KINGDOM FALL
— 20. The Truth

That night, Annalys soon found Jaime sitting in the gardens alone, clearly having enough of the celebration that would most likely last all night if Joffrey had his way. Since Annalys had gone with Tywin to receive his gift, Joffrey had taken control of Annalys' name day feast, making it all about him.

Annalys refused to deal with it and instead of returning to the feast as she was expected to, Annalys decided to take a walk through the gardens, where she found her father as she hoped to.

A smile on her face, Annalys walked up to Jaime, showing off her sword, "He actually gave it to you, huh?" Jaime asked, an impressed look on his face.

"That he did. Can't wait to piss Joffrey off with it." Annalys commented, a menacing look on her face that told Jaime she wasn't joking, but that was kind of expected.

"You will. That's the more expensive one." Jaime responded, much to Annalys' confusion, "He plans to give your brother the shitty one."

"Why would grandfather give Joffrey, the king, the shittier one?" Annalys questioned Jaime, frowning.

"Because you're the heir to Casterly Rock. The moment he dies, you lead the Westerlands as Lady Paramount and you control its armies," Jaime explained and Annalys' eyes widened.

At that moment, she realized something she hadn't before. If she killed Tywin, Robb wouldn't have to take it. The armies would rightfully be hers and she'd have even more to give to the North. Once she made her alliance with Dorne and the Reach, she'd have the armies of the South, Stannis' armies, the North, the Westerlands, the Stormlands, the North, and the Riverlands. It would mean the only ones against her would be the Crownlands itself, seeing as though the Iron Islands were still in open rebellion and the Vale of Arryn would surely side with her.

Annalys shook her head slightly, finding herself unable to bring herself to actually plan the death of her grandfather. She had gained his favor since arriving. He was no longer her enemy, he practically thought them to be equals. How could she kill him?

"You okay?" Jaime suddenly asked his daughter, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"I'm fine. But why would Grandfather give me Casterly Rock after everything I've done?" Annalys questioned, a concerned look on her face.

"Many reasons. I refused. Tyrion's known as the Imp. Joffrey's busy being king, and Tommen's too young. He's been testing you every time you've spoken to him. Somehow, you've left an impression on him. The song was the last test and you passed." He explained to Annalys, who frowned in confusion.

"The song?" Annalys asked in concern.

"He played the Rains Of Castamere earlier at the celebration. He thought you'd react negatively to it for some reason, but you didn't, which means you passed." Jaime informed Annalys, who began to tense up.

She had been right. Tywin had been testing her.

"Can you keep a secret?" Annalys asked her father after a moment of silence between them occurred.

"Of course I can." Jaime assured Annalys, but looked slightly concerned by Annalys' tone, "Haven't I always?"

Annalys sighed in defeat, remaining silent for a long moment before finally speaking up, "The reason he thought I'd react to it is because he had the Freys play it at the Red Wedding," She informed Jaime, who was shocked by the revelation, "Soon after it played, the doors closed and the musicians pulled out crossbows. They shot everyone with them," She paused and Jaime continued look at her with wide eyes, shocked that after nearly three months, she was finally opening up, "I stood there and watched as my men were killed. They slit Catelyn Stark's throat and Roose Bolton stabbed my husband in the heart. He came for me next and I stabbed him through the throat."

Despite it being a lie, tears filled Annalys' eyes at the thought of the Red Wedding. If her plan hadn't worked that night, Robb would have died and it would've been all her fault, "That's impossible." Jaime suddenly said, causing Annalys to give him a puzzled look.

"What is?" Annalys questioned Jaime, not knowing what he meant.

"Roose Bolton's ruling the North. My father and him have been sending ravens to each other about the Ironborn for some time now." Jaime explained to Annalys, whose eyes widened.

Roose Bolton was dead. She burned his body herself after the Red Wedding, "It must be his bastard son," She suggested, knowing that was the only valid answer, "His name is Ramsay, I think..." She trailed off, not knowing for sure if that was his name.

"I must tell Father, he'll have to deal with this." He informed Annalys, on the verge of walking away.

Annalys was about to let Jaime go tell Tywin, when she realized the armies would have to go through the Riverlands and they'd be bound to find Robb and his army hiding there.

Annalys sighed in defeat, roughly grabbing Jaime by the arm to stop him, "No," She argued in a stern tone.

Confused, Jaime turned to look back at Annalys as he frowned at her, "What do you mean, no?"

"You promised you'd keep what I said a secret and you will continue to do so." She reminded Jaime lowly, causing him to give her a look of utter disbelief.

"Annalys, an imposter is ruling the North!" Jaime shouted at Annalys, still staring at her in disbelief.

"I'll take care of it, Jaime. Just trust me. Soon enough, Casterly Rock will be mine. I'll use the armies to do it on my terms. The North is still mine in a way, I wish to do it myself." She explained to Jaime, who didn't believe her for a second, but decided to go along with it until he figured out what she was up to.

"Princess Annalys 'Baratheon', Lady of Casterly Rock." He spoke up, saying out loud what her title would be soon enough.

"It'll be Tyrell by then." Annalys lied, already knowing it would be Stark.

The uneasiness in her expression made Jaime think she was nervous, which she wasn't, "Are you scared?" He asked her in concern, causing Annalys to loudly scoff.

"What would I be scared of?" Annalys frowned as she looked up at at him.

"Marrying again. Since your first marriage was so horrible," He stated in a sarcastic tone, earning a glare from Annalys, "Did you make up those lies about Robb or did my father?"

"Both of us, but mostly me." Annalys confessed, letting out a large sigh in defeat.

"Why?"

"I don't know, to clear my name?" Annalys admitted, shrugging her shoulders.

Jaime stared down at Annalys, narrowing his eyes at her, "You labeled yourself a victim."

"I'm far from a victim," Annalys argued, chuckling nervously.

"Oh, I know that," Jaime remarked, he and Annalys taking a seat on one of the many stone benches in the gardens, "You killed a man for the first time at twelve."

Annalys turned to Jaime, giving him an offended look, "That wasn't my fault!" She exclaimed defensively, "He tried to kiss me."

"He was your bethrothed." He reminded her, earning an eye roll from Annalys.

Annalys scoffed loudly, "He was a pig and his breath stunk of horse dung," She paused, a mischievous look forming on her lips as she turned to look at her father, "Last I checked, you and Mother helped me create a cover story."

"That we did." Jaime responded, a small smile on his face as he recalled all those years ago.

"What about the other betrothed?" Annalys questioned Jaime curiously, an amused smile forming on her lips.

"Which do you speak of?" He mockingly questioned Annalys, "We've killed them all. All you have to do is ask and the same can happen to Ser Loras Tyrell."

Hearing her father's words, Annalys avoided eye contact with him. She looked down at the ground, looking almost embarrassed as a smile formed on her lips, "You make the three of us sound like monsters."

"Not monsters. Just Lannisters." Jaime corrected her in a calm tone, "We'll do anything for our family."

"You and Mother did a lot to protect me over the years." Annalys admitted quietly, her voice just above a whisper.

"You were our firstborn, of course we did," Jaime reminded Annalys, the two of them beginning to smile, "Even when you betrayed us, we still loved you. I forgived you when you kidnapped me, didn't I?"

Jaime's smile immediately fell as he noticed the saddened look that appeared on Annalys' face at the mention of his capture during the war, "I'm still sorry about that. I wanted to free you, but I knew I couldn't. There was so many times I nearly did, but I couldn't bring myself to betray Robb like that. I loved him too much," She paused, her voice a mere whisper as she continued on, "The things we do for love."

Jaime was silent for a long moment, shocked by Annalys' words. She got them from him, that was for sure, but he never heard her actually say it, "The things we do for love." He repeated after her softly.

"It's a shame I couldn't see Roose Bolton die," Jaime commented, trying to lighten up the dark mood that had grown between them, "He's the reason my hand was cut off."

"I know," Annalys confessed, causing Jaime to turn to her in confusion, "Why do you think I wanted to him to die specifically?"

Jaime frowned, raising his brows at Annalys, "Maybe because he killed your husband?" He responded, causing Annalys to realized she had fucked up.

Annalys' eyes widened in alarm, realizing she had given herself away. She quickly stood up from sitting next to Jaime, her back facing him.

Noticing something wasn't right, Jaime ended up standing up as well, "What are you hiding, Annalys?" He asked desperately, knowing Annalys good enough to know that she was keeping something from him.

"Nothing," Annalys turned to Jaime, desperately shaking her head since she knew he would be able to see right through her. He was the only one who would be able to. It was her mistake, too. She was stupid enough to open up to her father about something she shouldn't have.

Jaime stayed silent. He stared intently at Annalys, who couldn't bring herself to look him in the eye. What was so bad that she couldn't even tell Jaime, who she had told everything to since she had been able to speak?

There was only one thing he could think of at that moment.

"Robb's alive, isn't he?" He found himself asking and for a split second, he noticed her tense up before she hid what she was truly feeling behind an unreadable expression.

No one would have been able to notice it. No one but Jaime. He knew her far too well to not notice when something was going on.

Annalys scoffed loudly, acting as if what Jaime said was mad, "Oh, please. If Robb were alive, I wouldn't be here. I also wouldn't allow myself to be bethrothed to Ser Loras." She lied, but it was too late, no matter what she said, Jaime had already figured out the truth. Even she knew that, but she would continue lying until there was nothing else to do.

"You've been stalling the marriage for weeks. You tell your grandfather that you'll marry Ser Loras and then you tell Mother you wish to kill him. You're playing both sides." Jaime explained and at that moment, Annalys knew she had to leave before it was too late.

She shot him a glare, just before she began to walk away. Before she could get far, Jaime used his left hand to roughly grab Annalys by the arm. His grip was tight, causing Annalys to wince in pain.

She forced herself to slowly turn to him, knowing she had no other option, "If what I said is true and anyone else finds out, it will cost you your head, Annalys, and neither me nor your mother will be able to save you from our father's wrath." He explained to Annalys in a hushed tone.

Finally, he let go of her and Annalys glared at him as she rubbed her bruised arm, which still slightly hurt from his grip, "Well, it isn't. You don't have to worry." She lied, a look on her face that would make anyone who wasn't Jaime believe her.

"You see, I can already tell you're lying, Annalys," He told her, pausing as he began to speak in a whisper, "'The things we do for love' Those were your words. You let your husband keep your own father prisoner for an entire year during the war because of how much you loved him. Who's to say you wouldn't return to King's Landing and keep it a secret that he was alive just to protect him?"

   Annalys opened her mouth to lie to Jaime again, but closed it once she realized she had no more lies to give. She had been caught. There was nothing she could do about it now, "It's a shame, though. As Hand of the King, my father was able to find the Septon who married you and Robb under that weirdwood tree in the land near the Crag," He began to explain, causing Annalys to tense up, "He was able to use the High Septon as well, to make it as though the entire marriage never existed."

Annalys turned to him in horror, realizing that meant her children would be born bastards, "So if the Young Wolf is alive, news will soon spread to him about the marriage being annulled. He may be a claimant King in the North, but you're no longer his Queen." He explained to Annalys, not realizing how what he said risked her far more than he could ever imagine.

Annalys stared up at Jaime, tears in her eyes as she felt betrayed, "Why, Jaime?" She asked, trying her hardest not to cry, "Why would you tell me this?"

"To snap some sense into you," He snapped at her coldly, "I refuse to sit back and watch as my daughter is named a traitor to the crown and loses her head for it. Yes, you're in love with him but are you willing to risk everything for him now that you're finally back with your family?"

"Yes!" Annalys shouted at him angrily, hatefully glaring at Jaime.

"Why!" Jaime shouted back at her, growing frustrated.

"Because I'm pregnant!" Annalys blurted out, her bluntness getting the best of her.

Hearing Annalys' words, Jaime's eyes widened and he was stunned speechless. Tears welled in her own eyes, Annalys glanced around, making sure no one was around to have heard what she said.

"How can you be so sure?" Jaime skeptically asked Annalys, who continued to glare at Annalys.

Annalys dropped the silk shawl she had wrapped around her body. She roughly grabbed Jaime by the hand, forcing him to place it on her stomach. A small gasp escaped Jaime's lips as he felt Annalys' swollen belly and he immediately retracted his hand.

His daughter was pregnant. She was pregnant with a traitor's baby and he had no clue how the hell he was going to help her like he knew he would end up doing.

While Jaime looked as though he was about to faint from how shocked he was, Annalys remained looking emotionless, "I'm nearly five months along, Jaime. I have less than four months before I'm due." She informed her father in a hushed tone.

"How do you expect to raise a child?" He asked her quietly, finally getting over his state of shock.

"Children," she corrected, causing Jaime's eyes to widen slightly, "I had it all planned out but it seems my plan is entirely fucked up if Robb finds out our marriage being annulled."

"Your children will be born bastards." Jaime stated, coming to the realization of what was going on.

"Yes, and I'm already a bastard myself so what do you think will happen to me when Tywin dies? There will be no one left to deny the rumors about you and Mother. Joffrey will cause an uprising with his tyrant ways and I'll end up dead, my children along with me. I'm in King's Landing in order to survive," Annalys explained before a threatening look grew on her face, "I have my own way of doing things but if you even think for a second I'll let you run off to Mother or Grandfather to tell them about Robb being alive or my pregnancy, I'll hate to do it, but if I have to..." she trailed off, leaning closer to Jaime as she began to whisper into his ear, "I'll kill you."

Annalys sent Jaime one last glare. She picked up her shawl, placing it around her body once more before she began to walk away. Jaime was left shocked and for a brief moment, he felt familiarity in the way she spoke to him. It sounded like Cersei and it scared him, to say the least.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Damnnn, Jaime knows. I have a feeling when it comes to her children, Annalys is going to have the same type of fierceness her mother has when it comes to hers, don't you? 🤔