There was a lot Jon could keep his mind occupied with if he let it. How much work he would have to catch up with once he was back in London, all the meetings he would have to endure just to prove that he was an asset to his familyâs company rather than a liability. Instead he thought about the family he missed. His father, while a man of few words loved him and treated him no differently from his other children. He thought of Bran and Rickon who always wanted to hang around him whenever he was in town. He thought of Arya who, like himself, was always trying to prove herself to their family. He even thought of Catelyn and his sister Sansa, he didnât know what they might think of his disappearance but whatever they felt about him, he missed them as well. His brother Robb, also his best friend, was the one he missed the most even though he was the one heâd seen most recently. Only a week ago in fact.
Robb had been the one that dropped him off at the airport despite the other pressing matters he had to tend to. A crisis with their latest imports for one, his fiance he hadnât been able to get a hold of the other. Leaving on an airplane was the last thing Jon had wanted, but so long as he was a Stark he had to act like one, and he was the only one free to go check on the trouble their office in LA was having. Of course now all those problems seemed tedious, and he had wished more than anything that for once heâd gone with his heart instead of his head and stayed by Robbâs side. At least then he wouldnât have ended up stranded on an island in the middle of wherever the hell they were. One in a million they say, chances are one in a million for a plane to fall right out of the sky. Of couse that one had to be one he was on.
Jon was trying to remain optimistic, to have hope. He closed his eyes under the night sky believing that help will come, that they are looking, and when he opened them the next morning, that hope remained. Whether or not he was being foolish didnât matter to him because that hope was keeping him alive. This wasnât it. This wouldnât be the place where he died. And so he helped. Rather than living in fear of the âwhat ifâsâ he would take these circumstances day to day believing that one of those days a plane or a boat would find them. Thatâs why he had chosen to stay on the beach when the group had stumbled across caves large enough for them to stay. It had shelter, a place to collect fresh water, it was definitely warmer inland, but he couldnât do it. Jon couldnât camp in with them, not when he still earnestly believed that it was only a matter of time before they were rescued.
Of course, Jon couldnât deny that part of the reason he wanted to stay away from the caves was because she was there. His brotherâs apparently missing fiance. Though initially surprised, Jon would have been happy to see that sheâd survived the crash, that sheâd come out mostly unscathed. That is he wouldâve been happy for the familiar face if he hadnât seen her earlier on the plane, some smug looking bastard that had his arm wrapped around her. It wasnât difficult to piece together what kind of relationship they had. Jon had recalled the night before his flight how Robb had told him that he hadnât heard from Katherine in days, so imagine his surprise when he sees that several rows ahead of him. She was either cheating on Robb or she was skipping out on him, either one he wasnât very fond of and had intended to confront her as soon as the plane landed.
When the plane had landed, albiet in a few more pieces than anyone would have expected, a feeling of relief did wash over him when heâd saw her gathered around the campfire that first night on the beach, before it gave way to anger and disgust once more. Jon had gone out of his way to avoid her since then, not ready to confront her just yet when survival was the main concern at the moment. He headed out into the jungle with a group whenever they wanted to go hunt or map the island, always offered to find wood for the fires or helped people with their tents, anything to keep him out of the same vicinity as her. Really the only thing he didnât want to do was fetch water from the caves, if only because he knew thatâs where she would be. But since everyone else was busy and they were quickly running out of water he knew he had no choice but to go.
They had tracked in a direct path since they first found the caves so getting there didnât take him long with containers for the water in tow. The caves were beautiful he had to admit, he could easily see himself staying there but the thought of caving in with them⊠Jon couldnât do it. To him it would give way to complacency and then soon acceptance that this was their life now. If he wanted to see his family again, he couldnât afford that.Just fill the containers and leave. He told himself, no one was telling him to stay after all. Jon had just rounded the corner to where the spring was before he froze in place, seeing who was already there filling up her own bottle. The one person he didnât want to run into. Jon had already turned around and was about to head back before her voice caught up to him.Â
Jon let out a heavy sigh and turned back, Suck it up. People need water. âHaving hope doesnât make you a fool or naive, and Iâm just here to get some water. Iâll be out of your way in no time.â He said evenly, barely glancing at her before he walked over to where she was, waiting to get past her and untied the containers from where they hung from his waist. âAre you finished?â
Katherine couldnât help but lightly shake her head, a disbelieving laugh echoing in her throat. âYou heard what the pilot said, Snow. We were a thousand miles off course. Nobody is coming.â She was still trying to figure out if that was comforting or not. Could she live the rest of her life out on an island, surrounded by idiots, without the glamorous lifestyle she was accustomed to? Well, she would find out.
âBut if you want to keep playing pretend out there on the beach, I guess thatâs none of my business,â she shrugged, putting the cap back on her water bottle. She cocked her head to the side, a smirk gracing her features. âWhat? You canât walk around me? Donât worry, I donât bite.â
Oh, if only he knew. But she doubted he would even believe her. She looked guilty. Klaus had found her days ago, kept her locked up in his hotel room until she came to a decision. As if she had one. Katherine only looked out for herself, that was true, but she knew Klaus, and she definitely knew her father. Their threat wasnât a bluff. The Stark family had been kind to her. She wasnât going to let them suffer a horrible death only to still be hunted by the damn Mikaelson brother anyway. It would be a waste of perfectly good human beings. They were hard to come by - she would know.
So she went with Klaus. It would be temporary until she found a way to kill him herself. And then she would have to kill her father. It would take careful planning, but she could do it, and when it was all over, hopefully Robb would forgive her. She really did care for him, even if they didnât have that spark or chemistry she once had before. That was a once in a lifetime kind of thing, she suspected. And when she killed Klaus, there was no going back.
âBut just for you, Iâll move,â she said with a smug little smile, stepping off to the side so Jon could have a straight shot to the water. âSo youâre their water boy now, huh?â
