The boy sat at his feet surrounded by furs and ornately carved wooden figurines. Every so often he would stop gurgling and throwing things about to become silent.
He was used to the silence.
It was the most familiar thing to him.
Most of his life had been lived out in solitude, he trusted no one. He was responsible for the growth of his house and their position in the kingdom, no one else.
He had created the legacy.
This boy at his feet was apart of his legacy.
He was everything he wanted Jaime to be. He reflected on a time where he and Jaime were seated as he and Durrandon were now, the hopes and dreams he had for his son, his heir and then it was all taken from him. For a long time he had tried to blame the Mad King for Jaime's actions and rejections of his inheritance, but it had always been of Jaime's accord. He had never needed any encouragement to shy away from his responsibilities.
Tywin had grown sick of it.
He would not be outwitted by his son and his daughter. That is exactly what they had thought that they had been doing for so long, in some ways he was proud and in others he was furious at the audacity of the two in thinking that they could fool the great Lord Tywin Lannister of Casterly Rock.
It had gone on too long so he did all that he could to prevent Jaime's idiocy from continuing. When Jaime was younger it did not matter to Tywin so much, he still felt reasonably energetic and fearsome on the battlefield, but now he had aged and Tywin admitted the reality.
He would not live forever.
He would not let the great dynasty of his house end with him.
And he most certainly would not have Tyrion inherit Casterly Rock and trade their wealth for whores and fine wine. No, their name would not be besmirched. Everyone knew what Tyrion was, a vile little monster that lived a life of luxury in a drunken stupor. Cersei, a vicious creature that threw all caution to the wind, she had always thought that her name, gold and beauty could mask her from everything. Little did she know how everything fades.
That was the problem with Cersei, she did not have much fore-thought. Jaime was much the same. He only realised the degree of their selfishness when it was obvious to him that they had no real love for their house, only the power and wealth it gave him.
To him they were disloyal.
He was certain Durrandon would be different. He would be his mother's son and for one thing Tywin was certain was that Vesara knew duty. Something his children seemed to have missed in their childhood and their adulthood. It saddened him that his son would most likely not serve as Lord of Casterly Rock, everything he had built was for his son and now he had to turn to his grandson and the daughter of the man that had irritated him through his entire ghastly reign.
He was glad that Robert didn't live long enough to regret and withdraw from the arrangement they had made. He had doubted that it would work in the first place. Asking for the hand of Vesara and Jaime's freedom in exchange for continued financing from Casterly Rock. If Robert didn't participate with Tywin's demands he would have ensured that the Capitol was cut off from his gold, much to his daughter's dismay. He had backed Robert into a corner that no one could help him out of.
And now he had somehow found himself in a position where he needed to align with a Baratheon and she needed to ally with him.
He pitted the girl. He pitted all women in fact. Great deeds were left for men and women were merely seen as aids to such, something he was certain caused distaste to Cersei. At least his daughter had gotten something that she had always craved. He had positioned her for power far greater than she could have ever wished for and his dear wife was blessed with a marriage full of love. And Vesara, well Vesara was not nearly as delicate, she was not driven by ego in the same way that his family was.
She was driven by her loyalty to her house.
Now she was all that existed of her house. Stannis was merely waiting in a cue to greet the Stranger as he continued to spout on about disgusting indiscretions about his twins. If Stannis did not die of his own stupidity, Tywin would make sure he met his end as recompense for dragging his family name into vile falsities.
In moments of weakness he found himself humouring the lies, they caused him to become sick but nothing eased the unsettling truths found in them that lingered. It only made him more grateful that Vesara and Jaime had married when they had, had it been delayed like Jaime and Cersei had both requested things would have been much different in the war.
She would have owed them no loyalties.
Tywin tampered with the scenario further. If Vesara had not married Jaime it is more than likely that Robb Stark would have been the preferred option of Robert. And as fiercely loyal as the Northerners were he was certain that they would have rallied behind their lord and lady, surely with Stannis and Renly close behind. He knew Vesara was clever. She would have been more likely to stake her claim for the Iron Throne if she had married someone other than Jaime. She was not willing to hand the Lannisters what would have been her kingdom.
His son was not fit to govern Casterly Rock let alone the Seven Kingdoms.
He would be sure that the boy would be.
In the silence the boy would stare up at him with heavy green eyes that reminded him of Vesara as a child. The boy smiled at him, flashing his grandfather the dimple on his right cheek. He would take after Vesara, there was definitely more Baratheon in this child than Lannister.
He would be trained. Tywin was sure of that. This boy would continue his legacy.
He would be the stag that attacked like a lion.
Many of Tywin's men had been startled when they entered the tent and saw an infant but no one was more startled than his servant girl.
"Does the babe frighten you?" He smirked.
"No my lord, the babe is… just unexpected."
"Is it so shocking that I should be found in the company of a babe?"
"Yes my lord, you are Lord Tywin Lannister, commander of armies, Lord of Casterly Rock and Warden of the West."
"Can I not simply be a grandfather?"
"Of course my lord. It just seems that we forget that everyone is someone's son, daughter, mother, father, brother, sister, grandfather…"
The girl was right, every man he sent to the slaughter was someone to somebody and this boy before him, he would be something far greater than just the grandson of Tywin Lannister. He could feel it in his bones.
The boy's smile spread from ear to ear when he saw his mother enter the tent. Vesara had come to retrieve the boy after Tywin had summoned her. For a moment he relieved his younger years in Casterly Rock, with Jaime at his feet and his beautiful wife coming to collect their babe. The old lion couldn't help but smile, it felt forced, but it was the best that Tywin could do since the death of Joanna.
"I do hope he hasn't been too troublesome my lord."
Vesara scooped him into her arms and playfully tapped his nose as her handmaiden scurried behind her to collect the boy's things.
"Of course not, for someone who says so small I think we have the makings of a master strategist, definitely fitting for a lordling of Casterly Rock."
Vesara was made uneasy by Tywin's attempts at casual conversation. She had few encounters with the man until they entered his camp and accompanied he and his men. At first he was apprehensive about having them with the war party but it seemed that he did not trust Cersei with the two of them either.
He knew that they were a valid threat to the crown now that people were questioning the parentage of Joffrey, Myrcella and Tommen. This boy could quite easily displace the children of Cersei as King.
Jaime would definitely not be fit for service as Regent. Like always, everything would be left for Tywin.
He was tired of cleaning up everyone's mess in his old age, but here was, mentoring what was likely to be the next King who would hold lordship over four of the seven kingdoms himself.
Jon Arryn may have been a soft fool at times but he certainly knew how to arrange a marriage that would be extremely beneficial for his house and all of Westeros. His only regret was that he hadn't married the girl himself instead of having his son as the match.
Jaime was skilled in battle, but it seemed that he lacked skill everywhere else. It didn't matter; he would have his son back and into the bed of Vesara to produce more heirs.
"On the morrow I would like him with me again Lady Vesara."
"As it pleases you my lord." She took him into his arms and he snuggled deep into her coat sighing softly.
For a moment she swore she saw the face of the old lion soften.
x
Tywin had demanded that she return to King's Landing with his party. He knew her to be wary of returning, some of her men were loyal but she was certain that others had to be bought. Being surrounded by gold cloaks and the Kingsguard would put them in more danger, but if she refused Lord Tywin he could make life difficult for her.
The old lion had refused her request to go to Casterly Rock, he said in times such as these their family needed to stick together, for anyone who isn't them is the enemy. She did not question him, the old lion was set in his ways and would not listen to the requests of a woman.
They all knew it was in her best interests to keep the lion on side. At present he was the only stable actor in this conflict.
She ordered the servants to collect their things and prepare to head south to King's Landing. She was about to walk right into the very wildfire that had chased her out, right back to Cersei Lannister.
"What are we still doing here Vesara? We should have left as soon as night fell." Tallon barged into her tent.
"Turn around and try that again with some manners, Ser." She hissed without looking at him.
He continued to approach her and grabbed her chin aggressively so she would look at him, only to have her pull away from him. Tallon had never intended to be so forceful but he knew Vesara to be stubborn and more responsive to force.
"My brother and I have been loyal to your cause since the day you were born, my brother does not remember a life without you and you dare respond like so, my lady? Ser Monterys could have left you after the death of his brother and served as Lord Regent for his nephew, but instead he is off on your business. I'm in charge now, I need you to trust me and respect me like you did him."
Her glare was enough to remind him that in commanding respect he had in fact lost some of it. It wasn't that Vesara didn't trust him, he knew she did, but she would never respect him in the way that she respected Monterys. The old seahorse had the luxury of being her acting father figure and he was nothing but a sibling a lower status than she.
"We are going to be in danger anywhere we go, I'm just trying to pick the lesser of evils."
"I have begged you before, return to Storm's End and call to the bannermen and Baratheon loyalists, call to your Uncle Stannis, your grandfather Doran in the South and make your claim. You will be the winning side."
He knew it to be the right choice and he also knew that it was likely that such a war would cause his death. Despite his years of service he had been fortunate enough not to serve in a war. In many ways he was still green.
"No one is going to win this game Tallon, least of all the players already in it. We just have to make sure that those at the end have something to rule."
He rested his head in his hands. He wanted nothing more than to have Vesara on the throne, there was nothing that would have brought him more honour than leading her army with his brother at his side. He had already forsaken his house for her; it was what his elder brother deserved after turning them over as hostages to Robert Baratheon.
"I can hear you whimper in your sleep. I heard your screams for weeks after the fire caught us. How can you go back there? How can you make your men go back there? You weren't the only one that burnt that day, half your men are scared for life and those are only the ones that survived. I hear them every night Vesara. Some of the men barely sleep, out of fear. All they see in their dreams are flames. You would send them back to that?"
"We ride within the hour." She responded plainly.
He didn't understand how she could be so selfish. It was moments like this he saw flashes of Robert, taking men to war, to their deaths to meet her own ends. To the high born, everyone was replaceable.
She probably thought he was being theatrical, he had been known for his dramatic flare but this time he knew he had a point and he knew she was too stubborn to admit it. He was her oldest and truest guard and friend, but the years had turned him sour, the flames even more so. He was no longer the patient, kind and fierce soul she remembered as a child.
He thought to leave her service.
He was not confined to the celibate life of the Kingsguard and yet he had taken those same oaths and loyalties of his own accord. And her marriage to Jaime Lannister tested him more than anything. He couldn't stand the man and the way Vesara looked at him when she thought no one was looking, the face of longing.
She needed to remember that she wasn't a girl anymore and he is certainly not a knight to be admired. He was grateful that those moments were fleeting, he did however fear that they may be given the chance to remain.
King's Landing was just as they had predicted.
Her Uncle had failed to lay siege to the Blackwater, he was fooling himself in thinking that the Capitol would meet him on the water his fleet was far superior to all fleets in Westeros, only challenged by the Iron Islands. And yet, he still assumed that Joffrey would bring his men to their certain deaths.
He would need to play to the same rules if he wanted to defeat the Lannisters. But instead he underestimated Cersei Lannister. Perhaps everyone had and that is why they are still in this mess.
Vesara was going to take every rule that she could out of the Lannister's book if she was to survive them.
He was at her side as she watched Cersei from afar as Margery terrorised her, or was it the other way around? No one was sure anymore.
Tallon was relieved that Margery had taken the attention from the elder Stark girl. He couldn't help but cringe every time Joffrey made a vile comment toward her. Vesara was much the same, the nub of her fingers somewhat raw from clawing into whatever she could to hold her tongue.
As much as he wished that they could help the girl he couldn't have Vesara look to pity the girl let alone show her any kind of silence. For now she had tasked Bane with stalking Sansa's corridor in the evenings. He had to admit, he thought the Stark may have developed a crush on the guard that lingered near her and perhaps his brother had developed some sort of affection toward the girl or perhaps it was pity.
How could they not pity Sansa. The girl that had always dreamed of gallant knights and happily ever afters and here she was forced into the same fate as all highborn ladies. She would know the pain of duty, of marriage for position and power. If only she had known it elsewhere, away from Vesara's vicious brother.
It sickened Tallon to know that Vesara harboured some sort of familial care for the children of the children of Cersei, even if they were half of Robert. To think that despite the monster that Joffrey was she still bore him some kind of love. Even Tallon knew that he hadn't always been like this. Once he had been nothing but a bawling bundle in his mother's arms with a tuft of blonde hair atop his head.
Clearly not everyone was born a monster. Power turned them into monsters.
Vesara learnt of this early in her life. Robert and Stannis would often conflict with one another. She listened to her father tell her of how she would be the greatest match for any lord or their heir. She could pick the one that she had desired the most, that she could marry the one that he never had the opportunity to.
But she believed that there was no such thing as love, only duty as her uncle Stannis made sure that she understood. Some days he wasn't so sure that she loved her son.
Or perhaps she was scared of showing others that she loved him, loved him more than anything in the world.
The wedding before them conflicted with what they two Baratheon men had said. Margery was able to chose and she chose love, love of power, position and influence. She chose duty to her family and their status.
He watched on as Margery came to Vesara's side before the wedding proceeded. Vesara was dressed in Lannister colours in a style that would challenge even Margery, something that was bound to get the attention of Cersei and Tywin.
Vesara had known girls like Margery and she was more than prepared to put on a show with the Tyrells.
With Margery, the nice ones were always worse than the mean ones; it was harder to predict when they were going to attack and to know what truly lay behind their niceties.
Margery, Sansa and Vesara were all pawns to more powerful men in their lives. Their niceties were the only things that could keep them safe. As much as Vesara may have argued otherwise.
All strategic marriages, as Vesara was used when Robert got desperate, and that desperation grew the more the Lannisters secured their hold on the Iron Throne. Her father walked right into the trap that Tywin had set for him. Whether he liked it or not, he couldn't live without the Lannisters or their gold.
Everything had been Robert's doing and yet she continued to idolise the man, the man that she barely knew, who traded her to the Lannisters for the promise of gold. Every boy in the Seven Kingdoms had dreamed of growing up to be a warrior as fierce as Lord Robert Baratheon and his great hammer or as skilled as Ser Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning, the last true and valiant knight of the Kingsguard.
But no boy would dream of an ending like Robert or Arthur.
Tallon would often dream of his own end. No matter the nightmare that plagued him, if he was to die it was always the same.
Protecting Vesara from herself was not going to be an easy feat. With every passing day he feared that it would cost him his life.
That would be the unfortunate cost of his loyalty.