Tywin knew it was the right decision to call his family to King's Landing mainly because of the rumors surrounding his wife's journey to him. The tame version was that Gregor, the heir to house Clegane, had burned himself and his little brother in a brawl gone wrong. Others claimed that Sandor was burned maliciously by his brother and Diana was so appalled that she turned into a dragon and breathed fire onto the little lord.

Diana had lived unchecked for too long, letting the power go to her head. The Clegane's were their most faithful bannermen, and could not be torn apart as the Reynes and Tarbecks had been. Loyalty should be rewarded, not punished, Diana herself was the one to push such things on him during the early years of their marriage. Yet now his children were older, and it was time that Alysanne grew closer to her betrothed and Jaime learned to rule as a lord should. Aerys was already breathing down his neck as to when his daughter would flower, as if he controlled when his daughter became a woman. Prince Rhaegar remained their only child, and was almost a man grown himself. Queen Rhaella had travelled to Dragonstone the day after she heard that her sister was heading to King's Landing. The Queen Mother, Shaera, was said to be of poor health and as her eldest daughter, Rhaella was excused to take care of her. Diana never spoke of her mother, except for when she spoke of her own parenting, and how she refused to be like her mother, a great lady but a horrid mother.

Tywin sat atop his horse, waiting for his lady wife to enter into the Red Keep, her golden carriage slowly plodding into view. His son and his ward rode atop twin black war horses, the colts of Diana and Tywin's own steeds, and Tywin could not help the pride in his chest at the sight of son riding as easily as if he were walking. Brandon Stark was said to be a fine horseman, and his equestrian skills had been shared with Jaime, Diana wrote that the two were the best of friends. There was a third boy riding with him, wearing a hooded cloak of a golden color, three black dogs on his back. He could not see his face, for the hood was up and bandages wrapped most of the boy's face, but he knew who rode with them, Sandor Clegane. The boys and their guards rode in first, and upon closer inspection, Tywin recognised the small, even stitching on all three cloaks the boys wore, each in their house colors and with their respected sigils, Diana had been busy sewing on the trip it seemed.

"Lord Father!" Jaime called, spurring his horse forward. His companions seemed nervous, seeing the Lord of Lannister and Hand of the King for the first time atop his pitch black steed, but Jaime only saw his father. "May I introduce my companions, and the wards of house Lannister, Brandon Stark and Sandor Clegane."

The lines were rehearsed, but the words were what was expected and his son did well. "My lords." Tywin nodded to each in turn, "I welcome my wards and family to the Red Keep, the servants shall lead your items to the Tower of the Hand, where my household stays."

Tywin Surefoot bowed to his lord quickly before dismounting his own horse and walking briskly to the stopped carriage, offering his hand as the handmaidens exited. Next came Septa Rayanne, then his daughter. Alysanne had grown in the time Tywin had been gone, every time he saw his daughter, she looked more and more like her mother. The otherworldly beauty of the Targaryens glowed in his daughter, and reminded him of Diana when they were first wed. Alysanne was clothed in a crimson silk dress, lions and dragons upon the hem, and for a moment Tywin thought it was her mother's old dress. Diana followed her daughter, and grinned brightly at him, wearing a golden gown with black lions and golden dragons prancing.

"My lord," Alysanne curtsied before her father, the picture of grace. Her lavender eyes were alight, her silver hair piled into braids atop her head.

"Lady Alysanne, you are a vision." Tywin replied, and dismounted his horse to stand at eye level. The boys followed suit, and Tywin watched the Clegane boy attempt to further cover his face.

Tywin offered his arm to wife to escort her, and he helped to lift her up onto the horse that had been readily saddled for her arrival. The Hand of the King wished to take his wife for a short ride before they entered the keep. "Septa, please escort the children to the Tower of the Hand." Tywin ordered, climbing back onto Bright roar.

Daemon seemed about to protest, but Diana pinned her son with a no-nonsense look, "We shall have luncheon when I return, sweetlings. We can eat in the gardens and perhaps invite the prince." Alysanne blushed, but her brothers seemed satisfied with the answer. A chorus of 'yes, my lady' and 'yes, mother' resounded from the children, and Tywin began to motion his horse forward.

They rode side by side in silence in a few moments, waiting until they were away from prying ears. "You sent one Clegane boy to the Wall and took the other as a ward, Lord Gregor was not pleased to lose both his sons in one night." Tywin stated, watching his wife struggle to keep her face neutral.

"Jaime and Brandon watched that monster press his little brother into a fire pit for playing with toys that I gave them. Sandor is heavily burned, Tywin! He will bear those scars for the rest of his life!" Diana snapped at him, the same unstable rage in her eyes that he saw in Aerys more and more with each passing moon.

"So you turned into a dragon and set him alight?" Tywin quipped, "My family made the Clegane's a noble house, and you seek to undo that with what you have done."

"I have donned a lion's mane for more years than I have been a dragon, Tywin. What was it the Bards sing, with fire and blood, Lord Tywin roars? It is my house those words come from, and that boy deserved what happened to him." Diana replied sternly, her tone biting.

"To be sent to the Wall? Or to be burned?" He asked, and for a moment she looked ashamed.

"He showed no regret for his actions, and spat at me when I asked why he did it. Sandor is seven, Tywin, and he may lose his eye to the burns, and has wept every night from the pain. I held the torch beneath the boy's hands to give him the same pain. I took no pleasure in the action." Diana said quietly after a moment, "I didn't know what I was doing, Tywin. The thought struck to give him a taste of his own poison, but once the flame met his skin, I just couldn't stop."

"When a Targaryen is born, the Gods flip a coin, and the world holds its breath." Tywin replied, "Your coin fell on it's side, Diana. It's up to you whether to be mad or great." Her eyes were shining with tears, and she knows she must face her actions.

"I'm sorry, Tywin." She murmurs, and he only nods at her.

"Kevan can run the Rock while you are here, perhaps King's Landing shall do you some good." Tywin had summoned her for selfish reasons, yet they had bore fruit. The relationship between the King and his Hand was becoming estranged, and Tywin selfishly hoped that Diana's presence would give Aerys a different target for his unrest. Yet now, Tywin knew that his wife needed his presence to balance her as much as he needed her to balance him. A sword and a shield, united again.

A/N:

So a small time jump is coming up, then it'll slow down again. So Diana totally overstepped with the Mountain, and Tywin did not appreciate her maiming the child of one of his bannermen. Tywin is the Lord, and thus should have been the person doling out punishments that severe.

But now the Hound is a ward of Diana's! Sandor is in my top five favorite characters, so I had to save him from his brother.