TDC: Missing Scenes and What If Scenarios

By

Arrow4131

And

Leilani972

Chapter 8: The Wingless Falcon

Summary : The war has been lost.

As Jon Arryn lays awake in his cell, bitter and still suffering from the loss of his hand, he reflects on everything that brought him to where he was at that moment.
From revelations about the Rebellion to plans to undermine the new King's authority, dive into the mind of the former Hand of the king who lost his own.

The Red Keep, 298 AC

Lord Jon Arryn, prisoner to King Jaehaerys Targaryen

They said Jaehaerys Targaryen was a King with a good heart, but as he laid into his new quarters, after their vain attempt at intimidation, Jon Arryn couldn't help but think him as petty as the others.

Did he think it would hurt him to have to sleep for a night in the cell in which Lysa had died there? That it would be a kind of punishment to him? Then this boy still had a long way coming.

Their death was nothing to him. He was sad not to be there when the Trout bitch had breathed her last. He would have wanted to see the life leave her eyes while she'd choked on her own blood. It was only sweet justice to him and that the bastard followed suit had been a relief. If Robin was still alive he wouldn't have guaranteed that he wouldn't have tried to kill him himself.

He had been so enraged, at Littlefinger, at Lysa, at their child they'd tried to pass as his, but most of all at himself for not seeing it sooner.

That was the most humiliating thing in this story. That and what had happened to his hand. If only he had managed to hit Ned before that beast got to him, it wouldn't have been in vain.

Fucking Starks!

He had known from the beginning that the North would cause problems in their plans before the Rebellion. They couldn't trust people who didn't believe in the true Gods, but Hoster had assured him it would be a good idea since the North was a large kingdom unaware of their actual value, and by dealing with them and creating strong alliances they would soon profit from them and make them forget about their preposterous beliefs.

Jon had agreed to his plans but refused to betroth Elbert to Lyanna Stark. One look at the girl proved enough to know she wouldn't fit in the Eyrie. Moreover, he would not take the risk of having a believer of the Old Gods as the wife to the future Lord Paramount of the Vale. So he suggested Lysa for his nephew and that he would take one of Rickard's sons to be his squire. Then he had been the one to marry this bitch who had already lost her maidenhead. To think he let it pass because he needed the Riverlands on his side, and those same people who were supposed to help him stay in power betrayed him in the worst sort! Hoster should have warned him about Littlefinger, at least!

He felt his hand curling in anger and looked to see it was once again in his mind. His bandaged appendage was all that remained of his hand. They had cauterized it as soon as he lost it, not wanting him to suffer from severe blood loss or infection before he faced judgement.

"How's the hand?" a voice he grew to hate brought him back to reality.

"You would know better than me," he replied with spite. "After all, your beast might have made a delicious meal from it."

"Ha! Lya didn't even try. She buried it as soon as she could. Couldn't risk her health with old and treacherous meat."

Jon rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Are you here to make fun of my hand? If so, I would prefer if you left."

"No, I'm here to hear the truth from you."

"I told you the truth already, Ned. You were the one who lied to me and the entire realm."

"I protected my nephew and I would do it again if I had to choose once more."

"Robert trusted you. I trusted you. We thought you were family."

"I thought you were too. Until I found out the truth about you and the Rebellion."

"To think I called my banners to protect you," Jon spat disdainfully. "To think I risked my life, my men, for someone I called my adoptive son and who would stab me in the back as soon as his head was safe!"

"I never asked you to fight for me. I never asked you anything, Jon." Ned said, and Jon could hear his former ward tone change.

Ned Stark had always been naive, even to this day. He lived so recluse in the North that he never engaged in the games of the South. Jon was certain that everything that happened so far was because Jaime Lannister had managed to take advantage of this dull Northerner's sense of honor.

How Jaime Lannister had found out the truth, Jon didn't know, but knowing Ned as much as he did, Jon thought he would have been content with his nephew by his side and the secret of his birth well buried to prevent another war.

After all, Ned had done nothing to improve the North before Lannister and his squire meddled with their boats. It was the impulsion given by the Manderlys and the Mormonts that made the North prosper, not the other way around. Ned had been content with his quiet life with his not-so-perfect Lady wife and his stupid children.

As a second son, Ned had no ambitions when he was younger. He never thought of inheriting Winterfell, didn't want to go to the Wall as some Northerners found their calling and Jon had made sure not to prepare his ward for the eventuality either. He'd rather tried to instill a need for the South and his alliances should he ever need something, teaching him how to be a knight under the light of the Seven and how chivalry and honor were important. Unfortunately for Jon, it seemed that the only things Ned had remembered were the bad side of his teaching and nothing about the True Faith.

"That's what fathers do. They fight for their children, and you were like a son to me," Jon pressed, knowing that this would be something that would touch the idiot Northerner.

Ned sighed loudly and while he walked away without a word, an idea bloomed into Jon's head. He might not be able to save his head, but he would cause as much chaos as he could for the new king, by putting his uncle against him. He just had to wait and see if his former ward was still as gullible as he was when he was a child.

If he comes back, then not all is lost.

Jon bit back a smile when Ned's voice greeted him the next day. Just as he'd predicted, the warden of the North had come back for more talk. He still hadn't had the answers to his questions, Ned had said, and Jon would make sure to play with it. Every time Ned would lose his temper, Jon would counter him with a question that would hit the Northerner's feelings of guilt and bring him closer to him.

"Did he kill him? My Robert? Was it your nephew?" was the first of many questions that would see the Warden of the North crumble to his feet.

Even after all the proclamations of hatred and betrayal, Ned still felt a form of kinship with them. He was sad about the passing of Robert where Jon found it inconvenient at best. Of course part of him had mourned the boy he'd raised, but along the years Robert had become a pain in his ass. A fat one to be honest, and his latest deeds had led the realm, and Jon, to their ruin.

How could Robert be stupid enough to challenge an accomplished knight? Even if it hurt Jon to admit it, the fool had been in no shape or form to duel someone far younger and more in shape than he. But as always, the King's pride, added with his hatred of everything related to the Targaryens, got the better of him.

It seemed that Rhaegar's son had shared more than his skills in the joust. Jaehaerys didn't dare to end Robert, as Rhaegar had stayed his hand after gravely wounding his cousin, waiting for Ser Barristan to finish the deed, because of his fear of an imaginary curse. As much as it pained Jon to admit it, they won the Rebellion by sheer luck. If it hadn't been for Rhaegar's reluctance to being a kinslayer, Robert would have already been dead at the Trident four and ten years before. And if Tywin Lannister's hatred for the Targaryen hadn't grown through the years, there would have been no sack to lead to Robert's crowning.

The only disturbing thing to Jon was who really ended Robert.

"Ser Arthur Dayne is alive? So you lied to us about him too?"

"I didn't know about him living until recently."

"How can I believe you? How could you not know?"

"Howland Reed saved him when I left to prepare for our journey home. He never told me about it."

Jon could see the truth on Ned's face. Up until discovering the truth about his nephew, Jon had always been able to tell when his ward was trying to lie or to cover up Robert's mistakes. Come to think of it, when Ned came back after finding his dead sister in whatever lost place they'd put her in, Jon had found his attitude more than strange. He thought it was because of his grief over losing Lyanna, but it was now clear that Ned had avoided his adoptive father at all cost because of the bastard he'd claimed to father.

How could he not question it? The timing didn't match, Ned had refused to show them the babe, stating that it would be an insult to his wife to present a bastard to the King and his Hand before his trueborn son, and Jon let it go because it had been fair reasoning. He had played into their ideas of what was proper and what wasn't and he had used it against them. It was a clever move, for a Northern. Maybe Jon had taught him a little too well for his sake.

Arthur Dayne being alive posed a problem to Jon. He had the intention of asking for a trial by combat. With the Sword of the Morning as a Kingsguard, nobody would take the risk of being his champion. Not even Lord Nestor, which he knew he could pay well, would find someone crazy enough to want to duel the knight. Harrold might have the arrogance to do so, but Jon wanted to win and his kin was not good enough with a blade to have a quarter of a chance.

He didn't have much time to find a solution, but if he could wheedle Ned with their talks, then maybe his former ward would find someone for him. Knowing the halfwit's inane sense of honor, he might even suggest himself.

So Jon doubled his effort, feigning sadness over the things that happened in the Rebellion. He lied and lied again with no remorse toward the one who ruined his legacy with his deception.

He lied about the letters from Lyanna and Rhaegar he'd received, telling him about their wedding.

He told Ned he'd sent word for a parley and had received no words from Rhaegar. He said nothing about the parley invitation he'd received for Ned the day before the battle.

He lied when he said he was devastated about the deaths of Elia Martell and her spawns. That it wasn't what he wished for and that he wasn't even aware of Tywin's intention during the Sack.

Jon lied some more when he said that it wasn't his intention to delay Ned when he sent him to break the siege of Storm's End. He never told him he had that Lyanna was hidden in Dorne from the beginning. Had she been in any other place, even in the Reach or the Westerlands, Jon would have been informed and would have killed the wolf bitch. Ned never told him how he got the information either, but he could care less.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Jon finally asked, feigning heartbreak over the whole ordeal.

"After what happened to Elia and the children? After you did nothing to punish the culprits and after you rewarded Tywin by giving his daughter the highest role in the Seven Kingdom? Aye, I could see myself trusting you with my secret." Ned scoffed.

"You have a point," Jon conceded to Ned's surprise. "I don't know what Robert would have done to your nephew, but I would have said nothing had I known from the start."

He was being truthful. He would have found a way to lie to Robert about it and to use it to his advantage should the king prove himself too difficult to handle, as he obviously did. He would have been the one to reap the benefits of the Hidden Dragon, not the Kingslayer. He would have had a pressure point to make the North do his bidding, and as much as the idea of having a Targaryen on the throne would have displeased Jon, it would be one he would have manipulated easily.

Ned didn't seem to believe him, which proved once again how stupid his former ward was. Since all the lies Jon had said before were easily accepted whereas the only truth wasn't, Jon decided to keep lying.

He was certain that his plan was working as they started laughing together as if their bond had never been severed. They talked about Ned's time in the Vale, reminisced about Robert's adventures and misdeeds when he was still a squire, and soon enough they broached the subject of Jon's upcoming trial.

"Do you know how long it will take?"

"I have no idea. The king is really busy with his other duties and… He wishes for every lord to be there for your trial."

"I see. I will be made an example of... Will you be there?" he asked Ned, who hesitated.

"I don't know. I… You went against my nephew, Jon. That is not something I can forgive nor forget."

"I know, and I understand your position, but… They'll all be against me during the trial. Everyone, even those who were my friends once…"

"Surely, there will be…"

"They all will try to gain your nephew's favor. You won't have to do that, you're his uncle."

"I…"

"Please, Ned!" Jon begged, surprising himself with how easily he managed to make his tears fall. "I need to know that someone will be there, if not for me, just someone who knows who I truly am. With Robert gone… There's only you, Ned. I don't want to feel alone when they're going to execute me."

"I… I'll think about it."

"Thank you, Ned." Jon gave him a small smile and watched him leave, thinking that he had made significant progress.

It was probably the sixth or seventh day that he was graced with his presence. Jon had known the time would come when Jaehaerys Targaryen would come and see the measure of him, he just didn't know it would come that early.

Jon had been placed into another cell and chained at the wall as if he could do something to hurt him. If anything, he was the one in danger. He had no blade, nothing to protect himself, and was lacking a hand while the bastard had two Kingsguards to shield his back and a fucking direwolf who could tear his other hand.

"What do you want boy?" Jon said and the bastard chuckled.

"I came to see a falcon with one wing," Jaehaerys answered mockingly as he motioned to Jon's missing hand.

"Came to gloat more like."

"Aye, that too. Your trial is coming up soon, I came to wish you well," the new king ironized.

"Going to try me like your mad grandfather boy? What's it to be wildfire or will you strangle me like your uncle was strangled?" Jon said, glaring.

"You give me too much credit falcon, our way is the old way," Jaehaerys said, making the man gulp.

So he'd already planned my execution, he deduced.

"Maybe I'll call for a trial by combat." Jon challenged.

The bastard smiled brightly and Jon could see Rhaegar shining through.

"Do so if you wish. Now I wonder, who could you possibly get to defend you in such? I mean I already know you're a fool but is there someone even more foolish than you? Someone willing to go up against The Bold or Lord Jaime or Prince Oberyn or the Sword of the Morning, hmmm I doubt it."

"I still have a son." Jon retorted, reveling in the change of the boy's expression. "Aye, didn't think of that did you boy, I taught him well."

Jon didn't have time to brace himself for what happened next. He felt an immense pressure at his throat and began to feel lightheaded as he struggled to breathe. He looked around in panic and almost welcomed the Kingsguard who ran toward them before being stopped by their King. His vision blurred and he let out a small whimper when Jaehaerys ordered his guards to leave.

So he was about to die that day. So be it. At least the world would see that Jaehaerys Targaryen was no different than his kin.

As soon as he found himself ready to accept his fate, a breath of fresh air came and burned his irritated lungs. Coughing loudly, he had almost no time to come to his senses when he felt the coldness of a blade at his throat.

"You think I'm scared of you?" Jon Arryn provoked, probably sounding as scared as he felt.

"Sure you are. And if I take a knife to you you'll be scared worse and a long time dying." the boy king said and Jon couldn't detect any uncertainty in his discourse.

Jaehaerys toyed with him, with the blade, making him experience fear like he never wanted to.

"There is only one thing we say to death, falcon, not today. Remember that when you're laying in your bed this night and the next. Your death is not today only because I deem it so, your life is mine and I'll take it when I wish."

Jon let out a sigh of relief when the boy king walked away, flanked by his useless knights who would do as every kingsguard did before them.

To have been reduced to that state of panic by a boy, even for a moment, was humiliating, but there were two things this encounter made clear: Jon Arryn wasn't ready to give up on his life, and Jaehaerys Targaryen didn't trust his uncle not to betray him.

That thought made him hopeful, more than anything else. He couldn't wait to give Ned his versions of what happened.

"He did what?" The Warden of the North gasped, visibly shocked by his nephew's attitude.

"He tried to choke me. I think I would be dead if his guards hadn't been with him."

Jon lifted his head, the trace of Jaeherys' hand still present on his neck.

"I can't believe it…"

"Look at me, Ned! Do you think I would do that to myself in my state just to prove a point?"

"There must be a logical explanation."

"I'm telling you, he tried to kill me! We were talking about the trial and then he got angry and he threatened to kill me right there! Ask Arthur Dayne if you don't believe me!"

Ned flinched and Jon knew he had him at this point.

"I think it would be best if you don't come anymore," he stated sadly to put the nail in the coffin.

"Jon, I -"

"I understand, Son. Truly I do. But my heart will not suffer another betrayal."

"I… I'll be there during the trial," Ned promised before leaving and Jon rejoiced internally, thanking Jaehaerys Targaryen for the inconspicuous role he'd played in that part of his plan.

The seeds of doubt and discord had been planted in Ned's mind. He would probably ask his nephew for more details and wouldn't be satisfied with his response. His honor would get in the way of his nephews' plans, as it always did with everything. In fact, Ned's sense of honor had been his problem since the beginning. It was what led him to marry Catelyn when nothing really pushed him to. It was why he brought his nephew with him and why he'd claimed the babe as his bastard instead of Brandon's, which would have made it more understandable but more of a threat to Catelyn's children. It was why he set Catelyn aside when he heard about the assassinations attempts on Jaehaerys, which led him to be in a precarious situation with the Riverlands and all those who followed the true Faith. And, if Jon's plan came to fruition, it would be his downfall during the trial.

He would make Ned Stark be his champion, and Ned could not refuse someone he cares about when they were in a dangerous situation. He took Lyanna's boy in and swore to protect him because she was dying. Why wouldn't he defend his adoptive father who would face people that would want his death for the wrong reasons?

Jaehaerys would find himself in a precarious position. He wouldn't be able to refuse a trial by combat, nor a champion, even if it was his uncle. He would either have to stop the trial and let him go, or to let one of his Kingsguard maim or kill Ned, which will put him at odds with the North. Oh, how excited Jon was to think about the chaos he would leave behind! He just hoped he would be alive to see it, or that he would be rewarded in the Seven Heavens for what he was about to do.

Several moments after the trial

How did things go so wrong? Have the gods truly forsaken the Lord of the Eyrie? Their most loyal servant, who did everything possible to bring the North into the light of the true gods. How could they? They should have saved him. They should have brought the damn boy-king low. His plan was perfect. How could Ned have let him down?

He thought he would be able to counter every argument they would provide, based on Jaehaerys' hatred for Robert and the bias of the jurors. Mace Tyrell was the father of the Queen to be, Jaime Lannister never liked him in the first place and Oberyn Martell… Well… He was a Martell and was seeking vengeance in the wrong place.

Instead, he had been tried for the Rebellion and he had no time to prepare. They had proof about everything. About the marriage annulment, the new marriage, the naming of Jaehaerys, and all of it had been signed by the former High Septon and validated by the new one. An absolute nightmare.

Then it got much worse.

He tried to deny the accusations. No one could find proof about his knowledge of Rhaegar and Lyanna. After all, it was five and ten years ago and he was the only one of those in the know alive, with the exception of the Sword of the Morning. But in a case of word against word, who would the people believe? A disgraced knight who hid for all these years, waiting for the right moment to get his title back, or someone who'd helped the Realm heal after the war?

He'd been blindsided in the worst possible way.

First, there were things they shouldn't have found out. Robert's letter for example. Was the man he'd raised really such an idiot to keep that damning letter all those years as a souvenir of his love for Lyanna? How could they know what to search for and where to find it? And how did the boy know what he'd said to Robert when his ward had come raging in his solar?

"So you didn't comfort Robert when he received it, didn't tell him it was a lie and my mother was playing hard to get?"

There was something unnatural about all of it, about Jaehaerys. Not only did the boy bring direwolves south of the Wall and basically gifted them to his kin, but he also brought dragons back into the world and used them to win his war. And now, he had repeated word for word something only Robert and Jon had known from when he wasn't even conceived. What kind of black magic was Jaehaerys involved in?

Jon insisted that he didn't know about Jaehaerys being Rhaegar's son, even if it was clear from the moment he'd received the letter that Ned had lied to them. They brought another traitor to prove Jon was the liar. He hadn't even realized that he had slipped in front of Ned. Of course, Yohn Royce, being the honorable pain that he was, had caught him on that. Though Jon had never thought that he would desert him and the Vale for a little lie, but he did nonetheless.

Jon had tried to object, to pass it as a false document, to claim that they weren't giving him a fair trial, then the boy brought back his dealings with his former wife and the bastard.

"I call it a trial Lord Arryn, more than you gave Lady Lysa or Robert Arryn." the dragon had sneered.

"How dare you, I was the wronged party."

"Yet you held no trial did you Lord Arryn. You just sent them to the Black Cells and left them there to rot. But we should not look for honor in such a duplicitous dishonorable man such as yourself."

As a follower of the Seven, it had been his absolute right to punish the bitch as he saw fit. She would have been declared guilty of adultery anyway and the bastard was of little consequence. How dared these heathens hold that against him? How dare they call him dishonorable when everything they knew about honor came from the realm He'd ruled upon?

Ned's betrayal stung, a lot. It hit him because once more, he'd been played by the Northerner and didn't even realize it. Ned had comforted him falsely and publicly shamed him. All because of his whore of a sister who couldn't follow simple orders.

"FUCKING STARKS!" he yelled, angry at the world for having another of his plans foiled by these idiots.

"Don't blame them for your predicament, Jon. You have no one to blame but yourself and your lies."

Jon's head whipped to the side and glared at the intruder.

"You…" he growled as Yohn Royce continued.

"If you really thought that Ned would've fallen for your lies after everything you have done to his family then you are the biggest fool in the entire realm. All of the constant lies. All of the duplicity. You even tried to kill him with a hidden dagger after you had surrendered and yet you still thought that he could be tricked by you?"

"What did they give you? Did you sell your testimony for the title of Lord Paramount?"

"I told nothing but the truth and I know part of the Vale will hate me for this, but I stand with my honor on this."

"Your honor?" Jon spat. "You stood against your Liege Lord, you deserted me, and now you're coveting my title! You have no honor, Yohn! And the Vale will avenge me!"

"Let me tell you some hard truths, Jon. Even if you had succeeded in your plan to be set free, it wouldn't have done you any good. The people of the Vale know of your duplicity. It didn't take much for us to find out about your lies in regards to Stannis. Everyone knows how you didn't hesitate to throw us to the wolves without any reinforcements."

"What choice did I have? Truly? We would have won that battle if not for the dragon!"

"We were outnumbered and stuck between two forces. We would have lost even without that dragon. You could have surrendered and saved a lot of lives. Instead, you let your pride get in the way of doing the most reasonable thing. You lied to us from the beginning, you lied to Edmure about his sister to gain his forces and you lied again so you wouldn't lose face in front of Ned. You lost the respect of all the Vale, Jon. Nobody will forget what you did and nobody will mourn you."

"You think you will be treated equally under this new rule? You'll get nothing but scorn with the Targaryen! Nothing!"

"Aye, maybe you're right. Maybe we'll have to pay for your machinations like you made the Reach pay for their loyalty to the Targaryens. But that is a risk we are willing to take for peace and survival. And you will never know the outcome. I wish you good fortune in the Seven Hells."

Jon spat in front of Yohn's feet, showing his disdain for the traitor his former bannerman had become. He had been at the top of the Game for the Throne, had made everyone do his bidding for years, had staged a Rebellion, had prevented one a few years after his coup, only to be fooled by a boy who managed to charm everyone.

"He is right, you know? About you being to blame for everything."

Jon stared at Richard Lonmouth's face with more anger. Another ghost coming to torture him.

"You thought yourself better than Targaryens. Better to rule the Seven Kingdoms, yet you brought the realm to ruin. You never managed to curb Robert's hubris. You gave the Treasury reins to someone who fooled you from the day you two met. You relied on money that wasn't yours to take and you gave favors to a fat man who fooled you some more to trick you into bringing a foreign army into Westeros. You were stupid enough to think they would fight for you when in fact they played you to give the Throne to a Blackfyre. You thought you would get away with killing Rhaegar, with killing my friend and all his family because you thought yourself better. The Gods proved you wrong in the funniest of ways. Now you'll finally face justice and I'm sure Rhaegar is laughing to see you end in dishonor and shame."

Jon couldn't utter a word as he watched Rhaegar's former squire walk away. It all came down to that. Vengeance for the Targaryens.

Traitors, the lot of them.

As he was brought to the Dragonpit, he cursed them all.

He cursed Illyrio Mopatys and his Blackfyre ambitions. If he hadn't been played by this fat fool, who he now knew was in league with Varys, Robert and Jon would still be blissfully unaware of the betrayal of their dear wives, which prompted the beginning of their downfall.

He cursed Robert and his lack of restraint. They could have resolved the matter of Cersei in a less complicated way. One that would have shamed the Lannisters and which would not have had the Western Lords pushed to back Jaime Lannister and Jaehaerys Targaryen.

He cursed Jaime Lannister for having raised Jaehaerys to a status he didn't deserve. If he hadn't meddled and had left the bastard under Catelyn's tutelage, the boy would have been broken and would probably have fled to the Wall, where he wouldn't have been a problem to them.

He cursed Catelyn and Edmure Tully for not being able to kill a boy of ten. How complicated was it to end someone without making a fuss? He'd already done it more than once for Robert's bastards and their mothers, so he knew it wasn't that hard.

He cursed the Targaryens loyalists, a bunch of traitors he should have killed the moment the war was over. He thought that by giving them mercy he would bring them to his cause, but they never really joined the fray and they waited for a good opportunity to see him down.

He cursed the North and the Starks for their part in his fall. He blamed Lyanna more than anything. She'd been an involuntary source for their success, but her ghost had loomed over the Throne for four and ten years, and during all this time Jon had tried to erase her from history. In the end, she had won and it angered Jon to no end.

"My Lords, Ladies, good men and women of King's Landing and Westeros, Earlier Today Jon Arryn was found guilty of treason. By order of King Jaehaerys the Third of his Name, King of the Andals, Rhoynar and First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm, he was sentenced to die and his grace asks you all to witness what fate awaits traitors." he heard from afar.

"This man is as responsible as any for the deaths of my family. For Brandon Stark, For Rickard Stark, For Rhaella Targaryen, For Rhaenys Targaryen, For Aegon Targaryen and For Elia Martell. For Rhaegar Targaryen and For Lyanna Targaryen. Their blood is on his hands and though it brings me no respite for their loss, nothing ever could. It is in their names and in the name of Justice and not Vengeance that Jon Arryn will lose his head here today."

Jon looked up from the block and gasped to see Jaehaerys Targaryen standing over him. The king's stern face reminded him of Rhaegar at this moment more than ever. And then he saw the sword, Blackfyre unsheathed and ready to be used. Robert may have been kin but he was not, so Rhaegar's son had no qualms about taking his head himself. Jon wanted to cry, beg for mercy, shout in anger and curse everyone in the Dragonpit who had come to see his demise. But the words wouldn't come out. All he could do was kneel, close his eyes and pray that the Stranger guided him straight to the Seven Heavens.

And with that, the last thing that Jon Arryn ever heard was the sound of a sword being swung.

Then… nothing.

Until…

Unknown Place and Unknown Time

"JON ARRYN. YOU WILL NOW FACE JUDGEMENT."

Jon looked up in surprise to see that the figure who spoke with such a deep commanding voice was the Father himself. He was flanked by the rest of the Seven and they were surrounded by... Heart Trees?

"Judgement? Judgement for what?"

"YOUR SINS JON ARRYN. YOU WILL FACE JUDGEMENT FOR YOUR MANY GREAT SINS."

And at that moment. Jon Arryn, Lord of the Eyrie, Lord Paramount of the Vale, Hand of the King and shame of his house, felt more fear than he ever had before.

Notes:

Well, this is it! Or is it really?
If you wonder what happened to Jon Arryn in front of his Gods, it is not written... Yet... But it will!
This chapter is smaller than the others but we hope it made you understand some of the things left unsaid on Jon Arryn's side, how much he knew about the Rebellion and some other events.

The next chapter will be on the 'Dornish conspiracy' and its consequences for all the Lords involved. alperez had hinted at the character's POV used in his last chapter. Can you guess who it'll be?

Have a wonderful weekend!