Lone Wolf || Tyrion Lannister

Chapter Ten

Once he realized who it was, he frowned. "Anari," he gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you," she replied. Taking the skin from around her neck, she opened it and gave it to him. Ned drank it gratefully, not once second-guessing her. He knew he could trust his own daughter to give him water, he did not have that same trust for Lord Varys.

"Where are your sisters? Are you all alright?" He asked after taking a hearty pull from the water.

"Sansa is in court right now," Anari replied. "She's trying to see if Joffrey will have mercy and at least give you a trial of some sort." Anari hated the situation her father was in. It bothered her that he didn't even get a trial, which was not right in the slightest.

Ned had a right to a trial, as he couldn't be automatically assumed guilty just because Joffrey and his mother decided so. As happy as he was to see his daughter, Ned couldn't help but worry for her. "You should not be here,"

"I had to come," Anari argued. Reaching into the cloth she brought with her, she offered him one of the pieces of bread. Ned, once more, ate the food gratefully. He was so tired, so hungry, and so thirsty. "I need you to tell me the truth, father," she began. "Did you or did you not try to take the throne?"

"No," Ned replied as he looked her in the eyes. "I did not try to take the throne, I do not want it." He stated. "Anari, listen to me, you and your sisters are not safe. You need to get out of King's Landing as soon as possible."

"I'm not leaving you," Anari frowned.

"Listen," Ned implored. "Don't trust anyone, alright? Not the Lannisters, not Lord Varys, not Littlefinger, no one."

"Lord Baelish?" Anari questioned. "He's been kind to me, father. Why can't I trust him?"

Ned's face darkened at her words.

"Did he touch you?" He asked.

"What?" Anari asked, her eyes wide. "Father, no, he hadn't done anything to me." She didn't understand why Ned didn't like Lord Baelish. "Why can't I trust him?"

"He's a liar, Anari," Ned replied. "He's one of the best liars here, you can't trust a single word that comes out of his mouth. He is not someone you should take lightly." Not only did Lord Baelish betray him, but he betrayed Catelyn as well. "He's the one that turned against me, I trusted him and he betrayed me."

Anari's face took on a similar expression to Ned's as her eyes hardened.

"I'll kill him," she whispered, feeling her anger rise. Anari felt used at that moment; all this time he'd been trying to befriend her and he had been leading up to doing this. He used her in such a way that she would believe him and not question his lies.

It seemed ironic now, as he had been the one to insist that she and Sansa were innocent of her father's supposed crimes. "No," Ned replied. "Don't draw attention to yourself," he implored. "You need to be here for your sisters. If anything happens to me, they need to be able to turn to you."

"No harm shall come to Sansa while I'm around," Anari promised. "Not if I can help it."

"What of Arya?" Ned questioned, curious as to why she left out her youngest sister.

Anari frowned in return, as she realized he didn't know. "I don't know where she is," she replied. "She fled her dancing lessons, Syrio, he-" She cut herself off with a sigh. He tried to protect Arya, and he died doing so. "Syrio was killed protecting her, she managed to escape."

Ned frowned, however, he knew there really wasn't much anyone could do. Both of them froze, however, when they heard footsteps approaching. The guard was coming back, and Ned knew Anari needed to leave.