“You can smell the shit from five miles away.” Petyr took a slow and deep breath, watching as his mother descended from the carriage. She had always been small and frail but there was a strength in her that he found most others lacked. There was an understanding and a wisdom behind her gray-green eyes that made him stand just a bit straighter when she was angry. Petyr remembered peering into them as a child, taking in each lesson that she gave him while Mace discarded them. “Well, at least one of my idiotic sons is here to greet me.”
Lady Olenna Tyrell was many things but timid was not one of them.
“Always a pleasure Mother.” Petyr greeted, his lips curling into a smirk and held out his hand. Despite her sharp tongue and criticism, he would not deny that he missed her. Where his father had often found Petyr’s lack of skills in combat concerning, Olenna fed his desire for knowledge, nurturing his mind and schemes. She would scold him for his mischievous deeds but there was always a hint of pride in her when he showed his intelligence, even if he had misbehaved in doing so. “I hope the journey was smooth.”
“Take that smirk right off your face.” She snapped, but gripped his arm tightly and allowed him to guide her towards the Red Keep. As they walked, Olenna’s headpiece floated behind them, pale blue chiffon flowing in the sea breeze. “Here I thought you were the smart one of the two idiots I birthed. Lannisters. Have you taken leave of your senses? I expect such foolary from Mace but from you?”
“When I left Highgarden, my intent was to ensure our family was safe and secure in the upcoming war. When I got wind that Mace married Margaery to Renly and followed him around the Reach as he paraded himself as King, I knew I needed to control the mess. Promising the bannermen from Highgarden to Tywin Lannister after Renly was killed and bethrothing Margaery to the King was the most logical conclusion to prevent all our heads from ending up on a spike.”
