Joffrey was bored. Everyone had left court it seemed. The Hound had disappeared, along with Sansa (he had thrown some good fits about that one), his mother and siblings were gone, and he was left to deal with endless issues that the people of Westeros wanted their king to solve. The summer heat made him tired. He wanted something exciting to happen.
"Excuse me, Your Highness". A smoky voice rose from somewhere in the crowd. The people crowded into the throne looked around, eager to see who could have so casually addressed the King.
"Who spoke?" Joffrey asked, from where he lounged on the throne. "I did". The crowd parted. A girl stepped forward, probably around sixteen or seventeen, Joffrey's own age. The crowd fell silent.
She was beautiful, more beautiful than perhaps any other woman in the court, because she wasn't just beautiful, she was interesting. Her long glossy black hair fell to her waist in curls, not pinned up in varying styles like the other court ladies' was. Her skin was golden tan and seemed to be glowing, unlike the popular alabaster that the women of the nobility worked so hard to maintain.
She was tall and svelte and she walked toward the throne in a way that made it look as though she were dancing through the air. She wore a gown of palest white that emphasized the gold tint in her skin and the black of her hair. It was a summer shift, light and airy, and it seemed as though it floated around her. Her feet were bare, but they weren't dirty, in fact, they were very clean.
But by far, the strangest and most enticing thing about her was her eyes. They were a deep violet surrounded by long black eyelashes. Not blue, but a strong violet, the color of dragon eyes. A color that only appeared in the eyes of the rarest of people in Westeros.
She ended her glide toward the front of the room in the smallest of curtsies. "I've a favor to ask of you, Your Highness". The girl put an extra lilt on the words "your highness", like she thought using them sounded rather pretentious. Joffrey leaned forward, eyes narrowed, crown resting jauntily on his white blonde head. "You have a favor to ask of me?" Joffrey asked, incredulously. The girl stared back. "Yes".
"And you realize there is a line of nobility in front of you that has been waiting to ask me for favors for days on end?" "Yes", this time it came matter-of-factly, as if she knew and didn't care. "So why should I grant you a favor before all of them? In fact, give me a reason why shouldn't I kill you here and now for your impertinence".
Two guards stepped forward on either side, but she didn't even glance at them. "There isn't one. You could kill me or you could not, I have no reason for you wanting to do either". He leaned back. "Voice it then". She drew one side of her mouth up in a smile, almost a smirk, but not quite. She smiled at him more like it had been an inside joke they had just played out before the entire court.
"My land has been invaded by wildlings. My men tried to fight them off, but there were too many. I'm here to ask for some assistance in the matter". "Assistance as in?" "As in men to fight for me". "What's your house? Who's your father?" "I haven't got a house. My father is God-only-knows-where."
Joffrey raised his eyebrows. "You aren't nobility and yet you own land. Who sent you here, if not your father?" She raised her eyebrows back at him. "Would you let your land be taken over and sit there and do nothing, or would you do everything in your power to get it back. The land may belong to my father, but for all intents and purposes, it's mine".
Joffrey pondered this for a moment. In anyone else, it would have enraged him that a commoner, or whatever this girl was, would dare to speak to him like this. She would have been dead by the time she finished her first sentence. But with her, it seemed more like she treated him as a friend she had known for a long time. He still didn't like it, but he had to admit it. He wasn't bored. He wanted to know more about this girl with no story.
"Fine. I'll send some men out to your family's estate to deal with the problem. Where is it?" "The Cape of Eagles. Largest estate there, monogram of a raven on the gates. And thank you, Your Highness. I'll repay you, of course". Joffrey smirked. "Of course. On one condition". "Yes?" "You stay here for another week or two. The South isn't quite so horrible, I'm sure you'll find something to do. It's a damned lot more interesting than the Cape of Eagles".
She regarded him for a moment, violet eyes looking straight into his blue ones. "Alright then". She straightened. "I assume you'll be providing rooms then?" A slight laugh went around the room at what the girl had implied. Joffrey smiled. "Follow Nicolai over there. He'll show you where the guest quarters are". She made to leave. "Wait".
She turned, her gown swirling around her. "What?" "You haven't told me your name". She smiled back at him. "No, I haven't". And then she followed Nicolai out the room and up the corridor. Needless to say, Joffrey paid very little attention to the matters brought to him that afternoon, too caught up thinking about the girl with dragon eyes.