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...
LION AMONG WOLVES - 06. Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
In Bran's chambers, Bran was still in bed, now finally awake.
Old Nan, an elderly servant and the Starks' former wet nurse, was sitting at the foot of his bed, knitting while Annalys sat on a chair nearby. A crow landed on the window sill and cawed a few times. Bran immediately turned his head, looking directly at it.
"Don't listen to it. Crows are all liars," She spoke up, pausing for a moment before continuing, "I know a story about a crow..."
Annalys groaned, rolling her eyes in annoyance, "Oh, dear Gods," She muttered under her breath, "Here we go again."
"I hate your stories," Bran remarked, clearly agreeing with Annalys.
"I know a story about a boy who hated stories," Old Nan informed Bran, who looked anything but happy, "I could tell you about Ser Duncan the Tall, or maybe John Barleycorn; those were always your favorites."
"Those weren't my favorites," Bran commented, "My favorites were the scary ones."
Old Nan stopped knitting, looking directly at Bran, "Oh, my sweet summer child, what do you know about fear?" She questioned him, "Fear is for the winter, when the snows fall a hundred feet deep. Fear is for the Long Night, when the sun hides for years, and children are born and live and die all in darkness. That is the time for fear, my little lord, when the White Walkers move through the woods. Thousands of years ago, there came a night that lasted a generation. Kings froze to death in their castles, same as the shepherds in their huts. And women smothered their babies rather than see them starve, and wept and felt the tears freeze on their cheeks. So is this the sort of story that you like?" She questioned and Bran immediately nodded his head.
"In that darkness, the White Walkers came for the first time," She continued her story, "They swept through cities and kingdoms, riding their dead horses, hunting with their packs of pale spiders big as hounds--"
Much to Annalys' relief, Robb walked into the room, interrupting Old Nan story, "What are you telling him now?" He asked Old Nan, looking directly at the woman.
"Only what the little lord wants to hear," Old Nan responded and Annalys was quick to make a comment of her own.
"A bunch of inaccurate stories, that is what," She responded, sending Old Nan a glare.
Robb nodded, looking somewhat amused by Annalys' annoyance as he turned to look at Old Nan, "Get your supper," He ordered, "I want some time with him."
Old Nan placed down her knitting and left the room without having to be told again, causing Annalys to sigh in defeat. If she were to be honest, the lady creeped her out a bit.
"One time she told me the sky is blue because we live inside the eye of a blue-eyed giant named Macomber," Robb informed Bran in a calm tone.
