I'm back! If you DON'T remember me, then maybe you'll remember a little Game of Thrones fic I did a little while ago called "A Taint in the Blood" (and which is currently undergoing MAJOR editing, so please, don't go running off to read it yet if you haven't already - seriously, it's horrendous compared to my more recent stuff!) If you DO remember me and are thinking about reading, reviewing, liking, favoriting, whatever this story, this welcome back! I'll relish your support in whatever form! :)
Anyway, this is "The Wicked and the Divine". Its extremely AU and takes place if Jaime Lannister left the Gold Cloaks regardless of Tyrion's verdict. It starts out kinda sorta following the show but it will drastically veer off into AU territory eventually. I absolutely love my OC and her brother, who is also my OC, and hopefully, it will be much better than "A Taint in the Blood" ever was. Here's hoping!
Reviewing is my bread and butter as a writer. Constructive criticism helps me grow - helps me improve. That being said, I welcome your reviews (good and with constructive criticism) with open arms, but please, do not send me flames. Flames will be picked apart and crucified at the beginning of every chapter during the author's notes. You guys have been warned.
Disclaimer: I do not own Game of Thrones, the books or the TV show. This work of pure, utter amazingness belongs to the brilliant George R.R. Martin. All I own are my two OC's and everyone you don't immediately recognize and which the Wiki of Ice and Fire does not immediately turn up a page on, which includes Ashara's house, House Tytos, which is of my own invention.
Okay, now that all the technicalities are out of the way, onwards to the story! Hope you guys enjoy it and again, please leave a review and hit that favorite/follow button. It'll help a lot :)
- Nagiana
There is nothing in the world like the devotion of a married woman. It is a thing no married man knows anything about.
- Oscar Wilde
"How dare the two of you make me do this?"
Two sets of matching colored eyes flashed in the dull candlelight as mother and daughter stood opposite from the other in the very heart of their family's house. For the first time in a long time, their heads clashed over something that mother and daughter should have been in harmony with, but which now made them currently the bitterest of enemies. The mother, however, was sure that her daughter, logical and intuitive as she was, would surely see reason with the right amount of persuasion. She had birthed and raised a fool.
The mother's voice was firm with steel as she spoke: "Your father's words are law in this land, Ash. You know that as well as anyone else here."
"Yes, but a Lannister?" Ashara Tytos snapped as she whirled around to face her mother in a swirl of emerald green skirts. A look of bewilderment played out across her comely face. Lissianna Tytos pursed her lips in reply, and clasped her hands together in front of her tightly-laced bodice.
"Your betrothed lies dead, Ashara. Lucas Blackwood was slain at the Red Wedding. His corpse rots in Raventree's great mausoleum, while his soul now resides in its great Weirwood. Your heart, however, does not yet have permission to. You are the daughter of a great house, of an even greater family. The Tyrells wish to consolidate their position in King's Landing in every way possible. Considering that your father is such good friends with Mace and since Mace only has one daughter, it made sense for the duty of marriage to Jaime Lannister, to fall onto your head. Better you, then another house who would seek the same and beat us to it."
Ashara shook her head, her alarming ice-shatter blue eyes, wide and fierce. They seemed brighter placed in the beautiful face covered in olive-colored flesh. She had inherited a mixture of both her parents' hair colors – her father's raven-black hair that fell down to her waist in a cascading waterfall of waves, was interwoven with the natural red highlights of her mother. Lissianna's red hair – the burgundy color of a rose's petals – was gathered up behind her head in an elegant chignon. Her eyes, when they gazed at her oldest daughter, was as fierce as hers were.
There were rumors that Lissianna was from a great family that hailed from Asshai, which explained her peculiarly colored red hair that had only been seen in one other person: Stannis Baratheon's Red Woman, Melisandre of Asshai. And while she made an outward appearance of being a fervid believer of the Seven, Ashara – as her favorite daughter – knew well that her mother was a true believer of R'hller, like a majority of the people from her homeland, was.
Ashara's voice trembled as she finally spoke: "Lucas was a good man, mother. He was kind and handsome and he loved me! And I loved him too -!"
"What is love, Ashara, when you can have power and wield it? Power, my dear girl, is where true freedom lay," Lissianna interrupted her daughter with an irritated tone to her voice. She shook her head and took a few steps towards her, her eyes adopting a gleam that Ashara couldn't rightly place for a moment. Her long, scarlet red gown swept the marble floor as she walked, and Ashara's keen eyes followed her mother the entire time. "With your older brother gone off to Dorne, you are the current future of House Tytos, my dear, until the seas of politics calm and he comes home to us. Jaime Lannister will be the next Lord of Casterly Rock, Shield of Lannisport and Warden of the West. The power he will wield will be untold and you must be there to make sure that power is used to further the aims of House Tyrell, and – more importantly – of House Tytos."
Ashara silently inspected her mother for a moment. Rarely, did Lissianna ever speak of her older brother, Theonax, the fierce Eagle of Tytos and her most headstrong child. Currently off in Dorne as the replacement head of the Princess Myrcella's bodyguard, he was well known for his ruthlessness and his 'kill now, ask questions later' mentality. Rumors persisted that he was Oberyn Martell's good friend, and a trusted confidante to him, despite his young age. To Ashara, those rumors said all that needed to be said about her brother. However, her and her brother got along well, and he was sweet and loyal to his family - more than ready to rip out the throat of anyone who dared to make a move against the infamous House.
Eventually, she gave a heavy swallow. When she spoke again, her voice was quiet. "He is a thirty-five-year-old Knight with one hand. I am a nineteen-year-old girl who is the daughter of a noble family underneath House Tyrell." Lissianna arched an amused brow.
"He is a handsome and disgustingly wealthy thirty-five-year-old Knight with one hand, who has just become the most eligible bachelor in all of Westeros. And you, my darling daughter, are a nineteen-year-old woman with the ability to bear him not only sons and daughters, but the sons and daughters with the blood of R'hllor fire and the roar of lions!"
Ashara shook her head. "Why do you need me for this? Why not get one of the others to marry him?" She asked and immediately, Lissianna released a snort of laughter and a roll of her eyes.
"Which do you mean - Satine or Alysanne?" She shook her head. "Are you daft, Ashara? No, I and your father have perfected this plan down to the very last detail – we have bled, sweated and toiled over the details and the diplomacy too much in order to watch as one of your sisters fumbles it up! Alysanne is much too young to be of any interest to Jaime, and Satine is not nearly intelligent enough to be able to keep him in her grasp once she has enthralled him. You, however, are both beautiful and intelligent enough to enthrall and then keep him, Ashara. It must be you, sweet thing, in order for this to work."
There had not been one moment, in her entire life, where Ashara had ever doubted that her mother and father did not make one of the best strategic marriages she had ever seen – the love between them had come later. The both of them, with their cruel beauties and their even crueler, sharper intelligences, were perfect matches. Together, they did what her grandfather could not, and brought House Tytos higher than it ever had before. Her father had forged a firm, unshakable friendship with Mace Tyrell while her mother formed the same with his wife, Lady Alerie and her mother-in-law, Lady Olenna. Ashara and her sisters had grown up good friends with the Tyrell children, with Ashara forming a particularly close, sisterly bond with Margaery. Theonax and Willas had become good friends – forging their own strong friendship over horses, hounds and hawking. Their fates and futures were inexplicably tied, House Tytos and House Tyrell, with their bond growing stronger by the day.
Eventually, Ashara realized that she would have to accept her fate - she had no other option. Her father and mother would never allow her to say no and she knew they would find a way to make her say yes. In fact, if she wasn't sure that Lucas had died at the Red Wedding beside Robb Stark and the rest of his men, she would bet her life on the fact that one of her parents had him killed so that they could pave the way for a much more fortuitous union as the one currently being brought to them on a golden tray.
Jaime Lannister . . . She thought, mulling the name over and over in her mind. The Kingslayer . . .
Eventually, she gave another heavy swallow, and leveled her mother with a much softer gaze. However, a fierce fire still raged in the icy blue depths of her eyes. Lissianna gave a smug smile at the sight of that fire – knowing that it would never be extinguished - and stepped closer to her daughter. She reached out and her fingers played with a long curl of her daughter's red black hair.
"We will depart for King's Landing in two days' time. Once there, you will meet your betrothed and then with Margaery and Olenna to discuss the wedding preparations. We have arranged a joint marriage for the two of you. You and Jaime shall marry directly after Margaery marries the King in the Sept of Baelor. The feast will be a celebration of two marriages instead of one – the uniting of four great families: Baratheon, Lannister, Tyrell and Tytos. You will endear yourself to him – woo him, enthrall him! Make him love you and adore you to the point to where he worships you and the ground you walk on and would even die for you! Give him a son and a daughter if you wish – make him love and adore them, as well. After that, take control the reins of power through him. Theonax, meanwhile, will marry the beautiful Arianne Martell and will come to the Dornish throne upon the death of Doran, if his rather impetuous bride has anything to say about it. And when the mighty Tywin Lannister finally breathes his last, feel proud and powerful, my sweet thing, for the great Lannister family and indeed, the entire realm, will be controlled by you: the eldest daughter of the glorious House Tytos, with the might of the Dornish army at your back."
Ashara shook her head, feeling it rather hard to breath at the sudden weight and pressure just placed upon her by her mother. "You . . . you put too much faith in me mother. How do you even know I will succeed – that I have the power to succeed?" She asked, and Lissianna continued to smile that small, secretive smile of hers as she pressed a loving kiss to her daughter's temple.
"You will succeed because you are my daughter and you have inherited all that I am and I am proud of you because of that! You will succeed because, like me and your brother, you are one of R'hllor's faithful and He always graces those who are faithful to His Light. But most of all, you will succeed, Ashara, because failure is not an option – not for this family – never for this family."
The ride from Etna, the seat of House Tytos, was a long, slow ride, hampered by rain, thick mud and the slow trails of peasants moving towards the nearest big cities, including King's Landing and Highgarden.
The ride was bumpy, uncomfortable and quite frankly, Ashara found herself developing a headache ten minutes into the journey. While her father rode with the men, a leather gloved hand constantly on the hilt of his sword while the other held a firm hold on the reins of his warhorse, Ashara and her mother had the misfortune to be placed in the carriage with her two younger sisters. Satine and Alysanne – two sisters who were currently arguing over the most handsome men at court (or who was going to be at court, anyway) and their odds on hooking them for a marriage.
"Ser Tallad is supposed to be at court; I do hope he notices me . . .!" Alysanne spoke with a bright sparkle in her eyes and a hopeful tone to her voice. Satine rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"Forget Ser Tallad, Aly! I happen to think Osney Kettleblack is a much better match for a Tytos -!"
"Once your sister marries Jaime and your brother marries Arianne, we will find suitable marriages for the both of you – do not worry a whit!" Lissianna interrupted them, her tone a peculiar mix between irritation and gentleness as she made the promise to her daughters. She, too, was starting to garner a headache from her two youngest daughters' quarreling and was desperate to put a stop to it. She shook her head. "And those marriages will not be with a Kettleblack or a simple hedge Knight like Tallad. No, your husbands will be Lannisters or – better yet – a Tyrell or a Martell or another well-to-do House underneath the Tyrells," She let out a snort of laughter as her daughters' faces fell. "A Kettleblack and a hedge Knight! For the love of the Seven, girls – none of the Kettleblack brothers are fit to shine your shoes, let alone be considered fit for husbands to the daughters of House Tytos, and neither is a simple hedge Knight! Perish the thought!" She shook her head before leaning forward so that her voice could better reach them. Neither Satine nor Alysanne met their mother's fierce gaze, and Ashara had to admit – it was a bit amusing. She and Theonax had always been the favorites of their mother and even secretly, their father. She had always known that was because the both of them were a lot less flighty and taken with themselves than Satine were a lot more courageous and fierce than meek Alysanne. Simply put, they were true Tytos.
"Your sister and your brother are doing the both of you favors by marrying Jaime Lannister and Arianne Martell! With these marriages, we will be tied to the Lannisters and the Martells both by marriage and eventually, by blood when she bares him a son and when Arianne bares your brother one, too. And I can also guarantee you that your father and Mace will have one of you marry either Loras or Willas next – both, if possible - that way we will be tied to our patron house in more ways than just friendship! Doran Martell also has two sons that will eventually need wives, as well. They too, are much better options."
"We are women, dear sisters," Ashara spoke up, her tone gentler than their mother's was, and it was because of this gentle tone, that her sister's turned their eyes onto her instead of their mother. "We go where our father commands us to. We marry who he commands us to and we bear their children with no complaint. It is all part of political machinations and love is very rarely taken into consideration." Lissianna smiled a small smile and nodded in agreement with her daughter's words.
"Your sister is right. A smart woman, however, knows that if she gains enough affection and respect from her husband, she can eventually become his partner and his closest confidante. She can control many things through love alone. Behind every great man is an even greater woman – don't you three ever forget that!" She told them, her eyes lingering the longest on Ashara's, and they all answered with a nod and a murmured: "Yes, mother."
Ashara didn't know where her mother drew her great faith in her from, because she certainly didn't have it herself. Jaime Lannister was the Kingslayer - a veritable Lion amongst men – the eldest son of Tywin Lannister. He had been captured by Robb Stark at the Whispering Wood, lost his sword hand, fucked his sister, fathering three incestuous bastards off of her and he was still considered the Lannister Golden Boy and the most eligible bachelor in Westeros. How could she possibly be so great as to enthrall him to the point that her mother wished her to and had faith in?
Ashara spent the rest of the ride to King's Landing silently praying to R'hllor for the strength and guidance she didn't have. R'hllor, the God that only she, her mother and her brother alone worshiped, for her sisters were much like their father in the fact that they worshiped the Seven. She prayed all she could in that short carriage ride, knowing that once she arrived at King's Landing, she would have to pretend to forsake her God, in favor of the false ones of her future husband – the same as her mother had done for nineteen long years.
She prayed that she had inherited her mother's fierce determination and strength. She would need it if she was to become a Lannister Lioness.