Somewhere in the Riverlands - Lannister War Camp
After learning of Robb's plans, Tywin set a gruelling pace back toward the Trident in an attempt to reach Riverrun before the Starks. With the speed he had put his armour on when the first battle horns were heard the morning of the same day, with the same speed he had geared up and forced the army to move.
They left the bodies of the weak and the wounded in their wake every day and it was all for nothing; Robb Stark had beaten them there by many days. When the news finally arrived of Jaime's capture, it felt as if the sun had stopped moving across the sky.
The Stark have made their biggest mistake by capturing Jaime because Tywin felt the same rage he did back at Castamere. Those who knew him knew that sooner or later; their demise would come by his hand.
At their last camp, forced after learning of the news; everyone gathered at the military meeting. Kevan and Visenya were at their respective places and even Tyrion was part of the meeting, sitting next to his good-mother.
The men argued with one another on how the capture took place and what went wrong, while Tywin was standing not so far away from them and was trying to keep his composure in check. However, with the arguments and the useless talk; it was becoming a tough battle and he was not sure he would win it.
"I say it was Jaime's decision to split his army into three camps that caused him to be open for the ambush" Ser Harys Swyft said.
Yet, Kevan calmly argued since he understood the plan better. "Because of Riverrun's position at the fork of the Tumblestone and the Red Fork anyone wishing to besiege has to place one army north of the Tumblestone, one south of the Red Fork, and one between the two rivers to the west"
"Ser Jaime's army had no warning" another knight pointed out. "Yet, if Ser Jaime had not gone rode out personally to lead with the raiding force in the Whispering Woods, he wouldn't have been captured"
Kevan said nothing because he had warned his nephew. He warned him to be wary of the mercenaries but he did not listen and fell right into the trap.
"All is lost" Ser Harry said, being the pessimist he was known to be.
"Jaime's host is all destroyed or put to flight and the Starks and Tullys now stand astride their supply lines, cutting our own army off from supplies and our homeland. Robb Stark can even march on Casterly Rock if he wishes" he pointed out, making many glance at the stiff but unmoving turned back of Tywin. "We must sue for peace-"
He never finished his sentence as a wine goblet was thrown against the wall and shattered into a dozen pieces. This made everyone freeze and look at the thrower, being none other than a standing Visenya.
She had been silent, trying to keep her composure but she was angry; no she was pissed. Jaime was like a son to her and he wasn't just captured, he was a prisoner and they had no true leverage to bring him back.
Hearing all those men talk, trying to point fingers at someone when clearly the fact was; that Jaime was captured. She could feel the anger radiating from Tywin, who for the sake of his title, remained calm but their stupid chatter was not helping.
Since it did not help with the rising migraine of hers, she decided to end this; once and for all.
"Ser Harry, you have better luck drinking from my broken cup than making peace with Robb Stark now that Joffrey has beheaded Eddard Stark or did you forget how we lost our most important prisoner?" she asked as she sat down on her chair again, a vein popping at the side of her head.
Tyrion, who noticed, silently slid his cup towards her; since she needed the wine more than he did. She took it with a silent thank you as the arguments continued.
"We still have his sisters" Lord Lefford reminded them. "The first order of business is ransoming Ser Jaime"
Ser Marbrand scoffed. "Only an utter fool would exchange two girls for Jaime"
"Well, we cannot offer them ransom either" Tyrion pointed out. "If they need gold, all they have to do is melt my brother's armour and the issue will be solved"
Ser Harys interfered. "No, the best option is to gather our allies and friends at court. Then we need to raise a new host at Casterly Rock-"
He never finished because the Lion finally snapped and roared. "They have my son!" he reminded them, his temper flaring to a new degree.
Everyone fell silent, minus Visenya who had pinched the bridge of her nose. She had tried to avoid that, to be the most composed between them and allow him to release his pent-up anger but not this way.
For a moment, many thought Tywin would grab his sword and stab every single one of them. In the end, he stared everyone down with such a cold stare that many believed they would face the Stranger with far more bravery.
"Get out, all of you" ordered but then his eyes fell on Tyrion. "Not you."
Quickly and silently, everyone left until it was Tywin, Kevan, Visenya and Tyrion, who were left sitting. The female was rubbing her temples faintly; her glass was already empty and she felt the need for some more.
At least, those baboons were out of the room and they could all focus, for the situation was delicate from all sides.
While they were waiting for Tywin to calm down, Tyrion moved to grab a cup for him to drink but his father gave him his; untouched. There was a silent exchange between the other Lions since they knew that this was a big step.
It was a sign of... You earned it, take it. Tywin's way to show his approval and that he saw Tyrion differently.
He would rarely hear it from words but certain actions were the equivalent of it if one knew when to notice them.
"You were right about Eddard Stark. If he were alive, we could have used him to broker peace with Winterfell and Riverrun, which would have given us more time to deal with Robert's brothers. But now - madness...Madness and stupidity...l always thought you were a stunted fool. Perhaps I was wrong."
Kevan and Visenya exchanged a subtle look, both surprised to hear those three words leaving Tywin's mouth.
Did he just admit he was wrong?
She glanced at him.
He pressed his lips to form a thin line.
Things are worse than we thought then
Tyrion accepted the praise but remained humble.
"Half wrong. I am new to strategy, but unless we want to be surrounded by three armies, it appears we can't stay here"
Visenya stood up on her own and moved to another table, grabbing a huge rolled-up map before walking back to the main table.
Kevan immediately moved the cups out of the way as she unrolled the map.
"No one will stay here" she corrected him, already suspecting what her husband had in mind.
"Because the biggest threat is yet to come" she explained and glanced at Tywin, who nodded his head and allowed her to continue.
While she was away from King's Landing, she did have someone on the inside other than Trystan; the purple spider known as Varys. The eunuch had sent her a letter once and they both agreed to work together, for the best future of the crown.
However, that was not the only reason Varys had approached her.
Yet, Visenya did not mention the second part of this secret agreement for she knew Tywin was not ready. Instead, she chose to play Varys in his own game and use him to get the information they needed; without any man truly knowing for which side she was playing for.
"I have been in contact with Lord Varys for a while now and his latest reports are far from good" she continued, hands on the table as she leaned on it and bent slightly above the map.
"Reports claim that Renly Baratheon had wed Margaery Tyrell and declared himself king, with all the might of Highgarden and Storm's End behind him"
"And Cersei has commanded me to march to defend King's Landing" Tywin added, sitting on his chair with less anger than before but still far from calm.
It was evident that he was not happy being commanded, let alone by his own daughter; who had taken far too much air in her time away and under the title of the 'Queen'.
In addition, she had not told Joffrey of Renly's claim, fearing her son would insist on leading the City Watch against Renly and leave the city undefended against Stannis Baratheon.
"What of Stannis Baratheon, then?" Tyrion asked, sipping some of his wine quietly.
He always admired seeing his good mother in action, her power of working from the shadows clearly showing just how good and powerful she was. Hearing her talk, seeing her mind working on the spot at all the information as battle plans were formed in return.
"We did think Stannis, as the second in Line, would be the most dangerous, and yet he has done nothing. Varys has only heard whisperings that Stannis is building a fleet, hiring sell swords, and seeking the counsel of a shadow binder from Asshai." She said.
"So, what do we do now?" Kevan asked.
Visenya grabbed a few tokens and placed them on the map, as Tywin stood up to explain. She sat back in her chair and let him take the lead, now that his head was clear and focused.
"With Jaime's defeat, we are in a bad situation. Roose Bolton's remnants are to the north, enemies hold the Twins and Moat Cailin, and Robb Stark is to the west so we cannot retreat to Lannisport without giving battle. At the same time, Jaime's army has ceased to exist and Beric Dondarrion and Thoros of Myr plague our foraging parties"
Everyone was staring at the map as Visenya placed the last three Tokens.
"Then there are Dragonstone, Storm's End, and Highgarden to the south calling their banners. That makes us right in the centre of three different armies, none our allies and with our numbers decreased" she added.
"This is what we will do" Tywin added, staring at the map again as he started to move the tokens.
"Ser Gregor will head out with 500 riders and set the Riverlands on fire from God's Eye to the Red Fork. The rest of us will regroup at Harrenhal and face Robb Stark" he informed and turned to his brother.
"See that the order is issued"
"Yes, my lord" he said and stood up, leaving the rest of his family to remain alone in the room.
"What about the clansmen?" Tyrion asked.
Visenya quickly thought for a moment.
"Your clansmen, Tyrion," she said as Tywin sat back on his chair, more determined now that he had a plan in mind. "They can ride with Vargo Hoat and join our plan to burn the RiverLands"
To her surprise, Tyrion shook his head to disagree.
"Your offer is kind, good-mother but I would like to keep a close eye on them"
Tywin interrupted.
"Then you better learn how to control them because I will not have King's Landing pillaged"
This answer confused the dwarf and the couple exchanged a look.
In the end, Tywin decided to continue talking and fully entrust Tyrion with the plan,
"You will serve as Hand of the King in my stead and clean up the mess Cersei and the small council have created"
"And what exactly did they create?" Tyrion asked, earning an annoyed look from his father.
"Forgive me for not keeping up with the latest news through my network of spies" he continued sarcastically.
"Janos Slynt's rise into power, for once" Visenya started.
"Then, we have the dishonouring of Ser Barristan Selmy, who let me remind you lent his honour to anyone he served; especially me and my family"
Tyrion tried not to shiver at the intensity of her gaze, clearly not happy that this had taken place.
Considering her more teacher-student relationship with the noble knight and their past, hearing of his dismissal after all those years of service; made her blood boil. She knew it was Cersei behind that decision, to add more of her people to the King's guard and Visenya did plan to confront her once all of this was over.
"Last but not least, the appointment of the Hound to the Kingsguard"
Tywin finished for her as she took a moment to redirect her anger for Cersei to the table and not the blameless Tyrion.
"Your job is to bring that boy king to heel, and his mother too, if needs be. And if you get as much as a whiff of treason from any of the rest - Baelish, Varys, Pycelle..."
He didn't need to continue, for Tyrion knew where that sentence was leading.
"...Heads, spikes, walls" he finished for him.
Yet, as much pride that was, there was one thing that made him question.
Why?
"Why not my uncle? Why not my good-mother? Why me?" he finally asked.
As much as tempting would be for Visenya to go there and put some order, the couple knew she couldn't go. Few knew of her spy work, of her puppet work in the shadow of her Lord Husband. It would be impossible, almost, to do damage control and not expose herself.
Of course, it was worth mentioning the fact that no woman sat in any seat of the small Council; ever since Naelys Targaryen served her adopted sister Rhaenyra in the First Dance of Dragons. No man would accept her and she would not be able to use the power properly, no matter how many titles she carried.
Thus, the only one truly capable of handling this disastrous family was Tyrion.
"You're my son" was Tywin's reply, making Tyrion look at him with wide eyes.
Those were the most words of approval he could ever ask for. Tywin Lannister finally acknowledged him as his own, out loud even and while he wished many were present; he would do with what he had been given.
"Tyrion" Visenya said, now calmer and for the first time in a while, the dwarf could see exhaustion in her eyes.
She had played that game before, more than once and it was finally catching up to her; being thrown back into the whole mess. Once again she was in a war, once again her family was threatened and she had to deal with a lot after having found her peace for 16 years.
"Yes, good-mother?"
"Keep Trystan close whenever you can. He will help you wherever it is possible for him" she told him.
It was then that Tyrion connected the dots in his head and truly saw what Trystan was tasked to do.
He was a mole, a spy for his siblings on behalf of his parents. Of course, he is, who else could they really entrust?
He asked rhetorically in his mind but said nothing out loud.
Instead, he nodded his head and stood up.
"One last thing," Tywin said, stopping him from leaving.
"You will not take that whore of yours to court"
Hearing Shea being called a whore made his blood boil and he glanced at Visenya, seeing her just tossing her head back and emptying her cup in one go.
She was not going to interfere, not right now but he could see it was not worth arguing.
Instead, he remained quiet and chose to leave them be.
His father could say all he wanted but Tyrion was not going to just let him be. If he wished to bring Shea with him, no one would stop him.