Jaime
Silverhill was actually a pair of stony hills. The south hill was the ornate seat of House Serrett with two rings of walls guarding the fortress, the great hall, and the sept. The Serretts prided themselves on their piety. Jaime laughed when he saw it and remembered the Serrett words: I have no rival. Oh you certainly do, Lord Serrett.
Where the south hill was decorative and wooded, the north hill was industrious and militant. It consisted of a fortress with a thick stone wall and a pair of well-trod roads that carried silver from the mines of the north hill to the town below where it was processed into coins and ingots and other objects of wealth. Casterly Rock would come and take its traditional cut, and then the Iron Throne would come and take theirs. Around the village were the fields and farms of Serrett's smallfolk. As Jaime's men passed through the fields of grain and vegetables, they lamented to each other the plight of the smallfolk: working so hard just to lose half their yield to their liege lord. When Jaime was fighting in the Riverlands or the Crownlands, even in the North, he noticed that the smallfolk had a special affection for their lords. It was a sentiment that was completely lost on Lord Tywin.
The Lords of Winterfell regularly feasted their banner men in the Great Hall. Jaime heard it said, "If your Lords cannot see your face and eat from your hand, how can you expect them to fight and die for you?" Lord Tywin had a very different philosophy of leadership in place. A philosophy written on the ruins of Castamere and Tarbeck Hall.
Ser Daven asked his cousin if he intended on continuing the Tywin Lannister philosophy of rule. Jaime had to be honest and tell him that he hadn't decided yet. As they approached the dual castles of Silverhill the banner waving above the castles were very obviously not the peacock of Serrett over pale yellow, it was the purple unicorn of House Brax of Hornvale.
Lord Tytos Brax greeted Ser Jaime's retinue at the base of the hill and announced, "Ser Jaime, Silverhill is yours." He bowed in his unicorn-crested helm and motioned towards the castle signaling he was going to lead the Lannister caravan into the great hall.
There were over eight thousand men wearing the unicorn of Brax lining the road to the Silverhill great hall. Jaime nodded at the men who smiled knowingly: the West was back on top. Not yet, men. Jaime thought, but it was certainly a start.
They entered the great hall where alternating banners of red and gray bearing gold lions and purple unicorns hung from the rafters and declared the Lannister-Brax victory. The Serrett household was sitting at the center table with their heads hanging low. Jaime dismounted and brought his cousin and the other high officers from the defense of Casterly Rock to the front of the room. The Lord's chair at the head of the center table was empty with Lord Willam Serrett sitting at the chair's left hand. Jaime thought it was ironic for so many reasons and walked over to the chair. He dusted off the seat and planted himself with his helmet under his arm and his short sword drawn and placed on the table in front of him.
He cleared his throat and said, "Ser Daven, if you would take a seat here. I am in need of a hand." Ser Daven chuckled quietly to himself before sitting at Jaime's right hand across from Lord Serrett.
Ser Jaime sat there and looked around at the Brax and Lannister men around the hall standing with spears around the Serrett men defeated and disarmed. Jaime smiled that close-lipped grin and said, "Well I guess this means we won."
A cheer burst forth from the loyalist men who banged their spears and swords against their shields and hooted in favor of Casterly Rock's victory. Jaime held up his stump for quiet, still feeling a wrist, palm, and fingers attached quieting down. It took him a moment to notice there was nothing there.
"Now, I believe justice should be done, don't you think? This was a vicious betrayal. Since the days of the Kings of the Rock, the silver from your hill over there was part of what made this kingdom great. That and Golden Hill. I suppose that's what made you think you could usurp our role as the Wardens of the West and Lord Paramount? You've always taken pride of place in my father's banner men. Unfortunately, that position now belongs to Houses Marbrand and Brax."
The Brax men cheered once more for that. Jaime let them cheer. They deserved it. He looked at Lord Brax and nodded. Jaime turned to Lord Serrett as he called for silence once more.
"Lord Willam Serrett, I'll have you know two things. First, you were one of my father's most trusted bannermen. Now I have no doubt that Lord Tywin's recent demise has encouraged you and the Leffords, but let's be honest, if Lord Tywin was here instead of me, you entire House would be cut down. I have two of your sons and eight of your nephews captive at Casterly Rock. Now, one of them is your son Tytos. He's going to be the new Lord Serrett and will stay at the Rock to learn what being a proper Westerman is about until I think he's fit to rule Silverhill on his own. He's going to be the new Lord Serrett primarily because you are not. You have a choice to make: the gallows or the Wall."
Jaime let that last word sink in.
"I've never seen it, but I hear there's great honor serving in the Night's Watch. That, and all your past crimes are forgiven once you've taken the black. So consider it an absolving of your sins."
He noticed a pretty young blonde sitting down the row. She was wearing Lord Serrett's colors but had on the unmistakable brooch of gold in the sharp point of a mountain. Lady Alysanne Lefford seemed dismayed at her husband's fate, but Jaime couldn't imagine she was altogether broken up about it. They hardly had enough time to consummate the marriage.
Jaime called Lady Lefford to him, "Lady Alysanne. I'm surprised to see you so far from the Golden Tooth."
She curtsied and looked so frightened. She was no bigger than a young doe and was almost as innocent, "Lady Lefford, what part did you have to play in this conspiracy?"
She was about to speak when Lord Serrett rose in her defense, "She had no…"
Ser Daven shot up just as quickly and drew his longsword. The blade was inches from his throat, "Now now, I think you've made plenty of rivals for the time being."
Jaime nodded, "Lady Alysanne. Please."
She nodded and tried to make eye contact with Jaime, "Well, Lord Jaime," he ignored the misnomer, "I was left in charge of the Golden Tooth after my father's demise at the Fords. My uncle Jon served as the Lord Regent of the Tooth and having seen House Lannister's demise in the field by the God's Eye, thought our House might have a chance at the Lordship. He married me to Lord Willam in the hopes that our alliance might push us to that position."
Jaime had the odd notion that Lady Alysanne was spinning him a thin web. The girl was young. Too young to concoct a plan of that magnitude. Lord Jon and Lord Willam were no doubt the architects of the plan. But the girl must have at least been excited to be Lady Paramount of the West. Oh well, he'd arrive at the Golden Tooth soon enough and sort this out. Lord Willam would be sent to the Wall. When he arrived at the Golden Tooth, Jaime was willing to bet Lord Jon Lefford offered his niece as the cornerstone of the Alliance and hoped to be promoted to First Consulate of the West.
Clever.
"Lady Alysanne, over there is Lord Tytos Brax. He lost his father at the Battle of the Camps and is now the Lord of Hornvale. If he'll have you, you will be his new wife. The Golden Tooth will be united with Hornvale, not Silverhill. Your uncle was wise to recognize the strategic importance his castle held for the West, but now that he's been defeated, we'll need to keep the Tooth in loyal hands. If I arrive at the Golden Tooth and find Lord Jon any guiltier than your former Lord husband, I'm afraid he won't suffer as gentle of a fate."
"What of my nephews, Ser Jaime?"
Jaime looked Lord Willam Serrett right in the eye and told him, "They are loyal lads, aren't they?"
He nodded, "They are, Ser. If I must die in their stead…"
Jaime cut him off again, "You won't. You'll ride to Castle Black and spend the rest of your life there. Two of your nephews will join you. The Wall is undermanned you see. Two will return here to learn the run of the castle. Two will become servants in Casterly Rock. And two will be prisoners in our deepest dungeon to ensure the other four perform their duties. As for the younger son we captured, he's being sent to Lord Marbrand. He'll straighten the boy out and teach him how to properly serve his lord and run a town. Ashemark is bigger than Silverhill. There's a lot to learn there."
Lord Serrett looked shocked. Surprised even. He made to bow low before he asked nervously, "You… you mean my household will not…"
"No, it will not end."
There was a stunned silence in the room before Lord Serrett fell to his knees and started sobbing, "My Lord Ser Jaime, your ruling is just… so just."
All eyes were on him in that Serrett chair underneath a banner of a golden lion. Every men in the room knew the song, but Jaime was not that man. And he did not sing that song. He stood, the helm still tucked underneath his arm and sheathed his sword, "Let everyone know, the West is under a new rule. I am not Tywin Lannister. I will not end your line, I will not rule with fear. To the enemies of our order, know this: we will crush you. Even on our knees, House Lannister still has claws. We are the Lords of Gold, we are the Lords of Silver. I do not intend on killing children. What kind of land is that for me to call home? No. My father ruled by fear for so long that his demise left an empty hole. Suddenly, men who were afraid for so long grew a hair of courage and burst forth to claim Lord Tywin's chair. Those men forgot the laws of succession. My father let his sword be a law. But if swords are laws, then any blacksmith can deliver you a new king. My father ruled with fear. I'd rather see justice. Lord Serrett, for your rebellion, you are hereby banished to the Night's Watch."
Lord Brax then told Jaime they had a feast prepared. Jaime told him to bring it on and encouraged Lord Willam to enjoy his meal, he'll be welcome at Casterly Rock to say one last goodbye to his sons and nephews.
A serjeant came by to tell Jaime they had a band waiting to play music for the feast, "Ser Jaime, we have all the usual songs in our retinue. The Bear, The Dornishman's Wife, but we were thinking about starting with The Rains of Castamere."
Jaime stabbed a parsnip, thinking to himself how used to eating with his left hand he was. He asked his squire to fetch the golden hand Tyrion designed so he could attach a fork to it, "No, serjeant. To be honest, I hate that song."
