A/N: People have asked about Joffrey's family/allegiance in this story, so I thought I'd clear that up now. It's something I had to think about for a long time, and I knew someone would bring it up eventually :). So, for this story to work, I needed Joffrey to be a Lannister and not a Baratheon, to show Lannister pride and believe in Lannister values, but I thought it would be hard to translate incest into the modern-day :/. For that reason, I'm keeping his father's identity ambiguous. Neither Robert nor Jaime is going to be important characters in this story, so I didn't think it mattered too much who exactly his father was, so long as his allegiance was to the Lannisters because of Cersei's influence on him. Hope that helps, enjoy the next chapter! – C
Chapter 4
Joffrey POV
"What the hell?" I sputter in disbelief, my words coming out slightly hoarse due to the Stark kid's unwavering grip on my throat. Despite my mother's warnings about the Starks, I still hadn't expected an abrupt fight in the hallways on the first day back.
"You did this to my father, and now it's coming back to haunt you." Robb says through gritted teeth. He's not yelling, but the vengeful almost-whisper that comes out of his mouth has the sort of threatening intensity you never can achieve when you shout. I freeze for a moment at his words, and I have to think for a second about how to reply.
"You know I personally did nothing of the sort, but I'm sure your father got what he deserved," I say, more confident this time, pulling myself up to meet Robb's eyes, almost a head above mine. "And just because I have nothing to do with your father's death, does not mean I can forgive you for this. I never leave a debt unpaid." I smirk.
A second later, my building confidence gives way at the sight of Robb's face. His piercing blue eyes, usually placid, show a kind of fierceness you only see in a Stark who's been lied to. He's seen through my mask of bravado. He hasn't fallen for the Lannister brand of deception. And just like that, I break. I let my proud face fall, and struggle against Robb's strong grip for a few moments, until he decides to let me go. Had our positions been reversed, Robb wouldn't have given in so easily. He would've at least tried to fight back. The Lannisters may be cleverer and better manipulators than the Starks, but they're braver. Cowardice is perhaps our only flaw, but why should I fight for myself when I can trick others into fighting for me?
I turn around before I leave the hallway, to see a hundred pupils, all of their eyes on Robb, all boring into him, forcing shame upon him. I laugh to myself.
Robb thinks he's won, that he's done the morally correct thing, despite the glares he's getting. But he will learn the hard way that the most honourable action is not always the best action, and that a Stark can never outwit a Lannister.
Robb POV
Maybe I overreacted. Maybe the most honourable thing to do was just to ignore the Lannisters' pathetic attempt to assert authority by killing my father, and not get too involved in the whole feud, but instead I, of course, let my emotions take over me and lead me into a disgraceful, unprovoked fight. I watch people I barely know stare at me – that kid just beat up the most popular boy in this school, they're probably thinking – and I can feel my honour, my family's reputation, all the potential success I've ever worked for seep away from me like water dripping from a tap.
There are better ways to start a new school year.
I decide to do what I should've done earlier, and ignore everything: the stares, the muttered insults, the notoriety the name Robb Stark now holds, everything. I decide to live completely in the moment, and just to think about the next place I have to be, the classroom at the other end of the hallway, rather than what I just did to Joffrey, or what I will do when word starts to get around. I'm like a horse wearing blinkers; I blur out anything and everything from my vision that does not lie in my immediate path to my next class. It's only about a hundred metres away now. A hundred metres.
Then something blocks my way.
At first, in my confused state I can't work out exactly who it is taking a firm grip on my wrist and dragging me in the opposite direction, but looking at the way the students passing by drop into classrooms or turn to face their lockers in respect, I realise that no pupil – not even someone who commands fear like Joffrey – can hold that kind of authority over absolutely everyone. No, this is a teacher. And not the kind who will encourage and criticise you when the need takes him or her, but won't really have too much influence on you in the long-term. Rather, the kind who could give you all the opportunities you wanted or snap all your future potential in two, regardless of whether their reasons were justified or otherwise. As we move through the tidier areas of the school, their corridors furnished with sofas and gilded mirrors, I see that my worst fears have been confirmed: the plate on the office door we've stopped outside reads P. Baelish, the name of Iron Throne High's headmaster.
I feel like I won't leave this office for a while.
Daenerys POV
I watched the whole thing. Which isn't surprising really, considering that a fight in this school is thought of as a public entertainment, an excuse to come out of whatever dull lesson you're in. It isn't right really, and I'd love to find a way to stand up against that sort of exploitation, but now is not the time.
But I like to imagine that I read in between the lines of the fight a little better than my fellow spectators. While you can tell from the eyes following him through the hallway that Robb is going to take the official blame for the fight, as he instigated it, I have more than an inkling that there's more to it than that. Starks are well known for always trying to maintain their honour, and the only reason a faithful Stark like Robb would think to attack anyone was if they felt it was the right thing to do. And why would Robb consider fighting the right thing to do? If Joffrey had wronged him somehow.
This isn't just your typical Iron Throne High fight. And I seem to be the only one who sees this. Unfortunately for Robb, Mr Baelish probably won't share my viewpoint, him never having been a great fan of the Starks.
Targaryens are vengeful people, and we don't jump to the defence of just anyone. And we've also never been anything close to friends with the Starks. But I feel like Robb has made a fatal mistake in a conflict far bigger than a fight in the corridors, and even though I don't know the precise details of that conflict, my instincts tell me he doesn't have the skills to defend himself against whatever he's up against. And it's for that reason I find myself walking the back hallways of the school towards Mr Baelish's office.
A/N: So I (finally) wrote in Daenerys's perspective! Would love to hear your thoughts! I have a feeling Dany would try to defend people at school when the need takes her, even those she barely knows, so her and Robb's encounter with Petyr should be interesting…:)