The Little Wolf

Chapter 3 | I'm loyal to my King

The tournament had started some time ago and some men had fought already. Currently, the Hound was fighting some random man as they were all watching. Lilia wanted to stop it since she knew that the Hound would kill the poor man. She wondered what was the thing with fighting in tournaments and what was the thing with the tournaments themselves. It was stupid, profoundly stupid. Joffrey had managed to touch her hand several times and she would always find an excuse to take it away.

When the Hound won and pushed the foolish man out of the castle wall, everybody clapped and she saw herself forced to clap softly as well. Joffrey was very excited about it, which disgusted Lilia very much. 'Sadistic bastard', she thought to herself.

"Well struck, dog!" he complimented the Hound, who didn't really seem to care that much. Lilia was currently distracted while playing some quiet game with Tommen, who had gotten bored. She was until Joffrey's attention was turned to his company. "Did you like that?"

"It was well struck, Your Grace," Sansa said very impatiently and disinterested. He didn't seem too pleased with her reply, so he quickly protested.

"I already said it was well struck" he pointed out. Sansa didn't know how to lie to Joffrey, she had never been good at lying. It was something that the Starks sucked at. Probably it was due to their honour, but she didn't really know how to explain it. Lilia watched her sister trying to run from the spotlight miserably. 'Poor Sansa', she thought.

"Yes, Your Grace" the little dove agreed, making Joffrey's attention flee to Lilia, who was as quiet as she could be, looking at nothing in specific, with her head held high.

"And what do you think, My Lady? Did you like that?" he asked with a kinder, yet still promiscuous tone. She took a deep breath and looked at him, who was waiting for her to reply.

"I would like it more if it were you," Lilia said with her fake smile. Joffrey was a little alert by the girl's sentence but her smile convinced him that even though her comment could be interpreted in two different ways, she meant well, so he didn't storm on her.

"Perhaps one day I will fight just for you," he said as he took a seat next to her and whispered with delight. She was the one who was not that delighted to be there and to have him treating her like some sort of... she didn't even know how to describe it. She felt Sansa's eyes on her and, tried to show her that she didn't mean to take her betrothed away and that she was as uncomfortable as she could be. On the other hand, she couldn't refuse the King, or else she would have her life very complicated. "I enjoy your presence very much, My Lady. Could we take a walk around the gardens or have supper together one day?"

"Yes, I suppose we could" Lilia agreed. The words seemed to leave her mouth with a bitter taste and she felt like her throat was in a knot. She just wanted to find some ulterior excuse to leave that place and never have to come back again. Joffrey was making her uncomfortable, more than she thought he would. Partially, it was due to his behaviour towards her.

The next candidates came into view... more or less, at least one of them did. Lilia wanted to laugh at Joffrey's impatience, but she contained herself. She didn't feel like facing his rage.

When the other one came into view, Lilia saw nothing but a fool who wanted to please his King, which in her eyes was nothing but stupid since she knew who would be defeated in that duel. He started to apologize endlessly while Tommen and Myrcella tried to hold their giggles. Sansa was the one who didn't look like she was too amused.

"Are you drunk?" Joffrey asked in a tone that left Lilia alert to what would happen next.

"No, Your Grace. I had two cups of wine" the man replied very clumsily. Lilia knew where that was going to lead them and she pitied the poor man, who was innocent and was going to die at the hands of the foolish, unpredictable boy who pretended to be a King.