Disclaimer: I do not own Game of Thrones or anything related. It belongs to George R.R. Martin, the creator of this wonderful universe and David Benioff and D. B. Weiss who created the show.
Face Claim for Queen Sanira: Caitlin Stasey.
Chapter Fifteen: The Trial of Littlefinger.
The throne room was filled with many lords and ladies of the Vale, those who had gathered to see justice brought to them after the murder of Lady Arryn by the accused. Her funeral had been swift and letters had been dispatched to her family to inform them that Lysa had been killed, it was not news that anyone had been expecting in the least.
At the helm of the room were two seats before the throne on which Lysa Arryn had once seated herself to condemn Tyrion Lannister for his crimes. On the left was Robin Arryn, the poor boy looked rather lost and unsure of himself at the death of his mother; in the days since her murder he had been inconsolable and refused to believe that Petyr had done such a thing.
On the right was Sanira, her face devoid of any emotion as she looked out across the gathering; her eyes taking in each and every lord and lady that had come to see the trial. Justice was what they wanted, justice for the life of Lady Arryn and Sanira knew that she could also not ignore the admission that the lady herself had given before her death.
Lysa's condemning words had not just been heard by herself, there were several who had heard her confess to murdering Jon Arryn on Baelish's orders and pinning it on the Lannisters that had caused a war that had ripped the realm apart. The doors to the throne room opened and Petyr Baelish was escorted inside, his arms in shackles as he was lead through the crowd to the dais where Sanira waited for him.
The crowd jeered and hissed at the man that was the source of all their pain, the losses of Jon and Lysa were a tragic and their poor boy had been left without parents. He was eleven years old and had lost both his parents in such a short amount of time, anyone could guess that Baelish had planned to name himself regent and control the Vale as Lysa's widow.
Instead he was now intrusted to Lord Yohn Royce who had reassured Sanira that he would set him on the straight path; there was much for the young Lord to learn that he had been deprived of since his father's death. His mother's rather overbearing behaviour had left the boy rather stunted in his development, he acted more as a young child would than a boy about to reach his teens.
Baelish stared up at Sanira, his eyes taking in every inch of the young woman that had for all he had known had been murdered on Tywin Lannister's orders. The Red Wedding as it was now known had been a success for the Lannisters, the Starks defeated and Roose Bolton was now warden of the North. It appeared that wasn't the truth, Lord Royce had dubbed her Queen Sanira and Baelish had since heard mentions of Robb; he wondered if Tywin yet that his enemies had united against him.
"You stand accused of murder. You stand accused of treason. How do you answer these charges Lord Baelish?" Sanira asked, her arms resting against the arms of her chair and she stared down at the man responsible for all the pain that had been caused. If what Lysa had said before she'd died was the truth then she currently had the man that had set the Starks and Lannisters against one another in her grasp.
"Forgive me I'm a bit confused," Baelish replied, straightening up slightly and his arms chaffed from the position that he was forced to hold them in because of the handcuffs. He could spy Sansa stood not far from the dais, she was stood with Lord Royce and she seemed to be looking anywhere but at him.
"Which charges confuse you? Let's start with the simplest one you murdered Lysa Arryn. You pushed her through the Moon Door and watched her fall. Do you deny it?" Sanira questioned pulling his attention back to her. He could not deny such a deed when he had been caught by her and several others committing the act itself which had resulted in him spending several days in the sky cells while Lysa was laid to rest.
"I did it to protect Lady Sansa," Baelish stated calmly, he looked towards Sansa who looked away quickly and towards the floor; her testimony had been given to the Lords of the Vale that morning about what had occurred. She avoided meeting his eyes knowing that doing so would be a bad idea, she felt like many around her suddenly turned their attention to her at his words.
"You did it to take power in the Vale. Earlier, you conspired to murder Jon Arryn. You gave Lysa Tears of Lys to poison him. Do you deny it?" Sanira pushed forward, she had no interest in debating with him on why he had done as he had. There would be no truth in his words nor did she trust that he wouldn't try and lie his way out of this; Sanira knew that the trial was nothing more than a formality at this point.
Her letters to Robb had been enough to convince him of such, he entrusted her in dealing with the traitor; he wasn't able to make the trip to the Vale at this time, not when they were securing their hold on the Westerlands. He had been angry to learn that all their problems had been caused by Baelish, lives ruined by the man's ploy to gather more power for himself.
"Lysa was a troubled woman. She imagined enemies everywhere," Baelish deflected with a shrug of his shoulders, he would admit to nothing; he did not believe that this girl would have it in her to order his death. He'd be a free man again if he played his cards right, he'd worked Sansa for months to gain her trust; she would vouch for him, afterall he was the reason that she'd been able to flee King's Landing in the first place.
"You had Lysa Arryn send a letter to Lady Stark telling her it was the Lannisters who murdered Jon Arryn when, really, it was you. The conflict between the Starks and the Lannisters, it was you who started it. Do you deny it?" Sanira pushed, the whispers of disgusted raising as she pressed forward and she knew that they'd already been eager to see him executed for his actions. She offered a small glance to Robin making sure the boy was alright, she couldn't imagine being his age and asked to sit through this; to hear the hurt and pain this man had caused to Robin's own family with his plotting.
"I know of no such letter," Baelish replied, he knew that Sanira could prove nothing even if Lysa had confessed to writing it; Catelyn had assured him when she'd come to King's Landing to speak with Eddard that she'd burnt the letter. Fearing that her sister's head would be put on a spike if the letter was discovered, if only Lysa had been that loyal to her own sister as Catelyn had been to her then his plan would have never worked. Baelish showed no remorse for what he had done, the lives that had been lost because of his actions and plotting; entire families had been ripped apart because of his quest for power.
"You conspired with Cersei Lannister and Joffrey Baratheon to betray Ned Stark. Thanks to your treachery, he was imprisoned and later executed on false charges of treason. Do you deny it?" Sanira stated, it felt like such a long time ago since the news had come to them that Eddard had been arrested. The news that had lead to Robb calling the banners, that had sent the North on its path to independence and the selection of Robb as King in the North.
"I deny it! None of you were there to see what happened. None of you knows the truth," Baelish snapping taking a step towards Sanira, he glowered at the girl that seemed determined to get under his skin. Her accusations could lead to him losing his head, he was sure that Tywin would pay a pretty penny for the news that Robb and his wife weren't as dead as he thought; perhaps if he took care of that then he'd been rewarded with the North.
"You told Lady Stark the knife belonged to Tyrion Lannister, but that was another one of your lies. It was yours," Sanira stated looking to the blade that was set out on display, the one that had been used to try and murder Bran. The knife that had indirectly caused all this fighting, if not for his words then Catelyn wouldn't have arrested Tyrion on the road which further pitted the Starks and Lannisters against each other. Sanira could see no other reason that Baelish would have kept the knife, unless it was his own to begin with after all the trouble that it had caused.
"Lady Sansa, I have known you since you were a girl. I've protected you," Baelish pleaded turning his attentions to Sansa, he moved towards the teenager hoping that she would speak for him. If not for him then she would have died in King's Landing, if not for him then Lysa would have thrown her through the Moon Door; everything he had done was for her.
"Protected her? By trying to sell her to the Boltons?" Sanira scoffed at him, letters had been found in his chambers; he had been trying to arrange a marriage to Ramsey Snow, who now referred to himself as Ramsey Bolton, for Sansa. The only hold up had been that he'd struggled to have her marriage to Tyrion Lannister annulled.
Something that wouldn't have caused much of an issue if Tyrion lost his life due to being accused of the murder of Joffrey; something that Sanira now suspected that Baelish might have been involved in. Her talks with Sansa didn't reveal much, the girl was secretive and almost wary to share too much with her sister-in-law even with the reassurance that Sansa wasn't in trouble for what had happened to her.
"If we could speak alone, I can explain everything," Baelish pleaded moving closer to Sanira, he knew that if he could get her alone then he could explain away all this. She was but a woman afterall and he'd spent his whole life manipulating those around him to get what he wanted; she would be no different, he could even work his way up through the ranks of the North side to gain even more power. Sanira sat back in her chair, her eyes taking in the man before her as she pondered her next move; she could not believe that he actually thought he could talk his way out of this.
"Sometimes when I'm trying to understand a person's motives, I play a little game. I assume the worst. That's what you do, isn't it? That's what you've always done turn family against family, turn sister against sister. That's what you did to the Tullys," Sanira mused with a shake of her head. Lysa had ignored all calls to come to their aid when they had needed the Vale's support, her hatred for her own sister and family evident in her rants that had been overheard before her death.
"Give me a chance to defend myself. I deserve that," Baelish pleaded dropping to his knees, he looked rather pathetic in Sanira's eyes as she watched him; her face revealing nothing as she offered him a nod of her head. Surely he could only dig himself deeper into the mess that he had caused, there was nothing that he could say or do that would change his fate.
No one would be able to deny that he'd been given a fair trial, even if all knew that it was just a formality; he had pushed Lysa Arryn to her death and there had been witnesses to his actions. Getting to his feet, Baelish hurried over to Lord Royce not caring who was watching him as he tried to dig himself out of this hole.
"I am Lord Protector of the Vale and I command you to escort me safely back to Runestone," Baelish demanded grabbing onto the front of Lord Royce's tunic in desperation. "I think not," Lord Royce stated brushing him off in disgust, he had never been awarded such a title and he would not bow down to the man that had murdered his liege lord and his wife.
He would happily swing the sword himself to remove his head if his Queen asked him to do so, he watched as Baelish searched for friendly faces in the crowd but could find none. Then he dropped to his knees before Sansa, the girl looking more uncomfortable as he clutched at her skirts and pulled her close to him while she tried to move away.
"Sansa, I beg you! I loved your mother since the time I was a boy," Baelish pleaded as if he could convince her to talk to Sanira; he would do anything to escape the fate that had been already decided for him. It was clear that his sentence had already been decided and he hoped appealing to the young Stark girl would buy him time to get out of this.
"And yet, you betrayed her," Sanira stated with a shake of her head, Catelyn had been most devastated to learn of the death of her sister; no less at the hands of someone that she had once trusted. His betrayal stung the most, she had never imagined that all the suffering that she had been through was the result of Petyr, the boy that had been her friend when growing up and all because she had turned him away.
"Thank you for returning Sansa to us, Lord Baelish. For that you have our gratitude," Sanira stated as she got to her feet, she stepped away from the dais in an attempt to draw Baelish's attention away from Sansa. The girl looked very uncomfortable and she would not be swayed by his declarations of love for Catelyn; he deserved what was coming for him and more.
"In the name of Robb of the House Stark, first of his name, King in the North and King of the Trident, I, Sanira of the House Stark, Queen in the North and Queen of the Trident sentence you to die," Sanira stated calmly. Her words seemed to ring around the room as she settled and Baelish went still slowly releasing his grip on Sansa who stepped away from him and behind Lord Royce. His face blank as he moved to his feet, his back to Sanira as he stared blankly ahead for a moment trying to comprehend that this was where his life would come to an end.
His mind raced over every decision that he had made that had led him here, he was so close to achieving his goal; he had climbed the ladder that chaos had left him and there had been none that stood in his way. He slowly turned in his place to look at Sanira, the dull looking girl that should have died at the Twins who now believed that she could command his death. The ringing in his ears seemed to grow louder as he stared at her, his face slowly turning red as he thought about how she had messed up his plans just by living.
Sansa would have been indebted to him after he had saved her from her crazy aunt, he would have had the Vale in his pocket with the North in his sights next since Sansa and Robin would have been his puppets. They would have done his bidding, he would have been the most power man in the Kingdoms especially with the Lannisters set to tear themselves apart.
Baelish lurched forward towards the dagger that was set out, a scream of anger erupting from him knowing that if he was to die this day then he'd take out as many people as he could here with him. Everything seemed to fall into slow motion as he grabbed the dagger, the ringing in his ears almost blocking out the cries of terror and Robin's screeching as the boy was pulled to safety.
Lord Royce barked orders to his man to grab Baelish as he raced towards Sanira who seemed frozen in her place; her eyes wide as he charged at her with weapon in hand as he crossed the short distance towards her. One of Sanira's guards blocked Baelish's way, only to find the dagger plunged into his neck and he was shoved out of the way as Baelish continued towards Sanira.
Many of the lords and ladies too shocked to move at the sight of him, some stepping back in fear while others scrambling to push their way through the crowds to protect their Queen. From his place in the crowd, a hooded figure stepped forward with sword in hand; grabbing Baelish by the shoulder before he could take another step towards the Queen.
The blade of his sword burying itself through Baelish's stomach, as screams rung out and the guards finally made it closer to Baelish; his eyes wide as he stared at the man in shock. The dagger clattered to the floor, dropping from Baelish's hand as he stared at the man that had run him clean through; his mouth moving although no words came as the stranger stepped back pulling his sword from Baelish's gut.
Staggering away from the stranger, Baelish made to walk towards Sansa raising an arm out to her before collapsing to the ground as if he was nothing more than a puppet with no strings.
The room was silent for a moment, unable to believe what had transpired as they stared at Baelish's body; blood pooling on the floor as he laid there, no one daring to come close to him. The hooded figure sheathed his sword, nodding his head pleased with his work before turning to look at Sanira who was staring at Baelish in shock before her eyes moved to him.
It was only then that he removed his hood, his cold blue eyes taking in the young woman that was the cause of his travels to this place. Whispers filled the room as the crowds got a good look at the man, Lord Royce uttering the words that it could not be that he was here; but that did not deter him as he made his way over to Sanira.
"It is an honour to meet you, Your Grace," the man said with a bow of his head, he had been sent ahead by his captain to break the ice with the young Queen; they had long been paying attention to the war that had broken out across the Seven Kingdoms. It had been many years since many of them had seen the like, the news of King Robert's death having sparked an all out war was something hard to ignore.
It had taken many months of discussion before they had agreed on a course on where they should ignore the war or throw their weight behind one of the contenders when others had reached out to gain their support. In the end however, there had been only one that they could all agree on supporting and it had been Lysono's work that had sealed the deal for them.
"The Gold Company swears allegiance to Queen Sanira, we have 10,000 men at your disposal Your Grace," Jon Connington announced before dropping to one knee to swear his alliance to Sanira. His words causing the room to break out in whispers, no one sure of what to make of the fact that Jon Connington had somehow managed to stand amongst them all and none of them had noticed.
Sanira stared at Jon, her mind racing as she pondered his words knowing that an extra 10,000 men would certainly come in handy in retaking Winterfell.
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