Lord Baelish turned out to be useful after all. His negotiations with house Tyrell, particularly with Lady Olenna and Lady Margery, earned the Lannisters the army they needed to crush Stannis from behind at the battle of Blackwater. Meanwhile, Tywin could leave most of his army in the Riverlands to hold the line against the north.
One threat was dealt with. The Baratheons were gone or scattered and the Tyrells brought to heel. It left them an opportunity to focus on the Starks.
Arya Stark had clearly done the math on this fact. She looked more nervous of late as she listened to the battle meetings. He caught her glancing over her shoulder whenever she heard mention of her brother. There was a possibility that the war would turn, and Tywin imagined she was picturing the rest of her family's heads on spikes beside her father's.
She had every right to be worried, because the Stark boy had recently made some very crucial missteps in this war. First, he had executed Richard Karstark for killing two young Lannister hostages. It was a proper punishment for disobeying orders, but it lost him a sizeable house of allies.
Second, he had married some low born girl for love rather than keep his vow to Lord Frey. That was unexpectedly dishonorable of Robb Stark, though expectedly stupid of a seventeen year old boy. It gave Tywin satisfaction to see that the boy was not immune to incompetence. Walder Frey did not appreciate this slight, and was more than willing to speak with Tywin on the matter.
Third, he had gone and given the Greyjoy ward power in his army and the Greyjoy boy turned on him and joined his father in rebellion. Robb Stark's home was under attack and his younger brothers held hostage. He was stupid to trust a Greyjoy in the first place.
Fourth, he had failed to notice the turn of one of his other allies. Roose Bolton had long been disillusioned with this boy king, and sought a claim to warden of the north.
The noose was tightening on the Young wolf, on and off the battlefield, and he did not even know it. Tywin knew he had an opportunity to in this war. It would not be an honorable ending, but that mattered little to Tywin. He simply wanted to see this war finished so that they could focus on preparing for winter.
There would be problems following the fall of House Stark, of course. The North was stubborn and would be difficult without a Stark in Winterfell. They Greyjoys would also be a problem. But Robb Stark would never agree to peace after his father's death. Especially not when he still had Jaime.
His cupbearer in disguise knew nothing of these plans of his. She would find out eventually, and hate him deeply when she did. He did not mind that. Most people hated him. But if she grew too bold in her anger, he would have to put her down.
"Do you need something my lord?" Arya asked. She had noticed him watching her.
"No." Tywin rubbed his chin. "Actually… yes. An answer to a question." He leaned forward. "Your brother Robb. Were you close with him?"
Arya observed him suspiciously. "I'm not sure I want to answer that, my lord."
"No, but you will," Tywin said.
The girl looked down at her feet, as if thinking of a lie. But then she settled against it. "Yes. We were all close. I was always closest with Jon though."
"Your bastard brother?"
"Don't call him that." Arya's eyes seemed to flare with grey fire.
"Why not? That's what he is," Tywin said. "There is no sense in lying with kinder words."
Arya did not reply. She often became sullen when she did not have a retort. It reminded Tywin of Cersei when she was a child… and Cersei now, for that matter.
"If your brother had to choose between his sisters and his war, what would he choose?" Tywin asked. "In your honest opinion."
Arya did not look quite comfortable with this question. "I'm… not sure." She looked up at him. "He loves us dearly, but he loves the north too. He wants to do right by the north in father's absence. But… my mother is a Tully. Their words are family, duty, honor."
"Family first," Tywin said. "A sentimental notion. Will he follow your mother's words? Or your father's?"
"I don't know," Arya said. "If he refused to bend… would you kill me, my lord?"
She was a sharp girl. She knew that just because she was a lady did not make her immortal.
Anyone can be killed.
"That depends," Tywin said at last.
The flaps of the tent parted and Kevan rushed inside, panting for breath. "Tywin. We have a visitor."
"Good or bad?" Tywin asked.
"Good. Very good." Kevan held the flap aside. Tywin was stunned to see Jaime enter the tent.
He stood abruptly, nearly knocking back his chair. Tywin was not one to let his emotions get the better of him, but here, he could not hide his shock. Jaime had the gall to smile.
"I'm back."
He was. And with his arrival, the tide shifted again.
Arya was not an expert at war, but she did know the significance of Jaime Lannister entering the tent that evening. If he was here, he was not her brother's hostage. Tywin had more than once implied that Jaime was the only reason he could not harm Arya or Sansa, yet here he was, free.
"How did you get here?" Tywin asked.
"Walked a rather long way. With a very tall woman as my guide. You should see that she is properly compensated. She did a fine job protecting me on the way." Jaime Lannister sat down in front of his father's desk. "Ah yes. Catelyn Stark sends her regards.'
"Catelyn Stark let you go?" Tywin asked.
"Yes. She wished for me to negotiate for the release of her daughters," Jaime said. "I don't think her son would approve. None the less, if we consider this an exchange of hostages, it would be in good faith to return at least one girl."
Arya looked up, hardly daring to breathe. Return one girl. Could she truly return home? The thought made her whole body feel lighter.
"It would be… if we didn't still have a war to win," Tywin said. "My willingness to release her daughters depends entirely on whether or not they will accept my peace terms. Releasing you was stupid."
"It's wonderful to see you too father," Jaime said. "I'm all right, by the way. Unharmed. I'm sure you were wondering."
Tywin gave Jaime a glare that would have shattered most people like glass. But Jaime was Tywin's son. He was invincible to such things. Funny, for as much as Tywin claimed to care for his son's wellbeing, he was awfully cold to him. Arya's father was never so cold to any of his children.
"As it happens, I was wondering," Tywin said. "I've been doing my level best to win this war without provoking Robb Stark to harm you in anyway. You've been an obstacle for many months now. So don't be smug with me."
"You're full of warm words as always," Jaime retorted.
"Warm words don't win wars."
"I hear they can be nice from family."
"If you want warmth, you're welcome to continue south to King's Landing. I still have work to do here."
For a moment, a silence fell between them. Arya realized she had been completely still for the last minute, frozen in the middle of cleaning a goblet. Jaime seemed to notice and she quickly went back to cleaning.
"You cupbearer is rather attentive to our conversations," Jaime said. "Have you considered he might be a spy?"
" She is not a spy," Tywin said, seemingly glad for a change in topic. "Come here, girl."
Arya swallowed hard, cautiously approaching the table. She felt the Kingslayer watching her, as if trying to place her face.
"Jaime, this is Arya Stark of Winterfell," Tywin said. "I believe you've met."
Jaime's eyebrows shot up. "Seven hells, it is. I didn't recognize her."
Arya cleared her throat. "That's… not surprising. We never spoke at Winterfell, my lord."
"No. I think I saw you running around with a helmet on in the courtyard once," Jaime said.
Arya's mouth twitched. "That does sound like me, ser."
"We have something in common, you and me," Jaime said. "I was a hostage to your family and now you're a hostage to mine."
"But my mother wanted you to negotiate for my return, doesn't she?" Arya said.
"Yes." Jaime glanced at Tywin. "But you see who I'm negotiating with."
Tywin did not take the bait of Jaime's comment, and he did not cut their conversation short either. Arya felt bold enough to ask another question.
"What else… what else did my mother say to you?"
"She insulted me a great deal. But at the end of the day, she let me go because she worried for you. And your sister of course." Jaime tilted his head to the side. "No one had heard a word about you. Some people thought you might be dead."
"As you can see, she's not," Tywin said. "For now, she poses as my cupbearer."
"An odd choice. Why not send her back to King's Landing?"
"I don't trust Cersei with her," Tywin said.
"Fair," Jaime said. "It's still an unusual job for a hostage."
"She was posing as my cupbearer when I discovered her identity. And she's good at it. I find her company more tolerable than most of my men," Tywin said. " She doesn't waste my time with incompetence."
"Really." Jaime glanced up at Arya. "You know, that's the closet thing you'll get to a compliment from him. You should keep it close."
"Your time as a prisoner really has not sobered you," Tywin said. "You still take nothing seriously."
"If I took everything seriously, life would be much more depressing," Jaime said.
"This is war, Jaime. Better to be depressed than losing," Tywin said flatly.
Jaime tilted his head to the side. "What happens if we're both? I've heard Stannis Baratheon fell. That's good news. But the Young Wolf has been outplaying you."
"I have a way to end this war. Multiple ways, in fact, now that you've returned." Tywin nodded at Arya. "She has just become much more useful bargaining chip. Robb Stark no longer has anything he can use against me."
Arya swallowed hard. It seemed she would no longer be a cup bearer soon. In fact, depending on negotiations, she may not even be alive soon.
Arya dared not ask about Tywin's ways to end the war for the rest of the day. She kept her head down and her tongue silent. It wasn't that she wasn't curious. She wanted to know more than anything. But she feared for the lives of her family.
And for her own as well.
He noticed her silence. Tywin Lannister was an observant man and he missed nothing. "You're quiet today. I can see you turning over the future in your head."
"I'm not," Arya replied. "I'm not thinking about anything."
"You're lying to me again. What did I say about lying to me?"
Arya looked up at him. "Not to do it."
"Good. I'm glad your memory is still sound." Tywin indicated the chair in front of his table. "Sit."
Arya slowly put down the pitcher and went to sit down. Her heart hammered against her rib cage. Foolishly, she had hoped he would forget all about her if she was just silent. She hoped she might turn into a shadow. Shadows did not have to face their fate.
"Ask the question you've been wondering," Tywin said.
Arya bit her lip. "How can you… how can you end this war? You said you have more than one way."
"I do," Tywin said.
"Is there a way that does not end with most of my family dead?" Arya asked. She felt her hands shake as she asked the question. If he answered 'no' there was little she could do to stop him. Tywin was something like a storm-inevitable and merciless.
Tywin observed her for a long moment, letting the question hang in the silence. Then he nodded once. "Yes. There is a way."
Arya released a breath.
"Of course, I don't know if your brother will take it. He has proven very stubborn," Tywin said. "Until Jaime returned, I was inclined to go with a different option. But Catelyn Stark's love of her children has bought them one last chance to accept peace."
"Peace?" Arya asked.
"I'm willing to treat this Northern Rebellion the way Robert Baratheon did the Greyjoy rebellion," Tywin said. "It is much easier to keep a Stark in Winterfell than risk dividing the north so close to winter. And speaking of the Greyjoys, I would prefer the Starks deal with their attack themselves. I don't want to waste the soldiers on it. But if Robb Stark wants peace, he'll do it my way. No negotiation."
"And what is your way, my lord?" Arya asked.
"Guess," Tywin said.
It was another test. He did like testing her. Arya sat forward a bit in her seat. "The North would remain a part of the seven kingdoms, loyal to the realm. Robb would be the Warden of the North on the condition that he never rise up again, or else you would replace him with someone else. If he accepted, he would be required to execute any northern lords who did not to prevent further fighting in the north. And…" Arya trailed off.
Tywin tilted his head to the side. "And?"
Arya's fists clenched as she thought of the Greyjoy rebellion. They had crushed their armies soundly, and her father had taken on Theon as a ward to be sure it wouldn't happen again. Arya forgot sometimes, but Theon was very much a hostage in Winterfell.
"You would keep a hostage," Arya said. "To kill if my brother ever did rebel again."
A shadow of a mirthless smile crossed Tywin's face. "You are a smart girl."
Tywin did not say it, but Arya knew that he meant to take her as his hostage, if negotiations went well. She would be called a ward, but she would be a captive in King's Landing. And she wasn't sure how kindly the Lannister family would treat a wolf in their halls. They hadn't treated Sansa's wolf kindly, after all. Or Sansa herself.
"I will send out a raven tonight," Tywin said. "And the young wolf and I will meet. I will bring you with me. You may be the difference between your brother choosing the right path or the wrong one. I promise you… if he rejects my offer, he and your mother will die. It won't be clean. It won't be honorable. But it will end the war, and that's all I care about right now."
"If he chooses the wrong path, you'll have to kill me too," Arya muttered. "Because if they die, I would spend the rest of my life trying to kill you."
It was a bold comment. Too bold. An icy silence hung between them but Arya did not shrink. Not this time.
"It so happens that if he refuses my offer, I will kill you, girl," Tywin said. "So I suppose I won't have anything to fear."
Arya shivered. Of course, that was why Tywin would bring her with him to negotiate: so that he could use her death as a threat against Robb and her mother.
" If your brother had to choose between his sisters and his war, what would he choose?"
Arya still did not know the answer to that question.
She raised her chin. "I'm not afraid to die."
"Yes, you are," Tywin said. "Everyone is afraid to die. Even if you weren't, you fear the death of your family. This is not just about you. It is about them as well. Think on that before we ride tomorrow."
Arya hated him in that moment. The way he saw through her. The certainty of his words. She always wanted to be a hero in a story, utterly unafraid to die a glorious death in battle.
Yet, those were only stories. The heroes probably cried out in terror at the moment of their demise.
And even her father had looked afraid before the end.