𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘-𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑 | Heart breaker

{ Joffrey }

✧✦✧

𝖂incing, Joffrey tried his best not to show the clear discomfort on his face, as he shifted on the throne. His shoulder was still aching from the stab wound, and one of the swords was pressing on a bruise in the middle of his back, but he had more important things to think about than his own pain. Turning his head, he caught sight of Lyra, who was standing on the parapet and talking to Sansa in hushed whispers.

He had little time to think of her, as the doors to the Throne Room swung open, and his grandfather rode in on a stallion, glaring at anyone who dared glance at him. Joffrey met his stare head on, refusing to flinch under the weight of it. He would not show weakness in front of this man.

"I, Joffrey of the House Baratheon, first of my name, the rightful king of the Andals and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realms, do hereby proclaim my grandfather, Tywin Lannister, the savior of this city and the Hand of the King," Joffrey's eyes narrowed as he waited for his grandfather to take the pin and bow. After a moment of hesitation, the man did, and Joffrey nodded in return, still trying not to wince in pain as his shoulder shifted.

"Thank you, Your Grace." Tywin wheeled his horse back around, and rode out of the hall, as Joffrey moved onto the next matter of business.

"Lord Petyr Baelish. Step forward," Joffrey waved his hand, to call the rat-like Lord towards him. Once Lyra had mentioned that the man looked like a rat, Joffrey was unable to un-see the similarities.

Lord Baelish did as told, and knelt at the bottom of the dais, his head bowed low.

"For your good service, and ingenuity in uniting the houses of Lannister and Tyrell, I declare that you shall be granted the Castle of Harrenhall, with all it's attended land and incomes, to be held by your sons and grandsons from this day until the end of time," If Joffrey had his own way, he would be offering the man a block to be executed on, especially with the endeavor that he had just pulled. Joffrey still was not impressed that the man had done it behind his back, without informing him.

"You honor me beyond words, Your Grace," Lord Baelish called, snapping Joffrey out of his reverie. He raised an unamused eyebrow. "I shall have to acquire some sons and grandsons."

The crowd began to chortle as Joffrey kept his face blank in annoyance before glancing up at Lyra who had raised an eyebrow at the terrible joke. She caught his eye again, smiling, and Joffrey felt the annoyance in him subside as he watched her. The crowd stopped laughing, allowing Joffrey to call the final person forward for that day.

"Ser Loras Tyrell," The mousy haired knight stepped forward to bow at Joffrey's feet, allowing the king to continue. "Your house has come to our aid, the whole realm is in your debt, none more so than I. If your family would ask anything of me, ask it and it shall be yours."

He knew that the man was most likely going to ask for him to arrange a marriage for his widowed sister, or one of his brothers, which was something easily done.

"Your Grace," Loras began, speaking slowly as he seemed to turn his words over in his head. Joffrey narrowed his eyes once more. "My sister, Margaery, her husband was taken from us before...She remains innocent. I would ask you to find it in your heart to do us the great honor of joining our houses."

Joffrey's eyes widened imperceptibly, not expecting for them to ask for his own hand in marriage, especially since he was already betrothed. There was a moment of silence, before the hall descended into whispers, as Joffrey glanced up at his betrothed from the corner of his eyes.

"Is this what you want, Lady Margaery?" The woman swept forward to stand in front of the dais. She was not an unattractive woman, but to Joffrey, there was nothing that could compare to his own betrothed.

"With all my heart, Your Grace. I have come to love you from afar, tales of your courage and wisdom have never been far from my ears and those tales have taken root deep inside of me," A sultry smile played on her lips, though Joffrey took little heed of it, his brain too busy trying to work out how he was going to get out of this mess.

"I too have heard tales of you, Lady Margaery. However, I am already betrothed to another. I will not go back on my word," Joffrey tried to let her down gently, as they were in front of a room of courtiers. If they had come to him in private, this could have all been dealt with quietly and with no cause or scandal.

"Your Grace," Joffrey tensed up once more as his mother began to speak. "In the judgement of your Small Council, it would be neither proper nor wise for you to wed the daughter of a man beheaded for treason. A girl who's brother is in open rebellion against the throne, as we speak. For the good of the realms, you councilors beg you to set Lyra Stark aside."

The crowd continued to gasp and chatter in shock at her words, as Joffrey thought about what his next move would be. The only thing that he knew for sure was he would not break his betrothal to Lyra.

"I took a holy vow and I shall not break it. I am betrothed to Lyra and that is final," Even though he spoke quietly, the words ricocheted around the hall as everyone turned to look at him once more.

"Your Grace," Grand Maester Pycelle began, and Joffrey caught Lyra rolling her eyes in his peripheral vision, despite her nervousness. "The gods do indeed hold betrothals solemn but your father, blessed be his memory, made this pact before the Starks revealed their falseness. I have consulted with the High Septon and he assures me that their crimes against the realm free you from any promise you have made to them in the sight of the gods."

"Be that as it may, Grand Maester, I will not break my betrothal to Lyra Stark," Joffrey ground out, becoming more and more worked up as time went on. He wanted to know why his Small Council was so intent on making him look like a fool. Breaking his betrothal to Lyra may only further aggravate the situation to the North, and he wanted to marry her.

"Your Grace..." His mother began, trying to change his mind once more as she reached for his arm.

"That will be all I will hear on the matter," Joffrey growled, standing up to get away from her hold. He glared at the remainder of the Small Council, daring them to try and argue with him, before walking down the dais to speak to Loras Tyrell. "I am sorry, Ser, but I am unable to wed your sister. Rest assured that I will do everything in my power to join our two houses together, and to find Lady Margaery a suitable match. But I will not break my betrothal to Lyra Stark."

Margaery Tyrell looked between Joffrey and the Stark girls with curiosity, wondering how the elder Stark girl had managed to keep the King so loyal to her. Most kings would have switched to the person who could offer more power, and was the better looking, but this king wanted to remain with the daughter of a traitor.

"In that case, I hope we are able to have residency in the Red Keep whilst we find Margaery a bride," Loras replied slowly, watching the blond man in front of him, before turning to look at Lord Baelish. The man looked stunned, unable to believe that his plan to get Margaery onto the throne had not worked.

"That is the least we can offer," Joffrey replied, before turning to look at Lyra and motioning for her to leave so that they could speak to one and other. She nodded, her and Sansa walking away, as Joffrey turned to face the rest of the court, who cowered from his gaze. "That will be all for today."

The crowd parted, bowing their heads as Joffrey stormed through them all with a foul glare on his face. Reaching the outside hall, Lyra swept around the corner to meet him, Elia by her side. His anger abated momentarily as she wrapped an arm through his, though it flared up once more as the hall erupted into chatter behind him.

"Come on, let us go to the walled gardens," Lyra murmured, gently tugging the king out of the main keep and through the familiar paths and corridors that led to their secluded spot.

Joffrey huffed once more, as they reached the pavilion, placing his crown onto the table, as he rubbed his forehead with his right hand, his left shoulder still causing him pain.

"I'm sorry," He murmured, as he heard a chair screech towards him. Lyra's colder hands replaced his own, running her fingers through his hair as he sighed and relaxed.

"Why are you apologizing? You've done nothing wrong," He leant further into her touch. "Joff, the marriage proposal was not your fault."

"They all talk so badly about you," He hissed, opening his eyes to stare into Lyra's own. "They constantly put you down and tell you that your father was a terrible person and that I should not marry you..."

"I know," Lyra let her hand trail down until it rested on Joffrey's cheek. She ran her thumb over the cut that he had acquired during the fight, tracing it lightly. "But that is not your fault. I don't blame you for it."

"I should have dealt with it privately," Joffrey shook his head, reaching up to run a hand through his hair as Lyra dropped her own. "Then, this whole incident could have been avoided."

"I thought you were going to say yes to marrying her for a moment," Joffrey's head snapped up to look at the girl, who was thinking. "But then I realized that the notion was stupid."

"Why would I do that?" He hissed, furrowing his eyebrows at the thought of growing to love anyone other than the woman in front of him. "I already have you, I could not want for another and I promised that I would wed you."

"I still haven't decided whether or not I will be staying after the food though," Lyra replied, and Joffrey felt a wave of happiness run through him. There was something about her that just made him feel lighter, more like the teenager that he was instead of the King of the Seven Kingdoms.

Ducking his head, Joffrey grinned. He couldn't remember the last time that he had been so happy to be in someone's presence, but he found that he adored the foreign feeling that came with it.

✧✦✧

{ Lyra }

It took Lyra a second to process, as she finally saw Joffrey's true smile. Ever since they had first met, he had always sent her small half-smiles or soft glances, and she had never had the chance to witness his full smile. But today seemed to be the day that he showed it to her, and Lyra felt her breath get knocked out of her at the sight of it.

He looked up, watching her, the small smile still playing on his lips.

"What is it?" Lyra grinned at him, before reaching for his hand once more.

"It's nothing," He raised an eyebrow, his face going back to it's normal expression as he waited for her to say something.

"Well, it must have been if you're grinning so widely," He mused, the tension finally leaving his shoulders completely as he leant forward in his chair to be closer to her.

"Your smile is stunning," That seemed to cause Joffrey to freeze momentarily, before the small grin that she had seen earlier reappeared and Lyra began to fall for the man in front of her all over again. "You look even more handsome when you smile."

"Then I'll smile for you more often," He murmured in reply, before looking at the ships in the harbor and sighing. "I should get back. I'm going to have to face the Small Council at some point and explain my reasoning."

"Try not to get too angry with them," Lyra accepted his offered hands, smoothing out her dress as she watched the teenager in front of him put his crown back on. Brushing his hands aside, Lyra stretched up to straighten it for him. "There."

He sent her that small smile, as Lyra's hands fell to his shoulders to keep her balanced.

"Thank you, Lyra," She smiled again, before pulling him down into a tight hug, breathing out all of the stress and anxiety that the court session had caused. His hands wrapped around her waist tightly, squeezing it, before he pulled away and nodded. "I do need to go."

Reluctantly, Lyra released him, watching as he walked out of the pavilion and back towards the keep, a grin on her face.

𝐄𝐍𝐃 𝐎𝐅 𝐈𝐍 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐄

Hiya,

It's the end of book 2 and I'm not going to lie, this was my favourite chapter to write.

Also, quick question. What was your favourite part of book 2?

Mine was this chapter's court scene. Let me know what you think

Also, wonderful screencap, that was for one of the scenes in this chapter, done by TaurusLeBlanc so go show her some love.

Book 3 will be coming up on Thursday, maybe sooner if I get excited.

Lots of love

Li xx