Jaime

The loud crack of thunder echoed throughout the night, one that would have shaken even the deepest of sleepers from their slumber. But tonight, very few were sleeping in Casterly Rock. Rain and the shouts of men echoed throughout the courtyard, so much so that the thunder's interruption was welcome to break up the monotony.

Gods, this is not good. Jaime Lannister watched with uneasiness from inside the doorway that led into the great keep atop the Rock, seeing his father's men feverously working to calm the horses who had been spooked. Tyrion, I hope for your sake that Father is merciful.

It had only been a few days since Jaime had returned to his birthplace, granted leave by King Robert of his duties as a member of the Kingsguard so that he could travel home. Jaime had been quite eager to come back to visit Casterly Rock for the second time since the fall of the Targaryens, even if it did mean leaving Cersei alone at King's Landing. He had attempted to convince Cersei that she would be fine without him, but Jaime could tell that his twin had not been entirely convinced of his words. If it weren't for their father's request for him to visit, he would have stayed with her, and would have chosen to stay with her a million times over. But Jaime knew better than to defy his father, even when he was a continent's length away.

It's not as if we had much time for one another as of late anyways. Jaime thought, a tad bitter. Cersei had been too busy admiring her infant son, Joffrey, born less than a year ago. Jaime understood his sister's need to care for her child, but still felt bored without Cersei visiting him in the night, which only served as further motivation to visit his father and brother at the Rock. But as Jaime watched the scene transpiring in the courtyard, he had a feeling that perhaps he should have departed later so as not to be involved with what would be happening tonight.

"Are you ready?" Jaime nearly jumped as he heard a stern voice from behind him. He didn't bother turning his head to look upon the face it belonged to.

"Father, I beg you to reconsider this. Tyrion-"

"I will not hear another word from you on this. Come." A glimpse of Tywin Lannister's face as he passed was enough for Jaime to hold his tongue. Not since Jaime's appointment to the Kingsguard by Aerys Targaryen had he seen his father in such a mood. Face curled up to look even more stern than usual, the Lord of Casterly Rock walked briskly past his son into the pounding rain and darkness. Pausing for but a moment, Jaime followed him out from the shelter of the keep and made his way to a horse that had been prepared for him.

The rain made the ride difficult, but Jaime made sure to keep pace with his father, who was leading his men in the charge down the Rock. The harder they rode, the more anxious that Jaime became. Fear rose up in him as he continued to press on against the storm. Not for himself, but for his dear brother.

He had always felt like this day would come, although Jaime had held onto hope that it wouldn't. He had even prayed to gods other than the Warrior that it wouldn't happen. Nine months previous, during Jaime's last visit to the Westerlands, he and Tyrion had helped to save some common girl from a band of brigands, and whilst Jaime had driven the thugs off Tyrion had cared for the girl.

Ever since his return to King's Landing, Jaime had received letters from Tyrion, all of which having one thing In common; the girl, whom her name Tyrion said to be Tysha. At first, Jaime had been shocked that his little brother would secretly marry a common girl, but as the letters continued, Jaime felt happiness for his brother. Tyrion had been despised by their father and sister for many things; the death of their mother, Tyrion's deformity, reasons Jaime saw as petty. Seeing his brother's words made Jaime understand that Tyrion was truly happy with this girl, and Jaime could only write back replies of encouragement to him.

Tyrion had always detailed how he was hiding Tysha in a small cottage near the Rock, far enough away from their father's knowledge but close enough for Tyrion to visit his wife daily. But yesterday, Tyrion's secret had been exposed. One of their father's spies had come to them during a meal, to report to Lord Tywin the whereabouts of his youngest son, who had explained that he was going to take a ride about the countryside. When Lord Tywin received the news, Jaime saw his father's fury etched on his face.

The man had said that whilst following Tyrion out to a cottage on the outskirts of a southern town, he could see a young woman, slender and black of hair, embrace Tyrion as he rode up. But perhaps the greatest source of Lord Tywin's rage came from the last words of his spy's report, who he also noted that the woman was also heavily with child. No sooner had he heard that last detail did Lord Tywin throw his goblet in disgust and storm out of the hall, to Jaime's utter horror.

Lord Tywin had organized his men almost as quickly as the storm they were riding in had settled in the skies above the Westerlands. Even though he wasn't superstitious, Jaime thought it to be a bad omen, and hoped that his father would show mercy to both his brother and Tysha. But he knew that Lord Tywin was not a man capable of great sympathy. Castamere can attest to that.

"There, mi'lord!" In the rain, Jaime could hear the voice of the same spy calling to Lord Tywin, pointing in the direction of a cottage, illuminated by candlelight coming from inside. As the riders approached, Jaime attempted to find the will to speak once more, to plead with his father on this matter further. AS they approached, Jaime spoke in barely a whisper.

"Father, I beg of you. Be merciful." Lord Tywin stopped for a moment before turning back to Jaime.

"Your brother dishonors this house with whoring, and you dare to beg of mercy for him?" Lord Tywin's hissed, making sure to keep their conversation quiet. But the furious look forced Jaime to avert his gaze to avoid eye contact. His father looked deathly at him a few moments more before turning to his guards. "Open the door!"

"Is that…crying?" One of the men stopped and said, causing the rest of the party to listen closely as well. Jaime's eyes widened as his ears heard the audible cries of someone coming from inside of the cottage, a voice that he didn't recognize. The screeching was soft and tiny, sounding a whole lot like how Joffrey sounded when…Oh gods.

"I commanded you to open the doors! Now!" Jaime looked frantically as his father's stern voice made itself known again, his command fulfilled as one of the men kicked the door inward. Jaime followed his father inside, and was met with a scene in the front room that he would likely never forget.

"Gods." In the room were four individuals. The first Jaime saw was a man cloaked in grey with a chain around his neck, holding a bundle in his arm and looking at the party as if they were his executioners. The second was a man cloaked in white, likely a septon, who wore the same look of fear on his face as the maester that held the bundle that Jaime now recognized as the source of the noise. But the most unsettling image was that of his brother, lying on the ground as he embraced the girl Jaime recognized as Tysha. But something was wrong. There was a great deal of blood on the floor, and Tysha was not moving, unlike Cersei had been after Joffrey's birth. The girl's eyes were closed, and she was as white as the second man's cloak.

"What is this madness!?" Lord Tywin demanded, but was met with no answer other than the cries of the child the maester was holding in his arms. Jaime stood nervously, watching his father as Lord Tywin gazed upon the scene before him. "Tyrion! What have you done?!"

"Father. And Jaime too." Tyrion looked back to the two of them, and Jaime could see the red and wet eyes of his brother. "Brother, have you betrayed me?"

"Tyrion, I-"

"I don't need your brother to betray you to me, Tyrion. Do you not remember who I am? Did you think I would not find out about this eventually?"

"I don't care what you think!" Defiance was etched into every syllable of Tyrion's words, as the little dwarf turned and lashed back to his father and all those who had entered. "After everything you have put me through, I was not going to give up this chance at happiness!"

"Happiness with some whore?"

"Don't you call her that!"

"My lord Lannister." The man dressed in white, whom Jaime guessed was a septon, spoke nervously. "Whatever her status may be, the girl is legally married to-"

"SILENCE!" The Lion's roar was enough to make the septon tremble, his lip quivering. "I will not hear of this any further. Take the bastard and kill it!"

"No!" Tyrion stood from the ground and looked up to his father. "Do with me what you wish, but leave the child. Do not harm the child."

"Tyrion, I will not have the stain of a bastard on my house! You shall be punished, but that child will not live to see another day!"

"Father, stop!" Jaime came to his senses, and suddenly recognized his hand was on the hilt of his sword. He pulled his sword hand away and approached his father, whispering in his ear. "Think about this."

"Jaime, I thought I told you to be silent."

"You need to listen to reason." Jaime said, causing his father to look at him, still fuming but silent. After a pause, Jaime approached and whispered in his ear. "The septon said the marriage is legitimate. That child is Tyrion's, and it is trueborn."

"You cannot expect me to-"

"Please, just listen." Jaime looked intently in his father's eyes as his mind raced to find some sort of words to stop his father. He quickly came up with something reasonable. "Even if the boy isn't legitimate, he's still your kin. Do you really want to be a kinslayer?" Jaime's words seemed to affect his father, whose eye visibly twitched upon hearing the word kinslayer, one of the ultimate taboos in Westeros. "Our house can ill afford that stain, don't you agree?"

"What are you suggesting, Jaime?"

"Take the child in. Make him apart of your house, you are in need of more lions in your line, and I cannot inherit." When his father looked at him with skepticism and scorn again, Jaime pleaded with him once more. "Look at the septon, do you really think he's lying about the marriage being legitimate?" Lord Tywin's displeasure was still quite evident, but he did not say another word against Jaime, instead looking down and pondering the situation. After a moment, the Lion looked back to his youngest son.

"Tyrion." The stern voice of his father made Jaime worry for a moment, but he stayed silent and watched. "That child. I wish to see it." Jaime saw his brother give their father a skeptical look. "Do not worry, I will not kill it." The Lion motioned to the maester, who slowly approached and handed the bundle to Lord Tywin, who promptly looked under the bundle the child was wrapped in. Strangely enough, the child stopped its crying as Jaime's father held it, and a hush fell upon the room.

"A boy." Jaime could hear something familiar to relief in his father's voice. From what he saw, the boy looked quite normal, far from what Tyrion had looked like when he was an infant. Is that what you're truly relieved about, Father? "Very well then. Tyrion, I will allow you to keep this child and claiming him as legitimate, but for this, you will do something for me."

"And what will that be?" Tyrion said, traces of defiance still in his voice.

"Should I claim this boy as my proper grandchild, you are to forgo all claims to Casterly Rock. That would mean this child is my heir, and as such, you will leave the boy in my care as a ward when he comes of age, and you will not defy me in any way as I teach him. Am I understood?" Jaime watched his brother, Tyrion's inner conflict mirrored on his face. But only a moment of contemplation was necessary, and Tyrion nodded his approval of their father's commands. "Good. Now, name your son."

As Tyrion took the child from Tywin, Jaime saw his brother's face soften upon seeing the infant. "Markus." Tyrion muttered. "His name shall be Markus."

Okay, so it's been a while since I've been on here and posted something worthwhile, and I feel like I owe an explanation. First and foremost, my other story, High as Honor, is likely not going to be finished anytime soon. I've lost interest with it, and I realize that it was pretty sloppy in comparison to the better works I've seen on here. So, there's that. Sorry to everyone who supported the story and me, but I just don't have the passion for that right now. Maybe I'll come back to it at a later date. I hope you can forgive me for this and will show 'Black Lion' just as much love as 'High as Honor'.

For newcomers who haven't read High as Honor, I have to explain my writing style when it comes to fanfictions. My ideology is that an individual cannot do something different than what they did in the original works unless there is something inherently different in the world which they exist in. To instigate this inherent difference, I use an original character, typically in the form of a child of someone who already exists in ASOIAF and whose existence can be entirely plausible (Olyvar Arryn, first son of Jon Arryn and Lysa Tully, conceived when the Moon Tea Lysa drank didn't work) based on the parameters of the world which the story takes place in.

In this instance, however, I have to make a further stretch to incorporate the OC into the story line by making the presumption that Tyrion could hide Tysha from Tywin long enough for the two of them to consummate and create Markus, the OC and main difference in the story. Although it does not happen in the books, I still feel it is not outside the realm of possibility that Tyrion could do such a thing, and as such I feel it works as an introduction.

Also, and this is something those who have read 'High as Honor' know, but I am very slow when it comes to plot diversion from the original works. Typically these stories will stick with the original time- and storylines until a certain point, where then I divert and have the world of ASOIAF play out differently. Furthermore, if the OC, Markus, has nothing to do with the storylines of other characters, you will likely not see them in this work. For their POVs, I suggest reading them from the original works, or alternatively watching the show. Be warned, however, that the show and the books have become drastically different, and as this work follows the books, some who only watch the show may become lost. To those who have read the books, please help those whom are confused best as you can.