The Hand's Chambers, Red Keep - King's Landing, CrownLands — The Next Day
By the morning of the next day, Tywin had no trouble with any of his children. He was still annoyed by their attitude, especially Cersei but he did not chase the topic. At least he had made it clear with Visenya and it seemed that she was back to her usual self, something he was pleased with.
Now with those things handled, he had to get his hands on the next thing on his list. To be able and push this alliance, he had to talk with the real head of the family and unfortunately for him; it was not that stupid Lord Mace.
"Impossible," Olenna commented as she sat on the chair across from his desk, a goblet with Arbor wine in her hand.
Tywin was busy himself pouring one as well but had his body half turned, to keep her in his field of vision.
"Why?" he questioned, not truly liking how quickly she rejected his offer but choosing to remain civil if he wanted his plan to work.
"My grandson is the pride of Highgarden and the one to inherit it soon," she said, aware of what his plans were. "After Loras' brother was killed during the Battle of Blackwater Bay, he is the next in line since his older brother is physically ruined after a tourney accident. The most desirable bachelor in all Seven Kingdoms. Your daughter—"
She never managed to finish her sentence.
"—is rich, the most beautiful woman in all Seven Kingdoms and the mother of the king," Tywin interrupted her.
"Old."
He turned to face her, his goblet at hand, and lifted one eyebrow at her words. "Old?" he repeated.
"Old. I'm something of an expert on the subject. Her change will be upon her before long. I'll spare you the details of what will happen then since your Lady Wife is clearly not of that category." Olenna said as Tywin sat on his chair. "You men may have a stomach for bloodshed and slaughter, but this is another matter entirely."
He merely stole a glance at the side towards the light coming from one of his windows. "The years punish us as well, all of us, I promise you that." He turned to look at her again, taking a sip of his wine. "My stomach remains quite strong, however. The only thing that might turn it is details of your grandson's nocturnal activities. Do you deny them?"
Olenna was not intimidated by his words and did not need to lie, since it was quite evident that certain things about Loras.
"Oh, not at all. A sword swallower through and through." She sipped some of her wine. "And a boy with his affliction should be grateful for the opportunity to marry the most beautiful woman in the kingdoms and remove the stain from his name."
"Well, I assure you the court does not think your daughter holds that title anymore. Not with your wife back in court," she commented, trying to earn a reaction from him—and she did, jealousy.
"Did you grow up with boy cousins, Lord Tywin? Sons of your father's bannermen, squires, stable boys?"
He sipped some wine.
"Of course," he said, although there was some uncertainty in his voice since he could not see where this discussion was going to lead them.
"And you never—"
"No."
She smirked in amusement, seeing him trying to remain serious and not react to the 'offences'.
"Not once? Not in any way?"
"Never," he replied firmly, trying not to get insulted by such speculations about his youth.
"I congratulate you upon your restraint. But it's a natural thing, two boys having a go at each other beneath the sheets."
"Perhaps Highgarden has a high tolerance for unnatural behaviour," he said, passively trying to undermine her family and her home.
Olenna, of course, was not going to have it.
"I wouldn't say that. True, we don't tie ourselves in knots over a discreet bit of buggery, but brothers and sisters..." she smirked upon seeing him clench his jaw. "Of course... I guess having a wife with such a specific family history, there might be influences..."
She received another stare from him but she was clearly enjoying it.
"...where I come from, that stain would be very difficult to wash out..."
"I will not breathe further life into a malicious lie by discussing it," Tywin said and stood up rather suddenly, obviously offended.
He moved to pour himself some wine while she continued to press her next point.
"Lie or not, you must admit many people find it quite convincing. Convincing enough to put swords in their hands and send them off to kill Lannisters and Tyrells thanks to our new affiliation." She said as he walked towards her with his goblet in one hand and the wine jug in the other.
"l don't care what people believe. And neither do you." He went to pour her some more wine but she placed her hand above her goblet to silently refuse his offer.
"As an authority on myself, I must disagree."
"Now, if the rumours about my children were true" he started, placing the jug back in its place before turning to face her, a few steps closer. "...then Joffrey is no king at all and House Tyrell is throwing its prized flower into the dirt."
"And if Cersei is too old to give Loras children, we're throwing another prized flower into the dirt. It is a chance we simply cannot take." She said, not intimidated by him or the fact that he was standing and trying to stare her down.
He smirked faintly, seeing right through her lies. "The uncertainty makes you uncomfortable. All right. I'll remove it for you." He said and went to sit back down behind his desk. "If you refuse to marry Loras to Cersei, I will name him to the Kingsguard. I'm sure you're familiar with the Kingsguard vows. He will never marry. He will never have children."
The threat was clear but Olenna tried to dismiss it.
"Ah," she exclaimed as if she was not bothered by it.
"The Tyrell name will fade. And Highgarden will go to the children of Joffrey and Margaery," he continued, staring back at her.
"You would have your grandson protected by someone who disgusts you—"
"I would have my grandson protected by a skilled warrior who takes his vows seriously."
He grabbed his quill and dipped it into the ink pot.
"So, shall I draw up the order? Or do you consent to this marriage?" he asked her as his hand stayed a few inches away from the paper.
Olenna placed her goblet on the desk and stood up.
"It's a rare enough thing," she said and took the quill from him since he did not offer any resistance, "...a man who lives up to his reputation."
She snapped the quill in half, her answer quite clear on the subject.
Tywin hid his smirk of triumph.
"Then, I do suspect we will see each other again to discuss the details of the next marriage."
Olenna did not say anything at first, merely took a step back. She had pressed her lips into a thin line, clearly displeased but then an idea popped into her mind. She refused to leave him without putting some salt on his wounds.
"Tell me something, Lord Tywin," she started as he leaned back in his chair.
"Hmmm?"
"Why did you stay with Lady Visenya?" she asked, a smirk playing at the edge of her lips. "At first I do understand but ever since the Mad King died and Robert took the throne, she has no titles or land or power to give you. Not to mention, a woman unable to produce any heirs..."
She did not have to finish the sentence.
Tywin's face darkened and his relaxed hand quickly closed into a fist, the force behind it even making his knuckles crack as they turned white.
"I do not believe my reasoning behind my marriage is of anyone's concern, nor are any lies that get thrown around."
Something twinkled in her eyes, clearly pleased to see him tick.
"Lies? I do not know about lies, Lord Tywin... but perhaps I am mistaken..." she acted and faked some guilt. "After all... gossip in court does travel fast and spread rather quickly..."
The threat was quite clear and he saw it without any trouble. He had cornered her into agreeing to this union, threatened her—but she also had a card up her sleeve. She made it clear that she could ruin both of them, especially Visenya, if she chose to, which meant that he had to tread this path carefully.
Red Keep — King's Landing, Crownlands Around the same time as Tywin meets with Olenna
The three Lion siblings had found themselves in Cersei's chambers the following day. They hadn't truly been summoned by anyone but something just brought them together, after that small personal talk in their father's study the day before.
There was no tension between them, as if for now they were true siblings. There was no true care either but rather this impassiveness—but it was part of them, part of their relationship and they were used to it.
Currently, Cersei was busy standing on the balcony and looking down at the gardens. Sansa and Loras were talking, walking side by side and unaware of how their lives would soon change and how they would not get married to one another in the end.
They were happy, enjoying the moment but the three siblings knew that it was not going to last now that their father had laid out the plan. They knew he would persuade Olenna easily and then everyone would be miserable because of this arrangement.
Some already were, as Tyrion did not wish to ruin such an innocent and young girl after all his family had put her through. If marrying him was not humiliating enough for her, having to impregnate her was—not to mention it would ruin her.
Cersei did not want to leave her sons behind or her family to marry this green boy who simply lusted after other men. How is she supposed to even sleep with him when he has no interest in women? She was supposed to ruin the rest of her body and her beauty for him?
Trystan was rather quiet, with a lot of things on his mind. He had started to get used to seeing Sansa around and while his mother had warned him she would not escape his father's claws, he still had some hope. Now, that hope was gone.
He would not marry her himself but he would have to see Tyrion miserable, unable to be around Shae whom he truly loved. He would see Sansa trapped in King's Landing, eventually forced to carry a Lion child against her will.
He would remain here to watch everything as Cersei would be sent to Highgarden, away from her family and surrounded by people who would stab her in the back the moment the alliance ceased to exist.
He hated that idea, hated the fact that he could not do something about it. Cersei could be a pain in the ass but at the end of the day, she was his sister and he cared for her. He had promised Jaime to look after her in his absence and he did not feel he was doing any good job at that.
There was always this inner need to protect his siblings whether from the world around them like in Tyrion's case or even from their parents, hence why he never said anything about the incest between the twins.
"I don't suppose there's anything we can do about this," Tyrion thought out loud, trying to think if there was anything else they could do to avoid that arrangement.
"We can have them both killed," Cersei suggested and since her back was turned on her brothers, it was hard for any of them to know if she was joking or not.
Even though when Cersei was talking about killing someone, it was rarely as a joke.
"It's hard to say which of the four of us is getting the worst of this arrangement. Probably Sansa. Though Loras will certainly come to know a deep and singular misery," Tyrion said, trying to joke and ease the mood but it did not really help.
Cersei was the one closest to the railings of the balcony finally turned to look at her brothers. "Father doesn't discriminate. We're all being shipped off to hell together. Some just later than others" She gave a glance at Trystan and walked inside to sit behind her desk.
Trystan was already sitting on a chair across from her with the desk separating them, leaning faintly back but there was this small slouch and a frown upon his face since the early morning.
"On a boat you built." Tyrion reminded her.
"The Tyrells were plotting to undermine our family. I did what I did to protect our family."
Tyrion turned to look at her, clearly not pleased with her words.
"I'm your family. A member of your family, who has actively contributed to that family's survival. Whether or not you or Father or anyone else wants to admit it," he stole a glance at the youngest lion. "Do not comment, Trystan. I know you do."
Cersei rolled her eyes, glancing forward but occasionally turning her head to look at the standing dwarf by the balcony entrance.
"I do admit it," she said with honesty, something that surprised both of her brothers, who exchanged a silent glance. "If it weren't for your trick with the wildfire, Stannis would have sacked the city before Father got here. Our heads would still be rotting on the city gate."
Since the topic of the siege and Stannis' attack was brought up; Tyrion decided to address the topic that had been bothering him; now that he had found more information on it. "Trying to have me killed is an odd way of saying thank you." He said, not directly accusing her but it did make both his siblings look at him. "There are two people in King's Landing who can give an order to a Kingsguard. Did you or did you not order Ser Mandon to kill me during the Battle of the Blackwater?"
"Brother?" Trystan exclaimed, looking at him in disbelief. "You do not truly think Cersei tried to kill you?" he asked.
Sure, their older sister could be mean sometimes and did not truly love Tyrion but go as far as to give the order and have him killed? That did sound too much even for her.
Surprisingly, Cersei did not answer anything nor did she try to comment, argue or even agree. This made Trystan look at her with an arched eyebrow since that meant she either did it, which would surprise him or she knew who gave the order but did not want to say it.
Tyrion placed his hands at the side of the desk since his sister refused to look at him, as he also understood what her silence meant.
"The impulse I understand. He hates me because I'm the only one who tells him what he really is. So, fair enough. He wants me dead. But his stupidity?" he asked rhetorically as he moved to stand by her side, his back pressed against the desk. "He could have had me poisoned and no one would have known. But the king orders a Kingsguard to murder the Hand of the King in full view of his army. The boy's an idiot."
"What do you want me to say?" Cersei asked him, finally looking at him.
"I want you to tell me if my life is still in danger," he asked her, glancing towards the balcony.
"Probably," she answered honestly since she didn't even know herself. She had lost her influence over Joffrey, and her control as well. That Kingsguard order made it quite clear and now that Margaery had been added to the mix, she had lost it all.
"But not from Joffrey," Trystan commented, earning a look from them. "I mean, he won't do anything now Father's here."
Tyrion started to walk towards the balcony.
"Seven kingdoms united in fear of Tywin Lannister."
"Not the Tyrells. Soon they won't need to be afraid of him and not even our good-mother will be able to help change that. Joffrey will belong to Margaery, the little doe-eyed whore. And so will his children and their children. History will be taken from our hands."
"You may escape, at least," Trystan suggested, turning his body halfway to look at him. "Once Jaime gets back, Ser Loras may come down with a terrible case of sword through bowels." He joked or at least tried but Cersei did not appreciate it, considering how little they knew of Jaime's whereabouts.
"When Jaime gets back, yes." She said and turned to also look outside. "But when do we think that's going to be? He's out there somewhere." She continued, thinking about him and praying he would return to her soon and in one piece.
Tyrion kept his look outside. "Jaime or not, I'm truly fucked."
There was silence between them for almost a full minute, no one truly knew what to say. In the end, Trystan stood up and moved towards the balcony, catching a faint glimpse of Sansa as she walked with Loras out of the gardens.
"Who's going to tell her?" he asked his siblings.
A part of him thought it would be easier if he did it but somehow, he found himself hesitating to volunteer. Could he really be the one to tell her such bad news? To see any last hope disappear from her eyes as she would learn to whom she would be married to and that she would never truly be free.