𝐻𝐸𝑅𝑂𝑖𝑁𝐸 | 𝐽𝑜𝑛 𝑆𝑛𝑜𝑤

eight.

       "𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚"

Ashara didn't know how long had passed, but when she opened her eyes, she saw the sun starting to set in the sky. Her back ached, along with her legs as she slowly lifted herself from the bed. It was warm in the room, a large fire encasing the room into a heated bubble. She rubbed her eyes and stretched her arms slightly, feeling cramped from the sleep she had been in.

Scanning around the room, she saw the steel bath had been emptied and that her sword was placed below the desk. Looking down at herself, she saw herself in her blood-soaked undershirt and her trousers. She vaguely remembered putting her clothes back on after the bath, but that's all she seems to know right now.

Ashara lifted herself from the bed, grimacing as she did so, pain shooting all over her body, and made her was over to the chest pushed next to the door. On top of the chest was a fresh pile of clothes, thicker undershirts and a tunic, along with some barker trousers. The tunic was simple, made with both leather and pieces of steel. The leather was dark and was embraided with orange and red hues. The colours of her home. She let a small smile slip onto her lips as she pulled it over her head, fitting her body snug.

Ashara's hair had become longer, hitting almost the middle of her spine now. It was becoming a nuisance, as she had to pull it into a bun every day.

She tried to reach behind her head, but the pain was too much. She squirmed and whimpered as she tried to reach, but her injured arm would not let her do so. It felt like she was wrestling an animal, her temper reaching boiling point. She never thought her hair would cause her such issues.

As she was about to give up, a soft knock came on the door. Sighing, Ashara removed her hands from her hair, letting it fall slowly around her and made her way over to the door. She struggled to open the door, but she was glad she did when she was met with the fiery stark daughter, and was soon pulled into a crushing hug.

"Sansa. Breathing. Needs to happen" Ashara breathed out eventually, as she was almost lifted from the ground by Sansa. She gasped and dropped Ashara straight away, forgetting how injured she was.

"Ara I'm so sorry." Sansa spoke whilst laughing slightly. Ashara laughed back at her, pulling her into her room.

"Ara? That's a new nickname, I like it though." Ashara smiled at the girl, who removed her cloak and hung it by the fire, letting the snow dry.

"How have you been? Every time I came to check on you, you were asleep. I thought you were dead." Sansa spoke whilst sitting on the desk chair, whilst Ashara returned to the bed to put her boots on.

"Well I've not been awake long, but I feel good. I ache but apart from that I feel well." Ashara tried her best to slip her boots on, but felt pain shoot up her back, and almost felt her scars opening up again. Sansa saw the pain evident on her face, so made her way over to help her with her boots.

Ashara blushed. She felt embarrassed that she couldn't do that simple task.

"I can't even put my boots on, gods know when ill be able to pick up my sword." She stood from the bed making her way over to the door. She felt she needed out of the room, she felt as if the room was closing in on her , and she needed fresh air in her lungs.

"Me or Jon won't let you touch that thing for many moons yet. Your rest is most important, be steady." Sansa stopped the smiling as she got serious for a moment, opening the door for Ara.

The wind slapped the girls faces as they made their way to the dining room. Ashara felt her stomach begging her for food, screaming at her. She laughed with Sansa as they made their way across Castle Black, the chill hitting Ashara hard, as she couldn't find her cloak before she left the room.

"Sansa, have you seen my cloak? I couldn't find it before we left the room, and I would be lying if I said I wasn't cold." Ashara's teeth chattered. She felt the cold seeping through her clothes, going right to her core.

"We have a new one waiting for you in Jon's study. The one you had wouldn't have been thick enough for this far north. It's beautiful, I made it for you." Sansa smiled, feeling proud of herself. It was made similar to Jon's, with a large fur lining around the neck, and it draped to the floor. It would sure protect her from the cold.

Ashara was again met with warmth as she wandered into the dining room. There were men chatting and drinking ale, whilst she watched Jon and 2 other men converse at the table. Ashara let the door slam, the wind letting it pick up speed. The noise gained every mans attention, all of them eyeing her up and down. She looked at the men, all of them bearded with huge cloaks on.

"Aren't you a pretty thing." One man approached her. He must have been double her age and stinking of piss. He pulled his arm back, read to slap her behind, but before he could do so Ashara grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back, a small shout escaping from his mouth.

"Watch who you're talking to." She whispered in his ear as others watched on, some men rising from their chairs whilst others laughed at the man. She let go of his arm and pushed him into the table, sending his bowl flying over himself. He grunted and looked at Ashara, sending her a look that she thinks she was supposed to be scared of.

Jon Snow watched on from the table at the top of the room. There stood a girl, half the man's size, bending him to her will. He was astounded by the girl's power, she could take any of these men on in here, even in her injured state. He smiled lightly to himself, as he continued to watch his men's faces as she made her way to the table, trailing behind Sansa.

Ser Davos watched Jon; he saw a twinkle in his eyes when he smiled at Ashara. He brushed it off for the moment, but would be sure to ask him about it when they were alone.

"Ashara, welcome to Castle Black, there's a seat for you next to Sansa and Tourmund" Jon smiled lightly at her. She couldn't help but smile back as she made her way to her seat. She guessed Tourmund was the large, ginger man looking at her. He was scary she'd admit, but she'd never let it show on her face. He smiled at her when she sat down, looking away and returning to his food bowl.

Ashara let out a sigh, looking around and taking in her surroundings. She was looking forward to her stay here at Castle Black. She felt safe for the first time in a long time. She smiled to herself as she tucked into her bowl and readied herself for the questions to come.

Jon watched her; he couldn't help it. She had a presence about herself that he couldn't deny himself to enjoy. He noticed her features for the first time she had been clean. She had skin darker than Jon's, but hair and eyes a similar colour. When she smiled it reached her eyes, but when she was being spoken to, she had this terrifying look that he'd never want to be on the end of. He hoped he would enjoy her stay here, and enjoy her company also.

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