"You cannot let them live, Your Grace," One voice counseled.
"Lord Tywin, no, but Cersei and the dwarf boy have done nothing wrong," retorted another.
"I agree. Tyrion is but a child." Came a third, followed by a massed jumble of others.
"No, they must all be put to the sword. It is how your father dealt with the Darklyns and Hollards."
"King Aerys was mad, Bolton."
"Careful, Blackwood. He was still your King."
"The Targaryen dynasty cannot afford to look weak. Leaving any Lannister alive after their rebellion would appear as just that."
Aelor put a stop to the argument. "If I kill every man who rebelled against my family, Lord Belmore, then I should put all of the Starks and Arryns and Tullys and all of their bannermen to the sword as well. If I recall correctly, that would include you." Silence descended the council. "Tywin Lannister attempted to pillage King's Landing and kill every last member of my family. He was foiled, but he later succeeded in having Queen Elia murdered and would have done the same to the King and Princess. For that he must and will die."
"No one is contesting that point, Prince Aelor," spoke the calm voice of Jon Arryn. "But his children with the exception of Jaime are as innocent as the smallfolk of Lannisport. It was just of you to let them live, and it would be just of you to do the same now with Cersei and the dwarf."
"The smallfolk were not named Lannister, Lord Arryn; at least not all of them."
"You are not your father," Arryn replied, voice confident. He's incorrect, but at least he is confident in his folly. "If you were, we would still be in the Riverlands, warring against one another."
"You rebelled justly," Aelor countered. "Your family and honor was deeply wronged. Lannister's was not. My father insulted the man thoroughly and unjustly, I'll be the first to admit, but having your daughter's hand in marriage turned down is no reason to murder children."
"Precisely." Arryn held the Dragon of Duskendale's eyes as he said it, and Aelor realized he had made the Lord Paramount of the Vale's point for him. Aelor clenched his jaw but leaned back into his chair, allowing others to take the narrative.
"Someone has to rule the Westerlands." Brightsmile said from a cot to the side of the table, stump of a leg stretched out in front of him. The heir to Oldtown was marvelously upbeat even after losing the limb, already attempting to use crutches despite the pain the injury was doubtlessly still causing him. "It will clearly not be Jaime Lannister, even if he hadn't forsaken his Kingsguard vows and fled King's Landing with his father. Tyrion is the rightful heir."
Lord Belmore scoffed. "He is a dwarf and a Lannister."
"Precisely," Hightower replied. "He is a Lannister. The Arryns kept the Vale because of their blood when Aegon the Conqueror attacked. So did the Starks with the North. And so did the Lannisters of the Rock. The smallfolk and Westerlander Lords followed the Lannister's because that is all they have done for centuries."
"They followed Tywin Lannister because they were scared of him."
"Why do you think men knelt to Aegon Targaryen, Lord Rowan?" Roose Bolton had odd eyes and an odder twist to his personality. Aelor didn't like him in the slightest, but he seemed a very capable commander. "Why do you think we are here now discussing the terms the Lannisters will receive and not still sieging Casterly Rock? Because of fear."
Lord Rowan was a stout, gregarious man, and unlike Bolton Aelor actually found himself liking the man. "That is exactly my point, Lord Bolton. A dwarf will never command fear. The Rock should pass to Ser Kevan Lannister and his children, wherever they have gone."
Aelor grimaced slightly at that. He of course knew full well why Kevan Lannister and his family were missing, and he felt a wave of guilt crash over him at the thought. Kevan was a good man, completely unlike his brother Tywin, and he shouldn't have been forced to flee for his life due simply to his name. Another wave of guilt joined it at the thought of Barristan, whom Aelor had so coldly dismissed even though the Kingsguard knight had only been trying to save Aelor from himself. While he should not have gone against the royal family's wishes, Aelor was now glad he had.
"Have you ever met Tyrion, Lord Bolton?" Lord Illifer Foote, the young bannermen to Leo Lefford, asked. "Tywin kept him relatively well hidden, but I had a conversation with him at a feast near two years ago. His body may well be stunted but his mind most certainly is not."
"This is still assuming we leave the Rock to the Lannisters," Belmore insisted. "I still advise revocation of the Paramountcy and the Rock. Most of their once massive family is already dead after Lannisport, Your Grace. It would be simple to finish the job."
"Enough of this." Aelor waved his hand. "Your opinions are well noted, my lords, but the decision is mine and mine alone. The Baratheons await us in King's Landing, and there is still much to settle. Prepare the army to move in a few days' time. I will dole out punishments and settle the region's future on the morrow."
Oberyn Martell entered the tent soon after the other Lords bowed and left. The Red Viper of Dorne hadn't had the patience to listen to the council, insistently asking Aelor to give him Tywin at every opportunity and spending the rest of the time cursing the man.
Aelor groaned and rubbed a hand across his eyes at the sight of him. "I know you want Tywin and the other Lannisters, Oberyn. Believe me, I know."
The Prince of Dorne took a seat beside him, waving the Tully boy to pour them wine. "Then why do you hesitate?"
"It is not that simple."
"Yes, it is. You have rewarded the Reach; it is time you reward Dorne. Give me Tywin Lannister and I will consider it done."
Aelor scoffed. "You had as much reason for this war as I did. Aegon is as much your nephew as my own."
Oberyn conveniently ignored that, focused solely on what he wanted. "Give me Tywin, Aelor. For Elia."
"I need time to consider it."
"You didn't take any time at all when it came to burning Lannisport."
Aelor glowered, speaking around gritted teeth. "Edmure, out." For once the boy didn't wait and complain, turning and fleeing the pavilion as quickly as he could. Aelor glared at his old friend and spoke again once the Tully heir was gone. "You know as well as I that I wasn't myself when that was ordered. You fed that fact for your own purposes."
"No you weren't and yes I did, because you were the man this situation needed when you weren't yourself, not this merciful diplomat."
Aelor's tone turned deadly. "You're a brave man and my friend, Oberyn, but I have had enough insults to last me a lifetime. I will not take any more from you."
The Red Viper glared back, no fear in his black eyes. "But you will allow them to Elia? Each breath a Lannister takes is a slight to her memory."
"Tell me, just what did the dwarf boy do to bring about her death?"
"He is Twyin Lannister's son. That is enough."
"And I am Aerys Targaryen's!" Aelor bellowed as he rose to his feet, throwing his arm out in anger and knocking the two just-poured glasses of wine off the table to break on the ground. Oberyn rose as well, the two deadly men staring each other down. The Prince of the Iron Thrne drew and tossed his dagger on the table in front of the Prince of Dorne. "If sons are guilty of the sins of their parents, then I killed the Darklyns and Hollards and the fucking Starks. Drive that dagger through my heart to atone for them, then turn it on yourself to atone for your own."
Oberyn looked every bit the coiled snake ready to strike. "And what are my family's sins?"
Aelor knew it was a low blow even as he delivered it, but Oberyn had thrown off all bets. "Your family betrothed Elia to the heir to a mad dynasty to increase their own prestige. If it weren't for you, why, Elia would never have been in the middle of all of this anyway. And if she weren't, maybe she'd still be alive."
A black rage crossed Oberyn's face, and for a moment Aelor was sure he was going to grab the dagger and slit Aelor's throat. The Dragon of Duskendale readied himself for it, slipping into that mindset of battle without another thought of it being his friend he was facing.
For the first and likely only time in their lives Oberyn had the cooler head. With a bellowed curse the Prince of Dorne turned and stalked out, fists clenched. Aelor glared after him as his body slowly relaxed. With another muffled expletive of his own he slumped back into his chair, staring down sightlessly and gripping his brow.
"That was quite the falling out."
Aelor's head snapped up, though he knew who owned the voice before he laid eyes on her. Alysanne Lefford stood in the flap of the tent, garbed in a dress of the blue and gold of her house sigil that complimented her suntanned skin. Aelor grunted before returning to his previous position. "You always seem to catch me at my lowest moments."
He could hear the swish of her dress as the heir to the Golden Tooth entered the tent unprompted. "You certainly seem to have a lot of them."
The Dragon of Duskendale snorted out a chuckle and leaned back, eyeing her as she approached. "What are you still doing here, Alysanne?"
She circled around behind him, the sound of glasses clinking and wine pouring. "Officially or unofficially?"
"Both."
"Well, officially I am here to continuously care for my father." A glass appeared in front of his face, one Aelor took. Alysanne filled the seat Oberyn had just vacated, a glass in her own. "Unofficially I am here to continuously try to woo you."
Aelor cracked a smile at her terms. "The Lady wooing the Prince. That's quite the deviation from the norm."
Alysanne smirked back and shrugged. "You shouldn't be too surprised. You'll have every unwed lady and half the married ones after you now. 'Targaryen Prince, Lord of Duskendale, Hand of the King and Regent of the Iron Throne.' Yes, you're quite the pursuit indeed. The family that marries their daughter to you will be by default very influential." Her grin widened. "But you know that, of course."
Aelor returned the smile. "And so does your father."
"And so does my father."
They sipped their wine in silence for a moment before the Prince spoke. "What do you think of it all?"
Alysanne cocked her brow in surprise. "Me?"
"You."
"How would I know anything about this, Your Grace?"
"You probably wouldn't, but seeing as I don't know anything either I'm willing to listen to just about anyone."
She mock glowered at him. "Flattering." The heir to the Golden Tooth leaned back slightly in her chair, wrinkling her nose in thought. "What was your plan before you actually had Tywin?"
Aelor chuckled without humor. "I had planned on killing every living Lannister and burning their bodies to ashes like I did Lannisport. After that I didn't have a plan. The Westerlands could have turned into a massive power maelstrom with nobles cutting each other's throats in an attempt to pick up the scraps and I wouldn't have cared."
Her dark eyes appraised him intelligently. "But now you do care."
The Dragon of Duskendale nodded slightly and took another sip of his wine. "Yes. Now I do."
"Is there a particular reason why?" When the Hand of the King cocked an eyebrow at her Alysanne elaborated. "When I cared for you after Lannisport, you made it clear that you didn't give a whit about burning the city. Has that changed?"
"No."
"Then what has? You could wipe out the Lannisters and be seen by many as just in doing so. Those weeks ago at the Tooth that is all you wanted. Why don't you want it now?"
Aelor regarded her for a long moment. "Is this coming from the woman who is ordered to seduce me, from the woman who used to swear fealty to the Lannisters, or from the woman who is heir to the House who by loyalty to the crown is the most likely to inherit all the Lannisters lose?"
Alysanne held his eyes. "I like to think it is coming from a friend."
Aelor smiled lightly at the comment before sitting back in his chair. "I could use one of those." He gestured towards the opening Oberyn had stormed out of. "I seem to be losing the ones I have at a rather appallingly fast rate."
"Oh, I wouldn't worry about your Dornishman friend. His…partner Ellaria and I have had quite a few chances to speak as the only two noblewomen in the camp. She says you both have massive tempers and are equally capable of foolhardiness, but that your friendship isn't the temporary kind."
"You heard the last thing I said. It wasn't very Princely of me."
"Nor was what he said to you beforehand. Your tempers will cool, your minds will clear, and in a few days all will be well."
"You are a very optimistic woman."
"One of us has to be, Prince Aelor." She adjusted in her seat. "Back to my point. What has changed that has got you so flummoxed?"
"Were you listening in on the council?" He waved her away almost as soon as he said it. "No, don't tell me. Brightsmile and a few of the other Lords were right. The Westlanders follow the Lannister because that is all they have ever done, and I cannot change that, so killing the rest of them justified or not is out of the question. That being said, I wiped out nine tenths of the two main Lannister lines and most if not all of the cadet branches when I burned Lannisport, which will obviously lead to derision from future Lannister rulers. And that is the next problem; Tywin must die, Jaime most likely will too and the second son is a dwarf."
Alysanne cocked her head to the side. "You don't strike me as the type to mind that sort of thing."
Aelor shrugged. "I'm not, but I doubt the same can be said for the lords who will have to swear fealty to him."
"Have you talked to Tyrion?"
The Dragon of Duskendale hesitated a moment. "No."
"Illifer had a valid point; dwarf or no, his mind is brilliant."
"And his body stunted. Nobles are full of pride, myself included."
"But if he makes them prosper, they can forgive almost anything. And Tyrion will."
Aelor raised an eyebrow at her. "How do you know so much about this boy Tywin kept hidden?"
Alysanne rolled her eyes. "I've said it before; my father's ambition is unrivaled. He loves me, don't you doubt it, but my role is to marry advantageously. When Jaime Lannister joined the Kingsguard it made Tyrion heir to Casterly Rock, whether Tywin wanted it or not. My father aimed for me to be the lady. Until the war and you came along that is."
"Lord Leo is certainly a character it seems."
Alysanne ignored his last comment. "Tyrion seemed in desperate need of a friend. After he realized I wasn't there to make fun of him, he told me quite a bit." She met his eyes and held them. "Including how Tywin always hated him and considered him a blight on the Lannister name. I understand you hate the Lion of Lannister, whatever your recent revelations that have calmed you down—recent argument with the attractive Dornishman notwithstanding. What better way to get the last laugh over him than put his legacy into the hands of the very man he never wanted it to go to?" Alysanne leaned back and shrugged, eyes twinkling.
Aelor stared at her for a long moment, and then he couldn't help but smile.
The Lords dutifully awaited him the next morning, and Aelor wasted precisely no time on pleasantries. "My decisions have been made. First will be Cersei Lannister, an innocent in all of this nonsense no matter how foul her mouth may be. Several of you have asked for her hand in marriage as rewards for good service, and you shall have rewards for loyalty in the future. Cersei, however, shall marry someone who didn't ask for her."
He turned to look at one of his most loyal supporters, seated with his bad leg laid out in front of him. "Lord Elwood Harte died valiantly during the Battle of the Trident, and with him died House Harte. As Lord of Duskendale, his lordship reverts to me, to grant as I please. Cersei shall marry its new lord, a utterly loyal man whom I know will never try and press her claim, starting another war when the Westerlands certainly doesn't need one; Ser—now Lord—Alaric Langward."
The shaggy haired youth nodded, having been forewarned by Aelor the night before, face white with apprehension but willing to do damn near anything Aelor Targaryen asked. Several Lords who had requested Cersei's hand scowled, but none opened their mouth in protest, a prudent move on their part.
Aelor searched the crowd for a familiar face, nodding when he found it. "Prince Oberyn."
The Dornishman had come to the council willingly after Manfred delivered the request, something Aelor hadn't been sure the Prince of Dorne would do. Even so he met Aelor's eyes with a glare. "Elia was your sister long before she was Queen. Tywin lost all rights to an honorable death the moment he attacked a city under the guise of friendship, and buried them further when he killed the woman we both cared very much for."
The Red Viper perked up slightly at what the Dragon of Duskendale was saying, though his anger had yet to leave his eyes. "As such, I'm giving Tywin Lannister to you. You have a week to kill him, and then you will present his head to me to mount on a spike of Maegor's Holdfast."
There were a few grumblings from the other lords—chief among them Lord Arryn—but Aelor ignored them. Oberyn's eyes had lost all of their rage. He opened his mouth to speak but Aelor raised a hand to cut him off. "Don't thank me yet. Neither Jaime Lannister nor Tyrion Lannister shall die."
Outrage tore through the advisors, mainly at Jaime's apparent lack of punishment. Aelor shot to his feet, slamming a hand on the table to cut them off though he felt none of the anger the move implied. "Enough, my lords. Hear me out." He slowly retook his seat. "I had a conversation with Tywin Lannister last night, as well as Ser Manfred Darke of the Kingsguard, who interrogated the men who carried out Elia Martell's murder. They both told me the same thing; Jaime didn't kill Elia. He didn't stop his father's men from doing it, no, but how could he? He was in the black cells for killing the King, and that was his only hope for escape in addition to being commanded to flee by his father."
Aelor relaxed back in his seat. "He broke his Kingsguard vows it is true, but in doing so he saved King's Landing and all the innocents in it from the very wildfire that destroyed Lannisport. My father wasn't a good king, we all know it. While Jaime disgraced his honor as a Kingsguard, he didn't disgrace his honor as a knight—he protected the innocent. As such, he will be sentenced to take the Wall, where he will serve out the rest of his life—as long or as short as it may be—as a sworn member of the Night's Watch. That is my decision."
The silence that followed had no small amount of disapproval, but Aelor's violet eyes dared anyone to argue. None did.
Jon Arryn spoke next, eyes clearly approving of Aelor's decision. "And Tyrion."
Aelor readied himself for the next wave of outrage. "Tyrion is innocent of both his father's and brother's sins. Dwarf or not, he is the heir to Casterly Rock and the Lord Paramountcy of the Westerlands. He shall retain it."
Old Lord Sumner Crakehall, big, brawny and strong despite his age, scoffed louder than the others. "He is a child, and a dwarf to boot."
The Dragon's voice took a cold tone. "He is your liege lord, Lord Crakehall, rather you like it or not. He is the heir, and while the Lannister's must suffer for the transgressions of Tywin, I could just as well say you should suffer, for following the man against the crown. Scoff my decision again and you will."
Crakehall grudgingly shut his mouth, and Aelor continued. "The Lannisters have already been punished heavily. Ninety percent of their line died in the Lighting of the Lions, and Lannisport's once great incomes are gone. Furthermore, seven tenths of the gold in Casterly Rock shall be seized by the Crown, to help pay for the resettling of the smallfolk displaced by the Lighting. All loot seized by the Ironborn during the war shall be by rights theirs. And you, my Westerlander lords, will follow Tyrion Lannister as your liege lord, or there shall be more Lannisports in the future."
There were no more scoffs.
Aelor looked back to Lord Leo Lefford, who was keeping his face carefully blank. "Lord Leo. Many—and likely you among them—were expecting me to revoke the Lord Paramountcy and grant it to you for being the only Westlander house to remain loyal when no others dared, even if the reason you did was sheer practicality. While that clearly will not be the case, I do not forget my friends. Loyalty to the crown will always be rewarded."
Aelor smirked slightly. "Your ambition, however annoying, has worked."
"I'm going to marry your daughter."