The world returned as a series of sharp stabs. First was the light of a flickering torch that felt like a needle in the eyes. Second was the smell of damp stone and old wine. Third was the rhythmic throbbing in the side of Link where the ribs were surely broken.
[System Rebooting]
[Health 12 percent]
[Mental Fatigue 85 percent]
[Status: Stabilized]
Link opened his eyes. He was not in the black cells. He was in a small guest chamber in the Maidenvault. The windows were barred with heavy iron. Outside the room, the sounds of armor clanking and muffled orders suggested a heavy guard.
"You finally decided to join the living," a voice said from the shadows.
Link turned his head. Jaime Lannister was sitting in a high backed chair near the hearth. He looked exhausted. His golden armor was scuffed and his hair was a mess. He was no longer the arrogant knight who had walked into the solar. He looked like a man who was watching his world burn.
"How long," Link rasped. His throat felt like it was filled with dry sand.
"Six hours," Jaime replied. He stood up and poured a cup of water from a pitcher on the table. He brought it to Link and held it to his lips. "Drink. You are no use to me if you die of thirst."
Link drank deeply. The cool water was the best thing he had ever tasted. He looked at Jaime. "The King?"
"Robert is at the Dragonpit," Jaime said while sitting back down. "He has the Gold Cloaks who were loyal to Stark and a few hundred commoners who decided that they love the King more than they fear my father. The city is a powderkeg. One spark and King's Landing becomes a graveyard."
"And Cersei?" Link asked.
Jaime looked at the floor. "My sister wants to burn the Dragonpit with wildfire. She thinks that if the King dies in an accident, she can still claim the regency for Joffrey."
"She is wrong," Link said. He forced himself to sit up. The room spun for a moment before the System stabilized his vision. "If Robert dies now, the North will not just rebel. They will come to erase your name. And Stannis is already at sea. He does not care about your gold. He only cares about the law."
Jaime looked at Link with a piercing gaze. "You told me the King was waiting for the bells. What did you mean?"
Link took a breath. It hurt his ribs. "Robert is not waiting for a fight. He is waiting for the news of the ledger to reach the Small Council. He is waiting for the high lords to realize that the Queen tried to murder him. Once the bells of the Sept begin to toll for a trial, your sister is finished. Unless you stop it."
"Stop it how?" Jaime asked. "By killing the King?"
"By siding with the truth," Link said.
Jaime let out a bitter laugh. "Siding with the truth would mean sending my sister to the block. It would mean admitting that my children are... what they are."
"It means saving the world, Jaime," Link said. He reached out and grabbed the arm of the knight. "The dead do not care about who sits on the throne. If you let this war happen, the kingdoms will be too weak to stand when the Night King arrives. You saw the fear in my eyes in the solar. That was not fear of you. That was fear of what happens if we fail today."
[Quest Updated: The Lion's Choice]
[New Objective: Convince Jaime to facilitate a parley]
Jaime looked at the hand of Link on his arm. He looked at the bloodstained rags of the guard. For the first time, he did not see a servant. He saw someone who was playing a game that was much larger than the one he knew.
"What do you want me to do?" Jaime asked.
"Get me to the Dragonpit," Link said. "Let me talk to Robert and Ned. If I can convince them to accept a deal, we can avoid the slaughter."
"And the deal?" Jaime asked.
"Exile for Cersei," Link said. "The children stay as wards of the crown. The Lannister gold stays in the treasury. And the Lannister steel goes to the Wall."
Jaime was silent for a long time. The only sound was the crackling of the fire.
"If my father hears of this, he will have us both flayed," Jaime whispered.
"Then we had better make sure your father is too busy fighting the winter to notice," Link replied.
…..
Author Note
Hi guys! Thank you for reading my fanfiction. I'll be realising 4 Chapters a day from now on.
Also I'll be still releasing bonus chapters for Power Stones. Here are the goals:
15 Power Stones: 1 Bonus Chapter
30 Power Stones: 1 Bonus Chapter
50 Power Stones: 1 Bonus Chapter
75 Power Stones: 2 Bonus Chapters
100 Power Stones: 2 Bonus Chapters
Thanks for the support!