When Ned Stark walked into The Throne room he walked in on the sight of Ser Barristan Selmy at the foot of the steps on the left with Ser Loras on his right and a few other Knights from various places across Westeros. Opposite them stood the Lords from Houses big and small. In the space between both sides was a scorch mark, not too old from the looks of it. And at the opposite end of the room from where he stood sat his nephew Jon Targaryen, a vigilant dragon on each side of the throne.
"Uncle," Jon greeted him with a friendly smile, one that in some way was mimicked on the faces of the dragons with him. "I hope your journey wasn't too much of a hassle."
"It went better than I had expected it to" Ned Stark answered plainly. When word had been sent to Harrenhal, Ned Stark had not wasted a moment in leaving the castle with his men. "I received a raven while I had been there. Bran has woken up Maester Luwin says. He is yet unsure whether he will walk again."
"He is alive and with us still, that's what matters most," Jon said with a smile. He looked to his gathered Lords, "my Uncle will serve as my Hand" the declaration was short and accepted by everyone there. At Jon's invitation, Ned joined his son but stood closer to the steps to The Throne. "Bring in the prisoners" Jon called. The Lannisters were brought in and the first to be put forward was Jaime Lannister. Nobody refrained from showing their distaste for him.
"Jaime Lannister, Son of Tywin Lannister and Joanna Lannister, Kingsguard to the late Kings Aerys the second of his name and Robert of House Baratheon. Kingslayer as you are more commonly known. You stand before me with only one crime, and that is refusing to bend the knee to me when I staked my claim for the throne and openly fighting against me."
The declaration was met by muttering and whispers from everyone in court. Most had expected Jon to punish Jaime Lannister for murdering King Aerys, Jon's paternal Grandfather, while under oath to protect him. Ned himself was surprised that his nephew did not charge that against him.
"My Lords and Ladies, you have questions no doubt. Allow me to explain" Jon spoke and then went into details about the day Tywin Lannister sacked Kings Landing in Robert's name. He told about Aerys and his orders to burn the city to ash with wildfire, with all rebel armies on its land. By the end, everyone was stunned to silence, especially Ned who had found Jaime all those years ago in this room with the dead king and Jaime's blade coated with his blood.
"In the light of your services to The Seven Kingdoms, you will not receive a death sentence" Jon declared and the mutterings began once more. "But, you will be punished for not bending the knee to me when you had multiple opportunities to. Ser Jaime Lannister, I banish you to The Wall. You will be removed from your vows as a Kingsguard, you will be removed as heir to Casterly Rock and all your inheritance will be forfeit. Is there anything you would like to say?"
"No," Jaime shook his head and bowed slightly. "I thank you for your mercy. And I apologize, for not being able to protect your siblings all those years ago."
Jon gave a curt nod and with a gesture, Ser Jaime was pulled to the side, much gentler than how he had been pushed before the new King. The next person called forth was Tywin Lannister, who kept his head held high.
"Your crimes are similar to that of your son who stood there before you" Jon spoke evenly, hard glares clashing against one another. "But your fate is not the same as his," Jon's chest puffed slightly and the dragons at his side sat up straighter, "your bannermen Ser Gregor and Ser Amory killed my half-siblings and raped their mother. Robert Baratheon may have overlooked it owing to his hatred for my blood, but I will not."
"Those were the work of those two men. I had no hand in it" Tywin Lannister said boldly.
"So, you admit that you've been inadequate as a liege Lord then? That those under you get to do whatever they please and face none of the consequences? Is that how the mighty Tywin Lannister runs things? Such incompetence" Jon smiled cruelly, it only growing wider at the strain shown on Tywin's face. "One of those two things can be said to be one of your men going wild. The other, I think not" Jon leaned forward on The Throne. "Your fate will be decided by The Dornish. A raven has been sent to Doran Martell about us handing over you, Ser Gregor and Ser Amory. Think of it as us showing The Dornish that, unlike Robert, I do not stand by and let the murder of innocents go unpunished."
Tywin Lannister was removed before Jon when the signal was given. Tywin did not speak, but the anger was apparent in his eyes. Jaime looked at Jon with surprise while Tyrion lowered his head and shook his head slowly. One of the two did not care much about what happened to their father. When Cersei Baratheon was brought forward next, Jon relaxed on his throne, but his dragons remained alert.
"You have two choices here, Lady Cersei. And neither of the choices has any direct effect on your verdict. They affect your children" Jon spoke coolly and the sneer on Cersei's face turned into one of confusion and fear. "Are your children Robert's? Or are they Jaime's? Depending on your answer, I will decide the fate of your children."
Cersei hesitated, her facial features morphing from pure hatred, to fear, to anger to terror. But then her features evened out and she puffed her chest out. "They're all Jaime's, thank the gods. In the rare event that Robert leaves his whores for long enough to stumble drunk into my bed, I finish him off in other ways. In the morning, he doesn't remember" she declared proudly, and the court erupted in shouts of horror and outrage. The shock and repulsion were clear on her father's face, while Jaime held himself taller and Tyrion shook his head once more. But Cersei pressed on, "Jaime and I are more than brother and sister. We shared a womb. We came into this world together. We belong together" she declared, adding to the growing horror of everyone present. "The Targaryens wed brothers and sisters for 300 years to keep bloodlines pure."
"And you are not the blood of The Dragon" Jon cut her off sharply, the heat in his tone silencing everyone at court. He was not angry about Cersei and Jaime, not truly. The two fell in love and the two gave in to their love. Being who descended from, it would have been hypocritical of him to be angry or repulsed. "The blood of Old Valyria is different, their customs are different. The blood of the dragon is filled with magic that allows us to bond with dragons. You dare compare yourself to us?" Jon sneered and some of the deviance left Cersei. "But if you insist to put on the image of being equal to that of House Targaryen and their ways, by all means, come forward and bond with a dragon. If you are able to do that, I'll call on a Septon and oversee your and your brother's marriage. I'll make all necessary preparations" he added with a predatory smile. That had drained Cersei of all the defiance she held, and the huffs from both dragons filled her with dread.
"Cersei Baratheon, I sentence you to live the remainder of your natural life with the silent sisters" Jon declared and Cersei looked at him with shock.
"You can't do this to me" she hissed.
"I can" Jon answered calmly, "and I just did" he added. With a motion, Cersei was removed before Jon. Removing her took more force than her brother and father. "As Cersei has just confessed, the children are not Robert's. They are bastards by Jaime Lannister, Hills all three of them" Jon declared and the room murmured in agreement. "Joffrey Hill, your nature is well known to anyone who has met you, and I deem you a threat to everyone around you. I sentence you to The Watch like your father" Jon declared and the room echoed the sentiment. Joffrey reacted much as his mother did, and the guards acted harsher with him. He was nobody's favourite."
"Myrcella Hill, Tommen Hill" Jon called and the two straightened. "You both have been innocent all through this and I find no blame to put on you. I will not curse you or punish you for the sins of your parents. I will not doom you like Robert Baratheon doomed my siblings. As such, by royal decree I naturalise you both to the name Lannister" Jon declared. Both children looked relieved, as did Cersei, Jaime and Tyrion. The loyal Lords didn't speak, only nodding their heads or remaining still.
"Tyrion Lannister" Jon called and the imp waddled forward. "I give you a choice. Bend the knee to me, serve me in any capacity I see you fit to serve in and pledge your loyalty to House Targaryen."
Tyrion wasted no time in doing so and Jon was glad at that fact. Tyrion Lannister was a sharp mind, one Jon wanted to harness for himself. He knew plain enough that Tyrion held no love for anyone but his brother and his niece and nephew. He knew losing Tywin, Cersei and Joffrey meant little to him.
He bid Tyrion rise and called for an end to the meeting. He rose and the Lords all bowed as he left the throne room, followed by Ned Stark who was asked to go with him and his dragons which flew out after he left.
Small Council Room
"I'm sorry you had to hear all of that."
"No, I understand what you said and why you said it. None of it was a lie, to begin with. You have nothing to apologize for."
A moment of silence passed between uncle and nephew, with the nephew staring out the window and the uncle looking at his back. The nephew turned around and took a seat at the head of the table, the uncle taking his seat to his nephew's right. And on the uncle's right sat the nephew's guard.
"The Baratheon forces came to submit to me with Shireen as their representative" Jon broke the silence, "she looked extremely nervous and out of place at court. And it did not help that her father was later cursed when the truth of what he had done came to light."
"Poor girl" Ned mumbled softly. It was surprising yet not that surprising at the same time. Shireen was the last surviving trueborn Baratheon. She would be looked to as the new head, even if she was ill-prepared for it. "What have I missed in between? Fill me in please" Ned requested and Jon went into details about the events that took place while Ned was not around. When talk moved to Littlefinger, Ned's blood boiled.
"He died by dragon fire. I made it as painful as I could" Jon informed him and Ned felt that Baelish deserved as much. "Varys has also located books of Baelish's businesses. It seems he's been doing a lot of under the table business. Especially with the crown's funds" On pushed the book on the table to Ned. The Hand of the King looked through the book and was appalled by what he saw.
"That weasel" Ned muttered under his breath.
"All his establishments have been taken by the Crown and all the riches in his name would be used to pay off the debt that the crown has to The Iron Bank. It only seems fair since most of the debt is from the extra loans he took under the crown's name" Jon explained. Ned was happy with that decision.
"We need to elect a council soon, your Grace, my Lord" Ser Barristan cut in.
"And select a captain and men for the city watch" Jon added. "All of the ones that had been present during Joffrey's short rule have been slain in battle" Jon hummed softly. "What are your opinions on The Unsullied?"
"That they were born under unfortunate circumstances and that they are slaves," Ned said sharply, "are you planning on bringing slaves to the Seven Kingdoms?"
"Of course not" Jon looked scandalized, "I'm insulted you would even consider that. I meant buying and freeing them. Give them the choice of whether they'd want to freely serve us or not."
"It will not be seen as a good move, your Grace," Ser Barristan said softly.
"Very well" Jon sighed. Having someone of Greyworm's capabilities would have been brilliant, not to mention the armies he commanded. "We'll have to look for someone. But the council comes first. I have a few suggestions for Master of Ships and Master of Coin. I would prefer to have a stern Northerner to be my Master of Laws. The position of Master of Whispers stays with Varys. He's served me well and I know I can trust him to put the realm before a king, should something like that come to pass" Jon explained. Ned wasn't too pleased about it, but he agreed that Varys' loyalty came in handy through all of this.
"Should I look for potential Knights to fill in The Kingsguard, your Grace?" Ser Barristan questioned and Jon gave him his permission. "How about the Wardens?" asked Ser Barristan.
"House Stark remains Warden of The North" Jon answered easily. "I suppose since House Tyrell is now my soon to be good family, they remain Wardens in The East."
"You don't sound too happy about it" Ned pointed out.
"I don't know if I can trust them. They only came to me when Renly died. Clearly their ambitions rule their hearts more than loyalty" Jon explained.
"That is true. But you marrying a daughter from House Tyrell cement their loyalty to you. Much like any other noble House, they will look after one of their own. If not out of love, then out of saving the face of their House" Ned explained.
"Jon Arryn said much the same to Robert when he started his Kingship. His marriage to Cersei Lannister was more political than anything else" Ser Barristan pointed out.
"And look how that turned out" Jon mumbled and silence descended in the room. Broken only when Ned spoke.
"What about Warden of The East?"
"Prepare a raven for the Eyrie, demanding they appear at court to bend the knee to me. And write a separate letter for House Royce. In the letter explain what has happened here, about Littlefinger and Lady Arryn. But make sure they do not tell that to Lady Arryn but spread the message around so the other Vale Houses know the plot. Tell them that Lysa Arryn will be tried under me. Send the letter first, wait for a response before sending the raven out."
"At once your grace" Ned dipped his head. Jon dismissed the meeting and once he was left alone in the room, he stared sullenly out the window. There was much work to do and how much time he had in his hands, he did not know.