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Her smell and the proximity of their bodies turned the ride into a sweet kind of torture. Jon wouldn’t complain about it just yet. He was too busy enjoying the moment as they rode all the way to Visenya Hill.
During their short journey to the Great Sept, Jon noticed how Arya smiled. He had this feeling that both of them had been craving for the same thing; that unexplainable freedom of getting out their cage made of light red stone. No protocol, preying eyes, whispers and expectations to weight them down; just the endless blue sky and the colors of a city that smelled rot.
Jon guided her through the Great Sept and then the Dragon’s Pit. They walked through the markets and alleys of King’s Landing like a young couple visiting the city for the first time. He was aware that a couple of members from the King’s Guard were just a few steps away, with their armors covered by cloaks so they wouldn’t give away the King’s presence.
“How is this city in the future?” Jon eventually asked as they had a couple of blood oranges to eat in the market. “Is it too different?”
“In many ways, yes. It has three times the current size. It doesn’t smell so bad and there’s a part of it that has a buildings that you would think to be from an alien world.” Arya explained with a wide smile as she tried to eat her orange without making a mess out of it. “It’s loud, crowded and a bit intimidating, but not half as lively as it is now.”
“I guess this is something I would like to see in your time.” Jon replied with a hint of sadness. There was a part of her he would never know completely. A part he would always have to guess and imagine and this part was exactly what made Arya Flint so especial.
“I think you would hate it. Don’t take me wrong, but I think you would prefer my hometown. It’s small, nothing ever happens there and gives you a feeling that you already know how your life will end even before it started.” Arya used the back of her hand to clean her mouth before throwing the orange peels away.
“I would like to know your parents. Your mother sounds like a formidable woman.” He tried to keep the conversation going for as long as he could. He didn’t want to go back to the Red Keep and the life they had there. He wanted to spend the night with her in town, talking and laughing without thinking about all the expectations weighting on their shoulders.
“She is. I think she would like you. You are exactly the kind of guy she would want me to date.” Arya said it as if the idea wasn’t entirely pleasant, but Jon wasn’t used to hear a woman saying that he was the kind of suitor her parents would approve of. He grew up believing to be a bastard with an obscure future. He wasn’t exactly the most honorable man and only recently he reached a position of wealth and power. The idea of being accepted by her family was something that pleased him more than Jon could tell.
“Why?” He was suddenly curious as they tried to find a place that wasn’t so crowded so they could talk.
“You are responsible, respectful and you have a career of sorts. A very stable one at that. You don’t seem to be a ladies’ man either.” Arya replied as a matter of fact. “Let us say that mom always thought that I was too much of a wild spirit. She usually said that I needed to find someone to keep both my feet on the ground, otherwise I would keep doing stupid things.”
“You don’t seem to like the idea.” Jon pointed. He wasn’t exactly upset with that, although he wished for her to like him as much as he liked her. It was only natural that Arya felt like that. Under regular circumstances they would have never met.
“Now I think that maybe she was right. If I wasn’t so wild I wouldn’t have moved to a different city. I would probably be at home, or at college. I would call her daily to tell about my classes and she would be proud of me. My stupid ideas brought me here and I might never see her and my father again.” She said sadly. Jon allowed himself to be bold and held her hand in a sign of reassurance. Arya shrank her shoulders a bit, before reclining her body so she could rest her head against his shoulder awkwardly.
“I wish I could do something about it. Being king is extremely frustrating, you know?” He said in an attempt of a joke.
“Why?” Arya asked in a weak tone that made her sound frail and helpless.
“Despite of the power that comes with a crown, I have no power to do things that really matter to me. If I had all the power in the universe, I would bring your parents here. I would...I would have done a great deal of things differently. I would make you happy so I would never have to see you crying again.”
“I don’t really think I have it in me to be happy with what I have. Thank you for carrying about though.” Arya replied.
“I have been planing something to cheer you up.” Jon finally said. He had been looking for a chance to tell her. “A party. We could use a bit of fun, don’t you think?”
“It would be interesting, but I have no idea of how to behave in a party from this time.” Arya rose her head again and looked at him shyly.
“I don’t think I know it either, so we can be awkward during the whole time and people will simply assume that Winterfell had nothing to offer in terms of entertainment.” She laughed at that. “At least I can make you laugh with the idea.” That felt like a victory.
Xxxxxxxxxxxx
They spent hours and hours walking the crowded streets of King’s Landing like two tourists lost in the maze of alleys, inns and shops. It was almost a familiar experience to her and Arya had missed the agitation of big cities. She could almost forget all the unpleasant aspects of that age and Jon seemed as thrilled as she was.
Arya doubted he ever had the chance to see the city and its people without being announced as king. He was acting like a small town boy, dazzled by the colors and the life of commoners. She thought that kind of life to be something he missed. Jon had spent years living a modest life at the Wall and with a certain amount of freedom that the crown had taken away.
It was a pleasant day. They hadn’t argued over stupid things, nor found reason to antagonize each other. It felt like hanging out with a friend, or an actual first date with a boy she liked.
King’s Landing was a curious thing though. The city was dirty and smelled terribly. For someone born and raised in a time in which public sanitation was a thing, she wondered if anything could be done to make the city cleaner and healthier.
Jon mentioned an illness that took over Flea Bottom. Arya doubted she would ever get sick in that time, with all the vaccines she took since childhood; but with the living conditions in the city, it wasn’t a surprise the infectious diseases would cause problem every now and then.
“Clean water was provided to the poor thanks to Good Queen Alysane in the past.” Jon explained once she questioned if they had such a thing as clean water and among other things that might help to keep sickness at bay. “She argued that if the people had access to it, sickness would be avoided. To some extension it worked, if my history knowledge doesn’t fail me.”
“What about cleaning the streets? Or killing rats, so they won’t spread diseases?” Arya questioned.
“I’ve never heard of something like this. In times of famine, rats are the only meat some individuals can get in the city. It’s not ideal, I know. In an ideal world, everyone would have proper food and a maester to help them to survive illness, but this is impossible. I wish I knew how to stop this illness before it gets out of control.”
“It’s not impossible.” Arya replied immediately. “You could pay people to clean the streets and remove the trash from public places. It would help to prevent illness, but you could also build hospitals.” She tried to explain.
“What is a hospital?” Jon asked with genuine interest.
“A place where people go to have medical treatment. A rest house? Several doctors look after the sick and help them to get healthy again.” She could almost see the wheel turning inside his head as he tried to think of how that could become a reality.
“I don’t know how the Citadel would react to this. We would need several maester to make it possible and nobles would be left without them to take care of their business and households.” Jon argued. “I might be able to build a rest house of sorts, but I’m not sure of how many maesters would agree to work there.”
“You could negotiate with the Citadel. Ask for those who are going through the medical studies to serve for a couple of years in your hospital before they can get their ring and go to the next part of their training. You would need no more than a couple recognized maesters supervise and all the others could be apprentices.” Arya suggested with confidence.
“It might work. I’ll have to write to the Citadel and spend hours debating with Willas so we can figure if we have enough gold to make it happen. I was really interested in hearing your opinion about this. I thought you might have a miraculous solution from the future and I was right to think so.” Jon said calmly. “It might be that we won’t have the time to make it happen soon enough to contain the spread. It is something I would like to see happening though.”
“If you get me a house in the city that is big enough to attend at least a dozen people and have a maester and a couple of assistants, this could help already.” Arya said. “I understand that I have a certain income...I could use it to buy the medicines and supplies, or...I don’t know. I would like to help and since I don’t really need this money, I think it would be a better use.”
“It would certainly make you very popular among to commoners.” Jon smiled at her. “I think Lord Tyrell and Lord Lannister will admire your contribution very much.”
“Schools should also be a thing. Universities and things like this. People would be able to learn how to write and read; professions and other important things.” Arya continued, moved by an enthusiasm that was very characteristic to her time and age. She was a restless soul and nothing happened fast enough to her taste once she had a self-imposed mission.
“You have very curious ideas.” At that he muffled a laugh. He found her excitement and endless chatting amusing.
“You don’t laugh at me. I know what I’m talking about. My own mother teaches kids and I went to public schools all my life and if I haven’t decided to become an actress I would probably be in college. You must have had teachers too. People to make you less stupid.” Arya teased him.
“I did and I was fortunate to have it. It is not usual for a bastard child to get a high education. In this I must thank Lord Stark.” Jon explained. “I’ll give it a thought, but I can’t make promises. These ideas might not please a great deal of important people and I’m not looking forward for an up rise of angry lords.”
“You can promise me you’ll try. This is good enough for me. At least for now.” She tilted her head a bit and smiled at him in a way she often did whenever she wanted to convince her parents of something they didn’t like. Jon blushed a bit.
“I can agree with this.” Jon’s tone was gentle and carrying one. “It is a blessing that your time allowed you such a level of instruction and knowledge. You make me feel stupid at times, but it is refreshing to have someone I can talk about things that keep me awake at night. I was not born to be a king and in many ways I’m still learning my duties. A queen like you is a welcome aid that I’ll always treasure.”
Jon had a talent to ruin perfect moments whenever he was absorbed in his worries and royal obligations. Arya didn’t want to remind of their bargain just yet. She didn’t want to think about the things she was slowly giving up in order to survive in that time. If it was her choice, she would always think of Jon as a nice boy she had kissed and who gave her stomach a flurry every time he smiled.
He must have sensed her reticence when he mentioned the world “queen”. Jon held her hand again as he often did whenever he thought Arya needed reassurance.
“A friend like you is a welcome aid. That’s what I should have said.” He corrected himself in an attempt to contain the damages caused.
“Is that what we are? Friends?” Arya asked curiously. She never knew exactly what they were. Their relationship was confusing to say the least.
“I would like to think so, although, if I am to be honest, I would rather be something else to you.” Jon said in a slightly awkward tone. “I would...I would like to be someone you can trust and rely on, but more than this I would like to be a man you might come to love.” His grip on her hand tightened a bit as Jon looked down, probably to conceal his blushing face. “Friendship is a good start though.”
“I guess we can say that I am your girlfriend.” Arya replied, although she was very aware that he didn’t get the meaning of what she had just said. She stopped walking and stood in front of him so they could look eye to eye. “This gives me some benefits, I think.”
“What sort of benefits?” Jon asked curiously. In answer Arya touched his cheek gently and got on the tip of her toes so her lips could reach his.
His arms embraced her and Jon swept her out of her feet so the kiss could be deeper and last longer. Those walking the streets of King’s Landing might think of them as an immoral couple with no decency, but Arya would not bother with those judgmental eyes. She would just allow herself to live that new life in a way that suited her own needs.