Casterly Rock stood between heaven and earth, carved out of an enormous stone. The walls and buildings raised upon it only made the Castle's defenses even stronger.
Milky white and gold clashed against each other, and Jaime Lannister felt as if he himself had become a bundle of contradictions.
Jaime's stump had healed, but that hand would never grow back. He had put on a golden hand, and over his face he wore a mask of gold to hide the long scar. Aside from that, he was dressed in golden armor and a creamy-white cloak.
The pain of his wound and disfigurement had aged him by several years. His face had grown gaunt, his eye sockets had sunk deep, and anxious lines had gathered across his features.
"Your father is waiting for you in the council chamber," Kevan Lannister said.
There was a chill in Kevan's voice, and Jaime heard the difference. Lord Tywin would treat such news as passing smoke, but Kevan, as Tywin's Shadow, was in truth far more sensitive than Tywin himself.
Yes. I am a monster, after all. A man who defiled his sister and hurt a child, Jaime thought. While he was wounded, Jaime had dreamed of the past. He dreamed of his brothers of the Kingsguard, white as blood, only for that whiteness to turn bloodstained.
"You betrayed us. I entrusted my wife and children to you." The ghost of Prince Rhaegar shouted at him, the prince crowned in mist and sorrow, his long hair flowing. "You betrayed the king."
"You are not our brother," Gerold the White Bull cursed him as well.
Then I...
Jaime felt as if he had been reborn. He now understood the suffering Tyrion had known since childhood. A crippled lion, living a life worse than death. Yet all he seemed to have left was that white cloak, the cloak he had worn for decades, as if it could cover his filth and shame, as if it could still prove he was a knight.
Jaime followed Kevan past the Hall of Heroes, where the precious armor of hundreds of knights, lords, and kings of House Lannister was displayed. The Hall of Heroes was famed throughout the Seven Kingdoms, and even across the Narrow Sea. Those of House Lannister and its close kin who died heroically might be buried there.
"You cannot keep blaming your sister for Tyrion," Ser Kevan said after a pause. "Under those circumstances, she had no choice."
"Tyrion will never joke with me again. What will that boy do to him, Robert's son?" Jaime asked.
"Probably worse than what he did to you. Storm has always been fierce," Kevan replied, glancing at Jaime's face and golden hand. The Lannister lion had nearly become a headless lion. Losing Tyrion still left Tywin room to console himself. But if his eldest son had died as well, Tywin might have broken even further.
"We cannot admit he is Robert's son," Kevan added. "Joffrey is."
"Are we only deceiving ourselves? How different does he look from Robert when Robert was young?" Jaime said dryly.
My son is dead too, Jaime thought. Dead at the hands of a mob. Was that some kind of divine punishment for him? His eldest son, his firstborn. Yet Jaime's feelings for Joffrey were not so deep, especially after hearing of all the foolish things Joffrey had done. Since childhood, the boy had been arrogant and bloody-minded. All Jaime knew was that his sister was grieving.
In the council chamber of Casterly Rock, a huge red banner hung upon the stone wall, its lion roaring. Great Lord Tywin Lannister sat in the seat of honor, dressed in red velvet, a row of golden lion-head buttons down his clothes and the badge of the Hand pinned upon him.
The Lannisters' position was perilous. Yet the worse the situation became, the more Great Lord Tywin insisted on appearing unshaken. Sternness worked better than laughter. That was a truth Tywin had learned when he was young.
Cersei's hair fell over her shoulders, somewhat loose and disheveled. Joffrey's death and the terror of fleeing King's Landing had left her looking worn.
"Sit. This is a family council," Tywin said.
Those present were Tywin, Kevan, Cersei, and Jaime.
"I believe you should take off that white cloak. Since you can no longer use a sword, there is no need for you to remain a Kingsguard." Great Lord Tywin looked at his son, the pride of the Lannisters, now maimed and disfigured.
"Of course I will remain one," Jaime cut off his father Tywin, "and I must. I have read the White Book. I know there are many precedents. Crippled or not, once a Kingsguard swears his oath, he must serve for life."
"Rules can be broken. Your sister once judged Selmy a traitor and drove him out. By that logic, you can leave as well. Besides, this is Casterly Rock, not King's Landing," Tywin said.
"Someone has to uphold the honor of the Kingsguard." Jaime rose to his feet. "I cannot control what others whisper. But here, I must stand as Captain of the White Knights. Since this duty has fallen to me, I have a responsibility to carry it through."
"Of course you have a responsibility. Your responsibility is Casterly Rock. It is House Lannister. You were once the heir to the Lannisters, and you still are. Your brother is all but dead. You are the only one left. Tommen is your responsibility as well. You should guide him, take him as your squire and foster son. Only then will he be a true Lannister, instead of being spoiled by your sister all over again," Tywin shot back.
Perhaps he had grieved Joffrey's death, but he showed none of it.
"Father... please calm yourself..." Cersei hurried to soothe him.
A sudden, bitter pain twisted through Jaime. At a time like this, Cersei had not spoken up for him. Instead, she was comforting their father Tywin.
Jaime suddenly understood. Could she truly be afraid that he would inherit Casterly Rock? She believed herself better than every man.
"You need not comfort me. You are a fool as well. You spoiled Joffrey rotten. As for Tyrion and Lancel, Tyrion is your brother, yet you cast him aside like that and made him a disgrace to our house." Tywin looked coldly at Cersei.
"He..." Cersei seemed unable to speak, her face pale as paper. "He was over by the city walls. King's Landing was in chaos, with blood and fire everywhere. I could not save him. I could not even stop Joffrey from dying. If he had not demanded that Joffrey go up onto the battlements, Joffrey would not have died."
That is not what I heard. If you had not made Joffrey turn back, he might have lived. Kevan wanted to speak, but held his tongue. The situation was too grim for them to start blaming one another.
"Enough. Let us discuss the war to come," Tywin said, deciding not to linger on the matter. He very much wanted to tear into his son, but restrained himself. "The warhorns will sound soon. We have lost too many men in the Riverlands and the Crownlands."
"We need allies," Kevan said.
"But Westeros..." Jaime felt as if his throat had closed. Dorne and the Lannisters had blood debts between them. The North and the Riverlands were lands they had harmed, to say nothing of the Vale and the Stormlands. The only allies left to seek were The Reach and the Iron Islands?
"Sometimes the game is not confined to Westeros." Tywin cleared his throat. "Myrcella is in Braavos. I need to arrange a useful marriage for her. Once the Old Sealord dies, if the great families of Braavos and Pentos are willing to send fleets and soldiers for us..."
"That is not proper." Cersei immediately cut him off. "She is my child, my treasure. You cannot sell her off like this."
"She is a maiden, a little girl, but she is beautiful and valuable," Tywin said coldly.
Jaime felt the world spin around him.
No.
Jaime wanted to shout, That is my daughter, not fish in a market. He had had enough of his father and his sister, enough of their cold bargains.
"There is no need for you to interrupt, Your Grace, the Queen Dowager. You are still young, and you are also valuable. Though you are no maiden, you have at least proven yourself fertile." Tywin looked at his daughter.
"I do not want to marry." Cersei's head rang. It felt as though she had been slapped across the face several times.
"Your Grace, the Queen Dowager, you are still young and beautiful. You cannot spend half your life alone in an empty bed. Besides, this is our weapon. Once you marry, those rumors can be put to rest," Ser Kevan said.
"You must marry. You will have a new husband and bear new children. Each one will be a slap across the faces of that bastard smith Gendry and Stannis."
"Three children were enough. Now... now there are two. I am the Queen Dowager, not a broodmare for breeding. I am the Regent as well. I am the Queen Regent."
"You are my daughter," Tywin said, looking coldly at Cersei, his eyes seeming to pin her to the chair. "This is Casterly Rock. I allowed you to sit only so you could hear this proposal and make your choice."
"No, no, no... I will never..." Cersei's cries rang hollow.
Jaime's mouth opened. He wanted to roar that the truth was simple. I am a choice too. But he could not speak.
"At present, however, we have no good candidates left," Tywin sighed. "Mace, Doran, and Paxter have all moved beyond our reach, and each has young women around him. As for Oberyn, even more so. He is also our enemy. King Balon's wife, however, is old and faded. That is one option. If the situation grows chaotic, The Reach may become another choice again."
"I do not like them. Those islands are godforsaken places..." Cersei said through gritted teeth.
"I have considered many candidates. All are alternatives. The northern kingdoms will certainly not continue cooperating with us. The only possibilities left are The Reach, a powerful land, and those distant countries. Even the cheese merchants have some ships and soldiers."
"Chaotic?" Jaime asked, confused. "How would the situation become chaotic?"
"Of course it may become chaotic. Braavos, Volantis, Lys, all of Slaver's Bay, Qarth. Their fear is our honey. Until that day comes, when Storm is no longer there, we can move east again and reclaim everything we once possessed." A cold light flashed in Tywin's eyes. "Winter is coming. We must survive it."