The Long Winter | Jaime Lannister X Stark OC | GOT/ASOIAF

Blue And White

Ross strode away from the chaos of the hall, her path very 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, bluntly but not unkindly. Her sharp tone clearly 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 very small. "I'm the queen," It was a realisation rather than a question. 

"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 the slightest 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, though seemed rather risky for Tywin.

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, clearly frantically looking for their now-queen.

"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?"