Office #19, Tuesday Morning, 9/20

[halfman_lion]

Tyrion swore his paperwork had multiplied itself since last week. He spent the start of his office hours quarreling with it.

When that battle had temporarily fought itself to a draw, he started trying to research ways to fulfill his bargain with Lucrezia.

He hoped Kate could find him a decent tailor; while he maintained he had the right to

Comments

[unburnt_queen]

Dany was actually perusing the teachers' offices for her own purposes -- she assumed that Ser Jorah would want to know of her progress forming alliances here, if he were to visit. And while Dany had been keeping to herself in her grief (another expectation of Ser Jorah, she expected), she knew that the fastest way to gain followers was to find the people in power. Like her own teachers.

However, when she peeked into the small room marked with the number nineteen, her heart stopped. While she'd never met the Imp, everyone knew all of the Lannisters' trademarks. The expensive clothes, the blond hair, the sheer cocky way they each carried themselves. Queen Cersei's cold smile. The Kingslayer's handsomeness. And the Imp's stature.

Dany thought quickly. Revealing herself to him -- well, he likely already knew she was here, didn't he? She was unarmed and still weak, and for once, she'd left the dragons behind. Not that they could have done much good. Drogon might have attempted to singe the Imp's hair.

"Good morning." She knew, young though she was, that she was likely as recognizable to him as he was to her. The Targaryen looks and the Dothraki garments were immediate tip-offs, she was sure. But she lifted her chin as she stood in the doorway, determined to look every inch the khaleesi she was.

[halfman_lion]

"Good morning," Tyrion said, then cocked his head and froze. The young woman at the picnic had mentioned having a Westerosi roommate, but as the weeks had passed he'd begun to think either the girl was mistaken, or her roommate was someone so far displaced from him in time or importance that the shared homeworld didn't matter.

Foolish of him to count on such luck. The white hair marked this young woman as every inch a Targaryen, even if he'd thought Viserys's poor sister too young for this school. Though -- it wasn't necessarily the same year for her, was it?

He realized he'd been staring for a moment, trying to make sense of her garments and bearing. Invite her in and see what she has to say.

"Come in. I suppose it's foolish to inquire if you have a particular idea who I am."

[unburnt_queen]

"Who sent you?" Dany asked quietly, stepping in but making it a point to keep the door open enough that she could dart back out if needed. "Who knows I'm here? Your sister? Your brother?" She'd foolishly thought her assassination attempts might cease. She'd forgotten Cersei's reputation, and that her twin had killed Dany's own father.

[halfman_lion]

Defensive little thing, wasn't she? Though Tyrion didn't exactly have to look far to understand her reasons. Some part of his brain was calculating how quickly he could get to the dagger in his bottom drawer, were it needed.

"I sent myself, and two minutes ago, I had no idea you were here. I certainly haven't had the time to send a raven since," he answered. "A better question is, why did your brother send you here?"

He was sure the beggar king had a reason, but it was an exceptionally hard one to puzzle out.

[unburnt_queen]

That...was confusing. Dany stared at him, puzzled, though she quickly tried to mask it. Everyone in the Seven Kingdoms knew that Viserys had died, because it had left her vulnerable. Just as she was sure everyone knew that Drogo was gone, too, and their child. The only threat she visibly posed was with her dragons. "My brother's dead. Both of them are, as you well know. What game are you playing?"

[halfman_lion]

Tyrion screwed up his face and made an exasperated noise. "Why does everyone always think I'm playing a game?"

Possibly because he was a Lannister, but no matter.

"I hadn't heard about Viserys. I'm sorry for your loss." He doubted she'd accept the sympathy, considering its source, but it was still what one said. Sometimes that was important.

[unburnt_queen]

"I'm not," Dany replied, arching a brow. "My husband killed him for threatening me. Just as he would kill you or your family for the same."

She needed to be careful with her phrasing, though -- if he hadn't known Viserys had been killed, how would he possibly know about Drogo?

[halfman_lion]

"Your husband --"

And now the things she was saying were so far off that there was no chance Tyrion had simply been ill-informed or out of touch. If the girl wasn't lying or as mad as her father, this had to be a question of different worlds or different years. He wondered if the princess had thought of the possibility yet.

"I've no intention of threatening you or of bringing my family into this," he promised, since that seemed to be the key thing to get on the table first. "It would do me no good, and I don't need to bring your ... husband's wrath down on me. Why did he let his wife wander off to an island, anyhow?"

[unburnt_queen]

"My husband," Dany said, trying not to let her voice wobble, as it would be a very unfortunate time for that, "is the great Khal Drogo of the Dothraki. His actions don't warrant explanation to the family that killed mine, but since you asked -- we're gathering followers." She arched a brow at him, her back still rigid, though she'd internally relaxed some. An idea had occurred to her.

"We intend to put me on the Iron Throne, now that the Usurper is gone. If you wish to continue to live, and study, and wine and whore as I've heard you do, when I am not just a khaleesi of the plains of Essos, but Queen of Westeros, you won't tell that witch you claim as a sister that I'm here. Or the Kingslayer. I want to take you at your word, but from what I've heard, it's best not to take a Lannister at face value."

[halfman_lion]

"You hear a lot," Tyrion observed, as he brought a hand up to rub at his temple. "Really, I'm surprised there aren't more interesting things than me to talk about off across the sea."

No, he wasn't. He was the weak link among his family; if he were trying to claim the throne, he'd look to put himself out of the way first.

He continued, "After Robert is gone, my family's support goes to his son Joffrey." Idiot as the boy was, he was of Lannister blood. "You must know that. My sister would consider helping you to conceal yourself here treason, given what you've just told me. Both of our heads would be on pikes."

And then he stopped, making no promises and asking no favors. He wanted to see what she'd say.

[unburnt_queen]

"Does your sister or her son have dragons?" Dany asked softly, smiling for the first time. "Because as fearsome as the legendary Lannister twins might be, I think my three dragons might pose a greater threat."

[halfman_lion]

Tyrion's eyebrows went so high they almost popped off the top of his head.

"No dragons born for thousands of years, and not only do you have three, you have them quietly on an island this small," he said. "You'll forgive me if I have my doubts."

[unburnt_queen]

"They're small, yet," she said, shaking her head. "But I assure you, I have three dragons. They hatched from eggs given to me on my wedding day. And when they're grown, my siege on King's Landing will make Robert's Rebellion seem like an afternoon tea party in the minds of those old enough to compare the two."

She quirked a slight smile, and added, "My husband had forty-thousand followers before the age of thirty, and I'm gathering more now." All true. "But. If you don't tell the Kingslayer or your sister or your father, or anyone in Westeros, I give you my word that your life will be spared."

[halfman_lion]

"Spared so you can what, flay my whole family, set them on fire before my eyes, then make me your dancing fool?" Tyrion asked. "I won't take that bargain."

He considered it for a moment, taking into account the fact he was more than half-sure she wasn't the Daenerys from his particular universe at all. And even if she was, the girl was young, and seemed to have more bravado than power. If her husband was sending her to this unpromising a territory, things must have gone wrong for her at home.

"However. As long as you pose no particular threat to the current king -- and believe me, I will be watching -- I won't hurt you myself, and I see no need to go out of my way to bring your whereabouts to light."

[unburnt_queen]

"By 'the current king,' you mean the twelve year-old child your sister is reigning through?" Dany asked curiously. "And no. I have no desire to make you a fool, or force you to witness your family's deaths. My destruction might be greater than Robert's, but I'm not so cruel as to, for instance, kill children in front of their mothers, or send pregnant queens fleeing to Dragonstone. I'm powerful. But I have mercy. And as long as you hold your end of this bargain, I'll bear you -- and anyone you name -- no harm."

[halfman_lion]

Tyrion had worded it that way because she'd mentioned Robert in the past tense, and he wasn't sure if he had heard her rightly.

Poor Robert. He'd drink for his dear departed brother-in-law tonight. Though he supposed his sympathy should be for the people who now had Joffrey as a king.

"Joffrey or his younger brother or anyone else my family backs," he corrected. "I suppose I should tell you, I'm not certain we're from the same exact world at all. Unless it's been a very eventful month at home."