"Tywin Lannister is a man who still lives under his father's shadow." Stannis had once overheard his mother describing Lord Tywin to his father this way. Lord Tywin's father must have been better than him at everything. Fighting, hawking, inspiring love and loyalty, his boyhood self had thought. But as Stannis grew, and heard more and more stories about Tywin Lannister and his father Tytos Lannister, he began to wonder about his mother's assessment. How can you live under the shadow of a man who is less than you? But by that time, Cassana Baratheon was no longer around to answer her son's questions.

The shadow is a strange thing, Stannis finally understood later. A man contemptuous of his father's weakness, and determined to be a stronger, more capable, more ruthless man, could also live his life under the shadow; not just a boy bested by his elder brother in everything. And the truth of the matter is, he finally had the courage to admit to himself, in a moment of ruthless self-examination, it is not the fault of the father or the elder brother that the son and younger brother continued to live under their shadows. We are what we make of ourselves, the good and the bad.

Mother, always the most perceptive and observant one in the room. The corners of his mouth turned up slightly as he thought of her, but the almost-smile quickly faded as his thoughts turned into what she would have observed about her own sons.

Perhaps it's better that she is not alive to see us now. That her last thoughts were of us as happy, carefree boys.

But that last part was a lie too, he knew. A false comfort, an untruth given the veneer of truth to make himself feel better. "Never deceive yourself. You can deceive the world and everyone in it, but always, always have the courage to admit the truth to yourself." His mother had told him this, more than once.

She was too good a mother not to have known all of her children's sorrows and unhappiness. He knew this truth better than he knew himself. She would have spent her last moments on earth worrying and obsessing over her sons, one after the other, raging and cursing at the gods for cruelly snatching her and her husband away from them.

Stop wandering, he admonished his wandering thoughts. Lord Tywin should be the only thing in my mind right now. And Petyr Baelish, he added.

He had expected the room to be empty, but Petyr Baelish was already there.

"Lord Stannis! I am so glad I will have your support. Two against one, Lord Tywin stands little chance against us."

Petyr Baelish was smiling profusely, but Stannis noticed that the smile did not reach his eyes. You are not glad, you are offended that my brother wanted the Master of Ships sitting in a negotiation that should have been your sole province as the Master of Coins.

"Lord Baelish." He nodded, before taking a seat.

"I may know a way for us to gain an advantage in this negotiation. And perhaps even lessen the Throne's indebtedness to the Lannisters." His voice was as silky smooth and ingratiating as ever. Stannis distrusted him with every bone in his body.

"And what is that, Lord Baelish?"

"I have been in contact with someone from the Iron Bank of Braavos. They have agreed to lend the Throne a certain amount of gold. And the terms are comparable to the Lannisters' terms."

Stannis pondered this for a moment. To reduce the Throne's dependency on the Lannisters is no bad thing. But surely the bigger issue is to reduce the dependency on borrowing.

"Comparable to the Lannisters' terms as they currently stand, or the new terms Tywin Lannister is demanding?"

"To the current terms, Lord Stannis."

"But why should Lord Tywin care if the Throne wishes to go deep in debt to someone else? He only wants his gold to be repaid."

Petyr Baelish was smiling again. But it was a different smile this time, a knowing, almost smirking one.

"Now, now, Lord Stannis, there is no need to play the fool. You are a man with astute judgement, a very observant man. You know why Lord Tywin would care."

Do not try to flatter me, Littlefinger.

"I would have thought a better strategy is to reduce the amount the Throne needs to borrow in the first place. As Master of Coins, is it not your duty to think of ways to increase the Throne's revenue, Lord Baelish? I had heard this was a task you were most proficient at when you were serving Lord Arryn as the custom master at Gulltown."

"You flatter me, Lord Stannis. Alas, His Grace your dear brother does not allow me as free a hand in this matter as Lord Arryn did. Perhaps," his voice suddenly turned whispery and conspiratorial, as if the two of them were sharing a secret, "the King is more influenced by certain members of the Small Council who were adamant that we should not increase the taxes on farmers."

"There is a drought on, in case you haven't noticed, Lord Baelish. This is hardly the time to increase their taxes. There are plenty of other ways to increase the Throne's revenue. Taxing certain establishments that currently pay no tax at all, for example." Stannis countered.

Their eyes were locked together. Greyish green eyes, not pure green, as Stannis had always thought before. Ask the question, Lord Baelish. Let's see how far you wish to take this.

His eyes barely blinking, Petyr Baelish finally asked the question. "And which establishments are you referring to, Lord Stannis?"

Still maintaining the eye contact, Stannis promptly replied. "Brothels and whorehouses. Proliferating all over King's Landing, I have heard. Worse than it ever was, even during the days of the Mad King. But perhaps," he slowly raised his eyebrows, "perhaps you have your own, reasons, for not wanting these establishments to be taxed?"

Ahh, you are shrewd, shrewd man, Petyr. Very disciplined and in control, Stannis thought, as Petyr Baelish betrayed not a single twitch of emotion. This is why you are so very, very dangerous.

Petyr Baelish finally broke their eye contact, after what seemed like an eternity. He looked down, seemingly uncomfortable, and sighed. A very loud and theatrical sigh.

"It is a very difficult subject, as you may well know yourself, Lord Stannis. I don't wish to incur His Grace's wrath. We are all still in shock over the shouting and yelling he did when you proposed outlawing these establishments. I'm sure the King has his own, reasons, for not wishing these establishments to be disturbed in any way."

Stannis almost had to laugh at the gall of this response. You know damn well that's not what I'm referring to. I'm talking about your ownership of these brothels and whorehouses.

Never betray your anger, if you wish to gain an upper hand. "I'm sure my brother has his reasons, as you have yours as well, Lord Baelish. I suppose being the owner of some of the brothels and whorehouses, it's understandable that you might not be supportive of any plan to tax these establishments. Nevertheless, I'm sure you're fully aware that your duty as Master of Coins should supersede your duty as a man in trade."

He knew he had succeeded in maintaining a relatively unconcerned expression, after seeing Petry Baelish slightly disappointed look. He wanted to provoke me into anger. But why? Perhaps to distract me from the battle of wills with Tywin Lannister. You're out of luck, Petyr. Only my brothers can provoke me into anger that easily.

Tywin Lannister strode into the room with the self-possession and self-confidence of a man who thought he owned the castle, the room and every piece of furniture in it. The way we are in hock to the Lannisters, he probably would own the castle one day. And of course, Stannis continued in his mind, his grandson will be King after Robert.

In his presence, everything and everyone seemed to shrink in comparison. It was not merely the imposing physical presence - Tywin Lannister was a tall, broad-shouldered man - but mainly the expression and gaze that spelled out his will and determination, to control, to dominate, to subjugate.

A hard man, they call me, but in truth, they know not what hard truly means until they have met Tywin Lannister.

"Lord Stannis. Lord Baelish." He nodded at Stannis, but barely glanced at Petyr Baelish.

"How was your journey, Lord Tywin? I hope -"

Tywin Lannister interrupted before Petyr Baelish could finish. "We should begin, I suppose. I'm sure all of us have more important things to attend to."

"I have examined your request for the new terms, Lord Tywin. I must say -"

"Those are not requests, Lord Stannis. Those are the new terms for the payment of the loans House Lannister has provided to the Iron Throne over the years."

Green eyes, flecked with gold this time. Staring at at him. Daring him to turn his eyes away.

Understanding came suddenly and unexpectedly, from the deep recesses of his mind. Littlefinger tried to distract and weaken me by provoking me to anger. Tywin Lannister is trying to distract and weaken me by playing on my pride. To have me spend all my energy locked in an outward show of strength with him, of who could hold the other's gaze longer, while he runs circles around me in the only battle that matters. The battle of the mind.

He promptly dropped his eyes, and shuffled the papers he had in front of him. Tywin Lannister's very slight and brief look of surprise did not escape him, however. I was right.

"The terms were agreed upon four years ago, and they still have one more year to run, Lord Tywin. Perhaps we should meet again in a year to discuss your request for the new terms?"

"You know very well Lord Stannis that I have allowed the Throne to make smaller payments than dictated by the terms, because of the drought. Do you expect me to incur a loss without getting something in return? And I thought you were a man famed for his obsession with justice."

"I have calculated the numbers. Whatever loss you might have incurred due to the smaller payments does not rise to the amount of additional interest you wish to charge, Lord Tywin. I don't see any justice in that, only usury and greed." He was still looking at the papers on the table. The lack of eye contact seemed to annoy Tywin Lannister, who bristled at the sound of him shuffling the papers.

"Lending money is a trade, like any other, Lord Stannis. A certain amount of profit is allowable."

"But not an excessive amount."

"And who determines what is an excessive amount? The Master of Ships?"

"The King asked me to work out the details with you, Lord Tywin. I am merely doing my duty as his loyal subject."

"Are you implying that I am not a loyal subject, Lord Stannis?"

"Your loyalty to my brother is not in question, Lord Tywin. You have proven it, over and over again, since the Sack of King's Landing."

Stannis finally shifted his eyes away from the papers, to meet Tywin Lannister's eyes. The expression on his face was calm, but Stannis could see that the eyes were brimming with anger.

"What do you think would have happened, Lord Stannis, if you had found the former Queen and her children when you arrived at Dragonstone?"

"I would have had them arrested, and brought back to King's Landing to be tried."

"Was that what your brother would have wanted? Living Targaryen heirs? And for what crimes would those two children be tried for? I suppose someone could have cooked up something to charge poor Rhaella, even though in truth, she was as much a victim of her husband's cruelty as anyone else. But Viserys and the babe? Your brother would not have thanked you for bringing them back alive. And he certainly didn't thank you for letting them get away."

"My brother would have wanted justice to be done."

"Let's not play games, Lord Stannis. We both know your brother. Your brother was grateful to me for keeping his hands clean. It was not King Robert who slew Elia and her children, people say, but Tywin Lannister's men. He got to keep his heroic, liberator status. Why do you think he agreed to make my daughter his Queen?"

Oh he is a clever, clever man, Tywin Lannister. I thought I was getting the upper hand, when in truth, he was drawing me deeper and deeper into his net. He cursed his own stupidity, and pride.

"Be that as it may, Lord Tywin, perhaps we should get back to the terms of the debt?"

"By all means, Lord Stannis, let's do that."

"Your new terms are not acceptable, Lord Tywin. I have an alternative set of terms that is acceptable to the Throne."

"Then we have reached an impasse. For I will not accept any terms except the ones I already put forward."

"And what do you mean to do, Lord Tywin? If your terms are not accepted?"

Petyr Baelish, who had stayed silent the whole time, watching Stannis and Tywin with an amused expression on his face, suddenly interrupted. "I'm sure it is not yet time to resort to threats and ultimatums, Lord Stannis."

Threats? That was not a threat. Not yet anyway. Whose side is he on? But Stannis was not surprised. When he said two against one, he actually meant the two of them against me.

But perhaps not, Stannis thought, upon further reflection. Petyr Baelish was too smooth and wily to fully commit himself to any side. He is on no one's side but his own.

"I will call for all the Throne's debts to House Lannister to be paid immediately. The full amount, all three million gold dragons. And of course there will be no further loans, in future."

"And how do you think my brother will react to that?"

"Not well, I'm sure. But his wise advisers would counsel him that he would have to accept my terms, since there are no three hundred thousand gold dragons in the Throne's coffer, let alone three million to pay me back."

Stannis considered his next move. I will not be saying anything that is not true. He remembered Robert's words. "It's just a threat. You only have to make it sound believable to him. You don't have to believe in it yourself." Oh but I have an advantage, brother. I do believe it.

"You spoke of knowing my brother earlier, Lord Tywin. Do you remember why he started Robert's Rebellion?"

There was a long, long silence, as he watched Tywin Lannister watching him. He's wary, unsure of what I'm implying. Stannis went for the kill.

"He's a reckless man, Robert, a very impulsive man. We both know that, Lord Tywin."

"Well, that is why he has advisers, wise men such as yourself, to counsel him against doing anything ... reckless."

Stannis laughed, a long, bitter laugh. "And how successful do you think I have been in providing counsel, Lord Tywin? If he had heeded my counsel, the Throne would not be three million gold dragons in debt to you at the moment."

Another long look passed between them. He's assessing, calculating all the angles, Stannis thought.

"My daughter is his Queen. My grandson is his heir."

"And if they take your side, he could have them declared traitors. There could be another Queen, another heir."

How far are you willing to go for three million gold dragons, Tywin Lannister?

"Show me your alternative terms."

Not that far after all.