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DESPITE Maia's lingering anger, she found it to be her duty to make sure the Watch's Lord Commander was fed. He had missed dinner, leaving her to realize he was cooped up in his office, as usual. Maia's recurring dream played in her head like a track on repeat as she carried his hot bowl of stew in her hands. She still had no idea when the problem of his death was going to pop up; she had no clue if she was right to assume so.
She was lucky enough to not be outside today, for thunder wrecked havoc in the sky. Her fingertips burned against the surface of his dinner, which must have been her reason for sprinting into his workspace and plopping the bowl on his desk. Jon looked up from the piece of parchment in his hands, muttering, "You didn't need to do that."
"But I did anyways," she smirked, pushing the bowl forward. "Eat."
He rubbed at his eyes. "I'm not hungry."
Maia released a huff as she sat on the desk, hugging her cloak near to her chest. "Why are you here? Figured you'd be tending to your wounds for another night."
Jon looked up, a small grin present. "Are you offering to help with that?"
"No."
They both sat there, staring at each other as if their eyes had sunk into their skulls. Before they could continue, the two began laughing uncontrollably. Jon had laced his fingers with her own, their chuckles rolling in sync with one another. Maia held one hand to her chest, giggling, "I didn't mean to dampen your mood last night." She sighed, her laughter dying down. "I guess I was more worried than usual."
"You're the only one who can make me laugh in this time of crisis." He leaned forward, pressing a chaste kiss to her lips before picking the papers on his desk again. He breathed out and glanced her way. "What was that about last night?"
Maia held her hands together. Her nerves were suddenly sky-rocketing. This was the moment. She had to tell him now. What better time than the present? She was unsure of how much time she had left with Jon, and she was going to try her hardest to stop that from happening.
"You see –"
The door immediately swung open, and the couple moved farther away from each other as their eyes rested on Olly. "Lady Sanders," he cleared his throat before looking at Jon. "Lord Commander, it's one of the Wildlings you brought back. Says he knows your Uncle Benjen."
The words began to click in her head. Maia remembered this moment; she remembered this scene. She remembered Derek screaming at their television to "not trust Olly."
She found herself repeating the words that came out of Olly's mouth: "Says he's still alive."
"Are you sure he's talking about Benjen?" Jon asked, standing from his seat.
