The heavy stone slab of the secret passage settled into place with a final thud. The sound echoed in the silent solar like the closing of a tomb. Link was alone. He stood in the center of the room with his arm still locked around Cersei's throat. His blackened short sword pressed into her skin. Outside the broken door, the sounds of slaughter continued, but inside, the air was static and thick with the scent of ozone and blood.
[Status Alert: Health 8%]
[Status: Mental Fatigue Critical]
[Status: Final Stand Initiated]
Jaime Lannister lowered his golden sword. He did not drop it, but the tip pointed toward the floor. His eyes were fixed on the thin line of red on his sister's neck. He looked at Link not as a soldier looks at an enemy, but as a man looks at a plague.
"The King is gone," Jaime said. His voice was a low rasp. "You have no leverage. You have no escape. Release her, and I will make your death quick. I might even let you keep your head."
Cersei let out a jagged laugh, though it cost her a fresh drop of blood. "Do not negotiate with this filth, Jaime. Kill him. I want to see his eyes go dark."
Link felt his knees buckling. The internal bleeding was making his vision turn gray at the edges. He knew he could not win a fight against twelve men at arms. He knew the System was vibrating at the edge of his consciousness, begging him to Reload, but he knew his mind would shatter if he tried.
"I am not looking for a quick death, Ser Jaime," Link panted. "I am looking for a conversation. You think I am a Northman? A loyal dog of the Starks?"
"I think you are a dead man," Jaime replied, stepping forward.
"I know about the tower," Link said.
Jaime stopped. The golden knight froze as if he had been turned to stone. The guards behind him shifted, confused by the sudden change in their commander.
"I know what you did to the boy," Link continued. His grip on Cersei loosened just enough for him to breathe. "I know why the King's children have golden hair while his brothers are dark. I know the secret that Jon Arryn died for."
Cersei's face went from pale to ghostly white. She stopped struggling. She looked at Jaime with a terror that Link had never seen in her eyes before. It was the terror of the truth.
"Kill him," Cersei whispered. It was no longer a command. It was a plea. "Jaime, kill him now."
"If you kill me, the message goes out," Link lied. He didn't have a message, but Jaime didn't know that. "I have a man in the city. If I do not return by dawn, the truth of your lineage will be posted on every door from the Street of Silk to the Great Sept of Baelor. Robert will not just have your heads. He will have your name erased from history."
[Skill Check: Deception]
[Result: Success]
Jaime's hand tightened on his sword. He was calculating. He was a man who lived by the blade, but this was a war of words he was not prepared for. He looked at the guards behind him, then back at Link.
"Leave us," Jaime commanded.
"Ser?" the lead guard asked.
"I said leave!" Jaime roared. "Secure the hallway. If anyone comes within ten paces of this door, kill them."
The men at arms filed out of the room. The broken door was pulled shut as best as it could be. Link was now alone with the twins. He finally let go of Cersei. He slumped against the King's table, his sword clattering to the floor. He didn't have the strength to hold it anymore.
"You are a clever rat," Jaime said. He walked over and stood over Link. He did not raise his sword, but the threat was there. "What do you want? Gold? A ship to Essos?"
"I want the North," Link said, coughing up a spray of blood. "And I want the realm to stand when the winter comes. You think this game for the chair matters? There is a darkness coming that doesn't care about Lannister gold or Stark honor."
[Status Alert: Relationship with Jaime Lannister - Shifted to 'Uneasy Alliance']
"You talk like a madman," Cersei spat, rubbing her throat.
"I talk like a man who has seen you all die a thousand times," Link replied. He looked at Jaime. "The King is headed to the docks. He will be at Dragonstone in two days. You can chase him and start a war that will burn the world, or you can help me find a way to end this without a drop of dragon fire."
Jaime looked at his sister, then at the dying boy on the floor. He let out a long, weary sigh. "What is your plan, rat?"
...
Author Note
Hi guys! Thank you for reading my fanfiction. I'll be realising 4 Chapters a day.
Also I'll be still releasing bonus chapters for Power Stones. Here are the goals:
50 Power Stones: 1 Bonus Chapters
75 Power Stones: 2 Bonus Chapters
100 Power Stones: 2 Bonus Chapters
Thanks for the support!