Tyrion Lannister POV
Tyrion felt as if a giant invisible mountain that had been pressing down on him his entire life just lifted up and vanished. He felt as if he was free for the first time in his life.
For a moment, he felt the urge and jump up in joy and run circles around in the room. To cheer out and celebrate the death of the man who turned his life into living hell.
The moment passed however, without him doing anything impulsive. And as he noticed Cersei giving him a scrutinising glare, he turned his face into a stoic facade.
"Are you certain?" He asked, and immediately felt like a fool for asking it of Cersei.
True to his expectations, Cersei's expression immediately changed into one of utter disgust. "I wouldn't bother informing you if I wasn't." She spat out and shot him a look of disdain before turning away to gaze out at the city once again.
"I mean… this is father after all." He said, quickly coming up with a witty retort. "I wouldn't be surprised if he punched death in the face and then came crawling out of the depths of the seven hells just to tell what we ought and ought not to do."
Unfortunately for him, it seemed like neither his brother, nor his sister were in any mood to joke around right now.
Jaime still seemed lost, and Cersei still continued to stare out of the window with a blank gaze. Through Jaime now had a soft smile on his face at least. So he counted that as a win.
A moment of silence passed in between the three of them as he through upon the implications of his father's death.
He was technically the heir of his father, since Jaime has taken the White Cloak and couldn't take any lands or father any children. Or so said the Kingsguard's vow at least.
At the same time though, his father never really acknowledged him as his heir. And with him being a dwarf that few men respected in this martial world… it would be hard for him to take the Lordship of Casterly Rock.
He wasn't going to lie to himself and say that he didn't want Casterly Rock. He wanted it. And he wanted to become the Warden of the West. He wanted that wealth. That power. That prestige. He wanted it all.
He wanted to look into the eyes of the men who had once laughed at him, and relish in the look of terror in their faces as they realise that their lives in laid in his hands.
He wanted to look at the faces of all the maidens who had rejected him, and laugh at them as he chose someone else to be the lady of the Casterly Rock.
He wanted to gather all the men who had raped Tysha and…
He shook his head and focused his mind on the present. Plans upon plans begin to form in his mind as thought about how he would go about getting that seat for himself.
Jaime… Jaime would be the key to everything. He had no doubt about that.
Cersei would never let him inherit Casterly Rock. And being the Queen of Westeros, she certainly had the influence, power and connections to accomplish that.
She would probably push Jaime into leaving the Kingsguard and taking the Lordship of House Lannister.
Jaime would not like being a lord, he had no doubt about that. Nor would Jaime be good at it. Not as good as he could be. But Jaime had always been a puppet at Cersei's hands. And the years he'd been apart from them didn't seem to have changed that.
He'll have to convince Jaime to not take that seat. And then… he'll have to convince everyone else that he would a good lord. Or at least that he'll be on their side when he eventually becomes the Lord Paramount of the Westerlands.
This would an uphill battle. He had no doubt about that. But he could do it. Though… he would have to remain sober in order to accomplish this. And stay away from whores for the foreseeable future. Or meet them in secret at least.
A grim silence stretched in the room before he finally cleared his throat and spoke up. "Do you by any chance, know how our dear old father died?"
Cersei ignored him this time. And just when he was beginning to think that he will get no answers, Jaime spoke up for the first time in this meeting.
"Uncle Kevan didn't inform us about the manner of father's death." Jaime said softly, his eyes still on the wall with that lost look.
"And why is that?" He asked.
"They're coming here. All three of them. Uncle Kevan, Uncle Tygett and Aunt Genna." Jaime said. "They plan to inform us when they arrive here."
"That seems suspicious to me." He said with a frown even as he mentally started calculating the odds of them coming here to convince Jaime to leave the Kingsguard and take the Lordship of House Lannister.
Aunt Genna… she had always been in his side and had known his worth, even if she often showed her disappointment toward his whoring ways, and the manner in which he went about destroying his own reputation.
She would support him. He had to believe that.
Uncle Tygett. Uncle Tygett was always kind to him. And in a castle where people either sneered at him or outright ignored him, that meant a lot. But he wasn't sure if Uncle Tygett would support him or not. Uncle Tygett was a martial man, and he was as far away from being martial as you can probably go while still being in Westeros. It could go either way, really.
Uncle Kevan… he would be a problem. The man never disrespected him. Not outright at least. But he had always been his father's toady. The man had no doubt bought into his father's views about his son Jaime being the golden child of the family.
Uncle Kevan would no doubt want Jaime to take the seat of the Lord of Casterly Rock. And if that did not happen, then it was possible that he would try to jump over him in the line of succession in order to take that seat for himself.
Uncle Kevan had been struck him as an ambitious man. But power… power changed people. Especially when it is so close at hand.
Though, he doubted that Cersei would ever allow it. She would probably push for Tommen to be the next Lord of Casterly Rock, which the King might even allow, despite Tommen only being a babe right now.
"It is suspicious." Cersei said, her fingers turning white from clutching the wine glass too tightly. "I sent a letter, demanding answers from them. But it was Maester Creylen who sent a reply letter, informing me that those three had already set out from Casterly Rock with a contingent of 300 Lannister guards."
"Well… they're certainly not playing around if they decided to come here with such a force." He said. After all, the maximum number of guards that a normal lord was allowed to bring with him to Kings Landing was 30.
For his uncles and aunt to ignore that rule so blatantly… it appeared to him that his father's death was perhaps anything but natural.
Then he noticed the look in Cersei's eyes. The slightly smug look she gave him when she knew something that others didn't.
"You know something." He pointed out and Jaime looked up from the wall for the first time in their talks to gaze up at Cersei.
Cersei gave the both of them an imperious look before she scoffed. "Unlike the two of you, I do have my informants in Casterly Rock and other important locations."
"How did father die?" Jaime asked her and Cersei's smug look turned into a frown.
"I don't know that. Uncle Kevan and Uncle Tygett hid that too well."
"But you do know something." He pointed out and Cersei gave a reluctant nod.
"Yes. It seems that the same night when father died, Ser Gregor Clegane and Ser Amory Lorch also died."
He raised an eyebrow even as he noticed Jaime's eyes hardening from his side vision. "I assume that their manner of deaths were not natural."
"It was poison, wasn't it?" Jaime asked before Cersei could give a reply and Cersei nodded at his brother.
"It was. And of a most painful kind, I've been told. It seems that Mountain suffered for 3 whole days before he finally passed away."
And good riddance to the both of them.
It wasn't as if he didn't understood the importance of having monsters in your army. But things that those two did… the things that his father made the two of them do. That was beyond pale.
Plus, he wasn't so sure in his ability to command Mountain now that his father was dead, so this was probably for the best.
Jaime immediately stood up from the bed, the lost look being replaced by one of pain and anger. "The Martells. They're the one who killed father."
"Don't go jumping to conclusions so quickly, brother." He warned Jaime. "It might be someone else, disguising the murder of our father in this manner in order to implicate the Martells."
Jaime turned and glared at him. It was the first time his brother has given him such an angry look as far as he could recall. And it was a jarring view. "Who else would have the motivation." Jaime asked.
Well… he could think of quite a few people who would love to see House Lannister weakened. His father didn't have many friends. And he had a lot of people who either disliked him or outright hated him.
Their very own vassals might have joined together to do it for all he knew. Though he personally doubted this theory.
In the end, he simply spread out his hand in defeat and said. "I do not know brother. I'm just saying that we shouldn't be so quick to jump to conclusions."
"It was them. I just know it." Jaime said, pain and anger warring in his face before pain finally won over and Jaime plopped back down on the bed. "And worst thing is… I do not even blame them. Not after what father did to Princess Elia."
"It was necessary." Cersei said and Jaime turned his glare at her instead before his expression softened and he let out a tired sigh.
"Perhaps it was. Perhaps it wasn't. But if something similar happened to you, to either of you, then I would spend my entire life looking for a way to avenge you." Jaime said and leaned back on the bed. "It is not surprising to me that Oberyn did the same."
"Oberyn?" He asked. "Not Doran?"
"Oberyn was the one who was close to Elia. Not Doran." Jaime told him. "Not to mention that it is Oberyn who is currently absent from Sunspear."
"Oberyn was exiled to Essos by his very own brother." He pointed out and Jaime chuckled.
"Was he? Or was it all a ploy to hide his footsteps?" Jaime asked. "Tell me brother. Can you say for certain that you know where Oberyn Martell is right now?"
He grimaced and wondered if Jaime wasn't right about this after all.
For all they knew, Oberyn could be in Westerlands right about now. Hiding in some dingy tavern, after having murdered their father as well as Mountain and Amory Lorch.
Or… he could already be sailing far away from that place, enjoying wine and whores after having finally gotten his vengeance.
It was so easy to fall for the first convenient explanation and believe that Oberyn was responsible for everything. But he reminded himself that all of this could still be just a ruse to hide the real killer.
Not that he personally even cared about who killed his father. The only reason he would even bother looking for the killer was to shower him or her with gold and his undying gratitude.
The manner of his father's death didn't really bother him, as long as Jaime didn't decide to take the lordship of House Lannister in order to take vengeance against House Martell.
Though… Jaime didn't really seemed to blame the Martells for getting their vengeance. So it was all good in his book.
"Are you going to take vengeance for father then?" Cersei asked and Jaime shook his head.
"Even if I wanted to, which I don't. How would you expect me to do that?" Jaime asked with a morose chuckle. "I am just a single man, after all."
"You're not just a single man. You're the lord of Casterly Rock." Cersei said, not even giving him a side glance and his heart sank.
He knew that she would try to do this. But for her to do it so blatantly…
But Jaime simply shook his head at her words. "I am a Kingsguard, dear sister. You know my vows."
"Vows that you've already broken." Cersei said, giving his brother a meaningful look. Though she didn't seem to be suggesting Aerys' murder. His suspicion about Cersei's children grew. "What's another?"
Jaime shook his head. "I do not want the lordship, Cersei." Then Jaime turned to look in his direction and smiled. "Tyrion would make for a fine Lord of Casterly Rock, I had no doubt about that."
His eyes prickled at that show of support. And he had to hold the urge to move forward and hug Jaime as Cersei snapped her head in his direction, giving him a venomous glare.
"Him? He is just a dwarf." She said, as if that explained everything. Though considering what kind of society they lived in… it probably did.
"Just because I am dwarf doesn't mean I cannot think, dear sister." He told her, managing to keep any venom from his voice. She was still the queen, and it won't do to antagonise her too much. "I can assure you that my mind just as sharp as my brother's blade."
Cersei scoffed at his words, much to his growing annoyance, before she turned to look at Jaime once again.
"Jaime. You know that father always wanted you to succeed him." Cersei said imploringly. "If he wanted Tyrion as the Lord of Casterly Rock, then he would've declared him his heir a long time ago."
"Perhaps." Jaime admitted. "But father is dead now. And I want Tyrion to be the next lord of Casterly Rock. He would do a far better job at it than me. Besides, I want to stay here. To protect you from Robert and all the other snakes in Kings Landing."
His heart soared once again at Jaime's words before Cersei turned to look in his direction and glared at him with such intensity that he almost felt afraid of her for a moment. "You! Leave my chambers. Right now!"
He pursed his lips, a retort in his lip to tell her to fuck off before reason asserted itself and he gave a nod before he turned to walk out of her Chambers.
'There will come a time in our lives, dear sister. When you'll be the who will need my help. And I'll be the one in power. And at moment, I'll have my revenge for all the slights you've given me.' He thought with silence rage as he closed the door behind her.
Inside the room, he could hear Cersei and Jaime start to argue about something and shook his head. He hoped that Jaime won't give in to Cersei's demands.
But even if Jaime chose to stay in the Kingsguard, it didn't mean that he'll get to become the next Lord of Casterly Rock. No. He needed to prepare contingencies.
And what better contingency, than to talk with the young man who had the most influence in Kings Landing these days, as well the King's ears.