Hers Is The Fury

Another King Is Dead

But for now, she forced herself to focus on the task at hand, taking comfort in the familiar rituals of the funeral rites. As the ceremony drew to a close and the mourners began to disperse, but the royal family remained behind.

Joffrey's body was laid on a table in the center on the room, his eyes covered with stones that had green eyes painted on them. Cersei, Morgana, Tommen and Tywin and stood around him.

Tywin turned to Tommen. "Your brother is dead. Do you know what that means?"

Tommen remained quiet.

Morgana looked at her grandfather shaking her head. She may not have liked Joffrey, but did her grandfather have to speak of Tommen becoming king while they stood in front of the recently deceased one?

"I'm not trying to trick you."

"It means I'll become king."

"Yes, you will become king. What kind of king do you think you'll be?"

"A good king?" Tommen sounded unsure.

He didn't expect to become King. That title he knew would go to his older brother.

"Mm, I think so as well. You've got the right temperament for it. But what makes a good king? Hmm? What is a good king's single most important quality?"

"This is hardly the place or the time." Cersei interjected.

"Holiness?" Tommen guessed.

"Hmm. Baelor the Blessed was holy. And pious. He built this sept. He also named a six-year-old boy high septon because he thought the boy could work miracles. He ended up fasting himself into an early grave because food was of this world and this world was sinful."

"Justice."

"Yeah. A good king must be just. Orys I was just. Everyone applauded his reforms. Nobles and commoners alike. But he wasn't just for long. He was murdered in his sleep after less than a year by his own brother. Was that truly just of him? To abandon his subjects to an evil that he was too gullible to recognize?"

"No."

"No."

"What about strength?"

"Yes. Strength. King Robert was strong. He won the rebellion and crushed the Targaryen dynasty. And he attended three small council meetings in seventen years. He spent his time whoring and hunting and drinking until the last two killed him. So, we have a man who starves himself to death, a man who lets his own brother murder him, and a man who thinks that winning and ruling are the same thing. What do they all lack?"

"Wisdom."

"Yes!" Tywin said as it seemed Tommen had landed on the correct answer.

"Wisdom is what makes a good king."

"Yes. But what is wisdom? Hmm? A house with great wealth and fertile lands asks you for your protection against another house with a strong Navy that could one day oppose you. How do you know which choice is wise and which isn't? You've any experience of treasuries and granaries or shipyards and soldiers?"

"No."

"No. Of course not. A wise king knows what he knows and what he doesn't. You're young. A wise young king listens to his counselors and heeds their advice until he comes of age. And the wisest kings continue to listen to them long afterwards... Your brother was not a wise king. Your brother was not a good king. If he had been, perhaps he'd still be alive. Now, as the king, you will have to marry. Do you understand why?"

Tywin and Tommen began walking up the steps to leave the Sept.

"A king needs a queen."

"Yes, but why? To further the family line. As your sister has. Do you know how that happens?"