"Good luck, my Lady, I mean it", says Maege. They had finished breaking their fast together, on the second morning of the trial, and were about to return to the Great Hall, with the guards.

"You're not meant to say that" she replies, smiling. "I don't think your mother would approve." In truth, they have become very friendly over the past few weeks, to the point where Maege has even suggested arguments that Sansa should be putting forward. Unusual behaviour from a gaoler, to say the least, but welcome.

"My mother wants justice to be done. Whatever the outcome, I shall speak up for you. "

"Thank you, it's a relief to know that Arya is not my only friend in the Great Hall. I suppose we'd better return there." Sansa gets up, and they leave the room with the guards. On arrival, she resumes her seat, and waits for the judges to return.

When they do, Lady Mormont addresses her directly. "Lady Sansa, we have considered your submissions. The only evidence that has been put forward in respect of the murders at Garstang comes from the commandant who perpetrated those murders. So far as we can tell, there is no evidence which directly links you to that crime. As you have correctly pointed out, his evidence is hearsay, and it cannot be used to convict you. You must of course bear some degree of responsibility for actions carried out by your subordinates; it therefore remains to be determined whether you are guilty of manslaughter. But, a charge of murder requires evidence of intent, and we accept that there is no evidence that could be used to demonstrate such intent. You are therefore acquitted of the murder of prisoners at Garstang. It must follow that you cannot be convicted of any count of murder of prisoners, unless there is direct evidence that you ordered such murder. " Sansa keeps a poker face, although she grins inwardly. "As to the submission that you are immune from prosecution as sovereign, we shall reserve judgement on that point until the end of the trial." She rises to say "I thank your Ladyship".

An endless procession of witness continues, largely to allege atrocities committed by her armies against the Smallfolk who were sworn to rebel lords. It turns out that the death of her husband is a godsend. "Ser Raymond had operational command of my armed forces. Had Queen Yara not executed him, he would have been able to give evidence on these points. I left the conduct of military affairs to my late husband." Dustin is growing increasingly frustrated.

"Do you take responsibility for anything that your soldiers did? What of Lord Ryswell's rebellion. You suppressed that yourself. You cannot blame the murder of villagers on your husband."

"Nor do I seek to. But, I dispute that I committed murder. I acknowledge that I ordered the execution of adult males who were capable of bearing arms. I spared the women and children."

"Spared them to starve to death!"

"I am not responsible for what happened to them, after my soldiers left them. My lords, if I am guilty of murder for ordering the execution of adult males whose lord rose in rebellion against me, why, every Great House in the Seven Kingdoms is stained with murder. What did I do that any other king or lord would not do? This was no more than a typical and lawful act of war.

"Have you spent your whole life, in denial, refusing to see anything you find distasteful. Refusing to listen to anything you find disagreeable?" snaps Dustin.

"Not in the least. I'm looking at you, and listening to you", she ripostes. There is general laughter. Even Alysanne Mormont smiles.

More witnesses appear over the next couple of days. She feels she is getting the better of the exchanges with Dustin, and casting doubt on the testimony of the majority of the witnesses.

"But, in the end, does any of it matter?" she asks Maege, at dinner, on the fourth day of the trial. "My enemies cannot allow me to live."

"Have faith in my mother. She is a good woman."

The fifth day is more difficult. She is questioned in detail over the death of Robbett Glover's brother. She argues that his death was a lawful execution for treason, but has no choice to admit he was condemned without trial, and denied the right to trial by combat. Would to the Gods, she had never uttered the words "Fire is the champion of House Stark!"

The following day, witnesses are brought forward to testify that they or family members were sold to slavers on Sansa's orders. "I entirely deny that I sold anyone into slavery" she responds coolly. There is more angry muttering in the Court. "I have provided you with ample documentary proof" (she addresses the judges) that the terms of the agreements which I reached provided for men and women to work as indentured labourers, for a period of time, and to be paid wages. Children were to be taken on as apprentices. This differs little from the practice on estates across the Seven Kingdoms, and is certainly preferable to the thraldom which is the norm on the Iron Islands. " She notices Jon glaring at her, before shaking his head.

"And what steps did you take to ensure that these terms were enforced," asks Dustin.

"I instructed my officials to ensure that the terms of the agreements were honoured. Again, I have provided documentary evidence to that effect."

"Or you sought merely to cover your tracks? And, inevitably, the relevant officials are all dead or in hiding?"

"It is scarcely my fault that I was subjected to a war of aggression, resulting in the death or flight of my ministers."

Finally, on the seventh day, the confrontation with the man who had been her brother. "You have already admitted, that you broke an oath, not to reveal my parentage, which you took before a heart tree. You knew that I had no desire to be king, yet you sought to force a battle for the succession between myself and Daenerys Targaryen. You put both our lives at risk."

"I did, and I make no apology for it. I had fought to establish the independence of the North. You were sent to Dragonstone to negotiate a military alliance between equals. We would receive military aid against the Dead; we would give military aid against Cersei Lannister. Instead, you threw away your crown the moment Daenerys Targaryen took you into her bed. You lied to me and to your vassals that you had no choice in the matter, but that is not true. You chose to give up your crown to her, after she had seduced and corrupted you. Why should I not seek to set the pair of you against each other? She was a tyrant, and you were a coward, unworthy of the North."

"Aye, I lied. Our vassals were on the point of open revolt. I took the coward's way out, and sought to pin the blame for giving up the crown on my aunt. I deserve every moment of my exile, for that alone. But, let's not pretend your own motives were pure. You schemed for a crown from the outset. That's why you set us against each other, and that's why you and your brother sent me into exile. And, the pair of you have spent the past fifteen years, frightened that I'll take your crowns back from you. You call me coward, and I daresay you're right. I was a coward to let you plot against Daenerys, and do nothing. I was a coward to let you belittle a woman who placed her life on the line to defend you, as you hid underneath Winterfell. And, I've been a coward to let you burn the North and starve its people for the past fifteen years, and do nothing. I marched against the Beast of Bolton, and I should have marched against you".

By now, the Great Hall is in uproar. She loses herself to anger. "The Others take you Jon. Mother was right about you. It should have been you that Ser Jaime Lannister threw from the tower!" Arya cries out with horror, before burying her head in her hands.

"Silence in Court!" screams Lady Mormont. "We shall deliver our verdict on the morrow. Now, all of you, get out!"

Notes:

1. Most legal systems differentiate between forms of killing that are culpable but which fall short of murder (typically called manslaughter) , and murder which usually requires intent. This distinction is a an ancient one, and would have been understood by medieval judges.

2. Sansa's quip at Dustin's expense is taken from Neil Hamilton's comment to George Carman QC, during his libel case against the Guardian.

3. And What Will Ye Leave to Your Own Sister Dear, Sweet Brother, the first in this series of stories, deals with the crushing of Lord Ryswell's rebellion.

4. In series 7 of A Game of Thrones, Jon voluntarily bent the knee to Daenerys. In Season 8, he claimed to his lords that he did it to save the North. This was probably bad writing. The alternative is that Jon was a fool or a knave.

5. In the book, A Game of Thrones, but not in the show, Catelyn said to Jon "it should have been you" after spending days with Bran after Jaime threw him from the tower. Many readers loathe Catelyn as a result