KINGDOM FALL | ROBB STARK [1]

24

KINGDOM FALL
— 24. Coward of a King

The day after Joffrey's death and wedding, in the Great Sept of Baelor, Joffrey's body was laid out on a table in the center on the room while Annalys, Cersei, Tommen, and Tywin stood around him.

Annalys stared down at her brother's body intently. The people in charge of cleaning him and preparing him for burial did a great job hiding what he had gone through, that was for sure. There was no denying that it brought Annalys joy to see her brother lying dead before her.

However, oddly enough, a part of her felt somewhat bad. No one was born a monster, they were created that way. Joffrey was the way he was because of Cersei. As her firstborn son and heir to the Iron Throne, Cersei spoiled him, put thoughts into his mind that made him think he could do whatever he wanted. The way she raised him, it formed the young man he became as he grew older.

Annalys never let herself become corrupted by her mother. She loved her to death and listened to many pieces of advice given to her by Cersei, but she never once attempted to become anything like her mother. She knew what it was like to have everything, but she also knew what it was like to have nothing. Joffrey never had to endure the same.

Whenever he wanted something, he got it. It made him power hungry and mad. If Annalys had been born a man, there was a chance she would have turned out the same as Joffrey. She reminded herself of that frequently now that her brother was dead.

Annalys turned her head, locking eyes with Tommen. He looked down at Joffrey's body, his eyes filled with sadness. Cersei looked saddened as well, but it was clear to Annalys that a part of her mother was relieved that Annalys wasn't the child laying dead in front of her.

She always knew, at the end of the fued between Joffrey and Annalys, one of them would end up sooner or later. It was horrible to say, but she had hoped it would be Joffrey and not Annalys.

She didn't know what she would have done if she had lost Annalys. Annalys was what meant the most to her in the world. Annalys meant more to her than Jaime ever had. She was all she had once and there was no way she'd let anything take her daughter away from her.

"Your brother is dead," Tywin spoke up, turning toward Tommen as both Annalys and Cersei were snapped out of their thoughts, "Do you know what that means?" He asked and Tommen stayed silent, fearing that he'd give the wrong answer. "I'm not trying to trick you."

"It means I'll become king." Tommen quietly replied, continuing to keep his eyes locked on Joffrey.

"Yes, you will become king," Tywin confirmed, nodding his head slightly, "What kind of king do you think you'll be?"

Annalys slowly turned her head, looking directly at Tommen as he spoke up, "A good king?" He uneasily answered, clearly unsure of himself.

"Mm, I think so as well. You've got the right temperament for it," Tywin informed Tommen, causing Cersei and Annalys to exchange a look at the fact that Tywin was trying to give Tommen a lesson at Joffrey's funeral, "But what makes a good king? Hmm? What is a good king's single most important quality?"