Chapter 47
TYWIN LANNISTER
Tywin had decided years ago that he would one day sit his blood on the Iron Throne. He had decided to leave behind a legacy that would be remembered for generations to come, so that none would dare question the might of House Lannister.
Yet the Gods were cruel, first taking his wife all for a misshapen monster whose mere existence would taint his life and legacy forever, then they took his heir from him as Aerys named him to the Kingsguard.
Yet in the end, even the Gods had failed to halt him in his path, as he took advantage of the chaos of the rebellion, and used his position to supplant his blood on the Iron Throne, so that none may ever dare humiliate the name Lannister.
But despite his efforts, the Gods were not done with him. They remained dead set in trying to ruin him and his family as if acting on sheer spite. Within a few months, they had taken from him his grandsons, as the realm erupted in another rebellion.
"The armies of the Reach have crossed the Golden Road and have laid siege to Pink Maiden and Accorn Hall," Kevan informed him of the status of the new war that had begun, one which may just well be his last war.
"Tyrion is gathering a host at Harrenhall to relieve the blockade, but Cregan Stark took the previous host and left for Kingslanding," and hearing his monstrous son's name made his blood boil.
"There are many lords who have refused the call from Kingslanding, some have openly sided with Stannis Baratheon and are openly questioning the legitimacy of Myrcella's claim," and he cared little for the truth, though a part of him knew that his children were stupid enough to do exactly what they had been accused of.
And now, as he faced a battle on two fronts, he faced a great choice. Initially, Tywin had planned to gather a host and head to Kingslanding to protect the city against Stannis's onslaught.
Yet, two days ago a letter had come for him from Harrenhall of all places. One written by the newly appointed Lord of the castle, Cregan Stark, who had just become King consort.
In the letter, the boy had revealed to him, the dire situation of Kingslanding where the Gold Cloaks had lost control of the city, and the mobs had shut down the gates once a rumor about his forces coming back to the city had spread.
The people there, still mistrusted him because of what had happened during the Sack, and so the mobs had closed off the gates, intending to stop him and his men from entering the city.
It was a small thing, one which he could handle in many ways. But, the boy had then offered his own host as support for the city, while asking him to intervene and attack Renly Baratheon's force which had just entered Riverlands and was heading straight fir Riverrun.
It was a sound idea, one that confirmed all that he had heard about the boy from his various sources within the city. Cregan Stark was described as quiet, sharp, and having a Maester's mind. Not the qualities, one would usually ascribe to a King, but all of them qualities of a good King, and even better King consort.
Their entire claim rested upon the shoulders of his granddaughter, Myrcella, who sat in Riverrun alongside the rest of the Stark children, yet the castle was being attacked by both the Vale and the Reach and Renly, making its defence far more complicated.
"Kingslanding is just as important to us as Riverrun," Kevan added, as Tywin stared out the window of his solar at the gathered host of twenty thousand men, waiting for his command.
"Losing even one of the two would be a fatal blow to our cause," and so he had to make a choice, either he could put his trust in the young Stark boy and his plans, and move into the Riverlands to attack Renly's men from behind.
Or he could ignore the letter, and simply head for Kingslanding and then head for Riverrun only after he had gained control of the city.
But would he be too late then?
In the end, he had no choice but to abandon Kingslanding for the more imminent threat, for if Myrcella was to fall into enemy hands, they would lose the war before it had even begun, for with Robert, Joffrey, and Tommen all gone, she was the heir to the Iron Throne.
And if Pycelle's words were to be believed, she might have been the best choice of the three, for she lacked Joffrey's cruelty and Tommen's spineless attitude.
The girl was said to have an astute mind and an iron will, which she probably inherited from her mother. She was also young, making her easily malleable and brought with her the support of two of the Seven Kingdoms.
Cersei had complained to him heavily about the match between her and Cregan Stark. It had been the reason he had even bothered to look into the inconsequential second son of the Starks, but time proved him wrong, and the boy was not as inconsequential as he had thought.
From uncovering Baelish's treason, implicating Varys, and becoming an instrumental figure in the capital's politics. The boy's political prowess was there for all to see, and made him envy Eddard Stark for having a child as competent as this.
If only his own children were only half as competent as him, then he would not need to worry about his legacy as he did now.
In that way, the match between him and Myrcella was far more advantageous than any proposed by Cersei, who did not wish to see her daughter wed a Lord of influence, probably so she could coddle and control her as she had tried to control her eldest.
Thankfully, Robert had resisted her attempts at breaking the match and had refused to buckle to her demands. He himself had ignored all her letters concerning this, and was glad that he had done so, for if they had broken the match, House Lannister would have found itself alone in these difficult times.
"My decision is made," he began, as he turned around and looked at his brother, who stood there dutifully as always.
"We will head to Riverrun and strike at Renly and his men from behind," and though he may have more men, they were all Summer knights, having earned their knighthoods through tournies and tournaments.
None of them knew what a real battle was. What death was.
"Write to the Tully's and the Starks, see if we can encircle and attack Renly's men from three sides with three different forces putting his moronic claim to an end in one strike," and Robb Stark was already at the Crossing and would soon be entering into the Riverlands.
"But will it be fine to leave the capital in the hands of the Starks?" and that was a major concern indeed, but it was far better than letting Myrcella fall into Renly's hands.
"Cersei was rather adamant that we should intervene and dissolve the match between Myrcella and Cregan Stark, so that we can secure our hold on the capital," and, he scoffed.
"My daughter knows as much about ruling as a bard about fighting. The only thing keeping us on the throne is that match, and she would have us dissolve it just to satisfy herself," and it was just like her to think herself clever, and play on his pride.
But she was not that smart. She never had been, and the greatest trouble was that she refused to accept that.
"Ignore her, I will deal with Eddard Stark myself. I will meet the boy myself, and see if he is truly the monster she presents him as, but first we must go and smash Renly's host so that both the Tyrells and the Stormlands can be brought to heel," as for the rest of the kingdoms, they will deal with them later.
"Give the orders...."
"...we ride for Riverrun!"
0000
CERSEI LANNISTER
The battle had begun, and the sounds of battle could be heard all over the city. Her alliance with the Starks was based on nothing but necessity, for there was no one better to lead the defence of the city than Eddard Stark.
She rued accepting her daughter's request about letting her go to Riverrun, for with that not only had she lost her daughter, but she had also lost her brother. Jamie, the only one who could have defended her, their children, and this city from the monstrous Stannis Baratheon.
Yet their absence left her at the mercy of the Starks, and she was learning that Eddard Stark was not as naive and simple as others perceived him to be. She had hoped to take advantage of the chaos of the battle to rid herself of him, yet Lancel had told her how the man had stationed the armies in such a way that it would be very difficult for him to kill the man as she had instructed him and a few others she could trust.
The alliance was a weak one, and Stannis as dour as he was had somehow managed to convince quite a few, pirates and smugglers to his side and with the city already in chaos from the explosion of the Sept that had killed Robert, the defence of the city was far more complicated than one would think.
"Your grace, you should not be here," asked the guard, and indeed most of them women and the children were down in the cellars, with a few guards stationed outside it, but she had found the place to be too mundane for a Queen's last stand.
And so, she walked out of the cellar and came to the place which was the cause of this entire war. The one thing that drove men, women and children to do the most unthinkable things.
Aegon's Throne. The Iron Throne.
It was a misshapen behemoth that rose into the skies in waves, formed out of the burnt swords of Aegon's enemies. She eyed it, eyed the throne, and thought about all the people that had sat there, of all the men that had sat there.
"Your grace," a maid from the side added, making her turn towards her.
"The Princess," she said, and looking at the child made her remember all the costs and the sacrifices that she had made for this throne, a throne which she would not even sit in herself.
Joanna, and it was the only thing about the babe that she liked. She hated that hair, that face, those eyes. She hated them all, for they served as a reminder of her helplessness.
"My lady, we should go back to the cellar. The enemy could infiltrate the castle...."
"If the enemy enters this castle, then even the cellar will not protect us," and she would rather die than let Stannis humiliate her infront of her the entire world.
"Give me the girl," she said to the maid. The young woman handed her the child as she began to walk towards the Iron Throne. For years, she had sat at its heel as men of lesser intelligence had all ascended it in front of her.
But now, they were gone and only she remained. So, she decided to sit herself on the throne, so that if these were to be her last moments, then she would die a Queen, one who sat herself on the Iron Throne.
The steps were ragged, misshapen, bent and uneven with edges poking out. Yet she walked up the throne with her babe in her arms, until she was in front of the chair where Aegon himself had once sat.
And she turned around and saw the throne room, and from up here, the people down below looked like pebbles, ants that could be crushed. She could feel the throne's power, and realised why men would go to war for such a thing.
"It truly is addictive," she began, as she sat herself on the throne with her babe, awaiting the conclusion of the battle, the sounds of which had grown only louder and louder.
She reached into her pocket and took out the vial, that the Maester had prepared for her. A poison, quick and effective. One that would end her life and the life of the babe in her arms before Stannis or his men could do anything to her.
And as she sat there, she thought of someone she had not thought of in years, a girl she had made at Casterly Rock. A princess, of olive skin and orange eyes, one who had faced the same thing as her, and she wondered if she had ever thought of sitting here as well.
Wondered if Elia Martell had readied herself just like this.
Suddenly, she heard the sounds of men fighting and swords clashing, as her heart twisted in agony and despair, as she prayed to the Gods to spare her life.
"Guard the gates," she ordered and the two guards who had come with her rushed to the gates of the throne room, as she felt her heart race.
"AGHHH!" "NOOO!"
She heard men scream, as suddenly the doors to the throne room were pushed open and she saw three men walk in, as the guards made to attack them. A battle ensued, and despite their armors, the two guards were felled as Cersei drew in a sharp breath as the last of the guards fell to the ground, as one of the men stepped forward.
"I have been searching for you, for quite some time," the dark skinned man began, as he spun his sword, baring his yellow, misshapen teeth at her.
"Why?" she asked, putting the poison bottle to her child's mouth, as she tilted it, as her heart grew cold in fury and agony.
"My name is Salladhor Saan, and I have always wanted to fuck a Queen," and she scoffed, and cursed the Gods for giving her such a fate.
"And you never will," and she downed the poison in one single motion, as the man screamed.
"Get her," and the three men rushed towards her, as Cersei sat there waiting for her death as the men raced towards her, climbing the misshapen stairs of the Iron Throne, and just as they were a few paces away from her, she heard the doors to the side of the throne spring open.
"CHARGE!" "PROTECT THE QUEEN!"
An arrow hit the man at the front, and he rolled down the steps, taking a few men with him, as the reinforcements clashed with the men. She looked to them, saw their banners and their leader, and realized that they were not his father's men.
No. They were Stark men.
"To me!" one of them screamed, and he was heading them, and for a second, she thought that it was Cregan Stark. But it took her a second to register that it was not him, that one was a cripple and could never move as this black haired boy did as he cut down two of those heinous monsters.
And just as the tides seemed to be turning in their favor as relief filled her, suddenly she gasped as she felt her throat close up, as her body stiffened. She tried to hold on, tried to breathe but she could not as she felt her eyes close and her mind turn numb, and the last thing she heard was the sound of something falling to the ground, as she heard screams from all around herself.
"YOUR GRACE!"
"YOUR GRACE!"
"TO THE QUEEN!"
0000
Read ahead and support me on Patre 0n. Help me write this and other such stories by becoming a Patr 0n. It would be pretty awesome of you and would mean a lot to me.
www.Patre 0n.com/Drkest
Have a nice day!