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Captain Hai Doq examined the target peppered with shots from Jon’s custom-made Dornish revolver with a critical eye.
“You are certainly out of practice, young Mr. Snow, but you will improve with time.”
The tips of Jon’s ears heated up in embarrassment. He had not needed to shoot anything in self-defence or for sport in a long time, since the royal family was always protected by the Kingsguard and he did not enjoy hunting. However, he clearly needed to hone his skills in this area, now that he was a member of the Warriors of Night.
The Warriors were so named in honour of the Yi Tish god known as the Lion of Night; Lord Tywin Lannister’s perpetually stern mien would probably crack with a satisfied smirk if he found out that the dragon prince now served under a deified lion. Luckily, it was almost guaranteed that he would never catch wind of Jon’s current occupation, since very few people from Westeros visited or conducted trade in Yi Ti, let alone the independent island-nation of Leng whose people had broken away from Yi Ti about two hundred years back.
This virtual lack of Westerosi visitors was one reason why Lady Brienne had suggested eight months ago that he and Sansa should run away to Leng. She informed them that Tarth Industries not only specialised in the mining of sapphires, but had also recently set up a production plant on that distant island which focused on mining jade discovered deep in the Lengii hill forests. A trustworthy gentleman and her personal friend, one Mr. Podrick Payne, oversaw the plant and would gladly help them both to settle down in Leng if she asked him to.
Sansa had been extremely distressed by the very idea of leaving her family behind in Westeros. She wished for Jon and her to get married and live up north in Winterfell instead, under the protection of her father. He feared that that would only bring danger to the Starks, however, for the king’s wrath would then fall upon them. He had met her family recently in their ancient castle when he had gone there to formally request her father for permission to court her, and had been touched by the genuine warmth with which they had treated him; he would never wish to cause them unnecessary harm.
Lady Catelyn Stark, in particular, had been like a long-lost mother and very welcoming towards him once she found out that Lady Brienne (whom she trusted and was very fond of) had allowed him to visit Evenfall quite a few times in order to get to know Sansa better. She told him that Lady Brienne’s mother used to be one of her closest companions when she lived in Riverrun and that they had arranged for their daughters to meet often and similarly become friends (and practically sisters) a few years after Sansa was born.
She felt that Sansa especially had benefited greatly from this friendship, for the once naïve and idealistic little girl had learnt not to blindly idolise everything to do with the South and to beware of the venom lurking in some people once she witnessed first-hand the cruelty with which certain individuals treated Brienne just because of her appearance.
Although Brienne was older than Sansa, she in turn was devoted to her because her only friend before that had been the estate gardener’s son, Podrick, and her parents were usually too busy with their daily work to pay much attention to her, so she had been very lonely before meeting the younger girl. This was why she had invited Sansa to spend some of the summer months at her estate, where they could spend time together and Sansa could travel in comfort in the Tarth carriages whenever she wished to visit the nearby markets or attractions like the opera house at Dragonstone.
Lord Robb had chimed in at this point, waving his fork at Sansa from across the dining table and accusing her of not warning him how dull operas were. He had joined her at the Tarth estate while visiting his betrothed, Lady Jeyne Westerling, at King’s Landing, and had thought that it would fun to accompany her one night to the opera. She rolled her eyes and declared that he was an uncultured boor, who would never understand the pleasure to be found in such glorious entertainment.
She shot a mischievous glance at Jon as she said that, who promptly choked on the wine he had been swallowing and had to be thumped (painfully) a few times on the back by a concerned Robb before he recovered his composure. He kept his eyes averted from the direction in which Lord Eddard Stark was seated, terrified that he would read his face and figure out that he had defiled his precious daughter. Lady Arya and little Lord Rickon were laughing their heads off at the face he had made, until their mother reproached them for being rude and asked them to be more well-behaved like their brother Bran.
Jon could not help but smile at the way the Starks interacted with one another- beneath all the petty squabbles, it was clear that they loved each other fiercely. He had wondered wistfully if he would have had loving siblings as well if his mother had still been alive. Lady Lyanna Snow had been from the North just like the Starks, an orphaned young woman who had caught Rhaegar’s eye when she was riding in the moors and who he had taken as his mistress.
Sadly, she had passed away from a prolonged grave illness when Jon was ten years old. His father had deeply mourned her death, and wishing to keep the last living part of her close to him, had legitimised Jon and had him moved permanently from Summerhall (the estate which he had gifted to Lyanna) to the royal palace. While Jon hated the politics of court, one good thing that had come about from this was that his father had a soft spot for Lyanna’s memory and had readily agreed to let Jon visit the North in order to see the place where she had grown up.
Jon had explained to Lord Stark in his study after dinner that he needed to give Rhaegar this excuse before visiting Winterfell because his father’s moods were highly unpredictable, and he wanted to disclose his love for Sansa to him at the right time. Lord Stark had nodded in understanding but had made Jon promise not to delay too much in fulfilling this task, since his daughter’s honour was at stake here.
Accordingly, Jon had planned the perfect time to reveal all to his father- at the private family supper held every year on the king’s birthday, when he was guaranteed to be in a relatively happy state of mind. Preoccupied with deciding how best to broach the topic to his father, he had unfortunately made the unbelievably idiotic mistake of forgetting to account for Dany’s presence. She had exploded with jealous rage upon learning that he had lied to her with a straight face about his sexual preferences, and demanded that Rhaegar force him to marry her instead.
He was predictably horrified by the prospect of being yoked to Dany for the rest of his life and begged his father to let him court and marry the woman he actually loved. Rhaegar had unleashed his inner tyrannical dragon, however, and ordered him to marry Dany so that the purity of the Targaryen bloodline could be preserved.
When he pointed out that Rhaegar himself had married a Martell princess and that his own mother had been from the North, his father had looked at him with cold eyes and said that he had had no choice in the matter because Dany had been much younger than him and there had been no other Targaryen ladies whom he could wed. He declared that Jon would have to marry Dany within one month, and she had turned to her nephew with a triumphant expression.
As Jon had paced agitatedly in his chambers that night, he heard a knock on the secret door which concealed a passage leading from his chambers to an exit near the palace gardens. Gripping a dagger in his right hand, he cautiously opened the door and was shocked to see Aegon, of all people, standing there. His half-brother had given him an impish grin and informed him that he was there to help.
Once he let Aegon into his chambers and asked what his offer of assistance entailed, the crown prince had stunned him by replying that he had fallen in love with Dany and wanted to marry her, so he would gladly help Jon and his beloved to run away together. Jon had wondered whether he could trust him and remembered that while Viserys and Rhaenys had always opposed his legitimisation and been unkind towards him, Aegon had been different- treating him with civility and never interfering with anything he did. He therefore took a gamble and placed his faith in the other prince.
Aegon had not let him down. He had requested Rhaegar for permission to travel with Jon to Summerhall for two weeks whilst preparations were being made for the royal wedding, in order to let Jon retrieve some of Lyanna’s jewellery to be presented as wedding gifts to Dany. They would also visit the famous markets at nearby Ashford to have new garments tailored before the wedding. Rhaegar agreed because Aegon vowed to keep an eye on Jon during this trip, not suspecting that Aegon’s other eye would be firmly shut when Jon took the train in the direction of Evenfall instead.
Sansa had been there because he had promised to introduce her to his family once he had spoken to his father; she was understandably shocked and worried when she heard about what had happened. He had walked with her to the beach at the edge of the Tarths’ estate and sat down with her in the sand, holding her hand and pointing towards the horizon. He told her that just like the rolling waves which chased after the radiant sun, he had been a lonely boy who had chased after real love his entire life, and now that he had found her- his brilliant Maiden, he never wanted to let her go.
She started crying as he asked her to marry him and run away together to someplace where they could build a home and where the king could not reach them. Laughing amidst her tears, she said Yes, yes, yes and kissed him. The world around them had never seemed more beautiful.
***
It was when they had returned to Evenfall Hall and shared the joyous news with Lady Brienne, that she had suggested Leng as the best place for them to go to. She agreed with Jon that it would be dangerous for them to travel to Winterfell and promised Sansa that she would instead secretly send word to the Starks after Sansa’s marriage, so that they would not worry too much about her wellbeing and would be able to tell the king truthfully that they had had no prior knowledge about the wedding.
Once the future bride and groom had agreed to her plan, she had a telegram sent to Podrick to request him for his help- luckily, he had set up a telegram office near the Tarth production plant so that with the aid of a system of intermediary telegraph offices, he could receive instructions and share information with his masters much faster and more easily compared to using the shipping mail service or travelling to Evenfall in person. A septon was then sent for from the nearby village since there was a small sept in Evenfall (but unfortunately no heart tree).
The septon had arrived the next day and conducted a simple ceremony; Jon had removed Sansa’s white travelling cloak that she had worn over a modest grey dress, and draped his own cloak embroidered in the rich colours of the royal house over her shoulders, taking care to ensure that the delicate white Dornish jasmines from the estate garden which were woven into her plait were not crushed in the process.
After they had exchanged their vows, he had slipped his mother’s diamond ring- one of House Snow’s last remaining heirlooms which he carried with him at all times- onto Sansa’s finger. She in turn had looped a braided length of white and grey silk threads around his ring finger and tied the two ends neatly in a tiny bow, placing a soft kiss on the top and whispering My Jon.
***
A Tarth Industries ship, the Sapphire Betha, was docked at the port at Storm’s End, a few hours carriage-ride away from Evenfall. It was due to leave for Qarth in five days’ time in order to deliver some goods there. Lady Brienne had sent a message to the ship’s captain, Captain Davos Seaworth, to inform him that arrangements had to be made for two additional passengers who would be travelling incognito with him. She assured Jon and Sansa that by the time they reached Qarth, she would have Podrick send a boat to transport them to Leng.
The journey to Qarth would take about four months, and Leng was a further two months away by sea. Before travelling to Storm’s End to board the Betha, the newly married couple labelled their trunks with the names ‘Mr. and Mrs. Jon Snow’- fortunately, Sansa had quite a few dresses, jewellery and everyday necessities with her since she had been visiting Brienne, and Jon also already had two weeks’ worth of clothes in his trunk and a large amount of gold which Aegon had compelled him to accept as a parting gift before they had gone their separate ways.
Besides this, Brienne had instructed a servant to purchase several items like lace, buttons, a sewing box and multiple lengths of coloured cloth from a local dressmaker so that Sansa would be able to sew nondescript clothes for both herself and her husband during their long voyage.
Sansa wept in gratitude as she thanked her profusely for all her help, and confessed that she feared Brienne was courting danger herself for Sansa’s sake, but the older woman calmed her down by saying that her family had sufficient political and economic clout to ensure that Rhaegar would not be able to cause her any harm without ample proof of any supposed wrongdoings on her part. She then embraced Sansa tightly and they stayed silently like that for some time- two soul sisters whose abiding love for each other would never fade.
Jon and Sansa had left Evenfall the day before the Betha’s departure, leaving behind some long letters written in both their hands which Brienne promised to deliver safely to Winterfell. Sansa had considered changing her first name and dyeing her hair before leaving to ensure that no one would recognise her until she reached Leng, but Brienne had convinced her that she did not need to take such measures- being called ‘Mrs. Snow’ and wearing a hooded cloak would be enough to conceal her identity until she boarded the Betha; thereafter, the runaway couple would be under the protection of Captain Seaworth and his crew who were loyal to the Tarths and would not give them away.
Captain Seaworth was a gruff middle-aged man whom Jon had felt slightly intimidated by at first, but he soon learnt to admire the older man’s effective leadership style when dealing with his crew, and the soft heart which he hid beneath a taciturn exterior. The captain had revealed this gentler side to him when enquiring after Sansa’s health and ordering the cook to have nourishing broths prepared for her.
Jon had felt very grateful for the captain’s kindness; he himself had been greatly worried about the severe bout of seasickness which Sansa had been suffering from ever since their departure from Storm’s End, and hoped that the hot broths would provide her with some much needed relief. They were sharing a well-furnished cabin right next to the captain’s own quarters, and Jon had spent the first two weeks of their journey taking care of his wife and entertaining her with tales of his youth to distract her mind from dwelling too much on her illness.
She had vomited twice on one particular night, and he had had to get rid of the mess in the bucket she had used before helping her to bathe and change into a new nightgown. Later on, as he cradled her in his arms in bed, she had asked him in a weak voice whether he regretted marrying his Maiden now. He had tangled their legs together and kissed her forehead, softly (but firmly) stating My darling, you will always be my beautiful Maiden who set my blood on fire, but you are more than that now- you are my beloved Sansa who is real and human, just like me; I could never regret marrying you, for I love you now more than ever.
His words seemed to have lifted a burden off Sansa’s chest, and her health had soon taken a turn for the better as she found her sea legs. He started helping the captain out with various tasks and learning the ropes of steering the ship from the crew, while Sansa occupied herself with stitching new clothes for the both of them and assisting the cook in the preparation of some meals- she had spent a lot of time in Winterfell’s kitchens when she was younger because she had always been on the lookout for lemon cakes, and was now a surprisingly good cook.
The length of the voyage and the feeling of being cooped up away from dry land did take its toll on them at times- tempers would flare and they would face opposite sides in bed, giving each other the cold shoulder for some time, but their quarrels never lasted long for they would eventually always wake up in each other’s arms and not be able to look away.
Sansa had shyly confided in him once when she was still sick that Brienne had made her pack a large supply of ingredients to prepare moon tea because it could be dangerous for her to become pregnant whilst travelling by sea- he had laughed out loud and told her that he would have to thank Lady Brienne again one day for being so meticulous in her planning. Once Sansa had regained her health, they had eagerly resumed their marital relations which had commenced on their wedding night, and Jon’s shoulders were soon littered with love bites due to Sansa’s attempts to muffle her moans at his vigorous pounding.
They had to stay hidden in their cabin when the Betha stopped in between at Braavos to get some supplies, seeing as the place was teeming with Westerosi merchants and tourists, but later had the chance to walk around and explore the exotic Qartheen markets for a while before bidding farewell to Captain Seaworth and his men and boarding the boat to Leng. Jon’s favourite purchase from the markets was a packet of solid Meereenese chocolate, which seemed to help ease some of the pain which Sansa felt when she was having her moonblood.
***
Six months after their departure from Storm’s End, Jon and Sansa had finally arrived at Leng. Mr. Payne, who met them at the Lengii wharf, soon proved to be a most resourceful and helpful man, who had made arrangements for them to live in a large houseboat moored a few feet away from his own house on shore. He believed that this was the best option for the couple because if they ever needed to escape from the island, they would at least have the means to travel quickly across the Jade Sea to nearby Yi Ti, and hide somewhere in that vast nation.
He had hired three native Lengiis- a man and two women, as his household help, and told Jon and Sansa that the Lengiis would help them with some daily chores like cleaning the houseboat, and even act as the boat’s crew if they needed to leave the island.
The couple had listened to him with half a ear, too amazed by how tall the natives were; they were all between seven to eight feet in height, and Podrick (as he asked to be called) had smiled when he noticed their expressions, explaining that the Lengii were among the tallest peoples in the world. Not much was known about the people from both Yi Ti and Leng in Westeros, however, so it was only natural that Jon and Sansa would have much to learn about both the Lengii people and their customs since they would now be living there.
After showing the couple the two furnished cabins, kitchenette, pantry and open-air deck on the houseboat, Podrick invited them to his house for breakfast the next day, before leaving them to settle in for the night. Jon and Sansa were exhausted and fell soundly asleep as soon as their heads touched their pillows.
The next day, as they were all eating some delicious rice pancakes served with fruit and tea for breakfast, Podrick had informed Jon that he would have to enlist in the local defence force, the Warriors of Night, for a year. This was compulsory for all men between the ages of fifteen and fifty five on the island, because the Lengii wanted to make sure that they would be able to defend themselves in case Yi Ti ever tried to conquer them again. Podrick had also said that enlisting in the army would be beneficial for Jon, because the Lengii would then consider him to be one of their own and fight to protect him if Rhaegar or anyone else tried to take him and Sansa back to Westeros against their will.
That was how the erstwhile Targaryen prince had found himself in Captain Hai Doq’s regiment- the serendipitously named Dragon Warriors, so called because the dragon was one of the twelve animals in the Celestial Zodiac and there were twelve regiments in the Lengii armed forces accordingly. It had been about two months since Jon had started training as a Dragon Warrior, and although his shooting skills clearly needed to improve, he had fared better in his sword practice and hand-to-hand combat sessions, so the Captain granted him permission to go home in the evening and get some rest.
On the way home, he stopped at the bakery near Podrick’s house to check if Sansa was still there. Her friends Chai Yin and Lo Ma, two slender women who were taller than him and had the distinctive golden eyes and teak-brown skin of the native Lengiis, told him that his wife had already left about an hour ago. He bid them a good evening and Chai Yin ruffled his hair playfully as he left, making him laugh and remember how fascinated so many of the Lengii still were with his curls and Sansa’s auburn hair.
He had to admit that he really enjoyed living here, in a nation with a temperate climate where the people were friendly and had strong ties to nature just like the people in the North, and where he and Sansa could pursue interesting occupations and make a home together.
Sansa, in particular, had blossomed here. The famously beautiful women of Leng (something which was known even in distant Westeros) were independent and strong individuals, held in high esteem because the Lengii not only worshipped a goddess known as the Maiden-Made-of-Light, but also had a matrilineal line of god-empresses and therefore valued women in general. Jon had laughed when he first found out this particular fact, understanding that this must have been one of the reasons why Lady Brienne had suggested that he and Sansa run away to Leng; this way, she could assure herself that he would die a painful death if he ever hurt his wife.
Sansa had become very self-confident just like the Lengii women, and with the help of Podrick, had found a job in the aforementioned bakery where she could bake her favourite lemon cakes using fresh Yi Tish lemons and also learn to bake special Lengii cakes made of rice as well as other ingredients like dry salted vegetables and frittered meat. Using the money which she earned, she had bought some traditional Lengii robes for herself and Jon, with customary long dagged sleeves on her flowing silk robe and tough black leather shoes for Jon which he could wear with his own robe when they visited their neighbours.
Jon was so proud when he thought about how self-sufficient and tenacious his wife had become, and hurried back to their houseboat (which they had decided to call ‘the Jonsa’), eager to see her again and find out how her day had been. He walked towards the light in the kitchenette once he was onboard, with the sea breeze carrying the dulcet tones of Sansa’s voice to him as she sang softly to herself. He paused at the doorway- her back was to him and she was concentrating on cutting a cake at the kitchen table.
She must have finished bathing, for the long waves of her hair were slightly damp and curling at the bottom, and she had changed into a sheer white nightgown which was partially covered by a blue cotton wrap. He was just about to say her name, when he suddenly realised what exactly she was singing. She may have been humming an operatic tune, but the words she sang were adapted from a local song which many Lengii women sang for fun at the marketplace or the Lengii wharf whenever they spotted any soldiers who were members of the Warriors of Night.
Darling Soldier Boy,
Lay down your guns,
Come to my arms instead,
Learn to have some fun.
I will give you free reign,
Over my hills and my valleys,
Drink from my nectar,
Whenever you are thirsty.
All I ask in return,
Is fill me with your cock,
Do not halt your pounding,
Till midnight twelve o’clock.
He could feel his breeches tightening painfully- nothing was more arousing than hearing filthy things coming out of his demure-looking wife’s mouth without any shame. She yelped and dropped her knife when he came up silently behind her, folding his arms around her and whispering in her ear, “Your wish is my command.”
She giggled and apparently decided to play along, pushing her bottom firmly against him and exclaiming, “Oh, Soldier Boy!”
“That’s right,” he murmured, using one hand to cup her covered right breast and then sliding it past her waist to grip the inside of her right thigh, “I want your hills and your valleys.”
She turned to face him with lust darkening her deep blue eyes. “And in return?”
He bent down and hooked an arm behind her knees, making her gasp as he threw her over his shoulder and straightened up, heading for their sleeping cabin. “In return, you will have my cock all night long.”
He set her down on her feet in front of their bed, where they were both illuminated by the moonlight streaming in through a partially-curtained window, and she immediately tugged hard at the collar of his standard Warrior coat, bringing his head down and capturing his mouth in an ardent kiss. Their lips met over and over again; he was so consumed by her taste that he left a trail of wet kisses down her neck as well, nipping at the delicate skin just above her collarbone.
Moaning softly and clutching his coat at these ministrations, Sansa proceeded to get rid of his clothes swiftly. She practically tore through his buttons and pushed his coat off his shoulders, before pulling his cotton shirt out of his breeches, dragging it over his head and arms and flinging it over her shoulder. She then grabbed his hair and fired his blood up even more with a deep open-mouthed kiss, their tongues tangling with each other repeatedly.
Without breaking their lips apart, he slid her cotton wrap down her shoulders and unlaced her nightgown from the front, pushing it down to pool on the floor once the laces were loose enough. She pulled away from him at this point and climbed onto the bed barefoot, slowly lying down on the white cotton sheets with only her silken drawers left to conceal her honeyed cunny and beckoning him to join her with the eyes of a sea siren.
Never one to refuse the chance to drown in her essence, he pushed his breeches and own drawers down and stepped out of his leather boots, making her unconsciously lick her lips at his nakedness. He gave her a wicked smile as he slowly crawled up her form, teasing her with light brushes of his lips along her smooth calves, thighs and stomach. Her chest was heaving madly with desire by the time he pressed his lips lightly to her breastbone.
Looking back up into her eyes, he caressed her left breast with his right hand, delighting in the loud moans which escaped her as he flicked her rosy nipple with his thumb and brought his mouth to her soft breast, licking and sucking it like a ravenous babe as he simultaneously kneaded her right breast with his other hand. He switched sides and repeated the same motions with her other breast, before dragging his right hand down, down, down till it was at her sweetest spot.
He brought his lips to hers again and swallowed her cries of Ohs and Jons as he slid two fingers right into her slick heat, with his thumb relentlessly drawing circles around her sensitive pearl. She parted her legs even more and bucked into him in mindless ecstasy as his fingers moved harder and faster, not pausing till she trembled and came with a muffled shout. He broke their kiss and brought his fingers to his mouth, sucking them greedily for her taste.
Her eyes were burning with lust as she watched him, and she pushed him off her, getting rid of her drawers in a rush and commanding him, “I want you in me right now.”
He laughed, thrilled by her eagerness, and turned her in his arms towards the window, making her creamy skin glow even more in the moonlight and letting her gorgeous tresses flow over the edge of the bed as he gently guided her to lie down there. The cool sea breeze drifting in through the window was making her nipples pebble and he could not resist sucking them once more, before pushing her hips up, gripping her legs which were tangled tightly around his waist and finally thrusting his cock into her wet cunt.
They both broke into loud moans as he continued pounding deep into her welcoming heat, their pleasure accentuated by the rhythm of the waves gently rocking the Jonsa in between his thrusts. Their movements gradually became more frenzied as they both drew towards their peaks, with Sansa climaxing first when he pressed his thumb against her sensitive pearl, and Jon coming right after with a long groan and spilling his warm seed in her as her fingers gripped his arse tightly.
He buried his face in her soft breasts as they lay limply afterwards in sated pleasure, and declared, “I will never tire of fucking you, my love.”
She carded her fingers through his curls and replied, “Good, fuck my mouth next. I want to suck your cock.”
***
Four months later, when Sansa’s belly was gently rounded with the promise of new life, they received a surprising telegram from Westeros. It was from Brienne, informing them that Aegon was trying to find them because he believed it was safe for them to return home. He was married to Dany and Rhaegar was gravely ill, so it was widely expected that Aegon would soon become King.
“What shall we do, Sansa?”
“I don’t know, my love. But whatever we do and wherever we go, know one thing. You and our unborn child are my home now, nothing else matters.”
He smiled and clasped her gently in his arms. “So be it.”