Jon is already seated with the Northern lords, in the Great Hall, when the woman who was once his sister enters, under guard. She limps slightly, and walks with the aid of a cane. He understands that her leg was badly broken, when Winterfell was taken. Arya sits beside him. She has visited Sansa in her chambers and has told him she is in good spirits. He wonders how he will react if she is sentenced to execution. Will he feel joy, relief, sadness, or perhaps, nothing at all? He watches her take her seat. Alysanne Mormont and a panel of lords will conduct the trial. Dozens of witnesses are present in the Hall, ready to give evidence against her.

The charges are outlined by Beric Dustin, a legal scholar. To Jon, they seem pretty damning. The murder of prisoners in Sansa's internment camps; the murder of the brother of Lord Glover; the murder of the Smallfolk during the course of her wars; the sale of men, women, and children into slavery. And finally, oathbreaking. In the Godswood, at Winterfell, the charge that he will be giving evidence on. He steals glances at Sansa from time to time, who appears quite unmoved. Dustin ends, after a couple of hours, and she slowly rises to her feet, to address the court.

"Lady Mormont, Gentlemen of this court, a most pernicious idea has taken root. I appear before you, in the presence of my enemies, entirely helpless. There is a general view that my guilt has already been decided upon, and that these proceedings are, in a sense superfluous. That the only issue that remains to be determined is the manner of my execution. I believe that I can prove my innocence of each and every one of the charges laid against me, save one. I acknowledge that I am guilty of breaking an oath that I swore before a Heart Tree. I believe that my action was justified, for reasons that I shall outline in due course. If, at the end of this trial, you find me guilty and condemn me to death, well, I shall remain satisfied that I am innocent, but all the world shall know that my sentence was a thing already determined." There is some angry muttering among the onlookers. Arya looks uncomfortable, and Jon feels a stab of fury. Sansa will lie to the bitter end. Far better she confess to her crimes, and beg the court for mercy!

She continues. "Before responding to the charges in detail, I must first submit that the majority of them must be dismissed from the outset. They relate to actions which I am alleged to have carried out in my capacity as Queen in the North. No sovereign can be tried for actions which she has carried out in her capacity as sovereign. She is answerable to the Gods alone for her actions in this world. That is the law across all nations." Sansa spends the next hour outlining this part of her defence, citing one precedent after another. Despite his anger, Jon can't deny, she is a formidable speaker when she puts her mind to it. She goes on, to plead an alternative defence, that if she can be held liable for her actions as Queen, then they were justified as acts of war, punishment of crime, and due to necessity. "In war, all laws are silent" she concludes.

Before the Court adjourns, there is time to question the first witness, the commandant of Garstang as it happens. He is already under sentence of death for the murder of prisoners. Perhaps his sentence will be commuted, Jon thinks. Dustin leads him through his evidence, that yes, he murdered prisoners, and yes, he was obeying the Queen's orders. Sansa rises to cross-examine him.

"You say that you murdered prisoners on my orders?"

"That is correct, Your Gr...my Lady."

"When did I give you those orders"?

"Those orders were given by Inspector General Norrey. He informed me that they came from yourself."

"And is Norrey present to confirm that I gave him such orders?"

The commandant looks up confused. One of the judges speaks "He's missing, presumed dead."

"Ah, so what you are saying is that Norrey, who is not present to give evidence on this point, gave you orders that the prisoners should be executed. You then say, that he told you that those orders came from me?"

"That is correct."

"And did you check that I had given such orders?"

"Of course not".

"It never occurred to you that I never gave such orders?"

"Who else would have given them?"

"I have no idea. I do know that you are under sentence of death. That perhaps you hope to save your own skin by attempting to blame me for acts of murder which *you* carried out, on your own initiative. Lady Mormont, my lords" she addresses the judges again. "I submit that I have no case to answer on this point. I never gave orders for the execution of prisoners. It is against all reason and justice that I should be condemned on the basis of hearsay evidence, given by a man who is desperate to escape a death sentence. Neither Norrey, nor Beria, are present to corroborate this man's evidence. How can I be condemned for this man's crimes, when there is no evidence that I ordered them?" There is more angry muttering around the Hall. But, Alysanne is quite firm.

"Be silent, or this Hall will be cleared. This is a court of law, not a lynch mob. Lady Sansa, we shall retire and consider your arguments. But, bear in mind, there are a great many more charges that have been preferred against you.

"Lady Mormont, I am willing to take my chances in Court, as always?"

Jon dines with Arya. "She's lying isn't she?' he asks.

"Yes" Arya replies. "I know she gave those orders. It was common knowledge at Winterfell. But, I'll bet there's nothing in writing. And, the people she gave the orders to are dead or in hiding."

"Will you give evidence against her?" Arya looks horrified. "I can't condemn her to death".

"You condemned my Aunt to death."

"I feel nothing but shame for my actions, Jon, if that means anything after all these years. But, I can't send Sansa to the block, or the stake. I just can't."

"They won't burn her. The worst she faces is death by the sword. "

"And, is that what you want Jon? To see my sister beheaded? The woman who was once your sister. The woman who fought with you to free Winterfell?"

'I don't know. Excuse me." He rises, to retire to his bed. He has the beginnings of a plan, but he will need to think it over, as he rests.

Notes:

1. "In war, all laws are silent" is a quote from Cicero.

2. Sovereign immunity from prosecution has been a tricky legal argument for centuries. Some countries do indeed treat Heads of State/Heads of Government as being immune from prosecution for acts which they committed in that capacity. Sansa's arguments are similar to those made by Mary Queen of Scots at both her trials.

3. Generally speaking, a person can't be convicted on the basis of hearsay evidence (ie people have to give evidence about things that they actually saw or heard. So, the commandant could give evidence that Norrey ordered him to kill prisoners, but he couldn't give evidence that Sansa gave such an order, unless he witnessed her doing so). This is probably far too sophisticated a concept for a court in a Game of Thrones type world, but I am a solicitor, and I enjoy a good courtroom argument.

NB one reader has pointed out that the Church did have a rule against admitting hearsay evidence. Church courts could be quite sophisticated. The conviction of Joan of Arc was overturned on grounds that would be familiar to modern jurists such as bias on the part of the judges, failure to consider relevant evidence, failure to give the accused reasonable opportunity to rebut the charges against her.

4. One of the difficulties in condemning people for war crimes is the absence of written evidence or witnesses who can confirm that the person at the top gave them order