In interest of giving you a heads up, the dragon queen knows that you are here and has taken it upon herself to demand you be brought before her [ and he quotes: ] at the time and place of her choosing. She's enlisted Ser Jorah for the task who will likely bring you by force, if he needs to.
[ Jaime did say he wanted to meet Jorah, right?? ]
[--Dryly, never once giving away how he'd first fumbled with the buttons on his phone before managing to respond. Unfamiliar and working with one hand. It's not easy.]
Though I'll confess, I am little surprised by this advantage of time you've dropped into my lap. Truly, I feel valued. How is it that you came by your knowledge of the dragon queen's mind on this, Lord Baelish?
[should he be packing up his stuff, probably he should be packing up his stuff]
She came to me demanding that I be the one to bring you before her.
[ The gall. ]
I persuaded her off the path. I attempted to persuade her away from the idea entirely. But I suppose she is her father's daughter more than I realized.
[ No reasoning with those Targaryens. ]
So there are a number of ways we can approach this. And I assure you, none of which involve me sacrificing you to her. I would much prefer a less tyrannical ally.
[Unseen, Jaime smiles, tightly, at her father's daughter. It's almost a grimace.]
I'm sure you were quite persuasive. Perhaps you haven't the skill for queens. [Cersei certainly didn't like the man.] Fortunately I am far less prone to tyranny, you're right about that. And less prone to madness.
[Lannisters are nearly the opposite of mad, aren't they? Controlled. (Someone please tell Cersei.)]
What are these approaches? You'd do well to tell me now, before I unexpectedly stumble upon Jorah Mormont in a tavern or a market. It's a large country we've found ourselves in, so I'm not sure how he'd track me down. Unless the gods of this place have given him some real skill at tracking.
Or I suppose you could have let slip my move from De Chima, but as we're allies, I won't even entertain the thought.
So distrustful, Ser Jaime. Don't make me regret not giving them your current whereabouts.
[ Said in a playful tone. Chiding. Like they're such bosom pals. But no, really. Don't make him regret it, buddy. ]
If you wish to avoid confrontation altogether, I can put you into hiding. I have the funds and resources to get you someplace they wouldn't expect. Heropa, perhaps -- if you do not mind something a bit tropical. If avoiding is not your style and you would rather evade being dragged out, I do know people. I could offer you protection in the form of a few of my friends -- friends far more powerful than Ser Jorah.
Or you could agree to meet with her. You could go there and appease the dragon queen's wishes. Someone gifted me something -- a locket that if you touch the charm contained therein, it can get you out of any dangerous situation for one use only. I could give this to you and if at any point, you are in danger, you could utilize it.
[ He's offering a port key. Welcome to this strange new world, Jaime. ]
I'm not interested in bodyguards, Lord Baelish. Not even ones whose skill and friendship you'll both brag of and vouch for. Hiding is even less my style. Is this Targaryen horse princess likely to forget about me if I hide my face for a few turns of the moon? You know her better than I, you tell me.
[The locket that Littlefinger mentions--whatever power it works by, if it works--would be most promising. There before this girl for a moment, gone the next, before her mood turned like the head of a coin in a toss. That would hardly be cowardice, but self-preservation. Waiting out a siege.
But Jaime does mistrust Baelish. As eager as he seems to be to name them allies--and in truth, as eager as Jaime ought to be, to have an ally--if he accepts the use of this powerful object, only to have it fail at the crucial moment--]
As to the last suggestion, this girl is no queen of mine. Simply appeasing her wishes isn't something I'm eager to do.
No. [ A pause. ] But she could port out. I know a man here who often dances with danger this way -- and in the end, he's still here while all of his other adversaries are not. Who is the wise one, I have to wonder?
[ But of course. Of course. Jaime has his pride and won't take he coward's way out. That's what Baelish expected. That's why he saved the port key suggestion for last. ]
So will you go and provoke her and her dragon? He is quite large. He has destroyed a good portion of Nonah once before. You would also have to contend with Ser Jorah. He can turn himself into a bear. Are you prepared to face a bear in combat? Forgive me for saying, but these odds seem to not be in your favor.
She is a part of this, as are we all. And she knows that. To that end, I thought you at least a little more clever than this. Perhaps that was my mistake.
Now you are insulting me. Do you really think me incapable of subtlety?
But as you are so eager to make a confession to me, I will indulge you, Snow, and ask. Do you plan to involve yourself in the politics of this country, more than you already have?
( The image is shaky at best when the message comes in, but it doesn't last long. Myrcella can be seen haphazardly now, with a wriggling little ball of tawny fluff held firmly in the crook of an arm.
Her expression is caught somewhere between determination to hold the little beast and being at a total, utter loss. )
This place saw fit to gift me a companion. I wonder if you, ah. Have any advice on how to care for him.
He has pounced on me a dozen times this evening alone.
( By now she sounds as exasperated as she looks, and the little rascal nips at her. There is no reason why he shouldn't find a great deal of amusement in her plight. )
Jaime stops walking, in part because it is difficult for a man with only one hand to walk and consult a video at the same time, and because he realizes in that moment what it is that he is seeing.]
'This place'? Then it is a power, and not a pet? The only lion I have ever cared for is the one on my shield and standard. It is a lion, isn't it?
( Calling him a wriggly little worm rather than a lion cub would not be too far off from the truth, with the way he squirms in her grasp.
Wryly, she nods her head. )
He was on the list I was given, yes. A defender for me, I suppose.
( Blinking, she finds the corners of her mouth twitching up in amusement. Somehow, he manages to touch and bring out that warmth in her that's been so hard to reach since she'd been resurrected. )
It is. Feeding him meat seems obvious, but in the meantime he's torn my curtains, broken some dishes and chewed on my hair.
( She is a bit especially indignant on that last score. )
Better to send a lion fully grown, if it were truly meant for protection. Or to send no lion at all.
[Considering the tempestuous nature of even a tame beast, a lion seems a gamble. Can the beast learn loyalty? Of a sort, Jaime thinks, with a small and bitter smile, to their own.
That smile tints toward one a measure more genuine, when he comes out of his own reverie to take note of the little smile which Myrcella wears.]
Tie your hair back and remove the temptation. Perhaps it will help to think of him [not it] as a very large cat. A length of rope to pounce upon instead of string.
I had thought about that, but I can see the attempt at wisdom here. This way, he will grow to know and respect me. Or, I hope he will.
( Given that he is currently wriggling free of her arms to pounce upon a cushion beside her, turning over onto his back. Myrcella shakes her head, and laughs a little for the first time since she'd been resurrected.
How fitting it is now, while speaking with her father. Looking back up at him, her gaze is warmer as she makes use of her left hand to pull back her hair as he's suggested, and nods thoughtfully thereafter. )
That's a good idea. Is there anywhere nearby I might take him hunting when he's bigger? I don't think that instinct will simply not manifest in him because I feed him by hand now.
( Sighing, she relaxes back against her sofa, and meets his gaze quietly. )
How have you fared of late? Could we have dinner together one day this week? I find I'd like very much to know you better.
The one thing this country does have is a surfeit of open land. Once you are outside of these cities, you're sure to find hunting ground for this beast of yours. I would not suggest going too far out with some sort of escort. Besides your lion, I mean.
[Although--]
Did you happen to receive instructions on... training a lion?
[Which is maybe a question better discussed over dinner. She looks a little more like Cersei with her hair tied back, with a softer cut to her face. Perhaps because she is so young. That means she resembles him, as well, of course, which is a fact Jaime has little considered. Cersei discouraged even the thought, to protect our secret, when it was written all around us on the faces of her children.
Dinner. He casts a glance beyond his device, taking stock of his surroundings.]
You'd mentioned that, yes. Knowing me. [It's meant as teasing. Hopefully she reads it as much.] I have time and more for dinner. Which city are you living in?
[There are, perhaps, things better left unknown. Jaime has not yet decided on how he feels about fate, like a path lined by two great walls, keeping him hemmed in and moving always forward, toward events that loom like legends for him. Legends that Myrcella knows firsthand.
It would be foolish, to leave these things as legend. Jaime prefers armor and sword, but knowledge is its own sort of armor, especially in the game that they play.]
Of course. My time is yours whenever you wish. You are still in the housing that was assigned to you? I will come there, if you think it private enough.
( She would most certainly be in the same quandary, were their places exchanged. Yet these legends are contemporary or even past events to others here from Westeros. If he should hear them from her in confidence and not from the like of Jon Snow or Lord Baelish, he can don that armour and guard against the possible ill-intent of those words.
And she can only try to repay the favour of his protection by affording him some in return. )
I am, yes. Though perhaps we should speak of that, too. I miss you more often than not.
( Alone, in a city controlled by House Stark. It now leaves her uneasy, with only Robb as a buffer between her and his relations. )
[How, he thinks to ask. Or perhaps, better, why? What more he has learned of Myrcella has only made him think her as good as others of court have praised her, as good and better. Better, certainly, than him. Golden and fair and good, truly good.
Jaime writes none of this. He reads Myrcella's simple words and feels a selfish pleasure that he knows he does not deserve. She should know him for who he truly is. But if he disabuses her of her esteem, he loses it entirely. He has never been anyone but himself. For Myrcella, he finds, in some small way, that he wants to be something more. At least in this moment.]
I would be glad to speak of it and gladder still for your move to this city, or any other.
[As little as he trusts Littlefinger, it would be better to keep Myrcella close than hide her away in some city.]
I will come to your home tonight if it pleases you. You will forgive me for not allowing you time to plan the menu with your steward. It is both a custom and a boon of this country that meals are planned much more quickly.
Good! It is a little difficult to protect one-another when we are so far apart, no? I would be the easier to be nearer to you than this.
( Surrounded by Starks as she is, it makes her uneasy. Robb is the only one to have been easy with her thuus far. As though time has never passed. She's not seen the others, but for Robb's bastard brother.
The less thought of him, the better. As heavy as the nature of this conversation with her father will no doubt be, preparing for it is a distraction she welcomes, and finds herself smiling. )
It would please me, yes. Worry not about the fare. I'll procure us something beforehand. Until this evening, Father. Have a safe journey here.
» text, private - also do you want to just jump into action here or do a log or--????
[Well. She has taken to the thought of moving easily enough. A small comfort. Perhaps it only means that what she wishes to speak of will be a difficult thing, and this agreeability is meant only to soften that eventual blow.
No. That is not Myrcella. Even if she means to tell him something terrible, she would not use sweetness to hide the malice. That is not her way at all. He should accept her agreement, and his good fortune. Another selfish pleasure.]
Your cheerful agreement makes me nearly cheerful.
I will see you soon. Take care if you mean to cook the food yourself, it is not so very easy, even for one as clever as you.
[Daughter, he should say, to her father. It would still be strange to write, as secret as this message is, but he thinks it anyways. An endearment long forbidden. Why shouldn't he name her as his daughter when the only parts of Westeros are the countrymen that have followed them here?]
Until tonight, Myrcella. I look forward to your company.
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audio; drama time
[ Jaime did say he wanted to meet Jorah, right?? ]
audio; clenches fist
[--Dryly, never once giving away how he'd first fumbled with the buttons on his phone before managing to respond. Unfamiliar and working with one hand. It's not easy.]
Though I'll confess, I am little surprised by this advantage of time you've dropped into my lap. Truly, I feel valued. How is it that you came by your knowledge of the dragon queen's mind on this, Lord Baelish?
[should he be packing up his stuff, probably he should be packing up his stuff]
audio;
[ The gall. ]
I persuaded her off the path. I attempted to persuade her away from the idea entirely. But I suppose she is her father's daughter more than I realized.
[ No reasoning with those Targaryens. ]
So there are a number of ways we can approach this. And I assure you, none of which involve me sacrificing you to her. I would much prefer a less tyrannical ally.
audio;
I'm sure you were quite persuasive. Perhaps you haven't the skill for queens. [Cersei certainly didn't like the man.] Fortunately I am far less prone to tyranny, you're right about that. And less prone to madness.
[Lannisters are nearly the opposite of mad, aren't they? Controlled. (Someone please tell Cersei.)]
What are these approaches? You'd do well to tell me now, before I unexpectedly stumble upon Jorah Mormont in a tavern or a market. It's a large country we've found ourselves in, so I'm not sure how he'd track me down. Unless the gods of this place have given him some real skill at tracking.
Or I suppose you could have let slip my move from De Chima, but as we're allies, I won't even entertain the thought.
audio;
[ Said in a playful tone. Chiding. Like they're such bosom pals. But no, really. Don't make him regret it, buddy. ]
If you wish to avoid confrontation altogether, I can put you into hiding. I have the funds and resources to get you someplace they wouldn't expect. Heropa, perhaps -- if you do not mind something a bit tropical. If avoiding is not your style and you would rather evade being dragged out, I do know people. I could offer you protection in the form of a few of my friends -- friends far more powerful than Ser Jorah.
Or you could agree to meet with her. You could go there and appease the dragon queen's wishes. Someone gifted me something -- a locket that if you touch the charm contained therein, it can get you out of any dangerous situation for one use only. I could give this to you and if at any point, you are in danger, you could utilize it.
[ He's offering a port key. Welcome to this strange new world, Jaime. ]
audio;
I'm not interested in bodyguards, Lord Baelish. Not even ones whose skill and friendship you'll both brag of and vouch for. Hiding is even less my style. Is this Targaryen horse princess likely to forget about me if I hide my face for a few turns of the moon? You know her better than I, you tell me.
[The locket that Littlefinger mentions--whatever power it works by, if it works--would be most promising. There before this girl for a moment, gone the next, before her mood turned like the head of a coin in a toss. That would hardly be cowardice, but self-preservation. Waiting out a siege.
But Jaime does mistrust Baelish. As eager as he seems to be to name them allies--and in truth, as eager as Jaime ought to be, to have an ally--if he accepts the use of this powerful object, only to have it fail at the crucial moment--]
As to the last suggestion, this girl is no queen of mine. Simply appeasing her wishes isn't something I'm eager to do.
[Not an outright no all the same.]
audio;
[ But of course. Of course. Jaime has his pride and won't take he coward's way out. That's what Baelish expected. That's why he saved the port key suggestion for last. ]
So will you go and provoke her and her dragon? He is quite large. He has destroyed a good portion of Nonah once before. You would also have to contend with Ser Jorah. He can turn himself into a bear. Are you prepared to face a bear in combat? Forgive me for saying, but these odds seem to not be in your favor.
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But as you are so eager to make a confession to me, I will indulge you, Snow, and ask. Do you plan to involve yourself in the politics of this country, more than you already have?
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» video, backdated to not long after her arrival
Her expression is caught somewhere between determination to hold the little beast and being at a total, utter loss. )
This place saw fit to gift me a companion. I wonder if you, ah. Have any advice on how to care for him.
He has pounced on me a dozen times this evening alone.
( By now she sounds as exasperated as she looks, and the little rascal nips at her. There is no reason why he shouldn't find a great deal of amusement in her plight. )
» video
Jaime stops walking, in part because it is difficult for a man with only one hand to walk and consult a video at the same time, and because he realizes in that moment what it is that he is seeing.]
'This place'? Then it is a power, and not a pet? The only lion I have ever cared for is the one on my shield and standard. It is a lion, isn't it?
[But of course it will be a lion.]
» video
Wryly, she nods her head. )
He was on the list I was given, yes. A defender for me, I suppose.
( Blinking, she finds the corners of her mouth twitching up in amusement. Somehow, he manages to touch and bring out that warmth in her that's been so hard to reach since she'd been resurrected. )
It is. Feeding him meat seems obvious, but in the meantime he's torn my curtains, broken some dishes and chewed on my hair.
( She is a bit especially indignant on that last score. )
» video
[Considering the tempestuous nature of even a tame beast, a lion seems a gamble. Can the beast learn loyalty? Of a sort, Jaime thinks, with a small and bitter smile, to their own.
That smile tints toward one a measure more genuine, when he comes out of his own reverie to take note of the little smile which Myrcella wears.]
Tie your hair back and remove the temptation. Perhaps it will help to think of him [not it] as a very large cat. A length of rope to pounce upon instead of string.
» video
( Given that he is currently wriggling free of her arms to pounce upon a cushion beside her, turning over onto his back. Myrcella shakes her head, and laughs a little for the first time since she'd been resurrected.
How fitting it is now, while speaking with her father. Looking back up at him, her gaze is warmer as she makes use of her left hand to pull back her hair as he's suggested, and nods thoughtfully thereafter. )
That's a good idea. Is there anywhere nearby I might take him hunting when he's bigger? I don't think that instinct will simply not manifest in him because I feed him by hand now.
( Sighing, she relaxes back against her sofa, and meets his gaze quietly. )
How have you fared of late? Could we have dinner together one day this week? I find I'd like very much to know you better.
» video
[Although--]
Did you happen to receive instructions on... training a lion?
[Which is maybe a question better discussed over dinner. She looks a little more like Cersei with her hair tied back, with a softer cut to her face. Perhaps because she is so young. That means she resembles him, as well, of course, which is a fact Jaime has little considered. Cersei discouraged even the thought, to protect our secret, when it was written all around us on the faces of her children.
Dinner. He casts a glance beyond his device, taking stock of his surroundings.]
You'd mentioned that, yes. Knowing me. [It's meant as teasing. Hopefully she reads it as much.] I have time and more for dinner. Which city are you living in?
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» text, private
( She would not leave him in the dark about anything save her own death; and only because she cannot, will not cause him unhappiness. )
» text, private
It would be foolish, to leave these things as legend. Jaime prefers armor and sword, but knowledge is its own sort of armor, especially in the game that they play.]
Of course. My time is yours whenever you wish. You are still in the housing that was assigned to you? I will come there, if you think it private enough.
» text, private
And she can only try to repay the favour of his protection by affording him some in return. )
I am, yes. Though perhaps we should speak of that, too. I miss you more often than not.
( Alone, in a city controlled by House Stark. It now leaves her uneasy, with only Robb as a buffer between her and his relations. )
» text, private
Jaime writes none of this. He reads Myrcella's simple words and feels a selfish pleasure that he knows he does not deserve. She should know him for who he truly is. But if he disabuses her of her esteem, he loses it entirely. He has never been anyone but himself. For Myrcella, he finds, in some small way, that he wants to be something more. At least in this moment.]
I would be glad to speak of it and gladder still for your move to this city, or any other.
[As little as he trusts Littlefinger, it would be better to keep Myrcella close than hide her away in some city.]
I will come to your home tonight if it pleases you. You will forgive me for not allowing you time to plan the menu with your steward. It is both a custom and a boon of this country that meals are planned much more quickly.
» text, private
( Surrounded by Starks as she is, it makes her uneasy. Robb is the only one to have been easy with her thuus far. As though time has never passed. She's not seen the others, but for Robb's bastard brother.
The less thought of him, the better. As heavy as the nature of this conversation with her father will no doubt be, preparing for it is a distraction she welcomes, and finds herself smiling. )
It would please me, yes. Worry not about the fare. I'll procure us something beforehand. Until this evening, Father. Have a safe journey here.
» text, private - also do you want to just jump into action here or do a log or--????
No. That is not Myrcella. Even if she means to tell him something terrible, she would not use sweetness to hide the malice. That is not her way at all. He should accept her agreement, and his good fortune. Another selfish pleasure.]
Your cheerful agreement makes me nearly cheerful.
I will see you soon. Take care if you mean to cook the food yourself, it is not so very easy, even for one as clever as you.
[Daughter, he should say, to her father. It would still be strange to write, as secret as this message is, but he thinks it anyways. An endearment long forbidden. Why shouldn't he name her as his daughter when the only parts of Westeros are the countrymen that have followed them here?]
Until tonight, Myrcella. I look forward to your company.