Meg came into Tywin's room that night only to find it empty. She saw a letter on the desk and noticed that the name "Chris Griffin" was in there a bunch of times. She moved closer to see what it was about, but before she could read it, Tywin came in. "So, who taught you to read?"
"What? Oh, it-it was my father," Meg stammered.
"I remember teaching my son Jaime to read," Tywin recalled. "A maester had diagnosed a problem with his processing of letters where he would reverse them in his mind. He told me Jaime would never be able to read, but I refused to accept that. I had Jaime pegging away for four hours a day. He hated me for it, but eventually he learned to read. Who was your father?"
"He was a… a stonemason," Meg invented. "He taught himself to read."
"And where is he now?"
"Dead."
"How did he die?"
"He was killed by loyalty."
"Well, you're a sharp little thing, aren't you?" Tywin said.
"What about your…" Meg began, then stopped. "I'm sorry for speaking out of turn."
"No, it's okay. You started to ask a question?"
"Did you know your father, my lord?"
"I did," Tywin Lannister said. "I grew up with him. I watched him grow old. He loved us. He was a good man. But a weak man. A man who nearly destroyed our house and name. He loaned money to lords who never bothered to repay him, and his vassals openly ignored his orders. People laughed at him in public! I've hated the sound of laughter all my life because of it. After he died, our vassals, the Reynes of Castamere, rose up against us. I had to put the rebellion down myself. Killed 'em all, the whole family! A Lannister always pays his debts, after all."
While he was rambling, Meg slipped the letter down the front of her shirt.
Tywin sat down in his chair. "I'm cold. Fetch me some wood for a fire."
"I will," said Meg.
She went out on the battlements and took out the letter. She started to read. "Ten thousand men are heading for Golden Tooth while Chris Griffin moves south along the coast…" That was as far as she got before Ser Amory came.
"What's that you've got?" he demanded. Meg tried to hide the letter again, but it was too late. He had already seen it. "Why do you have that?"
"Lord Tywin asked me to deliver it… to the armory," she claimed.
Ser Amory took the letter. "Why would he do that? This letter is about troop movements. What do ya say we go ask him?"
Why did he have to pick now of all times to start being smart?
Meg grabbed the letter back from him and ran away with it. He chased her down the stairs and into the courtyard. Meg dived behind some barrels near the far wall. He looked around but he didn't see her. He turned around and went back up the stairs, heading for Tywin's quarters.
In a panic, Meg shredded the letter into tiny pieces. Just then Mask came by. "A girl is upset," he noted.
Quick as a flash, Meg realized the only way out of this situation was to ask Mask to kill Ser Amory Lorch. He would have to be the second victim, not Quagmire. "Mask! I need you to kill that guy who just ran up the stairs!"
"An otter needs a name," he reminded patiently.
"Ser Amory Lorch! That's his name!"
"Okay. An otter will act when the time is right."
Meg grabbed his arm. "You can't wait! I'm in danger now!"
He sighed in acceptance.
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As Ser Amory Lorch opened the door to Tywin's chamber, a tiny dart hit him in the neck. He collapsed to the ground as Tywin called for his guards.
