Sansa
"So my father was right." Sansa heard herself say aloud, neither Tyrion nor his brother paid any attention.
Do you really think we killed your son? She felt her world turn upside down when her husband asked the question. Joffrey was Jaime's son… no bastard, fathered on his own … sister. She paled at the revelation.
Her father had learned the truth and died for it. She had suffered greatly for being a 'traitor's daughter.' Except that in reality Joffrey had been a traitor's son.
And Tyrion knew about it. Sansa did not understand how could he know the truth and still be loyal to the iron throne. Because he is a Lannister, that's why, Sansa thought bitterly. But from what she saw he hated his family, Except for Jaime, Tommen, and Myrcella. Had he been a devoted Lannister because of a brother, a niece and a nephew when all the people he hated were in control of his life?
As soon as Jaime left the room, she sat down in the vacated seat still warm. It took all the courage she had to look Tyrion in his ugly mismatched eyes. She had to hear him say it.
"Was Joffrey… Jaime's son?" Tyrion nodded slowly.
"The rumors about my brother and sister are true."
"My father…" Her voice faltered.
"Your father learned our family secret and it cost him his life, and that of his boyhood friend Robert Baratheon." Tyrion said gravely. "In fact anybody who finds out dies sooner than later."
"How long have you known this?"
"My brother and sister have been … close as long as I remember. It wasn't until after your father died that I told Cersei I knew."
"But why would your sister want to kill you for that?" There had to be more to the story.
"If truth be told, she's wanted me dead for a long time, if it wasn't for my brother I probably would have died an infant."
"And Sansa, even if we still have our heads on our shoulders afterwards, we will not be safe from her."
The door opened behind her. It was time for breakfast, but she had already lost her appetite.
Jaime
Cersei had summoned him to her solar. He should be happy to see her. Then why did he feel so uneasy?
It was his conversation with Tyrion, Jaime decided.
He was about to ask Sansa Stark…no Lannister how his brother was treating her but one quick look at her face suggested that it was time to leave. He wondered how his good sister would react to knowing that he had fathered three children. From the look he saw, it seemed as if she had just found out.
Jaime entered the queen's solar where he found Cersei pouring a cup of wine. The look of sadness on her face was hard for Jaime to bear.
"You sent for me, your grace."
"Your grace, how formal of you." The quiet disapproval in her voice was evident.
"Why did Catelyn Stark set you free?" Cersei asked bluntly.
"Lady Stark wanted her daughters back."
Cersei rose from her seat and walked towards him.
"And what did you promise?"
"I promised that if they were alive, I would return them to her." He said with conviction.
"You made a holy vow to the enemy."
Jaime did not like where this was going.
"I wanted to return to your side. Should I have refused?"
"You owe no loyalty to Catelyn Stark."
"Catelyn Stark is dead."
"And what if I told you to gut that ungrateful, murderous, little bitch in front of Tyrion?" The venom in her voice grew with every word. She was so beautiful when she wanted someone dead even when it's a little girl. "I know you went to see them this morning."
"I had to hear it myself."
"And?" Cersei was not placated.
"They are innocent, both of them."
"You always pitied him, our poor little brother. He would kill us all if he could and Sansa would help him every step of the way."
He was at a loss for words.
"That will be all lord commander."
Wordlessly, Jaime bowed his head and left. Sooner or later he would have to make a choice.
Tyrion
"Damn you Bronn", Tyrion groaned inwardly. Another friend had left him for Cersei's promises of wealth, title, and marriage. Despite what he'd told Bronn, going up against Ser Gregor Clegane in his own person would be a bigger farce than Joffrey's jousting dwarfs. He did not intend to die with gales of laughter ringing in his ears. So much for trial by combat.
Afterwards Tyrion asked Podrick about his sister's preparations for the trial. Tyrion was not at all surprised to hear that Cersei wanted to buy Podrick's testimony in exchange for a knighthood. He was touched to hear that Pod had refused the offer. But who else has she bought off?
Sansa asked him if he was actually considering fighting the mountain himself. "The monstrous dwarf saving his maiden wife from a bear in human skin. It seems like the stuff of songs."
"You are not a monster, Tyrion." She tried to reassure him, but it seemed to him as if she was still trying to convince herself. Damn, she finally calls me by my name.
"Oh, but I am, it is the reason I have lived this long. Sooner or later, we all become monsters in King's Landing."
