Chapter Text
Joanna climbed the ladder. Each step was taken with no hesitation. In some ways she had known in the end it would lead to this; death. Whether it was hers or his was the only decision she could make and many years ago, Joanna had decided she did not want to die. She felt her heartbeat quicken and wondered if it was anger or regret. It was not fear. What was done was already done and now, it was just to see where the end of this story lay. But Joanna knew there was a ship in Blackwater Bay waiting for her and to leave in the darkness while the city slept.
She was not one to be sentimental. Joanna had lost that quality a long time ago with her desire for her chivalrous prince or true love. After all, Aerys had been no romantic figure but a self-serving man whose nature for compliments and sycophants had weakened his character. Tywin had said he loved her and as recently as Tyrion’s trial had told her with great certainty in his voice that he loved her still. But how could a man like Tywin love anyone? Were great men even capable of love or was everything just victories and defeats, checks, and minuses in a ledger?
It was frustrating to be trapped as a woman in a world ruled by foolish men who happened to be born in great families. Her daughter had struggled with this as did all people not born noblemen but Joanna had wished Cersei had learned how to negotiate power where it could be found, instead of acting like a spoiled child. She wished her daughter had acted more as she had. Perhaps, that was Joanna's fault. For Cersei, her father set the moon in the sky and dipped it in gold. It has always been that way between them. Having reached the top of the ladder, Joanna pressed her hand against the stone. She could hear the noises, a man and a woman finishing the act of making love. Then, she heard the woman’s voice, muffled through the stone, “My lion…. My golden lion..”
What the man said, Joanna could not hear through the stone but it was curt. She could not hear what he said but she knew it was the voice of her husband. It was as familiar to her as her children's voice, almost as the shape of his hand in her.
Yet, finding herself lingering outside her husband’s bed-chamber, Joanna wondered why she had risked this final gesture that put everything at risk. It seemed she was more like her daughter than she had ever thought.
Joanna should be heading to the ship that Ser had waiting for them in the dark harbor, waiting to take them to Essos. But there were still things that needed to be said. She needed to see Tywin’s face when she said them. She imagined the lack of noises meant that Tywin was in his privy dealing with a sore stomach and loose bowels. She wondered if the whore thought about her dry throat or the way it was more difficult to breathe. Probably not, being poisoned was a fear far from their heads as they went about fucking in his bed.
The roughness of the stone brought her back to years ago and why she had to see her husband’s face when she told her husband the news. After the initial illness, Joanna’s pregnancy with Tyrion had been lonely but she had enjoyed her thoughts. Though the Maester had wanted to put her on bed's rest to keep the baby safe, Joanna would not hear of it. When Kevan had reached out to Tywin to tell him of Joanna’s refusal of the Maester’s orders, Tywin had written back, “She is the Lady of Casterly Rock. Tell the Maester to listen to her and follow her in all things or he can return to the Citadel.”
Joanna had laughed when Dorna had whispered this story to her in the garden. But neither the Maester nor Kevan tried to keep her in lying-in-chambers. Tywin’s word was unquestioned. Joanna had taken the twins to the shore almost every day and they had swum in the sea. They had secret picnics on the hillside. They created a fort in one of the old servant hallways where they played games. Whenever playing pretend games, Jaime chose from a number of legendary figures but Cersei always chose a Targaryen princess, either Alyssanne or Rhaenyra. Once she asked her daughter why and all she could say was she wanted a dragon and a silver-haired prince to love her.
Another thing happened Tyg came to her rooms a fortnight after Tywin’s return to King’s Landing, He would eat meals with them and make sure that Joanna was attended to in all ways. At dinner, Tyg came to eat with the family. Jaime cheered to see his uncle back at the dinner table as had Gerion. Joanna felt her face burn and knew she was also glad to see Tyg at dinner laughing and mostly sober. His lady wife, Darlessa, had smiled to see him but he only had eyes for Joanna. He had not eaten with the family in years unless Tywin demanded it.
Joanna had always listened to her mother and Tywin and they had always told her that the care of the children was beneath her. But during Tyrion’s pregnancy, she had realized that she had been misled and now her children were little strangers in need of her. Her illness had made her realize that she wanted to know them and spend more time with them regardless if it was beneath her station. Jaime was a sweet little boy, eager for affection and approval. Cersei was beautiful and sweet however Joanna could see a darkness in her girl. She had reports of Cersei pulling the hair of servants or playing mean tricks on the girls who attended her. When asked about these things, Cersei would lie or smile sweetly and try to change the subject. The cruelty, as well as Cersei’s deep preoccupation with a Targaryen prince and a dragon, would bring Joanna back to considering who the twin’s father was. In the darkness of her bed, she would wonder if her girl was suffering from the Targaryen propensity for madness and the sinful desire to bed their own blood.
Besides the twins, she had little company. Her mother had died from her illness before she had returned from King’s Landing. There was Tyg who would spend days with her formal but reminiscent of the past and his nights he spent drinking in Lannisport with Lannister soldiers. There was Dorna Swyft, the perpetual ward of Casterly Rock with her piety and her prayers, and Darlessa Marbrand, the dutiful wife. There were Gerion and Kevan, but both were busy. So, Joanna played with the twins
Joanna was in her eighth month when she found the slip of paper. It was such a small thing that she was certain that Tywin had forgotten about it which is why he hadn’t destroyed it in the fire. Throughout her pregnancy, she had found herself restless and unable to sleep at night. At first, she would try and sew baby clothes but she grew weary of that quickly. Instead, she had started to go to Tywin’s study and work on the ledgers.
It was not unusual for her to do this. She had been the lady of Casterly Rock for over a decade and Tywin had always been proud of her ability to manage the household and numbers. Earlier in the week, she had found Jamie and Cersei naked in the nursery, kissing. Joanna had moved the twins apart, on opposite ends of the castle but on questioning her children separately she had discovered something unsettling. Cersei would say nothing. Arms crossed, she sat in her chair not speaking. Joanna tried gentleness and sweets but Cersei would not speak of what had happened. Even when her daughter was threatened that Joanna would tell Tywin, Cersei would not speak of it, though at the threat Cersei broke into tears begged her not to tell her father.
Jaime spoke on the incident quickly enough. Joanna only had to use a bit of gentleness and her son wrapped his skinny boy arms around her. She pulled him into her lap like he was still a baby and thanked the gods there was still room with her stomach to do so. The story unfolded that it was mostly Cersei and her direction that such a game had started.
To clear her head, she had found herself at night in Tywin’s study. As she was finishing balancing the ledger, absently she picked a book from the pile on a table, books that Tywin would read when he was home. It was an odd assortment, most likely pulled from the library here at the Rock. The one on top was Of Fire and Blood, an old history book of Targaryen Kings. Beneath it was a book on diseases that afflicted children, a book on the Andal wars. But at the bottom was a Braavosi book on poisons. She had picked it up and a small slip of paper had fallen out.
Picking it up, Joanna looked at it. The words were written in Tywin’s hand. It was a list of ingredients. From the list of ingredients and her history and friendship with Princess Dorea Martell during her time in King's Landing, Joanna surmised it was a poison of some kind. But who would Tywin try to poison?
Her answer made her hand touch her stomach. Tywin had tried to poison her in King’s Landing. It is why she was so ill and why he was so attentive. Tywin had felt guilty. Maybe he had even given her the antidote when she was ill, regretting his actions. Joanna wondered if Tywin thought he loved her and could not live without her or perhaps the idea of burning in the Seven Hells stopped him. She had always known he was ruthless and capable of great harm but she had always thought she would be able to outthink him.
Joanna sat there wondering what Tywin knew and if Tywin had figured out her deceptions. If so Tywin had surmised, she had betrayed him, humiliated him but he could never tell anyone. Also, the twins looked entirely Lannister, so who would believe him? Perhaps, he did not know of the twins and more realistically he knew only of this baby's parentage. She wondered if he had thought for days on how the King and Joanna had played him false. He must have thought she had gone with Aerys willingly and now, possibly he couldn't stand the sight of her. However, she could never confront him, never ask the truth of it. She had sat in his chair and thought how trapped she was. Instinctively, Joanna thought to pack the children and leave Casterly Rock. But where could she go? No House in the Westerlands would offer her protection from Lord Tywin Lannister. What could she possibly say to anyone? After all, she would put her children and herself at terrible risk to speak of her theory and she would never put them in the wrath of Tywin.
Perhaps, Cersei’s darkness was not a Targaryen trait at all but a Lannister one. After all, Tywin’s cruelties seemed as dark as any Targaryens. Feeling hopeless and unsure what to do, Joanna knelt on the stone floor and prayed to the Mother for the child inside her and that he would resemble her as the twins did. When she finished praying, Joanna began to devise a plan.
In the morning, Lady Joanna wrote to Princess Dorea and asked her to come if she could to attend to her. She told Kevan that she wanted him to find her a midwife and she would interview the best of who he could find. Kevan assured her the Maester of Casterly Rock had delivered the twins and no midwife would be necessary. Carefully, smiles guarding her feelings, Joanna told him that she would prefer a midwife and as the Lady of Casterly Rock, she would use her own allowance if it was a matter of cost. Kevan said he would get some interviews lined up and his only wish was her comfort. Joanna did not believe their Maester would hurt her intentionally but she needed the reassurance of someone who would be taking her coin, someone under her employ.
Knowing she needed allies for her plan, Joanna waited until nightfall. She met a drunken Tyg in the yard. As soon as he saw her, he turned to leave in the other direction. But she called to him, “Tyg.. please stop. I cannot chase you. Please wait.”
Even in the darkness, she could see the anger and bitterness in his face. She thought that this might be a bad idea. Joanna spoke as she drew close to him, “Thank you my lord for waiting. I appreciate it. I have a favor to ask.”
Tyg ran his fingers through his hair, laughing, “What can I possibly do for you, Joanna? Go away, milady. I am done with my brother’s leftovers and your games.”
Joanna smiled. She pulled her cloak back revealing her golden curls. He had always loved her hair and she had delightful memories of him running it through his fingers while they lay in bed. “Tyg, you are drunk. Do not be vulgar. I need a loyal man who has knowledge. A man who can learn secrets. I fear… there are things I cannot speak of but I need a man who can find things…who can help me.”
Perhaps, it was the crack in her voice or the urgency tinged with desperation. Or maybe it was the curls of Joanna’s golden hair and the amount of ale Tyg had drunk but the icy cold stare melted from Tyg’s handsome face. Immediately, Tyg stepped closer to her, and reached out to touch her before he realized his action and stopped himself, “Who has frightened you, Joanna? Did my brother put his hands on you? I will hurt him…”
Joanna put her hand on his face to still his words. Watching him, she saw how he curled into her touch as if it was her body. Under all his disdain, Tyg loved her still. Somehow, she felt that she could always trust Tyg. Silently, Joanna’s heart broke for him once more. Whispering to him, “Tyg, shhh. It is not safe to speak here, like this, but do you know of such a man who might be an ally to me for gold and help me find secrets?”
The next night, Tyg took her to Lannisport to a tavern by the docks. It was that night that he introduced her to Ser Walt Seahill. Tyg drank in the main room with several girls while she sat in a small alcove discussing her terms with a merchant trader. He had brown hair and a beard and the look of a pirate with tattoos on his arms and a small braid of Tyroshi blue among his long brown hair that was tied back and streaked with grey. Joanna paid him well, slipping him a pouch of dragons. As she returned back to the Rock with Tyg, she hoped Ser Walt Seahill would keep to the terms and find out information.
Upon their return, in the shadows of the outer wall of Casterly Rock, Tyg pulled her to him and kissed her, “Joanna, if you are in trouble. I will help you. I am always here. I will not let him hurt you. We could go to Essos. With my sword, I could keep us in gold.”
Biting her lip, Joanna spoke, “I know you would try and protect me and keep me safe, Tyg. I cannot leave with the twins and I know he would find me if I took them with me. I fear I am in danger but I will be able to face it knowing that regardless of what I face, I have your friendship.“
“I am not afraid. With you beside me, I could withstand armies. With you beside me, I would face Tywin.”
Joanna felt her heart leap and twist painfully in her chest and she realized that what she felt for Tyg was more than desire, that Joanna Lannister loved him. Somehow this made her plan both easier and more terrible. Joanna kissed him, slowly, savoring the sweetness of his mouth. Pulling away, she spoke to him, truthfully. “I know… Tyg but now is not our time. I would not see you in danger. Not for the whole world.”
Slipping from his grasp, Joanna Lannister went into the gates of Casterly Rock.
Walt proved to be a trusted man. Finding her the information she had wanted, he had returned three days later and met her in her solar under the pretense of delicious tropical fruits the Lady craved in her pregnancy. Joanna gave him some coins and proposed a deal with the man that she would continue to give him coin and business if he would keep listening and watching for her. He had told her which brothels Lord Lannister frequented and how once or twice he had been too rough with a girl but no one would bring complaints or concerns against The girls, however, they were always blonde. She wondered if it was Ellyn Reyne he thought of when he bedded these whores or was it her? Maybe it was a mixture of both of them. When he left, Joanna spent the afternoon interviewing three midwives.
The next few weeks had been peaceful and happy. Dorea had sent word she would come and bring her two youngest, Elia and Oberyn.
"Perhaps, we can wed a pair of them and finally be sisters," Dorea had written. Joanna had laughed and known that Dorea would keep her safe. If she was in the room, no harm would come to her or the baby regardless of if the child came out looking at the very image of Aerys II. Princess Dorea Martell would be strong enough to protect Joanna and this child.
Her days were spent with her children, Gerion, and Dorna. Throughout the day, Tyg would check in on her, like Kevan would with Dorna. No one seemed to notice and he always had a reason; to take Gerion and Jaime out to spar, to show the duck he caught, to see if she needed anything. If anyone noticed, no one mentioned it. But she could see his eyes and how they burned and she remembered the kiss beneath the castle walls. He never pressured her or brought it up. Joanna wondered if it had been because she had grown so big with the child that she was more cow than lady but she said nothing. Even though no words were spoken, there was a kindness but she could risk nothing.
A moon before her lying-in, Tywin returned home. Her stomach rolled with fear to see him but Joanna smiled and kissed his cheek in the yard, welcoming home as she always had. However, she recognized the hollowness of it all. It had always been a game. Now, it was just so clear. He didn't ask to go retire in her rooms and she did not mention it as she might in the past. All she could see were the words on the paper in his hand, listing the poisonous ingredients; nightshade, the root of weirwood, the seed of Andalos. Across the dinner table, Tyg’s anger was palatable and he drank saying a few terse words. If Tywin noticed, he made no mention of it. Joanna would never know if it was the tension of dinner or her fear of what Tywin was capable of doing to her, to Tyg, to this baby. She had to be careful. She had to survive with kindness and duplicity.
The labor pains started before dinner was finished, even though it was early. Joanna knew it had been the stress and worry. Later, Maester said, Tyrion’s head would have killed her certainly if she birthed him at full term. However, early or not, Tyrion came. The moment he was born, Tywin seemed to have disdain for him and his disability, threatening to murder him on his first night alive. If she died, who would protect him? She had to survive and take care of her children, but especially Tyrion, who would have no one if not for her. So, Joanna had willed herself to survive. She had lived against all odds. Joanna had lived to triumph over Tywin and to keep her children safe.
It was almost a moon after Tyrion was born when Princess Dorea arrived with a huge retinue and her youngest children, Elia and Oberyn. The month her friend stayed with her was the happiest she had been since she had been carrying on with Tyg. Suddenly, she had someone she could share secrets with and tell her fears to. She had a true friend again. Joanna told her of the paper and the ingredients listed. Dorea listened and said they would come up with a plan together. They spent happy days with the children at Casterly Rock and Joanna began to feel safe with her friend. Princess Dorea proposed that Elia marry Jaime and Oberyn Cersei but Tywin refused. Joanna saw the look on his face that his wedding plans for Cersei were for the Prince and that Jaime deserved better than a Dornish bride. But Joanna had thought Elia and Oberyn were charming and lovely children. She had promised her friend she would speak to him and persuade him but Princess Dorea laughed it off saying she would find good matches for her children, maybe better than Tywin could for theirs.
A week before Princess Dorea left, Dorea and Joanna drank wine until they were drunk. Dorea told Joanna to come for a visit to the Water Gardens with her children and never leave. “Dorne will protect you. Dorne protects women and children.”
But Joanna knew the truth of it. “Tywin will never let me leave with the children. He is the Hand of the King. He will find a way and if I leave, it will be worse when I return. No one would believe that he tried to kill me.”
“Perhaps he didn’t.” Dorea had said.
Joanna had questioned her friend, “What do you mean? You saw the list...”
“Yes… There is also a very effective, very powerful moon tea made in Tyr and Volantis. Too effective if the directions are not followed carefully. It can kill the mother easily enough. Also, if it is not taken over the course of four nights, it can lead to children being born with irregularities instead of not being born at all. Perhaps, the man who brewed the potion did not do a good job and it was too potent. Perhaps, Tywin lost heart after he gave it to you, seeing how ill you became. Perhaps, he only wanted to make sure there would be no child but he loves you still. It is hard to know but be careful, Joanna. Tywin Lannister is a dangerous man. ”
Dorea left within the week but the words she spoke rang in Joanna’s ears. Perhaps, Tywin did love her still. Maybe there was a way she could use this to protect her children and herself. As Tywin prepared to return to King’s Landing, she invited him to dinner with her in her rooms. She wore a pretty red dress and had her maids braid her hair in the fashion of the Crownlands. Over dinner, she flirted and praised him and by the end, he had consented to marry Jime to Elia when the boy was older, though he thought the Princess would be wed to another by then. When Joanna realized she could persuade him with gentleness, she consented to his opinion, saying, “Perhaps, you are right all along, my love. Princess Elia is a princess but by the time she marries Jaime, she will be twenty-six. We don’t need an old maid as the Lady of Casterly Rock.”
They had laughed and Tywin had held her hand. It had seemed as if the rift between them was sealed again. When he asked if he might stay with her this night, Joanna kissed him and told him she was still healing from the birth of their son. Tywin left but he seemed peaceful, as if a truce had been called, as if he was the man she married again and no unpleasantness had happened between them. However, Joanna thought of Ellyn Reyne and her grandson thrown in a well or how Tywin had brought her to Tarbeck Hall to see her face, how he had made her watch his father's mistress walk through the streets of Lannisport naked. Tywin's love was as poisonous as his hate. Tywin was smart, focused, cruel, and incredibly patient. Joanna was no foolish girl. She knew if she wanted any hope at power. She would need money, money that her husband didn’t have control over. So, three days after Tywin left, Joanna wrote him a letter saying she had heard about a Motherhouse running a charity for widows and orphans and that she was hoping to make a donation to them, perhaps sponsor them.
The following day, Joanna sold just one of the gifts of jewelry Aerys had purchased her and became a silent investor in wool, in tapestries, in salt cod and beef, in the most skilled goldsmiths, armorers, furniture makers throughout the westerlands. She funded apiaries, artists, and even a few vineyards on lands in the southern westerlands, helping increase the honeyed wine production in Lannisport. All of these investments Walt Seahill brokered for her. No one knew she was their partner but twenty percent came to her every year. Walt became a trusted business partner to her, discreet, intelligent, loyal, and savvy. She paid him well and he began to meet with her at Casterly Rock. Several times, Kevan questioned her about such rough company for a lady but she told him Walt was a good tradesman and that her sponsorship of widows was doing so well that she needed him to do the messy dirty work of business for her.
Shortly after Dorea left, Darlessa, Tygett’s wife announced she was pregnant. Under Tywin’s decree, Kevan and Joanna gave them a small keep to hold on the edge of Tywin’s lands, bordering Lannisport to have a place to call home and to start their family. Tyg did not look at her as they departed on loaded wagons. A fortnight later, Tyg was back at Casterly Rock for dinner, drunk. After dinner, Joanna dismissed her children, Kevan, and the rest of the family. Kevan had whispered something about telling his brother to sober up and return to his wife.
Joanna had led Tyg to her sewing room under the guise of reprimanding him for coming to the dinner table in such condition. Tyg had looked at her and said, “I don’t want her. I don’t want to live there. I want to be here with you. Even if I never touch you again, do not send me away.”
Joanna had smiled and poured a new batch of the honeyed wine. “Your wife is pregnant. You must stay there. It is unseemly.”
Tyg looked away and drained his glass. Joanna placed her glass on the table and approached him. “Tygett, will you return to your wife for me?”
He exhaled deeply and set his glass on the table, preparing himself to leave and return to his wife. “Joanna, I would do that for you but I will not be happy about it.”
Slowly, she drew her skirts up and sat astride his lap. Kissing him roughly, she whispered, “We can do this but you must promise me three things. You must return to your wife. You must never speak of this. You must never demand anything from me. Do you agree?”
Tyg looked at her, “Anything. Everything. Please.”
Joanna smiled, tracing his lips with her finger. “Promise me.”
Tyg spoke, standing up with her and laying her on the table before him. “Joanna, I promise.”
Tyg became a more attentive husband to his wife. When she miscarried, he stayed home for an entire moon before Lady Joanna called him to Casterly Rock for urgent necessary business but he was back with Darlessa in a week. Joanna and Tyg continued on their affair for months, for years. When Tywin came home, Joanna was the perfect attentive wife, a companion, and a relief to him from the stressors of ruling for the King. Luckily for her and Tyg, Tywin did not come home frequently.
When Jaime was ten, he was sent to the Crakehalls to be fostered. Cersei was furious that she did not get to go and be fostered. She began to act out, even worse than she had before. However, word came from Tywin in King's Landing that Queen Rhaella had delivered a son, another prince, Prince Viserys. In celebration of the King’s son, Tywin was holding a Tourney in Lannisport and King Aerys and Prince Rhaegar would be in attendance, as well as many lords and ladies of the Court. There was a flurry of activity and expense to prepare for the Tourney. Jaime returned home for a month and Tyrion was so glad to see him. When Tywin returned home, he was surprised and pleased at how much Joanna and Kevan had done on their own. He confided to Joanna that by the end of the Tourney he would propose to Aerys a match between Cersei and Rhaegar.
Prince Rhaegar was a very charming young man if a bit brooding. His lips were full and his eyes narrowed in the sun. He looked like a young Aerys with a bit more sincerity, a bit more earnest, and a heap of melancholy. Cersei was enthralled by Prince Rhaegar and he was all courtesy. Princess Dorea and her daughter, Elia came. Prince Oberyn, her son, came with his foster father Lord Yronwood. Lord Tully and his brother came, Lord Tyrell and his heir, as did Lord Steffon Baratheon and his heir. From across the Seven Kingdoms came knights to fight in the tourney. Joanna had been delighted to see her friend. She spent a great deal of time with Elia and Dorea. When she spent an afternoon and told her friend of her industry, Dorea had laughed, “With your hand at business, soon you will rival your husband in gold.”
At the Tourney of Prince Viserys' birth, Prince Rhaegar did famously well for a new knight of seventeen. He beat twelve knights that day; including Ser Barristan, Gerion, and Tyg, but was beaten in the final tilt by Ser Arthur Dayne. None of this seemed to dim the regard her daughter held for the Prince. It also seemed Princess Elia who was crowned Queen of Love and Beauty by Ser Arthur Dayne was also quite smitten with Prince Rhaegar. Joanna noticed the King seemed to have no interest in her or any of the women at the tourney. Perhaps, the change of heart the King supposedly had been sincere and he had given up adultery and all other women but his Queen. On the last night of the tourney, Tywin proposed to the King the idea of a marriage between Rhaegar and Elia.
According to Tywin, the King laughed and said, “You are my most able servant, Tywin. But a man does not marry his heir to his servant’s daughter. No, I need a Princess or at least, the blood of Valyria for my son.”
Joanna tried to soothe her husband but his heart hardened against the King on that night. As Joanna was soothing Tywin, Cersei, and her friend, Melara Heatherspoon, snuck out of the castle. Cersei returned but Melara was found in a well, drowned. Both Kevan and Joanna questioned Cersei about what had happened but Cersei would not speak of it. Joanna struck a bargain with her daughter. If Cersei would tell her what had happened, she would be able to go to King’s Landing and stay with her father as long as her father agreed to it. In a flurry of tears and sobs, Cersei told her how Melara dared her to walk on the edge of the well but Cersei wouldn’t. However, Melara called her a coward and climbed up to show her that she was being a frightened hen when she slipped and fell. Kevan seemed pleased with the answer. Joanna knew it was a lie but she couldn’t put her finger on which part was the untruth. After all, Joanna could not believe that her daughter might hurt a child companion. Cersei was a little girl, not a monster. Regardless of the truth, Joanna kept her part of the bargain. When Tywin left for King’s Landing, Cersei left with him.
Time passed quickly enough, Her business dealings grew and by the time it was announced that Prince Rhaegar would be marrying Princess Elia Martell, Joanna had five merchant ships and her own vineyard brewing her honeyed wine selection, called Lady by-the-Sea. She had wanted to label it the Lioness but Tywin thought it would stain the Lannister’s sigil by being so close to industry and the merchant class. Tywin only knew the smallest amount about her business, the things she must tell him. Tywin's feelings ranged from pride and pleasure to rage and disgust. He appreciated her skill at making money but he also did not want his reputation to be tarnished. Joanna had promised she would be discreet and she was. Joanna tried her best to keep her business as quiet as she could.
Joanna and Tyg had a tumultuous relationship over those years. They spent weeks waiting for the chance to be alone and would make love furiously. However, often one of them would swear off the other and their relationship and then they would spend months miserable with a thick unsettled tension between them. This tension would last until they ended up in bed with each other and the cycle would begin again. Or until Tywin returned home. Whenever Tywin returned home, Joanna would be completely Tywin’s. She would make sure his favorite foods were served, his favorite brandy set out, that everything was perfect and how he would like them. Joanna kept a separate room and had since Tyrion’s birth but when Tywin came to Casterly Rock, most of his nights he would be in her bed. Joanna found that he was more affable when they were intimate. She liked Tywin affable to her ideas. These weeks of Tywin’s presence would send Tyg until an angry drunken stupor where he would be as defiant to Tywin as he could.
For the wedding of Prince Rhaegar, Joanna met Jaime and took Tyrion, Tyg, and Gerion to King’s Landing for the wedding. Tyg left his wife who had miscarried again at home. They took Joanna’s newest ship, the Jocasta, to King’s Landing. She basked in pride as Kevan and Gerion commented on how fine a ship it was. When she arrived in the capital, she found her daughter, Cersei, pouting. Cersei was still upset that the Prince should be marrying her. Joanna tried to soothe her daughter and though her daughter brightened under her ministrations, the girl still seethed with jealousy.
More troubling, the King had started to lose his mind. After the Defiance at Duskendale, the King’s mind had darkened and he saw danger everywhere. Even his own Kingsguard could not approach him with a blade. His appearance had taken a haggard look and unkempt. Even under his finery, Aerys did not look well. No matter how difficult it was to see her once-prince turn into this unwashed madman, Joanna knew she had not come for Aerys. She had come for Dorea, and Dorea’s daughter Elia who was to be wed. She came for Cersei, who she knew would be unhappy. She came for Queen Rhaella and to make amends. On the second day of feasting, she requested tea with the Queen.
Queen Rhaella met her on a veranda overlooking the sea. Queen Rhaella seemed smaller and thinner than ever. Joanna wondered if a strong wind might blow her over. She brought Viserys with her. Viserys sat with Tyrion who was looking at a book of the Dance of Dragons. Tyrion was seven, but he liked small children well enough and he began to explain the story and the pictures to the Prince.
Queen Rhaella smiled in the sunshine and exhaled. “What a lovely day to be in the garden. It is not often Viserys and I can be outside.”
Joanna noticed the hesitation in Queen Rhaella’s voice. She also noticed the finger-shaped bruises on her arms and wrists. Joanna felt she was looking at herself in an alternative world. This could have been her.
Joanna spoke, looking at the boys reading, “Your Grace, the prince is beautiful and such a well-mannered boy. The King must be proud. You must be proud.”
“He is. The Seven have blessed us with two perfect sons.”
The Queen and her made polite conversation for about half an hour. When Queen Rhaella made a motion to Viserys’ nurse that they were leaving, Joanna spoke, “Your Grace. I have missed the friendship of our youth. When we were young. I was a silly girl and I am afraid I may have caused offense. I didn't understand as I was sheltered. I am older and have seen a small bit of the world and I ask you to forgive me.”
Queen Rhaella looked at her uncomfortably. “My lady, I do not understand.”
Joanna smiled, “Or don't forgive me. I would understand if you couldn’t but there may come a time you may need me. Or someone to help, someone no one would ever think would help, a secret friend. I could be that friend to you. I know what it is like to be married to a great man. I know the struggles."
Joanna thought Rhaella looked like she might say something but instead, Queen Rhaella gathered Prince Viserys in her arms and spoke, "My lady, I believe the sun has made you ill. I do not know what you speak of but I am Queen and have plenty of friends. Perhaps, it is your own shame at how you were a friend to me that makes you speak such foolishness. I forgive you, Joanna but I have no need for secrets or secret friends."
Queen Rhaella left but Joanna had seen the fear in her eyes. For most of her time in King's Landing, Joanna spent her time with Princess Dorea. It was at the wedding feast, she noticed Dorea coughing and the blood that stained her handkerchief. When Joanna confronted her friend, Dorea had said it was nothing but a cough, a winter cough. However, it was still autumn.
The wedding was lovely. Though the madness and rudeness of Aerys put a damper on the whole affair for Joanna. She had a sense of foreboding, asense of darkness. When she left, Elia and Dorea came to say goodbye, Joanna had kissed Elia and told her of her loyal man in King’s Landing who could send word, who may be able to help if necessary. Dorea had smiled, “You worry too much, Joanna. Your mind is always thinking. All is well. All is fine.”
As they sailed back to King’s Landing, Tyrion fell asleep in her bed. There was a knock on the door. It was Tyg who had been drinking on the deck with the sailors. He asked to be let in but Joanna’s mood was dark and she worried that she should have taken Cersei home with her rather than leaving her there. Tygett insisted, more and more loudly, until Joanna told him to leave. He stormed off in a jealous angry fit, muttering loudly, too drunk to care who heard. Joanna went back to her bed, thinking about her life and knowing that in spite of the pain it would cause her, she must break it off with Tyg. He was growing more unreliable in his drunkenness and anger.
As soon as they returned home, Joanna found time alone to break it off with Tyg. He was angry but they had done this so many times before he thought it was similar to all the other times that they had broken it off before. Tyg departed, saying with venom dripping from his words, “I will just return home and fuck my wife until you have need of me again, my Lady. Do not tarry too long or I will find another blonde whore.”
Joanna did not hate him for the words but she never took him to her bed again. Later when he died, it was said he called her name over and over in a stupor from his fever and illness. Joanna smiled when told the story and said she had raised the boys, Tyg and Gerion both, and was the only mother they had known. Joanna kept her sorrow to herself, never crying a tear, and watched Tyrion grow smarter every day and her business grow.
The year after, Joanna received word that Dorea was dying. She left Tyrion in Dorna and Kevan’s care and had Walt sail her to Sunspear. She spent a moon with her dearest friend before she passed from this world. All Dorea seemed to worry about was Elia. Elia had had a terrible time with her first pregnancy and the birth of her daughter. The Maester at Dragonstone had told her to wait at least a year for another pregnancy, yet Elia had gotten pregnant again in a matter of months. Now Elia was pregnant and confined to her bed while her mother was dying hundreds of miles away. Before she died, Dorea made Joanna promise to help her daughter and her daughter’s children and keep them safe.
Joanna swore to her friend, “I promise you. I will keep her as safe as if she was my own daughter.”
When Joanna returned to Casterly Rock, she received news that Elia had delivered a prince, Aegon. When Joanna asked about Elia's health, Tywin wrote back it was difficult and Elia might not have more children but she was well enough. She remembered looking at Tyrion and thinking who would protect him when she was gone. The next day, she had found Gerion and asked him to train Tyrion. If he was to survive, he would need some fighting skill. Shortly after the newborn prince’s birth, Tywin returned home with Jaime. Jaime had recently been knighted for valor and bravery by Ser Arthur Dayne himself on the field. Jaime was ecstatic, confident, proud and Joanna could tell that Tywin felt the same. The week Jaime was home with Tywin was the closest she felt to a family in a very long time. Tywin would spend long days reading papers beside her in bed. Tyrion would make Jaime regale stories of his feats on the battlefield, soaking in every detail. Tywin even seemed gracious to Tyrion, almost familial. In the morning, she would wake to his arm around her and Joanna had thought maybe she could love him. Maybe, they had healed any rifts between them
After a week, Tywin departed for King’s Landing and Jaime went to Riverrun for his father’s business. Tywin had told her he hoped to make a match of Hoster Tully’s girl, Lysa, for Jaime. Joanna thought the Tully match would be good for Jaime and for the Lannisters. It had been a feeling of hopefulness. She remembered how she felt that after Jaime was wed, she would approach Tywin with a marriage between Oberyn and Cersei. Cersei might not be a Queen but she could be a Princess. Jaime had come home before the Tourney of Harrenhal. His father had the armorer at Casterly Rock make him a sword, specially designed for Jaime with a hilt gilded in gold and a lion’s head carved into it. Jaime had been so hopeful and one night, he had danced her around the dinner table and told her that if he won, he would crown her the Queen of Love and Beauty. Joanna had laughed and marveled to see her son, such a happy handsome man. Tyrion and Joanna had waved from the parapets as Jaime went off with Lannister men to fight in the Tourney at Harrenhal.
It was a fortnight later when Tywin returned home with Cersei with the news that Jaime was now in the Kingsguard. Cersei mourned her brother as if he was dead. Tywin mourned his heir. Both were in terrible dark moods. Joanna tried everything to soothe her husband, even stating she would go and beg the King to release Jaime. But Tywin would not have her do that saying he could not bear it if Aerys hurt her. Something of his words made her think of poor Princess Elia and wondered who would look after her. Joanna sent word to Prince Doran saying she would help if they needed anything retrieved from King’s Landing. Prince Doran responded that they needed no help.
She spent the next few months with her husband and persuaded him with her love and kindness to decree that Tyrion would be his heir. The words meant little since Tyrion was his legitimate son and was entitled to Casterly Rock under primogeniture but still, it gave peace to her heart to hear him say it across the Great Hall at Casterly Rock. The peace was short-lived for shortly after this, they heard the word of Prince Rhaegar kidnapping Lyanna Stark and running away with her. Then they heard of King Aerys and his executions by wildfire of sons of nobles across the North, Riverland, and Vale. There had been rumors of him executing prisoners this way but the execution of innocent noble-born men and boys rose the Seven Kingdoms against King Aerys, led by Lord Robert Baratheon.
Tywin did not speak of it. Messengers from both sides asked him to come to fight for their side but Tywin refused them. Instead, he sat in his study, plotting alone with his letters.
Two more times, Joanna sent word to Sunspear saying she would help Doran retrieve anything that was lost and he refused her. Joanna Lannister had Walt put out the word on the docks of Lannisport that he would pay gold to anyone who could tell her where Lyanna Stark was. In a moon, one of her own merchants who went over the Prince’s Pass with a wagon and a mule, to Sunspear to sell wool and salted cod, came to tell her that Prince Rhaegar was spotted with at least two knights in an old tower on the Manwoody lands. Joanna paid him five gold dragons and told him to tell no one else.
When Tywin called his banners, Joanna pressed him for his plan. He would not speak of it. After he departed, Joanna sent word to Sunspear with Walt Seahilll to tell Prince Doran that her husband was finally raising troops to go east and fight but he would not say which side they would fight for. For this final attempt, Joanna received another handwritten letter of thanks from Prince Doran. Of course, it was too late. She would sometimes dream of Elia and her baby children, murdered without mercy or regard, murdered at Tywin's command. Sometimes, she would wake and have to check on Tyrion, certain he would be murdered in his bed.
When Joanna returned to Casterly Rock, she made a promise to herself that she would not return to King's Landing except for the birth of her grandchildren and weddings. It was at this time that Joanna Lannister's heart was hardened against her husband. No longer did she just want to keep her children and herself safe, Now, she wanted to make Tywin pay for all the cruelty and pain he had inflicted on her and Tyrion, on Elia and her children, on Ellyn Reyne and her children, on all the women and children he had hurt. After all, a Lannister always paid their debts. She would make sure Tywin Lannister paid his debts as well.