~A Game of Hounds and Foxes~ (GOT Fanfiction)

~ONE~

~Lady Malina of House Haygar~

Lions, Hounds, Roses, Foxes, and Dragons, oh my. The wheel of our world has turned for hundreds of years, and some say it shall keep spinning a thousand more. Noble houses stand over sanctions of historic and dying lands, many like the houses of Westeros. None had been so Noble or powerful as House Targaryen. That was until the dragons let the lions in. Aerys Targaryen the second or "The Mad King" as all of Westeros calls him now, was the one seated on the Iron Throne. When the city was being overthrown the King died by the sword of the head of his King's guard, the Lion Jammie Lannister. He stuck his sword through the Dragon's back and slit his throat for good measure. While some say it was a betrayal of the highest disgrace others claim it was an act of duty for the people. Of course, my opinion doesn't matter, nor do I think Lions would take much mind to a fox or her words or views of them. They are lions. Of course, the lions would never have had the pride to last another generation had it not been for the hounds.
Years before a little fox met a mighty hound, they were a family of low position and standing. While hardly any kind of people paid them much mind, it didn't take but one fateful moment for the hounds to become almost as magnificent and respected as the lions but mostly feared. It only took killing one to prove it. The elder grandfather of house Clegane, the hounds, were a lowly family under the service of the Lannisters. The man served as the kennel keeper for his master, Lord Tytos Lannister of Casterly Rock, the father of Lord Tywin. The master was a foolish and weak-minded man who thought his name carried his strength. The strength and nobility of that of a lion. He was proven very wrong the day he ran into a real one. On a hunt, he stumbled upon a lioness who took no mind to the banner of her kind on his flags or chest. She only wishes to tear it open. Had it not been for Clegane and his bravery running along with the hounds to fight her off, there would have been no more Lannister name or family. Because of this act of bravery, the Cleganes were given immense land and wealth as well as a house sigil of their own. Of course, fitting enough, they chose hounds.

While the Clegane family grew so did their name. The two infamous sons, Sir Gregor and Sandor Clegane earn and add to the blood and ferocity of their house. The Mountain and Hound were called after their brute strength, size, and almost spiritual ties to death. While one brother sought out death, pain, and strife, the other simply endured it along with the permanent marking on his face of his elder brother's handy work when they were but children. While the Cleganes grew to power along with their ties to the now royal family, so did the Lannister's power and ties. Now, the granddaughter of Lord Tytos, Cersi Lannister, sits as Queen to the King, Robert Baratheon, on the iron throne. Her twin brother, Jamie, part of the Kings guard, and their youngest brother, Tyrion, part of the council. All the while having their leashes tight on the Clegane brothers' throats. The Lannisters have a hand in the power that controls all of Westeros including my own house and kin, House Haygar, and our cousins, the Tyrells, rulers of Highgarden.
In all of this, it is a game. Some say fate others what the gods deal to us and command. Me? It doesn't matter what I think, but, if you were to ask this Haygar fox what she thinks, she would tell you.

"I think it better if the hounds had eaten the lion."