In Braavos, from the window of an old white house with a red roof, a young kid about 8 years old with short brown hair could be seen tossing and turning in his sleep. The kid seemed to have a nightmare, from which he was abruptly awoken by a beautiful lady in her mid-thirties.
She was sitting in the corner of the bed; a face full of worry could be seen pitched on her. She had the same hair colour as him but a much longer wavy hairstyle that she kept in a ponytail, and instead of the green eyes of the boy, hers were hazel.
"Is everything okay, sweaty??" said the woman, worry was carried in her voice. "Yeah, I am okay, Mom," responded the kid to his mother. "Was it that nightmare again?" enquired the worried mother.
"Yes, Mum. I feel like it's soooo important, but I can't for the life of me remember what it was about." said the kid clenching his small fists; this nightmare has been plaguing him for so long.
Every time he had it, the next morning he would just forget what it was about. His family tried to stop these nightmares themselves, but nothing seemed to work; even his grandfather wasn't able to help.
But his mother didn't give up; she called to all the priests and diviners Esos could offer, but still to no avail; none could find the answer or help the boy. The most they could do was help him stop thrashing around in his sleep.
The boy's mother then got up from the bed and said, "Well, your father and I wanted you to have this." She said, as she handed him a book that seemed to have manifested out of thin air.
"Is it about elemental magic???" said the kid with the biggest smile on his face, quickly outstretching his hand to catch the book, just to have a disappointed look on his face after reading the title.
"No, you are still too young for that type of magic. Which is why we gave you this book; it will teach you the theories of magic. Once you grasp the book's ideas and theories, we will teach you some spells."
"On to the next point, there will be no more night sessions from your elder sister, as I had a talk with her," said the mother in a clear voice.
"Buuutttt mmmooomm!" Before the boy could continue whining, his mom said, "No buts or ifs," then lifting her index finger, "If I or your father see you using magic alone, we will have a different talk." Understood." She asked rhetorically.
"Yes, Mum," the boy said, with a defeated look on his face. Although he loves his mom, she was always more severe towards him than any of his other siblings, which made him sometimes feel smothered.
"It's for your own good, Jade. You have a big amount of mana; if you use any spell wrong, it could harm you or, even worse, kill you, and none of us want such a thing to happen to you."
"I love you too much to see you hurt in any way," said the mother, cupping her son's face in her hands; she couldn't help but try to comfort him.
After all, he was her favourite child, and even she herself couldn't understand why she loved him, so she simply did. 'Love has no reason to it,' she summarised in her mind.
"Mom, I love you too," said the kid, red in the cheeks; he was feeling slightly better. "My sweet pie!!" his mom said, pulling him into a hug. Despite the boy's complaints, he was happy.
"When am I going to be ready to use magic?? Do I have to read the whole book?? Can I use the library afterwards??" The boy fired question after question as soon as they stopped their hug.
"Jade I will be more than happy to answer all these questions, but you should go eat breakfast first," said the mother with a smile that stretched from ear to ear. "Okay, Mom," responded the boy, overjoyed.
The mother then left the boy in his room and headed to her husband's study across the hallway.
Although she is happy her husband is doing such a great job providing and keeping the family going, she wishes he would spend some sometime with his children, especially their middle boy, Louis.
"Did you give him the book??" a deep voice asked the mother, who had just entered the room.
"Yes, I did. I wish you would have been there with me, dear. I know you have stuff to do, but this is our family," the mother said.
"I know, my love; I wish I could have been there too. But..." The man said, caressing his eyebrows, followed by a hand gesture to all the papers stacked on his desk.
"I know, honey," the mother said, sharing a look with her husband. "Is it the right call to teach him magic so fast?" The mother continues, voicing her worries.
"He will need to learn it anyway, my love. Better he masters it at a young and peaceful age than in an age of war and bloodshed." The husband says, getting up from his chair.
"Especially if we chose to join that Targaryen kid's reconquest of Westeros," responded the mother, with narrowed eyes and arms folded.
"We will also have to teach him how to use a sword and some Westerosi etiquette," said the man drinking in the room's many swords and armours decorating it.
He strides confidently across the room to his wife, but not over-the-top confident and at a moderate pace. He has slightly long, straight black hair and striking, vivid green eyes.
"Will it be worth it? Your father will..." The mother starts saying, "My father doesn't care about us as it is, and I will please him no more. The only ones I care about are you and the children," said the man holding the mother in his embrace.
"Promise me it will be worth it and that we won't lose anything." The mother says, her lower lip quivering, "I promise you it will be worth it. I will make it worth it." The man says, holding her closer than before.
"In the letter they promised us lands and titles, as long as we help them in their reconquest. They even promised us to become wardens of the east and king of Storm's End as long as we bow to him," stated the man, waiting for his wife's answer.
"When did he say we should meet?" asked the mother. "In a week," he responded to her. Without any hesitation, she said, "Take the children with you."
"Yes, that's a wonderful idea. Do you think Jade will have learnt magic by then?" the father asks, whilst looking at his wife's face. "Most definitely, he would probably have learnt a spell or two," the mother said proudly.
"Don't you have high faith in him? Well, if he does, I will bring him with us. By the way, when did you say Rhea's friends parties were taking place?" The father enquires. "You were paying attention, oh dear!" the mother says, hugging her husband.
"Of course I pay attention to what you say. I love the sound of your voice, and I can't stop myself from hearing..." The father gets interrupted by some passionate kissing that slowly turns into intimate blissfulness.
After he and his wife are done, they tidy the place, and then the wife leaves the man alone in his study room. Turning his head to a black cat, he says, "Tell Cedric to get ready; I want him to come to me," said the man. "As you wish, magus," came a distorted voice.