LION'S LEGACY
44. Combat
Just before the trial, Lyanna was standing in the underground tunnels of the Keep. Torra stood with her, both of them carrying swords as they sparred with each other.
They stopped briefly and Torra found herself giving Lyanna a concerned look. "Where are you, Lyanna?" She suddenly asked, causing Lyanna to turn to her.
"What?" She asked, a puzzled look on her face, "What do you mean?"
"Clearly, you are not here," She answered, taking a step toward her younger sister, "What's on your mind?"
"Nothing," Lyanna lied, shaking her head in response.
"You and I both know it isn't nothing. Is it about the trial?" Torra asked her younger sister in concern.
"Do you think I'm doing the right thing?" Lyanna suddenly asked, giving Torra an uneasy look.
"I'm not the person you should be asking," Torra argued, shaking her head in disapproval.
"You are. I know that you'd never lie to me," Lyanna paused, letting out a small sigh in defeat, "And believe it or not, I trust you more than anyone. I trust that you'll tell me if I'm being a fool for doing this."
"I believe you're free to make your own mistakes, but you must know that there is a chance you will not survive this, Lyanna. You could die," Torra explained, an uneasy look on her face.
"Do you think I'm afraid of dying?" She questioned, sighing in frustration, "I may be only thirteen, but Mother has raised each of us not to fear what comes after death. If I die, I die. At least I'll know that I died for a cause I believe in."
After hearing her words, Torra began to smile, proud of Lyanna's response.
"You want my advice? I think you're doing the right thing. Not because I believe it's the right thing to do, but because I know you're doing this because you want to. You know you have a chance of dying and you do not care. I think you should do it." Torra explained, oblivious to the real reason Annalys didn't want Lyanna to fight.
"If I win, it means I've killed someone," Lyanna admitted, a hint of fear in her eyes.
"It does," Torra replied, nodding her head in confirmation.
"Have you ever killed someone?" Lyanna found herself asking Torra.
It was as though she didn't know who she was talking to. At just ten years old, Lyanna's father had witnessed Torra throw a Thenn off the ship sailing them out of Hardhome, just because she grew tired of him.
Seeing Torra nod her head, Lyanna felt uneasy. "How many?" Lyanna found herself asking Torra, who knew that was the last thing Lyanna would want to her.
"I don't think you want to know that, little sister," Torra confessed and Lyanna found herself feeling nervous, "I'm surprised you don't remember."
"Remember what?" Lyanna asked, not having the slightest clue about what Torra was getting at.
"Years ago, when I first came to Winterfell, there was an assassin. He tried to kill you and I saved you. I killed him by shooting him through the throat with a crossbow," Torra explained, causing Lyanna's eyes to widen in shock, "I was ten at the time."
"Was that your first kill?" Lyanna questioned Torra, who couldn't help but laugh.
"Definitely not," Torra admitted, shaking her head in response, "I was a wildling, after all. I was forced to kill many times in order to protect myself from warring clans before my mother and Mance raider united the Free Folk Clans."
Lyanna was taken aback a bit, shocked that Torra had actually mentioned her mother and her past as a wildling. She rarely ever did that. She didn't like to mention her mother, no one in the castle did, especially Annalys. It was a tough subject for their mother, that was for sure.
"How does it feel?" Lyanna found herself asking Torra, giving her elder sister a concerned look, "To kill someone?"
"It changes you. You feel the life of that person drained out of them. It's something you'll never take back," Torra explained, knowing there was no point in lying to the girl.
Lyanna opened her mouth to ask more questions, only to have their conversation interrupted when Eddard walked toward the group.
He turned to Torra, a pleading look on his face. Torra sighed in annoyance, giving Lyanna a parting look before walking away.
Before Lyanna couldn't react, Eddard slapped her on the back of the head, as if it were supposed to snap some sense into his reckless and impulsive sister. "Are you mad?!" He complained loudly, giving his sister an angry look, "How can you do this, Lyanna? How could you sacrifice yourself like this?"
"You want to know why I did it? I did it for Joanna!" Lyanna shouted at Eddard, tears beginning to form in her eyes, "She's innocent compared to the rest of us. You saw what happened when she lost Lady. What do you think will happen when Tyrion dies? She'll be broken. She'll lose all her innocence and she'll become cold at the heart like the rest of us. I refuse to let that happen."
Hearing his sister's words, Eddard's eyes softened, finally understanding why she was doing it.
He remained silent, watching as Lyanna began to quietly cry. She was scared of what was yet to occur, despite looking so confident in front of everyone else. It was different when she was around Eddard. They might not have gotten along most of the time, but Eddard was still her twin.
They could see and understand things about each other that no one else could. They were each other's twin. They came into the world together, they would always be apart of each other, no matter what.
Eddard took a step toward Lyanna. He placed his hands on both sides of her face, forcing her to look up at him instead of at the ground as she began to cry. "Listen to me, Lyanna," Eddard pleaded in a soft tone, "You must stay strong."
"I can't stay strong," Lyanna argued, beginning to cry in her brother's arms, "I was never strong, no matter how much I tried to seem like it."
"You are strong," Eddard argued in a stern tone, trying to snap some sense into his twin sister as he forced her to look him in the eye, "You are the future of our house, Lyanna. The heir to the Iron Throne. You are the strongest of us all."
He was right he was, believe it or not. Many years would go by before Lyanna realized that her brother was, indeed, right. She'd survive things that was something each other sibling knew they'd never be able to live through and endure.
___
Hours later, it was finally time for the trial by combat. Eddard and Torra stood off to the side, watching their sister prepare for the fight while the rest of the children sat in the stands of the fighting pits with her mother.
On her own, Lyanna began to secure her armor. Before she could continue to do so, a squire rushed over from where he stood, beginning to help her. She sighed in defeat, just before allowing him to help her. She wore armor similar to her mother's, but also a bit like her father's.
"You seem confident about winning," A familiar voice spoke up, causing the entire group to turn their heads to find Robb standing before them. He looked directly at Lyanna, narrowing her eyes at his eldest daughter, "End this madness, Lyanna. Quit the trial. You shouldn't be doing this."
"Why not, Father?" Lyanna asked Robb in annoyance, "It's not like anyone else will fight for Tyrion."
"Why do you have to?" Robb retorted coldly, but his eyes told Lyanna that he was terrified of losing his daughter, "You could die, Lyanna. Don't you understand that?"
"Today is not the day I die, Father," Lyanna assured her father, a large smile on her face. "Wish me luck," She jokingly commented, just before walking toward the fighting pits.
Before she could reach the fighting pits, however, her path was blocked by Jaime, causing her to sigh in annoyance, "Come to stop me, Grandfather?" She snapped at Jaime, who shook his head.
"The exact opposite, actually," Jaime argued, much to Lyanna'd shock, "This warning isn't just from me, it's from your mother. She says you're quicker than Lord Redwyne. You can beat him. She knows that for a fact. Just don't let your arrogance get the best of you. It's how I lost my hand," He explained to Lyanna, causing her to nod in understanding, "Good luck."
Before leaving, Jaime suddenly slipped Lyanna Lady's Wrath, much to her confusion. Lyanna opened her mouth, on the verge of questioning Jaime on why her mother had a sudden change of heart about giving her Lady's Wrath, and why she didn't tell her herself. More specifically, why she had a change of heart in the first place. Before she could question him, however, he had walked off without another word said.
Lyanna's attention went elsewhere as she heard the horns blare, causing her to turn to look at Qyburn, "In the sight of gods and men, we gather to ascertain the guilt or innocence of this man Tyrion Lannister..." He trailed off, gesturing toward Tyrion, "May the Mother grant them mercy. May the Father give them such justice as they deserve. And may the Warrior guide the hand of our champion..."
Before Qyburn could finish the announcement, Annalys made a gesture to speed up the process, seeing as though she wanted the trial to just be done and over it. As much as she wanted Tyrion to die, she wanted her daughter to live more. She knew something was wrong just by the way Lord Redwyne insisted on being her champion, despite everyone else refusing since they knew to win, they'd have to kill the heir to the Iron Throne.
Lyanna heard the horns sound once more, meaning it was time for the fight. The crowds cheered as Lyanna walked around the pits, next to Lord Redwyne, a man more than twice her age and far larger.
Lyanna felt a bit uneasy, knowing what was on the verge of happening. Either, she made her first kill or she would be killed herself.
She glanced upwards, watching as Rhaegal rode around in the sky, screeching and roaring.
Lyanna tightly grasped Lady's Wrath in her hand, taking a deep breath. Alfrid Redwyne eyed the sword in her hand closely, recognizing it to be her mother's sword. It made him tense up a bit, but he tried his best to hide how nervous he was.
If Lady's Wrath gave Lyanna the same power the sword gave her mother, Lyanna would be unstoppable.
Without hesitation, he swung at Lyanna, who was quick to avoid his form of attacks. He lunged at Lyanna, but the girl deflected his sword with her own before slashing him across the chest. Of course, his armor protected himself from the slash, but he nearly stumbled forward and lost his balance because of it.
Lyanna continued to swing at the man, but the man was quicker with his swings than her due to having more experience with fighting. However, Lyanna was quicker when it came to body movements.
Their swords soon became deadlocked and Lyanna struggled with fighting back.
As she watched, Annalys felt uneasy, knowing if she were Lyanna, she would have put honor aside and began to play dirty in order to win.
As if her thoughts had been read, Annalys and the crowds watched as Lyanna spit in the man's face, causing him to stumble backward, distracted by what she had done. She ended up kicking him in the legs, causing him to drop to his knees.
With that, she kicked him in the face and after he fell backward, she ended up stealing his sword. With a sword in each hand, Lyanna moved toward the man who laid on the ground.
She stared down at him, hesitant to take his life. She took a deep breath, feeling uneasy. Just as she was finally growing the courage to kill the man, Alfrid sat up and tripped Lyanna with his own legs.
Lyanna cried out as she fell to the ground, looking upwards as Alfrid rose from the ground, sword in hand. He went to slash down at her, only to have Lyanna roll out of the way to dodge it.
With that, she retrieved Lady's Wrath from laying on the ground and stood back up.
Alfrid swung at her and Lyanna arched her back, avoiding his swing completely. She swung at him and on purpose, she went slow enough to allow him to grab ahold of her.
Just as she expected, Alfrid forced her into a kneel. However, as he did so, she elbowed him as hard as she could in the leg. As he fell to the ground, she rose back to her feet and kneed him as hard as she could in the face. He fell backward and Lyanna spun Lady's Wrath in her hand.
Blood covering his face, Lord Alfrid Redwyne looked upwards to find Lyanna on the verge of killing him.
"Do it," The man encouraged her in a stern tone, "Your mother already killed my brother and the majority of House Florent. We all know it. You kill me, you ensure that the Reach will wage war on your family and rebel. But if you don't kill me, I will kill you."
Hearing his words, Lyanna's eyes widened in shock. She had no idea if what he was saying was true and if he was being truthful, what decision was she supposed to make?
If she let him kill her in order to save the rest of her family, Tyrion would die, Joanna would be ruined, and there was a chance that the Reach would declare war any way.
If his threat was real and she did kill him, Lord Florent would die and the Reach would surely rebel.
It seemed as though either choice she made, her family was in danger.
Lyanna slowly glanced upwards at her mother, who watched closely. She turned her head, looking toward Tyrion, who had an unreadable expression on his face. Soon enough, her eyes locked on Torra, who slowly nodded her head in encouragement, not even knowing what Lyanna's real reason for being so hesitant was.
Inhaling sharply, Lyanna wasted no time driving her sword through Alfrid's chest. The man looked unbothered, however, practically smiling in relief as he was killed like the madman he was secretly was.
Not having the slightest clue what Lyanna had learned, Annalys gradually began to smile. She rose from her seat, ready to address the crowd. "The Gods have made their will known, as it seems," She announced loudly, "Tyrion Lannister, I, Queen Annalys of the House Lannister, First of My Name, Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar, the Free Folk, and the First Men, hereby pardon you for your crimes."
Joanna smiled happily, relieved by the news. Lyanna, however, stood in place, staring down at the man she had killed. Believe it or not, the fact that she had made her first kill didn't bother her as Torra said it would.
What bothered her was the fact that she had no idea if by killing him, she had started a war. And despite the fact that she should have told her mother and father, Lyanna didn't, not realizing her mother was already aware of the threat but didn't have enough evidence to do anything about it.
For two years, Lyanna wouldn't tell anyone about what Lord Redwyne said and because so many years had passed, she believed Lord Redwyne had been lying.
How wrong she was.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
There will be a two year time jump next chapter! You'll see the children a bit older and that will be where all the trouble begins 😭😬