Made You Look / Sandor Clegane

28. Justify His Rebellion

"I want these letters burned, every one," Cersei declared. "No hint of this must reach my son's ears, or my father's." It was too late for that though, Sasha thought and she looked to Tyrion, he was already grinning.  

"I imagine Father's heard rather more than a hint by now," Tyrion offered. "Doubtless Stannis sent a bird to Casterly Rock, and another to Harrenhal. As for burning the letters, to what point? The song is sung, the wine is spilled, the wench is pregnant. And this is not as dire as it seems, in truth." Cersei turned on him in fury.  Sasha cleared her throat looking between her siblings. 

"I'm sure it is not so bad, surely?" Sasha offered and Tyrion sniggered a laugh. 

"Are you utterly witless?" Cersei snapped and Sasha flinched back. "Did you read what he says? The boy Joffrey, what he calls him. And he dares to accuse me of incest, adultery, and treason!" 

Only because you're guilty Sasha thought but she held back her response. It was astonishing to see how angry Cersei could wax over accusations she knew perfectly well to be true. 

"If we lose the war, she ought to take up mummery, she has a gift for it." Tyrion whispered to Sasha.  

"Stannis must have some pretext to justify his rebellion. What did you expect him to write? 'Joffrey is my brother's trueborn son and heir, but I mean to take his throne for all that'?" Tyrion offered. Sasha wished her father was here, he would fix things, surely he would. He would tell Cersei to shut up and get her head on straight and she would. He would tell Tyrion to... well Sasha didnt want to think what he would be belittling Tyrion with. And lastly he would return with Jaime and they would have a solution and since Sasha was thinking irrational thoughts, might as well add she would tell her father that she loved Sandor and wanted him removed from Joffrey's guard so that she could marry him. Yep... all irrational thoughts but she thought them all the same. 

"I will not suffer to be called a whore!" Cersei spat. "But first we must stop this filth from spreading further. The council must issue an edict. Any man heard speaking of incest or calling Joff a bastard should lose his tongue for it."

 "A prudent measure," Grand Maester Pycelle agreed. 

"Drastic." Sasha cut in. "They will only believe they are speaking the truth more." Tyrion nodded. 

"It is a folly," sighed Tyrion. "Sasha dearest is right. When you tear out a man's tongue, you are not proving him a liar, you're only telling the world that you fear what he might say."

+

"Robert's bastards? What of them?"

"He fathered eight, to the best of my knowing," Varys remarked. "Their mothers were copper and honey, chestnut and butter, yet the babes were all black as ravens ... and as ill-omened, it would seem. So when Joffrey, Myrcella, and Tommen slid out between your sister's thighs, each as golden as the sun, the truth was not hard to glimpse." Tyrion shook his head. If she had borne only one child for her husband, it would have been enough to disarm suspicion ... but then she would not have been Cersei.

 "If you were not this whisperer, who was?" 

"Some traitor, doubtless."

"I'm a lannister and my hair is brown." Sasha remarked. "That contradicts all Lannisters in history doesnt it?"

"You my dear are special." Tyrion agreed. 

"I'm just saying, that hair color although is... a good point for them, its not impossible." she waved a hand around her head. 

"We could bring you forward... but that would only show that Lannister genes are not as strong as Cersei is claiming." Tyrion remarked. 

"SHoot.... I didnt think about that." Sasha admitted.