Things had moved surprisingly quickly.
Tyrion didn't know exactly what had happened in the throne room to cause such a change in their situation, but whatever it was, it had to be major if what his ears were hearing were true. The servants were openly talking about it and more than one lord or lady or knight that Tyrion had passed all informed him of what had happened at the court session.
Ser Gerold Lannister was accused of treason by the king.
Tyrion had laughed at the first person to say that to him.
Gerold Lannister, Jason's son, a traitor?
Preposterous. Gerold was the future heir to Casterly Rock and the current commander of the Red Keep's garrison. He was in charge of defending the damn place from the Baratheon brothers when they finally decided to attack King's Landing.
He was dutiful and loyal to House Lannister; he was cousin to the king for the love of the gods. There would be no reason for him to commit treason. So, what were these people talking about?
It turned out that Gerold took his duty as commander of the Red Keep's garrison quite literally. Every soul within these red walls were to be protected, including Lady Sansa. The girl was a hostage in truth, but they were still going with the whole ward of the crown explanation. Which meant that she was a ward of the king, who was also having her beaten by the knights of the Kingsguard.
A part of Tyrion was proud of his nephew for standing up to Joffrey and ending the public dishonoring of Sansa Stark. To here tell of the tale, the girl was stripped of her clothes and beaten bloody. She was a daughter of the former Hand of the King, and yet Joffrey was treating her like some common whore.
It brought bad memories up for Tyrion, and he had to suppress them, he had more important matters to focus on.
When Gerold had moved to stop the beating he had inadvertently angered Joffrey and things just went from bad to worse from there. Swords were unsheathed by both the knights of the Kingsguard and those of the Lion Guard. Words were exchanged and perceived threats that weren't actual threats were spoken and heard.
What remained of the court in King's Landing had been witness to it and the king labeling his cousin as a traitor. Joffrey had ordered cousin Lancel to seize Gerold and take command of the red cloaks, two tasks that Lancel was wholly unable to accomplish. The boy was only recently knights, and he was no true warrior.
Tyrion could only watch as the situation devolved further. By all reports, Gerold Lannister was now a traitor in the eyes of the crown, yet the red cloaks and the Lion guard were still at his command. Joffrey had accused him of treason yet had not stripped him of any commands, so Tyrion's nephew had done something that was wholly out of character, even for him.
He had seized the king.
Tyrion didn't know what had taken ahold of Gerold to make such a decision, but what was done was done. Things had moved too fast for Tyrion to even do anything. He may have been the Hand of the King, but all he had were the mountain clansmen at his command while Gerold had the red cloaks and the Lion Guard. Even the gold cloaks were following his orders as Tyrion had given Gerold the task of reorganizing the City Watch of King's Landing.
The youngest son of Tywin Lannister could only watch as the power dynamic in King's Landing changed so drastically that it seemed like a fever dream. Tyrion was still half convinced that he was in some sort of coma and had yet to awake.
But no, this was reality, and the reality was that Joffrey was now all but a prisoner. Oh, he may still be king, but he had no real authority anymore. What had transpired was no short of a coup in the Red Keep. A coup that was surprisingly bloodless.
The only deaths that occurred were of Ser Meryn Trant and Ser Mandon Moore. They were the two who had opposed Gerold taking Joffrey into custody and when they refused to submit to Gerold, they lost their heads. It was all so fast that in a blink of an eye, Joffrey was now a permanent resident of Maegor's Holdfast.
And better yet, Cersei was right next to him.
When the tale of the Young Lion's coup would be retold, they would say that the Queen Regent was escorted to Maegor's Hold kicking and screaming. That she was shouting murder and treason and all other sorts of very unqueenly words.
Tyrion smiled a true smile when that occurred.
It was even more entertaining as it had occurred while the small council was still in session. Gerold's Lion Guard had burst into the room and not so kindly taken Cersei out of the room. Tyrion saw the shock on all of the councilors' faces. Varys, Pycelle, Littlefinger, all of them were flabbergasted. Their mouths were hanging open and words failed them as the Queen Regent was nearly dragged out of the room.
Oh, it was a memory that Tyrion would cherish for the rest of his days.
Though, after things had calmed down and guards were placed in and around Maegor's Holdfast, they had called an emergency small council meeting. Two knights of the Kingsguard were dead and King Joffrey along with Queen Mother Cersei were now… permanent guests of Maegor's Holdfast.
The first order of business that they had done was placing the position of Lord Regent onto Gerold. Tyrion saw that his nephew did not want the role, but there was hardly anyone else who could assume that mantle. He was already commander of the Red Keep's garrison as well as all Lannister forces within the city. All of the authority was already in his hands and putting the title of Lord Regent onto him just solidified it all.
Grand Maester Pycelle had objected to that at first but Tyrion and surprisingly Littlefinger both came to the defense of Gerold. They were in need of a Lord Regent as the king was, yet a man grown. Cersei Lannister had been deemed unable to control the king and maintain order in her role as Queen Regent, and since Tyrion was already Hand of the King, Gerold was the only one who could be Lord Regent.
Varys tittered at that, and Tyrion did not doubt for a second that news of this development would be making its way to Harrenhal and Casterly Rock the moment that the small council meeting was concluded.
From there, they had moved on to the topic of the Kingsguard. The Lord Commander was Jaime, and he was currently a prisoner at Riverrun, so he was unable to command anything. Ser Meryn and Ser Mandon were now dead, and that left the Kingsguard manned with only four men in reality. One of whom was not even a knight and another who was such a craven that he shamed knighthood itself.
It was a problem that needed to be rectified at once. Though, who to fill the two newly created positions was a question that they had yet to solve. In fact, they were still debating it at this very moment.
"Kettleblack? Are they even landed knights?" Gerold asked as he stood at the head of the table.
Tyrion's nephew was wearing the armor that was becoming so common that it was now more a part of him than regular clothes were. The red and gold was still polished to a shine and the sash around his chest was still as clean as ever, even though he had been moving through King's Landing and its filth.
"They are not, but they are loyal servants of the crown and the king." Littlefinger said.
"I've not heard any man going by Kettleblack ever in my life. I remember no great deeds done by any knight of House Kettleblack and I doubt that I will in the foreseeable future. Thank you for the suggestion, Lord Baelish, but I shall not be naming them to the Kingsguard." Gerold grimaced.
"My Lord Regent, mayhaps it would be prudent to wait until Lord Tywin arrives from Harrenhal to name two men to the Kingsguard." Varys said, the eunuch had an amiable smile on his face.
Tyrion noted that the Master of whispers had almost immediately started addressing Gerold as Lord Regent, not even hesitating to do so.
"Last word has it that my grandfather is remaining at Harrenhal until Uncle Stafford finishes gathering his host and marches east. There is also Robb Stark and the Northmen who are standing in his way and if my grandfather were to leave the Riverlands he would be leaving the West open for attack." Gerold said.
"Jason is still at Casterly Rock, so he would be able to repel any attack that the young Stark would be able to mount." Tyrion said.
"Not so my Lord Hand." Grand Maester Pycelle said in a somewhat winded voice, which was almost certainly faked, as they were all sitting down. "A raven has arrived from the Golden Tooth."
A wrinkled hand emerged from his robes and in between the man's fingers, a scroll of parchment, the seal still sealed. Tyrion was still suspicious that the Grand Maester was spying on their ravens. He'd need to look into it.
He took the scroll in his hand and examined the seal. It was the personal seal of Jason Lannister, which was only a Lannister seal with a checkered background instead of a simple lion on a solid field. The wax broke with a snap, and he unrolled it and read the neat handwriting that Jason had.
"A Lannister hammer and a Lefford anvil." Tyrion read to the room.
Everyone took in that information and Tyrion wasn't sure what it meant exactly. He wasn't the most militarily savvy man, but he did like to think that he wasn't completely hopeless when it came to it. The defense of King's Landing was partially his responsibility after all.
"A most interesting phrase." Varys said.
"Interesting yes, but that does not help our situation." Gerold said. "Robb Stark is not the threat we have to deal with. King Stannis and King Renly Baratheon are not only closer, but they have larger armies."
"Hopefully they will kill each other and save us the trouble. Word has it that Stannis is sieging Storm's End." Tyrion said.
"Renly has the power of Highgarden with him as well as most of the stormlords. It will be a slaughter if they meet in battle." Littlefinger said.
"If it saves us the trouble then let them at each other." Grand Maester Pycelle said.
"Varys, keep your spies in both of the Baratheon brothers' camps. I want to know if and when they plan to attack King's Landing. Grand Maester, send word to Lord Tywin detailing all the changes that have been made here today. We can have no room for miscommunication." Gerold said and knocked on the small council table with a gauntleted fist.
"At once, Lord Regent." The elderly Grand Maester said as he moved to stand.
"My Lord Regent-" Littlefinger started to speak but was interrupted.
"I haven't the time Lord Baelish. I have the defenses of the city to see to. Discuss your issue with the King's Hand and if you cannot find a solution then you may inform me." Gerold said and then moved towards the door.
Tyrion watched as his nephew opened it and walked out with his guards in tow as well as a knight of the Kingsguard as well. It was odd seeing a boy that he knew become the man that he was now right before his eyes. It made him proud to be his uncle, though he could have done with being saddled with whatever Littlefinger wanted to talk about.
The man was a schemer, a grasper trying to reach above his station, and a problem that Gerold had given to Tyrion to deal with.
He sighed to himself as he looked towards the Master of coin. Whatever the man wanted, it couldn't be any stranger than this day had been.
"Madness unheard of since the time of Aerys Targaryen."
Arya flinched slightly as a fist was brought down onto the table. She kept her eyes down and away from any of the Lannister officers who were sitting at the table. It wouldn't do good to draw any more attention to herself than she already had. Being Tywin Lannister's cupbearer was like playing with fire.
She kept her eyes instead on the black stone of Harrenhal. The massive fortress once belonging to House Hoare was now a smoldering ruin and being used as a base for the Lannister army. There were so many hallways and passages that Arya had more than once gotten lost, but now that she had to remain at Tywin Lannister's side, she didn't have as much time to explore.
But she what she lost in exploring, she made up for in listening.
No one knew that she was Arya Stark. Not truly anyway. Yoren had known and now he was dead. To everyone else, she was simply called girl. It was simpler that way, for there were few girls currently at Harrenhal, and most of them were either servants or whores.
But that was neither here nor there. She was simply girl and had an ear inside of the Lannister command meetings. None of them were any the wiser and she was free to listen to them talk about everything that was happening outside of these walls melted by dragon fire.
She could listen for word of Robb and the rest of her family.
"The situation seems to have been calmed down for the most part. Gerold and Tyrion have taken things into hand." Ser Kevan Lannister said.
Arya had learned early on that while Kevan Lannister was Tywin Lannister's brother, it didn't mean that they were exactly the same. Kevan Lannister was more of a follower than a leader, and always deferred to Lord Tywin in the end. He also didn't have a cruel reputation like Tywin Lannister did, but he was still a Lannister, and that meant he was her enemy.
"My lord, it may be for the better if we make for King's Landing. It is clear that situation is not as stable as we once thought." Lord Leo Lefford said.
"We cannot. Ser Stafford's host is not yet ready to march. They are still gathering and training. If we move to King's Landing, we'll be leaving the Westerlands open for attack." Ser Addam Marbrand said.
Arya moved to refill the empty cups with water when needed and made sure that she kept her head down. Only looking at the jug and cup and nothing else. Not the rolls of parchment on the table nor the faces of the men who sat at it.
"The scouts are saying that Robb Stark's host is moving westward." Ser Kevan said.
"The last time the scouts assured us of the Stark boy's movements he led us into a trap, and that is why Jaime is now his prisoner." Lord Tywin said and grimaced. "Chaos in King's Landing and now Stark is moving west."
"Ser Jason would not leave Casterly Rock undefended." Ser Lucion Lannister said. Arya didn't know much about the man, only that he was a Lannister.
"Robb Stark will never get through the Golden Tooth." Lord Leo Lefford said. "Alysanne has invested much gold and time into increasing the defensive capabilities of the keep. It would take thousands of men to storm it and that is something the Northerners cannot afford."
"The Golden Tooth may have a formidable defense and garrison, but Robb Stark is young and has never lost a battle. He'll storm the keep if he must." Lord Tywin said.
"Jason has said that he does have a plan to repulse the Northmen. A hammer and anvil apparently." Ser Kevan said.
Arya watched from the corner of her eye as the lords and knights thought over that. She had heard about the Kingslayer's plan, and she had been in the room when the raven's scroll had been delivered. A Lannister hammer and a Lefford anvil. She didn't know what that meant but it couldn't be a good thing.
Her father had said that the Kingslayer was a dangerous man and a good military mind. Robb was going right towards the man by attacking the west, if what the scouts said was true though.
"Hammer and anvil. I cannot say that I see where my son's plan is going." Lord Tywin said.
"It's sounds like he plans to go for a pincer maneuver to trap the Starks. Mayhaps using the Golden Tooth as the Lefford anvil?" Ser Addam said.
"That would only work if Robb Stark made it past the Golden Tooth without taking the castle, which is unlikely as it sits on the only road into the west from Riverrun." Ser Kevan said as he looked at the map on the table.
"Whatever Ser Jason's plan is, he is confident it will work if he is sending us the message." Ser Lucion said.
"Aye, I know not how the plan will work, but the Golden Tooth will hold my lord." Lord Leo said.
Lord Tywin said nothing as he looked at the map. Lannister lions, Stark direwolves, and Baratheon stags were on the map in different places. It was like a set of toys, though they actually represented thousands of men and one of them stood for Robb.
"I would still suggest that we ride for King's Landing. The situation is bad enough that Gerold needed to take such drastic actions as removing Cersei from her position as Queen Regent." Ser Kevan said.
"I instructed them to take the situation in hand, if that is what must be done then so be it. As long as Joffrey still sits the Iron Throne by the end of this war then it matters not who the Regent is. They will hold the city until we deal with Robb Stark." Lord Tywin said with an air of finality. There was confidence in his words that made even Arya sure that this Gerold Lannister would succeed.
A part of Arya noticed that there was no mention of Sansa from the letter that had arrived from King's Landing, and she would have noticed it even more so if the officers hadn't brought the discussion towards Robb. It would be only later during the night, when she was saying the names of her list that she finally remembered her older sister.
Sansa was still trapped in King's Landing, and Arya hadn't truly thought about her until this very moment.
Father said that the lone wolf died but the pack survived.
Well, the pack couldn't be more divided if they tried.