Author's note: Some long awaited truths I think. Anyway I hope you all enjoy Lyrina's new found strength. Thanks for the follows and Favorites. Thank you HermioneandMarcus for always reviewing and enjoying my story so much.

Disclaimer: I do not own Game of Thrones. I own Lyrina.

Chapter 22: The truth hurts doesn't it?

Lyrina's p.o.v

Blood pooled under her as she was suspended in the air. The wounds covering her body slowly dripped blood into the puddle below. The only sound she could hear was that of her own breathing, of her own screams as the dagger dug into her flesh once more. It was dark, she could not see who was hurting her, she did not know if it was even a person. All she knew was it burned, and she wanted to die, she was begging to die but the thing never let her die. She just wanted to die, everyone else she loved was dead, she just wanted this person this thing to let her go. "Lyrina.." A voice cut through the silence, a voice that did not belong in the darkness. "Lyrina, come on it's a nightmare." A voice that made her want to keep fighting, but the blade cut her again the blood flowing once more. Screams were her only response to the voice of a ghost. "Lyrina, wake up now."

Lyrina's eyes shot open as a sudden pain was felt across her face. She looked to her right to see Gendry standing next to her bed.

"Why did you slap me?" She did not think Gendry would ever put his hands on her.

"You were having a nightmare, I am sorry but I could not sit here and watch another one."

"I am sorry. How long have I been out?" Lyrina could not remember much since she murdered the boy, the boy who came to take her away.

"Just about five days now, the milk of the poppy has been keeping you in a daze."

She did not doubt that the milk of the poppy had caused the vivid nightmares as well. She felt like she had been in them, like she could feel every slice of the knife upon her skin. She had seen her loved ones die, one by one in front of her before the thing had locked her away. She did not think it was a dream, she thought it was real. Yet, Gendry stood beside her bed healthy and much alive. It didn't change her mind, soon everyone she loved would be dead and she would be locked away in the deepest parts of the world. There was not a thing she could do to change her fate so she should no hide her secrets any longer. Why should she lie for him if he was just going to kill her anyway?

"Gendry, can you hand me some paper and ink please? I have a letter to write." She had to strike while the fire burned in her, because the second it was consumed by fear she would lose it.

With the parchment in hand Lyrina began to write a letter to Jon, she would tell him first. She was not telling him first because she favored him, but because she knew he could ensure that Ned Stark was where he should have been. She knew he could be the one to check and make sure her brother had not double crossed her. She wanted to make sure that when she told Robb his father was alive it was true, and she needed Jon to check.

"Take this letter to a rider, tell them to take it to Winterfell and if Jon is not there they must go to the wall in search of him." She needed him to get the letter.

"Of course, I will be back right after."

When she was alone Lyrina let out a heavy sigh of pain. The pain was not nearly as unbearable as the night it happened, the night of her wedding. She was angry, her brother had no doubt ruined everything for her. He ruined her wedding, a day that was meant to be happy and joyous, he turned it to ashes. She was no longer going to sit there and let him control her from a castle in the capitol. He had tried to take her and failed, she protected herself. She killed a boy, that was murder not protecting herself but she would look past that.

She had to make sure she cut the ties with her family, she knew they would try to drag her back but not this time. She was married to Robb, she had to stop lying for Joffrey. If he was going to take her back, he was going to do it regardless of her being faithful to him. He had already tried to take her back, and she was doing everything he had asked her. So she would no longer play his pawn, she would no longer play the scared child. She was the daughter of King Robert Baratheon, only true heir to the iron throne and it was time Lyrina stop hiding behind others.

She was not alone long, Gendry found his way back to her. She looked upon her half brother and she wished he was her true born blood. She wished her father had legitimized him, she wished he had done something to acknowledge the boy. He was her flesh and blood, he was the only older brother she could look to for comfort. He would soon be the only sibling she would have left. She knew once she went against her brother, once she officially made her claim against her family she would lose them. She would lose Myrcella and Tommen but it was the price she was willing to risk for her love and for her true family. The Starks helped raise her and as Lord Stark had told her he had a hand in making her the honorable woman she was. She needed to stop hiding and stand up for honor just as they did.

"Gendry, I am glad I found you that day." What he had said to her on her wedding day stuck with her. They had given each other a true family.

"I am too, now rest and stop talking."

She did not want to rest or stop speaking. She had been in bed for five days, and no doubt had not moved. She knew the pain in her stomach was receding and she knew that meant that it had gotten better, so she wished to be up and doing something. She hated laying in bed helpless, she wanted to be up.

"Where is my husband?" Calling him her husband out loud felt odd on her lips.

"They found a group of Lannister men about a day ago, they believed them to be remnants of the group who attacked that night. Robb and some men went to kill them." She was sure Robb's anger was leading the charge.

"Oh."

Lyrina had wished to see him, she could only remember bits from her wedding night. She knew he helped dress her, she knew he saw the scars and she knew he had wanted her. She knew that if the wound in her stomach had not been there they would not have left bed for days. He would have kept her there satisfying every urge they shared. She wanted to see him, to make sure he was dealing with everything alright.

"Lyrina, can we talk? Can we talk about the scars?"

"He told you?" She knew Robb had seen them but she did not think he would speak of them to others.

"He did, I am the only one to know I believe. He wishes for you to speak about them, and since he can't be here, he wants me to be the one."

Lyrina never thought he would tell Gendry, she did not think he would tell anyone truly. She thought he would see the scars and be angry. She thought he would bottle it up and keep it in, she never thought he would tell the ones she loves.

"How is my uncle?" Lyrina had a plan forming in her head.

"Uh, the kIng slayer is alright I suppose. Lyrina we are supposed to be talking about what happened to you."

"Bring the King Slayer to me and I will tell you everything you wish to know." She saw the confusion on Gendry's face but she did not care.

"I can't do that, you know that."

"You can. Put him in irons, bring guards, just please. I don't want to have to repeat the story a million times, please." She knew she would have to tell Robb, but she would prefer if the story was only told a few times.

"If Lady Catelyn or someone sees..."

"If Lady Catelyn stops you tell her why you are doing it. If she too wishes to hear what I am going to tell my uncle she may come in here as well. Just please inform her what I am going to say is not pleasant, and it is not nice."

Gendry left still uncertain but Lyrina was determined. The only Lannister family she had in the camp was her uncle Jaime and he was about to find out how sick his son was. Lyrina was tired of keeping her secrets. Form the moment she met Jofrrey he acted as if he owned her but she belonged to no man. She didn't even belong to her husband, she was his equal. She was not going to let the Lannisters sit in their little fantasy of perfection. If she was going to get cast out for loving Robb, then her family was going to be shamed for their own sins.

Robb wasn't asking her to be the queen of the seven kingdoms, he didn't want that. But she could no longer deny her right to the throne. Whether she took the claim or passed it to one of her uncles, she could not sit by any longer. Her family sent men to take her away, before they even knew she was going to betray them. Her brother was never going to let her have her freedom, so it was about time she took it.

She thought of her father, and how he had no idea of the sins her mother took part in. He did not know that three of his children were not his and she could not imagine how he would have reacted. She was sure her mother would have been dead for what she did, and Lyrina could not blame her father. He cheated, he had bastards but he never slept with his own siblings. It was disgusting and vile, and she was going to make sure everyone in the seven kingdoms knew what the royal family was all about.

"Lyrina." She was broken from her thoughts by Lady Stark coming into the tent.

"I see Gendry informed you of my plan." The pain in her stomach was subsiding as each second passed, adrenaline was a thing of magic.

"I can not condone you having your uncle in your tent, my son.."

"I know, and I know Robb would hate it. Lady Stark, I need this and if you wish to stay you may. I am not asking you to leave, but I have things to say to my uncle that not are pleasant." Lyrina winced as she sat up in her bed, the pain searing her body.

"I understand."

Lady Stark took a seat at her son's desk and Lyrina grabbed for the robe beside her bed, she could not see her uncle in only her small clothes. She did not know what would come from the conversation but she had to have it. She had to make sure that her uncle knew his little world was going to come crashing down. The seven kingdoms may not have believed Lord Stark, or whoever else knew but they would believe her. She was the runaway princess, the one who wanted no part of the crown or their game, she had no reason to lie about her family's deep secrets. She had no reason to falsely claim herself as the only heir.

When Gendry brought in her uncle she was already sitting on the side of the bed, she would not lay there like a invalid. She sat tall as her uncle was forced to his knees in front of her. He was in heavy chains, he was dirty and disgusting in more than the physical sense.

"Throwing a party for me?" Her uncle looked around the tent at the three people in attendance.

"No such luck I fear." She was no longer going to play the part in front of him. She was no lion, she was a wolf now.

"I am glad you are feeling better, niece, when I heard of your wound I was worried."

"Were you uncle? I am surprised you would care that some Lannister man brought harm to me."

"I care, you are part of my family, the child of my sister."

"Oh yes, your sister, you mean your lover? The woman you bore three children with?"

The King Slayer did not speak at first his eyes glanced around the tent, and she knew he did not know if the people in their company knew of his sins. It did not matter because she was not going to keep quiet. She had asked Robb long ago to keep the doubts in the camp, and she knew most of the Lords in the realm did not know, yet.

"Lyrina, you should not speak of your family in such a way."

"My family? Let me tell you something, Ser Jaime about my family. At four my mother, who never wanted me because I didn't come from your seed, sent me away behind my father's back to her home of Casterly Rock. There your father hated me, I didn't look like a Lannister and he never let me forget that. He would belittle me and if I ever spoke against him I would get hit. I learned young that speaking out of turn was wrong. Those people are not my family, Ser Jaime. My family is the Starks. Lady Stark, was more of a mother than my own, she helped me become a woman without her I would never have known how to act. Lord Stark was the closest thing I had to a father since I lost my own, he was firm, kind but stern and I learned how to be honorable. Bran, Sansa, Rickon and Arya were the only siblings I had known for years. They loved me even when I wasn't a princess, the Starks loved me when I was just a girl they looked after." Her voice was bitter and she was done being pleasant.

"Lyrina, what your mother did was best for you. She wanted you to grow up properly away from your father's influence or that of the north."

"See how well that worked for her? Lying and going behind peoples backs gets you no where in life. I lied and hurt people I cared about for your family." She was done.

"They are your family too, Joffrey, Tommen and Myrcella are your siblings." She wanted to laugh.

"Thank you for bringing up your children, it gives me a great point to bring up Jaime. You slayed a mad king without honor, and I am sure that your sins are the reason you bore another mad king. Your son is insane, he is sadistic and cruel. You can look at me like I am lying all you want but I am not, I have experienced first hand how bad your son is. You and my mother spawned the next mad king, and I will not stand by letting him ruin everything I love."

"He is no mad king, you know nothing of mad kings."

"Really? Let me ask you a question dear Jaime. Is it not mad to force your own sister to strip naked and lie in your bed against her will?" She glanced to Lady Stark as she spoke, unsure of if the woman would remain.

"He loves you, Lyrina."

"He does not love me, he wants to own me. Robb Stark, my husband, loves me. He had loved me when I didn't want him, he loved me when my family tore his to shreds and he loves me now as a war rages on inside us. Your son does not love anyone, he wants control and power."

"Lyrina.."

"I am not done Jaime, your sins need to be discussed. Your son is sick and you need to own up to the reason for that. He was born of incest, just as the Targaryens were and half of them went mad. You had three children with my mother, it is not hard to believe one of them would be mad."

"My son is not mad."

Lyrina paused for a moment and looked around the tent. She could see Gendry gripping the hilt of his sword, she knew he would not swing but she could see rage inside him. She saw Lady Stark look upon her with sadness, but she could see the admiration in her eyes. She was proud of her and Lyrina was thankful. Her power, her strength never came from her mother it came from Lady Stark and the lessons she learned in Winterfell.

"Jaime, let me show how mad he is." Lyrina stood up wincing slightly at the pain. "Gendry, look away please."

She did not want to show her brother her bare thigh, she really did not want to show her uncle either but he had to see. She lifted her robe just enough that her uncle could see a few of the scars that covered her thighs. He did not say a word, and she sat down.

"A month before I came here, a month before Lord Stark was killed your son did that to me."

"I don't believe it, you did that to yourself. You are the mad one."

"King Slayer your son made me strip naked and lay in his bed every night for a month. He would take a dagger you gave him and he would cut my skin. Small cuts, thin cuts all over my body but the deep ones were saved for my thighs, and they bled so much that he sheets were stained with blood. No one spoke of it, his maids never did, and his men would hear me cry out as he did it but they never said a word. Is that not mad?" She paused waiting to see if he would speak. " If that wasn't enough,he would run his hands all over my naked body. He would kiss me, and tell me horrible things. I had to lie for him, and if I didn't he would rip me from the man I loved and he would murder any children I bore. So do not sit there and tell me your sins did not make him mad."

"You let it happen."

"I had to pay my price for freedom. If I didn't I would still be there and he would still climb into my bed every night just to sleep beside me. He would still be torturing Sasna, and he would still be just as mad as he is now. I needed to escape and be with the people I loved so I paid my price. He wanted me to marry Robb so he could have the north but that wasn't enough for him. He cut my thighs so that every night I would lay with my husband we were both reminded that your son owned me. His words Jaime, not mine."

"You are a liar and a traitor to your family."

"Get him out of here, he knows what I say is true. Uncle, if you ever return to Kings Landing you will understand."

Gendry removed him from her tent and Lyrina just sat there on the edge of the bed. Her blood was pumping through her body at an alarming rate, her heart was beating fast against her chest. She never thought she would do something so bold, so brash but her emotions lead her to it. She held on to the bed beside her tightly, she was shaking and the pain had not yet returned to her but she knew it would.

"Lyrina, I am sorry."

"Lady Catelyn please don't be I paid my price to be here don't be sorry." She looked up to see the Lady Standing before her. "There is more I must tell but the time isn't right yet. I need to know if what I know is still true."

"Don't push yourself."

"I must because I will not let these people control me any longer, Lady Catelyn. I will not let my brother tell me who I can and can not love. I know I am the heir to the throne, and if your son wants to fight for that than we shall. If he does not than I will give the claim to someone else."

"I.."

Lady Catelyn went to speak but they were both interrupted by someone running into the tent. A very dirty, messy and out of breath Arya stumbled into the tent. She was followed by a solider from one of the Lords in the camp, Lyrina did not know him. Lady Catelyn looked at her daughter very confused and Lyrina became worried.

"They took her, they took Sansa. She told me to run back to camp it was taking forever but I found this man and he helped me. Mother, they took her back to Kings landing we have to hurry."

Lyrina felt rage boil inside of her, she was going to kill him. Joffrey would die by her own hand, she would see to it that her brother died a painful bloody death. Sansa should have never been forced to leave the camp, but she could not blame her husband he thought he was doing what was best.

"Take a force of men after her now, I do not care how many you must take. I will not allow him to keep Sansa." Lyrina was standing up now talking to the man who brought Arya back to them.

"Your grace, the King is not here.."

"Exactly he isn't and I am your queen. You will take as many men needed, you will ride them down and return Sansa to this camp." She was coming up with power she did not know she had.

"Yes, my queen."

Lady Stark held Arya in her arms while Lyrina stood shaking. She never had control of her anger and it was getting the better of her. She was ready to mount her own horse and ride off to Kings Landing. She would ride into the city, find her brother and slaughter him. She would free Sansa and ride off into the sunset. Lyrina looked down at the dirty Arya, seeing the tears staining her face.

"Arya we will get her back, please go wash up, eat and rest."

Lady Catelyn took her daughter away and Lyrina collapsed into her bed. The pain was beginning to come back, the burning in her stomach was becoming overbearing. She would not drink anymore milk of the poppy, she had to be awake. Her husband, the king, was not there and she had to take his place. She could not let these men take Sansa, she could not let everything fall apart. She finally told someone the whole truth, the whole thing of what Joffrey had done to her. Soon she would tell Robb about his father and everything would become complete. She would let go of the control her family had placed on her and she would become the leader of her own life.