Tyrion sat and observed his sister wailing about injustices, pacing the chambers of the hand as his father looked on dispassionately. Only Jaime seemed to be concerned with trying (in vain) to comfort her. Although everyone around him seemed to be in utter chaos and though the future of his house was in doubt, Tyrion could not stop his mind from wandering to her. With all the excitement, he had all but forgotten the hope that had risen in his chest when she had first kissed him. Now the memory of sweet Sansa initiating that contact came back in full force. While the kiss on the terrace had been wild and fueled by a mix of desperation and the release of tamped down passion that had been building between them, the one they had shared in their apartments this afternoon had been much calmer. He had actually had the time to process her soft lips under his...the faint smell of lemons and a woodiness that always lingered in her hair and skin... When she had finally pulled away, the shy smile she had sent him had nearly undone him.
He shook his head, willing the smile that was tugging at his own lips to go away. This was no time to be reminiscing about his beautiful bride and how they were becoming closer. No time to try to process his own feelings for her and for the possibility that Jaime was right. He shook Sansa from his mind and tried to focus on the task in front of him. The sooner that his father was satisfied with a plan, the sooner he could return to her.
"It was thatwhore!" Cersei was now crying, her eyes red rimmed and brimming with rage. "That Highgarden whore and her witch of a grandmother! I told you, father! I warned you they would try to usurp us and now my poor boy clings to life! That little bitch has tried to murder my son!" Tyrion's eyes shot quickly to the door, worried of someone overhearing her ravings, but Tywin just barely glanced up in annoyance. Dripping with irritation, he placed his quill down and leveled her with a withering glare, steepling her fingers below his chin.
"I will have her thrown in the black cells! Her and that crone! They can rot in the seven hells for what they have done to their king!" Cersei was oblivious to her father's cold eyes appraising her. Even Jaime had backed away from her, cowed by Tywin's iciness.
"And what would happen then?" his tone soft, but unyielding. "If you arrested the daughter of the Lord of Highgarden? If you arrested his mother?"
"Mace Tyrell is a fool!" Cersei hissed, pacing like a caged lioness. "I do not fear that halfwit or his traitorous house!"
"You are the fool to underestimate the Lord Paramount of the Reach. Mace Tyrell controls the largest army in Westeros right now. His lands have been almost untouched from the wars and the shipments of wheat from them are keeping your city alive. How quick do you think those shipment will stop if you touch the girl or her grandmother? How quick do you think that army who is keeping our gates safe would be beating them down?"
"They would not dare to rise against their rightful king! We will remind them what happens when they dare cross the Lions of Lannister! I will have my own Rains of Castamere!" Cersei raved like a madwoman, fresh tears spilling down her cheeks as she trembled in rage. Tywin, however, looked on coldly-not at all moved by her tantrum. Finally, breathing out a sigh of annoyance, he gestured towards his rabid daughter.
"Jaime, take your sister to her chambers to rest. She is not of sound mind." He returned to his parchment as Jaime dragged Cersei from the room. Once they were gone and her shouts had faded, he turned to one of the crimson guards standing at attention. "Take a dozen men and stand guard at the Tyrell's chambers. Lady Margaery, Lady Olenna, and Lord Mace are all under my protection. No one save myself, Lord Tyrion, Lady Sansa, or the Grand Maester shall enter." Tyrion's interest was piqued as he listed he and Sansa, but not even Jaime. "You will send my apologies, but they are also not to leave their chambers." The captain nodded before turning heel and following his orders.
After they sat in silence for a moment, Tyrion moved to sit in the empty chair across from his father.
"A wise move. They cannot object to house arrest with what has occurred. Yet we cannot give them free reign of the keep. And if Cersei were to interact with them, it could lead to a fall out we can't deal with now." While Tywin did not even glance up at his words, Tyrion knew he had already proven himself as the most sensible of the Lannister children. But still..."Why Sansa?"
"Your wife has cultivated a relationship with the Tyrell girl. The friendship could be beneficial for us. If the Lady Sansa can get any useful information from her. Lady Margaery is no fool-she will not speak with our guards or with me. But to a friend, she may reveal something of import." Now he paused in his writing and pointed the quill in Tyrion's direction. "You just need to insure that your wife remembers who she owes her allegiance to. Anything that is said between them, she must relay to you. And you will bring anything important to me." Tyrion nodded, knowing this was not the platform to argue with his father.
"How is the king?" Tyrion asked.
"With every hour, Pycelle is less sure he will wake."
"And how is Tommen?" Tyrion asked after just a heartbeat.
"The boy is in his rooms." His father had not even glanced up. "Hopefully preparing himself for what is to come. For the responsibilities that will soon be his."
Tyrion nodded thoughtfully. "A shame his mother is so distracted by Joffrey...If the Grand Maester is correct, soon little Tommen will be all she has..." He mused, focusing his attention on a random paper on his father's desk. He hid a smile as Tywin's quill halted and he glanced up in truth. He watched from the corner of his eye as his father gestured towards another guard.
"Fetch the Prince Tommen from his rooms. He shall be moving into a spare chamber in the Tower of the Hand. There is one not four doors down from here. Have him settled comfortably and make sure he has no visitors. I will come to see him shortly."
He who holds the king holds the kingdom
A/N: Thank you guys so much for your patience. Work, writers block, and my personal life always gets in the way! I want you all who reviewed to know how much I appreciate you! I'll try my best to get some more chapters out soon! Hopefully by this weekend!