KINGDOM FALL
— 66. The Truth

That afternoon, after her small council meeting, Annalys walked with Robb to Lyanna and Eddard's room. They exchanged a look, just before entering the room to find Lyanna and Eddard on the floor, playing with their toys.

Instead of the nursemaid being there as she usually was, Cersei stood with the children, smiling down at them. Her smile became even larger when she saw Annalys enter, only to have it fall when she saw Robb standing alongside her.

Cersei turned to look back at Annalys, giving her an annoyed look before exiting the room. Annalys sighed in defeat as she watched her mother leave, knowing within a few hours, Cersei would be giving her a piece of her mind.

As they approached their children, Lyanna was the first to notice them. She stood up, giggling happily at the sight of her mother, "Mama!" She exclaimed, suddenly trying her best to run toward her mother.

Annalys found herself laughing at the sight, immediately picking up her daughter and hugging her, "I missed you, Lyanna," She told her softly, Lyanna smiling as they both looked toward Robb, who seemed out of place.

Robb's eyes went toward little Eddard, who continued to sit by himself as he played with his toy horse and knight. Robb didn't even bother to look in Annalys' direction as he made his way over to his son.

He wasted no time sitting next to Eddard on the floor, causing the little boy to immediately look up at the man who happened to be his father. The little boy's mouth gaped open as he rose to his feet, moving closer to his father. Robb cautiously held out his hand, which Eddard suddenly grabbed.

Annalys watched closely as Robb picked Eddard up, holding him in his arms. It came as a shock to her, that Eddard was so willing to trust Robb. It didn't seem like the boy opened up to Annalys, even at eighteen months.

Eddard looked up at Robb, suddenly laughing as he placed his hands on Robb's beard, "Papa," He found himself saying, much to Robb and Annalys' shock.

How was that possible? Eddard and Lyanna hadn't seen their father since they were six months old and an entire year had passed since then.

"Did he just--" Robb began to ask Annalys, who immediately nodded her head, "How—?"

"I don't know," Annalys muttered quietly, making her way toward them while still holding Lyanna.

She placed Lyanna back down on the ground before she knelt next to her, Robb, and Eddard. Robb turned toward Lyanna, who made no motion to acknowledge him while her twin brother was playing with his toys alongside him and Annalys.

Annalys noticed how Robb looked saddened by it. "I don't know why she's acting this way. Usually, she loves meeting new people," She stated, only to notice how what she said seemed to make it worse, "Robb, I didn't mean it I--"

"I know," Robb replied, looking saddened as he nodded in understanding.

"I'll admit, though. I'm surprised Eddard was so willing to let you hold him," Annalys continued on, deciding to lighten up the mood, "He doesn't do well with outsiders. He reminds me of the people of the North in that way."

Robb forced himself to smile, knowing Annalys was trying his best to help him feel like he hadn't missed much. He did, though. He missed everything.

"When did they start walking?" Robb questioned Annalys curiously, noticing how Lyanna was walking around the room as if it were nothing.

"I don't know exactly when," Annalys informed Robb, who frowned in confusion, "I'm told Lyanna walked first, then Eddard followed soon after."

"Where were you to miss such a thing?" Robb frowned in confusion, earning an annoyed look from her.

"Fighting against you in battle," She bluntly replied, causing Robb to sigh in defeat.

Robb may have missed a lot, but Annalys missed many things as well when she was forced to fight against Robb in battle. His children had to go months without seeing either of their parents and it wasn't just Annalys' fault, it was his as well.

"Lyanna is feistier, if you haven't noticed," Annalys decided to change the subject.

   The two of them turned their heads to see Eddard walking with Lyanna's toy soldier in his hand, only to watch as Lyanna snatched it from him with a look on her face that reminded Robb of Annalys.

They watched as Lyanna handed Eddard a horse instead to play with before walking away. Oddly enough, Eddard didn't cry after his sister stole his toy, clearly used to it.

Robb found himself smiling at the sight, recalling memories of himself and Annalys playing with toys as a child. Of course, they were older than the twins during those memories, but it still made him think back to all those years ago.

"She reminds me of you," Robb commented, causing them both to laugh in amusement.

"And Eddard reminds me of you," Annalys replied, earning a puzzled look from Robb.

"How's that?" He asked Annalys curiously.

"He's calm and quiet, until you get to know him. Not to mention, he secretly has a temper," Annalys explained and Robb smiled, "He has a better time hiding it than Lyanna does. She's a wild one, that's for sure."

"So she's like then, you?" He questioned and Annalys smiled in amusement as she nodded her head, "It seems little Lyanna has my looks, but takes after her lovely mother."

"Lovely is the worst way to describe me, Robb. You know that." Annalys remarked, just before Eddard and Lyanna walked over to their parents holding a toy in each hand.

Eddard held a wooden wolf and a knight while Lyanna held a soldier and a lion. It made Robb tense slightly, after the conversation they just had. He already the feeling he knew what the twins would be like when they were older.

  Eddard would be like his father, a true and noble Northmen. Lyanna, on the other hand, would be like her mother, a brave warrior and a lioness. A Lannister.

Lyanna suddenly turned toward her father, causing Robb's eyes to widen slightly. It was the first time she actually made an attempt to pay attention to him. It was sad to say, but in a way, he was starting to think that his own daughter didn't like him, despite being only a toddler.

She held out her toy soldier, practically gesturing for Robb to take it, "Lion," She stated as Robb went to take the wooden lion from her lion, "Lion."

Robb chuckled softly at the fact that she kept saying 'Lion' until he finally grabbed it. It felt like that was her way of telling him to hurry the hell up. Even at such a young age, she was demanding, that was for sure. It seemed he'd have to deal with yet another Annalys.

He feared that, in a way. Annalys caused a lot of trouble in the North as a child, despite not being caught for most of it by his father and mother. After all, he and Jon followed her around in all of her mischief. He knew everything that Annalys had done. She had been a troublemaker, especially with how she didn't take no for an answer.

If Lyanna was anything like that, Robb knew she'd be a handful. Of course, he'd love her any way she turned out. After all, it was his daughter. His first child.

Being with the twins, however, reminded him that he had another child as well, living in the Riverlands. Olyvar. A child he hadn't seen since the day he was born.

Robb found himself feeling guilty for not being there for the child. Unlike his situation with the twins, he had the ability to be there for his bastard son, but refused to. He had been so caught up in waging war against Annalys and worrying about his other children that he hadn't even acknowledged the one he still had the chance to be with.

Hells, even Annalys told him to acknowledge the kid, despite all of the trouble his birth caused their relationship. If Annalys, the one most affected by Olyvar's existence, told Robb to be there for his son, perhaps it was the right thing to do.

"They should meet their brother," Annalys suddenly spoke up, causing Robb to turn to her in utter disbelief.

It was as if she was reading his mind. How the hell did she know that he was thinking about Olyvar?

"It doesn't matter if he's a bastard, they should know who their brother is," Annalys continued on and Robb sighed in defeat, knowing she was right, "You shouldn't treat him differently, either. He's still your son. Acknowledge him. Before it's too late."

"How are you so calm about it?" Robb found himself asking Annalys, "My mother--"

"That child has nothing to do with your infidelity," Annalys argued coldly, despite it not being the whole truth, "He might be the product of it, but he didn't ask to be born. He didn't ask for you to sleep with his mother. He didn't ask for her to die giving birth to him either." She explained, much to Robb's shock, "And I'm not Catelyn. I won't blame a child for his parent's mistakes. That'd make me a hypocrite after years of wanting people to not treat me poorly because I'm a product of my mother and father's infidelity."

Robb remained silent, staring at Annalys closely. She seemed to shock him constantly, but never that much. Her own mother despised her husband's bastard children and didn't do a single thing to stop Joffrey when he ordered them all to be killed. Robb's mother had despised Jon and hated him his entire life.

However, here Annalys stood, doing something that no woman in Westeros seemed to have done with their husband's bastard. Of course, they weren't married anymore, but that didn't change the fact that there would be a time when Annalys would have to meet the child. After all, Annalys was finally allowing Robb to be a father to the twins. That meant they both would be traveling from Winterfell and Casterly Rock constantly.

"I promise you now, Robb, I will never treat that child poorly for being your bastard child," Annalys genuinely swore to Robb, much to his shock, "I'm not my mother nor am I yours. Olyvar is just a child, he's not at fault. I will remember that and you would do well to as well."

His eyes locked on Annalys, Robb felt as though the love he had for Annalys had grown significantly after hearing her words. He never thought he could love Annalys more than he already had, but at that moment, he had been proven wrong.

Robb didn't say a single word, however. He simply nodded, just before he and Annalys spent the following hours with their children. For the first time in a long time, their situation seemed actually functional. They looked to be happy and on good terms. However, there was no such thing as happy endings in the Seven Kingdoms.

____

Soon enough, a month had passed since Robb and Annalys arrived at Casterly Rock. Of course, Robb had to leave in a few days, seeing as though he had his own kingdom to rule.

While Robb was spending one of his last days in Casterly Rock with his children, Annalys was running through the halls, spending time with Tommen.

"I'm going to find you, Tommen!" She called out loudly, a large smile on her face.

She stopped for a moment, hearing Tommen giggling near a stairway close by. She tried her hardest not to laugh as she ran toward it to find Tommen running down the stairs before turning the corner.

Annalys began to quickly walk down the stairs, only to stop midway as she found herself feeling lightheaded. She rubbed her temple for a brief moment, taking a deep breath.

Feeing as though it was nothing to worry about, Annalys attempted to continue running after Tommen. Suddenly, feeling dizzier than she had before, Annalys ended up tripping, tumbling down the staircase before she had time to react.

Annalys' body fell all the way down the stairs, just before landing at the bottom of the stairwell, the wound she had received back in the Riverlands on her forehead now opening back up. Hearing the loud noise, Tommen ran back toward the stairs, only to scream for help at the top of his lungs as he found his sister laying unconscious on the ground.

____

Hours later, Annalys groaned as she woke up to find Jeyne and some other nurses tending to her in her chambers. Tommen, Jaime, and a Edric stood at her side, each of them looking worried and scared for the woman's wellbeing.

Just then, the doors opened and Cersei entered, looking deeply worried, "What's happened?" She fearfully asked, clearly having been told about what happened to Annalys.

"I'm fine," Annalys complained, frustrated that the group was treating her small fall as if she were a child, "There's nothing wrong."

"She fell," Edric informed Cersei, who frowned at the revelation.

"When?" Cersei questioned, clearly wanting to know every detail about her daughter's fall.

"An hour ago. She grew dizzy and tripped down the stairs." Jaime butted in to explain, not letting Annalys speak for herself.

"Stop speaking for me as if I weren't here," Annalys complained, annoyance laced in her tone as she turned to look toward her mother, "I was moving too quickly. I most likely drank too much wine."

Of course, that was a lie. She hadn't had a cup of wine since the day she died. She feared being poisoned again. It may have been Moon Tea that had been poisoned that day, but wine was the perfect drink for someone to poison her with. After all, she used to drink the substance constantly.

"What if the wine was poisoned?" Cersei questioned, her eyes wide in alarm.

Annalys found herself rolling her eyes, knowing that wasn't the case since she, in truth, hadn't even had a cup of wine in more than two months, "It was fine, Mother. I'm fine. Would you all stop fussing over me?" She complained, growing frustrated with the fact that she was being babied by her parents.

"You're not fine, Annalys. You fainted," Cersei argued in a stern tone, moving closer to Annalys before placing the back of her hand against her daughter's cheek to find that she was burning up a bit, "You're as pale a ghost. You're burning up, too."

"Nonsense," Annalys argued back, trying her best to pry her mother's hand off of her, "This was all a misunderstanding. I was drunk and got dizzy, which led to me falling," She explained, glancing around at everyone in her room.

"Now, would you please give me some time alone? I'd like to sleep. Jeyne can stay to make sure I'm alright," She commented and the nurses alongside Tommen wasted no time obeying their queen alongside Edric while Cersei and Jaime refused to leave, "Mother, Jaime, you too. Go on."

The duo looked toward their daughter, only to notice that Annalys was in no mood to argue. They sighed in defeat, exchanging a look with each other before leaving the room. 

Once they were gone, Jeyne moved closer to Annalys, a deeply annoyed look on her face. "When are you going to tell them?" She asked Annalys, who tensed up at the question.

"Tell them what?" Annalys replied, despite feeling as though she knew what Jeyne was talking about.

Deep down, Annalys knew it was true. However, the stubborn part of herself refused to believe it, knowing it would cause problems for Annalys that she was not ready to face yet. Everything was just starting to go well for her. It couldn't be true.

"That you're pregnant with Robb Stark's child," Jeyne suddenly answered Annalys' question, causing the Lannister woman to avoid eye contact with her friend.

"Robb and I have only been involved for less than a month, that's impossible," Annalys argued with Jeyne, who gave her a knowing look.

"You and I both know something happened between you both during your month-long journey here," Jeyne explained, earning a glare from Annalys, who was always annoyed by the fact that she was able to piece everything together so easily, "Many things, actually."

"How would you know?" Annalys sassily asked.

"Oh, let me see..." Jeyne trailed off sarcastically, taking a seat at Annalys' bedside, "You were traveling across the country alone with the man you love. The man you seemed to be always bedding at all the wrong times, despite claiming you're done with him every time it happens," She explained, sarcastically nodding her head, "Oh, of course you wouldn't sleep with him."

"You mustn't tell anyone," Annalys demanded in a low tone.

"Have I ever blabbed your secrets?" Jeyne asked Annalys, wasting no time grabbing her friend's hand and squeezing it in comfort, "Your secret is safe with me. They always are. You know that."

"What am I going to do, Jeyne?" Annalys questioned Jeyne softly, a hint of fear in her eyes.

"I don't know, but we'll have to figure it out soon," Jeyne assured Annalys, causing the woman to smile, "You're my queen and my best friend. I'll do whatever it takes to help you get through this."

Annalys remained silent, nodding in understanding as they both shared an uneasy look.

____

  The following night, Annalys was sitting on her throne, Robb and Euron standing before her. Cersei was standing at her side, along with some of her guards. She had appointed Jaime to stand outside the twins' door for a few days, having a weird gut feeling about something.

Before addressing Euron, Annalys turned to speak with Robb first. "The hospitality of Casterly Rock is yours, Robb, whenever you'd like to visit Lyanna and Eddard," She explained, seeing as though Robb was leaving the following day, "The truce between our kingdoms will remain intact as long as none of your men attempt to wage war on my people."

"As long as your men don't try to wage war on mine," Robb replied without hesitation, "Be ready for my return soon enough as well."

Annalys found herself smiling at Robb's response and nodded her head in understanding. Both of them knew there were two reasons for his future return.

Robb tried not to smile at Annalys, noticing the way Cersei glared at him when she saw the way her daughter blushed, "The North will remain neutral in the war that is yet to come, if that's alright with you."

"It is," Annalys responded, nodding her head in agreement since it was her idea in the first place, "And as I've said before, you're most welcome here at court whenever you'd like to return."

Robb nodded back at Annalys, bowing to her before turning to leave.

"Am I most welcome here?" Euron suddenly asked Annalys, causing Robb to stop walking for a brief moment.

Robb turned slightly, finding himself eavesdropping on the conversation, despite being dismissed.

"You're a true friend to the Westerlands and a guest of Casterly Rock for as long as you'd like," Annalys explained to Euron, trying her best to maintain composure.

"As a true friend and a guest of Casterly Rock..." He trailed off, glancing around at the guards. He went to take a step toward Annalys, only to have two of Annalys' guards place their hands on the handles of their swords as a way to tell him to not go any further.

Euron looked amused, however, as he looked back at Annalys, "I was hoping we could talk in private." he told her in a hushed tone, gesturing toward Cersei and the guards.

Annalys tensed up slightly, knowing what Euron was getting at. He wanted to be in private with her so that they may sleep together. Annalys had been smart since meeting Euron. She never let herself be alone with him. There was always another person with them. She refused to have him make a move on her.

Cersei immediately looked toward Annalys, only to see that her daughter's eyes were fixed on Robb.

Once Annalys saw that her mother had noticed the exchange of looks between herself and Robb, Annalys quickly turned her attention toward Euron once more. "I could've sworn we agreed to that happening after the war was won." Annalys pointed to Euron, who chuckled lowly.

"The war we agreed to has been won." He reminded Annalys, who seemed to realize he wasn't going to take no for an answer.

He was right, of course. She promised him after the war against Robb was won and it had been won.

"Not the one against Stannis," Annalys argued in a stern tone, shaking her head in disagreement.

"The war against Stannis could last several months, if not years." Euron continued on, much to Annalys' annoyance.

Cersei glared hatefully at the man standing before her, annoyed that he wasn't taking no for an answer. Annalys sleeping with Euron was the last thing Cersei wanted for her daughter.

She was being forced into a marriage, just as Cersei had been. The only difference was it was Annalys' second time doing so and she was forcing herself for the sake of her family. Not to mention, her crown.

"You want a whore, buy one," Cersei snapped at the man trying to climb in bed with her daughter, "You want a queen, earn her."

Euron looked slightly amused as Cersei's words. Annalys made no attempt to say anything as she stood up, turning her back to Euron in attempt to leave.

"How?" He suddenly spoke up, causing Annalys to stop walking while her back still faced him, "I've given her justice by handing over my only nephew, I gave her Rickon Stark, I even gave her the greatest armada the world has ever seen. Yet, for some reason, she gives nothing in return," He paused, his tone becoming mocking, "I'm starting to feel a bit used."

Annalys found herself feeling distraught, knowing there was no way to refuse. If she said no to him, she'd lose the Iron Fleet. She needed the Iron Fleet to defeat Stannis and then defeat Daenerys Targaryen, who could arrive at their shores at any moment.

Annalys cursed under her breath, knowing she'd have to agree now. She turned to him, giving him the look that told him to follow her. He grinned, immediately obeying as he felt proud of his victory in getting Annalys to agree.

Cersei watched on as Euron followed Annalys in the direction of her chambers, a saddened look on her face. Annalys was sleeping with a man she didn't want to in order for her to win the Iron Throne. A Throne she only wanted because of her mother claiming it to be necessary. In truth, it really wasn't.

Cersei turned her head and immediately noticed Robb looking saddened from afar as well. Her eyes became soft for a moment, understanding how he felt about the whole ordeal.

At that moment, she realized Robb did in fact love Annalys as much as he claimed to. Cersei began to realize that Robb was the only man she was somewhat comfortable with Annalys being with, despite the fact she hated his guts.

Robb never wanted her for power, he wanted her for her. He wanted Annalys because he loved her more than anything in the world.

What did Euron want?

He wanted to fuck the queen and become king. He wanted power. That was the opposite of what Robb Stark wanted.

At that moment, Cersei understood that she and Jaime's survival was the reason for Annalys being robbed of her own happiness.

Annalys had been Queen in the North. She had been carrying a princess and prince in her belly. She had the Starks as her family. A family that loved her despite her mistakes and the family she came from. She had men loyal to her, men that would have died for her. She had a husband, who loved her more than anything in the world and would have died for her in a heartbeat if it came down to it.

However, she sacrificed it all for her mother and father. She lost the love of her life. She lost the North. She lost all of those men loyal to her. She lost everything that had given her true happiness.

And for what? To fight for the two most hated people in Westeros for the rest of her life? To be constantly fighting for her survival against a Baratheon with a witch on his side and a Targaryen who had three dragons? To have to marry a man who was twice her age and only wanted her for power?

Annalys' unhappiness was caused because of her loyalty to her mother and father.

For that, Cersei knew she'd never forgive herself. Annalys was going to become just like her in the years to come and it would be all her fault.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

DAMN! Annalys is pregnant, again!

What do you think it will be this time, a boy or a girl? 

Also, how the hell do you think that's going to work? Robb is about to leave and Annalys is about to sleep with Euron and marry him in due time....