Jaime very carefully held Tyrion close to his chest, the two moon old infant being heavier and squirmier than most other things his seven-year-old body has carried.
He angled himself carefully so the babe could look out one of the few windows of the Rock where they could see the many ships coming to dock at Lannisport and where several banners were being strung up. Only the great houses were going to stay in Casterly Rock, and the only ones that have arrived yet were the Tullys, and Jaime hadn't even interacted with them yet beyond greeting Catelyn and Lysa when they were received in the courtyard.
However, now, he could see a Stark banner on a few of the ships, while there were Baratheon banners on the rest. The Arryn men had joined with the Targaryen royal family on the road and were only a sennight away.
"Everything the light touches... is our kingdom. But a lion's time as ruler rises and falls like the sun. One day, the sun will set on my time here, and will rise with you as the new lord. Tyrion, you must remember who you are: a true lord." Jaime said seriously as if he wasn't quoting the lion king to his baby brother.
Tyrion babbled in response.
"Jaime, what are you doing?"
He turned around to see his father watching him from the doorway, a strange look on his face.
"This is all for Tyrion, but he has barely left his crib since he was born," Jaime explained. "Nobody has told him how important he is yet."
"You think nobody has told him how important he is?" His father raised an eyebrow and approached him, bending down so as to carefully take Tyrion out of his not-very-secure hold.
"You and mother have, but not like he needs to hear," Jaime frowned. "You keep saying that he is important because he is the proof that Lannisters pay their debts, and mother keeps saying that he is a Lannister because he's strong, but nobody has told him that he is important and loved. He's our blood and strong, no matter what anyone else may say. He'll rule over the West one day."
Tywin immediately frowned, "Tyrion will rule? Jaime, you are my heir."
Jaime looked back out the window where he could see banners flying and he imagined one of pure white. He's the only one who would defy Aerys and kill the mad king, even though it'll condemn him. He still fears the idea of killing a man, having been raised in a household where pikuach nefesh was considered the most sacred law of all. Why kill when he can save a life? Could he really subdue Aerys without killing him? Only to condemn the man to an even crueler death once Robert and Tywin got their hands on him?
He doesn't know.
"I had a dream," He said. "Where King Aerys forced me to join the Kingsguard because you were angry at him for insulting mother and Tyrion. When you refused to name Tyrion your heir, Tyrion grew bitter and insecure."
"A dream, Jaime," His father scolded. "That won't happen."
Yeah right.
"Yes father," He said.
"Hm," Tywin pursed his lips. "Come along, Jaime, we must greet Houses Baratheon and Stark."
He held Tyrion to his chest as he walked out the door, leaving Jaime to trail after him down the halls.
"Who from House Stark has come?" He asked, "They always leave a Stark behind in Winterfell."
Tywin gave him a strange look, probably wondering where Jaime, his least politically or historically inclined child, learned this. "Lord Rickard has brought his eldest three children: Lords Brandon and Eddard, and his daughter, the Lady Lyanna, who is your age. Lady Lyarra Stark and her youngest son have remained in the North."
"Are you seeking a betrothal for me too?" Jaime asked, "Both Ladies Lyanna and Lysa are my age, and Lady Catelyn is only two years my elder. All three of them are not promised to anyone yet."
"Why do you think I'll be betrothing you outside of the West?" Tywin questioned Jaime, looking interested in his thought process.
"Won't you?" He shrugged, "Lords Stark and Baratheon are fostering their sons Robert and Eddard in the Vale, and I believe Brandon Stark will be betrothed to Catelyn Tully. That's half of the Seven Kingdoms allied. Oberyn and Cersei will join the West and Dorne. If you betroth me to Lyanna or Lysa, and Robert marries the other, that's the Crownlands surrounded. Only the Reach and the Iron Islands wouldn't be allied with the rest, and that's because reavers don't marry greenlanders and the Tyrells don't have any unmarried children from the main family branch."
Tywin frowned, "How do you know this?"
Uh-oh. He was sounding like creepy Bran Stark again. Ugh, all his brooding like some hen over his moral crisis must have made him forget himself.
PR crisis mode: activate.
"A few of our newer servants come from different kingdoms," Jaime lied. "They tell me things about their lives in other keeps."
"You've been talking to the servants again," His father didn't approve but even he could see how the servants worked so much harder and were happier when it was Jaime they were working for. "Anything information worth sharing about the other kingdoms?"
"Lyanna Stark and Brandon Stark are wild and recklessly troublesome. A maid said Cersei is much easier to serve compared to Lyanna who used to come back covered in mud from riding after she stormed out over having to act like a lady. The Tully daughters are pious and naive, they've said passages of the Seven Pointed Star instead of tipping a few different servants. Robert Baratheon is a bully and enjoys lewd songs and japes despite only being 9. His younger brother, Stannis, is bullied by him and their parents let it happen. Elbert Arryn is reckless and thinks being a lord's heir and carrying a sword makes him invincible. The servants from the Reach never talk about their lords, so they were either treated kindly or they're all spies." Jaime said, a mix of knowledge he had from his past life and things he has genuinely heard the servants say. "Also: Oberyn is an arrogant ass and Elia is perfect."
His father looked annoyed at his final comment, but he couldn't deny that the rest of the information was helpful.
"You are to behave yourself throughout this tournament," His father warned him. "I want you on your best behavior, so no helping servants with their tasks or jumping off cliffs."
No skipping falconry lessons either, Jaime is guessing.
"And keep an eye on your sister, for the love of the gods," Tywin continued. "Alanna is worried about her temper and impulsivity."
Alanna had taken over the official healer position for women and children at the Rock, and she had brought in a niece of hers, a young maid named Rhys, over from Lannisport to assist her. Rhys was nice, she made him take a full spoonful of straight honey every day when he got a cough from jumping into the sea (and maybe pushing Oberyn off the cliff with him), which he was pretty sure was antibiotic or something like that, so he trusts that she knows what she's doing.
On the other hand, Alanna had made time to see Jaime and Cersei herself, making several notes about their emotional, psychological, and physical development from the answers Joanna and Tywin had given her. Alanna was mainly concerned about Jaime's ADHD and Dyslexia, which she assured his parents would become easier to deal with as he got older and his brain got more practice at sitting still and reading, and that he wasn't even the worst case she had dealt with and there were many 'simpletons' with his same problem who could never learn a single letter of the alphabet. Jaime hadn't liked her using that language, but considering that she was the only person around who knew anything about child development, he couldn't complain. Cersei, however, Alanna was more worried about her temper, mood swings, and her drastic actions to be liked. She noted that Cersei mimicked whichever adult she was with, and that she had also attached herself very heavily to Jaime, throwing tantrums when she was forced to act more like her own person. Which, everyone could tell that was not ideal, and this could very much be the early warning signs of her massive breakdown when she's older. Luckily, with her confirmed betrothal with Oberyn, she wouldn't have that rejection by Rhaegar or Robert that made her spiral.
On the bright side, Jaime had a front-row seat to watching Alanna tear into Tywin for being absent from their lives and that his strictness was contributing to the problem.
He had dialled back the disappointed looks, especially when Alanna told him a story about a child she treated that stopped talking altogether when mocked by her father for stuttering as a young child, and said that Jaime might stop reading and Cersei might stop listening to anyone. Jaime wishes to point out that, yeah, parent-induced PTSD from child abuse would definitely make a child go mute, but he didn't because that would just sound like tongues to them.
"Alanna is also worried about my impulsivity," Jaime pointed out.
" You ," Tywin scoffed. "Have a bad habit of doing impulsive things that are a danger to yourself only because you want a laugh. Cersei cut a chunk from Prince Oberyn's hair because he said that any bastard children of his would be raised in his household. I need you to stop her from hitting any guests or worse. We cannot afford a slip in front of the entirety of Westeros."
Jaime refrained from saying that Oberyn deserved it. In reality, he knew that Oberyn was being a good sport about the way Jaime and Cersei were treating him in relation to how arrogant he is and how he kept purposely insulting them. Really, the only time Elia and Cersei had stopped them from their rivalry was when Jaime bet that he could climb the outer walls of the Rock to the top tower faster than Oberyn.
"Yes, father," Jaime said obediently.
They came to a stop in the courtyard, where the Martells, Tullys, and Joanna and Cersei were already waiting for them.
Technically, his mother was on limited walking time. She could walk around for two hours a day, but she couldn't climb any stairs herself or go riding with Jaime and Cersei like she used to. Alanna was extremely surprised to find someone more stubborn than herself, with Joanna somehow arguing that she would welcome all her guests after she missed Mariah's arrival and winning . They were all stunned, and Jaime swears up and down that he saw his mother share a smirk with his Aunt Genna and the Princess Mariah on her way out.
Jaime took his place in line, giving his twin a poke so she would scooch over and he could slide in by her side.
The Starks and Baratheons came in together. Northern practical aesthetics with Stormlands boisterous behaviour.
Jaime could see Ned and Robert riding in side by side on their horses, probably having befriended each other at the ports, and he wondered if they would be up to including him in their games.
He really only had Cersei to play with most days, though occasionally one cousin or another would be persuaded into playing with him. Genna's sons, Cleos and Lyonel, were the most likely to play with him, but both boys started squiring earlier this year, and Kevan didn't have any children yet, so he was lacking immediate cousins. Oberyn is fun to tease because he fights back, and Elia has already decided to take a whole litter of his kittens home with her to Dorne, but Oberyn was pulling Cersei's pigtails most of the time and Elia couldn't do much of any physical activity beyond going riding.
Jaime had managed to convince the shoemaker and the blacksmith to make him a pair of roller skates for him, and he was ready to eat the ground several times with those things, so he needed other people with him so he doesn't look ridiculous tipping ass over tea kettle down the stairs by himself.
Wait, would using roller skates quantify under 'behaving himself' like father had asked him to?
…He's sure it will be fine.
"Welcome to Casterly Rock," Tywin greeted the two visiting houses.
Yeah, he'll be fine, Jaime decided as he bowed down and greeted the guests.