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Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
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"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 118: The Point of No Return
As the morning light crept through the windows of the royal chambers, Cersei Lannister sat in a high-backed chair, with her golden hair cascading over her shoulders, and her green eyes fixed on her children.
Myrcella sat across from her; her face looked composed and regal despite everything she had experienced recently, while her hands were neatly folded in her lap.
Tommen fidgeted beside her, his eyes darting around the room with barely restrained nerves.
Gerion rested in a cradle nearby, his small chest rising and falling with each breath. The wet nurse had just fed him, and he was sleeping peacefully.
Cersei watched him for a moment, and a flicker of warmth passed through her cold heart. Then she turned her attention back to her older children.
"You have told me much of your time in the North," Cersei said, her voice carefully neutral. "But I would hear more. Tell me of Winterfell. Tell me of Lord Stark and his family. How did they treat you…Did any of those savages hurt you?"
Myrcella exchanged a glance with Tommen, then spoke. "Winterfell was cold, Mother. Colder than I had ever imagined. But the Starks were... very kind and welcoming. They treated us well, despite everything."
"Yes, I played with Rickon every day, and with his direwolf, Shaggydog. It was kinda fun, even though it was always cold and I missed home…" Tommen added.
Cersei's eyes narrowed. "They were…kind? The Starks are our enemies. They would have seen us dead if they had the chance. Dont talk about them like that again. They are not your friends."
Myrcella shook her head, her voice steady. "That is not true, Mother. Lord Stark is an honorable man. He protected us. He ensured our safety. And Joffrey..."
Cersei's face hardened at the mention of his name. "Joffrey. Yes. Tell me of your brother. What did he do to you? Did he harm you? Did he use one of his nasty sorceries on you?"
"What? No!" Myrcella met her mother's gaze, her eyes unflinching. "Joffrey was...well, we didn't really see him again until very recently. When he returned from the east, he was… different. He was not the brother I remembered. He was older, wiser, more powerful. But he was also kind. He protected us. He risked his life to keep us safe."
Tommen nodded vigorously. "Joffrey was amazing! He could fly on a carpet and summon fire with his hands! He saved us from those scary monsters with blue eyes and then-"
"Enough!" Cersei snapped, her voice sharp. "I have heard enough nonsense about Joffrey already. The reality is that he abandoned you with our enemies after taking you from your home without my permission, without so much as a word. And now you speak of him as if he were a hero?"
Myrcella's voice softened. "Mother, he did what he thought was right. He believed we would be safer away from the war. And he was right. We were safe with the Starks, for a while... he came back immediately when we were in danger. He was worried about us. He cares..."
Cersei's hands clenched into fists, her nails biting into her palms. "You would have been safer here because I would have protected you both. I would have kept you safe from anything. You did not need to leave. He had no right to take you and to abandon his family…he had no right, and he will pay for that." She muttered the last part in a low voice that was almost a whisper to herself.
The tension in the room was thick and heavy.
Tommen shifted nervously in his seat, his eyes darting between his mother and sister. Then, hesitantly, he spoke.
"Mother," he said, his voice small. "May I explore the castle? It has been such a long time, and I want to see-"
"No!"
Cersei's voice exploded from her, sharp and violent, echoing off the stone walls. Tommen flinched, his face going pale. Myrcella's eyes widened with shock.
Cersei caught herself, her chest heaving. She took a breath, forcing calm into her voice. "No," she repeated, her voice softer but still firm. "You will not explore the castle by yourself. You will not leave this room without a guard. I have lost you once, and I will not lose you again. I will not let him take my babies from me."
Tommen stared at her, his eyes wide with fear. Myrcella reached out, placing a calming hand on her brother's arm.
"Mother," Myrcella said, her voice gentle. "No one is going to take us. Joffrey brought us back. He is not our enemy. And we are no longer babies who need constant protection."
"I will hear no more of that person." Cersei's eyes blazed. "He is a traitor. He abandoned his family, his duty, his crown. He consorts with dragons and sorcerers. He threatened us with his power. He is not your ally, Myrcella. He is a danger."
Myrcella met her gaze, her voice steady. "Joffrey is not our enemy, Mother. He wanted to warn us about the approaching danger. He could have killed everyone in the castle if he wanted to, but he did not. He left without taking a single leave, did he not?"
Cersei's jaw tightened. "You do not understand. You cannot understand. You were not here, you… You did not see what he did, what he became."
Myrcella's eyes glistened with unshed tears. "I have seen what he can do, the power that he wields. And I was never afraid of him, because he is still my brother. He is still your son."
Cersei rose from her seat and patted her dress. "I have an important meeting to attend. You will stay here with the handmaiden. You will not leave this room without an escort. I will assign knights to you shortly, so be patient until then."
She turned and walked toward the door, her footsteps echoing against the stone floor. Myrcella's voice followed her, soft but insistent.
"Mother. Joffrey is not your enemy. Unless you make him one."
Cersei paused at the door, her hand resting on the handle. She did not turn around.
"He is already my enemy," she said, her voice flat. "He made that choice when he left that night."
<><>
The Small Council chamber was cold and dimly lit, the fire in the hearth barely enough to push back the chill.
The members of the council were already seated when Cersei entered, their faces a mixture of tension and unease.
Lord Tywin sat at the head of the table, his face looking as if it were carved from stone.
Lord Mace Tyrell sat to his right, his round face flushed with anxiety.
Lady Olenna sat beside her son, her sharp eyes missing nothing.
Grand Maester Pycelle nodded in his seat, his old head bobbing.
Ser Barristan Selmy stood near the door, his hand on his sword.
Ser Kevan Lannister was present as well, looking down with a grim expression on his face.
A new figure sat at the far end of the table. It was the new Master of Whispers, a thin man with dark eyes and a receding hairline. He was a Myrish merchant named Salloreon, who had been appointed after Varys's departure. He was competent, if not as skilled as his predecessor, and he had a large network of informants across Westeros and the Free Cities.
Cersei took her seat, her eyes sweeping across the assembled council. "You have started without me."
Tywin nodded slowly. "We have…some matters could not wait any longer. The Kingsguard has been questioned. Most of them have recovered from the sorcerer's spells, though the King remains... unsettled."
Mace Tyrell cleared his throat, his voice hesitant. "The King is most distressed about Ser Arys Oakheart. He is still... well, he is still a pig."
Ser Barristan stepped forward, his voice calm. "I have spoken with the King. I have assured him that Prince Joffrey's magic will fade in time. The Prince promised that the effects would be temporary. He is many things, but I believe he is not a liar."
Cersei's lips curled into a sneer. "No honorable man attacks his own family, Ser Barristan. Whatever Joffrey has become, he is no longer a Lannister."
Barristan met her gaze, his voice steady. "Prince Joffrey did not kill anyone during his visit, Your Grace. He demonstrated his power and delivered a warning. He could have killed us all. He chose not to."
Tywin raised a hand, silencing the argument. "Enough. We will not debate the nature of Joffrey's honor. We will discuss what to do about him." He turned to the Master of Whispers. "Have you located him?"
Salloreon shook his head, his voice measured. "No, my lord. Prince Joffrey vanished from the Red Keep without a trace. He has not been seen in the city or its vicinity. Unfortunately, we still know little about the limits of his abilities, but he likely used his magic to travel to a distant location, far away from the capital."
"And where would he have gone?" Tywin asked.
Salloreon paused, choosing his words carefully. "Our spies in the Free Cities have reported that Daenerys Targaryen has arrived in Astapor with her army and her dragons. She is seeking to increase her numbers with the Unsullied. If Prince Joffrey is her ally, as the rumors suggest, then he has likely returned to her side. Slaver's Bay is where we will find him."
Cersei's jaw tightened. "The dragon whore. Joffrey has allied himself with a Targaryen. He has betrayed his family for a foreign queen."
Tywin's voice was cold. "Joffrey is a complication. But he is not our immediate concern. The Targaryen girl is the greater threat. If she acquires the Unsullied, she will have an army capable of challenging us, when combined with the forces she already has, and her three dragons, which, for what I last heard…they are getting big."
Lady Olenna's voice cut through the tension, sharp and dry. "And what are we to do with the Iron Throne? Our dear lost Prince transformed it into something that resembles a piece of art. Though I must say, I find the new design far more palatable than the old monstrosity."
Mace Tyrell nodded, his voice eager. "Yes, the new throne is quite beautiful. It is much more... inviting."
Cersei's eyes blazed. "It was an insult. He changed the symbol of power without permission, without regard for the traditions of the realm. Can you really not see it?"
Tywin's voice was flat. "I never liked the old throne either. It was a relic of the Targaryen era, impractical and tacky. Joffrey may have done us a favor, even if his methods were... unconventional."
The council fell silent, the weight of the conversation pressing down on them. Cersei felt a surge of anger, hot and fierce. They were discussing Joffrey as if he were a political problem to be solved, not a son who had betrayed his family, not a threat to everything she had built.
"We cannot allow him to continue," Cersei said, her voice cold. "He is a danger to us all. He must be dealt with."
Tywin's eyes met hers, unreadable. "Dealt how exactly?. If he is no longer in Westeros, our options are very limited."
A thin, cruel smile appeared on the Queen's face. "I will handle it. In my own way."
<><>
The evening was quiet, the sounds of the castle muffled by the thick stone walls.
Cersei stood by the window of her private chambers, her eyes fixed on the darkened city below. The door opened behind her, and she heard the familiar footsteps of her twin.
Jaime approached, his face etched with concern. "Cersei. You sent for me."
Cersei turned to face him, her expression hard. "I did. We need to talk."
Jaime nodded, stepping closer. "I have spoken with Myrcella and Tommen. They told me a lot about Joffrey. They said he was..."
"Different but kind…" Cersei muttered, her voice flat. "They said that to me as well." She glanced at her brother. "He is a monster, Jaime. A monster who betrayed us, who allied himself with our enemies, who threatened to destroy us all."
Jaime shook his head slowly. "I do not think he would actually harm us, Cersei. He had the chance to kill us all, and he did not. He brought Myrcella and Tommen back safely. You have the right to be angry, yes, but to call him a monster..."
Cersei's eyes blazed. "He threatened us, Jaime. He told us to keep our heads down, to bow to the dragon whore, or else… That is not the act of an ally. That is the act of an enemy."
Jaime was silent for a moment, his eyes searching her face. "What do you want me to do?"
Cersei stepped closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. "I want you to kill him."
Jaime's face went pale, his eyes widening with shock. "What? Cersei, you cannot be serious. He is our son-"
"He is no longer our son," Cersei interrupted, her voice cold. "He is a threat. He has power beyond anything we have ever seen. He has allied himself with a Targaryen queen. He could destroy us all with a wave of his hand if given the chance. He must be stopped before that can happen."
Jaime shook his head, his voice trembling. "Cersei, this is madness. You cannot-"
"I can," Cersei said, her voice hard. "I have made up my mind. We know where he is going. He is returning to Slaver's Bay, to the Targaryen girl. You will take as much gold as you can and travel to Bravos."
"To Bravos?..." Jaime's expression changed. "Wait, you dont mean to-"
"You are going to hire the Faceless Men," Cersei said.
Jaime stared at her, his face a mask of disbelief. "The Faceless Men? You would hire them to murder our own son?"
Cersei's eyes were cold, her voice flat. "I would. I will. I want him dead, Jaime. I want him gone. He is a threat to everything we have built, everything we have sacrificed for. He must be dealt with."
She reached out, her hand touching his cheek. "I need you to do this for me, Jaime. I need you to travel to Braavos, to find the Faceless Men, to hire them. You will take a few chests of gold from the treasury. You will make the arrangements. And you will make sure that Joffrey Baratheon never threatens us again."
Jaime stared at her, his eyes wide with horror. He had seen many things in his life, had done terrible things in the name of love and loyalty. But this... this was beyond anything he had ever imagined.
He opened his mouth to speak, to argue, to beg her to reconsider. But the words would not come. All he could do was stare at his sister, at the cold, cruel expression on her face, and wonder when she had become like that.
"I want him dead," Cersei repeated, her voice final. "There is no going back."
Jaime stood in the silence. He looked at her, at the woman he had loved his entire life, and he saw something he had never seen before.
A stranger.
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