1857 AC, King's Landing, Red Keep

"Jon Arryn… right he was one of the commanders during Robert's Rebellion and later the Hand of the King. I remember him from one of those mural relieves in the Eyre. Apparently, it was commissioned by his young wife after his death." Jeyne said suddenly.

"Hhhm?" Hedda muttered halfheartedly, most of her concentration was still on the text in front of her.

"Remember when Director Sullivan tried to get additional artifacts for the Targaryen dynasty-exhibition from Lord Arryn? He sent me and Michael up to their ancestral seat where his son was vacationing while he tried to convince the current Lord that those three swords and two necklaces were absolutely essential for the success of the exhibition? We waited three days for the go ahead. Until then the steward saw it as his duty to impart even the minutest details of the Eyre's history on us… even though neither of us specialized in the medieval style in which the Eyre is held even today. In his defense though, he made it interesting. There were several anecdotes about the main line Arryn's history that were rather bloody … in any case Lord Jon Arryn was one of the longest living Lords of his time and he saw five Kings sit on the Iron Throne during his life."

Hedda looked up at that, "Seriously?"

"Four Targaryens and Robert Baratheon who he put himself on the throne. The Eyre steward called him the true ruler during Robert's reign and I'm inclined to believe him by now." Jeyne continued idly.

Hedda hummed thoughtfully, also in favor of that theory. Hedda's expertise was in decoding and translating old manuscripts, mostly Maester texts, marriage certificates and small bibles, but in documents that old there was often some hints of the political situation at that time and so Hedda had learned to read between the lines rather quickly.

As any child of noble birth my arms training started early. I was around six name days when I was first introduced to wooden practice swords. The Master-at-arms Ser Menwin Staedmon was my primary tutor for the most basic fighting stances in various weapons ranging from the sword and other bladed arms to the spear and the war hammer my father favored. I was even taught how to handle obscure devices like the whip, spiked chains and nunchaku that were the preferred choice of weapon further east in the world. Projectile weapons like the bow, crossbow and various sling types were taught to me by another man, named Wyllis Waters, a highborn bastard of a Crownland Lord that had made it to Master-at-arms and counted to the most skilled bowmen the kingdom had seen up until then.

These two men were responsible for building the foundation on which I continued to rely on for the rest of my life. Early on I had seen the consequences of what idleness and gluttony could do to a warrior. Since the start of his reign King Robert had gained at least seven stone and with only sporadic weapon practice much of his fighting skills had diminished. Not that he wasn't still dangerous if given some kind of weapon, but the Robert Baratheon that had conquered a kingdom with his war hammer was long gone by then. So instead of taking my father as a role model I strived to be like Ser Barristan Selmy, the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard and someone who at over sixty years of age had still been one of the most dangerous men in Westeros. His example encouraged me to hold onto daily weapon practice even at my most occupied, and I hold this practice accountable for the long and healthy life I was blessed with.

292 AC, King's Landing, Red Keep, the Queen's Solar

Joffrey's arms training began with half an hour of sword practice in the morning, after lunch and before dinner each day for the first six months before it was increased in the years following. At first it barely took away from his leisure time but soon with his education growing more advanced and subjects like dance, courtly behavior and customs being added, the time Joffrey spent running around in the gardens or sitting by his mother's side shrank. Seeing his family time diminished like this, the prince made it a point to visit his mother at least once a day and relate to her the happenings in his life, that also afforded him a glimpse on his younger siblings. Myrcella with her nearly three and Tommen with his two years were beginning to explore the Queen's apartments and Joffrey loved to follow them around, watching their every step. His mother seemed to forgive him for taking up martial training and spending time with Robert the moment she watched him with his younger siblings.

"You like to play with your younger siblings, don't you my little lion." Cersei crooned from her position on her favored chair, a glass of wine in her hands.

"They are my younger siblings, until they can do it themselves I will protect them, always." Joffrey answered back honestly.

Cersei smiled at that and gestured him to come to here. When he stood before her she placed a gentle kiss on his forehead, "I know you will, my little lion prince."

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Another change the sword training brought was Joffrey's move to his own rooms. Apparently, he was now considered old enough to live alone and start his own household separate from that of his mother and younger siblings. His rooms consisted out of a bedroom, two solars and rooms for personal servants and several guards and companions. For now the guards and servants consisted out of both his mother's and father's retinue but in the coming years he was expected to choose his own staff and fill the empty rooms with noble sons who would serve as companions and later as his advisers during his reign, as such the positions were highly coveted by the noble families and within a day of the announcement that Prince Joffrey was beginning his own household he received several letters of applications.
To cover the costs and wages of the staff he had just gained, Joffrey was handed the control over several of the lands and properties that had been in his name since birth. Not him personally of course, for he was still too young for this responsibility, and so a Baratheon steward, named Victaron Crabb and his assistants took over the care of Joffrey's properties. It would be their task for the next ten or so years to make sure that the prince's purse was always full enough to cover the costs of his household and other pursuits.
Crabb turned out to be a solemn man in his thirties that watched with reluctant approval when Joffrey asked to see the ledgers where all the revenues and costs were listed. As far as Joffrey had been able to find out through the servants Crabb was the younger brother of the current Lord Crabb, a third son that never stood to inherit anything and who had also shown no promise with the sword. So his father had found him a position in the royal Baratheon household early on as a scribe and later custodian of the many royal holdings.

The part of his newly found independence that Joffrey probably enjoyed the most was the fact that he could finally organize his schedule to his own specifications. There was no overbearing Queen that could veto his plans because she thought he was too young or to good to do this or that.
Said lessons were now also becoming increasingly complex which suited Joffrey just fine, he was sick of learning things by rote.
One thing that Joffrey hadn't expected was that courtly behavior also included music lessons, he was taught to sing and play at least one instrument. Because of Robert's still ongoing feud with a long dead Rhaegar Targaryen the harp was out, so Joffrey started to learn how to play the lute, until one day a Braavosian merchant brought something called the pianoforte to the keep. Joffrey recognized it as a rudimental piano and once it was tuned by the daughter of the merchant it became a permanent fixture in his new rooms. The presence of the musical instrument had astonished and confused Joffrey for some time until her remembered that Braavos was comparable to an early Renaissance Venice, so the invention of the instrument wasn't inconceivable.

The teacher for his new instrument arrived several months later and taught Joffrey some basic melodies before his own knowledge was exhausted. One good thing of the Braavosian music teacher's presence was that Joffrey came into contact with the first tentative attempts at sheet music. A concept that made spreading various plays for various instruments easier. While no virtuoso or truly interested in music, Joffrey found the task of producing music a pleasant one, most songs and melodies were very simple and easy to replicate once he had heard them a few times. It also gave him additional time to spend with his younger siblings because his mother and her ladies-in-waiting became a regular fixture at his bi-weekly practice.

293 AC, King's Landing, Reed Keep, the Apartments of the Crown Prince

"Prince Joffrey? You have visitors." a tentative servant said from the balcony door.

Joffrey looked up, his eyes widened and a brilliant smile lit up his whole face.

"Uncle Renly!" he called and put his book aside to run to his uncle and hug him.

Said young man laughed deeply and swung him up into his arms for a quick cuddle, that Joffrey protested only half-heartedly.

"Hello there, young prince." the Baratheon said amused, his eyes wandering to the book Joffrey had left on the balcony bench, "Is there a reason why you squander such a perfectly nice day with book work?"

"Maester Arwick will test my knowledge tomorrow on the second Blackfyre Rebellion." he said with a small pout.

Renly nodded commiserating, "Well, I am sure that you can push your assessment back a day if you tell him that your uncle arrived and kidnapped you."

"You think so?" Joffrey asked with all the doubt of a seven-year-old.

"Why don't we ask him. But before that I want to introduce you to somebody. Joffrey this is Loras Tyrell, my squire, he has been with me for a year now."

Joffrey turned his attention to the brown-haired boy, maybe ten or eleven years of age, he had a beautiful face and expressive golden eyes that peered up at him.

"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Loras of House Tyrell." Joffrey chirped, just as he had been taught.

He squirmed a bit until his uncle let him down and he could stretch out his hand to shake Loras'. The Tyrell boy's face lit up at the gesture and he grinned at Joffrey.

"The pleasure is mine, prince Joffrey." He answered well-bred but there was a genuine excitement in his eyes that couldn't be faked.

"Where are we going, uncle?" Joffrey then asked Renly.

Renly grinned at that, "Now that would be telling."

Knowing of the books it had at first surprised Joffrey how well he got on with Renly after their introduction during his fifth name day. His young uncle turned out to be lively and full of stories and already had a rather vast knowledge of customs, dance and other noble pursuits that he happily imparted on his nephew.

It was Renly who first introduced him to other noble children in and around King's Landing, and it was him who guided Joffrey through his first social gatherings outside the royal court with advice and several impromptu rescues when the prince was stumped for words or actions. Not that the encounters would have resulted in any kind of social repercussions, other than momentary embarrassment. Joffrey was still considered a child after all and certain mistakes were to be expected. These social gatherings that he was participating in, often ended in playtime for the children in various gardens and were the equivalent of a modern birthday party. As the crown prince Joffrey was the popular kid that was invited to all of them and everyone was vying for his attention.
After the first few events these parties quickly lost the appeal to Joffrey and he grew exhausted of the invitations, because as the crown prince he couldn't just stop coming he instead restricted his attendances to once every two months to keep the nobles happy. He had his personal scribe, a young man of eighteen named Marwin Hogg, keep track of exactly how often he was attending which house to avoid favoring anyone.
That was another lesson he learned from his uncle, Renly made certain that Joffrey knew how to make polite excuses and sooth over problems with a few words, something that he would have never learned from his parents who were simply incapable of said social skill or unwilling to learn.

It confused Joffrey how the cruel version of himself had detested the man so, he always looked forward to Renly's visits. The Lord Paramount of the Stormlands was accomplished in many skills that young lords of Westeros were expected to master in their lives and more importantly experienced in how to navigate the political mine field at court. After the first time his uncle had to rescue him from a rather uncomfortable situation with a courtier Renly kept a close eye on Joffrey until he had imparted several vital political lessons onto him, for which Joffrey was immensely grateful for. These lessons about the royal court and politics quickly spread over into other fields as well.