KINGDOM FALL | ROBB STARK [1]

10

KINGDOM FALL
— 10. King Joffrey

At King's Landing, in the Hand's Chamber, Tyrion walked in to find Tywin, Cersei, Varys, and Pycelle all sitting while Joffrey paced behind his grandfather, looking to beyond excited as he widely grinned, "Killed a few puppies today?" Tyrion sarcastically asked his nephew.

"Show him," Joffrey told Pycelle enthusiastically, referring to the scroll the elder man held in his hand, "Come on, show him."

  His hand shaking, Pycelle offered scroll to Tyrion, before the man could take it, Pycelle purposely dropped it, "Oh, apologies, my lord. Old fingers." he told Tyrion apologetically, but it was clear he had done it on purpose.

Annoyed, Tyrion reached down to the floor and snatched up the scroll. He sat in the chair directly across from Tywin at the head of the table while Joffrey continued to be manic with energy.

"'Roslin caught a fine fat trout. Her brothers gave her a pair of wolf pelts for her wedding. Signed Walder Frey.'" He read the scroll aloud before turning to look over at Joffrey, who was smiling widely.

  He turned to look at his mother, leading to her forcing herself to smile back. She had to act like she was happy for him, but in truth, all she could think about was whether or not Annalys was safe and alive.

Walder Frey had demanded two million gold dragons as a ransom for Annalys. Tywin ended up agreeing, wanting Annalys back in the capital. That was for two reasons, of course. He wanted to finally shut Cersei up, but also, there was another reason: Annalys was clearly an enemy and he wanted to keep her close, for everyone's sake.

After reading the scroll, Tyrion glanced around at the group in confusion, "Is that bad poetry or is it supposed to mean something?"

"Robb Stark is dead. And his bitch mother," Joffrey enthusiastically informed Tyrion, who was immediately taken aback by the information. He watched as Joffrey turned to Grand Maester Pycella, smiling widely, "Write back to Lord Frey. Thank him for his service and command him to send Robb Stark's head. I'm going to serve it to Annalys on a platter when she returns."

The whole group was taken aback by Joffrey's plan, but Varys was the only who decided to speak up, "Your Grace, Princess Annalys is your older sister," Varys reminded Joffrey, who looked to not care in the slightest.

"A joke," Cersei immediately spoke up, a large, yet smile on her face, "Joffrey did not mean it."

Joffrey frowned, looking down at his mother with a confused look, "Yes, I did," He argued, nodding his head, "I'm going to have it served to my whore of a sister at my wedding feast."

Cersei tried her hardest not to look angered by the way Joffrey spoke of Annalys. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, Tyrion beat her to it, "No, you will not," He spoke up in a stern tone, causing Joffrey to turn to him, "Annalys just lost her husband. Give her a break. She's been through enough and she isn't yours to torment."