Disclaimer: I don't own Game Of Thrones or any of its characters, all I own is my OC.

Chapter 5

Myriah rarely saw her husband during the day, they were both busy with their respective duties. Tywin usually awoke before her, Myriah was rather used to waking up to an empty bed, she actually preferred it this way, to have this time of the day to herself, well, almost, Larra was always there to gossip about everything that was happening in the castle.

Myriah would often let her do most of the talking, listening carefully to any information her handmaiden had gathered that could be useful in the future. She wouldn't exactly call her friend a spy but she was certainly resourceful at getting information.

"Would you not eat today again, my Lady?".

Larra had been casting sideway glances at the Lady as she changed the sheets from the bed. Myriah sat there, in silence, eyeing the food with an unreadable look on her face.

For days Myriah had not been eating very well, she skipped most of the meals, except for dinner. Her husband had made a habit of eating dinner with her everyday, although they barely spoke during their meals. It had been awkward the first few times, Myriah tried to make conversation only to be responded with very short –if any– answers, eventually she gave up and started to eat in absolute silence, after a while she grew use to it.

Everything in this place was so silent, so different from all the noise back at Sunspear. The servants performed their duties being extremely careful of not to disturb their Lord, fearing his anger. Myriah had always favored quietness over too much noise but sometimes it was ridiculous just how quiet it could get here, the only constant noise was the sound of the waves smashing against the rocks and lately, the storms.

It had been raining a lot in the past few days, Myriah wasn't very fond of this type of weather, the thunders often kept her awake at night. Today she was glad to awake to see the sun once again shinning in the blue sky, she hoped it stays this way.

"Myriah?" Larra's voice brought her out of her thoughts. Myriah blinked a few times before answering.

"I'm not hungry" she replied quietly while massaging her temples, she was having headaches again.

"You should at least eat something".

Myriah look at the food, it was the same as usual, yet lately she couldn't help being grossed out by it, the sight, the smell, especially the smell. She pushed the plate aside with a disgusted look on her face.

"You're feeling sick again" it wasn't a question but Myriah nodded "Maybe you should listen to Lady Genna".

"About what now?".

"Going to the Maester" she thought about it for a moment but said nothing "You won't know the cause of this... sudden illness if you don't go to the Maester".

Myriah shoot her a look, she knew what she was implying, Genna had been suspicious about it too, Myriah was glad the woman had kept her mouth shut, there was no need to tell Tywin about it, not yet.

Her blood moon should've come by now, two weeks ago to be precise but it didn't, other women would be positive of their future motherhood but Myriah's blood moons weren't as regular as that of other women, it wouldn't be the first time her blood moon came late, she was giving it time to be certain before getting everyone's hopes up. Too late, both Genna and Larra seemed so sure that Myriah was indeed carrying a life inside her, Genna barely was able to conceal her excitement, Myriah couldn't help having mixed feelings about it.

By the end of the previous year she was getting married, the first few months of her marriage she had been impatience to get with child, her grip on the Rock would never be solid unless she gave birth to a boy with Lannister blood. Months passed and she remained childless, Myriah grew concerned, she was inclined to believe it was because of her husband's age, she couldn't bring herself to even consider that the one with the problem was her. Larra reassured her that it was perfectly normal, that only very few women had the luck to fall pregnant quickly, besides, it had only been a couple of months, there was still plenty of time but more time passed, now this year was coming to an end too and she still wasn't a mother.

Through this months Myriah had invested herself into her duties as the Lady of the place and her the need of a child had been left aside but now she was getting sick all the time, her breast were getting bigger and sensitive and the sickness, the damn sickness was getting worse by the day, her belly was flat still but could there be a life growing inside her?.

There were the mixed feelings again, did she wanted to be a mother? of course, nothing would make her more happy but did she really wanted to be the mother of his child?, did she really wanted little golden haired lions for children?, for that Myriah didn't have a definitive answer.

Before, when she was a young girl, just a little Princess meant to be her father's successor, Myriah had wanted many children of her own, ever since her mother introduced her to her baby brother she had wanted to be a mother, she remembered how small and fragile Trystane had been, like a doll, it was the first time in her life she saw a baby, to her he was the most fascinating thing in the world to her, although her fascination disappeared within his first year of life, her love for him and her wishes for a big family remained the same.

She never truly cared if she had boys or girls, the first born would have been her heir, regardless of its gender but as the Queen once said to her, not everywhere in the world things were done the way they were done in Dorne. Myriah wasn't a princess anymore, she was a lady, she wasn't the ruler of her own region, she was just the wife of the man in charge of a land that wasn't really hers.

Myriah stood up from the chair and walked to the door, Larra watched her with surprise, thinking that she had finally decided to go to the Maester.

"I'm going to the gardens, if someone asks for me tell them I wish to be alone" she left before Larra could muster a reply.

Of course Myriah was never truly alone, Daemon never left her side, whenever she was in the gardens, the beach or even the city, he was always close to her side, only when they were inside of the castle's walls he would give her some space, knowing full well she hated being followed closely, something she was forced to endure everytime she went to the city.

As Myriah walked through the corridors she passed many servants, they all bowed to her and say 'my Lady', some even smiled at her, she returned the smile.

When Myriah first arrived at the Rock servants rarely spoke to her, she figured that they were afraid she was as cruel as the Lord, not to mention she was dornish, only the Gods knew what lies they had heard about her people, Myriah treated them all with kindness.

At first some had been wary of their Lady's intentions, not being used to being treated this way, they were so used to being treated with only coldness, threats and very severe punishments, sometimes too severe for Myriah's liking. Even someone like Genna, who was nothing but kind to Myriah, turned into a completely different person when it came to deal with the servants but it wasn't just with servants.

On Myriah's twentieth name day a celebration was thrown in her honor, it was the first time she met her new vassals and their families, all of the western houses were present.

"You must place limits" Genna advised her, she spoke to her in hushed tones to make sure no one overheard their conversation "They must never forget who's in charge, if they start to see themselves as your equals, they will start to question why is it you who must rule above them and not the other way around, sooner than you think they will turn against you".

Her husband shared similar ideals, he believed that in order to have people under your grip you needed to be feared. 'It's better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both', was what he said to her when she asked him about the Reynes once. Myriah had really wanted to ask him about the deaths of her aunt and cousins then but she knew she wasn't going to be able to keep her temper in check if he dismissed their deaths in the same cold way.

Tywin Lannister loved his power and the only way he knew how to keep it was through fear, no matter how much he claimed that every act of cruelty he has ever committed for a reason and that it was necessary for the good of his house or the realm, the truth was that he loved the fear his acts of cruelty caused.

"Too much cruelty and the people will start to plot against you" she pointed out.

"People will always plot against you, it's because they are beneath you, they have to step over you in order to get out of the hole they are in, tell me girl, do think you can gain people's loyalty by being kind?, even the most loyal of dogs can turn against you if they smell weakness, that it's why you must give them a remainder from time to time of who is the master, too much kindness and they will stop seeing you as a figure of power".

Myriah later had talked about this with Genna, she was curious to see what her view on her brother's cruel ways was.

"He had to learn to be this way, his the eldest, on his shoulders lies the responsibility of protecting our house from those who seek to destroy us".

And yet he married a Martell, she thought to herself, finding the situation extremely ironic.

"Our father was a kind man" Genna continued "Quick to laugh, always eager to please others, he was also weak willed, slow to anger and quick to forgive, our vassals laughed at his back, at first at least, it got to the point where they started to laugh at his face, they called him the toothless lion, he almost brought an end to our house, if it wasn't for Tywin House Lannister would be nothing but ashes, he made people fear the Lannister name once again, I won't lie, I don't agree with all of his methods but sometimes cruelty is necessary, you are too young still, you will learned that lesson on your own eventually".

Myriah couldn't say she was surprised to see Genna agreeing with her brother, what did surprised and scared her was to find herself starting to agree with some parts too. If someone were to try to hurt her family, would she not feed them steel and fire?, she knew the answer very well, if someone tried to hurt those she loved she would destroy them without hesitation, did that made her just as bad as him?.

Myriah's hand reached to touch her necklace, an emerald pendant, Tywin gifted it to her on her name day, she had not been expecting anything from him but she was pleasantly surprised. She wondered if it was a coincidence that he happened to give her something she actually liked, or if he had help from Genna, somehow she could not picture him taking the time to bother with what she liked and what she did not liked, so she dismissed it as a mere coincidence. Nevertheless, she appreciated the gift.

Memories from the celebration of her name day came to her mind, she had actually enjoyed it, until that man came. Ser Gregor Clegane, the Mountain That Rides, or as her uncle liked to call him, Tywin's dog. She had felt so sick by the sight of him that she almost fainted, she then had to retire to her chambers and the celebration was ended. That was when the sickness started, she cursed the man –if you can call that a man– for it.

Myriah entered the gardens, she smiled when the warm rays of the sun touched her skin, this was the weather she liked. She inhaled deeply, her nose was filled by the sweet smell of the flowers, her previous sickness started to fade away.

Myriah was usually busy managing the household but some days, when she had a little bit of free time, she would either walk down the beach or come to the gardens, she preferred the gardens, it was her favorite place, at least in Casterly Rock, she had other favorite places back in Dorne, like the Water Gardens.

Here, she would often close her eyes and pretend she was back at her family's summer home. Myriah remembered every detail of it, the pale pink marble that paves the courtyard, the terraces overlooking the numerous pools and fountains, the orange trees. If she concentrated really hard, Myriah could almost hear the children's laughter as the ran around the place or played in the water.

The Water Gardens was built by Prince Maron Martell as a gift for his new bride, Princess Daenerys Targaryen, to mark the union of Dorne with the rest of the Seven Kingdoms. The Targaryen Princess initiated the tradition of hosting children from all stations and areas of Dorne, they were sent to there to foster, at first at had been a privilege reserved for children of noble birth, later the smallfolk were also included.

Myriah remembered playing with her brother on the fountains, eating orange pie, she smiled fondly at the memories. She sighed and quickly went back to her neutral state, there was no point in being nostalgic, Casterly Rock was her home now. She had come to the gardens to think, not to feel homesick, it had been a while since she felt this way.

Daemon noticed the sad look on her face, although she did her best to hide it, he figured that she was most likely remembering Dorne, or missing it rather. Myriah never showed any signs of being unhappy, especially not in front of her Lord husband but Daemon knew she wasn't happy.

Most people might just think she was simply quite, they didn't know her, nor like he did, she was quieter than her cousins, yes but she would also laugh and make jokes. Daemon had not seen her smile –truly smile– or laugh ever since she married the old lion.

Sometimes Daemon wished he could take her back to Dorne, she should be there taking her rightful place as her father's heiress, there she would have been able to choose anyone as her consort, someone that was willing to make her happy, someone like him.

Daemon scolded himself for thinking of that, he had sworn to himself that he would forget about his feelings, she was married now and it wasn't as if he ever had a chance, Myriah had always seen him as a friend, nothing more.

Myriah had always been unaware of Daemon's feelings, it was ironic considering how good she usually was at reading people. Her cousins had noticed, her uncle had noticed, even her father, which confused Daemon to no end.

Why send him to be her shield against the lions and not someone else?, someone that didn't have these feelings, was this to be his punishment for desiring her?, to watch her be unhappy in the arms of another man for the rest of his life, a man that didn't even care about her.

Or maybe that was the motive behind the Prince's decision, Daemon loved her and so he was willing to take his own life if she commanded it, that made him the perfect swornshield for her.

Still, sometimes it was painful to see her and know that she would never be his, right now was one of those moments.

Myriah was dressed in a orange dress, a Martell color, yet the style of the gown resembled something the lioness would wear, not her, that didn't make her look any less beautiful. Even in not one of her best moods she managed to shine as bright as the sun, putting to shame the beauty of the flowers around her.

Myriah looked at him and Daemon quickly averted his eyes, too late, he already had been caught staring.

"What?".

"Nothing" he shifted awkwardly in his feet.

Daemon look at her again, he found that she wasn't angry or annoyed, she was amused.

"You have been staring the whole morning".

"I'm supposed to watch over you".

"You're daydreaming".

"You're the one to talk" he scoffed "Do you want to talk about it or do I have to get Larra?" he joked, she glared at him playfully.

"Talk about what?".

"Why you're sad" she frowned and looked away.

"I'm the Lady of richest house in all Westeros, wife to the most powerful man in the Seven Kingdoms, what could I possibly be sad about?".

Daemon walked closer to her, watching her the whole time but she refused to meet his gaze, instead she look at the city.

"You miss Dorne, you want to be back" she said nothing "It is only natural".

"And pointless" she finally admitted.

"Sometimes we waste time thinking about the most pointless things".

"And what pointless things you think about?" she asked, looking at him again.

"I think only of serving you, my Lady" he bowed while smiling playfully.

"Always the faithful knight".

Myriah then returned her attention to the flowers. Daemon reached down and cut with his knife a yellow rose with red tips, he offered it to her. She eyed the flower and then look at him, she cocked an eyebrow in a questioning manner.

"You're destroying my garden".

"Smile, my Lady, it's a beautiful day, a couple of months with the lions and you already are looking as stern and stiff as your Lord husband".

She scolded at him, he really needed to behave, her husband already disliked him enough as it was, the last thing he needed was an excuse to get rid of him.

"You do realize you could lose your head for saying those kind of things, right?".

Daemon only shrugged casually. Myriah shook her head but couldn't help but smile at his careless behavior, he was always like this.

There it was, a genuine smile, although it was small it was enough to make his smile grow wider. Her smile faded away as a frown made its way into her face,

"What is it?" he asked her, confused by her sudden change of mood.

"I... I don't know... I feel..." she couldn't finish the sentence.

Thanks to Daemon quick reflexes Myriah didn't touch the floor, she was close but he still managed to catch her.

"Myriah?" the panic was clear in his voice, she suddenly looked so pale "Myriah?!" he shake her, she didn't respond.

Daemon carried her in his arms took her to her room, he saw Larra as he walked through the hallway, the girl went as pale as Myriah when she saw the unconscious Lady in the arms of the dornish knight.

"Get the Maester" he yelled at her.

Larra nodded and sprinted in the Maester's chambers direction. Daemon passed other servants, he supposed he should have told them to inform Lord Tywin but he didn't, all he cared was getting Myriah help and he knew they would run to their Lord anyway.

Maester Creylen was the Maester of Casterly Rock, Daemon didn't trust the man but then again, he didn't trust anyone that was loyal to the lions.

After a brief examination the man said that the Lady was well, only unconscious, Daemon wanted to strangle the old man, he already knew that, he was there when she fainted, he wanted to know why, he needed to know she was fine but there was very little the Maester could until Myriah regained consciousness.

Lord Tywin didn't take long to make an appearance, accompanied by his sister, that was when Daemon was dismissed, only Lady Genna bothered to acknowledge him by thanking him for his actions.

Daemon didn't want her gratitude, he only did what he was supposed to do but he had to bite his tongue and leave the room.

"What happened to her?" Tywin immediately demanded to know.

"She fainted, my Lord".

"I can see that, why did she faint?".

"I don't know, maybe it was the heat, the Lady seems to spend a lot of time in the gardens".

"She was born and raised in Dorne, she's use to a lot more heat than this" he was starting to lose his patience.

"Has she been eating enough?".

Tywin opened his mouth to answer the Maester's question but Genna spoke first.

"She has been skipping some of her meals recently".

Tywin turned to face his sister, he frowned.

"She also has been feeling sick, nauseous, I found her vomiting in her room a few days ago, I told her to go the Maester, she said she was going to, clearly she didn't".

"And why was I not informed of this before?".

A small moan came from the bed, they all turned their attention to Myriah. Genna walked closer and sat down next to her, she put a hand on her forehead.

When Myriah opened her eyes the first thing saw was the gentle smile of her sister-in-law. For a moment she looked confused, then she seemed to remember what happened and sighed.

"I fainted didn't I?".

"How are you feeling?".

"A little dizzy".

"I think you should rest, my Lady, perhaps I could suggest..." the Maester was cut by Tywin.

"Leave us".

Myriah look at her husband for the first time since she regained consciousness, he was angry, that was as clear as the day.

"Ty, she needs rest".

"All of you" he shoot an icy glare to his sister. She hesitated for a moment, then she nodded.

Seeing Genna's apologetic look she knew the reason of her dear husband's splendid mood. Once they were alone Tywin walked closer to the bed, Myriah sat up, she felt so small with him towering over her.

"Why didn't you tell me?".

"Tell you what?".

"Do not play fool with me, girl, you know very well what I'm talking about, are you pregnant?".

Straight to the point then, she thought.

Tywin had noticed certain changes in her body, he didn't want to get false hopes, he trusted that if indeed she was pregnant she would tell him but she seemed more interest in hiding it, was she planning to get rid of the child?, did she hated him that much?.

Myriah paused for a moment, choosing her words carefully.

"I'm not sure".

"You could have gone to Maester Creylen, then you would have been sure but you didn't".

"I was busy with other things".

"Yet you manage to find time to surround yourself by commoners" she clenched her jaw, a recent habit she seemed to have got from him.

Back in Dorne Myriah would often go to the market and talk to the people, especially the children, she would sometime give them food, she did it because she like it and her people loved her for that, because she treated them like people and not animals, it was only reasonable that she tried to do the same with her new people, her husband didn't agree on that.

Tywin didn't like her insistence on leaving the safety of castle to go befriend what, to him, where a bunch of sheeps. She had tried to explain to him that she simply wished for the people to get to know their Lady, he didn't listen.

He was so used to control everyone around him but he couldn't always control her, Myriah knew it angered him how little his cold glares affected her. With time she had grew used to his sometimes harsh attitude, she also grew more and more indifferent to it, why should affect her?, she didn't expect his love, there was no reason for her to go and weep in her bed because her cold-hearted husband was everything but loving.

What did bother her was the fact that she was condemned to this life, this loveless marriage, she would never knew true love, if that even existed. Tywin continuously tried to dominate her, to bend her to his will, while Myriah tried to do the same, it was extremely entertaining, at least to her. This she enjoyed, their little game, the mighty lion would roar and bare his teeth, while the viper casted her spell of lust and seduction.

Eventually she ended up getting her way, to a certain degree. Myriah was allowed to leave the castle but only for very short periods of time and only with at least two Lannister guards, besides Daemon, it was the best she had managed to persuade him without getting into an argument, he still wasn't pleased though.

Myriah took a deep breath, she usually tried –and sometimes failed– to cause the less fights as she could, some fights ended in the bed, in others she ended coming to the gardens, to calm herself. Sometimes she was so tempted to grab her dagger and end this, but his death would bring her no good, not right now anyway.

She got up from the bed, she walked slowly toward him, until she was only a few inches from him. He could feel the heat of her body, she was always warm, as if it was fire and not blood that ran through her veins.

Tywin would never admit it but sometimes he found himself enjoying submitting to her charms, sometimes he thought she truly was a viper, her poison swept through his veins and threatening to drive him mad but he would not submit, not to her not to anyone and so the game goes on.

"You are right husband, I should have went to Maester Creylen earlier" she grabbed his hand, she was half expecting him to pull away but he didn't "I won't lie, I have my doubts at first" she put his hand over her belly "But I know now that I'm carrying a little lion and it fills me with so much joy, I hope it pleases you too".

She would have smiled but she had learned that he mistrusted smiles and laughter. Tywin was tempted to believe her, she truly seemed happy at the prospect of a child.

For a moment he say nothing, he just watched her carefully. Tywin realized it was getting harder to tell when she was lying and he knew it was because deep down he wanted to trust in her, he couldn't live the rest of his life doubting his wife's intentions, he already had so many enemies, he couldn't fight another one in his bed.

Out of sudden he pulled away and turned towards the door.

"Pregnant or not you will allow Maester Creylen to examine you, and it's not a suggestion" he shoot her one last look before leaving the room.

There it was, the cold tone again, if she pushed to far he would always pull back from her. Sometimes she was tempted to believe he was made of ice but he proved her wrong everytime they were in bed.

Myriah put a hand where his hand had been before and stroked her belly gently. Perhaps a child would bring him closer to her but if she gave him the boy he so desperately needed, would he then cast her aside?.

Author's Note

I added and changed a few things in the first chapters, minor things, you might not even notice what's new but for those of you that have been here from the moment I posted the first chapter, I recommend to reread the story from the beginning.

Also I started classes again so I'm definitly not going to be able to update every week as I first intended but I'm NOT abandoning the story. I've already planned how it's going to end, I'm just still deciding what's going to happen and what not in the middle.

In case someone is wondering, the only siblings of Tywin that will be on this story are Kevan and Genna and by the way, does anyone else thinks that Megan Follows, a.k.a. Queen Catherine from Reign, would have been an amazing Genna Lannister? whenever I write Genna I picture her, I don't know, maybe it's just me.

HPuni101 I guess you will have to keep reading :)

klo Tywin would do spontaneous combustion from the anger if she did that LOL

calh I'm glad you're liking their interactions, it's not exactly easy to write someone like Tywin and do him justice, I'm not ashamed to recognized my writing is not nearly as good as George R. R. Martin, one can only hope to one day write a masterpiece like A Song Of Ice And Fire.

gunbae I think deep down Tywin hopes that too *laugh* she definitely would be easier to control if she was a love sick girl, but let's not underestimate the Martell's hatred.

I'm loving all your reviews, I can't believe this story has so many follows already. Thank you for reading this story, it really means a lot to me.

As always any constructive criticism is more than welcomed.

Fun fact: yellow roses with red tips symbolized friendship and falling in love or falling in love with your best friend. I'm just going to throw that out there and leave.

Have a nice day/night xoxoxo