Rhaella sat shocked as Lord Terra offered the reasoning behind their survival. His blunt honesty, even about something like this, was appreciated, but for a moment she wished that he had perhaps made his intentions more flowery, if for no other reason than to give her time to think and collect her thoughts.

"I understand this must be some shocking news, and of course I do not expect you to make a decision right away-"

"I will do it." The words were out of her mouth before she even recognised her own voice, but there was a certainty in her words that she could not refute.

"Rhaella." Elia protested, grabbing her hand. "Please, you have already suffered enough in a marriage of politics."

"And you have not my love?" She said, referring to the second wife Rhaegar had taken, resting heavily pregnant with her son's child in the rooms below them.

"Please Elia, you are still young and you still have a chance with your children to find happiness with your family in Dorne. I will take on this burden."

Elia's eyes filled with a mix of emotions. Rhaella could recognise pity and sorrow in the forefront, backed by guilt and some small piece of relief that Rhaella was sure was buried so deeply under the others that her good-daughter likely did not even realise it was there herself. Turning away from the Dornish princess, though she still took Elia's hand and held in her own, she regarded once again, the man who she knew held her fate and that of her family in his hands.

"And who will I be marrying from your house?"

She met his eyes firmly, despite the growing dread in her stomach, seeing Jane out of the corner of her eyes, she saw that her eyes were flickering between her and Lord Terra.

The man himself regarded her with a look that she thought might be respect, offering no false smiles or comfort over the new fate that she was looking forward to.

"Me, my lady."

Whatever she had expected, it had not been that. Truthfully, she had expected that as a man of his age and status, Lord Ambrose would already be wed. Of course, no one had ever seen a woman claiming to be the lady of the house, but she had thought that perhaps she was simply confined to their castle, as some lords did to their wives.

"You are not already married, my lord?" No matter what he said, she needed to be sure.

"It is flattering that you would assume my lady, but no. I have had little time for the commitments of marriage, even less so since we've been amongst your people. Still, binding your family to us through marriage was the optimal outcome of Jane's plans, and I could never ask any of my crew or soldiers to do this if I was not willing to do it myself."

Rhaella's eyes shifted over to Jane, who was regarding her with a neutral expression.

"And when would we be wed?"

"Promptly. As soon as the war is over and the new dynasty is seated firmly on the iron throne."

"And you suspect that to be soon?"

"Once news from both our own forces and the capital that Aerys and Rhaegar are dead, and that the remainder of the royal family is in rebel hands, we expect that the remaining forces from the Reach, Crownlands and Dorne will stand down. The Dornish in particular I'm sure will be eager to cease their involvement in the conflict once terms for Princess Elia and her children are reached."

Elia's hand found Rhaella's and the queen squeezed her good-daughter's hand in reassurance.

"If this is to happen. I require some assurances from you, my lord."

Kurt leaned forwards resting his elbows on the glass table.

"And what might those conditions be, my lady?"

"Protection for one. You have expressly stated Lord Tywin's plans for use as roadblocks to his daughter's ascension as queen under Lord Robert. However, I must know that as my future husband, you will be willing to protect my family and I."

Jane's eyes narrowed but Kurt only offered another kind smile.

"Of course, my lady. This entire endeavour can only succeed if we can trust each other to provide mutual protection."

"Mutual?" Elia asked. "What protection could you need from us?"

"Mostly it is protections for Lord Tywin." Kurt said. "You can understand that once it comes out that Aegon, Rhaenys and Viserys are still alive, the Targaryen loyalists will emerge to try and plant them on the throne. We will, in exchange for protection from Lord Tywin and Baratheon, require you to publicly and irrefutably declare the abdication of their claims to the throne and their support of the new dynasty."

Rhaella nodded, though in her heart she felt the shame of generations of Targaryens weighing down on her. The house of the dragon had forged the Seven Kingdoms out of the chaos that had come before and ruled the ancient kingdoms that had preceded them for nearly three-hundred years afterwards. Now their time was ending, and Rhaella knew that she and Elia had no choice but to accept it or else face the destruction of their combined families.

"Very well." She said, bowing her head in submission to the Spartan Lord.

"Good." He said, getting up. "Unfortunately, I must cut this meeting short. We are seeing to the transfer of Ser Jamie, Lord Rickard, Lord Glover and Lady Lyanna back to their families."

As the man got up from his seat, he gestured over to Jane, who stood beside him and snapped into a crisp salute.

"Jane will remain with you. I thought you might enjoy some time in our observation room. Of course, now that we have an agreement, we can see about giving you and your families greater access to the ship, or at least permission to come to this area for some recreation."

Lord Ambrose walked past them, disappearing into the metal room as the doors closed. With his departure, only Rhaella, Elia and Jane remained in the strange glass room at the top of the castle.

Rhaella watched the woman she had considered one of her closest friends as she simply stood before them. The spartan was silent, barely acknowledging their presence but for her eyes, which followed the two women as they wandered the small glass observation room. All around them, they could see the top of the Plataea, metal expanding into the distance before it suddenly dropped off. This place was a marvel, something that neither woman had ever seen before.

"If you have any questions, I will answer them to the best of my ability."

Rhaella turned to look at Jane, who had relaxed and was now surveying them with probing eyes. A surge of conflicting emotions emerged as she realised that this was the first time she'd been truly alone with Jane since they had been taken from the Red Keep. It had only been about three days since the abduction, but questions had swirled in Rhaella's mind about just how much her friend had been involved in the events that had taken place. There had been passing remarks about it being her plan, and Ser Shane had once referred to Jane as 'boss'. Now she knew, as Lord Terra had placed the responsibility for the plan, as well as her family's survival, square at Jane's feet.

Rhaella wasn't sure what to think though. After all, Lord Terra had indicated that Jane had argued in favour of saving her family, or at least most of it, when Tywin and Lord Terra had apparently had other ideas, on the other, she had still taken part in the kidnapping of her family, and the murder of her eldest son.

"Rhaella…"

Jane's voice was odd, it was almost… repentant. Rhaella had never heard her friend sound as such, mostly because whatever she did, Jane had often told her of how she had been trained to never doubt herself. It was something the queen had admired when Jane had told her, and now, hearing that sense of doubt in her friend, she considered that perhaps Jane had truly considered her as much of a friend as the queen had considered her.

"Jane."

The two women stared each other down, while to the side, Elia watched in fascination. She had never become as close to Lady Jane as Rhaella had, mostly because she had never trusted the woman not to have some unsavoury ulterior motive. She had been proven right so far, as Jane and her people had had plans specifically made to bring down her family, but seeing her with Rhaella she could almost believe that the woman's only motivation truly was to be the friend that her good-mother had not had since the death of her own mother and Lady Joanna Lannister.

Briefly she about what Lord Kurt had said about Lady Lyanna, Lord Rickard, Lord Glover and Ser Jaime. She understood returning the three men, after all, they had been prisoners, though Ser Jaime's cage was gilded, but Lyanna was a princess of the realm, at least according to those few who had agreed that her marriage to Rhaegar had been lawful and carried one of Rhaegar's children. Despite Lord Eddard's support of Robert while his father was trapped in the dungeons of King's Landing, would that support continue if the North had a chance to place Lyanna's child on the Iron Throne?

She shook the thoughts from her head. Lord Kurt had already told both her and Rhaella that their freedom and that of their children would come only when they publicly forfeited their claims to the throne. Most likely Lady Lyanna and her father had been given a similar ultimatum in regards obtaining their own liberation from the captivity of House Terra.

Rhaella meanwhile had sat back down at the table, with Jane sitting across from her.

"Any questions I have, you will answer?" Rhaella asked.

"Within reason." Jane nodded. "I can't reveal sensitive information, but other than that anything in regard to you or your people should be safe to discuss."

Rhaella contemplated for a moment. She had so many questions for Jane, but really, they all boiled down to a single answer she wanted.

"Were we ever friends?"

Jane regarded her without flinching.

"Yes."

"How can I believe you? You lied about everything Jane."

"I never lied. I made it clear that part of my job was to cultivate a positive relationship with you."

"But that was not all you were meant to do. You didn't tell me everything."

"I made that very clear. I told you there were things I couldn't discuss with you. There were things required of me that I couldn't discuss. I had a mission."

"And was that all this was? A mission? You say I was a friend, but you didn't hesitate to follow your lord's orders."

"His orders were to have you detained, not killed."

"And if he had ordered our deaths? Viserys' death? I thought you cared about us!"

Voices were raised. Or at least, Rhaella's voice continued to raise while Jane spoke only in a cool monotone.

"I did, I still do Rhaella."

"Then tell me, if your lord, your captain, had ordered our deaths, would you have done it?"

"I fought to make sure that didn't happen. I petitioned the captain to change the kill order because I cared about you."

"And if it had failed? I keep asking the same question Jane, but you don't answer! If Lord Kurt had ordered our deaths, would you have done it?"

There was a silence in the air, Rhaella was panting having screamed at the spartan woman. Jane on the other hand had averted her eyes from the queen, looking down and with an expression that both Westerosi women could see was as rife with emotion as either had ever seen the woman. She was deliberating with herself it seemed, and for the normally obedient and dutiful soldier it was almost a frightening level of doubt.

"I… I'm not sure."

"That is not an answer Jane." Rhaella whispered, voice hoarse.

"I don't have an answer Rhaella. Captain Ambrose is my superior officer. He's the head of the UNSC on this ship. Unless he is committing acts that are deemed harmful to the UNSC we are to obey him without question. That is even more true for spartans. To even consider refusing a direct order is dangerously close to treason."

Elia's eyes widened as she understood what Jane was saying. That she was here, admitting to them, that she would hesitate, that she was not sure if she could carry out Lord Kurt's order to eliminate them, she was all but admitting that she was committing treason.

"But you're my friend, and I don't want to have to kill you, even under the captain's orders. So, I don't know. I'm sorry."

Rickard Stark had not been as comfortable as he was at that moment for near on a year. For all that he had made light of the effects of the black cells on a Northman, the crushing darkness and the cramped isolation would drive any man to the edge of madness. Luckily, he had been rescued before he could be cracked and with all the luxury that existed within the domain of the House of Terra, even after such a short stay, he was beginning to recover his strength. He had been held in a comfortable room, though it was not so large as most rooms meant for highborn guests. It had been explained to him that the castle Plataea was a military base first and foremost, and so even the most luxurious quarters would still be considered lacking by most in terms of comforts.

Still, with a soft bed, fresh water to drink from a basin, something he had been shocked by when he had discovered just how ingenious the Terras were, and a good assortment of foods that had been brought to him upon request, Rickard finally began to relax somewhat after all his time as a captive had left him anxious.

Unlike the captured royal family, Rickard had been given a slightly larger tour of the Plataea, including a meeting with Lord Terra outside the massive castle. A small settlement had been set up south-east of the original structure, hugging one side of it. It was there that Rickard had truly seen just how massive the Plataea was. Taller than the Wall, three times as tall according to Lord Terra, and stretching for over a mile from the sea along the island, the massive structure was perhaps the largest castle to exist in Westeros and was undoubtably the tallest structure in all the world.

At that moment though, Rickard's thoughts were not on the size of the Terra's castle, nor on what that might mean for the might of the Westerlands who they had lent their strength to. Instead, at that moment Rickard watched one of the metal doors slide open, something he would continue to be unsettled by, and saw seated on the bed, Ashara Dayne, the woman who had birthed his first grandchild.

Children crowded the room. Princess Rhaenys, Prince Aegon and his new grandson all slept in cribs, separate from each other, while Prince Viserys was lying on the Lady Dayne's bed, holding a bright red stick in his hand, and dragging it across a piece of fine while parchment. From what he could see, the stick left a red line on the parchment similar to paint with a paintbrush, but different.

"They call them colour pencils." Ashara said tiredly. "They have dozens of them. The young prince has found quite an artistic side."

Viserys looked up, looking suspiciously at the Lord of Winterfell. Ashara leaned over and brushed the boy's hair, trying to sooth him.

"Lady Ashara." Rickard bowed slightly. "Perhaps we could speak about certain… private matters."

Gesturing his head over to the cradle holding his grandson, Ashara seemed to understand his meaning.

"I'm sure the children can be left to their own devices for a short while. Viserys?"

"Yes?" He answered, glancing between the lady and his drawings.

"Please, watch the little ones, I won't be long, but if anything happens, bang on the door and I will answer."

"Very well."

Rising from the mattress, Ashara followed Rickard out of her room and into his own, which was one door down across the hall. As the door slid shut behind them, Rickard gestured to a small chair that had been provided to him by the people of the Plataea. Ashara took her seat quickly, facing the Lord of Winterfell.

"Your son… he is my grandson?"

Ashara tensed slightly, her eyes darting away from the man, but offering no rebuttal.

"He is. Ned's and mine."

"I see."

"Please, do not blame Ned, we… he was going to ask for my hand after Brandon's wedding, well before I knew I was with child."

"And now my son is wed to Lady Catelyn Tully."

"He is."

"And you have made no mention of who your child's father is."

"If anyone in King's Landing had known, they would have used my child as a hostage. I couldn't let that happen."

"And now? The Targaryen's are finished, the war will end soon. What will you do once peace is established."

"You wish to know if I will contest Lady Catelyn's place as Lady Stark."

Ashara's eyes watered and whatever strength she had been using to keep up appearances crumbled. She began to sob, and Rickard felt a twinge of pity. Women fresh from the birthing bed were known to be volatile with their moods. Remnants of the trials of birthing children. As the Lady Dayne continued to cry, he almost regretted doing this now, but it needed to be done. On the morrow, according to Lord Kurt, he, Lord Glover and Lyanna would be moved across the continent and be delivered to his son's camp with Lord Arryn, Baratheon and Tully and he would likely not get another chance to gauge Lady Ashara's plans for the future.

"I… I wanted to marry your son, my lord. Truly I did. He was going to take me with him to Brandon's wedding and broach the topic of our marriage. I loved your son in a way I've never loved a man before. But I knew I could never be with him once the war started. His family's debts needed to be paid, and even if Rhaegar and Lyanna's actions had not forced him to hold fast to oaths he had not made, Ned was an honourable man. I loved him for that when I met him, but in my dreams, I wish he could choose me over all his oaths and family."

"Perhaps he would have, if he had known of a child waiting for him."

Rickard had not meant to say such things, he knew that it would only make things worse, but he said it anyway.

"I… I wish I could be happy; I have a piece of him with me always. A child, made of love rather than duty. I've heard the maesters speak of it, childbirth sorrow. They say it will fade in time, but I cannot imagine this pain ending. I cannot muster up the love a mother should have for their child. I see him and all I can see is the man I love. Your son, who I can never be with. What do you wish for me to say, my lord? That I will not interfere in Ned's new family? With the peace he has with his new wife? I will not lie. If he asks, I will tell him of his son. I do not care what you, or Lord Tully, or Lady Catelyn have to say. Ned will know our child."

"I would not ask you too." Rickard nodded, sympathy permeating his tone. "I am sorry for all that has happened my lady. I think Ned might have been happy with you as his wife. It is a shame that it could not be."

"If only." Ashara nodded, tears wetting her dress. "I am sorry for your son, and your daughter, and your family Lord Stark. Please, let me show my son to Ned at least, he should know him."

"On that we agree. If I may ask, after all my questions. What is my first grandson's name?"

"Ned and I spoke of it, once, when we…well we both liked the name Edwyle."

Rickard's face softened.

"My father's name."

Ashara smiled.

"He told me. I hope… I hope it is not rude for my son to claim the name?"

Rickard shook his head.

"No, no it is not. Edwyle Dayne. It is a fine name. I'm sure that he will be a fine man, in time."

"Dayne… not Stark."

Rickard's face turned solemn.

"I am sorry my lady. He has our blood, but he cannot take the name of Stark."

Ashara's face broke into a bitter look.

"Of course, my lord, though I wonder how I will choose which region I will name him for. Born to a Stark and a Dayne, he could be Snow or Sand. He was conceived in the Vale though, so perhaps a Stone? But he was born in the Westerlands. Edwyle Hill? What say you to that?"

"Whatever name he possesses, he will have a mother who loves him."

"Will he? They say that this sadness, that it will fade with time, that I will love him as fiercely as any woman does their child, but I cannot believe that it will just vanish. How can something like this just fade away, like the morning fog?"

"I have heard of this, childbirth sorrow. I do not know what it is to be a woman, but if maesters and midwives agree that it will pass with time, then I would think they know a thing or two."

Ashara looked down at her hands, folded in her lap to keep them from shaking.

"I… I believe that I have taken enough of your time, Lord Stark, I must return to watching over the young princes and princess. If you would excuse me."

She rose from her seat, striding across the room to the door, which slid open as she pressed a small button on the side. Looking back, she could see Rickard watching her.

"Even if he cannot take the names of either of our houses. He will have a name, Lord Stark. Have they told you yet?"

The confused look on the man's face was all she needed.

"My son has been given the name of Terra, by their own lord himself."

Ashara marched across the hall and into her room, where she found Viserys drawing peacefully, and Elia's children sleeping peacefully in their cribs. Looking over she saw her son, lying on his back and breathing deeply. She reached out a hand, running the back of her fingers over her son's cheek, which caused him to shift and reach for her hand. Ashara Dayne felt the melancholy surround her, but there, staring at her son, she felt a glimmer of something in her chest.

If there are any women reading who have been through postpartum depression, please, tell me how I did with describing it. I honestly don't know how different forms of depression feel or how each person feels it, having only been through one form of it myself.

Now we know about the full breadth of scenario Omicron, and Kurt's statement a few chapters ago about asking of others what he would not give himself. Also, Kurt is really the only one who the local nobility would accept. I honestly don't know how well I did with the conversation between Jane and Rhaella. On the one hand, Rhaella now knows that Jane is the reason her family is alive, on the other, it's still something of a betrayal and Rhaella is wondering how much of their friendship was real and how much was fake. It's a tight balancing rope.

My personal head-canon is that Lyanna gave birth to a girl, Visenya, but she was stillborn, and then Ned brought Arthur's body back to Starfall and Ashara, being depressed and seeing her lover with her brother's body, knowing he was married to another woman and possibly taking their child away, threw herself from a tower in a fit of grief. That's why he doesn't like taking about her, and it gives some serious weight behind Cersei's words. 'She threw herself into the sea, I'm told. Why was that? For the brother you slew, or the child you stole?' Especially if it was both. It also answers rumours of a 'stillborn daughter' that are associated with Ashara if the stillborn girl isn't Ashara's daughter, but Lyanna's. It also fucks with Rhaegar's prophecy, which is always fun, even if it does involve a dead baby.