Chapter 2

Casterly Rock, 14 years earlier

"My lady! My lady!"

Tywin Lannister heard the handmaiden's cries as he marched across the hallway with two of his guards. He was tense and annoyed, this would end tonight. He had absolutely no patience left and his wife was about to see that.

"My lord," the handmaiden greeted him and curtsied.

"Is she inside?" Tywin asked, keeping his face free from emotion.

The handmaiden nodded.

"Yes, my lord, she has locked the door."

Tywin pressed his lips together, he has had enough. His wife's behavior had become intolerable and it was harder and harder to hide it. He had tried his best and so far succeeded, there hadn't been any unpleasant rumors. Not yet, but it was only a matter of time before someone would gossip. Tressa was becoming more and more unstable, sometimes she had trouble to behave in public. It was time to take some drastic measures. This was about the reputation of the Lannisters and Tywin wasn't planning to let anyone ruin it.

"Tressa!" he called and banged the door. "Open this door right now!"

He waited for a brief moment, but nothing happened. Damn woman, she wasn't going to make this any easier for him. Tywin took a step back and glanced at the guards. They both had an ax.

"Get me in that room," he ordered.

He crossed his arms and waited for the guards to get the door open. The handmaiden kept her eyes on the floor, her hands were shaking. Obviously she was very nervous, but Tywin didn't say anything to her; he had much more important things on mind. He needed to handle his wife. Keeping her locked up seemed like the only option he had left, he couldn't let her continue behaving like this. Of course he needed to think of an excuse for his wife's absence, but that shouldn't be a problem.

Then there was their daughter. He most certainly wasn't going to let Tressa spend time with her anymore. The girl was 3; she needed to be raised by a normal woman. Tywin hadn't spent much time with her, but as far as he could tell, she was an easy child. Quiet and obedient. Nothing like her mother. Once again Tywin hoped that he would have never married the damn woman. Financially the marriage had been more than profitable, but unfortunately there were things he hadn't known about his young wife before the wedding.

"Wait here," he said to the guards after they had broken the lock.

Determinedly he entered his wife's chamber, expecting to see her sobbing hysterically. Tywin couldn't stand hysterical women and he had no patience left with Tressa. Yet he wasn't in any way prepared for what he saw. There was blood everywhere. Tressa was lying on her back in the middle of the floor, her lifeless eyes staring into emptiness. She had cut her wrists. She was dead. It took a brief moment before Tywin noticed that there was someone else in the room. His daughter. She was sitting on the floor, legs curled up against her chest, silently staring at her mother.

"Serafina?" Tywin finally managed to say.

Slowly the girl looked at him with her green eyes. There was no expression on her face. Tywin had to clear his throat before he was able to continue.

"Are you…hurt?"

The girl didn't say anything, she just stared at him. He walked over to her and got down on one knee.

"Are you hurt?" he repeated, trying to see if she was injured. There was blood on her hands and dress, but he suspected that it was her mother's blood. He looked at his daughter and she looked at him until he lifted her up into his arms. She wrapped her little arms around his neck and leaned her head on his shoulder. She didn't make a sound or shed a tear.

That was the only reason why he held her instead of taking her immediately to Tressa's handmaiden. She was his daughter, but the truth was that he wouldn't have known how to comfort her. He had never taken care of any of his children when they had been little, that was what mothers and nursemaids were for. He couldn't stand whining and crying, it irritated him.

"Well… Your mother certainly made a mess," he stated, already planning how to fix this. Obviously he wasn't going to let anyone know the truth; that would be a disgrace. His wife, Lady Lannister, taking her own life… No, definitely not. Tressa had already caused enough trouble, he wasn't going to let her shame him any more. He was going to make sure that no one would ever know the truth about her death.