incest. still chewing on idea, im thinking joff becomes more like a dexter though ive never seen the show i know hes like a killer with guardrails.

percy is reincarnated and a girl in this.

The Queen Who Never Was

Her brother's hands were dark red. His dagger was thrown hastily to the side.

"Do you see the kittens?"

Percy couldn't tear away from the cat's wide, unblinking eyes. Fear etched in its pupils. Its mouth slack-jawed. Its orange fur was raised and bristled. Blood riveted onto the floor in a puddle. And the smell stuck to her like a second skin. She was sure she would never forget it in her lifetime.

She pulled away. "I'll tell Nurse Anne. She'll get rid of it."

Every day, they were given an hour to be alone in their playroom between their morning and their evening lessons and dinner. They were old enough to busy themselves with stuffed dolls and wooden toys. Their snack of olives, flatbreads and sweetmeats was left on silver trays in the corner if they needed to eat. And if there was any trouble, they'd only need to raise their voice, and a servant would come in.

"No! I want to give the kittens to Father as a gift," Joffrey said, smiling. Her brother's eyes were as bright as the sun. "He'll be pleased. I see him feeding this cat scraps every time he visits the kitchens. I think she's Father's favorite. One of the cooks said this one was fat because she carried kittens. And she was right. There's one… two… three… four."

Four kittens and their dead mother, Percy thought. She wondered if her brother had forgotten. Perhaps it had never occurred to him that he had killed a living thing. Father might have liked killing things as he was a great warrior. After all, it was through his military prowess he won the Iron Throne away from the awful Targaryens. However, Percy felt Father wouldn't like killing something so lowly and helpless. There was something cruel about killing a thing that couldn't properly fight back.

"Joff, I don't think we should show Father," Percy said gently.

"Why not?" Joffrey asked. He tore his eyes from the cat between them. He looked like Mother with his long golden hair curling softly at the edges. His thin rosebud lips pushed together in a severe line. "He likes cats. I saw him. I want to show him."

Percy said nothing. At five summers, she was old enough to know Father would not like the gift of a corpse. A wave of unpleasantness rose in her stomach when she realized her brother, her twin, did not know the same.

She squeezed her brother's bloodied hand.

She knew Joff was trying to gain favor with Father. He seemingly never had enough time for them. If he wasn't sitting on the Iron Throne listening to his people, he was hunting with his royal retinue or visiting someplace in the Seven Kingdoms. They weren't yet old enough to travel with Father, so they were often left in Mother and their wet nurse Anne's care.

"When we see Father next, you should ask him about his latest hunt," Percy suggested. When Father was in and he had drained his favored golden goblet and his pale cheeks were red as the wine, he liked to talk to them. About hunting and his kills, about women, or really anything that crossed his mind. He was happier with a cup or two of summer wine. "And one day, he'll take you with him and together you'll kill a great, black-antlered stag. Then, you can show him your gifts."

Joff's shoulders lowered, thinking. "The sigil of House Baratheon," he said softly. His hand tightened its grip on hers.

"Our sigil." Percy smiled.

Joffrey's her brother. Every morning, they stood together. Percy pointed out their similarities. Their long, skinny fingers. The curve of their jaw. Their height. Their green eyes. It didn't matter if her hair shined black as dragon glass and her brother's hair looked to be spun from gold. It didn't matter story of her birth or the sheen of curiosity twisted in fear when Mother looked at her. It didn't matter the way water danced at her fingertips. They were twins.

Joff looked at her. His pale face was blank, and then, slowly, a smile peeked from his lips. He nodded once. The tight ball in the pit of her stomach loosened, and she breathed easier.

"We don't know what happened to the cat," Percy said. "We found it like this."

Percy knew enough about the rules to break them. Only Mother and Father were a higher authority than her and Joff. If she and Joffrey said that they found a cat like this, then they had found a cat, as it were, and no questions would be asked.

Joffrey nodded. "Will Anne tell Mother?"

Percy blinked. She eyed the wall behind Joffrey where a tapestry a thousand years old hung. It was Aegon's conquest. He was on the back of the Black Dread, and his two warrior sisters, Visenya and Rhaenys, were at his right and left side respectfully. It was Percy's favorite tapestry in the Red Keep because it was the only one with all three of them. She didn't know much about history, as her mind wandered whenever Maester Pycelle started to drone on about the history of the seven kingdoms, but she liked the stories with all three. Percy was sure Aegon wouldn't have been able to conquer the Seven Kingdoms without his sisters. Joffrey needed her even if he was the oldest, even if he was his mother's favorite, even if he was the crown prince.

"She won't if we tell her not to," Percy said. Mother didn't like when they kept secrets from her. "We have to get her to swear by the seven gods, then it's binding."

All the most important swears were sworn by the seven. Something Percy didn't quite understand as she wasn't quite sure if the Gods were listening because they were Gods. Percy knew if she were a god, she would do whatever she wanted and not listen to the prayers of others. Maybe it was best that she wasn't a god.

"Okay. Call get Nurse Anne."

Nurse Anne arrived. She was a woman, older than their mother, short and stout with fine lines wrinkling her round face. She bustled into their playroom. Something like terror crawled on her face as her pale eyebrows rose then lowered as Joffrey gave his commands, imperious as Mother when it came to their fittings.

"Swear you'll never tell," Percy said.

"I swear, princess." Nurse Anne bent into a short curtsy.

When she got rid of the mess, Percy realized her and Joffrey's hands were still covered in blood.