After one month of waiting, here it is, the first of five chapters in five days, marking the moment where this fanfiction truly diverges from canon. I'm not joking.


TYRION XIII

"If I understand what happened, you charged Robb Stark with only the vanguard the moment you spotted his banners?"

Tyrion was sitting in his solar in the Tower of the Hand, a cup of wine in hand, his brother across his position, another cup in hand, all muddied and sweating from his journey through the Riverlands and the Crownlands.

"As soon as Addam told me he saw their banners, yes," Jaime replied. That was indeed a great difference, Tyrion thought sarcastically.

"You should have waited for Kevan and his men."

"We spent weeks sitting on our asses, doing nothing, waiting for the Stark boy to do something and for you to finally tell us we could go after him. I was tired of waiting."

"This changes nothing to the fact you should have waited for Kevan. If you had, we may not have lost this battle, and Kevan may not be a prisoner of the Starks with his boys."

Jaime shook his head and emptied his cup in one swift swallow. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize to me. Wait for Kevan to be free, and then you'll apologize to him, and to his sons." And to all the men we lost in the battle, all for nothing.

Jaime had just come back from Harrenhal with most of their troops. Of the thirty thousand men who accompanied Kevan in the Riverlands, twenty thousand came back to King's Landing. Three thousand were left at Harrenhal to hold the fortress and keep what river lords remained on their side. The Battle of the Kingsroad made a few reconsider their recent allegiance to Joffrey, but after news of the defeat of Edmure Tully at the Golden Tooth and the siege of Riverrun reached their ears, the situation came unchanged. Kevan had been captured by Robb Stark, but he left specific instructions to his lieutenants in this eventuality to fall back on Harrenhal and regroup all the men they could so they would block the path of Robb Stark to the capital. Kevan had been very clever to do so. If he had left Jaime to take command of the army, his brother might have been smashing his head against Robb Stark's host until him and all his men were dead. Then Tyrion would have nothing to stand between Robb Stark and Stannis Baratheon and the Iron Throne.

Now that Renly was dead, all the reports Tyrion received pointed toward an imminent attack on the city. Tyrion had been making preparations, ordering Bywater to hurry the training of the gold cloaks, increasing the guard and the defenses on the city walls, and talking the High Septon to talk against Stannis, using the rumors concerning his relationship with the Red Priestess and spreading word that Stannis would burn the Great Sept of Baelor and all the other septs in the Seven Kingdoms if he seized power. Tyrion used an information that Stannis burned sacred sites in Storm's End when the castle surrendered the night following Renly's death. He only omitted to mention that the sacred sites in question were not related to the Seven, but to the Old Gods.

Tyrion tried to not be too harsh on Jaime, but he couldn't deny his brother's decision to charge Stark's rearguard had been stupid and inconsiderate. They were lucky Kevan was careful enough to not risk everything in this battle. Tyrion had come to appreciate his uncle's help since his father's death. People could say Kevan Lannister seldom had an idea Tywin Lannister didn't have first, but even though Tyrion had thought so for a time and still believed there was some truth in it, Kevan proved to be a valuable advisor and officer. He just proved it once again on the Kingsroad. He probably saved the war in the Riverlands by his timely intervention in the battle and prevented their army to be entirely destroyed. Tyrion was glad that Jaime survived, and he would never exchange his brother for Kevan, but he wished Kevan hadn't been captured.

"You think they're in danger?" Jaime asked.

"I don't think so. They're too valuable to be killed. We have Sansa Stark. Her brother will not risk injuring Kevan or his sons, if only out of fear that his sister might pay the price."

"You forget about Ned Stark. What's telling you his son will not avenge his father by killing Kevan?"

Tyrion had thought about it, true, and he feared Robb Stark was certainly tempted to chop Kevan's head off his body. "If Robb Stark is anything like his father, he won't. Anyway, he's after Joffrey, not Kevan. I think he will only keep him a hostage and maybe try to use him as a bargain to get Sansa back."

What reassured Tyrion was the fact Robb Stark was recently given back his other sister, Arya. It might have tempered his wish to kill all the Lannisters he saw. Mira Forrester may have increased the chances of survival for Kevan when she freed Arya.

"Are you going to trade him for Sansa?" Jaime asked.

"No, I can't."

"Of course not." Jaime took another sip and Tyrion followed. It was strange to think that Jaime might be drinking more than he did. Margaery had a far too good influence on him.

"So, did we make all this way for something, or were we stupid to let Robb Stark go?" Jaime asked.

"Varys says an attack on King's Landing is imminent. Stannis will use all the might of the Stormlands and Dragonstone. We can expect about twenty thousand men if he fills his ships at their full capacity. He has a considerable fleet to ferry them. I suspect he will attack the Mud Gate. We have twenty thousand men of our own outside the walls, along with two thousand inside the city and four thousand gold cloaks."

"So we have the advantage of numbers."

"Yes, if Stannis attacks us quickly, and that's what I think he will do. However, if the fight lingers, he can bring reinforcements from the Stormlands, about ten thousand men he cannot embark on his ships. Not to mention Robb Stark can turn around if Stannis orders him."

"What are the Tyrells doing?" Jaime asked. "Their lands are next to the Stormlands. If someone could distract Stannis, it would be them. What are they waiting to help us? Does Mace Tyrell not care about his daughter?"

Tyrion sighed. "I received a raven from him yesterday. He officially declared for Joffrey and renewed his loyalty unconditionally. He swore that he would know no peace until Stannis' head was on a spike."

"Finally! What took him so long? With Renly dead, I expected he would side with you right away. What did he need to change his mind?"

Tyrion shifted his eyes from his cup to Jaime. "His son is dead."

Jaime was about to drink some more wine. He stopped the movement before the cup reached his lips. "Loras Tyrell?"

"To your knowledge, has Mace Tyrell another son? I know you're used to say that Cersei thinks herself to be Tywin Lannister with tits, but I hope you don't see my wife as a man."

"Calm down. Loras Tyrell is dead?"

"Deader than dead. His body was found next to Renly's in his own tent."

"Well, I suppose it won't surprise many people."

"Jaime, you're talking about my brother-in-law," Tyrion warned him.

"Come on, Tyrion. Don't tell me you loved him. You said yourself he wanted to kill you the day you married his sister. And he was ready to fight us to put his lover on the throne."

"He was my brother-in-law, Jaime."

"Just like Robert Baratheon."

"How do you think Margaery feels right now?"

The half-amused expression Jaime disappeared immediately. "Oh." He sighed. "I'm sorry, Tyrion. I didn't think about that."

"It's alright, Jaime." Tyrion slumped into his chair and took a sip of wine at the same time than his brother.

Jaime was right, Tyrion had never loved Loras. The young knight was always insufferable with him. Margaery was upset as well with her brother's behavior towards him. She said he didn't seem to understand she could love him. On that, Tyrion couldn't entirely blame the brother-in-law, but he thought that after seeing how he treated his sister, the Knight of Flowers would at least become a little civil. He never did. Instead, the fool went to support Renly. He should have known that doing so, he would end up fighting against his sister. Tyrion tried to imagine himself fighting his own family, and it was unconceivable for him. Even with Cersei and Joffrey, although he could lock them in their chambers or maybe exile them so they couldn't cause problems and so he could rule Westeros, he couldn't conceive going into war against them. They were family, of the same blood than him. Killing them wasn't something he could consider seriously. He wouldn't cry if they died, but he would never be the cause of their death, nor let someone kill them if he could stop it.

Margaery was on her way to King's Landing. She would be back soon. He received word from her today. She stopped at a castle in the Crownlands and wrote to him, confirming she was still alive. Tyrion had been afraid something might have happened to her. Renly Baratheon had been killed, and Margaery had gone to see him. Tyrion worried for days. Her raven relieved him like it never happened before.

Her message mentioned the deaths of Renly and Loras. Tyrion wasn't really mourning his brother-in-law, but he knew how close to her brother Margaery was. Tyrion was very close to Jaime, so he could imagine what his wife was going through right now. In fact, he was mourning for Loras Tyrell, but not for his death. He was mourning because of the pain it inflicted on Margaery.

"What would you do if it was Cersei?" Tyrion asked his brother.

"What I would do? If it was Cersei what?"

"If… if Cersei was going through something difficult like that, what would you do? To help her?"

Jaime seemed lost for a moment. He looked away. He had the expression of someone who just realized something.

"I don't know."

This discussion took place three days ago. Since then, Tyrion had been busy all day, working with Vylarr, Jaime, Bywater, Marbrand and all the other officers of the Lannister army to make sure the city was ready for the arrival of Stannis Baratheon. Varys said Stannis would be there within days. Battlements were reinforced, men trained all day, their own fleet was ready. Tyrion also had a little surprise in store for Stannis' ships. The Guild of Alchemists provided him with a deadly weapon that, if used appropriately, would save the city. He didn't tell this and other details of his plan to Jaime, in fear he might bring it to Cersei's ears.

His sister was a renewed source of worry for him. Tyrion had almost convinced Joffrey to send her away to the Shield Islands, in the Reach. It was the day Myrcella left, on the docks, before the riot happened. The only problem was Joffrey started the said riot afterwards, and in a fist of rage, Tyrion slapped him. Sansa Stark managed to escape the angry mob alive, no thanks to the king. As a result, Joffrey had tossed aside the idea of sending his mother away and Cersei remained in the capital. She was a real pain in the ass ever since. Tyrion had to keep her away all time, and every discussion with her was an ordeal. A recent dinner was particularly painful, as Cersei accused him to trying to have her son killed. She said he was trying to have Joffrey killed by having him fight on the battlements. Joffrey was the one who decided to fight. Tyrion didn't oppose the idea. For the first time, Joffrey might do something useful. His presence would inspire the men, and that wasn't as if he would lead their army on the battlefield. In fact, Tyrion suspected Joffrey wanted to be on the battlements because he was sure he could assist to Stannis' defeat from there. His kingsguards would protect him and Tyrion made sure he had the best armor that could be found in the city. His repulsive nephew wouldn't have to fight.

Tyrion was reading a report about the movements of Robb Stark. Ned Stark's son was travelling north. By all accounts, he was heading to Riverrun to lift the siege Stafford put in place. This meant Tyrion would only have to deal with Stannis in King's Landing. An army strong of ten thousand men was also marching on the Reach and Mace Tyrell was moving to intercept it. Tyrion's father-in-law had only raised one army. He was sending it all to stop the forces of Stannis while he raised other troops. Tyrion would have liked if Highgarden could send them a few men to help them defend King's Landing, but the Tyrells joined the war too late and now they had no time to send reinforcements. Stannis did well to send an army to invade the Reach. Mace Tyrell wouldn't let his lands be devastated after his son died. It kept his men occupied and prevented him from sending men to the capital. In the meantime, Stannis would make his attempt to take the city.

Tyrion thought he had a good idea of Stannis' strategy by now. Stannis was playing his master move on King's Landing. He wanted the Iron Throne and he was moving to obtain a quick victory by taking it. Tyrion had to admit it made sense. Now that the Tyrells were at his side, Stannis knew he didn't have the means to win a war of attrition. He had fewer men, poorest lands, fewer resources in all domains. He had the upper hand on the western waters, but as soon as the Redwyne fleet would invade the Narrow Sea, he would lose it. His best and only chance of victory was to move quickly and destroy his enemy's forces now. However, it also meant he couldn't make any mistake. Any defeat Stannis suffered would inflict irreparable losses upon his forces. The Lannisters and the Tyrells, on the other side, still had the means to levy more men. Stannis had no reserves. All his available forces were engaged and he had fewer than Tyrion even then. Stannis could bring twenty thousand men on the shores at best. Tyrion had more than twenty-five thousand and the advantage of defensive ground. That meant he wasn't to underestimate Stannis under any circumstances. The man wouldn't hold anything back, which meant Tyrion wasn't to hold anything either. They would both throw everything at each other. However, Tyrion had something special to throw to Stannis.

The door opened. Ty announced Mira Forrester. She walked in after Tyrion authorized her. She sat after Tyrion invited her to do so. Tyrion thought she looked a little bit paler than usual, but it was hard to say since she had a very pale skin by nature.

"Lady Mira. How is the Lady Sansa?" he asked.

"Just like you said, my lord. She is terrorized and she trusts no one."

"Does she trust you?"

"I think she feels more comfortable with me around, but she's not opening to me."

"So, no progress?"

"Well, maybe some. There are times, very few times, when she will say that she is afraid, worried…"

"Of course, she is. She is betrothed to Joffrey."

"But I think she means that she's afraid about her family. About Bran and Rickon who may be dead, about her mother, and everyone else. She's not saying it directly to me, but I can read between the lines."

"She's not feeling safe enough to confide in you openly," Tyrion concluded.

"No, my lord. But I can't blame her for that."

"Neither do I, but I would like her to not be terrorized anymore. Joffrey didn't dare to approach her since she moved into the Tower of the Hand."

"She's living in the same castle than the boy who had her father killed. Maybe the best way to make her feel safe is to send her away, to Casterly Rock or Highgarden, or anywhere else in the Reach or the Westerlands," she boldly replied.

"True," Tyrion acknowledged. This handmaiden was too direct. Maybe that's why Tyrion liked her. "However, she is Joffrey's betrothed, and my nephew will not let her go so easily."

He couldn't manage to convince Joffrey to send his mother away long enough for him to actually do it. He doubted he could try the same for Sansa Stark and succeed.

"There is one thing Sansa talks about more openly, my lord," the northern girl said.

"What is it?" Tyrion asked, his mind interested again.

"Lady Margaery. I think Sansa trusts her. She warned her about Joffrey long before anyone else." So did I, and of course she didn't listen. "Sansa wants to know more about her. It's something she feels comfortable to talk about. I think Lady Margaery…"

Pounds resonated on the door and Ty's voice came through it. "My lord, a rider just arrived. Lady Margaery is coming."

Everything went very quickly afterwards. Tyrion went straight to the portcullis to see his wife arrive. First, he waited in the courtyard, but he ended climbing the steps to the battlements with his short legs and looking through the crenellations to see if Margaery was approaching. Had he not been the Lord of Casterly Rock, one of the guards watching over the portcullis might have asked him either he shall describe what was going on or find him a box. It didn't happen, and he examined the horizon, looking for any sign of his wife approaching.

"Where is she?" Tyrion asked to the nearest man, not averting his gaze a moment.

"Who?" the man, whoever he was, answered.

"My wife," he replied sharply.

"Oh, I don't know."

"She must have over twenty men with her, with the banners of two powerful houses. You couldn't have missed her."

"I'm sorry, my lord. I saw nothing."

Tyrion had to refrain himself from slapping this idiot. His wife had been absent for weeks. He was worried that something might have happened to her after Renly Baratheon died. During a conversation he had with Cersei during that period of uncertainty, before he received his wife's raven saying that she was on her way, his sister had pointed he might need to find a new wife to warm his bed soon, if he didn't already welcome whores. Tyrion had immediately retorted that if anything happened to Margaery, he would hold Cersei and Joffrey responsible and make them pay.

"Be careful, little brother. I do not take threats lightly," she had warned him then.

"I hope you don't. When I make threats, I have the means to execute them unlike certain people," he retorted.

He lied to his wife, had his men fight against Robb Stark, and soon he would fight Stannis along the men of Margaery's father. He did everything to protect his sister and her horrible child, despite everything they did, because they were his family, with the same blood running in their veins. If Cersei had not been his sister and Joffrey his nephew, they would have died long ago. He would help them and see them safe through this war, but they owed him very much for that, and Tyrion would make sure they pay their debts.

A large crowd began to take shape in the paved street leading to the Red Keep. Tyrion knew immediately what it meant. She was already in the city. After one minute or two, he saw the two banners, and the soldiers both red and green advancing. And among them, riding a horse with traveling clothes, was his wife.

He wasn't sure if she could see him until her escort arrived before the gates. Their eyes met when she gazed at the battlements. From there, Tyrion could see how worn out she was. Dust and sweat had accumulated during her journey, but it wasn't her physical appearance that struck him the most. It was her eyes. As soon as the portcullis started to open, he climbed down the stairs. He almost stumbled but managed to get to the courtyard on his feet rather than his face.

She was down from her horse just when he reached her. He didn't have time to say anything before she threw herself on him, her face into his shoulder. She cried right away. All Tyrion could do was wrap his arms around her head and whisper the first words that came to his mind.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

She moved her head so her lips grazed his ear. She had done it before, in very different circumstances. "We need to talk, now. Right now."

There was a real urge in her voice. It said there was no time to discuss. The woman in his arms may be crying, but she wasn't lost. The shrewd woman who knew how to handle and move through courts and kingdoms was still there, hidden under the façade of a sister broken by the death of her brother.

"Yes."

With that simple word, Tyrion led her to the Red Keep. Vylarr had mustered a few of his men to welcome Margaery, and her handmaidens and servants were there as well, but she held them at bay, the right movement of the arm and her bowed head meaning she wanted to be alone with her husband.

Once they were in their private apartments in the Tower of the Hand, Tyrion looked at her more closely. Her eyes were red and her face paler than usual. She was also shaking. But there was also something else, something Tyrion didn't see when he saw her again first, but now he could see it. He knew his wife better than anyone, and he knew she was angry, even furious. Before he could say anything, she spoke.

"It was Cersei."

Tyrion blinked. "What?"

"It was Cersei who did this."

What had his sister done again? "What did she do?"

"She killed Loras."

Tyrion had his breathing cut short. "What?"

"Mandon Moore."

It took him one second to understand. "Moore killed Loras?"

"Yes. I was there. I saw everything."

She wasn't lying. Tyrion knew his wife wouldn't lie to him like he lied to her, and certainly not on this. "What happened?"

"I was in Renly's pavilion, trying to convince him to stop fighting Joffrey." Tyrion noticed a scorn in his wife's voice when she said the name of his nephew. Lately, the same scorn was seldom absent of his own voice when he talked about Joffrey. "Catelyn Stark was there too, and Brienne of Tarth."

"Catelyn Stark? She was in the Stormlands?" The rumors were true.

"Yes. She had gone to Dragonstone to see Stannis Baratheon and make an alliance with him. She was trying to convince Renly to bend the knee before his brother."

"Poor Renly, spending his last hours with women trying to make him kneel. If it wasn't for his personal preferences, he might have enjoyed it." He went on another subject as soon as he saw the disapproval in Margaery's eyes. "And you say Brienne of Tarth was there too? Isn't she the daughter of Selwyn Tarth, the Lord of Tarth."

"Yes, she was Renly's kingsguard, helping him to prepare for battle."

"Well, that is something new." There had been women on the small council in the past, a queen for a short time during the Dance of the Dragons, and of course female dragon riders but never had the Kingsguard included women. "Some words that reached us pretended she killed Renly."

"No, she didn't. It was a shadow." Tyrion wasn't sure if he heard well. "A shadow with the face of Stannis Baratheon."

It didn't make any more sense. "A shadow?" he asked, doubtful.

"I saw it, Tyrion. I was there. Catelyn Stark and Brienne of Tarth saw it too. The other kingsguards entered the tent when they heard screams and saw Renly on the floor, in a pool of his blood. They assumed it was Brienne who killed him since she was kneeling over him. But I know what truly happened, I was there."

"Are you sure that it is what you saw? A shadow?"

"Yes."

Tyrion wouldn't have believed anyone else, but with Margaery it was different. Was it possible she was so troubled by her brother's death that she imagined this? He didn't think so. His wife seemed in perfect control of herself. She wasn't mad.

"So, a shadow with the face of Stannis Baratheon somehow managed to enter Renly's tent and to kill him. You, Lady Stark and Brienne of Tarth all saw it, but no one else did and they assumed one of you killed him," he summarized, expecting a confirmation of this unlikely tale.

"Yes," Margaery confirmed.

"What happened next?"

"The kingsguards who were outside ran in, they found Brienne over Lord Renly's body and they attacked her. She dealt with them. And then Loras came in. He thought the same as the others and he attacked her. There was a fight. I tried to intervene, to stop him, and then…"

She sat down and covered her face with one hand as she began to sob. Her strength was gone in an instant. Tyrion felt powerless. Her brother was dead and here she was, the woman he loved, crying, and he didn't know what to do. He slowly approached her and, after some hesitation, he placed a hand he hoped to be comforting on his wife's hand that remained on her knees. She gripped it and removed the tears from her cheeks.

"Mandon Moore." She looked at him, her steely stare back. "He killed Loras. He just walked in and he killed him." Another tear fell from her right eye.

"I'm sorry." He didn't know what else to say.

"Cersei did this. It's all because of her."

"Wait." He placed his other hand below hers, holding it with both his hands now. "I know you've been through a lot. You just lost your brother, but you said you tried to stop him from fighting. Moore probably just believed you were in danger and tried to protect you. Have you talked about it with him?"

"No, because he's dead. After he tried to kill me too."

Time seemed to stop. "Moore tried to kill you?"

"Right after he killed Loras, he was about to stab me in the back. Lady Brienne saved me. If it wasn't for her, I would be dead right now."

Tyrion looked down at her hand he was holding, understanding something he suspected from the beginning but that he hoped to be untrue. "That's why Cersei suggested he go with you."

"Of course. Why else would she suggest that I be accompanied by a kingsguard?"

Jaime said Mandon Moore was the most dangerous knight in the Kingsguard, for his eyes never told what he was about to do. There was no better man for an assassination job. Cersei wouldn't have sent Boros or Meryn. They were not clever enough for this. As for Clegane, he was needed to follow her son everywhere like a dog. Moore was without any doubt the best choice if she wanted someone to be killed. The victim would only realize it the moment she was about to die.

As he thought about that, Tyrion felt the anger rising in him. He had warned Cersei. She could try anything against him. He would certainly not forgive her, but he wouldn't forget she was his sister either. This time, however, she tried to kill Margaery. She was the only one in King's Landing with a motive to kill her, and she suggested that Ser Mandon Moore should accompany Margaery in the Stormlands. Tyrion wished the kingsguard was still alive so he could have him tortured until the man begged to be killed, after he gave Tyrion all the information he could gather. Instead, he would deal with Cersei, and he would deal with her now.

His feet turned, beginning the movement to walk outside the room, gather his men and start to make his sister's life such a living hell that she would beg for death and he would refuse it to her, but he was held back by his wife.

"Tyrion, there's something else. We should stop Joffrey."

He nodded. "I know. I'm keeping him far away from any situation where he might exercise his power. With his latest decisions…"

"No, Tyrion. Joffrey cannot be king. We have to get rid of him."

Tyrion was stunned. He tried to see any sign that Margaery was joking, but there were none. Her eyes told him she was more serious than she had ever been.

"You can't mean it. He's my nephew."

She took something in her gown and laid it on the table next to her. It was a dagger. "When I met Catelyn Stark at Storm's End, she gave me this. It belongs to Joffrey. It's the dagger we gave him for his name day last year."

Tyrion turned his attention towards the dagger. He released his wife's hand and unsheathed the blade. "You're right. It's this one." He recognized the handle in silver and the green stone. He looked at her, something dawning on him. "What was Catelyn Stark doing with this?"

"You remember the assassination attempt on Brandon Stark? The assassin used this."

Tyrion looked at the dagger, then to Margaery. "How did Joffrey's dagger end in the hands of a common footpad?"

"What sort of imbecile arms an assassin with his own blade?" Margaery asked.

It didn't take long for Tyrion to know this was a rhetorical question. They both knew the answer to this. Cersei wasn't foolish enough to send an assassin after Bran, but Joffrey… Send a dog to kill a wolf. On a cold morning, when he was climbing the steps to the library of Winterfell, he heard Joffrey jesting with the Hound about killing wolves. Of course, only Joffrey could do this. He must have found the fool to perform this task amongst the freeriders and merchants following Robert, some lackwit ready to risk his life for a few coins and the favor of the prince.

"Joffrey did this," Tyrion said, clenching the dagger in his hand.

All this war, everything that happened since Winterfell, was because of the stupid cruelty and the cruel stupidity of a spoiled boy that his sister brought into the world. Had Joffrey and Cersei been there in this moment, he would have strangled them to death. Nothing could have stopped him until he drained every breath of life out of them.

"Tyrion, we cannot support a king like Joffrey. He's a monster."

"Yes, he is." It had been a long time since he knew that, but he protected the boy all the same.

"Tyrion, I believe Joffrey is not Robert's son." He looked back immediately to Margaery, so quickly that his neck might have snapped. "I spoke with Catelyn Stark, and I had a lot of time to think about it. We know that Eddard Stark wouldn't believe that Joffrey was a bastard unless he had proofs of it, and he wouldn't declare it to the world if he wasn't sure of it. We haven't found a single clue as to who might have made him believe that and how proofs would have been created. Eddard Stark wouldn't just believe Stannis Baratheon's word. He found something. I don't believe he was wrong."

Cold water was running into his veins as Margaery looked at him, a sorry expression on her face. "Tyrion, I know you think you know Jaime and Cersei, and I think you do know them, but I also know you, and I know you crave for the love of your siblings, even after everything they did. I think you're somehow lying to yourself, or that you refuse to consider this. I understand why you do this, and I don't blame you. But I think Joffrey is probably their son."

He couldn't detach his eyes from her. Fear grew in his mind as his heartbeat quickened.

"Truth be told, I believe Joffrey is their son. I'm almost certain of that. Look at him. He's a monster."

Their eyes were locked for a very long time. His face had to show complete stupor. Margaery probably believed he couldn't believe what he just heard. She was looking at him with an expression of pity, believing it was something very hard to believe for him. She believed he knew nothing.

She believed it because he lied to her, because he hid the truth to her, so that he could have her father's armies with him in this war. He lied to her in order to protect a nephew he despised and a sister who tried to kill him, and who now just tried to kill her. He protected this woman, and Margaery believed him. She never seriously questioned everything he told her until now. But she wasn't questioning him. She was questioning what she thought he believed. She believed he had been fooled like everyone else.

He shook his head and turned away, unable to hold her gaze, unable to look at her any longer.

"Tyrion."

Her voice was so beautiful. She wasn't a fantastic singer, but she sang decently, and Tyrion always revelled at the beauty of her voice. She was perfect. Tyrion had fallen in love with her, coming to a point where he didn't only mean the words he said before the altar with his mind, but also with his heart. She was the dearest thing to him in this world. Not only did he love her, she loved him.

"Tyrion, you don't know Jaime and Cersei well enough. You're blinded by your wish to have them love you. You don't see them for who they really are."

He gripped the edges of a table he reached, his back turned to Margaery.

"You're wrong," he said. He heard her sigh. She was pitying him. It hurt. It was a pity he didn't deserve.

"Tyrion…"

"I know Jaime and Cersei very well, better than anyone. Maybe better than themselves."

He heard her approach. He wished she would stay away.

"Tyrion, I wish you could just consider the possibility…"

He cut her short. "I don't need to consider anything." She sighed again. He heard her steps back to her chair.

"I don't need to consider something I already know," he said before she could sit. He heard her stop in her motion. "I don't know when they began. Maybe it started before I was even born. All I know is that it lasted for many years, even before Robert married Cersei, and it continues today."

He slowly turned around. When he met the gaze of his wife, her expression was entirely different. "What did you say?"

For now, there was no anger in her voice. She was surprised and taken aback like she thought Tyrion had been only a moment ago. The words poured out of his mouth.

"Stannis is telling the truth. Robert Baratheon had no children. Joffrey, Myrcella, Tommen, they're all Jaime's."

For a time that looked like an eternity, they just stared at each other. Finally, the moment Tyrion dreaded the most came when Margaery spoke.

"You knew it all along?" she asked, her voice trembling.

"Yes," he replied with a very low voice.

"Why? Why did you hide this to me?" He didn't answer. He couldn't find a right way to answer. He just looked away, unable to bear the gaze of the women he loved. "I… I supported you, I helped you, I believed you. Why did you lie to me about this?"

Again, he didn't answer. She scoffed.

"I don't get it. Cersei tried to murder you, by the Seven! She's tried to overthrow you, she tried to have me killed, and yet you defend her?!"

"I'm not defending Cersei," he said.

"You're protecting her, just like you protect Joffrey. He's a monster. You despise him. I heard stories on my way here. I heard he's shooting people with a crossbow for fun."

"Yes, he also started a riot because someone pitched him some dirt and he had Sansa Stark beaten in front of the whole court," he added bitterly.

His wife scoffed again. His last words didn't make things better. "I cannot understand."

"They are my family," he offered as an explanation.

"A family who's tried to kill you. A family who made your life miserable. You told me about this. Unless you lied to me about it as well."

"No, everything I told you about my relationships with Cersei and Jaime is true. I only lied about their relationship."

"How can you protect them? They never did anything for you. They never behaved like they were your brother and sister."

"That's not true!" His tone rose and he looked back to Margaery. "Cersei was always horrible and insufferable with me, it's true. She always hated me, but not Jaime. He's the only one in my family who was ever close to me, the only one who really loved me."

"And yet he hired a whore for you and then let your father have her raped by his guards after you married her."

That hurt. The memory of his first wife rushed back. The image of her being raped appeared more lively than ever.

"How could you lie to me?" she asked again.

"I'm sorry," she said weakly.

"You're sorry?" Before he could realize what was going on, she was next to him, taking his chin with one hand and slapping him across the cheek with the other.

He massaged the place she hit. It was painful. When he looked back to her, she was trembling, but still angry. She had every right to be. "I probably deserved this," he said.

"You deserve much more than that. Loras is dead!"

"I never wanted this."

"He's dead! Because of this war. Because of you. He would still be alive if you hadn't protected Joffrey." She was close to tears again. Margaery turned away. "Leave. I don't want to see you."

"Margaery…"

"Leave!"

She cut him short. He wanted to say something, anything, but there was nothing he could do. So he obeyed her and walked away, grabbing Joffrey's blade on the way. Once he was on the other side of the door, he looked at it. He heard his wife sobbing on the other side. He wanted to go back, do something, anything, to make things right, but there was nothing he could do. Her brother was dead, and he died fighting a war Tyrion's nephew started. He had hurt her in the worst possible way.

He looked at the blade. It was this weapon that started the whole war, and Joffrey's stupid decision to have a boy of ten killed. He looked back at the door, still hearing the cries of his wife, and he felt a rage he rarely felt invading him. He walked away quickly and went to the barracks where he found Vylarr.

"Assemble your twenty best men. We have work to do."

They headed for the White Sword Tower.


I think we can agree this was inevitable. The truth was going to come out sooner or later. No secret can be held indefinitely.

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Next chapter (tomorrow): Jaime