5th Month of 301 A.C. The Gates of the Moon

Princess Sansa Hardying

There was chaos and commotion in the gates of the moon as the trial was brought to order. It had been almost a week since her marriage to Harry and in that time, Baelish's conspirators were brought in and charged and executed, the judges, headed by Lord Yohn Royce were sparing no expense, and though Sansa was glad for that, it did make her wonder if they would treat her the same. She did not know how they had gotten men like Lyn Corbray to speak but they had, and so she was worried that somehow she would be incriminated, even though Harry and Lord Nestor assured her she would not be.

She pushed her doubts to the side for now as she stood before the judges and the court and spoke. "I Princess Sansa Stark nee Hardying, do hereby swear by the old gods and the new that I speak nothing but the truth. If I should be found in contempt then I do hereby give the judges the right to sentence me as they see fit." Lowering her hand she looks at Yohn Royce who merely nods, and she begins. "The accused Lord Petyr Baelish, conspired with his future wife, the Lady Lysa Arryn to murder her husband Lord Jon Arryn. For what gain I do not know, but the Lady Lysa admitted to doing the deed on Baelish's orders right before he killed her. And after the fact I asked him about this, and he indeed did admit to doing so, though again he did not say why."

Baelish speaks then. "A lie, the girl was in shock from what she had just witnessed."

"Silence." Yohn Royce bellows. He looks at her and says. "Continue Princess."

Sansa nods and says. "I was indeed in shock, for the Lady Lysa had just tried to kill me, no doubt thinking I was trying to steal her husband away from her. Something which is a deep falsehood. Lord Baelish kissed me, I did not kiss him. And he killed Lysa when he thought her of no more use to him. After her death he resumed his plotting, he began by undermining the powers of the Lords of the Vale and by placing more power into his own person through acting as Lord Robert's regent. The buying off of debt and the storage of food stuffs, gave him a strong hold over the lords of the Vale during the winter he told me, and ensured they would be nothing but loyal to him."

"Lies, she speaks terrible lies." Baelish shouts.

"Lord Baelish you shall have your turn to speak. But for now be quiet!" Yohn Royce snaps. The man falls silent then, and Lord Royce turns and nods at her.

She continues. "He told me of how he was planning on marrying me off to Ser Harrold and then revealing who I truly was. He wished to use Ser Harrold as a way to rally the Vale to my cause in attempting to retake Winterfell and the north from the Boltons. Of course, for this to work he needed Lord Robert to be dead and indeed planned to have him killed shortly after my wedding to Ser Harrold. Maester Coleman's testimony yesterday concurs with mine." There are cries of outrage at this and she sees anger and betrayal and perhaps even desire in Baelish's eyes when she looks at him, she shakes her head slightly and then goes on. "He also planned to have Ser Harrold killed shortly afterwards as well, for he hoped that upon the consummation of my marriage, I would be with child, and that from there he would be able to exercise full control."

A outcry comes from this as many lords and ladies speak in anger. Lord Yohn bellows for quiet and then says. "These are deep and cutting accusations to make my princess, do you have proof of them?"

Sansa nods and says. "I have written evidence of what Lord Baelish was planning. The accounts he kept and the letters he wrote he showed me, and asked me to keep a copy of should something happen to him." As she says this, a servant hands these letters to Lord Royce and his fellow judges.

There is a hushed silence as all wait for Lord Royce to speak. After he has finished reading through the letters, and his fellow judges have done so as well he does speak and his tone is ominous. "These letters are not forgeries I hope my princess?"

"Of course not, these are the real documents, writ in his hand." Sansa replies.

There is a lot of murmuring in the room at this and Lord Royce looks solemn when he speaks. "The letters I hold in my hand are proof that Lord Baelish has been conspiring against us and Lord Robert from the very moment he arrived here. We have heard condemning testimony from a variety of witnesses, both those who worked alongside and for Baelish and those who worked under him. Now all that remains is to hear what the man himself has to say. Lord Baelish how do you plead?"

The man looks solemn and foreboding and then bursts out laughing. "I will not deign to give you an answer. I know how this will end. For I orchestrated many such things during my time here. You will all find me guilty and my work will come to an end. Do what must be done, but remember it is I who gave the ladder a good shaking. None of you ever did."

There is outcry at this and one man, Sansa thinks it is Lord Melcolm roars. "You are nothing more than an up jumped sellsword's get. You are nothing. We are one of the oldest regions in Westeros, and have long held places of power where it has mattered. You tried to corrupt us and have failed."

Before Baelish can respond, Lord Royce bellows. "Enough! Do you have anything more to say Lord Baelish?"

"No." the man says curtly.

"Then in the name of Lord Robert Arryn, Lord of the Eyrie and the Vale, and King of the Mountain, I do hereby declare your life forfeit. Guards take him to the gallows." Lord Royce says his voice filled with power.

Sansa watches as Baelish is dragged from the hall and as soon as he is out of the doors she joins the procession that follows. Walking out onto the cold snow covered ground, she watches as the man is tied to the noose, his rights read to him and his final words taken. She watches motionless as the noose is raised and then lowered and his body swings lifelessly from it. for the first time in nearly a year, Sansa Stark smiles.

Ser Brynden Tully

It had been a long ride toward the Vale, snow littered the ground and they had to constantly duck down into the undergrowth to ensure that Lannister or Frey patrols did not find them. The luck of the gods was with them though for they were never seen or found and so they had arrived at the Bloody Gate to find it preparing for war, it seemed things had advanced at a far quicker pace than Brynden had ever anticipated. He had been presented to Cat's daughter and found himself thinking he was looking at her ghost, so similar had the resemblance been, but there was an icy façade there as well, a glint of separation that spoke of her northern roots, and it showed now during this war council.

"We will destroy any who get into our way, the sea is the one of the surer ways to get to the north, and White Harbour will open its gates once it receives word. As will Winterfell, but first and foremost we must deal with the riverlands, that kingdom is in turmoil dirt and vermin roam its lands, and I will not allow that." His niece and Princess says.

"What do you suggest then my princess? For the armies of the Vale are at your call as are the men of the riverlands." Lord Lymond asks.

The princess looks at the map before them and then says. "If it is advisable I will split the forces of the Vale in half some under the command of Lord Nestor shall go into the Riverlands, whilst the rest shall come north with my husband and myself."

"Has King Robert given his acceptance of this plan princess?" Lord Piper asks.

His niece nods. "He has, he wants revenge just as much as I do, and regardless he is as much a brother to me as the king in Winterfell is. We are family and we work together not against one another, we are not Lannisters."

There is a murmur of approval at this, and Brynden speaks. "Truer words were never spoken. But there remains the issue, even if we ride into the Riverlands, there will be armies from the capital there waiting for us no doubt, and we do not have the complete strength to outdo them, therefore we must look toward using the same tactics the Dornish used against the reachmen for centuries. This will require co-operation amongst the other lords something which will require the Freys to fall."

His niece looks at him a moment and then says. "The Freys, they are one of the top families that will suffer for what they have done, but for now there are still the Brackens that must needs be dealt with. Only then can we turn our eyes northward to the Twins."

Brynden nods. "That is smart thinking my princess, the Brackens will have their allies as will the Freys, cutting them off from one another is a sure fire way to ensure that they do not work together. What do you intend to do once in the north?"

Here his niece looks hesitant and then she says. "I will aid my brothers. There is something north of the neck that is a threat to us all and I intend to aid them as best I can."

The girl's husband speaks up in support of this. "It will be a noble deed to fight whatever ails the north and a sure fire way to ensure that our alliance remains lasting. The iron throne's hold over us is breaking and with this alliance it will be broken for good."

"What of the Riverlands though?" Lord Lymond asks. "They were part of the Young Wolf's Kingdom as well, will they become part of the Vale or the Black Wolf's kingdom? And if so how can we be sure that we shall have adequate protection from the Lannisters and the Tyrells?"

"An interesting question and one that has no solid answer my lord," his niece says. "I shall not lie to you, I am not sure it would be advisable for the Riverlands to become part of either kingdom for there would be much that would need to be fixed. The Lannisters and the Tyrells will not have the strength to come into the Riverlands though once they are finished fighting one another as well as the dragons."

"So we are to put our hopes in pure chance then?" Lymond asks disbelievingly. "We are to pray to gods whose existence I have begun to question that the Lannisters and the Tyrells do not look toward us and think to exact revenge for aiding you? I do not know whether this is madness or not."

"It is the only plausible course of action Lymond," Brynden says. "We cannot expend all of our resources when we do not know whether or not they need to be used. We must keep some in reserve for this is a winter that has dragons within it. We must keep an eye on what comes from all of this. Only once we are sure can we advance through the grounds and necessary preparation."

The man does look somewhat placated by this but there is still a sense of unease amongst the rivermen. The princess must sense this for she says. "I know your worries and that they are justified my lords, but you must see why securing the kingdom and the north for now is more important than deciding on rudimentary matters such as the borders right now. The Lannisters and the Tyrells are dividing amongst one another, and the dragons are landing fighting one another also. We must ensure that there is no hole exposed yes, and to do that we must secure ourselves first."

There are murmurs of approval then and the princess's husband speaks. "What my princess says is right. We must secure ourselves first before we worry about the details of the kingdoms. There is a chance for us all to share in the spoils and allow our enemies to weaken one another to the extent that they have nothing left to fight with."