LION'S LEGACY
57. Khaleesi
Allyria tried her hardest not to cry as she ran as fast as she could through the woods, trying to outrun the Reachmen. They had freed her as they promised they would, but it didn't mean they intended to let her get far after.
She knew Annalys was alive. She was a threat. If anyone found out she was alive, the Tyrells were fucked.
Just then, someone grabbed her by the arm, pulling her toward them. Before she could let out a startled scream, the person placed a hand over her mouth. She was on the verge of fighting back, only to realize who it was. "Shh," Eddard whispered in her ear, slowly allowing Allyria to turn to face him, "It's me. It's me."
Allyria softly cried in utter relief, immediately jumping into Eddard's arms as he hugged her tightly, clearly thankful that they found each other. "You're safe, you're safe. I promise," He whispered in her ear, holding her close to his chest as she began to calm down now that she was in the prince's arms.
____
That night, Allyria and Eddard found themselves sitting on the ground together, preparing themselves to go to sleep in order to be ready to travel for the entirety of the next day.
"Allyria. I just wanted to tell you that what happened tonight..." Eddard trailed off, an uneasy look on his face.
"It wasn't your fault," Allyria assured the boy in a soft tone, grabbing his hand and squeezing it in comfort, "You couldn't have known."
"I shouldn't have let you go off by yourself. We should have stayed together," Eddard continued on, much to Allyria's dismay, "It will never be safe for you while traveling with me."
"I am my own person, Eddard. I make my own decision. I am here with you because I want to. Nothing will change that," She assured him, beginning to smile softly, "In all honesty, despite what has happened tonight, I've grown fond of spending my time with you. I dare say I haven't had this many events occur in my life until I met you."
Eddard chuckled softly, beginning to smile at Allyria.
The Dornish girl stared at Eddard closely, her eyes wandering down to his lips. Eddard was on the verge of leaning forward but before he could do so, Allyria turned her head. "We should get some rest. We'll have to wake at first-light if we want to make sure not to run into any more Reachmen," She suggested and Eddard awkwardly cleared his throat, nodding his head in agreement.
"You're right, we should," Eddard forced himself to reply, despite feeling odd about what Allyria had done.
Allyria smiled slightly at Eddard. She nodded her head as well, laying down on the grass since there was no other place to lay. Eddard laid down as well, both of them facing each other. They stared intently stared at each other as they both gradually began to smile.
Eddard moved closer to Allyria, wrapping his arms around her in order to keep her warm. She turned on her other side, her back pressing against the boy's chest as he held her body close to his own.
Gradually, Eddard and Allyria fell asleep in each other's arms, not realizing that it was only the beginning of what would become of them.
____
The following morning, in the Riverlands, miles away from where Eddard slept with Allyria, Annalys sat on her horse, which rode alongside Lord Florent and his men and their horses.
She was severely weak, seeing as though her left hand had been chopped off. They ended up hanging it around her neck, just to shame her. Lord Florent reveled in her shame and pain, that was obvious. He hated her for killing his brother and the man's family, but in truth, Annalys didn't even do it.
Lord Glendon Redwyne did.
The Redwynes hated her, too, for killing Lord Glendon, yet she didn't kill him either. Technically, Robb did, but it wasn't like the man didn't deserve it. He killed an entire family that consisted of men, women, and children.
As they continued to ride South, Annalys forced herself to slowly lean sideways as she closed her eyes, making it look as though she was losing consciousness.
Soon enough, she ended up falling off her horse. She grunted in pain as her face planted into the mud, the substance covering most of her face.
She weakly forced herself into a kneel, looking up at Lord Florent as he moved toward her. He lifted up his waterskin and instead of allowing her to drink some, he poured it over her head. "Just kill me already!" Annalys shouted at him, gritting her teeth in anger.
"We can't," Lord Florent responded, beginning to grin widely, "Not until that child of yours is born."
Annalys stared up at Lord Florent, her eyes widening in disbelief. "Oh, you thought you were the only one who knew?" He questioned, beginning to speak to her in a mocking tone, "Why do you think we haven't killed you yet? The Queen wants you to birth your child before you're executed."
"My child would only be a threat to her claim," Annalys complained, honestly wanting her child to be born at a time where she was a prisoner.
"No, it would only make her son's claim stronger," Florent admitted in a calm tone, "We're all betting on it. If your child ends up being a girl, she will marry Prince Tommen--" He cut himself off, noticing the horrified look on Annalys' face, "Oh, you haven't heard? Margaery gave birth to your brother's child three years ago. With all your children dead, he has the strongest claim to the Iron Throne. And if you're lucky enough to have a daughter, she will marry Prince Tommen when she comes of age. If it's a boy, he will be married off to the daughter Margaery plans to birth in the future."
Despite the serious conversation, Annalys let out a loud laugh, staring up at Lord Florent in amusement. "That child has no claim to the throne. If he was a true Lannister, I would have learned about it soon after his birth, no matter how hard she tried to keep it a secret. I bet that whore gave birth to a bastard. I dare say that's why she created that rumor about my own children being bastards, just so her bastard could sit on the Iron Throne," She paused, beginning to smirk up at Florent, who was clearly beginning enraged by the prince being called bastard, "You seem angry, Lord Florent. Perhaps the boy is yours. I wouldn't put it past that whore."
Enraged by Annalys calling Margaery a whore, Florent punched Annalys in the face at full force, not caring for the consequences.
Annalys forced herself to fall on the ground, acting as though she had been knocked out. Florent groaned in frustration and moved closer to Annalys, just as a few other men did.
He bent forward, turning Annalys onto her back. "Fuck," He muttered, believing that he had severely injured her. He turned to address the other men, a deeply annoyed look on her face, "Help me get her up."
Just as Florent was about to turn to look back at her, Annalys forced herself up, elbowing him in the groin area before unsheathing his sword with her right hand.
Without hesitation, every man there unsheathed their swords, knowing it was necessary as she rose to her feet. Annalys had been weak and helpless the entire journey, but that was only because she didn't have a sword in her hand. They all knew she was good with both hands. Even with her left hand cut off, she could still slice through each of them with her right as if it were the easiest thing in the world.
She deflected many of their hits and fought them off well, despite not using her dominant hand. The men were quite surprised by her skills but tried their best to defeat her, which ended up being harder than they thought it would be.
The man Annalys did not see coming up behind her ended up kicking her in the back. She groaned in pain, unable to steady herself before her face planted with the mud once more.
Annalys ended up forcing herself to stand up, holding her sword outwards threateningly. She was slower than usual with her movements and each time she tried to guard herself against one of the men's forms of attack, one would strike her in the back. She was growing tired and weak easily due to being underfed for days now.
Finally, they knocked her to the ground and Annalys groaned in pain, unable to get up this time. She had let go of the sword, but still, she attempted to reach for it.
Lord Florent rolled his eyes, making his way over to her. He ended up purposely stepping on her right hand, causing her to cry out. He grabbed a fistful of her hair, forcing her to look him in the eye as he punched her. She grunted as his fist collided with her face, but did nothing else as blood began to spill from her nose. "Try something like that again and I'll cut your other hand. Then you'll truly be nothing, you dumb whore," He warned her in a low, threatening tone before releasing her from his grip.
Too weak, her entire body fell back to the ground, unable to get up. Her face remained blank as she found her mind wandering off to a time she was at peace and happy with her life. When she was with Robb.
FLASHBACK
FIVE YEARS PRIOR
Robb and Annalys laid on their bed with Annalys' head rested against Robb's unclothed chest while she was fully clothed, "What do you think life would be like for us if we weren't King and Queen of Westeros?" Robb found himself asking Annalys, breaking the silence between them as Robb ran his fingers through her golden locks.
"Well, for one, we would have never been betrothed in the first place or renowned for our prowess in battle, my love," Annalys replied, a smile on her face, "But I dare say we would have found each other anyway and when we did, I would ask you to marry me. Or the other way around. It would depend on who had the guts to do it first."
Robb smiled at Annalys' request, "As you wish, darling," He replied, going along with the scenario, both of them wishing it could be real when they knew it couldn't, "We would run away together. Change our names, perhaps," He paused, causing Annalys to quietly chuckle, "We could live out our days in some small village in the North, where no one would ever guess who we once were. I would treat you like the queen you truly are and we would finally be happy without having to worry about taking care of an entire country."
Annalys couldn't help but smile at the thought of it all, wishing that it all could really happen, but she knew better to believe in something that could never happen.
PRESENT TIME
ESSOS
The Dothraki horde was traveling together in great numbers with Joanna walking beside the horse of two Dothraki bloodriders. Joanna ended up tripping due to being so tired from all the walking and in retaliation, one of them whipped her. Both men laughed in response, beginning to speak in Dothraki as she winced in pain after being whipped.
"She's so pale," The first Dothraki man commented in Dothraki, a large smile on his face, "Like milk."
"Must be one of those foreign whores," The other responded and Joanna rolled her eyes since she could understand him.
The first man slowly turned to look at Joanna, a smirk on his face. "I'll ask Khal Najo for a night with you. What do you think? Maybe he'll say yes."
Joanna slowly turned to the man and glared, but refused to show him that she understood him. "Pretty eyes, but she's an idiot."
"She doesn't have to be smart to get fucked in the ass," One of them commented, the two of them beginning to laugh.
At the Dothraki plains, the Dothraki folk were scattered all over, tending to their separate affairs. The two men that had captured Joanna escorted the princess toward Khal Najo's tent, where he sat with some of his bloodriders.
Just like the bloodriders that got ahold of her, Joanna noticed they all seemed to be younger than what she believed Dothraki khals to be. At that moment, she realized something.
Daenerys didn't bring the women, the children, and the elderly with her to Westeros.
The boys who took over the Dothraki after their fathers left were no older than Torra, who would now be twenty-three.
"For you, my Khal. The golden-haired girl we found in the hills. We know how much you want a foreign wife to be Khalessi," He explained, pushing Joanna toward Khal Najo.
Khal Najo stared at her closely and Joanna returned the favor. He wasn't bad looking, but it didn't mean she wanted to marry him. He was older than her for sure. He was at least Lyanna and Eddard's age, perhaps older.
"Look at those lips, blood of my blood," The Bloodrider continued on, much to Joanna's annoyance.
"Green-eyed women are said to be witches. She should die," One of the Bloodriders sitting with Najo commented.
Khal Najo stood, beginning around Joanna. "She is beautiful, but she's young."
"You are young, blood of my blood," One of them commented, causing Najo to turn to look at him.
"Not as young as her," Najo retorted and the Dothraki bloodriders couldn't seem to understand why Najo was so worried about the girl being young. They didn't seem to see the problem with that.
"There have been young Khaleesis before, my Khal. She is beautiful, perfect for a Khaleesi, don't you think?" Another bloodrider commented and Khal Najo sighed in defeat, knowing he had no other choice but to agree.
He was on the verge grabbing ahold of Joanna, only to have the girl speak up in a growl. "Do not touch me." She growled angrily, causing the bloodriders and Khal Najo to look at each other, taken aback.
He immediately released her, his eyes wide in shock. "I am Joanna of Houses Stark and Lannister, first of my name, rightful queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar, the Free Folk, and the First Men, heir to Casterly Rock and Winterfell," She explained to them in a venomous tone, "Touch me again and I'll cut your hands off."
The bloodriders of Khal Najo began to laugh while Najo stared at Joanna closely, impressed by her threat. "You've got spirit," He commented, staring down at her, "You'll make a perfect Khaleesi."
Joanna was on the verge of arguing, only to glance around to see how many people were in the Dothraki. She saw at least thirty-thousand men. Was this the army Melisandre spoke of? Was he the man?
It couldn't be, right?
Joanna slowly turned to look at Khal Najo. He was a Dothraki savage, how could she marry him? Perhaps she had no choice in the matter. She didn't know.
Joanna was snapped out of her thoughts as Khal Najo drew his blade and cut Joanna's bindings, freeing her from her restraints. "Try to run and my bloodriders will cut off your feet," He threatened, just before walking off.
Joanna scoffed loudly, giving the young man a vicious look as he walked away from her.
____
At Winterfell across the Narrow Sea, many men were rolling carts of hay while others were working the forge, making weapons in preparation for the upcoming war.
Sansa, Maester Wolkan, and Yohn Royce were walking through the courtyard together. "How much do we have?" Sansa questioned, referring to how many bushels they had.
"Four-thousand bushels, My Lady," Maester Wolkan answered in a calm tone.
"Which means for the current occupants, it's enough for about a year," Sansa realized, letting out a small sigh in defeat, "It's not enough. Bran says that the Reachmen in the Riverlands aren't just there to search for the remainder of Annalys and my brother's Queensguard, but because they're staging an attack on not just Casterly Rock, but also Winterfell. We have no idea when that may be. We must prepare with as much food as possible."
"You're right, My Lord," Yohn Royce responded, agreeing with the girl.
"We must start building up our grains stores with regular shipments from every keep in the North. If we don't use it by this war's end, we'll give it back to them," Sansa explained in a calm tone and Maester Wolkin nodded, "Maester Wolkin, you'll see to it?"
The Maester from the Dreadfort nodded his head. He bowed to Sansa, just before leaving.
"Lady Sansa, the gate," One of the guards spoke up, causing Sansa to turn to give him a puzzled.
Without hesitation, Sansa rushed to the gate, where there seemed to be commotion with everyone kneeling. She suddenly froze, gasping when she looked ahead to see Jaime, Brienne, Ser Edmyn, Ser Steffon, and Aden standing with Torrhen.
Her eyes widened, but she wasted no time kneeling briefly to who she thought was now the rightful heir to the Iron Throne. After a moment, she stood up, rushing over to her nephew.
Torrhen stared at Sansa blankly, clearly not speaking much since what happened to his family in King's Landing. "Aunt Sansa," was all he said as Sansa began to cry while hugging the boy tightly.
Gradually, Torrhen began to hug his aunt back, tears beginning to form in his eyes.
Several moments later, in Robb's old chambers, Torrhen sat in front of the fire, a blanket wrapped around him as he drank a hot beverage. Sansa stood next to Torrhen, watching the boy closely for any signs of her missing something.
"I wish Arya was here," She admitted softly, a saddened look, "She's been staying at Winterfell for years now with Gendry and Bran while I've lived at the Dreadfort with my husband. The moment she heard about Robb and Annalys, though, she left. Gendry's still here, too."
"It doesn't matter," Torrhen admitted quietly, not seeming to care about reuniting with anyone who wasn't his brothers and sisters.
Lann, his direwolf, whined, finally laying down at Torrhen's feet as if he could feel Torrhen's sadness and heartbreak.
"You are your father's last living trueborn son, Torrhen," Sansa informed her nephew in a calm tone, "You're Lord of Winterfell."
"I'm not supposed to be," Torrhen argued, not even realizing how right he was.
Not just because Eddard and Robb were alive, either, but because of the contract that Eddard spoke up. If his parents and his older siblings were actually dead, only Casterly Rock would be his and Winterfell would be Joanna's. He couldn't be Lord of Winterfell, even if he wanted to.
"Aye, but you are, Torrhen," Sansa replied softly.
She moved closer to Torrhen. She took a seat beside him, grabbing his hand and squeezing it in comfort. "We'll get our vengeance, I promise."
"What if I don't want vengeance?" Torrhen found himself asking, a saddened look on his face, "Hasn't enough people died already? My father is dead, my mother is dead, my brothers and sisters are dead. Why should I fight to take a throne that I never planned on having in the first place?"
"Perhaps you don't have to take the Iron Throne, you could do what your mother and father did when they were only a few years older than you are not," Sansa informed the boy in a determined tone, "Make the North independent from the Tyrells. Claim us a free and independent country. If they try and defeat us, they won't. They're Southerners, they'll never survive the cold winter we're enduring up here."
"But what about the Westerlands, Aunt Sansa?" Torrhen retorted in a cold tone, "That isn't fair to them. The people of the Westerlands are my people, too. If I named the North independent, I'd have to do the same to the Westerlands."
"The Westerlands border the Reach, you'd constantly be at war with them," Sansa pointed out, much to Torrhen's dismay, "Listen, Torrhen, I don't--"
"I don't want to talk about this anymore," Torrhen complained, shaking his head in disapproval, "You want me to be Lord of Winterfell so badly? Fine. My first command as Lord of Winterfell is for you to leave me alone."
Sansa stared at Torrhen closely for a moment, sighing in defeat. The boy she met as a small child was never cold. He was never innocent like Joanna, but he wasn't rude. He was respectable and obedient to his elders. Where was that boy?
Of course, that was the thing. He wasn't a child or a boy anymore. None of Annalys and Robb's children were now. Within mere hours, they had been forced to grow up even quicker than their parents had, just to survive after their family had been overthrown.
All of the children yearned for vengeance, but not Torrhen. He nearly died in King's Landing. He thought he was going to die. He didn't want to feel like that ever again and if he were to wage war of the Tyrells, he'd feel exactly that. He refused to do that solely because of it.
Hesitantly, Sansa rose from her seat. She glanced over at Torrhen one last time, just before leaving him alone in the room that used to be his father's.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Poor Torrhen tho. Annalys is being treated like shit yet she's managing.
Surprisingly, despite it not seeming like it rn right now, Joanna will be the happiest during all of them, Eddard will be as well. (I kinda think that's because they both find love, which can be used as a distraction from all the horrible crap going on around them)