Author's Note: Hey there! I know it has been a long, long time... But... I am back. Thank you so very much for following and favoriting this story. It means a lot! I hope the characters are not out of character. I just tried to make them more humane. Anyway, enjoy and review, please!

Gerion I

It was a moonless night. The sky was dark and thundering. The sea was a little rough, but it was to their advantage. The waves were hitting the ships from behind, making them move easier towards their destination. It was a storm without a storm. No rain, no flash of lightning. And yet the noise from the wind was roaring. It was like nature itself was aiding them. Nobody could see them sailing through Shipbreaker Bay. Nobody could hear them. They were invisible.

Gerion was counting his breaths. He was standing on the deck of his small ship, waiting. He had no clue how much time had passed since they had begun rowing. He could see nothing else but the tiny torch of light at the back of the ship. That had been the smuggler's idea. That way the other ships would not lose their way, while at the same time they would not be seen by a long distance. Hopefully.

Gerion could not believe what they were attempting. This whole plan was dangerous. More than dangerous. If they were not killed by Redwyne and his fleet, then they would surely find their demise in the sea. A real storm could start any minute. And then nothing would save them from joining Steffon Baratheon in his watery grave. In all honesty, what was Tywin thinking? His brother had probably lost his wits. Why else was this green boy so important that Tywin Lannister would endanger himself, his heir and one of his brothers?

Gerion could not think of an answer. All this was surreal to him. He remembered the day it started. He had been drinking wine with Kevan when Tywin had come looking for him. He had made a jape that his Golden brother would seek him out himself, but Tywin had not reacted at all. Not a disappointed frown, not a downturn of his lips. Nothing. Instead, he had ordered him to find the best sailors in Lannisport and bring them to him by the break of the following morning. And then he had left.

Despite being known for his recklessness and flippancy, Gerion was a clever, perceptible man. He could acknowledge when a situation was just a simple problem and when it was indeed dire. And at that particular moment, he had recognized his brother's tension. So without further thought, he had done exactly as asked.

He had gathered 400 men. Young, strong, but experienced sailors who knew how to do their job. And he had brought them to his brother. It had surprised him that Tywin had wanted him to remain while speaking to them. And he had been even more incredulous after the end of his speech. Apparently, his brother had decided to join the Rebels. And he needed to smuggle Jaime out of King's Landing. So, he had decided to send forty of these men with Gerion as their Captain to do the job. And he had wanted it done in a fortnight.

Gerion had been so flabbergasted that he had been unable to hold his tongue.

"Are you mad, Tywin?" he had asked incredulously.

His brother had only stared at him before turning back to the men.

"Who among you can do as I order?" he had asked.

About 50 young men had walked forwards with some hesitation.

"I am giving one thousand golden dragons to each of you that reach King's Landing in a fortnight. I don't care about the winds. I don't care about the storms. Anyone who can make a sailing ship move by at least 200 miles a day will receive a thousand golden dragons. Now, can you accomplish what I am asking?"

Immediately all fifty men had burst into applause. Every single one of them had accepted the challenge.

Gerion for once in his life had been completely speechless. He had turned to his brother wide-eyed.

"You leave in the morning. You will take a small sailing ship. You will travel fast, but carefully. When you reach Flea Bottom you will search for a man named Davos. He is a smuggler. You will pay him whatever price he wants. In exchange, he will have to help get Jaime, Elia and her children out. The plan is written in this paper right here. You will explain everything to him as I say. And afterward, you will join me and the rest of these men in Tarth. Let us see then if this Davos will smuggle us through the most prominent fleet of Westeros."

Tywin had spoken these words loudly for all to hear.

"Every sailor that follows me to Storm's End, each and every one of you who follows my orders will be rewarded with 500 golden dragons."

The rest of the men had applauded too.

Tywin had then turned his solemn face to him.

"For once in your life, make me proud, brother."

And then he had left.

From then on, everything had passed quicker than possible. Gerion had read Tywin's letter time and time again. He had learned it by heart. And even so, he had not been able to understand Tywin's reasoning. His big brother was risking everything for Stannis Baratheon. Despite that, he had followed the instructions to the letter. Finding Davos had been quite easy. Persuading him to do the job even easier. He had a family to look after. Gold was gold.

Quite unexpectedly, the plan had worked and before he knew it Jaime was sitting on the deck beside him. But there had been one surprise. His nephew had not spoken once. Not once in the three days back to Tarth. He had not smiled at his japes. He had spent all of his time with the Dornish Princess and her little ones. Gerion had felt worried for the first time in his life.

They had found the seven ships Tywin had written about exactly where he had said. Tywin had joined them on their ship immediately. But before he had touched both of his feet on deck, something ludicrous had happened. Jaime had jumped on him and held him in a tight embrace. Gerion had almost laughed at his brother's expression. His mouth was opening and closing like a fish. He was gapping at his son. But, of course, Tywin being Tywin, he had managed to regain his composure too soon for Gerion's liking. He had grabbed Jaime by the shoulders and to Gerion's astonishment had hugged him just as fiercely.

That had been some hours ago now. Tywin had spoken with the smuggler for a long time before they decided that the best moment to start their operation would be in the dead of night. And that was that.

Gerion let out a shaky breath. It was time to get some answers. All this darkness was getting on his nerves.

He moved towards the only cabin of the ship where he knew he would find his brother. He opened the door and got inside. Tywin was sitting on a chair near the table where a lone candle lit up the room. He was looking at Jaime who was pacing rapidly. Princess Elia was in another chair with her children sleeping in a pile of clothing near her.
Gerion moved closer, but no one paid him attention.

"It's war, then," his nephew whispered without stopping his movements.

"It is. Prince Doran and I came to an agreement. We shall expect more than 30,000 men in a fortnight." his brother answered in the same tone.

"Are we sure that everyone will be convinced of my death?"

"If you followed my instructions to the letter, then yes."

"We did as you said. With the armor and everything. And the body was already headless."

"Then everything is going according to plan."

"So our forces will come the same time as the Dornish?"

"Around the same time, yes."

"And what about the Princess and the children? Wouldn't they be safer in Dorne?"

"Absolutely. However, this ship is carrying salted fish and onions. It is important that it arrives in Storm's End alongside the galleys. Prince Doran agreed quite reluctantly. But I gave him my word that his family will be protected at all times."

His brother turned towards the princess.

"As I wrote to you in that letter, I intend to keep my word, my Lady. Storm's End will be safe for you all."

"I believe you, my Lord."

"And what about us, Father? Uncle Gerion would be of more use with our fleet, not trapped inside a castle. And I could be assisting uncle Tygett when the fight starts. You know that I am the best swordsman that we have."

"You will not fight, Jaime. You will be safe inside the castle guarding the Martells. If I die, you will be the Warden of the West."

Jaime looked stricken.

"You will not die, Father. I am too young to rule."

Gerion almost coughed in laughter. Was that Jaime speaking? He saw his brother raise an eyebrow questioningly.

"Is this not the part where you say that Tyrion is my heir?"

Jaime's gaze, much to Gerion's surprise, hardened.

"Yes, well, you will not need to pretend anymore in my presence, Father. It became common knowledge that he is not your heir."

Gerion was perplexed. He looked at Tywin. His brother had become serious.

"What is that supposed to mean, son?"

Jaime grew more livid, if possible.

"How could you, Father?" finally hissed careful not to wake the children.

His brother only stared at him.

"How could you leave that animal live?"

Gerion was confused.

"What are you speaking of, Jaime?"

His brother's gaze was calculating.

"I am speaking about that raping monster!"

Tywin still only looked at him.

"He raped my mother and you did nothing!"

Gerion could have sworn that his heart had stopped beating. He couldn't breathe. He strode over to Jaime and seized him by the arms.

"What did you just say, boy?" he thundered.

Jaime looked him in the eyes.

"He raped my mother," he pronounced every word.

At that moment a scratching sound made him turn around. Tywin was slowly dragging his chair backwards. Gerion watched him as he stood and came next to him. He looked at Jaime intently.

"Did he tell you?" he asked in a deadly calm voice.

"Drop the act, father. What does it matter if he told me when you already knew?"

Tywin bared his teeth in anger.

"Did… he… tell… you?"

Gerion cringed. This was not good. He looked at Jaime. The boy had a horrified expression in his eyes. He could feel his tremors in his arms.

Jaime finally nodded.

Gerion swore at that moment that he would never forget what had happened next. Tywin's labored breathing, the whitening of his face, his form crumbling to the floor, his scream of anguish. And finally his tears. He swore to himself that whenever he found himself doubting Tywin's humanity, he would bring this moment in his mind.

Gerion slowly approached Tywin. He dropped down and hugged his older brother cruddling his head on his chest. Tywin did not resist. He just kept crying silently. After a while, Jaime joined them.

"We will avenge her, papa," he whispered.

Tywin opened his eyes. They were full of steel. The anger was gone, the anguish was gone. All that remained was a heart made of stone.

"Yes, we will."

Gerion grew a little scared. This was not a time for another Raynes and Tarbecks.

"I hope that you don't mean us, my Lord.", came the steely voice of princess Elia.

They all turned to her. But before his brother spoke his mind, Gerion tried to be reasonable.

"No, Tywin. They are not at fault. Aerys and Rhaegar, yes. They are both mad and rapers. But not these children. They are innocent."

"They are dragon spawn!"

"No, Father! Think about your friend Steffon! He was half Targaryen, too. Are you going to kill his sons, too?"

Tywin considered his boy. He blinked his eyes a few times before he sagged forward in the arms of his brother.

"You are right, Jaime. I will most definitely not." Then he turned to Elia. He stood up and approached her. "I already gave you my word. Now I do it one final time. You have my word that nothing will happen to you or your children by my hand. However, the Targaryen's reign is over. I will not allow Aerys or his son to keep breathing. If you ever consider taking the crown for your son, then I will consider you my enemy, my Lady."

Elia nodded. And then as if reluctant she spoke quietly.

"I would have done the same, my Lord."

Then she did something unexpected. She brought up her hand and she touched his cheek with compassion. Gerion was shocked that his brother allowed that.

"I wish that you find someone to mend your heart, my Lord. Now that I have seen it so utterly broken, I pray that there is someone out there who will turn this stony face of yours into the handsome lion that my mother used to speak of. And do not worry. I will keep this to myself. After all, I am in your debt for saving my life as well as that of my children. Take care, my Lord."

What Tywin did next was baffling. He took her hand from his cheek and kissed her palm knightly.

"There will never be anyone like Joanna, my Lady."

He then turned and left the cabin in hurried steps.

Gerion shared a worried glance with Jaime. After a silent communication, he followed after his brother. He found him in the quarterdeck staring at the darkness. He approached him quietly and put a hand on his shoulder. His brother's only reaction was a long exhale.

They stayed like that for a long time.

Once again thank you for reading!