House Frey was dead. House Frey had practically been wiped out from Westeros, and Lyanna was responsible for that. Part of her felt bad, not all of them that she'd killed had been there when Robb had been murdered. However, another part of her enjoyed watching all of those Frey's die horrific deaths, and she relished in the fact she'd killed Walder Frey; this was the side of her she feared.
Sure, Lyanna wanted revenge for what had happened to her family, especially for her brother Robb, but to massacre an entire house? Maybe it hadn't been honourable, but neither had accepting Robb into his home and then killing him.
Lyanna realised she hadn't fully registered Robb's death until she came back to Westeros. Even in High Garden she had her happiness with Willas providing a good distraction from Robb, but now she was here at the Twins, now she had stood where he died, where he had thought 'this is it, this is the end' everything was catching up to her, exhausting her mentally and physically. She had missed Robb everyday she had been in Kings Landing, and confined to think about him everyday she was in the east, sometimes the only thought which kept her going was that soon she would find her brother, and everything could go back to the way it was, or at least as close to the past as possible. Without Robb, things would never be normal again.
It didn't help either when she found his bones in the cellar, and Lyanna realised that the skull was missing. Of course it was, since she found Grey Wind's next to Robb's bones, and Lyanna concluded, despite the sick feeling in her stomach, that Walder Frey had been right about them parading Robb about with Grey Wind stitched to him degradingly. It physically hurt her to see her brother, a man who had been so great and strong, someone she'd looked up to her whole life, reduced to just a pile of bones.
"I can't do this myself," Lyanna swallowed, feeling tears prick her eyes and her stomach turn. "Robb..."
"Your Grace," Cassius interrupted, breaking up Lyanna's spiralling thoughts, much to her relief. "I know how it feels, my own brother was killed a few years ago, and when I finally found him he was just like this. My brother, he taught me to fight, and said that it didn't matter that I was a gi-" She caught herself confessing to her true gender, and then let out a gasp, going bright red, before correcting herself, coughing slightly. "I'll gather the bones together and have them put in the ship,"
"Thank you," Lyanna nodded, still feeling sick. She began to walk away, but then turned back. "Cassius? I did guess that you were... like me, but I don't mind. You're the best commander I have,"
Cassius simply nodded, but Lyanna saw a flicker of something in her eyes that said she was finally being accepted for who she truly was. Lyanna wanted to say something else, but her eyes caught the sight of Robb again, and the grief chased her from that cell, her stomach fully churning now to the point she genuinely felt sick. She ran to the next cell only to find herself keeling over, gagging, throwing up what little food she had eaten. Lyanna couldn't remember the last time she'd been sick like that, it had been so long ago, but finding herself in that state caused her to break down, as she began to sob.
It was all too much. She missed Robb, she missed Bran and Rickon, she missed her father, Alize, damn it, she even missed Lady Catelyn. As she sobbed and retched, she found her heart aching for High Garden, where her love of Willas had shielded her from breaking down about everything. She missed Brandon, her little boy, the one she had mourned so much for, and missed such a huge chunk of his life.
She'd missed so much of his life whilst in the east, so what in seven hells was she doing here?
"If you think it's bad now, try being prisoner next to the rotting corpse of your king, your own nephew," she heard a voice call to her, making her jump. "Forgive me, my lady, but it's been so long since I've seen someone who's not a Frey,"
Lord Walder had been right about this too, as sat in front of her was Lord Edmure, the rightful lord of Riverrun. He had the blue Tully eyes, similar to Robb's, though his hair wasn't auburn like his sisters. Instead it was a faded brown, and shaggy, like his beard, which made him look scruffy and disheveled. No wonder really, since he's been there since the Red Wedding.
"You'll probably not be seeing any Frey's ever again," Lyanna choked out, standing back up straighter, wiping away her tears. "I'm assuming you're Edmure Tully?"
"And I'm assuming you're Lyanna Stark? Your brother used to speak so highly of you," he spoke again, and at the mention of Robb, she felt her heart sink; she'd disappointed him by going east. "He talked of making you and Jon his successors, not that it made my sister happy much, not really anything about you did,"
"Trust me, I know that," Lyanna rolled her eyes, remembering a childhood of harsh glares and snide comments. "I miss Robb, that's why I'm here, to put everything right, not that it'll bring him or his wife or Lady Catelyn or any of the others back,"
"Now that the Frey's are dead, the Riverlands are Tully lands again," Edmure stated, staggering to his feet; he looked so drained and weak. "And House Tully would be honoured to fight beside you if you are to overthrow the Boltons,"
***
House Tully was pledged to House Stark once more. After the Red Wedding, the survivors of the Tully army had reformed under Brynden Blackfish Tully, their numbers being around three hundred. That meant Lyanna had three hundred and fifty of her own men, as well as a reserve force of Tully's on call at about three hundred.
Things were starting to look good for Lyanna, but yet she couldn't quite get away from the image of Robb, and the realisation that she'll always be caught up in her childhood memories, since her time as a youth had been robbed from her the day she first stepped foot in King's Landing. To take her mind off everything, Lyanna decided to set off on her own with Winter through the surrounding forest, taking one of her soldiers horses as the rest of her party set off back to the ship.
It had been so long since she had rode on her own, and it was a thrilling sensation to feel her horse gallop, her hair blowing out behind her in the wind. Winter running alongside, it reminded Lyanna of all the times it had just been the two of them, making her smile at the thought that, no matter what had happened in her life, she always had Winter. Her one constant in an ever-changing life.
Lyanna slowed the horse down to a trot and he mind turned to Snow. She'd been a good horse and Lyanna wished she still had her. She'd been so much faster than Jon or Robb's horse, and Lyanna had enjoyed boasting about that to them. When she got to Castle Black, Lyanna decided that she would find a new horse, one that was really hers, not one she had to borrow.
That was when Lyanna decided she should head back, only to realise she didn't really know where she was. Looking around, she saw the trees and the stoney ground, and the memories hit her like a slap in the face. This was where they had stayed on the way to King's Landing at the inn, where Nymeria had bitten Joffrey, where Arya went missing, where Winter's life was spared by Lyanna's future husband. Lyanna remembered searching this very same forest with her father, her hand gripped around a flaming torch, Winter at her heels howling, her throat raw from shouting for her sister for so long. In her minds eye, Lyanna, saw Ned's face, stricken with grief and panic at the thought of Arya lost, and then his face turned afire with fury as he found out the Lannisters had her.
The Lanisters had them all, whether they knew it at that moment or not. Lyanna and her father especially were in the lions paw, him being the hand, and her being the future wife to Joffrey. Arya and Sansa were children, but that didn't stop the lions making their move onto them.
A pack of wolves, separated from their home, surrounded in the by lions in their pit.
As Lyanna thought about wolves, she heard Winter begin to howl, her ears pricking up as she sniffed the air. Frowning, Lyanna hopped off her horse, holding onto the reins with one hand, using the other to pull out her sword, feeling wary about her surroundings and Winter's behaviour. The wolf howled again, and then padded closer towards the edge of the trees, sniffing into the forest. In the same moment, Lyanna felt a presence surround her, and when she turned, she saw that they were surrounded by wolves.
They were wild, but small. Not purebred dire wolves, but still dangerous. Lyanna swallowed, biting her lip. There were too many, even for her and Winter. Her breath caught in her throats as Lyanna realised that this might be the way she died. How ironic.
Suddenly, two huge shadows jumped over the circling wolves, landing gracefully and letting out vicious snarls. It took Lyanna a moment to realise that these were wolves too, but she recognised them. They were huge compared to the other wolves, the size of Winter. Their markings and their eyes were similar to Winter's, and after the once threatening pack sulked away, their tails between their legs, Lyanna fully registered who these dire wolves were.
Lady. Nymeria.
Lyanna knew that the two of them would still be alive, but she never expected to see them again. The last time she'd seen them she was a young girl, going into the unknown, and seeing them reminded her of her childhood.
After the threat was gone, the two padded over to Lyanna, their ears still pricked up, their top lips still raised showing previous aggression. Lyanna went to her knees, getting to their level as she put away her sword, holding out both hands.
"Lady, Nymeria," she gasped out. "It's me, girls, Lyanna. I'm going home, back north to find Jon and Ghost. We'll find Arya and Sansa soon too,"
At the girls names, the once snarling wolves calmed, moving closer to Lyanna to the extent they began to rub their heads against her hands.
"I know, I miss them too," Lyanna sighed, her heart aching as she thought of her sisters. "We'll find them when we go home, I promise. Come with me, girls... please?"
Then all of a sudden Winter bounded back towards them, making small howls of delight. Lyanna laughed as the two other wolves pounced on their sister, the three beginning to chase each other, licking one another the way they did as pups. It was truly heartwarming, and made Lyanna feel happiness in a way she hadn't in so long, even after marrying Willas and finding Brandon again. This was happiness like she felt in her childhood, and was the best kind.
So, when Lyanna mounted her horse once more, she was followed by a wolf pack.
'When the long night comes, the lone wolf dies but the pack survives,' Lyanna thought. 'Now it's time to find my pack again,'
***
Word count: 1975
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Hey guys!
Lyanna's heading up north so you know what that means; Jonanna reunion!
Remember to comment and vote!
~Olivia