Hey all! So I recently started reading through Eddard/Cersei stories, and while I like the basic premise I don't like the character assassinations that happen as a result. This is going to be my attempt at telling a story that remains faithful to who these people are without sacrificing the warm and fuzzy feeling we all get when hot blonde women fall in love with strong Northern men. #WishFulfillment

Reviews and constructive criticism are always welcome, and given that I'm the type of person who scrolls through the comments section on Youtube I'll try to answer any questions you guys have provided you leave a handle by which I can address you. Also, I'm gonna try to pump out a chapter a week since it's such a weird and fun premise. Hope you all enjoy it!

Prologue: Tywin

The battle of King's landing, if it could even be called that, had gone swimmingly for Tywin Lannister. In fact, he doubted that it could have gone better. As he made his way down the halls of the Red Keep, he allowed his gaze to wander the lavishly adorned halls. The dragon bones and skulls that had once been the physical embodiment of Targaryen power in Westeros seemed much smaller than they had once been, although he knew that was likely due to circumstance rather than anything else, be it magical or simply mysterious. He, much like the rest of the seven Wardens who inhabited Westeros, wondered what they would be replaced by.

The smart money was on Baratheon stags, most of them agreed. Mace Tyrell himself had even begun to back him financially, presumably attempting to curry favor before Tywin could get the chance. But it was not Mace Tyrell who had taken the city. No, he had been too busy having his siege of Storm's End broken by the new Warden of the North, Lord Eddard Stark, whose own dire wolf banners might soon adorn the halls of the Red Keep.

And therein lay the problem, for if Eddard Stark took the Iron Throne then Tywin Lannister would lose all of the power he'd accumulated in the years since he'd taken his father's place at Casterly Rock. His annihilation of house Reyne, the indignities suffered as Aery's hand, even his orders to brutalize the Martell woman and her children, all for nothing. He could not allow it, in fact, he'd rather die.

This waking nightmare had all begun with Jaime's killing of the Mad King, and it had grown worse when Lord Stark had walked in on the aftermath. Jaime had given some justification for his actions, although Tywin had hardly been listening. It didn't matter why Jaime had killed the king, or even really that he had killed him. If it had been Robert who walked in at that moment, all could have been forgiven and forgotten. But no, instead it had to be Eddard fucking Stark, the quiet wolf. Tywin sneered, unable to contain his contempt. What was about to happen was entirely his fault, and Tywin would never forgive him for it.

Lions were proud creatures, and Lannisters were prouder still. But if it were for the good of his house, or perhaps even for the preservation of it, there was nothing he wouldn't do. Even if that meant treating Jon Arryn as though the barren old man were his equal. Tywin shook a little at that thought, rage coursing through him. He stopped, breathing deeply at the threshold to the small council's chambers. Jon Arryn would be right through here, and it would never do to be so discomposed.

Finally, he pushed through the large doors and strode in. Jon Arryn, seated in the Hand's seat, made for an odd sight to Lord Tywin, but it was one he supposed he'd better get used to. Regardless of the outcome of the days to come, Arryn had been a father figure to both boys. It was only sensible that he would serve as the hand to whichever one got to sit upon the iron throne, unworthy as the old man was.

"Lord Tywin," he greeted with a tight and forced smile.

"Jon," Tywin replied, eager to take some small amount of control over the situation.

Jon Arryn's already tight smile tightened further, and his eyes seemed to crease at the effort rather than from joy. The displeasure in his adversary soothed his own a bit, but Tywin could not allow the joy he felt when mocking lesser lords to distract him from the matters at hand. He pulled out another chair, seating himself in the place of Aery's old master of coin, Lord Qarlton Chelsted. The thought of that miserable lickspittle brought another small measure of joy, for if the eunuch was to be believed then the same man who had once sat on the council with him and believed himself to be Tywin's equal had been burned to death by wildfire.

"What can I do for you?" Tywin asked. Jon Arryn seemed to think about that question for a moment, as Tywin knew he would. The Lord of the Vale was not a stupid man, but he was a slow one. He hoped that this wouldn't take too long.

"The kingdom," Jon Arryn said at last. "Has bled enough these recent years. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Of course," Tywin replied lazily. It had been a simple question, but one that the old codger had deemed important apparently. His wrinkled brow furled as he nodded, and Tywin Lannister could only wait to hear the rest of what he had to say.

"It would be sensible, then," Jon continued. "If we were to pursue peace throughout the realm at all cost." That last part had almost made Tywin smile, for if the price of peace was high enough it would take the aid of a rich and noble house like his own to foot the bill. Not willing to tip his hand, he opted instead to remain silent. Jon Arryn, however, refused to tip his hand as well. The two men stared at one another from across the table, neither one saying a word.

"I would certainly like to agree with you, Lord Arryn. But I would be a fool to accept a bill that I've yet to see," Tywin replied haughtily. He liked where this was going, which surprised him as he hadn't expected to.

"The bill, Lord Tywin, is a marriage between your daughter, erm, Cersei, I think, and one of my boys," Jon Arryn said.

"Which one?" Lord Tywin asked, perhaps too eagerly. The old man across from him began to relax, and that made him uncomfortable.

"I suppose that either will do," was Lord Arryn's coy reply.

All of a sudden, Lord Twyin could feel his chest tighten. He had expected to defend his family's name, and perhaps he would still have to, but as things stood right now he was on uncertain and treacherous ground. It was obvious enough that Jon Arryn wanted his money, and his political support, but that he would withhold his own hand to this degree was unexpected.

"My daughter," Tywin answered coolly. "Was to be Queen of the seven kingdoms at one point. I will have to disagree with this hasty and inept presumption that either of the little lordlings will do, Lord Arryn."

Jon Arryn's smile dropped almost instantly. "And you think she should marry a king now?"

"Have you seen her?" Tywin asked. "My daughter will settle for nothing less."

Jon Arryn nodded, slowly, as if this was something complicated that needed to be processed. "She is beautiful, Lord Tywin. And she has a good name. But-"

"But what?" Tywin demanded, which had the opposite of the intended effect.

Smiling once again, Jon answered. "But she comes from a house whose loyalties were uncertain until only recently."

Tywin was practically shaking with rage. So this was their move, then. Rather than attacking the jugular, the head of the house, and his heir, the three usurpers meant to secure his loyalty with a hostage. He would be sure to punish them for such insolence, and the fact that it was done with such a half measure would make that simpler. Still, he must defend his family first. Then he could move to annihilate theirs.

"And who was it who sacked King's Landing? Whose son killed the Mad King?" Tywin asked proudly.

Jon Arryn's smile, this time clearly genuine, widened. "It is an easy thing to join a fight that has already been won. Do the singers of your court sing songs for vultures, or for lions Lord Tywin?"

"You dare-"

Jon cut him off with a small gesture, raising his hand slightly above the table. "Yes, Lord Tywin, I dare. Lord Eddard, young and rash as he is, would have me take your son's head and mount it atop the city walls, while Robert, the sweet fool, just wants Ned to stop whinging about a deed that would have been done regardless."

Tywin was silent once more, intent on listening to the awful words coming out of Lord Arryn's mouth.

"Your daughter, sweet as she is, will not be Queen. You shall have to apologize to her when you get the chance," Jon Arryn continued, speaking through an ever-widening grin. The damned geezer was getting a kick out of this. "Instead, she will marry Lord Eddard and go to Winterfell. She will bare him sons, and you will give him her dowry. In exchange, I guarantee not only your son's safety from Lord Stark's chopping block but also that he will keep his place in Robert's court."

Tywin glowered as he'd never glowered before, desperate to try and change the outcome of this meeting but lacking a recourse. "And if I refuse?" He asked.

"You won't," Lord Arryn replied, just as haughtily as Tywin had once been. "Because you know what will happen if you do."

Tywin shrunk into his chair, knowing full well what would happen. His consolation prize, to the extent that there was one, had been Ned Stark's relegation to Lordship, not Kingship. But even still, that did not count as a victory. He was being coerced into a deal that was bad for him, his children, and his house. Worse still, there wasn't a damned thing he could do about it. Their armies were built and battle-tested. His armies consisted of brigands and mercenaries, none of whom were likely to last long in a fight with three whole kingdoms. He was beaten, but only for now. A Lannister always pays their debts, he reminded himself, and Tywin Lannister would be sure to repay this.