KINGDOM FALL | ROBB STARK [1]

9

KINGDOM FALL
— 9. Goodbye For Now

That night, Annalys hadn't slept at all. When dawn came, she immediately got up from bed and readied herself for the journey. She forced herself to wear the same dress she attended the Red Wedding in. It was stained with blood, which was perfect for the story she had made up for when she arrived at King's Landing.

She stood at the window, taking a deep breath before she bent down. She grabbed the ends of her dress, about to rip it. Before she could, a feeling grew in her stomach that made her feel the need to puke.

Annalys' eyes widened, covering her mouth with her hand as she frantically glanced around for something to throw up in. She soon found a large tin basket and ran over to it. She wasted no time throwing up into it, finding herself feeling a bit better after doing so.

Robb became confused when he was woken up to the sound of someone vomiting. He immediately sat up in concern. He found Annalys on the ground in a kneeling position, throwing up into a metal basket.

Robb wasted no time climbing out of bed and rushing over to Annalys. He sighed in defeat, kneeling next to her. He grabbed ahold of her hair, moving it out of the way before she could throw up on it as well. He had no idea what else to do. His mother once told him about her being plagued with something called morning sickness when she was carrying him in her womb, but never thought Annalys would get it too.

He didn't even know what it meant. Husbands in the Seven Kingdoms never bothered to learn anything about pregnancies. They usually just let the wives handle it themselves with the help of their handmaidens and midwives. Robb, however, refused to do the same. Annalys was going leave that day. She would be dealing with the pregnancy all on her own for the next few months.

He refused to sit back and allow her to endure it on her own when he was still around to help her. Annalys flinched and nearly jumped in fright when she felt someone place a hand on her back and grab ahold of her hair, but soon calmed down when she heard Robb's soothing voice telling her that it was going to be okay, that he was there for her.

Annalys had no clue why she was sick, in all honesty. She had no one to tell her what it was like to be pregnant. Her mother wasn't around and Robb was the only one besides herself to know about the pregnancy. Annalys refused to tell Catelyn about the pregnancy, in fear of complications happening that made her miscarry.

Here, Annalys knelt on the ground, not having the slightest clue what was in store for her while being pregnant. She didn't know about morning sickness. She didn't know about the fatigue she'd feel. She didn't know about the nausea she'd feel. She didn't know that she'd have back pain nor that she'd have odd cravings. She knew nothing. She would be forced to keep the fact that she was pregnant from everyone, including her own mother, in King's Landing.

At nineteen years of age, she'd be forced to endure it all on her own without knowing what was normal during pregnancy and what wasn't.

As she finally stopped throwing up, Annalys began to silently cry, tears streaming down her face. She found herself feeling scared for herself and the babies. She hadn't realized until that moment how stupid she was being stupid for not telling anyone else that she was pregnant, even more so for allowing herself to get pregnant during a war in the first place.