Once back in King’s Landing, a tournament was held in honor of the new hand of the king.
Cersei however, publically forbade her husband the king from participating, an action which
Varys the Spider suspected was part of her scheme to embarrass Robert and actually provoke
him into entering the tourney, so he might be killed in the contest.
But in the end Robert was convinced by others not to participate.
After the youngest Lannister sibling, Tyrion was arrested by Catelyn Stark in the Riverlands,
Cersei confronted her husband and demanded retribution, insulting the King and questioning
his manhood when he refused to act rashly.
The King, enraged by her comments, hit her in a burst of anger.
But Cersei merely replied she would wear the mark as a badge of honor.
Cersei still conspiring to have her husband killed, convinced her cousin Lancel Lannister,
to bring fortified wine during a hunting trip with the king, to ensure Robert was properly
drunk and less able to defend himself.
While Robert was away, Eddard Stark met with the Queen, and revealed that he’d learned
the truth about her children’s origins, and warned her that he would tell the king
upon his return, advising that she take her children and leave the capital at once, lest
Robert kill them all in his rage.
But Cersei had no intention of leaving the castle, further bolstered by the words of
Sansa Stark, who’d come to her and confessed that her father was making arrangement to
send his daughters out of the city.
Fortunately for the Queen, her schemes against her husband at last paid off, and Robert returned
fatally wounded from his hunt.
Ned Stark, unable to tell his friend the truth in his final hours, attempted to seize the
iron throne by other means, only to be betrayed by Petyr Baelish, leading to the arrest of
the hand of the king.
Cersei had successfully defended the Lannister’s position in King’s Landing, and so began
to consolidate power as queen regent for her young son King Joffrey Baratheon.
Ultimately, Cersei did not harm Eddard Stark, knowing this would make war with the north
inevitable, and so made a deal to have him sent to the wall, in exchange for his confession
and repentance.
But her son proved impulsive and reckless, ignoring his mother’s wishes and ordering
the execution of the Lord of the North.
As a result, conflict erupted all over the continent in the War of the Five King, and
so Cersei requested aid from her father Tywin, who was marching his armies to the Riverlands,
to deal with Stark and Tully forces.
Unable to go south at the moment, Tywin sent his youngest son, the clever dwarf Tyrion
Lannister in his place, to serve as temporary Hand of the King and put the capital city
in order.
Cersei however, was unwilling to give up control of the city, especially to her hated little
brother, and so the two struggled for power, with Tyrion proving the more wise and strategically
gifted of the two, evening poisoning the queen so she might be bed-ridden for a time.
After discovering that Grand Maester Pycelle was spying for the queen, Tyrion had him arrested
and tortured, then making arrangements for Cersei’s daughter Myrcella to wed Trystan
Martell, in order to secure the allegiance of Dorne.
When the Queen attempted to send her son Tommen to safety, away from the city in advance of
the invasion of King’s Landing by Stannis Baratheon, Tyrion again interfered, capturing
the child before he could leave.
He then used the boy as a hostage to prevent Cersei from torturing a prostitute who she
wrongly believed was in a relationship with Tyrion.
During the Battle of Blackwater Bay, Cersei invited all the noble ladies of court to dine
with her in the red keep.
However she also invited Ser Ilyn Payne, who was instructed to kill the women in the case
of defeat, to prevent their capture by the enemy.
As the fighting raged on, the Queen became worried for her son the king, and sent for
him to be taken to safety.
However upon seeing their king retreat from the front lines, the city defense forces lost
morale and began to lose control of the mud gate.
Although Tyrion did everything possible to bolster the city defenses, making Stannis
pay for every inch of the city, the Lannister forces were on the verge of defeat.
Until Tywin Lannister and Randyl Tarly led a combined army from the Westerlands and Reach
as reinforcements, pushing Stannis back out to sea and saving King’s Landing.
Tyrion, who’d been injured in the fighting, attacked by a kingsguard possibly at the orders
of Cersei or Joffrey, was unconscious for several days, and when he awoke, discovered
that Cersei had taken the opportunity to make herself seem like the hero who kept the city
together while Tyrion was blamed for any shortcomings.
Her focus then turned to preparing for her son Joffrey’s wedding to Lady Margaery Tyrell,
daughter of Mace Tyrell, in order to cement their new alliance.
But Joffrey was poisoned during the wedding feast, with a grief stricken Cersei blaming
Tyrion for the murder and having him arrested.
Sansa Stark, Tyrion’s wife, was also ordered arrested, but she’d already escaped King’s
Landing with the aid of Littlefinger, who once again was behind the intrigue, working
with the Tyrell’s to assassinate the king.
Tyrion, demanded trial by combat, with Oberyn Martell serving as his champion against Ser
Gregor Clegane.
but Oberyn was killed in the fighting.
Tyrion, was set to be executed but was rescued by his brother Jaime with the help of Varys
who aided in his escape> But the youngest Lannister sibling did not leave the city right
away, first murdering the prostitute Shae and his father Tywin before departing.
Cersei was enraged by Tyrion’s escape, and devastated by the loss of her father, leaving
her bitter, resentful and paranoid, beginning to rely more heavily on alcohol.