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

His Father's Son

They had scarcely entered Riverrun before the raven came. The letter was addressed to Lord Tully; with old Lord Hoster dying in bed, it was his son Edmure - a prisoner of the Lannisters until the previous day - who opened it, as lords and knights moved around their group. Ross watched as the young man's eyes widened almost immediately, and his face went sheet white. 

"What is it?" Robb asked him, frowning. 

"I - I'm sorry - " Edmure broke off, turning helplessly to his uncle, and Ross felt a stab of dread at the look on his face. Ser Brynden took the letter out of his nephew's loose grip, scanning it for a moment before his expression turned the grimmest Ross had seen it. He shared a glance with his nephew, then turned to them. 

"Great-nephew, Lady Rosennis, best go to my brother's solar," They didn't question him. As they left the hall, Ren melted out of the crowd to accompany them. The Blackfish glanced at her son for a moment, but decided not to say anything. That was wise of him. Ross was tense enough as it was, for surely that letter held nothing but bad news. Possibilities were already racing through her mind, each worse than the one before, but she forced herself to focus as the door to Hoster Tully's solar closed behind them.

"Best sit down for this, my lord," The old knight sighed, pouring a large cup of wine.

"My lord?" She picked up sharply before Robb could speak. There was a pause as they waited for the Blackfish to correct his mistake. He did not, merely held out the letter to her nephew, who warily took it without taking the offered chair. Ross' blood turned to ice.

"Lord Eddard Stark confessed his crimes against his Grace, King Joffrey on the steps of the Great Steps of Baelor," Robb read aloud, for her benefit and Ren's. "His Grace will not let such foul treason against his reign go unpunished," He stopped abruptly, cast the letter down to the table and sat down. The Blackfish wordlessly pushed the cup of wine at him, and he took a large swallow, clenching his jaw and looking awfully like he was fighting tears. 

Ross knew by now what the letter said, but part of her refused to believe it until she heard it spoken aloud, despite the awful feeling of dread gripping her stomach, spreading through her whole body. 

After a moment, Ren stepped forward, picked up the parchment and read on in a monotone. 

"Lord Stark lost his head at the king's order,"

Another piece of her heart broke. 

There was more to the letter, but her son left it there for now. Gods, Ned.

It wasn't like Father and Brandon, violently killed in front of her. Then, she had screamed and cursed and raged, fighting desperately to save them, doing everything in her power at the time which was, ultimately, useless. But no one could say it was her fault, she'd done all she was able. 

This news was delivered by raven. Ned died days ago, hundreds of leagues away, with one fall of a headsman's blade. Ross had been oblivious at the time. Perhaps she had even been smiling. Now she couldn't imagine smiling again. 

I should have gone with him. I should have done more to help him. I should have been there. Perhaps then she might have been beheaded alongside her brother as her daughter watched. Or perhaps Ned would be alive and well. It was impossible to know, but that didn't make it any less agonising. What if, what if, what if...

Her stony expression did not crack, but her mind was another matter. She heard people talking around her, her son, the Tullys, not Robb, but they sounded distant, irrelevant. Ross couldn't look weak in front of them, not even now, they had to think her unbreakable. She must be there for her brother's son, who, to his credit, was doing his best to keep a stoic face even if he didn't trust himself to speak.