Polonius shook his head. "It is not necessarily that she will die," he said quietly. "She will sleep without waking. Years, perhaps, may go by. It is an impossible thing, yet that is the mystery of the poison- it holds some ingredient which keeps its victim alive and yet not." No one had been able to create it in nearly six centuries, yet that alone could be what held the princess. "The cruelty is in the hope those around her must hold... Death were a kinder fate perhaps, but it is not hers yet."
He watched William closely. "Your wish for the man's head is worthy, but it may yet be his crime was cowardice and not a darker motive. Admitting they know this would be to admit as well that they know not the antidote. There were once perhaps those who might... perhaps they would still, but they dwell in Qarth or Asshai." Both were lands whose dealings with the Seven Kingdoms was sparse and to deal more with them made Polonius uneasy. Their games were things which might cost more than their land could pay.