Jaime is back with some family problems like always. "Ever since I've returned every Lannister I've seen has been a miserable pain in my ass."

JAIME III

"You'd condemn your own nephew to death?"

"I've condemned no one. The trial is not over," answered his uncle.

"This isn't a trial. It's a farce. Cersei has manipulated everything and you know it."

"Do you really think I don't know it?"

Jaime and his uncle were in Kevan's study. He still refused to occupy the Tower of the Hand. At least Jaime didn't have to climb hundreds of steps to talk with him. His uncle continued to speak.

"I know very well some of the testimonies are lies, or a part of them are lies. Do you really think I believe this whore when she says Tyrion was planning to seize the Iron Throne? Only a fool would believe it, or else Tyrion really changed a lot while he was acting Hand. Nevertheless, I don't think everything that was said was untrue. Too much was said, I can't just pretend I didn't hear them. The accusation is overwhelming."

"So you believe he's guilty now?"

His uncle sighed and raised from his seat. He came on the other side of the desk to face Jaime with a pained expression. "I think it might not be impossible. I didn't sentence him to death yet, and I don't intend to do so. I will listen to his witnesses tomorrow and judge with that. However, if things tend to prove that he's guilty, I cannot just clear him of his charges and do as if I heard nothing."

Jaime didn't care that his uncle felt sorry about that. He was ready to execute Tyrion. "So, you will execute my brother? You will kill a Lannister? Is that what you're telling me?"

Kevan looked tired. "I don't want to kill Tyrion. Even if he killed Tywin, he is still my brother's son. I know Tywin wouldn't want to have him killed."

Jaime scoffed. "Really? Father always hated Tyrion. I'm sure he would have been more than happy to sentence him to die."

"Be careful, Jaime. You're talking about a man who just died, and about your father. Tywin seemed to be a hard man to you, but he is no harder than he's had to be. Our own father was gentle and amiable, but so weak his bannermen mocked him in their cups. Some saw fit to defy him openly. Other lords borrowed our gold and never troubled to repay. At court they japed of toothless lions. Even his mistress stole from him. A woman scarcely one step above a whore, and she helped herself to my mother's jewels! It fell to your father to restore House Lannister to its proper place. Just as if it fell on him to rule this realm, when he was no more than twenty. He bore that heavy burden for twenty years, and all it earned him was a mad king's envy. Instead of the honor he deserved, he was made to suffer slights beyond count, yet he gave the Seven Kingdoms peace, plenty, and justice. He was a just man. He was my brother. He was your father."

Jaime saw tears in his uncle's eyes, though they never fell. He felt guilty for talking this way about a man who was dead. "I'm sorry, Uncle. But I know one thing, Tyrion is innocent. If you sentence him to die, that's no justice, that's murder."

Kevan took some time before he answered. "I hope he is innocent. I hope that he will have good witnesses to prove he is innocent tomorrow, but if the trial shows he is guilty of any of the two charges, I'll have no choice but to declare him guilty. And the punishment for kinslaying or attempt of regicide is death. I really hope he is innocent and that he can prove it, but if he can't…" Jaime believed that his uncle was sincere, but he wished Kevan could see the truth as he did. Cersei had succeeded in planting seeds of doubts in his mind. "I need you, Jaime. I need you to talk to Tyrion."

"What do you mean?"

"I cannot go to talk with him. I am his judge. You are the only one who can speak with him."

"What do you want me to tell him?"

Kevan took a great inspiration. "Tell him that if he doesn't believe he can prove his innocence tomorrow, then he can confess the crime and ask for mercy. I'll allow him to join the Night's Watch."

Jaime couldn't believe what his uncle was saying. "Forgive me?"

"He will be exiled, but he will be alive. If he cannot prove his innocence, that's the best I can do. He's not obliged to confess both crimes, only one. He can even wait for the testimonies in his favour to be done before he confesses. If he only recognizes the attempt of regicide, the trial will end there and he won't be branded as a kinslayer for the rest of his life. The affair will be over."

"You are going to exile him for a crime he did not commit? You are no better than Cersei."

"I don't hate Tyrion, and I'm not blind like Cersei. I only want to make sure that he may keep his head on his shoulders whatever may happen. If you want your brother to live just like me, I suggest you go and tell him that."

Jaime registered the information. It was true, he had no choice if he wanted Tyrion to live in the case he would be declared guilty. He had to convince his brother to do it if Sansa Stark couldn't prove her husband's innocence.

"There is another matter I need to speak with you, Jaime." His uncle's words brought him back to the reality. Kevan went again on the other side of his desk and opened the chest on it. He pulled out from it a thick piece of paper. "Tywin's will. I and Genna opened it before I left the Rock. Of course, it's not the original, it is in Casterly Rock. That's only a copy."

Jaime read the will. His father left great sums of gold to all his children, his brother and his sister, and lesser amounts to the other members of his family, but it was mostly the succession that received Jaime's attention. Of course, his father named him his heir. Even dead, he was trying to get him out of the Kingsguard.

"Jaime," his uncle began, "I know you never wanted to be your father's heir, but you are his eldest son and these are his last words, his last wishes. You could have a much better life than the one you have actually. You could marry. You could have children. You could be one of the most respected men in the Seven Kingdoms."

Jaime dropped the will on the desk. "I'm sorry, Uncle. That's not a life for me. I never wanted it. Anyway, people will never respect me. I am the Kingslayer, an Oathbreaker, a man without honor in everyone's eyes. I am a kingsguard. The Lord Commander of the Kingsguard. I took vows, and I will respect them. Anyway, Father disavowed me."

Kevan lowered his eyes. "I know. He told me in one of his letters. I guess I know why."

"I refused to go back to Casterly Rock and to be his heir. My answer is still the same."

Jaime's uncle nodded sadly. "Very well."

Jaime chose the moment to add something. "This means, that by all the laws of the Seven Kingdoms, Tyrion is the Lord of Casterly Rock."

"That's not so easy, Jaime. But if he is cleared of his charges, you are right. He is the Lord of Casterly Rock."

"Are you going to recognize him? Or are you going to follow my father's last wishes to never let him have the Rock?"

"I'm not Tywin, Jaime. I loved my brother, but that didn't stop me from seeing his flaws. I know he despised Tyrion. I never agreed with Tyrion's behaviour with whores, wine and gambling, but Tywin didn't even hate him for that. He hated him because he was a dwarf and because Joanna died when he was born. That was stupid. My own mother died not long after your uncle Gerion's birth, and no one in the family hated him for that. Tyrion proved he was worthy of being the Lord of Casterly Rock if I look outside what was said during the trial. He did a good job when he was Hand of the King and as Master of Coin afterwards. He made an alliance with the Martells possible. He fought bravely at the Battle of Blackwater. Tywin was cruel and unfair with him, even more than many people believe. Don't think you're the only one to know the truth about Tyrion's first wife."

Jaime looked unbelieving at his uncle. Did everyone know the truth? "How?"

"I was the advisor of your father for a very long time, remember. I know the details."

They remained silent for a moment. Jaime remembered the horror of this day. The look of despair in his brother's eyes when he saw him a few hours after the tragedy. Jaime had never anticipated something like that from his father. Finally, he decided to break the silence.

"If Tyrion is sentenced, you know that Cersei will have Casterly Rock."

"Of course, I know, unless you decide at the last minute to be Tywin's heir. If you don't, let us hope Tyrion is absolved at the end of the trial. Now go. I won't talk about it anymore."

Kevan's voice let place to no discussion. Jaime left. He walked to the tower cells to meet his brother. He hoped he would greet Kevan's proposition in a better way than Jaime had, but the Lord Commander didn't really believe in it. He would have better luck in hoping for his brother and his sister to love each other.

The guards allowed him to enter as soon as they saw him. His little brother was drinking. It was no surprise after what happened today and Tyrion's fondness for wine. He took some time before he raised his eyes to Jaime.

"Jaime. You're paying a visit to a soon-to-be-dead man."

"The trial is not yet over. You still have people who will testify for you tomorrow. Nothing is lost yet."

"Of course." Tyrion didn't believe what Jaime said. He didn't like to see his little brother in this state. "You heard what she said. All her lies. And you heard what these people said after my speech."

Jaime remembered only too well. After Tyrion shouted he should have let Stannis kill them, there wasn't much left before someone was trying to kill him. He needed ten gold cloaks to bring him back to safety here, and he even ordered them to gag Tyrion to stop him from speaking more nonsense. That was a brilliant speech. People would talk about it for weeks.

"You fell in love with a whore?" Jaime really found Tyrion stupid on this. In his brother's eyes, it wasn't the first time it happened.

"Yes, I fell in love with a whore. And I was stupid enough to think that she had fallen in love with me too. I couldn't. I couldn't listen to her standing there telling her lies. I couldn't do it." Jaime sat next to his brother. Tyrion really was in a bad state. Jaime didn't think he was drunk, there wasn't enough wine here to get Tyrion drunk. Perhaps enough to get Jaime drunk, but not Tyrion. "Do you think Sansa will still want to defend me after what she heard today?"

That was something Jaime feared. Sansa Stark had organized Tyrion's defense. Without her, many of Tyrion's witnesses wouldn't testify. Worse, some witnesses may fear that Tyrion was lost after today and refuse to testify tomorrow. Jaime hadn't visited his sister-in-law after the trial was adjourned, so he had no idea. "No matter if she protects you or not, I will testify all the same, and I'll make sure Ser Balon testifies as well. She can go to hell." Jaime would never forgive the Stark girl if she abandoned Tyrion.

"Be careful, Jaime. You're talking about my wife." Jaime was startled by Tyrion's words, but the look in his eyes surprised him even more. "Sansa is much more than I could ever hope for. She is young, clever, kind, beautiful, and she is coming from one of the oldest families of the Seven Kingdoms. She was beaten by Joffrey again and again. She was nearly raped during the riot my nephew started. She saw her own father beheaded in front of her own eyes, and then she was forced to look upon his head on a spike. She was held as a hostage here for more than a year and she was forced to marry someone from the family in war against her own. And despite all of this, I managed to get along with her quite well until our father decided to murder her mother and her brother. And after that the best thing our father had to suggest to me was to rape her. You told me often how Robert shamed Cersei for sixteen years, but this is nothing compared to what Sansa supported here within a single year. Cersei had you and Father to protect her. Sansa had no one. And despite all of this, she didn't turn into a manipulative bitch and she didn't try to have me killed as Cersei did with Robert. She remained loyal to her family, and she didn't become a murderer. She is a true lady and she assumes the consequences of the choices she makes, unlike Cersei who always blames the others for her own mistakes. If she abandons me after what happened today, I won't be the one to blame her considering everything our family did to her. Perhaps there will even be some justice in this."

Jaime was unsettled by Tyrion's speech and by the expression of his face. He was defending his wife when she could be about to let him die. Also, Jaime was quite displeased of the way Tyrion compared Ned Stark's daughter to Cersei. Tyrion knew about their special relationship and he was saying that his wife, a Stark, was better than Jaime's lover. However, Jaime had to admit Tyrion was right about many things he said. He highlighted Cersei's flaws very well, but Jaime wasn't very pleased to hear his sister and lover being called a manipulative bitch.

"Be careful you too, little brother. You're talking about our sister."

Tyrion smirked. "A sister who's about to have me killed."

Jaime couldn't argue with that. It was time to talk about Kevan's proposition. "Tyrion, Kevan sent me here. He wanted me to tell you something, in case you are found guilty."

Jaime explained very carefully Kevan's plan if Tyrion couldn't prove his innocence. As he expected, his little brother didn't react very well.

"So, I will spend the rest of my days freezing at the Wall for a crime I didn't commit. What an alternative for death!"

"It's still better than death. I know you're innocent, Kevan wants to believe it too, but… If you are found guilty, it's still better than ending in the hands of Ser Ilyn Payne."

"Oh yes, and this way I am finally out of sight. The family's shame is far away, never to be seen again."

Jaime was exasperated. "Kevan isn't doing this for this reason. He's not our father."

"Well, he acts like our father. That's exactly what he would have done to get rid of me. He would have seized the opportunity. Perhaps he even killed himself for that."

"If he did, then it was useless. Kevan already asked me again to be the Lord of Casterly Rock and I refused."

Tyrion was looking at him with a strange expression. Jaime thought it was close to indifference. "Very well. Then it means that once I'll be executed for these imaginary crimes, House Lannister will be ruled by Cersei Lannister, the Lady of Casterly Rock. You can tell Kevan that's what is going to happen if he declares me guilty, because I won't go to the Wall, no matter the outcome."

Jaime couldn't believe what his brother was saying. "Wait, you can't be serious. You're going to let yourself be killed like this?"

"Yes, I will," said Tyrion on an indifferent tone. "You can tell Kevan that unless he clears me of all charges since I am innocent, then he will have to follow Cersei's pleasure for the rest of life, starting with ordering Ser Ilyn to cut my head in front of his own eyes. That's how he will start his tenure as Hand of the King. By sentencing his own nephew to die. You can tell him this."

"He's trying to save you, just like me."

"To save me? By condemning me to spend the rest of my days to the Wall? Thank you. If that's what family is, I don't want any of it. I spent the last year as Hand of the King to make sure our family would survive this war despite Cersei's foolishness and Joffrey's cruelty. I did everything I could to bring our family where it is now. And as a reward, my head was nearly sliced in two on my sister's command, I was moved to a dark cell, forced to marry a child, my brother-in-law and my mother-in-law were savagely slaughtered, and now I am about to be exiled or executed for crimes I didn't commit. If that's what family is, then I don't care about the family. You heard what Varys said. I told Father and I believed it. I don't care anymore what will happen to House Lannister in the future."

Did Cersei really order Tyrion's head to be cut in two? He thought his scar came from the Battle of Blackwater. Jaime didn't know what to do with the words Tyrion just told him. It was as if he disavowed all his kin. "You know that when you were arrested, I rode to war with Father to save you. I would have been ready to abandon my white cloak at this moment. I left Cersei to save you."

Tyrion looked back at him with softer eyes. "You're my brother. I will never forget that. You were among the few to really consider me like family. But I am done with my loyalty to a family that never showed me any. My loyalty is to you now. And to my wife."

"So, you place your wife before your own blood?" Jaime asked unbelieving, afraid of the answer that would come.

"I swore to protect her when I put that cloak on her shoulders, and she showed more loyalty to me than the average Lannister. You still have a vow to her mother. Protect her. If I really am your brother, then do it, and do what you must to get me out of here alive, or go back to our sister who is about to get what she always wanted: my head."

Tyrion looked away after he was done, but Jaime had his eyes fixed on his brother. He had never talked to him this way. He remembered all the humiliations Tyrion had to endure during his whole life, from his birth to this afternoon at the trial. He had a debt toward Tyrion, and a Lannister always pays his debts. He rose. "Then I'll do it. The first things, not the last one," he specified. Tyrion looked back at him and smiled. Jaime returned it and left. He still didn't know what he would make of Cersei, but he knew what he would make of Tyrion.

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