The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Chapter 497: The Little Devil's Jailbreak

Night, the underground black cells. Six torches forced back the Little Devil's dark space.

Jaime spread a black cloak on the ground, a Night's Watch cloak he had brought back from the Wall. Podrick took out wine, pastries, bread, ham, sausage, and roast meat from a food box, along with four sets of cutlery.

There were four people in the black cell.

The Little Devil Tyrion, the Kingslayer Jaime, Bronn of the Blackwater, and Podrick, the squire who had not yet found a master.

"I'm going to Dorne tomorrow morning to bring Myrcella back," Jaime said, pouring a glass of wine for Tyrion.

"Bring Myrcella back?"

"After I leave, Cersei will write a letter to Prince Doran, asking him to hand Princess Myrcella over to me. Once we are safely on the ship, Cersei will release her people and send Ser Loras Tyrell to escort Oberyn's body back to Sunspear in Dorne."

"What if Prince Doran detains you too?" The Little Devil picked up a roast rabbit, tore off a leg, and golden oil dripped down, the aroma of meat filling the air.

"Detain me?"

"Can't he detain you? Don't forget that Oberyn has six daughters, four of whom are grown up, highly skilled in martial arts, and have personalities just like Oberyn. Be careful of the Sand Snakes." The Little Devil put the rabbit meat in his mouth.

"Ser Jaime, you'd better be cautious. If I were you, I might not go to Dorne," Bronn said. He poured himself a drink and gulped down a glass.

"If Prince Doran detains you too, he'll have two people in his hands, the Queen Mother's own brother and the Queen Mother's own daughter. If I were Doran, I would demand that Cersei release her people first, and only release you and Myrcella after the Dornish are confirmed safe," the Little Devil said.

Podrick handed the wine glass to the Little Devil, who took it but put it down and continued to eat the meat.

He usually loved wine and couldn't live without it. Given a choice between wine and meat, he would choose wine first. But this time, the Little Devil put down the wine glass and dealt with the roast rabbit first. This small detail made Podrick slightly strange.

Jaime was silent for a while, then said, "To guard against Doran not letting people go and instead detaining those of us who go, what can I do?"

"You can disguise yourself as an accompanying squire and not reveal your true identity. Let another knight be the leader. Even if Doran detains these people, it won't threaten Cersei and will instead harm the people of Dorne," the Little Devil suggested.

"Good idea, send another knight to be the leader on the surface. Even if Doran detains them, it will seem meaningless and won't increase his bargaining chips," Bronn said.

Jaime looked at Tyrion, who had already started drinking his third glass of wine: "I don't have a more suitable candidate at the moment."

"The most suitable candidate is right here," the Little Devil said, looking at Bronn.

Bronn scoffed and said, "There's no way I'm going to Dorne. I swore I wouldn't go to Dorne. It's too…"

"How much? Name a price," the Little Devil interrupted Bronn.

Bronn put down his wine glass and picked up a golden, steaming loaf of bread: "This isn't about money. It's just too dangerous."

"How much, Ser Bronn?" Jaime said calmly, "Name a price."

"Okay, but I need to report to my new master first. I'm with the Mountain now. If he doesn't agree, no amount of money will do me any good," Bronn said, shrugging.

"The Mountain is trying his best to please Cersei now. He will agree," the Little Devil said.

"That's not certain."

"I'll find a way with the Mountain. You tell me your price," Jaime said.

"Three hundred gold dragons, no less," Bronn said, shamelessly opening his mouth wide, looking at the Little Devil and Jaime naturally, "I'm going to risk my life here. If Doran turns hostile, my life will be lost."

"Fifty gold dragons, Bronn. You know the risk of this matter isn't great. There are hundreds of Dornishmen in King's Landing. Doran won't lift a finger to you unless you're an important member of the royal family."

"That's not certain, Little Devil. Precisely because I'm not an important member of the royal family, Doran might cut off one of my hands to warn Queen Mother Cersei."

"One hundred gold dragons, that's the price. You'll be responsible for bringing Princess Myrcella back to King's Landing, and of course, I'll disguise myself as your squire on the way," Jaime said.

"One hundred and fifty gold dragons," Bronn said, "Since I'm taking the money to do the job, I'll definitely do it well, and I may also have to pay money to Lord Mountain."

"The Mountain will pay you a salary, Bronn. One hundred gold dragons is already a sky-high price. One hundred gold dragons can hire a company of a hundred mercenaries," the Little Devil said.

"A company of a hundred mercenaries? The kind who run away as soon as the enemy draws their swords?" Bronn sneered.

Podrick deeply resented Bronn's greed: "Lord Jaime, I hope to follow you to Dorne. I only need ten silver stags like a normal soldier."

"Bronn, do me a favor. A Lannister always pays his debts. One hundred gold dragons," Jaime said.

"Uh, okay, deal!" Bronn said with some helplessness, "Maybe this trip to Dorne will cost me my life."

The Little Devil looked at Jaime: "It's best to bring Rosamund Lannister along in your team. If you sense that the Dornish are not speaking favorably, secretly switch Myrcella out first and take her on the ship."

"Is that necessary?" Jaime said.

"Then bring her along and let Rosamund dress up as a man and be my squire," Bronn said.

"I hope to go with you," Podrick recommended himself again.

Jaime looked at the Little Devil, who said: "Podrick, going to Dorne is full of risks. People will die if things go wrong."

"I can do it," Podrick insisted.

*

The four people drank and talked in the dungeon. An hour later, Jaime and Bronn were almost drunk, and Tyrion rarely drank almost nothing. The special guards outside the dungeon—a squad of jailers—Jaime also invited them to drink and eat meat for their convenience. Facing the best Arbor gold wine, the jailers were all drunk.

*

The next morning, as soon as Jaime got dressed, Cersei hadn't gotten up yet. A maid rushed in and knelt down: "Queen Mother, Lord Tyrion has escaped from the underground black cells."

Cersei turned over and got up, her face pale, as if someone had stabbed her in the chest: "What's going on? I specially sent a squad of jailers to guard him day and night."

"The intelligence officer who came to report is kneeling outside the gate, Queen Mother."

"Notify Ser Loras Tyrell and arrest all the jailers who guarded Tyrion last night and torture them severely."

"Yes, Queen Mother."

"Quickly notify Lord Mountain and block all roads," Cersei almost screamed.

"Yes, Queen Mother." The two maids next to her were so frightened that they immediately knelt down and did not dare to look up.

Cersei's scream was like a military whistle being blown.

Jaime was dumbfounded!

Last night he was drinking wine, eating meat, and chatting with the Little Devil. The jailers who were guarding were all drunk from his wine.

The jailer captain was brought in, accompanied by Ser Barristan Selmy of the Kingsguard.

The captain knelt in front of Cersei, shivering.

"What happened last night? I ordered you to monitor Tyrion day and night, and not to allow any negligence," Cersei said sternly. Her beautiful eyes widened and her eyebrows seemed to stand up.

Tyrion had rescued Sansa from Maidenvault. To prevent Tyrion from escaping through the underground secret passage, Cersei made corresponding arrangements, which were to arrange jailers to guard him day and night, and to check immediately if there was any abnormal sound.

The jailer captain frankly pointed out that Jaime brought them wine and food and a few silver stags last night, and confessed that Bronn and Podrick were also drinking with the Little Devil last night.

Cersei looked at Jaime in disbelief. She was shocked.

Jaime? It's Jaime again!

Jaime said, "Queen Mother, I…"

"Why did you betray me again, Ser Jaime?" Cersei said sharply, "He poisoned Joffrey, the Little Devil poisoned Joffrey."

Jaime had also saved Tyrion more than once. When he was young, he stopped her twice. Once, Cersei wanted to cut off Tyrion's little bird with scissors, and once, Cersei wanted to push Tyrion off the cliff of Casterly Rock. The cliff was dozens of feet high, and below it were all jagged rocks.

Jaime knew that this was what the Mountain had done. Tyrion had told him that he had made a deal with the Mountain. He testified against Oberyn, and the Mountain gave him a way out, allowing him to wander across the Narrow Sea. No wonder the Little Devil drank so little wine last night, only eating meat in large bites.

The Mountain moved so fast!

He killed Oberyn during the day and took the Little Devil away at night, and also made Jaime carry a big pot on his back.

The Little Devil didn't reveal anything during the drinking and chatting last night.

Jaime hardened his heart. Even if the Mountain didn't do it, he would have rescued the Little Devil. Since he was already carrying this pot, then… okay: "Queen Mother, I just had a drink with Tyrion. I'm going to Dorne to bring Myrcella back. By the time I come back, he will have been beheaded. I was just saying goodbye out of brotherly duty."

"But you brought too much wine and got all the guarding jailers drunk," Queen Mother Cersei said with a livid face, "You did it on purpose! Who did you cooperate with? Who assisted you? Tell the truth, Jaime! You tell us which way the Little Devil went, help us catch him, and I won't hold it against you."

"Cersei, Tyrion is our own brother. Since he has already escaped, let him go," Jaime said.

"Absolutely not!" Cersei shouted, hoarsely.

Jaime was silent for a while, then said: "Queen Mother, I should leave for Dorne. To ensure Myrcella's safety, please write to Prince Doran with Ser Bronn as the leader. I will bring Rosamund as Bronn's squire."

This was the plan Jaime had said when he came to Cersei's bedroom in the middle of the night last night. Jaime nagged again before leaving.

Cersei choked with anger!

Jaime refused to say where the Little Devil had gone.

"Ser Barristan, stop Jaime."

Barristan immediately stepped forward and blocked Jaime's way.

At the gate, Queen Mother's guards appeared, all Western soldiers wearing red robes. The new guard captain stood with his hand on his sword, staring at Jaime with fierce eyes.

Jaime stopped and turned around: "Cersei, are you going to let them kill me? Please let me bring Myrcella back first. After I come back from Dorne, you can order me to be killed. I won't escape and I won't resist."

After Jaime finished speaking, he reached out and pushed away his comrade Barristan Selmy. Barristan looked at Queen Mother, his hand tightening on the hilt of his sword. Cersei only needed to nod, and Barristan would take action.

Cersei stood stiffly, her breathing suffocating, watching Jaime walk out the door and disappear.

Her face twisted, her eyes very painful, as if there were crabs pinching in her stomach.

"Quickly go and invite Lord Gregor!" Cersei squeezed out these words from between her teeth. She seemed to have a terrible stomachache, her face was terribly ugly, her legs began to weaken, and she couldn't stand. The two maids were frightened and hurriedly helped her to sit on a chair.

After a long while, the Mountain came with his guards.

"Queen Mother, the jailers who guarded the Little Devil last night have all been arrested and hung on the walls of Maegor's Holdfast. They were still drunk when I arrested them. Ser Jaime, Ser Bronn, and Squire Podrick were drinking with the Little Devil last night."

"Lord Gregor, I want you to bring Tyrion back no matter what. My red-robed army and the King's Landing garrison are all under your command."

"Queen Mother, I'm afraid we have to spread the news of the Little Devil's escape to various places and issue a government order that anyone has the right to arrest the Little Devil. Even if they can't bring back a living person, they must at least bring back his head."

"Okay, do it!"

"Queen Mother, please rest assured that as long as the government order to arrest the Little Devil is issued, whoever catches the Little Devil, whether it is a corpse or a living person, will be heavily rewarded as long as they bring him back to King's Landing. The Little Devil will definitely not be able to escape."

"In addition to the Little Devil, the jailers who were guarding last night, Ser Bronn, and Squire Podrick must all die!" Cersei said, gnashing her teeth.

Her whole person had changed, becoming full of resentment and hostility. Her twisted face, her blue-purple lips, were without any beauty.

*

ps: The Little Devil's fate will have tragic eggs later.