Loki: Game of Thrones

Chapter 120 - The Noose Tightens

Tywin Lannister was tired. He was tired of fighting, of manipulating, or trying to please his daughter. Ever since Loki had crashed Tyrion's trial and kidnapped Tommen, Tywin had not had a full night of rest to call his own. He was driven to the point of exhaustion and had been told several times by his brother, Kevan Lannister, to leave everything to him and take his rest. That evening, Tywin was going to take his advice and go to sleep. He had a meal brought to his chambers and a hot bath poured for him. He was going to clean up, eat his fill, and close his eyes. Tywin stared at a map showing the approaching forces of the North. After a second of staring, Tywin shook his head and stripped out of his clothes. He got into his tub and relaxed into the hot water. The steam curled up from the surface and Tywin inhaled it. "Well, this is awkward," said a smooth voice and Tywin spun around. Loki was standing behind him, a smug grin on his face, and he was holding the serving knife in his one hand.

"What do you want?" Tywin asked, keeping his voice controlled, but internally, he was shouting. Loki shrugged as he suddenly speared a potato on the tip of the knife.

"What does anybody want anymore, Tywin?" he posed in return before he popped the vegetable into his mouth. "Maybe the downfall of the Lannister house?"

"No, that's what you want," Tywin said darkly. Loki chuckled before he swallowed the potato.

"If you think I'm the only one in all of Westeros that wants the Lannisters gone, you're deluding yourself. I'm certain that at this point, every house in Westeros is pining for your demise," Loki commented dryly as he took Tywin's cup and took a sip from it. Tywin frowned deeply, trying to ignore the flame of annoyance that started burning within him against Loki. He had always been proud to say that nobody had ever held such power over him. Loki was working to prove that wrong.

"We have friends. More than you think," Tywin said coolly and Loki nodded.

"Oh, yes! You had the Tyrells for all of five minutes, and the Boltons and Freys for two seconds. Now, the Boltons and Freys are no more, and the Tyrells are with me. You see, I can give them a more stable alliance than anyone else. Not to mention the fact that they just don't want to make me angry. Everyone knows I'm not a pleasant person when I am angry," Loki said. Of course, he knew that his anger was still nothing compared to a certain Avenger he had thankfully left behind on Midgard. But, nobody else in Westeros knew that.

"I am equally terrible in wrath. Now I know why the Queen of Thorns has refused to send troops and supplies. Let me guess, they're really going to you?" Tywin queried as he stood up from the tub and quickly wrapped himself in a towel. Loki chuckled at his momentary discomfiture before he delved into the meat at the table. He began to munch on a leg of roast mutton and hummed his approval.

"Tasty. Might keep your cook if I don't keep anybody else," Loki said, avoiding answering the previous question.

"But the throne is not for you," Tywin said and Loki tilted his head to one side, waiting for the head of House Lannister to continue. "If it was for you, you would be sitting back and letting others do your work for you. However, you have been in the thick of it since your accursed hide came to Westeros. I know why your previous world sent you to us: they hated you," Tywin told him and Loki grinned as he put the leg of mutton down. He wiped his hands on a napkin and climbed off the table.

"And you know oh so well?" Loki teased as he approached Tywin. The Lannister tried to create space as he was still rather indecently clothed, and that automatically gave Loki an advantage over him. "You are right to a point. My other world did hate me, but they did not send me here. It was Fate. Fate is the guiding hand of us all; and honestly, this realm needed me more than the one I left behind. And that's saying something; cause those worlds were seriously f-ked up," Loki admitted. Loki grinned broadly as he said, "But the throne is not for me. I never wanted the throne." Loki was looking into Tywin Lannister's eyes and both men stood firm. "But am I not your equal?" Tywin allowed a light smile to grace his face as he studied Loki. He was so close that he actually caught sight of a few flecks of violet in Loki's normal solid emerald eyes.

"You are, Loki Frostborn. There has never been an advisory like you in my lifetime, and I have fought many enemies. But, I'm going to assume that I am not your greatest," Tywin said and Loki shrugged.

"My greatest? My greatest human rival, maybe. Do you want to know who my greatest enemy ever was?" Tywin nodded, deciding to indulge him. "My own mind." This gave Tywin pause as he contemplated this statement. "In a way, our own mind is always our worst enemy. It either tells us to charge ahead without a plan; or holds us back with a constant barrage of 'what ifs'. In my case, my mind was my own slave," Loki said.

"Are you saying that-" Tywin started to say before Loki interrupted him.

"Once you defeat yourself, you have no more limits," Loki stated as he rubbed his hands and began to pace.

"You're mad," Tywin said firmly as he tightened his grip on his towel. Loki nodded his head after a second and grinned maniacally.

"That's the word that normal people assign to those who have more daring than they do. Well, you can't help that, being old and all," Loki said nonchalantly as he turned to face Tywin.

"If you're here to kill me, just go ahead and try," Tywin told him and Loki chuckled.

"You make it sound like you would actually have a chance if I decided to kill you here and now. But, I won't. To be honest, I haven't decided if I want that pleasure, or if I should give it to your son," Loki said and Tywin's eyes narrowed.

"Tyrion would take the opportunity in a heartbeat," he informed Loki and the god nodded his head.

"And why wouldn't he? But, I will save your daughter for myself. I think the bitch deserves the sendoff I've got planned for her," Loki told the Lannister and Tywin growled. Loki just grinned.

"Was it you who marked her so?! She still won't say who did it, but I know it had to have been you!" Tywin hissed and he pointed to the table. Loki walked over and saw a piece of paper with a copy of Nordic runes on it. Once he read it, he grinned and glanced back at Tywin.

"No, Old Lion, it was not I who carved this into your daughter's flesh. My guess is that it would have been my ward. Your family has gravely hurt her, and she's got a bone to pick with Cersei. You might see her at my side in the final battle, and trust me, it is coming!" Loki declared. He spun back to face Tywin and he raised his hand. He created an illusion of three dragons flying and looked back at the Lannister. "Fire shall fall upon your heads, and the Targaryen banner shall fly over Kings Landing once more. Don't worry. Daenerys is not like her father; I have made sure of that. She will be a wise and gracious queen." Loki made the dragons vanish by closing his hand and he raised his eyes to Tywin.

"Was this whole conversation just to taunt me?" he queried dryly and Loki smiled.

"It certainly wasn't to see that aged bag of bones you call a body," Loki mocked and that made Tywin all the more conscious of his half clothed form. That was when Loki closed the distance between them and looked Tywin right in the eyes. "Maybe I'm just doing you a favor. The noose is tightening, Tywin. Might want to draw your final breath." With speed that defied his age, Tywin snatched a knife from the table and turned to strike at Loki. But that was when he realized that the god had done what he was notorious for doing. Vanishing without a trace.