Led House Lannister to surrender to House Targaryen.
Hearing it sounded insane, but Kevan did not go mad; instead he became unusually rational.
After Tyrion left and Kevan returned to his chambers in Maegor's, he did not go back to sleep. He carefully recalled and weighed his nephew's words.
Then he discovered something chilling upon closer thought: during the overthrow of the Iron Throne, the forces were the Crowned Stag of the Stormlands, the Crescent Falcon of the Vale, the Icewolf of the North, and the Trout of the Riverlands the power of four kingdoms.
Opposing them were the dragonless Targaryens, the Rose of Highgarden, and more than half of Dorne.
Robert could barely claim the mantle of righteousness; with the combined strength of the four kingdoms, and even with a Westerlands lion pulling at the Targaryens' rear, the two sides were only roughly six-to-four.
Robert six, Rhaegar four.
Now, the Stormlands, the Riverlands, and the North had become a burden to the Iron Throne. Littlefinger in the Vale harbored ill intentions, the Rose of Highgarden was divided between appearance and heart, and Dorne… Even though the Imp did not reveal any information about an alliance between Dorne and the Dragon Queen, Kevan was not a fool couldn't he guess?
There was no doubt that Lannister's Iron Throne, fighting alone, with allies hamstrung, was far weaker than it had been in Aerys's time.
There was no doubt that the Dragon Queen, with dragons, wyverns, and tens of thousands of soldiers, was not weaker than Robert's four-kingdom coalition.
Dragon Queen stronger than Robert, Robert stronger than Rhaegar, Rhaegar stronger than Kevan.
This…There really was no chance of victory.
As dawn brightened, the silent Red Keep filled with the roar of people and the clatter of armor and weapons. The old lion sighed and decided, as always, to handle small matters himself and leave the big ones to his brother last night's Tyrion had been Lord Tywin! With his decision made, he began to make preparations.
First, he quietly ordered trusted men to enter the tunnels beneath the Red Keep to dig pits, bury poisoned spikes, set beast-traps, and in a few of those pits hide wildfire jars.
Next, he summoned the Lannister forces outside the city into the Red Keep to deal with any possible coup.
Busy all day, he did not return to his chamber until nightfall. He bent over his desk and wrote letters of surrender and fealty.
By midnight the regent had finally finished a letter of surrender that was neither abject nor verbose but sincere.
Just as he folded the paper and sealed it with the regent's signet, his niece's shouting sounded at the door.
"You're insane, you fools! Don't you know me? Remember, you are the lions of Casterly Rock, not the retainers of Lord Kevan! And I, Cersei Lannister, am the heir of Duke Tywin. I am your true liege."
As always, until the regent permitted entry, Cersei was held at the door by the guards.
Unlike other times, she did not wait for the guard's message; instead she began to bawl at the Lannister guards just as in the regent's queen mother days, loudly asserting her rights.
Kevan could understand it: with the Imp back in the Red Keep, his niece going mad was only natural.
He sighed and called toward the door, "Let the queen mother in."
Cersei burst in like a whirlwind and stormed to the desk, roaring at her uncle, "Did the Imp come to you?"
Kevan raised an eyebrow. Cersei was not alone; her husband, Loras, smiled and followed in.
"He snuck into the Rookery, forced Pate to fetch me, and in the end shot the Grand Maester and Ser Brown," she said.
"My gods!" Cersei clutched her head and spun like a runaway engine in front of the desk, frantic and aimless.
"I knew it, I knew it that monster has been under our feet all along. I knew it. I told you to burn the tunnels with wildfire and you wouldn't listen. I told you."
Kevan cut through his niece's hysteria. "He has long since left King's Landing. He is now a capable commander under the Dragon Queen."
"Aargh!" Cersei howled, throwing her head back. Her beautiful blue eyes rolled, the whites rimmed with blood.
"Daenerys?! I should have thought of it. I should have known Dorne and Highgarden didn't have enough strength to overthrow me; he had to look for fiercer, more vicious foreign help.
"Dragon witch and deformed monster, in league together, partners in crime a perfect match!"
"You were locked up by the High Sparrow; it had nothing to do with Daenerys, remember?" Kevan said helplessly.
"Oh right, the High Sparrow!" Cersei's eyes lit up as if enlightened. She suddenly shouted, "The High Sparrow and the dragon witch are in cahoots too. Those three villains conspired against me. I didn't lose unjustly!"
Kevan was utterly speechless and shot a look at Loras: make your woman sober up!
Loras shrugged helplessly and forced a smile.
After a while Cersei suddenly looked up, her green eyes fixed on her uncle. "Why didn't the Imp kill you?"
"I am his blood uncle. Why would he kill me for no reason?" Kevan frowned.
"Do devils need reasons to do evil? Joffrey, my father wasn't he all his kin? Or are you in league with him?" Cersei looked at her uncle suspiciously.
Kevan nearly burst with anger and wanted to lash out at his niece, but then he remembered: he and Tyrion seemed to have reached a tacit understanding to preserve House Lannister.
"Sigh," he said, helpless and weary. "Cersei, you hold too deep a grudge against Tyrion."
At this Cersei exploded with rage, her face contorted. "So I was right you are conspiring together.
"I misjudged you. You killed my father, removed my position as queen mother regent, all to sit on the Iron Throne yourself.
"Now you're in contact with the dwarf; are you planning to get rid of Tommen and me?"
Kevan's hand on the desk veins bulged. He wanted to pick up the inkwell and hurl it at his niece's twisted face.
"Idiot, shut up!" the old dog roared like a lion.
Cersei went pale with fright, hunched her neck, and looked at her uncle with a mix of fear and venom.
"Remember who you are, Lady Greyjoy!" Kevan fixed her with a cold, poisonous look and said slowly, "It's late now. I'll give you half a day tomorrow morning to pack. If after noon tomorrow I still see you in the Red Keep in King's Landing, I will lock you in a cage and send you by cart to the Iron Islands. I swear it, and I will keep my word."
"You at least have to tell me what you're plotting! If you dare hurt Tommen, I'd rather bash my head against this wall until I die." Cersei's face was streaked with tears as she wailed in despair and fury.
Seeing her like that, Kevan's anger burst like a dam breaking and rushed out of him.
"Tyrion thinks the Lannisters no longer have the strength to hold the Iron Throne. He suggests we surrender to Daenerys and admit defeat."
Cersei and your Olen were family, so Kevan thought for a moment and did not hide the plan Tyrion and he had made.
After all, once his letter of surrender reached Dragonstone, the world would soon know.
"What?" Cersei stopped screaming; tears clung to her cheeks, but her expression went slack.
Not only her Olen was dumbfounded as well.
"If the Lannisters return to Casterly Rock, I will publicly acknowledge your relationship with Jaime, then have Tommen take the Lannister name and inherit the dukedom of Casterly Rock. You will remain the Duchess of the Iron Islands," Kevan continued.
Olen frowned. "What meaning would it have for the Iron Islands to swear fealty to the Iron Throne then?"
"You can surrender with the Lannisters and I'll try to secure good terms for you; or you can keep holding Cailin Bay, occupy the Shield Islands, and keep plotting against the Dragon Queen," Kevan said.
Who gives a damn about the chaos in Westeros once the Iron Throne is given up? Besides, you, Olen, are only a son-in-law of House Lannister. I don't even care about my own life, why would I care if you die? Kevan's thoughts had grown much simpler and lighter; he even sounded a little stoic in his detachment.
"You're Aerys III!" Cersei pointed at her uncle.
"Haha, would Aerys willingly give up the Iron Throne?" Kevan's smile was as cold as ice.
"If my father were alive, he would kill you," Cersei said.
"Actually, it was 'Tywin' who taught me to do this," Kevan sighed.
"You're truly mad," Cersei said in horror.
Could Father have come back to life like the High Sparrow? Cersei thought.
"What about Mysa?"
Suddenly Cersei's expression changed; she sensed something odd.
According to the earlier plan, Mysa should be returning to King's Landing soon, but Kevan had made no arrangements for her.
After a short pause, Kevan said softly, "You saw with your own eyes how the High Sparrow was resurrected. Daenerys is also a high priestess; she knows holy healing "
"Seven hells! You little devil intend to send my daughter to Slaver's Bay to be ravaged by the Mother of Dragons?" Cersei screamed in collapse.
"I don't agree. I'd rather she live an ugly life than die in dragon fire."
"Whether you agree or not is irrelevant. She's already been taken by Tyrion," Kevan said calmly.
"So quickly? Was he brought here by the black dragon?" Olen said in shock.
Kevan shook his head with a bitter smile. "By a wyvern. Think about it: even Tyrion was allocated a wyvern. How powerful must Daenerys be?"
A sudden guttural cry escaped Cersei her eyes went bloodshot, her face contorted as she howled, she grabbed the paperknife from the table and lunged at Kevan.
"You old dog, give me back my daughter's life!"
Kevan sighed, opened the fingers of his right hand, caught Cersei's wrist as easily as an eagle catching a chick, pressed his left hand to her forehead, pushed hard, and sent his niece sprawling landing heavily on her backside on the fur rug.
"Wah wah wah you killed my daughter. Even if I become a wight I will never let you go, old dog, old dog," Cersei cried, splayed on the rug, wiping tears and cursing venomously.
"Don't cry, my dear. Your chance has come."
Back in the Queen Regent's bedchamber, Olen held the sobbing Cersei and a strange smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"What chance? My daughter is nearly dead, wah wah," Cersei said through tears, as if she had returned to the day Joffrey died grief so deep it was despair.
In Cersei's view, no queen had ever been more gentle and magnanimous than she.
Even so, Sansa lived in constant fear under her roof, suffering insults and physical beatings (Joffrey often had the White Knights beat Sansa).
The Dragon Queen was far more vicious and cruel who knew how she might torment poor Mysa!
"Do you want revenge?" Olen asked darkly.
"Can you kill Daenerys?" Cersei asked, her eyes red.
"No. But the most important thing now is not her; it's your uncle. Are you willing to surrender and hand your fate over to the Mother of Dragons?" Olen asked with a smile.
"My uncle." A hard, ruthless expression rose on Cersei's face. "You should have helped me kill him before."
"There are guards outside," Olen sighed.
"What do we do now?" Cersei asked, bewildered.
"Do you know how Stannis dealt with Renly?"
(End of chapter)
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