Chapter 2
TYWIN LANNISTER
Casterly Rock remained the same as always, though quite a bit had changed in his lands and solar. Tywin had long rued the fact that his legacy lay in the hands of his three children, none of whom were truly suitable to be his heirs.
Jaime was too busy being a glorified guard, and Cersei was both a girl and too short-sighted to see her own faults. She thought herself to be smart, but the truth was that she lacked the foresight to realise the consequences of her actions.
Tyrion, the monster that he was, would squander away the wealth and influence of the family on wine and women, just as his father once had. Tywin had promised himself that he would never let his family suffer such a fate again.
Amidst the three, he had thought Jaime to be the most suitable candidate to be his successor. For all his naiveties, he was a good warrior, and there was hope that age would soothe his wilful nature, yet the oaths of a Kingsguard bound him to the throne.
Yet the Gods saw through his plight, and offered him a solution of their own—a boy of his own blood. Someone who was a far better choice than any of his children.
"Come in," he whispered as he heard a silent knock on the door, before Steffon Baratheon walked into his solar with his usual scowl. Steffon may have the name of a Baratheon, but much like the rest of Cersei's children, he had the looks of a Lannister.
With his glistening golden hair and bright green eyes, he was the spitting image of Jaime at his age. The similarities were simply uncanny, yet he would never utter those words out of his mouth.
Never.
"Sit," Tywin ordered, as he found himself staring at the missive from Robert once more, and saw no way of denying him anymore.
"You must have heard by now. Jon Arryn, your father's Hand, has passed away," and the boy nodded without a hint of surprise.
"I know," he answered simply, though Tywin did not miss the slight tensing of his shoulders.
"The King wishes to ride North with the entire Royal Family," and in the nearly twenty years of his reign, Robert had taken no tours, as his predecessors before had, yet now he had suddenly decided on riding all the way to the North.
"And that included you as well," and the scowl deepened, and he knew not what irked him most about the Capitol, yet the boy in front of him held a visceral hatred for the place.
One of his few failings, yet in time, he would have to move past it.
Steffon Baratheon was a twin to Joffrey, his elder brother, and would one day sit on his council. Tywin was not much fond of Kingslanding either, yet the capital was the centre of power of the Seven Kingdoms, and as a Prince of the realm, he could not hope to avoid it.
"Is there any way of denying the request?" he asked, just as he had for the last dozen such summons.
"I am your page, and you could deny the request," and Tywin shook his head.
"I am afraid Robert has left you no choice in the matter. He wants you to head to the Capitol at once," and the boy gave a sigh, and began to rub his head, and many a time he acted so unlike a boy his age that it would intrigue him much over the earlier years.
But it was not just his habits that were unique. No, for Steffon Baratheon had a mind just as unique and ancient as his antics.
"Have you no desire to meet your family?" and to this day, Tywin did not know what had transpired in the capital for Cersei to send him to her in the way that she had, and the lack of letters between the mother and son had not been lost to him either.
Still, his daughter often wrote to him asking about his well-being and would always ask of him during his few visits to the Capitol, yet in the four years that he had spent as his page, he had not heard him mention her name even once.
"You and Uncle Tyrion are my family as well," he countered, and he would hardly ever give a straight answer.
"Cersei and your siblings are your family, and yet you have spent the last four years away from them," Tywin countered.
"I am not fond of Kingslanding," the boy deflected, and he knew that well.
"Few people are, but your brother is meant to be the future King, and there is a chance that you shall have to sit on his council one day. You should start getting used to the Capitol," and the boy shook his head.
"Hopefully, I won't have to return to the city for many a year still," and Tywin would not be so sure of that.
"I would not be so certain of that," and that drew his focus as those green eyes narrowed onto him.
"What do you mean by that? I was sent here to foster with you, and from what I have read, such things often last well into a decade," and that would be true for a normal spare son of a lord. But neither was he normal, nor was he simply a spare son.
He was a Prince of the realm and possessed one of the sharpest minds he had ever seen. He was in many ways the perfect combination of his three-wayward children, having all of their virtues yet none of their vices.
He was blessed with Cersei's sharp mind, yet that brilliance was tempered by Tyrion's patience and perseverance. He also had Jaime's sword arm, but thankfully, he was spared his eldest foolhardy nature.
He had his own vices, though, for he lacked ambition, and had spoken to him openly about his dream of leaving the Capitol to go and live a quiet life in Braavos. He lacked his own ruthlessness, and though kindness was no sin. Kindness could easily be perceived as weakness and lead to mutiny.
Yet despite that, he was young, and a guiding hand could easily rid him of his vices. And amidst all that, Tywin did not notice how he had begun plotting the boy's future already.
"I mean exactly what I said," Tywin answered as he leaned back in his chair.
"You may have been here for but a few years, but I have nearly taught you all that one would expect out of a fostering," yet a part of him wanted more. A part of him did not just wish to foster him as a Prince, but to train him as an heir.
He had the blood and the pedigree, and he knew that there was little love between the boy and Robert. Tywin could easily convince him to part with one son when he already had an heir and a spare.
Yes, it could work. Still, it was not entirely as easy as one would think.
"So, you are ending the fostering?" the boy asked in an aghast tone, and Tywin nodded.
"You are a Prince, and you have been away from Kingslanding for far too long already. It is time for you to go back and take your place there," and he knew not what the conflict between him and Cersei was, but it was time for them to move past it.
He planned on writing to her about that as well, for they needed to bury the hatchet on whatever had transpired between them.
"I don't like the city," the boy complained, and Tywin decided to make his decision clear.
"You have a duty to your family. You have a duty to your brother," and the boy scoffed at the mention of his twin, and he remembered Jaime and Cersei and the two of them had been nearly inseparable.
He had expected him to have a similar bond with his twin, yet he was wrong. He may try to hide it, but the disdain he held for his elder twin was no secret, as he rolled his eyes and answered without any hesitation or remorse.
"I don't like them either," and that mattered little.
"I could punish you for that," and the boy smiled genuinely.
"Would that spare me from going to Kingslanding?" and Tywin had a genuine smile at the jibe, yet he took a deep breath and began.
"I know not what they have done to earn this disdain from you, but this will have to end. Cersei is your mother, and Joffrey will be your King one day," and again he shook his head, whispering under his breath.
"Seven save us all from that day," and he had heard some strange rumors about the boy as well, yet Joffrey was the elder child, and the throne was to be his. Steffon may be his twin, yet he was destined to be the spare, and he wondered if that was what irked him so much.
"You have a duty to them, and you will do it just as you have done your duties as my page," and the boy had a retort to give, yet he held his tongue, showing restraint that was quite uncommon in boys his age.
"Is that all?" the boy asked sharply, and he shook his head.
"No, I have another task for you," and it was one of his own suggestions, and Tywin picked up the response that he had written for Robert and passed it to him.
"Upon your return to the Capitol, you shall go and see the Royal ledgers for me," and Robert had squandered through all of the gold that Aerys had hoarded and then some, and now the realm was gravely in debt.
Their King had taken over three million gold dragons from his mines as a loan, and yet he had been told that this was but a portion of the realm's true debts. Every time a letter from the Capitol would arrive, the boy would counsel against giving the loan, though Tywin could never do that.
Robert may be married to his daughter, but he knew well enough that he held little love for him or his family. He could not give him a reason to doubt their loyalty, and the loans gave him much influence over him as well.
If he were to refuse him, others would simply come forward to replace him, and he knew for a fact that the Tyrells had tried many a time to replace Cersei as Queen, going so far as to make Renly present a portrait of Mace's daughter to Robert.
It was an insult, yet Cersei had failed to quell such traits, and it was well known that the King and his Queen had a not-so-good relationship.
"The Royal Ledgers?" the boy asked, and Tywin nodded.
"Yes, and you will see how the loans I gave were spent and whether the Master of Coin has any plans of returning me my money," and the boy chuckled at his words.
"I told you not to give him all that gold," and the boy failed to understand that Robert would get those loans one way or another. If not him, he would simply turn towards the Tyrells or the Iron Bank,
In this case, it was best if the gold came from him, for it bought him both power and security within the Redkeep.
"Littlefinger is nothing more than a thief, and making a man like that the Master of Coin is perhaps the greatest mistake one could ever make," and if he was indeed right, then it was time to be rid of him.
"If so, then I need you to find the proof and present it to your mother," and the boy stilled slightly at the mention of Cersei.
"She will know what to do," and it may seem strange to entrust such a task to a mere boy of sixteen, yet he helped him transform his own ledgers over the years, and the accounts of Casterly Rock and Lannisport had never been cleaner than they were now.
The new system that he had devised was so simple and effective that he had made it mandatory for all the merchants and ports at Lannisport, and many a lord had begun to use it as well to clean up their ledgers.
"This could cause a lot of damage," the boy warned, as he pocketed the letter.
"So be it. If your suspicions prove themselves to be true, then it will only win us more favor with Robert," and while also casting a shadow on the character and prowess of his late Hand, who had led such a man into Robert's Council.
"The Gold Cloaks will be yours to command if you so desire. And as both my representative and Prince, nothing will be out of your reach," and with the sheer amount of gold that he loaned to the throne, even Robert would not dare stop him.
"Have you told the King about this?" and he had.
"I have," and that made the boy narrow his eyes.
"Why?" he asked, and he had begun rubbing his fingers.
"Because then I might need a bigger retinue than you may think," and that made Tywin frown, for the implication was obvious.
"Who would dare attack a Prince of the realm?" and the journey from Casterly Rock to Kingslanding was not a very long one, yet if he did have reason to fear for his life.
"I can think of quite a few people. Still, I could be wrong. I would much rather be safe," and Tywin had no reason to deny him this.
"Take as many men as you need," and with that, the boy gave him a nod.
"I will go and make preparations then," and with that, he made to leave, and when he was at the door, Tywin stopped him.
"You say you hate the Capitol," and the boy nodded without a second thought.
"I do," and there was no doubt there.
"And what of Casterly Rock? Do you hate it as well?" and he wondered why he had asked him that, yet still the boy's answer was encouraging.
"It is tolerable, still, why do you ask?" and Tywin smiled as he nodded, ignoring teh question asked back, he replied.
"Go then, and yes. Your Uncle Tyrion. He will be joining you for the trip as well," and just the thought of his wayward son soured his mood. To think that the Gods had cursed him with an heir like that.
No. Tywin would not let that stand. Not when he had another choice. A better choice.
"You can rely on him as well," and the two of them were close to one another, though he had made sure that he would not corrupt Cersei's son with his own vices.
"I will..."
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