Seeing You Again
Chapter II:
Winters Rest: 309 A.C (Fifth Moon)
Three Hours Later…
Sansa P.O.V
Long after night had fallen on the castle, Sansa came to a halt outside of the chambers provided to her by Jon, thankfully only a few doors down from where her daughter was sleeping.
"Ros had them prepared for you earlier, I hope they are comfortable enough," Jon told her.
Two hours after they had put their children to bed and spent the rest of that time reminiscing with each other over a bottle of Arbor Gold.
Sansa kept her arm looped through his as she opened the door with her other hand, pulling him into the doorway as she got her first look at the chambers provided for her.
With a similar layout to the ones her daughter was using lit by candles and a roaring hearth, furnished with a large wardrobe and two chests made out of polished yew and willow, the only difference between her chambers and her daughter's chambers was that hers contained a large bed, comfortable enough to sleep two people as opposed to a single bed.
Turning back to him with an approving smile on her face, Sansa hugged him.
"These are more than comfortable enough Jon, I must remember to thank Ros in the morning" Sansa told him softly.
As she held onto him for what felt like forever, Sansa felt safe in his arms, not wanting to let go.
"Thank you… for looking after Alyssa tonight, she looked really happy with you… maybe I ought to let you look after her more often" Jon told her.
Sansa smiled at the fond memory of having his young daughter sat on her lap while they had supper.
"She is a sweet little girl… and like her brother she is far prettier than her father ever was" Sansa teased him softly.
Hearing him chuckle, Sansa swayed slightly in his arms.
"And I do not doubt that your daughter will be even prettier than you when she gets to your age" Jon teased her in reply.
Shortly after, she forced herself to let go of him, ignoring the warm feeling spreading through her chest.
"Well, goodnight Jon… I guess I will see you in the morning" Sansa softly.
"Goodnight," he told her in return.
Looking into his eyes one last time, Sansa waited for him to leave before closing the door.
The Next Day…
Jon P.O.V
"Sansa… what are you not telling me?" Jon asked of her, concern laced into every word.
Concern that Sansa was hiding something from him, more so after the House Darry Guards who had escorted both her and her daughter here to Winters Rest had just suddenly left without so much as a warning barely an hour ago, gathering some supplies for the journey before departing with everything they had brought with them, their wheelhouse and wagons included.
Abandoning them here without a care of what happened to either of them, even if they were duty-bound to care for Sansa and her daughter.
Standing opposite her, Jon kept his eyes on her as Sansa looked down at her feet, nervously twiddling her thumbs with a sad look on her face.
"Sansa… why have your Guards left you here?" Jon continued.
Seeing her shake her head, Jon took a step closer to her as she replied.
"It is a long story Jon" Sansa sounded quiet and meek as she spoke.
Slowly reaching out to place his hand on her shoulder, Jon took a deep breath.
"You can talk to me about anything, anything at all… I promise" Jon told her.
As Sansa wiped a few tears that had appeared in her eyes, several seconds of silence followed before Jon continued.
"Sansa… now I am getting really worried about you, because this has obviously upset you and you do not want to talk to anyone about it"
Shaking a little bit, Sansa wrapped her arms around him.
Placing his hands on her back and the back of her head to hold her against his chest, Jon kissed her forehead.
Still to this day, he wondered why her mother (Catelyn Stark nee Tully) had arranged for her to marry Mervyn Darry, the young Lord of Darry who had succeeded his father Ellard Darry after the man had fallen at the battle of Seaguard during the Greyjoy Rebellion of 300 A.C.
The marriage between Sansa and the young Darry Lord brought nothing to the North, nor did it bring anything of great importance to House Darry, even though Sansa was the niece of Queen Lyanna and the Cousin of Prince Aemon of Summerhall.
If anything, Jon suspected that Lady Catelyn had made such a match for her eldest daughter as she did not think that any Northman was worthy of her eldest daughter, even if his Uncle Lord Brandon thought otherwise.
At least now Sansa was free of a man who had spent several years mistreating her.
"Do you want to sit down?" Jon asked of her.
Shaking her head, Sansa replied, her voice a mixture of sadness and bitterness.
"He threw us out Jon, told me that I should take my daughter and leave… said that we were not welcome at Darry and that he never wanted to see us again"
A pit of anger growing in his stomach, Jon let out a small growl.
"What a cunt" Jon told her harshly.
Wiping another tear from her eye, Sansa tightened her hold on Jon.
"I married a man who was nice on the outside and horrible on the inside… and his brother was the same, if not worse" Sansa replied.
Jon held her tighter against his chest as she continued.
"I wish I could say that he was a better father than he was a husband… but he was just as cold towards Alayne as he was to me"
Pressing a kiss to her forehead, Jon guided her over to her bed so they could sit down next to each other.
"You deserved so much better… a lovely woman with a great daughter, both of you deserved better than Mervyn Darry and his cunt of a younger brother" Jon told her.
Sansa sighed and tightened her hold on him.
"Do you want me to kill him?" Jon asked of her, half serious and half joking.
Meeting his eyes, Sansa shook her head.
"No… I do not want to hear any mention of Walton Darry again" Sansa told him with distaste in her voice at the very mention of his name.
"Of course… my hall is no place to speak about shit, especially shit that takes the form of two pitiful men who cannot appreciate a beautiful young woman and her daughter" Jon replied softly.
Seeing her smile at this, Jon stroked her back slightly.
"It's nice to see you smile again… you could never stop smiling when we were young and stupid" Jon continued.
Sansa chuckled.
"Maybe you should make me smile more often then" Sansa replied.
Watching as she tucked some stray hairs behind her ear, Jon asked of her.
"Do you have any riding clothes?"
As Sansa shook her head to mean no, Jon continued.
"You can borrow some of my old ones then, and then we can find you a horse and go for a short ride… let Ros take care of the children for a little while so we can enjoy the peace and quiet" Jon told her.
Though she looked like she might refuse him at first, Sansa smiled and nodded, agreeing to his offer of a ride.
An opportunity to spend some time together with only Ghost and Lady for company.
Six Days Later…
Alayne Darry P.O.V
As was often the case, Jon and his children were enjoying their supper with Sansa, Alayne and Ros at the high table in the hall while the Household Guard and their servants ate their supper at the tables below the high table.
Two moons away from her fifth Name Day, Alayne Darry had been told more than once that she was smart for her age, both by her mother and by Lady Ros.
Neither woman was wrong about how smart Alayne was, for after they had departed Moat Cailin three weeks ago, Alayne had realised that her mother was not being entirely truthful about why they were travelling North all of the sudden, not wholly believing the story about how they would be visiting Winterfell to meet her grandparents for the first time.
Even when they came here at her mother's insistence, when them that she wanted to introduce her to her Uncle Jon and his children, Alayne had soon realised that something was off about her mother's story when the Guards who had escorted them here just left without warning the day after they arrived.
That was the only time she had ever seen her Uncle Jon get angry to this day.
Something that had scared her at the time (even though his anger was not directed at her in any way), for she did not like seeing him get angry which made Jon immediately apologise to her.
Even her mother seemed to be a lot happier these days than Alayne had ever remembered her being, noticing how she seemed to smile more, especially when she was with Jon.
While her mother had always been someone who could find happiness even at the darkest of times, Alayne knew that being here was making her mother happier than she usually was.
She was simply much happier to be around her Uncle, which was probably why she had taken the seat next to him at supper tonight, something Alayne remembered her doing at most of the meals since they arrived here.
Perhaps that was why they were still here after a week, despite her mother telling her that they would only come and see her Uncle Jon for a few days before he would take them to Winterfell.
It almost seemed like her mother wanted to stay here for a long time.
"And how are you finding my home, Alayne" she heard her Uncle Jon address her softly.
Looking across the table at her Uncle, Alayne answered him quietly but politely.
"It is very nice Uncle… thank you for letting us stay here with you"
Glancing at her Mother who sent her a soft smile as she sipped her wine, Alayne turned back to Jon.
"I am glad you and your mother like it here, you can come and visit us as often as you like, just as you can always stay here whenever you want" Jon told her softly.
Thanking him, Alayne turned back to her mother.
"Can we stay here for a bit longer Mother… Uncle Jon says we can" Alayne asked of her mother.
Watching as her mother frowned slightly, Alayne feared that her mother would say no.
"Well, as your Uncle has already said yes… we can stay a little longer" Sansa replied softly.
With an excited smile on her face, Alayne turned to Alyssa engaging her new best friend in an excited conversation as they ate their supper.
Winters Rest: 309 A.C (Sixth Moon)
Three Weeks Later…
Sansa P.O.V
Walking away from the storehouse with a pile of folded-up silk, cloth and linen in her arms and Lady walking at her heel, Sansa was glad that she found the materials she wanted in the storehouse, so she could make a new dress for her daughter and one for Alyssa as well, along with a cloak for Lyonel.
She was even glad that one of the castle seamstresses (the wife of the Master of Horse) had arranged to order some dyed wool and wolf fur from Barrowton as soon as she could, planning to sew the fur into some of her dresses and cloaks for warmth, also planning to make something for Jon to thank him for letting her and Alayne stay here for as long as they had.
Perhaps a nice cloak or a new surcoat (as he often wore cloaks and surcoats during the day) to help repay the kindness he had shown to her.
For he had not once asked her to leave (though he had promised to escort her to Winterfell whenever she wanted to go), just as she had kept making excuses to stay here at Winters Rest.
She liked being here, she liked spending her days with Jon and his family, how he made her feel welcome in his home.
How when she found herself spending time with him (when it was just the two of them), he always made her smile, just as he challenged her wit and her sharp mind, chipping away at the walls of resistance she had raised to guard her heart from everyone.
He even sought her help when he was struggling with managing the castle accounts (something that was not entirely new to him apparently), with Sansa going out of her way to help him, even after teasing him about how he would be lost without her here to hold his hand.
Even his kindness was never-ending, as she recalled a conversation they had over some ale (while he was amused that she was drinking it) four nights ago.
Four Nights Ago…
"You want to know what really pissed me off, Jon?" Sansa asked of him, the bitter taste of her ale in her mouth as she took a swig of it.
Sat opposite her, Jon took a swig of his ale before answering her.
"What was it?"
Sansa scowled.
"After trying a few times after Alayne was born… we never went anywhere near each other's beds, I looked after our daughter while he fucked any woman who spread her legs for him… even if I wanted him to, he never touched me again," Sansa told him bitterly.
Hearing him scowl, Sansa looked right at him as he stood up and held his hand out to her.
Taking his hand, Sansa put her mug down and let him pull her close to him, his hands finding her waist while hers found his shoulders and neck.
Lowering her head to his shoulder, Sansa closed her eyes and swayed in his arms, as if she was dancing to the sound of silent music.
"What a fool… to be married to such a beautiful woman and not treasure her the way she deserves to be treasured" Jon told her softly.
Closing her eyes with a soft smile tugging at her lips while her cheeks turned pink, Sansa tightened her hold on him before pressing a chaste kiss to his cheek.
"I wish all men were like you… the kind of men women dream about" Sansa replied softly.
She knew she should have told him not to say things like that to her, not wanting to make things awkward between them.
Yet the more she thought about asking him not to say such things, the less she wanted to say it.
She liked the attention he was giving her, she liked to hear him compliment her like that, liked how it made her feel because she believed him every time he said it.
She believed that she was as beautiful as he claimed her to be, that she was as sweet and kind as he told her she was.
Truthfully, the more time she spent here, the less she wanted to leave, finding herself dreading the thought of leaving Winters Rest.
The thought of being parted from him once again, the thought of going back to Winterfell and losing the man she had grown so close to these last few weeks.
Crossing the courtyard on her way back to the Winter Hall, Sansa caught sight of Ros and Maester Talion (who served the Starks of Winters Rest) sitting at a table near the Maester's Tower, both of whom were overseeing the lessons being taught to Lyonel, Alyssa and Alayne.
Lessons that were taking place outside near the Maester's Tower today as opposed to inside the library or the hall, given that it was a nice day outside which was something their children could enjoy.
Lessons that Jon had insisted Alayne be allowed to attend, with Ros and Maester Talion also insisting that Alayne could join Lyonel and Alyssa in their lessons if she wished.
She was surprised that Ser Bael Miller's two children Tansy Miller (aged 7) and Dirk Miller (aged 3) were not in these lessons (as both of his children were allowed to attend these lessons) today, wondering if their mother (a Miller's daughter who now worked as a seamstress in the castle) had taken them somewhere for the day.
Moving towards them, Sansa kept her eyes on Alayne as her daughter practised her handwriting with Alyssa doing the same, with Ros watching the both of them.
While Ros watched the girls, Maester Talion was testing Lyonel on his knowledge of the Northern Houses, their words and sigils, using a map which detailed each castle and keep belonging to each Lord or Lady.
"I trust my daughter is working hard in her lessons" Sansa asked of the Governess as she approached.
A governess she remembered from her Aunt Ashara's service when she was a little girl. When the young woman had been a dutiful and dedicated handmaiden.
"She is… though her handwriting could get neater" Ros replied, looking down at Alayne with a fond smile on her face.
Moving closer to the table, Sansa smiled as she saw her daughter's slightly neat handwriting (for Ros was right about how it could be neater), finding that it reminded Sansa of her own elegant handwriting.
"What are you planning to do… make clothes for the entire castle?" Ros asked of her, her eyes scanning over the pile of materials in Sansa's arms.
Glancing down at the things in her arms, Sansa gave Ros a small smile before turning back to her.
"Just a few gifts" Sansa replied, not giving anything away.
Naturally, her words excited the three young children at the table, all three of whom started questioning her about who the gifts were for, their voices full of excitement.
The excitement that Sansa quelled when she told them that the gifts were surprises before reminding them that they needed to get back on with their lessons, though she did promise to take them to the kitchens for some sweets if they worked hard.
Leaving the children, Sansa decided that she would go back to her chambers and get to work on the gifts she was going to make for Jon and the children.
Later that Night…
Sansa P.O.V
Being careful not to hurt her daughter as she brushed her long auburn hair to help her get ready for bed, Sansa was making sure to be extra gentle with the brush with the aid of her fingers which she kept running through Alayne's hair.
"Do you still like it here Sweetheart?" Sansa asked of her daughter.
Alayne nodded with a fond smile on her face.
"Can we stay here forever Mother?" Alayne sounded hopeful as she spoke.
Letting out a weary sigh, Sansa wished that she could say yes, knowing that Alayne loved it here, just as she liked the idea of staying here with her cousin.
But even that was not fair on Jon, despite him promising her that she and Alayne could always call this place home.
"I wish we could live here forever, Mother… Uncle Jon is the best" Alayne continued.
Frowning, Sansa pressed a kiss to the top of Alayne's head.
"Your Uncle loves you, Sweetheart… I knew he would love you the moment he laid eyes on you" Sansa told her softly.
"He makes you happy too" Alayne quickly replied.
Brushing her daughter's hair, Sansa told her.
"That he does"
As she placed the brush back on the small table in front of Alayne and ran her fingers through her daughter's hair, her daughter replied to her.
"You smile more with him… you never smiled like that with Father"
Stunned at such words, Sansa froze, her worst fears that her daughter would know that she and Mervyn Darry were not happy with each other had just been realised.
With a few tears now glistening in her eyes, Sansa tried not to let Alayne see her like this, not wanting her daughter to think that she had upset her mother.
"Your Uncle has always been a kind man Sweetheart" Sansa told her, wiping the tears from her eyes as she knew that her daughter's words were true.
Not that she wanted to admit it to her daughter, but Mervyn Darry was very far from kind to her during their marriage, just as he paid very little attention to the daughter that he wished had been born a son.
After she was unable to get pregnant during the few times she shared his bed after Alayne had been born, Mervyn Darry soon lost interest in his wife, preferring to share his bed with whores, servant girls and visiting noble ladies instead.
Though she felt awful for feeling such, she was glad that her husband was dead, even though his death robbed her daughter of her father.
Even if he was a bad father and an even worse husband in her eyes.
Then there was Jon.
Her cousin who had welcomed her into his home without a second thought, who told her that she could never be a burden on him or his children even though she had once feared that she would become such, how he promised her that no matter what happened, she would always be able to call Winters Rest home for as long as she lived.
How she felt completely safe with him like he was one of those brave, gallant knights from the stories she used to love when she was a girl.
The kind that would protect her from all the horror and evil in this world.
"I like seeing you with him… he makes you happy and that makes me happy," Alayne told her softly.
Smiling with a hint of pink on her cheeks, Sansa pressed a kiss to Alayne's cheek before picking her up.
"Come on… bedtime" Sansa told her as she carried her over to her bed.
After tucking Alayne in for the night, Sansa just stood there watching her for a few moments before leaving her for the night.