When Fire Meets Ice(slow updates)

Chapter 15: The Truth

INT. Tywin Lannister's Tent

The day was fresh, and the morning sun cast a golden glow on the sprawling Lannister camp. The red tents, adorned with the lion sigil, stood proudly, and the air was filled with the sounds of men preparing for the day, clad in red and silver armor.

Jaime Lannister, stood reading a note to his father Tywin. The message carried a summons to court, holding them accountable for the actions of Gregor Clegane, known as 'The Mountain.' Tywin, a man of calculated silence, sharpened a small carving knife as he listened.

"Summoned to court to answer for the crimes of your bannerman Gregor Clegane, 'The Mountain'... Arrive within the fortnight or be branded an enemy of the crown," Jaime recited.

"Poor Ned Stark... Brave man, terrible judgment," Jaime mocked, but Tywin remained focused on his task.

"Attacking him was stupid," Tywin finally remarked, not looking up.

Jaime, tightening his grip on the hilt of his sword, shot a glance at his father, who continued carving a deer on the table.

"Lannisters don't act like fools," Tywin stated matter-of-factly.

Jaime, ready to retort, was preempted by Tywin's challenge. "Are you gonna say something clever? Go on, say something clever."

"Catelyn Stark took my brother."

"Why is he still alive?"

"Tyrion?"

"Ned Stark."

"One of our men interfered, speared him through the leg before I could finish him."

"Why is he still alive?" Tywin pressed, seeking the truth.

"It wouldn't have been clean," Jaime replied, a partial truth veiled in his words.

"Clean," Tywin scoffed, shaking his head. "You spend too much time worrying about what other people think of you."

"I could care less what anyone thinks of me."

"That's what you want people to think of you."

"It's the truth."

"Then why lie?" Tywin questioned, and Jaime met his father's gaze.

"Why lie then? I know Lyanna stopped you before anything truly devastating could happen. My granddaughter stopping her uncle, my son," Tywin scoffed. "When you hear them whispering 'Kingslayer' behind your back - - Doesn't it bother you?"

"Of course, it bothers me," Jaime admitted.

"The lion doesn't concern himself with the opinions of the sheep."

Silence filled the tent, Jaime avoiding eye contact with his father, who continued carving the deer.

"I suppose I should be grateful that your vanity got in the way of your recklessness and that Lyanna did as well," Tywin remarked, his tone shifting. "I'm giving you half our forces - - thirty thousand men. You will bring them to Catelyn Stark's girlhood home and remind her that Lannisters pay their debts."

"I didn't realize you placed such a high value on my brother's life," Jaime remarked.

"He's a Lannister," Tywin asserted. "He might be the lowest of the Lannisters, but he's one of us. And every day that he remains a prisoner, the less our name commands respect."

"So the lion does concern himself with the opinions of - -"

"No, it's not an opinion. It's a fact," Tywin interrupted. "If another house can seize one of our own and hold him captive with impunity, we are no longer a house to be feared."