Thank you all for reading.
Damoniaca4ever: ha! As I said, Tywin is still Tywin and, No, he didn't grow a loving heart all of a sudden, but I did find some sort of emotional moments in him ... You'll see he's not all love and peace, he's still the same cunning smart character he is in the series ... Hope you like my version of the purple wedding
Here's the purple wedding ... with a twist ...
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7. Catelyn III:
The great day had arrived at last. Everybody was excited. Well, most people were excited. Catelyn did not really share the excitement and the joy. It should have been my daughter's wedding. But I'm glad it isn't. … We would have joined Houses with Robert Baratheon, Ned would be Hand, Sansa would be Queen, I would be sitting next to Ned and dragging him to the dance floor when the music started. He would dance with me just to humour me, I know he would. Robb would be dancing with the ladies, Bran and Rickon would be running around with Prince Tommen. Arya would be pestering her brothers, even the bastard Jon Snow would probably be here … But Robert is dead, Ned is dead, Robb is dead, Bran and Rickon are dead, Arya is gone, Sansa has been married to that lying Imp, and I'm sitting next Tywin Lannister.
She wished she could go to her chambers with Sansa. Her poor daughter looked so uncomfortable. Apparently she held her new husband in great regard. She had said Tyrion had not touched her, and for that Catelyn was grateful. From what she could see, they seemed to enjoy each other's company. With each passing day she felt less and less angry at Tyrion. And now she watched as her daughter had to suffer the indignities thrown at her husband by that spoilt little brat, King Joffrey. After hearing everything Joffrey had put her daughter through, she was more than ready to put a sword through his heart. He was being excessively rude today to his uncle, the Imp. Surely there was no need for such degradation. Yet, it was only himself and his mother who seemed to be enjoying this show of utter lack of class. Cersei was all smiles and even joined in the jest. His grandfather, however, and much to Catelyn's relief, seemed to be most irritated. And so were most of the guests.
It was such a lavish event with such show of opulence that it had actually made her sick. She could not abide by this sort of gloating display when she had seen so much poverty outside the city gates and she had witnessed first hand all the destruction and devastation this war had left in its wake. To hell with the Iron Throne and this stupid wedding. She really wished she could silently go away, grab her daughter and disappear from this snake pit that was the capital and the Lannister clan.
So distracted was Catelyn in her own thoughts that she almost missed the cake. It was a huge five-tier cake iced in what appeared to be lemon and berry frosting. Joffrey lifted his brand new sword (a wedding gift for the King, but she could not recall who it was from) and violently sliced through the cake. He mustn't have known there were live pigeons in the pie, otherwise he wouldn't have done it. Or maybe he did know. With Joffrey you could never be certain.
What took place next happened so fast she barely had time to process it. The King was choking on a piece of cake. Queen Margaery was calling for knights and doctors. Cersei was kneeling in front of her boy. Jamie came running and kneeled next to her. Everybody was stunned. Tywin stood up and calmly walked towards his grandson. She glanced at Sansa and saw her walking towards the table. She saw her daughter picking up a goblet and wondered what was indeed going on. She saw Cersei crying and clutching Joffrey's limp body. For a moment she felt for the woman, remembering herself not long ago standing dazed in confusion at Lord Walder's Hall watching her last living son crumble to the ground. Yet the scene changed in a matter of seconds. Cersei's eyes were throwing daggers at Sansa and then she whispered accusingly "You!" and pointed her finger at Sansa. "Guards!" she yelled "Arrest Sansa for the murder of my son, your King!"
Sansa stood still as Catelyn bolted from her seat. She ran to stand in front of her daughter as if she could shield her from the guards with her own body.
"Lady Catelyn, please stand aside" one of them said.
"No. No. No!" she chanted hysterically. "You're not taking her".
"Please stand aside" he repeated more forcefully this time and started to push her away.
"NO!" she cried adamantly.
"Catelyn" said her husband in a soft but authoritative voice, "let them do their job. Stand aside. Let them escort Lady Sansa. We'll take care of this later."
But she would not move. Tyrion stepped forward this time and stood protectively next to Sansa.
"You will treat my wife with respect" he told the guards. Then he turned to his wife. "Go with them, Sansa. I'll take care of this. No harm will come to you."
Sansa's head kept turning from her mother to her husband to the guards with a look of utter confusion.
"Lady Catelyn" urged Tyrion "let her go, we'll take care of this. I promise. I will let no harm come to your daughter. Please."
Catelyn moved aside and watched as the guards took her daughter into custody. She stood paralyzed as they took Joffrey's body away. Cersei had to be dragged out of the feast and she kept screaming all sort of obscenities and kicking at the guards. The rest of the guests saw it prudent to retire as well, and soon there was practically nobody left but a few curious stragglers who were eventually ushered away by the members of the Kingsguard.
Not knowing where to go, Catelyn started walking around the castle pondering what to do and trying to piece together what had just taken place. Her daughter couldn't have done this. She's innocent. My sweet-natured baby did not do this.
"Lady Catelyn" a guard caught her attention. "Please come with me."
"Are you taking me to see my daughter? Is she all right?"
"Please, come this way" he replied.
"Where are you taking me?" she cried louder this time
"Please come this way" he repeated. "I have orders from Lord Tywin."
She was taken into a small chamber furnished with a large table and eight chairs. A meeting room, she guessed. Sitting at the head of the table was Lord Tywin, and next to him Lord Tyrion.
"Where is my daughter?" she asked them forcefully.
Tywin motioned for the guard to leave and then turned to her. "She has been arrested and taken into custody. As we speak she's being held in a room in the West Tower. No harm has come nor will come to her. We will look into this issue and will try to determine her innocence, as well what happened to my grandson."
"I'm sorry for your loss, my lord" she replied curtly as an empty afterthought.
"I'm sure you are" snorted Tyrion. "Especially after the way he so gallantly swept Sansa off her feet and treated her for the length of their betrothal. Did she tell you what he did to her? What he had the guards do to her? How they stripped her? How they beat her? How he made her look at her father's head as it rolled and was set on a spike? How he taunted her and threatened her? How he-
"Stop it!" she cried. "Yes, she told me. And, honestly, I'm not sorry he's dead. He deserved to die, a lot more than my son Robb, who was a just and fair King. A lot more than my sons Bran and Rickon who were innocent children. A lot more than my daughter Arya. He was a despicable human being!"
"Careful there" Tywin warned her.
"Yes, he was the King" added Tyrion sarcastically. "Everybody loves a King. Unless you are a Mad King, or a Cruel King. Oh, but not our sweet and tender Joffrey."
"Tyrion, enough" his father warned him. "We're not here to talk about Joffrey, but about Sansa. Please, take a seat, my lady" and he motioned for Catelyn to sit.
"Sansa told me you were good to her" Catelyn addressed Tyrion as she sat down in front of him. "That in a place where she felt utterly alone and at times when she needed comfort, she could always count on you. You have my gratitude Lord Tyrion."
"Just doing my duty as a husband" he replied noncommittally.
"I feel I need to apologize for kidnapping you and taking you to my sister's."
"Yes, fond memories" he replied sarcastically.
"I'm sorry now, but in retrospect, I had more than ample reason to kidnap you. You also have my gratitude for returning Ned's bones to me. Yet, I noticed his sword Ice was not in the chest. A beautiful longsword in Valyrian steel, hard to find these days. Or maybe not so, as I happened to notice Joffrey's new sword was also made of Valyrian steel. It must be more abundant in this part of the continent than it is in the North."
"Lady Catelyn, stop it, don't go there"
"Really, where else shouldn't I go? What about your empty promises? When you returned Ned's bones to me you promised you would give me my daughters. Yet you had no idea where Arya was and you ended up marrying Sansa. She has nothing but kind words about you. But you broke your promise to me."
"No, I didn't. I was forced to marry her" and he glanced sideways at Tywin. "And to be honest, it was the best thing that could happen to her. Not because of my fair looks and my physical prowess, but because I was the only one who gave a damn about her. And believe me, if I could have returned both girls to you, I would have."
She closed her eyes and tried hard not to cry. "She's innocent. She couldn't have killed Joffrey. You know her my lord. You have seen her. She's so sweet and innocent. She wanted to come to King's Landing so much. She had always dreamed of princes and princesses, of knights and tournaments, and songs and stories. She was so excited to be betrothed to Joffrey, only for it to turn into the worst nightmare. But she didn't kill him. I'm sure" she pleaded. "I'm sure".
"Catelyn, you need not fret" Tywin spoke unemotionally. "No offence, but the girl's not cunning enough to have done something like this. At least not alone. It's not in her nature. There are other elements we need to consider. The Martells have always hated the Lannisters and were looking for a chance at revenge; Oberyn is a master of poisons. The King in the North was killed, maybe the Northerners were trying to even the score. Also, what do you know of your uncle Brynden, my Lady, the one they call the Blackfish?"
Many theories were brought to the table. Maybe Oberyn Martell had finally succeeded in avenging his sister and her children, so many years later. But it was Tywin and the Mountain he wanted, not Joffrey. Besides, what did they have to gain? The crown would still go to the same family, as Tommen is the next in line. The Tyrells were social climbers by nature, ambitious and greedy. Lady Margaery wanted a crown on her head no matter what. If Balon Greyjoy had been King of the Seven Kingdoms she would have married him, had said Tyrion. She had married "King" Renly, but he was killed. She was marrying King Joffrey, and now she will probably offer to marry King Tommen. Her grandmother was a great mastermind, she rivalled Tywin himself on that account. Maybe she had seen Joffrey for what he really was and decided he was not good husband material for her granddaughter and that Tommen was much sweeter and kinder. Also, Tommen being younger and more innocent made him a lot easier to manipulate. It was a big risk, but not one the old Queen of Thorns would not be willing to take. Yet, it was the last theory that Catelyn relished the most: that her own uncle Brynden had orchestrated Joffrey's murder to avenge Robb's. It did not make sense, though. Nobody knew where he was and the Northern army had been all but annihilated. It was too soon for them to regroup and scheme something like this without being noticed.
After the meeting was over, Catelyn asked for permission to go see her daughter. She hurried down the hallways, through the gardens and up the stairs of the West Tower. She was surprised to find Jamie Lannister and Brienne guarding the door to her daughter's cell.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, her feeling of betrayal seeping through her tone. "Are you afraid she might try to escape? She's not a dangerous criminal. Brienne, I expected better from you."
"No, my lady" she replied. "We're guarding her door making sure nobody hurts her. She's all right. I talked to her just a few minutes ago and brought her supper. She's very confused, but she has not been harmed"
"Lady Stark" added Jamie "I made a promise to you that I would give you back your daughters. Unfortunately when I returned to King's Landing I learned of Arya's disappearance. You yourself had disappeared for a while, presumed dead, only to reappear married to my father. Sansa had been married to my brother, which, to be honest, was the best thing that could happen to her, given the circumstances. I found myself unable to fulfill my vow to you. The best I can do is make sure she is not harmed until this whole mess is over."
"Thank you" replied Catelyn with a sigh of relief "to both of you. Do you believe she did it? Do you think she's capable of killing Joffrey?"
"No, my lady" replied Brienne softly and Jamie nodded in agreement.
"Ser Jamie, for what it's worth, I'm sorry about your hand. Brienne told me about your trip back to King's Landing and how eventful it was. She also told me how you saved her life at Harrenhal. Thank you, that means a lot to me."
"My pleasure. The wench was good travelling company and I missed her, that's why I went back for her" he said winking at Brienne.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to see my daughter"
"She's not to receive visitors, but we'll make sure you are not disturbed."
She nodded gratefully at both Jamie and Brienne and slowly opened the door. Though she was not surprised, the scene that greeted her almost broke her heart. She knew Sansa would be upset, most likely crying, but it was still a difficult thing for a mother to bear; to see her child, her last living child, so utterly devastated. For a cell the room was comfortable enough: small but spacious enough for Sansa to be able to walk around, there was a cot, a small pail, a table and a stool. There were two small windows, one facing west, allowing the afternoon sun in, and the other one facing east, overlooking the bay. Sansa was lying on the cot and sat up as her mother came in
"Sansa, my sweeltling, how are you feeling?"
"Oh mother!" she cried and Catelyn ran to her embrace. "I don't know what's going on. They said I killed Joffrey, but I didn't. I swear I didn't!"
"I know my sweetling, I know."
"I don't want to be in prison. I don't want to be executed. Oh, mother, I'm so afraid" she kept sobbing into her mother's arms.
"We're doing everything we can to get you out of here".
"Who's we?"
"Your husband Tyrion, he seems sincerely concerned about you. I believe he does love you sweetling."
"He's been very nice to me. He has helped me a lot and has been very sweet. And, as I told you, he hasn't forced me to do .. anything"
"Good. Also, my husband, and I believe Jamie Lannister and Brienne, as well, will do everything they can to get you out of here."
"Brienne has been very kind, and so has Jamie"
"None of the people I mentioned believe you did it.."
"But not the Queen."
"No, honey, not the Queen."
"She hates me mother, I don't know why. At the beginning I thought she was lovely. She was beautiful and had the grace I thought a Queen should always have. But then I got to know her better. She's horrible mother. I'm scared of her. She's merciless and she always gets what she wants."
"Not this time, sweetling, I promise. Soon you'll be free and we will leave this city."
"Where will we go? I cannot go with you since I'm married now."
"Don't worry about that now."
"You know, as I was watching Joffrey and Margaery getting married, I couldn't help but think Thanks the Gods that's not me" she smiled. "It was supposed to be me, but I'm so glad it wasn't."
Seeing her daughter smile filled her with a sense of relief and she smiled at her. "You know, the same thought crossed my mind", Catelyn laughed.
"He would have made a terrible husband. He would never treat me the way Father treated you."
"Your father loved me, and I loved him" she replied with a sad smile.
"Oh, mother. Why has our family suffered so much? Father's gone, all my brothers and sisters are gone. What if they kill me? You'll be all alone."
"They won't kill you honey, they won't" and she hugged her daughter even harder. "You know, you looked beautiful today. You have grown into such a beautiful young woman."
"Tyrion said I looked pretty. He's always complimenting me, but I don't know if he means it or if he's just trying to humour me."
"From what I've seen I think he means it. He's a decent man."
"The Queen chose the dress for me."
"So she's a harpy with good taste" Catelyn said and they both giggled.
"Shae, my handmaiden did my hair. She's very talented. Tyrion chose her for me. And the hairnet. Did you see the hairnet?"
"Yes, it was beautiful. Where did you get it?"
"This knight I told you about, Ser Dontos, he gave it to me. He said it was a family heirloom. He was giving it to me as a token of our friendship."
"Is this the one you told me was trying to help you escape?"
"Yes. He has been very nice to me. … Everybody complimented me on how I looked" she continued with a childlike tone that reminded her mother of their time in Winterfell. Oh Gods, she's still a child, why have you made her grow so fast?
"Indeed, you looked beautiful today"
"Even Lady Olenna, you know, Margaery's grandmother, said so. She loved the hairnet, she said. And all the ladies were complimenting me on my dress and on how much I had grown. I complimented them, as well. Just as you had taught me. I was a proper lady", she smiled proudly. "You also looked very beautiful mother. I don't remember seeing you in such a fancy dress before."
"Well, it was always colder in Winterfell, so I was always wearing cloaks over my dresses. I have to admit, this weather is much nicer."
She spent the best part of the evening talking to her daughter and reassuring her that all efforts were being made to get her out of the situation. She really enjoyed spending time with her daughter in spite of the circumstances. She had missed her all this time, just as she had missed the rest of her children.
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She was already in bed when Tywin entered the room.
"You were no where to be seen for a good part of the evening. Don't tell me where you were. I trust you were not doing anything you were not supposed to or that is not permitted" he said as he changed into his night clothes. "We have new developments in the matter of Joffrey's death. The poison used to kill him is very rare, difficult to obtain, but not impossible for someone who knows how to deal with poisons."
"Do you think it was Price Oberyn?"
"No, I talked to him. He didn't do it. A body washed up at the beach earlier today. A Sir Dontos. He used to be a knight until one day he disgraced himself in front of Joffrey. He was about to be executed when your daughter intervened and saved his life. He became the court's fool then. This was back when they were still betrothed."
"Sansa mentioned him. Apparently he was trying to find a way for her to escape. She said he had promised to get her out of King's Landing and take her to Winterfell. But he never came through with his promises."
"Nor would he ever. He was stalling. He was actually working for someone else, we discovered. We searched his chambers and found a ledger with money sent to him monthly and detailed descriptions of all his conversations with Sansa. Don't worry", he added when he heard her gasp "nothing to be concerned about. Did you happen to see Sansa's hairnet at the wedding?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact I did. It was a very beautiful piece of jewellery. Sansa said Ser Dontos had given it to her as a token of his worth."
"Well, the jewel is worthless. Yet, what was inside the stones was priceless."
"What are you saying?"
"The hairnet was not his. It had been sent to him with a purpose. He gave Sansa the hairnet so she would wear it to the wedding feast. The poison was hidden in one of the stones."
"No!" she exclaimed enraged. "Sansa would never participate in the murder of Joffrey!"
"No, not knowingly. They used her. She unwittingly provided the poison that killed Joffrey, but she did not give it to him. That still remains a mystery."
"So, she's innocent. You have to let her out!" she cried
"No, not quite. We cannot prove she did not administer the poison and she was indeed involved"
"But you said it yourself, she did not know it!"
"Yes, I know. But that's not how it looks. She had plenty of reasons to want to be rid of Joffrey, more than anyone at the feast. My son and I have come up with a plan that might be beneficial to many parties. If we go to trial she will be found guilty and executed. She will need to ask for a trial by combat. The court will choose the Mountain as the champion."
"But he's unbeatable" Catelyn interrupted.
"Maybe, but not for a man whose main purpose in coming to King's Landing was to kill the Mountain. We have already spoken to him. Oberyn will be Sansa's champion. Tyrion has assured me he would make sure Ser Clegane is not fully fit to fight. That way, Prince Oberyn will kill the Mountain, he will quench his thirst for revenge and your daughter will be freed. We still need to find out who orchestrated this whole charade, who is behind Ser Dontos's ledger. Do you like the plan?"
"Yes" she cried ecstatically "Yes. Oh, thank you very much. Thank you!" she cried again and leaned forward to embrace Tywin and kissed him on the lips, chastely at first, more hungrily the second time.
"Catelyn?" he asked taken aback by her sudden display of lust. "You don't need to repay me like this. Not if you don't want to."
"I'm sorry my Lord" she replied as she blushed "I don't know what came over me". She removed her hands from his body and started to turn around.
He grabbed her hands and forcefully held her still. "You don't need to be embarrassed. Do you want to?"
"Yes" she replied so softly it was barely a whisper. She realized she did want him. Oh Gods, Ned, please forgive me.
"I'm sorry our first and only time together was not to your liking. It was not to my liking either. I'll make it up to you this time, I promise" he smiled and slowly started to kiss her lips.
TBC
