Silver Stag

Attempted Alliances

[Side Area of the Dragon Pit]

Jon picked up some bleached bones from the dirt floor. Daenerys approached him.

"No one is less happy about this than I am."

"I know. I respect what you did. Wish you hadn't done it, but I respect it." She took the bone from him. "This place was the beginning of the end for my family. A dragon is not a slave. They were terrifying. Extraordinary. They filled people with wonder and awe, and we locked them in here. They wasted away. They grew small. And we grew small as well. We weren't extraordinary without them. We were just like everyone else. She handed the bone back to Jon.

"You're not like everyone else. And your family hasn't seen its end. You and your brother are still here."

"I can't have children."

"Who told you that?"

"The witch who murdered my husband."

"Has it occurred to you she might not have been a reliable source of information?"

"You were right from the beginning. If I had trusted you, everything would be different."

"So, what now?

"I can't forget what I saw north of the Wall. And I can't pretend that Cersei won't take back half the country the moment I mqrch north."

"It appears Tyrion's assessment was correct. We're f*cked."

Daenerys nodded. "I'm sorry, but unless Cersei agrees and offers proof that she intends to keep her word, I'm not sure I can help you. I have lost men and women I trusted and admired in my quest to restore my family's inheritance. I've already asked them to risk their lives without any guarantees I would be able to reclaim my rightful inheritance. And they have."

They heard footsteps, and walked back to the others. Tyrion walked in alone, his head hung.

"I'm sorry," he told them. "I tried. But, her best hope is that you work together to defeat the dead. If one or both of you were to perish..."

And so they were back where they started. All because of the pride of a lioness.

[King's Landing - Red Keep, Interior Courtyard]

Jaime paced into the yard and Cersei watched from the upper level.

"Our men in King's Landing will mqrch north in three days' time."

"It'll take us a fortnight just to gather supplies for the train." One of the men replied.

"We don't have a fortnight. If the North falls, we fall. Three days. The remaining forces in the Westerlands will take the river road east. We'll meet at Lord Harroway's Town and mqrch together to Winterfell."

"Ser Jaime." Cersei greeted.

"Your Grace." Jaime returned.

The lords bowed in union to Cersei.

"My lords, I need a moment with my brother."

"Your Grace."

Jaime dismissed them and the lords exited.

Cersei walked down to ground level to join him. "What are you doing?"

"Preparing the expedition North."

"Expedition north? I alwys knew you were the stupidest Lannister. The Starks and Targaryens have united against us, and you want to fight alongside them? Are you a traitor or an idiot?"

"You were ready to pledge our forces to fight our common enemy."

"I'll say whatever I need to say to ensure the survival of our house. You expect me to trust the man who murdered our father? The same one who plots against us and keeps my daughters from me. You expect me to command our troops to fight beside foreign scum, to fight for the Dragon Queen?"

"You saw it with your own eyes. You saw a dead man trying to kill us."

"And I saw it burn. If dragons can't stop them, if Dothraki and Unsullied and Northmen can't stop them, how will our armies make a difference?"

"This isn't about noble houses, this is about the living and the dead!"

"And I intend to stay amongst the living. Let the Stark boy and his new queen defend the North. We stay here where we've alwys been."

"I made a promise."

"Our child will rule Westeros."

"Our child will never be born if the dead come South."

"The monsters are real. The white walkers, the dragons, the Dothraki screamers all the frightening stories we heard when we were young, they're all real. So be it. Let the monsters kill each other. And while they battle in the North, we take back the lands that belong to us, and I will get my daughters back."

"And then what?"

"And then we rule."

"When the fighting in the North is over, someone wins. You understand that, don't you? If the dead win, they mqrch south and kill us all. If the living win, and we've betrayed them, they mqrch south and kill us all!"

"The Targaryens and the Starks already want to kill us all. Most of them will die in the North."

"I faced them in the field. We can't beat them. We can't beat their dragons."

"How many dragons did you see at the pit?"

"Two."

"What happened to the third?"

"For all we know, it's guarding her fleet!"

"She came here with her dragons and her Dothraki and her Unsullied. She came here to show us all her power. No, something happened. The dragons are vulnerable."

"We can't beat the Dothraki. We don't have the numbers. We don't have the support of the other houses!"

"No, we have something better. We have the Iron Bank. You should've listened more when Father spoke about the importance of gold. Oh, I know it's boring for you. You just wanted to hunt and ride and fight. But I listened, I learned. Highgarden bought us the most powerful army in Essos, the Golden Company. Twenty thousand men, horses, elephants, I believe."

"The Golden Company is not here. They're in Essos. How is a mercenary company in Essos going to help us?"

"Do you really think Euron Greyjoy turned tail and sailed back to the Iron Islands? Do you think he abandoned the chance to marry the queen? No one walks away from me. He's sailing with his fleet to Essos, he's going to ferry the Golden Company back here to help us win the war for Westeros."

"You plotted with Euron Greyjoy without telling me, the commander of your armies?"

"And you conspired with Tyrion, the man who murdered our father without telling me, your queen."

"I didn't conspire with him."

"You met with him in secret without my consent. You planned to promote my enemies' interests. That is the definition of conspiracy."

"I pledged to ride north. I intend to honour that pledge."

"And that will be treason."

"Treason?"

"Disobeying your queen's command, fighting with her enemies, what would you call it?"

"Doesn't matter what I'd call it." Jaime started to exit, but he was blocked by The Mountain.

"I told you no one walks away from me."

"Are you going to order him to kill me? I'm the only one you have left. Our sons are gone, our daughter remains in Dorne, our father is gone. It's just me and you now."

"There's one more yet to come."

"Give the order, then."

Cersei hesitated, and Jaime thought that he had called her bluff. Then Cersei nodded to The Mountain, who unsheathed his sword.

For a moment, Jaime appeared nervous, then made up his mind.

"I don't believe you." Jaime moved past The Mountain, who let him go.

Cersei started after him, but decided against it and let him go.

[Outside King's Landing]

Jaime began riding his horse away from King's Landing. He stopped and inspected his golden hand, fitting his glove over it. He looked up into the grey sky as snow flurries rained down, before riding off.