CHAPTER 47 | NOW AND ALWAYS

SOMETIMES Maia thought about the name, Jaehaerys, and how it would feel nice for it to fall from her lips. It was a sweet name, one that made her think of flowers and fire. But when she looked at Jon Snow, she did not see a Jaehaerys.

And sometimes, she tried to convince herself the dream she had was just a dream. She wanted to disregard everything that made it seem real. She didn't want to think how much those infant's eyes looked like Jon's, because she told herself it wasn't real. Maia Sanders knew it wasn't real.

Dreams only lasted so long, thankfully, and like every morning, Maia woke up in Jon's arms. They would break their fast and she would watch the sun rise before playing with the small folk children of Winterfell for the rest of the morning. Sometimes the Wildling children joined in, and she would play games and the like with them. It almost reminded her of her old job back in her world, and she found herself missing it.

But Maia was never one for responsibility. She loved playing with the children every morning and telling them stories, but actually taking care of a child day and night? That took guts. She already had the fate of everyone around her hanging on her shoulders, as well as a title she didn't exactly want – the last thing Maia needed was something else.

As of lately, she couldn't ignore the distant sound of a child crying. Usually, it was one outside of the castle's walls, but she could hear one nonetheless. She guessed she was letting the anxiety of the world get to her, because she found herself throwing up more than usual. Maia didn't puke very often, but would when she got extremely paranoid. This was definitely one of those times.

Though the paranoia and anxiety always subsided when she was with her friends and Jon. She grew closer to Sansa, even as she sensed Sansa may have been moving a tad bit away from her since Jon's coronation. Tormund taught her basic fighting lessons every day, but she was still more equipped with a bow and arrow. She liked it more than any other weapon he introduced to her, and Tormund couldn't deny that she was quite good. Granted, Maia already had experience.

She learned more about the legendary House Sanders. Sometimes, Maia stayed inside Winterfell's library for hours on extreme blizzard days. She searched through the shelves for any books on the houses of Westeros, and eventually found some of her supposed house. There wasn't much written due to their small size, and they weren't particularly important, besides their large army used in Robert's Rebellion.

Currently, Maia was leaning her head over a bucket. She had gotten out of bed later than Jon, and was awoken by her handmaiden, Aletia. The handmaiden was a small, dainty girl, but Maia couldn't deny that she had a sort of rigidness about her. She guessed that was what happened when she worked for the former occupants of Winterfell, the Boltons. Maia still wasn't used to having someone wait on her and help her get dressed; she had learned to do that herself from a young age in her world. In Westeros, it was obviously different.

Aletia held Maia's hair upward as the blonde threw up her dinner from last evening. The handmaiden had only come to dress Maia for court later that morning, but she didn't expect this. Or maybe she had, since she noticed that her lady had been puking more as of lately. Maia coughed up and breathed heavily as she finished. Aletia let go of her hair while Maia wiped the edges of her mouth, slowly meeting the dark haired girl's eyes. "Sorry," Maia muttered, staying in her place on the floor of her chambers. "The chowder last night must have not agreed with me."

"My lady," Aletia cleared her throat. "May I make a suggestion?"

Maia nodded as she stood up. She went to her closet and grabbed her clothes for the day, before setting them on her bed. As soon as she turned around, Aletia was ridding her of her nightgown, and sliding on one of Maia's favorite woolen dresses. "You haven't been well lately," the handmaiden said while sliding the dress on her lady. "You've been retching for weeks now. It's not healthy."

"I'm not doing it on purpose," Maia rolled her eyes. "Nothing has been agreeing with my stomach lately. I feel so sick whenever I wake up."

Aletia tied a warm, fur cloak on her shoulders. She glanced to her lady's eyes, and realized Maia was staring off into the distance. "You should see Maester Wolkan."

Maia shook her hand. "I don't need to see a maester. I don't need suggestions, Aletia." She walked forward to her door and stepped out.

"My lady –"

Maia turned and sighed, feeling terrible that she had made Aletia sad, or angry for that matter. "You're relieved of your duty's for the day. Enjoy yourself."

•••

"I want every Northern maester to scour their records for any mention of dragonglass. Dragonglass kills White Walkers. It's more valuable to us now than gold."

Maia tried to keep her attention on Jon's speech, as he stood in front of all his followers with Sansa and Davos at his sides. She played with her hands as she sat in between Brienne and Podrick, but still, found her mind wandering elsewhere. She wondered about Aletia's suggestion, knowing she was right, but Maia was too stubborn to take it into consideration. She thought of Queen Daenerys, the Last Dragon, and how she never answered her letter. Maybe it never got to her. Maybe she didn't care about their cause.

"We need to find it. We need to mine it. We need to make weapons from it," Jon continued on. "Everyone – age ten to sixty – will drill daily with spears, pikes, bow and arrow."

Lyanna Mormont nodded her head in agreement. Brienne looked on with pride, while Maia stared at the confusion on the faces in the room. The whole court of Winterfell thought they were free from working, but Maia suspected Jon's plan.

"It's about time we taught these boys of summer how to fight," Lord Glover cackled, earning a laugh from his army.

Jon paused before muttering, "Not just the boys." He replied, to which Lord Glover's eyes went narrow. "We can't defend the North, if only half the population is fighting."

Maia smiled proudly at Jon and began to clap her hands in admirance. She almost stood, but then she noticed she was the only one clapping, and she sat down with a frown. "Sorry," she muttered. "Wrong timing."

Lord Glover rolled his eyes before standing to glower at Jon Snow. "You expect me to put a spear in my granddaughter's hand?"

Lyanna grew tired of Glover's words, and rightfully stood up to sigh angrily at him. "I don't plan on waiting by the fire while men fight for me. I might be small, Lord Glover, and I might be a girl, but I am every bit as much a Northern as you."

"Indeed you are, my Lady. No one was questioning –"

"And I don't need your permission to defend the North," Lyanna argued. "We'll begin training every man, woman, boy, and girl on Bear Island."

The men around began to pound their fists on the tables. Davos grinned slyly, as well as Sansa. Maia clapped loudly this time, smiling at the courage of Lyanna. Brienne nudged the blonde next to her, whispering, "Was it finally the right time for you to clap?"

"While we're preparing for attack, we need to sure up our defenses." Jon said, silencing the crowded armies in the room. "The only thing standing between us and the army of the dead is the Wall, and the Wall hasn't been properly manned in centuries. I'm not the king of the Free Folk, but if we're going to survive this winter together ..."

Tormund turned his head to Jon, and a grin appeared on his face. For once, this expression wasn't directed towards Brienne. "You want us to man the castles for you," Tormund replied, standing from his stool.

"Aye," Jon nodded, "the last time we saw the Night King was at Hardhome. The closest castle to Hardhome is Eastwatch-by-the-Sea."

"And that's where I'll go," Tormund said, releasing a loud chuckle. "Looks like we're the Night's Watch now!"

Jon cleared his throat, to which made Maia turn her head. "If they breach the Wall –"

Maia shivered at that thought.

"– the first two castles in their path are Last Hearth and Karhold."

Maia blinked for a moment. She remembered from the books she read that Last Hearth was the seat of House Umber, whereas as Karhold held the Karstarks. Both houses betrayed the Starks and allied for the Boltons in Jon's battle with Ramsay Bolton. Maia twitched again; her mind would forever be stained with the memory of Ramsay's hands on her. She felt her teeth grit.

"The Umbers and the Karstarks betrayed the North!" Yohn Royce exclaimed, standing. "Their castles should be torn down without a stone left standing."

Jon looked to his hands, but before he could speak, Sansa did. "The castles committed no crimes, and we need every fortress we have for the war to come. We should give the Last Hearth and Karhold to new families, loyal families who supported us against Ramsay."

Some men in the room clapped, but Maia begged to differ on Sansa's claim. It just didn't seem right. In Maia's head, she tried to rationalize that decision, but she simply couldn't. Wouldn't giving those lands to foreign leaders create yet another civil war? Those foreign leaders would never be able to hold the castles without an uprising, which would only weaken the North as a whole. Sometimes, when she was especially bored, Maia dabbled in reading a political book or two.

Jon didn't like the proposal one bit. "The Umbers and the Karstarks have fought beside the Starks for centuries. They've kept faith in generation after generation –"

"And then they broke faith," Sansa added.

Maia bit her lip, turning her head slightly to see Littlefinger sulking in the corner. Her eyes formed into slits at the sight of him.

"I'm not going to strip these families of their ancestral homes because of the crimes of a few reckless sons."

Sansa shook her head, staring at Jon with anger. "So there's no punishment for treason
and no reward for loyalty?"

Jon paused, moving towards his sister. The tension in the room grew thick. "The punishment for treason is death. Smalljon Umber died on the field of battle. Harald Karstark died on the field of battle."

"They died fighting for Ramsay," Sansa concluded. "Give the castles to the families of the men who died fighting for you."

Petyr Baelish smiled at the discourse in the room. He laughed under his breath as the armies of men nodded in agreement, and some even pounded their fists.

But then, all of a sudden, a hand was raised in the air. Both Jon and Sansa turned towards the hand, but didn't expect to see who it was from. Davos leaned back in his seat and nodded, announcing, "Lady Maia, what would you like to say?"

Maia decided this was her best time as ever to make her statement. She dared not to stand, in fear of the armies' judging eyes. She cleared her throat. "I'm not one to make political decisions, nor am I qualified, but I do have a view point." She clasped her hands together, resting them on her folded legs. "The Karstarks and Umbers should keep their lands, if we're thinking morally. Stripping the castles of both houses could risk alienating people still allied with them and House Stark." Maia swallowed hard, already feeling the skeptical stares on her. "Our main goal should be defeating the army of the dead. The North does not need to be more divided than it already was. We need to remain together."

A pause of silence occurred, but it was soon followed by whispers of the men around her. Maia saw Lyanna Mormont nodding her head in agreement.

Jon stared at Maia for a moment of satisfaction. She had learned so much in such a short time, and even he was surprised at her growing knowledge of not just the North, but Westeros as a whole. All those nights she spent in the Winterfell library weren't just for nothing.

"When I was Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, I executed men who betrayed me." Jon announced, allowing all eyes to set on him. "I executed men who refused to follow orders. My father always said, 'The man who passes the sentence, should swing the sword,' and I have tried to live by those words. But I will not punish a son for his father's sins, and I will not take a family home away from a family it has belonged to for centuries. That is my decision, and my decision is final."

Sansa's eyes met Jon's in shock. Her mouth dropped before she turned away and sighed. Maia didn't want to defy Sansa's opinion, but the blonde had one of her own. Sansa's just didn't seem right, no matter how much of a friend she was to her.

Jon turned back to the court. "Ned Umber," he called, and a small boy in the back stood. "Alys Karstark." A girl then, too, stood, and took her place beside the Umber boy. Jon gestured for then to come forward, and they stood in front of him with terror in their eyes.

"For centuries our families have fought side by side on the battle field," Jon said. "I ask you to pledge your loyalty once again to House Stark. To serve as our bannermen, and come to our aid whenever called upon."

Maia watched Jon with a smile on her face. He truly was a moral ruler, and she loved that about him. He never thought he was meant to rule or lead, but Maia saw it in him. She bit her lip at the sudden impractical thoughts running through her head at his defiance and calling voice.

The two children pulled their swords from their sheaths and knelt in front of Jon. They nodded their heads to him, to which Jon ordered, "Stand." They did as commanded, and Jon continued, "Yesterday's wars don't matter anymore. The North needs to band together. All the living North. Will you stand beside me, Ned and Alys, now and always?"

"Now and always," the children repeated, and the crowd immediately erupted in applause.

•••

After another hour, court had finally ended and died down. It was one of the best hearings they had had yet in the Winterfell throne room. Maia was glad she could be apart of it, and she showed this by planting a kiss on Jon's cheek as everyone filed out of the room. Before she could kiss his lips, he squeezed her hand and said, "A moment, my lady."

Maia scrunched her brow in confusion. Jon turned to the almost-empty room and announced, "I ask Tormund Giantsbane, Brienne of Tarth, Davos Seaworth, and Sansa Stark to stay behind. I wish to speak with all of you."

The blonde was racking her brain for what Jon was planning. He held her firmly by the waist, an indication that she was needed for this secret meeting also. Petyr lingered in the doorway of the room, but was forcefully shoved out by another man.

The group gathered in a circle, all staring at Jon. Sansa still seemed a bit annoyed at Jon's outburst at court, but he hoped she was willing to listen to something very important. Maia had discussed with him that she was meaning to tell their company of her gift for a while now, but never found the chance to. Jon theorized it was because she was scared, so he knew the only way she'd do it was if she was corner. Their team needed to know of what she could do and her title, or else they, too, would be divided by a big secret.

"Maia has something that she's wanted to share for a long time now." Jon looked to his lady, watching her face contort into dread. "Maia, would you like to speak?"

"Uh –" Maia stuttered over her words. She should've known he'd do this to her. Gods, was she ready to let more people in on her secret gift? She wasn't sure, though she knew their team needed to know.

They were all staring at her now in confusion. Maia played with her fingers and looked down. "I've – um – I've been keeping something from you all for a while –"

"Did you both actually get married?" Tormund piped up.

"NO!" Jon and Maia, but also Sansa, exclaimed. Tormund was left defeated.

Maia swallowed down the lump in her throat. "So ..." She looked off to the side, refusing to meet their eyes. "I know it's quite obvious that I'm not from here. I don't have the accent, nor was I ever familiar with any history of these lands until very recently." Maia bit her lip. "I'm sure you could guess why –"

Tormund interrupted, "You're from the South?"

"Oh, shut up, will you?" Brienne scoffed, causing Davos to chuckle.

Maia looked between the two of them. "Alright, I'm just going to say it." She breathed out heavily, feeling Jon's hand on the small of her back. "I'm not from this world. Where I come from, you all are just characters in a series. You're not even real in my world. I got to this world – to Westeros – because I have a gift. A weirwood tree can send me to any universe I think of." Maia stared at them with worry, feeling tired after her ramble. Her knuckles cracked in their gloves. "Oh gods, please, someone say something."

"So ..." Sansa looked down, feeling the clothing on her arms. "We're not ... real?"

"You're real here, of course." Maia explained. "But in the world I come from, you are not. Technically, I'm not supposed to be here. I'm probably fucking with the whole timeline." She shrugged nonchalantly. "Sorry about that."

The group paused, taking her words in. They all looked down at themselves and wondered the true idea of what was real and what was not. After a moment, Tormund muttered, "I've seen some weird shit. I believe it."

"Who exactly told you that you have this gift?" Davos asked, a brow lifted upward.

Maia stared at him for a moment before replying, "Melisandre, when she was with us." She watched Davos' brow crease at the mention of the Red Woman. "She called me the Traveler, and I've read up on it. She told me I was part of her prophecy for the Long Night; that the Prince Who Was Promised cannot survive with the Traveler."

"And we're going to listen to the mumblings of a woman who burned a little girl alive?"

Maia became choked up, knowing Davos' words were true. Jon's arm grew tighter, allowing her to know he was there. "Melisandre may not be our ally anymore, but she was the only person to shed some light on what Maia's gift truly was," he responded. "Whether I am the said Prince or not, we need the Traveler to survive the Long Night, and we have her. We shouldn't turn our backs now."

Slowly, the rest of their heads nodded.

•••

A/N: Talks about the long night require a long chapter, oops

This chapter is dedicated to luciangemini, who won my "Stranger" edit contest a few months back. One of her prizes was to be a minor character in Book III, so may I introduce you to Aletia, Maia's handmaiden, who was once loyal to the Boltons (which is very Ali lol)

Also, I know Jon's Targ name is Aegon, but I'm keeping it as Jaehaerys in this story. Please, stop commenting that it's Aegon!!!