Chapter 41

To say the meeting was an uneasy one would be putting it lightly. The three of them had gathered in the Hand of the King's personal chambers; Tyrion, Cersei, and their father Tywin, who now wore the Hand's badge. Tyrion had always known his father would one day return to King's Landing, but he had somewhat hoped to be in charge slightly longer.

"I am surprised to see you return so early father." He said, pouring some wine. "I had thought with the war going on-"

"The war is now here." His father cut him off. "With Renly defeated, Steffon will be targeting King's Landing next. I cannot leave our forces spread out across the Riverlands and Westerlands. Casterly Rock will remain defended and a garrison remains at Harrenhal under Clegane, but the remainder of our forces are encamped outside the city." He said. Tyrion nodded, sensing that his father was hopefully building towards a point. Of course, Cersei had chosen that moment to open her mouth, ill-advised as it was.

"Let Steffon come. He will see the error of his ways and come to Joffrey's side in due time." She said. Tyrion rolled his eyes at his sister's delusions.

"There is no chance of that happening." Tywin said forcefully. "Steffon is betrothed to Arya Stark, and Joffrey had her father arrested and sentenced to be executed. Even if he didn't die by the executioner's blade, it was more than enough to incentivise war. All because you failed to reel our king in."

Tyrion had to suppress a snort of laughter at his father's bluntness.

"Father, I-" She began, only for Tywin to cut her off.

"It was foolishness." He continued. "If Eddard were still alive, this war would have been over before it even started. Instead, you allowed your son to give off the impression that he was planning Stark's execution." He said. "We must also disabuse ourselves of the notion that our enemies have no idea what they are doing. Robb Stark has defeated all we have sent before him. Steffon has decisively defeated the largest host in Westeros twice and forced the Tyrells to withdraw from the war. I have already received a raven from them. They wish to swear allegiance to Joffrey."

This caught Tyrion's attention. "What do the Tyrells ask in return?"

"Only Joffrey's hand in marriage to Margaery Tyrell."

Cersei and Tyrion exchanged a look. The Tyrells had lost a sizable amount of soldiers in the fighting against Steffon, but much of their cavalry force was still intact, as was their heavy infantry. Their pride had been bruised but evidently they were still able to fight. Plus, Steffon would need time to regroup and consolidate his forces after the Battle of Tarth. Still, there was one thing that entered Tyrion's mind.

"I had heard the Redwyne Fleet was almost completely destroyed at Tarth. We've only a handful of ships from the Royal Fleet; most of the captains followed Stannis to Dragonstone and now support Steffon. With the Greyjoys entering the war, we'll have to keep our fleet on the western side, which means we lose control of the Narrow Sea."

"It is a troubling development, to be sure." Tywin admitted. Tyrion suppressed a raised eyebrow. His father admitting that something was difficult? What was the world coming to?

"What does it matter if Steffon has the largest fleet? If he cannot us challenge on land, then he cannot defeat us." Cersei said smugly.

"Your confidence is misplaced." Tywin replied sternly. "If Steffon is allowed to control the Narrow Sea, he can halt our trade with the Free Cities. He can land troops anywhere he likes and raid the coastline. Naval superiority is one of the most decisive factors in war, and right now, Steffon possesses it."

"But surely we-" Cersei started. It took all of Tyrion's efforts not to roll his eyes. Couldn't she see their father was past discussing it now?

"There will be no more discussion on that matter. We must prepare for an offensive from Steffon." Tywin said with a note of finality. "Tyrion, have the smallfolk proven troublesome?"

"It has been difficult to rule over people who sympathise with Steffon." He admitted. It wasn't exactly a secret that Steffon had based much of his campaign for the Iron Throne on justice for the commoners, something that was becoming harder and harder to suppress with reports of atrocities committed by Lannister troops. "We've managed to root out most of the Antler Men, but the problem is that their leadership structure is so simple that they can easily replace each other when we catch one. They have the entire City Watch on edge."

"Sabotage activities are to be suspected in wartime." Tywin said, as if Tyrion were still a child.

"The problem is that Tyrion removed Janos Slynt and had his sellsword-" Cersei began to say before Tywin cut her off again.

"Slynt was half the problem. When you have weak, corrupt leaders you get weak, corrupt men." He said. "I will provide the Watch with 200 Men-at-Arms. It should be enough to help them keep the peace. In the meantime, we must find a way to counter the coastal raids…"

If Arya had shared the news about her brother's marriage to Jeyne Westerling with Steffon, Edric hadn't been told. It had been agreed that the news would be kept quiet for now; the last thing needed was the soldiers questioning Steffon's authority while he was recovering. There was already enough of a perception that Robb was openly flouting him and getting away with it. Of course, when he barged into Steffon's chambers, he hadn't expected to see Arya leaving in tears. He tried to stop and talk to her, but she had just ignored him as she left. He marched in, a quiet anger in him.

"Steffon, I just saw Arya leaving and she… why was she crying?" He asked. His brother turned to him. He was still gaunt, and the nasty scar from his wound would be with him for life. He seemed more tired than he had been before, with deep, heavy bags under his eyes.

"I told her to leave." He said simply, but even that seemed to take effort.

"What?"

Steffon's face turned grim. "I… I ordered her brother to the Wall, Edric.." He replied, his voice trembling. "We argued . . . She said this betrothal was a mistake and I agreed . . . Don't you see, Edric? I'm turning into him. Our father." He continued.

"So? She was the one who said it, wasn't she?"

"Yes she was, but-"

"Then why are you sitting here moaning about it?" Edric asked pointedly. "So, you fucked up. Shame on you. Maybe you deserved to have nearly died on that battlefield. But that's not important. You're still alive, and right now, that girl wants to fix this with you. So go and fucking fix it!"

"I wish I wasn't." Steffon replied. "I wish you had just left me to-OW!" Steffon was cut off by Edric swatting him across the back of his head.

"Shut up!" He snapped, grabbing him by his tunic and pulling him close so they could meet eye-to-eye. "Yes, you fucked up. In a huge way. Now you have a chance to fix it, so go and fucking fix it!" He yelled. Steffon wilted a little under his stare. Ordinarily, Edric would've backed off, but there was no excuse for this when Arya was giving him a chance to redeem himself. "We're fighting this war for you. So stop wallowing in your own self-pity and work things out with Arya." He stormed out, not saying another word to his half-brother.

The meeting with Master Kraznys had been . . . interesting to say the least. The man had casually insulted her time after time, assuming she had no knowledge of Valyrian. Fool. Daenerys had decided then and there, if you insulted the Mother of Dragons as he had, you died. Just one more name to add to her list of enemies.

Still, she was finding it hard to wrap her head around the Unsullied and their brutal training. Particularly the infanticide. "Eight thousand dead babies…" She muttered to herself.

"The Unsullied are a means to an end." Ser Jorah Mormont replied. How lucky she was to have an advisor like him. The only one who was unafraid to tell her what she needed to hear.

"Once I… own these men-"

"They're not men. Not anymore."

"What will I be if I own an army of slaves?" She wondered aloud. She would not have need of slave soldiers once the common people rose up in support of her. They would be all the soldiery she'd need . . along with her dragons.

"Do you think they will have a better life serving Kraznys over you?" Jorah asked. "You'll be fair to them. You won't mutilate them to prove a point." He continued. That much was true. She wouldn't do anything like that to them. Her attention was grabbed by a small girl who was tossing a wooden ball around in front of them to the extent where what Jorah was saying didn't really register with her. The girl rolled her ball to Daenerys who picked it up.

Just as she did, a hooded figure knocked the ball from her hands. Jorah tackled the man and in the commotion, knocked Daenerys to the ground. As she looked up, the wooden ball had opened to reveal a large manticore right in front of her face. THe manticore made his way to her, stinger at the ready. Suddenly, a dagger was shoved through it. She looked up to see a white-haired, bearded man peering at the manticore before shaking it off and chasing after the child. Evidently he didn't find anything because he returned a second later.

"The Warlocks." She muttered to Jorah. Evidently they hadn't taken kind to her little revenge in Qarth. She turned to the man. "I owe you my life, Ser."

"The honour is mine, Daenerys Stormborn." The man said, flicking back his hood.

"You know this man, Ser Jorah?" She asked.

"I do. I know him as one of the greatest fighters in the Seven Kingdoms. And as the Lord Commander of Robert Baratheon's Kingsguard."

"Robert Baratheon is dead. I am here on behalf of his son, Steffon. He has sent me here to seek your forgiveness." He knelt before her. "I am Barristan Selmy, once Lord Commander of your father's Kingsguard. Steffon Baratheon has ordered me to place myself at your disposal. I am yours to command, and I will give my life for yours if necessary."

He lowered his head again, and Daenerys began to consider his offer…