You're Losing Me / Ned Stark / Sandor Clegane

11. Threatened

"Please, it's nearly healed."

"It's ugly." Joffrey corrected his mother with a big pout.

"A King should have scars, you fought off a direwolf. You're a warrior like your father." Cersei declared.

"Like he once was, he rules his wine now." Tyanna added. 

"I'm not like him. I didn't fight off anything. It bit me and all I did was scream. And the two Stark girls saw it, both of them." Joffrey sneered.

"That's not true. You killed the beast. You only spared the girl because of the love your father bears her father. When Aerys Targaryen sat on the Iron Throne, your father was a rebel and a traitor. Someday you'll sit on the throne and the truth will be what you make it." Cersei explained.

"Yeah, lies and deceit thats a good way to start raising him." Tyanna mused. 

"Hush Tyanna," Cersei begged. 

" Do I have to marry her?" Joffrey whined.

"Yes. She's very beautiful and young. If you don't like her, you only need to see her on formal occasions and when the time comes, to make little princes and princesses. And if you'd rather fuck painted whores, you'll fuck painted whores. And if you'd rather lie with noble virgins, so be it. You are my darling boy and the world will be exactly as you want it to be. Do something nice for the Stark girl." Cersei knew what it was like to be shipped off and sent away to a new land, she could try and help Sansa where she could.

"I don't want to." Joffrey declared.

"You think Cersei wants to stay married to-" Tyanna was quickly muzzled by her sisters hand. Sandor eyed them from the corner of the room. 

"No, but you will." Cersei cut in. Tyanna licked her sisters hand making her squeal out shaking her hand off. 

"Thats what you get." Tyanna sassed. 

"Tyanna." Cersei demanded, so tyanna pranced off.  "The occasional kindness will spare you all sorts of trouble down the road." Cersei remarked hoping to guide her son into a better relationship than she had with Robert.

"We allow the northerners too much power. They consider themselves our equals." Joffrey spat.

"How would you handle them?"

"I'd double their taxes and command them to supply 10,000 men to the royal army." Joffrey decree with a smirk.

"A royal army?" Cersei countered.

"Why should every lord command his own men? It's primitive, no better than the hill tribes. We should have a standing army of men loyal to the Crown, trained by experienced soldiers... Instead of a mob of peasants who've never held pikes in their lives." Joffrey agreed.

"And if the northerners rebel?"

"Hey mr lingerer," Tyanna purred. "How is Nessa settling back in?"

"She's already setting up her dolls and toys on the bed." Sandor answered. 

"I was thinking, Sofia told me that you share a room with Nessa and I think that is utterly adorable." Tyanna assured. "But she needs a bed of her own."

"She likes mine." Sandor countered. 

"And you like Sofias." Tyanna agreed. Sandor swallowed the lump in his throat. He was grateful for Joffrey's hound command to pull him Tyanna Lannister's prying eyes and personal questions. 

"Enough of that, young lady. Eat your food." Septa Mordane demanded as Arya stabbed her knight into the table between her fingers.

"I'm practicing." Arya corrected