"There's something different about you."
Looking up from the book he was reading, Tyrion Lannister stared at his Aunt Genna. The woman had come to visit with her husband and four sons, nothing new considering how she hated The Twins. Some would say that with how little she stayed at The Twins, it was more like she went to visit The Twins than she came to see Casterly Rock.
"I'm not sure what you're talking about, Aunt Genna" Tyrion said with an easy smile, closing the book in his hands.
The woman frowned at his reply, walking over to her stunted nephew.
"You haven't been drinking as much since I'd come here, and from what your father boasts-"
"About me? Maybe you've been too long away from him dear aunt, if you think he boasts about me."
"From what your father boasts" she continued, ignoring the comment entirely, "you haven't been drinking or whoring as much for a few days."
Tyrion shrugged.
"I've found a good book to read," he replied.
His aunt raised a brow. She peered around him to peek at the title of the book her nephew was reading.
"A Collections of Myths and Fables of The Seven Kingdoms?" she asks, her brow rising even higher. "I wasn't aware you put your faith and time in such rubbish."
"It isn't all rubbish, all these grumpkins and snarks" the imp smirked, "for example, did you know that The Dark Night is an event that not only occurred in Westeros? The Rhoynar tell of a darkness that made the Rhoyne of Essos dwindle and disappear, her waters frozen as far south as the joining of the Selhoru, until a hero convinced the many children of Mother Rhoyne to put aside their bickering and join in a secret song that brought back the day. Then further East, from places like Yi Ti, the sun hid its face for a lifetime, ashamed at something none could discover, and disaster was only averted by the deeds of a woman with a monkey's tail. In all of these tales, there's always one hero, different cultures give this hero different names and attributes, but one thing is the same in every one of these tales, a hero rose, wielded a flaming sword, and led humanity to victory."
"Fascinating" Genna Lannister said, though her tone did not match her words. She sounded anything but fascinated.
Tyrion chuckled.
"It's only reading, Aunt Genna. We all need a bit of Mysticism and Whimsy in our lives."
"Your father would not approve of something like that."
"My father does not approve of me breathing" Tyrion shrugged.
The woman's gaze softened, but Tyrion paid no mind to it.
"Enough of this for now. Please, sit. How have you been? How have your children been? Your husband?"
Genna Lannister snorted at the change of topic but accepted the seat nonetheless.
"As they have always been" the woman replied tartly.
There was no question that Genna Lannister did not approve of her husband; the small, thin and nervous, and mostly bald Emmon Frey. Her sons were nothing remarkable either, all having inherited some aspect of their father. A shame, Tyrion considered. His Aunt Genna was such afiery and passionate woman after all.
"A shame then" Tyrion chuckled, joined in by his aunt."And how goes things at The Twins? I hear Old Walder has been moving around more these days."
It was a lie, but a conversation starter nonetheless.
"Moving around? Old Walder's gout does not allow him to move anything but his teeth less mouth" Genna snorted in disgust.
"Yes, the sharp tongue of Old Walder is famous throughout."
"And his ego as well. He thinks himself a Lannister with how he holds himself" Genna spat.
Tyrion huffed out a laugh. If only his aunt knew how similar in mindset both Tywin Lannister and Walder Frey were.
"You seemed to have gotten lucky in not having a son just like him" Tyrion pointed out.
His aunt snorted again.
"Plenty of his sons are not like him. If anything, I got the short end of that stick" the woman sighed.
"Oh? And who would you say is the biggest stick in that regard?"
"It would have to be the eldest, Ser Stevron" Genna shrugged. "He was groomed for Lordship, is amiable and polite, and has a functional head on him" Genna chuckled. "Though I am being harsh here. Emmon isn't the worst of the lot."
"I'm shocked by the revelation" Tyrion gasped in mock surprise, for which his aunt swatted at him jokingly.
"That 'honour' goes to Lothar Frey" The smile fell from Genna's lips. "That man… is not right in the head. He may look plump, portly, and soft-bodied, but there's a viciousness in him, the kind of cunning intelligence that your father would respect."
"And yet you're wary of him?"
"Any sane person would be wary of the kind of cunning intelligence your father respects."
She was not wrong in that regard.
-x-
Dinners have always been awkward at Casterly Rock, even more so after Jaime's selection in the Kingsguard and Cersei's wedding to the King. It was silent, barring the sound of utensils on plates and the occasional conversation starter that died out even before it began.
But that was the norm at Casterly Rock, where Lord Tywin made it a habit of finishing dinner quickly and leaving.
But tonight it was not just Tywin and Tyrion at the table. Whenever Genna Lannister came to visit, Tywin made it a habit to host not only her family but also that of his brother Kevan as well.
So here sat Tyrion,with his uncles, aunts, and cousins, enjoying a big dinner. A serving girl went around pouring wine into the cups of everyone present at the table. When she came over to Tyrion, the imp covered the cup with his hand and shook his head.
"Water," he said softly, and the serving girl left with a nod.
"What brought on this sudden aversion to drinking?" Lancel Lannister questioned, eldest of the Imp's uncle's sons. It was a wonder that this arrogant and haughty boy would one day become something like a fanatic.
Could, not would. He could become it.
"I always stray from drinking and whoring when I've found a good book to read" Tyrion answered in a surprisingly gentle tone. At least to Lancel it was. Their tone of conversation had always been civil, nothing warm or otherwise.
"Whoring as well? That is a surprise" Cleos Frey, eldest of the imp's aunt's sons spoke.
Tyrion smiled at him.
"Drinking and whoring are simple pass times, cousin. If I have found something better then ignoring them is an easy task" the Imp explained. It was not that, but Tyrion needed his wits about him for what was to come. And for that, if he must forsake drinking and whoring… well he hoped there was a heaven for him to do those.
"There are better things you can dothan those two to spend time."
Tywin's words came as a surprise to everyone but Tyrion, because of how gently it was said. But Tyrion was all too aware of the tinge of disapproval even in the gentlest of spoken words. So even in this, he found judgment and admonishment.
"I do not disagree" Tyrion countered, "but what can you do once you've learned that in this world only whores and wine would love me true. For different reasons of course, but still love."
"I'm sure you can find love, nephew" Ser Emmon said gently/
Tyrion smiled at him, while Genna admonished her husband with a look.
"I thank you for your kind words, uncle, but we all know the truth of it. In my life I have only ever loved one woman, misguided as I was, but I did love. And when she turned out to be a whore hired by my brother, I learned that whores are the only ones who would truly love something as hideous as me. So I suppose I should thank Jaime for pulling such a jest on me and shaping me into the man I am today."
The serving girl poured water into Tyrion's cup and Tyrion drank from it. But his eyes scanned each face in the hall. His father looked as serious and stiff as always. His cousins had varying reactions, from pity to uncared. His aunts too pitied him, but there was a hint of motherlyness to that pity. Ser Emmon looked uncomfortable, while his uncle Kevan looked…
Recognition flashed in Ser Kevan's eyes.
Ah, so he knew…
"But enough of that. Father has arranged such a lavish dinner, let's not let my mistakes ruin this."
There were no other eventful conversations as dinner went on, and once they were all finished, they went their respective ways to retire for the night.
All but one.
Tyrion found himself in the company of his uncle Kevan.
"You know then" Kevan Lannister stated once they were far from the dining hall.
"I do" Tyrion confirmed.
"How did you find out?"
"Does it matter?"
"I suppose not."
There was silence as the two walked for a while. The silence was broken once the duo was close to Tyrion's chambers.
"It was… cruel what your father did. And even more so that I hid it from you even after knowing how it hurt you."
"For me? Oh, I think it was crueler on the poor girl who actually loved me for who I was and nothing more" Tyrion stopped right outside the doors and turned to his uncle. There was guilt in the man's eyes. "But you were following Father's orders I believe. As we all do."
His uncle did not speak.
"Do you know what happened to Tysha? Where she is now?"
"I do not."
"A shame" Tyrion's lips pursed. "I thank you for your apology uncle. Now please excuse me, I have a book waiting for me."
Tyrion entered his chambers and closed the doors gently before a reply could come from his uncle
-x-
It was not even a few hours before Tyrion was summoned to his Father's solar. He saw his uncle Kevan and his aunt Genna there, both looking as if they'd been struck.
But it was his father who looked the worst.
"Did you know?" Tywin demanded the moment Tyrion entered.
"You need to be a little bit more specific about what I knew or not…" Tyrion said slowly.
"About your brother and your sister!"
"What about them?"
Tywin slammed his fists on the table, making Tyrion and the other two jump.
"Do not toy with me boy" the man roared. "I demand to know if you knew about this or not!"
He threw a piece of parchment at Tyrion, who caught it and fixed it to read.
"Jaime Lannister has confessed to being the father of the Queen's children and has been arrested for this purpose. Cersei of House Lannister stands for trial regarding this. Tywin of House Lannister, Lord of Casterly Rock and The Warden of The West, you are being summoned to attend the trial"
And then there was the list of titles of Robert Baratheon. Ah, it made sense why the man was so angry.
"Who does the man think he is to allow such a slander to House Lannister?!" Tywin fumed.
"I believe he is the King" Tyrion folded the paper and pocketed it.
His father gave him a sour and angry look.
"Call the banners Kevan. We march for King's Landing at daybreak" Tywin ordered.
Kevan turned to leave, but Tyrion stopped him.
"You're letting your emotions cloud your judgment," Tyrion said forcefully. "It says it clearly here that Jaime confessed to this. Robert is acting on that, not words he'd been told. Marching now would mean war, a stupid war with us gaining nothing."
Tywin glared at his son.
"How long have you known?" the father demanded to know.
"The moment Joffrey was born. The boy is no Baratheon" the son answered simply.
This time Tyrion met his father's glare evenly.
"Out! All of you out!... Except you Tyrion, you stay."
Kevan and Genna left immediately, throwing uneasy looks at both father and son before doing so.
The man fell on his seat and poured himself s cup of wine, before inhaling it entirely.
"What would you do in this situation?" the man asked.
"Answer the summon and find some way to relieve the children" Tyrion answered. "Cersei and Jaime's lives are forfeit, the children's are not. Jon Arryn would not allow that to happen. With some concessions and deals, you may yet find an heir in them."
Tywin's face reddened from anger.
"You would have me name a bastard an heir?!"
"I would have you think clearly about it," Tyrion said smoothly. "The children are pureblooded Lannisters with no other drop of blood in them. Joffrey is a lost cause because of how his mother spoiled him. The other two are sweet and malleable. You may yet find an heir in them that you sought in Jaime."
Tywin's glare held through the explanation. In the end, he did not reply to it, instead ordering Tyrion to prepare to leave for the Capital with him on the morrow.
Tyrion nodded and turned to leave, stopping when his father suddenly spoke.
"You stopped drinking and whoring because you found an interesting book. What book was it?"
A little surprised, Tyrion turned around to face his father.
"That was a lie" Tyrion admitted. "I had a dream."
"A dream compelled you to stop?" Tywin raised a brow.
"Mother came to visit me in the dream" Tyrion explained, to Tywin's surprise. " We hugged, we talked and she made it clear that I was wasting my potential by whoring and drinking. Now, I wouldn't call it a dream from the other side or something like that, but more like my body telling me to stop wasting myself as I do. So I decided to stop. If not myself, who else should I listen to?"
"You may leave… prepare for the journey."
There was something in his Father's eyes that Tyrion noticed, something soft and vulnerable. But the imp did not bring it up and left without another word spoken.
1. I am changing things a bit in the sense that Genna Lannister stays mostly at Caterly Rock but not exclusively at Casterly Rock as she did in the books. This is purely for story reasons and nothing more.
2. And yes while canonically there isn't mention of Kevan knowing or not, I would like to think that as Tywin's right hand, he knew. I debated on Genna knowing as well, but she fell out of favour with Tywin so I decided against it in the end.