Damoniaca4ever: Es que Arya sigue siendo una niña a pesar de todo lo que pasó. Yo quería, a través de los ojos de su madre, mostrar que parte de Arya sigue siendo una niña de 8-9 años. Y ahora viene Tywin ... a ver que te parece lo que hace ... Gracias por leer y por todos tus comentarios.

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11. Tywin VI:

Having Arya back might complicate things a bit. First of all, she was another heir to Winterfell should something happen to Sansa before she and Tyrion had a child of their own. Also, she had a small claim to the Riverlands. The title of Riverrun belonged to his wife, Catelyn Tully, by virtue of birth. However, with her living in Casterly Rock as Lady of Casterly Rock, Tywin's own brother Kevan was ruling from the seat at Riverrun. They had allowed Edmure and his Frey wife to live there, but he had no power at all. He knew Catelyn still clung to the hope that one day Riverrun would be Tully again, Edmure's most likely. He might give her that. Should Kevan die he might evaluate what sort of man Edmure was and whether he would stay loyal to the Lannisters. But that was not a pressing matter at the moment. Arya was. What should he do with her? Well, there was not much he could do about it; the girl would have to stay. It might also complicate things with his wife. Just when he thought he had finally won her and was tearing down her Stark walls, a Stark reminder comes into play. Bloody Starks.

What should he do with this Hound? He had abandoned his King in the midst of battle. He was a traitor. And now he had complicated his existence by bringing this child back. How did he manage to escape King's Landing in the middle of a battle, roam around the war-stricken Riverlands, get to Eyrie and then all the way to Lannisport without a hitch? He had promised he would pay him and let him be on his way. But he couldn't do that. If word got around that Lord Tywin Lannister had forgiven a traitor for a little girl, his reputation would suffer. He was successful because he was mighty. He was mighty because he was feared. Nobody crossed Tywin Lannister or his family and lived to tell the tale. His mind was set.

"Ser Celgane, please come this way" and he led him into a small chamber at the back of the Main Hall. He motioned for three of his guards to follow him and then locked the door. He went into his cabinet and came back to the table carrying a chest of gold. "How much would you think is enough? Four thousand? Five thousand? Ten thousand?"

"Ten thousand would be enough" the Hound replied never removing his hand from the pommel of his sword.

"Distrustful man, are you? Here I am repaying you for bringing my wife's daughter home safely and you still won't let go of your sword. See? I am not armed."

"No, but they are" he said pointing at the guards behind him

Tywin finished counting the gold, put it in a bag and handed it to the Hound. "Here you are", he said.

The minute Clegane reached out for the gold, he motioned for his guards to attack. Three against one should be no contest. Yet, the Hound was not an easy dog to put down. Before the three guards pounced on him, he was able to unsheathe his sword and lashed out at one of the men. Tywin could hear the clang of the swords clashing and the grunts and shrieks coming from the four men in the melee. One of the guards was out for the count having lost his sword arm and now leaned uselessly against a wall. Another guard suddenly fell with a huge gash on his stomach, his entrails spilling all over the floor in a mass of dark red, blue and black. His desperate cries for help fell on dead ears as one guard was still fighting the Hound, the other one was clutching his stump on the right arm, and Tywin was looking for a chance to finish off The Hound. He found said chance when Clegane pushed the last guard to the wall and was so focused on his enemy that he did not see Tywin coming from behind. His sword pierced The Hound's back and exited through his sternum. Clegane still had enough strength to turn around and menacingly wield his sword at Tywin. The other guard recovered quickly and stabbed the Hound again, and again, and again, until he finally fell to the floor.

"Fuck the Lannisters" were his last words.

Disgusted, Tywin ordered the chambers cleaned and had the Maester see to the guard who had lost his hand. There was nothing to do for the other one. He wondered what his wife and her daughter were doing. He really didn't feel like being with them at the moment. They would be crying and hugging and doing all sort of emotional women stuff and he really wanted no part in that. Besides, he reckoned Catelyn would rather spend time with her daughter alone without him prying around. He kept himself busy until it was time to go to bed.

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The scene that greeted him when he opened the door took him by surprise. He had made sure Arya was given a room for herself, so he was not expecting to find her asleep on his bed, cuddled protectively against her mother who was also sound asleep. Careful not to wake them, he quietly stripped and put on his nightclothes. He decided to use the plush armchair by the window and fell asleep to the sound of the soft snoring coming from the bed.

He was awaken by somebody shaking him softly and quietly speaking to his ear.

"Tywin" his wife whispered. "Wake up. Sorry. I fell asleep with Arya and did not take her to her bed. She wanted to sleep with me, and to be honest, I did not want to part with her."

"That's all right. You can stay together. I'll be fine here."

"No, come to bed. The bed is big enough for all of us."

"I can't"

"Please" she insisted.

And that's how morning found them: the three of them cuddled up in bed. Catelyn on one side of the bed facing Arya, who was sleeping in the middle snuggled tightly in her mother's arms, and Tywin on the other side of the bed with one arm draped over Arya, his hand caressing his wife's back.

TBC

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We're getting close to the end ... just one more chapter to go ...

Thank you all for reading.