Chapter 164: The King and the Queen
Silence.
Robert sat in a high-backed chair at one end of the room, while the Queen sat with the three princes and the princess on a low bed directly facing the King. Cersei held Myrcella and Tommen in her arms, one on each side. Joffrey, as the eldest and nearing manhood, could no longer hide in his mother's embrace; he sat stiffly beside his sister.
The room was deathly quiet, yet the atmosphere felt as heavy and oppressive as a looming mountain range. Robert stared silently at his lawful wife, with whom he shared a bed but never a heart, while Cersei glared back at her husband, refusing to yield an inch. Even Tommen and Myrcella, who had no idea what had transpired, sensed the wrongness of it all, yet were too terrified by the tension to ask.
"What are you doing here?" the woman asked coldly. She glanced at the warhammer resting on the low table beside the man's hand. If she remembered correctly, that was the very weapon Robert had used to hammer Rhaegar to death on the banks of the Trident. He never should have won. "And why bring a weapon?"
Robert gave a low, rumbling chuckle. "I was on my way to the yard to warm up when I suddenly felt the urge to see my children. I brought it along. Is that forbidden?"
These were the royal apartments. Cersei had lived here since Robert returned from the battlefields in the Vale. Had Robert summoned her, she would have made excuses—ill health or some other slight—to decline. But today, her husband had kicked down the door and barged in; there was no avoiding him.
Outside the door, five knights of the Kingsguard—all save Jaime and Barristan—stood fully armored alongside dozens of red-cloaked guards loyal to the King. They were locked in a wary standoff with over a hundred Lannister household guards.
The red-cloaked Lannister guards were paid by Casterly Rock, and their families lived in the Westerlands under Lord Tywin's rule. If someone meant harm to their lady or her children, they would fight to the death. But the situation was different when Robert himself led the men: the King was the master of the Red Keep and the head of the royal house. He had come to the princes' quarters to see his wife and children; who dared stop him? Who had the authority?
They had no explicit orders to attack the King. Even if they had, with Robert backed by almost the entire Kingsguard and possessing a formidable reputation of his own, a force of red cloaks commanded by a lone woman like Cersei would hardly hold the upper hand.
Cersei knit her brows. "Enough with the riddles. If you have something to say, say it."
"Riddles?" Fire flared in Robert's eyes, and his tone turned sharp. "Shouldn't it be you who has something to say to me? While I was away, rumors of the filth between you and Jaime spread through the city like wildfire. I've been back for days, and instead of coming to explain yourself, you hide behind the children... waiting for me to get drunk enough to forget?"
"Explain? What would you have me explain?" Cersei's voice turned shrill. "Nothing but stale scandals invented by that Master of Coin who murdered the Hand and fled, all for the sake of revenge. Idle smallfolk in the markets add their own bits and pieces to the tale, and you want me to explain? Why don't you start by explaining the dozens or hundreds of bastards you've left outside these walls?"
"There aren't that many!" Blood rushed to Robert's face as he realized his slip of the tongue. "I have bastards, aye, but I didn't bring them into the Red Keep!"
"And what is that supposed to mean? If that brother-in-all-but-blood of yours who serves as Hand is doing his job, he'll tell you he's already arrested the rumor-mongers! You have no proof, and you didn't catch Jaime and me in bed together, yet you come charging in here demanding explanations? How am I to prove I haven't done something?"
Robert stared at Cersei for a long moment, falling silent. His decision to come here and confront her personally was a flourish outside of Eddard's plan—a test of his own making. If Cersei confessed, Eddard's plan would be moot. Since she denied it, no matter; they would proceed with the Hand's plan regardless.
After all, he truly possessed no proof.
"What? Nothing left to say?" Cersei gave a cold sneer. "Then why are you still standing there? Do I have to ask you to leave?"
"I am in my own home. It is not your place to ask me to leave."
Had Robert flown into a rage and slapped her, it would have been normal. But the sight of the drunkard King sitting calmly in his chair with a cold, level expression made Cersei uneasy. She pulled Myrcella and Tommen closer and asked warily, "What do you want?"
"Nothing much," Robert said tonelessly. "I've simply realized there are far too many Lannister men in the Red Keep. It's time to cut some away."
"Cut them away?" Cersei's heart skipped a beat, but she maintained her sneer. "In your dreams. Without my consent, don't even think about it!"
"What law dictates," Robert said coldly, not bothering to argue, "that a King needs a woman's permission to replace the servants and guards in his own castle?"
Cersei was struck dumb. Just as Robert had been helpless so long as she denied the rumors, she was now equally powerless. Even if Robert owed her father Tywin a mountain of gold, even if his throne relied on Lannister strength... if Robert was determined to tear off the mask and reshuffle the personnel in the Red Keep, she, as Queen, had no legal right to obstruct him.
After all, he was the King of Westeros. He was the Lord of the Seven Kingdoms. He was the head of this house.
She clenched her fists in a futile show of defiance. "When I said I didn't have enough servants, you told me to find my own way."
"True, I said that. And I promise you, I'll give you as many people as you want from now on. If it pleases you, you can have them standing wall-to-wall in your room."
A calm Robert terrified Cersei. These weren't the words of a drunkard—Eddard had told him to say this! She saw the key to the situation in an instant. Her leverage was dwindling; if she made even one concession now, she would lose everything. She decided to hold the line. "Without my word, not one Lannister man outside that door will leave."
"Is that so? Shortly, twice their number in City Watchmen will arrive to 'escort' them out. Whether your men choose to walk out of the Red Keep or be carried out is entirely up to them."
The City Watch? Cersei narrowed her eyes. Robert, do you still think they are your men?
"Are you pleased? Thinking I'm about to trip over my own feet?" Robert chuckled, shattering the woman's delusions. "Don't bother. As of this morning, the Commander of the City Watch has been replaced by Ned's guard captain, Jory. I almost forgot to mention—even if he hadn't been replaced, Janos Slynt wouldn't have helped you. Yesterday, he personally sent word to inform on you, laying out your entire plan."
That thrice-damned Janos Slynt! Cold sweat soaked through Cersei's clothes. She knew she couldn't show her guilt at being exposed. "What plan? I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about. Nothing but the death rattles of a doomed fool trying to drag high lords down with him, just like Littlefinger. Have you drunk too much? Do you believe everything anyone tells you?"
"Enough. Call it a false accusation then. Let's not waste breath on meaningless arguments. Sit comfortably for a while and wait for the City Watch."
Silence returned to the room, but Cersei's mind was in turmoil.
She had lost. After a moment of frantic thought, she was overcome with despair. She realized that when Robert had first entered, she had failed to order her red cloaks to strike first. She had allowed him to walk into the room carrying his warhammer. At that moment, she had lost her chance to turn the tables. Her only hope had been to strike while the City Watch hadn't yet arrived and her red cloaks still held the numbers—kill Robert, seize the castle, and put Joffrey on the Iron Throne. But now, with only Robert and the three children in the room, she knew that if she made a move, that hammer which slew Rhaegar would split her skull in the next heartbeat.
"What do you want from me?" she asked, suppressing her inner panic. My life? You wouldn't dare.
"Simple. I want to prove your innocence," Robert said. "With only my men around you, and no access to other men—especially that brother of yours—I will have another child with you. If the hair is gold again, then it was all a misunderstanding. If it is black..."
"You would keep me under house arrest? Force me to breed for you like a sow!?" Cersei's eyes bulged. "In your dreams! I would sooner die!"
"That's a strange thing to say. As a husband, I am asking my lawful wife for another child. On what grounds do you refuse, or threaten death?" Robert's expression shifted from indifferent to savage. "Refuse if you like. Confess your crimes publicly, admit to your incest with Jaime, then have your father cancel the crown's debts and pay a ransom large enough... four or five million dragons should do. Pay it, and you can take your brother back to Casterly Rock and play however you like. Refuse to pay, and you will stay here and give me a child!"
The Lannisters relied on Tywin's brilliance and the vast wealth of Casterly Rock, but when the children had fallen into the enemy's hands, even the greatest man could not fight all of Westeros. Robert's plan was a checkmate.
This was never the idea of a drunkard. Cersei was drenched in sweat. She had stayed in King's Landing despite the rumors, betting she could find a way to kill Robert. Now she had lost the bet. Facing a living King recognized by the Seven Kingdoms, no one in the city could openly oppose him. She should have fled back to the Rock the moment the rumors started. Her hands, still holding Tommen and Myrcella, began to shake. Then she realized a crucial point: "Where is Jaime? What have you done to him?"
"What do you think?"
"You've arrested him!"
Cersei let go of the children and stood up, lunging at Robert to claw at his throat. "If you harm a hair on my brother's head, I will never forgive you! I'll hide a blade in the bedding and gut you when you crawl into bed!"
"Then I'll bind you when I have you!" Robert's suppressed rage finally exploded. He hadn't intended to strike first, but this woman was asking for it. He grabbed Cersei by the hair and delivered a slap so hard she was knocked to the floor. "Don't think I care one bit about what's between your legs! Every man in the Seven Kingdoms might want to bed you, but I am not among them! If Eddard Stark hadn't pleaded for your lives, both your heads would already be on spikes outside the Red Keep! How dare you still show such insolence!"
The thunderous wrath of the King was so terrifying that Joffrey shrank away without a word, and Tommen was frozen in shock. Only Myrcella rushed forward, weeping, and threw her arms around Robert to stop him from beating Cersei further. "Father! Please, stop! Mother is just speaking in anger. She always speaks in anger, you know she does!"
Robert stood there panting, his hand gently stroking Myrcella's hair. Of his three children, he loved this daughter most—she was kinder and more polite than Joffrey, braver and stronger than Tommen. She had inherited all of her mother's beauty but none of Cersei's stupidity or hysteria. If she hadn't been a girl, Robert would have named her his heir. But looking at her beautiful golden hair and realizing she was likely not his daughter cut him to the heart.
"Fine. I know," Robert trembled in pain, pushing Myrcella away as gently as he could. "Sit down. When the City Watch arrives, this whole mess will be over..."
From outside the door came the sound of shouting and a struggle. Then, the door was kicked violently open. Jaime Lannister, eyes bloodshot, burst into the room. He saw Cersei kneeling on the floor clutching her face, while Myrcella wept and held Robert back.
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