𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘-𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄 | True lineage

{ Joffrey }

✧✦✧

𝕿he late afternoon sun cast a warm glow over the balcony of the Stark residence. Lyra was reading a book from the Royal library, her legs curled beneath her, and Elia sprawled at her feet. It was distracting for the young king, who could not focus on the Small Council notes that he was supposed to be reviewing.

"You know, I can feel you staring," Joffrey barely reacted, fighting down the blush that was threatening to appear on his cheeks. She glanced up, marking her page in the book, before crossing to sit beside him and stare over his shoulder. "What are you working on?"

"Small Council notes," Joffrey replied, handing them over for Lyra to read, as he scratched Elia's ear. "Nothing too important, it's just that finance is incredibly tedious."

"Then you should take a break," Lyra replied, reading through the notes as she padded into the main atrium. Joffrey grabbed her book from the seat, whistling for Elia to follow them back into the room. "I can look this over."

"You'll do a better job than me, I am sure," He sat down in a seat, leaning his head back as he watched her once more, taking in the small smile that she had on her lips.

"That's because I am not exhausted," Lyra replied, grabbing a quill from the desk to start writing as Joffrey hummed. "Please tell me that you slept last night."

"There was too much work for me to do," Joffrey waved it off, as Lyra huffed.

"Joff..." The blond man licked his lips at the sight of Lyra's concerned face. Reaching over, he wrapped his fingers through hers and squeezed gently.

"I want to make sure everything's perfect for our wedding," He murmured, as she smiled softly. "You deserve that."

"I would also like my betrothed to be awake at the wedding," He sent her a half-smile, before she turned back to the finances, and he continued to watch her.

A knock on the door did little to startle the pair, both lazily turning to watch it open, as Tylar appeared, a mischievous smirk on his face.

"Your Grace," Tylar sent him a bow, which Joffrey rolled his eyes at, ignoring the Northern knight. He went straight to Lyra, placing a letter down in front of her. "My Lady. I was wondering whether Arah and I can get the afternoon off?"

"Of course," Lyra replied, looking up briefly from the notes to shoot him a look. "Why?"

"We're plotting to kill you," Tylar shrugged, ruffling Elia's fur as Lyra laughed. "No, I am attempting to woo your lovely handmaid and that's quite hard when she's working. We'll see you later."

"Goodbye!" Lyra waved, before the door slammed once more and Joffrey turned back to his betrothed with a raised eyebrow. Lyra grinned over at him, before breaking the seal on the letter and beginning to read through it.

"Who's it from?" Joffrey asked, pulling his notes back once more, as he waited for Lyra to say something.

"Eliza," He hummed, reading through Lyra's elegant scrawl. "She..."

Lyra stopped, which caused Joffrey to stop reading and turn to look up at his betrothed. All of the blood had drained from her face, and the hand that she held the letter with shook.

"Lyra?" Sitting bolt upright, Joffrey reached for Lyra's hand, that trembled in his grasp. "What is it? What's the matter?"

The girl remained silent, and the young king managed to pry the girl's fingers off of the letter, sending her another worried look as he began to read through it.

'I also wish to write to you on a more sensitive matter, one that Robb and I discovered not too long ago. As you know, Jaime Lannister is our captive, and he has been trying his best to escape anyway he knows how, including trying to use scare tactics, especially on me. Whilst most of his ramblings were perceived to be lies, there was one that stuck out to me.

After careful research, and much consideration between Robb and I, we came to the conclusion that his words were indeed true. Jaime Lannister confessed that he and his twin sister, Cersei, were having an affair with one and other. He also confirmed that he is the father of your betrothed, and the remainder of the royal children...'

"She's lying," Lyra looked at Joffrey, as the man stared down at the letter, willing it to burn to ash in his hands. "She's lying. That's not true."

"Joff..."

"She's lying!" He shot up from his seat, throwing the letter onto the table, as he seethed. "She has to be lying."

Joffrey could feel the panic rising in his chest, as he took a step back and ran his hands through his hair.

"It's not true," Lyra's smaller form slammed into his, as she wrapped her arms around him as tightly as she could. The taller man slumped, dropping his entire weight onto Lyra, who managed not to stumble. "It's not real. Tell me it's not real."

Of course, Joffrey had always had an inkling that he wasn't Robert's true son. He had been in court enough times, when people had brought in children that Robert had sired. All of them had dark hair and dark eyes, whilst he and his siblings were blond and Lannister all the way through. 

"Look at me, please look at me," Joffrey looked up at his betrothed, who's face was full of sorrow, as she placed her hand on his cheek. "Match your breathing with mine."

He had yet to realize it, but as he had been trying to navigate the twists and turns of his mind, pondering whether or not Eliza's words held any merit, his breathing had sped up once more. Closing his eyes, Joffrey tried his best to slow his breathing, focusing only on the sounds and smells of the room, the feeling of Elia curling through his legs, and Lyra's hands in his own.

"There we go," She rubbed her thumb along his cheek bone, as he leant into her hand.

"What am I going to do?" He murmured, as Lyra ran her hands through his hair once more. "If this is true, I'm not even supposed to be king. My siblings and I could be..."

"Joffrey, stop. Just stop," Lyra placed both hands on his cheeks, forcing him to watch her. "You don't have to think about what needs to be done. You do not have to focus on anything. This news has changed everything and you need to process that before anything else."

"I'm the king. I can't, I have duties to attend to, I need to..."

"You don't need to do anything," Lyra smiled, softly, as Elia continued to curl around the pair. "Take time and process what you've just been told. Don't force yourself back into your royal duties."

"I suppose you're right," He murmured, as Lyra pressed a kiss to his forehead. Joffrey shut his eyes, leaning further into her, as he wrapped her in a hug.

"You're a good king, and a brave man with a kind heart, despite that facade you put on," She murmured. "We'll sort this all out, together."

"Together," Lyra pressed another kiss to his cheek, before a knock on the door caused the pair to spring apart. Lyra grabbed the letter, hiding it under Elia, before the door was pulled open and Varys floated in. 

"Your Grace, My Lady," Joffrey nodded at the man's bow, waiting for him to say something. "My birds have come to me with disturbing news, Your Grace."

"What is it?" Joffrey wasn't sure how much more news he could take getting today.

"Your grandfather has determined that your mother is to marry Loras Tyrell, whilst your uncle, Tyrion, is to marry Sansa Stark."

✧✦✧

The door slammed open, as Lyra and Joffrey both turned to face an enraged Sansa, standing up slowly. The auburn haired girl flew over to the king, forgoing formalities as she glared at him.

"Did you know?"

"Sansa!" Lyra chastised, glancing over at Joffrey. The teenager barely flinched at her harsh words, watching the smaller girl with tired eyes.

"Did you know?" Sansa spat once more, as Joffrey began to shake his head.

"I knew nothing of this, My Lady," He murmured, as Sansa brought her hand to her chest and leant into Lyra's side. "I would not have allowed it."

It seemed to bring little satisfaction to the smaller girl, who let out a sob, throwing herself onto Lyra once more. Joffrey's eyes widened, unsure of how to deal with the girl, as he shared a glance with Lyra.

"I don't want to marry him," Lyra hummed in agreement, running a hand through the girl's hair.

"I know, little one," The term of endearment made the girl sob harder, as Joffrey licked his lips. "We're going to sort it all out for you, have no fear."

"I promise that I'll do everything in my power to help you," Joffrey murmured, as Sansa nodded. Lyra sent him a smile, her eyes sad.

"Why don't you go and lie down? This has been quite a shock," Sansa nodded once more, as Lyra turned. "Shae! Please come and help my sister."

"Of course, My Lady," Sansa's handmaiden dipped a curtsy to the other teenagers, before escorting Sansa to her chamber and out of sight.

"I'll deal with this," Lyra caught his eyes as Joffrey tried to walk past, her eyes still filled with sorrow.

"Nothing more can be done of it today," She warned, stepping closer to press a kiss to her betrothed's cheek as he sighed. "You need rest and time to process your own news before worrying about anyone else's problems."

"But, I..."

"You're the king, I know," Lyra sent him another small smile, as Joffrey slumped at the thought. "But even the king needs rest. Please, Joff, for me."

"For you, I'd do anything,"

Hiya,

So, Joffrey's found out his true lineage and Sansa's marrying Tyrion. Also, Eliza is Robb's wife, that pair has another book. Joffrey is so soft for Lyra, it's unbelievable and ANGELDUST- came up with the idea to make 'soft Joff' a religion, which I also like :) 

Who's your favorite character in the book so far?

Thank you for almost 9k reads and 500 votes - that's amazing.

Love Li xx