Seventeen Years into King Jon's Reign
When he was young, Jaime Lannister was as clueless as his children. He hadn't had a clue that as his father sat in his office as Hand of the King with the door closed that he could hear him and his siblings plotting on the other side.
It made sense now, why Tywin always seemed to be one step ahead of their schemes.
Jaime had crossed the room a few minutes before, and was standing with his head tilted towards them. A wry grin pressing his lips together to keep from laughing.
"I'm just saying, you're the eldest, you should go first." He heard Tomsly mumble to his brother.
"Lya's not even a year younger than me." His oldest living child murmured like a child of five.
"He's your father!" She hissed back.
"You want him on your side or not?" Her cousin countered.
"I don't really need him on my side." His niece sounded unsure.
"You think you'll get my mother without my father? You're insane." Tyrick hissed.
"He's right. For Mum you must have Da." Renly added helpfully.
"More likely if you want Da you best have Mum." Tomsly corrected.
"How's that different?" Ren asked dismissively.
Jaime took a deep breath and swung the door open.
"You'll find out one day when you have a wife of your own." He told his son. "I have been visited by the strangest feeling that the four of you would like to speak with me. Am I correct?"
"Yes Father." The boy's chorused in their best Heirs of the Rock voices.
"Yes Uncle." Lyanna looked at her shoes, and Jaime opened the door fully and stepped aside to let them in.
"Sit." He pointed to the sette and the scattered chairs and they all numbly took their spots. "Did you decide who was going first? Should I get a dragon for you to flip?"
The older two boys looked helplessly at Lyanna, who huffed. Ren snorted, muttering something that sounded like 'chicken shits.'
"Well you see, Uncle." Lyanna began, folding her hands primly on her lap before rubbing them together. She pressed her lips tightly until the faint Tully characteristics could be seen in her Sansa-like expression. "We've been talking.." She took a deep breath. "That this may be our last summer we spend all together on Tarth." She looked up at him and Jaime felt something pang in his chest. She was right of course, they were practically grown. "And that got us talking and well… "
She looked at Ty who bit his lip before looking restlessly towards his father.
"Oh for Seven's sake!" Renly huffed, tossing his thirteen year old body back against the sette. "They're all unhappy. Unhappy with their station, unhappy with their perspective betrothal, unhappy with all of it."
The other three children in the room all stared at him; mouths agape.
"Seriously Da, they won't shut up about it." Ren kicked out his leg. "They complain and complain but not one of them has taken a minute to tell you! Or Mum. Or Uncle that they're displeased."
Jaime looked at the three of them carefully.
"Why are you here again?" Tom asked his younger brother, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"You need me here. If I wasn't here you would have been all sappy and reminiscent about your childhood summers and the next thing you know Aunt Sansa would have planned a damn ball and none of you would have told anyone that the lives you've had paved out for you aren't at all what you want." Ren snorted.
"So." The elder Lannister regarded the others. "Now that Ren has spilled it, do the rest of you have anything to add?"
They all looked at their hands.
"Oh seven hells." Ren murmured . "Stranger take you all."
"Renly, that's enough." Jaime said sharply. "Go down to her solar and fetch your lady mother, I have a feeling I will be needing her guidance."
"Fine." He snorted, swinging himself back to his feet and making his way out the door. "Cowards."
"Now." Jaime sighed. "Until the more level headed adult arrives, i think it's best if I do the talking." He rubbed his left hand over the end of his right arm for a moment. "I think I can speak for your parents Lyanna, when I say we have tried very hard not to be your grandfather. We have always encouraged you all to follow your dreams." He looked at his beautiful niece. "When you abdicated your claim as heir to the North to pursue knighthood, your mother understood did she not?"
"Yes Uncle." Lya whispered.
"If you would like to make changes in that now.." Her face betrayed her with a wince and Jaime sighed. "We want you to be happy. All of you." He looked at Ty. "When you chose Tarth over the Rock we didn't blink. I knew you dreamed of being the Evenstar almost from the moment you could speak. And I think we've been very careful with your betrothals." The door opened and Renly returned with Brienne, she curiously took her spot beside him. "Your mother and I have asked you to make a list. You can take time to get to know those ladies, see who-." He looked at his wife, she took his hand in hers and gave it a squeeze. "Best suits you."
"The problem is there's only one name on the list." Ren snorted.
Ty looked at him sharply before turning to his parents.
Jaime raised an eyebrow in silent question.
"I'm not sure you're going to like it, Father." He told him shakily, Jaime felt Brienne's shoulders sag just a little and a soft sad smile crossed her features. His body burned, he looked from his son to his niece with a frown. No. No. No. No.
"It's not that!" Renly giggled. "It's not-."
Jaime looked back at him with an almost fearful expression.
"Amena." Renly laughed. "Ty's in love with Amena, he wants to marry Amena"
"Oh Brightstar." Brienne exhaled slowly as Jaime untangled their hands to run his palm across his face.
"Ren!" Ty grunted at his brother's boldness.
"He thought you meant Lyanna. He was afraid you wanted to marry Lyanna!" Renly snorted with uncontrolled laughter as the cousin's grimaced at each other.
"Why-?" Jaime swallowed hard, before clearing his throat of the leftover fear. "Why didn't you just say so?"
"Lots of reasons." Ty told his father softly. "She's baseborn, for one."
"Tarth will not care a white walkers ass-."
"Jaime." Brienne winced. "Amena is of House Payne. She's legitimized-"
"And some in the Stormlands will say by the Bastard King." Lyanna told them boldly.
"No one on Tarth." Jaime challenged sharply. "No one at Storms End, and that is all that matters."
"I've known her since my first day." Ty spoke quickly, looking at his father. "We nursed from the same teat. We've been raised as close as any of us have." He looked at his family. "I thought maybe you might be.. bothered by.. that."
"I'm not." Jaime took a slow deep breath, feeling Brienne's fingers wrap around his once again. "She feels the same? She'll have you and Tarth?"
Jaime lifted his chin when Ty nodded.
"Amena will be as she has always been, a wonderful addition to our family."
"You'll ask Ser Podrick formally as soon as we can arrange an audience." Brienne whispered.
"I wouldn't worry too much Son, House Payne has always been rather loyal to your mother." Jaime smiled. "We'll have the wedding at the end of the summer, before you officially take on your role as the Evenstar, before you all start off."
"You mean it?" He looked between them.
"We do." Brienne told him. "Tarth will love her, as she has always loved Tarth."
Her chin wobbled slightly before giving a nod.
"Now that wasn't so bad was it?" He looked between the remaining children before turning back to Ren with a huff. "Renly, who's next?" Jaime waved his stump in irritation.
His boy leaned over to look at his brother, who huffed in irritation.
"Tom doesn't want the Rock." Ren shrugged.
Jaime sat up stiffly, his head cocking to the left.
"I'm sorry?"
"I don't-. It's not-" Tomsly sputtered before dropping his head into his hands. "I'm sorry father."
Brienne gasped and Jaime's head fell back and he gaped at the ceiling before turning his eyes to his wife.
"Seven hells no one wants the damn thing." He mumbled to Brienne. "Do you hear that?" He muttered to her, squinting as he put his stump to his ear. "That's the sound of my father turning in his grave. I honestly can hear him all the way from Kings Landing."
Breinne sorted.
"Why don't you want the Rock, Sweetling?" She murmured.
"I um.." He took a deep breath. "Da really? Can you say you look at me and see the Lion of the Rock?" He wrinkled his forehead and Jaime's eyebrows rose. "Seriously if Ty was made for Tarth then clearly Ren was born for the Rock!" Jaime smirked as the near perfect replica of himself sat up a little straighter at the mention of his name, his body leaning forward.
Like a true lion about to pounce. Jaime mused.
"I should.. I want-. Oh Gods this is difficult." His voice became muffled as he dropped his face into his hands. Jaime and Brienne both swung their eyes to their third born for help.
"It's not hard.. Just say it." Ren moaned. "I want to be a Maester." He said to his brother slowly. "Just say it."
"A Maester?" Jaime pressed his lips together, his eyebrows lifted at his wife.
"You want to be a Maester?" Brienne tilted her head. "Really?"
"I'd like to forge my chain." The young man murmured into his palms.
"Darling, you will protect me when my father's corpse bursts through the door and tries to cut me down?" He stage whispered to his beloved.
"Jaime." She swatted at him with her free hand.
"I'm not jesting."
"Stop." She squeezed her grip tighter.
"A Maester." Brienne said breathlessly. "That's-."
"Just fine." Jamie finished in a sigh, his thumb grazing Brienne's knuckles as he felt her deflate beside him. "A fine Maester you will be then."
Tom looked up at his father then before slowly turning towards his mother.
She gave him a small nod and he swallowed hard.
Jaime took that moment to turn towards Ren.
"Do you want the West or have you tagged along to inform me you'd like to be a Septon? Should I go and collect your brother from the nursery and start prepping him? Or perhaps one of Lyanna's siblings-? I think Joanna is next in line."
"No." Ren said quickly, a crisp predatory grin moving across his face. "I'll warden the West."
"Careful boy, my heart's still beating." Jaime raised an eyebrow and Ren gaped at him. Brienne chuckled.
"At your side, Father." He grimaced. "At your side."
"Your Grandfather would be pleased with your choice, Son." The choice I would have never made. Jaime thought to himself. He'd often considered Ren as his second chance. That his boy might meet all the expectations Jaime had simply let fall to the waste side. "In fact I think I just heard his bones mutter 'that will do' as they clattered back down to the cement slab."
Ren and Ty both snorted, Brienne shook her head at him before directing her attention to the last Lannister heir in the room. They'd spent hours on Lyanna's future over the years, no one, not even Sansa had been the slightest bit surprised when she'd tearfully begged off becoming the future Queen of the North in favor of her dearest Aunt and Uncle one day bestowing her with knighthood. Jaime was looking forward to that day nearly as much as Lyanna, but not quiet was much as his wife.
"Lya?" Brienne said softly and Jaime peeled his eyes away from her and looked at his niece. Her face was pale, but she pulled her chin up bravely and swallowed hard before her eyes drifted between him and Brienne before wincing and stealing his gaze. She looked like a proper Lady. Like the aunt she'd never met. She looked like a queen. She looked like all the things she had decided not to be. She blinked her green cat eyes at her uncle and he watched the confidence leave her until the gaze was almost pleading.
What she said next made Jaime Lannister see red.