Chapter 19: Interlude: Wounded Lion

The man rapidly made his way towards the chamber of Tywin when he saw two guards stand in front of him barring his way by crossing their pikes.

Indignation filled his face as he glared at them in anger, "Move, or be moved!"

The guards flinched but held their ground. The man's hand fell on to the hilt of his blade. "I do not wish to argue with you men, but if you do not move, you will not return alive to the west to your loved ones. Decide now!"

After a moment's hesitation the two guards moved back, and with a derisive scoff, the man pushed open the doors and entered.

Inside, Tywin Lannister looked up from the pile of messages and reports he was going through and for a second, he glared at the intruder. After a moment, he turned to his aide and ordered curtly, "Leave us!"

"What have you done?!" the intruder asked in an anguish filled tone as he looked at Tywin who seemed to be carved out of granite.

"I thought you would have left on your journey to Valyria by now, Gerion," Tywin addressed his youngest brother, who stiffened.

"Do not evade the question, brother! What have you done?"

"Careful of your tone, Gerion. There are many things I permit my brothers to do, but to question me so is not amongst them."

As he looked at the expression on his youngest brother's face, Tywin scoffed and sat down on his chair.

"So, I have displeased you," the Lord of Casterly Rock observed, "Your face tells everything. You always were a yellow-livered bitch. You lack the will to make the hard decisions," he scoffed while Gerion reddened with rage.

"Did it never occur to you, little brother, while searching through ship-wrecks in the Essossi sea, that I would have no choice but to respond when my son was killed so blatantly? When our greatest enemies rise back from the grave and threaten everything that we have done and accomplished so far?"

"You speak as if you have ever allowed anyone else to have a say in how House Lannister is run!" spat back Gerion with his jowls quivering in rage.

"No, I have not, because I know you are not capable of it. Because if such a situation had come to you, you would have been unable to distend your precious virgin sacs and shoulder the burden for the bloody outcome. Say it! Speak!"

Gerion Lannister fidgeted for a second, before he looked at his eldest brother square in the eye, "I never thought you would stoop low enough to massacre innocent men, women and children in their thousands!"

"And by doing so, I have ensured that our enemies in Dorne will be isolated! No one will dare ally with them for the fear of what I will do will resonate deep in their hearts!"

"Oh, come on, don't be so naïve, Gerion," Tywin scoffed even as he sorted out the papers on his desk, "I choose my own way of life. If you would have been given the option, you certainly would have chosen a different father, would you not? The lies we tell ourselves at night, we do so as not to feel in our souls like the shit of pigs. I would never have said this before of our father, but I owe him a debt of gratitude," he concluded while Gerion's eyes went wide in shock.

"Yes," Tywin continued, "He was a pig shit and he knew it. He was honest in what he was and did not try to hide it. He always used to say 'better to conquer hearts than walls' and look where it got him. Everyone abused his good will and generosity, and he, deliberately allowed them to exploit his goodwill. He believed that in war times or peace, a leader could never come out on top. He was a born pessimist. Everyone thinks I crave this, the yoke of command … burden of responsibility. I took it upon myself because neither Kevan, or you can do the hard thing. Not even Tygett, despite what he has done at Bitterbridge. The necessary thing. And you know, why? Because all of you lack the strength of heart and mind to bear the consequence. You don't wish to bear the consequence of what was done at Bitterbridge, and you don't have to because you have me to blame, to indict. The Tyrell's will not dare to join with the Martell's after my warning. For if they do, Tygett has orders to keep on repeating what he has done in Bitterbridge to other cities in the Reach, as many times as it takes for the message to sink in even Mace Tyrell's bloated head."

"Do not try to justify your lust for blood with sheer sophistry, brother!" Gerion snapped back, "You may believe you were justified in ordering this senseless act of depravity, but by doing so, you have tainted the name of House Lannister for all time! Did it not occur to you that by doing what you have done, you have forced the Tyrell's to make cause with Dorne! And what do you think Robert Baratheon will do, especially when you have brazenly flouted his orders and conducted this vile act?"

"Mace Tyrell, a worthless fool who only ascended to his post by virtue of birth, and Quentyn Martell, a young upstart with no real achievements! A coward who strikes from the shadows. When a witless fool joins forces with a gutless coward, what can they accomplish?" Tywin derisively snorted while Gerion grimaced for a moment at his elder brother's pig headedness.

"Sometimes, I feel like I am the only sane man in our family. Does your arrogance know no bounds? Do you honestly believe that all other men apart from you are idiots? That you can always prevail? History is rife with examples of men such as you whose hubris wrought their end! If Quentyn Martell is an upstart with no achievements then what do you consider the battle of Starpike as?"

"An ill-conceived attempt by Mace Tyrell to flaunt his strength, which resulted in a predictable outcome. Leyton Hightower was outnumbered by a factor of eight to one. There was no chance for him to win that battle at all," Tywin scoffed in disgust while Gerion was taken aback.

"Outnumbered? Have the reverses you have suffered addled your wits brother? Both armies were evenly matched!"

"As usual, you lose sight of the big picture," Tywin admonished his youngest brother, "I am not talking about numbers. I am talking about the quality of the men involved. The Reach's main army is under the command of Randyll Tarly and is guarding the Shield Islands. The levy that Hightower commanded was made up of hastily summoned small folk. Farmer's, stable boy's, cobblers and other such riff raff. Of the forty thousand that Hightower commanded, only five thousand could have been reasonably been counted as real soldiers. And against them, the boy had forty thousand true soldiers to wield! Is it any surprising to know that they failed? It was the obvious outcome. Everyone is so terrified of the amount of dead that they have failed to discern the finer points of this battle."

Taking deep breaths, Gerion Lannister forced himself to calm down. "Very well, but that still does not account for how you will deal with Robert Baratheon?"

"How?" Tywin smiled, "Because I am the only true ally he has left," he concluded while Gerion simply sighed and slapped his forehead with the palm of his right hand.

"Just when I thought you were beginning to make some sense, you again spout off nonsense! He has the Starks, Arryn's and Tully's on his side, brother! We are the one's who came late to his side. What makes you think he will consider you as a closer ally than the original founders of the Rebellion?"

"Because he has nothing to tie him to them anymore," Tywin spoke with a tone that was decisively final. "Think Gerion, the Rebellion was founded and sealed through matrimonial bonds! Hoster Tully married his two daughters to Arryn and Stark, while Baratheon was to marry Stark's sister! That Northern chit is dead! What does Robert have to tie him to them anymore? Friendship! Bah! A king has no friends, he needs no friends. You talk of their loyalty. Where is Arryn? Why have we not yet heard from him? Where is Stark? He too is missing! He should be here planning the invasion of Dorne to avenge the murder of his sister by Arthur Dayne! The strategist who outfought Rhaegar Targaryen himself, and he too is silent even after his sister was murdered by Rhaegar's best friend! Only Hoster Tully remains maintaining a token presence here! The Rebellion is splintering Gerion! Without Lyanna Stark, they have no purpose!" Tywin concluded with a cruel look adorning his face.

"You ask why Robert will not dispose of me? It is because deep in his heart he too knows that his bond with his fellow leader's is fraying, though he does not wish to admit it! He needs me, Gerion, just as I need him. He needs my resources and the wealth I offer, while I need his skills in warfare to crush the cursed house of Martell and wipe them off for good!"

"Fine, I will leave you to this madness," Gerion sighed, as he got up and began to leave.

"And where are you going? I have not yet given you permission to leave!" Tywin looked at his brother with a cold gaze.

Unflinchingly, Gerion turned back, "Home! In case you have forgotten, the Ironborn still threaten our shores! There needs to be a Lannister in Casterly Rock to defend it! In your zeal to crush Dorne, you seem to have forgotten that your bannermen are worried about the fate of their homes. Sooner or later, you will have a mutiny if you do not take steps to assuage their worries. Push them too far, and even your fearsome reputation will not be enough to quell their unease. My presence at Casterly Rock will assuage them that you are taking steps to safeguard the West."

"Mutiny?" Tywin scoffed, "They would not dare. You worry too much, Gerion!"

"Is that what you said to yourself when your cupbearer helped Barristan Selmy escape?" and with that parting shot, Gerion Lannister left his brother's presence, and made his way out leaving a fuming elder brother in his wake.

Author's note:

A bit shorter than what I wanted. But real life does not care about that! Well, we are closer to the battle. 1 more interlude and 2 chapters to go.