The Kraken and the Lion

Chapter 05

by Technomad

Asha Greyjoy

When Asha heard about Lord Tywin's idea, she was so startled that she had to sit down for a few minutes.

She had always expected to marry one day, but she had not expected that day to come quite so soon. She had not looked forward to losing her freedom; an ironborn husband would expect her to stay home and bear his babies, and she would have to give up her captaincy of the Black Wind. But this proposed match was a different matter entirely.

Lord Tyrion was, to put it mildly, not ironborn. He would not expect her to comport herself as a normal ironborn lady; he apparently thought the better of her for her independence and successful command of a longship. That was a refreshing change. She would never willingly give over her ship as long as she was physically capable of exercising command. There was no feeling so wild and free as the one she got on the deck of the Black Wind, with the sail bellying out with wind, the wild sea before her and a world of possibility ahead.

And this match has other advantages, she thought. Lord Tyrion was a Lannister, and that meant rich. The Iron Islands were poor, and while Asha had learned to live with that, she couldn't help but sometimes feel helpless envy when she compared the hard lives her countrymen led with the soft, easy life of others. As the wife of a Lannister, she could tap into the family fortune. A Lannister always pays his, or her, debts. She could buy her nuncle Rodrik the Reader all the books he wanted, and give her father the financial backing to make the Iron Islands a better place to live. Not to mention the ideas she had had for improving her longship after her trip aboard the royal dromond…

Of course, it would mean living with, and sleeping with, Lord Tyrion. To Asha's great surprise, she found that idea not as repulsive as she would have expected. Lord Tyrion was very odd-looking, but his brilliant mind and sparkling wit made up for a great deal. "Most of a good marriage is conversation," her nuncle Rodrik had said to her once, and she had had many very interesting talks with Lord Tyrion. He knew many fascinating things, and never minded explaining things to her if what he said went over her head. He also did not seem to think she was automatically inferior because she was a woman.

That, alone, put him head-and-shoulders over every other man she had ever met. Lord Tyrion judged her on what she could do, not whether she had to squat when she peed. She had had a little trouble getting her mind around the concept of a man seeing her as an equal, and she still had times when she could hardly believe it.

Plus, the match had distinct political advantages. Once she, as the daughter of the Lord, or King, of the Iron Islands, was married into the Lannisters, the Lannisters would be obliged to support the Iron Islands. And the Iron Islands' fleet of longships would be very useful to the Lannisters; they had a fleet of their own, but in Asha's unbiassed opinion, there was no sailor anywhere that was a tenth as good as any ironborn.

As she was ruminating, a knock came on the door. "My lady?" came Lord Tyrion's voice. "May I come in?"

Tyrion Lannister

He found himself unexpectedly feeling shy. He and the ironwoman had had many interesting conversations, often over shared dinners…but this was a different situation entirely.

Tyrion Lannister did not lack experience with women, but after his horrible experience with Tysha, he had not thought about marriage, Lannister though he was. Whores, he could deal with, and did quite well with in his own unbiassed opinion, partly because he never forgot that they were human beings just like he was. A potential wife? A potential wife from somewhere as outside his usual experience as the Iron Islands? That was another kettle of fish!

"Come in," he heard Lady Asha's voice. He entered, to find her sitting, staring into space, a letter open on her lap. "I take it this is about our fathers' little scheme to wed us?"

"Yes, it is." Tyrion was very grateful that she was being straightforward, instead of coy and hesitant. He had never liked coyness and hesitancy in a woman; it was very difficult to distinguish either from honest revulsion at his form, and he had had enough of that to last him a lifetime. Since she was being straightforward, he decided he should be as well. "How do you feel about it, my lady?"

Asha gave him a long look, frankly evaluating what she saw. "To be honest, my lord, this is unexpected. A member of your almighty family, marrying an ironborn reaver? Won't your ancestors turn in their coffins?"

Tyrion grinned. "For what it's worth, my lady, many of my ancestors were reavers and thieves on a scale that makes your most rapacious raiders look like so many High Septons." He pulled up a chair and sat down, close but not too close. "We were just more successful. Living on top of gold mines does make it easier."

"Even so." Asha visibly put that question aside; it was, after all, mainly a political match. "In the Islands, we worship the Drowned God. I was drowned as a girl myself…"

"Drowned?" Tyrion stared openly. As far as he knew, drowning was fatal.

"Yes, drowned…and revived. It's a religious rite. Most people who go through it survive. My nuncle the Damphair…he's a priest of the Drowned God…did it for me. Most women don't do it, but I've always been different." She gave him a smile, and her handsome face suddenly was a thing of beauty.

"I can understand being different, my lady," Tyrion answered, grinning at her. "However, I think I'll stick with my old familiar Seven Gods. Would that be a problem?"

Asha visibly thought about it. "Not likely to be. We do have our fanatics, and I'm sure you have yours…"

"The Poor Fellows and Warrior's Sons are long gone, my lady, and they'll never, ever be back." Privately, Tyrion hoped that would stay the truth. Unlike his ignorant siblings, Tyrion had read very deeply in history, and the Poor Fellows and Warrior's Sons had given even the Targaryens, with their dragons, a lot of very serious trouble. If some fool were to manage to revive them, or something like them, they could do incredible amounts of damage, particularly in these war-torn times. However, that was highly unlikely. Nobody could be insane enough to want the Swords and Stars back wreaking havoc where ever they went.

"But we do acknowledge that others have their own ways," Asha continued. "The Drowned God is a god for ironborn, not outsiders. I don't think that would be much of an objection to the match. And there have been marriages between ironborn and non-ironborn before."

"Excellent!" Tyrion smiled broadly. "Now, on to personal matters. Do you have…personal objections…to marrying me?" He felt rather frightened; he seldom let his guard down so completely. Not even with Shae. He waited, with bated breath, for her answer.

Asha laughed, startling him. "My lord…compared to some of the men I've met on the Iron Islands, you're as handsome as any hero out of legend!" Then she gave him a remarkably lewd grin. "And I've heard that dwarves make up for their short stature in…other ways." She ran her tongue over her lips, and Tyrion felt an uncomfortable stirring in his loins.

"I can't speak for other dwarves, my lady, but I can say truthfully that I've had no complaints from my partners." And Tyrion suddenly wondered what Shae would think. She was a whore, but she was still a human being, and she seemed to honestly like him, over and above what he paid her to be his mistress. Would she be upset? For that matter, would she care? Or would she cheerfully accept a generous severance payment? Or could he even keep her on?

That thought led, inevitably, to Do I want to? He looked at Asha closely. She was, physically, very appealing…not classically beautiful, but after knowing Cersei so well for so long, Tyrion was by no means one to be attracted to beauty alone. Asha was also highly intelligent, and had a sideways viewpoint that appealed to him strongly. He could easily see himself being so content with this woman as his wife that other women would lose their appeal. He had little, he supposed, in common with his brother Jaime, but one thing they seemed to share was a disinclination to hop from woman to woman to woman. With his dazzling good looks, not to mention his name, Jaime could have cut an incredible swath through the ladies, white cloak or no. Instead, as far as Tyrion knew, he had only ever slept with Cersei. Personally, even were she not his sister, Tyrion would have preferred kissing a viper.

Tyrion slipped out of his chair, going to one knee before a surprised-looking Asha. "My lady…would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?" He took her hand in both of his, looking up into her dark eyes, wondering what her answer would be. "I would only marry a woman who wanted to marry me." And until that moment, he had thought that no such woman existed.

Asha looked at him, her expression unreadable. "My lord…I think I would rather marry you than any man I have ever met." And with those words, Tyrion Lannister's heart filled with joy such as he had never thought to experience. Asha pulled him to his feet, and then into her arms. "Come…let us seal this bargain properly!" Before Tyrion quite knew what was happening, he and Asha were kissing passionately.

Asha Greyjoy

Asha had never kissed a dwarf before, and she was surprised at how well Lord Tyrion kissed. If he's as skilled in bed as he is at this, I'll be a fortunate wife indeed! she thought. She had talked with enough women whose husbands were duds in bed to want to avoid that fate. While Bed was by no means all there was to a marriage, it was, in her view, an essential ingredient.

She felt her body beginning to respond in a very decided way to Tyrion, and pulled away; it would not do for them to be caught rutting on the floor like a couple of thralls. Both of them were breathing heavily, and Asha could feel her nipples rubbing against the inside of her shirt. If this was what a quick smooch session could do, Asha was definitely looking forward to her wedding night!

Just then, the door opened, and that mincing eunuch, Varys, came in, with the Queen just behind him. "Well? What is your answer, Lady Asha?" The Queen's eyes were full of contempt; in other words, she looked no different from any other time she was near her brother. "I hope you haven't disappointed our father yet again, Tyrion."

"As it happens, Your Grace, I am most honored to be my lord Tyrion's chosen bride," Asha answered, rising to her full height and staring the Queen in the eye. Something told Asha that after the wedding, she and this woman were going to have to have it out, woman-to-woman.

Lord Tyrion stood, and took her hand in his. "No, my lady. It is I who am honored, to have such a one as you as my fiancee." Asha's eyes went wide. Such gallantry toward a woman was unheard of on the Iron Islands! I am not letting this man get away! He's mine! "Please send a raven to our father, Cersei, and tell him that the match is on."

The expression on the Queen's face reminded Asha of a just-landed fish. She gaped at Lord Tyrion and Asha as though they were both ghosts, or the Others she had heard of north of the Wall.

END Chapter 05