Ross strode away from the chaos of the hall, her path clear. One foot in front of the other. Between her, she and Dacey half-carried the sobbing Shireen Baratheon, who was resisting them the whole way.

"Let me go back to Father!" The Princess - the Queen - wept, struggling against their unyielding grip. "Please Lady Bolton, I can't just leave him there on the floor,"

Ross stopped then, taking the girl's wrists in both hands and lowering herself to Shireen's eye level.

"Your father is dead," She said, blunt but not unkind. Her tone shocked the girl into silence, though tears still fell. "You know that, you're not a fool. Your cousin Loreon will organise that hall into something resembling order, then you will go in there and let them all see you - a Queen, not a weeping child,"

"Oh," Shireen's shoulders slumped as all the resistance went out of her at once, her voice suddenly sounding very small. "I'm the Queen,"

"Yes, you are," Ross said, glad that had hit home, releasing her wrists. "Now listen to me closely. You're a girl, and a child. Everyone is going to want to take advantage of that. Take everyone's word with a pinch of salt. Don't trust anyone completely, except Loreon Storm. We don't know who killed your father, and there are enemies all around us,"

"Surely that means I can't trust you?" The girl said tearfully, wiping her eyes with her sleeve, and

Ross smiled grimly. Clever girl. "I'll be very honest with you now," She said. "I'd do anything to keep Joffrey away from the throne because he murdered my brother. You happen to be the one person stopping that from happening, so I want you alive and well, and sat on that throne. You make up your own mind if you can trust me or not, but what you think of me doesn't matter. Just do what Loreon says and for gods sake, don't show any sign of weakness. Kings can get away with far more than Queens can. If you show any sign of instability or being unreasonable, you're as good as dead. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Shireen nodded, lip trembling, trying to stop the silent tears still flowing down her cheeks. "I think so,"

"Your father wanted you to be Queen after him," Ross let a hint of softness creep into her tone, placing a hand on her shoulder for a moment. "He wanted you to do your duty. Turn that grief to hate and strength, turn it against your enemies, against those who killed him. I screamed and cried when Aerys burnt my father, but it made me stronger in the end,"

Even though they didn't know who killed Stannis yet - it had barely sunk in for Ross at all, she was simply reacting as things happened - the most likely option was obviously the Lannisters. Poisoning the King at his own wedding had Cersei's cruel touch and love of melodrama all over it.

Shireen swallowed and nodded, once more wiping her eyes with her sleeve. Except this time, no more tears fell afterwards, and the girl's jaw set in a way much like Ross was used to seeing from Stannis. Even as her lip quivered, she was trying to stop it, a good thing as two of the Kingsguard appeared around the corner.

"Lady Bolton. Princess," Ser Balon Swann seemed relieved to find Shireen with her, though wary at the same time. No doubt the look on Ross' face was far from accommodating.

She didn't bother trying to put them more at ease, seeing as they had just allowed the King to die in front of them. "Tell Lord Storm that the Queen will be ready to come in shortly,"

The man hesitated, looking doubtfully at the little red-eyed girl, seeming to only just realise that she was the next ruler.

"Are you sure that is the wisest course of action, my lady? Should I not escort young Shireen to her chambers after the awful events she had to witness?"

"No, you should not," Ross' grip tightened on the girl's shoulder. "And she is your Queen, not a child, so address her as such,"

Without another word she swept past, guiding Shireen back towards the feast with a hand on her arm.

The sounds of chaos had died down now thanks to Loreon, and an almost eerie hushed silence lay over everyone who remained as the young Lord Storm stood before them. Stannis' corpse lay where it had fallen - for Gods sake, they could've moved it at least - and the girl stiffened at the sight. Ross squeezed her arm, urging her forward towards her cousin.

She couldn't help but notice that the key members of the Tyrell family were long gone under the excuse of comforting a supposedly traumatised Margaery, and were no doubt currently closeted away plotting their next move in their chambers. Ross doubted they had anything to do with the murder; they had been given all they wanted. Unless they wanted to marry Willas to Shireen instead and make him King, but that was a precarious and risky decision to make. There was no guarantee the girl would last the week, and there was no hope of children for at least four or five years.

So what would happen now? They were too ambitious to settle for less than what they had already been promised. If the Baratheons couldn't give the Tyrells what they wanted, there was nothing stopping them turning to the Lannisters.

Ross' thoughts were in turmoil as she watched Shireen stand before the hall, at the side of Loreon. He did most of the talking, but the girl was seen in public at least and wasn't a sobbing mess, keeping a brave face on throughout as she resolutely avoided looking at her father's corpse.

"My lady," Afterwards Loreon pulled her aside as the still shocked wedding guests filed out of the hall. Even his face showed weariness and, well hidden but still there, worry.

They moved the opposite way to everyone else, heading for a deserted corridor.

"That look on your face means I'm not going to like whatever you're going to say," She narrowed her eyes, exhausted though she tried not to show it. "I'm not sure how you could make this night worse, however, so let's hear it,"

"This is a dire situation," He started off needlessly, making her even more suspicious; normally he left out his usual careful setup with her and went straight to the proposal. "I'm going to try and get myself named regent,"

"Naturally," She said, still on guard. That wouldn't be difficult at all. Most lords here liked him, and even if they didn't, they did at least grudgingly respect him as both a warrior and diplomat.

"We must act fast. Hence why some distasteful decisions need to be made," He paused for a breath, the calm before the storm. "I'm going to persuade the lords to support a marriage between Shireen and Joffrey,"

Ross blinked, once.

"You will lose the Tyrells," Her tone was icy cold. "You will lose the Riverlands. And you will without a doubt lose the North, I can promise you that,"

Rage was rising up in her, so much so that she nearly turned on her heel and stormed away, but Loreon grabbed her wrist, clearly sensing what she was thinking

"Let me finish," He snapped, his patience gone after the disastrous events of that day.

She could've struck him then, but bit her tongue purely for the fact that he tended to know what he was doing and settled for furiously wrenching her hand out of his strong grip.

He lowered his voice. "I will let a betrothal be arranged, and a peace treaty between Lannister and Baratheon be signed. But Shireen will not marry Joffrey, in the end, for that would go against everything we strived for. He will die at some point, and she will wed Tommen,"

Silence.

"My lady, with a young Queen and no marriage with the Tyrells, we cannot be fighting a war against the boy who many still believe to be Robert's trueborn son. More and more lords will turn to Joffrey as a more secure option. Even if they don't, the Lannisters, Tyrells, Baratheons, Starks and Tullys at war would tear the kingdoms apart. Any alliance would be so evenly matched that the following war would be bloody and drawn out, and correct me if I'm wrong but aren't your lands currently overrun with Ironborn that need clearing out?"

That was true. Gods, she didn't like this one bit, but even as her mind raced through various solutions she didn't see another way out. Other than betrothing Willas Tyrell to Shireen, but they'd still have the Lannisters on their doorstep, and it gave the Tyrells too much power, with a grown man essentially ruling for his child bride.

After a long pause, Ross nodded slowly. Loreon's tense face, looking even more old for his years than usual, sagged in relief. It was a mark of how tired he was that this emotion showed at all.

"You'll support me in this, then?"

"The Tyrells are likely considering turning their cloak as we speak. As much as I despise your strategy... we must get to the Lannisters first. Send a fast rider with your terms, which are better than Lady Olenna's could ever be - Tywin might haggle but won't refuse us in the end. Let those wretched Tyrells think they're one step ahead, only to be refused. When they are forced to turn back to us, their betrayal out in the open, offer to marry Margaery yourself. Lady of Storm's End, that's nothing to complain about. Her daughter can marry the eldest son of Shireen and they can be bloody thankful for it,"

"Married to the bastard lord of Storm's End is considerably less prestigious than Queen," Loreon pointed out. "Hence why we need to make peace with Lord Tywin first, as you said, and then disgrace the Tyrells as much as possible. The danger, of course, is that he decides to ally with the Tyrells and they both crush us together, but given his grandchildren are all bastards, I'm hoping he realises that marrying Shireen would give their rule legitimacy and extinguish any future rebellions,"

Ross hummed in agreement, nowhere near satisfied with the outcome. Another long silence passed between them. She knew he was aware of how much she hated this, and clearly wasn't too pleased with events himself either. His uncle had just been killed in front of him, within a year of his father and other uncle both dying too.

"Promise me," Eventually she looked Loreon hard in the eye. "That Joffrey will die before he sits the Iron Throne,"

"I promise,"

The words came easily, as they always did with him. Hopefully the deeds would follow.

"Now how do you plan to persuade the lords of this fine plan?" Her lip curled. "Not only allying with Tywin Lannister, but giving his vile grandson the throne again. Or will you tell them of your nefarious plot and risk it getting out and ruining us all?"

"I persuaded Stannis to marry a Tyrell," Loreon shrugged. "I'll manage to persuade the rest of them,"

That was fair enough. Most of them would be compliant after a bit of blustering, as they truly were in a dire situation with few other options other than more bloody, drawn-out war. There were some who would advise marrying Shireen to Willas Tyrell, but that did not solve the problem of Lord Tywin's army; war was ill-advised when their figurehead was a ten-year-old girl. Most would realise that soon enough, and the rest would be outnumbered.

"And do you feel no guilt allying with the family who almost certainly killed your uncle?"

"You forget, they're my family as well," Loreon smiled. "And if that doesn't appease you, Lord Tywin is an old man - his death will not be far away. Joffrey, we talked about already. And Cersei will get what she deserves soon enough,"

Ross realised then that this young man had inherited his grandfather's ruthless streak as well as his father's charm and charisma. It was odd, for her to believe that someone else was capable enough to handle a situation completely.

"I hope for your sake you are right,"

Loreon just looked amused. "A pleasure discussing murder with you, Lady Bolton. We seem to be making a habit of it,"

*

Loreon did somehow manage to persuade the lords of his plan to marry Shireen and Joffrey, of course. Admittedly it had taken over a week, but the majority of the Stormlords had been fairly easy to convince of the betrothal, or the ones that mattered at least. The letter to Lord Tywin had been sent the night of Stannis' death regardless of their decision, not that the council knew of it.

The young Queen stood at his side or Ross' all throughout the talks, a small shadow, quietly observing but most importantly being seen. If she had any protest to marrying the boy who was famed for his cruelty, Ross did not hear it, and she had been spending a lot of time with Shireen recently, along with Sansa and Morganna.

The Reachlords and Tyrells were harder to persuade. Mace Tyrell actually stormed out of the first meeting it was suggested in, displeased at his daughter being passed over once more. His mother must have talked some sense into him, however - likely reminding him that they wouldn't need the Baratheons for much longer, having gone behind their backs to the Lannisters - for then he grudgingly agreed.

If any of them thought it odd how quickly the Lannister's response came when the matter had been agreed upon so recently, no one said anything of it. Not in Ross' hearing anyway. The letter accepted the offer to hold talks of peace and also brought news of the Tyrells' attempted betrayal, which they had suspected already, but it was good to have proof.

The look on Lord Mace's face when Loreon brought out the letter in a meeting was rather amusing, and even Olenna seemed to deflate as their actions were challenged. As usual, her son started to bluster but she firmly shut him down, no doubt realising the precarious position they were now in with no support from any allies. It didn't help that a good portion of the Reach preferred the Florents to the Tyrells, and therefore would always support Shireen over Joffrey any day.

With the Tyrells weakened and publicly disgraced, Ross felt able to breathe again. She was able to relax a little more when an apology and request for a pardon came from the family shortly after, which was met with the offer of a marriage between Loreon and Margaery. This was accepted after a day of consideration, as considering what they had done, it was quite a generous proposal. Margaery would be wife to the now regent, and Lady of Storm's End, their children bearing the name Baratheon.

Lord Tywin's reply also stated that that whilst neither he or his grandson would be coming to King's Landing in person - for obvious reasons - he would appoint his son Tyrion as his representative in the treaty talks, until they progressed far enough that all three armies could meet at the more neutral ground of Harrenhal; the Baratheons, Lannisters and Starks.

As a sign of good faith, Tyrion Lannister was released from the tower cell he had been held in since Stannis took the city. Ross suspected that Loreon had been to see him quite a lot in the time since they arrived, even when Stannis was alive. She knew for a fact that he had argued in private against his Baratheon uncle killing the Lannister one, using the case that if Lord Tywin ever marched on the city, a dwarf hostage was better than no hostage at all.

She was unaware of the exact day Tyrion was released, however, so their first encounter was rather unexpected.

"Lady Rosennis. My condolences for the loss of Lord Eddard. I hope my brother has been treated better by young Robb than we treated yours,"

She turned mid-stride as the little man called her name in the corridor, the first time she had seen him since he returned to Winterfell from the Wall.

"Last I saw him he was in a tower cell fit for his station, rather than the hole Cersei threw Ned in," She narrowed her eyes, though there wasn't too much bite to her tone; she liked Tyrion, whenever they had spent any amount of time together before.

"You saw Jaime?" He raised an eyebrow, falling in step beside her. "Nice of you to pay him a visit. That likely livened up the monotony of captivity to no end,"

His tone was innocent but Ross saw the wicked look in his eye and knew exactly what he was implying. She wondered, not for the first time, exactly how much Jaime told his younger brother.

"Yes, it was a jolly occasion, seeing as I had just found out my brother had been murdered,"

"And you went to Jaime?" His tone was doubtful. "Surely he was practically dancing a jig at the news of Ned Stark's death?"

She snorted. "He managed to restrain himself," She remembered sobbing in his arms, and quickly moved on. "I suppose that even in your cell, you've heard that Joffrey is to marry Shireen," She didn't need to fake the sour expression that came to her face.

"Of course," Tyrion nodded carefully. "Although I am surprised you haven't ridden for Riverrun already, my lady, and told your nephew to forget the Baratheon alliance exists. Isn't Joffrey's death the only thing you wanted from this campaign?"

His eyes were too knowing. She had to be careful here, and resolved to ask Loreon if the dwarf knew the full extent of the plan or not. Ross doubted Tyrion would care about the plot to murder his eldest nephew even if he hadn't been told, but either way she wasn't going to be the one to give it all away.

"It hasn't been finalised," She said in a stiff tone she didn't have to fake. "Hence why I am still here, in the hope of preventing this madness. Robb's sending my son here to discuss terms - he doesn't trust your father enough to leave the western border without an army,"

"My father feels the same, hence why I am now his esteemed representative," He gave a mocking flourish. "A job I would be given even if I wasn't already a hostage - everyone else is too valuable to risk," His smile soured. "I'm sure your side thinks the same of young Renan. But that still doesn't answer my question as to why the fierce Lady Stark is accepting this crushing defeat,"

"I'm not accepting a thing," She said. "There are ways to turn this around. And if not, would you believe that I am sick of bloodshed and strife and simply want to go home?"

"No," Tyrion laughed, shaking his head. "But for the sake of argument I will. Now onto more pleasant matters, given I haven't seen you in over a year. Let me tell you how I've been enjoying my newfound freedom, though I think these are not words for polite company,"

Something changed in his eyes then as he beckoned her down to his level. Ross bent down so the dwarf could mutter into her ear.

"The walls have ears. Loreon told me everything - I could not approve more of Joffrey's upcoming demise - but you need to come up with a better excuse as to why you're backing down so easily,"

Ross straightened up. "Keep such filth to yourself, Lord Tyrion," She said at normal volume, shaking her head and laughing, though her eyes were hard. "You might enjoy such debauchery, but there's no need to share tales of it with me,"

"Oh? I thought you would appreciate such tales, my lady," Tyrion shot her a wicked look that reminded her of Jaime. "Surely you need a distraction from blissful monogamy, especially after being away from your husband for so long. How does our dear Lord Bolton fair these days?"

In truth Ross rarely thought of Roose Bolton off at war. She feared more for Edrick and Aileen back in the North, especially after the sack of Winterfell. The ideal situation would, of course, be if Lord Bolton perished in battle, though she could hardly voice that aloud.

"My husband currently holds Harrenhal," She said, which was the extent of her knowledge or caring. "So he's well, I suppose,"

He raised an eyebrow at that lacking response.

She had to chuckle, shaking her head. "Don't look like that,"

"As you wish, my lady," He grinned.

*

During the spare moments that Ross wasn't in talks with Loreon, Tyrion and various others, she tended to spend her time with Sansa, Morganna and lately, Shireen. Shireen always accompanied her to meetings, and had adopted her style of keeping quiet and listening until she had a valid point to make, rather than endless waffling and blustering like many of the lords here. She wasn't cut out for smooth, inspiring speeches like Loreon - few were - so Ross' way suited her better.

The young Queen thankfully did not share her irritation when it came to the ridiculousness of others, however, doing a good job of never becoming visibly annoyed or impatient and listening to everyone no matter how much of a fool they were being. Of course, Loreon was her regent and made all the final decisions, but always made sure to ask Shireen what she thought.

However, whilst the girl appreciated a chance to learn and be involved, she was clearly relieved to leave after talks were over. So was Ross, if she was honest. They were long, dull and often involved going round in pointless circles. The fantasy of taking her horse and the girls and riding North was a daydream she allowed herself, if only to get through yet another useless speech from Lord Tyrell.

Ross was glad that Shireen got along with Sansa and Morganna. It showed how much Sansa had grown up. Before, when faced with a quiet, scarred girl like Shireen, she would've been polite to her face but giggled behind her hand with Jeyne Poole when her back was turned. Now, she treated the girl with warmth and let herself enjoy her company. They were often found together, Sansa embroidering and Shireen reading. Equally, Morganna was never one to fake niceness when she didn't want to, so Ross was pleased when she went riding with the Queen, explored the castle and taught her to laugh at those who judged her for her greyscale scars.

Shireen in turn seemed delighted to finally have friends her own age; she had been upset when Loreon had sent away her strange fool, the one thing she'd made a fuss about. Loreon had insisted, however, and Ross agreed, so away Patchface had gone, back to Dragonstone. The motley-faced fool was one of the few people who managed to unnerve Ross, and considering one of the only others was Roose Bolton, she was glad when he left.

Loreon often insisted that he and Shireen go into the city, to do such things as visit a market or an orphanage, or hand out coins to beggars. He felt it necessary for them both to connect with the citizens of King's Landing to avoid another situation like the bread riots under Joffrey. Ross could see the benefits; whilst the people may not fear a young Queen, their loyalty could be earnt in more lasting ways.

*

Ren's arrival was long-awaited by both Ross and Morganna. Even Sansa watched excitedly at the window as the men approached the city; whilst she had never been close to her bastard cousin, the sight of Stark banners after so long must have warmed her heart. Ross knew that feeling well.

The unmistakable shape of two direwolves could be seen loping along with the party. One was of course Crow, but the other was smaller, more slender. Sansa actually squealed in excitement when she realised it was Lady, sounding once again like the silly young girl she had been before coming south. Ross couldn't begrudge her it.

However not only did her eldest son bring with him two direwolves and a force of three hundred Northmen, including several minor lords who all seemed to answer to him, but also Jaime Lannister. Despite herself, her stomach leapt when she saw him and it was hard to bite back a smile. In the end she gave up trying; her son was here, after all, she was allowed to be happy.

"A show of good faith for Lord Tywin," Ren smiled at Tyrion, who laughed.

Jaime looked well from a distance, sat on a fine horse with unbound hands and dressed in the clothes of a knight. Looking past the easy smile, it didn't take her long to notice the greyish pallor of Jaime's skin, the hollowness of his cheekbones, lines on his face that had not been there before and wrists that were thin and bony.

He glanced over at her briefly, eyes glinting, then looked away.

"Couldn't you have brought a better hostage to exchange?" Tyrion pulled a mocking face. "I'd prefer to have Giana than this one,"

"Nice to see you too, brother," Jaime remarked dryly.

"Yes, Ren," Loreon, who had not smiled once, said. "Could you not have brought Lady Giana?"

Ross knew he was still angry that his friend had kidnapped his mother and half-brother in what he viewed as an unnecessary and cowardly move.

"My cousin wouldn't allow it," Ren said. "She's the only hostage we have who is valuable to the Baratheon side as well. I agreed, only because you're now proposing we give the throne back to Joffrey, having clearly taken leave of your senses,"

There was no spite to be found in his expression, only cold pragmatism.

Ross wondered how much her son knew of the plan, for surely something like that would be too risky to send by letter. Loreon's features flashed in anger for a second though he clearly saw Ren's reasoning, swallowing his rage for now at least.

"Very well,"

Pleasantries ensued, mainly the introduction of the minor lords travelling with Ren. Ross was not interested in the slightest, however, and turned to her son as he approached her, Sansa and Morganna. Crow followed behind his horse. The direwolf was huge, even more so since she had last seen it. Lady was not as large, and somehow daintily pretty. The she-wolf bounded up to Sansa, and the girl flung her arms around her without hesitation, burying her face in Lady's fur.

"Mother," Her son dismounted, only to have his sister fling her arms around him like she was a child again. "Morganna. Sansa," He smiled as his cousin who smiled rather shyly back, looking up from Lady.

"Thank you for bringing her here safely," The girl said gratefully. "I was having terrible dreams of her getting hurt in battle,"

At this Ren grimaced. Ross would ask about that later.

"She got a nasty sword wound to her leg," He gestured at Lady's right foreleg, where there was a strip of discoloured fur, a scar. "Toughened her up a bit, though. The other three always leapt right into the battle whilst she held back, at first. Not anymore,"

Sansa clearly wasn't sure how to feel about that. "I suppose I had to toughen up as well," She said, eyeing the scarred leg with concern.

"Are you all well?" Ren glanced at each of them, at Ross in particular.

"You know I'm fine, I've been writing to you this entire time," She scoffed, though drew him into a brief embrace when Morganna finally let go. "You've grown," She stepped back and looked up at him. He was now Jaime's height, his face harder, leaner. "War suits you. I wish it didn't,"

Her son smiled then. "I made a name for myself, at least,"

"Yes, though kidnapping Giana Lannister from her bed seems to have outshone all your fine deeds on the battlefield," She said dryly. "Not a bad move when we were at war with the Lannisters, though all it seems to have done now is irritate your closest friend, who is fast becoming one of the most powerful men in the kingdom,"

"It'll be fine," He shook his head, grinning. "He'll forgive me even if he doesn't forget it. I could also accuse him of the same crime - you were meant to return straight away after treating with Renly,"

"I was hardly going to miss out on the chance of seeing Stannis take off Joffrey and Cersei's golden heads," She smiled wryly. "Not to mention these two were still here," She nodded at Morganna and Sansa.

"I'm glad we're just an afterthought," Morganna shook her head, and Ren laughed.

Jaime was glancing over at them from across the courtyard where he stood with Tyrion, nodding in acknowledgment when he saw her looking. She looked away quickly when Tyrion followed his stare, but caught the little man's eyes lighting up in amusement and grimaced as she imagined the kind of quick comment he was coming up with now.

*

There was a feast that night to welcome the newcomers. Ren and the Northmen were eyed with suspicion but her son didn't seem to care. Ross was just glad to see him sat at the high table, conversing with Loreon and Tyrion, even Margaery Tyrell at one point. Loreon's now-betrothed had slipped into her new role as gracefully as she did everything else, though Loreon saw through her charm as much as she saw through his. Perhaps they were an ideal match for each other after all.

"Hello,"

Ross started as someone slid into the now-empty seat beside her, her daughter having got up to dance with many of the others, Margaery and Loreon included. She turned to see Jaime there, and her eyes widened. The high table of the great hall during a feast wasn't exactly the most private of places.

He grinned at her expression. "Stop fretting, I am allowed to talk to a highborn lady at dinner. I'll be the politest of company, starved of it as I've been for the past months,"

"People have spent wars in worse places than a tower cell," She said, though smiled.

"If only," He sat back. "Your nephew threw me in the dungeon not long after you left,"

"The dungeon?" Ross corrected the concern in her voice, tearing her eyes away from his too-thin wrists. "What did you do to deserve that?"

"Deserve?" He adopted a falsely wounded tone. "I may have done nothing at all, for all you know, Stark,"

"You definitely did something," She said. "Robb wouldn't throw a highborn prisoner in a dungeon on a whim, and you're not one to sit idle in a cell and wait for someone to set you free. Who did you kill?"

"A few guardsmen," He shrugged. "Tyrion sent men in disguise to free me. Who was I to refuse?"

"If you had refused, you would not have lost half your bodyweight," She said. "Why, in this state I believe even I could best you in a spar,"

He laughed at that. "My strength may have gone to waste, but my skills are as sharp as ever,"

"As is your opinion of yourself," Looking out across the hall, Ross spotted the large, awkward woman sat near the wall and a thought suddenly came to her. "I employed one of Renly's guards after his death. I think they could give you a run for your money at least, especially now you're skinnier than I am,"

"Skinnier than you?" He raised an amused eyebrow, grabbing one of her wrists; his finger and thumb wrapped around it easily. She snatched her hand away with a warning glare that only amused him further, both well aware that the room was full of people. "I don't think so. And who is this man who you think could beat me? Loras Tyrell would give me a good fight, but he's a green boy - I'd win, and surely you wouldn't have employed him. The rest are little better than average,"

"There was a tournament the day I arrived at Renly's camp," Ross said. "A match was fought between Loras Tyrell and the one I speak of. Ser Loras lost resoundingly,"

"Go on then, I know all your guard is here," Jaime said. "Point him out,"

"There," Ross nodded to Brienne. "In the blue shirt, by the wall,"

"The big man?" He squinted, then hesitated. "Is that - " Jaime's eyes lit up in amusement. "Is that a woman?"

"Lady Brienne of Tarth. Don't be cruel," She shook her head, smiling but continuing in a warning tone. "And I wouldn't laugh to her face. She's faster than Loras Tyrell and stronger than you. The only person I've seen beat her is Loreon, and even then it was a close thing,"

He snorted. "I've watched that boy fight since he was shorter than my knee. I can beat him and I can beat that horse-toothed wench too,"

"Best start eating some more of that pigeon pie," She said. "Or else you'll be rattling around inside your own armour like a stone in a boot,"

"I haven't seen my armour since the Whispering Wood. I reckon that Robb Stark melted it down - you Northerners have always been tight-fisted,"

Ross laughed, perhaps a second too long.

"Mother,"

She abruptly turned away from Jaime as Morganna ran up to her, breathless, sparing Jaime no more than a brief glance.

"Dacey told me I should tell you to come and dance,"

"Did she now?" Ross glanced over people's heads to find the tall, elegant form of the Mormont woman grinning in her direction. "Unfortunate that there is no man in this hall I wish to dance with,"

"Brienne could do the man's part," The girl suggested, protesting at Ross' expression. "I'm not trying to be cruel! She really could,"

"Something tells me Brienne doesn't enjoy dancing,"

"You like Loreon," Morganna persisted. "Dance with him,"

"Last time I danced with Loreon Storm, which I only did to get away from Selyse Baratheon, half the castle was whispering that I'd shared his bed,"

Beside her Jaime laughed incredulously. Her daughter's eyes landed on him and lit up wickedly at a new target.

"Or you could dance with Ser Jaime. I'll write about it to his bitch of a sister and give her an aneurysm,"

"Morganna!" Ross snapped, not wanting to think about what that implied. That she knew that Cersei would be angered by the two of them together. "You've been listening to too many rumours. Why would Cersei - "

"Oh, don't start," Her daughter said carelessly. "Cersei realised halfway through telling me off for punching Joffrey - "

"You did what?" Ross said, incredulous, as Jaime laughed.

"I broke his nose, and it never healed properly. The snivelling brat deserved it, whether or not he is my br - "

"Stop," Ross grabbed her daughter's wrist. "Do you want to say that any louder? The people on the other side of the hall can't hear you,"

Morganna, unashamed, looked between the two of them in triumph. "So you won't deny it, then?"

She hesitated. Jaime was no use at all, sat there with a raised eyebrow.

"No, I won't deny it. Though I am amazed that Cersei let you live,"

"She was furious," The girl shrugged. "Threw a cup across the room, and called you all kinds of names. I thought she was mad at first, though it did make sense when I thought about it. By then, she knew that Robb had captured him," She waved a careless hand at Jaime. "So she couldn't kill me. I wondered why she cared so much what her brother did, but then all the rumours about Joffrey started," She turned to Jaime. "Which is really horrible, by the way. I'd rather cut my hand off with a butter knife than do that with Ren,"

Ross choked on her drink, unable to stop laughing at the look on his face.

"I do not believe that is an unpopular opinion," Jaime said, though his lips twitched as he glanced at Ross. "Charming, this one,"

"

Morganna turned on her heel and swept back down to the dance floor, accosting a poor squire who gawped at her pretty face as she dragged him to dance.

*

Jaime ended up in her bed later that night regardless of, well, everything. It was risky, it was stupid, but she hadn't seen him in months and hadn't had a chance to be this close for even longer. He couldn't stay the night of course - she was questioning her intelligence enough as it was - but the short time they had was better than nothing.

It was nice, to be held again. To feel so at peace with someone, a foreign feeling after so long being on her guard, alone in a cold bed. She wondered if Jaime thought the same. Though he had spent that time in a dungeon, so any bed at all was likely an improvement.

*

"So we are all in agreement?" Loreon looked around the room, which consisted of only Ross, Ren, Tyrion and Jaime. "Joffrey must die before he marries Shireen,"

"The only reason I'm even listening to your suggestions of peace," Ross said.

"The issue is that the boy dying in any circumstance would be incredibly suspicious," Tyrion said. "Especially for the Starks, who have vocally expressed that their only desire from this war is to see Joffrey dead," He shot Ross a pointed look.

"Obviously it has to look like an accident," Loreon agreed. "It's making the accident convincing that's difficult. Even then, Lord Tywin would be a fool to suspect nothing,"

"Even if the boy plunged a sword into his own chest in front of Cersei, she'd find someone to accuse of murder," Jaime glanced at Tyrion. "Probably you,"

The dwarf grimaced in agreement.

"This will sound... strange," Ren spoke for the first time. "Remember when Sansa said she dreams of Lady? Those aren't dreams,"

"What do you mean?" She asked.

He hesitated. "At night I see through Crow's eyes as he hunts," His lips twisted, acknowledging that the words leaving his mouth were insane. "I feel him tearing into a deer, and during battle I'm not sure whether I have teeth and claws or a sword and shield. Before you call me mad for claiming I'm a skinchanger, Robb is the same. Apparently Sansa too. I'm sure Jon, Arya, Bran and Rickon would be as well,"

A heavy silence. Ross generally tried to block it from her mind that most of her brother's children were either missing or dead.

Jaime cleared his throat. "If you're suggesting to warg into a wolf the size of a horse and kill Joffrey, I'm not so sure that would eliminate the Starks from suspicion,"

That was a valid point. Loreon snorted, amused.

"If only," Ren grinned. "That's not what I'm suggesting. Robb tries to resist the skinchanging and pretend it's not real, but I've been practising,"

Before any of them could say anything to that, his eyes slipped back into his head so suddenly that Ross tensed. And then suddenly a mouse was crossing the floor from behind the dresser, ending up at her feet, looking up at her with the same look her son did. Hesitantly she reached down to pick it up.

"Ren?" She felt rather foolish, and heard a snort from Jaime, which died as the mouse nodded. She glanced at her son's motionless body, his eyes staring and white, then back at the mouse in her hand.

"What in the seven hells..." Tyrion was on his feet immediately, peering at the creature. "Nod three times," The mouse did so. "Raise your hand," It did. "Turn in a circle," The mouse spun around and round.

"Impossible," Loreon said, though judging from his tone he didn't even believe that himself.

"Run up your mother's sleeve," Tyrion smirked as the mouse gave what could only be described as a snort of contempt.

Ren's eyes snapped back to reality and he stirred. The mouse in Ross' hand was suddenly a mouse again, squeaking in panic and she quickly put it down.

Loreon was grinning, catching on remarkably quick. "Could you warg into a horse?" He asked. "There is no chance an assassin could be blamed for Joffrey's horse going insane and resulting in his death,"

"Probably," Ren shrugged. "And even aside from the skinchanging, if anyone was to find out in the future, it's probably best that I'm the one to kill him. I'm a bastard anyway, I've got no reputation to ruin," He glanced at Jaime. "Well, further ruin. You three would be kinslayers if you did it," He gestured at Jaime, Tyrion and Loreon.

"Would you not be?" Tyrion raised an eyebrow.

Both Loreon and Jaime laughed. Ren actually rolled his eyes and Ross fixed the man with a stony look which she couldn't keep up.

"For all intents and purposes, no,"

That sobered them up a bit.

"Fair enough," Tyrion said. "I suppose to reduce suspicion it must be done after the marriage is agreed upon by both sides. The Starks benefit least from this, so you all will be prime suspects if there is any inkling that this wasn't an accident,"

"There won't be," Ren said shortly. "How can there be? You didn't believe I could do it until you saw with your own eyes. Tywin Lannister doesn't seem like one to believe in tales from beyond the Wall of wargs and magic,"

"He isn't. Neither is Cersei," Jaime said. "She's more likely to believe the horse was poisoned,"

"Or something equally moronic and paranoid," Loreon muttered. His distaste for his stepmother was well known.

Tyrion laughed. "Is it paranoia if someone really is trying to kill the boy?"

*

Clandestine meetings to discuss murder aside, the official talks later ensued with Ren and Ross as the main representatives of the Starks, Tyrion and Jaime representing the Lannisters and Loreon the Baratheons, accompanied by several of the stormlords so no one could accuse him of defecting back to his Lannister kin the moment Stannis was dead.

Ross did not have to pretend to be unhappy with the situation when Ren stated Robb was willing to retreat, in return for being named Warden of the North and the return of all hostages, along with the Stark's Valyrian steel sword. As for the claims of Joffrey being a bastard, they would neither declare them true or false, just let them die. The Ironborn's convenient invasion of the North gave them a reasonable excuse to retreat with honour, to defend their lands, even if it meant the sacrifice of accepting a King who had greatly wronged them. Of course, the North remembers, but the rest of the kingdoms didn't have to know that.

It was also made clear that Joffrey would not actually be King, something which Ross had not fully appreciated in Loreon's initial proposal to her. He would be given the title of Prince Consort whilst Shireen was Queen Regent, which would no doubt rankle. Tywin would surely attempt to use this as a foothold to slide his way into more power, and the moment Shireen bore a healthy son, she would likely be picked off by Lannisters.

Mace and Olenna Tyrell were present at these talks too, of course. They were even less happy with the situation than Ross was, but could do nothing about it given their attempted backstabbing. Lord Tyrell kept grumbling that his daughter wouldn't be Queen, and wouldn't it be better to betroth Shireen to Willas instead of Joffrey, but his mother seemed to see the sense in keeping quiet and not earning themselves the further enmity of both the Baratheons and Lannisters. Margaery's daughter being Queen would have to suffice.

To play it safe, Loreon had suggested offering Tyrell the position of Hand of the King, if only to sooth his ruffled feathers and keep the entire family from causing too much trouble. The looks Tyrion, Loreon, Ren and even Olenna - who actually scoffed as the decision was made - shared revealed only too well exactly how much of a puppet the man would be, and no doubt throwing Tywin Lannister into the mix would only worsen that.

Loreon himself was Lord Regent. Randyll Tarly kept the post of Master of Laws. Davos Seaworth - who had distinguished himself during the battle on the river and been given a lordship - was made Master of Ships. Varys had vanished, so his job of Master of Whispers was proposed to be offered to Oberyn Martell in an attempt to reach out to Dorne; which they would need to do, given that the no-longer-Princess Myrcella was still there, betrothed to Trystane Martell.

Tyrion was offered Master of Trade, a new position that took over some of the duties and power from the Master of Coin, Lord Buckler, who Stannis had appointed to the position which had formerly belonged to Petyr Baelish.

And there arose another issue. According to Tyrion, Baelish had volunteered to travel to the Vale to convince Lady Lysa - who he had grown up with, and who was apparently infatuated with him - to join the Lannister's cause some weeks before Stannis had arrived. Who knew what he was doing now, but either way, the Vale needed to swear allegiance to Queen Shireen - ideally before Joffrey and Tywin arrived here - and Lady Lysa was not replying to any correspondence by raven.

The question of who would go in person was difficult. None of the Lannisters, of course. And whilst Loreon would be ideal for the job, his absence from court would have consequences. Whilst Ren had worked his way through the ranks of the Northern army, and acted as Robb's representative, sending a bastard to treat with the Arryns would be viewed as an insult. But as they needed someone from a great house, the only option left was Ross.

It was decided that she would go to the Vale with much of her guard (which included many representatives from Northern houses) and Lord Davos Seaworth. Sansa would also go with them. Loreon thought that her being Lady Lysa's niece may have some vague benefit, even though Ross would rather have left the girl here, where she was safe.

She wasn't exactly enthused about her task. Not only did she strongly dislike both Lysa Arryn and Petyr Baelish, she also had no love for diplomacy and endless talks. Loreon was good at that, not her. In addition, there was discussion of Loreon going to Harrenhal with Jaime, Ren and Tyrion in order to set up a meeting with Lord Tywin and Robb, where exact peace terms could be agreed upon. She would rather have been there for that.

Nonetheless, she woke at dawn to prepare with the party leaving for the Vale and sailed from the docks of King's Landing as the sun rose, Sansa and Lady stood at her side; it looked absurd, seeing the enormous wolf on a ship. Lady seemed baffled, though as ever, did as Sansa did and didn't make a fuss, peering curiously over the rail at the water below.

Despite herself, and the fact that she left behind Ren, Morganna and Jaime, Ross found herself glad to leave the city. Any time spent in the Red Keep was too much, and just brought up unpleasant memories that she'd prefer to forget. There were still certain corridors in the castle she refused to go to, and upon entering the throne room she could still sometimes smell burning flesh, could still hear the screams of her father dying on the pyre and Brandon choking himself trying to save him.

Out here, the sun was shining on the waves, sparkling blue and white. There was a cool breeze, which came from the north, blowing away the stench of the city and ruffling Lady's fur. Ross' pale hands grasped the rail of the ship and her eyes looked ahead.

*

Edited November 2024

It's been far too long since the last update so apologies for that. All I can say is that real life got in the way, and I'll probably have more free time for the next few weeks so hopefully things will start moving a bit quicker. 

As always I'd love to hear your feedback on this chapter, whether that's things you liked or constructive criticism. Particularly with the politics and intrigue side of things which I am not so confident writing. Are the characters still likeable or at least interesting? This chapter felt a bit too long, quite wordy and not much action happened, in my view at least. Once I've finished the story I'll have to come back and do a harsh edit.

Thanks for reading!