KINGDOM FALL
62. Nymeria

After hearing Annalys' scream, Robb began to search frantically through the woods for her. It felt like hours until he finally found her. She was sitting on the ground, two boars lying dead next to her. She was clutching her right leg, which looked be bleeding severely. He couldn't understand why Annalys' blood was black, but didn't make any attempt to question her about it. It was a matter meant for another time. At that moment, all he cared about was making sure she didn't bleed to death.

"Annalys, what happened?" Robb asked in concern, rushing over to Annalys worriedly.

He immediately knelt next to her, seeing the massive blood flow coming from the wound on her thigh. He turned to look at one of the boars, whose tusk was coated in the same black liquid. It must have wounded her, but how did they both die? Annalys didn't have a knife with her. She only had a bow and neither boars had an arrow stuck in them.

"Robb, you are not going to believe what happened," Annalys explained to Robb quickly, panting as she clutched her wounded thigh, "I was hunting for the deer and before I knew it, two boars were chasing after me. I was running through the woods and one attacked me, stabbed me right in my thigh. They were going to kill me---"

"Then, how are you still here?" Robb asked her desperately, his eyes wide at the revelation.

"Nymeria," Annalys suddenly informed Robb, who immediately frowned in confusion.

Nymeria? Who was she talking about?

Despite being wounded and weakened, a small smile appeared on Annalys' lips as she seemed to be astonished by what had happened to her, "Arya's direwolf saved me. I don't know how, but she's in the Riverlands," She explained to Robb, causing him to stare at her in disbelief, "She's bigger than even Grey Wind, Robb. I never seen one so big, not even a direwolf. She leads a pack of wolves. She killed both boars to save me. I recognized her and for a split second, it seemed like she recognized me."

Robb furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, puzzled by what Annalys was telling him, "Where did she go?" He questioned, glancing around with wide eyes.

"She left with her pack," Annalys continued on and Robb turned back to her, a part of beginning to ponder if she hallucinated the entire time.

Why would Arya's direwolf be in the Riverlands? Why would she be leading a pack? How could she be twice the size of Grey Wind. And why the hell did she save Annalys when she barely got to know the direwolf before she left Winterfell with Arya almost five years before?

"Annalys, are you sure you're not imagining things?" Robb questioned Annalys, a concerned look on his face.

"I'm not. I swear it," Annalys argued, shaking her head desperately. She immediately cried out in pain when Robb grab her hand and lifted it off her wound, "Careful, it hurts."

Robb looked down at the blood practically pouring out of the wound on her thigh and seeping into the pants she wore. The bleeding wasn't slowing down. If they didn't find someone to treat it soon, she'd bleed out.

"You're bleeding--" Robb began to tell Annalys and before he could continue, Annalys cut him off.

"I think I can see that, Robb," Annalys snapped at the Stark man, an annoyed look on his face.

"Annalys, you don't understand," Robb argued with Annalys sternly, ripping open her pant leg to reveal how severe her wound actually was, "It's not stopping. The bleeding won't stop."

"I'm fine." Annalys tried to convince Robb, but it was clear they both knew it was a lie.

"You're not," Robb retorted, shaking his head in response, "You're not fine. If we don't find someone to treat your wound, you'll die."

Annalys began to tear up at Robb's words. She wasn't afraid of dying, but she was afraid of leaving her children alone in the world at such a young age, "Robb," she called out in a stern tone, causing him to turn to look her in the eye, "Don't let me die," She demanded, refusing to beg Robb to save her.

"I won't," Robb assured her, ripping the sleeve of his tunic off. He wasted no time tying it around Annalys' thigh to temporarily stop the blood flow. It was a trick they had both learned from Talisa years before, "I saw a town about a half of a mile away from here. If we're lucky, we'll find a maester there that can treat you."

Robb went to stand back up, only to have Annalys grab him by the arm to stop him. Robb turned to look back at Annalys, giving her a questioning look, "I don't think I can walk." She informed him quietly, her voice barely audible.

Robb froze for a moment, the two of them locking eyes. He couldn't believe it. Annalys was actually asking for his help for once. He knew how much Annalys hated asking for help and for her to do so, Robb knew it was serious.

Robb nodded in understanding, bending down before lifting up off the ground. He held her bridal's style as they began to walk through the woods together. Soon enough, Annalys began to glare at Robb, noticing he seemed to take pleasure in the fact that Annalys had actually asked for him to help her.

"You're taking pleasure in this, aren't you?" Annalys complained, sounding frustrated.

"I wouldn't say that," Robb jokingly replied, a small smile on his face.

"You didn't save me. Nymeria did," Annalys argued, refusing to let Robb believe he was saving her.

"I still don't believe you saw Nymeria." Robb confessed, much to Annalys' annoyance.

"Why would I lie?" Annalys questioned, looking to be confused.

"I'm not saying you're lying," Robb responded, shaking his head, "I just believe you imagined the entire thing."

Hearing Robb's statement, Annalys found herself feeling frustrated, but instead of arguing with him, she decided to change the subject, "What if someone in the village recognizes us? What if one of is harmed this time?" Annalys uneasily asked Robb, recalling the last two times they spent some time a public establishment, they were recognized.

"That won't happen, I'll make sure of it," Robb argued and Annalys couldn't help but roll her eyes at his confidence.

Annalys wanted to believe him, but was it the truth?

_____

About a day later, Annalys was lying down in a bed, fast asleep. She was in one of the second floor rooms of the Inn Robb paid for them to stay at. He ended up lying, claiming their names to be Torrhen and Joanna, just as Annalys had done at the last inn they were at when she killed Polliver and his men.

Her leg had been stitched up by a maester and Robb sat next to her, watching her sleep. He had a sad look on his face, his eyes gazing over every scar on her body. There was far more than the War of the Queen and Five Kings, that was for sure. Some of them Robb could tell wasn't from any war, but from her time in King's Landing. He glanced down at her hands, both of them having a large scar across the palm.

As he stared at her, Robb could finally noticed that there was still a faint mark from where Annalys had convinced him to cut her across the face right before she headed to King's Landing. It wasn't noticeable, but after staring at her long enough, Robb could see it.

She still hadn't woken up from getting stitched up, seeing as though the Maester had given her Milk of the Poppy. He knew Annalys wasn't a big fan of Milk of the Poppy, but Robb knew they had no other choice.

Annalys twitched in her sleep slightly and Robb immediately straightened his back up, knowing she was on the verge of waking up. Just as he predicted, Annalys' eyes fluttered open to find Robb laying at her bedside, "Good," She groggily spoke up, a weak smile forming on her chapped lips, "I didn't die."

"You nearly bled to death and those are your first words when you wake up?" Robb questioned Annalys, raising a questioning brow at her.

"Did you expect any less of me?" Annalys replied, causing them both to chuckle softly.

Annalys ended up reaching her hand out, holding Robb's in her own, "I must thank you, Robb," She found herself telling him, much to Robb's concern.

"For what?" Robb frowned, not understanding why Annalys had the need to thank him.

"For bringing me to the Maester," Annalys informed Robb as if it were obvious.

"Why wouldn't I?" Robb asked, realizing Annalys said it as if she didn't expect him to actually save her.

"If I died, you could've gone to Casterly Rock on your own and taken the twins. You'd have a daughter that was the new Queen of the Westerlands on your side and you'd have your son and heir back. You'd be free from anymore wars with three kingdoms at your beck and call. You'd be able to take my parents back as your prisoner," Annalys explained to Robb, but didn't realize that it was the opposite of what Robb actually wanted, "All would be well again."

"That's not true," Robb argued, shaking his head in disapproval, "I wouldn't want that."

"Why not?" Annalys questioned him, furrowing her eyes in utter confusion, "Anyone else would."

"Because it would mean I wouldn't have you," Robb confessed and Annalys' immediately felt saddened, "I don't want Casterly Rock. I don't want to take our children away from their mother and I don't want your parents dead."

Hearing the last part of Robb's sentence, Annalys' eyes widened in shock, "What?" She asked him, clearly believing she didn't hear him correctly.

"I will never forgive your father and mother for what they've done to my family, but I understand why they did it now. To protect their children. To protect you. They love you more than anything else in the world, even each other," Robb explained and Annalys felt a weight lifted from her shoulders after hearing him finally understand everything he never did before, "I hate your father, I'll admit that. And I'll always hate him, but back in Winterfell, I watched as he fought through dozens of men in order to get to you. When he got through those gates, the first thing he did was search for you, despite being wounded. I saw the way he looked when you died in his arms. His heart broke in half. He felt hopeless, knowing he failed in getting to you in time." He continued on and Annalys began to tear up at the thought, "He loves you more than anything in the world, and you love him. You'd do anything for each other and I'd be a fool to get in between you both again."

Annalys smiled sadly at Robb's words, tears welled in her eyes, "Thank you." She whispered to him softly.

"I don't know what you see him, but whatever it is, you love him deeply for it." Robb continued on and Annalys felt a pang in her chest.

She wanted nothing more than to admit the truth to Robb, but also knew she promised Jaime, "Robb?" Annalys suddenly spoke up, feeling as though she could find a way around her promise without actually breaking it.

"Yes?"

"If you were apart of the kingsguard belonging to a king who had gone mad, and he told you to kill your own father and bring back his head, what would you do?" Annalys questioned Robb curiously.

"I'd refuse," Robb replied and after a moment, he realized Annalys was talking about Jaime.

"What if the king was on the verge of burning the entire city with wildfire and the only way to stop him was to kill him? What would you do then?" Annalys continued to ask Robb, who was hesitant to answer, "Would you kill the king you were sworn to protect or would you allow him to burn the people of the city with wildfire, one of them being your own father? Would you do it, then?"

"I'd...I'd..." He trailed off, letting out a sigh in defeat when he knew he couldn't lie to Annalys, "I'd kill him."

"Then, that makes you no different than my father when he was in that position, yet you constantly call him Kingslayer," Annalys explained to Robb in a calm tone as the Stark man gave her an ashamed look, "What my father did, he did to protect his family and the people of King's Landing. Nothing different than what you and I would do to protect the people we love. Jaime tells me everything, including the truth about what happened that night. Now, you know, too."

"What of the day my brother was pushed out the tower window?" Robb questioned Annalys, despite knowing she might get angry.

She even said it. She knew everything. That meant she also knew about what happened to Bran.

Annalys nodded her head, much to Robb's dismay, "I know about that, too," She paused, letting out a small sigh in defeat, "Yes, Jaime pushed Bran out the window. Bran caught my father fucking my mother. They knew they couldn't let Bran tell anyone and as much as Jaime hated the fact he had to harm a child, he pushed Bran out of the broken tower."

Hearing Annalys' words, Robb immediately became enraged, on the verge of forgetting all about telling Annalys he wouldn't harm her parents, "You may not understand why he did it, but I do, Robb," She suddenly spoke up, gaining his attention once more, "If people learned of my mother and father's relationship, it would have put my siblings and I at harm. We'd all be named bastards and all of us would have died. I was due to stay with you and your family for the rest of my life. I would have been the first one to be harmed after the truth came out. The Northmen would have judged me for my father and mother's mistakes." She explained, much to Robb's horror, "Out of all my siblings, I would have suffered the most. There has been suspicions of Jaime being my father since I was a baby. Robert himself even suspected it. He despised me. The second he found out, he most likely would have killed me himself. Even if Robert didn't kill me, he'd throw me out onto the streets and I most likely would have been raped and then killed."

Robb remained silent, trying his hardest not to tear up at the thought of Annalys being harmed in the aftermath of what would have happened if the truth about Jaime and Cersei had been revealed while Robert was still alive, "My father pushed your brother out of the tower window to protect his family. To protect my mother. To protect me," She continued on and Robb continued to not say a word, knowing Annalys had a point, believe it or not, despite still being pissed that Jaime hurt his brother, "The Starks have their own way of protecting their family, one that keeps their honor intact. House Lannister does not. We couldn't give a damn about honor when it comes to protecting our family. We put family above all us. Nothing else matters. Only us. Hang the rest of the world."

"'Nothing else matters. Only us. Hang the rest of the world.'" Robb recited Annalys' words, raising a skeptically brow at her, "You didn't make that one up yourself, did you?"

Annalys shook her head and slowly began to smile at the thought of her mother, "My mother said it to me many times over the years."

"How can you love her? After everything she's done?" Robb asked without thinking, causing Annalys' smile to fall, "I don't mean it in a bad way, I'm just curious. I understand why you love your father, but your mother is different. She allowed your brother Joffrey to destroy the kingdoms. She stood back and watched as he abused you constantly. She killed Robert Baratheon. She betrayed my father. She blamed your uncle Tyrion for Joffrey's death, even though, in truth, it was you."

"Because she's my mother. No matter what she does, I'll always love her. Since the moment she was born, she's done nothing but love her children and try to place a crown upon our heads," She explained, sighing in defeat before continuing on, "For months, she's undermined me and questioned my authority in front of my council. She's the reason Daenerys Targaryen is out to kill me, but I forgave her for all of it and I plan to punish her in my own way when the time comes--"

"What do you mean Daenerys Targaryen is out to kill you?" Robb interrupted Annalys, looking deeply concerned by the revelation.

"I planned to order the Faceless Men to kill Daenerys Targaryen. My mother was impulsive and ordered some random assassin. They ended up failing and now, Daenerys plans to kill me the moment she steps foot in Westeros," She explained, but from what Robb could see, she didn't seem to care about how much danger she was in, "But it's fine, I already have a plan to defeat her."

"What's your plan?" Robb found himself asking Annalys, only to notice her staring at him as if he were crazy, "What?"

"Do you really think I'd tell you that?" She questioned Robb, who immediately looked offended, "We may be allies now, but that doesn't mean I trust you enough to tell you my plan to defeat Daenerys. Only one person knew the majority of my plan and he's dead."

Robb chuckled, clearly not taking the last part of her sentence seriously, "What, did you kill me?" He jokingly asked the Lannister woman.

"No, you did," Annalys suddenly replied, causing Robb's smile to fade, "You were the one to kill my grandfather, were you not?"

Hearing Annalys' question, Robb turned his head. He avoided eye contact with Annalys as he slowly nodded his head in response, "How did you know?" He quietly asked Annalys, but a part of him feared her reaction.

"I didn't. But I do now," Annalys replied, causing Robb to tense uncomfortably at the fact that she tricked him into telling the truth, "I never even thought of you being my grandfather's murderer. How's that?"

"Are you angry with me?" Robb asked, finally bringing himself to look her in the eye.

"No. You saved me the trouble of doing it myself," Annalys confessed, much to Robb's confusion, "I loved my grandfather, I did. But I also knew any bond I had with him would have been broken the moment he learned I was pregnant with your children."

"I'm told you cried in the Sept of Baelor when you saw his body," Robb admitted softly, causing Annalys to nod.

"I did," Annalys replied, trying her hardest not to tear up.

"Why?"

"Why?" Annalys questioned him in confusion, "Because he was my grandfather and I loved him."

"You hated him during the war."

"I did, but when I returned to King's Landing, we grew closer. I spent several hours a day in the Tower of the Hand with him. He taught me geography, he taught me to speak fluently in High Valyrian, and he taught me how to rule. He also taught me what I didn't already know about war and strategy," She informed Robb, smiling sadly at the thought of Tywin, "I grew to love my grandfather and from what I can tell, he loved me, too. He saw potential in me and named me his heir. Jaime told me that he begged his father to leave me alone and that he would leave the kingsguard and become his heir in exchange for me, but my grandfather refused. He saw potential in me that he didn't see in his own children. When I saw him lying dead in the Great Sept, I promised I would get vengeance."

"Did you?" Robb found himself asking, a part of him feeling uneasy about the whole ordeal.

"Partially, I did, when I took your heirs and defeated you several times in battle. But I still haven't defeated Stannis." Annalys truthfully admitted to Robb, knowing there was no point in lying.

"You really plan to take the Iron Throne?" Robb asked Annalys, still finding it shocking that Annalys, of all, people wanted to be the one sitting on the Iron Throne.

"If the Gods give me the strength to, then yes. Yes, I will," Annalys confessed in a confident tone, "Stannis will destroy the seven kingdoms as we know it with his faith in the Lord of the Light. I promise you that. If I stand against him, the rest of the kingdoms will stand with me. I will take the Iron Throne and I will rule Westeros into greatness. No one will go hungry and no one will be at war while I'm still alive."

Robb remained silent, thinking hard on what she had said. Annalys watched him closely, worried that he was thinking the worse of her at that moment. She didn't know why she cared what he thought about her, but she did.

Robb stood up, about to walk toward another part of the room when Annalys reached her hand out, grabbing onto his hand once more. He turned to Annalys and stared at her intently, waiting for her to continue, "Lay with me?" She suddenly asked, which wasn't what Robb was expecting.

He looked hesitant to share a bed with Annalys, knowing she should be laying alone to rest and heal. However, noticing Annalys' pleading eyes, he nodded his head in response. Annalys winced in pain as she moved over slightly, allowing Robb to cautiously lay down next to her.

They laid on their sides, facing each other. They stared intently at each other, not even attempting break the comfortable silence between them. Annalys smiled slightly, lifting her hand before interlocking her fingers with Robb's.

Robb smiled slightly, noticing how Annalys slowly drifted off into sleep once he was lying next to her, despite trying to fight it.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Finally, Robb will stop calling Jaime 'kingslayer' in front of Annalys, which we all know she HATED.

Something really CRAZY and BAD will happen to Annalys. Get ready.