Chapter III - Flashback I

268 AC.

It was during the hour of the bat at Casterly Rock. Darkness had fallen over the westerlands, though the air was warm despite the sun hiding from the people of Westeros.

Jason was sound asleep in his bed when he felt a hand shake him to wake up. Barely able to open his eyes, he saw it was Jaime smiling at him.

"Come on, Jason," Jaime whispered. "Get out of bed."

Jason let out a loud yawn "Are we under attack from the Ironborn?"

"No, but-"

"Then go back to sleep, Jaime."

Jason then attempted to return to his slumber, but this merely led Jaime to shake him harder. Starting to become irate, Jason sat up to face his annoying older brother.

He spoke in an angered whisper. "What is it, Jaime?"

"Put some clothes on and be quiet so you don't wake Tyrion. I'll go get Cersei."

Jason had no clue as to what Jaime wanted, but he knew that he wouldn't get any sleep until he did as requested. He got out of bed and, as quietly as possible, slipped on some clothes while Jaime snuck over to Cersei's chambers. He was about to ask why Jaime didn't do the same until he saw Jaime was already dressed, as if he had spent a long time getting prepared for this exact moment.

Once Jason was finished getting dressed, he also left their chambers, closing the door very gently so Tyrion could still sleep. He saw the door to Cersei's room open, and Jaime soon came out of it with their sister in tow.

"Why did you get us out of bed so late," Cersei asked. "Father will get very cross with us if we do not sleep properly."

"Don't worry, this will be fun," Jaime assured both siblings, "now follow me. But be very quiet."

He led the way forward. Jason and Cersei just looked at each other, not knowing exactly what they should do or where Jaime was taking them, before they walked quietly behind him.

Making sure no one else was walking about the hallways, the three of them made sure no guards would stop whatever Jaime had planned. Fortunately for them, there did not seem to be a significant number of guards on duty that night, and those that were up so late were mostly talking among themselves, not taking their duties seriously. But then again, who would dare think about attacking Casterly Rock, the strongest seat in the realm?

They soon reached the top of the Rock and were now standing outside in total darkness. The air was warm despite the sun hiding from the clouds, and a more alert group of people could have enjoyed the atmosphere. But right now, two of the three children were just pondering what their leader was up to.

"Jaime, I'm tired," Cersei complained. "Where are we going?"

"Father will get mad at us," Jason said, joining his sister in discontent.

"Both of you need to have fun. Now come on, we're going down quite a walk. There are guards near the stables so we can't get horses to ride upon.

Jaime enthusiastically walked ahead of his siblings, who in turn sighed and just decided to follow Jaime.

After the trio crossed a very long bridge, hugged the coast of a mountain, and felt their legs get weak from going down a good many steps, Jaime's smile grew wide as he felt prideful in his own accomplishment. Rather than continue to descend down Casterly Rock, Jaime instead walked to the edge of a cliff and looked down at the waves. Jason and Cersei stared at him as if he were mad.

"Come over here, both of you."

Uneasily, both of them approached the heir to Casterly Rock. They walked until they each stood to a side of Jaime's, Cersei on the right and Jason on the left. They looked down off of the cliff at whatever Jaime saw below, and what greeted their vision was a steep drop, unlike anything they were otherwise comfortable looking at. It was easily sixty to eighty feet, more likely around a hundred.

Jason gulped. "Um, Jaime, what are you doing? You don't actually want us to-"

"That's right. The three of us are going to jump off of this peak into the water."

Cersei clung to Jaime's arm tightly. "But Jaime, that's such a big drop! It could really hurt!"

"Alright. If you two want to go back to bed so badly, then leave."

Jason and Cersei looked at each other and then back at Jaime, wondering if he was joking. With Jaime uttering nothing more to them, the two began to slowly walk away when they heard what sounded like a kitten meowing. The two looked around to see what that was, a small part of them each hoping to keep it as a pet, but they saw no cats in the area.

Then they heard the "mew" sound again, and both Cersei & Jason realized it was coming from behind them. Turning their heads, they saw Jaime smiling at them.

"Did you hear that? That was the sound of two scared little kittens running away from danger. I thought they had the hearts of lions within them, but they were craven and small when faced with adventure. Just like everyone says our grandfather was."

Cersei sighed. "It's late, Jaime. You're not going to get us to do something this stupid just to annoy Father. Jason here agrees with me, right-"

Her attempt to gain support from her half-brother ended in failure when she saw him grudgingly mocking forward towards Jaime. If there was one thing Jason would not stand for, it was being labeled as a craven. Of course, Jaime knew this, and when Jason arrived at his brother's left side, Jaime greeted him with a wise smile.

Cersei sighed. "Both of you are idiots."

But rather than return to her chambers within the Rock, she followed suit and walked to Jaime's right side. Jaime, satisfied at his siblings' compliance, held each of their hands as they looked over the tall cliff.

"Remember, if anyone finds out, we can just tell them we were out for a walk when we were set upon by bandits. We had to jump in the water to save ourselves from being held for ransom."

"Do you honestly think Father will believe that," Cersei said with clear doubt in her twin brother's ability to lie to their terrifying Lord Father.

"Let's hope the gods are good, Cersei. Now both of you, put your legs down when you jump. It will hurt less that way, Uncle Gerion told me."

"Wait a second," Jason said, "is Uncle Gerion aware of all of this?"

"Not necessarily. I just asked him what he knew and claimed I was merely curious. I doubt he would care anyways. In fact, he would even encourage us to do this when Father was not looking. Now enough talk. Both of you, take large breaths."

Cersei and Jason did as Jaime said, their nerves filling their stomachs with high amounts of dread and unease.

"Now then, on the count of three. Ready? One...two...THREE!"

The three of them all felt the ground disappear beneath their feet as they leaped from the cliff. After a brief moment of feeling as if the winds would let them float, the three children soon had the air rush upwards as they were headed straight for the water. It rushed up to them with amazing speed, and Tywin's children were lucky that they were so small so as to make sure their weight was not so much that it would make them fall faster and thus be more harmful.

Before they knew it, Jaime, Cersei, and Jason all collided with the water. Just as Jaime had instructed, all three of them had their feet facing the water, with their lungs not holding any air. The first thing they felt was pain spreading to their legs, but at the very least, they had survived the jump.

Jaime was the first to get his head out of the seawater, taking in a large breath as if to celebrate his survival. As he tried to look around for Cersei and Jason, the dark night sky lending him no aid, he began to worry, for he knew the water beneath the surface was even darker than the sky tonight and even harder to see in. It was to his great relief that Cersei and then Jason after her came out of the water.

"Thank goodness you're alright. I was worried about you two for a second."

Cersei was less than pleased at her brother's response. "Worried about us?! You stupid idiot! We could have died back there and you convinced us to jump off anyways!"

Jason did not join her in condemning Jaime's recklessness. He swam closer to Jaime and Cersei, but his left leg was in a good amount of pain as he did so. Jaime turned and saw his brother in pain.

"Jason, are you alright? Can you swim?"

Truth be told, Jason was experiencing a great amount of pain. But he did not want Jaime to pity him or feel bad for him, so he endured it as he hid the shocking feeling in his bottom half.

"I'm alright. Let's just get out of these waters before Father finds out we were ever out of our chambers."

Jaime and Cersei nodded. The three of them began to swim back to the coast and hugged the side of Casterly Rock's cliffs as they searched for a place to climb out of the water. They knew that if they did not get to land soon, the cold would weaken them until they would sink beneath the waves. It was good fortune for them then that a lamp had been set out on a small dock on the edge of nearby Lannisport. While it was usually put up for sailors arriving to trade in the dead of night, the three children would happily accept it as a place to get out of the waters of the Sunset Sea.

Jaime was the first to climb out of the water onto the wooden dock. He pulled Cersei up by the arm when he saw Jason lagging slightly behind, still a dozen feet from the dock.

"Jason, are you alright? Should I come in the water for you?"

Jason grimaced. "Go on without me before Father finds out. I can catch up with you two."

"You heard him, Jaime. Let's go."

Cersei pulled on her twin's arm, but Jaime would not budge. He instead glared at Cersei before focusing his attention back on his bastard half-brother.

"You're almost there, Jason. I can pull you out if you swim a tad further."

Using his remaining strength, Jason pushed himself to make it to the dock. He felt himself reaching his limit as he felt his hands on the wooden dock, at which point Jaime pulled him out of the sea as Jason tried to push himself up. After some effort, Jason was pulled upward onto the dock, the boy laying on his back to catch his breath. He stopped when he saw Jaime reaching a hand down to him.

"You can sleep later, we have to go now."

"This is all your fault, Jaime. We never should have done this, especially so late at night."

"Oh come on. Didn't it feel good when you jumped off the cliff with no rules or worries?"

Jason thought about it to himself and sighed as he grabbed Jaime's arm. "It did feel nice, I will admit."

"Well I hope you two are happy," Cersei interjected, "because if we do not return back to our chambers soon, Father will punish us harshly."

As Jaime helped his brother up, the three began to head up the mountain, though Jason was limping. Jaime planned for them to find some guards and claim they were kidnapped by bandits but were told to be quiet should their family be hurt. Jaime hoped a guard or two would be stupid enough to believe him, but his hopes of making it back to the Rock without detection, shared by Cersei and Jason, would be dashed at the sound of footsteps descending down the hill.

Dozens of Lannister guards quickly arrived on their steeds, Jaime estimated there were about fifty in total, likely more. One of them lifted up his helm to look at the children of his liege lord.

"My young lord and lady, and young Jason, what are you doing out of bed at this hour?"

Jaime and Jason recognized that voice as being that of Ser Clarreth Westerling, a household knight for their father. His older brother, Efran Westerling, would be the Lord of the Crag, though the diminished state of the castle had taken away from the title's luster. Ser Clarreth, therefore, sought some glory by serving directly under Tywin Lannister himself. At seven-and-thirty years of age, Clarreth had served House Lannister well, such as when he fought at Lord Tywin's side to destroy Lord Walderan Tarbeck and his house when they joined the Reynes in revolt. As a reward for his loyal service, Ser Clarreth was married to Lady Arelia Lannett, whose house was from a distant cadet branch of House Lannister, and they now had one son, Elys, and two daughters, Sarra and Ellya, as they resided in Lannisport.

Jaime to the front to confront Ser Clarreth. "Forgive us, ser. We were out for a walk in the middle of the night when these bandits-"

He was interrupted by the sound of another horse coming down the hill. It walked in front of the other guards, covered in armor that shone in red and gold even in the midst of such darkness. Its rider was tall and covered in grand armor, the colors matching that of its mount. His helm was not open, yet all three children knew exactly who it was.

The man opened his helm and looked down at his three children, who were all wet, sore, and tired. His face illuminated by a Ser Clarreth's torch, the Lord Paramount of the Westerlands was quiet, yet his annoyance and anger were clear to see to all those that dared gaze upon his face.

"Ser Clarreth," the proud lord said, his face still focused in a glare towards his offspring, "take my children back to Casterly Rock. Make sure the servant women bathe them, and you will instruct them to have them brought to my quarters when they are done. Hopefully, we can learn the truth of this matter."

"It will be done, Lord Tywin."

With that, the intimidating man turned his steed around and rode off back to the Rock, his guards giving him a wide berth from which to exit. Once he had left, Ser Clarreth picked up Jaime to put on his horse, Ser Carsen Lanny picked up Cersei, and Ser Markas Stilwood lifted Jason onto his own horse. The guards then rode up the hill to the Rock, and the three children were filled with dread as they prayed that Father would somehow believe their story.

If he didn't...gods save them.

Jaime, Cersei, and Jason, all three of them freshly bathed and in warm clothes, each was each brought to their father's room. The whole time they were bathed, not a word was spoken, for all three of them knew that they had to be strong in the face of Father's questioning.

The servant woman who was pulling Jaime by the arm gently opened the door to the quarters of Tywin Lannister, who was seen sitting in his chair expecting them in a plain suit he usually wore when hearing smallfolk and nobles speak at court. The three women each led a child of their lord into his room, respectfully addressed him, and hurriedly left out of panic and fear. But their own worries paled to those of Tywin's children, who saw three chairs in the room that they knew were meant for them.

"Sit."

The quiet anger in Lord Tywin's voice proved to be a useful persuader in getting all three of his children present to sit down. Jaime hurriedly planted himself on the middle chair, Jason to the right of him, and Cersei on the left.

Tywin sat there quietly, his face adorned with golden hair from his head to the sides of his face all the way down to his chin. He was quite clearly upset with what his children had done so late at night, but he did not show his anger in his face, which made him even more frightening to many people.

"One of my guards woke me in the middle of the night to tell me that my three oldest children were sneaking out of the castle. By the time we had assembled our men, you three had jumped from one of the cliffs on Casterly Rock into the waves below. Tell me why you would do this at such a late hour."

Silence filled the room for several seconds until Jaime spoke up. "Well, we thought we heard-"

"Jaime woke up me and Jason because he wanted to jump off the cliffs with us. When we said no, he taunted us into joining him."

The two boys turned their heads left to see that Cersei had spilled the truth of the matter to their father. Jaime sat there, his mouth opened in a mixture of astonishment and betrayal.

"CERSEI! Why would you do that?!"

"Is this true, Jason?"

Jason was taken aback as his father addressed him. It was now Jaime and Cersei's turn to turn their heads towards their bastard half-brother as he was put on the spot.

Tywin breathed through his nose in an impatient manner. "I cannot trust Jaime to give me the truth about what happened because he led you two down to the cliffs to jump into the water. While I am more inclined to believe Cersei's account of the matter, I know you would not lie to me, Jason. So tell me: is Cersei telling the truth?"

Jason gave Jaime an apologetic look before looking into his father's eyes, which many felt could gaze straight into your soul (and Jason did not disagree with them).

"Cersei's right, Father. Jaime knew you would never have allowed us to do something like this during the day, so he waited until it was late at night to do this."

Jaime closed his eyes and sighed; he was not angry at Jason because he knew deep down that Father was likely to find out about his little scheme anyway. Cersei, on the other hand, looked quite pleased with herself at having been the first to tell Father the truth. Yet Lord Tywin was very much displeased with all three of his children, something they all realized as he stood up from his chair, the three children terrified at his height and figure.

Tywin first turned towards his two trueborn children, Jaime and Cersei. "You two are Lannisters. Lannisters do not act like fools, nor do they awaken the entirety of the Rock for the sake of their own whims and childish fancies. Do you understand?"

Jaime and Cersei hurriedly nodded. After that, Tywin faced Jason, who turned his head down guiltily upon sensing his father's glare.

"Jason, look at me. Now."

Scared beyond belief, both of punishment from his father and of disappointing him, Jason did as Tywin asked, his shaking eyes facing his father's cold and unforgiving ones.

"You have said before that you wished to serve alongside Jaime when he becomes the Lord of Casterly Rock. How can you serve him when he is able to so easily goad you into performing idiotic actions meant for fools? Your name may not be Lannister, but you are still my son, Jason Hill, and I will not allow you to act in a manner that shames the house that has raised you. Do you understand?"

Jason, as his siblings did before him, hurriedly nodded.

"My duties as Hand of the King mean I cannot spend much time here before I return to King's Landing. It does not mean you can act like mummers and performers when I am not here. I shall speak to your aunt and uncles about moderating your behavior. In the meantime, Jaime and Jason will not practice with sword and horse for the next week. Cersei, you will be under Septa Edeline's tutelage. None of you will see your friends during this time. Hopefully, that will get you to behave in a manner appropriate to your station. Am I understood?"

The three of them all quietly muttered "yes, father" under their breath.

"Good. Now get back to your chambers and go to sleep. You are dismissed."

Jaime, Cersei, and Jason all quickly nodded before scurrying back to their rooms. Tywin, seeing them leave, merely poured a cup of water for himself with a drop of nightshade. He just hoped he could get some semblance of sleep after this unfortunate event. Someday, he hoped, Jaime would start taking his role as the heir to Casterly Rock seriously, lest the little beast that killed his dear Joanna gain more authority in the Rock. He hoped Jason would help to steer Jaime on the proper path, as soon as he gained the will to not meekly follow his older brother around.

But, at the very least, there was no conflict between his trueborn and bastard sons, which many lords could not say about their own offspring.

Jaime and Jason lay awake in their beds, for despite their orders to go to sleep, their little adventure had left them unable to do so. Maester Sarwin would soon be arriving with Essence of Nightshade to help them sleep, though he was furious at the boys putting their lives in danger for a momentary thrill (not to mention Jaime putting his sister at risk of death as well).

"I'm sorry I made you do that with me," Jaime said. "I never wanted Father to get mad at you."

Silence filled the air, and Jaime worried Jason was upset with him for causing Father's anger.

"I enjoyed that jump, Jaime," Jason eventually responded. "Thank you for that."

Jaime breathed a sigh of relief. Father had not broken his spirit after all. Once their father was back in King's Landing, they would do all sorts of activities, and they would make Casterly Rock the most entertaining keep in the Seven Kingdoms.

...

...

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this flashback chapter! Next time we will resume where we left off in Chapter Two. So until then, take care and have a great day! Feel free to read the prior chapters if you have not done so already.