Game of Thrones: What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger
Chapter 10 of my Game of Thrones story, enjoy.
Reviews
Marina Ka-Fai: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it, glad you liked her and like Shireen too :)
wazzup11: Well, surprisingly, no, he doesn't; glad you like that bit :)
Veridissima: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it; glad you liked them all, well, sadly it's a long process.
Boris Yeltsin: Thanks.
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks.
Now onto the story.
Disclaimer: Game of Thrones belongs to George R.R. Martin.
Chapter 10
It was another day at school, Joffrey sighed; bored and slightly frustrated.
'Urgh, can't believe this…Those girls have absolutely no backbone.' He thought angrily.
After Sansa's bout of fear; all due to her parents getting on her case for something as stupid as how she treated her ugly sister; it was like a domino effect. Sansa was still with him naturally, but she no longer took part in any attempts to put Arya Stark in her place. But that pathetic cry-baby Beth Cassel and the airhead Jeyne Poole had backed out and even left the group.
He shook his head. 'Pathetic, simply pathetic; don't they see the only way to fix everything and put the ugly bitch back where she belongs is to stick together and make an example of her.'
It infuriated him; especially since now, out of nowhere, Arya Stark had developed a strange boost of confidence and now seemed to laugh off any of his attempts to teach her a lesson. Frustrated by this; he grit his teeth. 'For fuck sake; I need to, I need to teach someone a lesson.'
It was the only way he'd stay sane; after being humiliated in front of his friends by Arya Stark's lack of reaction to his latest attempts. He then saw his chance when he spotted Tommen and Robin up ahead.
'Of course; my fag brother and the baby boy still dressed by his mummy.' He grinned.
He immediately approached them.
He grinned and began taunting them.
"Hey, it's the shorty-shorts bros." He laughed.
"Shut up Joffrey, you're a broken record." Tommen replied with a scowl. "Honestly, I don't go on and on about you being a hairless baby, do I?"
Joffrey glowered at the reminder of this little condition. "Finally grown a real backbone, eh, brother?"
Tommen just ignored him and then he and Robin left. Joffrey snarled but stalked off to class himself. He remained in a bad mood for most of the day, until drama class. Joffrey sat with the other students, Sansa at his side.
'Yet unfortunately I'm stuck with another loser.' He thought darkly.
Seated on his other side was a boy the same age as him and Sansa; with dark hair and eyes. His name was Podrick Payne; he was the adopted son of Joffrey's uncle, Tyrion Lannister; yet Joffrey refused to accept the stuttering nervous pathetic boy into the family.
"Okay everybody, we'll be working on a new play today." The teacher remarked. "We are working on a play set in the nineteen forties and…"
Joffrey rolled his eyes, not really caring about the details.
Still he smiled as he figured naturally. 'Hah, well I'll obviously be the lead, can't wait.'
The teacher continued his explanation, adding. "For authenticity, we shall be using period appropriate costumes; the roles will be given out soon, in the meantime, please go and fetch the costumes and get changed into them."
Joffrey joined the boys and did so, only to freeze in disbelief as he picked the costume up.
'I don't believe this.' He thought in utter shock.
He thought it wasn't what he initially thought and went to get changed.
Unfortunately for him, it was worse than he thought; he looked at the costume in the mirror before him. The costume consisted of a pair of dark blue short trousers, a white shirt, black waistcoat, dark blue suspenders, a black jacket, black knee high socks, black polished shoes and a black school cap.
In short it looked a lot like something Robin Arryn would wear, as far as Joffrey was concerned and was also therefore, something he teased the boy for.
"No way." He muttered.
Podrick looked up; he was clad in the same sort of costume. "What?"
They had, by now, been joined by the girls, clad in their costumes. The girl's costume consisted of a dark blue knee length pleated skirt; a white shirt; black jacket; black knee high socks and black polished shoes.
Joffrey blushed furiously at being seen. "I am not wearing this; they want me to look like a baby, wearing these stupid shorts."
Podrick shook his head. "You're over-reacting; it's just part of the costume."
"I'll look stupid." Joffrey snarled.
"It's a costume, a play." Podrick replied; before deciding to play on Joffrey's ego to win this little dispute. "Besides, this'll give you a chance to show off, who knows many girls will go crazy over you showing your legs."
Joffrey paused before grinning. "Hmmm, good point, fine, maybe I could almost consider you family."
Sansa smiled softly at that. 'Wow, that was really nice of Joffrey, considering what he said to Pod right after Tyrion adopted him.'
Pod nodded and they prepared to begin; as they did so Sansa bit her lip, as her gaze slid over to Pod; in his costume.
'Wow, he looks so handsome, and such strong legs, I never noticed.' She quickly shook her head when she realized what she was thinking. 'Gods, what am I thinking, I shouldn't be doing that, I'm with Joffrey, I have his baby, I can't cheat on my baby's father.'
She did her best to focus on what was happening and stop thinking about Pod that way; it was wrong.
Later, at lunch, Shireen found herself sitting at the usual lunch table with Devan, Edric and the Stark siblings, excluding Sansa.
She sighed and made up her mind. 'It's now or never.'
Taking a deep breath she turned to Devan. "Devan, c-can I…talk to you for a minute, in private?"
Devan was startled by this, but then smiled. "Yeah, sure."
They stood up and left the table, eventually finding a quiet classroom.
"So, what's up?" Devan asked at last.
Shireen felt her face heating up and she knew she was blushing. "I just, well, I…"
Devan smiled gently, wanting to help her feel at ease. "You can tell me."
"Well, I...I...IthinkI'minlovewithyou." She blurted out quickly, the words running into each other.
Devan blinked; startled. "What?"
Shireen groaned, blushing even harder. "I said, I think I'm in love with you."
She was startled when; contrary to what she expected; he didn't laugh or back away, disgusted. In fact, he started blushing too, so much so it was visible through his tan skin.
"I…" He gasped, before finally admitting the truth too. "I think I love you too."
Shireen gasped. "Wh-what?"
Devan smiled softly. "Just what I said, I think I love you too."
Both smiled and hesitated; yet finally, deciding to take the plunge, they moved closer and kissed. Both of them were amazed at the remarkable feelings they felt when they did so and they knew, with great certainty, that they were secure and certain of their love now.
Shireen was still smiling; still overwhelmed with joy as she returned home. Yet everything came to a jarring halt when she entered her home.
"Shireen!" Came her mother's voice; she sounded angry.
Shireen blinked, startled. "Mum?"
Selyse approached her, holding something and was glaring, furious. "Explain this!"
It was then Shireen saw what her mother was holding and was horrified; it was her phone, the screen was on, displaying a text from Myrcella; about the swimming, in it, Shireen's bikini was specifically mentioned.
"How dare you!? You lied to me; you wore a bikini, an obscene and completely inappropriate garment and hid it at your aunt's place!? You broke my trust!" Selyse yelled.
Shireen glared; snatching her phone from her mother. "Because I knew you'd needlessly freak out."
Selyse's eyes widened and her rage increased. "Needlessly? You are becoming sinful!"
"Stop, you've gone insane!" Shireen snapped back; before voicing her feelings. "Speaking of trust, haven't you betrayed mine; spying on your daughter's privacy? How would you feel if I checked out your phone?"
Selyse shook her head and remained insistent.
"I am your mother; I know best, I have every right!"
Shireen shook her head. "You're a tyrant!"
Selyse let out an outraged shriek at that and raised her hand. Shireen froze in terror, preparing for the blow; but was saved at the last minute as they heard the door opening. Selyse stepped back; breathing heavily.
Shireen let out a soft sigh. 'Dad, thank the Gods.'
Her father had come home at just the right time.
Later, silence reigned over dinner as they ate; it was clear to Stannis that something wasn't right. Selyse was glaring; Shireen even seemed to be angry, which was surprising from his normally quiet daughter.
'They're both so quiet…something is wrong…' He thought to himself. 'Something has happened, something they aren't telling me.'
Shireen remained tense however but firmly told herself. 'Gods; stay strong; I'll get through this. Devan…Remember, Devan loves you, he'll save you.'
Drawing strength from that; she focused on her dinner and prepared herself for anything else that might come up.
End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.