Inside the throne room.
Robert Baratheon's roar, laden with betrayal, fury, and disbelief, rang out like the cry of a wounded stag, leaving everyone's ears aching.
The air was thick with the smell of blood and spilled wine.
Every gaze turned toward the richly dressed, deathly pale blonde woman.
Cersei Lannister.
Queen of the Seven Kingdoms.
Her beautiful blue eyes were filled with bewilderment and incredulity.
Her mind had gone blank. She could not begin to comprehend the impossible scene before her.
Assassinate Robert?
Assassinate her own son, Joffrey?
For the Lannisters?
What a vicious, idiotic attempt to frame her!
"Cersei!!!"
Robert's bloodshot eyes bore into her, his bloated body trembling with overwhelming rage.
Like a bull driven into a frenzy, he advanced on her step by step, the floor tiles groaning beneath his weight.
"You poisonous bitch!"
Robert's spittle nearly sprayed Cersei's face.
"I should have known! I should have listened to Jon!"
"You Lannisters have venom running through your veins!"
"You actually tried to kill your own son!"
"Have you no humanity left?"
That accusation finally jolted Cersei out of her shock.
Her disbelief and astonishment faded, replaced by House Lannister's inborn pride and the hurt and fury of being humiliated in public.
"Me, kill Joffrey?"
Cersei let out a shrill, mocking laugh.
"Robert, has all that wine rotted your brain?!"
"You would rather believe some vermin that crawled out of Flea Bottom than the wife who has shared your bed for over a decade?!"
"Joffrey is my son! My own flesh and blood!"
To the enraged Robert, her defense only added fuel to the fire.
"Shut your mouth!"
Robert raised his enormous hand.
Before the slap could fall, a golden figure stepped between them.
It was Jaime Lannister.
He did not even look back at his sister.