore, just them.
No.
Daenerys set herself straight. She had a duty to fulfil, a throne to take back.
Just stop thinking about him.
Stop thinking about-
"Jon." Was all she could squeak out when she turned the corner and saw him standing there. She felt her whole body freeze as it felt as if the air had been punched out of her lungs.
"Dany." He murmured in that voice of his. "I wanted to speak with you, only for a moment."
She felt dread fill her stomach. What could he possibly want to say? Her mind began to race at the possibilities.
"Whatever happens in this coming war, and whether we make it or not, I just wanted to let you know that I don't want it to be like... this." He gestured between the two of us. "Between us before we reach the wall."
Daenerys glanced at him with furrowed brows, wondering what he was getting at.
"What do you mean?"
Jon cleared his throat, and his eyes caught hers for a split second, and she felt weak at the sight.
"I mean that today was the first day in a while that I have felt uncomfortable being around you, being in the same room as you. And I despise it, Dany, I just want things to go back to the way they were."
With every explanation he made, the more confused she became? Things to go back to the way they were when? Before last night? Did he regret laying with her?
"What do you want, Jon? What do you want to happen between us?" She demanded more than asked.
"I want to be able to look at you and not feel as if I've done something to hurt you, I want to go back to when we didn't have to ignore each other to appear normal. I just want to go back to as it was."
Daenerys sighed and glanced into his eyes.
"You've not done anything to hurt me, Jon. I explained this to you this morning, we can't be together until all of this is over." She recalled to him.
"Well, if we can't be together, then let's just accept that we're still going to have to get along, despite all that's happened. We need to be straight with each other, not pretending that we're not there."
Daenerys was beginning to understand what he was saying, as fumbling and indirect he was being about it. He simply wanted to accept what had happened last night and move on, which was completely fair. But even with this, she felt herself moving closer to him, like he had a gravitational pull of his own.
"Okay, that is acceptable. We'll just put it behind us until further notice."
"Until further notice?" Jon smirked at her words. "Do you always have to be so noble about everything?"
She raised an eyebrow at him. Was that a joke she had just witnessed?
"I had no idea you possessed a sense of humor, Jon Snow." She poked back, taking a step towards him.
"Maybe you're just difficult to amuse." He shrugged, edging closer.
"Maybe you're too busy brooding all the time that I can never tell."
She was so close, she could swear he would be able to hear her heart beating.
"Is that right?"
She glanced into his eyes.
"Yes."
They both leaned in.
Daenerys could hear him release a heavy sigh.
She could smell his musky scent.
She closed her eyes.
"You should get ready for dinner, it's getting late." He whispered into her ear, his breath tickling her. And with that, he smiled again and departed, leaving Dany breathless and flustered, wanting more.
"So that's how it's going to be."
Oh Jon, quit playing with her emotions you hound. Love the way they pretty much say they should be friends and then nearly end up ruining it by kissing each other. Those crazy kids.
Please review people, let me know what you think!
Love you all! Until next time!