LION'S LEGACY
53. Rightful Heir

In the Kingswood, Robb and Annalys continued to run as fast as their legs could take them east. By the time they laid eyes on the cottage, it was dawn.

They exchanged a look, just before rushing toward the door of the small cottage in the middle of the woods. Annalys wondered why someone would ever choose to live in solitude in the Kingswood, of all places.

Annalys had been so close to giving up, but after hearing from Ser Rickard that her children were alive, she knew she couldn't let herself and Robb die. Their children needed them. She knew little Edric was safe, but what of the others. What of Lyanna and Eddard? They were out there, alone. They needed their mother and father.

Robb wasted no time pounding his fist on the cottage door, silently praying to the old gods and the new that they'd be allowed sanctuary. Annalys was the one most weakened at that moment. She had a large cut across her right cheek, a wound on her shoulder from the crossbow she had been shot with, and a bloody nose that was just drying up. Each time they had found a place to rest at, Annalys had refused to sleep. She'd keep watch the entire night, not letting herself fall asleep in fear of being caught.

She honestly didn't care about being caught anymore. She wanted to protect Robb, just as he tried to do with her. Margaery Tyrell had spared him as Annalys begged them all to. She had locked Annalys in the black cells soon after, starving her for days while Robb was confined to his room.

However, unlike the lot of them, Robb knew of the secret passage, clearly being taught about them by Annalys as their children were. He didn't know them as well as his wife and Lyanna did, but he still knew his way to the black cells through them.

When he had arrived there, he knocked out the guards. He freed Annalys, despite her begging him not to. He had protested, saying he wouldn't leave her and that he would have rather died than to do what she was begging him to do.

With that, they had fled from the castle and found themselves in the Kingswood. Instead of sending the entire country on a hunt for Annalys and Robb, knowing there were far more Lannister loyalists than there were Tyrell loyalists, the Tyrell family had sent some Reachmen to search for them while telling the rest of Westeros the lie about the horrific ways Annalys, Robb, and their family were supposedly 'killed'.

Robb had one arm wrapped around Annalys, holding her up while still pounding his fist on the door.

After a few long, agonizing moments, the door was opened by an unknown woman who seemed to be in her fifties.

"Please, help us," Robb pleaded with the woman, who seemed suspicious of their sudden appearance and the state of them.

After all, she lived in the middle of the woods, she couldn't remember someone ever knocking on her door that she wasn't expecting.

"I don't invite strangers into my home," The lady argued, shaking her head in disapproval.

"Please," Annalys managed to speak up, giving the woman a pleading look, "Please, we were sent here by Rickard Royce. He said you'd help us."

Hearing the mention of Rickard, the woman sighed in frustration, opening the door wider. "Damn, that fool," She muttered under her breath, only to have her eyes widen when she finally got a good look at Annalys and Robb.

Long, golden hair. Green eyes. Tan. Buxom figure.

Curly, Auburn hair. Blue eyes. Average height. Northern accent.

The man and woman standing before her was Annalys Lannister and Robb Stark.

"Come in," She responded without hesitation, causing them both to look confused by her sudden change of mind, "My king. My queen. Forgive me for my rudeness. I don't get many visitors."

  Annalys and Robb didn't respond. Instead, they entered in silence, Robb assisting Annalys in entering. Her ankle was practically swollen from her fall the night before.

____

Just an hour later, Robb and Annalys were sitting at the woman's table with plates of food in front of them. The duo was quick to shovel down their food, not having a meal that didn't consist of wild berries in weeks. On some nights, they had even resulted in eating bugs when they couldn't obtain berries. It had been torture.

They explained to the woman what had happened in the previous weeks and the unknown woman whose name was Wylla was surprised willing to give them food and shelter for as long as they needed.

Despite not knowing Annalys and Robb personally, she practically worshipped her king and queen. Oddly enough, most did after all the good Annalys did for the Seven Kingdoms. Annalys just feared that people would start to switch to Margaery's side since she had been a pretty good queen consort when she was betrothed to Joffrey.

The smallfolk loved Margaery, but they also loved Annalys. The Lannister woman just wondered if the smallfolk would begin to love Margaery more in the coming months than they loved their former queen, the Great Lioness.

  Annalys had been sitting alone in the bedroom Wylla had allowed them to sleep in. Robb was in the kitchen with Wylla, watching as she made some sort of concoction with herbs. "What is that?" He found himself asking, causing the woman to turn to look at him.

"Sleeping antidote, Your Grace," She responded in a calm tone, "Works like nightshade, but kicks in much quicker. I have an issue with falling asleep in these woods sometimes, but when I take this, I fall asleep the moment I lay in bed," She explained, not even noticing that Robb seemed to actually be interesting in using some, "I once accidentally took it in the morning. I was sure to create an antidote after that incident."

"How much must you take to allow it work?" Robb found himself asking and Wylla looked puzzled as to why he seemed to be so interested in it.

"Not much. Five drops, at most," She replied and Robb took a step toward her, an urgent look on her face.

"You must give me some," Robb insisted and by the look on his face, Wylla knew it was urgent.

    ___

    Soon after their conversation, Robb walked into the bedroom Annalys was standing. Not knowing he was standing behind her, Annalys continued to place her shoes on and prepare herself to presumably leave. 

"What are you doing?" Robb suddenly asked, causing Annalys to turn to him with a shocked expression.

She sighed in defeat, shaking her head. "I'm going out there," She responded and Robb gave her the look that told her to elaborate, "To find a way out without the men finding us."

Robb sighed, knowing for a fact she was lying. She was planning to turn herself in so that Robb could get away without having her as a liability.

   "Fine, but I'm going with you," Robb responded, taking a step toward her with a determined look on his face.

"You can't. You must find our children," Annalys argued, shaking her head, "They need you."

   "I'm not letting you go out there alone, Annalys," Robb replied in a stern tone, "We stick together, remember? Always and forever."

Annalys sighed in defeat, knowing there was no way to refuse him. She wanted to, but she just couldn't.

A saddened look on her face, Annalys stared at Robb. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes as she nodded her head in agreement.

Robb took a step toward Annalys, the two of them staring intently into each other's eyes. He lifted his hands, cupping Annalys' face in his hands. "I love you," He spoke softly, his voice a mere whisper, "More than you'll ever know. Always remember that. You are the love of my life."

"As you are mine," Annalys replied without hesitation, staring up at Robb with a distraught look, "But why are you suddenly saying this?"

  Wanting to stop her from asking anymore questions, Robb leaned toward Annalys, softly pressing his lips against hers. Annalys immediately began to kiss back, oblivious to what he was doing. 

Robb deepened the kiss and after a few long moments, Annalys pulled away, a deeply confused look on her face. Robb's expression blank, watching as Annalys brought her fingers to her lips, feeling worried.

"What did you do?" She questioned, realizing something wasn't right as she began to feel dizzy and suddenly tired after Robb kissed her.

"I'm sorry," Robb responded softly, much to Annalys' concern.

Annalys stepped toward her husband. She roughly grabbed onto the collar of his shirt, tears threatening to spill from her eyes, "Robb, what did you do?" She cried out, giving him a heartbroken look.

Tears began to fill Robb's eyes. He moved closer to her, cupping Annalys' face in his hands. "Stay safe, Annalys. Find our children. When you wake up, I won't be here," He explained as Annalys began to cry, shaking her head while pleading for him to not to do what he was planning to do.

"No, no, no. Not like this, Robb. Don't leave me. Not like this," Annalys sobbed, shaking her head as tears began to spill down her cheeks.

"I can't let you sacrifice yourself," Robb argued, causing Annalys to be consumed with rage.

"But it's alright if you do!" She shouted in disbelief.

    Annalys lifted her hands to shove Robb on the chest, only to find herself consumed with fatigue while her legs began to give out.

Annalys' eyes fluttered, practically rolling into the back of her head before they finally closed. Before her body could even come close to the ground, Robb caught his wife in his arms. "Damn you Stark heroes," She muttered, just before finally falling into a deep sleep.

He carried her body over to the empty bed, placing her down. He smiled sadly, brushing the hair out of her face before pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I love you. Always remember that," He whispered to her sleeping body softly, giving her a saddened look as he looked down at her belly.

She never actually revealed it to him out loud, but Robb wasn't stupid. He saw all the signs. Perhaps not the symptoms, but he noticed other things, like her missed moonblood.

After being with her for so many years, he was able to know matters like that. And he wasn't foolish enough not to notice that her moonblood was late by more than a month.

Annalys wanted to sacrifice herself for Robb, but he refused to let that happen. She was carrying his child. The last child they'd ever have, presumably. Robb couldn't let her die while pregnant. He refused to lose her or their unborn child. Not after everything they had endured together. Not after everything they went through to be together once more.

He turned to face Wylla, who remained silent as she held out the antidote to the sleeping potion, knowing he'd need it before he himself knocked out. 

He slowly walked over to her, taking the vial from her grasp. He immediately gulped down the liquid, letting out a small sigh as he glanced back over at Annalys. "She'll never forgive you for this, even if you do end up surviving," She pointed out to Robb, who nodded in response.

"Perhaps, but at least she'll be alive," Robb responded in a calm tone, "Tell her when she wakes up not to come after me. Tell her that I love her and everything will be alright. Tell her that I'm sorry, but it had to be done," He paused, tears threatening to spill from his eyes, "Tell her to be careful, to make sure to take care of herself and our unborn child."

   Wylla was shocked by the revelation but simply nodded, knowing she couldn't allow herself to react to what he had said. "I promise, Your Grace," She replied and with that, Robb took one last look at his sleeping wife, his heart nearly breaking into a million pieces as he finally walked out of the cottage.

Several hours after Robb had left, Annalys woke up, only to frown when she saw Wylla lying dead on the floor near the bed. She jolted awake, standing up from lying on the ground.

Cautiously, she began to walk toward the woman's body, a saddened look on her face. "Robb?" Annalys called out softly, despite already having the feeling he was gone.

She heard a noise close by, causing her to immediately turn her head. "Who's there?" She called out, only to get no answer in return before another unknown noise was heard.

Not being able to take it anymore, Annalys rushed toward the door, only to get suddenly be grabbed by the hair before having her head slammed into the wall.

She was unable to get a glimpse of the person before she fell unconscious, her body hitting the ground with a loud thud.

____

Hundreds of miles away, in the Riverlands, Lyanna sat at a table in an Inn with Harrold Westerling and Anguy. Numerous other members of the Brotherhood Without Banners filled the Inn and Lyanna found herself wondering where their leader was. The famous Beric Dondarrion. She heard her mother speak about him numerous times, but never got to meet him herself.

After Harrold poured himself and Anguy some ale, he went to pour Lyanna some as well, only to have her decline. "I don't drink ale," She replied in a calm tone, causing Harrold to laugh.

"You don't drink?" Harrold questioned, grinning at Lyanna, "I thought you seemed like a drinker."

"I am," Lyanna answered, shaking her head, "I do drink. Just not ale. I enjoy wine."

Hearing her answer, many men in the Inn began to laugh loudly, clearly amused by her words somehow.

"What's so funny?" Lyanna asked the men, oblivious to the fact that she was making it so obvious that she was highborn without even realizing it.

"Tell me, how is a young girl like yourself able to kill six grown men and tear one of them apart?" Anguy questioned Lyanna, who remained for a long moment as she tried to think of a lie.

She wasn't like her mother or Rickard when it came to lying. Yes, she was a good liar, but she couldn't think of them on the spot like they always were able to.

"How can you be so positive that it was me?" Lyanna retorted, speaking in a mocking tone, "And I'm not that young, I'm sixteen."

"Still young," Harrold argued and Lyanna wanted nothing more than to argue by saying her mother and father had won their first battle at her age, "How did you learn how to fight the way you do? I can't say I've met many sixteen-year-old girls who can take on six grown men."

"My mother taught me," She answered, knowing there was no point in lying.

Many of the men didn't take her seriously and began to laugh at her. All except Anguy, who watched her intently, as if he was beginning to piece everything together while no one else did. He was around her mother's age, perhaps a few years older. He stared at her as if he knew her, but Lyanna didn't seem to notice.

Without a care in the world, Lyanna stood up. She pointed her sword toward Harrold daringly. It was the sword that she stole from one of the Reachmen while Lady's Wrath was still sheathed underneath her black cloak.

Many 'oohs' sounded through the inn as Lyanna moved toward Harrold, the tip of her sword inching closer to his cheek.

   Finally, Harrold stood up, taking the challenge. Lyanna smirked, giving a motion that told him to begin. Harrold lunged forward, swinging his sword at Lyanna, who instantly side-stepped and parried the attack.

Harrold seemed a bit shocked by her quick movements at first before he attempted to attack her once more, only to have Lyanna side-step yet again. The entire inn fell silent as they watched the girl closely, not expecting her to actually know how to use a sword. She dodged his multiple strikes at ease, which came as a shock to all of them.

She slashed at Harrold and ended up hitting his hand with the tip of her sword, causing Harrold to flinch and lose his two-handed grip on his sword. After a moment, Harrold regained composure and started to circle around Lyanna in preparation to attack.

Lyanna patiently waited for an attack with her sword behind her back, smirking at him daringly. She was clearly showing off, Harrold wasn't dumb. It only made his need to defeat her even bigger. After all, he wasn't going to let himself be beaten by a sixteen-year-old girl.

After a few brief moments, Harrold began to swing his sword and Lyanna blocked each of his forms of attack at ease, spinning and pivoting to avoid them.

They continued to spar and soon enough, Harrold overpowered Lyanna, not realizing it was apart of her plan. Her sword dropped to the ground and just as Harrold was going to swing at her to make it official, he froze. He watched in disbelief as Lyanna unsheathed her secret dagger from her boot and placed it at his throat.

Harrold stared down at Lyanna in astonishment, a large grin on his face, "Who taught you to do that?" He asked her in disbelief, "Your Mother?"

Lyanna smiled slightly, nodding her head in confirmation. Harrold stared at her closely, a hint of fascination.

Anguy stared at Lyanna intently, narrowing his eyes at the girl as he began to piece everything together. "You're her, aren't you?" He suddenly asked, causing Lyanna to turn to him with an alarmed look on her face.

Anguy rose from his seat, beginning to move toward Lyanna as she inched back. "Princess Lyanna Lannister," He continued on as he mockingly bowed, causing Lyanna to look uneasy as the whole inn fell silent and all eyes were on her, "I thought you were dead."

Lyanna remained silent, not responding to his remark about her.

Harrold and Anguy exchanged a look before looking back at Lyanna. "I knew it the moment I saw you in those woods," Anguy continued on in a calm tone, "You look like a Tully, just like your father, but you have your mother's personality and her skills with a sword."

"You claimed you were loyal to House Lannister," Lyanna remarked, giving the men a questioning look, "Does that mean you will not turn me into the Usurpers?"

The men in the Inn exchanged a look, just before bursting into a fit of laughter. "You think we'd turn you, the rightful heir to the Iron Throne, into the Usurpers? Who do you think we are exactly?" One of them asked, earning a small sigh in defeat from the princess.

"I am trying to travel to Casterly Rock," Lyanna informed the men in a calm tone, glancing around at them, "That is all I'm trying to do. If you let me leave--"

"We won't let you leave," Harrold suddenly responded, much to Lyanna's concern, "Not yet, at least. The armies of the Reach are making their way all throughout the Riverlands, searching for Lannister loyalists who fled. People like Ser Jaime Lannister and Ser Brienne of Tarth. Most of all, they're looking for Ser Edmyn Hightower, Ser Edric Dayne, and Ser Steffon Oakheart."

"Why them most of all?" Lyanna found herself asking in concern.

"They killed nine soldiers at a tower just North of King's Landing. No one knows why, but they did," Anguy explained, causing Lyanna's eyes to widen, "They're wanted dead because of it."

Why weren't they with her mother? Why weren't they there to protect her?

They must have been protecting something else, or someone else. But who? All of her siblings were dead. She heard the stories. She was the only survivor.

"Stay long enough to allow the chaos in the Riverlands to pass, it won't be long," Harrold suggested and Lyanna hesitantly nodded her head in agreement, "Then, we will let you go."

"My direwolf is out there," Lyanna informed the man with an uneasy look on her face, "I must find her before she's killed."

"That vicious beast is yours?" Anguy asked in disbelief.

"She is not a beast," Lyanna snapped at the man in a cold tone, causing him to raise his brows as he lifted his hands in mock surrender.

It was official now. She'd be staying with the Brotherhood Without Banners now. For a time, at least.

If she had been smart, she would have stayed with them permanently. However, she had a need to return home, to Casterly Rock.

If Lyanna knew what was waiting for her, she would have never been foolish enough to go.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Honestly, it's reasonable about Robb knocking her out to stop her from sacrificing herself but now she's been taken by someone else so it did nothing 😬😭