AN:
In the Game of Stones, you either win or you wait. The more Power Stones you offer, the faster the chapters come.
...
( Elia Martell POV )
Now she wondered if that had been the right decision, she could see the political rationale, the reasoning. She accepted it even, it was good for House Martell, good for Dorne, but it wasn't good for Elia.
"You too huh?"
...
She blinked, looking up at the child she was supposed to marry. No tall husband to hold her in his arms, and no great knight, just a slender bookish waif of a boy who looked like his mother. The boy in question wore a sympathetic expression on his face.
"I suppose your mother didn't take time to consult you either?" Callum asked again, taking Elia's sullen expression as a reason to continue. "I'm rather angry with my father over not talking to me honestly."
Elia frowned at that, "Do you find our betrothal unappealing?" She asked, wondering if the boy would insult her now. That would be a fine addition to all of this.
"Eh? No, no that's not why I'm angry with him." Callum shook his head. "I'm angry because he arranged it without talking to me. I can understand his political rationale, and your mother's, I suppose, but he nonetheless chose to go through with it without even hearing my input." the boy narrowed his eyes. "It shows a lack of respect, I will have to make him see that."
"Oh," Elia blinked. That… she supposed she would be angry too if her mother had not consulted with her first. That might feel better, at least then she would have someone to blame. She had agreed to this match if Jaime fell through, wanting to do her duty, but now that it was done she found it filled her with melancholy. "I see." there was a pregnant pause as Elia decided on her next words.
"That doesn't seem reasonable at all, yes." She decided a neutral agreement was sensible. The boy in front of her might be smart, but he was still a child. He likely didn't understand just what their betrothal meant yet. That they had just been committed to spending the rest of their lives together, of course, he didn't, how could he?
She glanced up at Callum to find him staring at her curiously, concern in his eyes.
"Are you alright Princess?"
Elia shook her head, forcing a smile onto her face. "Oh, I'm quite alright." she lied. "Just lost in thought."
"Oh!" Callum smiled, "That happens to me all the time, whatcha thinking about?"
Elia paused, looking at the boy, an idea forming in her head, she pressed her hand to her chin as if to signify thought. "Oh… I'm just thinking about what sort of husband you'll be."
"Eh?" Callum blinked, a trace of pink finding its way onto his cheeks. "Ah, oh, well, a dutiful one, true-hearted and good and not unpleasant at all," Callum said rather quickly. "Though uh, we won't be married for some time…" the boy seemed to want to avoid the conversation, but Elia had her claws in him now.
Elia smiled, tilting her head to the side. It was true that the boy was bookish and unimpressive now, but perhaps with the right encouragement he might eventually make a passable husband, one she could put up with or grow to like. It struck her that she did at least have time for something like that. "I think I'd like a husband who was gallant, dashing, and brave." she stared into his green eyes as she spoke. "A knight to come sweep me off my feet, and to win tournaments in my name."
She watched as the boy's face fell, and then he reached up, scratching the back of his head. "Ah… I take it you wanted a match with Jaime, not me."
Elia blinked. She hadn't intended to give that away at all, just convince him to become a bit more martial. She frowned, about to protest, she hadn't intended to insult him. "Ah, I mean, I-"
"I'm afraid I don't think I'll ever be Jaime," Callum said before she could think up an appropriate apology. "I'll try to become decent with a sword I suppose, but I'm not sure I can win you tournaments." He paused for a moment, then turned to her. "What about wars, will wars be good enough?"
"I didn't mean to offend you, I'm sorry-I" Elia processed what he'd just asked. "W-wars?" Hearing the word said in such a blase manner by a child so young was a bit distracting. "What wars do you plan to fight, Callum?" Part of her hoped it was just a young boy's flight of fancy, and the tiny child in front of her wasn't seriously proposing winning wars in her favor instead of tournaments.
"Oh, I expect there'll be several wars in my life, and I don't intend to lose them," Callum said quietly. "I think they'll probably be easier to win than tournaments, for me, I mean. For Jaime, the tournaments would certainly be easier."
Elia leaned back in her chair, grimacing. She wanted a martial husband certainly, but she wasn't so intent on grooming the Lannister spare into someone who would start wars for her sake. That was… well it wasn't not romantic, but it certainly wasn't practical.
"I… I don't think that would reflect well on either of us Callum, let's speak about something else," she said cautiously. "I suppose… well another trait I'd like a good husband to have is to be attentive to me." She said, far more conservative now. She was afraid of where other chains of thought might lead the boy.
"Mhmm." Callum nodded seriously. "I can do that."
"That's good Callum." she nodded, glad that this one didn't lead anywhere else. Perhaps it'd be best if she just focused on how she'd prefer to be treated, rather than the martial valor she wanted in a man. After all, if she was going to be stuck with a bookish man, then she ought to at least try to teach him to be a courteous man as well.
...
( Tywin Lannister POV )
"Father. We need to talk."
Tywin Lannister was not a man used to being approached by others in anger, at least not within his study in Casterly Rock, seated in a comfortable chair as he read down Kevan's reports on Lannister territories. Though he wasn't especially surprised that Callum was the first to do so in years. The boy was always on the move, and he could tell that his son had been upset with him when the betrothal was signed.
"So we do," Tywin replied. "Sit if you'd like."
Callum nodded sharply, moving to the seat across the table from him, listening despite the anger, Tywin had seen the same obedience when his son had kept from speaking out of turn during the signing. It kept his own temper low when dealing with the boy, an approach his other children had yet to discover.
"I'm quite angry with you Father. The betrothal was fine enough, but you ought to have consulted with me on it before you made such a deal with Princess Ennella." His young son said, frowning in the seat across the table from him.
Tywin raised an eyebrow. "It is my right as your father and lord to make such decisions for you boy."
"Aye, and I don't disagree with the decision. I am offended by the lack of respect you showed me." Callum countered a bit sharply. "You know I am intelligent enough to act reasonably in such discussions, and I know you have already discussed your intentions for Cersei with her. You could have at least notified me that it was in planning before you made such a weighty decision on my behalf."
Tywin frowned, licking his lips lightly, he was surprised to find that his son's words did not make him angry. He felt a bit affronted that he was being confronted this way, but once Callum started talking his temper cooled.
'perhaps it's because he looks like his mother.' Tywin wondered in his mind. His eyes scanned the rest of the room, finding no signs of any of his bannermen. They were alone.
"You are not entirely wrong," Tywin said quietly, then, thinking quickly. "And it was well of you to hold your tongue until now. We may discuss this manner of thing in private, but before our king, peers, and bannermen we must utter no complaint against each other." He instructed calmly, receiving a sharp nod from Callum, though the anger was still there behind those green eyes.
"Father, I-"
"Quiet," Tywin said, shaking his head and interrupting his son with a raised finger. "As I said, you are not entirely wrong, but you are also not entirely right. I did not consult with you because I did not have the chance. I had not yet planned your betrothal, Princess Ennalla offered very good terms and I would have been a fool not to accept."
Callum grimaced. "You didn't take the time to think it over?"
"I did not want to give her time to think it over. It is a good marriage for you, and less so for her daughter. Once she made the offer she was committed to it, but given time she may have changed her mind."
Callum's anger softened a bit as Tywin explained, and Tywin found himself smiling slightly.
"I see." His son replied. "I do not like it, but the rationale is there."
"I did not mean to make you feel disrespected." Tywin lied to his son slightly. It was true he did not, but he also hasn't really thought of consulting with Callum either. For that, he felt some small guilt. "I shall endeavor that I discuss future decisions with you, provided you are relevant to them."
Callum nodded, the tension in him visibly easing. "Thank you, Father."
"And to that end." Tywin continued, nodding his head. It was selfish, but he did not want to spoil his relationship with his middle son. He would pay him back quickly. "I would like to hear about these political reforms you have been proposing to Kevan." The boy was clearly eager to share them, and this ought to be a more comfortable subject of discussion.
"Oh!" Callum's face changed in a moment, and Tywin felt a flash of pride as the boy changed gears rapidly, seeing the opportunity for what it was. "If you're ready to hear them, would you prefer to hear what I have off the top of my head, or can I go fetch my books and notes?"
Tywin snorted, a rare smile creeping across his lips. "Go fetch your notes then Callum, I'll wait here and finish my reading."
His son nodded, springing to his feet and hurrying out the door. Tywin knew it would be a fair few minutes before he returned since the boy would no doubt have to climb all the way to the top of the Rock to fetch his materials. He turned his gaze back to Kevan's report, listing off various expenses of House Lannister over the past moon, as well as incomes, debt payments, and the like.
Few who had not seen it themselves could comprehend the sheer expenditure of a great house's expenditures. Tywin's eyes glanced down rows upon rows of costs that would bankrupt most of his bannermen.
The typical expenditures of Casterly Rock alone reached over 1,000 Gold Dragons per day and for the whole of House Lannister's possessions that was around 2,300. It was nearly as much as the crown spent on a regular basis, but, and Tywin smirked at this, where they differed were the incomes.
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