The Unyielding Stag (Game of Thrones AU/Invincible)
Chapter 30: Tywin Lannister

A/N: Tywin Lannister arrives in King's Landing at long last. He's not thrilled about it.

-x-X-x-

Oftentimes, being invited to a private meeting with the King and his Hand just after arriving in the Capital might be construed as a good thing. It could be taken to mean you were being given special consideration and that you had more pull and influence with the King than others.

… Tywin Lannister would certainly be doing everything in his power to imply exactly that after this meeting was over and done with. He would also do everything in his considerable power to keep the true nature of this meeting away from the gossiping busybodies of the King's Court.

A lesser man might say that he brought this on himself, all things considered. Admittedly, Tywin had taken something of a gamble when he'd gone about things the way he'd had. And sure, perhaps he hadn't been… thinking clearly at the time.

Fine. In the privacy of his own thoughts at least, he could admit to being quite upset when the news from King's Landing had first reached his ears.

The fact that Robert had gone and gotten himself killed mattered little to Tywin. However, that the oaf had gone and gotten both of his male heirs killed as well… that was infuriating. Joffrey and Tommen represented Lannister Blood on the Iron Throne, something that Tywin had been working to make happen for decades. And in just a moment, that had all gone up in green flames.

That the Mad King was said to have been involved, that he'd apparently covered the entire underside of King's Landing in caches of wildfire… well, that made it even worse. Even from beyond the grave, Aerys was spitefully managing to keep Tywin from what he was owed.

Hearing that Robert had legitimized his bastard on his death bed… that meant a lot less to Tywin. Myrcella wasn't going to inherit the Iron Throne anyways. The other Great Houses would never allow it and Tywin wouldn't waste time or energy trying to fight that uphill battle. So whether it was Robert's bastard son or one of his brothers who wound up sitting upon the Iron Throne, in the end it meant little.

News of Jaime's death though… that had shaken Tywin to his core. And ultimately, it had caused him to freeze up at a critical moment. There were so many things Tywin could have done differently. So many ways he could have gone about things. But Jaime's death had left him in a state of inaction.

Tywin had always prided himself on being a strong man, on projecting a certain image to the rest of the Seven Kingdoms. His father had provided him of an example of what not to do and Tywin had spent his entire life doing the exact opposite.

But Jaime… why? Even now, Tywin didn't have answers. He'd hoped to look into the issue now that he was finally in King's Landing and could see if anyone could tell him why his eldest son had thrown himself off the top of the Red Keep… but first he had to deal with this mess.

What the hell was Cersei thinking? His daughter had long been a headache for Tywin, though once he'd finally managed to marry her off to Robert and send her away to King's Landing, that headache had lessened considerably with time and distance.

Being allowed to meet with her for a few minutes before he'd been escorted to this meeting had brought that headache back in full force. His daughter had been quite mad, talking about the King being a monster with impenetrable skin, how she'd fed him every poison imaginable and he still refused to die. How he couldn't possibly be human.

Tywin knew full well that Cersei considered herself to be quite the intelligent schemer. He also knew that she thought herself the closest thing to an heir that he had, not in the literal sense, but in the metaphorical one. She believed herself to have inherited his intellect and his cunning, and she prided herself on always being the twin with a plan between her and Jaime.

Unfortunately for her, almost none of that was true. In the end, for all that Cersei was smarter than Jaime, she was still a woman at the end of the day. And women were passion-driven, flighty creatures who often made the wrong decisions if they were not guided by the right man.

Case in point… his daughter had ignored his order to leave King's Landing and bring Myrcella to Casterly Rock back when Renly first declared Jon Arryn a liar and himself King. As a result, House Lannister had been in a less advantageous position for the entirety of this war. And now… now he arrives in King's Landing to this mess.

"As you can imagine, we find ourselves in a bit of a quagmire of sorts, Lord Lannister. Your daughter is the Queen Dowager and that comes with certain allowances… but she tried to assassinate the King and then ranted about a prolonged effort to poison him all throughout his life in earshot of numerous people. She has furthermore expressed her fervent belief that every single man carrying the name 'Baratheon' should be killed immediately on her orders because she is 'the Queen'."

… The pity is the worst part, Tywin decides. Sitting there with Jon Arryn looking at him apologetically and sympathetically while their new young King watches them both from the side, Tywin can only keep his back straight and his shoulders squared as he processes this information.

It sounded like Cersei had snapped and was throwing the tantrum to end all tantrums. What Tywin didn't fully understand is why she waited until now to snap, instead of back when her sons and brother died. He can only imagine that she had some sort of scheme in place that fell through, leading them to the current situation. Still… he at least has to try to make something of this situation.

"My daughter is a grieving mother, Lord Arryn. She also lost her twin sibling at the same time that the Princes perished. This… hysterical state will pass with time and the King's mercy on these matters will be remembered far longer than anything she said in overwrought condition."

Axel Baratheon's brow raises at that and Tywin finds himself once again noting just how much he looks like his father, albeit without the beard. The King of Westeros is a handsome young man and Tywin only wished that he had some maiden to throw at him to secure the Lannister hold on the throne.

Alas, at this point he was forced to run damage control, reduced to just trying to get out of this with his daughter's life intact.

Jon Arryn nods sympathetically at Tywin's words… but then pauses and grimaces. A practiced motion, Tywin can tell, but he doesn't dare call the other man out on it.

"... The extenuating circumstances certainly must be taken into account before a judgment can be rendered. However, there is still the matter of the other crimes she's confessed to. Her numerous attempts to poison Axel date back almost twenty years, long before the tragedies that rocked the Realm and your family more recently. That, on top of the assassination attempt, speaks to a premeditated desire to murder our King."

Yes. Though Axel wasn't really the King back then, now was he? If any one of these purported poisoning attempts had actually worked and Axel had died as some nameless bastard in the Vale, none of this would have mattered. And even if she'd been caught, Cersei would have suffered little more than a slap on the wrist at most. It would have been just a bastard, after all.

It was only now that Axel was King that Cersei's numerous incompetent attempts on his life mattered so much. It was only retroactively that her efforts to poison him became attempted regicide instead of just cleaning up her husband's indiscretions.

Of course, Tywin doesn't say that. He's not stupid. Nor is Lord Arryn. The man is… frustratingly competent, all things considered. Smiling, the Hand of the King dips his head and shows his hand just a little bit.

"I think we all agree that execution is off the table."

Tywin doesn't let himself feel relieved, even as Axel nods and finally speaks up in a quiet yet strong tone.

"Yes. I don't want her dead."

That was good. But it wasn't enough, as evident by Jon Arryn's next words.

"If she were a man, then the option for her to take the Black would be on the table. However, since she's a woman… the most obvious choice would be for her to join the Silent Sisters."

His lips thin out at that. Truth be told, if things weren't so dire for his House, Tywin wouldn't have minded sending Cersei to the Silent Sisters. His daughter had made a right mess of things; there was no denying that. However… she was also the solution to the mess he found himself in back in the Westerlands. So no, the Silent Sisters weren't an option.

"A daughter of House Lannister is too good for the Silent Sisters. Remand her into my custody instead. Allow me to take her back to Casterly Rock and I can assure you that she will never leave the Westerlands, nor scheme against you ever again. I won't give her the time to even think about such things."

Both of Axel's brows raise at that, the younger man clearly finding it difficult to believe Tywin's words. Lord Arryn, however, already has a look of understanding in his eyes.

Leaning forward, their young King frowns.

"And how do you intend to make sure of that?"

Looking to Axel, Tywin speaks rather blandly.

"I am in need of an heir and Cersei is still of the right age. I will remarry her to a loyal man of the Westerlands and their firstborn son will be the next Lord of House Lannister. She will be far too busy with her new duties to plot against you, Your Grace. I personally guarantee it."

Axel's brow furrows harder at that.

"Don't you already have an heir? I thought you'd had two sons."

Tywin resists the urge to scoff derisively. Instead, he keeps his tone even as he slowly shakes his head.

"Tyrion is a dwarf. He cannot inherit."

From the way the young King blinks, nods, and sits back in his chair, he probably doesn't fully understand. A bastard like him wouldn't. He's might even be taking Tywin's words at face value, assuming that there's some law he doesn't know about that says Tyrion literally cannot inherit.

This isn't the case, of course. If Tywin were to die tomorrow, Tyrion might very well inherit Casterly Rock, though he likes to think that Kevan would never allow it. However, so long as Tywin drew breath, he would personally make sure that his deformed son never became Lord of House Lannister. Tyrion might be a Lannister, but he would always be the least of the Lannisters so long as Tywin had a say in things.

With that said, Tywin's only other option was to drag Cersei back home and put her to work getting him an heir of sound mind and sound body so he could replace the Imp in the line of succession. It was what he'd wanted from all the way back when he'd sent that first letter, but of course his willful daughter hadn't taken anything into account but her own desires, like always.

The King and his Hand exchange a long look before Lord Arryn clears his throat.

"… The Crown is not opposed to releasing Cersei Lannister into your custody on the understanding that you will swear on your honor to keep her in line, Lord Tywin. However, there are other considerations that must be addressed first. Especially regarding the balance of influence and power in the Realm."

Tywin's eyes narrow at that. He didn't quite understand what the Lord Hand was talking about. Fortunately, the King seems to grow tired of all the wordplay and suddenly speaks up.

"You're going to forgive most of the Crown's debt to your House and cease all interest on the remaining amount. In exchange, we'll give you Cersei."

Jon Arryn sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose as the King just outright says it… but truth be told, Tywin isn't as insulted as he would have thought. After everything he's had to deal with, Axel Baratheon's bluntness is rather refreshing… even if it is still a little infuriating.

The Crown owed House Lannister three million golden dragons at this point in time. Tywin had always considered the numerous loans that made up that sum to be an investment, of course. If Joffrey or Tommen had been the one to sit on the Iron Throne after their father, he would have eventually been paid back and not just in gold either.

But now here he was, being extorted out of the larger share of that investment all because they knew he was desperate. He was basically being sold back his daughter for a princely sum, the same amount of dragons he'd offered some of the lesser houses for their Ancestral Valyrian Steel, only to be soundly turned down.

Before Tywin can decide how he wants to respond, however, Axel continues on.

"I was saddened to hear about all of those saboteurs you dealt with back in the Westerlands, Lord Lannister. I'm glad that your disloyal bannermen didn't stop you from finally arriving in King's Landing after all this time. Of course, if the problem persists even now… I would be happy to come deal with it myself at any time."

… Ah. Now Tywin begins to understand. Perhaps he'd underestimated young Axel Baratheon. This isn't just about selling him Cersei back. This was also about the gambit he'd taken during this most recent conflict. This was about punishing him.

Very well. He would not forget this, but right now it wasn't like he had much of a choice except to take his lumps. Looking the King right in the eye, Tywin inclines his head to show he understands. Even then though, he can't help but reach for just a little bit more than he'd been offered.

"I will forgive two thirds of the Crown's debt to my house, as well as having the last third of the debt cease accruing interest… in exchange for having both Cersei and Myrcella turned over to me."

"No."

It was a long shot but Tywin still has to admit to being somewhat surprised by just how quickly the offer is shut down. Axel looks quite stone-faced as he does so too.

"You will be given Cersei in exchange for all of that, but Myrcella is a Baratheon. She will go to Storm's End, where she will be fostered and raised alongside Shireen Baratheon."

Tywin frowns and tries a different tack.

"It will be easier to keep Cersei under control if her daughter is close by…"

But Axel isn't having it.

"My decision is final. Cersei's hatred for all things Baratheon leaves me questioning if even Myrcella would be safe around her at this point. I won't risk my half-sister to that woman's madness. You have already staked your honor on being able to keep her under control… if you don't think you can do so without Myrcella's help, then say the word and she'll be sent to the Silent Sisters."

Hm. They had him by the balls and they knew it. Tywin knew he could control Cersei even without Myrcella's presence. But Myrcella was a Lannister as much as she was a Baratheon, and a Princess besides. Having her would open up so many other options for him… which is why it was so infuriating that Cersei had ignored his original orders back at the start of all of this.

"… Very well. But I must demand that a few good Lannister men be allowed to journey to Storm's End to supplement her honor guard. She's not just a Baratheon Princess, but a Lannister one as well after all."

The King hesitates for a moment… before finally nodding. Tywin just accepts that that's the best he's going to get for now. He'd taken a calculated risk when he'd decided to hold back his armies and allow Renly to besiege King's Landing. It hadn't paid off, but to be fair, how could he have ever seen the Trial by the Seven coming?

All of his plans for how to make the most of the war had gone up in smoke the moment that Axel and Renly handled things through such ancient rites. And then his fool of a daughter just had to go and make everything even worse.

It was frustrating, but there was nothing else to be done. That said, as he's dismissed from the King's presence, Tywin is already contemplating his next moves. Lannister Blood might not sit on the Iron Throne in his lifetime, but in the end, all of this… was merely a setback.

-x-X-x-

A/N: Being Tywin Lannister is suffering. Couldn't happen to a better guy! Also this marks the end of Arc 2! Next time, we start Arc 3~

(The base price of my Patreon also increases from $3 to $5 at the end of July but if you get in now you keep the $3 price as long as you want, so now is a great time to sign up!)