"Father." Cersei invited herself into his study, Tywin noted her steps carried a certain urgency in them and he could already guess why. He looked up from his writing to meet Cersei's calculated gaze. She was wearing a stereotypical red dress with accents of gold; she did take pride in wearing the Lannister colors. If only she could start acting like a Lannister, then he might have been pleased by her palette choice.

"You better not have simply come here to try and talk your way out of marrying Ser Loras." Lord Tywin grumbled. That topic was the only thing that came out of his only daughter's mouth as of late. "I've heard enough complaints in one day to last the rest of my damn life."

Cersei gave him an unsavory look before she spoke. "I've come to terms with my wedding to Loras Tyrell," Cersei snapped. She was trying her best to not act like the childish woman she often was. "Unlike my brothers I realize the importance of family duty."

"I see." Tywin said briskly, knowing full well that Cersei was selfish and only cared about her own well being, not the families. He was certain she would device a plan to weasel her way out of marrying Ser Loras, but obviously she was lacking inspiration at the moment.

Still, Tywin refusing to fully acknowledge her presence, he had other matters to attend too, such as arranging an alliance with the Freys, but he also wanted to capture Roose Bolton's attention since he was a confidant with the Young Wolf. Men like Lord Bolton and Walder Frey were easy to please – Roose Bolton was the type of man that could be easily persuaded to switch sides if money and power were involved – and Walder was no different. That old cretin wanted nothing more than to wet his dick with little girls and sully the Tully name.

Tywin heard Cersei pour herself a glass of wine, which meant only one thing. His daughter had something on her mind, something that would probably upset him. She only drank extra wine to sharpen her tongue. Sure enough in a matter of moments Cersei was gushing her heart out.

"What I want to discuss is a fascinating rumor I just heard." Tywin now knew where the conversation was going and already he could feel a fresh headache starting to form behind his left eye. "Are you truly planning to wed Sansa Stark, Father?"

"You heard correct." He stated curtly, before looking back down at his work. He could hardly handle dealing with another annoyance for today, and Cersei was almost always an annoyance. He kept his attention focused on his letter to Lord Bolton, all the while hoping his daughter would get bored by his lacking responsiveness.

He was pleased when Cersei remained silent for a prolonged period to time, but he knew it wouldn't last, her silence never did. Continuing his writing, Tywin awaited a snide remark from the ferocious Queen Regent.

Finally, the silence he adored so much was broken with an inane question. "Do you think that is wise making a young girl, a Stark none the less, the Lady of Casterly Rock?" Cersei asked bitterly. The Lady of Casterly Rock was a title that Cersei felt would befit no woman, except maybe her mother – Tywin knew that.

The older Lannister raised his head, meeting Cersei's inscrutable gaze. "Do you think I am doing this with without reason?" He responded strictly, his hand tightening around his quill.

He was no imbecile, which was contrary to Cersei's current belief. He knew that holding the North in his hand was absolutely essential. There was no way he could allow those slimy Highgarden snakes to steal Sansa and the North from him. No, this plan of action was necessary.

"And what is your brilliant reasoning behind this arrangement?" Cersei asked, tilting her head ever so slightly as a sign of arrogance – her words were nothing short of condescending.

"Tyrion has never once willingly taken any form of responsibility. He may be a selfish little bastard, but he desires the Stark girl. He's just too disgusted with himself to admit it. Desire is the only thing that drives your brother. He will want to be the hero that saves the Stark girl from what he considers a monster like myself," Tywin said with confidence.

He heard Cersei let out a little snort. "A fine point, Father – but is that really enough to drive him to marry her? Desire and lust?" His daughter's skepticism was starting to irritate him. He knew exactly what he was doing, either Tyrion would marry the girl and nothing would be required of him, or he would marry Sansa and get the job done himself.

"From what I have seen, yes. Self-pleasure is the only thing that drives that – creature." Since Tyrion was fourteen that boy has taken a liking to drinking and women. Sansa is a gorgeous young woman, and Tywin was certain that Tyrion wouldn't refuse the offer. "Why do you think he drinks extensively and whores himself around Westeros? It isn't from the bottom of his heart."

Tyrion was always so certain of what he was doing, but for the first yesterday, Tywin had seen doubt flickering in the dwarf's eyes. He'd certainly seen vexation blazing in Tyrion's eyes when he'd, Tywin Lannister, had proposed marrying Sansa himself. Maybe for the first time Tyrion would finally do as his father had commanded and take up family duty.

It was a little devious of him to attempt to willingly push Tyrion into his family responsibilities, but underhanded measures were not out of his skill set. Over the years he'd become quite adept at motivation people through unconventional means.

Cersei's eyes narrowed slightly. "You underestimate him. I have yet to hear of him traveling to a brothel since his return to King's Landing. It might be that he had a whore living with him."

"So I've heard." Tywin seethed. "In my chambers none the less. After I explicitly told him not to bring whores into my bed."

"Still, do you actually believe that Tyrion is changing for the better? Do you really think there is a chance he could be selfish and you end up marrying the Stark girl? I wouldn't think that would be a chance you are willing to take," His daughter was giving a sinister smirk.

"If I have to marry the Stark girl, then I know the job will get done. There will be an heir to the North. I will win the North over no matter what," he declared without hesitation. He kept his tone as bland as possible, he didn't need Cersei thinking he was an old lecher like Tyrion had insinuated. This marriage would merely be a transaction, nothing more and nothing less.

"You do understand she will be the Lady of Casterly Rock then, if you marry," his daughter said matter-of-factly.

"She will not have a claim to Casterly Rock, if that is what you are concerned about. Jamie will inherit Casterly Rock," he replied.

"You know quite well that Jamie is in the King's Guard he can't inherit–," Tywin abruptly cut her off mid sentence, not wanting to think about the greatest thing that put him at odds with his first-born son.

"I know that all too well, no need to remind me. It's a problem that will be solved another day." He'd be damned if he was going to allow Jamie to remain in the King's Guard for the rest of his life.

Cersei smiled wickedly, pouring herself another goblet of wine.

"I never thought you would remarry, Father. Though, Sansa is a beauty. Not sure you would like her personally, she's meek and timid – but pretty, I guess." Another smirk crossed her face.

He should had known Cersei couldn't resist breaching the subject of their age difference. That woman loved taking any jab at her rivals, no matter how low or ill timed. But Tywin was just as adept at playing this game as his daughter.

"Sansa seems to understand duty better than every single child of mine," Tywin scowled at his daughter. "If I marry her it would be about position and power, not youth or beauty."

"You say that now." Cersei said taking another sip of wine; she fought a smile down as she drank and Tywin didn't miss it. He knew what his daughter was still insinuating and he didn't approve in the least bit – she must be trying to take her victories where she could, which was trying to humiliate him, of course.

"This plan is not foolproof and you're gambling too much on a chance Tyrion might pity Sansa." His daughter snidely said. "It was not too long ago you told me that, 'you think you're more clever than you really are.' Well, this time I think you should listen to your own words. "

With that, Cersei finished her glass of wine and slammed it against his desk. She shot him one final spiteful, condescending glance before angrily storming out of his study, leaving him in much needed silence.


[A/N]: Hey guys, I'm so sorry for not updating for such a long time, life has been kinda crazy! Anyways, I hope you liked the update, I know it was a bit short, but the next chapter will be a lot longer. :)

I wanted to give a special thanks to thunder18, scifiromance, DuWinter, Theeyeofanger, Hortensea, JannaKalderash, azphxbrd, NarutoSpardaUzumaki and Turtle rule, thank you for giving me amazing feedback for the first chapter, it was truly appreciated.

Next chapter will be involve Tyrion, Sansa and Lord Baelish, scheming will ensue. ;)