Tywin

If there was one solace he could take from all this madness and chaos it was that his family at least knew how to grieve properly.

When he'd learned from his spies just how quickly Cersei had moved past her grief at Robert's death he had been livid. Oh, he knew that Cersei didn't love the man… he could even understand why she didn't. Plenty of women didn't love their lord husbands, just as plenty of men loathed and despised their lady wives. Such had been true with Cersei and Robert. He had longed for Lyanna Stark and Cersei had been an utter failure in charming him to her side. She had tried to act like a Southern Flower, being alluring and enticing, forgetting that Robert had been drawn to the wild she-wolf; why not, when the blood of the Baratheons had been so strong in him, making him more barbarian warlord than king? Cersei had always whined in her youth at wanting to be treated like Jaime… Robert had given her that chance! All she needed to do was walk up to her new husband and ask in private for him to teach her the ways of the sword. Robert would have been delighted and they could have found a way to bond over that. Not all queens needed to be soft and gentle… Aegon's brides had been warriors, after all. Tywin would have accepted such actions if she had merely explained her reasonings.

But no. Cersei had tried to get by with the bare minimum, as was her want, and as a result Robert had never loved her and she had been insulted that he didn't instantly grovel at her feet. The hatred had grown and when his death had come the foolish girl had decided that there was little reason to hide it.

She'd sung all the pretty tunes, given all her excuses. Eddard Stark had moved to seize power just after his friend's death and the needs to deal with him had forced her to cut her mourning short. He had dismissed all her pathetic justifications for her poor showing of grief rather quickly, much to her own surprise. She had clearly thought that he would just accept what she said; King's Landing had rotted her memory, with far too many simpering fools doing just that when she spoke. Eddard Stark's betrayal was all the more reason to grieve. She had held a grand feast THE EVENING after he had been thrown into the Black Cells, feasting on the boar that had killed her husband. Oh, she had told everyone it was to honor him, claiming that Robert had asked for such a feast… Tywin could believe that. But Cersei had been far too gleeful about it. Then there was the matter of her mourning blacks, which had been cast away within a week. Even Joffrey had worn black for far longer! The boy had been an angry, petulant brat but even he had shown more respect for his father. It only gave credence to the vile rumors concerning her and Jaime. He had little doubt if Cersei had JUST mourned Robert properly he wouldn't be still dealing with reports of people outside of King's Landing toasting 'The bastard king' or the 'lion in a stag cloak'.

But now, at the very least, she was showing proper respect to her son. Dressed in black, standing beside his body, silent and still and not making everything about her. As a proper lady should.

Tommen was next to her, looking uncomfortable being so close to his brother's body but proving that for all the talk of him being soft he wasn't a coward. He understood what he must do and as such stood silently next to his mother, eyes locked upon his eldest sibling.

"Isamalwi, please wait here," he told the Summer Islander; he'd selected the man because he knew Tommen trusted him and more importantly the man had shown himself trustworthy. When Joffrey had died he had at once set down his weapons and allowed himself to be questioned. Even though there was no need, it was clear Baelish had done the deed, he had submitted without complaint and once cleared ask what he could do. Between him and Jiffsun Tywin was beginning to wonder if he shouldn't make overtures to the Summer Isles for more men to come and take positions of power in the court.

Isamalwi nodded and Tywin left him at the top of the stairs, heading down towards the silent chamber in the Sept of Baelor. 'How would Joffrey have reacted if it were Tommen who died?' Tywin found himself thinking as he slowly walked over to the table that held his grandson. 'Would he have shown any emotion? Any caring? Or would he have proven himself even more of a disgrace by mocking death? Or shown his sick and twisted perversion by demanding he get a better look at the corpse like he was a maester studying how the organs work?'

They had done well to clean Joffrey up and make him look presentable. It helped that his wound had been in the chest, covered by his funeral garb. Though there had been concessions there. Some kings were buried with half of the royal coffers adorned upon their bodies but that would never do for Tywin, not when the Crown was lacking for coin and was so in debt to the Iron Bank. The Tyrells were willing to spend on a wedding and the agreement he'd just made with them would add to the next payment to the Iron Bank but they weren't going to toss away good gold on jewels and garments that would lie waiting for some fool burglar a century from now to try and steal. No… Joffrey was well dressed but it was all a show. The doublet was one he had worn before rather than newly commissioned. The rings made of brass rather than gold so that the skin of Joffrey's fingers would turn green before rot even set in. The sword he held was not the one Tywin had given him; the boy had scorned it in life and Tywin had refused to give it to him in death. No, he got simple castle forged steel… not even sharpened. Even the crown was carved wood painted to look like gold rather than the real thing.

Cersei had been far too consumed in her grief to notice, which was good. He would not have her wailing at him about how Joffrey deserved to be paraded about the Seven Kingdoms in a glass coffin for all to see.

"Your brother is dead," Tywin said to Tommen, getting the little boy's attention. "Do you know what that means?" Tommen's face screwed up and for a moment, just a moment, Tywin thought the boy didn't know. But… ah, there it was. The worry that he was missing something. Tommen knew what it meant but he was afraid to speak it. Either because he thought Tywin was looking for a different answer… or he feared his mother's reaction.

Both could be very possible.

"I am not trying to trick you," he said. It was spoken as kindly as he could manage.

"That I am to be king," the little boy who had only just begun to learn how to wield a sword said.

"Yes, you will become king." He walked over to stand with Tommen, feeling Cersei's eyes burning on his back. "But what kind of king will you be?"

"A good one?" Tommen asked, it clear he wasn't sure if he should word it as a question or a declaration.

"I hope so," Tywin said and he truly did. There were many that would worry about a boy so young becoming a king but kings had come from the strangest places and the most unlikely of sources and had helped bring Westeros to greater peace. In fact if one looked at the history of Westeros it was the most unlikely of kings who proved to be the greatest ones. "I think you will be a good king. You have the right temperament for it." He could sense Cersei tensing at that, clearly seeing it as an insult against Joffrey. Good… she wasn't stupid. It was an insult. "But… what makes a good king? What is the single quality a good king must have above all else?"

"This is hardly the place or the time," Cersei said, her voice cracking. It was worn… she spent half her days screaming and half in sobbing silence. Honestly those were the first words she'd said that didn't sound like they were being ripped from her throat.

"Patience?" Tywin asked of Tommen, never bothering to look at Cersei. "That is important. Your brother was very impatient. Your father's wounds were still leaking when he began discussing his coronation, from what I hear. Was giddy about it. Now, it is important that the realm have a king but there is a time and place for everything." He paused. "But… patience can cut as well. Aenys I was patient, refusing to commit to battle until every avenue was examined. It allowed his enemies to gain strong footholds and for the people to clamor for Maegor, resulting in Aenys' son Aegon the UnCrowned to die with barely an army.

"Drive? That is important too. Your brother was lazy, Tommen, not like you. Do… do you remember how you asked me to allow you to train in the yard?" Tommen managed a smile at that. "You wanted to learn how to fight. To swing a sword. Isamalwi has told me you are doing well. Tell me… will you stop going to the yard now that you are King?"

"No," Tommen said with wide eyes. "Do… do I have to stop?"

"No," Tywin confirmed. "And in fact I would be rather worried if you did stop. Joffrey rarely took his lessons seriously."

"In Winterfell the Master-At-Arms wouldn't let him use live steel. Joffrey said that's all he used but I never saw him hold a real sword in the yard."

"Tommen, that is enough," Cersei snapped but Tywin held up his hand, silencing her.

"Your brother thought if he shouted something loud enough it made it true. But he didn't actually want to put in the work. The Master-Of-Arms at Winterfell was right to deny Joffrey life steel and you should know how much it pains me to admit that anyone from the North is right about something."

Tommen smiled at that before adding, "Except Jon?"

"Except Jon," Tywin confirmed. "Drive is important… but it can also blind you. Daeron I had drive to conqueror Dorne, to complete what his forefather Aegon I started. His reign lasted only 4 years. You have lived longer than he reigned.

"Loyalty? It is important to be loyal to your subjects just as much as it is important for them to be loyal to you. No one will rally to a king who has shown himself faithless, that his word can't be trusted. Your brother promised that he would allow Eddard Stark to take the Black. It was a good promise. A wise promise. With Eddard part of the Night's Watch the North would have grumbled but they wouldn't have risen up as they have. Robb Stark would have been Warden, his brother Rickon sent as a ward of the court, and we could have focused on your uncles. Robb Stark was unwed… we could have married one of your cousins to him. Perhaps even Myrcella… I think she would have been a good fit for him. Tamed his anger, gotten him to see things our way. Instead… Joffrey changed his mind and tried to kill Eddard, causing the Iron Man to descend from the sky and declare him a false king. He then killed Sansa Stark, who he had promised to love and protect."

"Father," Cersei hissed.

But he continued on. "Your brother was loyal only to himself and in the end that caused his own Master of Coin to kill him. Yet it could be argued that Baelish had shown himself unworthy of his position and Joffrey wasn't wise enough to see that he needed to be dealt with. One MUST be loyal… but to a point. Baelor the Blessed was loyal to his people… to a fault. And I do mean a fault. He wasn't able to do what a king must do, the hard tasks that would cause pain to other men, and in the end the kingdom floundered." He looked at Tommen. "So… what is the answer?"

"I… I don't know," Tommen admitted.

"And that… shows you are smarter than all the kings I just discussed." He placed a hand on Tommen's shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. "Wisdom is what makes a good king. Jaeherys was The Wise King and is considered the greatest of the Targeryns. Aegon the Unlikely had a different wisdom, learning of the people, the common man. It made him a beloved king and did many great things. Do you know what both of them have in common?" Tommen shook his head. "They knew when they were stupid." Tommen started at that, blinking his large bright eyes. "A wise man understands that they are stupid in many things. You would say I am a wise man, would you not?" Tommen bobbed his head. "I do not know how to make wine. In that case I am far dumber than a man with stained feet. But rather than trying to hide this fact… I accept it and I learn to seek out others smarter than me in that regard. A good king knows when they are stupid and finds people to help them."

He paused.

"Your brother was a very stupid boy." Cersei sucked in a breath but he ignored her. "Tell me… if you had been king when Lord Stark tried to take the throne and everyone was telling you to let him take the Black… would you have killed him?"

"No," Tommen said.

"Because you listen. It is okay to disagree with an advisor, of course. Plenty of kings have. Plenty of lords too. I was told many times that something couldn't be done. But I didn't go out and defy them purely because I wished to. I reasoned out WHY I was right. That is what we will be teaching you to do: to understand where you are wise and where you are stupid… and making the former far greater than the latter." He paused. "We will also be teaching you how to select proper people to advise you. That was another of your brother's mistakes… he-" Tywin almost said 'trusted' but that was wrong because Joffrey hadn't trusted anyone he'd merely assumed they were all loyal lapdogs, "-surrounded himself with the wrong people. We won't make that mistake."

"Yes grandfather."

Tywin gave his now only grandson's shoulder another squeeze. "It will be fine. I had already begun preparing you to rule Casterly Rock… this is merely a larger domain. Now," he pulled the boy away from Joffrey's body, "I want you to return to the Red Keep and practice with your sword. Isamalwi will go with you."

Tommen brightened at that. "Will Jon be there too?"

"I believe so, yes." Jon, Natasha, and their entire household had been cleared and allowed to leave their rooms and Tywin had sent a short message advising them to act as if nothing had happened. They were advised not to leave the castle, for their own safety, but could roam the halls. "If not ask a servant to arrange a meeting." Tommen had taken a liking to both Isamalwi and Jon which served Tywin well in his plans. "I will see you again for our afternoon lessons."

The boy king nodded and hurried to join up with Isamalwi and Tywin, for a brief moment, wished nothing more than to go with them. It had been far too long since he himself had been in the yard to practice his swordwork and he had an almost… childish desire to test himself against Jon Stark. To clash swords with him, the Lion and the Dragon. It would almost be like his childhood again, facing off against Aerys when he had been Aerys the Dreamer and not The Mad King.

But… he had far too many things to do and thus he shoved that desire aside and turned to deal with his daughter who had once more cast her gaze upon her first born.

"I am surprised you didn't call Tommen a fat little fool who would be an utter disgrace," Cersei said softly but with no lack of venom. "You certainly had no problem mocking Joffrey even after his death."

"I didn't mock Joffrey. I spoke the truth about him. Just as I spoke the truth about Tommen. He is soft and innocent now, that is true. Your fault of course for both coddling him and ignoring him which is almost awe inspiring in their dichotomy. The boy needs a firm hand and he craves notice…" He let out a scoff. "Is it not clear how you have failed him when the three people he loves being around are myself, the former bastard son of Eddard Stark, and a dark-skinned exile? If Olenna Tyrell were to show him a bit of attention I imagine he'd begin calling her mother rather than you."

"I love my children."

"You love what they bring to you, that is your problem. Joffrey was to be king and you craved that power so you focused all your energies on him while ignoring Myrcella and Tommen."

Cersei shot him a look. "If that is the case it is only because I learned from you. Jaime and I were only pawns in your game, never your children."

"Did I expect you to see to the rise of House Lannister? Yes. I admit that. I was not like some fathers who clapped their hands when their child did a little spin and acted like they were Aegon come again. But there is a difference between us Cersei: I did not ignore you and Jaime. If you had had your way Tommen and Myrcella would have been locked away in the Maidenvault like Baelor's sister-wife and never seen again. You wanted them around but didn't actually want them. You are like a dog who abandons a bone for days on end only to growl when the kennel master picks it up."

She shook her head. "Maybe if you had cared for us as you now do Tommen…"

"Do you remember how I sat with Jaime every night and helped him learn his letters? Another lord would have just sought out more tutors or given up on him and cast him aside. But I worked with him, every night, until he learned to write and read properly."

"One good act does not wash away the bad, father."

He didn't bother to address that. The past was the past and he wasn't there to deal with her dredging up memories of her childhood.

"There is much to do still, both for Joffrey and Tommen."

"Joffrey is dead." For a moment he thought she would burst into tears but she rallied and showed her inner strength. Good. It was about time she acted like a Lannister. "What can you do for him?"

"Avenge him."

"Do you truly care to avenge him? Or is it all for show? You said it yourself he was a horrible king."

"Oh, he was," Tywin said. "And if you can not see that you are far more the fool than I first thought. But he is still of my blood and that means that he must have his death avenged." She stared at him, as if unable to comprehend that sentiment and he fought the urge to roll his eyes. "I went to war to claim back Tyrion after he was captured-"

"Do NOT compare Joffrey to that horrid little monster."

"I am not," Tywin said coolly. "Tyrion has at least showed the ability to work to overcome some of his failings."

"He is a stunted disgusting little man-"

"Of course he is," Tywin said dismissively. "I am not arguing that with you. But when I commanded him to not bring any whores to the Tower of the Hand he went a step further and did not see a whore at all during his time in King's Landing. Something you have failed to do." She started at that. "Don't look at me like that, I am well aware of the vile things you have commanded your handmaidens to do. How you have sought out knights and taken them to your bed when you thought you were being so clever hiding it. You aren't clever." He shook his head. "As for your brother he did not get drunk and cause scenes that brought disgrace to the family unlike Joffrey. How proud you must be that you and Joffrey managed to bring more shame to our family than the monster that killed your mother."

Cersei whipped around, her false hand raised up.

"Let me inform you what will happen if you continue," Tywin said, eyes narrowed. "If you slap me then tomorrow it will be announced that you have decided to dedicate your life to the Silent Sisters. You will never see King's Landing again. You will never see a fine feast again. No… you will be shaved clean of every hair on your body, doused in powders to remove lice as if you were a common criminal, and then your tongue will be removed because we both know you won't be able to keep silent."

Cersei slowly lowered her hand.

"If you ever THINK of striking me again, I promise that fate will await you. And now that you have been warned know that if you actually do in the future become so addled that you dare lay a finger on me the punishment I will deliver to you will be far worse. That is me being kind."

His fool of the daughter ducked her head though he wasn't fooled to believe she actually felt chastised by his scolding and threats. No… she was stewing in her anger, plotting her revenge. Good, let her. Maybe it would keep her from doing something else that was foolish.

"Tommen is to be crowned tomorrow. We know he is king but we must make it official. Due to the situation at hand it will be a quiet affair. Perhaps that is for the best… the greatest kings of Westeros didn't need parades and a line of lords bending the knee in order to celebrate their rule. There is work to be done and Tommen must be prepared." He began to walk around Joffrey's corpse, looking at the boy. Even in death he seemed a bitter spiteful thing, his lips twisted slightly into a scowl. "It will be announced that I will be his regent."

"I am his mother," Cersei said quietly.

"And you have shown how poorly you were at both a mother and a regent when it came to Joffrey… of course he didn't even allow you to be his regent, did he? A boy who hadn't even wet his blade with blood unless it was that of cats he skinned shoved you aside. No… you aren't fit to act as Tommen's regent." He ran his tongue over his teeth as he thought of all that needed to be done. "Then there is the matter of the wedding."

"What wedding?" Cersei asked.

"To Margaery Tyrell, of course."

"You… you are going to give her to Tommen? She was Joffrey's wife."

"The marriage was never consummated so the Faith has assured me that that she comes to Tommen's bed still pure."

"She has been married twice now… she isn't fit to be queen. She is nothing more than a power hungry strumpet that is willing to open her legs to anyone that comes by with a crown on their head."

"Oh, that we both agree upon." He saw Cersei stare at him almost owlishly at that. "I am not blind to the fault of the Tyrells. They are up jumped servants who got lucky they were the ones to be at the gate when Aegon the Conqueror arrived. But let me ask you this: who would you have Tommen marry? Even if we delayed the marriage till he reached his maturity… who would he select? The North is lost to us of course; even if we conquered it tomorrow I would not reward them with that marriage. Dorne? Well, if you have a problem with Margaery Tyrell then you must loathe Arianne Martell."

"That whore?" Cersei spat.

"Exactly. The Riverlands? Perhaps… but what houses have sided with us against the Tullys are few and weak. Were Robert Arryn a girl I might consider that a match but he is a boy and an addled one at that. The Iron Islands…" he grit his teeth, "if we can settle this war you have gotten us into with the Starks I plan to raze them to the ground so there is no hope there. The Stormlands? They still rally towards Queen Jane Seaworth's banner and that is despite the fact that she doesn't even have a banner to speak of. That leaves the Westerlands but what benefit do they give us over the Tyrells? We already have their loyalty… a marriage is a powerful tool and I won't squander the mightiest of marriages, one to a king, on a vassal who gives us nothing." He looked at her. "The boy must marry… before the filthy rumors about you and your children begin again."

"Stannis' lies-"

"I speak of the new ones." He huffed when she just stared at him. "You haven't heard? The smallfolk claim you wanted to take Joffrey as your lover." Cersei looked at him utterly horrified and for once he had the sense that she wasn't trying to fake what she was feeling. "They claim you were Jaime and were going to be with Joffrey. The child you bore would have married Joffrey then and thus created a grand cycle of incest. If we wish to prevent the same for Tommen he must be married off."

"He is a child."

"Your cousin Tyrek was married to a babe," he reminded her. "Do you know why?"

"To secure their lands."

"To secure their lands," Tywin confirmed. "We are doing the same here."

"We are giving the Tyrells far too much power."

"We are allowing them to borrow more power than I would like, I admit. But they will be dealt with soon enough. Once we have enough heirs to secure the line of succession it will be easy enough to begin pushing them out. The Tyrell girl is cunning… she takes after her grandmother." Mentally he added that Margaery was exactly how Tywin had longed for Cersei to be. "But it will be simple enough to isolate her. Aerys was a fool in many matters but he understood how one can take influence over the crown and strip it away piece by piece. Even with one of her own blood in the Kingsguard Elia Martell was left completely on her own within the Red Keep."

"Margaery is not Elia Martell."

"No, she is not. Which is why Tommen must not be Rhaegar. I will not allow him to go chasing after some Northern girl and doom the entire family because of his lusts." He paused. "You have already done more than enough of that."

"Well… you certainly seem to have a plan for everything, don't you," Cersei said snidely. "It makes me wonder why you bother to talk to me at all."

"Because I know if I don't inform you of my plans you will bumble your way about and ruin things." He turned his back on Joffrey's corpse and began to walk towards the stairs once more. "There are other matters you must be informed of."

"You can do them here," Cersei stated. "I want to be with him."

Tywin though merely continued walking, not even bothering to slow down. "A pity… I thought you would like to be a part of the vengeance delivered upon Littlefinger for killing your son."

After a moment Cersei began to chase after him. If Tywin smiled he would have smirked in that moment. It was almost pathetically sad how predictable Cersei was. Tell her to do a simple task for the good of the realm and she would argue for hours about how she knew far better and that there were other ways to achieve the goal. Give her an impossible task but offer petty vindication against her enemies? She would claw and bite at the obstacles that stood in her way.

"How are you going to kill him?" she asked. "I have been wondering about that. He must die for what he did, of course, but you haven't killed him yet. He must suffer, father. He must suffer so greatly that they speak of his name for a thousand years."

"And that is exactly why I haven't killed him yet," Tywin stated. Cersei stared at him, nearly faltering on the stairs, and Tywin let out an annoyed sigh. "What is it that Baelish has craved more than anything?"

"Power," she stated.

"He was already Master of Coin," he pointed out. "He owns a large amount of businesses in King's Landing… Varys had been kind to inform me of his holdings so we might seize them. I dare say there are hardly any whores in King's Landing that weren't either controlled by him or by someone whom he held sway over. And as much as whores disgust me I understand the power they wield."

"Men are foolish," Cersei stated. "Easily led about by their cocks."

He nodded, giving her that. She was very much correct; far too often a man would make some grand mistake purely because of lust. Ignoring his own father the maesters' vaults in Oldtown were filled with the histories of powerful men who had been brought to ruin because they could not control their lust and thus allowed a woman to guide them into destruction. He remembered Littlefinger telling him once at a private dinner, when Tywin was sizing up the man to determine if he should be allowed to keep his seat on the Small Council or find his head removed from his shoulders, that good whores understood that it was all a game. It was fake, simulated. One didn't lie back and simply allow a man to take them… no, that was too simple. They had to play the role. It was why the smarter whores had roles, like mummers, that they would play. Princess Saera Targaryen had infamously dressed as a novice of the Faith upon entering the Pleasure Gardens of Lys, pretending to be a shy virginal maiden of the Seven who could spoiled by any man with enough coin.

But the best whores? They made men forget it was fake. Made them believe that even though the harlot opened her legs for a hundred men so that her cunt still dripped of seed when he visited her… her moans of passion were only real when he was inside of her. And a whore who did that controlled the man completely.

And the man that controlled that whore… controlled the lives of many.

"The only dream he might have had was a position higher on the Small Council," Tywin said. "Maybe, in a few generations if he were wise a great grandchild might marry into the royal family."

Cersei scowled at that. "No one would be foolish enough to allow Littlefinger's spawn to mate with a prince or princess."

"Oh?" Tywin challenged. "Lann the Clever was a trickster with not a drop of royal blood and yet he became a king. The Starks came from wild brutes who won Bear Island by wrestling for it. The Tyrells were servants. The Tullys minor lords who chose the right time to strike. Even the Targeryns traced their line to poor shepherds. Do you ever consider how different the world would be if that man had chased after a different sheep and the dragon eggs had never been found?" He shook his head at her foolishness. "No… every family can trace their line to humble roots and if Littlefinger had been patient he could have set himself up as the start of a great power in Westeros. But… that would have required waiting and I think we both can agree that waiting was not his strong suit."

"Wealth then," Cersei said in frustration. "Or personal standing… I am not Tommen, I don't have time to play these guessing games!"

"Fame," he finally said, deciding that he too was tired of the game but for a different reason. With Tommen there was hope that he would get the correct answer, after all. "Baelish is the son of a minor lord of a minor house. A sellsword from Braavos is his anscestor… he can't even claim he's a true Westerosi. And even if he were a major house The Vale is one of the least powerful kingdoms on the entire continent. The North has size, the Riverlands the heart of Westeros, The Reach the grain and fruits, the Westerlands the wealth. Dorne and the Stormlands have a far more important place in the records of our history than the Vale. Even their part in the Conquest is pathetic… at least the North knelt because it was the only choice other than death. A boy king wanted to ride a dragon… pathetic." They left the chamber that held Joffrey's body and made for Cersei's covered litter. "The Iron Islands are the only ones that assure that The Vale isn't seen as the most pathetic of all the domains.

"And yet Baelish has done all he could to rise up in our society. Master of Coin to the first king after the fall of the Dragons. Maesters would have studied his rise for centuries after he was gone… and he was still young. Plenty of years ahead of him in order to place even more pages about him within the texts." He shook his head. "Which makes what he did all the more maddening."

"He was part of a conspiracy," Cersei stated.

"Of course he was," Tywin confirmed. "The man didn't snap when he killed Joffrey… it was clear he expected something to happen. Some way for him to escape. But his allies abandoned him and he was left to be captured."

"He has not said a word?"

"None. He continues to claim he didn't kill Joffrey. That someone else stabbed him and then placed his hand around the blade." He let out an annoyed huff. "I almost believe it, for that excuse is so flimsy and weak it could only be said by a man speaking the truth or a fool."

"Littlefinger is a fool. He's always been a fool," Cersei argued. "He was put up to this by someone… the Tyrells-"

"The Tyrells risked everything by killing Joffrey," Tywin said coldly, tired of his fool of a daughter trying to twist reality to make it fit her delusions. "If they wanted power and Joffrey removed from the game they would have waited until Margaery produced an heir and then had him die in an accident. Killing him would mean that risked losing everything." There was, of course, a problem with that: as Tywin had stated the Tyrell girl was their only option for a marriage. The Tyrells could have realized that…

Cersei glowered at that, clearly not liking the fact that she couldn't use her child's death as a mean to get petty revenge on perceived slights. "The Red Viper."

"If he were to kill Joffrey we'd never know it was him," Tywin said with a dismissive roll of his eyes. "The man knows every poison found on this side of the Narrow Side and most on the other. He would have had Joffrey fall ill so that it appeared as if he merely had gotten sick. Perhaps poisoned all of us as well to truly sell it." He paused. "And he would have let us know it was him. The man wants to avenge his sister; he will never be able to do that and not let us know."

"The Bastards then."

"Enough, Cersei!" he snapped, not caring they were in public. Maybe there should be some gossip about him being angry with her… it would quiet the tongues that were wagging about everything else. Let the public whisper the truth for once. "Jon Stark and his wife were with Ser Jiffsun's son and his friends, dealing with an emergency. Varys has investigated it and confirmed it."

"You believe that eunuch's words?"

"Of course not, but I have checked with my own sources and they all agree that Lord Jon was where he said he was. He also has never met with Baelish and his dislike of him is clear if you actually paid attention during a Small Council meeting. He is not the man's ally."

"He is the son of a traitor."

'He is the son of the man you wanted to marry,' Tywin thought to himself. 'I wonder how much you would hate him more if you knew he was Aegon Targeryen, the babe you never got to birth?' But instead of speaking those words he only said, "If you believe I have not already looked at every person in King's Landing then you are a bigger fool than I thought."

"Then who is Baelish working with? Who killed my son?"

That… was the question.

Baelish continued to cling to the claim that he hadn't done it. Which was odd because the interrogators had not been gentle with him. Oh, he had commanded that he not have anything broken… he wanted Baelish whole for the trial. But there were other ways to torture a man when they sat in the dark and wondered if the sounds they were hearing were the heralds whispering their doom. Baelish had not had a comfortable time in the Black Cells, Tywin had ensured that… and yet he hadn't given up any names. He had claimed many things… but not who he had worked with or why he had decided to be a martyr.

"Why are we even having a trial?" Cersei asked as she stepped into the litter, Tywin shaking his head to the servants to make clear they were not to go quite yet. "We know he did it. Why waste our time? Drag him out and-"

"Kill him on these very steps?" Tywin asked coldly. Cersei flinched at that, ducking her ahead away from him. "Look at me," he commanded. "Do you remember how I used to warn you that every action must be weighed out, because the after effects of would be felt for years and possibly even centuries to come? Your son killed a man without trial, a Warden of Westeros, on the steps of the heart of the Faith. He did so after he had promised leniency. Yes, Stark confessed… but many men have confessed to crimes they did not commit just to escape the Black Cells."

"The Small Folk don't remember that. They are ignorant fools."

"They are far smarter than you give them credit for," Tywin warned her, glancing about; they were certainly wiser than his daughter, who didn't seem to realize that if the masses of King's Landing decided to rush them now they'd be torn to pieces even with their guards there to protect them. They were outnumbered a ten thousand to one… so it was good to remember that. "Cities have long memories. They remember what Joffrey did. Tommen and his sons will not be able to simply behead any prisoner, no matter what they did, without showing they followed the rule of law. It is just one of the many hardships your son has forced upon us because of your failure to rein him in."

"He is dead," Cersei hissed. "Can you not show him respect?"

"Respect is wasted on the dead. It goes to the living. And right now the crown has very little respect placed upon it due to Joffrey's actions and before that Robert. Two kings you've failed to rise up… you wonder why I won't allow you to place your hands upon Tommen's shoulders and guide him?" He shook his head, knowing that Cersei was even at that moment mentally justifying all her failures and twisting them to be successes. "As for Baelish… a death is too quick."

"What do you mean?" Cersei asked but Tywin merely stepped away from the liter and made for his horse, his own guards following after him, leaving Cersei to call out her question that he refused to answer.