A Lion with a Black Mane

Chapter One

Tygett had not wanted to come.

The North was cold and grey, just as he feared it would be. He had asked his father to allow him to remain in King's Landing, he was only the second son and so neither Lord or Lady Stark could take it as a great insult.

But as always Robert Baratheon was deaf to anything that he did not want to hear. "You're going boy because I want you to go, you are my son and the entire court is going to Winterfell, why do you think you should be any different?"

And that had been the end of it, but while his father could force him to go he could not force him to attend him if he didn't want to, mother had promised him that. Joff had always insisted on riding with their father, and he had mocked Tygett when he had made it known that he would prefer to make the journey in his mother's presence within the wheelhouse, but Tygett had simply ignored him.

That was the best way he found to deal with Joff when his older brother decided to be more of a prat than normal.

And Joff could ride with father all he liked, it would not make him love him anymore than he already did which was not much. Of course, he didn't love any of them much.

"It's snowing!" His baby brother's cry made Tygett rise from his seat and walk over to Tommen, staring out the window of the wheelhouse and up into the grey sky, soft white flecks were falling down and while Tygett had not changed his mind about not wanting to come it was a wonder to see, his first snowfall.

"It even snows in summer," Tygett muttered more to himself as he stretched his hand out the window to feel the flakes melting on his skin, it was a fine thing and it did not seem to be settling on the ground so their travel would not be slowed down but all the same he was glad that he was inside the wheelhouse and not outside with his father and brother..

A smirk slowly started to form on his face as he thought about how miserable Joffrey would be out there right now, saddle sore and cold and drenched when the snow melted. A sharp laugh left him, unable to stop it.

"Tyg, why are you laughing?" Tommen asked, his head tilted up towards him.

Tygett smiled down at him and ruffled his golden curls, Tommen had always been such a good boy. Sweet with ever breath he took, sweeter and gentler than Tygett had ever been at least, but meeker. He would need to be protected, and Tygett had sworn he would the day he first held him, the only sibling he had who was younger than him. "Oh, don't worry about it Tommen. It was just something foolish."

Tommen frowned slightly but didn't question him, his gaze turning to look back to watch the snow and Tygett stayed with him, the silence comfortable.

"Mother won't be pleased if she finds out you have the window open," the voice of his twin made Tygett turn to look at her, Myrcella looked the most like their mother and it wasn't just do to the fact she was a girl, she had Queen Cersei's eyes, her nose and her curls and she had her temper as well, the only difference was it took a great deal more for his sister to show it then his mother did.

"I suppose your right," Tygett sighed and ushered Tommen away from the window before reaching to pull the shutters inward, shivering when a cold blast of air caught him full in the face before he could close them.

"But Cella, we were watching the snow!" Tommen whined as he stared up at his older sister, Tygett had to bite the inside of his cheek to stop himself from laughing. "I've never seen snow before, I only heard about it in the stories that Septa Eglantine reads to me. Don't you want to see it to?"

"That sounds very fun indeed Tommen, but if you get sick then mother won't be pleased at all, and neither will I," Myrcella said as she smoothed down Tommen's curls, "We will both be so upset, you don't want that do you?"

"No," Tommen said with a pout.

"That's very kind of you," Myrcella said as she knelt down in front of him and pressed a kiss to Tommen's round cheek and Tygett was again in more than a little awe with how easily she was able to handle him, so much so that he barely noticed Myrcella standing up and speaking to him.

"Mother wants to speak to you Tygett, she said now." Tygett nodded and left his twin and his younger brother to themselves as he travelled towards the back of the wheelhouse where the Queen's private chamber was.

One of his mother's maids, Senelle he was fairly sure her name was, was just coming out of the chamber when Tygett arrived. The woman fell into a quick courtesy, which Tygett answered with a nod, before walking into the room to attend to his mother.

His mother was dressed in a gown of cloth-of-gold with an ermine collar and ermine around her sleeves, with a great bear fur draped over shoulders to keep her warm. Uncle Jaime was, as ever, at her side and his uncle said nothing to him but gave him a cool nod.

"That will be all Ser Jaime, leave me with my son." His uncle, clad in his gilded steel armour and white cloak, nodded and left the chamber and once he was gone Queen Cersei rose to her feet, stepped forward and pressed a kiss to Tygett's cheek. "Your father has informed me that he means to win a marriage between our House and the Starks of Winterfell, Joffery to the eldest daughter and Myrcella to the son and heir."

Tygett was silent for a moment as he considered, in truth he was not that surprised at all. His royal father had told him more than a few stories, when he was deep in his cups, about his boyhood adventures with Ned Stark in the Vale and how he was meant to be wed to Stark's sister, the long dead Lyanna Stark, before Rhaegar Targaryen had abducted her.

Father could lament in his memories all he wanted, but now it was affecting his siblings. Joffery probably wouldn't care, if he thought that it would win him a kernel more of Robert's love then he would agree to the match if it pleased him, but Myrcella would have no choice to accept the marriage if it made her happy or not and she had never cared much for the idea of winning more of their father's love.

And Tygett knew little and less about the heir to Winterfell, the only thing he truly knew was that he had been named by Lord Eddard after Tygett's own father and that was the most blatant attempt to curry favour that Tygett had ever seen, but told him nothing about the boy who wore the name.

And in that moment, Tygett was terrified that Robb Stark of Winterfell would be far too much like Robert Baratheon.

He had been very young the first time he had seen his father strike his mother, he had finished his first ever wood carving and he had made it in the shape of a lion and had run to shown his mother, the cuts on his palms and the fact the wood barely looked like a lion had not mattered to him, not when the notion of earning his mother's praise had so appealed to him.

Tygett had been approaching his mother's chamber door when he heard the voice, his mother's he knew as well as any and his father's voice was unmistakable when his anger was raised.

The door had been open, just a crack, and Tygett had gazed into it just in time to see his father hit his mother deeply in the stomach, sending her crashing to the ground and unable to catch a breath.

Robert had paled then, looking lost and like he didn't understand what he had done. But he did not try to help her, he simply cursed and spun on his feet before making his way towards the chamber door.

Tygett hide behind a tapestry in the hallway, whispering a prayer under his breath that his father would not hear him, and when he heard the sound of his stamping footsteps fading in the distance Tygett had gone to tend to his mother.

It was the first time Tygett had ever seen his mother weep, he had knelt down beside her and hugged her as best he could and asked her if he should go and fetch Uncle Jaime.

His mother had shook her head then and pulled him close, pressing a kiss to the top of his head, saying that Uncle Jaime couldn't know and she was sorry that he had to see it but he mustn't speak of it.

And so he hadn't, he might have been able to convince himself that it had just been a bad dream that he had but it had not been the last time he had seen it. Robert always took care to never strike his queen on the face, it would be hard her to hide a bruise that way, but he always hit her somewhere else and soon enough what little love Tyget had for the man was replaced with a hate as hot as wildfire.

And he had learned quick enough why his mother had not wanted him to tell Uncle Jaime, if the knight knew then he would kill Robert and nothing would stop him and that would cost him his head. Of course his mother wanted to stop that from happening, she was his sister and his twin and they were as close as Tygett and Myrcella were.

And the thought of Myrcella, his big sister, his twin, married to someone who would even think of hurting her like Robert Baratheon hurt their mother.

Tygett would not allow it.

"Mother, what would you have of me?" Tygett asked, and Cersei Lannister smiled.

"Robert will at least have one match made with Winterfell, Joff with Stark's daughter, the girl will be in our power then." Cersei said as she poured herself a glass of plum wine from a golden pitcher. "But I will not have Myrcella so far away from me, alone in this desolate wasteland."

"I am glad we are of one mind in this," Tygett said with a smile to match his mother's. "But how shall we ensure it won't happen."

"You will need to convince him, you are the son that looks most like him so you have the best chance of convincing him away from this path. Make it clear that he gives Lord Stark too much, that friendship must not be too richly rewarded just on that basis."

Tygett sighed, he could do it but it would mean spending more time with the drunken brute he was forced to call a father. "I understand mother, I won't fail you."

He never had and he never would.

And the smile he received and the embrace that warmed him against the cold was more than reward enough.

End of Chapter One.

Before anyone starts to worry there won't be any incest in this fic, aside from a few mentions of Cersei and Jaime's involment with one another. Tyget loves Myrcella but only as a sister and while there is a possessive aspect to their relationship that is present in almost all his relationships with his loved ones, a learned behaviour from his mother.

Next chapter we swap over to Sansa.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

With a ton of love and warmest regards,

DiscordantSymphony