The previous evening's events had left Jon raw wit memory pain and grief. He grieved for those he had lost, he missed Sam, and he longed to hear the sharp tongue of Ygritte once more. For Ygritte was who he missed most. There had been few in his life that had been so open so free so…wild. she taught him what it meant to be free, what it meant to make decisions because you wanted to make them. Her wit still made him smile but at night, when dreams roused him from sleep he found the image of her lying there, that last mocking smile smeared across her face ingrained into the back of his eyelids. Every time he closed his eyes he saw her lying limp and bloody in his arms, and so empty of life where she had been full to the brim. The room around him was dark; his sheets tangled about him as they usually were when he woke. He cringed for a moment, grasping his side. The pain had lessened from what it had been but he knew it would never full heal. Ghost padded over softly and nudged at Jon with his nose. He reached out a hand and let the wolf assist him to a standing position. Then he made his way over to a window where he pulled back a shutter to reveal the blinding white of another heavy snowfall in the yard. He sighed; pushing them closed again and made his way over to where his clothes lay. He was pulling his nightshirt over his head when a knock came at the door. He closed his eyes in momentary annoyance before calling for them to enter, turning back to his clothes.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry…" Daenerys Targaryen stood in the doorway, averting her eyes and stuttering her way through a sentence. Jon's eyes widened and he hastened to pull on a clean shirt, flush creeping up his neck from somewhere deep in his chest. "I could return later-"

"No" he urged, adjusting his doublet before pulling it on. "Come, I'm finished" she stepped into the room, turning to shut the door as quietly as possible. He caught a sight of himself in the looking glass across the room, reaching up to flatten his hair from the mess of sleep. She revolved just as he finished adjusting his belt. He smiled tentatively over at her "what brings you here, m-my lady?" she smiled shyly back at him

"I thought you may wish for some company. It must get lonely down here on your own all day"

"It does become tedious after a while. Have you broken your fast yet?"

"No, my lord"

"Jon" he corrected "I'll have Harrerd bring something up" the moles town native normally brought up more food than Jon could eat in his condition anyway, there would be plenty for them to share. He was about to poor them both a cup of wine when another knock sounded and Harrerd entered carrying a full tray of bacon, bread and an array of fruit. He sighted the dragon princess and almost dropped the tray, eyes widening.

"milady, I did not…milord I have only brought enough food for one." Jon had to smile at his nerves

"no matter, could you bring up a little more for our princess to break her fast?" the man nodded, placed the tray down with shaking hands and then exited with a bow from the middle, muttering about something or another. Jon turned to Daenerys who stood awkwardly by the table. He cleared his throat and motioned to one of the high backed chairs. "Please, be seated. I would be a poor lord commander if I did not offer my guests a seat" he thought for a moment "although I suppose I'm no lord commander at all anymore" she looked sympathetic he saw as he seated himself opposite her.

"You are not to blame for this. The Watch was full of dishonourable men, I count you among one of the only I have met that brings some honesty to my ears." She flashed him a smile that just made the flush creep ever further up his face.

"You may be right but they were my men all the same. I let them down"

"No! The wildings you let through the wall have proved useful, though they shun southerners."

"Even so, the Watch is diminished. And Winter is coming." He sighed and took a sip of wine. His stomach was in roils, with hunger and with nerves. He had never been alone with his princess, or at least not in this manner. For some reason the previous night he had found no problem with looking to her for reassurance. She gave him courage but at this moment it seemed she had flattened it. He looked up at her to find her eyes elsewhere. Her hair fell down to the middle of her back, clinched at the back of her neck with a clasp light and pale with a pearl encrusted dragonfly. She turned her head leaving Jon just enough time to pull his eyes away. A few moments of awkward silence ensued before Harrerd came tumbling in the door again with yet another tray. He left them to eat, Jon taking little but enough to settle his stomach. The princess mimicked him, taking only a few slices of apple and a chunk of bread. He was taking another bite of bacon when he noticed her observing him. He swallowed, blushing even more. Gods what is wrong with me? when he had wiped his mouth with a cloth placed beside his plate he rose to open the shutters, letting the light flood in.

"A heavy snow" she stated. Jon nodded "did it snow as heavy when you were back at Winterfell?" Jon winced at the name, something Daenerys did not fail to notice. "Oh I'm sorry, that was insensitive"

"No" he corrected her again "no, it's fine. It's been a while is all. No we never had snow this heavy. It snowed the day I left, my sisters were trying to make snowballs but it was falling apart in their hands." He smiled to himself

"Do you miss your sisters?"

"Some. I'm afraid of how changed Sansa may be when we finally meet." His sister had been held up in the Vale, but with the snow giving them a week's respite, she had managed to battle her way down and was travelling south as they spoke. Fourteen she would be now, almost a woman grown. Once married and having experienced more in two years than many had in a lifetime she was a different girl to how he had left her. Or so he had been told.

"She is beautiful, a proper lady" a lady, yes she would be.

"I am glad, she deserves as much." he took a breath and limped over to the other windows, opening the shutters wide.

"Were you close?" his princess seemed very curious. He didn't know whether it was irritating or endearing.

"Not as such. I was closer with Arya, and with Robb, but-". He paused for a moment, realising that it was the first time he had said their name out loud since he had heard of Robb's death. He swallowed down the lump in his throat and continued "but Lady Catelyn never allowed me much time to grow close to any of the others. Arya was wilful" he chuckled lightly, remembering "she would have followed me even if her mother hadn't allowed it. And Robb…Robb was my brother. In everything." A wave of sadness washed over him but he managed to keep his feet and smiled over at Daenerys in an attempt to lighten the melancholy mood that seemed to have settled on the room. "I'm here now, I had other brothers. What to do next is another question."

"A question for another day. It can wait" she assured him. "Now I wish to know more about the north. This land is so foreign to me" and so he spoke and she listened. He spoke of Winterfell, of his family, of the houses of the north. He talked about the wall and what was beyond. He talked of Mance and of the wilding war and finally he talked of Ygritte. "I have never known a woman so wild. Spearwives they called them. They have a custom beyond the Wall that to marry a woman you must steal her. Ygritte believed for taking her prisoner I had stolen her. In her mind she belonged to me." He looked up at Daenerys to see her sad looking and resigned, but content all the same. He smiled "you know what happens next"

"indeed I do. I did not believe the north was such a complex place. There are so many things that depend on so much."

"And Winter is Coming"

"And Winter is Coming" she agreed. "Or has arrived, the snow has begun to fall again" he followed her gaze to the window to see was in fact correct; a light flutter of snow was beginning to fall from a darkening sky. "it will worsen I guess, before the evening is out." She fiddled with her finger and then looked up at him with a slight smile on her face. "Thank you, Jon for sharing everything" she slid out a hand laid it lightly over his own. He almost flinched at her touch, feeling the warmth she emanated spread through his fingers. "And I am sorry, for everything that has happened since you left." His eyes rose to meet her own and what he saw there was such a strong sense of compassion and warmth that it almost took his breath away. She laughed nervously and lowered her eyes, pulling her hand away and biting her lip. "Well, I suppose I should take my leave" she stood. Jon was so taken aback by the moment they had just stared he could only nod.

"Thank you again for your courtesy" she nodded and then swept towards the door. Jon pushed himself up at the last moment

"Thank you my princess, I could not wish for better company"

"Dany, call me Dany"

"Dany then, I hope you'll come by again?" she smirked at the ground before arching an eyebrow in his direction

"Perhaps I will." And with that she left the room, leaving Jon smiling mildly to himself. He stood and stared at the door for a moment before letting out a huff of air and making his way to the window to watch her cross the courtyard. well he thought to himself princess indeed. As pleasurable as this surprise had been, it still left Jon with an overall feeling of curiosity. Why was she truly here? If he had learned one thing today it was that she was truly as charming and beautiful as he had heard.