The Shadow Queen of Tywin Lannister

LIV. Renly's Pretender

The silence in the room was an unsettling one as it did not match the storm of thoughts within each and everyone's mind.

In the end, the woman of the hour cleared her throat and focused on the latest piece of information thrown on the table. "Lord Baelish, are you suggesting I become Renly's pretender?" she asked, wishing to ensure she heard it all clear.

"That is correct, my lady" he answered. "You have more than enough experience leading armies into battle and everyone knows you are not defenceless either. You would be an ideal pretender for this plan"

To some of the men's surprise, Tywin interfered. "No" he said his voice stable and commanding. Everyone turned to look at him, some with confusion and others with curiosity; except for Petyr who simply held back the need to roll his eyes at the overprotective nature of the Old Lion. "For Visenya to be the pretender, it would mean leading the vanguard and taking the first wave of our attack if the men do not get affected by her presence as Renly. This is out of the question. The plan can continue without it by simply having a different attack formation that will ensure we do not get attacked by the side"

His allies exchanged looks, clearly debating.

Lord Mathis often glanced at his liege, Lord Mace and waited to see what he would say upon the matter. Both men had fought for the Targaryens and had pledged their allegiance long before Robert came into question.

They had heard of Visenya's victories while fighting along Rhaegar and they knew she was a capable fighter; evident by the victories the Lannisters had in their war against Robb Stark. However, there were indeed risks involved in leading the Vanguard and at the end of the day; Visenya was not a knight no matter the training, experience and skills she had.

Loras Tyrell felt offended to have a woman leading the vanguard and playing the biggest part in this campaign, not truly caring who Visenya was. He had heard of her but right now, they were talking of the biggest battle and the victory that would grant them almost immortal titles and glory.

Garlan Tyrell did not seem to fully agree with the plan either, believing that he was a better swordsman and could somehow make it in Renly's armour. However, with the time passing and Stannis' army gaining ground with it; he knew they had to make a choice.

Lord Tarly seemed to be the only one agreeing with the idea since Stannis was the biggest threat right now. If he managed to get the throne, the lands would be plunged into war because all of the lords inside that tent had defied him either directly or by siding with his brother Renly.

They had to defeat him and push him back, if not manage to capture and kill him. If doing that meant that Lady Visenya had to risk her life and be the pillar of this plan, then so be it.

Petyr Baelish watched with amusement but also slight annoyance as the Lion and the Dragoness locked in a heated battle of stares. It was known that the Old Lion had grown possessive of his wife, overprotective one might dare say behind his back because even the 7 knew he would never admit it out loud.

Tywin did not back down from his wife's stare, clearly seeing how displeased she was with his interference. He understood her reaction but he refused to use her as bait, to an attack that might not even work. The plan was risky and while he desired victory and to crush his biggest enemy, he refused to do it by sacrificing his wife.

If the plan would not work, if the men did not believe she was Renly then she would have no true protection. She would be right in the centre, right into the heart of the battle while they would be fighting to take down the men and force them more towards her to eventually trap them.

However, he also knew he could not simply dare to use the excuse of her gender to justify his choice. It would be a blunt lie, one that everyone would see through because Tywin had never truly kept her away from the battlefield and never presumed because she was a woman, she was unable to lead and fight.