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House of the Dragon (TV)Warhammer Fantasy
Characters:
Ikit ClawRhaenyra TargaryenJacaerys VelaryonLucerys Velaryon (Son of Rhaenyra)Baela TargaryenRhaena Targaryen (Daughter of Daemon)Daemon TargaryenCorlys "The Sea Snake" VelaryonHelaena TargaryenAddam VelaryonBackground & Cameo CharactersSilverwing | Alysanne Targaryen's DragonOriginal CharactersJoffrey Velaryon
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Crack Treated SeriouslyCanon-Typical ViolenceThe Dance of the Dragons | Aegon II Targaryen v. Rhaenyra Targaryen EraAlternate Universe - Canon DivergenceCanonical Character DeathCharacter Turned Into a HumanIkit got isekai'd as Jace's twinSkaven Species (Warhammer Fantasy)Death to all GreensHuman ExperimentationScience ExperimentsIkit is his own warningSilverwing still has shit taste in male ridersPOV MultipleBackground RelationshipsBackground Character Deathshow canon onlyDragon RidersAnimal AbuseIkit is an abusive dragonriderTho he's fairly mellow compared to his SkavenselfGood Parent Rhaenyra TargaryenNo beta we die like LucerysDysfunctional FamilyCannibalismBlood and TortureCanon-Typical BehaviorBAMF Helaena Targaryen
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Published:2026-02-26Completed:2026-04-22Words:181,492Chapters:55/55Comments:1,270Kudos:749Bookmarks:160Hits:33,677
The Rat Prince of Westeros
SkilledWarriorKiwi
Chapter 40: Joffrey
Chapter Text
King's Landing smelled as horrible as Joffrey remembered. The Vale didn't stink like that, neither did Dragonstrone nor Driftmark. Maybe it was just the capital that smelled horrid specifically. He wasn't really sure why.
Being only three-and-ten and having grown up in peace, Joffrey wasn't acclimated to the air of war. Even in the Vale it felt distant despite the anxiety both himself and Rhaena felt. He hadn't wanted to leave her but Morning was now being ridden and Rhaena was a lot better dealing with people and being diplomatic than he was. Aegon's grief over Viserys was another persistent thing, just as Joffrey's own, but when their vessel stopped at Gulltown it came with the news that Prince Viserys had been found alive by Prince Ikit who had attacked the Kingdom of the Three Daughters in the aftermath of the Triarchy invasion, with Silverwing now at King's Landing. King Aegon the Usurper was also dead, that news being spread far and wide.
The relief he felt was palpable in knowing two of his brothers were safe, and he cried in his cabin that night and the next day told Tyraxes about it when he saw to his dragon in the cargo hold. The violet dragon didn't understand but could sense his rider's relief and joy through their bond.
Joffrey wished he had been with Rhaena to share the news, but knew it would already have reached his cousin. They had grown close in the Vale, with Joffrey doing his best to help Rhaena as she was new to flying. Morning had grown large enough to ride but she was still small but out of all places the Eyrie was one of the safest.
And with Ikit returned they would be able to actively hunt for Vhagar. Meleys's death had been a sharp blow, one even Vermithor and Seasmoke did not fully fill, but now that King Aegon the Usurper was dead there was only Vhagar as a true threat. Daemon was on the prowl but even on wings Westeros was large and sprawling and it had been unsuccessful. Joffrey wished him good fortune on his hunt and eagerly awaited his arrival to King's Landing.
Only to be greeted by that smell as the keep began to raise upon the horizon as they sailed through Blackwater Bay. He made a face on the deck of the ship, leaning on the railing with his crimson cloak flapping in the breeze as King's Landing grew larger and larger.
As they closed in on the docks Vermax flew out and circled the ship, with Joffrey jumping up and down and waving at his brother from the deck. The dragon and crown prince then escorted them into the harbour which was a bustle of activity.
It was always busy, but Joffrey noticed with curiosity how many Braavosi ships were there or waiting to get into the cramped harbour. He knew about the food and money issues so felt hopeful at see all the activity. He hadn't been as involved as Lucerys in learning from the Sea Snake, but he had spent numerous afternoons with his brother and grandsire learning the docks.
Thinking of Lucerys made the ache in his chest begin again so instead he went down into the loading bay and saddled Tyraxes. Flying his dragon out into the city was a lot quicker than walking or a wheelhouse, and he felt a surge of joy at flying with Jace. He knew he and Rhaena had been in the Vale for their safety, but both had fretted over their families as news trickled in and both had cried when learning of Viserys even if it was now an untruth.
Joffrey made a note to send Rhaena a lot of letters now she was alone there beyond Morning and the eggs.
He landed Tyraxes, the violet dragon folding his shimmering plum-coloured wings as he settled onto his belly. Joffrey climbed down and just as quickly was swept into a hug by Jacaerys.
"King Aegon is really dead?" Joffrey found himself asking as he pulled away, squinting at the bruise on Jace's face and his stitched lip.
"Dead," Jace said, brushing down Joffrey's shoulders as he checked him over. "Just as Sunfyre is. But there is still a war going on so we are to go to the Red Keep to meet the queen."
Vermax and Tyraxes were shepherded into the pit even as Joffrey noted the huge gouge marks on the ground outside the entrance. A dragon taking off, but one far larger than Syrax or Meleys. Vermithor? He hadn't seen the Bronze Fury before.
Shaking that off he went with his brother to the Red Keep, where a smiling Rhaenyra and his two brothers were waiting for him. There was a lot of laughter, tears and hugs from them all, even more when Baela appeared with Ikit in tow.
Joffrey had been so excited to see Ikit, even moreso when he was told by Viserys about Ikit's daring rescue of him. It sounded like mad tale and their afternoon had been spent talking and laughing and eating. It was a slice of levity in their lives, where they were together as a family. Not royals in the middle of a civil war.
He also learned the Braavosi were there to have Valyrian armour forged for them, after a volatile bidding war in the merchant city. The amount of gold offered left Joffrey dumbfounded, even if he knew Valyrian armour was very very precious. The winner, the First Sword of Braavos, was also related to the Sealord of Braavos and had used their numerous family connections and power to outbid everyone else. They also added crates of precious jewels for Ikit to create a personalized sword to fit with the Braavosi fighting style of water dancing.
Ikit snorted when Joffrey asked him about it, "Have servants taking measurements, can make armour and weapon in single day. Will do it tomorrow. Not hard."
Ikit was so smart and Joffrey was so relieved to have him back. He knew Luke would be too, wherever he was in the afterlife. That left him in a mixture of sorrow and relief, deeply missing Luke and remembering his vow of vengeance against Aemond. Being sent to the Vale had forced him into a level head compared to his previous fury but he never forgot the sheer rage he felt. Now that Ikit was back, with his magic and twisted weaponry, they could kill Vhagar and the other traitors.
Said weaponry was being guarded by strange people from Volantis, which Ikit reassured them of their loyalty but no one was allowed to rummage through the strange magics. Joffrey hadn't been allowed to see the arcane weaponry, which he knew must be of Old Valyrian origin, but he knew Baela spent a lot of time speaking to Ikit about it.
Ikit himself had told them about his adventures in Essos as the days passed, all the strange and wild people he met and magic he had learned and his creation of the 'Skryre weapon' as he called it. Then there was the magical lightning that he could bring forth which fascinated Joffrey so much. When he went to the Vale he had taken dozens of Ikit's old pictures that he drew, of all the fantastical creatures and people and he would tell himself the stories at night. So Ikit returning with actual magic to show them was so fascinating.
There was still tension, still so many meetings for his mother and oldest brother, but Joffrey found a weird sense of normalcy in the Red Keep. He would play with Aegon and Viserys, just like he used to. He'd banter and laugh with Baela, just like he used to. He would spar with Jace in the courtyard, just like he used to. He would talk to Corlys about ships, just like he used to.
It felt oddly normal. And as his first week passed in King's Landing it just made him fell strange. The Braavosi had left, and with it the money issues the Iron Throne had been facing greatly reduced. Rhaenyra had been able to lessen the taxes she had to implement when the Greens first revealed their theft, even if war remained expensive, much to the relief of the smallfolk and allied lords.
Joffrey wasn't allowed to attend the council meetings but he would sometimes see the lords loyal to Mother or would make passing talk with them when he wandered the halls or was in the throne room. He was unsure of the Mysaria woman, with her soft smile and dark sharp eyes, even if he was told she was Rhaenyra's Mistress of Whisperers. There was also Addam, the rider of Seasmoke who Joffrey felt a vague memory of seeing once on the docks of Driftmark which seemed like a lifetime ago. As it was the man was kind even if he seemed highly unsure of how to approach Joffrey. Otherwise he didn't recognize anyone and he hadn't seen the captive Dowager Queen Alicent. Besides that everything seemed very mundane.
But they were still in a war, and at the end of his first week Jacaerys took him aside to inform him of what was to come as his family was once again scattered across the realm.
None of which Joffrey was particularly happy about.
"Baela's being sent to the Riverlands?" Joffrey asked, looking up at his brother in bafflement. "Why?"
Jacaerys sighed deeply, not looking very happy either, "She's being sent to aid Prince Daemon in finding Vhagar, so she will join him at Maidenpool."
"What?! But Moondancer is so little!" Joffrey protested. "She's barely any larger than Arrax was! Vhagar will kill her if they fight!"
"Baela made her persuasion to the queen," Jace said, his voice carefully neutral even as his hand tightened upon his sword. "And Ikit supported her. He has gifted her his strange weaponry and is confident they can hurt or even kill the likes of Vhagar. Aemond is a craven, he is trying to lure a dragon for a fight which is simply burning innocents without cause across the Riverlands. If a larger dragon such as Silverwing flies with Ceraxes in support, then no doubt he will flee. Moondancer is small enough she will most likely go unnoticed and she will be invaluable as a scout due to size and speed."
"But there's Seasmoke."
"Ser Addam is being sent with Ikit to deal with Hugh Hammer who has turned traitor. We learned of it very recently, he aided the Greens in the sacking of Tumbleton," Jace said, even as Joffrey stared up at him in shock. "With Vermithor, Tessarion and the main Hightower host they need to be dealt with swiftly. So these are the current actions the queen must take. Just as I must stay here, in case Vhagar flies directly here or Vermithor does."
"I thought Hugh Hammer was allied to Mother, he swore he would be," Joffrey said.
"...He made his oaths. He has broken them. Some...attempted to convince Mother she would also need to put Addam under arrest. That his bastard birth, like Hugh, proved he could not be trusted even after making vows. However Ikit found Addam attempting to saddle Seasmoke in the Dragonpit, along with Corlys."
Joffrey clenched his fist, "Was he turning traitor as well?"
"No, Addam was insistent that he would confront the traitor himself. That he would prove those of bastard birth are not without honour and can keep true to their vows," Jace said, something dark and complicated in his eyes. "Prince Ikit believes him, and then approached the queen about taking Addam in support to kill Ser Hugh and Prince Daeron with Corlys also supporting this. She has agreed. They will leave when Baela does, which is tomorrow morn."
That made Joffrey relax somewhat; Ikit had always been able to pick up lies and falsehoods. It was as if he could smell them. If he believed Addam was being earnest, then Joffrey would trust his brother.
"Am I being sent away again?" Joffrey asked quietly, hands wringing at each other.
"No. You will stay here and...and if we are attacked, it will be up to us and Mother to defend the city with out dragons. Aegon and Viserys must be protected," Jace put his hand on Joffrey's shoulder. "We must hold true and steady. In this war and uncertainty as our loved ones scatter to fight for us."
Joffrey nodded, his stomach twisting.
Jace had leaned in and kissed his forehead before leaving, form stiff and ridged. Joffrey knew he and Ikit had been fighting- or rather Ikit was ignoring his twin and Jace wasn't doing anything to stop it -but he hoped they would reunite before Ikit left.
Still, he went to Baela as her room was closest and spoke to her in her rooms. Her nose had healed and there were scars on her neck, but she was healthy and hale and preparing for her journey tomorrow.
"You believe you can kill Vhagar? That you will survive and come home with good-father?" he asked quietly.
Baela's eyes were dark and cold, taking Joffrey's hand from where they sat at one of the tables. On it were several bags, scrolls and a satchel full of tiny chips of steel.
"I believe what Ikit has given me will aid immensely," she said in lieu of an answer. "If there is anyone alive who can match Whoreson Aemond with Vhagar it will be my father. Even if it costs him his life. He may be capricious and volatile but he is devoted and hard headed. And I am his daughter. This war...we can't hesitate. The gods have been good in returning Viserys and the death of King Aegon. But he was not the biggest threat. There is still much to be done and with the gifts Ikit has given me I know I can, at the very least, help. Even if our lives are taken we will take Aemond and Vhagar with us."
"You need to write to Rhaena before you go," he said, feeling tears prick at his eyes. "You have been, haven't you?"
"...I will."
"Now," Joffrey said, looking around before he found some parchment and an inkwell at a nearby desk.
Baela huffed and puffed good naturally, but wrote to her twin under Joffrey's eye as they joked and spoke nothing else of the war. Joffrey wanted to have faith but fear was curdling her stomach. He knew Baela was brave, she was as fierce as Daemon just like she said. But he remembered how they had only a scrap of cloth for Luke's funeral and there was so much fear there would be nothing left of Baela or Daemon for them to mourn over. Joffrey hadn't seen Daemon since he was sent to the Vale, months passed now. Rhaenyra tried to not let her children see her moods but they knew she was despondent about her husband and feared deeply for him just as she did for them.
Ikit wasn't in his rooms that night, instead he had been with the odd Volantenes with Rhaenyra and Joffrey wasn't allowed in so he conceded defeat. It was the following morning he went to Ikit's room at the very edge of dawn, before their family morning meal and then they would be scattered to the winds.
Inside Ikit was already in his armour minus the helm, toying with a glass ball filled with purple smoke. His smile was sharp when Joffrey entered his room with the guards shutting the door behind him as his older brother greeted him, "Birthkin. Knew you would visit. Always sneaky sneaky, you are."
"You're going to fight Vermithor and Ser Hugh, along with Prince Daeron with the Hightower host," Joffrey said in lieu of answering. He sat down on one of the chairs, watching as Ikit tossed the sphere back and forth idly.
"Yes-yes. And the Oldtown. Then will hunt for shattered-broken seer. Still no word, yet it is out there. Can smell it."
Joffrey didn't understand that part, so instead asked, "Do you know why Ser Hugh turned against Mother?"
Ikit scoffed, "He is betrayer, wanted more. I would do so as well if I were him."
"He swore an oath-"
"Words mean nothing," Ikit said, staring him down with those glowing green eyes that seemed as bright as the sun. He put down the sphere, raising to his feet. "Understand? Nothing. They are useless-meaningless. Words said to protect birthkin Lucerys yet he is dead. Words mean nothing. Den mother and littermate, they bound by so many stupid words. Stupid, stupid, stupid."
"They're the queen and crown prince, they are to be examples of honour and integrity to the realm as a whole," Joffrey said quietly.
Ikit approached him in stalking movements with Joffrey finding himself getting to his feet as well, almost nervous. Ikit's eyes were gleaming as he said, "Girl thing told me you made oath of vengeance against One-eye when you learned of birthkin's death. Truth?"
"...Yes, I did. Tyraxes was chained and I was confined to my rooms because of it."
"And if you had left and found One-eye, found him sleeping-helpless, what would you have done?" Ikit asked him.
"I don't understand."
Ikit rolled his eyes, "Honour, stupid word it would say you must fight him while awake and armed. Would you do that? Wake him and demand honourable combat? Or would you slice-cut him in his sleep? Kill-kill him as quickly as you could? Poison his food?"
Joffrey opened his mouth, to insist he would do the honourable thing, but all he could think of was the ragged scrap of cloth they were forced to burn at Luke's pyre. And before that it had been Visenya's tiny form. When Jaehaerys was murdered a part of Joffrey just did not care when he learned of it. All he felt was violent satisfaction that the enemy now knew how they had felt. Jace had lectured him for it but Joffrey still felt that way, even if he now knew not to voice it.
Yet before Ikit, Joffrey felt like he could be truthful for such thoughts so he answered quietly, "I would kill him. However I could. If it meant protecting everyone else. Even if it meant killing him in his sleep or poisoning him."
Satisfaction gleamed in Ikit's eyes as he rocked back on his heels, "Good. Den mother and littermate, they have their 'honour'. Stupid, useless, but rules of Westeros. But us need not worry. They already call me mad-mad and I take that with pride. And you are a fourth son. Overlooked. Forgotten. Good for sneaky-sneak. And when I am gone, you will be on guard. Be protector of clan."
He raised a hand, cutting off Joffrey's protest before he could speak.
"Den mother and littermate will fight in battle if needed yes-yes, but they have stupid rules. Will do it openly, only then. But maybe not you. Been years but you always like my stories, certain ones you favoured more yes-yes. Stories of Eshin, of Johann the Knife, Farouk and Rufus Grunenwald. And from Essos of the Faceless and Sorrowful men."
"They're just stories," Joffrey muttered. "Knights are good as well. Honour and integrity...it's how we trust each other. Even with Ser Hugh and Alred Broome and the Greens starting all this...but most still do. They keep their words."
"Doesn't matter. You are good at watching," Ikit told him. "You may be willing to do underhanded things. What if someone want-wants to kill birthkin Viserys and Aegon, like they did Jaehaerys? Slip into their rooms and cut off their heads? Will you sneak into their den and slit their throats first or cry about honour and peace? Littermate and den mother have their part. Maybe you have one too. Smaller. In the shadows. But just as important. Agree?"
What Ikit was implying made Joffrey flinch, hands clenching and feeling insulted. Even if he knew that wasn't Ikit's intention. Because if he had found Aemond after learning of Luke's murder, Joffrey felt like he could have killed the kinslayer with his bare hands. If he could have poisoned his wine then he would have done it. Watched him choke and suffer and be content because it meant his beloved brother would be alive.
It was an antithesis to everything Joffrey had grown up with, how knights and kings and queens and the court should act, but war was horrible. If he could stop his brothers from being murdered, protect his cousins...Did it really matter if they poisoned their enemies or murdered them in their sleep? If he could go back in time and kill Aemond in his bed before Storm's End, Joffrey knew he'd do it without hesitation. Even back before the war began. Thinking of how often he had laid in bed, wishing Ikit had torn Aemond's throat out instead of his eye in the aftermath of Luke's death.
Yet he still couldn't say anything out loud, feeling exposed and almost raw simply for thinking such a thing. He was to be an example. He couldn't think underhandedly. He was a prince.
"The Black Pillar of Commandments," Ikit said, more to himself than anything when Joffrey failed to answer. "Telling all of the laws, nearly two hundred of them, yet all open ended, complex, contradictory to each other."
"What's the point of laws if they contradict each other? If none can exist together?" Joffrey asked, jolting from his roiling thoughts as he looked up at his brother.
"To state a single rule behind all the contradictions, yes-yes. Which is: Don't. Get. Caught," he tapped Joffrey's nose as if to amplify his last three words.
Joffrey stared at him, while Ikit stared right back. His older brother's smile was so sharp. Ikit had saved Viserys, caused tens of thousands of deaths and burnt down four cities without a second thought all to rescue a brother he had not even met.
Then there was a knock on the door as they were summoned to breakfast before Ikit, Baela and Addam were set to leave King's Landing.
Joffrey went there while holding Ikit's hand, his thoughts roiling and twisting like a hive of bees.
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