Shit happened; I moved halfway around the world, had to buy a new computer, lost both the digital and hard copy draft of this chapter, but that's just life. Sorry not sorry.
Yet, alas, here is your reward for your patience, my fellow serfs of our nation.
The letters from the paramount houses were, as expected, proud. They were all describing their every need and want that they could possibly list to ensure a comfortable stay.
The Starks wanted to rid themselves of Ned's bastard Elysa and ten guards in order for them to let Robb stay at King's landing.
The Martells wanted twenty of their own guards to accompany Quentyn.
The Tyrells requested that Margaery should have a dozen of her own guards.
All houses had their own terms and conditions, but they did agree to the plan that the Queen had proposed.
Robert, understandably, was furious at the fact that Cersei hadn't consulted with him about these plans, and he had to find out through ravens from the other paramount houses.
Why couldn't she be more reasonable? Going off and doing something like this was stupid and reckless.
Right now, he was on his way to the Queen's quarters, rage and hurt coloring his vision red. But with every step he took, he begun to somewhat understand why Cersei would do something like this, why she would go against him.
She just wanted to keep her child close to her.
By the time he'd reached Cersei's door, his temper was mellowed out. He still wanted an explanation, but he wasn't going to be the man his father was, and completely lose his mind if things didn't go according to plan. He refused to be like his father.
With a nod at the guard, Robert went to knock the door.
"Who is it?" Cersei's voice called from inside, but before he could answer, Harry swung the door wide open, when he saw it was his father, he grinned.
"May I present to you, the Robert Baratheon, Protector of our family, King of the land all the way from The Wall down to Dorne. Father of the great, mighty Harold Tywin Baratheon and brave, valiant Joffery Steffon Baratheon."
"Not to mention husband of the stunningly beautiful Cersei Baratheon, my queen." Robert added with a wink towards his wife.
Scrunching up his nose at the notion of his parents doing icky stuff, he ran back to his mother's side to where Joffery was sitting on the floor, playing with a bunch of hand-crafted animal toys that the Tullys sent when Joffery was born.
Robert closed the door behind him before striding over to Cersei and giving her a peck on her cheek. While he was beside her ear, he whispered, "Darling, we need to talk."
Cersei knew this would happen eventually. Sighing and gathering up her robes, she stood up, "Harry, Joff, it's time for bed."
The children looked absolutely devastated, "But mother, it's too early to go to sleep, just a while longer?" Harry pleaded.
"You can stay up later tomorrow, you don't have anything to do the day after tomorrow; but Harry does have his archery session, and Joff has his etiquette tutoring. You both need your energy. Come along now."
Sighing dejectedly they followed their mother into the separate suite that led up into one of the towers.
The room the two brothers shared was two floors above Cersei's, their septa was standing off to the side, ready to prepare them for bed.
"Come along now, children." They heard Septa Polark mummer softly, taking a yawning Joffery into her arms, and using her other hand to hold Harry's.
"Sleep tight, my loves." Cersei said, smiling before nodding at the Septa and making her way back down the stairs and into her room where her husband was waiting.
"Darling, I know how much you care for Harold but this was completely uncalled for." Robert said, sitting down on the couch facing the fireplace, across from the spot Cersei always sits.
"Was it uncalled for? You wanted to take the Prince of the Seven Kingdoms and ship him off to some other lord's home. You may as well could've plotted his death." Cersei rebuked.
"It was meant as a strategy to strengthen Harry, let him know his kingdom that he will rule some day."
"At his age, he should be worried about how we're going to find out that he ruined his best set of robes; he shouldn't be trying to fight the fire that is the politics of this world." She cried out.
"I understand that from a woman's view-"
Cutting him off, she said with a tremble in her voice, "This isn't about how a mother sees things differently, speaking from my understanding of politics, most of the houses would've most certainly tried to use this to turn Harry against us."
"Up north, a boy of noble birth who hasn't seen his first beheading by the age of six would be considered a weakling." He said with a tone of frustration in his voice.
"Yes, but that's a moment in time, this is years of worrying about our child in a stranger's house."
At this point, tears were streaking down Cersei's face before Robert snapped out of the heat of the argument and realized the point that Cersei was making.
Sighing at his actions, he crossed over to kneel at where she was sitting in her armchair, "Hush, there, there, everything will be fine.
"I just wish that you could've told me what you planned to do. Your voice as the mother of my children is very important to me, you know that. I'm sorry for snapping at you like that, I just thought my way was the way that was the most justified."
If this scenario had happened when Cersei and Robert first got married, upon seeing Cersei's tears, Robert would've just stormed out the room and ignored everything she said.
When Robert first saw the way his children compromised and explained their feelings, he thought it was the most hilarious thing ever.
But with more thought to it and more observation at the two, he realized that perhaps, violence and ignorance wasn't always the best way to go.
He tried to improve his temper, and seeing little miniature humans who looked like him and Cersei fight and resolve issues, brought him to a state where though he'd lose his temper, he could pretty much figure out what made him lose his temper and resolve things somewhat easier.
Robert sighed, "It's alright, we'll figure out a way to make this work. We always find some way to make this work out."
After giving her a kiss on her temple, he departed to his chambers across the hall from Cersei's.
Upon entering, he slid to the the ground with his back pressed against the door.
We have to make this work; one way or another.
Sorry lol
