Jaime arrives at Casterly Rock.
JAIME I
Jaime glimpsed the ringfort at the top of the Rock with its towers and walls a long way before he reached the Lion's Mouth. He pressed his horse to ride more quickly. Almost two months since they received the new, and yet they couldn't make it in shorter time. Two weeks ago, Jaime had had enough and left the royal party to ride forward. Without the carriage and the army of servants and guards following Cersei, they would have arrived long before. Now he rode madly his horse to Casterly Rock, unable to wait any longer.
It had been a shock when he received Tyrion's letter. Well, in fact this was only a raven, but the short message hit hard nonetheless.
Father is dead. In an accident. Crushed under the mast of a ship in Lannisport. His funerals will take place next month. Come back home, Jaime.
I'm sorry for your loss.
Tyrion
Jaime hadn't been able to react or think about anything for a few minutes after he read the message Pycelle just gave him. When he managed to come back from his confusion, he hadn't been able to articulate any word, only to read the message again and to walk away to his chamber of kingsguard. His father was dead. Tywin Lannister was dead. Once he had overcome the surprise the new caused, Jaime had gone immediately to tell Cersei.
The discussion he had with Cersei wasn't exactly what he had expected. First, her sister already knew their father was dead. Genna had sent her a raven as well. While Jaime was paralyzed after learning their father was dead, Cersei was very quiet, though not the type of quiet that could reassure him. It was a terrible and fearful calm. After Jaime told her their father was dead, Cersei simply replied that she knew, and that it was time for him to become who he was meant to be. She said it was time for him to become the Lord of Casterly Rock, to lead their family on the path to greatness their father started.
Jaime thought he was more struck by Cersei's words than by Tyrion's message. Their father was dead, and the first thing Cersei thought about was that he had to be Lord of the Rock. After a moment of hesitation while Jaime hadn't known how to react, he had burst into laughter. He couldn't become Lord of Casterly Rock. He was a kingsguard, bound to serve the king to the death, forbidden to marry and to inherit. Anyway, he didn't want to be Lord of the Rock. He never wanted to. That would mean to leave King's Landing, to leave the woman he loved. Cersei hadn't reacted well to his laughs. She had accused him of abandoning their family to the ruin. Jaime had tried to tell her Father still had Tyrion to inherit the Rock, and that he would make a much better lord than him, but that had only infuriated her even more. She had begun a great speech against their brother, accusing him of all the atrocities she could imagine, from the murder of their mother to the death of their father. She said she wouldn't be surprised to discover he was the one to kill their father so he could have Casterly Rock. Only Jaime could stop him. They had to fight for what was rightfully theirs. Jaime had dismissed Cersei's theories. Tyrion would never kill their father. Tywin Lannister had hated Tyrion, but their little brother would never have dared to do anything against their father. That wasn't his style, nor was it the style of any child of Tywin Lannister.
Cersei had been furious at him. They had left King's Landing a week later with a large retinue. Jaime had criticized Cersei for bringing so many people and for travelling in carriage. This slowed them down a lot. Robert gave them their leave to pay their respects to their deceased father without hesitation. Surely he was happy the Old Lion was dead, and happy to get rid of his queen for a few months. Honestly, Jaime was glad to be freed from Robert Baratheon for some time. The way he disgraced Cersei, the most beautiful woman in the Seven Kingdoms, exasperated him. Very often when Jaime was on duty, the king would bring a dozen whores in his bedchamber and fuck them all at the same time. Jaime hated it less than to see him bed Cersei, but it infuriated him all the same. Cersei should be married with him. Targaryens wed brothers with sisters for centuries, so why couldn't they marry as well?
The trip to the Westerlands had been a true living hell. First, Jaime had hoped the long trip would allow him to spend more time with Cersei, but she was always with her children, especially with Joffrey, which made it very difficult for Jaime to have any intimate moment with his lover. Furthermore, Cersei kept complaining about the fact he still refused to be their father's heir the few times they were alone, and the rest of the time she succeeded in being colder than their dead father. In the end, Jaime couldn't support it anymore and rode forward, leaving the retinue behind to arrive at Casterly Rock. Jaime wasn't displeased to leave Prince Joffrey either. His seed competed with his mother for being insufferable.
Jaime passed through the Lion's Mouth whose gates were wide open for him. A stable boy came immediately to take care of his horse while Jaime dismounted more quickly than any living man could. He walked directly to the entrance of the Rock.
"Hey, Jaime." He turned his head to see his childhood's friend, Addam Marbrand, walking towards him. "I'm happy to see you. I was told you would only arrive next week."
"I decided to ride faster. What are you doing here?" Jaime found it odd that Ser Addam was there. He would think he was at Ashemark.
"I've been here for a few weeks now. I came with my father for the coronation ceremony, but I stayed longer when I learned you would come."
"The coronation?"
"Yes. For your brother. He was declared Lord of Casterly Rock. It took place almost three weeks ago. You knew it, didn't you?"
"Where is my father's grave?" asked Jaime. Addam's expression turned gloomy.
"We buried him not long after the coronation. He's in the Hall of Heroes." Jaime walked away immediately to see his father. He barely heard his friend's last words. "Jaime, I'm sorry."
The Hall of Heroes was a little below the ringfort. This is where Jaime found his father's tomb. A statue had already been erected for him, with the same icy stare he had in real life. Before it had only been words, but now the truth was right before Jaime. It stood there, staring disapprovingly at him. His father was dead. His statue was staring at him just like he had stared at him for all his life, expecting things from him that Jaime couldn't give or didn't want to give.
Jaime remained there, unmoving, looking back at his father who kept looking at him with his lifeless eyes that looked so alive. He heard footsteps from behind. They stopped when Tyrion stopped as well beside him. For a long time, both brothers stood straight before their father's image, not saying a word.
"I'm glad you arrived sooner," Tyrion finally said before returning to a complete silence for another long time.
"How did he die? What happened?" Jaime asked.
"He was inspecting a ship in Lannisport. A beam on the mast fell on him. It crushed his chest, his lungs, his ribs, his bowels. There was nothing Creylen could do. He was dead within hours."
"Did you talk to him before he died?"
"Yes. He asked for me. He told me he never wanted me for a son, and even less as an heir. He commanded me to stop being the shame of our family, and to start behaving like a Lannister should behave."
Tyrion's voice was bitter. Jaime understood, though he wasn't surprised their father made Tyrion come on his dying bed only to lecture one last time on his duties as a Lannister. They stood there, not saying a word. Jaime didn't know for how long they remained in the Hall of Heroes in the company of their father's bones and the bones of all the other Lords of Casterly Rock and Kings of the Rock who preceded him, but in the end they left. They went separate ways, Tyrion saying he had duties to attend. Jaime went to greet his uncle Kevan and his aunt Genna. He found Kevan working. The last living brother of the great Tywin Lannister gave him the condolences that were in order. His aunt Genna welcomed him more warmly. She had always pinched his ears as far as he could remember, but this time she planted soft and sloppy kisses on his cheeks. Kevan's wife, his aunt Dorna, was also very kind and kissed him on the cheeks as well, though in a more dutiful and restrained way.
Jaime dined alone this evening, but after he was done he sook for Tyrion. He found his former chambers empty. A passing servant informed him Lord Tyrion's belongings had been moved to the rooms of the Lord of Casterly Rock, and that Tyrion lived there now. Jaime walked to the top of the ringfort to see his little brother. He was relieved to not wear his armor anymore for one time. He found Tyrion working in what had been their father's solar not long ago.
Jaime noticed many changes in the apartments. First, the relics of the houses Tywin Lannister destroyed were no longer to be seen. Instead, Tyrion had put personal objects he held dearly. There was a dragon's teeth Tyrion had taken a long time ago from the dungeons of the Red Keep, where the bones of the Targaryen dragons were kept. There was an exemplary of a work from a certain Septon Barth whose name Jaime thought he heard once before. Another book put in evidence was titled The Lion and the Rose by a certain Lady Rhodes. Another book bore inscriptions unknown to Jaime. Perhaps it was Valyrian. There were also little toys Jaime remembered to have given to Tyrion when he was still a boy. Things had indeed changed a lot in Jaime's absence. And of course there was a lot of wine.
Tyrion lifted his eyes from whatever he was reading. From the aspect, it was something boring, but Tyrion was good at reading boring things and finding them interesting. A smile appeared on his brother's face.
"Big brother." He raised from his seat to welcome Jaime.
"Have a lot of work?" Jaime asked.
"A lot, but I still have all the time I wish for my brother."
Jaime smiled. They shook hands. "Glad to be back, Tyrion."
"Glad to see you again, Jaime. Care for some wine?"
Jaime didn't oppose, and with pleasure. They walked to a nearby table where three jugs were waiting for them. He poured a generous goblet for both of them. Jaime raised his own.
"To the new Lord of Casterly Rock."
Tyrion rose his own. "To the greatest sword in the Seven Kingdoms."
They emptied their cup in a single gulp. Tyrion filled them again.
"I didn't expect you to be declared lord so quickly," said Jaime. "I thought you would probably wait for me and Cersei to arrive."
Tyrion had a strange expression, something between regret and laugh. It was an uncertain expression. "It wasn't my doing. Kevan, Genna and Creylen decided to recognize me as the lord very quickly. You know, Father wanted you to be his heir. He told me so before he died, and it was written in his will."
Jaime was surprised, though he shouldn't be. He sighed. "You've got to be kidding me."
"No, I'm not. But since you are a kingsguard, our aunt and our uncle decided to acknowledge me immediately. Especially our aunt. I didn't expect it myself."
Jaime was relieved. "They did well. I wouldn't have supported the possibility to occupy Father's place."
"So, you're not going to challenge my place? Because that's what our sweet sister surely wants. She would be so happy." Tyrion's tone was more amused than worried.
"That's what she wants," confirmed Jaime. "But that's not what I want. I leave the title and the Rock to you, little brother. And with great joy."
"Then in this case," said Tyrion with a smile while raising his cup, "a toast. To Tywin Lannister's succession. A succession without problems."
Jaime raised his cup and drank just like his brother. "Beware of Cersei, Tyrion. She will be fuming when she will arrive. She complained all the way from King's Landing about the fact she and I should have Casterly Rock and not you. She won't be happy that you bypassed Father's will."
"I suppose then we should hide her the content of the will. And you should acknowledge me officially as your liege lord before as many people as possible," his little brother suggested.
"I agree. Everything to prevent me from being attached to the lord's chair. Though it would be more of my size than yours." They both laughed.
Time went on. They were telling stories old and new, stories from the capital, from the Rock, Lannisport, the Westerlands, the Reach, Dorne, the Riverlands. Stories about great men and lower men, about knights and morons, about ladies and whores. Jaime was soon drunk. He noticed a serving girl with red hair brought them wine again and again. He couldn't hold against Tyrion in drinking. His little brother had managed to defeat the Hound in a drinking contest a long time ago, and this was no small feat. Jaime had no chance against the Lord of Casterly Rock.
"Have you ever seen Father cry, Jaime?" Tyrion asked from nowhere all of a sudden.
"Our father? Crying?" Jaime laughed loudly. "Our father never smiled, never laughed, and never cried."
"He told he did once. When his own father died." Jaime's laughter died on his lips. Tyrion looked entirely serious. "He said that despite the flaws our grandfather had, he was still his father, and that he mourned him. Did you ever see him mourn someone?"
"No." That wasn't entirely true. Jaime knew their father had mourned someone else when she died, but Jaime never actually saw him mourn their mother. Tywin Lannister only turned colder than before as far as Jaime could remember.
"Well, it seems he did. Unless he was raving. But he didn't seem to rave. Or else he wouldn't have told me he didn't want me for his son and heir, and that I was only because you refused to be the heir." Their father hadn't been raving. "He said that he loved his father despite all his flaws," repeated Tyrion. "Do we?"
Jaime wasn't sure about it. He shrugged and drank again. In his drunken state, that was all he could say about it. Did he love his father? Did Cersei love him? Did Tyrion love him? If someone had all rights to hate their father, it was Tyrion.
"I don't know," resumed Tyrion, looking lost in his thoughts while Jaime felt lost in the wine. "He barely saw me as a son. He said he wanted to carry me into the sea and let me drown when I was born. He only let me live because I was a Lannister. And because that was the last thing our mother asked him before she died. That was the last thing he told me before he died."
Jaime hadn't known about this. He and Cersei had been kept away from their mother's chambers when she had been taken to bed by the pregnancy more than twenty years ago. He still remembered how she looked like when he and his sister last saw her. She was about to enter labour and looked paler than they ever saw her. They were only ten at the time. She told them that soon they would have a little brother, or a little sister, or perhaps both. Lady Joanna Lannister made them promise to take care of their future little brother, and to protect him. Jaime wished he and Cersei had held their promise. They saw her again two weeks later, in a coffin. Cersei had prayed to the gods to bring back their mother, until Father told her the gods wouldn't listen to her. Jaime didn't know the last words of his mother had been for Tyrion. He was glad they had been. Tyrion was kept alive thanks to it, and Jaime had a little brother. Tyrion couldn't replace their mother, but Jaime couldn't imagine how his life would have been if Tyrion had died this day like their mother. He would only have Cersei left. He wondered if Lady Joanna had said anything about him and Cersei before she left this world. Surely she thought about them, but did she say anything about them?
"And so here we sit." Tyrion started to speak again. "The sons of Tywin Lannister. The firstborn son he wanted for his heir and who never wanted to be it, and the second one who he never wanted to be his heir and who became the Lord of Casterly Rock." Tyrion laughed dryly. "The gods have a good sense of humor. It seems not everyone everywhere always had to do what Tywin Lannister wanted."
"Not anymore," said Jaime. "Father is dead. We are free to do as we wish. And I don't want Casterly Rock. I don't want a wife. I don't want children."
Tyrion looked at him queerly. "Well, it seems I'll have to do the duties you refused. I'm even supposed to get married very soon."
That brought Jaime's attention. "Married? Really?"
"Yes, brother. Father's body was barely cold that Kevan was already trying to arrange me a good match. We even already received proposals."
"Proposals?" Jaime could scarcely believe it. People had proposed their daughters to marry Tyrion.
"Yes. Proposals to marry the Lord of Casterly Rock, of course. Not to marry the Imp." Tyrion emptied his cup and filled it again. "Why else a girl would marry me but to become rich and the Lady of the Rock?"
Tyrion drank again. Despite his drunken state, Jaime could only look pitifully at his brother. He remembered how Tyrion had loved his first wife. For two weeks he had been happier than he ever was in his whole life. Until their father found out about Tyrion's marriage and had it ended in the most horrible way Jaime had ever seen a marriage end. The worst was that Jaime played a crucial role in the destruction of this marriage, and Tyrion loved him despite all this. He loved him for a lie.
"What proposals did you receive?" Jaime asked, trying to not bring the conversation to six years ago.
"House Westerling. And House Doggett. For now, they are the only ones, but some more may appear in time. Mostly impoverished houses who hope to get an innocent girl as Lady of the Rock. These lords must be desperate to think about marrying their daughters to me. As if I could make a woman happy."
Jaime wanted to refute his brother's statement. Tyrion was capable to make a woman happy. His first wife had been happy with him. He didn't know how it was possible, but she had been. If a common girl had been happy with Tyrion, had even loved him, why not a highborn lady whose parents were abandoning to a dwarf like Tyrion said? Jaime knew his brother wanted a wife who would love him.
"I'm sure that no matter who you are wed to, little brother, you'll be able to make her happy," Jaime tried to reassure him, though he wasn't as certain as he tried to sound. Wine didn't help to make him look sure of himself.
Tyrion grinned. "It's very kind to you, dear brother, but I know who I am. I am a dwarf, and the greatest source of profits for all the brothels in the Westerlands and King's Landing. Perhaps I should have sent you to Highgarden instead of Daven."
"Highgarden? What the hell is Daven doing in Highgarden?"
"Trying to convince a family to give their rose to a devilish imp," Tyrion said on a dark tone.
Highgarden was the seat of House Tyrell, the Wardens of the South. Convince a family to give their rose… Jaime could barely believe it. "Margaery Tyrell! You've got to be kidding me!"
"If someone is kidding, it's Kevan, but he's not good at making japes. He wrote to Mace Tyrell as soon as Father was dead. He's trying to convince him to give the hand of his precious rose to me. Daven went to Highgarden for a tourney in order to discuss it." Jaime was still astonished, even drunk as he was. Tyrion, married to the Rose of Highgarden? He burst into laughs. That was too much. He couldn't hold it back. Tyrion joined him. "Imagine it, Jaime. The Imp of Casterly Rock and the Rose of Highgarden. We will be the strangest couple there ever was."
Jaime was in no place to argue with Tyrion on that. Perhaps there had been a more awkward marriage in history, but Tyrion knew far more about it than him. Jaime had never been interested in the history lessons Maester Creylen once gave him, no more than Cersei had been. That had helped a lot when they exchanged places in their childhood. No matter who attended Creylen's lessons and the identity he or she took, they were both bored to death by history.
Jaime laughed for a very long time. He didn't know for how long, but he thought a servant brought more jugs. When he finally managed to control his laughter in some small way, he couldn't say anything intelligent. "Well, little brother. You'll send me an invitation for your marriage with your rose."
"She's not my rose, Jaime," Tyrion said seriously. "We're not even betrothed. And if she and her family were to refuse the proposal, I would understand them. I won't marry an unwilling bride. If she doesn't want to marry me, then no matter what Kevan does, I will not allow the marriage to take place, even if this must start a war."
Jaime was paralyzed by Tyrion's firmness. His eyes were not lying. He wouldn't marry a girl who didn't want to marry him. That would make things quite difficult. "Then who will you marry, if the Tyrell girl refuses?"
Tyrion sighed. "I've been thinking about Alysanne Lefford, the heir of the Golden Tooth. I met her a few years ago, and she didn't seem to hate me. Perhaps there's some hope on that ground. Kevan doesn't see her as a bad match."
Jaime had to agree. He remembered the Leffords were second after the Lannisters for the wealth in the Westerlands. A marriage with a Lefford would be very good, and if she didn't hate Tyrion, that was all for the better. As long as Lord Lefford agreed to the match.
They kept talking and drinking a little while longer and Jaime soon didn't know what he was doing or saying. He remembered a girl with red hair coming into the rooms. She seemed surprised to see Jaime, but Tyrion told her to stay, then said to Jaime it was probably time to leave. His little brother was right. He was drunk, and tired, and it was late in the night. He left and stumbled all the way to his own chambers, requiring the help of a page to find his way back to them. He fell on his bed, half-conscious, without changing his clothes or washing himself, and fell asleep not long later.
Jaime dreamed that night. He remembered an alley, all dirty and filled with shit and trash. And a girl, a very young girl. She couldn't be older than fifteen. Her black hair was falling in tangles all around her face, her eyes filled with tears that streamed all over her face, falling on her thighs barely covered by her ripped clothes. She was sitting in a corner of the alley, among all the refuse. There was a puddle of blood under her legs. Jaime knew what it meant. During his campaign against the Kingswood Brotherhood, and shortly during Robert's Rebellion, he had seen things just like this. He knew the girl would die soon. She had been raped by almost forty men, and that was Jaime's doing. He had managed to find her after many hours of research and it was almost night now. The girl looked up at him, only to hide her face in her arms immediately. Her legs were tightened against her tummy. Jaime had saved her no more than two weeks ago, only to give her to a worse fate a few hours ago.
Jaime didn't know what to do. What could he do? She didn't have very long to live. She remained there, crying, and Jaime could only look, see what he had done. How would he ever be able to tell Tyrion? Could he tell him? No, he couldn't. Tyrion would hate him forever if he did. And anyway, that would only break Tyrion even more. It was still better to keep Father's story. It would hurt, but far less than the truth. Perhaps Lord Tywin Lannister was right. She may be only an opportunist who wanted to enhance her station by marrying the son of a great lord, perhaps the future lord of Casterly Rock. But this… Jaime couldn't see that in the girl right now. She was his sister-in-law, and Jaime had lied to her husband.
"I'm sorry," Jaime finally said.
The girl finally looked at him. There was anger on her face, an anger there wasn't when he had told her in real life. "You lied to him. You lied to your brother. You dare to call him your brother. You had me raped. His wife."
In real life, she had said nothing, but Jaime had said the same things he told her in his dream. He told her he wasn't the one to organize this, that it was all his father's fault, and that he had no idea he would give her to his men. He apologized many times, more than he could count. The girl hadn't looked back at him, only sobbed even more. He did no good by telling her this, but he had to tell someone. In the dream, she only looked even more scornful at him.
"You are a knight. You swore to protect the innocent. To defend the weak." I also promised to obey my father. What am I to do if my father has innocents raped and flogged. "You feel you did the right thing by killing the Mad King. You feel you acted like a knight should. But you are no true knight. You're a man without honor." Then she took a knife she hid behind her back. "You'll bear my death on your soul for the rest of your life, Kingslayer." The blade sank into her throat, and Tysha Lannister's body fell on the floor, drowning in her own blood.
Jaime awakened all sweating, his mouth dry. His heart was pounding wildly. That wasn't how it had happened. She had plunged the knife in her throat, but she had never said anything. Jaime wondered where she got it. Probably it was among all the abandoned things in this alley. But the Tysha of his dream was right. He stood against the Mad King when it came to save King's Landing, but when it came to save his brother's wife, he let his father do. He was responsible for the death of the girl. He could have done something. He could have defeated his father's guards before they took her right in front of Tyrion. But he didn't. He deserved to be despised by everyone, but not for killing his king. He saved half a million people that day. He did the right thing. He knew it. However, he deserved to be hated for what he had done to the wheelwright's orphan. But no one cared for what he had done to her. No one would remember Tysha Lannister, the girl his father ordered his men to rape to the death. But everyone would remember Aerys Targaryen.
On the morning, Jaime bent the knee before Tyrion to acknowledge him as Lord of the Rock. Jaime was free from a great burden by doing this and very happy to kneel before his little brother. No one would be able to contest Tyrion's rightful place as Lord of Casterly Rock now. Not even Cersei. Jaime would make sure of that. He owed this to Tyrion, and a Lannister always pays his debts.
One of the books in Tyrion's solar, The Lion and the Rose, is a real book written by author Hilary Rhodes, also known as qqueenofhades on fanfiction sites. This book is in the same style than Game of Thrones, but it is a historical fiction.
By the way, everyone who ships Tyrion/Sansa, I invite you to read the last chapter I uploaded in my other fic, "A Shadow and a Wolf". (Chapter 73, Sansa XIX)
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Next chapter: Cersei
