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They glided into the Bay of the Bite in the early afternoon, and Ashara, upon waking from her nap, finally convinced herself to leave her cabin. She bundled herself in all the cloaks she owned, yet even so, as she stepped onto the deck, icy wind bit at her neck and stung her face.
She found Ned at the bow of the ship, his own cloaks stirring, his back rigid.
“Glad to be going home at last?” she asked as she approached him. He turned, and his face softened into a halting smile as he took her in.
“Aye,” he said, then, “You look...warm.” She was certain his voice was not entirely innocent. Ashara narrowed her eyes.
“Oh, this is what you will tease me about, is it? I’d remind you that I said not a word about you melting back at Starfall.”
He broke into a laugh then and reached to draw her close. She barely felt the pressure of his arm through the layers of fabric, yet his chest was very warm, and when she leaned her head against his shoulder, her cheeks flushed despite the cold.
“I’ll not tease you,” he said, pressing a kiss to her chilled forehead. “I’m surprised you came up at all. It’s always colder on the water.”
“They told me we’re coming into White Harbour soon. I wanted to see it as we approached.”
They both looked out over the bay once more. The strait was narrowing now, its banks blanketed with white-laden trees. Before them rose first a fringe of silver, then a city of spires and towers and winding walls. All was blinding, each structure sparking with snow beneath the splendid winter sun.
Ashara squinted into the distance, watching as a sheen of ice caught the light and cast a rainbow plane across the water.
She heard herself gasp like a delighted child.
“Oh...it's so beautiful. I did not expect to see the entire city thus, covered in white.”
Ashara had seen snow, of course. Some days it had swirled about on the sea around Dragonstone and sprinkled itself upon the dark stone of the castle like powdered sugar on cake. Yet this...it was as if all before her eyes had been built with snow alone.
“Aye, winter is here to stay once more. When I sailed back last year, the snows were already knee-deep. I doubt it has cleared since.”
A touch of the forlorn had crept into his voice, and Ashara slipped her hand out from her cloaks and into his so she could hold him in return. Her heart ached for the boy he’d been but two years past, the boy whose eyes had been bright and unburdened beneath the starlight sprinkled across the Harrenhal godswood.
Last year, he had sailed into White Harbour just as winter was returning in full force, his shoulders heavy with the knowledge that his father and brother had both been butchered by the Mad King. He had sailed home from the Vale and taken up the mantle of lord, then marshalled his men and marched to war. And the war had taken much from them both.
“It is different today,” she said, and her voice was cracked and hoarse. “You know that, do you not? You’re going home for good now, and for whatever it’s worth, I’m going with you.”
“That’s worth everything, Ashara. That much I know.”
He looked at her then, his grey eyes stormy. She met his gaze and hoped he saw her love there, and her determination. She would not let his grief and hers swallow them whole.
“You say you’d brave the cold, but I fear you do not yet know what you’re agreeing to,” he said, his voice sounding half-dazed, though his brows were beginning to furrow. “I forget that you have not even seen what a real snowfall looks like.”
She tilted her head to consider him and reached up to smooth his forehead. She could barely feel the cold on her hands anymore.
“I’ve made my choice, Ned Stark,” she said, letting her lip curl into a smile. “You can’t scare me so easily with your blizzards and ice. Nothing is going to keep me from you, not again.”
For a moment he did not move, only studied her, his gaze travelling intently over her face. Then, in a flash, he pulled her flush against him and kissed her hard on the mouth, his hot breath and burning skin entwining with the icy air on her cheeks, the sharp sensations sending a tingle down her spine.
They were breathless when they pulled apart.
“I won’t let you regret this, Ash, I swear it. And I’ll keep you warm.”
“I know. I’m always warm when I’m with you.”