"I don't get her." Jon told Robb as they saw Kailasa playing with little Rickon the next day, picking him up and swinging him around, or letting him ride on her back as they ventured away from the castle.

"Why?"

"She acts like she doesn't want to be married though she is obviously here for that reason. She can act like a woman one moment and then a man the next. She answers some questions completely and skirts around others. She's just...odd."

"Odd or different, brother?" Robb asked, grinning. "You like her."

"Really?" Jon replied, not looking amused.

"All right, intrigued by her at least. Don't deny it. I am too."

"Except there is no doubt of you marrying her if you want to." Jon replied.

Robb weighed his head back and forth. "I wouldn't be so sure. She's made it very clear she doesn't care for status."

"Are you trying to talk me into asking to court her?" Jon asked.

"Seven hells, no. I hope she chooses me and only me. She is very fun to be around." Robb told him. "You haven't seen her shoot have you? Pretend you're not very good and she will help you. She is rather good."

"I have." Jon told him. "She actually helped me with a shot."

Robb raised his eyebrows. "Her hands are cold, aren't they?"

"Yeah." He nodded without thinking. "Wait, what?"

Robb laughed, elbowing his brother. "But we're Northmen, right? The cold doesn't bother us."

"She's in pain." Jon told him.

"Of course she is. Her mother hasn't been dead a year and she couldn't save her in time and hasn't been home since."

Jon shook his head. "Not like that. Physically. Haven't you noticed?"

"No. Don't you think that if she was in pain she would tell us?" Robb stated. "We'd take care of her."

"She doesn't trust us, Robb." Jon told his brother. "Any of us. Don't try to convince yourself she's completely honest with you. She's not honest with anyone."

"Don't you think you should give her more credit than that?"

"She told me herself that she has learned to think the worst of people." Jon replied.

Robb gestured to the small figures of Kailasa and Rickon. "And you think she is some bad person? She has not said a word against anyone."

"I do not think she is a bad person." Jon replied. "I think she is hiding something."

"And it is hers to remain hidden." Robb told him harshly. "It is not for us to dig up. She will tell us in time."

"I am not trying to demean her. I am trying to understand her."

"Is she that foreign to you?" Robb asked. "She's a grown up Arya. Maybe more beautiful and Southern."

"She's not, though." Jon told him. "She's different. Speak to her about what she wants in life, and you will see how different she is. She is uncomfortable showing weakness or emotions that she does not trust us with. She's strong, but I don't think it's because she chooses to be. I think she's so frightened by everything that she pretends she is never scared to keep the upper hand."

Robb stared at his brother for a moment. "You really like her."

"I do not."

"Jon, don't lie. You never pay that much attention to anyone." Robb told him. "I don't even care what you say. You like her. Not that I'm going to back down-I'm not that nice-but good for you. Maybe you'll find another girl when I snag this one away from you."

"She's not going to marry anyone unless she wants to." Jon told him. "She wants someone who loves her, and who she loves in return. She wants something from a fairytale her nurse told her as a child."

"Even if you are unwilling to give her what she wants doesn't mean I am. She deserves to be loved, don't you think? Look at her with Rickon. She would be a good mother." Robb replied.

"She wants to be more than a mother." Jon told him. "She doesn't want that to define her."

"And how do you know that? Did she tell you."

"I do the same as you, brother, I look at her. Does she look like she just wants to be someone's little wife?" Jon asked, using the words that had been stuck in his head since Kailasa had said them. She knew she was meant for more than that, and she would have it.

XXX

A mixture of ice and water began falling on Rickon and Kailasa as they were out. Kailasa immediately used her cloak to shield Rickon from the water and ice, but it left her out in the cold. She knew she would become ill, and she didn't care. Rickon was young still, he would be more effected by a fever than she would be.

When they arrived at the castle, they were both taken to be warmed up and given hot baths. Kailasa couldn't even touch the warm water until it cooled to room temperature. She told her nurse that her skin was like fire. Her skin stayed cold for a long time after she got out of her bath. She laid in bed with the covers snuggled around her.

Her nurse knew she had to go to the maester and get medicine for Kailasa to take when she woke up.

XXX

The brothers walked towards Kailasa's room the next morning when she didn't not appear to break fast.

Her nurse answered the door. She was very protective of Kailasa, and only opened the door enough for them to see her, and not behind her to Kailasa who was still sound asleep in her bed. She did not bow to them, if anything she sized them up and paused before speaking.

"Kailasa is ill and sleeping at the moment."

"Can we just see her for a moment?" Jon asked.

"I will ask her when she awakes." Kailasa's nurse told him, eyeing him like she didn't trust him. Like he had no right to ask to see Kailasa.

"Is there anything I can send up?" Jon asked.

"Should I get maester Luwin?" Robb asked.

"Lord Stark already sent him last night." The nurse said. "I have everything I need to care for her. Lady Kailasa needs her rest." She ignored Jon's question.

"We will leave you then." Robb said, having to drag Jon away. "I guess I will tell Arya her little blonde friend is under the weather." He looked at his brother. "What?"

"She got ill so easily."

"What's going on in your head, Snow?" Robb asked.

"Nothing."

"It doesn't seem like nothing." Robb replied. "It's really too bad her nurse is so protective of her.

"There's something different about her."

"Obviously."

"No...I mean...I don't even know what I mean."

"I'll just leave you to your thoughts, then." Robb rolled his eyes.

XXX

Kailasa's nurse closed the door.

"Who was it?" Kailasa whispered, her voice a little rough.

"Robb and the bastard of Winterfell."

"Jon." Kailasa corrected. "His name is Jon, Rebecca."

"I don't see why you're letting him court you."

"You read the letter I sent to father?" Kailasa wasn't surprised.

"I glanced over it."

"I love you, Rebecca, but this is my life and these are my choices. It's just a response anyway. They ask, I answer." Kailasa told her. "I said yes to Robb too."

"But not the Greyjoy."

"Father already took him off the table for me." Kailasa replied. "I would rather not have my husband have saltwives anyway."

"So you're-"

"I am not asking to be judged." Kailasa stated. "I am not asking you to judge them either. They are both kind and I have to apparently choose between them." She didn't sound too happy about that. "But I will be the one to live with my choices, not you."

"So you are going to marry one of them, then?"

"Seems like it with my father's letters." Kailasa said softly.

"What do you see in them?"

Kailasa cuddled her pillow on her side, resting her head on it. "Jon is honest and curious. He sees things other people don't. Robb is sweet and kind. I just want to get to know them more. I want to see how much they like me. If they come back, wake me. I would be happy to see if they still like me when I am not beautiful."

"As you wish my lady." Her nurse said, laying a hand on Kailasa's forehead to see if the fever was still there. She could tell that Kailasa's body was weak, but her tongue never would be. "You are always beautiful to me, Kailasa."

Kailasa hand caught Rebecca's and squeezed it weakly. "I love you, my dear nurse."

"As I love you, milady."

A/N:

xxxRena: That's not going to be said for a while, but I am putting lots of hints in here. Thank you for your review!

ZabuzasGirl: Here you go!

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