Chapter Text
Tywin returned to Casterly Rock just in time to hear his wife’s scream echo down the corridors. Tywin had faced death, he knew what it looked like and how to curl his lip and as the Bravosi man he had met said, ' not today.' He had never been afraid then, but standing next to his wife, his mind conjuring all of the parallels to his own mother's death in childbirth, Tywin found himself afraid.
"Take the babes!" The voice of Alyssa Velaryon cut through his thoughts, pushing bundles of silk into his arms. Eyes of jade and lavender stared up at him in wonder, and Tywin felt a stab of guilt at the love he felt for the two responsible for his wife's current condition. He never got to see Diana big with child, and could only watch helplessly as Pycelle worked with bloody hands.
"Jaime and Alysanne Stormborn." Alyssa murmured, "Your son is also your eldest." Neither looked at each other, both staring with bated breath as Diana breathed in her sleep.
It was an eternity before Pycelle finally stood, "There was a close call, my lord, the after birth stuck, but we are out of the woods."
"She is half dead." Tywin ground out, glaring at the man who only smiled with amusement at how his voice was soft, as to not raise the ire of his children, who had been squawking a minute ago but were now hushed and breathing softly.
"A harsh birth, every woman battles in the birthing bed, the lady is merely exhausted, a week of bedrest and she shall be fine." Pycelle assured, "The babies both seem to be healthy, my lord."
Tywin stared down at his children, with their little tufts of silver hair. "Hello," He whispered, rocking them gently. Alysanne blinked at her father, purple eyes wide with wonder, and Tywin smiled at her, her eyes were a shade lighter than her mother's, but it was his nose she possessed. Jaime had closed his jade green eyes, the same as his own, and was snoring softly, his mother's lips present. They both showed the otherworldly Valyrian beauty, but Andal blood ran in their veins, his blood, his children.
Once the surrounding area was cleaned of blood, Tytos was ushered in by a serving maid. "I'm a grandfather!" He said more to himself than anyone, he reeked of rich wine.
Tywin revealed his children to his father with a hint of reluctance. "Father, we need to discuss the events of the war, and the future of house Lannister."
"My boy, they are the future!" Tytos motioned to the newborns, "Why just today I agreed to have your little girl Fostered in Castamere!" Lightning flashed, and the sound hid his snarl of rage.
"My daughter is not an hour old, and you would send her into our enemy's home?" Tywin seethed. "Away from her own mother when she has barely brought her into this world?"
Tytos seemed almost blind to his son's rage, and chided, "Now son, it would not be for a year, and I thought you would be happy, this brings a new alliance for us!" It was not uncommon for children to be fostered, but they were usually at least six name days old, not a singular one.
"My children shall remain with their mother, and shall be raised as children of Casterly Rock. If I choose to foster my children, that is my decision to make, not yours." His tone was ice, and Tytos sputtered, "The Reynes and the Tarbecks are already being sent ravens to answer for their outstanding debts. I had them sent when I docked."
"My lord, if I may show you where Diana has set up the nursery." Alyssa cut in, and Tywin stared at her blankly. Diana was well aware of how his family held to tradition, and his children would be placed in the same nursery that he had, but her eyes held a hooded look so he merely agreed and followed her out of the room before his argument with his father could escalate further.
When they reached the nursery, Alyssa glanced around to ensure they were not followed before bolting the door. She sweeped the nursery in a slow circle, wary of ears pressed against a secret door. "My lord, Princess Diana was aware of Lady Ellyn's plotting."
"What?" His voice was a whip cracking, and the maiden flinched. Tywin quickly placed his children in their cradles so he could face her properly. No one would take his children, especially not the Tarbeck whore.
"The ladies arrived two days ago, Lady Ellyn slighting the Princess at every turn. My lady started screening her letters, practicing her handwriting and found out that Lady Ellyn had plotted to take Lady Alysanne as a hostage to ensure when Lord Tytos passed, their legacy would be secure. I have never seen her so enraged, my lord." Alyssa was pale with fear, "It sent her into labor, but she staved off the pain long enough to have me send a letter in Lady Ellyn's hand, instructing her daughters to make haste, only stopping to rest a few hours at a time, to come to the Rock, so that Lord Kevan might choose one as a bride. If she wished for my lady's child, Diana said she would take both her daughters."
Tywin grinned at the woman, absolutely feral. His pretty little wife was always plotting something, and Lady Reyne would never attempt to take Tywin's children if he had hers first. "Thank you, Lady Alyssa. Please ensure the nursemaids know to look after the children." Weariness weighed on his bones, and Alyssa simply curtsied as he walked down the hall, back to where Diana lay resting.
The Maester and his assistants had cleaned the blood, but she was still pale beyond belief. She murmured something softly and he rushed as quickly as he dared to her side. Her eyes were barely open, glassy from what must have been milk of the poppy, “And from the line of Jaeherys shall come the Prince that was Promised.”
He wasn’t quite sure what to make of it, assuming it was a rambling of some half remembered dream or from the drugs.
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When Tywin rose at dawn, as he had every day for as long as he could remember, he dressed quickly. First, he made his way back to the nursery, and scooped his children into his arms, both barely fussing before falling back asleep. A servant curtsied to him and reported, "They sleep well, m’lord, and eat heartily." Tywin nodded at her and pushed the door back open to head to his wife's rooms.
The maester was already there, having been fetched by Lady Johanna, who had replaced Lady Chrysti after she was wed. The handmaid was by the door, and both watched his wife whisper something to Pycelle before he walked up to his lord. "Lord Tywin! Lady Diana is doing well, if you will excuse me, I have to get a few things from my stores."
"My love." It was something she had taken to calling him more often than not after the pregnancy. Diana's voice was weak, but her eyes were bright as she stared at their children in his arms. Tywin approached the bed, sitting on the edge and placing the swaddled children between them. "You made it back to us."
The use of plural had Tywin smiling at her, "Me? I fought a war, you gave me an heir and a little lady." Diana laughed, and he realized how much he missed the sound.
A servant brought in a light breakfast of honeyed bread, fruit and a few bits of bacon, and the new family spent the morning in quiet bliss. Diana enjoyed learning her husband was a knight and the way she purred, " Ser Tywin" made him wish to begin trying for another child sooner than later.
Diana had just begun to tell him of the men that enlisted while he was gone, three hundred men being trained to replace part of the casualties he faced when a servant burst into the room, flustered and out of breath. "My lord! My lady!" He huffed.
"Out with it." Tywin snapped, tempted to geld the boy for interrupting.
"Tywin?" Diana asked questioningly but stared at the boy. ' Oh,' he thought, ' so this is little Tywin Surefoot.' The boy was scrawny but seemed to be building muscle. "What is it?" His wife continued.
"It's Lord Tytos, he was climbing the steps to the tower." The boy huffed, "They say he collapsed and fell down the stairs!"
For a moment, Diana seemed about to smile, but quickly her face changed to a feigned shock, then a fake worry. No one else seemed to realize it was an act, but he had spent months picturing his wife’s face while at war, he knew when she was genuine and when she was playing a game. "Is he okay?"
The boy shook his head, "The maester is with him, my lady, but he did not have long." Diana nodded, and Tywin watched her kindly dismiss the boy with a smile and a thank you, blinking back false tears.
"I need to go make sure," Tywin said, but in his gut, he knew his father was dead. Yet he did not even make it to the door before Ser Marcus appeared, his face grave.
"Lord Lannister." He declared, and bent to one knee, "I hereby renew my vows to house Lannister, and it's Lord and Lady, Ser Tywin and Lady Diana." Diana's purple eyes flashed with triumph, and he knew what she had done, especially seeing the way she held her children tighter with the news.
"Thank you, Ser Marcus." Tywin spoke after a moment, "If I could have a moment with my family…" The room slowly cleared with a chorus of 'my lord's' and 'my lady's'.
"Did you dream it, or did you poison him?" Tywin murmured, his voice tight. He knew his father was a drunken fool, an idiot who would waste away their fortune and let his own honor be tarnished alongside his sons. But he was his father, the only parent he had left. Being an orphan did not sting as much as he thought it would though, he wondered if it was because he now had children of his own.
Yet looking down at his newborn children, the thought of one of them plotting his demise was a crossbolt to the heart.
Diana stared at him for a moment, as if weighing the worth of the truth. "He was weak, and he was a fool. He would have taken my daughter from her cradle and fed her to the two-tailed lions, I would not allow him to do that, to bring our house further into ruin." Her voice was fierce, and Tywin saw the dragon within her rearing its head, the mix of madness and greatness. He had feared this, her protective nature for those she cared about. It was the same gleam that Tywin had when thinking of Diana, he knew the feeling all too well.
"I want his whore stripped from her tower, and the bitch's daughters locked up there instead. Once their family is no more, I shall send them to the Silent Sister's as a personal thank you to the Stranger for accepting every last Reyne and Castamere on this earth. She wanted my children, Tywin, so I shall take her whole family." Diana snarled, her outburst causing the twins to begin to cry and without a second thought, she let down her chemise and began to feed them both, struggling for a moment before they latched.
Tywin stared at her, his wife pale from childbirth yet alight with fury. "You have given me two children, my lady, I shall give you two boons. The end of two houses."
"And the whore?" Diana challenged and Tywin felt his heart race, his fierce, little dragon truly had a thirst for vengeance he had never thought her capable of.
Tywin smiled at her, but his eyes were cold, "That, I shall do for myself."