Archive of Our Own

Alysanne Snow was extremely excited, running out of the door and down the path to the line of cars waiting to pick up the students. She knew which one was her Mummy, because it was Friday and on Fridays her Mummy picked her up from school. It was the white SUV with the stickers on the back that were for the parks and the Free Folk rights, which Alysanne knew were very important. She could not wait to show her Mummy the big news of the day!

“Alysanne, slow down!” one of the teacher aides called. They were not supposed to race ahead. She slowed her pace from a sprint to a light jog, waving when she got to her Mummy’s car, seeing her climb out the driver side and walk around, still in her work clothes. “Mummy! Mummy guess what!”

Ygritte, her mother, lifted her red eyebrows and peered down at her, feigning surprise. “What? You’re rather excited. Give me your backpack, I’ll put it here.”

“No, look!” Alysanne rummaged in her bag and removed her grade card, waving it in her mother’s face while she also tried to climb up into the back of the car, struggling a bit. Her pale cheeks flushed pink, it clashed a bit with her flaming red hair, the same color as her mother. Her gray eyes danced merrily. “I got the best grades! I even got a paper to say so!” There was an accompanying certificate, with a big gold sticker on it honoring her achievement.

“Oh wow! I’ve got a little smarty-pants, huh?” Her mother took the papers and glanced at them, grinning wide. “Wow, well that deserves a treat I say.” Someone from behind them honked their horn to try to get them moving as the other cars started to pull away from the curb. Her mother turned and yelled at them. “Oi! Go around me then! Arsehole!”

A teacher walking by winced. “Ah, Mrs. Snow…”

“It’s Ms. Wilde, not Snow, and aye, I know.” Ygritte rolled her eyes and Alysanne giggled. Her mummy was always getting in trouble at school for not following the rules. Alysanne didn’t think her mummy knew how to follow rules. She was always out in the wild, said she preferred it there, as a park ranger at the big nature park nearby. She waved her hand again. “We’re moving, we’re moving.”

They got buckled in and drove away, Alysanne bouncing in her booster seat, very proud of herself. She knew she was very smart. All her aunts and uncles said so and her mother always told her she was the smartest kid in the world. Daddy said so too, said that she was his smart little wolf. “What kinda’ treat?” she wondered.

Ygritte shrugged, turning away from the school and towards the village. “How about a cupcake?”

“Oooh! But Daddy says…”

“Aye, I know what your father says about sugar, but you got the highest grade in class, you get to have some sugar. Forget what your daddy says.” Ygritte rolled her eyes and mumbled something about how he was a “silly crow.” Alysanne never knew why her mother called her father Crow instead of his real name, which was Jon, but she also knew that they did not really like each other which was why they did not live together anymore.

Alysanne clapped her hands. “A cupcake, yes please!”

“And maybe some ice cream. I think there’s a new place that opened in town. We should try it.”

“What kind of place?”

“I don’t know, some people were talking about it at work. Let’s check it out. We’re Free Folk, we explore and wander, remember that.”

“Yes Mummy, we don’t kneel,” she chirped. She plastered her face to the window, blowing on the glass and watching the town pass by as they drove. Winterfell was named for the giant castle that sat on the hill overlooking it and she loved it very much. She was very lucky because her daddy’s family actually lived at Winterfell.

The village had lots of cool shops and stuff and when they stopped in front of one, Alysanne’s mouth dropped. “Dragons!” she squealed, trying to get the buckle free from her seat. The sign out front had there dragons on it and there was a huge cake in the window that also had dragons and it looked like they were breathing fire onto it! Like the frosting was all melting! So cool!

She jumped out of the car when she was free and ran to the door, tugging it open with the help of Ygritte, who entered behind her, looking around. “Wow, this place looks pretty cool, huh?”

“It’s better than cool!” Alysanne was six-years old and she had never seen anything in her entire life that looked as cool as the new bakery. There was the big cake in one of the windows and in the other were all kinds of beautiful cupcakes and decorated little pies on plates that were on levels. There were pictures on the walls and paintings of what looked like dragons and direwolves and other ancient animals and castles.

The bakery stretched deep and there were little chairs and tables on one side and on the other was a huge long case that housed ice cream, candies, baskets of bread and muffins and things and then one just filled with all kinds of chocolates, fruit things, and desserts that Alysanne had never even seen. The wall behind the cases was made up of shelves with really cool looking baking equipment and bowls and cute signs and then there were pies and breads too.

A photo next to the old-fashioned cash register was of a really pretty lady holding up a big golden award of some sort, beaming at the camera. A sign behind her said Great Westerosi Bake Off. “Whoa, she won Bake Off?” Ygritte asked, looking at the picture. Her eyebrows lifted again. “Not bad, must have been awesome.”

“I thought so.”

Both of them looked up to see a woman coming from the back of the bakery, where they could peer in and see everything getting made, large mixers and bowls and silver tables with dough and flour. The woman wore a red apron dusted with flour, sugar, and smeared with frosting. She was wiping her hands on a towel and Alysanne’s mouth dropped open at the sight of her hair.

It was silver.

Braids kind of stuck up on top of her head and out, wrapped back with a scarf that had dragons printed over it. The lady grinned wide, shiny white even teeth, and her eyes crinkled up in the corners. Alysanne looked closer now that the lady was leaning over the counter at them and she could see the lady had purple eyes. Wow. She thought she was different because her eyes were gray, but this lady had purple!  She must have been from far, far away.  “How can I help both of you today?”

Ygritte glanced down at her, reaching to ruffle her red curls. Alysanne instantly lifted her hand to try to flatten them down otherwise they’d stick up everywhere all frizzy. “Well Aly here got the highest grade in class, so she gets to pick a treat. Go on Aly, looks like you got a ton to choose from.”

The woman grinned, even wider. “Wow! Quite an accomplishment, congratulations Miss Aly. Tell me, do you like cupcakes or cookies?”

“Cupcakes!” she exclaimed, pushing by her mother to get to the case, where the lady was now standing. She could not believe the amount that were there! Looked like hundreds! Her mouth formed an ‘o’ at the beautiful colors too. Red, green, blue, purple, and pink! Some had little drawings on them in icing and others had bits of candy, chocolate, and fruit stuck in the top. She could not believe how many flavors there were! “There’s so many!”

“Hmm, do you like chocolate? You seem like chocolate would be your favorite.”

“It is!” She narrowed her eyes, suspicious. “How do you know?”

The woman leaned over, whispering. “Magic.”

Aly’s gray eyes widened. Wow… She giggled. “I love chocolate.”

“Do you like dragons?”

“I like wolves!”

“Like direwolves?”

“Yes! Just like them! My Daddy has one!”

It was the lady’s turn to seem surprised. “Oh wow!” She glanced at Ygritte for confirmation and her mother nodded, rolling her eyes again. “Well that’s quite something I would love to meet this direwolf. I have three dragons, you see.”

Oh wow! Aly looked around the bakery immediately, but she didn’t see any dragons. She saw them on the walls and stuff, but that was it. She frowned. “You’re fibbing.”

“Not fibbing. My bakery is called Three Dragons, do you want to know why?”

“Why?”

“Because like I said, I have three dragons!” The lady whistled and in the back of the bakery there came a rustling and what sounded like chains jingling. She winked at her and Aly waited, vibrating in place, for the dragons to appear. They came around the corner and her mouth dropped.

There were three very big—like the size of dogs—cats slinking around the corner, meowing and looking up at her expectedly. “Dragons! But they are not dragons, they’re cats!” Aly laughed.

“Yes, but don’t tell them that, they think they’re dragons, you see.”

Ygritte chuckled; arms crossed. She frowned over at her. “You’re new here.”

The lady nodded, leaning her hip on the counter and crossing her arms. “Yes, Daenerys Targaryen. I just moved from King’s Landing a couple months ago. Opened this place a few weeks ago.”

“Ygritte Wilde, this is my daughter.”

“Alysanne Snow!”

“Beautiful name,” the lady, Daenerys, said. She offered her hand. There was flour on her arms. “My name is Daenerys, but everyone calls me Dany. These three are Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion.”

One cat was big and black, the other skinny and cream-colored, and the third was all kinds of colors, but a pretty bronze color seemed to shine the most. His eyes were green. Aly giggled and rubbed their heads, liking cats as much as she liked wolves and dogs. They were funny too, meowing and weaving in and out of her feet. She looked back up. “You like dragons?”

“I love dragons, my family claims to have ridden them, a long, long time ago.”

Ygritte scoffed. “Stories.”

“No different than the Northern stories.”

“Those are true,” Aly blurted. At least, that’s what Old Nan used to say. She looked at the cupcakes again and pointed to one. It was chocolate, with white frosting and it looked like there were tiny sparkles all over it, like ice. “I want that one.”

“Ah, yes, a chocolate cake with vanilla frosting and sugar sprinkles. A classic.” Dany reached in and removed one, turning and placing it in a little red box, wrapping black ribbon around it. She moved over and scribbled something onto a card, talking while she did so. “I want to thank you both for popping in today. I’m trying to get more people to visit.”

Ygritte chuckled. “They’ll come, don’t worry. Just make all the Northern staples.” She gestured towards the baskets of bread lining the wall behind the counter. “They love their bread, so looks like you’re on your way.”

“Oh yes, I have had a few people comment on the bread,” Dany laughed. She winked at her. “And Aly, you are more than welcome to come in and taste test my new recipes.”

“Yes!”

“Her dad doesn’t let her have sugar,” Ygritte said, reaching into one of the pockets on her ranger uniform and removing some money to pay for the cupcake. She snorted. “He’s all into that type of stuff, but we’ll be back I’m sure.”

Dany made change and handed it back, the old cash register dinging loudly. Aly looked up at her again, still grinning, now holding her cupcake in its pretty box and ribbon. Dany winked again. “Feel free to come in whenever. I could always use a taste tester and the dragons get lonely with just me here.”

Aw, that’s sad. “You don’t have a husband?” Aly asked. She poked her mother’s hand, reaching to wrap her fingers through Ygritte’s, who squeezed lightly. “My Mummy has a husband.”

“No, no husband and no kids, just me and the dragons. I have two brothers, but they live very far away.” Dany pointed to a picture on the shelf behind her, and it looked like she was wearing an all-white uniform with a tall white hat, holding a framed piece of paper. There were two men in the photo, both with silver hair just like her. “Rhaegar lives in King’s Landing and Viserys very far away in Essos.”

“What brought you to the North?” Ygritte asked. Aly wondered that herself. Her mother frowned. “Not many southerners like you come this far up. Too cold.”

A smile pulled on Dany’s lips. “Change of scenery.” She grinned again. “Enjoy your cupcake and congratulations Aly.”

“Thank you!”

They waved and left, getting back into the car. Ygritte took the cupcake and put it up front so it would not fall onto the floor during the drive back home. Aly was so excited; she couldn’t wait to tell her Daddy about the new lady in town with silver hair and purple eyes. She looked at her mother. “Mummy?”

“Yes?”

“Do you think Daddy needs a wife? That Dany does not have a husband and I think he needs a wife since you are not his wife anymore.” Aly knew they were not husband and wife because her mummy had a new husband—Grenn, he was okay, but she wished Mummy would have married Tormund if she wanted to marry someone who wasn’t her daddy— and because of that her daddy lived alone, unless she was with him on the days she was supposed to be there. She got to spend half the week with him and half the week with Mummy.

Ygritte laughed; Aly frowned, not sure why that was so funny. It seemed like a good idea! “Oh yeah, your Daddy really could use a wife. If only to make him smile more.” She hit the phone button on the screen next to the steering wheel. “In fact, let’s give him a call, share that information with him. Tell him all about the pretty baker lady.”

A few seconds after she hit the button, Daddy answered his phone and Aly proceeded to share the new information that she was the best in her class, got a cupcake from the lady at the bakery who was very nice and had dragons, and also let him know in no uncertain terms that he needed a wife now that he didn’t have Mummy anymore. “You could marry Dany, she does not have a husband,” she explained to him.

Daddy said something to her mother like “stop putting ideas in her head Ygritte!” which Aly didn’t understand, but whatever. Her mother laughed, joked that he had to “get some” and turned in her seat and told Aly to cover her ears, because Daddy said a bad word and immediately apologized. Aly didn’t understand what that meant or why Daddy would be mad about it, but everything made sense to her. She thought Daddy might like the cupcakes with the wolf on them. “Can you take me back there and get a cupcake?” she demanded.

“Aly you shouldn’t have sugar all the time.”

“Please?” she begged, putting the slightest little whimper in her words, which had him sighing. She grinned; he would let her, she could tell.

“Well…maybe if she has sugar free icing or something.”

“That sounds disgusting, but I’m sure she does. You should have seen this place.”

“Maybe I’ll check it out.” He changed the subject, asking her mother if she had gotten her new football cleats, because he had to go near the store anyway and get new running shoes. She tuned them out, no longer interested in listening to them talk about stupid adult stuff.

Aly wanted to go back to see the lady in the bakery. She wanted to try more of the cupcakes and see what the ice cream tasted like. There was also that really cool cake in the window! And the chocolates and stuff. She smiled, wondering what kind of new things that Dany would make, because it seemed like she had everything already!

That night she munched on her cupcake, finding it was the best thing she had ever had, chocolate frosting smearing on her fingers and lips. It was the best cupcake in the entire world! She really wanted to try more. She licked the icing off her fingers, wondering how she could get back to the bakery.

She definitely would bring Daddy with her next time.

“He’s late.”

Dany checked the clock on her wall; a dragon with eyes going one direction and tail in the other as it ticked off the time. She wrinkled her nose, rather annoyed. She didn’t like people who were late, she had things to do. She needed to pound out the dough for the bread, work on the wedding cake samples for a couple coming in later that afternoon, and she was also stopping her work to deal with customers coming in to check out the place, grab a muffin or a slice of her famous apple-cranberry oat bread, and chat with them a few moments.

It was all about the community, she needed to let these stubborn, suspicious Northerners see her as someone who wanted to be part of their world, who was here for the long haul. It helped there was a surprisingly large number of them who had seen Bake-Off and remembered her. The winning cake, her three-tiered dragon creation with fondant fire, which spilled out onto the plate when you cut into the top tier to flow down the remaining layers, had been a show-stopper.

Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion studied her from their spot at the stairs leading up to the little office and apartment she kept above the bakery. They knew better than to go into the kitchen; she had them well trained. Drogon meowed, long and loud, agreeing with her annoyed snort. “Well, hopefully he doesn’t come complaining when he learns that vegan gluten-free muffins go stale when not eaten promptly,” she said to her dragons.

Viserion agreed, a little screech. Rhaegal hisse, stretching his paws out and claws scratching on the step. Dany moved away from the counter and went to the boxes behind her, fussing a little with the ribbons. She woke up quite early to make this order, since she’d received a phone call the night before from a rather frantic young woman, who had said she needed thirty vegan, gluten-free muffins for the following morning and that her brother would stop in and pick them up at nine.

“I hate to do this, but I am desperate,” the woman had pleaded. “It’s for my niece’s class, my brother would get them but he’s working right now, and I told him I’d help, and the stupid store doesn’t have the ones that all the kids can eat and if I tell her mother she’s going to get mad that I forgot too. Ugh, he’s going to kill me!”

Dany took pity on her, even going so far as to waive the extra fee for a less than 24-hour notice. She had woken quite early to get to her usual tasks for the morning, make the muffins, and get them put in the little muffin cups she’d had special ordered for her bakery with the dragons on them. “They should know that I don’t do vegan, gluten-free stuff just for fun,” she complained to her boys. They meowed, understanding, as she had to order the ingredients special and they were rather expensive.

She set the boxes aside, noting the man who was planning to pick them up: Jon Snow. The woman had used his credit card to reserve the muffins; if no one picked them up, she would charge it as was her policy, but that didn’t help the fact she’d have 30 muffins she likely would not be able to sell. Nor would she eat them. She tried not to be too visibly annoyed; it would not help to snap at customers. She was about to go back into the kitchen to start working on those wedding samples when the door burst open, bell above jangling more noisily than usual, the knob banging into the window display behind it.

“Hey,” she exclaimed, furrowing her brows. “Be gentle with that, it’s an old door.” And I don’t feel like picking glass out of my cake display. She put her hands on her hips, studying the rather harried man who had stormed towards the register, barely acknowledging her and reaching to fumble out his wallet.

Dark raven curls flew around his head in a halo. He ran a hand over them, sending them every which way again. He wore glasses and looked quite rushed, frazzled, and to her annoyance he had his phone in his hand, and appeared to be in the middle of a call. She scowled, arms crossing over her chest.  He removed his credit card and then hold the phone up to his ear, pushing his curls out of the way again. "Yeah, yeah I'm here I'm getting the damn things."

Damn things!? She sneered; her muffins were not damn things! She did not move from the side, watching him look around and finally set his eyes on her. She couldn't tell what color they were; they looked black. She squinted. He would not get her to assist him until he ended his call. It was a matter of principle for her. He held the credit card up and arched his eyebrows, nodding towards the boxes that were set aside. He cupped his hand over the phone. "I think those are for me."

Dany cocked her head, sweetly singing. "Oh? Are you speaking to me or your phone?"

His brow furrowed. He looked adorably confused. "Huh?"

"I don't know who you're talking to."

"What?"

She grit her teeth and her purple eyes flashed. "Hang up the phone."

"Ygritte, knock it off I'm at the bakery I'm getting the muffins and I will be at the school!" he barked into the phone. he held it away from his ear and Dany heard a shrill, very heavily accented harsh Northern voice shout back at him.

"We would not have this problem if I trusted you to do it right the first time Crow! Gods you know nothing!"

"So you told me through our entire marriage!"

Her eyes widened. Whoa, personal conversations and fights were not her forte. Especially in public. She leaned a hip to the counter, listening. The woman—Ygritte, the name was familiar— did not put up with him, shouting back: "This is what happens when you let your family get involved, they screw everything up! The kids are hungry, it was Aly's day for the breakfast snack, and you are late, get over here now you stupid Crow or I will try to divorce you again!"

"Hard to divorce me again when you're remarried—to my friend!"

This was absolutely fascinating. Dany reached over for a piece of biscotti in the tray she'd planned to use to stock the tins near the front and crunched on it, watching the debacle before her like it was a soap opera. Didn't need a television if she had customers like this.

"I'm not having this conversation with you again Crow. What Grenn and I have..."

"I'm not talking to you about this. Goodbye." He disconnected, which from the shriek on the other end upset Ygritte and shoved his phone into his pocket. he looked over at her, a hand going back over his hair. "I'm in a hurry."

"That's nice." She didn't move.

He frowned, nodding to the boxes. "I think those are for me. Pickup for Jon Snow? Bunch of cardboard muffins or something?"

"Cardboard?" She was offended, scowling. "I don't make cardboard anything. They're vegan, gluten, nut, and chocolate free banana muffins, which apparently is the only flavor children these days can eat. Gods forbid one is allergic to bananas, I put in a couple blueberry ones to be safe." 

An emotion she couldn't place flickered over his face; it was a comely face, even if his dark brows knit together and his lip curled over his teeth rather aggressively. A short-trimmed beard covered his jaw and upper lip. His skin was pale, which was not abnormal for these Northerners, but there was a rather hard, almost marble quality to it. His hands flexed, which caused his shoulders to lift slightly. He wore all black, only serving to make his eyes—now she could see they were a peculiar stormy gray—stand out and his skin seem paler. His jaw twitched. "Apologies." He did not sound very sorry. He sighed hard. "Can I please just get them and pay? I really need to get to the school; my ex is going to kill me, and my daughter is already upset enough."

She wrinkled her nose and picked up the boxes, setting them in front of it. "Far be it from me to upset your ex-wife and of course your daughter. I feel they probably are politer than you and I cannot fault her for being upset."

"Are you always this judging?"

"Maybe."

"Hardly a way to do business."

She cocked her head, chuckling, and snatched his card from his fingertips. "I do a fine business already Mr..." She looked at the card, smirking. "Snow." She swiped it and thrust it back to him, along with receipt and pen.  

He scribbled his signature and grabbed the box. "Thanks."

"Next time maybe be a bit more polite and understanding with a last-minute special order," she called to him, as he backed out of the store.

He smirked. "Yeah, if I ever want to come back."

Dany wanted to give him the finger on his way out. He slammed the door after him and she cursed herself, hands pinned to her hips. She ground her teeth again, frustrated she'd allowed her temper to get the better of her. He was right, it was not a way to do business, especially if she was trying to make a name for herself, to get the trust and acceptance of the locals. He was just infuriating! Very rude indeed.

The cats snaked around the corner from the upstairs, watching her. She sighed at them, shaking her head. "Muna screwed up boys." Drogon yowled, always the most sympathetic. He had the biggest temper too, so he could understand. Rhaegal chimed in, but Viserion shook his head, disappointed. Dany sighed; yeah, she was a little disappointed too. She looked at the receipt, before she put it in the drawer. Jon Snow. She flicked her finger at it and grumbled, putting it away. She hoped not to see him again. although Ygritte...the name...it popped into her head suddenly.

The redhead who came in the day before, wearing the black utility pants and shirt of the Realms Parks. There had been a patch on one of the pockets. She closed her eyes, visualizing it. Queenscrown Realm Park. In the Gift, the massive stretch of land that the government forbid any development on, where some people still lived in houses that had been built ages ago. There were trails, tons of campgrounds, and hiking. She had a mind to go visit soon enough. Also to visit The Wall. This far North it was mandatory to go visit it, even if you couldn't actually get into Castle Black Ranger Base, as it was still an active military installation. Her friend said you could go rappelling down the Wall. She wondered if Ygritte did that; she was short and very fit, almost too skinny and her teeth were a little overlarge for her smile, her hair a fiery red and eyes bright blue. Her hair had been pinned into a complicated bun at her neck and she was with a little girl with matching red hair, but whose eyes weren't blue, they were...gray. Yes, that's right.

The sweet little girl who was head of her class, she got a cupcake. Said her father didn't let her have sugar. Dany hmphed, will of course he wouldn't, father like the one that had just blown through. She hoped the little girl would come back. She'd give her all the chocolate cupcakes she wanted. She wondered why Ygritte called him Crow. He did kind of look like one, black hair and black ensemble as it was.

She sighed and picked up the tray of biscotti, taking it over to the end of the counter where she set about putting it in the display tins. "Forget that silly Jon Snow," she told the cats, and herself. "We probably won't see him again anyway."

"Daddy!"

"Aly!" Jon swung his daughter around in a circle, as if he hadn't just seen her the day before, and hoisted her up onto his hip. He smacked a kiss to her freckled cheek. "How's my baby girl?"

"Not a baby!" she protested. It was a long running gag with them, Jon only half-meant it. To him, no matter how big she got or how fast she grew out of her shoes, Aly would always be his baby girl. She grinned, pointing to a missing tooth. "Lost it," she said, lisping with her finger half in her mouth and tongue out.

He smiled, hoisting her farther up on his hip from where she was slipping. "Did the Tooth Fairy visit?"

"Yes," Ygritte said, coming out of the house carrying Aly's backpack. She smirked. "Gave her an entire stag."

"That much? I thought one tooth was only fifty pence." He glared at his ex; they had agreed not to make the reward for one tooth too expensive, or else Aly in her competitive nature, would be ripping teeth out left and right. She'd only lost two so far, each one receiving fifty pence. An entire stag? Great. Next she'd be asking for twenty dragons. Ygritte shrugged. She was dressed for work and he knew she was itching to get out there. She had asked him to take Aly for two weeks, since she would be doing a stint on the Wall recovery team and had to go all the way to Eastwatch. She preferred being out in the wild and Beyond the Wall instead of stuck in Winterfell. He hugged Aly a little tighter, accepting the messy kiss she left on his cheek.

She put the backpack in the backseat of his Jeep. "Guess the Tooth Fairy thought she deserved more."

He rolled his eyes. While normally on relatively good terms with his ex—their divorce was a matter of when, not if as they said their vows—lately things had been a bit tense. They went through waves of being close and hating each other, but never let that get in the way of raising their daughter. Or ever showing their frustration with each other in front of her.

Aly was oblivious, fiddling with the dog tags he still wore out of habit. She looked up at him, beaming. "Can we get a cookie?"

"Cookie?"

"From the bakery, the new place," Ygritte supplied.

He wrinkled his nose; his experience there had not been fun. Looking back he might have been a bit demanding, but that woman there had been so haughty, thinking he owed her or something. He shook his head. "No bakery."

"Hey Aly, go say bye to Orell." Aly scrambled out of his arms and ran off back to the house, following her mother's advice she say bye to the hawk that Ygritte kept, claiming it used to be a man who died in his body and now who remained in the hawk. Jon didn't think that was true until the damn thing attacked him once. Still had the scars over his eyes to prove it. He still had no confirmation Ygritte ordered it.

"What?" he asked, once Aly was out of earshot.

Ygritte scowled. "You should go to that bakery. The day, Dany, she's nice."

"She yelled at me."

"You probably deserved it."

"You don't even know her and you're taking her side?"

"Well you're an arsehole Jon Snow, if it wasn't because you were so prim and proper and a challenge, I never would have slept with you in training." She crossed her arms over her chest, a smirk pulling on her thin lips. "There's also the fact you were the only guy up there in the frozen waste."

He rolled his eyes, supposing he should be flattered, even all these years later, but it wasn’t like anyone in their platoon was up to her standards. He shook his head slightly. "So? Why should I take Aly to the bakery?"

"Because she likes it there, they have cats."

"In a bakery?"

"They're the dragons," Ygritte chuckled. Her face went serious. "Jon, knock it off, go in there, apologize to the baker lady who your daughter finds fascinating. She reminds her of those dragon people in the books you keep getting her."

"Targaryens," he said, teeth grinding. Dragon people, it was practically sacrilegious. Aemon the Dragonknight, Daeron the Young Dragon, they were his idols. Then there was his mentor Maester Aemon, when he was stationed up at Castle Black. Before and after Ygritte's unceremonious arrival into his life.

She scoffed. "Whatever. Point is, I'm married now..."

"To one of my friends." Grenn had apologized profusely, claiming he knew "bros before hoes" and all that stuff—Jon wondered what Ygritte would think to the reference of her as a “hoe”—it was just you know; Ygritte took after him and all and he couldn't help it, he was in love with her and everything. Jon only pat his friend on the back, told him it was okay, and wished him luck. As someone who had been essentially bullied into a relationship with her, he understood Ygritte. He just wondered how long this marriage would last and hope it didn't upset Aly since she did like her Uncle Grenn who was now Stepdad Grenn. He knew what Ygritte meant though at her irritated eyebrow lift. He sighed. "Yeah I get it, you want me to be happy, whatever."

"I don't care if you're happy or not, thing is Aly does and I care what she cares about."

"You care," he teased.

She growled. "I don't care about you at all Crow, but thing is as much as I hate you, I do like that kid of ours a lot. Love her damnit, and she loves you and she asks me why you're sad and I hate that question because what I really want to say is that her Daddy is a sullen, melancholy sarcastic arsehole who doesn't think he deserves anything good, but I can't say that so I tell her he hasn't found the perfect princess, because she only speaks those words." She shivered again, probably because she didn't like that Aly was fascinated with princesses and not warrior queens just yet. She poked a finger hard in his chest, right over the scar on his heart, knocking him back a step when he flinched. "You need a woman Jon Snow. That baker lady is pretty, she's new, and she doesn't yet know you're a piece of dirty snow under my boot."

"Gee thanks," he quipped.

"You're welcome." Ygritte moved on, flicking a strand of hair back from her face. "Take Aly there, apologize for whatever stupid thing you said, and offer to show her around."

Why am I listening to dating advice from my ex-wife? He closed his eyes, praying to the Old Gods for strength. He was tired of this. Every single encounter with her and he always ended up insulted. He still wasn't quite sure how they managed to last as long as they did. He called out, effectively ending the conversation: "Aly! Come on! Ghost is waiting!"

The magic words. The door slammed open, his daughter racing towards him, holding her stuffed white wolf. He shot Ygritte a dirty look, pleased to see her wince. They would have had all the seven hells to pay if he got back to his house and Aly didn't have her Ghostie. He helped her towards the backseat, where her booster was attached. "I forgot Ghostie!" she gasped.

"Thank the gods you remembered. Mummy should have done that." He buckled her in and made sure Ghostie was also locked in tight. "Got everything now?" The question was more for Ygritte. "Say bye, bye to Mummy, she's going to be away a couple weeks."

Ygritte kissed the top of Aly's head, ruffling her curls. "I'll see you soon Wild Girl."

"Bye Mummy!" Aly had already moved on. The resilience of children amazed him. She didn't even look up from plucking a stray thread from Ghostie, already chattering to him. "Daddy can we get a cookie please? Please? Pretty please? I really want one. They're so good, so yummy, and she said I can come back there."

He pulled out of the driveway into the street and drove off from Ygritte's hidden house on the far outskirts of Winterfell—barely city limits—towards the other side of Winterfell, where he had his house on the grounds of the castle. Growing up in the castle hadn't been as ideal as people liked to think and he didn't live in the apartments his sisters and brothers used in the back of the castle, but in a converted barn about a mile into the property. It gave him the privacy he craved and also put Aly in close contact with her cousins.

Aly's sweet little please from the back, coupled with her uncanny ability to make him all soft and squishy, wore at him. He hesitated and nodded. "Yeah alright. We can get you a cookie. No chocolate!"

Too late, she was squealing and kicking her feet, ecstatic. "Yay! Mummy took me a bunch of times!"

Great no wonder you're all hopped up. "Aye? She did?"

"Aye!"

He sighed. He hadn't known what to make of the tiny angry woman who stood behind the counter when he'd gone in a week ago to get those damn muffins. Stupid Breakfast Friday. The kids all had to bring in a breakfast snack for the morning and it was Alysanne's day and lo and behold, Ygritte forgot to mention it, he had to work late, was scrambling and asked Arya to help, then she'd forgotten...gods, he shuddered.

Maybe he'd been a little rude. He'd been in a hurry, he needed her to just give him the muffins, and she'd pulled some sort of queenly righteousness with him. All he was asking for was her to give him what he wanted. It seemed she wanted something in return. He sighed again, making a note to ask Arya what she thought of the woman. He listened to Aly chatter about school, Ghostie's adventures, how happy she was she could be with real Ghost, and she was sad she wouldn't see Mummy for a few days, but Mummy liked to go to the Wall and would bring her back an icicle. He frowned. "Icicles melt Aly."

"Not these ones, they last forever." She was so matter-of-fact, he didn't have the heart to contradict her and break her heart.

They found a parking space right near the bakery, which had a bunch of people inside. Jon noted now that it was actually rather well-done, the sign, the melding of her aesthetic with the historical fronts of the buildings on the High street. The pretty cakes and other displays in the window drew your eye in quickly, made you wonder what else lay beyond. He squinted at the sign, murmuring. "Three Dragons."

"Her kitty cats! They're dragons!" Aly struggled to break free of him as he helped her out of the car. He grabbed her hand before she ran off; she was too much like her mother, desperate to run instead of walk. "I want to go!"

"Walk, don't run. You don’t want to trip again."

Even though she didn't run, she still tugged his hand, pulling him with her into the bakery. They sidestepped away from the people milling around at the counter, while the baker herself was in the back, working with a large pastry back, concentrating on the two-tiered cake in front other. Her hands barely moved, but he realized she was icing something onto the bottom layer, a complicated array of loops. She finished a second later, setting the bag down, and reached for the cake, gently lifting and lowering it into an open box, made of thick, heavy cardboard. It had her dragon stamp on the outside of it. It took him a second, but Jon realized the strength she must have had, her neck muscles slightly tense and what he could see of her biceps bunching and holding while she carried the cake over to the group of people.

"Voila!" she exclaimed, laughing. "Here it is!"

The girls all giggled, clapping and happy. Jon recognized one as Jeyne Poole, one of Sansa's friends. "Oh it's beautiful!" Jeyne squealed, studying the cake. "It's perfect!"

The cake was really pretty, pink and white and decorated with what looked like real pearls. The icing she'd piped said Happy Birthday! and Jon figured whoever's birthday it was must be lucky to get such a fancy cake. Aly's eyes were the size of dinner plates, her mouth open. "It's so pretty!" she shouted.

Dany looked over at Aly, her eyes lighting up. They were purple. With her silver hair, Jon knew she had Valyrian ancestry. Made sense, her last name was Targaryen. A real descendent of the family, with all her dragon love, he figured. She laughed, a pretty high one. "Hi Aly, how are you?"

"Good! I get a cookie today!"

"Well I made a fresh batch that are like S’mores, would you like to try one?" Jon didn't even have a chance to say 'no chocolate' when Aly jumped up and down, running towards the end of the countertop and display cases, taking the cookie Dany gave her, while Jon rushed to hold open the door while the gaggle of girls left with their cake, shouting their thanks and love to Dany, who waved after them.

It left him alone in the bakery—which smelled incredible— with the dragon lady and his overly excitable daughter, who now had chocolate smeared all over her face and fingers. He slowly approached the counter, a little sheepish, but saying nothing while she surveyed him, purple eyes narrowed and face unreadable. "Hello," he finally said, trying to diffuse the tension.

Aly smacked her teeth, pulling on a marshmallow from the cookie. "Daddy this is so yummy!" She looked at Daenerys. "This is very yummy Miss Dany!"

"Thank you, sweetheart, I'm glad you liked it. New recipe." She smirked at him, not breaking eye-contact. "This is your daddy?"

"Aye, that's my Daddy. Daddy does not like sugar."

Daenerys feigned a gasp, eyes wide. "How can he not like sugar?"

"I like sugar, I just don't eat it all the time." He looked at Aly. "Just like you should watch your sugar Miss Crazy Wolf."

She giggled, holding up her fingers, the cookie nothing but crumbs and stickiness and chocolate smears. "I'm Crazy Wolf."

"You definitely are." Jon looked over the counter and then to the car, realizing he should have thought to bring wipes with him. He nodded towards the back, where there was a little hall between the staircase and the entrance to the kitchen. He assumed there was a bathroom there. "Let's go wash your hands."

"Don't worry about it." Dany reached under the counter and removed a box of wet wipes, passing them over.

He smiled, grateful, and wiped off what he could, knowing full well if she had anything else the stickiness would return. Sure enough, Aly peered curiously at the display case. "Daddy can I have that one?" It was a sugar cookie in the shape of a wolf.

"Fine," he sighed; he didn't have much fight in him today.

"Yay!"

Dany laughed, walking over to the case and reached in, removing the cookie, and placed it in wax paper. She handed it to Aly, who could not stop bouncing. "Eat it slowly, savor it. That's how you should always eat your dessert." Her purple eyes lifted and met his, a little smirk on her pink, plump lips. A silver eyebrow arched, amused, challenging. "Dessert should be eaten slow, savored, and feel the sweetness burst on your tongue."

His throat went bone-dry. He tried to swallow but coughed instead. Aly looked up concerned. "You okay Daddy?"

"Fine," he rasped.

"Would you care for something to drink sweetheart?"

He blinked, thinking for a crazy second she meant him, and darted his gaze from the baker lady to his daughter, who nodded and took the little container of milk she passed over. He took it from Aly without a word, opening the cap and handed it back to her. Aly ran to one of the chairs, the closest one to the stairs, where three cats all sat, each one stretched along a step, enjoying the late afternoon sun beaming in through the window. It seemed this was her favorite spot, as she told him, chattering nonstop while also eating her cookie and sipping her milk. Jon looked over at the baker lady. "I should apologize," he mumbled.

"You should."

He felt his wolf blood growl a bit. "You should too."

Dany's eyebrows went sky-high again. "I should?"

"Aye, I'm a customer!"

"You were rude. Demanding."

"You didn't need to be rude back!"

"Well why not?" They both squared off, each of them frustrated. She was very stubborn. He was about to say so, when she snapped at him. "You're very stubborn."

"I'm stubborn?" He blurted it out before he caught himself. If he were a wolf, his fur would be standing up on the back of his neck, his fangs bared. He almost growled. "Says the woman who wouldn't even talk to me until I gave her my undivided attention."

"Excuse me for having manners." She snarked. "You said my muffins were cardboard."

"I didn't say a damn thing about your muffin." He sniffed. "If anything I wouldn't bother tasting it."

Her purple eyes widened, lighting up as a look of shock pulled over her fine features. Her mouth dropped open slightly. He had no idea what he'd even said that had her looking at him like that. He glanced at Aly, who was taking her sweet time on her cookie, chatting with the cats. She was telling them that they need not worry about the rain and that snow was rain but frozen. It did not seem like he would be getting out of here quickly. He glanced at the Westerosi Bake Off picture. "This some big thing? My ex says it is." He wasn’t sure what the seven hells he was doing.

The woman said nothing to him for a second and then suddenly dropped her arms to her sides, walking over to the counter and leaning against the display case, chuckling. "I do not know what to make of you Mr. Snow."

"How do you know my name?" he blurted.

The braids piled atop her head, held back by a bandana that happened to have flour dusted on the edges, swayed with her chuckle. "Your credit card."

Oh. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans, mumbling. "You can call me Jon"

"And you can call me Dany."

"Dany," he tested. It was less of a mouthful than Daenerys Targaryen. He lifted his eyes up to the various dragon-themed pictures, displays, and figures. "You do play up the dragon theme."

"It's my heritage, I like dragons." She pushed away from the display case, turning and beginning to fuss with a complicated coffee machine, speaking while she worked. "My family was from Valyria."

"I knew a Targaryen. He passed though." The thought of Maester Aemon made his stomach hurt. He convinced Ygritte to name the baby Aemon if it was a boy, Alysanne for a girl, in deference to his mentor and old friend.

Dany fiddled with a couple of cups. "Who was he?"

"Aemon Targaryen, Maester of the Citadel, assigned to Castle Black."

She twirled so fast, he had a brief thought she'd blown fire at him, but it was just her bright red shirt swishing about her arms and waist. "Aemon?" she exclaimed. The pretty face lighted again. "He was my great-uncle. He's why I moved North. Well, part of the reason. He had lovely things to say." She pursed her lips, eyebrows arching. "Said the baked goods weren't bad. I guess I have to agree. The buns are nice to look at."

Buns? His eyes landed on a few of the Northern cinnamon buns that she'd made, displayed next to some of the local breads. He shrugged. "They're okay."

"More than okay," she teased. He wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean either. He shifted awkwardly, while she shook her head from side to side slowly, speaking quietly. Almost to herself. "You are something Jon Snow."

Jon was going to demand what that meant because he was extremely confused. He had bene arguing with her, annoyed, and finding her to be incredibly stubborn, when she'd turned the tables on him. He had never really felt so off-kilter. Aly chose that moment, however, to appear at his side, half of her cookie gone while she gummed on the rest. She poked the icing, melting from her munching. "Dany."

"Yes sweetheart?"

"How'd you do this? Drogon says it's rain." She looked up, her gray eyes sparkling curiously. She shook her head. "Rhaegal says fire. Viserion did not talk."

He was about to apologize for Aly; sometimes her imagination got the better of her and she could make no sense. Dany cut him off, before he even opened his mouth. "It's icing, here I'll show you." She picked up the two cups of coffee she'd prepared, walking down to the end of the counter. She set them down and then lifted the little barrier, beckoning her forward. She nudged a cup to him, winking. "It's decaf, if you were worried."

"Oh, thanks." They went into the kitchen, Jon holding the coffee cup in his hand, finding it pleasantly warm him, more than coffee usually did. "Hey, Alysanne, we don't need to bother Miss Dany."

"No bother." Dany lifted Aly onto a stool, at one of the metal prep tables and went to a tall cart, filled with trays of unfrosted cookies. She removed one and set it down and began to set out ingredients. "You can help me. I needed to get these frosted anyway."

"Okay!"

Jon closed his mouth, figuring there was no point in arguing between his hard-headed daughter and the fiery baker. He watched, actually finding it interesting, how Dany made the icing, which seemed more like glossy paint. She picked up a pastry bag, dumping the frosting in and then twisted it, showing Aly before she let her try it. He moved forward, watching. "That's pretty good Aly," he praised, at her messy squiggles over the cookies. Her little tongue stuck out between her teeth; tiny brow pinched in concentration. "No, not good," she decided. She tried again, this time feeling more confident in her design. "I like that."

Dany clapped her hands, cheering. "Wonderful! You have the makings of an apprentice baker."

"Really!?" Aly exclaimed. She whipped her face to his, her little curls clouding around her head. "Daddy! I'm a prentice' baker!"

"You sure are," he laughed. He loved that she was happy, even if Dany didn't have to entertain her like this. He smiled at the woman, who was watching him, her lips pulled in a cheeky smile. He tilted his head, acknowledging his thanks silently. Aly played along, happily messing with the different colors of frosting Dany prepared for her, making cookies with lines, dots, squiggles, and strange shapes she said were stars, moons, suns, rainbows, and various animals. He let her work, coming around to stand by Dany, who had begun to actually work on the cookies for her display.

She glanced up, stepping back and handing him the bag. "Want to try?"

"Oh...no..."

"No, give it a try. Here." She leaned next to him; the top of her hair dusted under his nose. he closed his eyes, trying not to sniff; she smelled like flour, sugar, and fruits—like strawberries. She had moved to the other end of the table, out of earshot of Aly. She twisted the bag, speaking quietly. "It's all in the wrist action. You need to twist at the base and then...light pressure along the bottom...not too fast, not too hard, just the perfect amount. Moving up and down, twisting as you go..." Her bottom nudged at his thigh and he stepped over slightly, watching her concentrate on the icing. When she finished with one of the cookies, she handed the bag to him. She smirked up. "It needs to be stiff, can't have it too soft."

Jon had zero idea what happened, he was fairly certain he had a stroke. He blinked a couple of times at her, wondering if she knew what she was saying. Or maybe he was a pervert and reading too much into it. He opened his mouth a couple of times, closing it like a fish. She quirked her lip and he took the bag quickly, saying nothing.

Aly ran over, icing now all over her hands and the front of her shirt. "Daddy I want to see you do it!"

"Uh...okay." He cleared his throat, gave it a try, and shrugged when he finished. He pushed the bag to Dany. "I'm done. Thank Miss Dany for letting you do this, not many get the chance."

"Thank you, Miss Dany!"

Dany smiled, setting the pastry bag down and walking with them from around the kitchen and out into the seating area again. She crossed her arms over her chest. "Thank you, Aly. You're my favorite customer you know." She met his eyes, laughing softly. "Definitely the nicest I've had."

He scowled. "What do I owe you for her cookies and milk?"

"On the house."

"But..."

"You're welcome to come back any time. I think Aly might be my easiest to please customer and a pastry chef is always looking for those." Dany looked down at Aly, who was licking the dried icing from her fingers. She laughed. "I think she could give the Queen of Tarts a run for her money on Bake Off. Perhaps she should be a judge."

Aly bounced around his feet, grabbing his knees, icing spreading onto them. "Yes Daddy! Please, please, please I want to judge!"

"You don't even know what that is," he laughed.

"I don't care."

Jon lifted her up and settled her on his hip. He shook his head, smiling at her, and she nuzzled her nose to his. "I'll think about it."

"I'm coming back tomorrow," Aly announced.

"You are?"

Dany grinned. "I'll see you tomorrow." She smiled at Jon; this time he thought he saw some nervousness in her eyes, the light crinkle of them and the hesitation in her smile, before she pulled her lips back again. "Bye."

"Bye," he murmured.

They left, thanking her again for the cookies, and went back to the car. He turned, after putting Aly in her seat, and went to close the car door. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dany standing in the doorway, watching them. She lifted her fingers in a shy wave and he waved back, feeling stupid. He chastised himself and moved around the hood of the car to the driver's side, looking back once more. 

The sign had flicked over, from Open to Closed. He frowned. Decided not to brood on it and got in, hearing Aly go on and on about the art she'd done on the cookies and how the dragons really liked them.

He didn't realize until later, after getting her bathed, fed, settled in bed, and was sitting on his back porch with his wolf Ghost, the outdoor firepit blazing and pouring warmth over him even in the dark cool of the autumn evening, that he actually enjoyed himself with the baker lady. He sipped the beer he held in his hands, trying not to brood, but he couldn't help it.

Jon wanted to see her again. He really, really wanted to see her again.

And he had never thought about that with any woman. Certainly not since his divorce, even if before. Not the way he felt now. A yearning in his chest, wondering if she always smelled like strawberries or if there was perpetually flour on her cheek. Or if she always was that sarcastic or funny or stubborn. He wanted to talk to her about Aemon. About Targaryens. He liked how she was with his daughter.

Seven hells.

Gods help me if Ygritte is right, he thought, hitting his head backwards on the edge of the chair, groaning.

Daenerys hadn't seen Jon Snow and his cute daughter for three days. She hated how she felt, each time the door opened, the bell above jangling, a customer entering the store. Or even a phone call. Would she hear that soft, slightly raspy burr? Or the sweet giggle from an enchanting little girl? She chastised herself every single time, irritated. She had never behaved like that with a man. Even her ex-husband. Then there was Daario, the whoring chef she worked with in Meereen. She had an affair with him that lasted on and off two years and while there were times when she was eager to be with him, it was just to scratch an itch.

Definitely not like now. She was annoyed. So annoyed she'd closed early when he'd left, finding her heart racing and palms sweaty. Idiot, she'd thought, turning off lights and going into the kitchen to bake away her feelings. Some of what she'd said had been meant to just fluster him, to get back at him for his haughty, almost kingly type behavior with her earlier, but the look in his eyes, that almost adorable confusion and his painful awkwardness, she felt just as awkward.

It wasn't until after she'd spoken with her best friend, wondering why he'd gotten so weird after the icing incident, told her what she'd said, Missandei burst into tears, laughing so hard she'd dropped the phone. "What is so funny?" she huffed.

"Oh Dany! Listen to it again and think about it."

She repeated it twice, until her cheeks went flame red. "Oh my gods. I cannot believe he didn't just run out of there! No wonder he isn't coming back, he probably thinks I'm some thirsty bitch!"

"If anything it sounds like he doesn’t even know what he wants."

"He loves his little girl, she's the sweetest thing." She loved that precious little thing each time she came into the bakery. There were tons of children coming and going; one little boy whose name was Eddie was absolutely adorable, speaking with a lisp and always wanting a wolf cookie, because he was a Stark and they were wolves. His mother, who was probably one of the prettiest women Dany had ever met, had laughed, and ordered a rose-themed cake for her grandmother's birthday. Dany remembered her name was Margaery and there was a familiar look about her, but she couldn't say how she felt she knew her.

There was a teenager who'd come in with a man Dany assumed was her father, but turned out to be her cousin, both of them bickering back and forth over getting a cake designed for their father and uncle's retirement, respectively. "It has to have a bear on it," the girl had demanded, feisty, challenging her as though she didn't think Dany could ever come up with something that would satisfy her.

The older man had been nice, maybe a bit too forward with her. Dany thought the Northerners pretty strange. They were deeply entrenched in their traditions, history, and families. Some were still cool with her, being from out of realm but they were warming up slowly. It was the bear cake she'd been working on. Missandei had arrived from Essos and was working up front, helping her out while she did some of the special orders. She had to hire local help; she was doing quite a business. Everyone wanted to see the Targaryen who won Bake Off and had moved up North.

Dany rolled out the fondant, the cake already baked and set aside. She reached up and rubbed he forearm over her forehead, hating this part of cake design. The fondant was the worst. She chewed her lower lip and tried to push thoughts of the handsome, bumbling Jon Snow from her mind, when Missy called her name.

"Oh Dany, it seems you have a visitor."

"I have to get this cake done," she said. It was almost closing; she was going to work on it through the night.

"You might want to see this one."

"Missy..." Dany lifted her face, just in time to see the grinning little face of Alysanne Snow, peeking over the counter to her. She laughed. "Aly!"

"Hi Miss Dany!" Aly looked instantly to Missy, curious. "Are you her friend?"

Missy chuckled, offering her hand to Aly, who took it immediately. "Yes, I am her friend."

"Where you come from?"

Jon flushed, mortified. "Alysanne! Manners!"

Missandei threw her head back, laughing, and clapped her hands together. "Oh she's fine!" She crouched to Aly's level, her dark eyes twinkling. She tapped Aly's nose. "I am from Naath."

"Naath? Where that?"

"Where is that," Jon ground out, eyes closing. He shook his head. "Where are your verbs?"

"They went away," Aly chirped, going with Missy immediately to the display case, so Missy could show her the butterfly cupcakes she'd made, to explain Naath was where a very special butterfly came from, just like Missandei.

It left her alone with Jon Snow, even if there was a significant distance between then. He shoved his hands into his pockets again. She wondered if that was a nervous gesture; he did it a lot the last time he'd come in. Her eyes drifted from his towards his ensemble today. The jeans were very snug on his hips and he had a black shirt tucked into them, a beat-up bomber jacket thrown over that. This time the curls came back from the top half of his face, in a knot, and the rest were left to dust the collar of the jacket. "Hello," he mumbled, smile tight.

She couldn't help but smile. "Hello."

"Aly wanted to get a cookie."

"I gathered."

"She got a good grade on her spelling test," he added, as an afterthought.

"Smart girl."

He nodded. Didn't say anything, watching her with the fondant. He cleared his throat. "Um, what...what are you doing?"

"Rolling fondant."

"What's that?"

"It's a type of icing, used for cake sculpting and decorating." She pressed down onto the black fondant, which she would use to drape over the two-layer chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. There were toffee crumbles in the frosting. The cake would have drizzles of caramel, toffee, and be topped with a smaller tier, this one to have a miniature sculpted version of the Wall around it and a bear tearing it down. The faint chatter of Missy and Aly— already best of friends it seemed—filled the kitchen while she rolled out the fondant. She finished and floured her hands, lifting it up and began to carefully drape it over the cake tier. "It's got to be nice and hard," she said, lowering it over the cake, her teeth set in concentration. When she finished getting the fondant over, she began to smooth it, whisking the cake around on the pedestal. "And then a quick, smooth rub down."

The floor creaked, wooden boards warped and old. She knew it would be smarter to get tile, but she loved the old feel of the place. She lifted her head, watching as he moved towards her, looking at the cake. She took a deep breath and focused. "If you want, you can help me with the balls."

"What?" he exclaimed.

She pointed to the layer of fondant she'd already rolled out, which she was going to roll out with one of the pastry tools, to cut out into tiny snowflakes. "The balls there, need to roll them out."

"Oh."

The flush in his cheeks had her smiling, ducking her head. "Wash your hands. Get an apron."

He stuttered. "I just came to get Aly a cookie...I didn't mean..."

"I could use a set of extra hands, just my own..." She shrugged. "I can finish faster when there's more than me."

"Uh...oh...okay."

Dany waited for him to wash his hands and put on the apron. Today because she was in full pastry chef mode, she had on her white chef coat, sleeves rolled to her elbows, and her usual dragon patterned bandana holding back her hair. She showed him what she needed, cutting out strips and then rolling the fondant. He laughed, when she held up the perfectly formed ball in her fingers, while his was considerably larger and not as smooth. "I don't think my balls are as smooth as yours," he said.

She pursed her lips, fighting the urge to smile; he was oblivious, holding up another one of his. "No," she murmured, shaking her head. "No yours are definitely bigger." She reached over and wet her fingers, to smooth over the fondant. "You want to seal the cracks. They need to be wetter."

He coughed into his elbow. "Huh?"

"The crack has to be wet, otherwise it will be hard to fit it."

"Fit what?" he whispered; voice strained.

She pointed to the cake design; her sketches laid out behind them on the other prep table. The snowflakes would be lined up along the side of the bottom tier. "To the cake." She cocked her head. "Why? What'd you think I meant?"

"Nothing." His cheeks were pink again. He cleared his throat and turned back to the task, this time following her instruction a little better.

Dany grinned, when he'd finished his assigned work. "There, your balls are perfect" She picked up one, tossing it back and forth in her palms. "Nice and smooth."

There was a loud cough from Missandei, who had Aly at her side, the little girl desperate to rush into the kitchen, obviously being held back. "Aly would like to see what you're doing," she said, smirking.

"Making cake decorations, come here, I'll show you!"

She turned, at the same time Jon did, both of them bumping into each other. His hands reached to steady her, so she didn't trip over Aly, who wedged herself between them. "Sorry," he mumbled, looking away.

"No problem," she whispered. She turned, dusting her hands and looked over at Missy, who was staring at her chef coat. She shook her head a little, eyes widening, demanding. "What?"

"Nothing."

They finished up making the snowflakes, Dany giving Aly some scrap pieces to roll out little shapes and let her make her own fondant critters, and after a few laughs with Jon, they had to go. He thanked her profusely for allowing Aly to hang around, since she couldn't stop talking about the bakery and the cats and cookies. "All she wants is to make cookies now, even with the no sugar rule," he complained, on their way out the door with a box of four different shaped animal cookies, while Aly ate a cupcake that had been a little misshapen and destined for the trash bin—Dany only put out the best.

Dany found herself blurting out the words popping into her head before she could think them through. "I can show you some recipes that are easy if you want. Both of you."

"Yes!" Aly yelped.

Jon hesitated and then nodded, briefly smiling again. He glanced at Aly, dark brows arching. "Maybe some healthy ones?"

"I have some oatmeal ones that aren’t bad," she said.

Aly shrugged, no longer as enthused as if they had been chocolate, she figured. "Okay."

"We'll swing by tomorrow? Maybe after dinner?" Jon teased Aly, swinging their joined hands together at his side. "Perhaps you won't eat as many then if you have a fully tummy, Wolf Girl."

"I will always eat cookies!" Aly rubbed her stomach, purposefully sticking it out. "I'm a cookie monster. A cookie wolf."

They all laughed, which made the little girl infinitely pleased, having entertained them. She kept repeating it, even as Jon ushered her out the door, waving goodbye. It shut, the faint shouts of Aly still filling the bakery until they faded completely.

Missandei whirled on her. "What was that?"

"What was what?" Dany hurried to the cake, to catch up on the time she'd lost by entertaining Aly and laughing with Jon. She glanced at her design and began to work on rolling out the fondant for the second tier. She did not meet Missy’s eyes. She knew what was going to happen and she didn't want to hear it.

"So how long as it been? I suspect what, couple years? When did you leave Daario?"

"Missy!"

Missy hopped onto the counter behind her, snagging a brownie from the tray beside her. She smirked. "You like him."

"I do not! He's just...he's nice and he has a sweet daughter. besides, he could be married, who knows."

"That man is not married, and you know it, that sweet child told me about fifty times he lives by himself with his wolf." Missy licked a bit of brownie crumbs from her thumb, wiggling her eyebrows. She was enjoying this too much. "By the way, he likes you too.”

“No he does not!”

“Hmm, check your coat.”

Dany had no idea what that meant until Missy grabbed a tray and turned it towards her, reflection visible in the shiny silver surface. Her mouth dropped, hands pulling down her coat. Right next to her breast were a set of chocolate handprints. Just the right width of Jon Snow’s hands, fingers along the sides.

“Oh gods!”

“Hmm...he could have grabbed you anywhere but that’s where he reached first?” Missy clicked her tongue and bit into the brownie again, grinning while she chewed. She spoke through crumbs. “He likes you.”

Dany wanted to shrug off the coat, but she still had to keep working. She would just have to do it with Jon Snow-sized chocolate handprints on her breasts. She tried to tamp down the flame curling up through her belly to her heart. It had been awhile, Missy was right. Not exactly two years, but long enough. Since she decided to kick Daario to the curb; bastard was only using her increasing fame in the pastry world to make his restaurant look good.

She mumbled, rolling out the fondant with a bit more force than necessary; the rolling pin almost went straight out of her hands and off the table. She caught it, hoping missy didn't note her frustration. "Well I don't know what his situation is."

"Didn't you meet the ex?"

"I guess she's the ex." The redheaded woman with Aly the few times before Jon started bringing her into the store. She thought back, the brief memory of Jon on his phone, saying something about how she remarried his friend. She glanced at Missy again; her friend was too smug for her own good. "So, um...what'd she say exactly?"

"Who?"

"Aly!"

"Oh," Missy chuckled. "She's a little spitfire. She was very excited to tell me about her living situation. She has two houses which means she has two beds, two pets, two bathrooms, etcetera. She has a stepdad. Her mother is a ranger, likes to stay outside all the time and is right now up at the Wall climbing. Her daddy has a wolf, lives alone, and sometimes he's sad." She shrugged, her face no longer as amused. "I get the impression she's a lonely little kid. Happy, obviously, but a little lonely."

As a child who grew up relatively alone, Dany understood. She had a lot in common with Aly. Parents no longer together—because her father died, and her mother remarried. Her stepfather was wonderful to her, she loved him dearly, but he hadn't come into her life for some time. Then her mother passed away. She had brothers, but they were significantly older than her. Living their lives already. Rhaegar often was more a father than a brother.

She focused on the cake before her. "Well I am going to teach them how to make cookies. That's all, Missy."

"Sure."

"Seriously that's all!" She pointed to the cake plans behind her, smirking. "If you're going to stick around and make fun of me, at least help out. I need to finish up with these figures. You can finish up the first tier."

"Fine." After a long time of quiet, both of them working steadily, comfortably, Missy leaned into her, whispering. Her best friend, she was serious, and Dany knew it, and said nothing. "I know it's hard but try to open your heart. It's been closed for too long."

The cake needed her full attention, so she tuned out Missandei and focused. Except that night, when she crawled into bed, exhausted and muscles aching, she fell asleep not thinking of the alarm going off in a couple of hours to start working on the breads and morning pastries, but of the shy little smile Jon Snow gave her when she leaned into him or the flush in his cheeks when she said something that could be construed as 'sexual.' Or the way he looked at his daughter, absolute adoration in his gray eyes.

And maybe that door on her heart cracked open, just a little.

Jon was never a fan of oatmeal cookies.

Until Dany made them.

Nor was he much of a sweets guy anyway. He knew Alysanne shouldn't have a lot of sugar, he didn't want her to become one of those kids who couldn't function unless they had it, like it was a drug. Ygritte always broke the rules, she was just like that anyway. Especially if he insisted upon it. Except after the oatmeal cookie lesson, he'd gotten a chocolate chip cookie one. Then he'd gone in to get a cup of coffee and a bagel on his way to work. He took Aly again when she needed to get a treat for someone for their birthday. Once more after she did well at her doctor's appointment, where she had to get a shot.

Two weeks after being at the Wall, Ygritte called to say she was going to cover for someone up in Hardhome. She would be gone all told about six weeks. Jon loved having Aly all to himself, even if he knew she missed her mother. Video calls weren't the same. Except Aly didn't seem to miss her when they were at the bakery, getting her fill of the "dragons" and of Daenerys's wide smile and brightness.

There was something about her, something he wanted more of, and it wasn't the sugar. He was not good with women; he wasn't kidding when he told people Ygritte only was with him because he was only male her age and reasonably attractive in their group. After their divorce, he'd rarely gone on dates. He'd seen a few women here and there; but overall, they made the first move usually.

This time he was the one appearing in front of her, bumbling through exchanges like the one they'd had earlier in the week, when he'd gone in to get coffee before heading to work.

"Morning," Dany called to him, already moving towards the coffee. She smirked. "Let me guess, just plain black today?"

"Yes." He looked over at the little tartes she'd been working on, pointing. "Those look cool, what are they?"

"Lemon meringue tarts." She handed him the coffee, nodding towards them. "The meringue is the hardest part."

"It looks really stiff." He frowned at the way she'd managed to pipe the meringue. It looked like a fluffy cloud of whipped cream, except it didn't melt, but stood upright. He chuckled. "Looks like peaks of mountains."

"I guess, mountain peaks."

"Nice and hard peaks."

She stared at him a moment and nodded, the apples of her cheeks turning red. "Yeah, nice hard peaks."

After he left, he wondered why she seemed embarrassed. He told his sister Arya, who beat him round the head with her bag, shouting how he was a stupid idiot, didn't he hear what he'd said? He thought it over again and again and almost died of mortification.

There was also the time where he'd choked on his coffee, after she said something about buns again. "Huh?" he wondered.

"Your buns, they're hot," Dany warned, pointing to the container sitting on the counter, waiting for him to pick up. She grinned, cheeky. "They're just out of the oven you know."

"Oh yeah...er...bye."

Bloody fool, he thought, hitting himself mentally. There were too many interactions like that. They'd smile, chat, maybe flirt—he wasn't quite sure— until one or both would say something that would stop them both hard in their tracks. It was a constant cycle.

Until one evening, roughly a month after that first tense interaction with her, arguing over who was ruder to the other. As had become a custom, for her dessert, he'd taken Aly to the bakery to see the cats, tell Dany about her art project where she drew a dragon, and pick out a cookie. He thought Dany looked very pretty that afternoon; her hair was actually out of its bandana and she wore a crisp white shirt and black pants.

"You look very pretty Miss Dany," Aly chimed.

"Thank you so much Miss Aly!" She met his gaze over top of the display case. She looked sheepish. "I'm sort of catering, I guess you could say. Dropping off a massive order of cookies and things for a big event at Winterfell."

Probably something Margaery, his sister-in-law was involved in. They spoke for a minute about the castle; she still hadn't been there. "I could show you around," he said, shrugging.

"We live there," Aly said.

Dany laughed. "In the castle?"

"No, but close to the castle." Dany looked at him for confirmation. It certainly would seem like the fanciful ideas of a child, living in a castle, so he understood her confusion.

He ruffled Aly's red curls, lightly stroking at them, quiet. "My aunt was Lyanna Stark," he explained to Dany, seeing the understanding in her face dawn. He smiled sadly. "She died when I was a baby, so my Uncle Ned raised me next to his kids. They're my cousins, but more like brothers and sisters. They still live in the castle apartments; I have a house on the grounds." He grinned at Aly, who giggled up at him. "Where the horses lived, right Aly?"

"Yes, the barn, but it's my house now, and Ghostie's." She held up her white stuffed wolf, showing him to Dany, who admired Ghostie's knitted sweater, a gift from Auntie Sansa.

Dany waited for Aly to run off to play with Drogon, who popped out from upstairs and was sitting on the stairs. She apologized quiet. "I didn't know your mother was Lyanna Stark. I heard she was very beautiful. The Lady Lyanna."

"Yes," he agreed. he didn’t' like to think of his mother. Or his unknown father. He shrugged, quiet again. "That's why when you saw my name and didn't say anything, I was a little surprised. I'm a Snow." A bastard.

Her nose wrinkled, clearly finding the concept of the bastard last names distasteful. "It is one of the things of Westeros I cannot stand, this clinging to the past like that, especially here in the North."

"My brother hopes to change it." Robb was the Lord of Winterfell now, he had power in the Parliament.

"I hope he succeeds." She frowned, looking to him again. "Wait, so that means you're..."

Jon laughed. "Margaery's my sister-in-law, so if you're going to the castle for something, you're dealing with her."

"Oh my gods! I wish I'd known! What if I said something bad?" They laughed about it, but he didn't think she'd say anything wrong. Maybe about his sister Sansa but that was about it.

They collected the cookie for Aly's dessert, waving goodbye, and Jon didn't think he'd see her for a few more days, until Aly's panicked cries, before he set her in bed for the night.

"Ghostie!" she wailed, tears turning her cheeks tomato red. It clashed with her hair. "I lost him! I left him! He's alone!"

Jon called the bakery, hoping beyond all hope she would answer and that Ghostie was there, and thankfully she did. He explained the situation, Dany understanding completely. She set the phone down and a few minutes later, returned, a little out of breath, but confirmed that yes, Ghostie had decided to spend the night at the bakery. "I'll bring him by," she assured him. "Right now."

"No, you can wait," he tried to say, but she didn’t hear of it, and hung up on him once he told her how to get to his house. His stomach churned, nervous for some reason. He sat with Aly, comforting her, the little girl distraught over the fear Ghostie might have from being alone from her.

"What if he is scared?" she whimpered.

Jon cuddled her close, wrapped up in her favorite soft blanket, her little head tucked under his chin. He let her gum on his index finger, a bad habit she'd had since she was a baby, to comfort her. He looked up at the flash of headlights in the window, the real Ghost popping up from the floor, rushing over to the front door at the sound of footsteps making their way from the drive up to the front porch. He stood carefully, still holding Aly, who was no longer her bouncy self, even at the prospect of seeing Dany. He nuzzled her face, walking to the front door. "Hey, Dany's here, she's got Ghostie."

"Hmm," Aly mumbled, shoving her face into his shoulder. He rubbed her back lightly and paused long enough to open the door, bent over slightly from the weight of carrying her while he also struggled to get Ghost from jumping on Dany. Her little gray eyes peered over, whimpering: "Dany?"

"Hi sweetheart," Dany cooed, stepping into the house without saying anything to him. She lifted up Ghostie, his daughter's eyes lighting up in happiness at the sight of her beloved toy. "Someone missed you! I rushed him over as fast as I could."

She took Ghostie without a word, tears trickling down her cheeks, overwhelmed. Jon hoped she wasn't getting sick; her mood swings like this usually happened around the same time as a cold or stomach bug. He kissed Aly's forehead. "Hey," he murmured. "Say thank you to Miss Dany aye? She came all this way with Ghostie."

"Thank you," she cried, sobbing now.

He looked over at Dany, apologetic. "I'll go put her down. Make yourself comfortable."

Dany, he realized, had a big bag slung over her shoulder. She gestured towards the light coming from the kitchen, not saying anything and marching herself there. He nodded to Ghost, who was sniffing after her. "I'm sorry for him, he's nosy."

"He's fine, probably smells the dragons, don't you? He's gorgeous." The albino wolf peered up, tongue lolling, obviously enamored. Jon wasn't sure anyone could meet Daenerys and not be curious about her. She went to the kitchen, disappearing form view.

He took Aly up to her room, wiping her tears from her face and tucking her in, this time with Ghostie, her emotions finally fading as sleep overtook her. He rubbed her back gently, until her breathing evened out. "Love you," he whispered, kissing her forehead. He traced his fingertip down her face, touching her nose. He smiled. He would miss her when she went back to Ygritte's for those few days each week.

Maybe he'd been alone too long, he thought, getting up from the edge of the pink castle bed, clicking on the nightlight by the door. The slow-moving images of horses galloping around the ceiling cast a dim light around the room, and he watched Aly for a moment more. He loved her so much, he thought his heart didn't really need anything else.

But maybe it did.

He cracked her door, pausing at the top of the stairs. Ghost sat at the bottom, looking up, unblinking. He frowned; there was a sound coming from the kitchen. He jogged down and scratched the wolf's ears. "What's she doing in there?" Ghost licked his hand, trotting away to his big bed in the living room. He followed and stopped in his kitchen, mouth falling open slightly. Dany was fluffing some sort of dough on a board he didn't even know he owned, and flour covering her hands. "What're you doing?" he chuckled.

"I had some cinnamon rolls that were ready to bake, thought I'd bring them over so Aly could have a treat when she woke up. It's been such a stressful night for her." She beckoned him over, reaching for his hand when he got to her side and placed it on the dough. "You roll that out. just use your hands, spread it in like a rectangle."

"What will you do?"

"Make the filling."

"You brought everything you needed?" he laughed.

She made a face. "I didn't trust you to have the right things, even if you might have had them." Dany plucked out a vial that looked like an odd potion. She wiggled it under his nose. "Good vanilla, for example."

"And what constitutes good vanilla as opposed to bad vanilla?" Jon didn't think he had it anyway, so she would be right, not that he'd admit it to her.

Dany opened it up and stuck the thing under his nose again. A strange feeling erupted in him, warmth and happiness, kind of like he'd experienced a holiday just standing in place. It must have shown on his face, for her smile was knowing. "Baking often brings make memories. The smells of the ingredients, the emotions they evoke."

"That why you're a pastry chef?"

"One of the reasons." She began to measure out ingredients into a bowl he recognized came from a set that Robb and Margaery got him, but he never used. Her voice dropped, speaking so quietly, he thought for a second she was talking only to herself. "My mother taught me to bake. It was one of the things we did together. Before she died."

His heart clenched; he understood the pain of losing a parent. He didn't have any now. Not even his uncle, the only thing he had to a father. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"It's alright. She was sick. I used to bake her ginger cookies; they settled her stomach during chemotherapy." She lifted her face, her violet eyes; so unique, shining. Her voice cracked. "She was part of why I became a pastry chef, because I loved those times with her. They were my favorite parts of the weekends and...and baking brought me peace. Dessert is the best part of the meal, after all." She chuckled. "And then after she passed, my stepfather equated it with her. So I made him things to make him happy too. I did Bake Off kind of on a dare from my friend, to see if I could, but then I won. Barristan was so happy. My brother was the only one who could come, be there for the final."

While she spoke, he remained still, watching her. The way her face lit up, the curve of her lips, the concentration in her eyes on measuring out ingredients and how her hands never stopped what she was doing. She tossed her head, saying something about how pastry design was also an art, as well as a way to keep happy memories alive.

Jon didn't quite hear her; blood rushed through his ears and his heart drummed loud in his chest, the noise drowning everything out, until something screamed at him. Kiss her!

So he did.

He leaned in, before she had a chance to know what was happening, his lips sweeping down to capture hers. He pressed gently, a slightly floured hand lifting to cup her face, fingertips dusting over her hair. She gasped, startled, and dropped the spoon in her hand, reaching up, touching his wrist with her hand.

Did I just screw this up? His eyelids flickered, meeting hers. She stared at him a moment, caught off guard, and he felt that rush again, only this time it was horror, thinking she didn't feel that way. He'd messed up everything, now they could never go back to the bakery, Aly was going to be devastated....

And suddenly she grabbed his face, pulling him back to her, mouth hard over his. "Hmpf," he mumbled, stepping backwards, her tiny body throwing itself against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, lifting her toes off the floor, kissing back, the kiss deep, but achingly gentle. They broke apart, breathing deeply, coming back to focus on the present. His mouth parted slightly again, chuckling. "You taste like peaches," he mumbled.

She laughed, lips pressing into a grin. Her brows arched. "I tested a new recipe earlier."

They remained in each other's arms for a moment longer, until Jon couldn't take it. He kissed her again, unable to stop. Nothing mattered to him but her right now. It had been weeks of back and forth, unfamiliar and strange, but he wanted her. And she wanted him too. My gods I was stupid, he thought briefly, as she pulled on his hair, arching against him.

After several minutes, Dany pulled apart from him long enough to mumble, "What about the cinnamon rolls?"

"They'll keep," he gasped, pulling at the apron around her waist, tossing it to the floor. He dragged her backwards, but she resisted, turning away and reaching for something.

"Jon! The oven!"

Just so the house didn’t burn down, he let her turn off the oven, and then picked her up again, stumbling backwards towards the stairs, flour in his hair and the smell of cinnamon following after them.

Aly missed her Mummy very much, but she was glad that she would be home soon. It had been sooooo long. She had so much to tell her. She could tell her all about how she learned to make cookies, she got to help Miss Dany at the bakery, and Ghostie almost got lost there too! She could even tell her how she woke up one morning and Miss Dany had stayed over at Daddy's house so that she could make her cinnamon rolls to make her feel better after almost losing Ghostie. "But Ghostie was never lost," Daddy reminded her, while he tucked Ghostie into his chair next to hers at the table, while the real Ghost set his head on it next to her, eyeing her cinnamon roll with such big eyes Aly moved her plate from him so he wouldn't take it. He tapped Ghostie's nose. "He was spending the night with the dragons."

"The dragons would have taken good care of him, in fact, Rhaegal carried him upstairs to my apartment," Dany told her, and let her know all the dragons were very protective of Ghostie.

"That's very good," Aly said, relieved. She really liked the cinnamon rolls. She held up some icing from her roll and Daddy licked it off her finger, wiggling his eyebrows. She giggled. "Daddy, you're like Ghost! Like a wolf!"

Dany smiled over at him, from where she was packing up the rest of the cinnamon rolls into a container so they wouldn't go stale. Or so she said. "I think he's quite a cinnamon roll too."

She wasn't sure what that meant. "Hmm." It seemed to make sense to the adults, who laughed. Aly was so pleased. Daddy never really laughed and smiled the way he was that morning. She suspected it was because he was very happy about Ghostie's return. Also, the cinnamon rolls. They were soooo yummy.

They spent a lot more time at the bakery, Aly thought, but she did not mind at all, because Miss Dany was just so nice and fun and she even got to hang out upstairs in her apartment, which was so cool, it had all kinds of neat stuff. Dany showed her on her TV the show she was on, where she won because she made all the best stuff.

Daddy even asked her if she was alright if she stayed with Uncle Tormund while he went out on a date with Miss Dany. "We're going to dinner," he explained to her.

"But she always eats dinner with us."

"This is just for the adults, Aly."

"Oh." She thought about this, shrugging. It seemed alright with her. "Okay. Oooh, can you bring me back dessert please?"

Tormund was there with them and he began to laugh very loudly. "Oh I think your daddy is really going to enjoy dessert with the Dragon Baker Lady. I think he already has."

Daddy did not like this and hit Tormund round the head, but her uncle just laughed and knocked him down. She didn't understand what was so funny. "Daddy always has dessert with Dany," she said.

"He definitely does Baby Crow."

Aly didn't get it but didn't ask. Adults were weird. She was just happy that she got to do her homework and stuff at the bakery and she always got to play with the dragons. Ghost even met them; he did not like them, and they did not like him, which was not fun, but Dany said that they might need time to get used to each other.

Mummy came back, just when school was ending, and it would be summertime and she could spend all day at the bakery if she wanted. She was so pleased, racing out of school as fast as she could, ignoring the teacher telling her not to run. She waved her hands, screeching and jumped clear into Mummy's arms. Mummy always smelled like the forest. "You're back!" she howled.

"I'm back!" Mummy swung her around and around and sat her down, reaching into the car and took out a present. She knelt, showing her the bow and arrow, which Aly could not wait to play with. She showed her the way to nock the arrow, but someone honked their horn and yelled at them to get going. Mummy shouted something at them that Aly knew was not very nice, which the teacher got upset about. She set the bow and arrow back in the car. "We'll play with it later, I guess. Because these southerners are oppressing us!" she shouted, making a rude gesture at the teacher.

"Ms. Wilde, we will have to ask you to vacate the premises," the teacher said, ruffled, sticking her nose up in the air and sniffing. "This behavior is most uncalled for!"

Aly giggled. "Mummy they not Southern, they northern!"

"Anyone born beneath the Wall is Southern."

"But what about me?"

"You're Free Folk, we don't kneel, even if you have your Dad's southern blood."

"But Daddy has First Men."

Ygritte sniffed, buckling her into the backseat. "Hmm, I suppose he does." She tweaked her nose, grinning; Aly grinned back. Mummy's smile was funny to her because her teeth were a little big and crooked, but she never wanted to get them fixed. "I missed you. Where do you want to go? Mummy wants to treat you to whatever you want."

"Bakery! Cookies!"

"I thought you'd say that."

They drove away from the school, with Ygritte telling her all she did during her time away, the Wall climbing, helping with some nature scientists Beyond the Wall with tracking, looking for some ancient First Men artifacts, and other cool ranger stuff that Aly always liked to hear about.

She was excited to show Dany to her Mummy. "Ghostie got lost there you know," she said.

"You told me." They parked, Ygritte frowning a little. "Huh, your Daddy's car is here."

"What?" Aly looked out the window and saw that yes, her Daddy's car was there. She knew it was his because she had made him put a sticker in the back window of a cartoon wolf with a bow on it, because that's what she was. She bounced in her seat. "Ooh! I can show him my new bow and arrow!"

"It's closed."

"What?"

Ygritte got out of the car, going around to help her down. She held her hand, walking up to the window, which had the 'Closed' sign flicked over on it. She peeked into the bakery, hand over her eyes to see better. "Huh, lights are on. Maybe it's an accident." She pulled the door, which opened, the bell ringing. "Hello?" she called.

Aly let go, waving her bow and arrow. "Dany! It's me! Me and my Mummy and she got me a bow and arrow and I want to show you!"

There was a loud clang, it sounded like something fell from the kitchen. She was allowed in the kitchens but only when Dany was with her, because there were lots of sharp things and she didn't want her to get hurt. She hoped no one got hurt. She moved to find out what was happening when Ygritte tugged her back, smiling a little. "Stay back here Wild Girl."

"Why?"

"Because I said so."

She wrinkled her nose. She hated that reason. She pounded her hands on the counter. "Dannnnnyyyyy!" she called. "My Mummy is back!"

Dany came out of the kitchen, rushing over, grinning. "Hey Alysanne! Did you have a good day at school? Do you want cupcake or cookies?" She was tying her bandana back around her hair, grinning. Her cheeks were very red. "Oh, hello there..."

"Ygritte."

Now it was Daddy! Aly squealed, running towards him and jumping up at him. "Daddy! Daddy look, Mummy is back!"

"I know, she picked you up at school." Daddy picked her up, kissing her cheek. He smiled over to Ygritte. "Hey, welcome back."

Ygritte narrowed her eyes, but she was still smiling. Her arms crossed over her chest. "Yeah, it's nice to be back. Seems like the last six weeks went well."

"Erm....sure."

Aly didn't pay attention to whatever the adults were talking about. She scanned the display case, looking at the new desserts and things. She pointed to a cookie that looked like it was good. "I want to try that one," she said.

"The Rocky Road one? I think you'll like it."

"Can you put some frosting on it?"

"You don't need frosting," Daddy said. But at same time, Mummy said, "Frosting sounds good on a cookie."

Dany laughed, putting some frosting on it. She swiped the little spatula in the bowl, curving an 'A' on top of the cookie and handed it to her. "There you go, A for Alysanne."

The adults talked for a few minutes, then Daddy gave her a hug and kiss. He said goodbye to Mummy and gave Dany a smile. "I'll see you tonight?" he asked her.

Aly popped her head up, licking frosting from her fingers. "What're you doing tonight?"

"Erm...I'm taking Dany to dinner again."

"Oh, okay." She looked up at her, wide-eyed. "What will the dragons eat?"

Dany laughed. "They'll be fine."

Daddy ruffled her hair, nodding to Ygritte. "Welcome back again, I'll talk to you later. I've got to get to work." He smiled over at Dany; it was so nice to see him so happy, Aly thought, because her Daddy was very handsome. He looked like a prince in her books and Dany was a princess. Her Mummy always said she was not a princess, but a warrior and so Aly wanted to be a warrior too. It was why she had a bow and arrow.

"I'll see you later Jon," Dany said, smiling again, her eyebrows lifting up. She chuckled. "I look forward to dessert."

"It's my favorite now."

Ygritte looked at them both, still frowning. Aly watched her Daddy leave and tugged on her hand, pointing with her cupcake. "Mummy, Daddy got stuff on his pants."

"Hmm, I see that." She called out. "Hey, Crow."

Daddy turned at the door. "Yeah?"

After a second, Mummy just smiled again. It looked like she was up to something, Aly thought, since her Mummy liked to play jokes on Daddy a lot. "Never mind. See you later."

"Bye, Bye Aly, I'll talk to you later, okay Wolf Girl?"

"Okay Daddy. Bye bye! I love you!"

"Love you more. " He looked at Dany, mouthed something that Aly thought might have been 'love you' but she couldn't be sure, but whatever it was, Dany's face turned pink and she looked away, her smile so wide Aly thought her face could break.

She didn't understand why no one told Daddy that there was flour on his butt, but oh well. Sometimes adults were weird. She held up the rest of her cookie Mummy. "It's really good Mummy."

"I'm sure it is. So....you and Jon, huh?"

Dany almost dropped a tray of cookies behind the counter. "Oh, um, I guess, yes." She paused, quiet. "Is that a problem?"

"No, not at all." Ygritte tugged on her hand, chuckling. She lifted her brows and reached to pick up Aly, who hugged her Mummy around her neck, trying to lick off the rest of the frosting from her fingers and also listen to the talk. She held her bow and arrows tight in her fist, looking over. "In fact, I'm glad he's finally found someone. Just ah...check him next time he leaves, aye?"

"Check him?"

Ygritte walked out with her, Aly waving after Dany. "For flour. He's got handprints on his arse." She shrugged. "Not that I blame you, it's not a bad arse."

"Bye Dany!"

Dany only waved, but her face was so red, Aly wondered if she was sick. She poked her mother's shoulder. "Why is Dany all red Mummy? And what did Daddy have on his butt?"

"Dany is red because your Daddy knows nothing, and Daddy had flour on his butt because he must have tripped and fallen into the flour bag." She paused, opening up the car door and took the bow and arrow again. She shrugged. "Or maybe Dany tripped and fell on him. Doesn't matter, point is, Daddy's happy, that's good!"

"Very, very good."

"Get in, we'll go home. You got Ghostie? I don't fancy having to go back to your Dad's house." She shivered. "Especially tonight."

"Why Mummy?" She did have Ghostie, but she didn't know what was wrong with going back to Daddy's house. Especially if Ghostie was lost. Daddy would be there and could help find him after all.

"Something tells me that Daddy's going to be baking tonight. We don’t want to interrupt."

"Oh. What's he baking?"

Ygritte laughed, shaking her head, and glanced back to the bakery, where Dany was smiling at them from the window, before she flicked the sign to 'Open.' She sighed and kissed her forehead. "You'll understand when you're older."

"I'm older now."

"Hmm, not quite yet."

She wondered if Daddy would marry Dany, like how Mummy married someone else. She wondered if the dragons would come live with them. She wondered if they would have a really cool and pretty wedding cake, like the ones Dany made in her store. She grinned and looked over at her Mummy. "Will I get a brother or sister Mummy? If Daddy marries Dany? I want one sooooo much."

"Something tells me they're going to be doing a lot of test baking in that area."

"Oh." She really wanted a brother or sister. All the kids at school had them. She fiddled with Ghostie. "Mummy will you bake me a new brother or sister?"

"My oven is off for good, you're the only bun I need."

"I don't get it."

"Ask your Daddy next time you talk to him. Say you want him to put a bun in Dany's oven. In fact, you insist upon it."

Aly nodded, resolute, her little brow pursing together. She would remember that. Dany was a good baker and Daddy was learning too. They could make her a new brother and sister. She didn't know why they would make them in an oven, but she would ask. Maybe babies were made of sugar and flour. She licked some frosting off her fingers again. "Mummy?"

"Hmm?"

"Was I made in a bakery?"

Ygritte laughed, shaking her head. "Ask your Daddy."

"Okay." She'd ask him that too.

A few months later, she was very excited because Daddy did get married to Dany and they did have a very big and fancy wedding cake, with a wolf and a dragon on top of it. She was so excited she got to eat the first piece and then a few months after that, Daddy said he and Dany were going to give her a brother and a sister! She was soooo excited! But she didn't understand why Daddy got all red and flustered and Dany started choking on her cupcake—they had surprised her with some that were pink and blue—to celebrate telling her, when Aly asked if Daddy put the bun—the baby—in Dany's oven.

Adults, she scoffed, helping herself to another cupcake— a pink one because she wanted a sister—while Daddy and Dany tried to figure out how to answer her. She'd tell Mummy that Daddy didn't know the answer. He knew nothing, after all. Well, he knew to talk to Dany, but that was about it, Aly thought, happily licking the frosting from the top of the cupcake.