103 Yesterday's friend is today's enemy I

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This week and next week I have complex exams, so the chapter for power stones will be left in debt for later.

I will continue writing but I will not translate and edit them to save time, so if anyone wants to leave their suggestions, now is the time.

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POV of Tywin Lannister

The day of the tournaments was approaching, and the glorious Lannister house was going to participate in the festivities that were organized by the royal house.

Nothing out of the ordinary, just some bands of thieves that seem to be migrating from the Riverlands because lately the lords were coordinating to put an end to those pests that bother their lands, but it seems they have not achieved their goals and their problems are coming to us, but my bannermen have acted as expected of them and have been quickly crushed.

It seems again that Jon has yielded again against the Prussians, obeying their wishes. It is no longer a secret that Arryn has a favorite because, so far, he has accepted everything they have asked of him.

As we were arriving at the capital, the city I had ruled for years, we were met with a somewhat familiar noise.

On the horizon, we could hear the Prussians' music and the rumble of their boots as they marched by.

As we approached, we found a Prussian camp where they were practicing for the tournaments to be held in the next few days.

A large group of men were fighting with their pikes against each other, although they seemed to be missing the point of the pike. There was another group who were practicing with a very fine sword and wearing masks that covered their noses and eyes, and a third group who were fighting in a circle of sand.

As we continued on our way, I heard the shouts of a Prussian officer, which were heard over the music that the musical instruments were emitting, and he was giving orders to his soldiers, who obeyed almost instantly as they performed maneuvers upon hearing the commands.

'Although we have tried to imitate some of their training, we have not achieved the levels of discipline that the Prussian soldier manages, but if we manage to bribe some of their officers and get them out of the city, it would not be difficult to replicate it in our armies.'

We sent our emissary to the city to inform them of our arrival, but we had to wait a little while for one of Lord Arryn's knights to authorize us to enter the city.

The city was very overpopulated; it seems that the peasants have taken refuge here, and they don't seem to want to return because there are some kinds of improvised beds in almost every street.

When we arrived at the outskirts of the castle, we found that the famous Teutonic knights, that the Prussians talk so much about that they buried the Targaryen reign in Ruby Ford, were surrounded by small folks.

Children sitting with food in their hands as they listened attentively to a knight who was apparently telling them a story of his battles.

Several adults who were receiving treatment for their wounds. The teutons were stitching wounds, cleaning dirt, and bandaging a large group of peasants.

''Isn't that Charles?'' said Kevan, pointing to a smiling giant who was cleaning an old woman's feet.

Although it was a little difficult for me to recognize him because he wasn't wearing his iconic helmet, everyone had heard about him and how he had defeated Arthur Dayne in single combat, establishing him as the greatest knight who lives in the seven kingdoms.

'Although Jaime probably would have done it too.'

''Apparently so. What a way to treat his knights, the Prussian has'' I said, concentrating on getting on my way.

Upon finally entering the castle, we found that there were many Prussian servants wearing their lord's heraldry on their robes.

What the hell is Arryn doing? He has yet to sell the kingdom to the Prussians''.

Robert seemed to have changed nothing; he had no interest in ruling and threw all his powers to Arryn, which made him the de facto ruler. Robert simply gave me his greetings, gave me permission to lodge in the castle chambers, and then retired, fulfilling the minimum he should do.

''Lord, hand'' I said with a serious tone, looking at Lord Arryn.

''Lord Lannister, I hope your journey has been uneventful. The king would be very sad if he knew anything had happened to his father during his journey for these joyous festivities,'' Lord Arryn replied, looking back at me.

''The roads in my territories have always been well maintained and free of any trouble, but there are other matters I would like to discuss'' I said this to Lord Arryn as he placed his hands behind his back.

''Of course, my duty is to listen to the suggestions of the king's lords, especially his father'' said Lord Arryn, fixing his gaze on me.

I began to approach Lord Arryn.

''Well, my question is, when will I be given my rightful position on the council?'', I said after taking a few steps towards him.

''The small council is full, Lord Lannister; it would not be wise to replace one of its members as long as there is no need. At the moment, the kingdom is prospering, the coffers are filling, and the granaries are preparing for the next winter,'' Lord Arryn answered with a smile.

''A good king must be surrounded by good advisors, even more of the small council seats, and who better than me? For years, I was kept in check by the madness of King Aerys. The kingdom prospered and flourished as the lion and dragon worked together. My experience would be vital for Robert; he could become a good king as long as he listens and learns from those who have the experience'' I said as I slowly approached Lord Arryn.

''King Robert is a good king,'' Lord Arryn replied.

''Are you sure about that? Robert, he didn't even ask me how I was; it might be considered an insult by other lords, as his father would have to give him advice, but he didn't seem to be in the mood to listen either,'' I said, raising the tone of my voice a little.

''It's a mistake we all make, Lord Lannister. Robert doesn't have much experience in this, but it's only a matter of time before he starts to act as expected of him,'' said Arryn.

I let silence work its magic.

As time passed, Arryn began to get a little nervous.

''The answer, Lord Lannister, is no; the king does not consider you to be trustworthy; we cannot forget that you were planning to stab in the back the one who was his friend for several years'' said Lord Arryn somewhat nervously.

''You or the king?'', I asked with a serious tone.

''Both, Lord Lannister, you are the father-in-law of the king and father of the queen; that should be enough for the prestige you seek. I know it's difficult for someone with your characteristics, but you must be content with what you have. Jon Arryn finished trying to look away from my eyes.

''You deny me my right. Lord Arryn, while you surround yourself with foreigners, you can make all the excuses you want, but you are doing a terrible job guaranteeing the interests of the realm, giving in every day to everything the Prussians ask for as if you were afraid of them'' I said with a serious tone.

''There is no law that states that the king's relatives must be in council, and the only reason we surround ourselves with Prussians is because we need them; the grain market is stable thanks to them; Dorne will be a constant thorn in Robert's reign; the Prussians are now the shield of the south, and they must fight against them; besides, they are the most important vassals of the kingdom, the ones that contribute most to the kingdom's coffers,'' Lord Arryn said.

Those who contribute the most to the kingdom's coffers have always been House Lannister Lord Arryn. That should be common knowledge,'' I said without emitting emotions.

''Not anymore; the reach brings in far more than the Westerlands, and for sure, the Hohenzollerns are the richest house in the seven kingdoms, but well, Lord Lannister, we have nothing more to talk about... I am a busy man, and I hope you understand that there is much to be done to ensure that all goes well in these festivities'' Lord Arryn said, turning and leaving the throne room.

'This is only temporary; they are only like House Velaryon, a temporary wealth; in the future, House Lannister will reach new horizons, being even richer and more powerful than before'.

I also left the throne room and went to the chambers that had been given to me. I had many things to do in the city, and Pycelle only informs me of certain things since he does not want to raise Varys suspicion, although I would have liked to know that information before speaking with Arryn.

organizing my things in the room, I asked one of the servants to call Jaime and Cersei to my presence; there were things I had to ask them.

Pycelle stopped by my chambers and gave me information about what Lord Arryn had said, and it was true: the crops in the reach increased too much, exceeding the tax we paid.

I waited patiently for my sons to arrive until finally the door to my chamber opened to reveal my twins.

''Father'' they both said at the same time.

I pointed to the chairs, and they sat down full of them without making me wait too long.

''Why weren't you there to greet me in the throne room?'' I asked Cersei, fixing my gaze on her.

Cersei began to act nervous.

''I didn't know you would arrive today, father, or that I would be there to greet you,'' she replied rather nervously.

''Oh, so you haven't fulfilled your duties as queen? Robert does nothing to rule, which would give you quite a bit of influence at court, receiving guests and making yourself known, but you were not there, and from your answer, I realize you have done nothing. Why?''', I said with a stern tone.

''Robert and I despise each other only once in a while to rape me in his room; the rest of the time he spends it going to the city brothels or sleeping with castle maids'' Cersei said with great displeasure.

''So you just lock yourself in your room and talk to your friends in the city, from what I understand... I remember well that when I left you in the city, you were supposed to inform me about important things... but you only send useless information since everything indicates that you forgot what your duty was...''' I said, showing my disappointment in my voice.

''But father...''' she tried to say.

''What are your duties, Cersei?''' I said, interrupting her.

''to give an heir to the iron throne and influence Robert to gain benefits for our house'' Cersei said, lowering her head.

''Well, it seems you didn't forget, but you haven't done anything...''' I said, looking at Cersei.

Jaime was just staring at the table, trying to stop me from realizing that he exists.

''I have informed you of everything I know, father...'' She tries to say.

''Then it seems you don't know anything; you know what I find out today: the richest house in the seven kingdoms, it's not us, it's the Hohenzollerns. Just with the damn grain from their fertile lands, they are cornering the entire grain market in the seven kingdoms and the sale of manufactured goods. From what they told me, they diverted a huge amount of that harvest to produce spirits, feed their cattle, and war horses'' I said, quite annoyed.

''It's just a good harvest, father; not every year will be so abundant; you know, a drought, a lack of rain, while the gold from our mines is always a steady income'' said Jaime somewhat nervously.

''You would have been right. From your answer, I deduce that you also don't know that the Prussians have a huge gold mine in their territories. It seems that both'' I said to Jaime, but upon hearing the news and observing the surprised faces of both Jaime and Cersei, I realized that they don't know anything.

''You are in the damned capital. Arryn is an idiot who can't keep secrets. If it weren't for Varys, everyone would know what happens here. How is it possible that you do not know?'' I said it with a stern voice.

''Is the news from the Prussian gold mine that bad, father?'', asked Jaime.

''What part of a huge gold mine did you not understand? It is a huge problem. It produces more gold than all the mines in the westerlands per year, and just from what we know from our spies in the mine, their operating costs are lower because they only have to clean the sand out of the river and they have gold ready to be smelted. That gold the Prussian has not yet used to flood the market, but if he does, my domain will suffer too much. We will have to regulate mining greatly to try and control the price''.

Jaime and Cersei looked at each other, undecided about who should speak.

''And what shall we do, father'' asked Jaime.

''Negotiate. There is no other option if the price of gold loses its value because of the oversupply. It would not affect the Prussians as much as us. We are going to negotiate a better deal for the sale of raw materials that was previously negotiated for our alliance. That is why Kevan went to talk to Lord Hohenzollern to bring him before my presence'' I said a little calmer.

As soon as I finished saying that, I heard a very faint knocking on the door of my room.

The person who entered was Kevan, who had a worried face.

Kevan greeted Jaime and Cersei and waited for me to speak to them.

''What happened, Kevan? The Prussian should be with you,'' I said with seriousness.

''Well, brother, ehh, Lord Hohenzollern... he considers that he and you have nothing to negotiate... as you said not to talk to him about the subject of negotiation, Lord Hohenzollern refused to come here... but he cordially invited you to go to his quarters in the Prussian enclave in the city'' said Kevan, very nervous.

'That bastard'.

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