Crimes and judgment

Edmure POV

As soon as I was accepted into Queen Daenerys's court and left mostly alone, I started planning. The Tattered Prince still has not arrived, which might take some time. I knew I couldn't strike Euron alone and needed help. As much as Asha was helpful, I couldn't truly trust her. I knew I had to move fast.

The first thing I did was ask about Queen Daenerys's visitors. I confirmed that Euron was in the Great Pyramid, and as I expected, he was with Aegon. Now I, without a doubt, knew that Euron was after the dragons. He probably wants to use Aegon to get to the dragons. The worst part was that I didn't know much about the dragon binder that Euron should possess.

Even if he could bind only one dragon, it was too much for me. I had to assassinate him and do that. I needed to learn where he stayed. How many guards he had on himself, and what he was doing at all times. I was hoping Asha would come in and be helpful in that part of the plan. Otherwise, I would need to get close to Euron, and doing so would only put me in danger.

In the worst possibility, I would have to wait for the Tattered Prince and attack him with full force. And even then, I didn't know if the Tattered Prince would agree to do something like that. I needed Daenerys to help then, and the only way for her to help me was to prove that Euron was after her dragons and Aegon was an imposter.

…

I spent the first night walking around the Great Pyramid, planning the layout. The halls and the chambers were built differently than the castles back home. But it wasn't as complex as I expected, but there were many guards. Unsullied stood guard at most chambers and patrolled the halls without rest or many blind spots.

I made excuses that I couldn't sleep and wanted to take a walk and see the Great Pyramid more closely, I knew it would only work once, so I used it to its full potential. I couldn't walk through all of the Great Pyramid, but I knew how the layout was built and could plan the next step when I gained more information from Asha.

"Ser Oscar," As I prepared for the day, Missandei came to my chambers and called out from the outside. "The Queen would like to meet you."

"Lead the way," I told the little girl when I opened the doors.

She nodded and led me to the personal chambers of Queen Daenerys rather than to her courtroom. I wasn't fond of the special treatment as I knew news of me would spread soon enough. Once it did, Aegon and his companions would not let me slide and confront me. I didn't want that. The less interaction I had with Euron, the better it would be. Otherwise, it would only be a matter of time before he recognized me.

"You here," Before we entered the Queen's chambers, the white knight stepped before us. "Wait, I will tell the Queen."

"No need, I heard your steps," The Queen stepped outside. "Let's go."

I didn't know what all this was about—yet hearing her say that she heard us gave me a pause. It seems that the walls might be thinner than I thought. I would need to keep that in mind while I am here. It wouldn't be good if people heard me sneaking around, and a fight was out of the question. If they heard me fighting, I would be surrounded by the Unsullied.

"I would like to know why you were looking for me, Queen Daenerys," I said as I followed behind her.

"I have a few things to ask you, but first, we are going to the dungeons," She replied.

"Why not ask on the way?"

"Very well," She didn't have a reason to disagree. "You came to me for aid, but sadly I can offer you little."

"Is it wise, your grace?" I asked. "You are the breaker of the chains, yet you will let Astapor fall, enslaving the people you saved."

"Astapor is not my responsibility," She said.

"You say that, but it was you who freed the city, you who killed the Good Masters, and it was you who abandoned the city for savages to rule with fear and violence."

"I left a council to oversee the city," She replied.

"A council with no power, no protection."

"It is not my concern what you think," She said.

"You can ignore me, but can you ignore the people?" I asked. "By now, they have heard of the battle for Astapor. They might soon start questioning your will. They will start to doubt you and fear that you will abandon them as you did Astapor."

"They are free men. They can think and do as they wish," She replied.

"You, the Queen, you are their ruler," I said. "It is your duty to ensure their safety and ease their fears."

"I am doing that already," She said, but with a trembling voice.

"We arrived," Missandei interrupted us.

We stood before the dungeon doors. The guards opened the doors and let us in. With only one eye revealed, I looked around. There weren't many prisoners, as the city probably had separate prisons to put the criminals in. The Great Pyramid's dungeons only held political hostages.

"My Queen," A rough voice broke the darkness.

"Jorah," Daenerys looked at the balding burly man. "I came to decide your fate."

"You were banished," Barristan Selmy said. "Yet you came back."

"I don't have anywhere to go," He said. "My place is beside you, my Queen."

"I do not see a reason to accept you," Her voice broke as she spoke. "You should have forgotten about me and moved on."

"I rather die than forget you, my Queen."

"Then that might be your fate," She said. "Ser Barristan…."

"You said you couldn't help Queen Shireen," I interrupted her. "Yet you a willing to kill a capable warrior, and for what?"

"He betrayed me," Daenerys answered. "There is no place for him by my side."

"Why not give a second chance?" I asked. "I don't know him and don't know what he did, but you gave him a choice to leave rather than kill him before. If you want to kill him, do it yourself while looking at his eyes, and if you can't, maybe he doesn't deserve to die."

I knew I spoke too much, as Jorah narrowed his eyes at me, but Jorah was a capable fighter, and he definitely won't trust Euron. He could be helpful to my cause. Daenerys didn't say anything momentarily and looked into Jorah's eyes. I didn't say anything and waited, as did ser Barristan and Missandei.

"Enemies, Jorah, enemies surround me," Daenerys stepped closer to the captive. "Can you promise to protect me from them?"

"I promise to protect you from the whole world if I need to, from death itself," Jorah knelt.

"I can't trust you yet, but I need you."

"I will earn your trust, my Queen. Please give me a chance," He pleaded.

"You must forget the love you hold for me. You must renounce your home and ambitions."

"I have no home, and my ambition is to protect you, my Queen," Jorah said. "But I cannot forget my love for you."

"I don't need your love," Daenerys closed her eyes.

"Then I shall bury it deep in my heart," Jorah replied. "So deep that no god will be able to see it."

"Then rise, ser Jorah Mormont, rise as a knight of my Queensguard."

"Ahem," The moment was ruined by a dwarf sitting in the next cell. "It is all nice and well, but could I get some wine and warm food? That way, it would make it a lot nicer for me."

"Tyrion Lannister, I was thinking of postponing to sentence you to death, but if you insist, I shall do it right now," Daenerys turned to the dwarf. "And I promise you that you won't find mercy when you look at my eyes."

"Death? For what crimes will you sentence me?" He didn't look concerned at all.

"Your family killed my father, nephew, and niece," Daenerys said.

"You mean my father did," Tyrion replied. "I was not even ten years old when it happened. Are you going to sentence a child to death?"

"We heard how you burned King's Landing, hundreds of thousands of men lost in the great fires," Ser Barristan said.

"Again, it was not me," Tyrion replied. "I had no say in it, you should blame my father or King Joffrey, but he is already dead if I am not mistaken."

"Where is your father?" Daenerys asked.

"Let's say he had a weak heart," Tyrion laughed. "He couldn't even take a bolt in his heart, so he drowned."

"Enough with your japes," Daenerys yelled. "Your family is responsible for my family's downfall. I don't need any other reason to kill you."

"If you going to blame me for my father's crime, then shouldn't you be blamed for your father's crimes?" Tyrion asked. "How many did your father burn unjustly? Will you take the crimes of your father burning the Starks?"

"My father paid for his crimes," Daenerys tried to defend herself.

"So did mine," Tyrion replied. "So, I rest my case. I am innocent. Kill me if you want, but don't hide behind frivolous excuses."

"Daenerys," A man barged into dungeons before the Queen could respond.

"Aegon, what are you doing here?" Daenerys asked.

"What do you mean? What am I doing? I was looking for you," Aegon said. "I had enough of you ignoring me and hiding from me."

"Then leave," Daenerys was angry. "You are nothing but a pest with no proof to your name. If you have had enough, I would gladly show you the gates out of my city."

"I am your king, the rightful heir to Iron Throne, only son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Elia Martell," Now that I looked closely, he was just a boy.

"Hehe," Dwarf laughed. "I thought my father killed you. Tell me, is your sister alive too?"

"Who is he, Dany?" The boy asked.

"He is my prisoner, Aegon," Daenerys said coldly. "And you are no king."

"When he returns to the Seven Kingdoms, he shall reclaim his birthright," A man with a red mane came forward.

"Yet he is now in Meereen," I walked up to the boy. "In Meereen, there is only one ruler, and she is Queen Daenerys Stormborn, the Unburnt, Queen of Meereen, Khaleesi of Great Grass Sea, Breaker of Shackles, and Mother of Dragons."

"Step aside, servant," The boy demanded.

"I shall not, boy," I replied. "You should look around. If you are not careful, you will not leave this place."

"You are threatening a king," The man with a red mane said. "Princess Daenerys, are this servant's words your words too?"

"They are not, as she isn't my Queen," I replied. "I am the envoy of Queen Shireen Baratheon, ruler of Astapor."

"Enough," Daenerys voice broke the tenseness. "Aegon, I will overlook this insolence, but there won't be a second time. Now leave, and if you want to speak with me, you shall wait in the courtroom for your turn."

The boy looked furious, but he turned and walked away. It could have gone better, but at least I managed to take a look at the boy. I didn't know how true his identity was, but neither did I care. Ultimately, he will be only a puppet, no matter who he is. And I could not let the puppet set foot at my home, as he would bring only war and dissension.

A.N. As always, If you want more, up to five advanced chapters, you can support me on pa treon. com \ ironwolf852