LION'S LEGACY
50. Now it Ends
North of King's Landing, at an abandoned tower, Ser Edric Dayne, Ser Edmyn Hightower, and Ser Steffon Oakheart sat outside together in utter silence, preparing for the fight that was yet to come.
From afar, the three members of Annalys' Queensguard noticed riders approaching, ones that were clearly not Lannister loyalists, but members of the rebels.
Ser Steffon had been sharpening his sword when he spotted the riders. He exchanged a brief look with Edmyn and Edric, who nodded in response. They knew what had to be done.
A content look on his face, Edric walked over to where his Queensguard helmet rested on a nearby rock. He picked it up, holding it in his arms as he walked back over to Edmyn and Steffon, who were now standing.
They each prepared to place their helmets on. Usually, it was never required of them, but now, they had to because the upcoming fight would a fight to the death. Either they won and killed the rebels, or what resided inside the tower would die.
The riders soon came to a stop and climbed off their horses, wasting no time moving toward the three members of Annalys' Queensguard. Despite there being nine rebels and only three Queensguard knights, it was obvious the knights had the upper hand.
Annalys wasn't dumb. She always made sure the best in Westeros was sworn to her. They had no match and could take on three of those men by themselves at ease. Especially Edric, who not only fought better than anyone in Westeros other than his queen, but also fought harder than any other man would because the royal family was practically his family. He had been there since the beginning, unlike most of the people Annalys usually had surrounding her. He'd fight for her and her family until his last breath, even Annalys herself was dead.
And Annalys wasn't a fool. She made sure the two of the best knights on her Queensguard made it out of King's Landing alive before it was too late. Those men were Ser Edric and Ser Edmyn. The only one who had the chance of beating Ser Stefan, however, was Ser Rickard Royce, but he wasn't there.
The three knights stopped when they were standing in front of the nine rebels. Edric stood in front of the two other knights, holding his Queensguard helmet in one hand while sticking Dawn in the ground in front of him as he prepared himself for the upcoming fight.
It was as if the history behind the Battle at the Tower of Joy was repeating itself, with a Sword of the Morning of House Dayne leading the royalists against the rebels. Leading the members of a deadly Queensguard, at that.
Edric glanced around each of the rebels, recognizing each of them to be members of either the Redwyne, Hightower, or Tyrell family. And despite Edmyn being a Hightower himself, he had been in the same position as Edric and Jeyne Crakehall when they met Annalys. They were outcasts to their families and were cast out early on in their lives, which caused them to soon find their way to Annalys in the first place.
"Lord Tyrell," Edric greeted the man standing before him in a content tone.
"We looked for you in the capital," The Tyrell man admitted, looking directly at Edric.
"We weren't there," Edric answered in a calm tone, shaking his head slightly.
"The usurpers would have been dead within the seconds of walking through the castle walls if we had been," Edmyn added in, every single man there knowing it was the absolute truth.
"Queen Annalys and King Robb are dead," He informed the three knights in a calm tone, "Prince Eddard and Princess Lyanna are, too. Why weren't you there to protect the royal family?"
"Our Queen wanted us here," Steffon spoke up in a calm tone, referring to the fact that last of the Lannister-Stark children were located inside the tower.
"Where is he?" One of the other rebels suddenly asked, but the three knights remained silent, "Hand him over, surrender to the new royal family, and perhaps she will pardon you."
"We know no Queen but the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms whose name is Annalys Lannister," Ser Steffon responded in a stern tone.
"Surrender and perhaps we'll give you lot a quick death," Edmyn added in, smirking slightly, "Because it isn't a secret you signed your death sentences by coming here, making demands of us as if you're entitled to. We do not serve you. We never will."
"I wish you good fortune in the wars to come," Edric found himself speaking up, being far more honorable and polite with his words, unlike his two sworn brothers.
The three knights remained silent as they placed on their Queensguard helmets, preparing to fight the rebels to the death, even if it cost them their own lives.
"And now it begins," Lord Tyrell found himself commenting, taking a step toward Edric.
"No, my lord," Edric replied, not looking to fearful of the fact that the majority of the men were coming toward him instead of Ser Steffon and Ser Edmyn, "Now, it ends."
All at once, Edric, Edmyn, and Steffon unsheathed their swords and only seconds later, the rebels did the same.
However, each man loyal to the rebels were clearly nervous and uneasy, which Edric, Edmyn, and Steffon were quick to notice.
Of course, it was expected. Those men knew most of them would most likely die that day, presumably at the hands of Ser Edric.
Ser Arthur Dayne had been the legendary fighter of their father's time, but in their time, Ser Edric Dayne was that person. The man no one wanted to go up against.
Ser Edmyn Hightower was just as lethal, but many didn't know that. Ser Edmyn became apart of Annalys' Household when Annalys had already taken the Iron Throne and made peace with the kingdoms. That didn't mean he couldn't carve through each of those poor excuses for knights like he'd carve through a cake.
Some foolish man standing behind the Tyrell man took it upon himself to be the first to place an attack, not realizing he was signing his own death sentence.
He swung at Edric, who deflected the man's hit with his own sword at ease. With a single swipe, he slashed the man across his chest, causing the man to fall to the ground, nearly dead.
One came toward Ser Steffon, believing him to be the weak link. If only they knew.
The man slashed his sword at him twice, but missed both times. His body whipped around and he immediately attempted to turn to face Steffon once more. He tried to backhand the knight with the hilt of his sword, only end up with a sword impaling him right through the chest.
Three men surrounded Ser Edmyn but he didn't seem bothered. He tightly grasped his sword in his hand, preparing himself to kill each and every one of him to protect those inside the tower. And it wasn't just little Edric.
He slashed through the first man before side-stepping, avoiding the second man's hit. With that, he swung at that man, purposely missing to distract him before he put his sword through the man's throat.
He turned the last man, who watched him warily. Edmyn smirked slightly, gesturing for him to move toward him. The man stepped forward, on the verge of attacking him. He swung, only to have Edmyn duck before slashing him across the chest.
Four other men were swinging at Edric, but he deflected their forms of attack with Dawn as if it were the easiest thing in the world.
Edric turned clockwise, pointing at the four men daringly. "You want to kill me? Try it!" He encouraged them and within seconds, the first idiot who was dumb enough to think he could win against the Sword of the Morning stepped forward.
The three others came toward him as well and all four fought Edric at once, yet somehow, they still failed miserably at defeating him. He kicked one of them in the chest, causing him to stumble back.
Knowing someone was behind him, the unknown man turned, only end up being impaled through the chest by Ser Steffon.
Still, three men stood in front of Edric, but he was not intimidated. He kicked one of them in the knee, causing them to fall into a kneel. As he went to stand back up, he ended up being slashed across the neck with Dawn.
Edric picked up the dead man's sword, holding it in his left hand. The man began to swing numerous times, but failed at killing Edric. As Edric deflected the man's hits, he suddenly began to realize how the man felt familiar, besides being known as a Tyrell.
He was the man who attacked Lyanna in the Sept and attempted to slit her throat.
Despite never letting his emotions get in the way of his duty as a knight, he couldn't help it. The man standing before him was the man who tried to kill Princess Lyanna, the girl who was like a daughter to Edric, the girl he had known since she was a baby.
Now, she was sixteen and presumed dead. He couldn't stop thinking about it. And for once, Edric began to unleash his anger with Dawn, which made him an even more lethal fighter than usual.
The man swung at Edric and the Dayne man ducked, picking up an abandoned sword off the ground. He held the sword in his left hand and Dawn in his right.
He rose to his feet and before the Tyrell man could attempt to kill Edric, the Sword of the Morning placed the swords at each side of the man's neck before slicing his throat.
Only seconds later, Edric turned to the last man, running his sword through the man's chest as if it were nothing.
After the man's dead body hit the ground, Edric, Edmyn, and Steffon turned to each other, realizing that none of them seemed to have a single scratch on them, unlike the nine dead bodies that surrounded them.
"You wanted a proper fight during our queen's reign, Edmyn, it seems you got it," Edric found himself speaking up as glancingly glanced between the two knights, "I will you give you the choice now. Leave now and face no consequences or assist me in protecting the remaining children of Annalys and Robb until they come of age to take back their thrones."
"Is that even a question?" Ser Steffon questioned, letting out a large scoff, "We're not turncoats like Rickard and Loras. I don't know about Edmyn, but I promised to serve Annalys and her family until my dying breath. I will continue to do so, even if the queen herself is dead."
Edric nodded in understanding before turning to look at Edmyn with a questioning look. "It'll be hard fighting on the opposing side of the man I love," He paused, referring to Loras, "But so be it. I'm not a turncoat. I don't break oaths."
"Good," Edric replied, letting out a small sigh in defeat, "Then, it seems I must tell you the rest of the what's truly going on," He informed the two men, who gave him a questioning look, "Prince Torrhen and Prince Edric aren't the only children alive."
Steffon and Edmyn's eyes widened, shocked by the revelation. They only managed to escape with little Edric while allowing Torrhen to travel to Winterfell with Aden's help, how did the rest survive?
"What are you talking about?" Edmyn found himself asking in confusion, "The children are dead. We saw Princess Lyanna's throat cut and Prince Eddard stabbed four times."
"And all three of us heard the stories on the way here," Steffon added in a calm tone, "The men said Joanna was raped and then killed. Rickard was killed, too."
"But they're also saying that Prince Torrhen was killed and his direwolf's head was sewn onto his body," Edric retorted coldly, "But the three of us know he's alive and well and heading North as we speak," He paused, letting out a small sigh, "I will tell you right now. I know for a fact Prince Rickard and Princess Joanna are alive. Their elder sister got them out of there alive. I'm the only one she told. She didn't tell me where, but they're being kept safe by people loyal to the royal family. As for Prince Eddard, I haven't the slightest clue if he's alive. Princess Lyanna...Well, I believe we would have heard someone boasting about killing the heir to the Iron Throne, but we didn't."
"She's alive, then," Edmyn realized, his eyes widening in disbelief, "But where?"
"I don't know," Edric confessed in a calm tone, "But I have the feeling I know where she'll be traveling to if she's alive," He paused, giving the two men a questioning, "The place where she knows she'll be kept safe by thousands of loyal followers."
"Casterly Rock," Steffon admitted quietly and Edric nodded in confirmation.
"Ser Edmyn, Ser Steffon, you must meet Prince Torrhen at Winterfell. He'll be there in due time," He instructed, speaking sternly, "He is the Lord of Winterfell now that his father and brother are dead. Ser Jaime and Ser Brienne are searching the South for Prince Rickard and Princess Lyanna as we speak. As for Princess Joanna...Torra claims she is at a place where no one can reach her."
The two men turned to Edric, giving him a questioning look. Where could Joanna be where no one could reach her? Where was Lyanna?
Better yet, where was Eddard and how did he escape with his life?
____
Several miles North of King's Landing, Eddard's unconscious and dying body was carried off of the horse he had placed on by four men. They lifted him up, carrying into the small cottage to keep him hidden from any passing rebels. Dusk, who hadn't left Eddard's side since finding him in the Sept, followed after them, not fighting the men who were taking Eddard's body since he knew they would be able to help him. All of the direwolves ended up finding their way back to their owners before they fled, all but Grey Wind, whose whereabouts were left unknown after saving Rickard.
Moments later, he was placed on a small cot before an unknown girl and Qyburn, of all people, entered.
They sat down next to Eddard's dying body. The unknown girl ripped open Eddard's shirt, revealing the four stab wounds on his abdomen and his side, blood covering the entirety of his lower torso due to the massive amount of blood loss.
Qyburn and the unknown girl looked down closely, examining the boy's wounds.
Just then, the doors opened again, revealing Varys and Davos standing before them. "How is he?" Ser Davos found himself asking in a calm tone, despite feeling concerned.
"He's gravely injured," The girl answered, her Dornish accent thick as she spoke to him, "Qyburn and I can tend to his wounds and ease the pain, but there is no guarantees that he will survive."
"His mother is dead, his father is dead, his brothers and sisters are dead," Varys pointed out to Qyburn and the girl, "He is the rightful heir to the Iron Throne. If he does not survive this, we will be forced to accept the Usurpers."
"Would that be such a bad idea?" The girl suddenly asked, much to everyone's disbelief, "Queen Annalys was a wonderful ruler and we all loved her deeply, but what the Tyrells claim she did..." She trailed off, beginning to look uneasy, "She killed her own brother, her grandfather, lied about the parentage of three of her children, killed the majority of the Florent family, killed Shireen Baratheon, assassinated many good lords to gain their allegiance, and bedded the Lord Commander of her Queensguard."
"Don't..." Eddard managed to get out, struggling to speak due to being close to dying while his eyes remained shut, "Do not talk of my mother as if you knew her."
"My apologies, my prince," The girl genuinely apologized, a saddened look on her face at his state.
She turned to the guards and Varys, gesturing for them to leave. "We will give him something to sleep so that we may treat him. Clear the room. It's the best thing for him."
Davos looked hesitant but nodded anyway. He exchanged a look with Qyburn before leaving the room with Varys and the guards.
The girl looked down at Eddard, giving him a saddened look. "We will be putting you to sleep, my prince. With milk of the poppy," She informed Eddard in a polite tone.
She turned to look, only to end up stopping when she felt someone grab onto her hand. She looked down, seeing that Eddard managed to grab ahold of him. "No milk of the poppy," He muttered, weakly shaking his head.
"But my prince--" She began to say, only to have Eddard's grip on her hand tighten.
"Please...no milk of the poppy," He pleaded softly and finally, the girl nodded.
"This will be a painful procedure without milk of the poppy, but if that is what you want, it will happen," Qyburn spoke up, interrupting the conversation between the girl and Eddard, "Allyria, take his hand and hold it for me. I believe it will ease a bit of the pain he will endure."
Allyria frowned, wondering why, for the first time in years, she wasn't performing surgery herself. She was a skilled nurse, despite being so young. Everyone she ever came across knew that.
For hours, Allyria held onto Eddard's hand, watching over him as he yelled, grunted, winced, and groaned in pain while Qyburn stitched him up.
Soon enough, he was treated and Allyria left briefly for reasons unknown to the prince and Qyburn. When she returned, however, she found Qyburn placing a wet cloth on Eddard's forehead. "How is he?" She found herself asking Qyburn in genuine concern.
"The wound is closing, but the fever hasn't broken yet. If it doesn't break by tonight, he'll die," Qyburn explained in a calm tone, causing to look Allyria to look uneasy and concerned, despite not knowing Eddard that well.
"Stop it, Qyburn," Eddard demanded, weakly opening his eyes to finally see what the girl looked like, "You're scaring the poor girl."
"How are you feeling, my prince?" Allyria found herself asking Eddard, despite him not being a prince anymore now that the Tyrell's power in King's Landing was official.
Many people were unhappy, but with the entire Lannister-Stark family presumed dead, they were forced to accept the new royal family since they needed food to survive and the only place to get food they needed was the Reach.
"Nearing my untimely death, as it seems," Eddard answered, looking up at Allyria while trying his hardest to contain his heartbreak and sadness, "It was expected, I suppose. After all, the rest of my family is dead."
Qyburn and Allyria gave him a puzzled look, wondering how he knew that. "I might have had my eyes closed the entire time you were operating on me, but that didn't make me deaf," Eddard complained with an attitude, refusing to them speaking of the supposed 'deaths' of Eddard's entire family while they had been working on him.
"You need rest, my prince," Qyburn insisted, speaking politely to the boy who always seemed to dislike him.
He viewed Qyburn to be odd and unethical with his practices. Like his father, Eddard didn't like Qyburn, but tolerated him for his mother's sake. She enjoyed the man's presence and trusted him more than most. She had trusted him longer than Eddard had been alive.
Oddly enough, Eddard was at least thankful that his mother would have died giving birth to him and Lyanna if it hadn't been for Qyburn.
Lyanna. She tried to save him and now, she was most likely dead. His twin was dead and that broke his heart even more than the news of his other siblings' deaths. His mother and father were right. A twin's bond with each other was stronger than anything else they would ever feel and Eddard felt as though a part of him was missing after learning of her death.
"What I need is some water," Eddard spoke up, snapping himself out of his thoughts. They hurt him too much, to be reminded of the fact that he was the only one left.
After Qyburn stood up, Eddard got a clear view of Allyria. She was beautiful, to say the least. Prettier than the girls he involved himself with in King's Landing. She was clearly Dornish and if Olyvar had been there, he'd accuse him of only taking a liking toward her because she was 'exotic'. Perhaps he would
be right.
That was when he realized something. Olyvar was alive. He wasn't the only member of his family left alive.
Eddard forced himself to stop thinking about his lost family and instead kept his attention on Allyria, someone he hoped could be a distraction from everything.
"And..." He trailed off, weakly looking up at Allyria, "Perhaps, more of that lovely concerned frown of yours."
Allyria found himself smiling softly, nodding her head in response, "I believe I can do that for you, My Prince," She replied, on the verge of walking toward the prince who kept his eyes on her and refused to look anywhere else.
Eddard chuckled softly, watching as she walked over to him and took a seat at his bedside. He began to cough and Qyburn walked over with some water.
Before he could attempt to give it to the prince himself, Allyria took it from his grasp. On her own, she brought it to the prince's lips, assisting him with drinking the water.
"Allyria, you should leave now. I thank you for your help, but I believe the prince needs some rest in order to recover," Qyburn instructed and just as she was about to get up to leave, Eddard grabbed her by the hand.
She turned to give him a confused look, only to notice how, since the first time since she returned, Eddard wasn't looking at her and was instead glaring at Qyburn. "Every time I look at her, I feel better. Every time I look at you, I feel worse. She will stay with me. I thank you for your help, Qyburn, but I'd like you to leave now."
Qyburn sighed in defeat, nodding his head in understanding before leaving. Once the door closed, Eddard turned his attention to Allyria and nothing else.
"I know I barely know you, but I must get out of here," Eddard suddenly revealed to Allyria, whose eyes widen in shock.
"The people here are people loyal to your family," Allyria reminded Eddard in a hushed tone, "Qyburn, Davos Seaworth, Varys--"
"And he is exactly who I'm worried about," Eddard interrupted Allyria, who gave him a concerned look at his words, "He serves the realm, not my mother. He was once loyal to the Mad King and when he deemed him unworthy of ruling, he switched to the Baratheon side. During my uncle's reigns, he switched sides and started serving Daenerys Targaryen. When he no longer thought she was capable of ruling, he switched to my mother's side. My mother locked him up, but freed him because she couldn't bring herself to have him executed for some reason. Why would he be here, hoping for my recovery, when my mother locked him in a black cell for several months? Even if he believes in me taking the throne now, who's to say he'll think the same when thousands die after I call my banners and wage war against House Tyrell?"
Hearing the prince's words, Allyria's eyes widened in alarm. "What do you mean?" She asked, referring to his mention of waging war.
"What, did you believe I'd just travel to Winterfell and live out my days there after House Tyrell took my family's throne, killed my mother, my father, and all my siblings?" He explained, letting out a small sigh, "They will pay for this. My mother and father waged war against my mother's brother and my great-grandfather when they killed Ned Stark, my father's father. I will do the same and unlike my father, I will win without nearly dying at a wedding or being betrayed by the people following me."
Allyria remained silent for a long moment, taking in everything he was saying. "Is it true?" Eddard suddenly asked and by his tone of voice, Allyria noticed he was no longer speaking confidently or sternly.
He was talking like the heartbroken boy he truly was after presumably losing everything.
"Is it true what Qyburn said?" Eddard asked Allyria, trying his hardest not to break down as tears began to fill his eyes, "Did they truly cut off my brother's head and sew his direwolf's head onto my body? Did they really behead my sister Torra and send her head to the Wildlings? Did they truly rape my sister Joanna and then feed her to the hounds? Did they truly kill Rickard and Edric like my grandfather had the Targaryen children killed?" He paused, beginning to genuinely cry at his last words, "Did they really rape my mother and force my father to watch it before making my mother watch my father die, then slit her throat as well?"
Hearing all of Eddard's heartbroken questions, Allyria shrugged her shoulders. Tears filled her own eyes as she shook her head. "I don't know, my prince," She whispered softly.
"I'm not a prince," Eddard confessed, shaking his head, "Not anymore."
Allyria tried her best to contain her tears. She slowly took ahold of Eddard's hand, squeezing it in comfort as he began to cry, despite trying his best to fight it. "I'm sorry, Eddard," She confessed softly, finally not calling him 'my prince', "What they did to your family...was a terrible crime."
"Please. I don't want to talk about it anymore," Eddard argued, shaking his head, "Just help me get out of here. I can't trust anyone here. I must leave. I must travel North. I will be safe at Winterfell, until it's time to head to war."
"I will help you," Allyria hesitantly decided, nodding her head, "I will help you travel North."
"Thank you," Eddard whispered and instead of speaking anymore, he turned his head to avoid looking at her before he closed his eyes.
Allyria watched Eddard closely as he drifted off into a deep sleep. She looked saddened, heartbroken by the boy's state. He lost everything and now, all he had left was a need for vengeance.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Eddard is alive!!! Lyanna, Rickard, etc will appear next chapter And you'll soon find out where Annalys and Robb are