Fanfic / A Lion's Duty

The rebellion is over. Rhaegar is dead, his brother on the run, and the Mad King now lies dead at the foot of the Iron Throne. His killer? His own Kingsguard, Jaime Lannister. He had done it, he had saved all of King's landing from burning in Wildfire, but at the cost of his honor. Tywin's men enter the throne room to bring Jaime back to his father, but as one leaves to inform Tywin of his son's safety, Jaime asks the other, Lord Roland Crakenhall, if they could proclaim for Rhaegar's children. He is informed that Tywin had sent Ser Gregor Clegane and some men to kill them. That is all Jaime needs to make a decision that changes the fate of the Seven Kingdoms forever.

A Lion's Duty is a fanfic written by Sereven and set in the world of A Song of Ice and Fire. It explores the possibility of Jaime being able to save one of the Targaryen children from death, in this case Rhaenys, and becoming her most trusted protector. His action has effected the future of Westeros greatly, but he nonetheless stands proudly as a Lion of Dorne. It hasn't been updated since late 2014 however. Word of God confirms that the story will eventually continue, but it is currently undergoing mass edits.

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A Lion's Duty provides examples of:

• Adaptational Angst Upgrade: In canon, Theon was a Ward/hostage of Eddard in the event the Greyjoy's rebelled again. Here, with the exception of Asha, his family is either dead or on the run.
• Adaptational Badass: Joffrey in this fic is far more competent than he ever was in either the books or the show. It's in large part thanks to being fostered in the North by Eddard Stark.
• Adaptation Expansion: The edits help to expand on certain details that were either left out or glossed over in the original writing. Jaime's killing of Aerys is shown in full in the edited version; as well as his hesitation.
• Adaptational Heroism: A few characters are more noble than their canon counterparts:
  • Jaime was heavily disillusioned by his time serving as Aerys Kingsguard. By the time the series started he was an Anti-Villain but was still ruthless and would commit horrible actions (i.e. Pushing an innocent child out of a window to hide his affair with Cersei, crippling him and crushing his dream of being a knight). Here, he's far more noble and actively tries to reign in the more pragmatic and callous actions that his brother and Doran are willing to commit.
  • Due to a combination of actually being Robert's son, being fostered by Eddard Stark and not being around Cersei, Joffrey is not only nicer, but more heroic than his sadistic prick of a canon counterpart ever was. However, he has started showing some shades of going down his canon self's path. Time will tell.
  • Thanks to never selling his mother's crown and Arianne Martell working to temper his insanity, Viserys is less of a monster than he was in the books, though he is still by no means a saint. He also seems somewhat more accepting of the reality that his father was an insane lunatic, but that doesn't mean he has to like Jaime or anyone who rebelled against him.
  • This trope is kind of forced onto Theon. He cannot betray the Stark family for house Greyjoy because the Baratheons and other kingdoms killed all of them except for him and Asha.
• Adaptational Villainy: Thanks to more Targaryens being alive, Robert is far more unhinged than he ever was in the book or the show. He eventually goes over the deep end and has his men set fire to a Targaryen camp, killing solider and innocent alike when they couldn't fight back, just so he can kill Rhaenys.
• Amazon Brigade: The Sand Snakes serve as Rhaenys's personal guard.
• Armor-Piercing Question: Arya asks Jaime what the difference is between justice and revenge. Jaime casually gives her his response.
  Jaime: If I would cut you down where you stand, that would be vengeance for my murdered daughter. But that would not be justice. Vengeance is blood for blood, to make someone else suffer for the pain you endured yourself. Justice is punishing the man who has murdered your loved one, not his innocent wife or children.
  • She asks a similar question to Rhaenys in regards to whose justice would be sought. This actually catches her off-guard as she has no answer.
• Arranged Marriage:
  • Jaime is set up into one with Allyria Dayne very early in the story. It becomes a case of Happily Married years later.
  • Robert and Cersei are naturally always at each other's throats.
  • Daenerys and Khal Drogo. It's heavily implied in her POVs that their marriage is less than pleasant.
  • Renly and Margery. Of course, he's gay and it's only a front.
• Broken Bird: Even years later, Rhaenys is still heavily traumatized by her almost being killed by Armory Lorch and the slaughtering of her brother and mother. She is doing her best to move beyond it so she can properly lead though.
• Broken Pedestal:
  • After Robert burns down the Targaryen/Martell camp, the Starks no longer see Robert in a particularly good light and hate him. However, they still have to serve him due to being sworn to his family.
  • Averted with Arthur Dayne. Jaime still greatly looks up to him, understands that he was obeying his prince, and both he and his children still follow in his footsteps.
  • Downplayed and ultimately subverted with Rhaegar. While Jaime acknowledges that Rhaegar's actions removed him of honor, he ultimately still sees him as the ideal prince he could have been.
  • Jaime doesn't particularly see his father in a good light following the Sacking of King's Landing, as seen through their rather caustic first meeting in years.
• The Caligula: Aerys. Jaime really needed to put that madman down.
• Civil War: Instead of The War Of The Five Kings, we have a war between the North and South. Those under the Targaryen Banner in the South (Martell, Tyrell, etc.), and those under the Baratheon Banner in the North (Stark, Tully, etc.).
• Control Freak: Tywin really wants to have his son and grandchildren come to Casterly Rock. Since they openly refuse it, he decides to influence them by surrounding them with people loyal to him.
• Dead Guy Junior:
  • Joanna is named after her grandmother. Tywin notes that, aside from the violet Dayne eyes, she's the spitting image of his late wife in almost every way.
  • Jaime's son, Arthur, is named after his maternal uncle, Arthur Dayne.
• Deadpan Snarker:
  • Joanna. Tyrion has certainly rubbed off on her. Olenna even lampshades it.
  • Tyrion himself sure doesn't hide what a barbed tongue he's got.
  • The Queen of Thorns gives the above two a run for their money.
• Everyone Has Standards: Though he tries to hide it, Viserys is still disturbed by the sheer brutality of the Dothraki when he rides through a village they've just raided.
• Failed a Spot Check: When Oberyn and his group encounter Jaime and Rhaenys as the latter two are fleeing from King's Landing, none of them recognize Rhaenys at first and think she might be Jaime's bastard. It's not until Jaime tells Oberyn who she is that Oberyn notices she looks exactly like his sister Elia.
• Foil:
  • Jaime and Barristan. Both are Master Swordsman, both are viewed as ideals of the Knight in Shining Armor, and both are the last remnants of Aerys' Kingsguard following the aftermath of Robert's Rebellion. However, while Jaime betrayed his king by killing him, he remained loyal to House Targaryen by saving Rhaenys. Barristan, meanwhile, obeyed Aerys to the end, yet betrayed House Targaryen by joining the rebels when he assumed that all the Targaryens were dead. Both ended up suffering great losses due to the rebellion, but Jaime gained a family and place at Rhaenys's side as her most trusted protector, becoming one of the most revered figures in Dorne; while Barristan lost his honor due to joining the rebels and is subject to mockery by his own Kingsguard due to his old age and past failures.
  • Both Doran and Robert are royals bearing Targaryen blood in them due to past marriages between their respective families. Both are driven by vengeance against those who wronged them, but they have many notable differences. Robert was originally a lord, but conquered his way to royalty, while Doran was born into the Princely house of Martell. While they both seek revenge against those they feel wronged by (the Targaryens for Robert and the Lannisters for Doran); their methods are completely distinct. Robert would prefer a more direct approach, and would have just had his armies march to Dorne after the rebellion had Jon not talked him out of it. Doran makes use of a more cautious and manipulative methodology, determining who would be most useful to him to achieve his ends.
• Grey-and-Gray Morality: Most of the very worst of Westeros is absent so far. While audience sympathy is generally with the Martells and Dornish Lannisters, it’s obvious that good people are going to die on both sides when war breaks out.
• Happily Married: Jaime Lannister and Allyria Dayne.
• Hidden Depths: After meeting his granddaughter Joanna, Tywin can't help but remember his beloved wife and sadly muses she would have never approved what he did to her friend Rhaella's family. He's also genuinely proud of Jaime and the family he managed to build, but it doesn't show the right way.
• History Repeats:
  • During the tourney of the Reach, a Baratheon and his fellow Stark fought against a man in Targaryen armor and a Martell, almost exactly like the Battle of the Trident. Unfortunately, it's deconstructed as it was so similar to those events that Robert sent his Kingsguard down there to fight with his son. This is one of the events that leads to the civil war.
  • Speaking of which, a Baratheon vs. Targaryen war is happening once again, with the Lannisters of Casterly Rock declaring neutrality.
• Honor Before Reason:
  • Eddard and Barristan can't really see the good in Jaime's actions due to them taking oaths very seriously.
  • This trope is also why Jaime refuses to judge Jory Cassel for being allegedly involved in the death of his daughter. Regardless of whether he lets him live of die, his judgment would always amount to revenge.
• Horrible Judge of Character: Daenerys doesn't trust Tyrion or Arianne, who are trying to help her, but she trusts Jorah, who is a spy for Varys. Though this is somewhat justified since Tyrion is a member of the family that sacked King's Landing and killed her father, while Arianne's behavior is opposite to what she was told Westerosi women were supposed to be like. After she learns that war has started in Westeros and that Jorah didn't tell her, she begins to question if she can trust anyone at all.
• Hypocrite: Both Jaime and Eddard accuse each other of being one when they confront each other for the first time. Eddard accuses Jaime for calling him a man without honor when Jaime broke a sacred oath. Jaime fires back stating that he broke one oath while Eddard broke several, being a warden sworn to his king, while Jaime makes up for his actions with each passing day.
• I Owe You My Life: Or rather, my niece's life. Even when he still despised him for being a Lannister, Oberyn Martell was grateful to Jaime for saving Rhaenys.
• Incompatible Orientation:
  • Renly and Margery obviously cannot be truly together since he's in a secret relationship with her brother. She's aware of this and helps them in hiding it.
  • This is also why any attempts to wed Joanna and Loras to each other stopped altogether. The Lannisters refused to let their daughter suffer the indignity of wedding a man who could never truly love her, so any discussions about the topic were dropped.
• In Spite of a Nail:
  • Jon Arryn still dies the same way since nothing happened to derail Littlefinger's plans.
  • Myrcella still looks just like she did in canon, and while Joffrey is a trueborn Baratheon, he only has the Baratheon hair. Everything else about his appearance is Lannister.
  • Despite his better circumstances, Viserys is largely the same by the time Tyrion and Arianne meet him. This is because Illyrio deliberately butchered his education to try and get Varys's plans back on track.
• Ironic Echo: What were the Mad King's last words to Jaime? "Burn them, BURN THEM ALL!" What does Robert order his men to do to the Targaryen/Martell camp? "Burn them. Burn them all."
• Irony:
  • Tywin personally muses that Jaime running off with Rhaenys and marrying Allyria ended up being more beneficial to him than if Jaime had stayed. Had Jaime remained, he would have married Lysa Tully, who has only given birth to one child, and a sickly one at that. Allyria, on the other hand, has given birth to four perfectly healthy children, two of which are capable and of age.
  • Eddard frequently condemns Jaime for slaying the king he swore an oath to protect, despite the alternative being to let King's Landing burn in wildfire. When Robert intends to burn down the innocent Targaryen/Martell camp, Ned decides to take a page out of Jaime's book and turn his blade on his king.
• It's All My Fault:
  • Jaime blames himself not for killing Aerys since the prick had it coming, but for not being fast and brave enough to save the rest of the royal family from his madness.
  • Arya blames herself for Jory Cassel's capture. Had she not been out wandering, her father wouldn't have had to send him after her, resulting in his capture.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: While Joffrey is really self-righteous, he does ultimately have redeeming qualities. He felt guilt over his cousin, Joanna's, supposed death and is good friends with Robb, Theon, and Jon Snow. He's also capable of recognizing that his pride is causing more harm than good and tries to get Eddard to help him with it.
• Jerkass Has a Point:
  • Even though Joffrey was acting out of rage when he had a noble thrown into the dungeon for insulting him, he was right about the noble's accusations about a peasant that "attacking" him being unfounded. He's again right when he declares that even if the noble's servants saw the attack, he needs unbiased sources of evidence to be absolutely sure. He also has a solid point that holding Eddard Stark for treason is a dumb move as it invites his lords and servants to march down South and put them all to the sword, not to mention that it could cost them their strongest ally.
  • After war breaks out, Stannis arrives at Storm's End to confront Renly, accusing him of being an Ungrateful Bastard for not standing with Robert and instead consorting with the Tyrells, who are their enemies. Renly retorts that even if Robert gave them titles and offices, he's never truly been a brother to him or Stannis. He also points out that humoring Robert's obsessions and joining his Roaring Rampage of Revenge against the Targaryens is sure to destroy both the Stormlands and the rest of the realm.
• Kick the Dog:
  • When Allyria affably greets her as her good-sister, not only Cersei refuses the compliment, she bluntly tells Allyria her "Dornish bastards" will never inherit the Westerlands.
  • Robert belittling his son at the boy's first Council meeting, especially since Joffrey was giving some good advice in regards to holding Eddard prisoner.
  • Joffrey just barely manages to avert this. He would have thrown Tommen's kitten out the window had Ser Arys not calmed him down.
• Know When to Fold 'Em: After learning that Rhaenys had survived and fled, Robert initially wanted to invade Dorne and end the Targaryen line for good. Jon Arryn talks him out of it by pointing out how even Aegon the Conqueror and his dragons failed to subdue Dorne by force, and Robert himself realizes that forcing a tired army that just wants to return to their families to march into Dorne will just lead to revolt and his own death.
• Leeroy Jenkins: Robert has this mindset. He intended to march to Dorne as soon as his armies were ready and was only talked down when Jon Arryn pointed out that if the Targaryens couldn't conquer it when they still had dragons, then Robert, with a tired and worn out army, would have even worse chances of success.
• Marriage of Convenience:
  • Robert's marriage to Cersei was only for the sake of having a powerful and wealthy ally in the Lannisters.
  • Jaime's marriage to Allyria started out as this. After the death of Arthur Dayne and the suicide of Ashara Dayne, House Dayne started to fall into turmoil, so Jaime's marriage to Allyria would help stabilize them. They would become Happily Married years after the fact.
• Misplaced Retribution: When he receives word of Jon Arryn's death, Robert immediately pins the blame on Rhaenys, despite there being no evidence of her involvement at all.
• Nice Mean And In Between:
  • In their friendship; Robb is the nice, Joffrey is the mean, and Theon is the in-between.
  • As far as the main Lannister siblings go, Jaime and Tyrion are both nice, but Tyrion's greater pragmatism makes him fall more under the in-between than his more honorable brother. Cersei is undoubtedly the mean.
• Parental Favoritism:
  • It's clearly obvious that Tywin prefers his grandchildren by his eldest son, particularly Joanna since she's the spitting image of his deceased wife.
  • Despite how bad he is at showing it, Robert favors Joffrey the most out of all his children and gives him the most attention, though that isn't much in the first place. He dislikes Myrcella because she's so much like her mother - both in appearance and behavior - and can't stand Tommen because he's so docile it bores and insults him.
• Passed-Over Inheritance: Since Jaime's status is slightly complicated—not only did he break his oath, he was never was supposed to reclaim his birthright—Tywin picked his eldest son Arthur to become lord of the Westerlands after him.
• Pet the Dog:
  • Robert is utterly heartbroken by Jon Arryn's death.
  • Joffrey felt guilty for the "death" of his cousin and also shows mercy to a peasant.
  • Barristan is willing to put his hate for Jaime aside if it means protecting Rhaenys, and even silently gives him his respect for his refusal to judge Jory on the grounds that no matter what he chose, it would be revenge.
  • Viserys occasionally shows concern for Rhaenys and pride in her accomplishments. Granted, it might be due to possessiveness since she was originally going to be married to him instead of Willas.
• Point of Divergence: Jaime running off with Rhaenys to Dorne sets off a lot of dominoes.
  • Robert is a lot more unhinged here thanks to more Targaryens being alive.
  • Thanks to Jaime saving Rhaenys, House Targaryen has much more power and influence in Westeros. Mace and his family stay loyal rather than bend knee to the usurpers, though they still had to get Olenna to agree.
  • Viserys never sold his mother's crown, so he is slightly less unhinged than he was in canon. However, he's still not a good person by any means. This is in large part due to Oberyn discovering Willem Darry and being able to send them to Mopitas earlier than canon.
  • Without Jaime around in King's Landing, Cersei was forced to have Robert's children. So Joffrey, Myrcella, and Tommen are all true born Baratheons in this fic rather than Jaime's bastard children posing as Robert's, although only Tommen is completely Baratheon in appearance while Joffrey looks like a black haired Lannister and Myrcella looks completely Lannister.
  • Robert being more proactive in Joffrey's upbringing and having him fostered under Ned Stark led to him growing up far more noble than his monstrous canon counterpart, though he's still rather prideful.
  • Jon being brought South with his father and siblings to enjoy some freedoms puts a hold on his desire to join the Night's Watch, at least for the moment.
  • Since Jaime was in Dorne and could never return to Casterly Rock, Tyrion ran away from home at a young age due to lack of love outside his aunts and uncles, who were rarely there. He eventually found his way to Jaime and House Martell and now unofficially serves the Targaryen agenda.
  • Arianne became more privy to her father's plans to wed her to Viserys much earlier than the books. This led to her joining Tyrion in his trip to Essos to meet her Prince and aid him. This also leads to Viserys's delusions being a bit more tempered down.
  • Since Robert's children are biologically his, Jon and Stannis don't investigate Cersei's infidelity and Stannis himself stays loyal to the Iron Throne rather than rebel.
• Related in the Adaptation: Cersei's three children really are Robert's, here.
• Revenge by Proxy: Defied by Jaime when Arya is captured right after Joanna's supposed death. Killing Eddard Stark's - whom he accuses of the deed - innocent daughter would certainly be revenge, but it wouldn't be justice.
• Sadistic Choice: Jaime faces one at the beginning of the fic. He hears screams from both Princess Elia and Rhaenys coming from different directions and only has time to save one of them. He chooses Rhaenys.
• Silk Hiding Steel:
  • Allyria ripped Ned a new one for the killing of her brother and the suicide of her sister. She even stands up to Tywin, and the Old Lion gives her his respect for it.
  • Olenna. You don't screw around with the Queen of Thorns if you want the Tyrells on your side.
• Spanner in the Works: Jaime saving Rhaenys ends up being this for Illyrio and Varys's plans. We later find out that they are trying to get things back on track, with Tyrion discovering a note signifying their treachery.
• Take a Third Option: Tywin is torn between aiding the crown and his daughter or aiding his son and his heir. Both of these are tantamount to his legacy. When the burning of the Targaryen/Martell camp kills Joanna, he chooses neutrality instead. Though he may end up taking the Baratheon side when Robert kicks the bucket so that Joffrey can ascend to the throne.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork:
  • Jaime and Gerold "Darkstar" Dayne really don't like each other despite being on the same side. Darkstar utterly despises the knightly ideals of his cousin, Arthur Dayne, and since Jaime follows in Arthur's footsteps, well...
  • Jaime and Barristan as well, though to a much lesser extent. Selmy ultimately cannot bring himself to forgive Jaime for defying the oaths of the Kingsguard and has trouble understanding how his actions are rewarded due to the lack of honor he foresees in them. Despite this, they can at least put aside their differences to focus on protecting Rhaenys.
• Token Evil Teammate: Darkstar is this for the Targaryen side, being deliberately abrasive to Jaime.
• Undying Loyalty:
  • Jaime is completely devoted to Rhaenys and is her lifelong protector. Likewise, Rhaenys places her absolute faith in Jaime.
  • Subverted with Eddard toward Robert. He starts as this, but after Robert starts crossing lines, he draws his blade on him.
• Universally Beloved Leader: The people of Dorne and the Reach absolutely love Rhaenys. Even Arya sees her in a positive light after first meeting her.
• Villain Respect: Tywin Lannister is extremely antagonist towards the Dornish, amongst which his grandchildren were raised. When he meets his son's wife, he has nothing but approval for her.
• War Is Hell: A belief that the most noble members of both sides share. While Robert is practically begging for an excuse to go to war, others like Rhaenys, Jaime, Eddard, and Jon (Arryn) don't want another war, knowing the death and destruction it will cause. Jaime and Rhaenys are also more than aware that with the state the Realm is in, it won't survive another war.
• Yandere: Exhibit A, Cersei. She blatantly ignores every hint that her twin brother moved from her and found happiness in his Dornish wife and children, whom she utterly despises and constantly calls "harlot" and "bastards".
• You Killed My Father: Old grudges can be tenacious:
  • Robert Baratheon and Rhaenys Targaryen refuse to forgive the role played by the other one (or family) in the last war.
  • Allyria really doesn't like Eddard, since she views him as the man responsible for both her siblings' demise.
  • Daenarys can never bring herself to trust Tyrion or Jaime because of what Jaime did to her father and what House Lannister did to her family. Viserys also has this problem since Jaime killed his father, though he is at least willing to work with him to achieve his ends.

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