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.
Oh, I don't know. I danced with a bear quite recently. Saved a maiden, came out the victor.
[More or less.]
They were both ugly, the maiden and the bear. I can't imagine Ser Jorah is any prettier, or any more fearsome, in a bearskin or out. What a power the gods have given him. No, Lord Baelish, I would say of the two you've presented, it's the dragon that would concern me more.
[As in, Seven Hells. A Targaryen with a bloody dragon. That's far more difficult to be flippant about. Whatever rumors were heard of dragons were more the stuff of dreams than anything to be believed. The Mad King wanted to be a dragon, and now his daughter's got one. Perhaps this is a hell.]
And here I was going to ask if she gave you her maidenhead in return. Perhaps she did regardless. In which case, you have my condolences. Especially since I'm certain we're talking of Lady Brienne. I know how it is to fuck an ugly woman on a daily basis. I married one, after all.
[ Til death do we part. ]
But as for why Nonah, I suppose the question is more why not Nonah? It's about the only interesting thing Nonah has going for it -- that it was attacked by a dragon.
Funny. [Not.] You really do have the advantage of me. I didn't even know you were married.
[The less Littlefinger says about Brienne of Tarth, the better. He's wrong about everything that he says--well, nearly. Fucking an ugly woman is likely as bad as he's said. Jaime wouldn't know.]
A sad recommendation. Still, it must have fared better than other cities that have been met with dragonfire, if we're all still talking about it. A few towers standing. Or perhaps this is meant to tell me that our Targaryen princess has a soft heart somewhere underneath all those scales and horsehide?
[Not for a Kingslayer, probably, so Jaime loses some of his joking tone.]
You must know I'm not going to present myself to her. Or see myself be dragged before her in chains. So where does that leave us, Lord Baelish?
[ Jaime and his damn stubborn pride. Well, Baelish did tell Daenerys that he might not be able to convince Jaime to come before her. It hadn't been a lie. But at least he had negotiated himself out of the order and it wasn't expected of him now. ]
I strongly advocate taking the initiative in this scenario, Ser Jaime. Especially if you are armed with that convenient escape route. She will not rest until you've met with her, and the longer you draw it out, the more exhausting it will be to continue fending off her attempts to drag you to the place of her choosing. But if you stand before her of your own volition, you control the way things go. You do not stoke the flames of her anger and have her burning entire cities to the ground simply to find you.
[ A pause. ]
Your brother believes in this dragon queen. Should you not attempt to see why?
My brother and I are very different men. Perhaps you've noticed. One of us is tall, and the other very short. One of us has two hands, and one of us, only one. I can keep going, if you need more examples.
And if I want to know why Tyrion has taken interest in this dragon queen, I'll ask Tyrion. I'd prefer to hear it from him.
[Though the rest of Littlefinger's point is miserably true, and much to the same conclusion Jaime is arriving at himself.]
But I would hate to see cities burned for my sake. [Other Targaryens, other cities, other fires. Must it always be the same?] I wonder, just what is this scenario? If she's expecting me to submit to some judgement or punishment of hers, you'll need to warn her of her inevitable disappointment. I'm not coming to her a supplicant or subject. In fact, I'm not coming to her at all. You'll lend me that convenient escape route of yours, after I've made sure it will actually do as you say. And then I'll meet this dragon, in a place of my choosing.
The two of us. Her dragon and her bear can stay behind.
There are some things simply asking someone will not allow you to understand, Ser Jaime. Surely you know this to be true.
[ But at least, at the very least, it seems Jaime is coming around to reason. That much is good. ]
From my understanding, she merely wants to see you for herself. What she will do after that, I cannot say. But unfortunately, the escape route I have is only good for one use and one use only. If you try to use it before its time, it will not work again.
[ Which sounds conveniently like a trap. Baelish realizes that. ]
I could ask the man for another. He's still in this world, of course. But he might not take kindly to his magic being utilized so freely.
[ Baelish frowns, deeply. He would prefer to not offer what he's about to offer, but in interest of keeping this alliance built on some level of trust... ]
Bring me with you to your meeting. I can transform into a bird and be discreet. Should Daenerys Targaryen attack and should the locket I give you fail, I will fly forth and take whatever blow she intends to give you. I'm confident enough in the fact that I will revive. And she will have struck down an ambassador -- a fact that will not be taken lightly by the imPort population. If she would want to keep her reputation pristine, she would then be at our mercy.
[It's not at all a suggestion Jaime would have expected of Baelish. When has the man ever put himself in any sort of danger? But of course it isn't a danger, not when death has little meaning. Baelish must be very confident in that gift from the gods, or else he wouldn't offer this.
Perhaps he wouldn't, anyways. Sacrifice makes Jaime wary. Especially when it's offered by a selfish man. Then again, what man isn't selfish?
And honestly: what man of Westeros isn't turning into his sigil?]
Very selfless. It's a mockingbird, I suppose?
[--But he's considering the rest of that. As little as Jaime likes the thought of running, there is wisdom in it. He likes even less the thought of someone else fighting a battle for him. It isn't in him to allow that. But this would hardly be a battle. And certainly it would make a point.]
It's a good suggestion--save that I'm hardly afraid of being struck down by this girl. I may have lost my sword hand, but I do have another. [Useless. But there. Not to mention his own godsgift.] Unless she also turns into her sigil--in which case, seeing a bird going up against a dragon would be the stuff of songs. Almost enough on its own to warrant my cooperation, even if I'd be safely out of sight of the killing blow.
[Is this the best he's going to get? Most likely. That does little to make Jaime feel safer. The opposite, if anything. Entirely too much hinges on Littlefinger. But--]
I only offer this suggestion in the utmost confidence that locket will do exactly as my friend promised, of course. I will not put myself in harm's way unless it fails. But even so, let us not paint my sacrificial offering as anything other than what it is. I've longed to knock the horse princess off of her high horse for quite some time now. And there is an 80% chance I would return from this.
[ Of course, when Baelish finds out that Dorian Gray, death expert, does not return from his sacrifice -- he will be one hundred times more reticent about this offer. ]
I would like to hope that we will not have to resort to any of these extreme measures, however. So try not to inspire her to attempt to kill you, if you can.
Eighty? Those are good odds. [Not ironclad, but good enough, if you care about odds.] Your faith in this new friend of yours is quite inspiring. I'd hope you could have the same faith in me.
After all, I never try to be killed. Anything but. I don't promise courtesy, and I can't compensate for madness, but I'll do my very best.
[The only option here is to be cavalier about the whole thing. Is Jaime looking forward to meeting this Targaryen girl? No. But here he is anyways. Making light of it is his best option.]
Once I've found a place in Maurtia Falls that will suit for this meeting, I'll send word. A stable, maybe. When she falls from that high horse of hers, she'll have plenty of hay to land in.
[ Well. Maybe Jaime does try to not be killed, but he has a certain way of provoking. And with Daenerys Stormborn, she-of-many-names-who-gets-provoked-easily... well. Jaime will just have to forgive his reticence.
He does laugh a bit. A stable would be appropriate. ]
I will let her know when you've decided, and not a moment more. If she refuses the meeting you offer her, then she shows her true colors of not wishing for diplomacy.
[ And unfortunately, that means Jaime will have to probably prepare for battle to evade being dragged off to Daenerys's preferred meeting spot. ]
I do suggest finding a place that is near a highly populated area. One that would be difficult for a dragon to attend.
I very much doubt she's interested in diplomacy. Not truly.
[Would Jaime be? A foolish supposition, one not worth considering. Neither is the other truth: that if Daenerys Targaryen refuses the suggestion, she's more her father's daughter than Littlefinger has either said or knows.]
If she refuses my meeting, then I suggest you start fireproofing your city, Lord Baelish. I'll be busy thanking the Gods to have such an ally is you, with that powerful escape route you've promised me.
In the meantime, I'll heed your advice on a small busy area and send word once I've found such a place. Until then.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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.
audio;
[More or less.]
They were both ugly, the maiden and the bear. I can't imagine Ser Jorah is any prettier, or any more fearsome, in a bearskin or out. What a power the gods have given him. No, Lord Baelish, I would say of the two you've presented, it's the dragon that would concern me more.
[As in, Seven Hells. A Targaryen with a bloody dragon. That's far more difficult to be flippant about. Whatever rumors were heard of dragons were more the stuff of dreams than anything to be believed. The Mad King wanted to be a dragon, and now his daughter's got one. Perhaps this is a hell.]
Why Nonah? More madness?
audio;
[ Til death do we part. ]
But as for why Nonah, I suppose the question is more why not Nonah? It's about the only interesting thing Nonah has going for it -- that it was attacked by a dragon.
audio;
[The less Littlefinger says about Brienne of Tarth, the better. He's wrong about everything that he says--well, nearly. Fucking an ugly woman is likely as bad as he's said. Jaime wouldn't know.]
A sad recommendation. Still, it must have fared better than other cities that have been met with dragonfire, if we're all still talking about it. A few towers standing. Or perhaps this is meant to tell me that our Targaryen princess has a soft heart somewhere underneath all those scales and horsehide?
[Not for a Kingslayer, probably, so Jaime loses some of his joking tone.]
You must know I'm not going to present myself to her. Or see myself be dragged before her in chains. So where does that leave us, Lord Baelish?
audio;
[ Jaime and his damn stubborn pride. Well, Baelish did tell Daenerys that he might not be able to convince Jaime to come before her. It hadn't been a lie. But at least he had negotiated himself out of the order and it wasn't expected of him now. ]
I strongly advocate taking the initiative in this scenario, Ser Jaime. Especially if you are armed with that convenient escape route. She will not rest until you've met with her, and the longer you draw it out, the more exhausting it will be to continue fending off her attempts to drag you to the place of her choosing. But if you stand before her of your own volition, you control the way things go. You do not stoke the flames of her anger and have her burning entire cities to the ground simply to find you.
[ A pause. ]
Your brother believes in this dragon queen. Should you not attempt to see why?
audio;
And if I want to know why Tyrion has taken interest in this dragon queen, I'll ask Tyrion. I'd prefer to hear it from him.
[Though the rest of Littlefinger's point is miserably true, and much to the same conclusion Jaime is arriving at himself.]
But I would hate to see cities burned for my sake. [Other Targaryens, other cities, other fires. Must it always be the same?] I wonder, just what is this scenario? If she's expecting me to submit to some judgement or punishment of hers, you'll need to warn her of her inevitable disappointment. I'm not coming to her a supplicant or subject. In fact, I'm not coming to her at all. You'll lend me that convenient escape route of yours, after I've made sure it will actually do as you say. And then I'll meet this dragon, in a place of my choosing.
The two of us. Her dragon and her bear can stay behind.
[Some control, anyways.]
audio;
[ But at least, at the very least, it seems Jaime is coming around to reason. That much is good. ]
From my understanding, she merely wants to see you for herself. What she will do after that, I cannot say. But unfortunately, the escape route I have is only good for one use and one use only. If you try to use it before its time, it will not work again.
[ Which sounds conveniently like a trap. Baelish realizes that. ]
I could ask the man for another. He's still in this world, of course. But he might not take kindly to his magic being utilized so freely.
[ Baelish frowns, deeply. He would prefer to not offer what he's about to offer, but in interest of keeping this alliance built on some level of trust... ]
Bring me with you to your meeting. I can transform into a bird and be discreet. Should Daenerys Targaryen attack and should the locket I give you fail, I will fly forth and take whatever blow she intends to give you. I'm confident enough in the fact that I will revive. And she will have struck down an ambassador -- a fact that will not be taken lightly by the imPort population. If she would want to keep her reputation pristine, she would then be at our mercy.
audio;
Perhaps he wouldn't, anyways. Sacrifice makes Jaime wary. Especially when it's offered by a selfish man. Then again, what man isn't selfish?
And honestly: what man of Westeros isn't turning into his sigil?]
Very selfless. It's a mockingbird, I suppose?
[--But he's considering the rest of that. As little as Jaime likes the thought of running, there is wisdom in it. He likes even less the thought of someone else fighting a battle for him. It isn't in him to allow that. But this would hardly be a battle. And certainly it would make a point.]
It's a good suggestion--save that I'm hardly afraid of being struck down by this girl. I may have lost my sword hand, but I do have another. [Useless. But there. Not to mention his own godsgift.] Unless she also turns into her sigil--in which case, seeing a bird going up against a dragon would be the stuff of songs. Almost enough on its own to warrant my cooperation, even if I'd be safely out of sight of the killing blow.
[Is this the best he's going to get? Most likely. That does little to make Jaime feel safer. The opposite, if anything. Entirely too much hinges on Littlefinger. But--]
I'll agree to those terms. And only those terms.
audio;
[ The pact is sealed. ]
I only offer this suggestion in the utmost confidence that locket will do exactly as my friend promised, of course. I will not put myself in harm's way unless it fails. But even so, let us not paint my sacrificial offering as anything other than what it is. I've longed to knock the horse princess off of her high horse for quite some time now. And there is an 80% chance I would return from this.
[ Of course, when Baelish finds out that Dorian Gray, death expert, does not return from his sacrifice -- he will be one hundred times more reticent about this offer. ]
I would like to hope that we will not have to resort to any of these extreme measures, however. So try not to inspire her to attempt to kill you, if you can.
audio;
After all, I never try to be killed. Anything but. I don't promise courtesy, and I can't compensate for madness, but I'll do my very best.
[The only option here is to be cavalier about the whole thing. Is Jaime looking forward to meeting this Targaryen girl? No. But here he is anyways. Making light of it is his best option.]
Once I've found a place in Maurtia Falls that will suit for this meeting, I'll send word. A stable, maybe. When she falls from that high horse of hers, she'll have plenty of hay to land in.
audio;
He does laugh a bit. A stable would be appropriate. ]
I will let her know when you've decided, and not a moment more. If she refuses the meeting you offer her, then she shows her true colors of not wishing for diplomacy.
[ And unfortunately, that means Jaime will have to probably prepare for battle to evade being dragged off to Daenerys's preferred meeting spot. ]
I do suggest finding a place that is near a highly populated area. One that would be difficult for a dragon to attend.
audio;
[Would Jaime be? A foolish supposition, one not worth considering. Neither is the other truth: that if Daenerys Targaryen refuses the suggestion, she's more her father's daughter than Littlefinger has either said or knows.]
If she refuses my meeting, then I suggest you start fireproofing your city, Lord Baelish. I'll be busy thanking the Gods to have such an ally is you, with that powerful escape route you've promised me.
In the meantime, I'll heed your advice on a small busy area and send word once I've found such a place. Until then.