ELEVEN YEARS LATER


"Daven!" Joanna called as she ran after the small, naked boy. "Daven, stop!" He simply giggled and continued running down the halls.

Eleven years had come and gone since the arrival of Fiona Sunderland and her children and there were noticeable changes- the first being the young children inside the castle.

Lord Tywin was twenty years older than his lady wife, but she still managed to get children out of him- three to be exact, well, four if you counted the one who hadn't been born yet; Sebastan was the oldest of the bunch at ten and was- in Lord Tywin's own words- the image of Jaime when he had been a child; Haylise was the second child and the perfect lady at the young age of six. She had her mothers coloring of long red hair, but had inherited the sharp features most Lannister's were blessed with; Lastly was Daven, Lord Tywin's wild child. He rarely did as he was told and spent more time hiding from Joanna than anything else. He had blonde hair and delicate features that caused some to mistake him for a girl if his hair was long enough.

Lady Fiona was expecting another child within the next month which was why Joanna had been taking on more responsibilities when it came to her Lord's children. She had been named the official caregiver after Haylise had been born. Of course, Joanna had been young herself at the time, but she had nothing other than chores to do after Lady Fiona's children- and Joanna's only friends- had both left Casterly Rock; Kenna to marry a lord in Dorne and Liam to take his older brothers place as Lord of Stormwood Isle after his untimely death. With her playmates gone, Lord Tywin had decided it was time for her to grow up, something she hadn't been excited about, but she had been surprised to find that she actually liked caring for children; they had imaginations that rivaled her own and reminded her of a simpler time in her life.

She wished for that simpler time now as she chased Daven down the halls of the castle; he had taken it upon himself to look for worms outside and had dirtied himself up, resulting in the need of a bath. Unfortunately, Joanna had asked for too much when she expected the boy to come quietly; he had waited for Joanna to get his clothes off before running from the room, forcing her to give chase.

"Got you!" Just barely managing to get her arms around him, Daven giggled manically as he kicked out with his feet and flailed his arms, trying to get way. "Daveth, stop it!" She hissed. "It's just a bath!" That's when she heard the steps approaching from the hall to the right. She could recognize those steps anywhere. "Get under!" She hissed ot her charge as she put him under the skirts of her dress. He giggled as he kicked out. "Under!"

"Joanna?" Putting her hands on the skirts of her dress to keep the little boy still, Joanna looked up to see Lord Tywin approaching.

Despite the circumstances of how she came to live in Casterly Rock and her undoubtedly low-born status, Lord Tywin had been nothing but kind and generous to Joanna; he hired a tutor to make sure she learned her letters and numbers (something she personally hated as a child), had dresses made specifically for her, made sure that she be given lessons in history and that her manners wee that of a lady. Joanna had never learned why he was so generous with her, but she never asked him- whether it was in fear of what the answer would be or because she just didn't want to look a gifted horse in the mouth.

"Lord Tywin," She tried not to sound as out of breath as she was. "What are you doing here? I was under the impression that you and Lady Fiona were on your way to Pinkmaiden for a wedding." She had forgotten who was getting married, but that wasn't exactly important at the moment.

"There was a change of plans," He told her. "What are you doing out of bed? It's nearly midnight and you have lessons in the morning. Maester Lunwell will not appreciate your tardiness, should you oversleep." Tywin sighed. He had spoken to Joanna about staying up late several times and she never seemed to listen. It wasn't that she was a slow learner, she was just stubborn and thought she knew what was best- much like her grandmother. He had never had such trouble raising Cersei, Jaime, or even Tyrion.

"Where were you on your way to?" Joanna asked, trying to change the subject.

"To your chambers," She raised an eyebrow. "Lady Fiona and I would like to speak to you about something."

"Oh, um," Pushing back a lock of hair, Joanna tried not to wince as Daven stepped on and off of her feet. "I was just on my way to check on Lord Sebastan, but I will meet you both...in your chambers..." Tywin still didn't make a move. "...in a moment."

Tywin finally nodded, deciding to let her go. "You might want to put Daven to bed first," Joanna's eyebrows raised in question as she tried not to show any guilt on her face. Tywin simply looked down and Joanna followed his line of sight to see Daven's tiny feet sticking out. As if realizing they had been caught, Daven immediately ducked out from under Joanna's dress and took off down the hall, forcing her to give chase.

"Daven!" She yelled as she chased the giggling boy around the corner. Tywin shook his head as he watched them disappear; Joanna was not like other girls her age, although, considering the alternative, he considered a stubborn wild child was not the worst thing he could have ended up with.


True to her word, Joanna showed up in the chambers that Lord Tywin shared with Lady Fiona, although neither couldn't help but noticed how she was now drenched in water from head to toe. Daven had not made his bath easy.

"You wanted to see me?" Joanna asked as she tried to ignore the sounds of water dripping onto the stone floor. Lord Tywn didn't even look up from the papers he was looking over at the table. Lady Fiona had been put on bed rest by the maester, so Joanna went to her as she held out an opened letter.

"A letter arrived for you," Lady Fiona informed her as she handed it over. Joanna wasn't surprised to see that it was already opened. Lord Tywin always read any letters that went out from and came in for her. It was a horrid invasion of privacy, but it wasn't as if Joanna had anything to hide- well...much to hide.

"It's from Lord Tyrion," Joanna voiced and Lord Tywin cleared his throat.

"It may be in my son's hand, but they are the queen's words." Joanna squeezed her eyes shut as she listened to his words.

When Joanna first began learning how to write and read, Lady Fiona had suggested having her send letters. The first had been sent to Tyrion who had been away from Casterly Rock at the time and the other had been to Lady's Fiona's daughter who had been assigned the same task. After Tyrion returned to Casterly Rock, he had suggested that Joanna write a letter to the queen and Ser Jaime, informing them how much she liked their home. Tywin had been furious and that had been the first time that Joanna actually saw him that way. He had forbidden her from doing it again, but Joanna had been unable to help herself after reading the letter that Queen Cersei sent back. She had been able to keep her letters to the queen a secret for years...until the previous year. Daven had gone "exploring" in her chambers and found the letters from the queen that Joanna had hidden in a box underneath her bed. Once again, Tywin had instructed her to stop her correspondence with the queen and began reading any letters she wrote before they were sent out.

Joanna, undeterred, had simply been craftier and sneakier- employing techniques she had learned (and by learned, Joanna meant eavesdropped) from Lady Fiona. Tywin hadn't had any suspicions when one of the girls who worked in the kitchens began writing to a friend of hers in Kings Landing. He, of course, had no way of knowing the letters would go from the aforementioned friend and straight to the queen.

"Queen Cersei requests Lord Tywin's presence in Kings Landing," Lady Fiona stated as Joanna tried to think of an excuse. "As you know, King Robert has suffered an untimely death-" How a great warrior like the king was foolish enough to go out hunting while drunk, Joanna would never know. "And she requires her lord father's assistance in preparing her son to take the throne."

Joanna kept her eyes down. She supposed that playing dumb would be the best way to keep out of trouble. "Why would the queen write through Lord Tyrion to me to summon you?"

"Joanna," Lord Tywin's voice was stern. Perhaps that hadn't been the best choice. "You are a smart girl- a very smart girl. Smart enough to know when you have been caught." She sighed and raised his eyes to meet his. He didn't seem angry, simply...exasperated. "We'll be leaving for Kings Landing in a week."

Joanna's eyebrow pulled together. "You and Lady Fiona?"

"No, you and I." He corrected. "My daughter has requested I bring you along so you may take a position as caretaker of her remaining children. She seemed very certain in your capabilities as a caregiver."

Joanna's eye's widened. "You're allowing me to go?"

"Yes," Lord Tywin answered. "But there will be rules-" He didn't get to finish as Joanna had launched herself at him, throwing her arms around him in a very unladylike manner- not that Joanna had ever cared much for what others considered "ladylike".

"Oh, thank you!" She grinned before pulling back. "Thank you, Lord Tywin! I promise, I will be on my best behavior; I'll be ladylike and use my manners and I'll be nice and curteous to everyone! I won't embarrass you, I promise!" Overcome with happiness, she hugged him once more- and then Lady Joanna- before running from the chambers. Once she was gone, Tywin looked to Fiona.

"The snakes in Kings Landing are going to eat her alive," She sighed with a shake of her head.