LION'S LEGACY
38. The Lion and the Rose

That day in the stables, Eddard was sweeping up some hay off the floor when Joanna entered, a large smile on her face. "Enjoying your punishment, brother?" She jokingly asked and unlike the rest of his siblings, instead of snapping at her, he smiled and shook his head.

"Of course, how else would I prefer spending my morning than to be cleaning up horse dung and sweeping up hay?" He sarcastically questioned, earning a small giggle from Joanna, "How are you doing? You know, about Lady?"

Joanna began to tear up, but instead of crying, she simply shook her head. "I went to see Uncle Tyrion," She informed Eddard, who began to tense up, "He believes that mother would be willing to buy me another cat. But I don't think I want another cat. She'll never be Lady."

"You're still visiting our Uncle?" Eddard found himself asking Joanna, a deeply uneasy look on his face, "Don't you think that it's unwise to be paying so many visits to him? You're at risk of being caught," He paused, letting out a small sigh before continuing on, "Not to mention, he's going to be sent to the Night's Watch in the next few days."

"What?!" Joanna asked in disbelief, eyes wide, "What are you talking about, Ned?"

Eddard sighed in defeat, realizing he had screwed up by telling Joanna that. "Mother plans to send him to the Night's Watch. He'll have to take the black."

"No!" Joanna protested, giving Eddard a look of disbelief, "We can't let that happen, Ned! He'll die."

"How are we supposed to help him, Joanna?" Eddard questioned Joanna in annoyance, "Free him?"

"You're a genius, Eddard!" Joanna exclaimed happily, clapping her hands together, "We can free him. Then, he won't be harmed."

Eddard sighed in defeat. He cursed under his breath, realizing he had made a mistake by saying such a thing. He had been joking, but he had to realize. It was Joanna he was talking to. She couldn't understand that he had been joking.

"Please," Joanna pleaded, moving closer to her eldest brother while making her best puppy dog eyes, "Please, Eddard. We can't let him die."

Eddard stared down at Joanna, who continued to give him a pleading look. He wanted nothing more than to say no, but he knew he'd never be able to say no to his youngest sister. He didn't want to break her heart, not when she just lost Lady. He feared losing Tyrion would break Joanna even more than losing Lady did. He refused to let Joanna become him or Lyanna and he knew with enough loss and heartbreak, the rest of the children would become just like them. Broken.

Just moments later, in the Great Hall, Lyanna was kneeling on the ground, thoroughly scrubbing the floor. It had been hours and she still wasn't even close to finishing.

Just then, the door opened, but Lyanna didn't even bother to turn when she realized it was Eddard. She found herself rolling her eyes in annoyance, just before continuing to scrub the floor.

"What do you want?" Lyanna asked her twin brother with an attitude.

"I need your help," Eddard told Lyanna in an urgent tone, but his twin sister still continued to refuse to turn to face him.

Lyanna scoffed, finding it almost amusing that Eddard was asking for her help, even after what he did. "What, to get me into more trouble?" She asked him with an attitude before shaking her head, "Go away."

"Lyanna," Eddard called out in a stern, yet pleading tone. The Lannister girl sighed in frustration before finally turning to look at him, "I need your help. It's important. Without you, I can't do it."

Hearing Eddard's words, Lyanna found herself smirking. She placed her sponge down before standing up, looking Eddard in the eye. "You are unbelievable. One minute, you're fighting me. The next, you're asking for my help," She explained before her smirk faded and her entire expression became cold and emotionless, "You can go to hell, brother."

Lyanna picked up her sponge. She started to walk past Eddard, toward the exit doors.

Eddard sighed in annoyance, turning to face her since he knew the only way to do what he was about to do, he needed Lyanna to be on his side. "Uncle Jon is coming to King's Landing. Mother plans to give him each of the prisoners in the black cells. That includes our Uncle Tyrion." He explained, which immediately gained Lyanna's attention.

She stopped walking and turned to face her twin brothers, her eyes wide in shock. "What did you just say?" She questioned in concern.

"She plans to force him to join the Night's Watch. With the Wildlings loyal to Mother at the Wall, our uncle will be dead within hours after arriving there. If not them, the others in the Night's Watch will end up murdering him for siding with Daenerys in the first place," He explained to Lyanna, "We need to help him before that can happen. I need your help. You're our only hope."

"Our?" Lyanna asked, frowning in confusion.

On cue, the door opened and Joanna and Torrhen peeked out. Lyanna turned to her brother, her eyes wide in shock. "We must do this together. We are one. Always and forever. Remember?" Eddard questioned and Lyanna found herself sighing in defeat.

She knew she couldn't refuse now that Eddard brought up their vow.

"Fine. But we'll need Torra's help as well. And Grandfather's," Lyanna informed Eddard, who immediately looked confused.

"Grandfather?" Eddard frowned, not knowing what Lyanna meant.

"Ser Jaime," She informed Eddard, causing him to nod in understanding, "The lot of you will go see Torra. Tell her that I've sent you. I will go see Grandfather."

"Of course, the favorite will go," Torrhen muttered under his breath in annoyance.

Hearing his comment, Lyanna stopped walking. She whipped her head around to look at Torrhen and the young boy immediately began to tense up. "Continue making comments like that and I won't help you, understand?" She told him threateningly and Joanna tried her best to hide her smile at the way Torrhen practically shuddered in fear at his sister's threat.

Torrhen sighed in defeat and nodded his head. With that, Lyanna turned to look at Eddard. "Now, go. I'll go speak to Grandfather." She ordered and Eddard nodded, just before they went their separate ways.

____

That day, Torra was sitting in her room with Aden. They were laughing about something when the door opened. Eddard and the rest of the children, excluding Lyanna, Olyvar, and Edric entered.

"We need your help," Eddard wasted no time informing Torra, who was quick to exchange a look with Aden.

At the same time, the couple turned to look at Eddard, smiling. "With what exactly?" Torra questioned, raising a brow at her brother.

"Do you promise you will not tell Mother and Father, even if you don't agree with it?" Eddard asked Torra, causing her to tilt her head slightly as she shrugged.

"Depends on what it is," She informed the group, who groaned in annoyance.

"Just promise, Torra!" Torrhen exclaimed, growing frustrated with his sister.

"How is she supposed to keep a secret from your parents about you lot when she doesn't even know how threatening it could be?" Aden spoke up and Torra smiled, glad he had her back.

"Exactly," Torra added in, agreeing with Aden.

Eddard was about to shout at the two older teens when Rickard grabbed him by the arm. Eddard turned to him and frowned, wondering what he was up to. "Let's just go, Eddard. Clearly, she's not willing to help us." Rickard suggested, much to everyone's confusion.

Eddard was the first to look down at him, only to suddenly realize that Rickard was trying to manipulate Torra. "You're right," He played along, nodding his head in agreement, "Let's just go find Lyanna."

The entire group turned, on the verge of leaving. Torra began to tense up, worried that if she didn't agree to help them with whatever was going on, even more chaos will follow it and that was the last thing she wanted for her adopted siblings.

Torra began to tense up and exchanged a look with Aden, who seemed to understand what had her so tensed up. He gestured his head toward the children, clearly agreeing with the fact that she had to agree.

They were like Annalys and Robb in that aspect, able to converse with each other with just looks, as if they could read each other's mind.

Torra sighed in frustration, just before turning to look back at the group of children. "Wait," She called out and Eddard smiled in satisfaction as his back faced her.

He felt beyond relieved and thankful for what Rickard had done. His brother may have been a bit of an outcast and a trouble starter, but he knew how to get his way, that was for sure.

"I promise to keep your secret," She continued on, much to Eddard's relief.

"We plan to free our Uncle Tyrion," Joanna informed Torra, who began to smile.

She scoffed, both Aden and Torra looking content about the revelation as if they had expected it. "Took you long enough," She replied, much to Eddard's confusion.

"Wait, what?" Eddard asked Torra, a puzzled look on his face, "I...I don't understand."

Instead of responding to Eddard, Torra turned to Aden, smirking in satisfaction. "It seems you owe me five Gold Dragons," She told him, continuing to smirk.

Aden sighed, playfully rolling his eyes. "Five gold dragons?" He questioned, letting out a small scoff, "I don't even have one gold dragon."

"Perhaps you'll just have to pay me back some other way," Torra whispered to Aden, leaning a bit closer to him, as if she forgot about the children present.

Aden smiled, nodding his head in agreement. "Oh, I can make that happen," He replied softly, causing them both to smile.

Aden and Torra were smirking as they eyed each other. Eddard found himself rolling his eyes at the sight while the other children looked confused, oblivious to what 'payment' Torra spoke up.

"Are you going to help us or not?" Eddard suddenly spoke up, growing impatient with the duo.

Torra rolled her eyes while Aden smiled, both of them turning to look at Eddard. "Help you free Tyrion? Sure, why not? It's not like I have anything else to do this week," She decided, turning to Aden, "Want to join us, my love?"

"I think I'll pass on this one," Aden admitted, not wanting to risk getting into trouble with Robb and Annalys after they gave him a place to stay.

He wasn't one of their children. If they were caught for freeing Tyrion, he would be in far much more trouble than the children were.

Torra nodded in understanding, just before they both stood up from their seats. "It seems we must make a plan."

"Lyanna's already doing that," Torrhen informed Torra, causing the girl to frown as she glanced around to see her favorite sibling nowhere in sight.

"And where is Lyanna?" She asked, knowing something was up if Lyanna wasn't there.

"With Ser Jaime," Joanna replied without hesitation, "Our grandfather."

Hearing Joanna's words, Torra sighed in annoyance. "The lot of you must be fools. Getting a Sworn Queensguard involved in treason? He could be executed!" She exclaimed, giving Eddard a look of disbelief, "And it's not like he'll refuse. Tyrion is his brother. He was already caught for freeing Tyrion once. If he gets caught again, Mother won't go easy on him."

"Lyanna's the one who decided to go see him, not us," Eddard complained, refusing to be blamed for his twin sister's decision.

"Let us hope he refuses and keeps our secret," Torra hoped, giving each of the children an uneasy look.

_____

In another part of the castle, Lyanna was following Jaime through the hallways of the castle, the latter looking annoyed with the girl.

"Come on! You have to help us," Lyanna pleaded as Jaime continued to walk with her following after him, "Please, Grandfather."

Jaime sighed in frustration. the fact that Lyanna had called him grandfather clearly getting to him. He slowly turned to face Lyanna and it felt as though history was repeating itself. Lyanna was attempting to involve Jaime in treason in order to save someone they both loved. He recalled Annalys doing the same, all to save Tyrion.

How was it that Annalys now wanted Tyrion dead and her daughter was trying to save him?

"You do understand this is treason, right? You may have the ability to not get in trouble, but that doesn't mean I won't get in trouble," Jaime explained, sounding deeply frustrated.

He wanted nothing more than to help, they both knew that. However, Jaime didn't want to risk facing Annalys' wrath when she found out he was involved. He already got on her badside once when he freed Tyrion the first time. It had been a surprise that she forgave him. He feared he wouldn't have a second chance to gain her forgiveness and if he didn't, he had nothing.

He had no family, no titles, no lands. He only had the Queensguard and his daughter and he was fine with that. For he knew he'd have nothing without it.

"Don't you want to free your brother?" Lyanna questioned Jaime, who sighed in response.

"It's not like he's being tortured every day down there. It could be worse. Not to mention, Varys is down there with him," He explained, only to notice the odd look on Lyanna's face, "What?"

"You really believed Mother when she said that?" Lyanna asked Jaime, causing him to look annoyed with his granddaughter.

"What are you talking about?" Jaime questioned, feeling as though Lyanna was only trying to manipulate him.

"She released Varys longer than a year ago," She informed Jaime, who was trying his best to refuse to believe her.

"You're lying," Jaime argued, knowing if Annalys had freed Varys but contained Tyrion, it meant she was no longer doing it because it was the right thing to do. The vendetta she had against Tyrion would be personal.

"I am not. She just didn't tell anyone. Nobody knows, but me," She responded, tilting her head slightly as he looked up at her grandfather, "My Uncle Jon is traveling south from the Night's Watch. Mother's giving him each of the men in the Black Cells to be recruits for the Night's Watch, including Uncle Tyrion."

"What?" Jaime gasped, his eyes wide in shock.

"How well do you think Tyrion will have it at Castle Black? It's practically filled with wildlings, wildings loyal to my mother. My mother hates Tyrion. So they will, too. The others will hate him for siding with Daenerys. He'll most likely die before he can even take his vows." Lyanna explained, knowing just the right words to use to make sure Jaime agreed.

She was her mother's daughter, after all.

Jaime felt hesitant to agree, fearing for Annalys' reaction. "I won't be there with you to free him, but I'll make sure there is no one there to stop you," He decided, kneeling next to Lyanna.

He placed a hand on her shoulder, looking her in the eye as he spoke to her. "Take the secret passages. They'll bring you to the underground tunnels. Follow it through until you reach Drogon's Skull. Near it will be another passage. Travel all the way through and soon, you'll reach a cave near Blackwater Bay. I'll have a small galley waiting for my brother in the bay," He explained to Lyanna, who felt relieved that he was agreeing.

Lyanna smiled softly, thankful that Jaime was helping her, "Thank you, Grandfather," She found herself telling him and without hesitation, she hugged him, "I promise you, if we are caught, I will not mention your name. If anyone asks, you had nothing to do with this. This is my doing, no one else's."

Jaime nodded in understanding and as Lyanna pulled away from him, he frowned slightly. There was a look in her eye that he always saw on Annalys, but only when she was up to something that no one else knew of. He feared Lyanna was up to the same, but what could it be? What could Lyanna possibly be planning that no one else knew of? There was less than a week until her fourteenth name day.

What could a fourteen-year-old be planning that she would keep it a secret from everyone? But that was what he had to understand.

As everyone always said, she was her mother's daughter indeed. She was fourteen, only two years younger than her mother had been when she won her first battle. She was smarter than her mother had been at her age, too, believe it or not.

As Jaime began to think about it, he feared the worst for Lyanna's intentions. She was up to something and he knew no one would be able to figure it out until it happened.

"When will it happen?" Jaime found himself asking Lyanna, breaking the silence between them.

"Tonight, during Mother's feast," She informed Jaime and without another word said, she turned on her heel and left.

___

  Robb and Annalys were sitting on their thrones when two Reachmen entered, dragging a woman in chains with them. Robb frowned, realizing the woman was pregnant. Annalys' eyes widened at the sight of her, recognizing the woman to be the whore she bedded during the war she was fighting in against Robb more than ten years before.

"My King, My Queen," Ser Edric spoke up, ready to inform them about the issue, "This man claims his household was robbed by this whore."

Annalys remained silent, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. Robb turned to Annalys, frowning in concern since he had no idea what had her so shaken up.

"What happened exactly?" Annalys managed to get out and immediately noticed how one of the men tried his best not to smile in satisfaction at her reaction.

It was something not even Robb seemed to notice.

"What is your name first?" Annalys questioned, looking directly at the man grasping the woman's chains.

"Lord Alfrid Redwyne, Your Grace. Acting Lord of the Arbor until my nephew, Lord Martyn Redwyne, comes of age," He explained, much to Annalys and Robb's shock.

He was Lord Glendon's younger brother, the same man Robb killed and Annalys made it look as though he died of the fever.

"Now, enlighten us on what has happened, Lord Redwyne," Annalys encouraged the man, maintaining her composure in front of the man, despite having the feeling something was going on already.

Why else would the brother of the man Robb killed show up with the whore Annalys slept with years before? The whore knew things about Annalys that the realm did not.

"This whore broke into my castle and stole several items of value, some that were family heirlooms," Lord Alfrid Redwyne explained, causing Robb to frown in confusion.

"Forgive me, my lord, but I don't believe it's necessary to continuously call this woman a whore," Robb spoke up, oblivious to the fact that the woman was, indeed, a whore.

"But she is one," Annalys bluntly admitted, not even realizing she was saying the words out loud.

Robb turned to Annalys with a questioning look, causing her eyes to widen in shock when she saw many lords in the room staring at her.

"May I ask how you know that, Your Grace?" Lord Alfrid questioned, earning a small sigh from Annalys.

"Many years ago, she came to a Lannister war camp," Annalys informed the men truthfully, "I saw her around."

The men watched her warily while Robb turned to look at Annalys with a knowing look.

Not being able to take it anymore, Annalys rose from her throne. "Toss her in the black cells. I'll deal with her later. There's other business I must handle," She informed the men, who nodded and bowed to her as she passed them.

Robb frowned, watching her leave for a moment before finally following after her. He walked down the hallway that she had, only to find her nowhere in sight. "Annalys? Annalys?" He called out, only to get no answer.

Just then, an unknown person grabbed Robb by the arm, pulling her into a vacant room in the castle. He was about to attack the person, only to stop when he saw that it was Annalys. She had him pressed against the wall, a hand on his mouth to stop him from making any noise.

"We're in trouble, Robb," She informed her husband in a hushed tone, genuine fear in her eyes, "I fear our family is in danger and it's both of our faults."

Robb frowned in utter confusion, not knowing what Annalys meant. She removed her hand from his mouth, allowing him to speak. "What are you talking about?" He asked, a deeply puzzled look on his face, "What could be so dangerous about that man trying to punish that whore?"

"It is when that whore is someone I've bedded and knows secrets about me that could rip us off the throne," She informed Robb quietly, but he didn't seem shocked, "I know you figured it out the moment you saw the way I looked at her. Yes, I bedded her, but it was long ago. It meant nothing. She is a whore. I slept with her to get my mind off you during our war against each other. However, I told her things. Things about how Jaime, my mother, and I killed many of my betroths to avoid marrying them. That was always a rumor, but I actually confessed it to her. That can be used against me. She also heard my confession about my brother. About how I murdered him. Many people already know, but if people wanted to, they could use me being a kinslayer to rip me off the throne."

"The rumors about Torrhen, Joanna, and Edric," Robb realized, his eyes widening in alarm, "That puts us at risk as well."

Annalys began to tear up, nodding her head in agreement. "You and I both know they are yours, but they'll make it look like the rumors are true just to rip me off the throne."

"Who, though?" Robb desperately asked, still not understanding what was going on.

"The Tyrells," Annalys informed Robb, whose eyes widened in shock, "They've always been a rival. Margaery wants to be Queen. I took that away from her three times. First by killing Joffrey, then with Tommen, then with you. Her husband is dead. Her brother, the man who is supposed to be heir to Highgarden, is apart of my Queensguard and I gave no choice in the matter. Olenna Tyrell's original house is Redwyne, you killed their lord. We declined the request for Joanna to marry his son and we're most likely being blamed for the Florent's deaths as well. Not to mention, there's a chance they'll even blame us for the Tarlys as well."

"Annalys," Robb spoke up, placing his hands on her shoulders as he looked fearful, "We can't afford to go to war right now. We've lost thousands of men from each kingdom fighting all these wars. The Lannister army is battle-weary, as is the North and Riverlands. The Tyrells have barely taken part, aside from the Tarlys. If it comes to war, they'll outnumber us greatly."

"I know," Annalys admitted, tears beginning to form in her eyes, "And one of our enemies is on our Queensguard, which means we're always at risk."

"We can release him from his duties," Robb suggested and Annalys was quick to shake her head.

"That'll anger them even more," She complained and Robb had the feeling she had a point, "I know it's not what you want to do, but we must make plans, not for the war but what will come of our children if something bad happens. We can't let them suffer because of our mistakes."

Robb sighed in defeat and nodded his head in agreement, knowing she was right. "So this is it," He realized, feeling uneasy, "Another war is coming."

"That it is," Annalys admitted softly, looking down at the ground in shame.

A war was on the verge of starting and it was both of their faults. Annalys had started it by being foolish enough to speak to a whore about her secrets in a moment of weakness and Robb's decision to kill Lord Redwyne just added fuel to the fire.

Now, they weren't the only ones at risk. Their children were. What Annalys had avoided happening to the Stark children years ago would now be placed on them and there would be nothing she could do to stop it.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Karma is coming to get Robb and Annalys and lemme just say, they're not the only ones that are going to be suffering.

The Reach will rebel and it won't end well for anyone, especially for the Stark and Lannister family.

If you thought the other wars in this series were bad, you have another thing coming.

Some of the next few chapters will have flashforwards before going back to present time, I'll warn you now.

Each children will have someone watching over them and lemme just say Lyanna and Rickard's are the last ones you'd EVER think of, especially Lyanna's.