A/N Disclaimer: I do not own Game of Thrones. This is purely a fiction exercise. Also because English is not my native language you may have to excuse some mistakes I may write. That being said I hope you enjoy it. :)
"Are you crazy?" Loras exclaimed.
"No, I am not." Rosemary said a little calmer. The feast was over. Everybody went to their chambers and Tyrion was sent to the dungeons.
"You can't. They won't let you. And it would just be terribly suspicious."
"Why? I'll just say I want to demand satisfaction from him for murdering my husband to be and his own Father."
"What if he really did that? He did seem to have all those motives..."
She chuckled. "Really? We were gonna run away together, away from Lord Tywin. Tyrion would never be capable of murdering his own Father."
Margaery spoke. "Besides all those motives Lord Tyrion had, you are forgetting one greater motive that not even Cersei knows about."
"What motive?" Rosemary frowned.
"Love." She simply replied. Rosemary looked at her sister with an inquiring look and Margaery added, "He loves you. Even if you officially married Tyrion you'd always be covered in shame and dishonor because you were betrothed to someone else, his Father, and you had just fled with another man, his dwarf son on top of that."
Loras nodded. "She's right."
"With Lord Tywin dead you are free again. Free to marry him and with no shame."
Rosemary shook her head. "No, Tyrion did not do that. What good did murdering his Father bring if he's been thrown in a dungeon waiting to be executed?!"
"He thought that people wouldn't find out..."
Rosemary shook his head again. "No. If that were true he wouldn't have left the feast. If he knew his Father was gonna die, if he killed him, he would have stayed so he wouldn't immediately become a suspect."
Loras smirked. "That's also valid. Lord Tyrion might be many things, but stupid is not one of them."
"Who did it then?" Margaery asked.
"I can think of a handful of people. His own daughter, Prince Oberyn, some enemy of Lord Tywin with a friend on the feast..." Loras suggested.
Margaery doubet it and interrupted Loras. "Oberyn? He had just been offered a place in the council and the Queen Regent to be his wife by Lord Tywin... I don't think he murdered him..."
Rosemary scowled. "Prince Oberyn... Father has talked to him... Oberyn knew Lord Tywin was the main responsible for his sister's rape and murder... And he knows a lot about poisons, he said so himself tonight..."
"Do you think he killed Lord Tywin?"
"Worse, I think Father had also something to do with it." Rosemary sighed.
"Father?"
"Well, he was furious with Lord Tywin, wasn't he? For pushing forward the weddings, for lying to him in the first place about Tyrion's condition as an heir, for stealing Sansa from us... He said he would talk to Prince Oberyn, that Oberyn might wanna do us a favor if it helped his own purposes..."
Ser Loras nodded. "That is right... But if it is indeed right we must stay quiet about it."
"And let Tyrion take the blame?!" Rosemary exclaimed.
"We have no proof of anything... As far as we know, the old man may have just died precisely because of that. Oldness. So what do you suggest?"
"Well, it was very clear that Queen Cersei and King Joffrey are gonna do everything they can to blame their own brother and uncle. No one can do anything about it against those two. If anyone contradicts them they will be immediately accused of treason and of being accomplices. The only chance Tyrion have is to request a trial by combat." Rosemary declared.
"And who's gonna combat by his side?" Loras laughed. "Himself? Or that bodyguard of him that calls himself Ser Bronn now?"
"You will." Rosemary simply said.
The Knight of Flowers stared in awe at his sister. "What?! No way."
"Why not?"
"Because." Loras said offended.
"You will win. Tyrion is not guilty." Rosemary said firmly.
"King Joffrey and the Queen will probably choose Ser Gregor Clegane. Do you remember my meeting with him in the Tourney of the Hand? He nearly stabbed me in the back!"
Margaery laughed. "You had it coming dear brother. I heard you're riding a mare in heat..."
"It was my horse. I'm not to blame, I was not going to change my horse just because of that..."
Rosemary shrugged. "The chosen one will probably be one of the Kingsguard, not Ser Gregor. It's the obvious choice given that the accusers are the King himself and the Queen."
"And why should I stand for the Imp?"
"Because I'm asking you. Loras, please, you have to. Tyrion will have no other chance."
Loras sighed. "That Ser Bronn is said to have already been Tyrion's champion before in trial and he won. He's the obvious choice to stand for the Imp."
"I'd prefer you. Anyway, if Ser Bronn is not Tyrion's champion, will you offer?"
"I'll think about it." He acquiesced.
Rosemary hugged Loras. "Thanks you. Now shall we go the Dungeon?"
"That again?"
"I need to speak to him."
"Where's Father?" Loras said, ignoring Rosemary.
"Talking to our Grandmother." Margaery replied.
"She was very quiet today, wasn't she? I mean, even before that turn of events..." Loras commented.
Rosemary shrugged. "Even the Queen of Thorns needs her quiet time. Can we go now?"
"I swear, I don't really understand what you see in that little man." He said almost desperately.
"I've told yo..."Rosemary's words are interrupted by Lord Mace's entrance.
"Children, it looks like I'll be one of the judges in Tyrion's trial tomorrow." He declared somberly.
"You will?" Rosemary frowned.
"Yes, King Joffrey will be the accuser and the judges are Queen Cersei, Grand Master Pycelle, Ser Kevan Lannister, Prince Oberyn and myself."
"Prince Oberyn?" Margaery said surprised.
Rosemary smirked. "That thing is doomed already. Even if you and Prince Oberyn decide in favor of Tyrion, all the other three will condemn him."
Mace Tyrell nodded. "Exactly. This was made to seem like a fair trial but it's not, since Pycelle is one the Queen's creatures. Ser Kevan will also decide against Tyrion and Oberyn... They think he'll do the same and condemn Tyrion but he won't. But then again, Oberyn and I, the two of us, are not enough to exonerate the dwarf."
"And why will you and Oberyn exonerate him?" Loras asked intrigued.
"Because he's inocent." Lord Mace replied bluntly.
Rosemary smiled. "Of course he is."
Loras looked confused at his Father, demanding an explanation.
Lord Mace rolled his eyes. "These Lannisters... are one of a kind. They have no proof whether Lord Tywin was actually poisoned and they just go and start accusing one of their own kin. They obviously have their divergences inside their own family. Well, too bad for them, it will only make them weaker."
Loras wasn't still very convinced. "But how do you know he is not guilty?"
"I just do. Best if we keep it that way..."
"Father, we are not children anymore. And we are not the Lannisters either. You can tell us." Loras said. "Did you...?"
Lord Mace sat down and took a deep breath. "Lord Tywin lied to me. Twice. First when he agreed to make Tyrion Lord of Casterly Rock and Rosemary the Imp's wife. It was a lie because he changed all that and he said he would marry Rosemary himself so he could have a new heir. He assured me that he would only marry Rosemary after the wedding of Margaery with King Joffrey. Well, he changed that too. I do not like to be treated like a fool. Especially when my family is involved."
"And Prince Oberyn..." Margaery said lowly.
"Prince Oberyn was already almost certain that it was under Lord Tywin's command that Amory Lorch and Ser Gregor raped and murdered his sister as well as her children. I confirmed the story which is actually true and you should have seen the look in his eyes. I feared he was gonna kill me right there."
"So..."
Lord Mace shook his head. "So. The walls have ears. Gather closer, please."
All of his children got closer to him. He whispered. "Lord Tywin got what he deserved. He had no time of disinheriting the Imp officially so... if the dwarf is proven innocent, he will be Lord of Casterly Rock. And we'll find a way to make you his wife to be again, Rosemary." Rosemary couldn't hide a happy grin which confused Lord Tyrell. "Anyway, how we will make that happen is another story... If it comes to trial by combat Prince Oberyn said he would fight for Tyrion." Loras sighed relieved looking at Rosemary. Lord Mace continued. "And then there's your Lady Grandmother with her own ideas. As if things were not confused already she says Margaery shouldn't marry Joffrey."
"What?" Margaery said out loud in shock.
"Shsh, quiet, my dear. My beloved Mother says Joffrey is cruel and yet craven and a bad king. He doesn't want you to marry him."
"But I'm supposed to marry the King..."
"Yes, the King... But which King?" Lord Tyrell's smile was cryptic. "My dear children, it's late and the day is gonna be long tomorrow. I've said too much already. Let's go and have some sleep, ok?" He kissed their foreheads and left.
Rosemary, Loras and Margaery looked at one another. "Has he gone mad?" Loras asked in awe.
"I think we should do as he says, let's just sleep." Margaery said still a bit confused with the whole 'which King' story.
"Well, I'm gonna visit Tyrion and if you don't wanna come with me, Loras, I'll take someone else, Ser Hobber or Ser Garth."
Loras sighed. "I'll go but we'd better take Garth too. The Dungeon is not the place for you."
"It's not the place for Tyrion either. He's innocent." She simply said.
Loras rolled his eyes and took her arm. "Let's go before I regret this."
Margaery went to bed and Loras and Rosemary went to the Dungeon, after getting Ser Garth to accompany them. Half the way there they met Prince Oberyn coming in the opposite direction.
"Ser Loras. Lady Rosemary. What a surprise." Oberyn smiled, as charming as ever.
Rosemary smiled. "Prince Oberyn." She bowed.
"May I take a wild guess? Are you going to pay a visit to Lord Tyrion?"
Loras frowned. "Why do you say that?"
"Because there's not a lot more places to go in this direction... I've just been there myself, that's why you've found me here."
"You went to see Lord Tyrion?" Rosemary asked eagerly.
"Yes, I needed to speak to him as I'm gonna be one of judges of his trial. But beware, the guards are not very keen in letting anyone inside."
"But they let you in?"
Oberyn made a smug smile. "It's not easy for my betrothed Queen Cersei to refuse me something so simple like this. Her daughter Myrcella is currently in Dorne, you see..."
"Do you think they won't let us in?" Rosemary asked slitghly fearful.
"I honestly don't know but I don't think they will deny that to you, the children of the Lord of Highgarden, High Marshall of the Reach, Warden of the South, Master of Ships and whatever titles Lord Mace holds."
Loras scowled. "We're not children."
Prince Oberyn smiled. "No, of course not. My mistake. My apologies, Ser Loras." He looked for a few seconds attentively at the Tyrell twins and he added, somewhat nostalgically, "you two remind me a bit of me and my sister when we were your age. We were not twins but we were nearly the same age and we were inseparable..."
"I'm very sorry for your loss." Rosemary said a bit awkwardly.
Oberyn's expression changed and his smile was cruel and vengeful. "Lord Tywin is now sorry too."
Ser Loras seemed uncomfortable. "We need to go. We must not delay."
Rosemary nodded. "We must not. Prince Oberyn..."
"Yes?" He smiled.
"About Lord Tyrion... Our Father said you would be Lord Tyrion's champion if the trial becomes a trial by combat..."
Oberyn nodded. "If it comes to that, yes. He's innocent. If you ask me, I don't even know how his own family is the one accusing him..."
"Thank you, Prince Oberyn." Rosemary said honestly. "We must go now."
"Ser Loras. Lady Rosemary." Oberyn bowed slightly and left.
"You do realize that Prince Oberyn is the one who should be in that dungeon instead of the Imp, don't you?" Loras asked.
"Yeah, and probably our Father, so be quiet about it." Rosemary replied with a whisper, so Ser Garth couldn't hear.
When they reached the dungeons they were stopped by the guard standing at the entrance. "You cannot enter."
"We just want to speak to Lord Tyrion." Rosemary said.
"You are not allowed." The guard insisted.
"We came on behalf of our Father, Lord Mace Tyrell who's going to be a judge on Lord Tyrion's trial tomorrow." Loras added.
"Lord Mace was already here. You cannot enter. Please, leave."
Rosemary insisted. "We won't be long here. Just a few minutes..."
"I can't let you in. Lord Mace and Prince Oberyn were exceptions allowed by the Queen Regent and the King."
Ser Meryn Trant showed up behind the guard. "You'd better leave." He said bluntly to the twins.
Rosemary looked hopeless at her brother. "Let's go back."
As they were returning back someone else had showed up and was trying to see Tyrion too. "I command you to let me see him, Meryn."
