A Lioness Still Has Claws | Female Tywin Lannister | ASOIAF/GOT

An Intimidating Child

EDITED: 7th Jan 2022. See notes for more details.

242 AC

Another lord might have been disappointed at their firstborn child not being a son, but Tytos Lannister both cried and laughed - both with pure, unbridled joy, of course - when he entered the birthing chamber after she had given him a daughter.

Jeyne found herself smiling wryly in amusement at her husband despite how exhausted and pained she felt after the ordeal of childbirth.

"She's so beautiful," Tytos looked down at the baby, watery eyes full of wonder. "Can I hold her?" He was already reaching out with clumsy grasping hands, and Jeyne fought the urge to snatch the child away.

"Sit down first," She said sharply. "And be careful, she's delicate,"

Her husband did as obliged, as he always did. He was a rather biddable man. Eager to please, both forgiving and trusting. It had annoyed her once, when they first married, but over the years that had dulled somewhat as she realised that, for her at least, a biddable husband was a good thing. Few other men would have put up with a sharp-tongued, opinionated wife such as herself, let alone loved her.

Perhaps it would not be such a good thing for the Westerlands when he finally became lord, but that was another matter entirely. Tytos had never been meant for lordship, only becoming the heir to Casterly Rock after the unexpected deaths of his two elder brothers.

Thankfully he was indeed careful with the baby when he was given her, handling the child like she was made of glass. Jeyne hovered at his shoulder despite the fact that sitting up at all, let alone for any length of time, still pained her greatly. Her first birth had not been easy, though she knew it was worth it from the moment she held her daughter in her arms.

"She looks like me," Tytos beamed with pride.

Hm. Whilst the little girl did have the cheekbones and golden hair typical of the Lannisters, there were flecks of brownish-gold in those green eyes that were reminiscent of Jeyne's own, and there was a sharpness to the baby's features even now that certainly did not come from her cheerful, friendly-faced father.

Jeyne said none of this, however.

"What will her name be, my lord?" She asked instead.

Her husband's brow furrowed.

"I haven't really thought about it, to tell you the truth. I was hoping you'd have some ideas," He scratched his head. Jeyne smiled. As I expected. "I suppose it should be a Lannister name, which narrows it down somewhat,"

"Tya," She had decided the instant she laid eyes on her daughter. "Her name is Tya,"

*

Tya was a rather fussy baby, about very specific things. She wouldn't settle if she wasn't wrapped in one particular blanket with a particular toy doll beside her, for example, and most definitely preferred one of her wet-nurses to the other. When she was displeased with something, she made that quite plain with a shrill shriek of protest and a glare that was rather intense for a girl of less than one. And she didn't seem too fond of other children, disdaining the young sons and daughters of various lords and knights that visited the Rock.

The baby made her mother laugh when she met her grandfather for the first time.

Jeyne liked her goodfather somewhat more than she liked her husband, as Gerold Lannister was an exceedingly clever, mild-mannered man, shrewd and quick-witted despite the fact he was often rather quiet, and a good ruler. Yes, there were the rumours that he had murdered his elder brother Tybolt, and later his brother's daughter Cerelle, to become Lord of Casterly Rock, but Jeyne cared little even if that was true. No one could deny that the Westerlands and House Lannister had prospered under his rule.