The Light of the North

"My son will never go back to the field. I almost lost him to the Blackwater and against the savages beneath the wall." The Queen thought solemnly, whilst sitting on a bronzed chair with many of her Queen's Men, sworn knights and ladies with her.

Queen Selyse Baratheon was impatient; she wasn't comfortable in Eastwatch and voiced her complaints. The men from the Watch, whom were stationed here tried to appease her and her men, but it proved to be futile. The accommodations were not to her standards, and the commander of the castle Cotter Pyke didn't make her stay welcoming at all.

She and her daughter Princess Shireen were stationed here, whilst her son and her husband were at Castle Black. Her heart ached to see her son again, she loathed to be separated from him again and she despaired for his life every time Jacob went to the field.

"Jacob is a prince and his father's heir. His duty to be by his father's side, no matter my objections. Stannis will send my boy to the battlefield again, many mothers have lost their sons to this war, and I will not lose mine to the snowstorms of the North."

On the journey to the Wall, Selyse pleaded with Stannis not to send Jacob to war again. He had returned with scars on his face. She pitied him; of how her son's good looks were ruined and how no one will want to marry a scarred man. The queen would get the same answer every time she tried.

Her son was heir to the Iron Throne. Jacob was to rule after his father and him fighting the further battles proves how a prince should be on the field and by his king's side. Selyse saw how her son has changed physically; he was not the same boy who sailed to Storm's End with his father.

Jacob had grown up throughout this war. He had become a man and his growth of beard was proof of how like his late drunken uncle he was in looks. Selyse knew Jacob was not a little boy anymore, no more would he run to her when he had an accident or if something had upset him. He was a man grown, has seen the battlefield and has killed men by his own hand.

Behind her stood Uncle Axell, who proclaimed himself Hand of the Queen and leader of the Queen's Men. Selyse wasn't blind to the tensions between her uncle and her son, as both believed in different gods and their views were not alike. Her son protected the simpering fools of the King's Men, whilst her uncle led the Queen's Men. The differences were always there, but it wasn't as if Jacob hated Ser Axell like he did Lord Alester for committing treason against the king, the prince and those within the king's court.

"It's been so long, since I last saw my son. It was on the ship before he went straight to the field again." Selyse said.

"Jacob is the heir, my queen. It is his duty to be by his father's side." Uncle Axell replied.

"This could be the last time I will see my son, before Stannis sends him off to another war."

"Prince Jacob is a fearsome warrior, he must fight the war further. As much as you would like him to stay with you, the boy is a man and he must fight alongside the king."

"A letter was sent from my husband, he will be informing me which northern girl will marry my son and will be birthing my grandchildren in the future."

"It's the king's prerogative, my queen. The king does as he sees fit. I do not like it, Your Grace. The prince should marry a lady with some kind of refinements from the south, but the king has made his choice and will tell us in due time."

"I want to meet her, uncle. The woman who will be Jacob's Queen and my good daughter, but my husband said Shireen and I would be much safer on the Wall. I will never see my son get married, it's one of the things a mother looks forward to when their children grow up, maybe, I will be there on the day Shireen gets married, but Jacob is my son. I will never get to see him experiencing joy and happiness for the first time, since his uncle Robert got him that grey horse on his eighth nameday."

"That horse looks at me, as if it wants to trample on me, dear niece. A southern horse was not meant for such weather." Ser Axell said sourly.

"The grey horse makes my children happy, and their happiness comes before my own wishes. As a mother, I want to keep Jacob from the grave, but he somehow yearns for it. It showers him with glory and Stannis doesn't deter Jacob from fighting at all." It's Jacob's duty as his father's son and heir to be on the battlefield, no matter how it pains Selyse in her heart to think of losing Jacob to the war.

"Uncle, get the men organised. My husband and son will be arriving soon, and a meal shall be prepared for when they arrive." The Queen commanded.

"Of course, Your Grace." Ser Axell said.

Selyse trusted her uncle, he was the only man she trusted to be loyal to her and lead the Queen's Men. She still prayed to R'hllor's fires from time to time, but it wasn't the same without the Lady Melisandre guiding her. The Red Priestess brought nothing but goodness to her husband's cause, and she would remain on the Wall, since war camps and the battlefield were no place for a woman.

The fool Patchface with his green and red checked motley on; he was entertaining her daughter, some of her ladies and other members of the king's court stationed here. The fool was Shireen's only companion, and was there for her when she had to be separated from her brother again. Her little girl will smile for her brother and father will be arriving soon. It will only be short term, how can Selyse explain to Shireen of how her brother will be at war and will not come back for some time.

"I will ask to have the commanders of the castle changed. I don't like this man, he is unpleasant and doesn't know how to respect royalty." Queen Selyse complained.

"I'm sure the king will think of something, Your Grace." Ser Axell replied.

"The box with the crowned stag on it, uncle. My son is ready, to assume his uncle's warhammer and prove himself further on the battlefield." The queen said gleefully.

"Dear niece, this marriage the king has arranged will be the final symbol of the prince leaving boyhood behind and finally becoming a man. It takes a man to endure marriage and to be a father to future heirs to the throne."

"I can't bear it, uncle. The thought of Jacob being sent to the field again and he may never come back to me alive."

Selyse placed a hand over her face. A few tears were falling from her eyes, at the thought of never seeing her son again. As the Queen, she didn't have the power to keep her boy from the grave or from the blood and death the war brought on him. The idea of honour and glory showered Jacob with a sense of determination and blinded him to the thought of how death will affect those who loved him.

Selyse knew her son's duty was to be by his father's side at all times, but if she had her way, then Jacob would be umarried throughout the rest of the war and would settle down to a southern bride of her choosing, but she cannot argue with her lord husband on such matters.

Selyse maybe the rightful Queen, but in the end, she had to obey Stannis's orders and stomach the realisation of having a northerner for a good daughter. All her thoughts of her husband's choice of a northern wife for her son were not laced in niceties. She will try to be kind to her son's eventual wife, only because the girl had no say in matters. The girl will be Jacobs's queen and Shireen will end up having a new sister. It would be good for Shireen, to have another female noble around her, instead of being surrounded by the Queen's Men and the queen's own serving girls and ladies.

"The King has ordered the Lady Melisandre to stay on the Wall. He has a point; the battlefield is no place for a woman and she would be killed by those savage northmen." Ser Axell grumbled, with malice in his tongue.

"Silence, uncle. You will remember your future queen will be a northerner. You will keep your opnions to yourself in such matters. The king has decided, my boy will marry a girl from the North and secure a great alliance." Queen Selyse replied.

"Dear niece. The king is stubborn and will not change his mind. Poor Jacob, the boy will be forced to bed a girl, who believes in those dead trees of the forest. His bride should at least be a girl, who believes in the same faith as him."

"It is done, uncle. It cannot be undone. It's the King's wishes and Jacob would be a fool to dismiss his father's order. He is desperate to please his father, to have his forgiveness for the treason committed with the smuggler Davos."

The queen grumbled, she despised the smuggler Davos, a man her husband deemed worthier than his fellow knights and lords around him. Selyse held her tongue, for the sake of her son and to not distance him further from her. Her boy, who had come back from the south with a scar under her eye and his hair was greyer than an old man's hair. There were a few muffled voices from outside of the rooms the Queen and most of her sworn knights, men at arms, lady companions and serving girls for her daughter. She rose from her chair, with all the dignity and honour of a true queen with her flamed crown upon her head.

Her eyes caught on the sight of her husband Stannis with the same styled crown on his head. He looked gaunt and his eyes were full of sternness. He was in the black furs, whilst his armour had the sigil of the stag and the heart of the Lord of Light on his breastplate. The knights and most of her companions kneeled before the king, and he allowed them to rise on their feet. He ignored most of them, most of the Queen's Men wanted to the favour of the king, but that favour had to be earned.

Her son Jacob appeared with his father; he looked more like his father, but his beard looked to have been trimmed and his furs had a gold trim with his cloak being black. His hair was in a ponytail, the queen's eyes were upon her son's scars. Selyse feared Jacob's looks were ruined by them, no woman will marry her boy, only for gaining tokens of his victory against the savages beneath the Wall.

"Jacob…." Shireen exclaimed, rushing over to hug her brother. With her arms around her brother.

A smile appeared on the face of Jacob, being reunited with his little sister. "I missed you too, little fawn. I hope you have been good for mother and Uncle Axell."

"Did the wildings hurt you, brother?" The princess asked, looking at the second scar on Jacob's left cheek, it must have been a wound from a battle-axe or a knife.

"It's only a small cut, no man can ride me down."

"Jacob, you and your sister should find a chamber in the castle. Your mother and I need to speak on important matters alone." The king said, in his usual iron tone.

"Of course, father. Come on little sister, I'll tell you more about the giant I saw at the Wall. He was a great fellow and never spoke to anyone." Jacob said, leading his sister out. With the men at arms, sworn knights and the queen's serving girls and lady companions following the prince and princess out of the sight of the king and queen.

Queen Selyse didn't expect her husband to greet her with anything, but curtesy as his wife. Their relations have been distant, since the execution of her uncle Lord Alester. The man deserved to die for being a traitor and almost having her children killed by the Lannisters. She sent Uncle Axell away, because she wanted to speak with her husband alone and maybe make him see her fear of their only son being on the battlefield.

She and her lord husband sat on the two large chairs in the main foyer. Selyse looked to the fire, as it was warm and it kept her and her retinue from freezing to death. Her heart gladdened to have her two children reunited, even if it was going to be for a short time. Jacob needed to be with his little sister and his mother before Stannis sent him to the field.

"Who will our boy be marrying? As his mother, I would like to know the name of the girl, who will be my good daughter and Shireen's good sister." Selyse asked.

"Jacob will pledge himself to the eldest granddaughter of Lord Wyman Manderly. I wanted to pledge him to the daughter of the long dead Rickard Karstark, but Jacob has refused because he believes the castellan of Karhold and his son to be snakes." Stannis replied.

"Aren't they the only house in the North, whom keep to the Seven? It's better our son had a wife, who will share his faith."

"His faith in the Seven has kept the southerners loyal to me, and it might gain the north on our side."

"I pleaded once and once again, my lord. I don't want to hear about our son freezing in the ditches of a snowstorm."

"Jacob is a man grown, woman. He will fight and will be by my side for the remainder of this war." Stannis said, in an iron tone.

"You have made all the decisions, my lord. You were the one who decided our son was to be married off to a northerner. He may rule after you and he may be your heir, but he is my son too. Doesn't his happiness count for anything?"

"Have I not consulted you on such matters, my lady?"

"You may have, my lord, but my opinions never mattered. Our son afraid, my lord. Of disappointing you again and breaking your trust, after the treason he committed with your Onion Knight."

"Things haven't changed, my lady. Our son still dislikes the Lady Melisandre, and for good reason. He wants to clear my path to the throne from any visible threats, and he believes she will be the doom of our cause."

The Queen thought her son had been influenced by the King's Men to dislike Melisandre, but she knew at the back of her mind how her son followed his own rules and never allowed others to influence his thoughts and his opinions. Selyse was glad Jacob was here, but knew he was to be gone from her. Her husband still stands by his order, to have their son on the battlefield and in the war.

"You have barred Shireen and I from attending the wedding, did you not read my messages given by Ser Godry Farring days ago." The Queen said.

"It is safer for you and Shireen to stay at the wall. The North is cold and harsh, a snowstorm is coming and enemies lurk at every corner." Stannis replied.

"I may allow a northern girl to be my good daughter, but please my lord. Don't rob me of the opportunity of seeing our son getting married."

"I will leave a portion of the Queen's Men with you and I would even leave Jacob's Reachman knight to protect our daughter."

"The Grimm knight is better off protecting our son, since you want him to die in that dreadful snowstorm."

"You will not test my patience, woman. He is a man and he will stand and fight, his boyhood days are long gone and you will have to accept it."

"As you wish, my lord."

Selyse lowered her head, it didn't matter what Stannis thought. Jacob was still her little boy, even though he was a man grown and ready to fight. The communication may have improved, but the relationship was still strained, all relating to the failures of Stannis not being able to sit on the Iron Throne and most of the other forces abandoning him for richer pickings and the Lannisters.

The Queen would keep Shireen close to her as a result. She may have had her son ripped from her by the war, but still had her daughter, her little princess and heir to the throne if Jacob died. She ignored whatever feelings she had towards her dead traitor uncle, it was his fault why the smuggler was appointed hand and why Jacob distrusted House Florent.

"My son will be taken away from me again, but I must be strong for Shireen. She will need me for days to come and will need comfort for when her brother is gone again. I am fortunate I will be seeing my boy for one last time."

Selyse was not alone. She had Uncle Axell with her and several loyal Queen's Men with her, apart from Sers Richard Horpe and Justin Massey, who will be journeying south with her husband and son for the rest of the war. She was confident those belligerent knights will be competent enough to keep their rightful prince safe from their enemies.

After the evening meal between all members of the royal family. Selyse sent Shireen to her chambers early, whilst her uncle and husband had things to discuss in terms of the arrangements for the protection of the queen and princess, whilst the king and prince were going to be fighting in the North and maybe further south. The tension between Jacob and Axell has decreased, and the two have learned to get along with one another. It gladdened the Queen's heart because she didn't want her son at a war of words with his last remaining uncle.

Selyse realised Jacob wasn't in his chambers, but wanted to stand at the Eastwatch balcony and see the view from the castle tower. The queen knew her son was intrigued by history and liked looking from the highest point of any castle, just to see the view outside of it. It was a habit developed from his time fostering with the scheming Tyrells and their bannermen houses. She would not have allowed her son to be fostered by those ambitious cutthroats, if she had a say in Jacob's fostering.

"He doesn't speak, unless it's with his father and sister. My boy has become sullen and quiet, since his time at Castle Black. My husband informed me of his budding friendship with the bastard Lord Commander; I'm glad he put an end to it. A prince shouldn't socialise with those beneath him."

The queen could see by Jacob's face; of how the war has made him isolated, to have no highborn friends around him and for him not to talk to anyone, apart from those in his small circle. Long ago, before the war, Jacob had good relations with other houses, but now her boy has been branded a rebel and a traitor to the throne he is the rightful heir of, after his father.

Selyse went up the steps of the tower. She had briefly seen Ser Sorrell, her son's sworn shield, but he was as sociable as a man without a tongue. Was she right to place her hope and trust in this strange man from the south to protect her son on the battlefield?

Her eyes caught on a figure standing in the balcony with the full view of the northern landscape, covered with snow and the harsh winds blowing through. her heart ached to be separated from him again, but this was her last chance to see him, and be his mother before he was to leave her again.

Jacob looked more Baratheon than he did Florent. It was always the case, since he was born. Selyse was fortunate, he never inherited the prominent features of her house,which made her family the most mocked house in the Seven Kingdoms. She didn't like how some of his good looks reminded her of the dead pretender Renly, but the man was her son's uncle and respected it.

"Mother, I didn't see you arrive. Not with any Queen's Men." Jacob said, turning around to face his mother.

"Your father and uncle are discussing the arrangements for your sister and I." Selyse replied, not in the cold tone she would use with her uncle, but the softer tone of a mother.

"I have seen things mother, in my dreams and in my head when I was at Castle Black. I don't know what they are, but father says they are a manifestation of what men go through after fighting long wars."

"You have been fighting too long, my son."

"And I will have to fight again, for one last time. To liberate the North and Riverlands from the rule of Lannister lackeys, who are cursed by the gods."

"The North is a harsh place, Jacob. I don't want you to die out there, without me ever knowing." The Queen said, with tears falling from her eyes.

Selyse was not the kind of woman for tears and sentiment, but for her son she was willing to let her guard down, just for Jacob to see the human side of her.

To see how afraid, she was for him and his safety, as a mother to a future king and the lady of a dying great house. Jacob could see things on his own accord, it was what made him a player in the game of thrones, it was how he survived through being kidnapped and fighting a battle against unclothed savages beneath the Wall.

"I won't die, mother. I see it your eyes, you fear for me. It's been a long time, since I truly had a chance to stop and think about everything. The war and becoming someone's lord husband, it's a responsibility Uncle Robert has been preparing me for, and I will not disobey father again. I will marry the Manderly girl after we have recaptured Winterfell."

"Your father chose the Karstark girl for you, why did you refuse it. It was your father's wish for you to wed her. The Karstarks are kin to the Starks by blood, and were one of the only houses, who pledged themselves to our cause."

"Lord Rickard and his sons are dead, mother. The current castellan is a poor excuse for a man and his own son Cregan is the dirt under my shoe. I would rather die than allow those men to manipulate father and to possibly get him killed by turning their cloaks to the Boltons."

"Why choose the Manderly girl?"

"The Manderlys are the richest house of the North. The winter is coming soon, and we will need food, provisions, horses and more men to fight for us. Father may not like Lord Wyman, but his gold will help us survive the war and possibly the winter."

"You have truly grown up, war has changed you. For the good and the bad. I may see a man in front of me, but you are still my little boy. I would have chosen a southern bride for you, and stopped you from fighting the war any further. I see what it's doing to you, you will never live a normal life after the war. You knew what the Mad King's Rebellion had done to your uncle. He was never the same after all the violence and fighting."

"Mother, I knew what was happening to Uncle Robert. I saw those vultures trying to pick off his weaknesses to gain power for themselves. I regretted not being there in his hour of need, and I couldn't even say goodbye to him." Jacob said, with tears beginning to leave his eyes, and his head lowered in sadness.

Selyse opened her arms for her son to fall into them. His head was resting on her shoulder, and tears were falling from his eyes. Jacob was missing his uncle, and he couldn't express it towards his bitter father. She was the emotional pillar Jacob needed; he was surrounded by stone-hearted men, who didn't understand the concept of human emotions.

Her arms were wrapped around her son. The queen wasn't used to her boy being vulnerable in front of her, he only reserved his emotions for the smuggler hand. She hated how Jacob would rely on Davos to help him deal with his growing emotions and had not come to his own mother for advice.

Selyse knew Jacob was a grown man, and would shut out his true feelings towards his father because she knew how stubborn and hard-headed Stannis could be. Her son pulled out of her arms, and looked at the view beyond Eastwatch by the Sea. The queen herself didn't like the place, it was an empty castle near the Wall and it was where she had been stationed on her husband's orders, but if Jacob saw the beauty is such harsh lands in the North, then maybe he might be able to love the northern girl chosen for him.

"I don't want to leave. How will I explain to Shireen why I am always gone and how I never stay with her? What if I die and she doesn't understand why?" Jacob said sadly.

"Your sister is old enough to understand such things. She maybe young, but she sees what is happening around her." Selyse replied.

"She shouldn't have to. I may have had my innocence taken by Uncle Robert's death, but I don't want Shireen to have her childhood taken away from her by war and strife."

"Your sister is a princess, and you are the heir to the throne. The future of House Baratheon is on your shoulders. You and Shireen are the last trueborn Baratheons left. The northern girl has a great burden on her shoulders, you will have to share the burden with her."

"What burden mother?"

"The girl is to be your Queen and the mother to future Baratheons to come. As your mother, I will do my duty to guide her anyway possible, as a queen and a wife."

"I didn't know you cared so much, mother. Long ago, you never even thought of agreeing to have me married off to a northerner."

"Your father ordered the marriage be with a loyal Stark vassal, but Uncle Axell has warmed more to the plot, only because he wants your father's favour."

"I have said my goodbyes to Shireen and Uncle Axell after supper. I do not like having Horpe and Massey with us on the journey south. The Queen's Men will cause problems for father and will prevent him from getting any allies."

"I entrusted those men to protect you. All the King's Men will be travelling south with you and your father, and the remaining Queen's Men will stay with me and your sister. It's only fair a few of my loyal men accompanied you."

"I will compromise on the account they stay away from the northerners. Only father and I will enter the halls of the mountain clans. I will have to brush on my political cunning and persuade these men to join us against the Ironborn."

"Do as you can." The queen said, placing a hand on her son's face. His eyes light up with joy and a smile appeared on his face.

Queen Selyse may seem like a cold-hearted woman on the outside towards her men and those around her, but with Jacob she could be a mother and show another side of her. Her heart was weighing down on her, having to see her boy for the last time before he was gone from her.

She loved him with all her heart, and would be torn to pieces if she lost him to this dreadful war. She didn't want to be one of the countless mothers, whom had lost their sons in the war. Selyse would have pray to R'hllor every night in devotion for him to protect her son, whilst he is at war and to make sure he lived long enough to see her again.