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West. Casterly Rock. 289 AC.
Lord Tywin Lannister.
Several hours later.
Foolishness and farce. That was the only way the Old Lion could describe what had unfolded. It had started that morning, when Cersei ca to share her "brilliant" plan for seizing the Vale. Before he could say a word in response, she announced that everything was already in motion and that all that remained was to catch him in the act.
There had been no ti to deliberate, so he had been forced to improvise. According to the servants' reports, Arryn had been carousing with the young knights and heirs deep into the night and would not stir for so ti yet, which gave them room to prepare.
The first to be roused were Lord Stark and Lord Royce. Arryn might be as brazen an upstart as he liked, but the authority these two carried over him was difficult to overstate. Next ca his beloved son-in-law. Robert had been drinking more freely than the youngest among them, and under any other circumstances he would have sent the petitioners straight to hell, but not Stark. Stark was to him like a brother. And if Stark ca asking for help in deciding the fate of another non-blood brother, Robert would drag himself out of bed.
Baratheon, Stark, Royce, himself. The four of them together could easily outweigh and overwhelm the boy with sheer authority. Though their expected number grew sowhat larger than anticipated. Stafford arrived, as the father of the girl who had found her way into the Falcon's bed. Kevan ca as his right hand. And then Cersei and Jai. He had no objection to the first two, though he ordered them to keep silent. But his daughter... her status made it impossible to simply remove her. Jai he was glad to have present. When the boy's youthful idealism eventually ran its course and he ca to understand his rightful place, this would serve as a worthy lesson.
With these people assembled, he gave the order to bring Arryn before them before the young man had any chance to collect himself. Things began well enough. Arryn looked wretched and could barely stand on his feet. The one unwelco surprise was the rift between Stark and Arryn. The coldness with which Arryn spoke to him, the unmistakable contempt, bore no resemblance to any brotherly bond. Royce, who was less than pleased with the whole affair, allowed himself to be silenced.
There was no counting on the King, so he stepped into the conversation himself. Arryn had his bravado and his wits, but experience stood on Tywin's side, and the question of marriage had been nearly settled. One last push was all it would have taken. Then Cersei blundered in and walked straight into such a crude trap. Though, if he was being entirely honest with himself, he had not anticipated that Arryn would pull such a move.
"What do we do, brother?" The joint council between them was one of their oldest traditions. He devised the plan. Kevan refined it.
"We win. The honor of the house is at stake," he said plainly. "If the realm learns that a nobleman can dishonor a lady of our house without consequence, our na will carry less weight."
"Even with such a foolish plan, we cannot be seen to retreat," his brother understood him correctly.
"No. Now it falls to deciding who we send to this farce." Regrettably, the options were few.
"Stafford has put himself forward. He wants to defend his daughter's honor."
"No. We need a guaranteed victory, with no deaths. That rules out both Cleganes."
"Jai?"
"Yes."
"Will that not cause confusion? He is a mber of the Kingsguard, the King's sword." A fair question, though there was a political maneuver to be made here.
"He will fight as the girl's cousin, not as a Kingsguard. And keeping the bout closed will serve everyone." After Arryn's announcent and ten minutes of shouting, they had agreed on keeping the whole matter quiet. No one needed this made public.
"Jai, then," Kevan said thoughtfully. "Is it not too much? Arryn is the heir to the Vale, and he may hold a grudge. That sort of thing is especially common at his age."
"A victory now matters more than the heir's resentnt. I will instruct Jai."
...
The mont the shouting, the accusations, and the threats finally died down, Robert pulled aside and took to his chambers to talk. His rooms were twice the size of mine and were every inch a king's quarters, though in his opinion they were excessively gilded. They had shoved gold into everything: the bed, the chairs, the table, and even the candlesticks.
Two whores were sprawled across his bed, but the Kingsguard ushered them out promptly, leaving the two of us alone. Robert poured himself wine and moved to pour the sa, then caught himself, rembered my tastes, and switched the pitcher. We sat and drank off the previous night's excess, and after a few minutes the King could no longer contain himself.
"Hahaha, did you see their faces!" Robert roared with laughter. It was a rare occasion when the lion's family found themselves played for fools.
"Quite. I had the feeling Lannister was about to squeeze out a fresh batch of gold right there from sheer indignation." The joke about Tywin Lannister shitting gold never quite lost its edge.
"Good man, for not bending," he said, his eyes full of sothing that looked like pride, which made uneasy. "All that's left is to beat the Kingslayer and it's done."
"I was counting on the Mountain," I said. Robert was not the dull brute most took him for. He had a mind when he chose to use it, which was not often.
"No, the Clegane is too unpredictable. They won't risk it. The Kingslayer suits perfectly." He laid it out plainly enough.
"I see."
"Listen, I know this was a setup. If you hadn't pulled that move with the duel, I would have gotten you out of it," the King admitted. "But it's too late for that now. You have to win, or you'll end up with a second Cersei," the monarch added, pulling a face at the ntion of his beloved wife.
"And yet you were the one urging to marry?" His words and his actions did not align.
"I was obliged to say it, sa as Lord Royce. Neither of us wanted it."
"And Ned?" I still had so small hope there.
"Ned is too proper. He ant every word." The King put an end to that hope. It drew another wave of irritation.
"Of course! The honorable Lord Eddard Stark always knows the right thing to do," the impression was poor at best. "A hypocrite is what he is. The man has bastard twins of his own and still sees fit to lecture ." Robert stared at , caught off guard by what I had said about his friend.
"What happened between you two? How did you fall out?"
I was not in the mood to explain.
"We disagreed," I said, getting up from the chair and heading for the door. "I'm going to prepare for the fight." And before he could form a response, I was already out of the room.
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