The Shadow Queen of Tywin Lannister

LXIX. The Harsh Truth

The Chambers of the Hand, Red Keep – King's Landing, CrownLands - A few Hours after the Visit to the Sept

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After the events at the Sept, Olenna had made it clear that she wished to spend more time with Visenya and Cersei did not argue. Grabbing the chance, she let them go and chose to try something else.

She found the courage to visit the Chambers of the Hand, where her father spent most of his time. Perhaps it was foolish to confront him without Visenya forward but how else could she prove she was his daughter?

Brave like a Lion, isn't what they say?

Thankfully, Tywin had no guests or meetings so he accepted her visit. Yet, he did not directly grace her with his attention as he was busy writing a letter. Like he did with Tyrion, he let his daughter wait despite seeing how impatient she was.

"You wanted to speak to me?" he finally asked her, deciding not to make her wait longer for she would jump off her chair.

"Yes, about Jaime." She confessed.

"What about him?" he asked her and stole her a glance before focusing on folding the letter.

"I wanted to make sure we're doing everything we can to get him back."

The old Lion could have easily corrected her, could have easily dismissed her with such stupid words coming from her mouth. How could his own daughter be that stupid?

He could clearly see there was more behind her words but she was beating around the bush and failing to do it properly. Yet, for the sake of peace at the moment and not wishing to mess with his temper; he tried to be more civil,

"When Catelyn Stark took Tyrion prisoner, what did I do in response?"

Cersei was quick to reply. "You started a war."

Tywin placed the melted red wax on the closed envelope and sealed it with the stamp of the Hand. "And if I would start a war for that lecherous little stump, what do you think I am doing for my oldest son and one of my two heirs?"

The Lioness glanced at her hands for a moment, already seeing how easily he cornered her with his words. "Whatever you can"

This seemed to please Tywin since she proved she was not that much of a lost cause after all. "Whatever I can." He reminded her, placed the letter to the side and started a new one. He gave his daughter a moment longer but when she did not move, he knew his suspicions were correct. "You're still here." He pointed out.

Cersei gathered all of her courage to keep looking at her father, grabbing the chance that he was not staring back directly at her. "Yes."

"Why?"

"Did it ever occur to you that I might be the one who deserves your confidence and your trust, not your sons? Not Jaime or Tyrion or your Golden Boy Trystan, but me. Years and years of lectures on family and legacy- the same lecture, really, just with tiny, tedious variations- did it ever occur to you that your daughter might be the only one listening to them? Living by them? That she might have the most to contribute to your legacy that you love so much more than your actual children?"

Tywin blew the ink on the paper for a moment and then placed the letter down. "All right. Contribute." He said, leaning back on the chair and putting his full focus on her.

His daughter moved her head just a tad to the side, trying to look past her father but not truly avoid looking at him; showing him she was weak and still afraid. "The Tyrells are a problem."