Game of Thrones: A Name Doesn't Make a Person
Chapter 10 of my Game of Thrones story, enjoy.
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Now onto the story.
Disclaimer: Game of Thrones belongs to George R.R. Martin.
Chapter 10
Things were rather tense when Eddard Stark, his wife Catelyn; Tyrion Lannister and Cersei Baratheon arrived at the school. They had all received calls from the school in regards to an incident involving their children. After hearing the details; they had all travelled to the school; Cersei was furious upon hearing that her eldest son had been injured. The other three however hadn't paid too much attention to that; being more concerned for the well-being of their own children. They entered the school and soon entered the office; Oberyn sat there calmly; so calm it irritated Cersei.
'How can he just sit there as if nothing is wrong after my son was attacked? She thought aggressively.
"How's Joffrey?" She asked at once; before anyone else had a chance to say anything.
Oberyn sighed and nodded. "He is fine, there is no lasting harm done, now…"
Cersei glared and spat the words out. "Fine, he was assaulted and you say that; dismissing his well-being."
She rounded on Tyrion glaring.
"You should watch that son of yours brother; he's clearly a thug."
Oberyn spoke sharply. "That will do Mrs. Baratheon; all of you, sit down."
They did so and Oberyn continued.
"In fact, you should be the one watching out for your son; Mrs. Baratheon, he is the thug here."
Cersei snarled. "Excuse me, how dare you…!?"
Catelyn spoke up quickly, drowning Cersei's complaints. "What has happened to Sansa, is she alright, where are they?"
Oberyn nodded slowly and gestured as the door opened and the three teens walked in.
Sansa was still trembling slightly; her eyes widened as she noticed her parents. Podrick, for some reason, refused to meet Tyrion's gaze; keeping his eyes firmly on the floor. The moment he saw his mother Joffrey hurried over to her. He gestured to his nose, some blood still visible.
"Mum, they…"
Cersei nodded. "I can see it." She turned back to Oberyn. "You dare say this is nothing, my boy was attacked and…"
Tyrion shook his head. "Please, let us hear the whole story."
"We've heard the whole story." Cersei snapped.
Oberyn shook his head however. "I am sorry Mrs. Baratheon; but whatever you seem to believe here, whatever your son has told you, is a lie."
Cersei's eyes widened, as did Joffrey's; Sansa let out a shaky breath as she sat between her parents.
Oberyn continued. "I've heard from all three of them and from a neutral, unbiased witness. Your son harassed Sansa Stark and was beginning to act violently towards her. Podrick saw that and tried to stop him, protecting the true victim here, Sansa."
Cersei leapt to her feet.
"You dare try to blame my son; he was attacked by that thug there. That girl set it all up, enticing my poor Joffrey so that boy would attack him." She cried in fury.
Ned glared at her, his words filled with cold anger. "You don't know Sansa; she would never do that…"
Catelyn glared daggers at Cersei. Luckily Tyrion kept his cool and stopped things getting out of hand by casually looking at Oberyn and speaking up, bringing the others back to reality.
"I believe there is more, Principal Martell?"
Oberyn nodded in confirmation and Cersei sat down; all of them now paying attention once more.
Oberyn sighed and then continued.
"Furthermore, Podrick is actually sorry about Joffrey's nose; it was an accident, a reflex. He was trying so hard to protect Sansa." Oberyn paused to let that sink in. "Also; Podrick and Sansa have never caused us any trouble at this school, while Joffrey…has. I had to buy a whole new filing cabinet, just for all the papers relating to his behaviour. Given all of this, I have no other choice right now, than to suspend him."
Cersei started as Joffrey's eyes widened in horror. "Suspend him?"
"Indefinitely." Oberyn added; indicating there was a chance it could become expulsion.
Cersei snarled; she couldn't believe the audacity of this man. He was blaming her son for him being attacked, claiming he frequently caused trouble. She had no choice but to retaliate; she'd see the whole school pay and knew just how to do that.
She drew herself up. "I cannot accept this; you dare to implicate my innocent son; then I will have to call my father and see to it he stops funding this school."
She fought back a smirk as Oberyn paused at that. Without funding the school would flounder and fall into financial ruin.
However just then Catelyn spoke. "I wouldn't worry about that; I'd happily carry on where the Lannisters left off. I'm sure my family wouldn't mind helping out."
Ned nodded and added. "Neither would I object; we'll glad take over funding if that is the case."
Cersei couldn't believe it; in one simple move, her trump card had been swatted aside as if it was nothing. Tyrion then spoke, clearly trying to make some sort of peace.
"Regarding any treatments for your son's nose. Since Pod feels really guilty about it; we'll pay for them."
Cersei just glared at him; however Oberyn wasn't finished.
He cleared his throat; getting their attention. He gestured over to a video screen.
"As I recently announced, CCTV cameras have been installed around the school. It just so happens, we have footage of this little incident." He remarked. "I ask that you watch it, before making any judgements, Mrs. Baratheon.
Cersei narrowed her eyes suspiciously. However Sansa immediately looked up, eyes bright; even Pod allowed a glimmer of hope to show and he partially lifted his head up. For Joffrey however, all the colour drained from his face as the video played, showing exactly what happened. It was incredible how quickly Cersei's countenance could turn; especially when confronted with undisputable proof of her son's actions. She turned to Joffrey glaring.
"Joffrey, you…you lied to me." She gasped; before shaking her head. "So; you…"
"Mum…" He began but she stopped him.
She looked over at Tyrion. "Forget your offer brother; my son will need to pay his own medical bills. He and I are going to have a long talk; please excuse us and…my apologies."
With that she took a terrified Joffrey by the arm and led him from the room. Oberyn turned to the others and smiled.
"Well; that takes care of that little problem. Incidentally; I think it would be best to allow Sansa and Podrick to take the rest of the day off."
Their parents agreed and together they left the office.
As they left Ned and Cat briefly talked with Tyrion and then thanked Pod. The boy bit his lip, blushing slightly.
"Pod; what's wrong?" Tyrion asked; his son still wouldn't meet his eye.
Pod sighed and then spoke. "I'm sorry dad; I…the way I acted, I let you down…"
Tyrion smiled and shook his head. "No you didn't; just the opposite, I'm proud of you."
"We all are." Ned added; surprising Pod even more.
Cat smiled and explained. "You protected our daughter; came to her rescue when she needed you. You did nothing wrong; there is nothing to be ashamed of."
Pod finally smiled; feeling relieved and nodded. "Thank you."
They soon parted; heading for their cars. Sansa looked over at Pod and bit her lip as her thoughts began to race.
'The way Pod rescued me... As if I was a princess in danger...' She pondered in amazement. 'I know he's my friend, that he cares but I never imagined that he'd care that much! He's special for me too. I feel with him a way I never feel around my other friends...'
She wondered just what these strange sensations meant and wondered if Pod had similar thoughts and feelings. Meanwhile, in Tyrion's car; Pod was quiet as he pondered his strange emotions around Sansa; the way he felt when he stood up to protect her.
'I care, I do care so much!' He realized; troubled by his thoughts. 'Why does it bother me so much? Why do I want to protect her that much?'
He bit his lip, wondering, could these feelings really be what he thought they were?
End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.