In which Annalys Baratheon is arranged to marry Robb Stark and when her 'father' dies, she is forced to side with the North in the Five War of the Kings to save herself from being killed by her psychotic younger brother. What she didn't know was tha...
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Near the camp, Annalys and Talisa walked through the trees as the sun set, followed by soldiers and horses. During the previous days, the two of them had grown closer, not in a romantic way, but as friends. Annalys had even appointed Talisa her handmaiden, as a way to allow her to remain at camp with her. It wasn't like Annalys needed a handmaiden, she'd grown used to doing things on her own since the last time she was in Kings' Landing, which was nearly two years before.
"Do you think she's beautiful?" Talisa questioned Annalys curiously as they spoke about Robb's arranged marriage to the Frey girl.
"I've never met her," Annalys responded, shrugging her shoulders, "Neither has Robb. But perhaps she is."
"I don't think this Frey girl could compare to you, My Queen," Talisa pointed out to Annalys, who couldn't help but smile at the compliment.
"I'm sure Robb will be very happy," Talisa responded, causing them both to laugh for some odd reason, "And he's marrying her and not you simply for a bridge?"
"An important bridge," Annalys pointed out to Talisa, trying to make it sound far better than it actually was.
"Ah," Talisa responded, an amused smile on her face when she heard the disappointed in Annalys' voice. It was clear that Annalys was unhappy about Robb marrying another, not matter how much she tried to hide it.
"It was before they killed Robb's father. I've talked to the man one on one about three times in the past few years, but he was still a great man. I spend nearly three years with the Starks, you know. During the Greyjoy Rebellion. There was an attempt on my life one day and Robert wanted to protect me. He sent me to live with the Starks when I was six until I was nine. Ned Stark treated me like one of his own. It pained me to hear what happened," Annalys tried to explain to Talisa, "Robb and I thought we could march south and rescue him in time, but only if we crossed that bridge."
"Do you love him?" Talisa suddenly asked, causing Annalys to turn to her with wide eyes, "You said it yourself. You've done all of this to help Robb get his vengeance. You are fighting against your own blood for Robb. Why else would you do such an act, if not for love?"
Annalys was silent for a long moment, avoiding eye contact with Talisa, "So what if I do?" She finally spoke up, turning to look Talisa in the eye once more as they walked, "Nothing can ever happen between us. And not just because of his betrothal to the Frey girl, but because I would be betraying someone else."
"You've loved another before Robb," Talisa stated, coming to the realization.
Annalys sighed, nodding her head in response, "When I first arrived at Winterfell, I became involved with Robb's bastard brother. Jon," She explained to Talisa, who seemed shocked by the information, "We never knew each other as well as Robb and I know each other, but we cared for one another. Intimately."
