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

The King's Servant

EDITED: 8th Jan 2022

276AC

Finally, seventeen years after the birth of Rhaegar, the king and queen had a child who lived longer than a year.

Prince Viserys was born in the early days 276AC. The child was perfectly healthy, but Aerys was hideously paranoid, and a Kingsguard knight was ordered to stand over the babe, day and night. No one, not even Rhaella, was allowed to be alone with the prince. Gifts for Viserys sent from all over the kingdom were piled up and burned in the courtyard, as the king feared they might be cursed, and most grotesque of all, Aerys made his own food taster suckle straight from the wet nurse, to ensure there was no poison.

Ten months later, when the prince was still alive, it seemed that these extreme methods had worked; or, more likely, that the child was simply healthier than the others. When Viserys had yet to show any sign of sickliness or frailty, Tya corresponded with Kevan to arrange for a tourney to be held at Lannisport in honour of the infant prince.

It wasn't an entirely selfless gesture, of course. No doubt to outsiders it would seem to be her offer of reconciliation to Aerys, but Tya viewed it as more of a bribe.

Since he came to her to ask about his mother, Prince Rhaegar had been visiting the Tower of the Hand more often since then. Not on a regular basis - the king might implode from paranoia - but every month or so she would receive a visit from the prince. Rhaegar would mostly ask her about matters of state, presumably to learn the things his father was incapable of teaching him, and Tya was not displeased with the prince, the more time she spent with him. Though the boy was neither shrewd nor particularly calculating, he was dutiful, listened well, and had a strong desire to be a good king, at least. That was something she could work with; she had worked with his unbearable father for years, after all.

On top of that, Rhaegar now trained daily in the yard - an area he had always been lacking in - claiming to have read something in a book that required him to learn the sword. The prince was decent with a sword considering he'd barely spent two years training; no great warrior, but he was still improving, particularly with the addition of Ser Arthur Dayne, Sword of the Morning, to the Kingsguard. The young knight and the heir to the throne had become close friends.

Surprisingly, the prince had found he had a remarkable talent for jousting, although - as Tya was often told by her eager sons - it was more about strong horsemanship than anything else.

She could tentatively say that Rhaegar would be a much better king than his father currently was. And if he continued seeking her advice now, then perhaps he would see she was valuable enough to keep her as Hand when he was crowned.

The point was, her rather favourable opinion of the prince had given Tya the seeds of an idea she wouldn't have considered before. Which then led to the tourney; get Aerys in a good enough mood that he would agree to betroth his heir to Cersei.

It wasn't a poor match by any means, though perhaps an unexpected one for a prince. If Rhaegar was to marry any Lannister, it should rightly be a daughter of the main branch; though Janei was the only option there, and the fact she was to be Lady of the Rock ruled her out. Cersei was to be the cousin of Lady Lannister - potentially goodsister as well if the plans she and Kevan had made were followed through - as well as daughter to the Hand. It wouldn't be the first time a Hand's daughter was made queen; the only example she could think of off the top of her head was again Alicent Hightower, perhaps not the best comparison.

Besides, Rhaegar seemed to like Cersei (no doubt in a friendly way seeing as the girl was only twelve). Her daughter was often present at Tya's side when he came to speak with her, and although she treated him with respect as a prince, Cersei was never one to keep her opinions to herself when she was around her mother (though she could smile sweetly through lots of other occasions) and ended up speaking to him much more normally than most would. He seemed to find her cutting criticism of many members of court amusing, along with her ferocity and keen mind. It helped that the girl was obviously going to grow up to be a stunning beauty.