LION'S LEGACY
54. Cousin

     Just miles away from the Inn where Lyanna resided with members of the Brotherhood Without Banners, Rickard climbed off the horse he was forced to ride on alongside the Hound.

It had been weeks since he was taken from King's Landing by the Hound and despite not liking the man, he dealt with it, thankful for his life.

They had spotted a horse-drawn cart from afar with a man kneeling in front of one of the wheels, trying to fix it since it had fallen off.

Rickard stood in place, watching as the Hound made his way over to the man. "Need a hand?" The Hound asked the man, who turned to look at him.

"Need about eight hands," He began to say, but before he could continue, the Hound lifted up the cart, which allowed the man to place the fallen wheel back on, "Headed to Riverrun. Rumor has it Lord Edmure Tully is planning to call his banners. Sansa Stark is traveling to Winterfell from the Dreadfort to do the same," He explained, letting out a scoff as he shook his head in disapproval, "Those Tyrells were idiots for ever thinking they could win this war they've started. Everyone loved Queen Annalys. No one believes those lies told about her. It's a shame about those kids, though, they were innocent."

Once the man was finished placing the wheel on, the Hound released the cart from his grasp. The man turned to the Hound, on the verge of thanking him when he was struck in the face by the much larger man.

The Hound began to move toward him, on the verge of moving toward the man as he unsheathed his blade.

"Don't, stop!" Rickard shouted in alarm, immediately stepping in front of the Hound before he could kill the man, "Don't kill him. He's innocent."

"No one in Westeros is innocent," The Hound argued, beginning to move toward the man once more.

Before he could react, he felt something sharp pressed against his chest. He looked down, finding Rickard holding a dagger to the Hound's chest. "Where the fuck did you get that?" He asked Rickard in annoyance, rolling his eyes at the young boy, "I bet you don't you even know how to use it."

"You think you're dangerous and scary, don't you? Scaring little boys and killing old men?" Rickard asked, letting out a large scoff, "You're not all that."

"More than anyone you know, I know that much," The Hound retorted coldly.

"You're wrong. I know a killer. A real killer. She could kill you with her little finger if she had to, especially if she knew the way you were treating me."

"And who the fuck may that be? Your mother?" The Hound asked, beginning to laugh.

"No," Rickard revealed, shaking her head, "My sister. Torra. I've seen her kill men with her barehands when she had to. She could kill you at ease."

"Torra? The Wildling girl your mother took in?" The Hound began to laugh, amused by Rickard's threat, "Who the fuck do you think told me to look after you?"

"What?" Rickard asked in disbelief, not even realizing the Hound had mentioned it before.

The Hound ignored Rickard's question and began to move toward the unconscious man, who was beginning to groan. Rickard tried his best to push the Hound back, refusing to let him kill the innocent man. "Please. Please don't kill him," Rickard pleaded and the Hound sighed in frustration, just before sheathing his blade.

"You're kind, Prince Rickard. One of these days, it'll get you killed," The Hound commented, not understanding why Prince Rickard was being so caring suddenly.

He heard the stories about the boy. The son of Annalys Lannister who was sometimes compared to Joffrey, of all people. Joffrey never cared about the lives of innocents so how could Rickard be anything like him?

"You want to see kind?" Rickard glared at the Hound hatefully, lifting a thick piece of wood off the ground.

The man behind him continued to groan and just as he was about to get up, Rickard whipped himself around. The Stark boy struck the man across the face at full force, causing him to fall to the ground, unconscious.

Rickard turned to the Hound once more. He glared at him once more, just before walking back toward his horse. The Hound's eyes widened slightly, watching as the boy stormed off in a fit of rage.

_____

Across the Narrow Sea, Joanna was walking through the city alone, smiling and admiring everything she laid her eyes upon. Essos was beautiful, she had to admit. She had been born in Winter, a winter that was still going on in Westeros, even after fourteen years.

Dreamer walked with her and many unknown people glanced her way at the sight of the direwolf, but said nothing of it. The people of Westeros believed Joanna to be dead, no one would ever think to head to Essos to see if she was residing there.

If they had, they would have recognized her almost immediately by her green eyes, golden blonde hair, and the large direwolf at her side.

Just then, Joanna stopped walking. She looked ahead, finding herself being cornered by a woman wearing a hooded cloak. It made it so that she was unable to see her face, which caused Joanna to eye her suspiciously.

"Who are you?" Joanna found herself asking the woman in the common tongue.

She knew if this person was from Westeros, she'd know when they succeeded in replying to her question.

The majority of the people in Essos spoke Low Valyrian and since Joanna knew High Valyrian, she got the gist of what they were saying most of the time while they always understood what she was saying perfectly.

Aside from High Valyrian, she knew the old tongue that the Free Folk spoke and she knew Dothraki as well. Her mother insisted on her children learning the Old Tongue, High Valyrian, and Dothraki after learning the common tongue, of course.

All the children immediately excelled in the languages while Torrhen often struggled with High Valyrian, which his siblings constantly teased him about. It was only because he had the attention span of an infant, as Eddard constantly put it.

The woman slowly removed the cloak to reveal herself to be Melisandre, but Joanna had never seen the woman before to know who she was. "Do you speak the language?" Melisandre asked, speaking in High Valyrian.

"I do," Joanna confirmed in High Valyrian, both of them continuing to speak the language as their conversation went on, "What of it? Who are you?"

"Princess Joanna," Melisandre greeted the girl as Joanna immediately became alarmed, on the verge of fleeing.

Before she could, however, Melisandre tightly gripped onto the girl's wrist. Dreamer growled threateningly at Melisandre after she dared to lay a hand on the princess. Melisandre shot the direwolf a look and Dreamer immediately shut up, much to Joanna's shock.

Melisandre turned to look back at Joanna, smiling slightly. "I am called Melisandre. The people of Westeros call me the Red Woman."

Hearing the woman's introduction, Joanna's eyes widened in realization. "You're the one who resurrected my mother when she died."

"I was," Melisandre confirmed, nodding her head.

"Why have you come to me? How did you find me?" Joanna began to ask the woman, a deeply concerned look on her face.

"Even those who don't worship the Lord can serve his cause," Melisandre informed Joanna, who immediately began to piece everything together.

"What does your Lord expect from me? I am but a child," Joanna responded, her tone sarcastic.

"The Long Night is coming. Only the Prince who was Promised can bring the dawn..." Melisandre trailed off, a mischievous forming finding its way onto her lips, "Or the Princess."

"And you believe this prophecy refers to me?" Joanna raised a brow at Melisandre and began to laugh, "I could've sworn you claimed the same of my mother."

"Prophecies are dangerous things. I believe you have a role to play. The Princess that was Promised is prophesied to have been reborn from salt and smoke. When your mother was killed, you and your brother Torrhen died alongside her," She explained and Joanna looked absolutely taken aback by the revelation, "You were reborn at Dragonstone, an island, where a red comet was seen in the night sky as you were resurrected."

"Salt and smoke," Joanna whispered softly, an uneasy look on her face.

"Your brother and mother are dead, but you are not. You are the princess that was promised, Princess Joanna," She explained and despite wanting to believe her, Joanna knew she couldn't.

It would change everything.

"Tell me, Red Woman, how many other people have you claimed to be the Princess or Prince that was Promised?" Joanna asked the question everyone seemed to be wondering but never spoke of it.

She had a point, that was for sure.

"I was mistaken," Melisandre replied, shaking her head.

"And everyone you misinterpreted to be the Azor Ahai is now dead. Where does that leave me?" Joanna questioned, letting out a small scoff, "I'm not interested."

With that, Joanna turned on her heel, about to walk away when Melisandre spoke up again. "I looked into the flames before I came here, Princess Joanna. I saw you, leading an army of thousands of Essosi men across the Narrow Sea on ships."

Joanna scoffed, shaking her head slightly. She stopped walking and turned to face Melisandre once, an expression on the girl's face that told the Red Woman she didn't believe a word she was saying. "And how would I, a girl of fourteen, find myself leading an army of foreign men to reclaim my family's throne? I am not my father and I'm definitely not my mother." He explained, referring to the fact that her parents had become so well-known in the first place for their prowess in battle.

"You'll do what you've always wanted to do. Fall in love with a powerful man and help him rule. Unlike what you always planned, though, you won't be helping him rule a castle, you'll be helping him rule an army. You'll hate him at first. You'll hate him for quite a while, actually. However, soon enough, you'll fall in love with the man he is behind his tough exterior. He will fall in love with you as well, more than you'll think possible for the savage you will view him to be. He will love you for your strength, your ability to stand up to men twice your size and never show fear. A trait you inherit from your mother. This warrior will kill for you and die for you when the time comes." She explained and despite not wanting to believe her, Joanna felt the need to, "In turn, you will birth his child. A son."

   Not even her mother or Rickard could think up such a detailed lie in such a short amount of time. What she was saying had to be true.

"Who is he? How will I meet him?" Joanna found herself asking desperately, feeling the need to know more.

Melisandre smiled at Joanna's fascination for the whole ordeal. "You'll know what I speak of soon enough, Joanna. I promise you that." She vaguely responded as she placed the hood of her cloak back on before walking away, leading Joanna utterly shocked and speechless.

How could she throw something like that on her and then walk away?

Melisandre was right, though. Joanna would find out soon enough, sooner than she would think possible. However, despite all that Melisandre had told her about what would happen, Joanna would disregard all of it, which would be one of her greatest mistakes.

____

  In Westeros, Eddard had no idea where he was. Supposedly, Allyria did and despite it being foolish to trust a girl he barely knew, Eddard did it anyway. If Olyvar and Lyanna were there, they would have been screaming at him at that moment and telling him that he was stupid. Indeed, they were right.

"Do you even know where we're going?" Eddard suddenly asked, his tone laced in utter annoyance.

"I do," Allyria replied in a calm tone, disregarding how frustrated Eddard sounded.

"Why are you even helping me?" Eddard found himself questioned the girl out of curiosity, much to her annoyance.

"Because I want to."

"Where are you from?"

"I don't think it matters."

"I think it does," Eddard retorted and Allyria stooped walking. She turned to look at Eddard, a deeply frustrated look on her face, "What? I believe I deserve to know the beautiful girl who has saved my life truly is."

"I'm from Dorne, I thought my accent would have given it away by now," She replied, just before she continued walking, "And quit calling me beautiful. I'm not fucking you."

Eddard's eyes widened at Allyria's words, giving her a look of utter disbelief. "Who said I wanted to bed you?" He retorted, narrowing his eyes at her.

"Are you saying that you don't?" Allyria questioned playfully and Eddard immediately shut up, refusing to tell her that he did, indeed, think about sleeping her during their journey, "Of course you do. I heard the stories about you, Prince Eddard. Many people have. You're attracted to any woman who has a nice ass."

"That isn't true!" Eddard complained, only to notice the annoyed look on her face, "Okay, maybe it is, but that's beside the point."

  Hearing the prince's response, Allyria began to chuckle. "It's cruel, you know, to sleep with a maid and then discard them."

"I don't lay with maids," Eddard retorted, earning a puzzled look from the Dornish girl.

"What, don't like laying with inexperienced women? I can't say I've ever met a man or a boy who thought the same," Allyria explained, earning a loud from the red-haired prince.

"I don't sleep with maids because I know if I were to sleep with a maid, I'd have to marry her," Eddard explained, immediately noticing the confused look she gave him, "People might call me dishonorable for sleeping with so many women, but it isn't like I'm married. I'm young, I'm stupid, but I'm just enjoying my youth. I wouldn't sleep with a maid because it would be cruel to take something so precious from an innocent girl and then leave her. That is why I would marry her. To save her reputation. And after I marry her, I'd be completely loyal to her and I would never sleep with another woman again, even if I didn't particularly like her anymore."

Allyria froze for a moment, staring at Eddard intently. She couldn't believe the words coming out of his mouth. Despite Eddard being so impatient and arrogant since the moment she met him, she realized at that moment there was more to Prince Eddard.

Despite it not seeming like it, he had honor. Most men would only care about taking a girl's maidenhood and leaving her because it would ruin their reputation, to hell with the girl's.

Eddard, however, didn't care about his own. He cared about the girl he would be hurting. He knew he would ruin her and he refused to have that happen.

He refused to make the same mistakes his father did when he bedded Eleanor Mallister. He understood his mother forgave his father and despite neither of the adults thinking about Eleanor Mallister, Eddard did.

Eleanor Mallister had practically been in love with Robb. She had been so blinded by it that she gave her maidenhood to Eddard's father. She hoped it would be enough to keep him, but it wasn't.

She had been used as a distraction for Robb in order to keep his mind off of what he really wanted. Annalys.

Eleanor soon realized that and perhaps she could have left that castle with no one learning about what she did.

However, she was unable to do so when she found out that she was pregnant. Of course, it was Robb's since she hadn't lain with anyone else.

When everyone learned of the truth, most of the blame was on Eleanor, not Robb. People hated her, blaming her and little Olyvar for the start of Annalys' rebellion against the crown, one that cost thousands of innocent lives.

Even in death, Eleanor had been branded a whore for letting Robb take her virtue when in truth, all that she had been guilty of was falling in love with someone she could never have. She was punished for giving a man her virtue, a man she believed she could marry after the annulment between Annalys and Robb was revealed.

Eddard refused to ever let something like that happened to him. He refused to have a woman branded a whore for giving her virtue to a prince that would never marry her. It would ruin the girl's life and Eddard didn't want to ruin anyone's life.

Allyria continued to stare at Eddard, who began to smile at how taken aback she looked.

She was so caught up in her thoughts she hadn't even realized he was no longer standing where he had been. He moved toward Allyria until he was standing beside her. He leaned his face toward her ear, smirking slightly. "Are you one?" He questioned curiously, causing Allyria to slowly turn to him and frown.

"W-What?" She found herself asking him, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion.

"Are you a maid?" Eddard questioned, smirking as he purposely leaned toward her to tick her off.

Allyria felt a weird sensation in her gut as Eddard lightly trailed his fingertips up her bare arm. She practically shuddered as she felt his hot breath on her neck.

She looked up at him slowly, watching as he leaned forward. He stopped when they lips were nearly touching and just as he was about to kiss her, Allyria scoffed in disgust.

"As if!" She rolled her eyes and roughly shoved him on the chest.

Eddard began to laugh, stumbling back before steadying himself. "Oh, come on. You know you wanted to kiss me. If you hadn't, it wouldn't have taken you so damn long to pull back," He explained, smiling in amusement, "Are you a maid or are you not? If you are, though, I dare say this will be...quite awkward."

Allyria gave him an annoyed look. "You're intolerable," She snapped at him coldly, "I dare say you think with your cock and not your brain."

"Well, that's no way for a lady to speak," Eddard taunted Allyria, following her as she began to walk off, "But aye, perhaps you're right. Perhaps I think with my cock and not with my brain. If I hadn't done that, I most likely would still be resting in that cottage where you and Qyburn had been treating me," He paused, earning an annoyed eye roll from the girl, "I am my father's son, after all, though."

"What are you talking about?" Allyria found herself asking Eddard, who frowned in concern at the fact that she had no clue what he meant.

"You never heard the story of how my mother and father came to be?" Eddard asked, a puzzled look on her face.

"They were betrothed. They married. Queen Annalys rebelled against her family and chose King Robb. The second time around, right after you and Princess Lyanna were born, she chose family instead and that was the beginning of her first rebellion against the crown."

"Yes, they were betrothed, but that ended the moment King Robert died," Eddard informed Allyria in a calm tone, earning a puzzled look from the girl, "My father was to marry a Frey girl in exchange for Lord Walder Frey allowing him, my mother, and their army to pass the bridge at the Twins. My father had loved my mother long before that, but agreed to it anyway, knowing he couldn't win the war without Frey's bridge. Months passed and one day, my mother and father confessed their love for each other. They bedded one another and my father refused to have my mother as just some mistress. After all, she was the love of his life. That following day, he married my mother in secret. They continued on with that marriage and it was clear he was so blinded by his love and passion for my mother, he didn't even realize all the fuck ups he was making. He would have died at the Red Wedding for breaking his oath if it hadn't been for my mother."

Allyria remained silent, listening to every word Eddard said closer. As far as Eddard could tell, it was as though she hadn't known any of it.

"That was only the beginning of my father thinking with his cock instead of his brain when it came to ruling. After all, he went against House Tyrell's back to marry my mother for a second time. Not to mention, after my mother took Winterfell for him, they traveled to Casterly Rock together to see me and my sister. All that time, my father couldn't keep it in his pants and bedded my mother numerous times. That is how Joanna and Torrhen came around."

"They're saying Joanna and Torrhen aren't your father's," Allyria complained, earning an angry look from Eddard.

He had been so calm while opening up to her, but after hearing that, he was consumed with rage.

"Whoever made up that stupid rumor is a damn fool," Eddard snapped at Allyria coldly, beginning to walk in the opposite direction that she was going in, "That rumor is as true as King Joffrey and King Tommen's claim to the Iron Throne had been."

"I'm sorry, Eddard, I shouldn't have said that," Allyria genuinely apologized, feeling guilty for saying something that was clearly a tough subject for him.

"I bet it was the Tyrells who made up that rumor," Eddard complained in a frustration, "They're probably still pissed off that my father wouldn't fuck Margaery and marry her, even when he wasn't with my mother," He paused, letting out a humorless laugh, "I mean, how many bloody kings does she want to fucking marry? First Renly. Then Joffrey. She tried with Tommen when he was king and then she tried with my father."

"Margaery is queen now," Allyria spoke softly, causing Eddard to freeze in motion.

He slowly turned to face her, a look of disbelief consuming his expression. "What?" He questioned in disbelief, "She has no claim to the throne!"

"She does," Allyria pointed out, something that no living member of the Stark-Lannister family had learned yet, "Margaery Tyrell was pregnant when Tommen died."

"It would mean he's at least three years old, the same age as my youngest brother. That's impossible," Eddard argued, shaking his head in disagreement.

They would have known by now if Margaery had given birth to Tommen's child. The child would be a Lannister, just like Prince Trystane's had been.

"The Tyrells attacked your family at the Wedding because they knew if all the children and your parents had been dead, Margaery's son would have the strongest claim to the throne with Prince Trystane's daughter as the only other one with a claim," Allyria continued to explain, much to Eddard's horror, "The Tyrells gained the allegiance of all the Reach, even the Tarly forces, because Margaery's son had a claim to the throne and your family didn't even know it. Margaery rules now, but in truth, she is only regent for her son."

"No," Eddard argued, shaking his head in disbelief, "No, I don't believe that. I can't. I was planning to take the Iron Throne!"

"You still can," Allyria argued in a calm tone, "Nothing has changed."

"Everything has changed, Allyria!" Eddard shouted, an alarmed look on his face, "If I want to take the Iron Throne now, I'll have to kill my cousin. Even if I won, I'd be a kinslayer. Being a Kinslayer is one of the things that got my mother ripped off her throne in the first place. If that child really is who Margaery says he is, he not only has a claim to the throne, he is the rightful lord of Casterly Rock with my sister dead."

"If it is revealed that you are alive, you have control of Casterly Rock," Allyria argued in an urgent tone.

"I don't," Eddard argued, much to Allyria's concern, "My mother and father made a plan years ago. If Lyanna were to die, Casterly Rock would never go to me, it would go to Torrhen, not me since I would be Lord of Winterfell. If I had died while the rest of the siblings were alive, Winterfell would have gone to Joanna. If Lord Edmure Tully had died without an heir, Riverrun was to go to Rickard. They had it all planned out and it's written on paper in the castle, too, with my mother and father's signature. I will never have Casterly Rock, I have no claim to it. This child of Margaery's would have the Lannister name. He would get Casterly Rock. Do you know what that means?"

Allyria's eyes widened in concern. "He has the Lannister armies."

"Yes," Eddard nodded in confirmation, "He has control of the best armies in Westeros. My mother had every soldier trained to be the best and they are, indeed, the best. It doesn't matter if they claim to follow no one but my mother, this child is their rightful lord. They have to obey him. If Margaery plays it smart as I assume she will, she'll send a man she trusts to rule over Casterly Rock in her stead and it's armies. Someone that will make the Lannisters so fearful that they're forced to obey them."

"You're fucked," Allyria whispered softly and Eddard remained silent, an uneasy look on his face.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Tommen and Margaery had a kid!! And sadly, it's not a good thing.

Now, it is obvious that the entire country is about to be at war. The Tyrells have the largest forces since their armies have suffered the least in the numerous wars.

Eddard is planing to call the banners in the North (and Sansa), Edmure is calling the Banners at the Riverlands, Joanna is prophecied to get an army across the Narrow Sea (oof get ready for that one😬)

And Lyanna...Poor Lyanna.

She's just trying to go home to Casterly Rock to wait to call the banners and if you caught what Eddard said, there's someone pretty bad waiting for her and she doesn't even know it.