Anya knew what fear felt like. She was not immune to such a feeling, especially after everything she had witnessed recently. During the journey to King's Landing, she had done her best to push that feeling aside. She had been brave while she was kept bound and close to Jaime Lannister. The man didn't seem to want to let her out of his sight, only locking her in a makeshift cage in the evening when they rested.
She had no room to sleep stretched out, instead she had to curl herself to a ball, the floor muddy underneath her body. Her dress was well and truly ruined, ripped in the odd place from where she had been tugged by the men. Her hair was ratty around her head, most of it limp and dangling down her back lamely. Her face seemed gaunt when she ran her fingers over her cheekbones and dirt covered her fingernails.
She felt disgusting, even more so when she was dragged through King's Landing. Jaime Lannister had her tossed from the side of his horse to the floor, jumping down and following her as he grabbed hold of her elbow. She tried to pull her arm from his grip, but the side glare he gave her and the twitch in his jaw told her not to push him too far.
Rolling her eyes, Anya looked around as people began to line the streets, the sun beating down on them. She could hardly believe what she was seeing, the sight of King's Landing something completely different to Winterfell. Buildings rose and fell in the distance, the path towards the Red Keep hilly as Anya tried to ignore the calls from the crowd. There were some who insulted her, most deeming it necessary to mention how they rallied around the Lannisters.
"It seems the crowd aren't on your side," Jaime informed her as the guards flanked them and Anya shrugged.
"And are they on yours?" Anya asked from him. "Or are they just too scared to go against you?"
"I wouldn't sound so brave if I were you, little Queen," Jaime informed her and she gulped once, knowing full well and deep down that she was not as brave as she felt. She was petrified of what might happen once she was dragged before Cersei.
When Jaime had not been watching her she had heard men whisper. Apparently the other Lannister twin was nowhere near as stable as her brother. Anya only wondered what they meant. She had heard how Cersei Lannister had taken the Iron Throne after the Sept of Baelor had been blown up and her son had jumped from a window after hearing that his wife had died.
"Quiet now," Jaime mumbled.
"I thought you preferred me quiet?" Anya asked and Jaime rolled his eyes.
"You're certainly playing dangerously."
"How?" Anya wondered, peering up to him. "I know what you intend to do. You intend to lock me away until my husband agrees to your terms. If he does not then you will kill me. I expect it. I understand that."
"And you do not fear it?"
"I have already seen death before," Anya declared. "If I see it again then so be it, so long as Jon is safe and well."
"Well, I suspect it will not come to that," Jaime informed her, looking away and Anya wondered what she had seen in his gaze. She didn't know, but it looked something like compassion, but that could not be true. He was not compassionate.
Anya didn't bring it up. Instead she kept silent as they finally entered the Red Keep and Anya kept her eyes in front of her, determined not to be intimidated by what she was seeing. Instead she kept on walking in front of Jaime, his hand on her elbow moving to her back to push her forwards instead, his touch almost feather light as she walked on her own accord.
The doors to the Throne Room opened before Anya and she looked around then. The room was quiet, only one solitary figure sat on the Iron Throne. Looking to it, Anya struggled to wonder what the fuss about the Iron Throne was. If anything it looked horrifically uncomfortable for anyone to sit on it. The room held nothing else, save for some banners showing the Lannister vigil.
The guard rushed into the room as Jaime held Anya back. They moved around, standing at the edge of the room while Anya looked to the woman on the Throne. She was tall and slender, her blonde hair cut neatly around her head. The black dress she wore looked as uncomfortable as the chair she sat on and the crown on her head showed that she was the woman with the power.
Her eyes were calculating and narrow as Jaime pushed Anya into the room, forcing her to walk forwards. Anya never let her gaze move away from the woman, fear taking over her body at the woman's harsh glare. It was then when Anya knew that she was someone to be feared. And Anya did fear her.
Jaime stood back from Anya once they came to the steps to the throne. Anya said nothing further, choosing to keep silent as a guard forced her to her knees and Jaime took his place besides his sister. Anya kept her head held high, imagining what Jon would do in this situation. No doubt he would never be in this position. He would never have been forced to kneel before the people who helped murder his family.
"And this is her?" Cersei's voice was cold and hard, her tone held no pity as she peered up to her brother and Jaime nodded to her.
"It is," he informed his sister.
"And her husband has been notified of our terms?"
"As far as I know," Jaime continued.
"Odd," Cersei spoke and Anya swore she saw a gleam in the woman's eye as she did her best not to look too worried. "He has not sent word that he will come for his little wife."
Anya chewed down on her tongue. She didn't want to say anything and anger the Queen Regent in front of her. She was not worth it. Anya would have told her that she was glad that Jon had not agreed to come for her. Anya did not want him to come. She wanted him to stay away and do what he had to do.
"Nothing to say?" Cersei arched a brow and Anya kept her gaze even, her chin held high.
"Nothing that would be of any importance," Anya declared and she swore that she saw the hard stare drop from Cersei's face. "I suspect that you will not care for what I have to say. Your mind has already been made up."
"Your husband's has not been," Cersei continued. "Tell me, do you think he truly loves you? He has not asked for your release so I doubt it. I have a theory, you see. I believe that Jon Snow fell for you beyond the Wall…where there are no women…but now? Now that he is being proclaimed the King in the North, well, a girl like you should not be sitting by his side. He knows that."
Anya did not even bother to argue. Instead she remained calm and collected, knowing exactly what she was going to say to Cersei. She had her words all lined up.
"That is funny," Anya said. "Your brother said the same thing."
Cersei looked to Jaime, but the member of the Kingsguard had his gaze set on the girl on the floor, eyeing her with suspicion as Anya looked to him. She didn't know what she was trying to convey to him, but she felt as though there was something inside of Jaime that was cracking. There was something about him that Anya sensed was different to his sister. Yes, he was a cold bastard, but Anya suspected it was a more of a front than his real self.
"Regardless," Cersei looked away from Jaime when he said nothing to her. "He has until the end of the week to make his decision."
"Jon is no fool," Anya spoke. "He will never submit to you."
"He will if he wants you back."
"As soon as he submits then his army will desert him," Anya declared. "Do you truly think that they will rally behind him if he chooses to help you? No, they have too much pride. My life does not mean as much as their pride. You overestimate Jon's power. They may have declared him the King in the North, but he is…if he does what you ask him…then they will strip that from him."
"Well," Cersei sneered and nodded to a guard to pick Anya up from the ground, holding her roughly by the upper arm. "For your sake let us hope that his powers of persuasion are greater than you make out."
…
Jon did not want to be where he was. He wanted to be as far away as possible from the North. He had decided to ride with a small guard to King's Landing, but he had only got as far as the Neck when he had been told that he had to cross paths with her. Daenerys Targaryen. She had demanded to meet with him after he had sent word to her that he had to head to King's Landing.
He had told all the Northern Lords of his plan and they had agreed with him. There would be no chance that they would join the Lannister forces, nor would they fight the Targaryen girl and her dragons. They had agreed to play along and pretend that they would bend the knee, but they never would. Of course, that didn't help Jon. He had been told that he would only have Anya returned to him when the Targaryen army was defeated. He did not know how he would be able to do that.
His only option was to try and sneak into the Capitol and save his wife.
"She's got plenty of men," Davos's voice was gruff as Jon looked around the encampment that had been set up. It was vast and filled with men in various armoury. Jon had heard rumours of the Dothraki joining her and it seemed that was no falsity.
The Greyjoys had also pledged their allegiance, but Jon only hoped that he had no need to come face to face with Theon Greyjoy. While the ward had not killed his brothers, he had still abandoned Robb. He had gone against him and that was enough for Jon to hold a grudge.
"Even if I did as the Lannisters asked and joined their forces, we could not defeat her," Jon decreed and Davos nodded as he walked by his side. "But we have to be quick. I need to get to King's Landing as soon as possible."
"And if they do not release Anya?" Davos asked. "We have no army with us. They will know we are playing them."
"Aye," Jon agreed. "That's why we need another plan…a plan that involves sneaking my wife out before they kill her."
"This is madness," Davos mumbled and Jon nodded, his face stoic.
"It always has been."
They lapsed into silence and then Jon saw him. He was stood outside the vast tent in the centre of the camp, his hands behind his back as he looked on at the men approaching him. The last time Jon had seen him had been when he had travelled to visit the Night's Watch with Jon.
"Jon Snow," his voice spoke now, but he held a hand up before Jon could say anything, turning his head away for a second as he looked deep in thought. "Or should I call you, Lord Stark, the King in the North? You really have risen through the ranks since I last met you."
Jon did not look entertained. "I'd heard rumours that you had left King's Landing. The youngest Lannister who killed his own father and fled."
"Yes, well," Tyrion Lannister spoke, acting nonchalant. "The bastard did deserve to die. However, we must not dwell on such things, especially when it seems I can offer you my help."
"Really?" Davos asked.
"Yes," Tyrion responded, "but first, we should go and discuss this, should we not?"
Tyrion didn't wait for an answer, pushing the tent flap open and wandering inside, allowing Jon and Davos to follow. Jon looked around, wondering what he would see, but the sight he saw shocked him slightly. He suspected the Targaryen girl would be stunning after the rumours he had heard, but she was not just a pretty face. Her blonde hair tumbled over her shoulders and she was dressed in a long black dress, her back hunched as her hands rested on the table, her eyes set on a map on the desk before her.
"My Queen," Tyrion spoke, attracting her attention and she looked up and to her advisor. "May I present to you, Jon Snow and…"
"Davos Seaworth," Davos grunted when Tyrion looked to him.
"So this is the King in the North?" Daenerys asked, her voice questioning as her brow arched and she stood up tall, her hands clasping together as her gaze met Jon's and she watched him.
"That's what they keep calling me, anyway," Jon said, his voice gruff.
"I received your letter," Daenerys declared. "I have been speaking with Tyrion of the incident you find yourself in. The Lannisters have made their demands and we need to find a way to best them."
"Along with killing the White Walkers," Davos continued and Daenerys nodded.
"Quite a lot to consider," she spoke before motioning to the table in the centre of the room.
She took her seat at the head of the table while Jon sat to the right and Tyrion to her left. Davos sat beside Jon as they waited for the conversation to begin.
"You have no intention of joining the Lannister forces, I trust?" Daenerys asked of Jon.
"None at all," Jon promised her. "None of my army would join them."
"I should suspect not," Tyrion scoffed. "The North hate my family and with good reason too, I believe. We did chop the Warden of the North's head off and helped to kill the previous King in the North. However, you are still travelling to King's Landing? Tell me, do you hope to trick my sister? She may be many things, but she is no fool."
"I suspect she is not," Jon grunted and looked to Tyrion. "I wrote back to tell her that I would do as she asked…to keep Anya alive."
"And if you have no intention of doing as she asks then what do you intend to do?" Daenerys enquired.
"Oh, I know the answer to that," Tyrion said, leaning back in his chair and looking between Davos and Jon. "Tell me, do you truly think that you can break her out of the dungeon? She will be heavily guarded. She will be…well…let's just say your chances of saving her are slim. You do not know the hidden passageways, nor do you know where the dungeon even is."
"Then what do you suggest I do? Leave her to your sister's mercy?"
"Oh, not at all," Tyrion snorted. "However, I do suggest you speak to someone who knows what they are doing…someone who has broken out before."
Jon furrowed his brows as Tyrion chuckled.
"Take me to King's Landing and let me help…let me have revenge on my sister."
…
A/N: Do let me know what you think!