Tywin had seen many things in his life, yet nothing compared to what he was experiencing. His first impression of the man known as Wisdom Rossart was that of mistrust and uneasiness.
Madness and sadism could be seen in his black eyes, his bony fingers seemed to match the ones of the Stranger. Yet, he remained quiet and allowed Visenya to talk and walk with the man; familiar with him.
Whether she was feeling the same repulsion as he did, he didn't know but she did not seem to show it either. Her face was serious as she demanded Rossart to change the properties of the green fire he had witnessed or substance as it was called; apparently.
He knew that Visenya was not some grand maester or god to create something like that but he never expected her to have a secret pact with the Alchemists. Everyone knew of them, although few dared to approach them nowadays since Maesters did everything else.
In addition, Alchemists were said to work with magic whether blood or dark; no one truly knew. This alone made many people uneasy and mistrustful of them while their wages were often too high for most common-born people; not that the Maesters were any different when charging their services.
Yet, the Guild of Alchemists was said to be close to extinction with only a few members present. King Aerys did not seem to care that they existed close to the Sept, for they kept their heads lowered and caused no trouble.
He could never imagine Visenya to be associated with people like them and yet she seemed to know the path and have some knowledge on the subject; evident by how casually she walked and discussed with Rossart.
In the end, the creepy Grand Master left; more than happy to experiment more on this mysterious green fire. Now left alone, Visenya led him towards a black door and pushed it before she waited for him to follow her.
Once Tywin did, he was greeted by the smell of clay and sand as they were inside a room made of black marble. The faintest glow came from handles hitched at the wall but not torches, while cold humid air seemed to enter from somewhere.
"You asked me Tywin and so I answer you," Visenya said as she turned to face him. "I didn't find this green fire you saw... I invented it," she admitted, her voice stable and yet hints of pride could be noticed as clear as day.
"Well, I had the idea and the Alchemists had the abilities. Took us years and quite the funds before the first batch was produced successfully," she explained and started to walk towards a small wooden table.
"The small coin shortage in the coffers," Tywin mumbled, connecting the dots.
"That was me. This investigation had been funded by my gold but the smallest amount had to be taken from the coffers." She glanced at him above her shoulder. "Consider me lucky that the Master of Coin is not good at his job," she added, amusing herself but not Tywin.
She stopped in front of the wooden desk, a small clay pot was rested and a bigger clay container; a thick wooden cap shielding it.
"So, what is this substance that the Alchemists call it? How did you truly come up with it?" he asked as he stood by her side.
She silently grabbed a clay spoon and carefully took some odd green liquid from the container before cupping it again. She then let the liquid carefully into the pot and smirked as she moved to grab a candle from a nearby wall.
"They call it substance but I have a different name for it," she said with a smirk and tipped the edge of the candle, bringing the flame closer to the liquid. "I call it... Wildfire."
Suddenly, the green liquid was caught on fire and a bright green flame started to burn but did not expand or threaten to burn them all; the clay walls contained its rage for the moment.
Tywin watched in silence, his eyes wide upon seeing the spectacle from close. He took a step closer and bent faintly, inspecting the neon green flame that seemed to illuminate the room. He was surprised when Visenya took the clay pot in her hands and offered it to him to hold.
With small hesitation that came mostly from being careful, he obliged and carefully took the pot in his hands. The pot was quite warm but not enough to burn his hands or injure his skin while the green flame kept burning bright; bringing out the emerald green of his eyes.
"Fascinating," he commented, bringing it slightly closer to his face to see it.
"The only thing burning hotter than this is Dragon Fire itself. I had it tested and worked on, to be used in rare times of combat when it was needed," she explained, standing in front of him with only the green flame in the pot separating him. She looked slowly from the flame at him as she kept talking.
"My ancestors brought Westeros to their knees because of Dragon Flame. With the dragons gone, my House is threatened and I refuse to let them see us as weak. Dragons may be gone but their power can still be used by us, a reminder of what happens when you test our patience."
Tywin listened carefully, his eyes locked on her face as he stared at her above the small green flames. Its colour seemed to be reflected in her eyes but nothing could compare it when true fire fell upon the amber of her irises. Shadows were cast on each side of her face, making her cheekbones protrude more while also giving her a veil of mystery around her.
He heard her words carefully, talking of protecting her house and its legacy; protecting her family. She held no shame in her choices, no regret of the destructive power she paid to be created and he wouldn't if he were in her place.
At that moment, Tywin truly saw who Visenya was. She was a warrior and a strategist but above all, she was a dragon. She would burn the world down if it meant protecting her family and she had already proven she was more than capable of. Her intelligence and her plans could hardly be outsmarted, as this woman, who was barely 25 name-days old had formed all of this without anyone knowing.
He saw her clearly for the strong, resilient and dangerous woman that she could be. Enemies would be lucky to meet the Stranger quickly if they dared to go against her family. They often said lionesses were the more protective mothers in the animal kingdom but that was because few ever tested the patience of a Dragoness.
Two questions remained in his mind, one being rather new.
"Does the King know?"
She gently took the pot from him and placed it on the table. "No, and he must never know. Such power is not for someone as weak-minded and easily influenced as my brother. Pray to the Seven if he ever gets his hands on it for even they would not be able to save us," she admitted and opened a small pouch of sand lying not so far away.
She took some sand into her hand and then slowly dropped it on top of the green flames, effectively killing them without any difficulty.
Tywin took notice of that and gave the most silent of nods at her explanation. The king should never get his hands on it and no man should, as well. Now he understood why even Tygett was not familiar with the contents of those barrels and why Visenya had dodged every question people had about the green fire.
No man truly should wield such power, be responsible for it nonetheless. A woman would be even worse if she was as close-minded and foolish as the majority of them out there.
Visenya so far seemed to be the only one capable of knowing such a secret, holding such position and power over the green flames. She could have easily used it many times or threatened people with it, hell even burned cities to the ground but she had kept it all a secret.
Even her use to reduce the amount of the Silver Lions was to the minimum, making sure to save most of her men from the explosion. She knew the power of it and she wielded it wisely, for she was a woman, who looked ahead into the future and calculated every step towards it.
"You never answered me, Visenya," he said, her name coming out of his lips causing goosebumps to appear beneath her dress. It was so rare to hear him say it and when he did, she truly felt this exciting shiver as her own body reacted to it.
"How did you come up with it?"
There was a small silence between them and for the first time since their meeting, Visenya looked slightly the other way. There was hesitation in her eyes, a mental debate about whether she should be honest or not while an invisible burden weighed down on her shoulders.
To her surprise, a pair of calloused fingers were placed beneath her chin. A thumb and an index finger held with a gentle but stable grip as they guided her face to look back at him.
Tywin had taken a step closer, their chests almost touching as he held her chin; not letting her go until he got his answer. There was no hostility in his eyes but there was this power, coming from his stance and his position in front of her. His green piercing eyes demanded her to answer, not taking any silence as a good answer.
Her lips parted faintly, never truly seeing such a side of Tywin; let alone directed at her. A part of her wanted to pull her chin away and take a step back, not allowing him to touch her that way but another part of her just felt the need to stay... to obey.
She could feel the warmth of his body, radiating off his powerful stance as his beautiful eyes stared her down. His hands were rough from years of handling a sword, strong and capable to choke a man if they wished and yet no pressure was added to her chin; for he did not wish to harm her.
In the end, she took a deep breath and gathered all of her Targaryen pride.
"I dreamt of it," she started, his eyes narrowing faintly at the odd answer. "I have dragon dreams. When I sleep, sometimes, I dream of things that are meant to happen. I cannot stop them for they are always set in stone and sometimes it feels as if my actions are the ones that must make them happen," she confessed, sharing her burden with him in a moment of complete trust.
She felt his fingers leaving her chin, his eyes searching hers for any indication of lies but he saw none. She was sincere and honest, her confession showing to be quite a heavy burden that few truly knew if anyone actually did.
The sound of prophetic dreams sounded strange at first but Tywin had the facts in his mind. There were people in the Targaryen family, who had a similar ability with the most noticeable being the man, who dreamt of the Doom of Valyria.
Dragons once flew over Westeros and Tywin had seen their skulls. Magic existed as well, widespread across all corners of the world and even this unique green fire of hers seemed to have traces of magic or have been created with the use of magic.
Prophetic dreams were not that farfetched from the reality they were living, where the world was very different just a few years ago when the last of the dragons were still alive.
Tywin took his time, the silence between them being nothing new but for the first time; it did make Visenya uneasy. She was not sure what to expect of him, what his reaction would be and a part of her started to think if she would regret exposing her biggest secret to him.
"If I had not seen what I have so far and did not know of your family's history, I would have trouble believing you; I am not going to lie," he started, his words already offering some comfort to her. "But I know you well enough, Visenya and I know you are not a liar. On the contrary, those last words of yours before I left for Casterly Rock now make far more sense than they did back then."
His words eased her worries and a small smile formed on her lips. "I could not be honest with you, Tywin for I was afraid you would not believe me. However, I am glad that you are aware of it and accept it as it eases me."
"After all you have shown me, Princess, it would be really hard not to," he smirked and gently moved his hand, his fingers pushing away a single strand of her white hair behind her ear.
His actions were not well thought out, more like a small move that seemed to fit just right. His movement was not the most caring but there was nothing rough about it either, rather being a slightly intimate way to keep her hair off her face.
Yet his touch seemed to make her skin burn even as his fingers barely touched her skin. Her lips parted faintly and she looked at him, into his eyes for answers. Over the course of two years, Visenya had started to rethink her relationship with Tywin.
Whom she first saw as a respected partner, started to appear far more appealing in her mind. His presence was comforting, their talks coming naturally and her guard was lowering when he was around her.
She had never let a single man touch her ever since she was a child, refusing even the hand of Ser Barristan after he knocked her to the ground during training. Yet, she allowed his touch and would go as far as to yearn for it.
She never made any move, she never showed her thoughts for she respected what they had. He was a man, who saw her intelligence, trusted her instincts and heard her ideas when everyone else ignored her. He saw her as an equal partner and nothing less. His wife had died only a few years ago and he had mourned her greatly.
Visenya might have selfish goals in her mind but she knew when they were not worth acting upon them.
Yet, as his fingers left her face slowly she could not help but look at him; trying to see what he thought and understand what he felt. Did he share the same feelings that had started to grow within her or was he merely showing his manners, being nothing more than a respectful man?
His green eyes seemed to hold desire beneath them, perhaps even lust but they were held at bay. His logical mind, memories of his deceased wife and his pride fought against such desires and were winning.
He did not say anything about it as he kept lowering his hand, doing nothing else than looking at her as if wishing to take her on the spot but moving not a single inch. He made Visenya have so many mental answers and yet he refused to answer them, for even himself did not truly have them.
Eventually, an answer was given but it was not what one would expect.
Tywin's lips pressed to a thin line as if he was trying to keep control of himself before he parted them to speak.
"I appreciate it, nonetheless, of your confession to me and of sharing your secret with the Guild. You can rest assured that both will be kept safe with me, no one else will learn of them."
And just like that, whatever small moment they had was gone. He returned to being the usual cold and serious Tywin Lannister that she knew. A weak smile was all he got in return and a small nod of gratitude, as if that little spark between them never happened.