WILOW-Ch.314: Tourney and Conspiracy
Tourney Grounds, King's Landing
POV of King Robert Baratheon
Robert Baratheon sat on his chair and watched the fight commence under him.
Thirty-six fighters entered the arena with various weapons and started beating the shit out of each other.
Now that he had started to train once again, he knew that he would not have lasted a minute in that place.
He lamented the loss of Ned, refusing his offer to be the Hand. It filled him with anger, as being the King meant that no one ever dared to deny him. But he could understand Ned's reasons and didn't take it to heart.
He knew that if not for the White Walkers, then Ned would have definitely been here for him right now.
It was a great pity that he had to give the position to his dour brother Stannis. But if not Stannis, then the position would have gone to the old lion, and he didn't even want to think about how that would have ended.
He looked at the melee fight in front of him.
Without Varko there to liven things up, the fight seemed a little dull.
Like he had held a grand feast, and the most important guest didn't come.
He wondered why Varko did not come to the tourney this time before he remembered that he had sent Lord Bolton to the North to bring proof of the White Walkers. If Lord Bolton was going to such a dangerous place, then there was no way that Varko wouldn't follow his lord.
A part of him hoped that the lad would die in the land beyond the Wall.
He had nothing against the boy. But House Bolton has grown rather powerful lately. Also, the boy's actions had broken any semblance of friendship between the Lannisters and the Starks. And the boy had the audacity to defy him, to look him in the eye and threaten him.
But then again, from what he had heard, the boy was an excellent lord and a great battle commander. And Ned would need such people in the upcoming conflict.
At least the boy wasn't acting like one of the cowardly wimps around him. The boy might be young, but he clearly had some guts.
He reminded Robert of himself, at least of how he was when he was staging a rebellion. That boy had a look in his eyes that could set the whole realm ablaze to get what he wanted.
At least Robert respected that.
The fight was starting to die down now, with only Sandor Clegane, Ser Barristan the Bold, Kingslayer, and Thoros of Myr with his flaming sword.
He had been asked to ban Thoros from this melee, or at least stop him from using the Flaming sword, as it intimidated the other contestants and left them with burns, but the man was a great drinking friend and rather fun to be with.
Plus, the flaming sword was a novelty and kept things interesting.
He still remembered how Varko had cut Thoros' sword in half before knocking out the stunned man with a punch to the face.
It's a great pity that Varko couldn't come.
Still, the fight was decent, and he had paid for it. So, he should at least enjoy it.
He saw a maid fetching wine for his wife, who wore her cold bitch face and looked at everyone and everything with thinly veiled disgust.
He pulled the maid and made her sit on his lap. The maid giggled and pretended to protest.
She did not have the large bust that he usually preferred or the fat arse. But she was pretty to look at and practically weightless in his arms.
The cheers erupted in the arena, and he noticed that Thoros had defeated the Hound and Ser Barristan had defeated the Kingslayer.
Now, both parties began circling each other, then clashed.
For all of Thoros' tricks, Ser Barristan was an old hand and had more experience in battle than all the other Kingsguard put together.
Thoros was defeated in short order, and Ser Barristan Selmy became the victor of the day.
Though even after winning the melee, he could see that Ser Barristan was just as impressed by his victory as he was with the whole melee.
Without Varko's presence, victory seemed unearned. But traditions must be kept.
He got up from his chair, congratulated Ser Barristan, and gave him the 20,000 gold dragons prize, which the old Knight humbly accepted before the whole melee came to an end.
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Red Keep, King's Landing
POV of Jamie Lannister
Later that same day.
Cersei walked around the room with a large frown on her face as Jamie sat on the bed and waited for her to come to him.
When it looked like she wouldn't be coming, he said, "Come to the bed, Cersei."
She looked at him with some anger and a good deal of disgust. She had been looking at him with some disgust ever since he lost his duel against the Bolton boy and lost the Valyrian sword of the family.
Father had been livid, but it was her reaction that hurt him the most.
There was a distance between them now that it had not been there before. He had failed, shamed his house, and she had not forgiven him for that.
He did not even blame her for it. Cersei was a hateful woman and hated everything and anything that did not meet her expectations.
He just… never thought that it would apply to him as well. That she might discard him if he did not live up to her high expectations.
"How can you be so carefree?" Cersei said, the disgust in her expression was still present, "Robert has chosen Stannis as his hand. Once that man collects his fleet, he'll be coming to King's Landing."
"And what can he do? He's just a single dour man with no allies in King's Landing." He asked with a smirk that he knew she found maddening, but now only served to increase the disgust in her expression.
His smirk faltered.
"He's Robert's brother. And he was also going to the brothels with Lord Arryn in case you've forgotten."
"It doesn't mean anything." He said, trying to come off as reassuring.
"He fled back to Dragonstone as soon as Lord Arryn died and left with his whole Fleet. Don't you find that suspicious? He definitely knows about us, Jamie. About our children." She said.
"Why are you worrying so much about this? If he comes here and tries to tell Robert about it, then we'll just kill both of them."
"Like you killed the Bolton boy?" She said and sneered at him.
He frowned at her and felt his stomach fall.
This was not fun anymore. He knew that she disliked him for losing to the Bolton boy. He knew that he had fucked up, but to remind him and chastise him about it every day was pushing it.
He was starting to wonder if Cersei even loved him anymore. If she ever did love him or if he was just the most convenient cock around that she could impale herself upon.
"Stannis will come here sooner or later, Jamie." She said, and he could see the resolve grow in her eyes, "We must take care of Robert before that happens."
"You want to kill the King?" he asked. "There's a good chance that this will lead to civil war, Cersei. Your marriage with Robert is the only thing holding the Seven Kingdoms together."
Cersei scoffed, but then shook her head, "We must do it. And do it quickly. That is the only way to keep our children safe. We must act now before it's too late."
"Very well then. What would you have me do?" he asked.
Cersei sneered at him, "This is not a task for you. I'll do it myself. You just need to prepare for when Stannis comes here for the throne."
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.315: The End of King Robert's Reign
Ch.316: Renly Sets His Sights on the Throne
Ch.317: For the Greater Good