Fire and Blood

Chapter 36

We ride to high garden, apparently we had a tip that it would be unarmed here. Tyrion took Casterly rock, that was where I was going to bring my children up, he stole that from me. I stay alone for the battle, we had ridden for a month, I didn't want to worry my children with a pointless battle, they just needed real food, real beds. The twins are now three years old, the time has gone fast. Jamie enters the tent and nods, i quickly head out onto the battlefield, twins following behind, looking at the dead men scattered everywhere, Olenna is sitting at a table in black.
"It's done?" She says turning over to us.
"It is." Jamie says sitting next to her.
"And now the rains weep for our whores. Did we fight well?" Olenna says looking at the twins.
"I suppose as well as can be expected." Jamie says pouring three cups of wine.
"It was never our forte. Golden roses indeed. Your brother and his new queen thought you would be defending Casterly Rock." Olenna says raising an eyebrow as I sit, leaving the twins on the floor to play with eachother.
"The truth is Casterly Rock isn't worth much anymore. Well, it is to me. My fond childhood memories won't keep Cersei on the throne." He says, I nod, I wish it did.
"So you'll just let them take it?" Olenna says, i interject.
"For now. They won't be able to hold it. Euron Greyjoy's navy burned their ships, we emptied the larders before we left. Eventually they'll be forced to abandon their position and march all the way across Westeros." I say and she looks at me and smiles.
"Your lover is in Dragonstone, fighting for her. But that doesn't matter." She says and I look down, Jon is fighting for her? I mean I expected it, I would be fighting for her too, I will fight for her, I just need to convince Jamie.
"And you took your army, your real army, and went where they weren't?" Olenna says, breaking the silence.
"As Robb Stark did to me at Whispering Wood. There are always lessons in failures." Jamie says and the twins go over to him, he picks them up, but stays focused on the conversation.
"Yes. You must be very wise by now." Olenna says, reaching over and stroking Alicent's head, she smiles at her and holds her arms out for Olenna to take, I smile and Olenna holds her.
"My father always said I was a slow learner." Jamie says watching Alicent carefully.
"If he was so clever why didn't he take Highgarden the moment your gold mines ran dry? I suppose I'll be able to ask him myself soon enough. No more learning from my mistakes, eh? How will you do it? With that sword?" Olenna says, Jamie shakes his head.
"That was Joffrey's sword, wasn't it? Not that he ever used it. What did he call it?" Olenna says.
"Widow's Wail." I reply.
"He really was a cunt, wasn't he? I did unspeakable things to protect my family, or watched them being done on my orders. I never lost a night's sleep over them. They were necessary. And whatever I imagined necessary for the safety of House Tyrell I did. But your sister has done things I wasn't capable of imagining. That was my prize mistake, a failure of imagination. She's a monster, you do know that?" Olenna says, I nod, so does Alicent, she nods rather aggressively.
"To you, sure. To others as well. But after we've won and there's no one left to oppose us, the people living peaceful in the world she built, do you really think they'll wring their hands over the way she built it?" Jamie says, defending her.
"You love her. You really do love her. You poor fool. She'll be the end of you. This one, she is the better choice." She says and I smile.
"Possibly. Not much to be gained from discussing it with you though, is there?" Jamie says holding my hand, he didn't even deny his love for her.
"What better person to discuss it with? What better guarantee could you have that the things you say will never leave this room? But perhaps you're right. If she's driven you this far it's gone beyond your control." He says and Jamie shakes his head.
"She's a disease. I regret my role in spreading it. You will too." Olenna says, I stand up.
"I think we're done here." I say and Jamie stands closer to her, grabbing Alicent off her lap.
"How will it happen?" Olenna says, she doesn't have a lot to say now.
"Cersei had several ideas. Whipping you through the streets and beheading you in front of the Red Keep. Flaying you alive and hanging you from the walls of King's Landing. I talked her out of those." Jamie says and I grab a small vial out of my pocket, i pour the contents into her wine glass and slide it to her.
"Will there be pain?" She asks, i shake my head.
"No. I made sure of that." I say and she nods.
"That's good." She says drinking the entire cup, she turns and looks at Jamie.
"I'd hate to die like your son clawing at my neck, foam and bile spilling from my mouth, eyes blood red, skin purple. It must have been horrible for you as a Kingsguard, as a father. It was horrible enough for me. A shocking scene. Not at all what I intended. You see, I'd never seen the posion work before. Tell Cersei. I want her to know it was me." She says, i watch as Jamie's face twists into anger, he drops Alicent into my arms and storms out, I quickly run after him. He runs into a carriage, I watch as he stops it and gold tumbles out. I watch as he hands it to Bronn, I watch as he hands out a bunch of orders and come towards me.
"We could have used that." I say and he nods.
"We can get gold in other ways." He says sighing.
"Daddy I want gold." Alicent says, he smiles.
"You shall have all the gold you want." He says picking her up.
"Your my princess!" He says and she giggles.
"Come, let's return to King's landing." I say and Jamie nods.