Author Notes: I have been an avid fanfiction reader for many years now. I just wanted to convey that only now do I understand how difficult it is to actually write fanfiction and continue writing it (this is my first fanfiction). As a reader, I was often disappointed with the number of words in a chapter; I am beginning to realize the enormity of writing huge chapters as a writer, especially taking out time from real life.
That aside, I have excerpts of a few chapters written which I keep expanding as and when thoughts come in. The idea right now is to write POV Ned every alternate chapter with POVs of different characters in between. I am not sure how faithful I will be to this plan, and this may change in the future; we will see.
Special Thanks to KingOfSummer 245, Lester, and Nana for their awesome reviews. Your ideas and comments are much appreciated. I cannot promise that I will incorporate any of them, maybe I will, maybe I will not; sometimes the story takes a life of its own. Nana, I especially like the idea of "peaches." If I do incorporate any ideas, I will definitely give you a shout-out here.
Chapter 4
Tywin
Sometime after the battle of Stoney Sept
How many plans had he thought of and discarded since Harrenhal, he had lost count. He had even entertained thoughts of kidnapping Jaime and spiriting him away, hiring an assassin to kill Aerys; there were multiple variations to it, of course, instigating a riot, starting a fire, but every plan had too many risks, and they remained for now just in his head. If Pycelle was less incompetent and Jaime less of a fool, he would have gotten him out by now, alas that was not possible! He had considered contacting even Elia Martell for that matter, only to discard those plans upon further thoughts, he definitely could not count on the weakling. His agents other than Pycelle did not have the capacity to carry out any complex plans and hence would not be of any use.
Aerys did not even know how severe a blow he had given him, or mayhaps he knew exactly, mad he may be now, but he was not without intelligence. His time would come! However, right now, saving Jaime from the Mad King was more important than anything else and that is what had stayed his hand. Aerys still had too many sycophants and lickspittles besides him, too many hostages like Jaime, keeping enemies in check, and there were too many fools honoring their oaths and men to Aerys for him to act decisively. And the biggest problem was the bald eunuch. No matter how many spies he uncovered and hanged, he was not sure whether he had gotten them all.
Things were coming to a head now though, and he knew he had to act. He had to be in King's Landing, that was the only thing he was sure about; the victorious side did not matter. If the Royal Army won, he would simply be the protector of King's Landing, the last defense between his King and the rebels, and he would help Rhaegar finally put an end to Aerys' reign; it would be a lesser victory than if the rebels won but he would most likely avoid any severe repercussions for staying out of the war. And if the Starks, Tullys, Arryns, and Baratheons won, he would graciously hand over King's Landing to them, and Cersei as the bride to the new king, which he suspected would be Steffon's eldest. Either way, Aerys' end was at hand. He would pay Aerys back for all the humiliation and disrespect; and if the rebels won, he would end the Targaryen dynasty once and for all; he would have the bards write another song depicting the end of Targaryens at the hands of the Lion. He hoped Jaime would be smart enough to avoid the grasp of the Mad King when the time came; for if he did not, then Jaime's life was out of his hands. If the fool died, he would have to marry again; he would not leave his legacy to the dwarf, never! He had never given too much thought about marrying again after Joanna; he always felt it would be too much of a betrayal. More and more, however, it was looking as if he would need to do so. Jaime had to survive the war first, had to be out of the new king's grasp, and then had to step up and accept his responsibilities to be the Lord of the Rock and even maintain all that he had gained. If things did not go as he wanted, he would look at potential brides in the kingdoms for himself.
He would move soon, a forced march to be at King's Landing at the right time. Most of his bannermen would not make it in time, but he did not need all of them. He already had his standing army, a part of his legacy, his pride; he would have Kevan and his men; he would call a few other minor houses and knights. And finally, he would have The Mountain and his beasts. It would have to be enough, he would make it enough. And if he got to hang Aerys himself, he would even savor the victory.
The only conviction he had was of the timing; the way the battles were shaping and the armies were building up, the war would be over in less than three to four battles. The rest; he would figure out depending on the victor and the losses suffered by the victor. Whoever won, Tywin Lannister would be there to celebrate the victory in King's Landing and further his power and legacy.