KINGDOM FALL
— 70. Love Over Fear

Along the walls of Casterly Rock, Annalys walked with Edric, the two of them conversing about what Annalys was on the verge of doing, "You're truly serious about heading to Castle Black, aren't you?" Edric asked Annalys curiously, earning a small nod in response.

"I am," She replied, letting out a small sigh in defeat, "And I know you'd like to head to Castle Black alongside me, but I can't let Lyanna and Eddard be alone in Winterfell, not when I don't know how long I'll be at the Wall for. I need you to stay with them. Are you willing to do that?"

"Of course, Your Grace," Edric wasted no time answering, nodding his head in response, "I'll protect the twins and care for them as if they were my own. I'll guard them with my life."

"I have one more thing to ask of you," Annalys continued on, causing Edric to give her the look that told her to continue on, "You will be at Winterfell alone. Would you like Jeyne to accompany you?"

Edric's eyes widened in shock at Annalys' question while the Lannister woman smirked, "I beg your pardon?" He questioned, acting as though he didn't know what she meant.

"I'm not stupid. Everyone else might not see it, but I do," Annalys informed Edric with a large smile on her face, "I see the way you look at each other. I know it all too well," She explained, referring to the fact that she and Robb used to look at each other the same exact way.

"Your Grace, I'm so--" He began to apologize, only to have Annalys cut him off.

"It's alright. I know being in the Queensguard means you can't have any relations with a woman, but as I've said before, I want to be different," Annalys confessed, which wasn't the entire truth, "Jeyne deserves to be happy, as do you. I give you my blessing." She paused, letting out a small sigh in defeat, "Just don't tell let my mother or father find out."

Edric remained silent, nodding his head in understanding. He knew why Annalys didn't want her parents to find out. It was just the day before when she forbade their relationship.

"Just don't break Jeyne's heart, understand?" Annalys bluntly asked Edric, continuing to smile, despite being on the verge of threatening him, "I love you both very much, but if you hurt her, I might just have to hurt you."

Edric's face fell at Annalys' words. She, however, continued to smile, patting him on the back before beginning to walk away with Edric trying his best to keep up.

____

That same day, in one of the many hallways of King's Landing, Jeyne was walking alone, on the verge of meeting up with Edric in secret.

Before she could get far, Cersei, of all people, ended up stepping in front of her, blocking her path to their secret meeting place.

"Lady Cersei," Jeyne greeted Cersei, who felt annoyed by what the younger woman had called her.

"Queen Mother," She corrected Jeyne, who rolled her eyes at the inaccuracy.

"Lady Cersei, actually," Jeyne argued back, a smile forming on her lips, "You would only be queen mother if Annalys had inherited the Iron throne after Joffrey died, but she did not. Annalys is Queen of the Westerlands at this moment and as far as I can tell, you never held that title. Not even as a consort."

Cersei was silent for a moment, shooting Jeyne a hateful glare, "You must talk my daughter out of traveling North to the Wall," She demanded in a stern tone, "You are the only one who can talk her out of it."

"And why would I want to do that?" Jeyne questioned Cersei with an attitude, "You are not my queen. You have no right to command me to do anything. Only Annalys can."

"My daughter, the one who forced you into serving her," Cersei retorted, much to Jeyne's confusion.

"Annalys didn't force me to do anything," Jeyne argued with Cersei in an annoyed tone, "I serve my queen because I want to serve my queen. Unlike you, I believe in her."

"Who says I don't believe in my daughter?" Cersei asked Jeyne in a low, threatening tone, "I believe in Annalys, more than you could ever know! I have since the moment she was born."

"If that was true, you wouldn't be trying to threaten her handmaiden into convincing Annalys to stay in Casterly Rock," Jeyne responded, much to Cersei's shock, "You don't enjoy the fact that you can't control her. You don't like that Ser Jaime chose being apart of Annalys' Queenguard over continuing to be your lover. You also don't like that everyone here at Casterly Rock loves Annalys more than they fear you, which makes it quite difficult to get them to do your bidding."

Cersei remained silent, trying her best not to look shocked to find Jeyne figuring everything out about her.

"If you do not help me, I will tell Annalys about your relations with Ser Edric Dayne," Cersei threatened Jeyne, who gradually began to smile, "I'll tell her that the reason you became her handmaiden in the first place was because you were disowned by your family after letting a bastard take your virtue."

Jeyne found herself unable to contain herself any longer and became to quietly laugh at Cersei, "Annalys already knows everything about me. There is nothing you have against me that could convince me to betray her." She explained to Cersei, just before giving her a cold, threatening look, "I'd rather die a slow, painful death than betray my Queen in any shape or form."

Jeyne sent Cersei a mischievous smile, just before walking away. Cersei turned to watch Jeyne leave, glaring daggers into the Crakehall girl's back.

Everyone at court was the same. Cersei had tried everything to convince someone to take her side, but none would. She refused to let Annalys go to the Wall, not when it risked her life. Many people believed it wasn't wise of Annalys to go, but they let her do it anyway because they believed in her.

The loyalty everyone had to Annalys seemed almost pathological to Cersei. Each and every one of them loved Annalys more than they feared Cersei and that was the first.

Even Jaime chose Annalys over Cersei and that pissed her off even more.

Jaime had the choice, remain in Annalys' Queensguard and break things off with Cersei or remain with Cersei and relinquish his duties as Lord Commander.

He chose Annalys.

Cersei couldn't believe it when Jaime told her the news. He claimed that he was the only one who could actually be trusted protecting their daughter and he was willing to break things off with Cersei in order to not lose Annalys.

He chose keeping his bond with his daughter over remaining with Cersei, the woman he loved.

Cersei just couldn't believe it.

_____

Weeks later, after leaving Casterly Rock, Annalys headed to Winterfell. When she arrived at Winterfell with the twins, Edric, and Jeyne, it felt quite odd to Annalys, especially since the last time she had been there was when she died. She saw Rickon, Sansa, and Arya again. Each of them hugged Annalys tightly, surprisingly happy to see her again.

Rickon and Arya tried to beg Annalys to bring them with her to Castle Black, but Annalys knew it wasn't wise. She promised she'd return with a gift, whatever she could find. They were happy enough with that.

Annalys had been confused when she didn't see Robb around, but didn't bother to question it. It was a good thing, to not see Robb. Not after what happened the last time they saw each other.

She saw Catelyn there, too, who wasn't at all happy to see Annalys again. Of course, unlike Robb, she could understand why Annalys did everything that she did, but it didn't mean she agreed with it.

When Annalys was about climb back on her horse to leave, she caught a glimpse of a young boy, who seemed to be just a tad bit younger than the twins.

He had dark brown hair that was nearly black and had a pale complexion. Annalys knew right away somehow that he had Stark blood running through his veins. The boy was Olyvar, Robb's bastard son.

Annalys gradually began to smile as she rode away, oddly enough. She shouldn't have been happy, but in a way, she was. She was glad that Robb actually took her advice and brought his son to Winterfell. She believed it to be the right thing to do.

A few weeks after that, Annalys arrived at Castle Black with her army of three thousand soliders.

As she reached the gates of Castle Black, she heard the horns blare a single time and an unknown man yell, "Open the gates! The Queen is here!"

  After the gates had been opened, Annalys made her way into Castle Black on her horse, all by her lone self. It felt odd to have neither Jaime nor Edric at her side, but she knew it was the right thing to do. Jaime was the only she could trust to stay in Casterly Rock to keep everything under control and Edric was the only one she could trust with the twins alongside Jeyne.

Many men stared at her, some of them whispering about her being the Queen while others whispered about her being a Lannister, the daughter of Cersei and the Kingslayer. She paid no mind to them, however. She really didn't care what they thought. Her men would be the reason Castle Black wouldn't fall in the upcoming weeks.

She looked around, only to have her eyes soon lock on a familiar face at the top of one of the staircases. Her eyes widened at the sight of Jon Snow. It had been so long. Almost six years had passed since she last saw him.

Jon seemed to have the same reaction about her. He looked a bit different, his hair was longer and he definitely matured more in the face.

As she watched Jon slowly walk down the stairs, Annalys climbed off her horse and began to approach him.

Many people stared at the two of them, immediately noticing that they seemed to know each other well, despite Jon being a bastard from the North while Annalys was a Lannister Queen from the South.

  Once making it to the end of the stairs, Jon quickened his pace. He soon made it to Annalys and stood in front of her for a moment, an unreadable look on his face.

"It's been a while, Jon," She quietly spoke up, a soft smile on her face, "I sure hoped you missed me."

Within seconds, Jon lunged into a hug with Annalys and Annalys immediately wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.

They continued to hug each other for a long moment, many people staring at them closely. A Stark bastard, hugging the most powerful person in Westeros. Now, that was a sight many didn't see.

From the top of the staircase where Jon was formerly standing, a person unbeknownst to Annalys watched the scene closely, a hint of both sadness and jealousy in their eyes.

After a moment, Jon and Annalys pulled away from each other, giving each other a brief moment to look each other in the eye before Annalys finally decided to speak up, "I am so sorry, Jon," She apologized, tears welled in her eyes, "I'm sorry for everything that happened at Winterfell all those years ago. Everything I told you was a lie. That wasn't how I truly felt."

"I know," Was all Jon said, causing a shocked expression to appear on Annalys' face, "It took me about a year to realize it, but I figured it out." He paused, letting out a sigh, "I'm sorry for begging you to come this far north, but if we don't stop this, all of Westeros will be facing this threat."

Annalys nodded, knowing for a fact Jon wasn't talking about the Wildings.

"Whatever it is that you need, I will help you," Annalys replied without hesitation, a determined look on her face.

"There's something else you need to know--" Jon began to tell Annalys, only to get cut off by a third party.

"What is she doing here?" A familiar voice spoke up, causing Annalys' eyes to widen in shock.

So much for being relieved about avoiding him at Winterfell.

Annalys turned her head, an angered look on her face when she found Robb walking down the same set of stairs Jon had been just moments before.

"We need her help. She has the most men to spare," Jon tried to convince Robb, who was quick to argue.

"Lady Margaery was planning to send us five thousand men," Robb purposely said aloud, clearly trying to get a rise out of Annalys.

Instead, however, Annalys scoffed, looking beyond amused by the revelation, "So it's true. You and the Doe-Eyed Whore are betrothed." She remarked, much to Robb's annoyance.

Robb rolled his eyes as he walked closer to Annalys and Jon, "Don't call her that," He demanded in a stern tone, annoyed that Annalys once again was calling one of his bethroths a whore.

Of course, Annalys always knew Eleanor Mallister wasn't a whore. Annalys never truly hated her, either. She knew that she was just a naïve girl who blindly fell for someone who, in truth, would never love her back.

Margaery was different. She technically was somewhat of a whore. Annalys had every right to call her one after she tried to sink her claws into both of her brothers. Annalys hated her with a burning passion. Annalys also knew Robb was only involving himself with Margaery just to spite her after she broke his heart.

"Have you met the Knight of the Flowers?" Annalys asked Robb curiously, a smile forming on her lips as she changed the subject, "He was always my favorite Tyrell."

"I have," Robb confirmed in a calm tone, nodding his head, "He had a lot to say about you."

"All good things, I hope," Annalys smirked, knowing damn well it was most likely quite the opposite.

"You manipulated him many times, he says," Robb informed Annalys, causing her to look beyond amused.

"Sounds about right," Annalys replied sarcastically before her expression became serious as she turned to Jon, "In your letter, you said Wildlings weren't the only thing we'd be fighting."

"There are things beyond the wall. Creatures." Jon began to inform Annalys, whose eyes widened in shock.

"White Walkers." She realized, much to Jon's disbelief.

"How did you know?" Jon asked in disbelief.

Annalys turned to look at Robb, who seemed annoyed that she had been right the entire time. She smiled slightly, reverting her attention back to Jon, "Perhaps we ought to go inside for this one. It's a long story."

Jon turned to Robb, who had an uneasy look on his face, "She's right," He hesitantly spoke up, letting out a small sigh in defeat, "You're most likely going to need a mug of ale for her story. We both will."

"Actually, you're not hearing my story," Annalys suddenly replied, causing Robb to frown.

"Why not?" Robb asked, annoyance laced in his tone of voice.

"I repeatedly told you that the White Walkers were real and you refused to believe me," Annalys explained to Robb in a cold tone, "It took Jon telling you to finally believe me. You don't deserve to hear the story you continuously refused to listen to."

With that, Annalys locked arms with Jon, beginning to walk away with him. Robb watched them walk away, an angered look on his face. For a split second, Annalys looked back at him, a mischievous smirk on her face. She sent him a wink, just before looking away.

Robb's mouth gaped open in shock at Annalys' actions. She was screwing with him on purpose. She was attempting to piss him off to the extreme, which she was awfully good at. She always had been.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Here we go😂  Lots of stuff is about to happen.