Frozen Flames: The Saga of the Ice Dragon (Completed)

"So when is our beloved Queen arriving at King's Landing?" Daenerys asked. She sat on the edge of the bed and pulled the strap of her dress on her shoulder.

Jae laid in bed, the pillows piled up against the headboard. "Within the week," he replied, cautiously.

Dany looked over her shoulder, her silver curls falling down her back. "And what will happen then?"

Jae threw back the covers and got out of bed. He grabbed his breeches and tunic off the floor and quickly slipped them on, walking into his living room. Dusk had fallen outside, the city of King's Landing nothing more than a galaxy of flickering yellow lights.

Dany followed him. "Jaehaerys, I asked you a question." She stopped in the doorway, staring at him as he poured himself a cup of wine.

"You're asking questions you already know the answers to." Jae sipped his wine, filled with annoyance. He'd hoped he wouldn't have this conversation on his first night back in the capital.

Dany took a step closer, her posture rigid. "So, that's it? You've had me, and now you'll throw me aside?"

"Is that the story you're going with?" Jae asked. He turned to the balcony, feeling the sea breeze on his face. "I seem to recall you wanted to lose your maidenhead before you married some noble Lord in an advantageous marriage."

"That was before!" Dany insisted, as though she'd expected this answer from Jae for a long time.

"Before what?"

"Before you were a legend. Before we had dragons. We can do anything now."

"Uh-huh." Jae nodded and gestured to a seat. The two of them sat across the table from each other. "And what does this 'anything' look like?"

Dany squared her shoulders as though everything depended on her ability to convince Jae. "We can marry. You can have two wives, like Aegon the Dragon. We can rule together."

Jae took another sip of his wine. "And what of Margaery?"

"What about her? What can she do in the face of dragons? In the face of the support you enjoy in the Kingdoms?"

"Those dragons aren't grown yet. And half of those Kingdoms wanted to kill me a moon ago."

Dany pulled back, a strange look in her eyes, as though she didn't recognize him. "Why are you resisting this? Don't you want to marry me?"

"So if I have a child with you and Margaery, who inherits the Throne?" Jae asked. He hadn't expected Dany to be so bold, to demand outright what he thought she would only hint at.

"The blood of the Dragon, who else?" Dany asked.

"Thousands of men of the Reach died for me on the promise that a child of Tyrell blood would sit the Iron Throne after me."

Dany sighed and said, "Alright, whoever gives you the first son."

Jae tilted his head. "Let's say you both have a son. Any son of yours will inherit Meleys. And Margaery's son will inherit Vermithor."

Dany scoffed. "As though a child of that woman could ride the dragon!" She bit her tongue too late, and froze, eyes wide, awaiting Jae's reaction.

But Jae only nodded, receiving the confirmation he'd been waiting for. "What about my child? Could my son ride a dragon?"

"Jae, I didn't mean it like that, I only—"

"You only meant to act like you'd accept the succession, but at the same time anticipating that your children would have the advantages of dragons to take the Iron Throne, yes?" Jae shook his head. "Meleys accepting you must've made you bold, Dany. It didn't take long, did it?"

Dany reached for him across the table and Jae let her take his hands. "You know that's not who I am. You know I would never do that. I only want us to be happy. We never had a chance before, but now…"

"We still don't have it. That's the difference between you and me – I haven't begun to hope." Jae stood and went to pour himself another measure. He had to get the following message across. "I've just seen, this very moment, what the rest of my reign will look like if I give in to what you want, if I give in to what I want – we'll all argue about the succession to no end. And I'll think I've resolved it a thousand times, a thousand different ways, but in the end, the result will be the same. Civil war, immediately after my death. Just like it was after Aegon the Dragon died. Just like it was after Viserys I died."

When he turned back to her, Dany had tears in her eyes. "So what'll you do then? Send me away, to some Lord?"

"No." Jae shook his head. "That's why I gave you a dragon. No one's sending you anywhere ever again. I want you here. I want you to rule with me. The Old Gods and the New know you're just as good at this as I am. So I want us to do it together." He paused, and grief rose up in his throat. "But not as husband and wife. We can't allow ourselves to be so sloppy."

Dany stood up and rushed into his arms, hugging him tightly as she sobbed into his shoulder. Jae exhaled and the tension in his shoulders eased – she'd known this would happen the entire time, and though she tried to force the issue, Jae felt certain she would accept the situation.

Her eyes were red when she pulled back and wiped the tears off her cheeks. "But—But Jae, I—I still want to have children. I still want to be a mother. Will you allow me to do that with another man?"

Something tightened in Jae's chest. He swallowed hard. "Yes. Yes, I will, Dany. But it has to be one of the men who'll be on my Small Council. One of the men who'll live in King's Landing."

She took a step back and regarded him with a sad smile. "You're going to be a great King, Jae. The greatest who's ever lived."

Jae huffed. "Thank you, Dany."

She took a deep breath, turned on her heel, and marched out of his chambers. Jae watched her go and when Dany closed the door behind her, his knees gave out and he fell back into the chair. He looked down at the cup in his hands, and the wine swirling within, and threw it against the wall. The goblet clattered across the floor, the purple liquid spilling across the wall like a blood stain. That's when Jae buried his face in his hands and began to sob.

He was in the same place a while later, when a knock came upon his door during the Hour of the Wolf. Ser Arthur stepped through, the polished Dawn once again peeking over his shoulder. "They are here, Your Grace."

Jae gestured for Ser Arthur to let them through, grateful he'd only had two cups of wine. He'd completely forgotten he'd left instructions for one last task before he went to bed. He looked up and a half dozen people walked into his chambers, one after the other. The heads of the kitchens, the stables, the maids and the servants, along with their assistants, lined up before him like troops for a review.

Jae stood from his seat and they all bowed their heads, too terrified to look him in the eye. These same people had served at the Red Keep since Jae's childhood. He knew their faces like the back of his hand, knew they lived to serve House Targaryen. And since Dany herself assured him they hadn't done anything to betray him in his absence, he felt confident they would serve him again.

Jae walked to the dresser and retrieved his purse. He shook so they would all hear the jingle of the gold coins inside. "You are all servants of the Red Keep," he told them. "That means there will always be people wishing to buy your confidence. You've accepted gold in exchange for information in the past. Sometimes from me, sometimes from others."

Their fear became palpable, and Jae moved quickly to assuage their terror. "That all ends now. I am the King, and from this point on, you only work for me. Is that understood?"

They all nodded hastily, as though Jae would decide on their honesty based on the enthusiasm with which they agreed. Jae pulled on the purse's string and opened it, counting out six golden dragons. "From now on, if you hear a piece of information you think might be useful, you bring it to me. If it turns out you are right, you get on of these." Jae walked before them, and put a coin in each of their hands. "If it turns out you're wrong, you'll have to try better next time."

"Thank you, Your Grace. I promise we'll do it," Wanda said, the woman in charge of the kitchens.

"That is good to hear." Jae maintained his stern façade and it wiped the devoted look off her face. "If anyone else approaches you and offers you gold, you come to me and I'll tell you what to do. There will be no issues. But if you fail to inform me, and I find out that you'd accepted the gold from others…" Jae did not bother finishing the sentence. "Do we understand each other?"

"Yes, Your Grace," they said, one after the other.

"Very well. You've all served House Targaryen loyally for years. Continue to do so, and I promise you will never have anything to fear. Now go." Jae gestured to Ser Arthur, and the knight of the Kingsguard shepherded the servants back out of Jae's chambers. When the doors closed behind them, Jae ripped off his tunic, walked into his bedroom, and collapsed into bed.

The councilors streamed into the Small Council chamber. Ser Arthur and Ser Loras took their places on either side of the entrance as the men took their seats around the table, colored shafts of the afternoon sun coming through the stained glass windows.

"Welcome, everyone," Jaehaerys said from his place at the head of the table. He wore a maroon doublet with silver dragons stitched into the fabric. He'd unfastened Blackfyre from his hip and leaned it against the table. "Welcome to the first unofficial session of the Small Council."

That brought some chuckles out of the men present. Lord Orys sat to Jae's immediate right, as rigid as his father had ever been, Lord Baelor to Jae's left. Orys would be Jae's hand, Lord Baelor the Master of Laws. Lord Tarly took the next place and the position of Master of War, as everyone had expected. They did not yet enjoy the presence of Willas Tyrell, who would arrive to the capital on the following day along with the rest of his family, and take the post of Master of Coin. Ser Barristan, in full Kingsguard regalia, took the place of the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, while the Master of Ships and the Master of Whisperers were two posts that were as yet unfilled. Jae had spent the past few days wracking his brain with possible solutions to the problem, especially regarding the post of Master Ships, considering the Ironborn had not yet given up on their foolish rebellion.

But there would be time for all of that soon enough. Jae had more pressing concerns. He looked to Orys, and the young man got the meeting underway.

"As you all know," Orys said, "there are a number of issues that need to be dealt with immediately. What to do with the traitors is the most pressing concern."

"Execute them and be done with it. They betrayed their King, there can be no other punishment," Lord Tarly said in his iron tone, the lines of his face appearing all the crueler.

"For the leaders, that is certainly the solution," Lord Orys allowed. "But the rest might need more careful handling if we don't want another rebellion on our hands."

"What rebellion?" Lord Tarly asked. "His Grace has dragons. The Gods themselves chose him, and all the Realm knows it. No one would dare rise up against him."

Jae blinked and looked to Orys to see how the Young Stag would handle the situation.

"You make a valid point, Lord Tarly, though I do not know that His Grace prefers those matters to collaboration." Orys smiled wryly. "Even if the collaboration is coerced."

Jae chuckled and then the rest of the men began chuckling as well. His eyes jumped over their faces to see the last traces of their tense expression giving way to relieved amusement. This might prove to be strange. "Lord Orys is quite correct, Lord Tarly. The leaders must be executed, to be sure, but there are men we defeated, men who learned a lesson and will remember it next time rebellion springs up. They are far more useful than new Lords who might have to learn the lesson for the first time."

"Hear, hear." Lord Baelor clapped his hand against the table and the other men nodded in agreement.

"As Your Grace says." Lord Tarly bowed his head in acquiescence.

"Very well then." Lord Orys produced a parchment. "First comes Aegon, of course. He will die."

"Of course," Lord Baelor replied.

That's when Orys looked to Jae. "But he must first confess to being an imposter, correct?"

"He will never do it," Lord Tarly said.

"Probably not," Jae said. "But, if we can accomplish it, we'll do a lot to bury this rebellion for all time." Jae drummed his fingers on the table, looked around the room to see who he might rely on for this task, and found no answers. "Leave it to me. I'll get him to confess."

Orys regarded him for a few moments. Perhaps he thought such actions unkingly. "Are you certain, Your Grace?"

"Yes." Jae flicked his fingers, looking at the list, commanding Orys to go on.

"Lord Tywin will be executed." Orys looked around the room and found no objection. "Prince Oberyn will be executed." Again, no objections. "Lord Tyrion."

Everyone remained quiet.

"What will happen to the West?" Lord Baelor asked.

"Are the Lannisters to keep it?" Ser Barristan spoke up for the first time.

"And who's to keep it? Joffrey?"

Orys shook his head. "Joffrey is not merely in the cells for being a Lannisters. He's been accused of raping and mutilating a number of maids and servants, Your Grace."

"Send him to the Night's Watch, then. Who replaces him?"

"The boy, Tommen," Lord Baelor replied. "He remained at the Rock this entire time. Rumor has it he's a week and feeble boy."

"What use is a boy like that?" Lord Tarly asked.

Lord Baelor chuckled. "Well, he'll have trouble controlling his banners, so rising up against the Throne might be an issue."

"An easier option to implement compared to placing a new House as Wardens of the West," Jae said. "If we do that, there will be a civil war before the year is out."

"But that boy might grow. He might grow strong," Lord Tarly cautioned. "Especially of Ser Kevan assists him."

"Yes, along with my dragons, I imagine." Jae offered a cheeky smile and the men laughed again. "And Ser Kevan is going to the Wall."

"What happens to his mother, the Lady Cersei?" Orys asked.

"According to Daenerys, she'd committed a number of crimes herself, so it's the Silent Sisters for her."

"Very well." Orys made some marking on his parchment and looked up. "That takes care of the Westerlands."

Jae nodded, inwardly relieved they had all accepted this course of action so easily. Jaime, I kept my promise.

"Next we have Dorne."

A groan went around the table. "They have to pay!" Lord Tarly thundered. Lord Baelor pounded the table this time.

"As I said, Prince Oberyn dies." Orys looked down at his list. "But what of Prince Doran. Princess Arianne? And Prince Quentyn?"

"Send a raven to Sunspear. Tell Prince Doran he is to come to King's Landing if he wishes his House to live another year," Jae commanded.

"And if he comes?" Orys asked, but every councilor leaned closer.

"He dies. And tell him to bring his son as well. He will be our hostage."

The Lords exchanged looks. "You mean to have Princess Arianne rule Dorne?" Lord Baelor asked.

"I mean to give her a chance, provided Prince Doran comes to the capital, of course. It will be the work of a lifetime for her to keep control of Dorne."

"Forgive me, Your Grace, but I do not know that the Realm will be appeased by such measures," Lord Baelor said, looking Jae right in the eye.

Jae tilted his head. "What would you suggest then?"

"The Martells need to be attainted, their lands and titles forfeit. Another Dornish House must take their place."

Jae looked to the door and the silent knight standing there. "Ser Arthur, which House could replace House Martell?"

"A number of them, Your Grace," Ser Arthur replied. "Though I do not know how successful they would be in the attempt."

Jae nodded thoughtfully. "What about House Dayne, Ser Arthur? Because of you, they might be the only House from Dorne that enjoys respect from the other kingdoms. Would your brother accept?"

Ser Arthur went stiff and Jae could only wonder at his expression, hidden as it was behind his visor. "I believe he would, Your Grace."

"It's a sound idea, Your Grace," Lord Orys backed him up. "Lord Alexander did not answer the Martell call to arms. None could argue his appointment."

Jae thought the idea over in his head. Lannisters were one thing – especially his oath to Jaime – but the Martells had begun the entire war. Who would trust them? Could they ever come to be considered allies of the Throne. More likely, they would be guaranteed to join whatever rebellion cropped up in the next century. But to place the Daynes at the head of Dorne… I gain a kingdom. Yes, Jae liked the sound of that far better.

"But if this is to be our plan, how do we get Prince Doran to the capital? He will never accept it. He will fight," Ser Barristan said.

That was unfortunately true. To dislodge the Martells would require a considerable loss of life. And after two major civil wars in less than twenty years, Jae doubted that the Realm could bear any more slaughter. "Ser Barristan is correct," Jae said without enthusiasm. "We must not allow another war to break out. Send for Prince Doran. We shall have to find another way to convince the Realm."

The Council accepted his words, and the talk moved on to the Riverlands. Jae listened politely to the Lords who would be executed and those who would have to be rewarded, but the entire time he kept his eyes on the map of the Riverlands and the map of the Crownlands, and brewed his own plans while the others talked.

"If the Starks gain control of two Kingdoms, there will be an outcry," Lord Orys said.

"And that is why they shall not have them. Lord Brandon or Lord Rickon can have Riverrun, but they will not be Wardens of the Riverlands," Jae said.

"Who then, Your Grace?"

"The Crown." That raised some eyebrows and brought a twinkle to the eye of Lord Orys. "Those lands need protection. Our dragons shall provide it. The Crown needs more lands under its direct vassalage, and the Riverlands offer themselves well in this regard."

Lord Baelor looked around the room. "Will the Riverlords accept this?"

"Who are they to argue?" Orys shrugged. "Many of them are rebels. Starks are the alternative, and they've always needed more protection. His Grace is perfectly positioned." Lord Orys uttered the last part as though that much was to be expected, and the rest of the Lords offered appreciative nods. Jae held back a smile.

"Then I suggest we finish our meeting for the day and return tomorrow. This talking is far more tiring than being on a campaign."