Chapter 11

Cersei sat at the desk in her room, candle light casting shadows around her. It was the middle of the night now and she was waiting for Varys to appear. She'd sent word to her handmaids to remain with the children tonight and the baby would stay with them. In truth she was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and pretend this nightmare had never happened, but that wasn't possible now. Her green eyes flickered to her bed where Tyrion lay still beneath a heap of blankets and pillows. If she had been able to sleep, Cersei was certain her little brothers' agonised face would haunt her. He had trembled and squirmed as she held him still, trying for the first time in her life to help him as Creylen attempted to fix the damage Joffrey had caused. Cersei had whispered words of comfort and tried to soothe him as Creylen reset his arm, but when the Maester put his shoulder back in place Tyrion had stilled beneath her so suddenly she thought he had died.

"This can happen" the Maester had explained, seeing her panicked expression "I'm surprised he lasted this long. His body has shut down from the pain"

No matter what reassurances Creylen told her, Cersei hadn't believed him until she heard her brothers' faint breath and noticed his small chest rising and falling. How many years had she spent hoping the Imp would die only to feel terror when she thought he had? If nothing else, Cersei felt guilty for what happened to him. The feeling increased when the Maester had wrapped Tyrions arm, immobilising it in a sling - coupled with the layers of bandages around his torso, head and right hand he looked nothing like her grinning, impish brother and much more like a corpse.

"Are you sure you don't want him moved, your Grace?" Creylen had asked

"He will sleep here for now, it wouldn't do to move him and have someone finish the job Joffrey started.  I won't need the bed tonight anyway, there is far too much that needs to be done. He will recover?" Cersei asked settling behind her desk

"In time" started Creylen "His left arm is broken, and the left shoulder was dislocated. He will not be able to use that arm for several weeks and it will be weak for a time after that. His torso took the brunt of the damage and is severely bruised with several cracked or possibly broken ribs as far as I can tell, as well as damage to his chest. I would not normally wrap broken ribs, but given the extent of the damage it is best to keep the area secure, particularly with the wheeze in his breathing. Your brother will be in no condition to move for a week at least, but I will need to assess the healing at that point. I stitched the two gashes on his face and across his right hand"

The Maester finished his assessment and a barely concealed look of disgust crossed his face. Cersei was surprised to feel anger spike in her chest at the look.

"Do you not like treating a dwarf, Maester?" she asked fixing him with a glare

"I have nothing but respect for Lord Tyrion, your Grace. I am disgusted with the injuries he suffered, however. I've treated prisoners of war in better condition"

Cersei nodded in understanding "I misjudged you"

"Understandable, your Grace. Those who share your brothers' condition are often treated poorly"

Truthfully, Cersei didn't know why she had questioned him in the first place; his care of Tyrion had been excellent to her untrained eye and he had followed her wishes in keeping her sons dwarfism secret. Besides, she had spent her whole life in disgust of Tyrion; why did she find it distasteful now?

Cersei knew the coming days would be difficult and removing Joffrey from power had the potential for disaster but she needed people who could be relied upon. Creylen seemed to have no interest in playing the Game of Thrones - unlike Pycelle or Petyr Baelish and he had given her no reason to doubt him. Cersei shuddered at the thought of Pycelle helping her. The old fool would probably still be shuffling around the room as her brother bled to death on the floor.

"Would you swear to this, Maester? If I called upon you to testify to what you've seen within this room tonight, would you give them your professional opinion?" she asked

"Absolutely, your Grace. It is my duty as a Maester to serve with honesty" he replied without hesitation "Though I fear the sight may haunt my sleep"

'Yours and mine' Cersei thought

"That will be all Maester, I thank you for your service and discretion"

"Certainly, your Grace. I've given Lord Tyrion milk of the poppy to keep him asleep" the man said, studying her "Is there anything I can get you?"

"I'm quite alright, thank you" Cersei answered, waving away his concerns

It had been well over an hour since the Maester left and Cersei had been left to await Varys. In that time she had found her mind straying to Joffrey, trapped in the black cells deep below the Red Keep. Was she doing the right thing? No sooner would the thought enter her mind and the images of her dream would flash before her - three lion cubs lying dead before her eyes. Three golden children she couldn't save. Cersei reminded herself she was a lion and she must be strong, but found it brought her little comfort. She hadn't been a lion tonight and it nearly cost her son his life. Her last piece of Jamie could have been stolen from her. Oh, how she missed her brother. Her impulsive twin would have cut Ser Meryn down before he'd drawn his sword and never allowed things to escalate to this state.

Finally, a knock sounded on the door and her guard announced the Spiders arrival. The Queen Regent rose from her seat and opened the door to find Varys standing with his usual expression.

"Your Grace" he greeted, bowing his head "How may I be of service?"

"There has been an incident which I require your assistance with" she said, moving not towards the desk but her bed

Varys was excellent at masking his emotions and tempering his responses, but even he could not contain his shock as Cersei gestured to her broken little brother. The Spiders face contorted in horror before returning to its neutral expression.

"Your Grace" he started "What has happened?"

"Your little birds haven't told you?"

"I've heard nothing unusual all evening"

Cersei supressed her smile; she had more time to move than she hoped for.

"Sit with me Lord Varys" Cersei offered, gesturing to her desk at the other end of the room. Her eyes lingered a moment longer on Tyrion before she moved to join him.

"You're aware I birthed a son, four days ago"

"I assumed by your absence in court you were giving birth but heard no confirmation of it"

'Good' Cersei thought 'I made every effort to keep it secret'

"My son is a dwarf" Cersei stated, and saw a sliver of surprise in Varys' eyes "and I had to keep it secret until I could decide what to do"

Varys said nothing, but Cersei could see his mind working to connect the pieces of information she'd given him.

"How did the King take the news?" enquired Varys after a moment's silence

"You are sharp, Lord Varys" conceded Cersei "Joffrey came to visit today for the first time, and was less than pleased with his new brother"

Cersei needed to continue the story, she couldn't afford to waste time now but her stomach churned as she recalled the day's events.

"Joffrey ordered Ser Meryn Trant to kill the baby" she continued "Tyrion intervened and Joffrey then ordered his death too"

"Is the baby safe?" asked Varys, as her story shuddered to a halt

"The baby's fine" she confirmed, before nodding in the direction of the bed "My son and his Knight were far too busy torturing my brother to spare the baby a second glance after Tyrion intervened"

"I am truly sorry, your Grace. It must have been terrible to witness"

"What I saw shocked me" Cersei said "But what shocked me the most were my own actions"

The Queen regents voice trembled slightly as she continued "You see Lord Varys. I did nothing when that so-called Knight moved to kill my son. I stood and watched as my brother attacked a member of the Kingsguard and left him kneeling in his own blood. I didn't act when Ser Meryn beat Tyrion half to death under Joffrey's command. It was only when I watched my eldest boy carving into his Uncle with such joy on his face that I slit Ser Meryns throat"

Varys was silent a moment drinking the information in "You killed him to defend your son. He deserved the death"

Cersei waved her hand dismissively "Tyrion killed him in truth. Ser Meryn had lost that much blood, by the time I slit his throat he was moments from death anyway"

The pool of blood that had surrounded the Knight made it clear he would not live, and it had been adrenaline and anger fuelling him in the final minutes. Joffrey hadn't noticed his Knight was about to keel over, but Cersei had made sure to speed up the process.

"My brother used his size to his advantage when stabbing through both of the Knights knee. It crippled Meryn Trant and ensured he would die unless a Maester was already in the room"

"A clever plan" agreed the Spider "though it appears to have been at great cost"

"Yes, though it saved my sons life" Cersei braced herself before continuing "I threatened Joffrey with the knife and summoned my guards. Meryn Trants head is on its way to a spike as we speak. Joffrey is currently in the black cells."

"This is the situation where you require my assistance?"

"Yes. Joffrey can never be allowed to sit the Iron Throne again"

"Removing a King without his death has never been done, your Grace"

"It will be done. I will not have that monster near my children again"

"I understand that but what do you propose? Tommen is next in line to the throne, but removing Joffrey could be difficult"

Oh, Tommen. Her heart ached that her sweet boy would have to take the crown; he was still so young.

"There is a madness in Joffrey, that I have been blind to for far too long. The older he gets the worse he gets" she stated "and he is not fit to serve as King"

"New laws are created all the time and I believe a law that removes monarchs who are clearly unstable is undoubtedly needed. It could have spared countless lives under Aerys"

"Jamie removed one mad King, and now I must remove another"

"To be clear your Grace, what do you imagine happening to Joffrey?"

At that, she paused. She truly did not know what she wanted to happen. Despite what he was, could she stand to see him die?

"He will remain in the black cells for now, while we remove him as King" Cersei decided

"As you wish" nodded Varys "To the issue of removing Joffrey, it may be possible to create a law where the small council can remove a sitting King or Queen if they are abusing their power"

"No doubt evidence would be needed"

"Most certainly. If the evidence is brought before the court I see no reason Joffrey would not be removed from power"

"Why the court? I do not wish this to be a trial"

"Not as a trial, but as proof to other Lords that the small council acted in the interest of the realm. If it happened behind closed doors, questions could be raised about treason"

Truthfully, Cersei didn't care what questions people raised but she supposed Varys had a point and the plan had thankfully come together rather quickly. She sat for another hour drawing up plans with Varys, and discussing how to break the news. Overall she was pleased to have summoned Varys for aid rather than Pycelle or Baelish. Either of them could have sought to manipulate the situation but Cersei did believe Varys agreed with removing Joffrey. Part of her had considered sending for her father, but that could have created new problems. She had yet to tell him about his new grandson and Cersei decided he could wait for that news too. There were far more important things to deal with.

"Is that all, your Grace?" enquired Varys looking up from the lists of witnesses they would call upon to provide evidence against Joffrey

"I believe so. Maester Creylen has already told me he will testify to what he saw in this room"

"That is good" concluded Varys "Creylen is well respected even though Pycelle is Grand Maester"

"Pycelle is a fool, and he cannot be trusted"

"Few people can"

"Who do you trust Lord Varys?" Cersei asked, leaning back to observe the spider

The Master of Whisperers took a moment before meeting her eyes "Do I trust anyone fully? No, probably not. I trust Lord Tyrion the most perhaps, as he is not driven by ambition like Littlefinger nor does he cower like Pycelle"

"So you do not trust me?" Cersei asked sharply

"In this situation I trust you. I am a servant of the realm, and I believe you are acting in the best interests of the realm. Of course, as your servant I do not necessarily need to trust you to carry out your orders"

Most would have flattered her with how they trusted her above all others; at least Varys was honest about it.

"Very well. The small council will convene tomorrow and this mess will be sorted"

The spider bowed his head "As you wish, though it seems tomorrow is already upon us"

Varys was right, as Cersei could feel the exhaustion setting into her bones from the long night and she expected things would get no easier. The bald man made to leave her chambers, and Cersei saw him glance in the direction of her bed before heading through the door. The Queen Regent stood stiffly from her desk and headed towards her younger brother. His bloodied clothes were lying in a heap on the floor, and Cersei lifted his tunic until she found what she was looking for. The golden badge that represented the Hand of the King was bent and the end broken off from Ser Meryns assault. Specks of blood could be seen on the badge and the pin at the back was broken. The Queen Regent turned the broken symbol in her hands as she observed her brother. The little monster looked smothered by the large bed though the pained look on his face seemed to have lessened.

The Kings Hand. Cersei had told Joffrey to appoint his grandfather as Hand, instead he had sent the Imp until the war was won. Glancing at the broken badge once more, Cersei threw it on her fire place.