A Love That Consumes You

[ladysalvatore3]

“I suppose everybody hurts, everybody, but women always seem to get back up, you ever notice that? Women are always still standing”

[jackharkness]

TOLKIEN WEEK # day 4 beginnings / endings every fellowship member first and last scene

[ladysalvatore3]

The Targaryen Ghost

The new family arrived in the first week of October, it was a rainy morning as it often was in England and fog permeated the air around the carriage when it first stopped in front of the imposing old mansion. After his eldest son continued getting into mischief in the city Lord Eddard Stark had decided what his family needed was to relocate to a small quiet town on the outskirts of London, Winterfell appeared to be everything he had been waiting for his family, so when he saw the bargain that was the old Targaryan mansion he didn’t hesitate in purchase it, even when the seller told him the place was haunted by a ghost.

“Don’t say nonsenses Lord Baelish. There is no such thing as ghosts”

“Oh but there is my lord, the ghost of John Targaryan roams the halls of the mansion” The man had tweaked his mustache in a nervous gesture as he glanced at the selling contract in front of him “I wish nothing more than for you to purchase this property but I could never lie about what transpired in that house”

Lord Eddard Stark shrugged before taking the glass of brandy that rested on the table in front of him "I know all about the tragedy" He replied "My eldest daughter is an avid reader and she documented herself before we decided to come here"

“So you don’t mind?” A shadow crossed Lord Baelish’s face “About the murders?”

A good 100 years prior, a massacre had taken place in the very same house Lord Eddard was trying to purchase, it was said that in a fit of rage and jealousy for not getting what he thought belonged to him, the youngest and from indecent origin son of the lord of the house had murdered the entire family before killing himself. He had locked them in a bedroom on the third floor before lighting a fire. The fire was stopped in time so the whole house didn't perish but the family wasn't so lucky. Since then, the ghost of John Targaryen roamed the halls, unable to find rest for his soul.

"It was horrid I must admit it," Lord Eddard said "But ghosts frighten me not, it is the living that must scare us"

And so that was how the Stark family came to live in the newly purchased mansion that most people in town avoided.

They were seven. Lord Eddard was a very practical and hardworking man, his wife lady Catelyn was beautiful and ill-tempered, the eldest son Robb was dashing and liked to fool around with unwed women a bit too much, Sansa the eldest daughter was beautiful and educated, Arya the wild child who was always getting into mischief with her younger brothers Bran and Rickon.

The ghost made his appearance that very same night, it was past bedtime and the family was all snuggled into their beds when they heard the sound of chains being dragged on the floor. The sound was too jarring and wasn’t letting anyone sleep so Lord Stark took a bottle of oil he kept in his closet and went to meet the ghost by the door.

“You might want to try some of this, old chap," He said while handing the bottle to the apparition of a young-looking man in front of him, if he was honest with himself the appearance of the ghost surprised him a bit, he had never seen one up close but he expected it to be something more horrific. The ghost in question looked like any young man, except his feet didn’t quite touch the ground and there was a transparent look to his skin.

Rage transformed the stern features of the ghost "What did you say?"

Lord Stark released a sigh “It’s late and we’re all tired from the trip. Do us all a favor and put some of this so we can sleep”

That being said Lord Stark turned around and went back to his bedroom. The ghost stayed rooted in his spot for a couple of minutes, unable to understand what was happening. During the 100 years, he had been roaming the halls of what was once his house he hadn't failed to scare a single person, Loras Tyrell the young son of the family who lived there before the Starks had even been put on medication because the panic attack he caused them when he made his first appearance.

John refused to be disrespected like this, scaring people was something he was excellent at and he would make Eddard Stark regret every suggestion otherwise.

The next morning, when the family woke up there was a stain of blood on the beautiful carpet in front of the fireplace. Catelyn released a shriek when she saw it and hidden behind the curtains a triumphant smile appeared on John’s lips, that was of course until he heard the woman’s words.

“This is horrific. That carpet was one of the most beautiful pieces of this house. It’s going to be a nightmare to remove it” This being said she proceeded to go in search of her favorite stain remover before returning and getting down on her knees to scrub away the blood.

Irritated by the lack of sense in that family, John retired to his room and waited patiently for night to come. He would frighten the death out of them and they would regret ever coming to his home.

That night he put on the old Targaryen armor, an old imposing thing his late father used to wear whenever he went into battle, he would sneak into the little children's bedroom and unsheathe his sword. If his mere presence wasn't scary enough, longclaw surely would.

The armor clacked with triumph as he walked the corridors to the children's bedroom, he couldn't wait to see the fear on their faces, this antic would surely mean a victory to him. But the satisfaction of his imaginary victory didn’t last long, because right before he reached the children’s bedroom a rope made him tumble right into the open bedroom where a bucket of green paint was waiting for him.

Jon released a frustrated howl as he stared at the ruined armor, a 100-year-old relic ruined by green paint, if his older brother could see him now would surely laugh at him just like the little hellions were doing at the moment. In the far corner of the bedroom stood Arya, Bran, and Rickon clacking with laughter as he stood up from the floor, battered and humiliated like never before.

Perhaps his days as a ghost were over; maybe all there was left now was to lock himself in his bedroom for all eternity because he sure as hell didn’t want to risk himself to another humiliation like the one he had been part of right now. Life had been hard enough for John; he didn’t want death to be hard as well.

Unbeknownst to him, the fair and gentle Sansa Stark watched him walk away defeated, a sad sigh released from her lips to partner her heartbroken expression.

“It was cruel of you, to do that to the poor ghost” She scolded the children once Jon was far enough for him to hear her.

"We were just joking," Arya said defensively “Besides, it’s not like he’s innocent”

Sansa released a sigh as she crossed her arms over her chest "No, I suppose he's not" She murmured as she thought back to all she had learned while reading about the new property. Still, there was something that didn't add up, she was sure there was another side to the story of the Targaryen tragedy and Sansa Stark always loved uncovering new mysteries.

Deciding that going back to sleep would be impossible at this point, Sansa grabbed a candle from her bedroom and after throwing on her robe went in search of the ghost. He lived in the bedroom at the end of the hall on the third floor, where the murders had taken place, the corridors were full of spider webs since no servants ventured there and the temperature lowered with every step the girl took, yet she did not yield.

She stood in front of the old wooden door and after taking a deep breath rapped her knuckles against it in a swift movement “Well hello there Mr. Ghost” She spoke to the closed door.

For a moment she thought no one would answer but after a few seconds came to the reply “Who are you?”

“I am Sansa Stark sir”

She heard the ghost huffing from behind the closed door “I have no business with Stark children”

Sansa shook her head in regret at the memory of her siblings laughing at the defeated expression on the ghost's face “I am no child sir, and I condemn terribly what my siblings did”  

“What do you want then?”

“Talk”

“Talk? What a strange concept”

He opened the door then and was struck by the mesmerizing eyes in front of him. How had she gone unnoticed by him? he had been so busy trying to scare the family and get revenge on the children that he hadn't noticed the blue of her eyes and the fiery red of her hair. Looking at her, for a moment he felt at peace.

"Hello," She said, her soft pink slips stretching into a gentle smile

"Hello," He said in a most educated manner, expecting he wasn’t frightening her with his lack of corporeal form.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear in a shy gesture “May I come in?”

“Sure. You may find it a bit cold though” He winced

She gave him a reassuring smile “Don’t mind me, I like the cold” She stepped inside the dank bedroom and placed the candle holder on the small bedside table before taking a seat on the dusty mattress.

“What is it that you wish to speak miss?” Jon asked not knowing what to do with himself. It had been so long since he had the chance to entertain someone, for the last hundred years he had dedicated himself to scaring people away and even before he died he was never fond of having people over.

“I was wondering, why do you wish to frighten us so much?”

"Well that is my job," He said gesturing to his ethereal form.

Her brows furrowed as she looked at him “Your job? But you are dead; surely one mustn’t keep working after dying” He was about to interrupt her but paused at her words, musing them for a bit while he glided from one side to the other in front of her.

“Well I suppose not but I am different” He stated after a while

“Why is that?”

“Because I have so much to atone to” He released a sigh and the tiredness in his face made Sansa’s heart fill with pity “They say I did horrible things”

She frowned at his choice of words “They say? You mean you don’t remember?”

“Not at all," He said suddenly while throwing his hands in the air “When I woke up like this I had no recognition of anything that happen the day I died. Over the years I’ve come to remember bits here and there but not enough to put the whole picture together”

Sansa’s back straightened and her lips widened in a wicked smile “Well Mr. Ghost today is your lucky day because I am going to help you”

He gave her a curious look before going to sit next to her, his bottom never quite touching the mattress “And why would you do that sweet Sansa?”

"Because I love a good mystery," She said proudly "Plus it's boring here in the country, I need a hobby. So, would you let me help you, Mr. Ghost?"

He smiled at her in return; it had been so long since his lips stretched in a genuinely happy smile that the movement felt odd “Something tells me, you would do it even if I say no. And please, call me Jon”

That night Sansa left the ghost's room with flushed cheeks and a renovated sense of duty. The next morning over breakfast she informed her family that she intended to help the ghost to discover the mystery of his death and that anyone who played any more pranks on the poor soul would pay a fair price.

Since the children respected and feared their sister in equal measure they assure her no harm would come to the ghost, her father and brother showed themselves supporting her decision, going as far as to congratulate her for finding something to occupy her time with.

Only her mother didn’t seem to agree with her choice, stating that she should be using her time to find more important things to do.

"Catching a bachelor's eyes it's what you should be doing sweetheart," She said "You'll need to get a husband soon"

“She’s still young” Her father intervened “Don’t be too eager to send her away”

Two days later as a pouring rain fell on the English countryside Sansa shared with the ghost how pressured she felt whenever her mother mentioned getting a husband. They were once again in his bedroom and she paced back and forth as she spoke while he sat on the bed and observed her every move.

“You do not wish to get married?” He asked

Sansa sighed and stopped in front of him “It’s not that, it’s just… I don’t want to do it just because I have to”

Jon released a chuckle, a sound so strange in him that made something flutter in the girl’s chest “You’re a romantic then”

Sansa’s nostrils flared at the derogatory tone of his voice “Pardon me?”

Jon chuckled unaware of the girl’s annoyance “You believe that whole happily ever after thing, am I wrong?” When she didn’t answer his features transformed into something more melancholic “Reality is a lot different than that sweet Sansa”

The girl stared at him for a couple of seconds before going to sit next to him "Were you ever in love Jon?"

“I was, once” He answered right away “Her hair was bright red like yours”

Sansa felt something sour in her stomach at his answer but didn’t allow him to see it “What happened?”

"She was a maid," He said as his eyes seemed lost in remembrance “My grandfather didn’t allow anything to happen”

“What happened with her?”

He shrugged, the set of his jaw tight and hard "I never knew, they send her away, and when I found out it was too late"

"I'm sorry," She said unable to do anything else. Now more than ever she wished she could touch him, to give him the comfort he so much needed in some form.

The air grew thick around them, Jon seemed lost in thought and Sansa didn't like it. In the few days, she had shared her time with the ghost she had found that she quite liked being the only one he came to, to have his undivided attention and she wanted to keep it that way, she didn't want to share it with his past.

“So, what is that you’ve found?” He said suddenly, breaking her out of her thoughts.

She took a deep breath, ready to explain to him what she had come here to tell him in the first place “Well apparently the night you killed yourself a big ball had been hosted here. Your grandfather had wanted a big night of spectacle for his birthday”

Jon shook his head as a look of pure guilty crossed his face “I murdered him on his birthday”

"I'm afraid so," Sansa said. She had been horrified herself when she found out that gruesome detail after hours of researching every bit of information she could get her hands on “The whole family was gathered and it seemed like there was some kind of riff between him and your father after the toast”

“He insulted my mother” Jon murmured “My father loved her too much…he didn’t allow it”

“You remember?”

He frowned as he looked at her “Some of it”

Sansa nodded and continued thinking that perhaps the more he knew the more the memories would come back to him “It appears he threw the people out after that and sometime in the next three hours you started a fire on the third floor. Your father and his wife were there and so was he and your siblings"

Jon shook his head before standing up, a chilly air making goosebumps appear on Sansa’s arms at the absence of his closeness “I wasn’t allowed to go into the third floor” He stated, his expression confused as he paced back and forth in front of her “Only now after…what was I doing there? Why they were all there?” He took the hands to his hair and mussed the curls there and once again that night the girl found herself wishing she could somehow touch him "Sansa dear, don't take this the wrong way but I'm feeling a bit tired and I would love to rest"

Her eyes snapped back to his and she felt a blush covering her cheeks “Of course, sorry for being such a naught” She stoop and went hastily to the door, not giving him time to react.

She disappeared behind the door and let the room sink into the darkness once again “No, you’re not. Never” Jon murmured to the empty bedroom, feeling the chill once again seethe in his bones.

***

“They never found your body”

She had snuck into her bedroom the next night as he tried to conjure the sleep he knew would never come. Long gone were his ambitions of scaring the family away so now he spent his time trying to see if the peace of the eldest Stark daughter would help him to finally close his eyes and disappear.

“Excuse me?” He said as he moved his ethereal body so he could sit and be more presentable, she had startled him and he could only assume the poor state he was in.

Sansa’s cheeks were rosy and her chest heaved as she supported her body against the wall “They say you killed yourself after they burned but your body was never found”

He frowned, a cruel and cold feeling uncurling in his chest at her words “And what does that mean?” His tone was clipped and harsher than he intended.

Sansa took a deep breath and steadied her racing heart “That’s not all, it was found in some journals that—“She trailed off “that your grandfather he—“

Jon stood up then, worry etched on his face as he walked towards her “He what, dear Sansa?”

“He had a liking to fire” Her whisper echoed in the silent room “He was often bringing people from foreign lands who claimed could control it” She walked the few steps that separated them “Jon I think you might be innocent”

He looked taken aback, his form moving away from her “No, impossible”

"I discovered that your father was trying to find a way to remove your grandfather from its title" She explained, "He thought he was going mad and that his obsession with fire couldn't be good"

Jon felt his head aching with every word she spoke, images flaring in his mind, whispers of a past he couldn’t remember, threatening to tear down everything that existed in his head.

“Perhaps we could look further into this obsession of his, and if you could try to—“

“I’m tired of trying Sansa!” He exploded, his temper getting the best of him and showing her a side of him she hadn’t seen, not even when he had been determined to scare her and her family away “It’s all I’ve done for the last couple of days, there’s no need to look more into this. I killed them and now I’m atoning for it, end of story”

“But Jon—“

“I think you should leave Sansa” His words were harsh and left no room for argument. Gray eyes which once were soft and warm looked at her coldly now. She felt her chest expand with pressure and her eyes sting with unshed tears so not giving him any more time to be cruel to her, she turned around and fled the room, returning to the comforts of the living world.

Sansa didn’t see the ghost for the next couple of days and the blood stain that had stopped appearing days ago was there every morning when she came down for breakfast.

“He should learn some manners” Her mother murmured as she scrubbed away her favorite carpet.

"That he should," Sansa thought to herself but not for staining the carpet but for being mean to her and sending her away and what was worse for not coming after her.

She had continued investigating Rhaegar’s journals and had found information that she thought could be helpful but she wasn’t about to go and tell the ghost all about it, not after he was so horrid to her. He was the one who should apologize so she could share her investigations and they could once away spend together.

She missed him. She missed his crooked smile and those curls on his head, how well he recited her poetry, and the jokes he made that was not funny at all. Since the day they argued Sansa Stark had felt lonelier than ever and she didn’t like it.

That night she went to sleep with an ache in her chest and woke up with the stench of smoke in her nose. “Jon” She woke up with a gasp, heat curled around her body as she opened her eyes and realized the flames were licking up the curtains on her windows.

Sweat covered her body and the overwhelming scent of smoke made it hard for her to breathe, she had to get out of there immediately. She threw away her covers and still trying to understand what was happening stood up from the bed only to realize the fire had spread and was now licking up the ornamented wooden door of her bedroom.

“I will die here” She murmured to herself as she scanned her eyes around the room trying to find something that would help her reach the hallway in time.

"No, you won't" The voice came from behind the closed door seconds before it burst open, Jon's figure standing in its place "You don't die tonight, you fool"

The events of the next couple of minutes continued blurry in Sansa’s mind for years after they occurred. All she could tell at that time was that Jon burst into the room to save her, that somehow she could feel him as he carried her and braced the fire to get her out, that his curls were as smooth as she expected them to be and that his skin was not cold like she always thought it would be, but warm. Like embers.

He placed her by the stairs just as her family rushed finally catching on the commotion, Ned Stark barked at his children to go in search of buckets of water to the fire wouldn’t spread past Sansa’s bedroom.

The girl coughed and shook as her mother rushed her downstairs as the men took care of the fire slowly spreading upstairs. After they worked nonstop once neighbors hurried to help they managed to quench the scorching embers that had started from a lit candle placed by the window.

“I can’t believe I was so foolish” Sansa muttered to herself while her elder brother petted her hair as they sat on the sofa by the fireplace.

“You’ve saved my daughter” Catelyn Stark stood by the fireplace, just in the same spot where the spot of blood used to appear every day, and looked at the ghost straight in the eye “We’ll forever be in debt to you”

"I was right all along," Nedd Stark said with a burst of laughter “I knew the ghost that lived here couldn’t be that evil”

“We love you Mr. Ghost” The children shouted before rushing in and throwing their small bodies around the ghost, who for the time appeared to be as present as any of them.

Jon felt something warm spread in his chest at the feel of the children hugging him, his cheeks colored and he lowered his gaze to save some face.

“Thank you Jon” Sansa whispered as she left her place on the sofa and walked with trembling legs toward him “How is this possible?” Her murmur was accompanied by a gentle hand on his cheek, feeling that warmth that radiated from his skin.

“It’s October 31” Her father answered “The veil falls tonight”

Jon gulped as he leaned towards her touch “I remember now” He whispered “That fire cleared the fog” He relished her touch for another second before taking a deep breath and walking away from her "Come" He gestured to the rest of the family who was more than ready to follow him.

He took them past the kitchen onto the cellar below where after a lot of nagging and prodding was able to open a secret door hidden in the far corner, not being ones to scare easily the Stark family followed the specter through a pair of twisted stairs until they reached what appeared to be an underground cave.

"I am no murdered," He said as he walked further and showed them what was resting in the far corner of the place “I’m just trapped”

For the first time since they moved Sansa felt chills running down her spine, a cold settling on her bones “Oh my God” She whispered in shock as her eyes rested on the skeleton chained to the wall.

The children released pitiful cries as Nedd walked closer to the skeleton, pain etched on his eyes as he looked from the bones to the specter walking among them “Poor fella, how long you’ve been here all alone”

Jon gave them a sad smile before relating everything that had come to him that night. About how his grandfather had finally lost his mind and chained him in the caves below after insulting him for not being a true-born son, a spawn that had come out of the whore Rhaegar liked to spend time with. His father had tried to set him free, challenging the old man and all his cronies but the old man was too far gone, and instead of yielding he had burned them all alive, himself included.

“I could hear them scream” Jon murmured “I know it’s probably impossible given the distance but I swear I could hear them scream”

“Oh Jon” Sansa released a cry before throwing herself at him “I’m so sorry, I can’t believe all this time people have believed you committed such an atrocious crime but you’ve—you’ve been innocent all along”

He nuzzled his face into her, relishing in the feel of another human being next to him “Do not regret the past sweet girl, it is gone now” He pressed his forehead to hers, their breaths mingling “I now can finally go too”

She frowned “Go? Where?”

He smiled gently before cupping her face between his hands “To peace”

Sansa shook her head, slowly pulling away from him “But—what about me?”

Jon gave her a sympathetic smile “You are a living thing, you belong here where things are bright and beautiful” His eyes shone with a love Sansa had believed existed only in the stories her mother used to read to her when she was little “But not me, I am no longer of this world”

“But you are of mine” She nearly shouted, not caring that all her family was witnessing such a childish display “You belong with me”

“I never did” Jon reasoned with her “But being a ghost has given me the chance of meeting you and the gift you gave me it’s the greatest I’ve ever received”

“I don’t want you to go” She clung to him, holding him into her body as if that way she was able to keep him with her forever “I’ll be all alone once again” She whispered into his neck

“Sweet girl, you’ve never been alone” He whispered back.

“Can I—can I kiss you?” She said after releasing him from her embrace. She knew it was a bold request and that in other circumstances her parents would berate her, but not now, now they pretended they weren’t even looking “I’ve never been kissed you know” She confessed.

Jon smiled tenderly before cupping her face once again and bringing her lips to his “Thank you” He whispered against her mouth “You’ve given me peace after a lifetime of torment”

Sansa kissed him once again as the tears soaked both their lips, she would never forget this moment, she would treasure this exact moment until she last walked this earth.

The next day Lord Eddard Stark ordained a tombstone in honor of the youngest Targaryen heir, his body was laid to rest inside the grounds of the property and the family held a small ceremony for the ghost that had come with the house they purchased. The eldest Stark daughter cried through the entire celebration and remained there even after it was over and the rain had started falling.

She kept taking him flowers every day and will continue doing it for the rest of her life, even after she marries and moves away to a home of her own. She always finds excuses to visit her brother, now lord of the house, but of course, he knows she's only there to place flowers on the grave of the first man she ever loved.

The ghost that once haunted the halls of their house.

But who now rested at peace in a place where torment is not possible.

[ladysalvatore3]

My name is death and the end is here

No wealth, no ruin, no silver, no gold

Nothing satisfies me but your soul

Oh, Death

Well I am Death, none can excel

I'll open the door to heaven or hell

Oh, Death

The chilly morning air greeted Sansa Stark that morning as she stepped outside the ornamented carriage that transported her and her siblings to church that day, she released a huff and pulled her emerald silk shawl more tightly around her body as she tried to keep with her fast-paced mother. Catelyn Stark walked with her head held high as a flock of children trailed behind her.

“The preacher’s family must always be the first to arrive” She always said whenever one of the children asked to be left behind as they buried their noses in their bedsheets Sundays before mass.

They arrived just as their father was finishing up the touches of his lecture on the front dais; he gave them a warm smile before signaling for them to seat in the front pew. Sansa felt a surge of love towards her father before her cheeks colored with shame as she lifted up her skirt in order to sit and last night’s dream came back to her.

There’s a reason why the eldest Stark daughter has deep dark circles underneath her eyes and exhaustion marred on her face. It’s been weeks since she’s been able to have a full night of sleep; a dream haunts her nights and leaves her thrilled and ashamed in equal measure the next morning.

The dream is always the same: it starts with her sitting in the dark wood bench that rests in front of the old piano placed in the music room of their home. She is all alone in there, the night has fallen already and she’s playing the piano that has been her companion since she was old enough to sit in the bench. She is completely enraptured with a melody she has never heard before when she feels a presence behind her, she knows someone is standing just a few feet from her but she doesn’t dare to look back.

Soon, the melody she is playing starts being hummed by the person behind her, he’s a man and before she realizes it he is kneeling next to her. She feels exhilarated and frightened at the same time, he wears a dark cloak and keeps his head bowed so she can’t see his face but she can see his pale hand as he starts touching her leg, making a burning sensation start spreading in there.  She feels his breath across her skin and soon wetness starts pooling between her legs. He never stops humming even as his fingers busy themselves with the ache inside her, her fingers ache to touch him and with a mind of its own they move towards his cloak but just as he starts rising his head she wakes up.

It leaves her shaking every time. A part of her craves to see him, to feel him but another is terrified of the emotions he evokes in her, of the powerless he makes her when he’s touching her, most nights she doesn’t even know if she wants him to show up or just leave her alone. This is why she can barely look at her father in the eyes today; because she can still feel the remnants of her dream and knows how sinful that makes her, she knows how ashamed her mother would be if she knew what she did most nights in the darkness of her bedroom.

“Sansa, darling are you all right?” The voice of her brother makes her snapback from her reverie, and she gives him a tight smile not quite meeting his eyes for she fears he’ll be able to see what is hiding inside them, Robb has always been able to tell what she’s feeling even when she’s not sure herself.

“I am fine dear brother, just a bit tired” She squeezes his arm reassuringly before resting her head on his shoulder as his father takes the stand and starts with his lecture, Sansa had been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn’t even noticed the church has already filled with people.

That morning the sermon was about the demon’s deceitful ways and the origin of sin, the red-haired girl feels her father is speaking directly to her as he starts describing the ways the devil will use to tempt the faithful people of the lord, she can barely keep her head up during the first part, too embarrassed and afraid to admit she has been the weak prey of sinful acts.   

Her fingers that rest on her lap start twisting a loose string of her shawl as her father’s words keep ringing in her head mixing with the memory of the dream that haunted her the night before. Soon and without her realizing it her eyelids start to drop and she’s once again in that loved music room where she spent most of her childhood, there’s a cold hand below her knees and a wicked tongue doing deceitful things to the place where she aches the most, she moans aloud in a way she’s sure only whores do before her hands finally go to the stranger’s head, his cloak falling back and revealing disheveled dark curls. She tangles her fingers between the soft locks as the stranger’s tongue reaches the place that always makes her come apart.

“Soon” he murmurs against her skin before her eyes shot wide open, one of her hands firmly gripping the wooden bench she’s sitting in.

Her brow is damp with perspiration and she’s sure her small clothes are a mess already but fortunately no one seems privy to what was happening between her closed eyelids, not even her dear brother in whose shoulder her head is resting. Everything seems normal around her, people are still engrossed in her father’s lecture and the birds are singing outside, everything is the same except the hunger inside her.

“Soon” The stranger had said in a deep raspy voice. He had never spoken before, nor had she been able to see his hair. Her fingers tingle at the memory of the softness of the curls in them.

“Soon” She murmurs to herself not really sure why the words slip out of her mouth so easily.

That night Sansa fears her dreams more than ever. She lies awake in the middle of her bed as a tempestuous storm hits outside her windows, the sound of the rain falling over the tall roof and the branches constantly hitting the windows of the house help her keep her eyelids open, and she is grateful for them because after hearing everything her father had to say in mass that morning, she is sure if she continues having those dreams she’ll be traveling straight to hell.

But she’s been sleeping so poorly lately and she is oh so tired that soon the sounds of the storm are not enough to keep her awake and slowly she starts falling into the unprotected land of dreams. For a couple of hours, there is nothing but darkness behind her closed eyes but soon she starts hearing the melody again and finds herself sitting on the old piano she loves so much.

“Soon you’ll be playing for me,” The deep voice says behind her and sends a shiver down her spine. She is aware this is nothing but a dream and yet a sense of fear and trepidation invade her, there’s also curiosity as she wonders why after so many nights having the same dream it has started to change.

“Because we are closer now my dear” The voice seems to answer the question she never made out loud. Soft cold fingers rest on top of her shoulders from behind and Sansa feels Goosebumps break across her skin.  “Because the time is almost up and soon you’ll be all mine” His hand moves forward, deft fingers toying with the necklace around her neck.

Her long and elegant fingers continue playing the melody he has started to hum, she is unable to stop even as his fingers plug into her neckline and start fondling her breasts “No” She murmurs halfheartedly as the familiar feeling starts spreading in her lower tummy “It isn’t right” She says as she feels his cold fingers resting on top of her collarbone, his soft curls tickling her cheek as he leans towards her from behind.

The keys of the piano continue moving even as she abandons them in order to hold onto the head that is now resting over her chest “Please” She moans without being sure what she is asking. His fingers have managed to lower the bodice of her dress and now she’s spilling out of it, rosy peaked nipples ripe for his taking.

His fingers play with them, pinching and pulling until she is panting for more “Please” She repeats and feels him smirking against the skin of her neck before he pulls away from her completely, leaving her cold and aching.

“Soon” He whispers before the dream vanishes and her eyelids open.

She wakes up with a gasp; one hand is tangled in the flesh between her legs while the other is pinching her exposed breast, a thick layer of sweat covering her body.  The rain has stopped and nothing but silence reigns in the four walls of her bedroom, a tear slides down her cheeks as she busies herself with the ache between her legs, cold lips, and soft curls on her mind the whole time.

                                                   *         *          *

The next day the circles underneath her eyes are considerably larger and she busies herself sulking in the corner of the library with a book between her hands. Her dear brother gives her a worried look before leaning closer and reassuring her that he will convince their mother to let her visit her dear friend Margery even though she isn’t very fond of her.

The red-haired girl nods absently and tips her lips in the mockery of a smile, guilt running through her veins as she watches her brother walk away confident in the belief that her strangled friendship with the slightly immoral Margaery Tyrell is what has been bothering her mind.

Catelyn Stark of course agrees with her favorite son, because how could Robb be wrong, so she allows her daughter to visit her friend with the condition that she is back before dinner time, whispers of missing girls have been circulating in the small village and even if they weren’t, Catelyn has never allowed her eldest daughter to be out and about after the sun goes down.

Sansa finds that once she is inside the Tyrell household the burdens seem to have lifted from her shoulders. Perhaps is because of the less strict costumes the family hold or the way Margaery and her brother always make her laugh until her belly hurts but among sweet lemon cakes and half-hidden sips of the sweet liquor the siblings have taken from their grandmother, time seems to flow by until the air that filters through the windows are chillier and Sansa realizes the sun is no longer up in the sky.

With a strangled gasp and promises to return next week, but knowing fully well her mother won’t allow it after staying for so long, the red-haired girl departs from the quaint house at the bottom of the hill.

The wind has picked up and the trees are howling as she rushed through the barely lit alleys, she shouldn’t have let the lemon cakes and warm conversation convince her of staying so late, Robb was going to be so mad once she finally arrived home, it wasn’t wise for young unwed women to be wandering around that late at night.  She moved quickly through the silent streets until she saw her imposing family home at the top of the hill, releasing a sigh of relief she hurried her steps and tightened the shawl around her, wanting nothing more than to be safe and sound in front of the warm fireplace.

But then, something happened.

She heard it, and the blood in her veins ran cold.

It was the song, the one that haunted her dreams.

She stopped dead in her tracks and allowed her head to slowly turn around, there, beneath one of the street lamps she saw him, a man dressed in black. Black cloak covering his hair and piercing dark eyes staring straight at her as he hummed her song, a wicked grin on his face as he took in her frightened expression.

The air got stuck in her throat as she saw him move towards her and without even thinking she sprinted towards the hill, not caring about the shoes she will surely ruin in the process.

Her heart was pounding as she rushed the steps of the entrance, her fist finding the door quickly and frantically knocking, not even caring for the scold that would surely wait for her inside, her skin felt ice cold and she wanted nothing more than to be inside the warmness of her home.

It was her father who opened the heavy door, a frown and hard eyes staring down at her but as he really took in her appearance something in his gaze softened “You are white as paper, child” He murmured in that low gravelly voice that drew so many people in at mass.

Sansa took a deep breath, every one of her limbs was shaking as her father closed the door behind her “I saw—It was” She began but had no idea what to say. How was it possible to explain the vision that had just haunted her?

“You are freezing” Ned Stark whispered after placing his hand against the porcelain skin of his daughter’s cheek “Go upstairs and change, get warm. Your mother is waiting for us at the library, and we will have a serious conversation”  

At any other moment the tone of his voice and the look in his face would have been enough to put the living fear in her but not now, not when whenever that was outside her home scared her more than a scolding from her parents not when the thing that came alive inside her at seeing him was threatening to consume her.

Sansa nodded demurely as she tried to force her beating heart to slow down “It won’t take long” She said before turning around and heading for the stairs, her feet still rested on the first one when a hard deaf knock was heard against the door.

The hair at the back of her neck stood up and before she could yell for her father to keep the door closed he had placed his hand on the knob and turned it around.

The grandfather clock in the parlor announced the arrival of another hour as Sansa watched her father take a step back, face ashen as he stared at the stranger in the doorway.

“I have come to collect what is mine,” The cloaked figure in the entrance said, a deep dark, and commanding voice that made something primal awaken inside of Sansa, who remained rooted at the feet of the stairs unable to move.

“No, you cannot” The voice that answered wasn’t the one of Ned Stark but of his wife who had come from the library and had a horrified look on her face, the pale green dress she wore seemed to melt with her complexion as walked further into the light.

The man at the entrance released a dark chuckle “I don’t think you are aware of how binding the deals I make are” He said in a low voice as he removed the cloak from his head, revealing a head full of dark curls, the sight making desire pool in the pit of Sansa’s belly with the memory of her fingers fisting the dark tresses “She is already mine whether you allow it or not”

“I will not let you take her!” Catelyn shouted as she went past her husband in direction of the stranger but Ned grabbed her by the elbow and pulled her backward until she was flush with his body.

The thin lips of the stranger curled in a cruel mock “You gave her to me that night nineteen years ago, you begged and prayed and only I answered your call, or have you forgotten that already?”

Color drained from the woman’s face “I didn’t know—I had no idea” The words stumbled out of her mouth “She is just a girl”

The man in black stepped inside the parlor, the air around them lowering a few degrees with his presence “I gave him back to you and you promised me her in return” He nearly spat at her as he leaned closer, a dark menacing look in his eyes.

“There must be another way,” Ned said gravelly as if he somehow had found his voice again but the man shook his head back in an answer.

Catelyn let out a pitiful wail as she slumped back into her husband “I didn’t know… I was foolish” She cried “Things are different now… we could… yes…another deal, let’s make another deal”

The cloaked man stiffened “You cannot fool death you foolish woman” He spat out before his dark eyes travelled towards the base of the stairs where the red-haired young woman was still standing “I want her, she is mine” There was no masking the need in his words, it made something dark and sinister curl inside her “And now it’s the time to collect”

 Catelyn’s horrified eyes went to her daughter as if realizing for the first time she was in the same room as them “Sansa! No! Get back into your room, I command you to”

The man in black lips curled in a wicked grin “No, my dear, come” He raised his hand towards her, and as if she was in some sort of spell her feet moved of her own accord.

“Child, what are you doing?” She heard her father shriek, saw out of the corner of her eyes how he tried to get too close to her but was unable to do it, bound to the floor by some kind of evil force.

“I’ve dreamt of you” She whispered as she stared into the stranger’s eyes, close enough to touch now “For months now”

He breathed her in, one lone finger trailing the curve of her pale neck “I know, you could sense the time was close” He murmured before placing a hand on top of her heart “You could feel me as much as I felt you”

“Sansa get away from that man!” Ned shrieked once again but Sansa was unable to do what he asked, the man in front of her was commanding her, pulling at something primal and hidden inside of her, she couldn’t get away from him even if she wanted to.

And she didn’t want to.

All the fear she had felt in the hill moments earlier had vanished and left nothing but a deep need behind. She needed this man; she needed him like she hadn’t needed anything before.

While Sansa hadn’t paid attention to the words uttered by her father, the stranger had and once arm had curled around her waist, pulling her to him as he sneered in the direction of the people behind her “You know I am more than a mere man” He gritted out “And you’ll do well not to cross me” His attention went back to the girl now in his arms “Come, my love, it’s time to go”

She shook her head, a confused expression crossing her face “But I… I don’t want to leave”

His expression darkened slightly “I am sorry my dear, but that is not up to discussion”

“No, no! Let her come with me” Catelyn Stark cried as she tried to throw herself at them but was pulled back by an invisible force “Don’t take her away, you monster!”

“Silence!” The man’s voice boomed in the nearly empty parlor “If you behave, I might even let her come to visit” He said disdainfully before turning his attention towards the redheaded girl in his arms  “Would you like that, my love?”

Sansa nodded silently, strangely at peace in the strange man’s embrace, unaffected by the cries of her parents behind her.

“Then it shall happen,” He said resolutely “For I am yours as much as you are mine, and whatever you wish you’ll get” A rough hand went to caress her skin with intensive care.

“Who are you?” Sansa asked as he moved them past the door and into the chilly dark night a tall dark horse waiting for them at the bottom of the hill.

His lips curled in a smile before he lowered his head to whisper in her ear “I’ve been called many names but you can always call me Jon Snow”

                                 My name is death and the end is here…

[ladysalvatore3]

“Break my heart. Break it a thousand times if you like. It was only ever yours to break anyway.”

[ladysalvatore3]

“There weren't words wide enough to hold what I felt for her."

[ladysalvatore3]

For all Eternity

“Hill House, not sane, stands against its hills holding darkness within. It has stood so for a hundred years and might stand a hundred more. Within, walls continue upright, bricks meet neatly, floors are firm, and doors are sensibly shut. Silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House. And those who walk there, walk together.”

The house on the top of the hill was illuminated tonight, like it was on October 31 every year. Warm yellow light spilled from every window and the sound of music and laughter echoed through the trees of the forest below.

On every other night the old mansion stood dark and imposing at the edge of the hill, an unwanted shadow in the tight-knight community that accommodated it, the source of many tales and whispers, the main presence in the nightmares of children and  dares whispered in the lips of teenagers.

The Stark Manor, as the people in town called it, had only one resident: The hauntingly beautiful and reclusive Sansa Stark, the eldest daughter of the family that once called the place its home and the only survivor of the wretched fire that ate up the mansion almost to the ground.

The red-haired woman was a girl of only seventeen when the flames licked almost every nook and cranny of her home, the heiress of an endlessly obscene fortune and the grand prize to be won by the boys in town. But she would have none of that because Sansa Stark had loved only one man her whole life and he had perished among everything else that was dear to her in the fire that changed her life twenty years ago.

Shortly after leaving the hospital Sansa Stark vanished from the small town of Winterfell, only to return three years later with a goal in mind: to restore her old family home. For the money she was willing to pay constructors from all over the estate came to her help, wood was chopped and bricks were pilled until the old Stark Manor was once again standing tall, its imposing figure looming above everything from its spot at the top of the hill.

Soon enough the only living Stark locked herself in her safe haven with no one but her housekeeper Mya Stone as company, at first the smallfolk did their best in trying to visit her, some out of pity, some out of curiosity and some out of true concern but she turned them away every single time until soon they stopped bothering.

So the house soon became the source of legends, a dark looming figure that remained dead for most of the year, except on Halloween when the lights made the place come alive and the sound of joy warmed the air around it.

That particular night Sansa Stark stared at her reflection in the mirror with a blooming smile on her face, a slight rosy tint adorned her cheeks as she twirled in the gauzy white dress she had chosen for the occasion. Mya had gone home quite a while ago after helping her to create the intricate braids in her hair and leaving her alone once again like she was every night, except for today when for a brief period of time she was able to experience joy for one more time.

The young girl spritzed her favorite floral perfume on her wrists and neck before taking the tube of lipstick resting on her dresser and applying a fine coat of the coral pink color to her lips, once she was done, she smiled to herself in the mirror and her eyes filled with the tears at the hopefulness that reflected in them.

Her face had transformed through the years, lines had appeared around her eyes and on her forehead, features had thinned, her skin wasn’t as soft as once was and the fullness of her innocent youth was left behind but there was no denying she was still a beautiful woman and that every year on this particular night she felt eighteen once again.

The quietness of her solitude was interrupted by the soft deft sound of a knock on the door, her heart fluttered and her stomach quivered at the anticipation that followed the sound. The young woman took one last look at her reflection before turning around and heading towards the door.

Her cold trembling hand rested on the knob and twisted it gently, the heavy wooden door parted to reveal a pair of sharp dark eyes, a mane of curly black hair, and the crooked smile that managed to leave her breathless even now twenty years after she truly saw it for the last time.

“It is time my love”

His voice was music to her ears; the lonely girl felt the weight of her solitude falling into her like a thousand heavy bricks at the sound of it, her clear blue eyes filled with tears as she threw herself into his comforting embrace. He breathed her in like he did every time he held her and sank his hands into her long auburn hair; she shivered in his embrace, in the feel of his cold body enveloping hers.

“I’ve missed you so much” She told him the words that were repeated each year, the words that pierced his cold undead heart.

They were supposed to spend the rest of their lives together, in love since such a young age, a bond so strong Sansa felt half of herself dying when his heart stopped beating after the fire took him away. A dream crushed, a girl abandoned and the promise of eternal love slipping away from her fingers, but she was granted small mercy, because on the night of October 31 each year the young girl was able to live among the dead and to share one night with the family she still loved so much.

The lovers pulled away from their embrace, his soft fingers swept away the tears that now stained her rosy cheeks before he grabbed her hands and looked at her appraisingly “You look stunning” She seemed to bloom under the force of his stare “You always look stunning” He squeezed her hands before kissing her forehead gently and placing her arm in the crook of his elbow “Come on dear, they’re all waiting for you”

Her heart soared as she walked with him and the undead house that made her feel so empty every day came alive, where once it was cold now it was warm, soft yellow lights illuminated every corridor, and the sound of laughter and soft music echoed in the otherwise silent walls. Sansa Stark had suffered so much pain at such a young age and twenty years later she wasn’t sure she knew how to be happy, except on days like today, when everything she lost was given back to her.

Clear bittersweet tears shone in the blue eyes of the young woman as they settled on the parents she had loved so much, in the mother who braided her hair every day when she was little and the father who loved to tell stories every night before going to bed. Their cold limbs circled her body and she never felt warmer, she allowed herself to be comforted by the familiar feel of love around her.

One pair of arms became another, she was swept away by Rob, her favorite brother who always used to steal lemon cakes from the kitchens to give her, then she was in the arms of Arya the sister with whom she constantly fought and for who she had cried the most, then it was the turn of Bran and Rickon, the young kids who had followed her everywhere and who were too young to be separated from this world.

With each person Sansa allowed herself to be swept away she felt parts of her broken heart being put together, the parts that will always belong to this house and the ones who made it impossible for her to leave. The tears that stained her face dried on as she laughed among her family, as they shared stories and reminisced about old happy days, minutes became hours in between loving words and touches exchanged.

The time was moving so quickly as it often did on nights like this, dread settling on the young woman’s stomach with the promise of a tomorrow as lonely as yesterday, sensing her distress his hand found hers and he led her to the center of the living room where he pulled her into his embrace and made her sway slowly to the tune of the music leaving the old record player.

“You seem sad” He commented as he spun her around gently.

She fixed a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes and looked at him from under long lashes “I am not, I could never be sad when I am with you”

He gave her a kind but somehow pitiful smile before pulling her closer to his body “You’ll be happier with more friends”

“I have a friend” She was quick to add, though she paid Mya a salary for managing all of her affairs regarding the management of the house she considered the young woman a friend, given she was the only one aware of her secret and had managed to keep tight-lipped all this time.

“I know”

She sensed there was something else he wanted to discuss, twenty years had gone by since the last time she truly saw him but to this day Sansa Stark still knew Jon Snow like the back of her hand. She huffed in frustration, her limbs going stiff in his arms “Why do you always try to ruin our night?”

“Because I love you,” He said as he dropped his forehead into hers “Because it pains me to see you like this because you should have moved on”

“I can’t” The words were a choked whisper leaving her mouth.

Sansa Stark had known Jon Snow since she was a little girl when he came into their lives as his mother came to work as the housekeeper and she had fallen in love with him when she was thirteen and never stopped since, he was as part of her life as her own blood, it was impossible to ask her to just forget about him and everything she loved so dear, to forget about all the hopes and dreams that remained in the old bones of the house that nearly burned to the ground.

“Yes you can”

She shook her head stubbornly, her chin jutting out in a defiant mannerism “If the goal was for me to move on they wouldn’t have let me see you all once a year” She told him  “How do you explain that… how can you expect me to forget about all of this”

Frustration took over his features, his strong hands grasping her cheeks as he pulled her face closer to his “Because this isn’t right, it isn’t normal” He said fervently, painful tears clouding his eyes as he looked down at her “You don’t belong into this darkness, the house has tricked you. And trapped you in its walls”

Somehow in the back of her mind she knew his words were true, that she was never meant to remain in this place. A miracle survivor the firemen and doctors had told her and yet she never felt miraculous at all, and she did try to move on, she went to live with her aunt right after the accident but she continued feeling incomplete, the ashes and the stone kept calling back to her, asking her to put it back together, to ensemble the rest of her heart.

So she did, and in return, the house gifted her with this, the chance to experience joy once again even if it was only one day each year, it didn’t matter, she could take anything that was giving to her.

“Why can’t I be trapped, if you are?” She answered truthfully; she couldn’t understand why he would want her to be anywhere else but here in his arms.

Jon closed his eyes as if in pain and dropped his head to rest in the crook of her neck, his nose inhaling her scent, relishing in the chance of holding her in his arms once again. His days were filled with pure torture, wandering the empty halls, seeing her but unable to touch her, watching her whiter away in the house that refused to let her go. “Because you belong in the sun, in the light”

“I belong wherever you are,” She told him fervently as her hold on him tightened “Please, let’s not fight. Not tonight”

Jon allowed the sensation to wash his body, the feel of her warmness next to his coldness. When he was alive Sansa had been the light of his days, he always thought their fate was to be together for eternity but life had gotten in the way and robbed them of their chance at happiness, now he was doomed to wander these empty halls for eternity, waiting impatiently for the chance of holding his lover once again “I love you” He whispered to her, thinking that perhaps she was right and this was a gift rather than a curse, in some way they were still together and perhaps will be for eternity.

The frown that had marred her forehead seconds earlier disappeared from her face and was replaced by a wide smile, white straight teeth peering at him from in between her soft coral lips “I love you more Jon” She threw her arms around his neck and brought him down for a kiss.

The rest of the family remained around them but for that moment it felt as if the world had shrunk to only them both, nothing else existed but their bodies meeting each other for as long as they could “We would have been real happy Jon” She murmured against his lips when their kiss subsided, the music had changed and an old favorite played now.

Jon released a tired sigh as he started moving his body to the tune of the music, her gracious body following his lead with quick ease “I know we would” He told her before placing a gentle kiss on her forehead “We are. I am happy whenever I am with you”

The two lovers swayed in each other’s arms until the first rays of the sun signaled the morning, a weight grew in the young woman’s chest as he led her down towards her bedroom, clothes were shed and kisses were shared and their bodies connected in the truest form of love.

When her eyelids closed and her lips rested in tender content, the young man leaned down to touch the tender skin of her cheek and realized he could no longer feel her warmness, the magic was gone and the hours wouldn’t trickle back soon enough for him to hold her again.

So he moved away from her and observed her, so peaceful, so pure. Another year would pass before he had the chance of holding her in his arms once again, long hours of watching and waiting until it was time to be enveloped in his warmness, but he would wait as he always did.

Patiently.

In love.

For all eternity.

[ladysalvatore3]

La Llorona

Sorrow and what isn't sorrow, Llorona, Everything is sorrow to me, Yesterday I was crying to see you, Llorona And today I cry because I saw you.

He is freezing cold the first time he sees her.

He lies in a bed of sweat damped sheets while tremors rack his frail body.

His mother places a cold damp cloth over his forehead and whispers sweet encouraging words but he is unable to understand a single thing she says.

His dark eyes are fixed on her.

Her dress is almost as white as her skin.

Pale limbs move towards him and red fiery hair blows slightly in the chilly wind.

Something inside him whispers he should be afraid but he isn’t.

His lips parts slightly as she settles on the bed on the other side of him.

Her pale hand reaches towards him at the same time as his mother’s only hers settle on his cheek instead of his forehead.

“I think the fever is starting to break” His mother whispers to someone in the room

His eyes remain locked on her blue ones.

Her hand is cold in his skin.

Her gaze icy as she stares down at him

“Not today” The words leave her lips and he almost weeps at the beautiful tune of her voice.

“Why not?” He asks although he isn’t sure the words are spoken out loud.

“Because it makes me sad”

 Woe to me, Llorona, Llorona, Llorona of sky blue, And, although it costs me my life, Llorona I will not stop loving you.

His body recovers but his mind remains haunted by the image of the woman at the foot of his bed.

Whenever he closes his eyes he sees her.

He feels her.

He wants to be scared but he isn’t.

He longs for her, craves her cold touch.

He wants to see her one last time.

He almost wishes he was succumbing to fever once again

Anything for the chance to stare into her blue eyes once more.

I don't know what's wrong with the flowers, Llorona, The flowers at the cemetery, When the wind moves them, Llorona, It seems that they're crying.

His sister is the one in bed the next time he sees her.

He is holding her frail hand when he sees the red haired woman sitting next to his sister in the same way she did with him.

He doesn’t move, doesn’t utter a word on fear she might go.

His mother and father cry the foot of the bed but he seems to be the only who can see her.

She strokes the dying girl’s hair tenderly before giving him a regretful look.

He is lost in her blue cold eyes and only comes back to his senses when he sees her leaning towards his sister.

Her red plump lips press against the other girl’s lips briefly before she pulls away and he feels his sister’s hand fall from his grasp.

They say I do not mourn, Llorona, Because they don't see me cry. There are dead people who do not make noise, Llorona, And their pain is much greater!

He is sleepless months after his sister’s passing.

Whenever he closes his eyes he sees her.

He isn’t afraid of her.

He wants her red lips on him

Just once, he wants to know what it feels to be kissed by her.

I climbed the highest pine tree, Llorona, To see if I could spot you, Since the pine was very tender, Llorona, Upon seeing me cry, it cried too.

Months turn into years and at last he forgets about her.

Or at least he thinks he does.

He marries and father’s children.

He watches loved ones come and go but he never sees her again.

He convinces himself he doesn’t want to see her anymore.

But sometimes at night he dreams about her blue eyes.

Sometimes at nights he finds himself longing for her lips on him.

Just once

Woe to me! Llorona, Llorona, Llorona take me to the river, Cover me with your shawl, Llorona, Because I'm dying of cold

 He is lying on his bed once again when he finally see her.

He’s a man of seventy.

His once dark hair is completely white now and his face no longer holds the innocence of youth but she is still the same.

Her white dress moves as she walks towards him.

Her fiery red hair grazes his arm as she leans towards him.

“It still makes me sad” She whispers into his ear before straightening up and moving away from him.

His hand shots up to her and he grabs her cold pale arm.

“Please” He whispers “I just want to feel it once”

She smiles sadly before sitting at the side of his bed like she did the first time he saw her.

“I’ve dreamt about you” He wants to say but doesn’t need to, because she cups his face and looks at him as if somehow she knows.

Her cold hand caresses him gently until he closes his eyes.

A soft gentle tune leaving her lips in the most precious melody

Then he feels it

Soft plump lips above his

Pace and fulfillment filling every space of his body as he moves his lips against hers

“At last” He thinks

This is all I need he whispers to himself as the final breath leaves his body.

 Two kisses I keep in my soul, Llorona,

That don't stray far from me.

The last one of my mother, Llorona,

And the first one I gave to you.

[ladysalvatore3]

Just a little bit of Magic

“Magic is really very simple, all you’ve got to do is want something and then let yourself have it.” -Halloweentown-

Eddard Stark the Third walked back home with the hands inside his pockets and his gaze following the movements of his feet, a rebel auburn curl fell over his eyes and he nearly scratched himself with the fake nails of his werewolf costume when he tried to move it away.

Around him houses sparkled with terrifying decorations, tomorrow wraps of candies were bound to lay scattered all over the floor, and the chaos of trick or treating children will surely overwhelm the place, right now the sound of his feet on crunching leaves and the occasional bout of laughter from a house nearby were his only companion.

He knew his longtime girlfriend, whom he had left at the door of her house only minutes earlier, was probably in her bathroom scrubbing away the paint of her poison ivy costume, her frantic hands moving over her skin with effective strokes to leave her skin squeaky clean. “I love a good dose of makeup, but the secret is to go to sleep with a clear skin” She always told him on the nights she stayed at his place.

The thought of the dark-haired girl brought a smile to his face and managed to lift his somehow frustrated mood, Amanda was unable to stay at his place tonight because her parents were in town and growing up in a formal catholic house meant they weren’t keen on allowing their unwed daughter spend the night at her boyfriend’s house.

And it wasn’t as if he wanted her to remain unwed, no, Eddard had been keeping the engagement ring that had been passed down in his family for generations in his pocket for weeks now and he still was unable to find the time to pop the question, which was the reason why he was frustrated in the first place. He knew Amanda was the right woman for him when he first met her in her second year of college and now six years later he was sure there was no other person he wanted to spend his whole life with but some part of him was still waiting for her to wake up and realize she was wasting her time on him.

If he was honest with himself he couldn’t quite understand what she saw in him, he wasn’t particularly handsome or fit even though she liked to think otherwise, he read perhaps a bit too much and liked to go to Comic Book Conventions more than what it was normal, contrary to him, Amanda was a stunning long-legged brunette with a major in finances who spoke four languages and had the brightest smile in the whole world.

He guessed his insecurities were holding him back from popping the question and he didn’t want them to rule his life anymore, he wanted to be the guy who organized the perfect place and a grand gesture for the woman he loved; he only wished he wasn’t that afraid to ask it.

Without realizing it he had reached his home, Eddard went inside and greeted his loyal companion Ghost, before going to the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water. He stood in his kitchen, hand clasped tightly around the thin glass while he mused over his night and wondered if Amanda would have managed to get rid of all her makeup already, he was about to pull out his phone and dial her number when the sound of murmurs made him stop in his tracks.  

The young man felt a chill running down his spine as every single hair in his body stood up, the temperature of the room had dropped a couple of degrees and an alien sense of weariness seemed to move in the air around him.

“Is someone there?” The man shouted into the darkness of the corridor when the sound of murmurs grew louder. He placed the glass of water back on the counter and going against every single thing he ever learned in horror movies moved further in the corridor from where the voices seemed to come from.

The shuffling of feet reached his ears “I think you got the wrong house” The distinctive voice of a woman whispered and Eddard stopped dead in his tracks when spotted two intruders standing right inside his living room.

The man had dark curly hair and the shadow of a mustache on his face, he was a few inches shorter than the woman next to him but what he lacked in height it was well compensated in built and confidence, he wore white pants and a striped wine-colored jacked that looked expensive. He was the one who spotted him first, something in his glance seeming familiar to the young man "No my dear, we didn't" He said before leaning towards the woman next to him and whispering in her ear  “He looks like you, don’t you think he looks like you?”

The woman was a stunning redhead wearing a black beaded flapper dress, she had strings of pearls around her neck, a pair of black gloves, and her hair was perfectly styled in old Hollywood waves, she was easily one of the most stunning women the young man had ever laid his eyes on and was currently looking at him with curiosity.

Her lips twitched in merriment for a single second before she turned towards the man next to her “No, I would say he looks like Robb”

A look of recognition crossed the man’s eyes before they moved back towards Eddard “Oh yes, maybe. Mixed with a bit of our Rhaegar” He answered with an affectionate smile as he raked his eyes over the young man “And the Tully hair of course”

The woman snorted “And Stark brood”

Eddard who up to this point had watched the exchange between the young couple as if in a trance finally snapped out of it, he stepped further into the living room as he raked his eyes around the room trying to find something that would help him defend himself from the pair of lunatics in case things got violent. “Who are you people?”

The woman gave a mischievous grin towards the man and laced her arms in his “We are Jon and Sansa Stark of course. Your great grand-parents”

Eddard threw his head back and released a boisterous laugh “Okay, is this a joke? It was Lyarra right?” He was aware his little sister believed herself the trickster on the family but this time she had outdone herself “That little witch likes to play jokes too much”

Sansa gave him a sympathetic smile “It is no joke my dear” She said as she released her hold on her partner and moved closer to Eddard “It is officially October 31 and we had been granted the chance to come and visit you”

Jon snorted as gave his wife an appreciative smile “I wouldn’t say granted but my sweet girl here happens to be very persuasive”

“I just couldn’t stand by and watch this mess anymore”

He shook his head at the same time he narrowed his eyes “I know you couldn’t. What would another eighty years without meddling into people's lives be?"

The woman pursed her lips as she turned to face her husband completely “Don’t be rude Jon” She admonished him.

Eddard observed the exchange with genuine interest and a bit of fear crawling into him, he wondered for how long Lyarra expected to maintain this charade and then wondered if perhaps his little sister was not the guilty one and he had drunk too many vodka sodas at the party because now that he thought about it the people in his living room did resemble the couple in the pictures that hanged in his grandfather’s house "Okay, I think I have officially gone mental," He said as he palmed the gray couch in front of him with deft fingers “I might need to sit down”

Sansa’s clear blue eyes went to him immediately “Of course, of course” She said “I would sit down myself but there’s isn’t much point” She made a show of sitting herself in the blue ottoman across the room but the furniture seemed to trespass her, much to Eddard’s shock.

The boy’s eyes widened almost comically “Whoaa! How did you do that?” His head was spinning trying to find a logical explanation to what his eyes were seeing while at the same time trying to convince himself the alcohol was the one to blame.

“Did what, deary?”

"This is a dream," The boy said as he took his hands to his hair, the fake nails of his costume tangling in his auburn curls “This is a dream, you’re in your bed, dreaming” He chanted to himself “Nothing is real”

Sansa clicked her tongue as she walked towards him "On the contrary, I think this is very real" Her hand rose in the air and went to touch a lamp nearby only to move through it as she had done with the ottoman "It will feel more real as the day progresses, but this is as real as I can make it now"

Eddard’s face went white pale, his hands were freezing cold and he was sure he was about to pass out “Okay, then” He said as he turned his back on the couple and sprinted towards the stairs, away from the mayhem in his living room.

Jon gave his wife a reproachful look “You really shouldn’t be so pushy”

*          *          *          *

The couple found the young man in a fetal position on top of his bed, the image was quite funny considering he was still wearing his werewolf costume and Sansa had to suppress the small laugh that wanted to escape from her lips since she knew her husband wouldn’t appreciate it.

Jon, being the sensible one, was the one who walked further into the room and took a seat by the foot of the bed "Please forgive my wife, she sometimes doesn't know when to stop" His voice used the calming tone in which he used to cuddle their children but his eyes were narrowed at her in an exaggerated annoyance gesture.

Eddard’s body froze when he realized a ghost was now sitting on his bed, Sansa muttered a curse under her breath wondering why it was always Jon the first one to be fully corporeal again. The young boy gulped visibly and seemed to shrink in his bed “Okay, let’s just…for a second pretend this is real” He said while his eyes remained tightly shut “Why the ghost of my long lost relatives would visit me?"

Sansa released an exasperated sound, unable to hold her tongue anymore “To finally give you the push you need to propose to that poor girl!” She shrieked as she walked further into the room, Jon’s stern gaze doing nothing to stop her “It’s been wretched to watch you carry that forsaken ring for a month without taking the courage to do it” The boy’s eyes finally shot open towards her so she took the opportunity to raise her left hand in the air and showed him the precious diamond adorning her ring finger “It is my ring by the way”

Eddard’s mouth started sputtering unrecognizable sounds as he abandoned the fetal position and cowered into the headboard "This is a dream" He muttered to himself as he shut down his eyes once more.

“You do look like my boy” Sansa commented as she tried to sit next to her husband only to realize not enough time had passed for her to be corporal  “He happens to be very disappointed in you at the moment,  he was a charmer you know, managed to snag his sweet Lucy with all that swagger”

Jon clicked his tongue and grabbed his wife by the waist, pulling her into his body “Let’s not make the boy feel bad, please dearie”

"Fine, fine," She said with a roll of her eyes as she allowed her fingers to get lost in the rich curls of her husband, she might not be able to sit on furniture yet but what did she care as long she could get her hands on him "But as I was saying Ed, can I call you Ed right? I happen to be a genius for grand gestures, romance is my thing and I am here to help you give that girl the proposal of her dreams"

“I thought we were a team” Jon murmured under his breath  

Sansa ignored her husband’s words and focused her gaze on the young cowering man who had happened to open his now and was watching her entranced "Just follow my advice and you will be all over that, what do they call it? Media Social? Whatever, you will be in everyone’s mouth because of how romantic you are”

Jon snorted “Definitely something to strive to”

Sansa released a huff and took her attention to the man still holding her by the waist “Oh shut it you cheeky bastard” The corners of her mouth were twisted in a smirk as she playfully slapped his cheek.

Jon chased her hand until he was able to press a soft kiss into the palm of it “You love my cheekiness” He said with a smile as he nuzzled into her hand.

Sansa’s eyes sparkled with delight as she looked down at her husband “I do love it, my love” She leaned down and latched her lips into his, his response was immediate and urgent as he abandoned his place in the bed and rose to pull her fully into his arms, their mouths crashing against each other in a hungry frenzy.  

The man on the bed coughed uncomfortably "Ehem, I’m still here” He nearly shouted as he watched Jon’s hand roaming all over his wife’s backside.

The couple pulled away from each other only to stare at the blushing man who was still sitting on the bed, embarrassment seemed to have replaced the fear in his features and Sansa nearly shrieked with delight.

“As I was saying, leave everything to me and I will make magic happen”

“I thought you were meant to only give him some pointers”

She rolled her eyes at her husband before directing herself to her great-grandson "Go to sleep now" She gave him an encouraging smile as she grabbed Jon's hand and led him outside of the bedroom, she wanted to finish what they had started moments ago "You'll want to look better than this when you pop the question”

“I don’t think that is possible” Jon muttered under his breath as he followed her into the hallway.

“Oh I think it will”

*          *          *          *

Morning definitely wasn’t what Eddard had been expecting. When he opened his eyes on the morning of October 31 he was convinced the strange talk he had with his long-dead relatives was the product of the too many vodka sodas he drank next to Amanda in the party the night before, so he laughed under his breath at the incredible imagination that conjured such crazy dreams, went to the bathroom and headed downstairs to have his first cup of coffee of the day.

Of course, when he arrived at the kitchen he found the two people of his dreams sitting at his breakfast table looking as dazzling as they had done the night before, he almost ran towards his bedroom once again when he spotted them but a swift movement of Jon stopped him from doing so.

After a lot of pacing and sputtered words, two cups of coffee, and a lot of whispered words to himself Eddard Stark the Third finally accepted that what was happening was real, as the skeptic one in the family he found it funny that he was the one these two had chosen to appear to.

Sansa’s eyes widened with delight when the young boy agreed to let them help no matter how uncomfortable he felt with the situation, she sensed that a part of him still expected everything to be a dream. They set out camp in his breakfast table and rehashed every single cheesy idea that came to their heads as a marriage proposal.

“Can you tell me again why you think my idea is absurd?” Eddard asked with exasperation, dusk was arriving and in a few minutes, he would need to go pick up Amanda to take her little sister trick or treating.

Sansa threw her hands in the air “I didn’t say absurd”

“She didn't" Jon seconded his wife.

“I just said that Amanda isn’t that kind of girl”

“The kind to love grand gestures?” Sansa asked with an outraged expression “Every girl is that kind of girl”

Eddard shook his head “She doesn’t love flashy things” A smile drew itself on his lips as he talked about his girlfriend "She is quiet and hates to be in the spotlight, and she is smart and beautiful and so out of my league"

“Whoa whoa," Jon interrupted with a hand in the air and a frown on his face “This again?”

During the last couple of hours where Eddard and Amanda’s relationship had been under the scrutiny of the ghost lovers the young man’s insecurities had come to front seat in more than one occasion and no matter how much Sansa tried to make him see how much of a great catch he was he just didn’t seem to get it.

Eddard released a defeated sigh and slumped back in his chair, one stubborn auburn curl covered his forehead giving him a very boyish look “The problem isn’t the way to propose her but the fact that I fear she says no” The words tumbled out of his mouth in a fearful whisper.

Sansa gave him a sympathetic smile as she reached for his hand not missing the way he stiffened at the contact of her cold skin “Why would she do that?”

“Because she is too good for me”

Sansa huffed “So what? I am too good for my dear Jon but here I love him madly years after we left this world” A wicked smile was directed towards her husband who couldn't stop himself from reaching to her thigh underneath the table

“You really know how to flatter a man” He murmured as he squeezed her playfully.

“Oh you need no flattering” She scolded him as she removed his hand from her leg and forced him to concentrate on the matter at hand.

Jon's face sobered up, for a moment his eyes went to his wife and he drank in every single one of her features, if he closed his eyes he could still see her as the fifteen-year-old girl he fell in love with. With a deep breath and kind eyes, he spoke to young Eddard “Let me tell you something, I understand what it feels to be insecure, I felt less than everyone else my entire life” He paused “I was born a bastard—“

“You were not a bastard—“

Jon gave his a wife a hard look that meant she was to let him speak without interruptions “I was born believing I was a bastard, shunned by everyone, mother didn’t have much money and most of the times I felt useless” Too long had passed since he let himself remember such times, to remember the gripping fear of being rejected by everyone, the fear of being alone forever “Imagine when I happened to set my eyes in golden girl over here…She was—she was what every man wanted and not even for a second I believed she could return my feelings”

Sansa released Eddard’s hand and angled her body so it was now facing fully towards her husband “But I did” Her hands went to cup his cheek, adoring blue eyes looking up at him from underneath her lashes “Because I did not care about any of those things, what was important was the way I felt whenever his eyes were on me, whenever he touched me” She whispered, a secret smile playing on her lips “And we could have lost our future together if Jon had been afraid to tell me how he felt”

A dark shadow crossed over his features at thoughts of the future that could have been “Yes, she was going to marry the most annoying pompous man God ever created”

Sansa released a breathless laugh “Because I truly believed you didn’t love me”

Jon dropped his forehead into hers, nose bumping with each other playfully “But I came clean, showed her my heart and the rest is history”

She pecked his lips before taking her attention back to the other person sitting at the table who was now looking at them with a half-smile on his lips “That’s why we don’t want you making that fatal mistake, don’t assume you know what’s in her heart” She told him “If you truly believe she is the one you want to spend the rest of your life with don’t let her slip away”

Resolve seemed to cloud over Eddard’s eyes, his jaw clenched and his back seemed straighter as he gave Sansa a timid smile “You’re right, you're right. I love her, I love her more than anything and I don’t ever want to lose her”

Eddard realized he had let his fears overpower him, he knew in his heart that Amanda loved him as much as he did her, she wasn’t going to say no, they were meant to be. And perhaps he would never be good enough for her but he would damn sure try every single day to become the man she deserved.

Sansa’s smile widened, her body buzzed with energy as she clapped her hands in front of herself “What are you waiting for then?” She asked before standing up and disappearing from the room for a couple of seconds “I got you a little something” She announced when she walked back in the room carrying in her hands a carved pumpkin.

Both Eddard and Jon threw their heads backs and laughed when they read the inscription.

"That might be a perfect idea," Eddard said with amusement as he stood up to retrieve the pumpkin from her hands.

“I am clever beyond my years”

Eddard placed the pumpkin on top the counter and then turned around to stare at the odd-looking couple sitting in his kitchen “This day has been the weirdest day of my life and I didn’t think I would say this, but I truly hope I see you two next year”

Sansa’s eyes clouded with tears and she couldn’t stop herself from going to him and throwing her arms around his frame “Good luck!” She whispered into his ear before placing a gentle kiss into his cheek which made him blush.

He thanked them one last time before dashing towards the stairs to get himself ready to pick up Amanda, Jon and Sansa watched him go with smiles on their faces.

"I knew I could pull this off," Sansa said with a gleam in her eyes.

Jon chuckled as he moved towards her “You could? This was a team effort” His arms sneaked around her waist and pulled her body towards him, Sansa smiled wickedly at him as she turned her body to press herself fully into his.

“I guess you helped a bit”

His lips widened in a grin “You cheeky minx” Jon leaned down and kissed her languidly, their bodies molding into the other as the chilly autumn air filtered through the windows  “I love you” He whispered into her lips.

Sansa sighed contently as she clutched his body into hers “I love you too my dear, now and every Halloween” She nuzzled his nose and tugged at his hands “Come on, let’s take a walk” A smile widened on her lips as they crossed the door towards the buzzing streets where people laughed and played around protected by the magic the night provided them.

THE END

[feministism]

compare.

[ceremonial]

Death cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a while.

The Princess Bride (1987), dir. Rob Reiner

[ladysalvatore3]

We've got tonight, who needs tomorrow?

Deep in my soul, I've been so lonely All of my hopes fading away

.

She stares at her reflection on the bathroom mirror for a couple of seconds trying to guess if the signs on her face will give away the fact she spent her entire shower having a good cry, her mother surely will pester about what could have brought such an unwanted feeling in one of the happiest days for their family, and in truth, Sansa wouldn’t know what to answer for she isn’t quite sure why the gloominess seems to be a constant shadow for her in this particular day.

Her big brother is getting married, the only man besides her father whom she had dared to love is getting married and she should be ecstatic that he has found a good girl to share his life with, but as the wedding neared and her family started going crazy over it, it became harder to ignore the fact that she was a twenty-seven woman who has never had a boyfriend.

Yes, she had been kissed, yes there had been some fumbling and groping with a guy when she was in college and even a couple of failed dates. But to this day Sansa had yet to find a boy who would give her the desire to abandon her independence, to feel the need to share her time with someone who could understand all her quirkiness and her love for horror movies.

Sansa was aware she was a rarity among women her age; all of her friends were already engaged or well into long term relationships and kept pestering her about the fact that if she continued being so picky she would end up a spinster. How is it possible you’re still a virgin at twenty-seven?  Are you frigid or something? Do you even like boys? How come you’re twenty-seven and never had a boyfriend? The questions tormented Sansa more than she liked to admit, she didn’t even know women could be virgin shamed until it started happening to her and it wasn’t even like she desired to hold onto her virginity, it just hadn’t happened and as the years went by she even started wondering if it ever will.

All of that had reached the boiling point the morning of her brother’s wedding after her grandmother had made a snarky comment about her younger sister Arya being the next one to be married, so Sansa had spent the last twenty-five minutes crying her eyes out under the hot spray of the shower.

But no matter how overwhelmed and jaded about everything she felt, today was Robb’s day and she wouldn’t let anything ruin it, so she was going to plant a wide smile on her face and pretend everything was all right in the world.

With a deep sigh and one last look at her reflection in the mirror, she opens the bathroom door and faces the chaos that waits for her at the other side.

I've longed for love like everyone else does I know I'll keep searching after today

The bride and groom look completely blissful, if she were in a cartoon Sansa was sure she would be able to see heart eyes in her brother and his new wife as they sway in each other’s arms on the dance floor.

Robbie William’s melodic voice resonates in the wide ballroom as the newlyweds dance to the rhythm of “She’s the one” and the redheaded girl sitting alone with a glass of champagne in her hand feels her heartbreaking a little bit because a part of her always imagined herself dancing to that song in her wedding.  

Not that she would ever get married at the rate she was going.

She huffs and downs the rest of the bubbly liquid in her glass, she was a bit annoyed with herself if she was being honest; she had a good job, a family that loved her and a couple of really good friends, she didn’t want to be that woman that felt everything in her life was worthless because she didn’t have a man at her side or that a husband was all she needed to be happy but… sometimes she felt so alone.

“Some people might say you’re not a having a good time Sansa”

The voice that speaks to her startles her and it takes her a minute to erase the surprise in her face as she twists her neck to stare at the man who had taken a seat next to hers.

Jon Snow.

Her brother’s best friend and the boy she had crushed her entire high school years, the one boy who had managed to make butterflies flutter in her stomach and unfairly the one man she kept comparing every other she met during her life.

“I don’t know what gave you that impression," She says as she places her now empty glass on top of the table and gives him what she expects is a charming smile “I am having the best time of my life”

His lips widen in that flirty smile she remembers so well and she feels her stomach dropping at the sight of it. He still is the most handsome man she has ever seen, his hair is longer now and secured behind his head in the sexiest man bun and a thick beard now covers his once slick jaw but underneath all those changes he is still the boy who pulled at her ponytail whenever he visited and made jokes about her obsession with the Twilight movies.

“I don’t know why I don't believe you," He tells her as he leans back in his chair and extends one of his arms so it is now resting on the back of her chair “It must be the sad puppy look”

Sansa rolls her eyes and tries to fake nonchalance at his comment “I am just overcome with emotion” She says and moves her eyes away from him, the truth was Jon Snow makes her nervous to extreme, she spent half her teenage years babbling in front of him because she couldn’t string a coherent sentence in his presence.

She was sure he had caught that and the other million things that gave away her crush on him and probably spend all those years making fun of her silliness all the while having the time of his life with his stunning girlfriend Daenerys.  

Kenny Roger’s sweet soft voice makes her resurface from her bitterness and she feels her eyes brimming with tears as the first words of “We’ve got tonight” starts coming out of the speakers; this wasn’t because of her mood or the wedding, it was simply because she always cried whenever she listened to that song.

Sansa feels Jon’s position change next to her and seconds later she finds her small hand being engulfed by his bigger one “Come on sweetling, dance with me” Emotion clogs in her throat as she stares at him and sees the way his gentle eyes shine under the ballroom lights.

She nods her agreement and lets herself be sweep by him towards the dance floor, the lights had dimmed and all around them, couples started crowding the space but somehow it is as if she is alone with him in that exact moment.

“I’m glad you ditched the heels” He murmurs playfully in her ear “Either wise this would be very awkward for me” She releases a laugh at his joke and instinctively moves closer to him as one of his hands settles on her lower back.

“You look beautiful tonight Sansa”

She closes her eyes and drops her head into his neck, not allowing herself to think how much she will regret her behavior later. His arms around her tighten as they are swept away by the soft music, their bodies moving so in sync that it is as if they had been doing that for a long time.

Jon Snow had been Sansa Stark first real crush; it hadn't been love at first sight kind of crush but more of a growing affection, their family had started inviting him for Friday night dinners and board game night on Sundays, he became another member of the Stark household and with every day he spent with them Sansa felt her affection for him growing.

Jon was smart and kind, he was funny and handsome and always trying to help someone. He had the gift of making people comfortable in his presence and possessed a charm that was so uniquely his that she had been unable to find it in anyone else, she didn’t know if he was aware of the effect he had on everyone else but she sure that almost every person he met during his life was half-way in love with him.

She sure as hell had been, and though after she went away to college their paths rarely crossed he was always a constant thought in her life. She knew she had been nothing but a blip on the road of his life, Robb's ginger sister who he liked to tease but for Sansa, he had been the one man she could compare everyone else to, whenever she dated a new guy or someone asked for her number she always expected to feel the flutter in her belly that to this day only Jon Snow could evoke.

Sometimes she wondered if perhaps the lasting strength of her affection for him was conditioned by the fact that her feelings for him always remained platonic but right now as she danced with him to one of her favorite's song she couldn't help but think that no matter the circumstances she would never manage to feel for another person what Jon Snow was making her feel, and the thought scared her.

“You’ve always been beautiful…” He murmurs, his words getting lost in the accords of the music “…and kind and so very smart” Sansa feels a flare of hope growing in her chest and chastises herself for allowing it “I’ve always been half in love with you”

Her blue eyes widen as she moves her face so she can stare at him "What?" the word is stammered out of her mouth, her cheeks coloring at the weight of his gaze on her "It can't be possible"

Jon chuckles as one of his hand moves to cup her face "Why can't it? I know this is the last thing you expected tonight but I saw you sitting there by yourself, looking as beautiful as a princess and I couldn't stop myself, these words had been wanting to break free for so long and I thought today was appropriate since we are celebrating love"

She stares at him with her mouth wide open, unable to form a sentence as the weight of his words comes crashing down on her, she didn’t even realize they have stopped moving until she feels someone bumping her from behind.

“I’m sorry” She mumbles though she isn’t sure who she wants do direct her words, blue frightened eyes stare at the man in front of her for the split of a second before she dashes out of the dance floor, her emerald green dress floating behind her as she rushes to the door that leads towards the garden.

I know it's late and I know you're weary

I know your plans don't include me

Still here we are both of us lonely

 Sansa stops in front of the most beautiful rose bushes she had seen in her entire life, one of the things that had sealed the deal for her brother and his girlfriend about the location for their wedding were the beautiful gardens where she was currently in.

“Care to tell me why you decided to run?” The voice comes from behind her and it still seems incredible to her that it was that same voice the one who whispered those things to her minutes earlier

“What you’re saying can’t be true” She answers without turning around, her pale blue eyes fixed completely on the dark thorns that surround the rich redness of the roses in front of her.

“And why is that?” She feels his weight on her back, his breathing caressing the nape of her neck in a way that makes her feel hyper-aware of her own body "Why is it so hard to believe that I could feel something for you?"

Sansa releases a frustrated huff before deciding to turn around only to be face to face with him "Because I am nothing but your best friend's sister because you never gave as much as an indication that you had any feelings towards me…because I've been in love with you since I was a teenager!"

Dark chocolate eyes widen in surprise at her admission “You have?” He stammered as he takes off his hands towards his hair, disheveling it in the process "I had no idea"

Her nostrils flare as a surge of frustration goes through her and makes her shove at his chest with her small hands “How can you say that? It was obvious for everybody; didn’t you notice the complete mess I was whenever you were around?”

Jon shakes his head, disbelief still present in every faction of his face "How could I know Sansa? You rarely spoke to me, you left whenever I walked into the room, refused to make eye contact, most of the times I was sure you hated me"  

“That was because you made me nervous!”

“How was I supposed to realize that?”

An unexpected laugh tumbles out of her lips at the look of bewilderment on his face and the realization that they both had been so oblivious to the other’s feelings, Jon soon follows her bout of laughter, his body doubling over as he clutches his belly while the laughter pours out of him.

They laugh together for a couple of seconds before their eyes meet each other and  the intensity in his stare becomes too much to stand “Why didn’t you say anything?” She asks softly as her eyes fix on the gold color of her toenails.

A disgruntled noise leaves his lips before she feels him moving towards her “You were Robb’s little sister, you were sixteen at the time, do you know much of a creep I felt?” She raises her eyes just in time to see a wince on his face “I know every predator sounds like this but you were so mature for your age, you knew about so many things and were the only whom I could have decent discussions regarding Hollywood golden age. I was smitten with you, but you were so young and then… you went to college and when you came back it was as if we’ve never met before”

She still remembers the resolution she made the first day she arrived on campus, she stood in front of the mirror of her dorm and vowed to be more open and social, to leave behind her silly crush on her brother’s best friend and embrace her new life.

But the truth was no even her best efforts could accomplish that; she made some good friends, learned a million interesting things, and lived thousands of great experiences but her high school crush remained present in her life, always an unwanted shadow wanting to break free.

Goosebumps broke across her skin under the heated intent of his gaze “I tried putting distance between… well my crush on you and everything else” She admitted “I didn’t want to be a silly little girl in love with an unattainable man anymore”

We've got tonight

Who needs tomorrow?

Let's make it last, let's find a way

 A half-smile breaks on his lips as he stares at her “We made a mess of things, right?” He asks as he raises his right hand towards her, a lock of her bright red hair is captured by skilled fingers, she feels her cheeks heating up at the intimate touch, so different from the mischievous fraternal way in which he used to pull on her ponytail.

“Yeah we did” The words leave her mouth in a breathless whisper, her blue eyes fixed on him as he moves even closer to her. His fingers abandon her lock of hair, his arms move until his hands are resting on her waist and pull her body towards his.

Sansa feels like she's floating, she can't feel anything else but the scorching touch of his hands, nothing exists at that moment but the two of them under the clear round moon.

“But here were are, finally on time” He whispers and he is so close now that his minty breath dances across her face “And tonight couldn’t be more perfect”

“No, it couldn’t” She admits with a half-smile as she allows her hands to wander the planes of his body, her fingers touch and discover the softness of his skin and the thickness of his hair before she settles them on the nape of his neck.

Sixteen-year-old Sansa squeals inside her and for a moment she fears this is nothing but a dream and almost waits for the alarm clock to wake her up any moment, but it never does, instead, she feels only the touch of his hand wandering towards her back, making their chests flush against each other.

"Let's find a way, Sansa, at last," The words dance across her lips before he leans down and joins them in a kiss, the kiss the red-haired girl had been waiting her entire life.

Sansa Stark doesn’t know what life has in store for her, doesn’t know what tomorrow will bring for her, and the man in whose arms she is currently in but for tonight she’ll let herself dream and be completely happy.

Tonight everything is possible.

We've got tonight, babe

Why don't we stay?

[maxon-america-maxerica]

“Break my heart. Break it a thousand times if you like, it was only ever yours to break anyway.”

— Maxon Schreave (basically redeclaring his love for America. And stating my favorite quote in all books ever)

[ladysalvatore3]

Hold me down in the Zombie Town

Sadness is contagious

White nights outrageous

I'm feeling so, restless now

The sky was void of stars that night; a humid fog crept around the trees surrounding the house and made people hurry away from the place in their way to candy picking.

“She’s a witch!” Children murmured between each other as they threw sideway glances towards the imposing Victorian house while their mothers and nannies tugged on their sleeves so they wouldn’t dare to stop in front of it.

The red-haired woman observed the scene with her lips twisted in a bitter scowl “Some witch I am” She muttered under her breath before moving away from the window and seeking refuge in her old flower printed chair where a cozy blanket and her current book were resting.

Her eyes lost themselves in the scribbled words in black ink that stared back at her but her mind was lost somewhere else, in black curls and grey eyes hard as steel. Her chest tightened in pain and her eyes started burning with the need to shed the tears she had been holding onto since the night her lover abandoned her, three days ago.

She used the long sleeve of her lacy ivory nightgown to clean the tears that had stained her face and stared at her hands for a couple of seconds, hands that had failed to do what they were supposed to.

“It wasn’t supposed to end up this way” She murmured to herself before closing the neglected book in her hand and throwing it against the wall with an angry cry “It wasn’t supposed to!”

Her red-rimmed eyes drilled holes into the offensive object that was now lying on the floor, it was the first edition of her favorite historical novel and her husband had given it to her as a gift two Christmases ago before the world around them started crumbling down.

Feeling guilty for neglecting her precious gift, Sansa Stark stood up and went to retrieve the book from the floor, her hands touching the old worn-out pages with deft fingers as she felt the pressure in her chest expanding. If she closed her eyes she could still see the overjoyed expression on her husband's eyes as he waited for her to open the box and reveal the content inside, Jon Snow had always enjoyed being the giver rather than the receiver of gifts.

"The one gift I wanted to give you---" Her words trailed off as her eyes went to the window once again, the night sky mocking her from where it looked at her "—and I couldn't"

There's nothing more, but empty streets

I miss that green in evergreen

It felt like a dream

But no, this is real

Sansa Stark had been special since the first moment she arrived into the world, a small baby with a mop of red hair who refused to release a single cry as she was pulled out of her mother’s womb, the bearer of wide blue eyes who had every single member of her family wrapped around her small finger.

An extraordinary child among a family of special people; beautiful, smart, kind and with a gift, no one else in her family possessed: the ability to see the future through her dreams. It had started with small things that could have passed as coincidences until they grew to things not even the family could deny, Sansa had a powerful gift, one no one should know about.

“A gift or a curse” She murmured to herself as her mind snapped back from memories of her past and settled once more on the empty house around her.

Sansa Stark had met the love of her life when she was a sophomore in college, their eyes had found each other in a crowded pub one October night and nothing in life had been the same for her ever since.

His name was Jon Snow and was the most handsome, gentle, hardworking man Sansa ever had the pleasure of meeting. Their love was fast and passionate, a force so consuming everything ceased to exist whenever they were together.

The young couple got married within eight months of meeting each other and spent the next five years in complete bliss, of course, until the dreams started…

Highly aware of that which made her different from her siblings, Sansa Stark had spent her entire life trying to get rid of that gift that tortured her so much, so it came as a complete shock when on a warm summer night a dream so vivid as the ones she used to have as a child assaulted her.

“Come back to me”

She could still, hear herself murmur as the images of her husband’s bloodied body came back to haunt her, images that had followed her everywhere for several months before they came to be.

Jasmine is falling from the sky

The rain smells of the ones who died

He left me alone

Gone, gone, gone

 “The Gods gave you this gift for a reason” An old friend of her mother had said “You have the power to change this” Her words had seemed so true at the moment that Sansa like a fool had believed her.

She allowed Melissandre to teach her the craft with an almost obsessive force. At first, Jon would roll his eyes and laugh at her antics, diminishing her fear for her dreams and reassuring her everything would be all right, they were nothing but dreams he said, but Sansa could not believe him.

She stopped eating, going out with her friends and even visiting her family; her entire energy was centered on this new magic Melissandre was teaching her, the power which would allow her to stop her dreams from becoming a reality.

Sansa’s obsession became so great that even people outside their inner circle started noticing something was wrong with her.

She’s finally lost her mind.

She is a witch.

I knew no one could be that lucky.

Poor girl.

She’ll lose it all.

Indeed she did, because no matter how much she learned about this new dark magic, how hard she worked to learn the craft and put to work all her mentor had shown her, she still couldn't stop the six-wheeled truck that crashed into her husband's car that dark October night three days ago.

“You failed” She muttered under her breath as she placed the abused book she had been holding on top of her dresser and proceeded to close the blinds, not wanting a single drop of the joy children were experiencing in this fine night to seethe into her home, she didn’t deserve happiness, she deserved nothing but darkness.

I have to run, but I can't scream

I have to kill and it's not sin

There's no such a thing

'Couse here, you have to win

As she slipped into the cold silk covers her mind took her back to three nights ago, to the lifeless body of his husband on the ground, matted curls around his forehead as she performed the ritual as instructed by that who they called the Red Witch.

She had failed once again and had let her husband slip through her fingers after her brother found her in the middle of the ritual, a horrified look in his eyes as he took in the scene before him.

He will never understand. He can’t know what it is to have half of you being ripped away.

She had locked herself in her room ever since, with nothing but her happy memories and dark thoughts to keep her company. No one would ever understand that all the magic and everything that made her special had disappeared the moment her husband’s eyes had closed.

She had nothing more, she was empty and cold and wanted nothing more than to close her eyes and be swallowed by that darkness that lurked around her all the time, to finally, surrender to it all.

Her eyes closed and her mind shut down as memories of his dark curls floated around her head, as sleep claimed her she could have sworn she perceived his smell around her but knew he had to be nothing but her imagination, for he was gone and would never return.

You remind me of him and he is dead

He promised to take me to far lands

He left me alone

Gone, gone, gone

 Her eyes flew open suddenly a couple of hours later, thunders cracked outside the window and she wondered briefly how such a quite beautiful night had turned into the raging storm that trashed outside her window. She felt a chill running up her body and tightened the soft silk bed sheet around her, she was about to close her eyes once when she noticed the open blinds and felt someone staring at her from across her room.

With her heart in her throat she sat up and squinted her eyes at the person sitting in her favorite chair, he was leaning with his elbows over her knees and staring at her, with such force, it rattled to her core.

A shout started building up at her throat as she clutched the bedsheet to her chest when she recognized the mane of black curls covering the stranger’s forehead.  “Jon? Is—Is that you?” Her words were nothing but a trembling whisper in the darkened night.

She heard him sigh, the sound echoing in the walls around her "It's me, sweet girl"

Her blood went ice cold at the sound of a voice that sounded so similar and yet different from the one she remembered.

“I thought---how are you here?”

He stood up and moved towards her, his steps awkward and disoriented, as if his limbs were too heavy for him to handle them “You know how am I here” He told her in that low raspy voice, the moon revealing him to her as he moved closer “You brought me back”

Realization and shock dawned on her “It worked” She murmured in awe as she stared at him from where he stood at the foot of her bed. He was stark naked and filthy with dirt, his hair was matted around his head and his body was filled with cuts and bruises, but besides that everything else was the same…almost everything.

His eyes were darker, feral and cold in a way they had never been before.

“It worked” He murmured before crawling on the bed towards her.

His movements were slow and clumsy as he went to her and removed the silk sheet she gripped against her chest “Jon…” She murmured as his hand went to touch the skin of her neck, Sansa’s mind couldn’t fully comprehend what was happening, couldn’t accept the fact that the love she had believed lost was in front of her.

"You are so very beautiful, just like the first time I met you," He said before his head went to rest above her chest, the scrub on his cheek scratching the sensitive skin of her chest “Your hair was in a ponytail that day, remember?” He asked and Sansa wanted to weep at the memories that assaulted her “Your hips swayed as you got closer to me, a flair in your step caused by too many beers, remember what you said to me?”

Her eyes filled with tears as her hands went to rest on his hair, her fingers gliding through the tangled curls “I cannot believe my future husband has such a bad taste in beer”

Sansa's heartfelt about to burst with happiness because the man she was holding at the moment was her husband, she didn't know how it was possible and didn't want to understand, she was nothing but grateful for this second chance being granted to her.

His chapped lips opened and latched onto one of her breast over the thin material of her nightgown, Sansa moaned low in her throat as she allowed herself to fall back in the bed "I was yours at that moment and you were mine” His words held a darkness that hadn’t been there before but instead of frightening her it made her feel exhilarated “You are mine, aren’t you sweet girl?” He said as he towered over her, his knees parting her legs as his fingers worked on the lacy underwear she had gone to bed with “You’ll forever be mine”

Sansa’s mouth opened in a silent gasp as he pushed inside her with more force than she expected “Only mine” He whispered before taking her lips in a hungry kiss, her fingers digging into his hips and urging him on, wanting nothing more than to feel all him.

“Only yours” She gasped against his mouth as he fucked all of her sadness away. She would never let him out of her sight now, he was back and she would never allow anyone to keep him away from her.

As if reading her thoughts, he pulled away from her mouth and took his lips to her ear “You’ll never be rid of me now” his words seethed into her skin as her orgasm swept her away, her toes curling in pleasure as she felt him shudder against her before releasing himself inside her body.

There was a voice in the back of her mind who kept whispering what she was doing wasn’t right, unnatural it shouted at her, but she paid no mind to it.

His body went limp against her, his face burying itself on her neck as her arms wrapped around him with an almost bruising force “I’ll always be next to you” He whispered into the night,

Sansa finally allowed the tears to escape her eyes as she clutched his body closer to hers, her lover was finally back, her magic had done the impossible, her Jon now rested on her bed and she would defy anyone who dared to take him away.

Nothing would keep them apart from now on.

I'm feeling so, restless now

Hold me down

In the zombie town

[ladysalvatore3]

Sweet Winter Girl

He watched and watched from the day she was born

Her eyes were like jewels engraved in his bones

No heart in his chest and void of a soul

Possess her he wished and swore on the snow

 He followed her everywhere and kept her away

From all those who wished to take her away

Her shadow he was and his greatest joy

Was lie down with her in the clear cold snow

 Her body got weak and the light in her eyes

Dimed and dimed till it was all out

Tears in his eyes for the first time in life

He watched her amid friends for one last time

 Death was his name and he couldn’t hide

The relief in his eyes as he held her for the first time

“I’ve loved you forever, my sweet winter girl

Tell me you’ll stay and fill me with joy”

 Lapis lazuli eyes sparkled with delight

As she gave herself to him for the first time

“I’ve always felt you near my sweetest friend

I’ve always known that death was my place”

“So hold me here forever and never let go

Sharing our love in the clear white snow”

This was the tale of the one without soul

Who fell in love with the sweet winter girl

[jonsa-week]

Jonsa Week 2019: 18th - 24th Nov

@jonsa-week would like to invite you to participate in our event! All fanworks accepted.

How to participate?

Post your works that relate to any of the below prompts on the relevant day, tag @jonsa-week and also use the #jonsaweek. We will reblog your entry and add you to our master list once the event is over. If you are posting a fic, please post under the jonsa-week collection on AO3 also!

Prompts - Good things come in threes, so we have chosen three prompts for each day of the week!

Day 1 (Mon 18th): Past ~ Present ~ Future

Day 2 (Tues 19th): Quotes ~ Colours ~ Tropes*

Day 3 (Wed 20th): Winterfell ~ King’s Landing ~ Castle Black

Day 4 (Thurs 21st): Songs ~ Myths ~ Lies

Day 5 (Fri 22nd): Dragons ~ Wolves ~ Birds

Day 6 (Sat 23rd): Modern ~ Historical ~ Remix**

Day 7 (Sun 24th): Bastards ~ Royalty ~ Free Choice

Please make sure that you use appropriate warning tags such as nsfw if applicable.

You can create as many or as few entries as you want and you don’t have to try and use all three prompts for each day. Your entries can be as loosely based on the prompt as you wish. As long as you’re having fun and enjoying Jon x Sansa!

* Tropes are recurring literary and rhetorical devices, motifs or clichés in creative works. For example, some of the more popular tropes in fanfiction are ‘there was only one bed’ and ‘they were roommates’. 

Obviously, we all love these fannish tropes, but the possibilities are endless! 

Tropes that are already present in Jon and Sansa’s respective stories are ‘Princess in the Tower’ and ‘Back from the Dead’. 

But there’s also Heroes like Redheads, Arranged Marriage, Salty Teens,…

If you want to read more about tropes, you can find everything there is to know about them right here!

** Have you ever daydreamed about Jon and Sansa as Jack and Rose from Titanic, Cesare and Lucrezia from The Borgias, Willabeth from Pirates of the Carribean or even Jim and Pam from The Office?

Now is your chance to make that daydream come true! The remix prompt gives you the chance to put Jonsa in any of your other favourite pairings’ shoes.

Credit for this wonderful idea goes to the lovely people over at @jonxsansaremix!

Late entries - we will accept late entries, however, if they are posted after the master list, they will be added on as a reblog. We will aim to get the master list up between 1-2 weeks after the final day of the event.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask!

[winterseige]

“You look so handsome!”

And the way Kit said “ Thank you”

had the same energy with “I like the wolf bit”

BIT CHIEBDNSLDLDLLSSKSKW