KINGDOM FALL
— 76. Prisoners

     In the courtyard of Castle Black, Robb was preparing to leave with the rest of the men he had brought with him to Castle Black when Jon somberly walked over to him, knowing it was most likely the last time they'd see each other, "It seems this is it," Jon uneasily spoke up, causing Robb to turn to look at him.

"That it is," Robb told his brother, trying his best not to look saddened, even though it felt like the hardest thing to say goodbye to his brother for the second time.

As Robb turned away from Jon, Jon was quick to notice the uneasy look on his brother's face, "What is it?" He questioned, a concerned look on his face.

"I just don't understand why Annalys left in such a hurry," Robb admitted quietly, looking both concerned and confused, "I would expect she'd say goodbye to you, at least. The whole thing about her agreeing to not heading beyond the Wall has me stumped too."

"What do you mean?" Jon questioned, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

"You and I both know convincing Annalys to change her mind is nearly impossible," Robb reminded Jon, who clearly didn't understand what Robb was getting at.

"Why are you so worried?" Jon complained, chuckling slightly, "Annalys is reckless, but she isn't reckless enough to go beyond the Wall alone."

Robb slowly turned to his brother. He sighed in defeat, shaking his head in disapproval, "It seems you don't know her as well as you think I do, Snow," He responded, much to Robb's confusion, "Underestimating Annalys is the last thing you ever want to do. I've learned that the hard way."

"What are you saying?" Jon asked, beginning to become just as concerned as Robb was, "You believe she went beyond the Wall?"

"I'm saying that it wouldn't be the first time Annalys has done something reckless without anyone figuring it out until it was too late to stop her," Robb confessed, much to both of their concerns.

Before they could react, however, the Night's Watch horns blared and the northern gate of Castle Black that led North of the Wall opened, revealing Stannis on horseback walking through with Ser Davos, hundreds of soldiers, and Wiliding prisoners alongside them.

Soon enough, Stannis forced his horse to come to a stop in the middle of the courtyard. With that, he climbed off his horse, two of his followers immediately bringing Mance Rayder over to him, seeing as though the Wildling King was his most valuable prisoner, for more reasons than one.

"Seven Hells. It's Stannis," Robb told Jon, alarmed.

Jon's mouth gaped open in shock and he stared directly at Mance, who was chained up by Stannis, "He has Mance," He informed Robb quietly, the two of them exchanging a worried look before heading toward Stannis together.

"King Stannis," Robb greeted the Baratheon man, even though seeing him was the last thing he wanted to do after what happened in the Riverlands.

After a moment, Stannis turned to Robb, looking somewhat taken aback to see him there, despite hearing rumors that both Annalys and Robb had taken forces to the Wall to help the Night's Watch in their battle, "What brings you so far up North?" He asked, especially referring to the fact that Stannis had entered Castle Black from the Northern side instead of from the South as most did.

"I've taken wilding prisoners," Stannis informed Robb in a calm tone, seeing no point in lying about it.

"Why?" Jon wasted no time asking Stannis, not even bothering to introduce himself.

"I was planning to force them to bend to knee to join the army, but it seems they can give something else," Stannis began to explain as Mance looked toward Jon, an indescribable look on his face, "Valuable information on the whereabouts of Annalys."

Hearing Stannis' choice of words, Robb's eyes widened in alarm, "What are you talking about?" He asked in concern, glancing between the stoic Stannis and Mance.

As if on cue, Ser Davos walked over, handing Annalys' cloak over to Stannis. Robb was on the verge of arguing against it being Annalys' only to recognize it to be hers because of the lion sigil embroidered on the front of it. He recalled Annalys wearing it just the day before.

"Annalys has traveled beyond the Wall, presumably to do the same that I have." Stannis continued on, only to hear a loud scoff escape Mance's lips, which caused the group to turn to him, "The King Beyond The Wall will explain to me how he managed to bring Annalys to safety before I could catch her and also why he did. If he doesn't, he will be executed."

They each gave Mance a questioning look, urging him to speak up. Mance, however, made no attempt to, refusing to say anything about Annalys. He knew it would risk what she promised to do and he couldn't have that. He knew that whatever he chose, he'd die because he'd refuse to kneel. However, if he decided to keep his mouth shut, at least he'd be able to die knowing that Annalys would do what was right and bring his people South of the Wall in order to save that. For that, he knew he'd continue not saying a single word about her whereabouts.

Jon, on the other hand, had trouble understanding what was going on, finding it odd that Mance was so insistent on keeping his mouth shut about Annalys when she wasn't even a member of the Free Folk.

Stannis glared at Mance for a moment, angered that his attempts of getting Mance to speak up wasn't working. Feeling defeat, he turned to a few of his soldiers, an angered look on his face, "Take him away." He ordered in a stern tone and without hesitation, Stannis left with the soldiers that dragged Mance away.

Once they were gone, Robb turned to face Jon, looking to be both alarmed and frustrated, "You see what I'm talking about?" He asked Jon in a frustrated tone, "Expect the impossible from Annalys and you'll never be surprised."

"What are we going to do?" Jon replied, an uneasy look forming on his face at the thought of Annalys residing beyond the Wall with wildings.

He knew the type of person Annalys was. If she wasn't careful, her bluntness would get the best of her and she'd say the wrong thing to the wrong person, which would end with her dead.

"We get her back," Robb answered without hesitation, a determined look on his face.

"How?"

"We can start by questioning Mance Rayder." Robb replied, which earned an uneasy look from Jon, who knew the type of person Mance was.

"He'll never speak," Jon argued, shaking his head in disapproval, "Somehow, Annalys has convinced him to keep his mouth shut about her. Nothing will make him speak, not even us."

"We'll see about that," Robb confidently replied, immediately beginning to walk away.

Jon sighed in defeat, hesitantly following after Robb. He could see it. He could finally see it. He could finally see one of the main reasons why Robb and Annalys continued to be drawn to one another, despite everything. Their recklessness when it came to each other. They were both reckless and most people didn't like that in a lover or a partner, but they did. They enjoyed to be reckless. Robb might not have liked to admit that about himself, but he did. Annalys was reckless, too, she was just more willing to show it. It was one of the reasons why they fit so well.

_____

Several moments later, Jon and Robb entered the room that Mance resided in at Castle Black, the two men there to question him about Annalys, "Robb Stark, the King in the North. I've heard quite a bit about you," Mance greeted Robb in a calm tone, just before turning to look directly at Jon, "Jon Snow. You're wearing black again."

While Jon looked down in shame, Robb found himself boiling with anger about Annalys. Soon enough, he wasn't able to control it, "We didn't come here to make small talk," He argued in a low, threatening tone, glaring at the Wilding King, "Tell us where Annalys is or I swear to you--"

With that, Robb began to move toward Mance, only to stop when Jon grabbed him by the arm, "Robb, enough," Jon demanded in a stern tone, giving his brother a warning look.

Robb sighed in defeat, turning to look Jon in the eye. After a moment, he finally gave him, rolling his eyes in annoyance. "Annalys was right," Mance suddenly spoke up, causing both Robb and Jon to turn to her with wide eyes, "Your protectiveness over her is a threat far worse to us than the White Walkers."

"So she went to you about the White Walkers, then," Robb realized, continuing to glare hatefully at Mance.

"She did," Mance replied, nodding his head in confirmation.

"What did she promise you?" Robb questioned, narrowing his eyes at Mance.

"What makes you think she promised me anything?" Mance retorted, despite knowing Robb was right.

"Annalys promises everyone something. It's how she always gets what she wants," Robb replied without hesitation, much to Mance's amusement.

"But she fulfills her promise each time, doesn't she?" Mance asked, earning a nod from Robb almost immediately after.

"She does." Robb confirmed, much to Mance's relief.

He was right to trust Annalys. Thank the Gods. At least he could die knowing that she'd save his people and keep them safe. He just hoped Annalys didn't get on her bad side. If she did, Mance knew they were all fucked. A rivalry between the two women is the last thing they would want.

"Then, you don't need to know what she promised me, then," Mance ended up responding after a moment of silence, snapping himself out of his thoughts, "Within a month, it will be fulfilled."

"Within a month, you will be dead if you don't confess the truth about Annalys." Jon argued, but by the look on Mance's face, the Stark bastard had the feeling he didn't really care.

"So be it," Mance replied, shrugging his shoulders without a care in the world.

After hearing his words, Robb narrowed his eyes at Mance Rayder. He eyed his expression intently, trying to figure out what Annalys had over him. He began to think about it for a moment and soon enough, he found himself able to piece everything together.

"You said within a month her promise to you would be fulfilled. That's quite specific, don't you think?" Robb suddenly spoke up, causing both Jon and Mance to turn to look at him, "It will take a little more than a fortnight for the Lannister soldiers to reach Casterly Rock. Lannisport is not far from there and that is where the Iron Fleet is anchored at," He paused and Jon gave him a puzzled look, not knowing what his brother was getting at.

Mance, on the other hand, remained silent, knowing damn well that Robb had figured everything out, "The Iron Fleet has a thousand ships. That's more than enough to hold the Free Folk and bring them South of the Wall. She's promised to let your people South of the Wall, hasn't she?" He asked and Mance remained silent, giving Robb and Jon their answer, "What did you promise in return?"

"Our assistance in fighting in the Great War," Mance answered, knowing there was no point in lying after Robb figured out most of it.

Robb scoffed loudly, clearly growing frustrated with all the talk of White Walkers when it came to Annalys, "What is it with you all and this threat of White Walkers?" He complained in an annoyed tone.

"The White Walkers are real," Mance argued in a calm tone, earning an eye roll from Robb.

"So I've been told," Robb muttered under his breath and Jon rolled his eyes at his actions.

"Freyja will make sure Annalys upholds her end of bargain," Mance continued on, causing Robb and Jon to turn him, alarmed after hearing the mention of a woman they did not know, "If they work together in the upcoming future, I am more than okay with dying tonight."

Hearing Mance's words, Jon frowned in confusion, "Who's Freyja?" He asked, not understanding why he hadn't heard the name, even after spending some time with the Free Folk.

"My second in command," Mance informed Jon, causing Robb to tense up, "With me gone, the Free Folk have already chosen her to lead in my stead as Queen Beyond the Wall. She's descended from four different clans North of the Wall, the daughter of two chieftains. None come even close to being as power as she is in the North. Annalys is most likely meeting her right now as we speak. If Annalys proves herself an ally, she'll live. But if Freyja doesn't like her, Annalys will die soon after their meeting. That girl has a temper worse than anything I've ever seen."

Robb found himself tensing up, knowing he could say the same about Annalys.

"I have the feeling they'll get along, though," Mance admitted in a calm tone, noticing how concerned Robb looked, "For both our sakes, let's hope that's true. The Free Folk and the Crows will only survive this war if those two work together."

Hearing Mance's words, Robb began to glare at him, becoming angrier by the second for some odd reason, "Where is Annalys being taken?" He asked and of course, Mance remained silent, refusing to give up Annalys' location.

As they stood in silence, Robb found himself feeling worried about Annalys, thinking about the woman Mance spoke of. Who was she really? Was Annalys going to die? How was he supposed to save her if he didn't know where she was? Did Annalys even need saving?

He had no clue, but he also knew there was no way he'd be able to get to her while Mance refused to tell him where she was.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I swear, Mance only said that scary stuff to scare the shit out of Robb 😭😂 Freyja ain't even bad, trust me.

What do you all think is gonna happen?