282AC

Grand Maester Pycelle had been the only witness to an uncharacteristically obvious display of rage the night he delivered that damning news of Rhaegar and Lyanna's disappearance.

It wasn't often that Tya Lannister lost control. She had managed twenty years at Aerys' side without doing so, even if she had made her anger very clear on many occasions. Yet that night in the gloomy, candlelit solar, with faint a ringing in her ears, Tya had swept over to her desk as the Grand Maester continued to speak. She paused for a moment, before grabbing the decanter of wine that had been left there and dashing it on the floor with a noise of fury. 

The red wine inside splashed all up her robe, as she slammed both hands onto the desk hard enough to make everything on it shake. Pycelle said nothing, though seemed slightly taken aback by her temper, which was rarely so dramatic as this.

"Is every blasted Targaryen half a step from descending into madness?" She snarled, beginning to pace up and down her solar, shattered glass crunching under her booted heel. "Is there some disease of the mind caught from sitting the Iron Throne too long? Or is it that they have been marrying brother to sister for three hundred years and are lucky to not have webbed feet?"

She was grateful there was no one else residing in the Tower of the Hand, dimly aware that she would have made a right sight to behold. The Hand of the King storming around her own solar in a robe that had come undone, red wine splashed up her nightclothes, fit to tear out her own hair.

"Though a king with webbed feet would be a damn sight preferable to a prince who kidnaps the daughter of a great lord a month after his own wedding - the night before her own! - from the very castle belonging to her betrothed. If I did not know he would murder my entire family in a heartbeat, I would reinstate Aerys to the throne under the condition he name Viserys heir!"

Tya let herself drop, unladylike, into the chair behind her desk, allowing herself a moment with her head in her hands, pretending Pycelle was not still in the room (the man seemed to want to be anywhere but here, besides, not wanting her rage to turn on him for whatever reason). Then she pulled herself together.

"Bring me a candle," She could not keep a hint of weariness from her voice as she reached for a sheath of paper and a quill. "There's work to be done,"

Now not only would running the entire kingdom be left as her responsibility - and despite the circumstances, that did manage to cause a small thrill - she would now have to prevent a war.

Many ravens flew from the rookery that night, mainly to Storm's End, to demand she be updated on the situation and to request an audience with both Houses Stark and Baratheon. Tya did not return to her bed. When the rosy light of dawn began to creep through the windows, she was still writing despite the cramping in her hands, still in her nightclothes, hair a mess around her face. 

That was how Rhaella found her. The queen had not appeared more faded and tired since before Aerys was locked up. 

"Is it true?" She asked, voice barely more than a whisper. "Pycelle said..." She broke off, unable to even voice what she was trying to say. "My son is no raper," Her tone became stronger. "He's not his father, he would not kidnap Lady Lyanna,"

"Whether he kidnapped her or seduced her into going by choice, he has likely still started a war," Tya replied sharply, lack of sleep doing nothing to soften her tone. "With the prince missing, Aerys locked up, and Viserys a child, you are now Queen Regent," Her friend blanched, startled. "Between us, we will have to hold the Seven Kingdoms together,"

"I'm not like you, Tya," Rhaella said, almost pleading. "I can't govern a kingdom - I wouldn't know where to start," 

Tya knew the queen was shaken from the news, seeing as she did not normally act so weak and frantic.

"I know," She said, barely looking up from her writing. "That's not a concern. You just have to look like you can do it - you're calm, patient and so long as you don't stumble your words, it will work. Attend Small Council meetings, sit the Iron Throne, order audiences with me. It has to look like I answer to you, otherwise there will be hostile whispers of House Lannister taking over King's Landing, of the throne being forfeit, which will not be good for either of our families,"

"People will not listen to me - "

"Then make them," She interrupted. "You are the queen, and a Targaryen. It is their duty to listen. People listened to Aerys for decades, and he was raving mad,"

Rhaella gave a weak chuckle, taking a deep breath.

"Very well," She said. "But you have to instruct me as best you can,"

Tya nodded.

"Of course," As if she'd have done anything else.

The replies from Storm's End came in swiftly, blunt and concise. The letters from Rickard Stark were nothing short of furious, though not at her - that note of warning had been a good move, looking back - and he agreed to an audience at the Red Keep. Baratheon had not even bothered to reply, though Stark claimed he would attend as well. 

Jason's second message was the most informative; he had included a note that Rhaegar had left, addressed to her. Bizarrely, he stated that he left the capital in the hands of Tya and his mother, something she was baffled by. Surely he knew that she would be working against him, having pulled this stunt? Although the note also detailed more of that ridiculous prophecy, giving his reasons for doing what he did - he needed his thrice-damned Prince Who Was Promised, his son of ice and fire - so he was likely as capable of rational thought as Aerys was, just better at hiding it. 

Her husband had also spoken to Ser Arthur Dayne. The Kingsguard knight had once been Rhaegar's closest friend and confidant, though that had changed after how the prince had destroyed and disgraced his sister. Dayne had reportedly refused to have any part in the prince's scheme, hoping that would deter him, however he had gone off with Whent instead. The Sword of the Morning had little more to add, aside from reiterating that Rhaegar was obsessed with that prophecy, deluded enough to believe it real. 

Tya had started to develop a twitch at the cursed word.

Stark and Baratheon travelled up the Kingsroad to the Red Keep with Tya's family; all of them, seeing as Jaime and Damon had come for the wedding too. She met with the lords herself; Robert had his surly brother Stannis at his side, whilst Lord Rickard had his eldest two sons. Brandon was like a raging wolf who looked ready to tear apart the whole city, though the second son, Eddard, was quiet, his stare like ice. Tya watched him more closely of the two.

"Before you declare war," She spoke before anyone else could, stood behind her desk with Jason at her side, the rest of them in front of her. "Let me remind you that there is no one here to fight. Rhaegar has vanished, Lady Lyanna with him," Brandon Stark actually growled. "So unless you wish to take your revenge on a raving madman, the pregnant queen, or the six-year-old prince, there is none to be had here. Also remember," She raised her voice as three men tried to speak at once. "That my family has been deeply insulted by the prince's actions as well, seeing as Rhaegar is married to my daughter," In other words, I am on your side for now so do cooperate.

There was a beat of silence.

"Where the fuck is the bastard, then?" Robert Baratheon demanded angrily. "No matter what you say, Lannister, I've already send out men, search parties, to get her back. Gods only know what he's doing to her,"

"Myself as well," Rickard Stark said gruffly. "And if the prince is found with her, there will be repercussions,"

"Bloody ones," Brandon said darkly.

"Do as you wish," Tya truly did not care, for Jason had taken her aside upon his return and informed her that after only two months of marriage, Cersei was pregnant. That child would be the key to holding onto power; she had never prayed for much before, though would be willing to spend a month on her knees before the Mother to ensure that the baby would be a boy.

They seemed taken aback by that.

"Did you not fight tooth and nail to put Rhaegar on the throne?" Stark raised an eyebrow. "I would have thought you'd be more loyal, Lady Tya,"

"He shamed my daughter and went back on our promise," She said coldly. "I warned him what would happen and he did not listen. Now he will have to face the consequences,"

*

283AC

With little to do in King's Landing, the Starks and Baratheons returned to Storm's End to continue their search for Lyanna. Jaime left to escort Damon back to Highgarden, and Tyrion went with them. Jason told her the boy wished to see Oldtown, which they were apparently planning on travelling onto. 

Rhaegar remained missing into the new year. Though Tya marvelled at his sheer stupidity, the absence of the Prince Regent did mean that she was essentially acting as Lady Regent herself. Never had her own power been so unchecked, a fact that no doubt made many lords nervous. Some, because they knew her ambition and that she was a forced to be reckoned with. Others, because she was a woman with the power of a king. 

Publicly, Rhaella was in charge, though the role the queen could play was limited by her fast-advancing pregnancy. There were two entire months where Tya was in sole control, given the troublesome birth of Princess Daenerys. She had feared that she was going to lose yet another friend - so soon after Loreza - given the nasty fever that Rhaella developed after the little princess was born, but the queen pulled through and was delighted with her new daughter. Daenerys was small, almost worryingly so, but seemed healthy aside from that.

Not only did Rhaegar miss the birth of his sister, but also that of his own child seven months after his disappearance. To the smugness and sheer relief of both Cersei and Tya, the baby was a son. A healthy boy with silver-gold hair and wide eyes of deepest purple. There was no doubting who his father was from his colouring, though there were definite traces of the Lannisters in his face, curly hair and his piercingly loud cries.

Cersei doted on the boy, as first-time mothers tended to do - even Tya had been far more delighted with her own twins than she had anticipated being with any child - though she was mindful not to spoil him. Aegon, her daughter had named him with a wicked smile. Rhaegar had always wanted a son named Aegon, and reportedly sought one from Lyanna Stark for his wretched ice and fire prophecy nonsense. Now he had one from the wife he disgraced.

Tya's fury at the prince had not lessened at all. The fact he had done something so monumentally stupid so soon into his regency reflected badly on her; she had put forward the idea of Rhaegar becoming regent to many of the lords, and her judgement was called into question when he acted so poorly.

This was a very delicate situation, but one she could twist to her advantage. The realm under Tya's handship had been stable and prosperous. It still was, despite teetering on the brink of war. She could do nothing but agree with the concerns of the lords, condemn Rhaegar's actions as unpredictable and foolhardy, and throw a large and public celebration for the birth of the new prince, Aegon, the result of a union between House Targaryen and House Lannister.

In a gesture of good faith to House Stark, her brother Kevan had (unprompted) sent out men of his own from Casterly Rock to search for Lyanna. They had met up with Jaime, Damon and Tyrion on their way back from Oldtown, and her sons had also joined the still-ongoing search. Tya privately thought that if the missing pair had not been found in seven months, they were likely in Essos and out of reach forever, which was not an unfavourable outcome.

She also had to ensure the Kingsguard would not go behind her back to support their prince. Barristan Selmy, Jonothor Darry and Lord Commander Gerold Hightower had never been overly happy with Rhaegar usurping Aerys in the first place - seeing it as a failing of their vows - particularly as none of them liked Tya overmuch. They had taken some convincing, which she had left to Rhaella, but ultimately ended up on side.

Arthur Dayne was firmly against Rhaegar, whilst Whent was away with him. Lewyn Martell, a fellow Dornishman, seemed to side with Dayne whilst the newest member of the Kingsguard - a Stormlander named Balon Swann - clearly sided with his former liege lord and would not support the prince. 

Of course, none of them would ever raise a sword to him either, as it was their sworn duty to protect the royal family. To compromise, Tya kept Martell, Swann, Hightower and Selmy in the city to protect the remaining Targaryens, whilst sending Darry and Dayne off to join the search parties for Rhaegar and their missing Kingsguard brother.

Amongst all her time spent dealing with the various fires to put out across Westeros, she had still found time to visit Aerys, just once. It was unavoidable, now.

The king had been sat by the window in his chambers, muttering to himself furiously, shaking his head as though trying to shake off a swarm of flies. Tya stepped through the door, her two guards remaining at the entrance. He looked truly awful; hair falling in long, stringy strands down his back, nails hideously long and torn, skin sallow and greyish in colour.

At first he did not look up, caught up staring at nothing in particular. But at the sound of her heeled boots on the floor as she slowly walked further into Aerys' luxury prison, his head snapped up abruptly, bleary lilac eyes focusing on her and clearing slightly.

"I heard you've been asking for me," Every couple of days she received word that he had requested her presence. Every time until now, she had taken some small satisfaction in ignoring the royal summons, having had enough of dancing to the whims of the Mad King. But they had said he seemed more sane, today, so for once she had decided to go.

Tya wasn't sure what she was expecting. 

Aerys stared at her for a long moment. Then his face - aged beyond his years - cracked into a wide smile. The king began to laugh, rasping and awful, the look on his face nothing short of mocking. 

"You helped my son usurp me," He crowed. "Only for Rhaegar to do his best to start a war with half the kingdoms, then vanish into thin air. Say what you like of me, Tya, but I never did that," 

He broke off, overcome by a bout of coughing, and she wondered how bad he was on other days if this was considered sane. However, mad laughter aside, his speech actually seemed relatively lucid, which made the words themselves - which were true - so much worse. Yet despite herself, Tya felt her lips twitch.

"That is true," She replied, sitting down in the armchair opposite him. "You never stole away a highborn lady for the sake of a prophecy. Though the things you did do could fill an entire tome with tales of insanity, cruelty and foolish decisions," 

His eyes narrowed, proud as ever.

"I did not abandon the throne to the wolves. Or should I say lions,"

She shrugged, a casual gesture she had not used in a long time.

"The throne is not abandoned. The Seven Kingdoms are far easier to govern without a Targaryen in charge,"

His brief rage turned back to mocking amusement. She was rather surprised to find him in... well, not high spirits, but not spitting and snarling at her, trying to scratch her eyes out with those awful long nails. Though that could change at any moment, she knew. He had little to lose now, though no doubt still feared she would kill him.

"So you have what you longed for all along - my Iron Throne grasped in those lioness' claws," 

"I've grasped the throne for years now, Aerys, you just didn't pay enough attention to notice," She replied. "Though the power of a king has a certain edge over the power of a Hand, I'll admit. As does power over the future king,"

"Ah yes," He wrinkled his nose slightly. "We now share a grandchild,"

"Aegon," Her head inclined. "A robust, healthy boy with a strong set of lungs," Oddly enough, marrying outside ones immediate family seemed to lead to babies that lasted longer than a month. "He will make a fine king. His hair is silver and gold, and I've been told his stare is rather unnerving for an infant. I don't see it myself," 

"That could have been our son, you know," He sounded almost sulky. 

"Our bastard son," She said coldly. "We have been through this before. You would never have married me, and I would never stoop to being your whore. Even if I were your wife, the moment you laid a hand on me you would regret it," His expression had darkened, but she continued before he could open his mouth. "I didn't come here to gloat," Not just to gloat, anyway. "Why do you suppose that today, of all days, I chose to pay you a visit, having ignored your summons for months?"

Aerys glared at her, then.

"If you say out of pity, I will - "

"The alchemist's guild was disbanded," She cut across him, watching his face closely. "I disbanded it myself, this very morning,"

The king's expression changed instantly. In a matter of seconds, he had gone white with fury, staggering to his feet. She rose too, not wanting to be caught off guard.

"No. How dare you?" His voice was low, shaking. His hands were shaking too. "You have no right, no right at all, none... Presumptuous Lannister whore, how dare you?" His volume rose in volume and madness with each word.

Tya raised her voice to be heard over him.

"As to why, I think you know something of that," From her gown pocket she drew out a series of messy, scrawled messages on ragged parchment. "Lord Varys delivered these to the Small Council this morning. Messages from you, sent through acolytes disguised as servants, to Rosshart. You order caches of wildfire stored all over the city - Flear Bottom, the Great Sept, the Dragonpit, even under the Red Keep itself,"  

Tya rarely shouted at anyone - she did not need volume to inspire fear and authority though her voice was raised now. Part of it was simply to be heard over his continued angry ramblings, and part of it was the result of twenty years of suppressed frustration, resentment and insults finally coming out at the man who had caused it.

"You put that wildfire back, Tya, you bitch, and allow the guild to do their work," The king snarled, getting up in her face, looming over her. Ah, wasn't this familiar. 

She raised a hand as she heard her guards start to move forward, not backing down.

"So you can destroy the entire city on a madman's whim?" She spat back at him. "I would have to be out of my mind myself to agree to that! You mock Rhaegar for abandoning the city, but you would have levelled it to the ground. You are a traitor to your family, a traitor to your kingdom, a traitor to your house's legacy - "

"You vile, wretched, hateful woman! I never should have made you Hand - never should have let you remain in court,"

"You were well within your rights to have dismissed me at any point," Tya snarled. "Except you were too afraid that I'd slit your throat in your sleep to dare - quite rightly. And you knew that without me, your kingdom would fall apart. What do you know of ruling, other than planning fancy feasts and making grand suggestions and promises that lead nowhere?"

"I know fire and blood!" He screamed back. "I would rather burn than rot in here for the rest of my life. And I would have you, you and all the other traitors, burn with me. If I cannot have your head on a spike, your ashes will have to suffice! The dragon will not submit to the will of lesser men. The dragon will burn each and every last one of his enemies. Burn them all. Burn them all,"

"Lady Tya," The slightly anxious voice of a guardsman broke through the argument, fighting to be heard as Aerys continued to shriek. "My apologies for interrupting. It's just... word came of the prince. He's been found, by your son Ser Jaime. Lady Lyanna is with him, though there is a... complication,"

*

I had to include a scene with Aerys, I missed his and Tya's vile interactions too much and this was fun to write. I don't believe he'd go down quietly either, hence the Wildfire plot. 

Tya genuinely thinks Rhaegar is insane, leaving her in charge, not to mention with a Targaryen grandson to scheme with. He likely is, with his prophecy obsession. Also, to respond/clarify for some comments on the last chapter; I as the author do not believe the prophecy is necessarily real in universe. But Rhaegar does. Which is the whole point. In canon he speaks of a prince who was promised, whose song is of ice and fire; he has interpreted the prophecy this way, does not mean it's actually going to happen.

Tya is obviously furious at this but part of her is enjoying the freedom to do whatever she likes. Not saying she would be the best ruler ever - she is definitely not there for the rights of the common people, is greatly inclined towards the benefit of House Lannister and is brutal and ruthless in her own right - though 20 years of peace as Aerys' hand has to count for something particularly as he was growing more and more insane for half of that. I think she would be a stable and competent queen, but not a benevolent one, and would react far too harshly to slights and threats. Definitely a better ruler for wartime than peace. 

As always thanks for reading and please leave a comment/review (I love feedback good or bad and do my best to address it).