Kevan*
The Great Hall was packed. Eight-year-old Kevan Lannister sat next to his father, silently attending to his dinner. He was very calm for his age, always following his elder brother around and speaking little. Being the middle child, he was often overlooked, but he didn't mind it. It gave him a better opportunity to observe others and understand them better.
To his father's right sat his elder brother, Tywin, who was 10 years old and already feared by people in the castle. He spoke with such authority that at times, people forgot his age and did what they were told. People said he was everything their father wasn't, but Kevan never understood the full meaning of it.
Next to Tywin sat Geena, his little sister. Full of glee and playfulness, but she was clever. Very clever. Perhaps as clever as his brother. She seemed rather happy this evening; perhaps the new dress and jewels had done the trick.
But what troubled him was the odd stranger and the men who came with him. He looked rather old for his years. His men carried green banners emblazoned with two towers and a bridge. His father introduced him as Lord Walder Frey.
Walder Frey sat between Tytos and Tywin. He laughed loudly, ate a lot, and was rather friendly towards the serving girls. Kevan immediately disliked him.
By the look on Tywin's face, neither did he. He looked at him with distaste and did little to cover it.
There were many others in the hall who didn't like Walder Frey being seated next to their lord. The most important of them was Lord Roger Reyne and Ellyn Tarbeck.
Ellyn was his aunt. Before she was married to Waldeyn Tarbeck, she was married to his late uncle Tion Lannister. She clearly hated his father, although he never understood why. Roger Reyne is the Lord of Castamere, the Red Lion they called him. He is perhaps the second most powerful lord in the Westerlands, perhaps the most powerful in truth.
It would be years before he realized the reason for that. His father was a weak-willed man. He was always too jovial, loving being loved, and would go to ridiculous extremes for people to like him. And they did, although very few loved him. Since the Age of Heroes, Casterly Rock was the home of the richest house in all of Westeros. But due to his father's whims, those riches were starting to dwindle. Never one to refuse a request, his father gave loans of extraordinary amounts to anyone and everyone who asked, without even a thought of how or when they could repay him. Chief among those who took advantage of him was his own sister, Ellyn. With riches from Casterly Rock at her beck and call, Tarbeck Hall soon rose to rival those around her which had been in a much larger standing.
The other who took a similar advantage was the Red Lion himself. Although the Reynes have been the foremost rivals of Casterly Rock through the ages, his father's insistence that people like him has given the Lord of Castamere a similar free rein over the rock's riches. Although having similar mining operations, the gold of Castamere had dried up generations ago, and with the newfound influx of income, Roger Reyne quickly became a force unto himself. The quick japes and veiled and sometimes open insults towards his father fell on deaf ears as he brushed aside any and all words thrown his way. He laughed and was quick to forgive any offenses towards him.
The feast his father had arranged was rather magnificent. He couldn't understand what the occasion was. Nor did he care, seeing that his father had been throwing a feast every now and then on every little lord and every passing knight's demand. But this was different. He was rather happy on the occasion.
The hall fell silent as his father rose with a cup of wine. "My lords, ladies, and all the knights who rode through great distances to be with us today, I humbly welcome you." Kevan knew there was nothing humble in it. Most of the people who were here were waiting for the right moment so they might pounce on the Lannister gold. His father continued in his wheezing voice, "We are extremely pleased with your presence, my lord, seeing that you will be with us a lot more from now on."
He noticed the frown on his brother's face as Walder Frey laughed again loudly and raised his cup. Tywin clearly didn't like how the speech was going. Surprisingly, so did Roger Reynes. He had a frown on his face too, but his was a lot scarier.
He continued grinning, his wheezing voice turning to a squeak in his excitement. "On this joyful occasion, I would like to announce that my daughter Geena has been betrothed to Lord Frey's son, Emmon Frey!" He said, raising his cup.
No one clapped. There were no cheers. Whatever his father was expecting, he got the exact opposite. Geena turned as white as a ghost. Kevan didn't like it at all. Even at a young age, she always dreamed of marrying a gallant knight or a great lord, perhaps a prince. Now her father was saying she was to be married to some second-born son of a poor lord of a shabby castle in a wet, marshy land.
The silence was followed by an uproar of whispers and faint, halfhearted cheering. Both his brother and Roger Reyne stood up. The Red Lion was as red as its banner. He looked down to see his aunt was laughing openly.
"You cannot agree to this, father!" Tywin said defiantly. "Of all the things you have done, this is the most foolish thing." The Great Hall was stunned into silence as Walder Frey turned red. "What do you mean, boy?" he shouted.
"Oh, you know what I mean, Lord Frey. I'll say it outright. This match is unfair." He announced.
Roger grumbled. "At least the boy sees sense. How low will House Lannister stoop before they understand? A daughter of the warden of the richest land in all of Westeros to... this man's household!"
Walder Frey stood up, trying to muster all his power and dignity. "Who are you calling this man..."
"Oh, do shut up, 'Lord' Frey," Roger said, cutting him off. "If it were my daughter, I would have given her up to the Silent Sisters before considering you."
"Manners, Lord Rien!" yelled Tywin.
"I won't take orders from you, boy! You might swing your sword around your father's castle and try to strut around like a grown man. But I'm not afraid of you," he shouted.
"You should be. Now sit down, my lord," said Tywin calmly.
"I won't," he said, turning blood red every moment. "Not while such a humiliation has been done to our houses. The daughter of the Lord Paramount... was our house even considered for a match? Was any of us!" he shouted, throwing his cup on the floor. "I shall not take this grave offense lightly and sit here while you ignore your bannermen and instead throw away your daughter to the first lowly lord that comes knocking on your door," he said with a menacing glare towards his father, as he turned around to walk away.
His father stood up, called him out, being the pleaser he is. But Kevan started to understand why the Lord of Castamere was so enraged. He had been expecting Geenna to be married to his son. He had been waiting for something like that to happen since his sister lost control of Casterly Rock. This crushed his dreams. That's why Lady Tarbeck was laughing.
"My lord. Lord Frey. I apologize for this... mess. My good friend Roger can be a bit loud-mouthed sometimes," said Tytos. Kevan could see that this was pushing his brother to his limits. The Lord of Casterly Rock apologizing to this man for nothing.
"I can't see this happening, father," started Tywin, still standing. He knew his brother wouldn't back down once he set his mind to it. "I wouldn't agree to this marriage." He said. Kevan had the same feelings, but he was afraid his father might not take him seriously. Geena, on the other hand, was trying hard not to cry. He felt sorry for her. She was always a brave girl.
"Tywin, I've had enough, now sit down, son," his father pleaded.
"No! I won't. You've been a sloppy Lord. Now a useless Father too. Ha. Is this supposed to be your legacy? Is this where you'll leave your house..."
"ENOUGH!" Tytos shouted, stunning everyone. He gave his son a threatening look that Kevan had never seen before. Geena was taken aback, but Tywin didn't lose his composure.
His father broke the silence that had ensued by turning to Ser Rodrick. "Ser Rodrick, escort the kids to their rooms. I will deal with them later. You too, my dear, go on with your brothers. Kevan, take your sister."
And just like that, he was back. A moment he looked like a strong lord, which he must be, and he lost all that in a second. But Tywin didn't. Even a man like Ser Rodrick respected Tywin. For a ten-year-old, that was something. That was what a lord should be. That was what father should be. That was something he wanted to be.
Back in the room, there was a grim silence. Little Gemma walked up to Tywin. "Thank you, brother. For standing up for me." She said. Tywin nodded. He wasn't really looking at her. As if he were thinking about something deeper.
"He can't do this. This is not just about you. It's about the future of our house." He said quietly. Gemma didn't care. She was seven. She, of course, didn't understand any of this. All she cared about was that from this moment on, her dream of being an important lady in a big house and married to a famous lord was over. Even he himself had no idea what his brother was thinking.
Tywin turned to him. "You understand why I did it, don't you? Why I had to speak up to him?" he asked. Kevan nodded. "Lord Reyne seems to have wanted Gemma to be married to his son." He replied.
"Oh, Lord Reyne wants a lot of things," Tywin growled. "He wants my father dead. He wants us dead. He wants Casterly Rock." He strode around the room.
"What do you want?" Gemma asked him in a quiet voice.
Tywin looked at his sister with steely eyes. "I want my name to be written in gold inside the pages of history. I want our house to be respected and feared. I want the name Lannister to be so powerful that the enemy should tremble and surrender just by looking at our banner. I would do anything and everything I can at my means to make that happen, and that's what you should do too because you're a Lannister!"
Kevan was looking at him with awe. He was trying to process what his brother had said. What he meant. But before he could, the door opened with a bang, and their father barged in.
"Tywin!" And he gave a look that would leave him pissing his pants. But Tywin looked him in the eye and stood straight. "I let you walk around and play the little lord because I thought you were still a little boy, but you crossed the line." He shouted and gasped for breath. "I had enough. You need to set an example for your brother. And this is what you do?"
"I'm setting a perfect example for my brother and father. It is you who needs to learn to be a good role model for your sons." He said. Tytos looked as if he was going to slap him. Never one to be comfortable with anger and rage, his father was huffing with disbelief over those words.
"I've had enough of your nonsense. You're leaving the castle first thing in the morning." He announced with a stiff voice.
He was taken aback. Gemma shouted at her father, pleading him not to. But Tywin was unmoved. "You will go to King's Landing. You will serve as a cupbearer to the king. Learn some humility." He said. Tywin nodded with a blank face. "It will be an honor." His father grunted, shook his head, and stormed off.
"There is no honor in being a cupbearer," Kevan began. He was scared now. He didn't want Tywin to leave Casterly Rock. His brother was everything he ever wanted to be. His days were always spent following him around and trying to emulate him. Without him, how would he cope alone in here?
"No, but there are opportunities." Tywin said determinedly. "Remember the stories of Lann the Clever. I won't be a cupbearer for long," he said. Gemma was at the edge of tears. "Don't go," she pleaded, with a frightened look on her face. He could see Tywin's face softening a little.
"I will have to, little sister. I would be gone the first thing in the morning before you two wake up." Kevan wondered if his brother was struggling with the same emotions as he and Gemma were. If so, he wasn't showing it. He knelt beside her and spoke softly, "Be strong. You might have to go to the Twins. It will be your new home someday. Make it strong. Make us proud."
He turned to Kevan, looking at him intensely as if studying him. "I wish I could take you with me. But you're too young. Keep an eye on father. We might be young, but we are the only sane Lannisters around." He said, shaking his head. "Lord Reyne, Lady Tarbeck, Lord Frey. They all are hyenas waiting to pounce on the Lion once it is found weak. Make sure it shall not happen. One day we shall make sure we are far above them all. So far that they can't even fathom to reach us." Kevan was struggling with his emotions after those words but kept a brave face for his brother. He hugged him and tried to keep back his tears. He knows one thing: he will never disappoint his big brother. "Farewell, little brother. As the saying goes, kill the child. Be a man."
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Hello! I just wanted to thank the people who read the first two chapters. Tywin Lannister has always been my favorite character in the series. I have immensely enjoyed his backstory, and very little is known about him other than his infamous ruthlessness. I have tried once before to write this story, but without much success. I didn't have the skill to write this story the way it deserves. And to be honest, I don't really know if I'm good enough to do so. But I wanted to share this. I hope you have enjoyed this till now, and I hope I will come up with a new chapter soon. I'm in no way a professional writer, and this is my first proper fanfiction. I would love to hear any suggestions and advice from you guys. Once again, thank you for reading.