Tywin Lannister always thought of himself as a pragmatic man, but sitting inside his tent on the way back to the Rock, there was no doubt that he had acted on a bit of haste. It had started the day two ravens had arrived from Kingslanding at the same time. The first one had informed him about Selmy's death, which he hadn't much cared about. The older man was far past his prime, and even after his death, Robert would never let Jaime ascend to his position. The second raven, though, the information in it had made him smile, not that anyone had been around to notice it. His eldest son, Jaime, had finally gotten over his childhood dreams and agreed to take his position as his heir. He had left for Kingslanding a few hours after that with a small number of men.

Arriving at Red Keep, he had wasted no time on frivolity and asked for a meeting with the hand and the King, one which he got soon after. Jon Arryn must have done something because there was no way Baratheon would have agreed to it that quickly. Jaime had met him before the meeting but had been hesitant in answering any question. Not being bothered by it, he had focused on the upcoming talks, for he wanted Jaime back at Rock before his son changed his mind. As expected, Robert had initially refused to let Jaime go. All of them knew it was because of man's pride rather than appreciation of Jaime's skills, so he had offered to write off half of the gold that the crown owed to his family. It was a steep price, yet Robert had still refused, but Jon Arryn had stepped in, accepting the offer. The Hand had ignored the King's rambling and continued to negotiate, at one point snapping at him to shut up. He had not reacted at that point, but inside, amusement and disgust had filled him up. While seeing the King acting like a child was amusing, the incompetency of Jon Arryn as the Hand rankled him. The position he had made respectable once was now held by a man who had no idea how to run a Kingdom and spent most of his time babying the King. After a little more negotiation, he had agreed to make the rest of the loan interest-free and thrown in a few carts of rare wine from Yi-Ti for Robert. Baratheon had immediately agreed to it and relieved Jaime on the spot.

That action had shocked everyone in the room, for it showed the lack of etiquette on the King's part. His eyes had snapped to Jon Arryn, who had a shameful look on his face. Noting it all for later use, he had nodded and left the room, Jaime informing him that he would be back after visiting the White Sword Tower. They had left the city the same day, not even waiting to meet his daughter. Cersei had done as was expected from him, and he did not need to spend more time on her. He had Jaime back as his heir, and his grandson was going to be the next King, and that was all in his mind as his Horse raced out of the gates of Kingslanding.

The first hint that something was wrong came to him when Jaime refused to stay at a nearby Lord's castle. While his son's refusal to stay comfortably was puzzling, the command in his voice at the refusal was alarming. Never before had Jaime or anyone had spoken to him like that, at least not since the Castamere incident. He had said nothing as the camp was set up, observing his son, who was walking around aimlessly. After Dinner, he sent a guard to summon Jaime so that they discuss his future actions.

Jaime arrived soon, but instead of sitting down, he ordered the guards to stand some distance away from the camp and not let anyone approach until ordered. Once they were all alone, his son took a seat, but the tense air in the tent made him finger his hidden dagger. If there had been any other time, he would have dealt harshly with the cloak and dagger behavior, but Jaime was acting differently than their last meeting. He didn't have to wait long.

"I have taken a lot of oaths in my life, father, but there is only one oath that I regret breaking. It's not the oath of Kingsgaurd, nor is the oath of being a Knight. No, it was an oath I gave to a man I respected, a man I looked up to. I promised him that I would look after his family, his children and make sure they are safe until he returns. He never came back, and I didn't keep his family safe. All of them died brutally, and I did nothing but watch as their dead bodies were presented to the King."

He knew what his son was talking about.

"His name was Rhaegar Targaryen, whose wife and children were killed on your orders. That day in Red Keep, I was marked as Kingslayer, and I didn't care. Everyone thinks it's because I am a Lannister, but in truth, it's because I was too shaken by the realization that my father was not worth the respect I had for him. I had already lost belief in my brothers, and after that day, I started losing in my family too. Cersei had my love for a long time, but it slowly was being affected by the cruelty she keeps hidden. I stopped caring for anything, going on for things I love, things I still cared about."

Jaime looked up at his father, Tywin Lannister. Once he feared that man, but after meeting with the gods and knowing what was coming for them, the Lord of Westerlands felt like nothing more than an intelligent, arrogant, and ruthless man who had been born in a position of power. Tywin Lannister had earned his fame by drowning an entire family down to children and had used his mind and gold to cement his rule. As an enemy, Tywin Lannister was to be respected but not feared. Jaime did not fear from him anymore, for, despite everything, Tywin Lannister had one crippling weakness.

"Fortunately or unfortunately, it depends on the way you want to look at it; I learned quite a lot of things in the past few days."

He gave a teasing smile to his father, but there was nothing good about it.

"You murdered Rhaegar's children and, along with Robert, have regularly tried to end the last two Targaryen, Viserys and Daenerys, but you never knew that Rhaegar had one more child, one that was hidden right under everyone's eyes. By a freak accident, I did, and now you are going to help me put him on the Throne."

"That's quite presumptuous of you, son."

"I know, but you don't have any choice in this."

The silence was pressuring, but Jaime held on, matching his father's stare equally.

"Do tell me how you are going to force me to put a Targaryen on my own grandson's throne."

He relaxed back on the bed, knowing his next words are going to break Tywin Lannister.

"Nothing too grand, Father. If you do not help me, I will make sure that the true parentage of Joffrey, Myrcella, and Tommen is known to everyone from the Wall to Dorne."

There wasn't much reaction than raised eyebrows, but he knew it was just the beginning.

"What do you mean? Robert and Cersei are their parents."

"No, father. Cersei is their mother, but none of them have a bit of Robert in them; your daughter herself ensured that. The miscarriage she suffered, it was by her own hand as the child was Robert's, and Cersei was never going to allow that."

He had always wondered how his father would react after learning about that, but Tywin Lannister didn't even twitch, so he added a lot of fuel to the fire.

"That's not the worst part, Father. Joffery, Myrcella, and Tommen, they all are mine. I am their father, and Cersei, their mother. They are pure Lannisters, and you are twice Grandfather."

Silence followed his declaration for a long time, but he was content to wait.

"You lie."

He shook his head, never having imagined that this conversation would take place.

"No, I do not. None of them have any Baratheon traits. I checked the book of lineages. The Baratheon blood has always outshone whichever other family it has married into. I know about every one of Robert's bastards with blue eyes and dark hair, while Joffery, Myrcella, and Tommen have green eyes and golden hair. I am astonished how no one else noticed it till now."

This time his words have the effect he had been looking for. His father's face turned pale, and he seemed frozen in the place. Then it slowly gave way to anger, disgust, and astonishment. His following words came out in a gritted voice.

"And what's stopping me from making sure that this never leaks out?"

Jaime was surprised at that, for to do that, his father would have to silence him permanently. But, he had had already taken steps to bind his father's actions.

"I may not be as smart as Tyrion, Father, but I do have some mind. The fact is that I have already ensured that should I disappear from public eyes anytime soon, ravens would be sent to all over the Kingdom with a confession signed by me. This also applies if somehow Rhaegor's son dies in an accident that can be linked back to you or in any other case where you try to harm either of us in any manner."

"You would do that to your own family, your own children, your own sister?"

Jaime was silent for few moments, wondering how to tell his father why he was doing it.

"Let's hope it does not come to that, father."

Another bout of silence followed it, but this was a lot longer. While waiting for his father, he wondered what his next steps should be.

"What's in it for House Lannister?"

His father frowned at his confused expression.

"What would House Lannister gain from it, Jaime? You expect me to give up everything I have worked for in the past decade, put my money and men behind an unknown boy, plan and rise in a rebellion, among others. What do I gain from it? Your threat, while serious, is not enough for me to put everything I have to risk. Your arguments about being the father of the Royal children can always be undermined sooner or later, even if you have proof of it. Yes, Baratheon might become a problem, but he can quickly be dealt with. All of this might be difficult, but it can be done if required. So tell me, Jaime, why should I help you place the grandson of a man I hate on the Throne?"

There were a lot of answers to that questions, but he needed to choose the one that would be acceptable to Tywin Lannister.

"Because one way or another, Rhaegar's son will make his claim for the Throne in a few years. I have already leaked the information to a few Targaryen sympathizers, and things have been set in motion. Should you choose to help us, House Lannister would gain a new height of power by being the Kingmakers. Rhaegar's son would not punish us as severely should we be the one to help him get his Throne back."

"The boy whose siblings got murdered on my orders, or so people say."

Jaime nodded because there was no way around it.

"And one day, you will have to answer for it to him. We can just make sure that he does not punish the entire House Lannister for it."

With that, Jaime stood and left the room, letting Tywin Lannister have the time to think.

Review Replies

Lena Black:- Thank you.

lostinthedarkness:- Thank you.

Potter people eater:- Thank you. I have some idea where this will go.