The riders passed through the gate just after dawn. The golden hair of the two men leading the group was very noticeable since one had been dethroned two months previous. Their group had been given a wide berth since entering the city that morning. Tommen had met his father at the gate, riding down from the Keep early that morning so he didn't miss him. It had been a cheerful reunion. Tommen chattered happily on about his wife, Margaery, but Jaime knew that she was planning to leave him.
He told Tommen to wait for him in lower bailey and he would find him after. Jaime Lannister strode through the halls he knew all too well, no sword at his side for one of the first times in his life. He had been a warrior for so long but since his house had lost the throne, he decided on a quiet life in Casterly Rock.
Gendry would be in his quarters at this hour, a kingsguard posted outside his door. Jaime reached the hallway fairly quickly but he was stunned by who was guarding the door.
"Podrick?" Jaime said, looking at the young man in his white cloak.
"Ser Jaime. Or is it Lord Lannister now?" Podrick asked, remaining at his post next to the king's door. He wouldn't move for anything.
"I…I am not sure myself, Podrick." Jaime said, a half-smile on his face.
Podrick nodded. "Why are you in King's Landing?"
"I must speak to the king on Tommen's behalf."
"Of course, I heard of his attempt at a name change." He said, nodding.
"Yes, the boy deserves something good in his life. He lost the throne. He will soon lose his wife to another, less disgraced nobleman. I fear for my son."
"Yes. Let me wake the king."
"There is no need to wake him, I am more than capable of waiting." Jaime said.
Podrick shook his head. "No. He wants to see you, said so himself last night."
Jaime nodded. Podrick looked uneasy as he entered the outer chamber of the king's quarters. He returned not a minute later with the king.
Gendry approached the Lannister man and beckoned him to follow him down the hall. Jaime wondered where he was taking him. Gendry said, "I appreciate the speed in which you came."
Jaime nodded to the new king and said, "When you are summoned by the king, you waste no time."
"You were summoned by your son, Lord Lannister." Gendry said as they strode through the Great Hall, past the Iron Throne, and toward the small council chamber. Jaime was pleased to know that he was indeed the Lord of Casterly Rock.
"Indeed, I was." He nodded. "I was pleased with the decorations on the way into the Keep."
Gendry looked at him confused. Jaime clarified, "The heads. Ser Meryn Trant's was a pleasure to see. Did he scream when you cut it off?"
"He did."
"Coward." Jaime muttered as they entered the small council chamber. Gendry sat in his usual seat at the head of the table but Jaime was unsure of where to sit. Gendry motioned to the seat to his left.
When Jaime was seated, Gendry pulled a scroll from a breast pocket and said, "Shall we discuss your son's name?"
"Of course, Your Grace." Jaime said, placing his hands on the table. The fake hand made a loud noise when it hit the wood. Gendry pretended not to notice, the man was a cripple with bastard children born of incest, he didn't need to be humiliated further.
"I have everything ready here, all you must do is sign." Gendry said.
"Is it really that simple?"
"It is that simple. As long as you acknowledge that Tommen is your rightful heir and son."
"Of course he is."
Gendry nodded and slid the paper over to him, following with a quill and ink. He watched as Jaime poised to quill to sign the document. He lowered the quill slowly and looked at the king, "Why are you doing this for my family?"
Gendry knew he would question his motives. He leaned forward and rested his hands on the table. "You surrendered the royal army. You ended the war when your sister wouldn't. Your son listened to you and sought your wisdom; I wouldn't sit here if it weren't for you."
"You're mistaken, Your Grace. I wouldn't sit here if it weren't for you. You let me keep my head. You let my son keep his head. My family owes you and we will never be able to repay that debt."
"The Lannisters unable to repay a debt? Let's pray that's not the new unofficial motto of your house." Gendry said, a small smile on his face.
The somber face of the Lannister man softened. "No, let's pray it doesn't." He picked up the quill again and signed the document without flourish. He set it back down and a smile began to stretch across his face, erasing the scar on his cheek as it spread. It made him even more handsome, if that were possible.
Gendry watched his happiness and said, "Brienne speaks highly of you."
"She has no reason to but she does anyway. What does she say now?" Jaime asked, leaning back in his chair.
"First, she suggested you for the Kingsguard." Jaime seemed unsurprised by this. "But I didn't wish for a man known as the Kingslayer to join my ranks, not when he was loyal to the previous king, who I had just overthrown." Jaime nodded. "But, I can't help but wonder why my own father kept you in the Kingsguard when you had slayed his predecessor."
"Robert never knew the true reason I killed the Mad King. Only Brienne has been graced with the truth." He said quietly. He had been staring at his fake hand for the longest time but he finally met the king's eyes. "And I'm guessing she wishes for me to tell you."
"She tells me I will not view you as harshly." Gendry nodded. He wasn't going to push the issue if Jaime didn't want to tell him but the Lannister man began to tell the story.
He spoke quietly, barely a whisper, "The Mad King was obsessed with wildfire, he loved the way people burned, how their skin blackened and melted from their bones. He burned those he didn't like, no matter their nobility. He had his pyromancer place caches of wildfire all over the city when he realized half the country was against him. The day came when Robert Baratheon marched on the capital after his victory at the Trident and after killing the king's eldest son and heir. My father arrived first with our whole army at his back, he promised to defend the city agains the rebels, but I knew him better than that. I urged the king to surrender. Aerys didn't listen to me nor Varys, who warned him against my father's true motives; he listened instead to Grand Maester Pycelle. We opened the gates and my father sacked the city.
"Again, I urged Aerys to surrender. He told me to bring him my father's head. He then turned to his pyromancer and said, "Burn them all. Burn them in their homes. Burn them in their beds." I couldn't stand by and let thousands of men, women, and children burn alive. How could I? I wouldn't keep my oath, not then. I killed the pyromancer as he ran to set the town afire. And then, when the king turned to flee, I drove my sword into his back. He kept repeating, "Burn them all. Burn them all." I think he intended to burn with the rest of us and be reborn into a dragon to turn the rest of his enemies to ash. He meant to set all of Westeros aflame."
Gendry didn't say a word. He sat, stunned, staring at a spot on the table in front of Jaime.
"I'm not proud of most things I've done: crippling the poor Stark boy, attacking Ned Stark, fucking Cersei. But I am proud of killing Aerys Targaryen. I will never say otherwise, Your Grace." Jaime said.
"You should always be proud of that, Lord Lannister." Gendry said finally. "You let me know if you ever need anything. You or Tommen, even Myrcella. If she wishes to be renamed 'Myrcella Lannister,' we shall take care of that swiftly."
Jaime gave the king a small smile, still feeling something from his story. He asked suddenly, "What has become of my sister? I haven't seen nor heard of her since you won the throne."
Gendry didn't want to look at the man but he did. "She waits in the dungeons."
"The dungeons!"
"Yes, your lordship. When you attempt to assassinate the new king, you get put in the dungeons."
"Well that does sound like something she would do. How?"
"How did she try to kill me?" Gendry asked, astonished he was asking such a thing. Then again, he was a Lannister and they were rather blunt.
"When Tommen was surrendering to me, after you had been escorted from the city, she pulled a knife from her person and attempted to plunged it into my neck." Gendry leaned closer to him and showed off the faint scar on his lower jaw. "She missed and Brienne took her out."
"I would have thought Brienne to be quicker than that." Jaime said, scratching his chin.
"It was to be a moment of peace after the end of a long war I had joined at the very end; no one thought an attack would occur." Gendry said, simply.
"Tommen was surrendering the crown and the kingdom Cersei had desperately wanted to keep. Of course she wouldn't allow it."
The men fell silent for a moment then Jaime asked, "What will become of her?"
"She will stand trial and if found guilty, she will be executed."
Jaime nodded. Gendry looked at him, his expression softening. "Do you still love her?"
"No more than a brother loves his sister, Your Grace. My love for Cersei died with the horrible things she did."
"You do know that she will be found guilty?"
"Yes, Your Grace. I know."
After a moment, Gendry asked, "Will you be there for it?"
"Yes. I want her to know that I feel nothing for her. Being present for her execution should do that, I suppose."
Gendry nodded. "Yes, that should do it."
There was a loud bang as the door to the small council chamber swung opened. Neither man stood up as Arya Stark strode purposefully into the room. "I heard you were in here…" She stopped when her eyes settled on his companion.
"Arya Stark, Lord Jaime Lannister. Lord Lannister, Arya Stark." Gendry said by way of introduction.
"I know who he is. What is he doing here?" Arya said, her voice full of hatred. Gendry had heard that tone often on their travels together.
"We have business together." Gendry said.
"Business with him? You should have his head thrown in the Blackwater!" Arya shouted. Her hand inched toward the sword on her hip. "I'll do it."
Gendry stood up abruptly, his chair falling backward and clattering on the floor. "Enough, Arya! He's the Warden of the West! If I say I have business with him, I have business with him. He is here as a guest and should be treated as such!"
Arya looked at him, her eyes narrowed. She turned on her heel and marched out of the chamber.
"Pardon me, Your Grace, but you shouldn't have said that." Jaime said quietly. "She won't forgive that, not with the history between our families. I crippled her brother. My son killed her father. My father was involved in the plot to kill her brother and mother. The Lannisters and Starks do not get along."
"You have a point…"