Chapter 144

                                    

                                          
Ser Jamie Lannister is brought into the tent by a few Northern soldiers.
                          
He sighs as he looks around at everyone. He nods at Daenerys. "Your Grace." He looks at Jon. "Your Grace."
                          
Tyrion shakes his head at his older brother. "What are you doing here Jamie? I thought you'd found a reason to stay in Winterfell... someone... to stay for."
                          
Jamie looks at the ground. "I heard about the seige... and I just couldn't stay away."
                          
Daenerys angrily glances at Tyrion. "You've come to fight for your sister Ser Jamie? Even though again and again she has proven to be cruel, deceitful, and honorless?"
                          
Jamie shakes his head. "I came to Winterfell to fight with you against her orders... she isnt who I thought she was. It hurts to admit, but I loved her more than anything in this world and she never loved me the same."
                          
"Then why?" I ask. "Do you seek your own revenge against her? Do you wish to kill her?"
                          
"As much as I want to... I can't hate her. I don't want to see her hurt. I thought I could convince her to stand down. To surrender."
                          
Tyrion steps toward him. "Even you must know Cersei would never do that. She will never surrender willingly."
                          
Daenerys looks at Jamie Lannister for a long moment. "Tonight a small group of soldiers is sneaking into the Red Keep to capture or kill your sister."
                          
Jamie looks up from the floor in a look of shock. "What..."
                          
I look at Daenerys in shock as well. "Daenerys..."
                          
She puts up a hand. "I didn't trust you, but when you came to Winterfell by yourself to fight the army of the dead I had hope that Tyrion wasn't the only good Lannister." She steps toward him. "The only hope your sister has now is a fair trial ending in a quick and painless death. After everything she has done, isn't that more than she deserves? I want a quick end to this war, with no innocents killed. Can Cersei say the same?"
                          
Jamie looks at her but eventually shakes his head slightly. "She would kill thousands of innocents if it meant she would win."
                          
Daenerys stands infront of him. "Prove to me your loyalty. Go with Ser Nyla tonight to take Cersei, you can help assure she is not harmed and you may earn my trust again."
                          
"My queen... I'm not sure this is a good idea." I say. "How can we trust him? How do we know that he won't raise the alarm and have us all killed as soon as we step foot in the Red Keep?"
                          
Tyrion nods. "Your grace... even I would advise against sending my brother. Keep him here as a prisoner..."
                          
She looks at us. "How can I ever trust him again otherwise? If he assists in her capture and or killing, then I know he fights for us, the side against the killing of innocents. If I keep him here, I will never know if I can trust him and I will have him put on trial as well."
                          
She turns back to Jamie. "If you assist in your sister's capture, I will forget all crimes you've committed, and let you be the Lord of Casterly Rock. If you refuse..." she pauses. "I will charge you for the crimes you've committed against the Targaryens, the Starks, and my future wife, Nyla. What will you do Ser Jamie Lannister?"
                          
He swallows hard, and thinks for a long time, he glances at Tyrion, and I see Tyrion's head nod ever so slightly.
                          
He looks Daenerys in the eye. "I will join Ser Nyla and assist in the capture of my sister."
                          
Daenerys smiles and walks back to her place at the table. "Good." She looks at Arya. "Arya?"
                          
Arya looks at Daenerys. "Yes your grace?"
                          
"Can I trust you to kill Ser Jamie if he shows any sign of raising an alarm or any acts that could be considered suspicious?"
                          
Arya looks at Jamie. "He attacked my father in the streets, killed Jory, and his family is the reason my father, mother and brothers were killed." She looks back to Daenerys, smiling. "If I see him acting suspiciously in any way, I will not hesitate to kill him."
                          
Daenerys nods.
                          
I clench my fists. This is the only way that Jamie can prove that we can trust him, but I feel more anxious about the mission than ever.
                          
I sigh. "I'm sure Ser Jamie will have invaluable information for the mission. He knows where Cersei will most likely be, what her Queensguards are like." I look at him. "Speaking of which... which Queensguards should we be looking out for?"
                          
He glances at the Hound. "The Mountain is most likely to be the hardest part of this mission. Qyburn has done something to him, Clegane almost died after that Trial by Combat with Oberyn Martell, and he's no longer... human. I don't think he will die easily, or quietly for that matter. This stealth mission might be ruined completely by his presence."
                          
I put a hand to my chin in thought. "He won't die easily? Hmm... he is always by Cersei's side? He will be posted by her door?"
                          
Jamie nods. "He will."
                          
Sandor grunts. "Don't worry about my brother, I'll deal with him."
                          
Jon puts up a hand. "It doesn't sound like it's going to be that easy. A stealth mission like this... you want to avoid noisy unnecessary battles." He looks at Jamie. "He won't die from a slit throat? Or a sword to the Heart?"
                          
Ser Jamie shakes his head. "I honestly don't think so."
                          
I sigh. "Then maybe we have to prioritize leading Ser Gregor away from Cersei's quarters." I look at The Hound. "Perhaps when he sees you... you could lead him back toward the hidden barracks, and the rest of us can go after Cersei. If you fight him the barracks, you can pretty much be as loud as you need."
                          
The Hound scoffs. "My big brother is stupider than a pile of bricks, but I don't think even he's dumb enough to fall for that."
                          
Jamie shrugs. "As I said, he's hardly human. Who knows what he will fall for? I think it might work."
                          
I nod. "So while the Clegane brothers have at each other, the rest of us go after Cersei, but more than likely, there will be other Queensguards guarding her room."
                          
Arya smiles at me. "Let me deal with them, If there are other Queensguard than the Mountian, I'll lead them away."
                          
I think about all Arya has told me, and her newfound abilities and fighting skills, and I have no doubt she is capable of it. I nod. "Alright. Jon, Ser Jamie, Grey Worm and I can extract Cersei from her room. While Arya and Sandor deal with the Gregor and the other Queensguards."
                          
Daenerys looks at everyone. "I'm here for one reason and one reason only. I want to crush the wheel that has turned and turned on those underneath it. The weak, the poor, those born without a great house name. I want to fairly punish those who benefit from the wheel, and set up a world where every child born knows peace and safety." 
                          
She sighs. "To do this without hurting innocents, we must take Cersei Lannister tonight, and if we cannot take her... kill her."