After Jacob left, Cersei's legs gave out. She stumbled to a chair and sank into it, lost in thought.
Qyburn hesitated, then ran to the door. He looked out into the corridor. The guards lay scattered on the floor, unconscious but alive. He hurried back inside.
"He's gone, Your Grace," Qyburn said. "Should I tell the White Cloaks to search for him?"
Cersei shook her head slowly. "No."
She looked at Grand Maester Pycelle and Mace Tyrell with disgust. The two old men were still sitting on the floor, trembling.
"Lord Tyrell," she said coldly, "I will arrange a new guard to escort you to Braavos. Now leave us. You too, Grand Maester. Leave us."
The two old men scrambled to their feet and fled the chamber.
The heavy oak doors clicked shut, leaving the room in cold silence. Cersei's green eyes fixed on Qyburn.
"I don't know how that man knew," she hissed, her voice a sharp whisper, "but Jaime already went to Dorne to rescue Myrcella. Now that whore Ellaria Sand will kill him and my daughter."
Qyburn tucked his hands into his sleeves. "What do you think we should do, Your Grace?"
Cersei leaned close, her voice a sharp whisper. "We cannot send an army to Dorne. That would trigger an unwinnable war—one we are not prepared to fight. So we take away what she cares about most. Her biological daughter, Tyene. I want her in chains."
Qyburn nodded slowly. "Capturing her will require local sellswords who know the terrain."
"I do not care about the cost. I have gold." Cersei's voice was iron. "Hire the sellswords. But remember—Tyene must be taken alive and brought to me as soon as possible."
She glanced at the window. "The moment she is in our custody, I will tell Ellaria that if Jaime is hurt, or if Myrcella so much as coughs, I will turn her precious daughter over to Gregor Clegane." She turned back to Qyburn. "Now go. Do it quietly."
Qyburn offered a small bow. "Do not worry, Your Grace. I will not let you down. By the time Ellaria realizes her daughter is missing, she will be crossing the Blackwater."
Cersei nodded. "Also, help me find out who that man who took Ser Meryn is."
Qyburn asked, "Do you know that man's wife, Your Grace?"
Cersei's jaw clenched. "The little bitch Sansa Stark. She is the only one I can think of who knows my children and was beaten and humiliated by Ser Meryn."
Qyburn nodded. "I will do my best to find out who he is, Your Grace."
"Also," Cersei added, "call Baelish back. He was tasked with finding Sansa, but I haven't heard from him in a while. And speed up your experiment. I want Gregor Clegane at my side, protecting me, as soon as possible."
Qyburn offered another small bow and left.
Cersei sat alone in the council chamber, her gaze fixed on the bloodstains spread across the floor, lost in thought.
---
Moat Cailin — Night
Jacob appeared in front of the capsule house.
The three lizard-lions raised their heads, saw him, and lowered them again. Bowser let out a sleepy hiss that might have been a greeting.
The lights were on inside the house. Through the window, Jacob could see the glow of the television.
Sansa felt him through their bond before she saw him. She came running out of the house, her red hair flying behind her, wearing his sweatpants and hoodie.
She jumped into his arms.
Jacob caught her with a grin. "Did you miss me?"
Sansa smiled. "Yes, I did." She kissed him deeply.
When they separated, she asked, "Where did you go?"
"King's Landing."
Her eyes widened. "King's Landing? You went there and came back in just a few hours?"
Jacob nodded. "Yes." He pointed at the unconscious figure lying on the ground a few meters away. "I brought you a gift."
Sansa looked at the man and recognized him. "That's…"
Meryn Trant lay face-down in the mud, still unconscious, what was left of his armor stained with dirt and blood.
Arya and Brienne came out of the house. Arya's hand went to her dagger.
"That's Meryn Trant," Arya said, her voice cold.
Jacob nodded. "He's all yours, girls."
He sent a small spark of electricity from his fingertip into Meryn's body. The knight jerked awake.
Meryn groaned and raised a hand to shield his eyes from the porch light. Then he saw Jacob standing over him.
He screamed in terror.
"Please!" Meryn Trant scrambled backward, his hands slipping in the mud. "Please, just kill me! Please!"
Arya smiled. "Jacob, what did you do to him?"
Jacob shrugged. "I might have beaten him half to death and healed him a few times."
Sansa stood in front of Meryn, her voice cold with anger. "Do you remember me?"
But Meryn didn't hear her. He was curled in a ball, rocking back and forth, repeating the same words over and over. "Please, just kill me… please, just kill me…"
Sansa looked at Jacob. "It seems like you broke him."
Jacob sighed. "Sorry about that. Let me fix him."
He walked to Meryn, crouched down, and grabbed his chin, forcing the man to look into his eyes. His own eyes glowed red. He activated his Compulsion ability.
"Forget that we met before," Jacob commanded. "Forget that I beat you. Forget everything that happened to you today."
Meryn Trant's eyes glazed over. When Jacob released him, the terror in his face faded. He blinked and looked around, confused.
"Where am I?" he muttered.
Then he saw Sansa. His brow furrowed.
"You're the Stark girl," he said.
Sansa's voice was cold. "Yes, I am. I'm glad you remember me."
Meryn Trant looked around at the ruined fortress, at the strange house, at the three massive lizard-lions sleeping in the shadows. "Where is this? How did I get here?"
Sansa ignored his questions. "It doesn't matter. What matters is that you're going to pay for what you did to me." She looked at Arya. "You said he's on your list."
Arya nodded. "He murdered my teacher and friend. Syrio Forel."
Sansa's voice was cold. "Then go ahead. Kill him. But make it slow. I want him to suffer. I want him to be humiliated. And I want him to beg for a merciful death."
Arya smirked. She went inside the house and returned with her sword, Needle.
She looked at Podrick, who had come out of his tent when he heard the commotion. "Podrick, give him one of the swords left behind by the dead Bolton men."
Podrick went to a corner near the capsule house, retrieved a sword, and tossed it toward Meryn.
The blade landed in the mud beside him.
Arya pointed Needle at him. "Pick up the sword and fight."
Meryn Trant didn't need to be told twice. He grabbed the sword and scrambled to his feet. His eyes darted from Arya to Jacob to Sansa to Brienne to Podrick—then dismissed them all and locked onto Brienne. In his mind, she was the only real threat.
He was wrong.
Arya attacked.
She used the water-dancing moves she had learned from Syrio, toying with Meryn.
She moved like water. Her blade flickered and flashed, and Meryn Trant could barely follow it. He swung wildly, desperately, but Arya was always somewhere else—behind him, to the side, above him.
She stabbed him in the arm. He screamed.
She stabbed him in the thigh. He stumbled.
She poked out his left eye. He howled and dropped his sword, clawing at his face.
Her blade sliced through the tendons in his wrists. His hands went limp. He fell to his knees, begging for mercy.
"Please," he begged, blood streaming from his eye socket. "Please, have mercy. I beg you."
He received no mercy from her.
Arya slashed his chest. His cheek. She stabbed his stomach, his shoulder, and his hip. Not deep enough to kill. Deep enough to hurt.
Meryn Trant sobbed. "Please... please..."
Arya didn't stop; she kept slashing and stabbing with her thin sword, methodical and precise.
Sansa watched until Meryn was choking on his own blood, unable even to beg anymore. She was satisfied. "That's enough, Arya. Put him out of his misery."
Arya drove Needle through his heart.
Meryn Trant's eyes went wide. He gasped once, twice, then slumped forward into the mud.
Jacob waved his hand. A fire serpent burst from his palm and consumed the body. When it faded, nothing remained but ash.
"Alright," Jacob said, clapping his hands together. "Let's go inside. I'm hungry."
Brienne inclined her head. "I will stay outside with Podrick and keep watch, Your Grace." She met Jacob's eyes. "And thank you again for making me strong."
Jacob nodded. "You're welcome."
He went inside with Arya and Sansa.
They ate dinner. Then they watched the movie Brave.
"Is that a bear?" Sansa asked, pointing at the screen.
"That's a bear," Jacob confirmed.
"I thought you said this was about a princess."
"It is. She turns her mom into a bear later."
When the movie ended, Arya went to her room. Jacob and Sansa went to his.
They lay on the bed. Sansa rested her head on his chest, and he ran his fingers through her hair.
"Thank you," she said softly. "For bringing that bastard to me."
Jacob continued stroking her hair. "You're welcome."
Sansa asked, "Did you meet Cersei?"
Jacob nodded. "Yeah. But it's not time to kill her yet. Killing her now would be boring. I still need her to raise an army we can have fun with."
Sansa smiled. "Did you tell her who you are?"
"I didn't tell her my name. But she knows I'm your husband." He chuckled. "She also saw me brutally beat Meryn and heal him multiple times. She's terrified of me."
"Did you do anything else in King's Landing?"
"I walked around the city," Jacob wrinkled his nose. "It stinks."
Sansa laughed. "Yes, it does."
Jacob continued. "I took the skull of Balerion the Black Dread and a few other dragon skulls. I'm going to put them in the garden in front of the palace in Serendell." He paused. "I also sneaked into the Royal Treasury."
Sansa sat up slightly. "How much gold did you take?"
Jacob snorted. "Not a single coin. The treasury was empty. The Crown has a debt of six million gold dragons."
Sansa lay back down. "If you take over as the new king of the Seven Kingdoms, you'll have to pay that debt."
"Why should I?"
"The motto of the Iron Bank of Braavos is: 'The Iron Bank will have its due.' They'll send armies after you. They'll fund your enemies."
Jacob smiled. "I really hope they're stupid enough to do that. I was in Braavos a few days ago, but the thought of robbing the Iron Bank never crossed my mind because they weren't my enemies. But if they attack me—or even threaten me—I will take everything they have. Every single coin."
Sansa smiled. "You probably can't wait for them to attack you, right? With how strong you are, they'll just be delivering wealth to you."
"That's right."
They talked for a while longer—about the Iron Bank, about the Lannisters, about the dragon skulls Jacob had stolen. Then Jacob's expression softened.
"I'll be going home tomorrow," he said.
Sansa's hand tightened on his chest. "How long will you be gone?"
"A day. Then I'll come back and take you to meet Allison and the others."
Sansa nodded. "Okay."
She was quiet for a moment. Then she climbed on top of him, straddling his waist, and kissed him.
"Then we should consummate our marriage," she said, her cheeks flushed.
Jacob's hands settled on her waist. "If that's what you want, I'll gladly do it."
Sansa nodded, shy but certain. "Yes. T-that's what I want."
Jacob created an energy shield around the room to keep the sounds from escaping. He didn't say anything else. He captured her lips in a kiss and gently flipped her beneath him.
Soon, their clothes were gone. They made love for hours—sometimes slow and tender, sometimes urgent and passionate—until Sansa could not continue. Exhausted and satisfied, she fell asleep in his arms, a peaceful smile on her face.
Jacob held her close, pressed a kiss to her forehead, dismissed the system notification without looking at it, and let sleep take him as well.
To be continued... 😊
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35 Chapters ahead of webnovel