The Worth of Ash

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Game of Thrones or any related titles, characters, plots, settings, etc. These rights belong to George R.R Martin, HBO, and their various publishers and distributors. I own only the original elements of this story, the writing and publishing of which earn me no money.

Chapter Fifteen

The Stark camp was far more serious than Kyren had anticipated. In truth, she had not been anticipating a camp at all, but when she stopped for food at the Crossroads Inn, she had learned that the Stark armies had been mustered and were camped near the Twins. Reaching the camp had required a change in direction that had added a bit more time, but Kyren and Sotam ate up the distance quickly, Kyren's gut twisting with the news that the Starks had declared their intentions to wage war against House Lannister.

She had taken pains to avoid all inhabited areas on her journey, fearing that the Queen would have dispatched forces to put an end to any threats toward the children's claim to the throne. If what Lord Stark had said about the parentage of the Baratheon children was true, she had little doubt of what her fate would be if Cersei sensed a threat against the future rule of her children.

In any case, Kyren had finally reached the location where the Starks had set up camp. She had ridden only yards past the first tents when she was surrounded by grim-faced, armor-wearing men. All wielded swords or bows, each fully prepared to strike. Kyren tugged at the reins, but Sotam had already come to a complete halt, bouncing up slightly as if he were considering rearing up but had decided against it. In thanks, Kyren patted his grey-dappled neck, but her attention was pulled elsewhere as one of the men spoke out in a clear, commanding voice:

"Halt and state your business, stranger!"

Kyren dropped the reins completely, raising her hands away from the readily-visible sword belted at her side. "Kyren Asheworth, ward of Lord Eddard Stark, here to deliver a message to Lady Catelyn Stark on his behalf."

A dark muttering broke out in the surrounding circle and Kyren glanced around to gauge their feelings. She would do none any good if she were to be killed here, so close to her ultimate destination - and by soldiers fighting for the same side, no less.

"Have you any proof of your identity or intentions?"

Kyren frowned. "Any of the Stark family can identify me and I've already stated my intentions. Let me pass or bring one who can confirm that I speak the truth."

The man who had spoken looked considering. "Greyjoy!" he barked over his shoulder. "Is this woman familiar to you?"

The pounding in Kyren's chest eased as Theon's familiar face turned toward them and lit with his typical mixture of amused cynicism. "Never seen her before. Better arrest her immediately."

Flanked by a flurry of determined motion, Kyren shouted in her most commanding voice, "Theon!"

Jogging lightly to join the group, Theon waved the soldiers away from her. "Men, you find yourself in the presence of Kyren Asheworth. Though unpleasant and loud, she does indeed belong here."

The men drew back once more, one pausing to spit on the ground beside Sotam's hooves. "Witch," he accused, staring directly into her eyes.

Kyren was taken somewhat aback by the venom in his tone, but she had grown inured to this sort of behavior when she still dwelled in the north and remembered the most effective way to combat it. Smiling sharply, she leaned down toward the man to say, "Were that I was a witch, soldier. I am certain I could invent quite the curse for you."

He continued glaring, but went pale. Kyren rode on, feeling his burning gaze on the back of her neck. She did not seek out opportunities to make enemies, but she had little chance of swaying the opinions of men who insisted on believing her a witch.

Kyren directed the stallion toward Theon, halting as they reached him. Sotam snorted, shifting his weight from side to side as he stood and, understanding the horse was weary from their long journey, Kyren dismounted and combed her fingers through his mane. When he had settled, she directed her gaze toward Theon. "Thank you for your eventual assistance, though I do not understand why you insist upon drawing things out in order to tease."

He shrugged. "It is entertaining for me. This camp is in need of a diversion."

"I can assist in that sense," Kyren said, drawing Lord Stark's missive from Sotam's saddlebag. "I brought a letter sent by Lord Stark. Can you direct me - perhaps even accompany me - to Lady Catelyn?"

Theon frowned, eyes uncharacteristically grim. "How long ago did Lord Stark send you with this letter?"

"Nearly a fortnight," Kyren admitted. It was not an incredible amount of time in which to have traveled the majority of Westeros, but she was still ashamed that it had taken such a length.

After a curious pause, Theon nodded. "Follow me. Bring Sotam and we will find a place for him outside of the main tent. Does he still torment the other horses?"

Suspecting that Theon would not allow the change of subject to be argued against, Kyren allowed herself to be distracted by conversation about her stallion, followed by questions about how the residents of Winterfell were faring.

By the time Theon assured her that the younger Stark boys and Maester Luwin all fared well, they had attached Sotam's lead to a tree and moved toward a large, open-sided tent. It seemed rather like a war summit even to Kyren's untrained eyes, most of the tent's interior occupied by a hefty table holding an ornate map of Westeros, markers scattered across its painted surface.

"Kyren?" a voice whispered. "Why are you here?"

Kyren turned to find a pale Catelyn Stark staring at her with wide, red-rimmed eyes. Lowering herself into a deep bow, she offered the wax-sealed letter. "I came at the behest of Lord Stark. He bade me deliver this with haste, and in-person."

She glanced up to watch as Lady Catelyn regarded the missive with a wild light in her eyes. "Ned? Ned sent this?" Her voice was stiff, hesitant, and uncertain and Kyren's stomach dipped unpleasantly. There was something deeply amiss.

"Sent a fortnight ago, my lady," Theon interjected from some distance away, voice almost gentle.

Lady Catelyn accepted the letter with shaking fingers, opening it only after she had run those same fingers across the wax of the seal with something approaching reverence. Kyren straightened, glancing back at Theon. He only shook his head in answer to her silent question and she turned to find Lady Catelyn weeping softly as she read the words Lord Stark had written.

Feeling as though she were missing something rather important, Kyren asked hesitantly, "My lady? Are you well?"

Taking in a deep breath, Lady Catelyn lifted her startlingly blue eyes to Kyren. "What is the last news you heard from King's Landing?"

"I heard two guards mentioning that the king had suffered a fatal accident while hunting. That was some days ago, however…"

"My father is dead," Robb said bluntly, entering the tent to stand beside his mother.

Vaguely, Kyren registered that he had taken the missive written by the - apparently recently-deceased - Lord Stark to study it himself, but abruptly, the interior of the tent had taken on a sickly tint and begun leaning at an odd angle. A distant rasping noise fluttered at the edges of Kyren's consciousness, but she could not manage to place it, far more concerned by the darkness filling the tent despite the afternoon sun that should rightly have been pouring in.

"Kyren?" Robb asked distantly, stepping toward her with a look of concern on his handsome face. She had a moment to recognize the new lines of stress and sorrow across his forehead and under his eyes, but soon found it impossible to focus.

A touch on her arm startled her and Kyren found that Lady Catelyn had approached enough to lay a gentle hand on her wrist. "Kyren, slow your breathing."

Her voice was soothing, though difficult to hear over that rasping noise, now grown louder than ever. With a start, Kyren realized that the sound was her own gasping breath, but her chest was so tight… there seemed to be a noticeable lack of air inside the tent…

Robb used his bulk to half-lift, half-steer Kyren into a cushioned chair nearby. As soon as she was seated, a hand between her shoulder blades pressed her torso between her own knees. With Lady Catelyn chafing her hand comfortingly even as Robb rubbed circles over her spine and Theon stood in the background coaching her through breathing, Kyren began to calm. Her surroundings solidified and the sun seemed to shine steadily brighter.

"Kyren, I do not wish to upset you, but I need to know where my daughters are," Lady Catelyn said eventually.

"Lord- He told me that I needed to leave the girls in King's Landing, needed to get the letter to you, quickly as possible. He said they would be safe, said that no wise person would ever reject the choice he was planning to offer Queen Cersei."

Both boys present made disparaging noises even as Lady Catelyn grimaced. "My Ned… too willing to offer another opportunity, another chance. But this-" she indicated the missive Robb still held. "This may be used to minimize our casualties, perhaps even have Sansa and Arya returned to us."

"How long have you known?" Kyren questioned roughly. "When did news reach you about the fate of Lord Stark?"

"Several days ago," Theon revealed. "Not all is lost, though. We have a captive."

"A captive?" Kyren repeated, successfully managing to sit upright in her chair. "How did you manage such a thing?"

"With the master planning of the King in the North, of course," Theon grinned.

Robb rolled his eyes yet still managed to look pleased with the term. "King?" Kyren asked with a sinking feeling. She had quite enough of kings and royalty in King's Landing, yet it seemed that there was to be no escape.

Lady Catelyn cut off any explanation as she took Lord Stark's letter from Robb's hand. "Perhaps it is time we discussed these events with our captive himself." With a grim look in her blue eyes, she marched from the tent, leaving Robb, Theon, and Kyren to rush behind her.

Still a bit shaken by her earlier unsteadiness, Kyren's concentration was fixed on remaining with the group rather than studying her surroundings. After crossing a blessedly-short distance, Lady Catelyn came to an abrupt stop, flanked immediately by Robb and Theon. The posture of both males was notably aggressive, the threat no less apparent for being subvocal.

"So, at last I discover why you would push a young boy from a window," Lady Catelyn began. Her voice was strident and firm, brooking no interruption or argument. "It was all in an attempt to avoid discovery of your affair… one with your own sister."

Kyren felt her brows quirk. Part of her was amused by the public reveal of such an abhorrent practice while the majority wondered with horror if Lady Catelyn was speaking of Bran. Had he truly been pushed when they all assumed he had fallen? If so, she simply had to look upon the face of disgusting human who would do such a thing…

Creeping around the edge of Robb's broad shoulders, Kyren peered curiously into the cage holding a dirt-crusted man. His skin was bloody and bruised, his hair so matted and filthy that the color was no longer apparent, and he was chained by the neck to a post in the corner. He eyed Lady Catelyn through that colorless hair, but his gaze shifted at her movement. Familiar eyes widened as he recognized her - and her stomach lurched dangerously as she recognized him as well.

Overwhelmed by horror and revulsion, Kyren attempted to slip back behind the wall of Starks confronting Ser Jaime Lannister. However, Robb seemed to mistake her retreat for another episode of unsteadiness and held her bicep in a bracing grip, inadvertently forcing her to witness the scene unfolding between Jaime and Lady Catelyn.

When Jaime's piercing emerald gaze left Kyren's to slide back toward Lady Catelyn, there was a smirk on his lips - lips that had touched Kyren's own during their last meeting. Her stomach lurched once more, her breakfast of stale bread and berries urgently desiring to leave her, but Kyren fought to keep her face free of any discomfort or horror. For all purposes, she was now at war with Jaime Lannister and she knew from experience that no tactics were beneath him.

For the remainder of Catelyn Stark's lecture, Jaime could not help but to glance continuously to Kyren. Despite her valiant efforts to seem unperturbed, he could see the confused distaste in her eyes. The only question that remained was whether it was due to his presence here, his current state, or the lies being hurled at him by the Stark matriarch. Admittedly, everything she was saying was truth, but he would never admit that to Kyren. With her arrival here, he had finally found the means by which to make his escape. The only trick would be finding time to be alone with her.

At last, he interrupted the red-headed Stark. With a mischievous smirk, he leaned forward as far as his chains allowed and said, "Do you truly believe I care what you claim to have discovered? I will gladly own that I am thankful for the diversion you are allowing me, but these baseless accusations have ceased their novelty."

Catelyn Stark smiled at him so smugly that he felt a twinge of apprehension. "I wonder if these truths will recapture your attention when I reveal that copies of this letter have been sent to Stannis Baratheon, Renly Baratheon, and myself. My letter encourages for the information to be sent to various places and contacts around Westeros, an instruction I will gladly follow."

With feigned disinterest, Jaime shrugged. "I care little what rumors are spread about a young Stark boy pushed from a window. Now that the Starks have been named as traitors to the crown, none in Westeros will be overly distraught by a cripple."

A soft gasp from Kyren drew his attention to her horrified expression. Her strange eyes were filled with a betrayal only scarcely hidden behind the mask of indifference she tried to affect. An ounce of regret soured his mouth, but he was distracted by Robb Stark's chuckle.

"It is little wonder that we managed to capture you so easily with such attention to detail." Jaime did not bother to answer, but the Stark pup lifted a brow. "The accusations are not only that you slept with your sister but that you fathered her children. You should be far more concerned by the idea that your children will no longer be considered the rightful heirs to the throne of Westeros."

"I shouldn't be surprised if they simply kill your bastard children where they stand, when the news spreads," Theon Greyjoy said with a smirk.

Keeping a glare from his face through sheer willpower alone, Jaime cast a look full of derision at the former ward of Ned Stark. To hate the Lannisters was a given; most outsiders did. But to wish for the death of three young children was a vehement horror he had not expected. "I suppose I should not be shocked by such treasonous statements coming from an Ironborn. Rebellions were always the most widely-known export of your people. However, I would think even one from the Iron Isles would shrink from the idea of killing a child."

Immediately after the insult left his lips, Jaime regretted it, knowing he was leaving himself open for a variety of unpleasant rejoinders, but the remark came from a rather unexpected source: Kyren frowned at him and said, "Why should he, when one of the golden lions of Lannister did not?"

Theon let out an appreciative guffaw while both Starks smiled broadly. With a lash of anger loosening his tongue more than was wise, Jaime said sardonically, "Ah, Kyren. Utterly blameless, I see. And yet, how quickly you abandoned your self-inflicted post to deliver a letter. I suppose that duties as a large raven must taken precedence over the protection of the Stark girls. The worst insult of all is that you apparently found delivering letters preferable to joining with me. You did allow me to make fair headway in convincing you, do not believe I did not notice such a thing…"

As he had spoken, Kyren's face grew a deeper shade of red until he grew concerned that she would choke, but after the wink he delivered along with his closing remark, she only whirled around on her heel and stomped back to Robb Stark's tent - little good it did as the tent was easily within sight. When she had gone, Jaime settled back against his post and closed his eyes, choosing to ignore the curious and accusational crowd until they departed as well.

Despite his look of external peace, Jaime's thoughts were filled with self-beration. The one requirement he had for escaping the Starks was to speak to Kyren without an audience and he had nearly ensured that such a thing would not happen. Getting the girl alone would be far more of a challenge now than it would have been previously, but Jaime was more than a match for the puzzle. The alternative - that of remaining a prisoner of the Stark brat and his army - was too horrifying for consideration.

Kyren was weeping in the tent that had been allotted to her when Lady Catelyn let herself inside. The older woman said nothing, moving only to sit beside Kyren and place a comforting hand on her back. That gentle touch was Kyren's undoing, pushing her tears into shoulder-wracking sobs.

When she had finally purged herself of the poisonous grief stemming from Lord Eddard Stark's untimely death, Kyren found herself slumped forward over her own crossed legs with her shaking hands attempting to clean her tear-streaked face. A glance sideways showed that Lady Catelyn was smiling understandingly and offered a small square of rough-spun cloth to aid Kyren in her efforts.

Accepting the fabric, Kyren dabbed at her face as she remarked, "I find myself surprised that you are being so kind to me, Lady Stark. It is my failing that left your daughters in King's Landing unaccompanied and unprotected."

"Nonsense, Kyren," Lady Catelyn said briskly, her tone returning Kyren to her senses far more quickly than any soothing reassurance would have facilitated. "I loved Ned with every bit of my strength, but he had considerable shortcomings. It is his failings that have resulted in Sansa and Arya's isolation with the Lannisters."

"I should have stayed with them," Kyren refuted softly. "I tried to warn Lord Stark that Cersei is a vengeful woman, one who desires the throne more than anything in Westeros…"

"With the exception, of course, for her twin brother," Lady Catelyn muttered unkindly. The crass statement started a laugh from Kyren, sparking a corresponding chuckle from her conversational companion. "Kyren, what do you believe would have happened had you remained in King's Landing?"

Kyren considered the question for a long moment. "I like to believe that I would have taken advantage of the chaos of Lord Stark's imprisonment by gathering the girls and as many of the Stark party as possible, then fleeing the city."

"I disagree," Lady Catelyn said firmly. "I believe you are far too loyal and would have attempted to help my dear husband, even if it were to cost you your life. And that is the only difference I see, Kyren; had you remained in King's Landing, there would have been but one more death."

Try as she might, Kyren could not bring herself to argue with Lady Catelyn's assessment. She could never in good conscience have left Lord Stark to languish in the prisons of the Red Keep, especially knowing the likely outcome of his eventual trial. She would perhaps have thought to escort the girls from the city first, but there was every likelihood that such a thing would not have been possible.

"As we are discussing your loyalty to this family, I would like to discuss something which has been weighing significantly on my mind…"

Lady Catelyn paused for a long moment, blue eyes searching Kyren's face. With a final swipe of the cloth under her eyes, Kyren returned her gaze with as much strength as she could muster. The older woman seemed to find what she had been searching for and gave a decisive nod.

"I wish to release you from your oath to protect my daughters."

Kyren could do little more than blink as she processed the abrupt and terrible sense of a sudden fall. "You- You do not wish for me to return your daughters to you?"

With a laugh that sounded as though it longed to become a sob, Lady Catelyn shook her head. "I wish for that more strongly than anything else in this moment, but I fear I place far too much responsibility on your shoulders, Kyren. You are young and war is an ugly beast. Westeros will transform itself into a mass of fear, intrigue, violence, desperation, and a thousand other terrors. Rather than risk your life attempting a task which may prove impossible to complete, I would release you from your oath and see you safely elsewhere."

"My lady…" Kyren searched for the words that would not make her seem ungrateful, but her mind failed her. "Where else could I possibly be when the family I consider my own bears such grievous threats against its members?"

Lady Catelyn lifted a shoulder gracefully. "Somewhere far from this war, perhaps Dorne or Essos? If you are determined to remain in service to this family, we would benefit greatly from the assistance, though I would request you journey to Winterfell and watch over Bran and Rickon." Her lips quirked softly. "I am certain Maester Luwin would welcome your presence once more. He has expressed more than once how extensively he misses you."

Kyren's heart ached with longing. The life Lady Catelyn described sounded wonderful, a soothing and familiar balm against the harsh realities of the world to which Kyren had been recently exposed, and yet the part of her soul housing her morals screamed its denial. "I thank you kindly for your consideration and concern for my well-being, but I am afraid I must decline your offer. I would treasure the opportunity to return to Winterfell, but my place is in King's Landing, escorting your daughters to safety."

"King's Landing is a dangerous place-" Lady Catelyn began, but Kyren interrupted her swiftly.

"It has always been so, my lady. However, I know the land, the city, the people. If there is anyone with a chance of returning Sansa and Arya to you, it is likely me." Seeing that Lady Catelyn was prepared to make another attempt to sway her, Kyren smiled at the matriarch of the Stark family. "As I have said, I am most grateful for your concern toward my safety, but I do not intend to aid your daughters because I have sworn to do so. I will do whatever is possible because I feel it is only right. I have looked on the Stark children as near to siblings for all of my years at Winterfell and I will protect each of them with every fiber of my being. I would gladly guard Bran and Rickon, but I feel my presence is most needed in King's Landing, and that is where I intend to journey."

Lady Catelyn was not known for her warm demeanor and had never been seen to embrace one beyond her immediate family, yet Kyren nearly believed the woman would pull her close. Instead, gratitude shining in her blue eyes, she nodded. "As you will, Kyren Asheworth. Rest here for the next days, allow your horse to recover, and we will send you south with everything you could possibly require."

Kyren did not rise the following day until the sun had nearly reached its zenith. Despite sleeping in true safety for the first time since leaving Winterfell, Kyren had been plagued by dreams of Lord Stark, leading to a fairly wakeful night that had not settled until the wee hours of dawn. Even now, as she walked the camp, she caught snippets of conversations surrounding the late head of House Stark. Soldiers speaking amongst themselves were far more blunt than the man's loved ones had been and Kyren heard stories that made her want to scream and wail and rend her clothes. Even knowing the majority of the tales were likely gross exaggerations, there was little doubt that the last days of Lord Eddard Stark had been painful and unpleasant.

"Kyren!"

The girl in question stiffened slightly at the sound of someone calling her name. She cursed softly; she had feared she had been wandering too close to the cage holding the man she had once admired so greatly. Resolving to avoid the area until her departure from the Stark camp the next morning, Kyren pointedly ignored the too-familiar voice and - motivated by the knowledge that a short distance would remove her from his line of sight - continued along her chosen path

"Kyren Asheworth!"

His tone made her teeth ache. He did not sound regretful or pleading or desperate. Instead, Jaime Lannister seemed almost amused, certain in his cocky way that she would gladly run to him. The more brutal stories of Lord Stark's execution rolled through her mind and she refused to give the satisfaction of even a glance in his direction. Instead, she focused her energy on the dagger she was idly polishing as she moved. Occasionally, she had chosen a target in her path and thrown the weapon with deadly precision, marking the center of any object she had chosen. Naturally, this led to quite a build-up of debris along the blade, caked in the line dividing the blade from the slightly-flared hilt…

"Very well, shall I reveal to the Stark camp how we spent our last hour together before I departed from King's Landing?" When Kyren did not react, reminding herself that only a few yards separated her from freedom, his tone grew mockingly thoughtful. "Of course, these are battle-hardened soldiers. I'll likely have to share some of the more… explicit details in order to make any sort of impact…"

Kyren continued moving toward the tents and trees that would shield her from his gaze, determined not to be caught by his attempts at blackmail, but a grinning Theon stepped into the same gap she had been eyeing with anticipation.

"Did you fuck a Lannister, Asheworth?" His tone was giddy and gleeful and lit a fire in the pit of Kyren's stomach.

Losing all hope that none would believe the wild tales of the disgraced knight, Kyren snarled in Theon's face before stomping back toward the cage. When she reached the small enclosure, she stood in silence, arms folded across her chest. She may have responded to his taunts and threats with actions but refused to give him the satisfaction of speaking first.

As she waited, Kyren studied her former mentor from a closer vantage point than she had been afforded during the conversation of the previous day. Any fool would have known that captivity would not agree with Jaime Lannister, but Kyren was shocked to see how his good looks had faded under a thick coat of scuffs, dirt, and patchy beard. When he at last spoke, it was through lips that cracked and threatened to bleed.

"Well, my little friend, I must say: you seemed nearly as surprised to find me in such a place as I was to see you here."

"We are not friends," Kyren replied shortly.

His emerald eyes hardened even as his voice took on a musing air. "I apologize. As far as phrasing goes, I cannot call you 'lover', though I daresay, if I had another week before leaving…"

"I would have heard about your attempt to kill Lord Stark and hated you sooner," Kyren informed in a monotone.

"You do not hate me," he said with a smirk.

He was right, and that fanned the flames of Kyren's anger more than anything else could have. Holding her dagger threateningly - blade pinched between two knuckles of her cocked fist - she asked, "And why should I not hate a liar?"

"I did not lie, Kyren." She laughed outright, though it was rather bitter, and lowered her dagger. He sighed, irritated. "I did lie about some things, but not to you, not in our last conversation. I did wish for you to join me and I truly do believe you are wasted in service to the Starks."

"Meanwhile, I truly believe that I am on the proper side of these bars." He glared and she shook her head, smiling sadly. "My reasons for remaining in King's Landing may have been invalid according to you, but it was the correct decision. I have no doubt of my fate if I had joined you, and I have no desire to become a pawn in your father's war."

"I hardly think it is my father's war, not with the young Stark pup so eager for bloodshed," he pointed out. Growing uncharacteristically serious, he said, "As we are now on the subject of my family, however, I feel I must warn you: stay out of King's Landing. If you were to return, you would likely become a disposable hostage, or - if you were to be extremely lucky - killed on sight."

Kyren's steady, dispassionate gaze remained on him throughout his speech, allowing herself a small smile when he had reached his conclusion. "The time during which I would have considered your advice worth heeding has long passed. I shall do as I must and, if I should happen to encounter her, I will deliver your regards to Cersei. Certainly, she must miss you quite deeply-"

"Kyren, you must listen to me!" he snapped, leaning forward as much as was possible, eyes blazing fiercely at her. "There is a very real danger in King's Landing. If you wish to retain your freedom, your honor, and your life, remain in the north."

"Kyren!" Robb shouted, striding rapidly in their direction with a dark scowl on his face. Kyren waved him away, but he did not retreat far, staying in sight to watch the pair reproachfully.

"It appears this will be goodbye," Kyren informed him.

"Kiss me," he ordered suddenly. "Whisper my name and kiss me with all the passion you held in my quarters in King's Landing. You owe me that much."

Kyren blinked at him disbelievingly. "I owe you nothing. My one concession was agreeing to speak with you, and that was due to the scraps of respect remaining due to your knighthood."

"If you leave now, in this manner, you will regret it for the remainder of your days," he insisted.

Kyren smiled coldly. "I have many regrets, Kingslayer, several of which involve kissing you, but I very much doubt if this will number among them."

With that said, she tucked her dagger away in the sheath attached to her belt and departed to prepare Sotam for the journey south. In the process of currying the horse, she attempted in vain to forget the wince and following ache in Jaime Lannister's eyes as she had referred to him by his most hated moniker. It was no matter. He - along with any sort of friendship or kinship they had shared - was merely a rather painful remnant of her past. Her future was elsewhere.

Author's Note - Not to spoil anything, but this isn't the end for Kyren and Jaime (duh; it's in the pairings!) - though it may be their last face-to-face interaction for a while. Jaime has some character arcing to undergo and Kyren needs a chance to grow up a bit and sort her priorities. This story will continue to follow their lives, but perhaps not as closely as we have been. I'm not really sure. I have a few chapters planned out, but this represents the last of the chapters I already have written. This is also the longest chapter so far at over 5,500 words!

This is another chapter of Catelyn Stark being a tad blunt - this time toward her late husband - but remember that she has never shied away from the truth and knows Ned Stark is a little too optimistic. Besides, anger is one of the stages of grief and she may be bouncing between anger and acceptance (not next to each other in the stages, but if you've lost someone close to you, you know that there is no particular order to these things).

Special thanks to WickedGreene13 and my two guests for their lovely reviews! Thank you all for reading, please take a moment to leave a review, and have a wonderful day! See you in two weeks!