Tywin's Nightmares

He felt himself drifting through the fog, red fog filled with screams and cruel laughter. These screams filled his own mouth and the laughter tortured his ears while the fog around turned to liquid, to blood. He felt himself drowning in, he couldn't breathe anymore and he let loose of the screams in his mouth while he desperately tried to force some air into his lungs. The screams grew louder and they were not his own alone anymore but more screams. He heard women screeching and children crying and men calling helplessly for their loved ones and from everywhere there was blood flowing and he felt himself suffocating.

Nononononono...the screams just wouldn't stop, never stopneverstopnevernever...

His lovely Joanna, his sweet wife, the most gentle and lively women and she was no more, no more, no more, no more...only this...thing ...was there. Joanna bled to death for this thing, this pestilence, this creature...he should kill it, then surely Joanna would come back, surely she would come back to him...
Joanna where are you, don't leave me, i need you...Joanna JOANNA...
He felt tears streaming down his face, red as Joanna's blood and his lovely wife cried too, cried for this child that she died to bring upon this World...don't cry my beloved Joanna, don't cry, i promise not to kill, not even though he killed you, don't cry, please don't cry ...

Gasp...gasping for breath he struggled helplessly awake but two strong arms were holding him carefully down, gently but also unshakable. A calm male voice, strong and without any cruelty in it was telling him to stay calm and to take deep breaths and stop moving so much for it would only hurt more. Calloused but gentle hands stroked his head and he felt himself cleaned with a soft and warm wet cloth.
He forced himself to calm down and to listen to the other men's voice. He fell asleep again.

He was drowning again in blood and he felt it running down his throat while his teeth were tearing through flesh and crashed into bones. He was the Lion and he was hunting but as fast as he tried to run, he wasn't able to leave from where he was still drowned by blood. His front paws clawed at the ground and he tried to get his hind paws to do the same but the legs were bound and his paws felt shredded. Pain shot through him and the moment of triumph turned to bitterness while his pelt was torn away by thorns and talons of dragons that were circling around him like a pack of mangy streetdogs. He tried to swallow the meat that was still in his muzzle but it turned to glowing ashes and burned the soft tissue inside and hurt him badly. The dragons attacked him and he desperately tried to hurt them with his front claws and to get his hind legs free at the same time.

The dragons drew so close around him that he could feel their scales on his torn pelt and they all started at the same time to spew fire...

Aaaahhhh... gasp...hhhhhh...aaaaa..hhhh...gasp...

Hother's PoV

His patient was having a nightmare again after being barely awake a few hours ago and being forced to swallow a large Cup of Sleepwine then. Hother raised himself from his uncomfortable chair near Tywin Lannisters bed and bowed over the heavily sweating and shaking Lion Lord. He felt the temperature on the clammy forehead and then started to clean away the cold sweat that was clinging to the head and the whole body of the Lannister Lord. He also unwrapped the thick cloth that he had wound earlier around the nether regions of his patient and then cleaned the helpless man of his waste and urine. The Maester then washed the nether regions with warm soapy water from a bystanding bucket . After all that was done, Hother grabbed a new thick sheet and carefully rolled it under his patient from one side while he tugged away the used and filthy and wet one from the other side.

The Maester dumped the used and filthy cloth into an empty bucket and went to the bystanding washing table, where he scrubbed his hands and arms first with soap made from ash and then with a hot vinegar and water mix.

Since finally the bed under Lord Tywin and the Lord himself were clean enough, same as the Maester himself, Hother then could once again start to unwrap the numerous wounds, cleanse them and care for them.

He unrolled one of his scrubbed leather blankets under his patient and then stepped away to the near table upon which a big bowl was laying, filled an with already cooked mixture of Strongwine and Honey. Hother put a couple of soft pieces of cloth in it, so they would be soaked full and then went over to the bed again with a small bowl with boiled water in it.

He put a small sheet in the waterbowl and after it was thoroughly wet he put the sheet upon the wrapped back of his patient. The wrappings which stuck and dried entirely on the blooded back, were now easier to get off after they were wet again.

Hother tugged the wet bindings carefully from the back and inspected the wounds.

For six days now he was caring for the wounded and feverish Lion Lord and where at first the many deep and horrible looking lacerations made him unsure if the former Hand would survive all this, now Hother felt secure to say that Tywin Lannister was a damn hard to kill man and was on a hopeful way to recovery.

Well, Hother thought to himself, at least till the entombment of Aerys Targayen was done and the new King would make true to his word and force the Lion Lord to fight in a trial by combat.

One week would it be tomorrow since the older dragon died through the Lion's bite, yesterday the young King himself put the torch to his father's already stinking corpse and announced in the same ceremony that the ashes of Aerys would be entombed at the next New Moon.

Six days away from now was the time for that event and after the entombment, the King ordered that the following morning would be when the murderer of his Father would have his trial by combat. Hother sighed deeply, no way in all seven hells would he get Tywin Lannister strong and healthy enough to fight the damn Lord Commander of the Kingsguard. He forced himself to concentrate on his task at hand, the care for the Lion's wounds.

Some of the deeper lacerations, not the ones down to the bones of the ribs but the second worst at least were stitched close since the last change of wound dressing. They looked good, near as well healing as the most shallow wounds.

The six deepest wounds, the ones that reached the ribs, were still seeping blood and a bit of pus, no matter how careful Hother was with the care for them. On two of them he now put down two soft pieces of the soaked cloth, on two other ones only a bit of boiled honey and on the two last ones he put two freshly cleaned pieces of fat but dried cod skin.

He then cleaned everything with the boiled mixture of the honey and Strongwine and wrapped the Lion's back anew. Hother then carefully turned his patient around and took care of the front wounds the same way, though they were less numerous and none was as deep as the ones on the back.

Tywin Lannister groaned through the whole procedure but didn't cry out anymore or tried to escape as he did during earlier treatments. Maybe he was still exhausted from the nightmares that had kept him and Hother himself from finding any real and restful sleep during the last couple of days.

Hother was barely finished with his care for the Lion Lord and had just rolled up the leather sheet that he used as slipcover over the clean sheets, when the door to the Lion's bedroom opened and Hother sighed with annoyance after seeing who entered the room.