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Who: Jeyne
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: Marsiva
When: 20th

[She should feel used to being told nothing. Her mother had prepared her for a life without answers and a lack of control in her future. It shouldn't surprise her to be taken away from her entourage and brought to a world not of her choosing, but there is nothing that could prepare her for this place. How did any of this happen? How did she go from being surrounded by an armed escort to being utterly alone in a foreign environment.

Stranger still, there was sense of understanding about where she found herself. This was space and she was on a ship among the stars. It would be simpler if this was a kidnapping, but it was something more than that, she knew that deep in her gut.

Disconcertingly, there was no one about, no one that she could question. Why would anyone want to watch her and what exactly were ratings? Why did she need to participate in whatever entertainment they had planned? More importantly, how did she know things that she never knew before?

Searching did little good. There was no one in authority and the place seemed to be silent, save for the music and screens playing in the background. There was at least one other option, if it could manage to bear fruit.

Fumbling with the device, Jeyne managed to turn it on, twisting it around until she was certain that she appeared front and center, clear for everyone to see.]

I can't seem to find anyone to tell me why I'm here. I keep hearing from the strange screens that I'm in some sort of game or performance, but that doesn't make sense. Why were we chosen and how did they bring us here?

My name is Jeyne. Can someone please help me?

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Oh yes. This is rather typical of them. You'll come to hate the bastards quickly enough. [Though Riona is half-tempted to point out that those same bastards at least afforded Jeyne a chance to see Robb again, but keeps that to herself for now.]

He's fallen into a coma. [Riona gets up and begins to move towards Robb's room.] It happens from time to time to people here. For some strange reason, Atroma will send someone into a sleep for days or weeks. We really don't know why. It happened to me a few months ago, and now it seems it's Robb's turn.

[She nudges his door open, calling out just in case he did wake up and wasn't decent. Her heart sinks when she hears nothing.]

Do not worry. He'll be all right. I know his sister looks after him, as do others on the ship. I've checked in on him a few times myself.

[With a flick of her wrist, the lights turn on. She aims the camera at Robb's sleeping form. He's out cold, even as Riona calls to him. She swears under her breath. But at least Jeyne could see him. And Riona gently moves his blanket back, so his wife could see his chest rise and fall: a clear sign of life.]

It will be soon that they will "shuffle" us? What ship are you both on? Is there anyway that I can be there too? Or do they choose this randomly?

[She is willing to beg on her knees, if need be. She hasn't seen any signs of these Atroma, but someone was watching. Why else were they brought here, if not for the amusement of others? She didn't have so much pride that she wouldn't tearfully beseech these higher powers to let her be with her husband.

They somehow brought them together again, they couldn't keep them apart permanently.]

When did he fall into this coma? You weren't injured or ill when you fell asleep? Are you certain?

[She stares in amazement and wonder as he appears on the screen. He looked so real, just as he was when he left for Riverrun. The sight of his sleeping form brought a rush of memories, both painful and bittersweet. She could remember the warmth of his body and the feel of his arms around her, their nights filled with passion and love as they shut away the rest of the world, finding the bit of sweetness that still existed in the world.

He needed her now, as much as he had when his brothers died. Yet she couldn't look after him or be at his side. It hurt, a worse torture than anything she could imagine before.]

Thank you. [For the first time since his death, her tears could be mixed with a smile.] Gods...I can't believe it. I stayed true to him. It didn't matter that he...died. I love him.

[That's a lot of questions at once. Riona takes a deep breath before she begins to answer them, one by one.]

We are on the Blue Fish. In a few days, I reckon, you'll be randomly assigned to a ship. Even if you do not wind up on our ship, you can always request to transfer. And in the meantime, you may travel freely between the ships. As soon as you are off the Marsiva, you will be able to see him.

[Maker, she feels bad for Jeyne. Ever since she found out what happens to Robb, she's felt nothing but sympathy for him and his wife. At least now she's here and they can have... something before they return to Westeros. In that, Atroma was kind. She still hates them, but she cannot deny what good their meddling could do.]

He's been out for a couple of weeks. He had been running a bit of a fever beforehand, but that has nothing to do with his current state. I've been in one of these comas before myself and I was perfectly healthy before it happened. He'll be fine, I swear. And when he learns you're here, he'll be even better.

[She smiles softly.]

I'm glad you're here. I know he's missed you terribly. For what it's worth, you have my condolences for losing him. I - no, I can imagine what it's like, and nothing scares me more.

[She'd been without control for so much of her life. All of her decisions, even the one that she truly believed was completely hers, had been part of another's plans and schemes. Coming here didn't seem to change anything. She was as much a pawn as ever before, but now it was with an unfamiliar puppet master, rather than her mother and the Lannister forces.]

I suppose I shall have to hope that there is some mercy left in the world.

[She could hope, but she didn't believe. She would have to relinquish control once more, at least for the greater good. These Atroma wanted ratings and her suffering was certain to bring them. She would let herself be miserable, so long as Robb would be safe and with his family.]

Thank you. I don't even know your name, but you have been so kind to me.

[Jeyne smiled at Riona, vulnerability clear in her features and form. Thoughts had already begun to swarm in her head, anxieties and fears about how she would be received by her husband. What did he know of her family's role in his death? Did he think she was a part of it? Was she even worthy of being his wife?

It meant a great deal to know that he missed her.]

He spoke of me? Truly? [She turned her face away, trying to keep herself from crying.] I pray that you never lose your husband before his time. There is nothing worse than seeing him in your dreams, believing he has come home and waking to remember that he is gone.

Edited 2016-10-23 01:24 (UTC)

Oh, forgive me! I got so caught up... [For some reason she's always bad about introducing herself to newcomers. Her mother would have scolded her thrice over.] My name is Riona. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Jeyne, even under the circumstances.

[She nods.]

Absolutely. He spoke quite fondly of you, and it was clear he loves you.

[Not a lie is to be found in her words. She clearly remembers that conversation with Robb, the one they had about their respective spouses.]

Thank you. I pray for such as well. [She and Alistair will both die before their time, if nothing can be done about the taint in both of them, but that's not something she needs to bring up now.] I hold him dearest above all else, save perhaps for my brother.

It's a great honor to meet you, Lady Riona. I'm relieved to at least have met a friend of my husband's, even if he is not here to greet me. I will never forget your kindness.

[After being surrounded by nothing but Lannisters and turn cloak traitors, seeing a friendly face had made this transition a bit easier.

But not nearly as much as the knowledge that Robb still held her close to his heart.]

I know that we know each other so little, but I hope that we may become friends. I should like someone to talk to while I am here and while I wait for Robb to wake up.

You have a brother? May I ask his name? Tell me of him, please.

I'm only happy to help. Coming here is difficult for anyone, and most here in the fleet extend their knowledge and help towards those who have just arrived. I know if I were asleep, and my husband just arrived, I would want Robb to help him in kind.

[Oh, Jeyne. You're so sweet. As Riona quietly ducks out of Robb's room, not wanting to invade his privacy further, she nods.]

But of course. Making friends here is one of the bigger comforts in this place, and the best way to cope.

[Besides, she wants to get to know the woman who won over Lord I'm-Too-Serious-For-My-Own-Good.

At her question, Riona's face brightens. She never gets to talk about Fergus, so she's more than happy to indulge her.]

His name is Fergus. He's not quite ten years older than I. He serves as the teyrn of Highever, our home. [It still makes her heart ache to say that, not because that he's teyrn, but because of how it all came about.] Always one to make a joke and to lighten the mood, but he also knows - usually - when to be serious. He's always been a good brother to me.

I remember you mentioned you were married. Did you wed for love as well? Is he a good man?

[She may not know Riona well, but she hoped that such a kind woman would have an equally, if not more, kind man in her life.]

It will be strange to be in a place that has comforts, but I'm glad to know that those who reside here are one of them. Everyone seems to warm and welcoming. I'm not used to such things.

[Poor Riona. She would soon find that Lord-I'm-Too-Serious-For-My-Own-Good had a Lady I-Carry-My-Sadness-Like-A-Cloak.

It was always a pleasing thing to see another smile like that. It was a warmth that seemed only to be reserved for those that are deeply loved. Robb had a similar one whenever he spoke of Jon and Jeyne was certain hers was the same for Raynald.]

He sounds wonderful. Brothers always make the best friends. He was well when you saw him last?

[Oh joyous day! She gets to gush about her brother and her husband!]

In fact, I did. He is the most wonderful man I know. Loyal and caring and sweet. I could not ask for more.

[She resists the urge to ramble on. Jeyne barely knows her, and she doesn't want to inundate her with her gushing already.

"I'm not used to that." If that doesn't raise a flag... Riona says nothing about it, but makes a mental note of that. She hopes that has nothing to do with Robb, or Lord Pouty-McPouterson was going to get a stern talking to.]

As well as he could be. [Considering everything.] I hope to see him again soon, when I return home. It's strange, living apart from him.

[Something they had in common. If the subject weren't painful, Jeyne would gush about Robb and Raynald as well.]

Marriage for love isn't really considered wise, but I'm so pleased to know that you found love as well.

[Robb and her siblings were perhaps her only source of warmth and happiness. Spending her life surrounded by those that she learned only later that she shouldn't have trusted did nothing but sour her memories.]

Is he older than you? Your brother?

[She snorts indelicately.]

Whoever said such a thing clearly was never in love.

[The concept is hardly new to her; she spent her whole childhood convinced she'd wind up hating her husband. But she'd been proven wrong, and she found Alistair, though being able to ever meet him came at a horrible price.]

Yes, about eight years. My mother had... difficulty conceiving. Needless to say, I was a bit of a surprise.

[She wishes she could agree.]

Do you think that it is wise, even if it costs so many lives?

[They seemed to have that in good company. Love often came at a cost. She was the reason Robb lost the North and later his life. It was rather hard to see much wisdom in her actions, only feeling.]

I imagine so. Do you and your husband have many children?

[Well that went in a different direction than she was expecting. Riona's brow lifts at the question.]

That's a bit more dire than I imagined. [She remembers Robb telling her about how he angered some lord when he married Jeyne. The pieces start falling into place.] Is that what happened? Someone opposed your marriage, to the point of violence?

[Children. A moment of pain flashes across her face before she schools it, shaking her head.]

We have not been married terribly long.

[Though that isn't the reason they haven't had children. As things stand, they never will.]

[She hadn't meant to turn the conversation towards such a dark place, but it was difficult to disentangle the idea of love matches with the fate of her own marriage.]

Robb was promised to another when we met. He broke that promise when he took me as his wife. The lords were insulted and turned against him.

[Had it simply been directed at her, she could have born it, but Robb...what they did to him was barbaric and monstrous.]

I don't regret being his wife, but a part of me... [she trailed off] forgive me, this is hardly the conversation after meeting for the first time.

[She understood Riona's pain all too well.]

I'm sorry if I raised a painful subject.

Yes, I heard, but... Maker, I can't believe that's what got him killed.

[She suspects there's a bit more to it than simply that, but she won't pry into such a painful subject.]

It's all right. [What she's referring to - talking about love matches or being unable to bear children - she doesn't say. She simply smiles.] We all have burdens and pains.

[There is more to it than this simplistic summary. Far more, but she doesn't wish to go further into the matter. Not until she knows Riona better and she has managed to see Robb again.

The stories of greed, cruelty and tragedy would wait until then.]

You and Robb are friends? Has he been here long?

Of a sort, yes. And he has been here about a year, I think. Give or take a few months.

[He was here when she had arrived, though she had never actually asked Robb when he first came.]

A year?

[A year in this world, a year without her. It hurt her to consider.]

If he wakes before the shuffle, will you tell me?

Of course. And I'll promptly let him know you're here as well.

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