"It's a considerable amount," said Qyburn.
"It's also a pretty big trick, if Westeros has ever seen one," Brandon grumbled. "They want you to go, the prize is for you, to kill you within their walls," Brandon.
"This time I agree with my brother, my prince," Tohrren commented.
Jaehaerys looked at the three men in front of him, all telling him the same thing. The tournament organized by Tywin sought to lure him in.
200,000 gold dragons. An absurd amount for a tournament, the most ridiculous thing was not only the prize, but also the way it was offered.
Typically, there were three categories in tournaments: jousting, melee, and archery. Of these three, jousting usually had the highest prize, as it was considered the most prestigious. It was a sport that not just anyone could practice; it required lances, armor, a shield, and, most importantly, a horse. Not everyone can own a horse.
On the other hand, the melee required you to know how to fight, and while not everyone can get good training, it is easier than training for a joust. And archery required a bow and a target.
It is not only that the joust is complicated, but it is also because, with the resources of the time, it is the most privileged to train for and the most spectacular. Even if there is more blood and action in the melee, all the commotion obscures the view, making it less visually appealing.
"200,000 for the meele, 100,000 for the joust, and 20,000 for archery." The difference in amounts was absurd. Traditionally, the joust was the best paid.
"You could earn a total of 300,000 golden dragons," said Qyburn, a little greedily.
"And my husband could die," the princess said with a frown.
Daenerys did not want her husband to expose himself to the dangers outside ArgentStone. Nor did she want to be separated from him, but if he agreed to take her to Casterly Rock, she could agree.
"If there is anything alive that can kill the prince, that thing is not human," said Qyburn.
For a man who lives his life based on science to say such a thing meant that he had enormous confidence in Jaehaerys' abilities.
"In a riot, you can't know for sure. If it were just one-on-one fights, I'd bet a million gold dragons on the prince, but in a riot, I fear for his life," Brandon said.
Jaehaerys nodded. Under normal circumstances, he would not agree to it. He would not go; he would not give Tywin the pleasure of giving him a place to stab him, no.
"Eddard Stark has agreed to attend," the letter said.
He was sure he hadn't received a generic invitation like most houses, no, that letter at the end was written directly by Tywin for him. 'What does he mean by that?'
'Is it because of Sansa?' he wondered.
Jaime was recently widowed. It wouldn't be unusual for him to be looking for a new wife. Sansa was a pretty good option for him. Jaehaerys felt his stomach twist at the thought of that possibility. Jaime was a good choice for her, and although Tywin was dangerous, he wouldn't mistreat his own family.
But even if Jaime was a good choice, he didn't like it at all.
'Is that how you felt when you found out I was getting married, Sansa?'
Tywin was aiming directly at him, Jaehaerys knew it. He was using Sansa to stir up old feelings in him. But there had to be something else. Sansa was precious to him, but unless Tywin had a spy directly in Winterfell, which he doubted, he wouldn't know how deep their relationship was.
Moreover, why was he so sure he would go? Tywin must have another card up his sleeve.
'What if I'm just overthinking this?'
"The Lord and Lady of Harrenhal and Princess Serena Nymeros Martell are expected to attend," was written in another fragment.
"Everyone leave, except Daenerys," he ordered. The two brothers left immediately. Qyburn seemed to want to say something, but in the end, he went silently.
Dany looked at him with narrowed eyes; her hair had grown a little, already beginning to cover her ears.
Jaehaerys had decided to keep his hair short, more so than hers, to achieve a greater contrast between the two and make Daenerys feel a little better.
"Why, despite our words, are you planning to go to the tournament?" Daenerys asked.
"I don't plan to go, it's just that..." he paused, as if to tell his wife that it was something related to Sansa. Daenerys had stopped asking about her long ago; she was no longer so interested in the Stark girl.
"Stop hiding things from me," Daenerys asked, not aggressively or bossily, but more pleadingly.
Jaehaerys sighed and handed her the letter.
He didn't look at Daenerys's face; he didn't know what expression she wore as she read. He only heard her sigh from time to time. Earlier, he had read the letter to the people in the room, but he had omitted the references to Serena and Lord Stark.
Tywin wasn't going to explain things literally, no, the old lion would give clues to lure him in. No one knew how to use information better than Tywin; you only reveal things at the right moment. Perhaps, before attempting to assassinate him to lower his guard, he had other motives, such as not really wanting to kill him and instead seeking a favorable deal or a way to get Serena back.
"It's because of Sansa, then?" Daenerys' question was as predictable as the sun's trajectory. "Do you want to see her again?" she asked in a flat voice.
The woman tried to hide her jealousy, but the change in her voice gave her away.
And did Jaehaerys want to see her again? Hell, yes. Not out of love, nor out of desire, he wanted to see her. He wanted to know somehow that he hadn't ruined her life by sleeping with her.
"I have things to discuss with her," said the prince.
Daenerys remained silent.
"It's nothing romantic, I just... I think she's still waiting for me somehow, and I don't think that's right for her. I'm married," he said, half-truth and half-lie.
He didn't want Sansa to wait for him forever; she had the right to live and make a life away from him, to marry a good man and live as the lady of a great castle.
But on the other hand, he didn't want to see her married to another man either. That contradiction was stupid, and he knew it. He was not a man without faults. He knew he had desires beyond monogamy; Ros knew him well enough.
He looked at Daenerys. The woman was not at all concerned that Ros had joined their relationship, but that was because Jaehaerys, although he was very fond of the woman, did not love her.
He couldn't say the same about Sansa.
"I think you should go," Daenerys said finally.
"What?"
"I don't think I can have children, Jae," said the princess. Her eyes scanned the room boredly.
Jaehaerys was momentarily shocked.
"Where did you get that idea, Dany?"
"I haven't had my moon blood since the dragons were born." Menstruation, or moon blood, was what indicated that a woman was still fertile. When a girl had it for the first time, she was considered to have become a woman, as she had developed the ability to bear life. And when she stopped having it, it was known that she had lost that ability.
Jaehaerys thought about the canon. Just like in the pages of the books, Daenerys had lost the ability to have children.
'Maybe in the canon it wasn't a curse, and it was because of the ritual that brought back the dragons?' he wondered, intrigued.
"It's... It's temporary, we'll have children in time, Dany," he said to his wife. She had become deathly still when he said that.
"I want to believe you... I had heard of women who didn't have their moon blood for an abnormal time, but it's been nine moons since the last one," she said with a bitter smile.
"It's a matter of time," he said, not with faith or as empty words meant to comfort her.
In the books, it had been theorized that Daenerys regained the ability to have children. It wasn't something he could confirm, but he chose to believe it.
When they made love in the flames, his seed disappeared. One might think it simply evaporated, but if that had been the case, there would have been some trace left behind, and there was none. No, it was magic, a sacrifice.
If it took Jaehaerys' seed, there was a massive possibility that it also took Daenerys' eggs... maybe... maybe...
'It didn't make sense. Even if Daenerys lost some eggs, her period wouldn't stop for so long.'
"Go... don't participate in tournaments, take Brandon and Tohrren for protection. Meet Sansa and maybe..."
"No," Jaehaerys sat down to write a letter refusing to go. He also put second in his mind to find a way to prevent Sansa from getting married to anyone.
He wasn't going to bring another woman to have children with. He wasn't going to spit in Daenerys' face.
Jaehaerys let the ink run across the paper as his mind thought about heirs. If magic took away the ability to have children, magic could restore that ability.