Winterfell
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Author's note: This is a temporary chapter. I will remove it when Season 8 will finally air. Unless…well…look at the rant at the end of this chapter.
And… erm… there is a slightly mature scene here, so you know what to do.
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Daenerys
Even if the world ends tomorrow, she would always be grateful for those days they spent on this ship. Those stolen moments of happiness and true bliss. She lives for them.
They are in her cabin, lying in each other's arms. Her head is on his chest and the steady beat of his heart soothes her.
"I have an idea," she tells him raising her head and looking into his eyes.
"I thought we've tried all of them already," he interrupts smiling. "And a few more."
For a brief moment she does not get his meaning as she is so focused on her thought. Finally she smiles bashfully. "That's not what I meant," she explains.
"Do you remember that time on the cliff when you touched Drogon?" she asks. He nods thoughtfully. "I've been thinking, you missed your opportunity of flying on him." Involuntarily her minds recalls the circumstances but she quickly dismisses it from her head. "If Drogon accepted you, would you like to try it with Rhaegal?" she asks. He looks at her uncomprehendingly. "I'm thinking, if you rode Rhaegal and I Drogon we would be unstoppable. Now Rhaegal only follows Drogon but on his own he would be glorious if he had anyone to guide him." Her mind goes to Viserion again. "And probably safer," she adds quietly.
"But why do you think he would listen to me?" he asks incredulously. "How do you even control Drogon's actions?"
"I talk to them in my mind," she says. "And I say things aloud from time to time. I could teach you."
He laughs at that. "I'm not a Mother of Dragons and I'm not a Targaryen, so I can't see how it would work."
"Hmmm," she muses. "I still think we should try." Her dreams come true, she always knew that. And in her dreams she saw herself and Jon riding dragons. "Just imagine us arriving at Winterfell on dragons."
He cups her cheek with his hand and steers her closer to his face. He looks deeply into her eyes and as usual she melts inside. What is it about this wonderful man that she finds so irresistible? They kiss tenderly for a long time. When they pause for breath, his face is suddenly very serious even if his eyes look at her lovingly. She is almost scared. She wonders what is wrong. Has anything happened? Has she said anything that she should not?
"I want us to be together till the end of our days. And I think we should marry if you'll have me," he says finally after a long pause. "Winterfell would be a good place for it as any."
Her heart is beating very fast now. She knows she should consult at least Tyrion, she never thought she would ever marry out of love and not for political reasons. This is the wrong time for those sort of things. But she knows that there is no life for her without him. She should hesitate but there is no hesitation in her.
"You really should bend the knee," she says finally in a serious voice.
"I would but I'm nak-" She does not let him finish, she smiles and kisses him with all her ancestral ferocity. She breaks the kiss only to whisper, "Yes, you Northern fool." They kiss again with doubled energy.
Jon
If the winds are good, he is told, they should reach White Harbour tomorrow evening. He feels a little apprehensive. Well, maybe not a little. They started in sunshine and clear blue sky on Dragonstone. Now the dark clouds are hanging over their heads and a bitter cold wind is hitting his face. The weather has driven out almost everyone from the deck. He looks towards foggy outlines of the land on the horizon. Winter got worse in the North, his thoughts go to Winterfell. He sighs deeply. He remembers an ominous thundering sound coming from the northern direction some days ago. He still does not know what it was but it cannot be a good sign. He fears the worst.
He hears the quick footsteps approaching, he turns in their direction and smiles at this tiny figure with silver hair swept by the cold wind.
"Why are you here? What's happened?" she asks anxiously.
"Nothing happened," he smiles at her reassuringly. "I just wanted to breathe some fresh air."
She says that it is far too cold just to stand there. "I'm used to it," he says gently. "I've spent many nights worse than this, standing on the Wall during my watch." He sees that she starts to shiver, she does not have her coat on, just a dress. The same dress he had the problems with taking it off her some nights ago.
"Come here," he says quietly, opening his cloak and spreading his arms. She steps in and leans her back on his chest. He puts his arms around her tightly to cover her from the cold. She is so tiny that his cloak easily covers them both. "Why were you looking for me?" he asks.
"I told Missandei, we will be having the supper in my cabin… I mean the two of us."
"Does Missandei…" he starts. "She's my friend," she interrupts quickly. "And I thought that having those suppers in company of others is just a waste of time."
He is amused by this but does not comment.
"Are you happy to reunite with your whole family at last?" she asks after a while.
"Aye," says he. "I haven't seen Arya and Bran since I left Winterfell for the Night's Watch." His mind wanders to those simpler times. How were they to know all this shit was coming their way? He knows that reminiscing will not bring happy thoughts to his mind, so to avoid it he tries to change the subject slightly. "And I'm happy that you'll meet my family. It's only natural that they should meet you before…"
"I thought we were keeping it a secret," she says quickly. "For now at least."
"As we agreed," he confirms. It all came about so quickly but not quickly enough in his opinion. And even if they both know it is the wrong time and there will be a lot of opposition, they agreed to go with it after she meets the Northern lords or even later. Maybe after they defeat the Night King. If they are still alive.
She was unhappy that he had already sent a message to Winterfell that he had pledged himself to her. She thought that it could wait. The fight against the White Walkers was more important. The alliance between them stood unconditionally so there was no need, in her opinion, to tell the Northern lords about something that may not even come true if they lose the fight against the Night King. He thought that she was worried the North might reject him as their king. She does not know that in his message to Sansa, he had already signed himself as the Warden of the North. Well, we will soon see what happens.
"I just want us to be together without hiding it from all the world," he says simply.
She turns to face him, her arms wound tightly around his waist, her face is radiating with happiness. As always she takes his breath away. The novelty of looking at her never wears off. This extraordinary woman is his, he still cannot believe how fortunate he is.
He turns his head to look around if anyone can be seeing them, satisfied that it is not the case, he plunges into the deep, hungry kiss with the love of his life.
Daenerys
Missandei was finishing upbraiding her hair. She always liked those quiet moments with just two of them. "If you don't mind my saying, Your Grace," Missandei breaks the silence. "I have never seen you so happy. Truly happy."
"I am," she says simply. And smiles at her friend. She is happy, even if at the back of her mind there is this foreboding of doom. There were never too much happiness in her life.
"Has anything happened?" asks Missandei with a smile.
"Many things," replies Daenerys and they both share a little laugh.
There is a knock on her door. It is quite early so she is surprised that anyone should come for her. Unless there is some bad news. "Yes?" she says loudly but her voice betrays the apprehension.
Tyrion, Jon and Ser Davos enter the cabin. She is fearful now that something exceptionally bad has happened. She quickly glances on their faces. Tyrion's is very serious, but Jon's and Ser Davos's are more unreadable. They look uneasy but rather from incomprehension than a dread.
"That is an unexpected pleasure," she says coldly.
"Your Grace, forgive the intrusion, but we will be soon in White Harbour and there are some things we should discuss immediately before we land," says Tyrion. She is slightly annoyed that she is faced with this situation without a notice. She looks searchingly at Jon, but he just shrugs his shoulders. So all this seems to be Tyrion's idea.
"In that case," she says calmly. "Shouldn't Ser Jorah join us too then? And Varys?"
"I don't think Ser Jorah should be here, Your Grace," replies Tyrion. "I know that we all value his contribution but this is not the time. And perhaps, for different reasons I'd like to keep Varys out of it for the moment."
Daenerys begins to feel annoyed by it all. It is rather obvious that nothing happened but the tone Tyrion is taking makes her uneasy. "It's all starting to sound extremely mysterious," she says half mockingly.
"Trust me, Your Grace," says Tyrion. "It is in your best interest to keep it just between us four."
Oh, no. She will not allow for Missandei to stay out of it. Whatever it is. She recalls that Missandei was not there when they decided to go beyond the Wall. It is not happening again. "No," she says in a harsh voice. "Missandei stays."
"Your Grace…" starts Tyrion.
"I've already decided," she says really annoyed by now.
Tyrion sighs and slowly begins to explain the reason he brought Jon and Ser Davos to this meeting. He seems to be suggesting that everyone aboard the ship is aware of hers and Jon's relationship. Only Tyrion describes it as 'an affair'. In the middle of Tyrion's speech, she started to look at Jon. He looks at Tyrion and she sees the anger raising in Jon. He brusquely interrupts Tyrion. But Tyrion is talking in a slightly raised voice now.
"May I be blunt?" continues Tyrion despite Jon's interruption. "Whatever you call it, it's a distraction. A weakness. An obstacle..."
"It's neither of those things," now it is Daenerys's time to interrupt.
"Your Grace," Tyrion begins again in a more composed voice. "Political alliances are fickle things. In the best of times they are a construct that requires the constant attention. And I'm afraid at this stage of war any unnecessary complications are districting us all from our goals…"
Once again he is interrupted by Daenerys. "First of all, I resent discussing my own private affairs with anyone other than the persons concerned. And secondly, I don't see any signs of distraction. Aren't we going to Winterfell to defeat the Night King and his army?" She is beyond being angry, this conversation is uncomfortable for all of them, she cannot make herself look at Jon.
"Your Grace, surely you must see that it only makes you both reckless and acting irrationally…" Tyrion tries to continue.
"I think that is enough, Lord Tyrion," she says coldly. And tries to put as much in her look as she can. Tyrion is not satisfied, it is clear that he had so much more to say but she sees that he got the message. He sighs in frustration. She knows that Tyrion voiced some of her own thoughts but she still feels hurt when they are discussed so openly.
She is almost grateful to Ser Davos for wanting to end this unpleasant scene.
"Forgive me, Your Grace," the quiet voice of Missandei, usually so calming, brings a new apprehension in Daenerys. Will it never end?
"I do not have the experience of Lord Tyrion," continues Missandei. "But it seems that some of the strongest political alliances are made through marriage. Is it not a possible solution that should be considered here?"
Daenerys is almost amused by this but she controls her face, even if her eyes express gratitude towards Missandei. She may be the only voice of reason here. Daenerys does not dare to look at Jon. But then she transfers her gaze towards Tyrion. He is still fuming but he looks at Missandei as everyone else in the room does. His face is inscrutable.
"Ha!" Ser Davos almost chuckles.
"And how do you think my sister will react to this new development?" asks Tyrion venting his frustration. "Your Grace we are in a very precarious situation and I think we should proceed with caution."
Another bout of silence rather annoys Daenerys. "I'd like to be alone now," she says but looks intently at Jon, then she turns her back on everyone and gazes through the window.
Jon
He is sitting with Davos and they are finishing their breakfast. Suddenly Tyrion walks into the room and quickly scans the faces of all those present. Finally noticing Jon and Davos he walks swiftly to them. "We need to talk," Tyrion says in a conspiratorial voice. Jon and Davos exchange a quick look. "Please follow me."
Jon and Davos slowly get up trying to ignore all the curious glances from others. Tyrion leads them deeper into the ship. Jon starts to feel nervous as they come closer to Daenerys's door. Well, he was right to be nervous. Tyrion stops in front of her door and knocks quickly.
Has there been some news? If so why is there such a conspiracy? As far as he knows everyone aboard is on the same side, are they not?
When they enter the cabin, that he knows so well and where he spent each night since they sailed from Dragonstone, his eyes immediately go to her. She does not seem to be pleased about this visit. And it is clear that she did not arranged it.
"I'm pretty sure everyone here knows to what I'm referring." Tyrion begins. "A few unchecked gestures, noises at night, glances and awkward pauses made it quite clear to everyone on this ship this past fortnight. I hope I don't have to explain to anyone here how dangerous affairs of this sort for people in your positions are. I can…"
"It's not an affair," Jon blurts out angrily. Listening to Tyrion he felt his anger rising and for a short moment he wanted to supress it. But he sees no point. He is furious now.
He can hear that she is angry too when she interrupts Tyrion later. He looks stubbornly at the floor, his jaw is clenching.
The exchange between Daenerys and Tyrion is excruciating to listen to, so he is relieved that she finally shut Tyrion up. It is enough that he fought with these thoughts for so long, but to hear them said aloud by someone else is disconcerting.
"I think we all got carried away," says Davos after the long silence that engulfed them became uncomfortable. "Is there any chance to end this conversation now as it is leading us nowhere?"
Jon was grateful for this comment and he sneaked a glance at Davos slightly nodding. And then Missandei speaks of marriage. He almost gasped at this. Has Daenerys talked to Missandei? He thought that they agreed to keep their plans secret. He tries to meet Daenerys gaze in search of an answer but he is unsuccessful.
Tyrion expresses his displeasure by worrying about Cersei.
Jon sighs with relief when Daenerys asks everyone to leave. Everyone except him that is. He knows her so well by now.
Daenerys
"Are our days of being happy over?" she asks quietly when they are alone at last. She is standing by the window looking onto the sea.
He comes over to her. "No," he replies in a deep voice. She turns to look into his eyes to find some comfort. She wants to believe him but his face is troubled, even if he looks at her tenderly.
She understands that for others it might have been seen as rushed and reckless but not for her. Jon is the person she had been waiting for all her life without even realising it, her dreams of a young man with a comely face came true.
They put their arms around each other. Both deep in thought.
Despite her anger at Tyrion and this bizarre intervention, she is thinking about his words. Has their love been a distraction? She thought before that it would be. She fought with herself. She told herself that love was the weakness. It distracts you from your goals. It distorts the reality. Maybe it makes one reckless.
Has she really been reckless? Tyrion did not want her to go beyond the Wall and she did not listen. Ser Jorah did not want her to sail and travel to Winterfell on a horse and she did not listen. She cannot lie to herself now. She knows that she did both of those things because of Jon. She had to try to save him and she had to be with him. Even if it cost her Viserion, she does not regret a thing. Only now she knows what it means to love someone more than her own life. He is her life. She tightens her embrace of Jon. Whatever the future, for now she can feel him, she can smell him and she listens to his heartbeat.
She looks into his eyes. She was once told that love comes in at the eyes. She never believed before how true it was. "I know it's only morning, " she whispers. "But stay with me, I don't want to see anyone else today." She knew she should not do it. Deep down she knew she was being weak. A true queen should not be weak. But it was beyond her control. She waited for the sentence from Jon's lips. The kiss she receives is the best reply she could have expected.
Jon
He did not know what to feel or to think. He looked at her standing by the window and he knows she is not happy now. Unhappy Daenerys breaks his heart. She asks if their days are over. He does not believe they are. Or rather he does not want to believe it. They embrace in search of comfort.
If he had not met Daenerys, he would have said the same as Tyrion did. It is easier to see clearly standing on the outside. Tyrion called them reckless. Was he reckless? He always wanted to do what is right. He did not always succeed. Whatever Theon may think of him, he made a lot of mistakes. Does love change things? He loved before, not like this, but he did, and he never forgot about his duty.
Duty. It brings to mind the words said to him by Maester Aemon that 'love is the death of duty'. He did not believe it then. He later sacrificed love to duty to the Night's Watch. Does he believe it now? Aemon was one of the wisest men he ever met. He can almost hear him now. 'What is honour compared to the woman's love? What is duty against the feel of a new-born son in your arms?' Only now he understands the veracity of these words. Well, he and Daenerys do not have children but what if they had. She is his entire world, her love is the most precious thing he possesses; and if she bore him a child, would not they be the only important people worth living for? How would he choose then? If he had not met Daenerys his life would be empty. Duty and honour cannot replace her. Nothing can replace her.
He is woken from the reverie by her sweet voice. She asks if they can stay together today despite the unpleasantness of this morning. This is the easiest answer he could give.
Daenerys
"Welcome to Winterfell," says Jon smiling at her. She smiles back but she is nervous. Their journey from White Harbour was relatively uneventful, although conscious of potential threats and eager to end any further mentions of her recklessness, she had a hood of her new coat on all throughout the journey. It actually was useful as the air was bitterly cold, almost the same as it was beyond the Wall and dark clouds hung over their heads. It is dreary in the North, she had to agree with Tyrion's assessment.
The outline of the castle on the horizon is impressive. Is that the place they will be fighting for their lives against the Night King? A sense of dread sends a shiver down her spine. She looks up, her two beautiful children appeared out of nowhere and they are making circles over their heads. She wonders what spot they will choose to spend the night. She wants them to be safe. They are not safe here, Dragonstone was the safest place for them but they flew over here anyway.
The Dothraki and the Unsullied under the command of Ser Jorah and Grey Worm are starting to split in order to build camps around Winterfell. The main party goes straight to Winterfell. She takes a deep breath and assumes her regal stance, they are expecting the Queen, they have to see the Queen. She takes her hood off.
When they enter the main courtyard, it is full of people of all stations in life, they all stare at her, mostly with curiosity in their eyes but some with unconcealed distaste. Jon warned her about the Northern lords. He was right.
They stop in the middle of the courtyard. Jon quickly dismounts his horse and walks towards her. He took her by surprise. He grabbed her waist and lifted her out of her saddle, prolonging the moment when he was putting her on the ground. "You didn't have to do it," she says under her breath. "No. But I wanted to," he replies quietly, smiling and winking at her. As everyone's eyes are on her she cannot smile back but she only opens her eyes wider with the smallest happy reprimand in her look.
When Jon turns back to the welcoming party, a smallish young girl, dressed as a man with a sword and a dagger in her belt runs towards Jon and jumps into his arms. He lifts her up and they stay in an embrace for quite a while. Both their faces are deliriously happy. She knows that it must be Arya. Jon has been talking about her more than about any other sibling. Daenerys cannot but smile, she is moved by this display of true sibling love. She had never had that. She is so happy for Jon that she fights the tears that stubbornly try to gather in her eyes.
She turns her gaze to the rest of the welcoming party. A tall, beautiful girl with auburn hair whose face is impassive, stares at her coldly. Ah, yes, this must be Sansa. And the young boy in the chair must be Bran. His face is devoid of all emotions. He does not look at her but at Jon and Arya, then he looks up at the dragons flying above Winterfell.
When Jon finally puts Arya on the ground, he is all smiles and walks towards Bran and embraces him fondly. Bran put his hand on Jon's back but his face remains unchanged. Then some man of Jon's age comes closer and they embrace smiling. She thinks from the description that it must be Sam, Jon's friend from the Night's Watch. Jon then quickly embraces Sansa and her face finally breaks into the quick smile.
He then turns to her, gets closer and introduces formally his siblings. Bran just looks at her as if she were a specimen of a rare animal, Sansa nods slightly and Arya does the sweetest curtsey with a big smile on her face. Daenerys could not help herself and smiled at Arya with the most sincere smile.
'Right, this is going to be interesting,' she tells herself.
"Welcome to Winterfell, Your Grace," says Sansa.
Jon
The closer they were getting to Winterfell, the more impatient he was. He came to love being at Dragonstone but this is his home. Even if it did not hold many pleasant memories for him, this was the place the closest to his heart. Home. He never felt anywhere really home. Everywhere felt temporary, even Castle Black.
He looked at Daenerys, lost in thought. He was a little nervous. He did not expect the warmest reception, he wondered if Sansa told everyone about him bending the knee to Daenerys. They will not be happy and he suspected that some of their frustration may result in venting it on her. He wants to protect her from any harm and he will do his best to do so but he knows that his queen is equally equipped with protecting herself, she is strong, brave and wise. If they will not see it for themselves, they do not deserve her, or him for that matter. Her cheeks are rosy from the biting cold and he wonders how they would taste now if he were able to kiss them.
They hardly had time to themselves since they left their ship in White Harbour. He missed her. Looking at her was the greatest privilege he earned but he knew that he could get easily distracted now, so he forced himself to turn his gaze away from her. Then he saw Winterfell in the distance, he smiled. He wondered if the preparations for the winter went smoothly, he got messages from Sansa from time to time but the events of these past months somehow focused him on other matters than Winterfell. He felt guilty but at the same time happy as he achieved more than he hoped for. In many respects.
When they finally crossed the gates, he started to breathe more easily. He saw them in the distance, Arya, Sansa and Bran. And his heart skipped a beat. Finally, they are all home. Well, at least all of them who are alive. Daenerys looked as if she were nervous, so as soon as they reached the main courtyard, he went to her quickly. She was about to dismount but he reached for her and took her in his arms. Well, not exactly, even if it was what he would have wanted. She did not have time to react and he enjoyed her surprise, she clearly wanted to admonish him for his gesture but he knew she was not really angry; it just did not fit with her studied pose. He was happy, all the people he loved most were within his reach.
When he turned around, he only had time to catch Arya running at him with outstretched arms. He lifted her and embraced her tightly. Gods, he really missed her. For a long time he thought he would never see her again, and there she was safe and sound in his arms. It reminded him of the last time they saw each other. And she still had the Needle. "I thought I would never see you again," he says gently. She only embraces him tighter in response.
"You're going to strangle me," he says laughingly. "Oh, sorry" says Arya loosening her grip on him. He slowly puts her down and just looks at her, her eyes are glistening but she smiles. This a great reward to see Arya smiling at him.
After a while he walks over to Bran and puts his arms around him. At least one of his brothers is alive. "I'm sorry we didn't have the opportunity to see the Wall together as we planned once," he says smilingly.
"The Wall has fallen down," says Bran in a monotone voice.
"What?" says Jon alarmed. Then he hears the voice of his friend, "Bran is the Three-Eyed Raven now and has visions. But I think we will have time to talk about it later," says Sam gingerly.
"Sam!" cries Jon happily and they embrace quickly. "I thought you'd be still at the Citadel."
"Yes, well… it's a long story… for later," replies Sam, in a slightly embarrassed voice.
Jon turns to Sansa now and embraces her tightly. "It's good to have you back," says Sansa.
"It's good to be back," says Jon smiling gently.
He then turns around and walks towards Daenerys. He is a happy man now. "Your Grace," he says formally. "Let me introduce to you my sister Sansa, my sister Arya, my brother Bran and my friend Sam."
Daenerys
She looks around the room, it is quite big with the enormous bed and a big fireplace. She walks towards the fireplace and stretches her hands to the fire. "I wonder if I ever be warm again," she says.
"Indeed, Your Grace" says Missandei. "Those fireplaces and fur rugs are the only nice things about this place."
Daenerys smiles. "You don't like it here?"
"I miss the sun," replies Missandei simply.
"Promise me," says Daenerys. "If you ever want to go back to Essos, to Naath maybe, you will tell me straight away." She wants her friend here with her, but she wants her to be happy too.
"My place is with you, Your Grace, to the end," Missandei is very serious now. Daenerys turns her head towards Missandei and smiles warmly, "Thank you, my friend."
There is a knock on the door and Missandei goes to open it. One of the Unsullied guarding her door talks to Missandei, then she quickly turns to Daenerys, "Your Grace, Lord Snow is here to see you."
Daenerys nods quickly. She was worried that she would not see him tonight and then worried that she would. This is not Dragonstone or her ship, she is not sure how she is supposed to behave here.
When Jon enters the room, Missandei bows her head and leaves closing the door behind her.
"You have four guards at your door?" he asks.
"They couldn't decide which of them will be guarding me better, so both the Dothraki and the Unsullied stayed." She goes to him, takes his face into her hands and places the chaste kiss on his lips, then steps back before his arms can reach her. "You can't allow just anybody to enter the queens' chambers," she says smilingly.
"And yet here I am," he says and takes a step towards her. She takes a step back. "You're not anybody. You're the King in the North," she says.
"Not anymore," says Jon and again steps towards her. "Always for me," she replies and she takes a step further towards the fireplace.
"What's wrong?" he asks. She knows he deserves an honest answer. "I don't know what to do," she finally replies. He looks at her intently, not comprehending her meaning apparently. "This is a strange place, full of people who don't even hide their hate for me," she continues. She is afraid that she may sound self-pitying even if her voice is steady. "I stole their king."
"'Their king' loves you," he says warmly. A warm wave goes through her body. "And I love 'their king' but it's not enough it seems," she murmurs. She always knew that looking into his eyes is dangerous. She steps closer to him. His puts his hand on her waist and pulls her firmly into his body. She sighs. It is unfair. How is she to have a proper conversation with him when he looks at her like that? He kisses her hard and long. A moan escapes her. She promised herself that she will not be distracted but there she is, melting into oblivion. When he releases her lips, he kisses her neck, his hands go to her bodice and begin to take it off, he is doing it very expertly now. When his lips reach first the one than the other of her nipples, she arches her back in pleasure, she would fall if his strong hands would not support her.
Slowly he manages to get her out of her clothes completely. She cannot imagine that she thought it was cold in this place, she is burning now. He kneels and his hungry lips are getting closer and closer to her core. She steadies herself by burying her fingers in his hair. She should stop this, this is that reckless behaviour Tyrion was talking about. With the rest of her conscious queenly mind she needs to stop it before it is too late. All their energy should be focused on the war. "No! No, we can't!" she finally manages. "We shouldn't."
The withdrawal of his lips is an actual pain
"Should I go then?" he pulls away slightly and asks looking at her intently, panting from desire. Once again she drowns in his eyes.
"Yes," she replies, breathing heavily.
"Do you want me to go?" he whispers.
"No," she whispers back.
Jon
He does not understand how she does it. She takes his breath away each time he sees her. When she entered the hall, escorted by Missandei and Grey Worm, he stood up immediately, and so did Ser Jorah, Sam, Brienne, Podrick, Davos, Tyrion, Varys, even the Hound surprisingly and to his delight Arya. Sansa followed reluctantly. But none of the Northern lords and ladies. As soon as he was able to take his eyes off her and noticed that disrespectful behaviour, he looked hard across the hall. It worked, they all finally stood up as well.
She sat to the left of him and only then he sat down, followed by the rest of them all. Soon the silence was broken and the hall returned to their regular noise.
The rest of the evening was uneventful, although Jon's eyes darted quickly to any louder voices in conversations throughout the hall. He hardly exchanged few words with her. She spent nearly all evening talking to Arya who wanted to know all about dragons, the Unsullied, the Dothraki. He looked at her as often as he could. Ostentatiously because he wanted to be sure she is all right but truthfully because he wanted to see her.
As the evening was nearing the end, she turned to Sansa, "Lady Sansa, you must forgive me, I am tired after the long journey, I shall retire with your and Your Grace's kind permission." She looked at him only fleetingly.
He looked at Sansa. She was clearly taken aback but recovered quickly. "Of course, Your Grace," she replied graciously. He is very proud of his queen now.
Daenerys gets up and this time he is relieved that he did not have to prompt anyone. The entire hall stood up and waited to sit down again until she left the hall.
He wanted to leave as well but he knew it would not be appropriate. He only hoped he would not have to wake her up. As the quests were more and more relaxed and started to move about the hall, he thought that it would be a good moment to leave as probably not many would notice. He was about to get up when Arya leaned towards him. She was not the smiling girl he saw earlier when they arrived at Winterfell, her face and her tone were serious. "I like her," she said and sat back. He smiled but did not comment. He was wrong however about no one noticing him getting up. As soon as he did the entire hall stood up too and waited patiently for him to leave. Right, at least no one asked him why he was leaving so early. The privileges of a king, supposedly.
There are two Dothraki and two Unsullied at her door. As soon as he is near the door they bar his entry. Well, this is awkward. "I need to see the Queen," he says. They just stare back at him. After quite a while, one of the Unsullied knocks on the door. He talks to Missandei, who opened the door, in the language Jon does not know. Missandei announces him and only then the door is opened wider and the guards stand aside to let him through. Is she so afraid that someone may try to attack her here? The thought worries him, his arrival at Dragonstone was not met with such hostility. His displeasure at the fact stirs the quiet anger in him. It all goes away though because he can see his beautiful queen again. He can breathe again, that is after his breath comes back after being taken away by her ethereal beauty again.
He asks about the guards and she explains; he is relieved to see that she smiles and then quickly kisses him on the lips. She surprised him and he had no time to react. His arms started to go to her but suddenly she was out of reach again. It is unusual so he feels uneasy. He misses touching her. He tries to close the gap between them but she maintains it. Something is wrong. What happened?
She tries to explain but it does not make sense to him. She looks unhappy now and as always her unhappiness causes him pain. She noticed the hostile reception; he was trying to prepare her for it earlier but her pain is palpable. There may be some people at Winterfell that hate her but if they were to speak about the numbers, the Dothraki and the Unsullied gathered around the Winterfell constitute a far superior number of those who love her. He tries to reassure her that he loves her. It is a strange thing, they have not used the word since the first time they spoke it. It is not necessary. They know. Their eyes and their bodies speak for themselves.
She finally relents and comes closer to him. The faint smell of her perfume hits his nostrils; all he wants to do now is to rip that dress of hers in pieces and cover her with his hungry lips. He pulls her closer to him and plunges into the deep, hungry kiss. At this moment he does not care what the world thinks or that their world is standing at the brink of extinction. There is only her and him.
He tries to open her dress as fast as possible. He needs to taste her skin. She allows him to undress her and he hopes that his kisses will make her worries go away. She moans in pleasure and he knows it is working. He explores her body and he gets closer to where her sweetness is, but then she stops him. He is confused and frustrated. His entire body aches for her. He asks her if she is sure she does not want him to continue, hoping against the hope she will change her mind.
He looks into her eyes, almost pleadingly. After a moment, that was excruciating, she concedes. He is grateful to all the old gods and the new.
He wakes up early. Or so he thinks. The shutters are closed and the daylight is seeping through them lazily. He cannot remember when it was the last time he saw a clear blue sky. He turns his gaze to the face of a woman sleeping sweetly in his arms. Just the privilege of being able to look at her is the greatest gift of all. If he could he would stay forever here in this moment. But he knows that today it will be a difficult day. All the Northern lords and lords of the Vale did not come here just to feast with them. They need to plan their battles against the Night King. Deep down there is this prevailing foreboding of doom. Are they really ready to fight the White Walkers? Every person in their camp that dies is a potential new soldier of the Night King. Can they even win this fight?
He needs to get up, but his body aches at the thought of leaving her. He leans in to plant the tender kiss on those exquisite lips. The love for her fills his heart to the brim. She slowly wakes and eagerly returns his kiss, even if her eyes are still closed. He finally breaks the kiss, "I have to go now," he says quietly. "There's work to do."
She stretches herself lazily, "Already?" she asks in her sleepy voice. They did not have much sleep last night. They were hungry for each other as on their first night together.
"Mhmm," he offers as a reply. She opens her eyes, looking at him with such tenderness that he knows he will stay awhile. "Just a bit longer," she whispers. He obeys his queen and their slow lovemaking eases them gently into the new day.
When he opened the door to leave the room, the four guards were still there. He feels uncomfortable thinking they were there all night, no doubt listening. The two Unsullied look straight ahead, their faces are impassive. But the two Dothraki unashamedly stare at him with half mocking smiles on their faces. He looks away and thinks he must suggest to Daenerys that from now on it would be better if only the Unsullied guarded her door.
He walks quickly to his chambers. The corridors are fortunately empty, the castle is slowly waking up to meet the new day.
In the distance he sees Sam at the door to his chamber. "Sam!" he cries across the corridor.
Sam nearly jumps. "Oh, I thought…" says Sam hesitatingly. "Someone told me it was your room…"
"It is," he smiles at Sam.
"Oh…" Sam does not seem to understand at first. Jon stares at Sam knowingly, with a slight smile on his lips. "Aaah, right, yes, well…" Sam stammers. "Yes, I understand. I…"
"What is it, Sam?" Jon asks a bit alarmed now.
"Jon," says Sam after a pause. "We need to talk.".
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NB: This chapter is for some readers that wanted some continuation to get us all through those long months or even years waiting for season 8. As I do not know where the writers envisage to take us, I'm just letting my imagination flow. And as I mentioned before, this chapter will disappear when HBO will grace us with season 8. That is unless they plan to kill off Dany and/or Jon. I'm sorry but there's a definite veto from me [I know, I know no one cares but still…].
I accept "the bittersweet ending" prophesised by the authors but killing off one or two main characters that are the heart of the story doesn't fulfil the 'sweet' part of the ending for me. And I don't buy the 'sacrifice' bollocks. Why the hell Jon or Dany should die for all those ungrateful people of Westeros? And I don't care if the other favourite character survives to 'ease the pain' [even if I'd cry over every one of them if they died], or if Jon/Dany child will live in a better world. Yep, because being orphaned is such fun [*eyeroll*], honestly, it's a crap way of thinking. I feel that killing either Jon and/or Dany is killing the bloody hope. The world is full of misery in any case so it gives me no pleasure to add more. And I don't care if it is 'fanservice' or not [a phrase I came to loathe], I am a fan and I expect to be 'serviced'. Otherwise why the fuck bother at all?
Sorry for the rant.
Thank you all for your support and your kind reviews for previous chapters. You're very lovely people.