Tommen attends Cersei as Dorcas finishes dressing her for court. He tells her that he wants to sit the Iron Throne, and when Cersei forbids it, says the throne is his by right. Cersei asks who told him that, and he lies that no one did. Cersei says that if he lies, she will have to have Pate, Tommen's whipping boy as he had also been Joffrey, beaten. Tommen admits Margaery put him up to it. She also wants him to attend small council meetings so he can learn how to rule. Cersei tells him that he is still too young, as she means to stay in power until Tommen comes of age. She spends the morning with Lord Gyles going over the ledgers and then with Aurane, who reports the first three dromonds are almost complete. Cersei authorizes more money to finish them. She takes lunch during a meeting with a group of merchants complaining about the sparrows wandering the streets and sleeping in the squares while Moon Boy entertains. Grand Maester Pycelle enters next. He has been speaking up more in council of late, and most recently objected to the men Aurane chose to captain the new dromonds, arguing that they were too young and that captains who survived the Blackwater should have been given the command. He reports that Lord Wyman has beheaded Davos. His head and hands have been mounted on the walls of White Harbor and the Freys have confirmed the deed. Cersei says to send a bird to Lord Wyman saying that his son, Wylis, will be returned to him. Cersei is pleased with the progress of the war. Roose and Ramsay are closing in on Moat Cailin from north and south, while Lord Mace has invested Storm's End. Cersei's next appointment is with Noho Dimittis of the Iron Bank. Cersei tries to pass him off to Lord Gyles, but the man has already seen him six times. Cersei suggests he see Gyles again, and Noho is not pleased. Cersei dismisses him abrubtly, ordering Ser Meryn to escort him out and Ser Osmund to take her back to her apartments. When she and Osmund are alone, she asks after Osney. He has failed to seduce Margaery as of yet. While she seems interested in him, she is never alone. Cersei promises that she will arrange for some private time between the two. As they cross the yard, they hear a cheer erupt as a squire rides against a quintain. Margaery and her ladies are present, and Cersei realizes that the squire was actually Tommen. Ser Loras helps him down from his horse, and several members of the audience, including Osney and Ser Dermot, offer compliments. Margaery kisses him and compliments him as well, echoed by Megga, Alla, and Elinor. Lady Alysanne is also present. Cersei makes her presence known, and the mirth dies. Septa Nysterica bows first, and soon they are all bowing save Loras and Margaery. Tommen contineus to be proud, and Cersei tells him he will be a great jouster one day like his father. Margaery asks what tournaments his father won, and Cersei realizes that she mispoke; Robert was an indifferent jouster, while Jaime was the brilliant one. She makes up a tournament and asks Ser Loras to walk with her before Margaery can reply. She is upset that Tommen rode against the quintain and wants to know who is responsible. Ser Loras says it was Margaery's idea and that he showed Tommen how to hold the lance. Cersei rebukes him, saying the master-at-arms is responsible for training, and Loras points out that the Red Keep has not had a master-at-arms since Ser Aron died. Ser Loras thinks he is right for the job, but Cersei does not want Tommen growing close to him. Cersei leaves him and returns to her quarters. On the way, she decides that she will send to Dorne for a new master-at-arms.

Lord Qyburn is waiting in Cersei's room when she arrives. He has reports for her. The Archon of Tyrosh has offered terms to Lys to end the current trade war. Myr was about to enter the war on the side of Tyrosh, but the Golden Company breaking their contract dissuaded them. Qyburn also reports that the slave revolt in Astapor has spread to Meereen and that there are reports of dragons, but Cersei is not interested in what goes on so far away from Westeros. There is also news from Dorne. Ser Daemon Sand was imprisoned for asking Doran to release the Sand Snakes, while Sylva Santagar was suddenly betrothed and married to Lord Eldon Estermont. Both Daemon and Sylva are close to Arianne. Finally, there is a puppet show being performed in which the beasts are ruled by a pride of haughty lions who become greedy and devour a stag when he objects. At the end of the play, a dragon hatches from an egg and eats the lions. Cersei is not amused and orders the show watched. Any men of worth attending will lose half their coffers, while any too poor to pay will lose an eye and the puppeteers will be executed. Qyburn asks if he can have the women for his experiments. Cersei snaps that she already gave him Senelle, but he replies that she is quite "exhausted." Cersei thinks back to when she took Senelle down to the dungeons and how she was uneasy about the fowl thing screaming in the darkness.¹ Cersei gives Qyburn leave to take a woman or two for the experiments. Qyburn leaves, and Dorcas prepares a bath for Cersei. After she gets in the tub, Jaime comes in with Tommen and sends Dorcas and Jocelyn away. Tommen wants his white courser for his jousting lesson on the morrow. Cersei says he will not ride until they have a new master-at-arms, and Tommen replies that he wants Loras to teach him. Tommen becomes imperious and demands kittens and exemption from eating beets as well. Cersei takes him in hand and tells him that he will not learn from Loras. Tommen, defeated, asks if he can still have a kitten, and Cersei says yes as long as she hears no more about jousting. Tommen leaves, and Jaime calls Cersei a fool before taking his leave as well. Cersei dresses for dinner and then joins Falyse and her husband, Ser Balman. She wishes that she were supping with Taena instead, as she is the best friend she has had since Melara Hetherspoon proved herself false and then drowned. Cersei asks after Lady Tanda, and it turns out she has broken her hip in a riding accident. Cersei thinks she will be dead soon.² Cersei asks after their journey, which was not pleasant. They had thought to stay the night at Rosby, but Lord Gyles's ward refused to let them in. Furthermore, there were all manner of filthy armed men, some displaying the pointed star of the Seven, on the road. Cersei says they are sparrows and that the new High Septon must deal with them when he is chosen. Falyse is surprised that no one has been picked yet, and Cersei explains that Ollidor was almost chosen before a group of sparrows followed him to a brothel and dragged him out into the streets naked. Now it appears Luceon will be chosen, but he is still a few votes shy. Ser Balman wants to assure Cersei that he and Falyse had nothing to do with the naming of Lollys's bastard, and Cersei gets to the reason she invited them. She says she lives in fear of Tyrion and thinks that Bronn may be hiding him. Bronn has taken four knights into his household, and Cersei lies that she thinks he is preparing to move against her at Tyrion's beheast. She intimates to Balman that Bronn should suffer a fatal accident and soon. Dinner goes past midnight, after which she checks on Tommen. She is surprised to find he has three black kittens. Ser Meryn explains that Margaery is responsible; she meant to give him one, but he could not decide which he liked best. She thinks black an ill color and how Rhaenys had a black cat and was killed. This leads her to think about how Rhaenys could have been hers, but that Aerys II refused Tywin. Cersei had been ten when she first saw Rhaegar, when he and Aerys came to Casterly Rock. A great tournament was held in his honor, and he bested many a fine knight. Genna confided in Cersei that at the end of the tournament a feast would be held and Cersei's betrothal to Rhaegar would be announced. She had been giddy at the prospect, which is why she agreed to go with Jeyne and to the tent of Maggy the Frog. Jeyne fled in fear, but Cersei and Melara stayed to let her taste their blood and deliver prophecies, which made little sense. There was no feast at the end. Tywin proposed the match, and Aerys rejected it, saying that while Tywin was his ablest servant, he did not intend to marry his son to a servant's daughter. Cersei has never fogiven Robert for killing him.