Summary:

What Theon's family think of the drama and how their arrival affects things at Winterfell.

Notes:

The first part of a longish sequence about the trial, things are going to get pretty heated from here on in. Conflict ahoy!

The weapon mentioned is a little bit like the famed 'dark fire' of legend. As they mine for Iron on the Isles the idea is they found some minerals and metals that when combined have this effect. A fearsome weapon in the hands of Balon Greyjoy and his like. The stakes are raising even further...

I would also like to invite any Sansa/Theon shippers to stormandspring on Livejournal. the new comm for the ship. I would love to see some of you on there if you're interested. Thank you for reading this story and all your kind words as well. I wrote this for harlequinbigbang but didn't quite finish it in time!


Pyke

Asha Greyjoy strode away from the rookery at Pyke Castle, scrolls in hand. It wasn't often they got ravens from the mainlands, especially ones marked as personal and urgent in an unfamiliar hand. She recognised the seal though, which was why she was puzzled by the missive.

What is a Baratheon doing writing to father? Writing to me?

She tapped on the door of her father's office. Balon was sat by the fire staring into the dying flames as if they had personally offended him. Victarion sat by his side drinking deep from his horn of dark ale.

"Father?" she called, hoping to rouse him from his reverie. "Nuncle, hail met."

Balon turned to her, mouth pulled into a bitter and petulant frown. "What do you want. Oh, it's you Asha lass. Come to make a report, have ye?"

She handed him his scroll. "Not this time, my lord. Ravens from the mainland. Marked urgent."

Balon's face scrunched up, mightily unimpressed by the mention of his enemies. "What the arse do they want?"

"No idea, father. Let's find out-" She shrugged, cracking open her scroll and frowning over the contents. Her eyebrows raised as she read further and further shaking her head in disbelief.

What a mess had just been dumped on her doorstep. Trust her younger brother to be neck-deep in the entire business! "Stupid boy!" she muttered under her breath. "Foolish love-struck boy!"

"A bloody uppity Baratheon, writing to me? What do they want now?" he grumbled, scowling at the parchment. "What's this one called? Lord Renly Baratheon of Storm's End? Ne'er heard of him!"

"He wasn't there during the sack of Pyke-" Victarion affirmed.

"He's styling himself 'Master of Laws' here. He seems to be younger than Robert and Stannis. A mere fawn-"

"Whatever the little bugger's done, it's nothing to do with us. They've no proof so they can't pin anything on us for a change!" Balon grouched.

She scanned the parchment, starting to plan and make notes. Victarion leaned over her shoulder, reading the parchment.

"Theon's got himself into a spot of bother by the sounds of things-" he remarked.

Balon frowned, hating to be reminded of the son he'd lost in his defeat. His last son, a warprize for the Stark to gloat over.

"He stole Lord Eddard's daughter from the Crown Prince. According to this, they ran away from Winterfell and got to Seagard. They were trying to get here."

"Why? What are we going to do with him?" Balon grouched. "He's Stark's now, not mine-"

Her father was determined to not acknowledge the boy in any way, whatsoever. Normally this would have suited her down to the ground, after how hard she'd worked to be respected on the Isles. The last thing she wanted was the long lost heir coming back and displacing her, after all her hard work. But there was a paragraph in Renly's missive that changed everything and made her consider the larger picture.

The girl is with child already, but if Theon loses his trial and his life, the child will be born a bastard...Cersei talks of secretly doctoring her food with tansy and pennyroyal. Catelyn Stark refuses, but how long can she resist the Queen for?

That's our heir in danger, we must do something! , She thought.

"The girl is wed to him, Father, wed by a septon in the sight of their Gods. This Lord Renly says she's already pregnant." she told him.

Balon's head went up, piqued by her words. He re-examined his scroll, the gleam of intrigue sparking in his eyes.

"Pregnant? You're sure, Asha?"

"Perhaps the boy isn't so useless after all-" Victarion started to laugh long and hard. "A child, already!"

"If she's Ned Stark's lass she'll have Tully blood in her. They're known for their fire-kissed hair, beauty and fruitfulness. No wonder she's pregnant already." Balon laughed with his brother, grimly amused by the subject. "He must have been ploughing her night and day to have planted a kraken in her belly already!"

"Stole Ned Stark's daughter from under his nose, that must have been enough to make the Old Wolf spit!"

"Go to your Uncle Rodrik and tell him the news, I'm sure he would like to know, and then sail to the mainland with all haste to secure the child by any means. Victarion shall have your back, as my right-hand. As for me, I'll call a moot."

Asha was surprised he was going to take some action and assign her to her brother's cause, but then there was the child to think of. "A moot, Father?"

Balon's smile was wicked. "Aye, lass. I think this would be an admirable time to demonstrate the capabilities of our newest weapon-craft, don't you?"

Asha did not like the sound of this. The weapon was perilous to wield, two ships had already been lost testing it on the far side of Ironman's Bay.

As long as she lived she would never forget the screams of the men on the Windrider as the ship hit a half-submerged rock and careered into one of the treacherous whirlpools that occasionally appeared near their home. The ship and the sea around it turned into a ball of silver flame that burned bright and terrifying even on the water. All those men and a goodly ship lost to the cruel flame...

"This is no weapon to use lightly. 'Tis a last terrible resort-" she found herself saying.

"I don't want you to take a full cargo's worth, Asha! Just enough to do a small demonstration – a small vial will do." Balon's gaze was ruthless. "The Greenlanders have to know we mean business. We must have that heir and the girl-"

Asha sighed, knowing her father was bent on this display of defiance. She knew how much damage even a small vial of the substance could do. "By any means, Father."


Harlaw

Asha sailed that morning to Harlaw accompanied by her Uncle Victarion. They had to plan exactly what they were going to do. How would they solve this problem and come out with a satisfactory result for the Isles?

Rodrik was at the harbour unloading a cargo from abroad. He greeted his niece and good-brother with a wave. "Hail! What bring you both here so early?"

Asha saluted her uncle, with the first smile she'd used in a while. "Nuncle, have we time to talk? In private?"

"This sounds ominous-" he observed. "Victarion too...very well. Come up to the castle and we'll find out what's going on."

Rodrik did not like the sound of the tale that his niece was spinning for him. He frowned as Victarion paced restlessly in front of him and Asha kept talking, showing him the scroll.

"On trial for his life?"

"Stark caught them at Seagard and dragged the guilty couple back to Winterfell. Of course the fool felt honour bound to inform the king and the prince of his daughter's shame." Asha curled her lip at the thought.

"A bad business, aye-"

"The Royal family went straight back there to interrogate him. This Renly writes that the prince will not relinquish the girl, but she resists still. She swore she was wed to Theon and now she has confessed to a child."

"So the girl shows a bit of spirit, eh?" mused Victarion. "Not bad for a Greenlander lass."

"We'll have to speak to her too if we can have access, find out exactly what went on. Perhaps she is the key to our defence-" Rodrik mused. "Can I leave that to you, Asha?"

She saluted, accepting his request. "Of course, Nuncle. We sail by ten of the clock. Will ye be ready?"

"Aye, I must gather my legal books and documents, as many as I can get on the ship."

"Will we have time for light reading, Nuncle?"

"Asha, this is vital. Theon is on trial for his life. I doubt he'll get a fair one if the king is in charge of it – not when his son is involved. He will need proper legal representation. People on his side. I won't let them take our boy once more."


Winterfell

Ned was feeling the strain of the situation more and more. Sansa was refusing to take the herbs which would at least preserve her reputation. There had been an unpleasant and distressing scene as Cat and Septa had tried to persuade her to do the right thing and take the tincture that Maester Luwin had secretly prepared for her. Sansa had refused to even consider it, even under pressure. At last worn down by her tears and defiance Ned had let the situation be.

The royal family were enjoying the power that they had over them, Cersei and Joffrey in particular. Robert would not bend. He almost seemed to take Sansa's lapse from virtue as a personal insult. He muttered darkly about brides being stolen away by rogues and faithless women who abandoned their matrimonial vows and duty without a second glance.

It hurt and angered Ned, but he was in a bad position and could hardly argue the point, not when he knew that worse was to come when Sansa's secret came to light.

Gods help him, all he had ever wanted was the best for his girl and everything was falling apart. Robert would not be understanding, not like Renly who had confidentially confessed to sending a man to Seagard to investigate Sansa's claims she was wed by a septon. Ned knew Robert brooded on Lyanna's fate and the humiliating fact that she had disappeared with Rhaegar Targaryen, discarding their betrothal. The parallels were too clear and uncomfortable to ignore.

How much more can I take, ye gods?, Ned thought in sorrow. How much more?

He was heading out to the courtyard when he felt a tug at his sleeve. He looked down to find a pale-faced Jeyne Poole worriedly biting her lip. She was shaking, looking incredibly nervous and jumpy.

What could have possibly happened now? He thought, How could things get any worse?

"My lord, can I speak to you in private? It's urgent-"

Thinking of the last time a servant-girl had confided in him and revealed Joffrey's actions towards his girl he mutely followed her into a storeroom.

"What is this all about?" he asked. "Does anything ail my daughter?"

Jeyne shook her head. "No, my lord she has morning nausea but other than that she is well and healthy." She looked around as if terrified she might be seen or reprimanded.

"Well, something must be wrong. Out with it, Jeyne. I have nay time for this-"

"If I tell you, do you promise not to be angry with me, my lord?" she said in a rush.

Ned didn't much like the sound of this.

"What has happened now?" he said with some urgency.

She held out a scroll. Ned noticed the big red seal of the Lannisters dangling from the parchment.

What had the girl done now?

"Please ser, I know what I did was wrong and you'd be in the right of it to dismiss me, but it's about us- I mean the Starks. You must read this, you and Lady Catelyn."

Ned was appalled that Jeyne was confessing to tampering with other people's mail, let alone royal mail. What had possessed her to do something so rash and uncharacteristic? "Child, what have you done? You can't go round reading other people's mail. It is a terrible breach of trust."

"They mean to bankrupt you!" she burst out desperately. "That's why the Queen was so keen for Sansa to marry the prince. Why she insists on the match, even now. Lord Tywin was going to use your relationship to the royal family to get you to take out loans-"

"The North doesn't need loans. We are self-sufficient and I don't believe in getting into debt for no reason. Neither a borrower or lender be-"

"They would put pressure on you to take out a loan to Casterley Rock to pay for the wedding and the privilege of making a royal match with the future king, with extortionate rates of interest you would never be able to pay back."

Ned listened, scanning the scroll. He might not approve but Jeyne had taken a big risk for the sake of her liege-lords. They needed to know exactly what the Royal family and Cersei had planned for them.

"Leave this with me. I will tell Lady Catelyn immediately."

"You aren't angry with me, my lord?"

"No lass, I'm not. Not now. Pray they never find out we intercepted their mail, or there'll be hell to pay. And if you happen to hear any other plans the queen may have against my family..."

"I swear I will inform you right away, my lord." she assured him bobbing a curtsy.


The arrival of his sister and his formidable Uncle Victarion Greyjoy from the Isles proved to make things that much more complicated. They were certainly not going to stand aside and allow Theon to be punished.

Ned could see that this threatened to be the start of yet another vicious blood feud, and now they were trapped in the middle.

"Lady Asha Greyjoy of Pyke. I and my party request an audience with Lord Stark if it please you-" She announced boldly, riding up to the gates of the castle to be admitted. "D'ye grant us entrance to your halls, Stark?" there was no mistaking the taunt in her voice. "-or will you keep my brother in chains?"

The pennants fluttered behind them in the breeze, the gold Kraken on a black field and the scythe of the Harlaws.

"What do we do? Do we admit them?" Cat fretted. "What do they want here?"

"They heard of the scandal."

"But how?"

Ned suspected he knew all too well, how they had found out and he was inwardly torn about the result. Part of him deplored Lord Renly's interference and wondered just how his daughter had managed to persuade him to aid her instead. Renly had suggested he could talk sense into the girl, but somehow she'd managed to convince him that right was on her side.

The other half had felt bad that Theon was on trial for his life, against the royal family who were heavily involved in his crime and unlikely to be impartial. Perhaps Renly's actions was just levelling the playing field.

Remember, you know what Joffrey did to your girl. Is he about to get away with his crime and Theon to be punished?

Jory and Ser Rodrik hovered waiting for Ned to give him the command.

Ned sighed. Whatever happened he would have to handle it with grace and hope that things did not take a turn for the worse. The Greyjoy girl's face looked as if she were spoiling for a fight, and Victarion stood grim-faced behind her, his hand on his sword. "We can hardly refuse them entry now."

"Why not? If they mean to bring conflict into our halls, you have every right to refuse them, m'lord!-" Jory urged.

Ned shook his head. "Nay. Theon is on trial for his life right now. How will it look if we deny him the chance of having representation by his own people? Like it or not, we have to admit them."

"Aye and the lass knows it too. Hark at her face!"

Ned sighed, steeling himself for this new trial. "Ser Rodrik, open the gates, but be on your guard. I will talk to our new guests in person."

Asha strode into the castle accompanied by Lord Rodrik Harlaw, another cringing cowed man in shabby septon's robes and her uncle the fearsome Victarion Greyjoy. Ned was surprised that he hadn't seen Balon himself, but he knew that Theon's father was a strange contrary man, prone to petty moods and long-nursed grudges.

He had never forgiven Ned for taking his only living son from him, humiliating him in his own stronghold and making him bend the knee- that being said he'd shown little care or liking for the boy.

Ned had always privately thought that he had done the lad a favour taking the lad from a rather toxic environment and giving him a chance to become a better man.

Asha wasted no time getting down to business. She's so remarkably like Balon, Ned thought as she faced him, far more than Theon is himself.

"Did your family put him up to this?" Ned asked her.

Asha laughed grimly, amused by the thought that they would have plotted this. "Us? D'ye think my father and my uncles would have wanted their son and heir to marry a Greenlander girl?"

He couldn't help rankling at the scorn in her voice. How these Iron Islanders wear their airs and graces despite the fact that have nothing! "Then why would he have done this? Why would he take my daughter?"

Asha shook her head. "Perhaps the poor fool fell in love with her, who knows?"

"If you do not support your brother, then why are you here? And why have you brought your uncles with you?"

Their presence was a silent threat that could not be ignored. The last thing Ned needed was for the conflict to turn physical. If they defied the will of the king, he might well have to pay the consequences. He was bound to uphold the law and Robert's judgement, couldn't Asha see that? He hoped she would be more reasonable than her father. But somehow the glint in her eye made him doubt it.

"I am here for the sake of my mother, Alannys Harlaw Greyjoy who simply wants her son back. You Greenlanders have kept him long enough. Hasn't he paid enough for my father's sins?"

"He stole my daughter and debauched her!" Ned protested.

Rodrik turned to Ned trying to find some common ground.

"Lord Stark, if you are willing, an arrangement can be made for your girl. The couple will have a living if they return to Harlaw, I promise, even if you have to disinherit her-"

"You would accept her, even after her shame?"

"Of course. We want our boy to be happy-" Rodrik told him. "- for my sister Alannys's sake, who loved her last son so desperately."

Victarion was slightly less kind or sentimental, depending on one's point of view. "And of course we want that heir, let's not forget that."


Joffrey

Joffrey seethed as he idly waited for the trial to proceed. Now that Theon's kin had arrived and made things more complex it was no longer so cut and dried that he would get the result that he wanted. The Harlaws insisted on a proper defence for his rival and the old man Rodrik argued fiercely for his kinsman, arming himself with legal precedents and tomes.

He suspected his uncle Renly of aiding him in secret but he couldn't prove it, merely complaining to his mother when whenever he had the chance.

Lord Stark almost seemed to be bending towards his position. He couldn't help but notice the coldness he had towards his suit. Something had changed recently. Joffrey fancied that the Northern lord looked on him with distrust and dislike. He certainly talked no more of marrying Sansa to him, or persuading her to do her duty.

Did he suspect what he had done to Sansa that day in the stable?

Joffrey conferred with his mother in his chambers. The Stark resistance to their plans was the main topic of conversation. "She's refusing to be mine, I know it, Mother. We'll never be able to persuade them now. She won't be my wife, or my doxy as she insists on her marriage to this Greyjoy!" he sulked in his mother's chambers.

Cersei listened to his complaints as she stroked his rumpled gold curls from his forehead. The Starks were slipping from their grasp. They were nowhere nearer getting them to accept the loans being offered by her father Tywin at extortionate interest. He would not be impressed at her failure to secure the North and get it under their financial stranglehold.

The Starks are far too independent, he'd told her when he tasked her with engineering the match. They own too much of the kingdom. They are almost a realm unto themselves. They don't need the Iron Throne. It simply won't do. You and Joffrey will have to get them back into the fold- by any means. So far the plot was not going as well as planned.

"My dear boy, I hesitate to give you this advice but extreme times call for extreme measures. If the Stark girl will not come to her senses and do her duty, then you'll have to expedite the process."

Joffrey frowned. What was she going on about now? What clever diabolical scheme had she come up with now?

"Mother, you talk in circles-"

She gazed at him, challenging and unblinking. "What do you think I suggest, my son?"

"You have my blood in you, my son. A lion does not concern themselves with the opinions of the sheep, or the wolves and I daresay not a stag or kraken either. Take what you want and remove her resistance."

Even he had trouble believing she could be so cold-hearted. "You think I should go to my lady's chamber at night, gain admittance and well..."

Her cold smile never reached her glittering green eyes. "-Finish what you started. She'll be hard pressed to refuse you if she's caught with you in a compromising position- and then Joffrey, we'll have them."

Joffrey smiled at his mother half admiringly, half appalled at her suggestion.

As Joffrey and his mother plotted they might have considered the presence of a maidservant outside the chamber as inconsequential. They didn't notice her hurry away as swift as possible to find Lord Eddard. Jeyne was taking no chances with the queen and crown prince, not now she knew they were bent on ruining the family she'd served since she was a child. She sped to find Lord Stark and Lady Catelyn to report her findings.