LION'S LEGACY
47. Proud Mother

     Inside a room at the castle, Annalys was sharpening her sword while Lyanna stood before her mother in silence, waiting for her scolding.

   "Attacking those peasant boys was stupid," Annalys spoke up, still not turning to her daughter, "Lannisters don't act like fools."

Lyanna scoffed. She was on the verge of making a comment when Annalys turned to her, which caused the redhead to immediately shut up. "Are you gonna say something clever?" She questioned and Lyanna immediately closed her mouth, "Go on, say something clever. I'm waiting."

Lyanna sighed in frustration, deciding not to saying the comment she truly wanted to make. "They attacked Rickard and Torrhen in the streets. They called Torrhen a Bastard. They called you a whore. They claimed you were mad and Ser Edric was the father of Torrhen, Joanna, and little Edric, not Father. I should have killed them for saying such things."

Annalys' eyes widened at the words as her back faced her daughter, but forced herself to maintain composure in front of Lyanna. "Why didn't you?" She suddenly asked, much to Lyanna's disbelief.

"What?" Lyanna frowned, not expecting her mother to say such a thing.

"Why didn't you killed them?" Annalys found herself asking her daughter without a care in the world.

"It wouldn't have been clean," Lyanna confessed and despite not showing it, Annalys was relieved to hear that response out of her daughter.

Annalys scoffed anyway, slowly turning to her daughter. "Clean..." She trailed off, giving Lyanna an annoyed look, "You spend too much time worrying about what other people think of you."

"I couldn't care less what anyone thinks of me," Lyanna argued, shaking her head in disapproval.

"Now, that is what you want people to think of you," Annalys pointed out and deep down, Lyanna knew her mother was right, but she refused to admit that.

"It's the truth," Lyanna complained, too stubborn to admit that her mother was, indeed, correct.

  "If that was the truth, you would have killed that boy like you claim you wanted to. You didn't because you cared about what people would have thought of you after you did it," She explained in a calm tone, earning a small sigh in defeat from Lyanna, "Making empty threats like that is the last thing you want to do as a Lannister and the heir to the Iron Throne."

"Mother, I do not care what people think!" Lyanna complained loudly, yet Annalys still refused to believe her.

"When you hear people calling you 'Lyanna the mad' behind your back in the slums of King's Landing since you won that trial by combat against a man twice your age at just fourteen, doesn't it bother you?" Annalys found herself asking Lyanna, who began to tense up.

  "Of course it bothers me," Lyanna admitted truthfully, sighing in defeat.

  "The lioness doesn't concern herself with the opinions of the sheep," Annalys reminded Lyanna as she began to walk toward her, "I suppose I should be grateful that your conscience got in the way of your recklessness," She paused, forcing herself to smile, "We wouldn't want the small folk rebelling against us because of your impulsive mistakes."

Annalys remained silent for a brief moment, inhaling sharply as she placed her hands on Lyanna's shoulders. "You're blessed with abilities that few women in Westeros possess, my daughter. You are blessed to belong to the most powerful family in the kingdoms. And you are blessed with youth, beauty, and the ability to defend yourself in ways other women can't. And what have you done with these blessings, huh?" She asked, causing Lyanna to look disappointed in herself, "Start brawls in the streets of the city with your brothers, sleep with random women, and get drunk when you think your father and I aren't looking?"

Lyanna found herself sighing in defeat, looking down at the ground in shame. "Stop cowering like a dog. You're a Lioness. You must act like it," She snapped at her daughter in a stern tone, sounding so much like Tywin it scared her

   Lyanna immediately looked at Annalys with wide eyes. Why was her mother being so cold all of a sudden?

   "The future of our family will be determined in these next few months. Your father doesn't believe me, but I know it. I just know it. We will either establish a dynasty that will last a thousand years, or we could collapse into nothing, as the Targaryens and the Baratheons did. You are sixteen years old, I need you to start becoming the powerful woman you were always meant to be, my daughter. Not next year. Not tomorrow. Now. Understand?"

Lyanna sighed in frustration, hesitantly nodding her head. Annalys forced a smile on her face, lightly patting Lyanna on the cheek. "Now, go. I have business to take care of," She encouraged her daughter.

She watched as Lyanna exited the room before Edric walked in, hoping to speak with his queen. "Your Grace, I wanted to come to apologize for not being there to stop the princess and the princes."

"I don't care about that, Edric," She snapped at Edric, who knew not to take it personally, "Something is on the verge of happening. I just know it. I don't think that fight happened at random. I think it was orchestrated."

Edric frowned, giving Annalys a concerned look.

_____

        In another part of the castle, Robb stood with Eddard and Olyvar, who remained silent, waiting for their lecture. "Are we getting lectured, or...?" Olyvar awkwardly spoke up, causing Eddard to facepalm himself.

"No, you're not," Robb responded, causing both boys to look relieved, "It was just a misunderstanding and you were sticking up for your brothers."

"Did you hear about what those boys were saying?" Eddard found himself asking his father, a concerned look on his face, "They were calling Torrhen, little Edric, and Joanna bastards."

"It doesn't matter," Robb argued, shaking his head in disapproval, "They're just rumors."

"Yes, rumors!" Eddard complained loudly, standing up from his seat, "Rumors that could ruin our lives."

"He's right," Olyvar spoke up, agreeing with Eddard, "Accusations of them being bastards isn't all of what the small folk has been blabbing."

"What are you saying?" Robb asked, giving both boys a concerned look. They remained silent, however, refusing to tell their father, "Tell me. Now."

"Fine," Eddard sighed in defeat, "They're saying many things about Mother. They're saying that she killed King Joffrey. That she murdered Tywin Lannister. They're saying she killed people in order to get on the Iron Throne. Not just any people, but lords of houses she wanted allegiance from. They say she was the one who killed the Florents that had resided here during the Winter Fever. They're saying that she killed Glendon Redwyne, who supposedly died of the Fever here years ago. They're accusing her of sleeping with Ser Edric and grandfather. They're even saying that Uncle Tommen didn't die of the fever, that he was being poisoned by Mother, who made it look like it had been the fever. They're saying she's a witch, too."

Robb remained silent, giving the two boys a shocked expression. How could he and Annalys not have heard of these rumors.?

That was when he realized something. Annalys must have known all about them the entire time and that was why she was trying to tell Robb about her feeling uneasy about the wedding.

He sighed in defeat, feeling foolish for ever refusing to listen to her. Perhaps she was right. Perhaps something was coming. However, he refused to believe someone would do something at Torra's wedding. There was no way something would be bold enough to spill blood in such a sacred place.

"There's nothing to worry about," Robb lied to his two eldest sons, maintaining a straight face in front of them, "There's nothing to worry about. We'll all be fine. I promise."

"How can you be so sure?" Olyvar asked, shaking his head in disapproval before he stormed out of the room with Robb.

Robb sighed in defeat, realizing it was stupid for ever thinking he could get away with lying to them. They were sixteen now. They weren't young children. They were able to see things around them for what they truly were, unlike the younger ones.

____

    That afternoon, at the Red Keep, Olyvar was prepping his horse to head toward the Kingsroad, where his uncle Jon was waiting for him. He had said goodbye to all his parents and his siblings, all but Lyanna, who seemed to be nowhere in sight.

He was on the verge of leaving, only to hear someone call out for him. He turned, seeing that it was Lyanna rushing toward him. "Were you really going to leave without saying goodbye?" She found herself asking Olyvar, who, for a split second, saw the genuine sadness in his eyes.

Olyvar began to smile, shaking his head. "Of course not," He replied softly, causing Lyanna to smile as well, "I could never leave without saying goodbye to my favorite sibling."

"Favorite, you say?" Lyanna jokingly asked, smirking at the revelation.

Gradually, Olyvar's smile faded and his expression became sincere and serious. "You're the only one who never treated me like a misfit, even when we had just met. No matter what I did, you were always there. You stuck up for me when no one did and always defended me without question when you saw people calling me 'bastard'. I'll forever be grateful for that, sister."

"I hope to see you soon, brother," Lyanna confessed, a saddened look on her face, "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you, too," He responded, both of them beginning to smile, "I hope you and Eddard don't have too much fun without me."

"Somehow, I doubt it," Lyanna admitted jokingly, wasting no time hugging her brother, "Farewell, Olyvar."

"And you, Lyanna," Olyvar responded, hugging his sister back.

_____

On the day of Torra's wedding, while they should have been getting ready, the Queen and King found themselves back in each other's arms, as expected.

  Robb and Annalys laid on the floor of their quarters, in front of the fireplace. They had a small blanket draped over their lower body parts while their chests were left exposed to both each other and the cold wind creeping into the dimly lit chamber. Annalys was lying against Robb, who had one of his arms wrapped around her as he laid on his back.

    The duo was passionately kissing each other, not wanting to break the kiss after all that had happened to them lately.

    Robb slowly pulled away from the kiss, lightly tugging at Annalys's lower lip with his teeth. He let go after a moment, the two of them staring intently into each other's eyes. Annalys kept her eyes fixed on Robb, staring at him lovingly. She always felt as though she would never look at someone the way she looked at her husband and she was right.

    Annalys slowly pulled away from Robb, removing her chest from being pressed against his as she laid on her side, holding her head up with her arm. She smiled softly at her husband and Robb instantly returned the favor.

"Have I told you that you have the nicest behind of any women?" Robb suddenly asked, naming yet another thing he loved about her.

  He seemed to have been doing it a lot lately for a reason unbeknownst to her. Annalys felt like the list was never-ending, which made her love Robb even more, if that were even possible.

    Annalys quietly laughed and playfully rolled her eyes, deciding to go along with it, "I would hope so," She jokingly responded, a small smile on her face at his words.

"I'm serious," Robb responded, sitting up slightly as he continued to speak in that same playful tone. He moved closer to her, their chests nearly pressing against each other.

    He ran his large hand down her bare back before cupping her ass, causing Annalys to quietly giggle, "The nicest tail any Lioness could have. You got a nice..." He trailed off, noticing the unreadable expression of Annalys' face.

    She quietly laughed, realizing that he was becoming concerned, "Go on," She encouraged him, running her index finger along his chest as she smiled up at him, "I'd like to hear the rest."

"As you wish, My Queen," He replied, placing a quick kiss to her lips and then the crook of her before pulling away and looking at her directly in the eyes, "You've got a real..." He trailed off once more, running his hand along her ass once more before cupping it in his large hand, "Nice, soft slopping bubble."

      Annalys began to laugh loudly at Robb's explanation, earning a playful eye roll from her husband. "An arse a man loves in his guts," Robb continued on, not even realizing how absurd he sounded what with how drunk he was.

    Annalys continued to quietly laugh and Robb stared down at her lovingly. Every time he set his eyes on his wife, it was though he found another thing he loved about her.

    As she laid there, bare in front of him, she remained confident and comfortable in front of him. Oddly enough, some married women in the Seven Kingdoms couldn't have that. It was all about producing an heir on their part.

  Yet, in Annalys and Robb's case, they were together because they loved each other. They didn't make love to produce heirs, they made love to each other because they were truly in love with one another and would never love any one else.

  They had been married for two years before their annulment. Their marriage had been annulled for nearly four years but they were still technically involved with each other the majority of that time. Then, after that, they had now been married for twelve years, which made it so they had technically been involved for eighteen years.

"And don't get me started on the rest of you, my love," Robb remarked with a playful smile on his face as he laid back down next to her.

"Robb, I'm still worried about the wedding," Annalys admitted softly, an uneasy look on her face, "What if something happens? What if I lose you?"

"You could never lose me," Robb argued, his voice just above a whisper as he cupped her face in his hands with his fingers tangled in her golden locks, "I will always be with you, Annalys. No matter what happens. I promise you that."

   Annalys found herself gradually smiling at Robb as he leaned forward and pressed his lips firmly against hers.

They pulled away briefly, pressing their foreheads together as they stared intently into each other's eyes. "I love you," Robb admitted softly, smiling at Annalys.

"Not the way I love you." Annalys replied, the two of them continuing to smile as they kissed once more. 

___

Right before the wedding, Annalys entered Torra's room, finding the girl dressed in her ivory wedding dress. She began to smile, tears forming in her eyes at the sight.

Torra turned to her mother, playfully rolling her eyes at the sight of her mother tearing up. "Oh, stop it. I don't look that bad," She complained, beginning to laugh.

Annalys smiled, wiping her tears before walking toward Torra. "You're right. You look anything but bad. You look beautiful," She explained, stopping when she was standing in front of her daughter.

She placed one hand on Torra's shoulder and the other on the side of her face. She stared at Torra closely, beginning to smile sadly as she thought of Freyja. She always denied herself of doing such a thing.

It pained her to think of the woman. The woman she killed out of mercy. She may not have loved Freyja in the way the wildling woman loved her, but she cared for her deeply. She understood her pain and the sacrifices she was forced to make to be with the man she loved and to protect her family, to protect her children.

"Your mother would be so proud of the woman you've become," Annalys told Torra softly, tears beginning to spill from her eyes.

Torra's eyes widened, knowing Annalys hadn't mentioned Freyja in years. She couldn't bring herself to after everything that happened.

"I know I am," Annalys continued on, earning a sad smile from Torra.

She continued to smile sadly, beginning to cry tears of joy as they hugged each other tightly. "I'm going to make you proud," She suddenly revealed as she pulled away from the hug, "After this wedding, I will be returning North. To the Wildlings with Aden. I'm going to start leading them, just like I was always destined to. I will visit, I promise."

"I love you, Torra," She confessed, which she never recalled saying to the girl, believe it or not, "More than you'll ever know. You are an adult now, but you will always be apart of this family. No matter what. You may not have my blood, but you are my daughter. Remember that, always."

"I will," Torra replied, beginning to tear up as she nodded, "And I love you, too, Mother."

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Be prepared for the next few chapters...

A LOT WILL BE HAPPENING