Bastards and Broken Things

by ThornfieldHall

Sansa Stark, under the guise of Alayne Stone, relocates to Highgarden. With all other Tyrells gone, it is supposed to be the safest place for her, even if it means sharing a roof with the man she was supposed to marry: Willas Tyrell. / Plot Heavy containing Reach politics, Battle of Oldtown, fAegon & grand northern conspiracy, semi-slowburn.

26. Chapter 26

Bronze Yohn Royce POV

Bronze Yohn Royce, Lord of Runestone looked upon the thick and tall grey wall of the gatehouse of the Gates of Moon. An expanse of grey stone stretched from one almost vertical mountain slope to the other. From the embrasures a soldier cried who had come up, as if by now the news of his party arriving through the lower gates and waycastles had not yet reached them.

After the announcement they were let in. in the central courtyard of the great grey castle, his cousin Nestor was already awaiting him.

'Nestor, my liege and friend!' Yohn cried, jumping of his horse.

'I did not expect to see you so soon.'

'Yes, I was very fortunate for all the help I have gotten to fasten my return. I am glad I made it here before the snow grew too tall.'

'Yes, I am very curious to hear what you found', Nestor smirked.

'A lot of good. Hence why my party is so… extended.'

His company had not been previously introduced or announced by either letter or word of mouth, he judged it safest. He didn't want the upstart rat to expect what was coming for him. He could be given no time to prepare, or he would find a way to weasel out of it. Nestor looked at Benedar Belmore, Gilwood Hunter, Horton Redfort, Symond Templeton, Anya Waynwood and three other minor nobles descend from their horses. Their men had not been carrying their coat of arms so they could slip detection.

'I see', Nestor smirked.

'May I also give you my congratulations? I am sorry I could not attend the wedding of your dear Myranda.'

'Few could, it was a bit hasty. Bad for the chap but it was her second wedding, didn't see the need for the fuss. Let's go inside to continue our conversation. It's bloody freezing.'

'Ha! Isn't it always in winter?'

'Yes but summer has lasted so long some of my furs have started deteriorating. I've ordered some more, but I heard the foxes, minxes, shadowcats and bears have gone down in number due to the high demand for furs. I can only hope there'll be enough furs to arm everyone with good coats. It'll be a hard winter, I bet.'

'Aye, you can feel it in the air.'

They stomped the snow off their feet on the iron grid at the entrance of the hall.

'We have little time before I have to make my presence known to him', Yohn announced.

'And I do not doubt he will be aware of your company very soon. He will know something is coming.'

'A lot of brain in only a little man. But he cannot sweettalk his way out of this.'

'Are you sure? The King's Peace says that disputes between great houses – '

'Ah, but there it is! The exact wording of that law is what will allow us to do this.'

Nestor Royce looked around the hall, watching incoming knights with snow on their cloaks and blushing female servants skip up the stairs with wood to prepare bedchambers.

'We have no time to walk to my quarters. There is a storage closet nearby. There at least, we can be overheard by no one.'

'The last time I visited a storage closet I was still a lad, and it was for far more pleasant business', Yohn sighed.

'You do not consider our plan pleasant?' Nestor smirked.

'An other way of pleasant', Yohn laughed, clapping his cousin on the shoulder.

'Lead the way!'

They tried to be as inconspicuous as two six feet tall broad men could be as they walked into a side corridor and then down another corridor before sneaking into the room with a torch.

The closet was five foot and filled with cleaning substances.

One bald cousin looked onto a very hairy cousin, both their faces lined with decades of worries for the Vale they both served.

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'You said you could not write about your sources.'

'I have written testimonies of Sansa Stark.'

'Lady Sansa contacted you?'

'She did. She tried to wrench herself loose from Littlefinger as soon as she left the Vale. And succeeded. Now her testimony will help us to free ourselves from his influence.'

'I never understood why he went so far with his bastard daughter charade, and let his most powerful hostage escape. He was not fooling anyone when he introduced her as his daughter', Nestor said.

Yohn Royce nodded.

'I shall be very brief. We can accuse him of the murder of his spouse and with the murder of his liege lady. When she made him Lord Protector he effectively became one of the subjects of the Lord of the Vale. And through marriage, he became a resident of the Vale. Meaning he effectively owed fealty to Lady Lysa, who was at the time his liege lady. The crime happened in the Vale. I mean to use these circumstances to have him tried as a resident of the Vale murdering his liege, making it a conflict between a subject and a liege lord.'

'And the Law allows for this?' Nestor asked. 'I always feared, with him also being the Lord Paramount of the Trident, he would call upon his titles to either claim he is not a subject of the Vale or brush it off as a dispute between two great houses meaning it would not be our jurisdiction.'

'The King's Peace says: "All crime is dealt with as locally as possible. Violations of the law and disputes by and between subjects of a region need to be settled by the local liege lord presiding over that region. Their judgement needs to be abided. Disputes between great houses, due to their nature, have a large effect on the politics of the Seven Kingdoms and thus fall under the jurisdiction of the Crown."', Bronze Yohn repeated.

'If we take that literally we are trying to deal with this problem as locally as possible. And right here, in the Gates of Moon, you are the head of law. You are the local liege lord. The law says the local liege lord presiding over the region has jurisdiction, not the highest liege lord present. That would be Baelish. Secondly this trial is about violations of the law by a subject of the Vale, not a dispute between great houses. Through his marriage and his function he is a subject of the Vale and thus subject to local jurisdiction. A dispute is when two houses are disagreeing. This is not a disagreement, this is murder, treason, theft and bribery.'

'I am listening', Nestor said, rubbing his beard.

'You still have the singer?'

'Yes, my Myranda seduced him before Baelish' men mutilated him and got him to write and sign an account of what went down, in case he was killed. But it is not necessary. We managed to smuggle him out. He's in my cells. We promised him freedom if he stopped singing. If Baelish heard a whiff about music in the cells, we'd hang.'

Yohn nodded. 'Good, and you still have the slipper you found beneath the Moon Door near Lysa's body?'

'Aye, I do.'

'Good. So we have two accounts of him killing Lysa. And both confirm Lysa said Baelish had given her the task to kill her husband and provided the poison. We have him for both the murder of our old lord and his lady. Lastly, Lady Sansa has testified he is deliberately keeping Lord Robin frail. And Lady Waynwood will also confess Littlefinger made wedding plans for Lady Sansa and Hardyng as if Lord Robin would die. That's two lord paramount murders.'

'Secondly Corbray has the receipts of the money he received from Lord Baelish for the drawing of his sword of our last gathering, and is ready to testify. He will tell how Baelish used his family's need for money to bribe him financially and help him marry a very wealthy merchant daughter to ensure his loyalty. Belmore pretended to be friends with Baelish and joined the wedding party in hopes of gaining more intelligence. He did. Baelish rewarded Ser Marwyn Belmore with the function of captain of the guard. Belmore can also account that Lord Baelish is deliberately waiting for a higher demand for food so they can up the prices. I brought some three minor lords as well who are also ready to confess to being bribed.'

'Good.'

'He has also brought the accounts of all the extra grain he shipped to Lord Baelish. If the grain is not accounted for in Baelish' ledgers, he's swindling.'

'Good. And have all lords brought along with them their ledgers accounting for all the financial and material taxes they have given Baelish?'

'Yes. Have you managed to convince the treasurer to show Baelish's ledgers?'

'Yes. He's more than ready to throw him out the moon door. He's as tired as a night watch member is cold from constantly copying, readjusting and fumbling around with accounts that don't add up due to Littlefinger's lying, secret storages and false money accounts. It is certain he pretends the Vale is worth less than it is so he can pay lower taxes to the crown. Meanwhile he still charges us the same taxes. Meaning a lot of coin and grain is going straight to his pockets. He's stealing from the crown, that's capital theft and punishable with death.'

'Three crimes with the death penalty, and plenty of proof for all', Nestor nodded.

'Good job looking for a way out of the King's Peace.'

'You can count on me', Yohn said. 'Now let's go and get this show started, before he steals it and crowns himself ringmaster.'

Nestor looked out of the cupboard and left, Yohn following right behind.

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'So, tell me. Myranda and Hardyng. Are they expecting yet?'

'You know we planned to have them married before Littlefinger came in and started tempting Lady Waynwood with promises of uniting the North and the Vale into one. With the war in the Riverlands and our family dying there, we decided to marry them to ensure potential for them to claim some titles. Mind at this point we still feared Baelish would drag the Stark girl back and marry her to him. It was a rushed business, they had some five days before he left for the riverlands. It's still too early to tell if those five days have borne fruit. But five days is not a lot of time.'

'It is not', Yohn agreed. 'War's a bad time. Entire dynasties can die. Every heir is welcome now, even female ones.'

'Stark and Tyrell did well to marry. The sooner the better. The Starks are all dead, unless we count that so called Arya who magically appeared and married Bolton's bastard. And the Tyrells are threatened with extinction now that the younger two are dead before they produced offspring. Both their families are in desperate need of some sons. Winter and war kill men faster than women can produce them.'

'Aye. I'm keeping Andar close now. I lost two sons in a year. Can't spare him anymore. The lad's annoyed he can't make name and fame for himself by fighting but I can't risk having my sole heir die. I'm also on the lookout for brides for him. Belmore has a girl, I'm tempted to suggest it. Belmore made it clear he wants something for his work.'

They arrived at the banquet hall.

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The other lords declarant had shrugged off their coats, and were seated at the table of honour, drinking wine and breaking the bread. Everyone had grown very superstitious ever since the Frey betrayal, insisting on the old traditions to be visibly performed.

'So, will we immediately arrest him?' whispered Lord Nestor.

'We can try.'

Yohn quickly snatched some bread, sprinkling it with salt before shoving it down his throat. He'd barely swallowed it before the peacock appeared in the doorway.

Yohn would be lying if he said his hands weren't shaking with excitement. Finally. Revenge.

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'My friends, I received word of your arrival. Excuse me lateness, I was still wrapping up some paperwork since your visit was unannounced. But we always open our doors to our faithful lords, do we not, Lord Nestor?' Baelish smiled.

Even his stupid whiskers smiled, curling upwards on the sides of his mouth, Yohn thought.

'I am afraid this is not a social visit, Lord Baelish', Yohn said with all sober solemnity the case deserved. He made sure his booming voice was loud enough for the entire hall to hear.

All conversation quieted down.

Lord Baelish looked at the table, his lips thinning when he noticed exactly who was sitting at the table. It was clear he had not been made aware that all Lords Declarent had made the trip.

'You are many. I did not expect such a grand company again so soon.'

'We were all resigned to staying home and taking care of our local people until winter had passed, but word of a horrible breach of the law urged us to come here and report our worries to the local liege lord.'

'Ah, serious matters. A less entertaining but equally good reason for a visit. Perhaps we could discuss these concerns over dinner?' he suggested smoothly, eyes calm as ever.

'Actually, Lord Baelish, that would not work. See, The King's Peace dictates that crimes need to be dealt with as locally as possible, the trial of a criminal overseen by the local liege lord presiding over that region. The presiding lord in the Gates of Moon is Nestor Royce, not you.'

Lord Baelish gave nothing away except for a slight crease of his brow.

'Lord Baelish, you stand accused of the murder of Lord Robert Arryn and Lady Lysa Arryn, the poisoning of young Lord Robin, high treason through tax crime, bribery and swindling', Lord Yohn declared.

His voice boomed off the thick stone walls and ceiling, the carpets hanging against them failed to absorb his sound.

Gasps and murmuring rose up from around the room.

Lord Baelish's eyebrows rose before he smiled.

'My friend, I do not know where you got that from. Never before did I hear such strong gossip.'

'We have proof, and demand a trial', Lady Waynwood said, standing up.

'Even if you managed to find some gossipy fired servants who wanted to slander my good name, that means nothing. According to the King's Peace, disputes between major noble houses need to be settled by the King. I may come from humble origins but I am Lord of Harrenhal and Lord Paramount of the Riverlands.'

'Yet by birth, through marriage and through your function as Lord Protector of the Vale you are a subject and inhabitant of the Vale. It is not our fault the Lord Paramount of another kingdom became subject of the Vale. On those grounds you can be treated as a subject of the Vale. The King's Peace says that only disputes between noble houses are royal jurisdiction. A dispute is a disagreement in need of settlement, not a crime in need of punishment.'

Baelish was turning pale now, taking a step back.

'But my lord, with all respect, I am Lord Protector of the Vale. The final jurisdiction is mine.'

'The law says it needs to be resolved as locally as possible. Your domain of law only pertains the Eyrie. Secondly it needs to be resolved as locally as possible, you are Lord Protector of the entire Vale, thus you are not the most local liege lord either.

'It was my belief a higher lord cannot be the subjected to a trial by a lord beneath him. Just imagine how many liege lords would start being accused of anything if they issued something that displeased their bannermen.'

'Says who? The law is clear, local liege lord comes first, before the grand liege lord. It is only when the local liege lord cannot solve it, it goes to a higher liege lord.'

Lord Baelish was speechless.

'It is my duty to enforce the law and investigate the accusations, Lord Yohn, you may deliver me the proof and once I am done with it, we shall hold a trial. Until the claims are looked into I fear I am forced to apprehend you, Lord Baelish. If the claims are true your freedom might threaten the health of our young lord. Once these claims turn out to be unfounded, you may walk freely', Lord Nestor cut in.

Littlefinger's cold green eyes narrowed, as it became clear to him Lord Nestor had not been unaware of the plans.

'Dear Lord Nestor, you understand as the accused party I have the right to defend myself. If I am correct I may choose the form of the trial, like trial by faith or trial by combat.'

Lord Yohn grinned, putting his hand on his scabbard. He was ready to fight, as were many of the knights the other lords declarant had taken with them. Meanwhile Baelish was mostly surrounded by young twigs of knights.

Lord Baelish seemed to realize this.

'Or a regular trial. And I am also allowed to bring forth evidence and witnesses.'

'Evidently', Lord Nestor agreed. 'You shall have full access to pen and paper to note down all you want to speak to, and all documents you wish to use. I shall make sure the documents and people reach you so you can consult them.'

Yohn smiled. His cousin appeared as the perfect faithful servant, ready to believe both parties.

'I trust you need not be held?' Lord Nestor asked of Baelish.

'No, I'll just walk with them', Baelish smiled before shooting the table a last glance. Then he followed three knights out of the hall.

'Make sure there's always at least five knights around, of which at least two of ours so we are certain he is not bribing them', Lord Yohn said.

'Five? I was thinking along the lines of eight.'

'My friends, and fellow countrymen, and lady, I suggest we retreat to my solar. It has been a long time since we last saw each other and talked', Lord Nestor Royce declared.

The nobles nodded and all gathered, going over every piece of evidence, every account and every piece of paper that could be of use, seeing how they could use it, and preparing to defend the proof in case Lord Baelish critiqued it.

A sennight was agreed to organize the trial, find a panel of reliable neutral judges and allow Lord Baelish time to prepare for the charges of tax fraud, bribery and murder.

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On the first day the entire morning was spent by Lord Baelish and Lord Yohn Royce going back and forth, in front of all who cared to bear witness, about the legality of Lord Nestor Royce putting Lord Baelish on trial, both citing and interpreting pieces of law.

Based on ancient tradition, after hearing all arguments, it was technically up to Lord Nestor alone to judge in favour or against. However, by his clever invitation of all present lords, ladies and smallfolk he had ensured himself that they could judge the trial for themselves, and defend his decisions if they were ever challenged.

After a lunch break, Lord Nestor returned and unsurprisingly declared he could receive and proceed the accusations.

'If the dowager queen hears of this, she will not be pleased', Baelish warned with a smile. 'I was appointed by the crown as Lord Paramount of the Riverlands. You plan to trial me for crimes punishable with death. You would murder an appointed and appreciated loyal lord paramount of the crown. They will come for you. And bring war to our peaceful Vale we all love.'

'Queen Cersei has lost virtually all power since her trial. Mace Tyrell rules King's Landing as regent now. He is a reasonable man and will not send his already depleted armies to the Vale in winter to avenge a man who replaced his good-daughters family in the Riverlands and killed his good-daughter's aunt and uncle', Lord Nestor pointed out.

'Secondly if I sentence you to die, which you need not fear if you are innocent, it is not an attack against the crown. Rather it is a protection of the crown and the law I serve. Men who break the law and steal from the crown are enemies of the crown.'

'I am innocent as of yet. Until proof is found of the opposite, and you will not find anything that is not based on subjective accounts', Baelish declared with a little smile. 'And once I am free, we will see just how happy the crown is with your so called protection of it.'

'Alright, we will. Enough useless words now. We will open the hearing on the crime of tax fraud, of which Lord Petyr Baelish stands accused. All those who wish to speak in favour of the accusation or bring evidence to show it, raise your hands.'

The hands were raised and all names were noted down in order.

'All those who wish to speak against the accusation or bring evidence to show the claim is false, raise your hands.'

The hands were raised and all names were noted down in order.

The hearing started.

A septon prayed, beseeching the Father Above to guide them towards justice and all witnesses had to swear to speak the truth in the eye of the gods.

All lords brought forth their ledgers, and then at the end Littlefinger's treasurer came forth. Baelish's eyes narrowed when the maester hobbled forward, shoulders bent by the weight of his chains. Then all accounts were given, including the ones of Lord Belmore and Lord Grafton about the event in the cellars. Their accounts clearly confused Littlefinger, who was under the pretence that men, once bought, would remain bought. Lord Yohn smiled lightly underneath his beard. You could always trust an unreliable man to turn with the wind and switch sides when another side was more likely to win.

'Naturally, you two could have conspired against me to see me displaced as Lord Protector. You have long ago made clear you wanted more power over the Vale yourselves. Secondly, but not less importantly, you cannot blame me for not wanting to be hasty with the selling of our stocks. We are facing a long and hard winter. My people need to be fed first, before we feed the people of other regions. Secondly I owe it to my people to put as much money in the treasury as possible. Despite that I stand accused of stealing from you all and from the crown, which I do not agree with – '

Some watchers in the hall started coughing, whispering and laughing. Baelish looked displeased.

'Despite that, I care deeply for the people of the Vale. I want to leave my stepson, the rightful Lord of the Vale with as much funds as possible. We will need it in winter to buy supplies and help our people. A man cannot be accused of being a wise businessman. There is nothing wrong with that.'

'Agreed to the last part', Lord Nestor agreed. 'However, about them conspiring to gain more power… There is another account…'

Lord Baelish froze.

'We were alone.'

'But you were overheard. The testimony, if you please', Lord Nestor asked, lifting his hand in demand. A servant rushed to him with the unbroken seal of House Highgarden.

'The account of Sansa Stark, who you brought to the Vale under the guise of your bastard daughter.'

Lord Baelish turned white like a sheet. It was clear he realized that if she had written about that, she would have also written about the murder of Lysa. Bribery and tax fraud he thought himself equipped to deal with, murder accusations with no direct witnesses he did as well. But this worried him. The deck of cards was redistributed.

Naturally, he first tried dispelling Alayne Stone was Sansa Stark, next he tried to question the authenticity of the signature and seals. For all Lord Yohn was prepared. The seal of House Highgarden had been unbroken, and Lord Nestor managed to procure other letters from Highgarden written by Lord Willas and Lord Mace in the year prior with the same seals. Sansa Stark's letter in which she denounced Robb Stark's claim to the throne was also still in the archives of the resident maester and the writing matched with the writing of Sansa Stark's current scrolls.

Lord Baelish presented his sources, gave his interpretation to the ledgers and his constant demands to change them and explained away the disparity between his received taxes and the money paid to the crown.

The following day brought the bribery charges, this took up a whole day and was undoubtedly the most uncomfortable day of the trial, as no witness could be brought forth, except for the testimony of Sansa Stark, without the witness also being involved in the bribe.

Lord Baelish suffered his first setback the moment the witnesses were asked to raise their hands, when less people than expected raised their hands to protect his claim while more hands than expected raised their hands to give proof of Littlefinger's bribery. Lord Nestor pretended not to notice Lord Baelish's distress.

Lady Waynwood delicately tried to explain her money troubles and debt but focussed on how easily Baelish waved grand sums of money her way while in return asking for a match between her ward Harold Hardyng and the so called Alayne Stone, stressing he painted the match as one that would decide the fate of the Vale and the North, thus already setting up the hearing of the next day about his murders and attempted murder, because Hardyng could never decide the fate of the Vale if the young Lord Arryn lived.

Then went Lyn Corbray who attested that he was bribed with money and positions for his family. He proved it with his personal accounts on paper. He was not happy but he insisted that he was thinking about the fate of his house. He also pressed that Lord Baelish knew Corbray would remain silent about this crime out of vanity, and made a great show of how he put his family and good name for the greater good.

Last came four fresh witnesses, admitting Lord Baelish had attempted to bribe them to give accounts in his favour, explaining what he wanted them to say, how he wanted them to prove it and what he tried bribing them with.

The only one remaining silent was Nestor, who knew he sat upon a throne of lies, as the Gates of Moon were technically also an Arryn castle and the eternal stewardship his family had been granted was technically illegal. However, he knew how that would look to the people. And decided one crime more or less would not make a difference in how guilty Littlefinger was of bribery.

Then up went Littlefinger, who insisted that the other lords and lady should also be trialled for bribery and punished. He then twisted the story that he wanted to help the lords of the Vale by getting rid of their financial problems so that the Vale could thrive without increased taxes on the people, overall trying to appear as a magnanimous and benevolent ruler. But the people were not convinced of this. That only excused the financial aid, not the setting up of matches, the assuring silences and the rewarding of positions.

On the last day the murder trial took place. And when the singer Marillion, whom all the lords hated but now desperately needed, was brought in, Baelish became silent, as did the people. His presence alone, mutilated by Littlefinger's men, said more than enough about the pressure placed on him during his confessional.

Marillion's account was given, the slipper of Sansa Stark was produced, Sansa Stark's account was given and then both the singer and Sansa Stark's account spoke of Lysa Arryn's confessions of being goaded into killing her husband.

'First of all, it is clear that Lady Tyrell and the singer could be conspiring together to condemn me. Secondly, even if it were true, this story they tell about the murder of Jon Arryn, then I am still not guilty of murder. Lysa Arryn is the murderer of her husband, not I.'

The crowd protested and growled, but only Lord Redfort answered calmly.

'Why would Lady Tyrell conspire together with the murderer of her aunt to appoint you, who protected her from persecution in King's Landing and kept her safe here, as you insisted you did?'

Then Lord Baelish changed his tactics, saying he had been protecting Sansa by accusing Marillion and it was in fact Sansa and Lysa who had been struggling together and it was Sansa who had thrown her aunt through the Moon Door, explaining why her slipper had not fallen far from Lysa Arryn's body. Now Sansa wanted to use this trial to absolve herself of guilt by conspiring with Marillion to accuse Baelish of the crime.

'Then is it nod odd the lady admitted to struggling with her aunt before you stepped in? A clever murderer would remove themselves entirely out of the narrative', voiced Lord Redfort.

'Certainly, but she is also clever enough to know she had to give a reason why her slipper fell through the door', Baelish decided.

'If this were true, what motive would then Lady Stark have to kill her aunt? She, her last living relative who agreed to hide her despite that she was a fugitive? Worse, killing her own aunt in front of her doting husband and another witness?' questioned Lady Waynwood.

'Why did you not tell the truth directly if she killed your lady wife? Why keep up the story of Marillion being guilty to protect a lady who murdered her aunt and now accuses you of murder?' Lord Redfort pressed.

To this, lord Baelish had nothing to say.

'You swore to speak the truth and only the truth during this trial. Lord Baelish, you lied.'

Last up were the maesters, maids, Sansa Stark's account and a written account of the new Lady Hardyng and the oral account of Mya Stone, all confessing how weak Lord Robin was and how much milk of the poppy and dreamwine he was given.

And lastly Lord Robin himself came in, the boy had only recently turned eight and still looked as frail as ever as he was lead in by the septon who had watched over him together with Mya and the maester the past week.

Lord Nestor announced the boy had been without medicine for a week, and continued to question the maester, Mya and the small lord Arryn himself about how the past week had been. It had been a struggle, and the young lord complained he had not felt very well at first, but felt better by the end of the week and could even walk down the stairs to the hall himself, which he hadn't been able to before. The whole time Mya Stone held his hand and encouraged him to talk. He did question, however, why he was not allowed to see Lord Baelish that week, clearly oblivious by all that had been going on.

'They have deemed me to be a danger to you. They want to punish me', Lord Baelish said, face etched with regret and sadness. 'He cannot make me fly but he will try to do something similar.'

'Punish? Why?' the boy asked, starting to struggle in Mya's arms.

'But I am the lord!' the boy protested. 'I choose when people fly! You said I can decide when people fly!'

Mya gave up and let him go, running to Littlefinger. He hugged his leg. Lord Nestor allowed the theatrics for five minutes, as this was their lord.

Little lord Arryn had a point when he said he was the lord of the Vale, luckily the petulant childish way in which he delivered it and flaunted his power to choose between life and dead, followed by the hugging, underlined precisely why the little lord could not possibly have a vote. The crowd watched with growing pity, worry, fear and disbelief how the boy clung to Littlefinger with full trust after all his helpers had just recounted how Baelish had decided on feeding the young lord so much dreamwine and milk of the poppy that the boy's health was declining.

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'All accusations have been dealt with. All testimonies have been heard. All sources have been addressed. The jury will now retreat to discuss the charges and decide upon a final judgement. We reconvene tomorrow morning at nine', Lord Nestor decided.

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At nine the next morning, the world was still dark. Now winter had come, the hours of light were decreasing. The great hall was eerily quiet when Lord Baelish stepped in, a true feat given it was filled with over two hundred faces.

In the front of the hall, beneath stained glass panels of the falcon kings of times long past, sat the seven judges and Lord Nestor, who presided over them. He was dressed in his house colours, wearing a heavy purple cloak trimmed with white fur over a bronze coloured jerkin with runic motives. But Lord Baelish too, had arrived in battle gear, wearing a very decorative colourful costume that screamed opulence and importance.

'Lord Baelish, the jury has gathered and debated until deep into the night, and reached a conclusion', Lord Nestor announced.

'On the charge of tax crimes and swindling, you are considered… guilty. The stealing of money from our one true King Tommen is considered treason, the punishment of which is death.'

'On the charge of bribery of over ten people, which is common practice but therefor no less illegal, you stand guilty. The punishment of this crime is usually fiscal of nature combined with imprisonment.'

'Finally, on the charges of murder. You have been found guilty of conspiracy to murder of the Lord Paramount of the Vale Jon Arryn. You are also deemed to be an accomplice in the murder of the Lord Paramount of the Vale Jon Arryn. You are deemed guilty of the direct and deliberate murder of the Lady of the Vale Lysa Arryn. And you are deemed guilty of the deliberate sickening of the present Lord Paramount of the Vale Robert Arryn.'

Lord Baelish remained silent.

Yohn Royce delighted in the silence of the wordy man, rubbing his beard with pleasure. He had feared the common people within the jury would have feared Littlefinger's threat of the crown's army more than they did having Littlefinger for a ruler. A farmer, a valet, the head of the stables, a minor local noble, a noble of Lady Waynwood's household and the local septon had all sat on the jury and their opinion, he knew, had been unanimous.

'Lord Baelish, you stand guilty of treason of the highest degree to the crown and the leadership of the Vale. The punishment of which, for each crime, has been deemed death', Lord Nestor said, voice grave and thundering.

'However, given the impracticality of two death sentences and a decade of imprisonment, it has been reduced to a single death sentence, which will be executed by sword at noon. And for lying during your trial you will get a nail driven through each hand, pinning you to the gate.'

This was the only regrettable part of the proceedings. Yohn's hands ached to swing the blade, to have his bones shudder as the iron snapped his neck. Alas, his cousin was as much of the belief that the one delivering the sentence had to swing the sword.

He would just have to derive as much satisfaction as possible from seeing his smug little face roll through the dust and muddy snow.

'You cannot do this. I am the Lord Paramount of the Trident', Baelish seethed, finally breaking his silence.

'You are a citizen of the seven kingdoms who committed high treason and destabilized the realm by murdering another lord paramount. I believe the king will follow my judgement', Lord Nestor said, quite blasé. 'And if he doesn't, I sure wish him luck taking the Vale in winter while another king is conquering the southern kingdoms.'

'This was not a fair trial. The evidence was biased.'

The septon of the jury rose. 'Numbers do not lie, my lord. All lords their ledgers added up except yours, and your own treasurer explained why that was so. And the reason was treason. And all witnesses stood united against you, despite having no reason to bond together. We do not accept the questioning of the jury, it has been composed of people who knew nothing of the entire affair and looked upon the accusations with fresh unbiased eyes.'

Baelish shook his head.

'Lord Robert will not enjoy hearing his step-father is sentenced to death.'

'We, however, will be pleased that our lord will live to be upset instead of die at your hands', Lord Nestor said.

'I climbed my way up from nothing. And as I climbed I saw nothing but lords like you lie and deceive and forsake codes of honour and lies. All of you, all!' Baelish said, pointing his finger at the lady and lords gathered. 'You are just as guilty of bribery as I am. And you're probably just as guilty of clearing away people who stood in your way. You at least are, Lord Gilwood. Nobody believed your father's so called sudden death.'

He was taking everyone down with him, destabilizing the Vale, Yohn realized.

'If you accuse me you need to dispatch of most of your local lords as well, keep that anger and feed it. It has a lot to feed upon', Baelish said.

'We are not murderers', Lady Waynwood cried.

'But your debt would have perhaps caused taxes so high your people would have starved. And is that not death?' Baelish questioned.

Stop, for the love of the old gods, do not give him anymore to talk about, Yohn prayed.

'Alright', Lord Yohn decided, standing up. 'We will not allow a convicted criminal to destabilize the Vale by shouting unfounded claims. You have done enough damage. I shall return you to your cell until it is time.'

He marched over, looking for the approval of Lord Nestor, before dragging Baelish along with some guards.

'This was your doing. Yours. I should have known', Baelish decided.

'So it was. I told you not all of us were fooled. I collected all who shared my feelings and it worked out well, did it not? You smelled like a thousand rotten secrets anyway, your mint breath fooled no one. We found them', Yohn shrugged as Baelish was placed back in his cell.

'You barely found a thing. But then I cannot be surprised, you bunch are stupid. You have no clue of half of the secrets of this realm, of King's landing. I suppose I must applaud you, a bunch of dumb nobles half of which can't read, a crappy singer and a girl of six-and-ten bested me. Me. I had not expect it. But still you did not find out what I did. You're too stupid to find the rest.'

His fast-approaching death was making him loose lipped. And he knew no amount of begging or bribing would work on Yohn.

'No matter, I found enough. And now you may die in the knowledge you've been bested by some stupid people, a singer and a girl of six-and-ten', Yohn smirked.

'I'd say I were sorry, but nothing would bring me more joy than seeing your head roll through the mud with your body rotting nailed to the gates.'

'You have no idea what's in store. There is not a person in all of the Vale equipped to handle the storm that's coming', Baelish warned.

'Yeah well, we'll see about that. Or rather, I'll see about that. Since you'll be just a bunch of bones by then. Enjoy your last few hours, Littlefinger.'

.

.

.

At noon Bronze Yohn Royce offered his sword to his cousin for the occasion, and smiled as Baelish was dragged out. With rotten cabbage sticking to his clothes and tomato and eggs spread out on his head, Lord Petyr Baelish, most dangerous and clever player of the game of thrones, sat down in front of the chopping block and lost his head. It did not thunder, it did not snow, no crows cried and the earth did not shake when with two strong hacks his head was detached from his body. In death, Westeros' most dangerous man was no different than any other.

Three days later Yohn Royce left, looking back at the rotting corpse nailed to the Gates of Moon for as long as he could.