Chapter 51 - Reaction from All Parties (I)

"Never underestimate a man filled with hate, for hate brings a strength that can turn any man into the most terrifying animal in the world." Varys the Spider, watching the angry face of King Robert I Baratheon.

-------------

Westeros - King's Landing.

Seventh moon of the year 294 B.C.

Tyrion looked at his adorable nephew and niece with a smile, still unable to believe that these sweet children had emerged from the dark and evil pit that was his sister's womb. Their innocent, happy smiles softened the uncomfortable feeling of contempt in the surrounding looks.

"What are my lovely prince and princess up to? Perhaps rehearsing the legendary Dragon Knight's rescue of the princess from the barbarians of the Vale?" Tyrion asked, causing Myrcella and Tommen to look at him with surprised expressions.

"Uncle!!!" Both children ran up and stood around him with admiring expressions on their faces.

The girl and boy bore such a strong resemblance to Cersei and Jaime that Tyrion sometimes thought they were Jaime's son and daughter. But that was impossible, wasn't it? The consequences of such thoughts were not just something trivial, but a real crisis and a possible war that could devastate this continent once again.

"Uncle, I'm bigger than you!" Myrcella said with a sweet, graceful laugh. She used her hand to measure the height between her and Tyrion.

If this joke had been made by anyone else, Tyrion would have taken it as an insult directed at him, but not at his innocent and sweet niece. "It's amazing, Myrcella grows more graceful and beautiful as time goes on." He spoke with a quizzical expression that made the two children laugh.

Myrcella's next question, however, made his smile freeze for a moment.

"Uncle, am I handsome enough for Prince Aenar, riding his dragon Caraxes, to ask my father for my hand in marriage? He was so heroic in saving his family from the barbarians of Essos." She spoke with such an innocent, dreamy expression that it stopped the cruel words from leaving Tyrion's lips.

A proposal? He would find it kind enough if Prince Aenar didn't incinerate them all in seconds. Surely he would do the same if he had a dragon capable of burning tens of thousands of people alive.

"Who wouldn't want a sweet, beautiful princess, dear Myrcella?"  Tyrion couldn't say what he was thinking and smiled gently at the girl, who had a dreamy smile on her lips, as if she was delighted at the idea of being the wife of someone so important.

Tyrion couldn't help but think of the rumors that had been circulating in Westeros for the past month; the existence of Aenar Targaryen was like a powerful punch in the stomach of the Great Houses. And the punch was even stronger when they learned of the existence of the dragon called Caraxes.

Of course, such rumors were at first dismissed as nonsense and madness coming from Essos, but as more and more ships from the continent of Essos said the same thing, after a month the rumor was no longer a rumor but a fact that everyone had to accept with a bitter taste, especially the Great Houses that had participated in the rebellion twelve years ago.

Tyrion saw countless houses move in the shadows at the news and had no doubt that the pretender to the Iron Throne from across the sea had many supporters. Truth be told, he didn't blame those noble houses; Robert I Baratheon's reign had been mediocre, to say the least.

Worst of all, Prince Targaryen not only had a full-grown dragon, but an army of nearly forty thousand men; add that to the fleet at Volantis and the internal problems of the Seven Kingdoms, and you have a big problem on your hands.

Tyrion said goodbye to his niece and nephew as he listened to them talk innocently and excitedly about the dragon that could cover a city like Volantis with the shadow of its wings.

The little Lannister lion was not as optimistic or innocent as his nephew and niece. He knew full well that what was coming was blood and fire, their blood and the fire of House Targaryen.

Tyrion walked to the small council chamber, ignoring the Kingsguard, and opened the doors, surprised by the sight before him. His father, Tywin Lannister, Cersei Lannister, Jon Arryn, Renly Baratheon, Stannis Baratheon, Varys, Littlefinger and several others were present. The atmosphere was suffocating, to say the least.

It was the first time Tyrion had ever seen his father look like that. Serious, dignified and full of a majesty that made him stand out more than Robert I Baratheon himself, who filled the seat with his huge, fat body.

All eyes went to Tyrion for a moment, but returned to Varys.

"Your information, Eunuch." Robert asked, his voice calm but hiding an anger that everyone noticed but no one commented on.

"Aenar Targaryen, First of His Name, Knight of Caraxes, King of the Andals and the Rhoynar and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm, Father of Dragons, Son of the Light of Volantis, The King Who Was Promised."

The long list of titles came from the eunuch's fat lips and caused everyone to turn serious.

Aside from the obvious ones involving the Iron Throne, the rest was what really worried everyone.

Varys continued, the same smile on his lips and enigmatic look in his eyes. "The size of the crimson dragon called Caraxes is large, unmistakably an adult dragon, and powerful in its prime. Spies report that when the dragon flies over Volantis, the sky is darkened by the shadows of its wings. Its fire is as red as blood and can melt rock into lava."

But this atmosphere was broken by a woman's words that echoed through the room. "It's only one dragon, we have the armies of the Seven Kingdoms, two hundred thousand men."

Tyrion was speechless at the level of intelligence in his sister's words, though he knew intelligence had never been her strong suit, this level of stupidity was truly unbelievable. A blind man could see that they were completely dead if Prince Targaryen decided to mount his dragon and burn down the entire Red Keep.

Slap!

A loud, sharp slap echoed through the small council chamber.

"Shut up, woman, nobody asked you anything." Robert spoke in a terribly cold and slightly frightening tone. The man's deep blue eyes were practically on fire, filled with an unusual anger.

Tyrion admitted that he enjoyed seeing Cersei beaten; his sister's expression was simply beautiful to behold; he would have paid for a prostitute and a jug of wine for Robert at another more appropriate time.

Tywin would have been irritated by such an act in a normal time, but he thought it was a good slap, he still couldn't believe that such a stupid thing could come out of his balls and the womb of his beloved wife. House Lannister had an army of fifty thousand men, not unlike the Dothraki, but they still didn't last more than fifteen.

He really wanted to know how his daughter could consider a monster capable of burning the equivalent of House Lannister's army alive in fifteen minutes as "mere".

Seeing her father do absolutely nothing as she was humiliated in front of the entire court, Cersei suppressed the resentment and hatred in her heart and pulled herself together with a beautiful smile on her lips. But her hands clenched in her lap showed that she was trying her best not to say anything.

"To answer the queen, it's not just a dragon. It's a full-grown dragon that burned over forty thousand men and horses alive in less than fifteen minutes." Varys replied in a respectful tone, but his words only made the atmosphere more tense.

What is the concept of burning forty thousand people in less than fifteen minutes? If they followed that logic, an army of a hundred thousand would be completely destroyed in half an hour. And that was absolutely terrifying.

But Robert didn't hear any of this, he looked at the eunuch and asked. "Who are his parents?"

Varys looked at the man in full control and replied, bowing to Robert. "According to him, the Prince of Dragonstone, Rhaegar Targaryen and Lady Lyanna Stark."

Crash!!!

The chair Robert was sitting on was thrown against the wall by Robert himself in front of everyone's stunned eyes. They had never thought that the king could still be so strong and unexpectedly fast.

"Fruit of a rape!!!" A roar echoed through the small council chamber.

"I WILL KILL YOU LIKE I KILLED YOUR DAMN FATHER!!!"