Chapter 51: Execution
There was a hum about the place. Robb could sense it even as he waited for the prisoners to arrive. A throng had gathered. Clearly, they wanted to see a show. He didn't know whether that was disgusting or simply human nature. Lord Tywin hadn't been able to answer that question either. All he'd been able to say was that people would be fascinated by the fact that he was going to carry out the executions himself.
Lord Tywin had said that Ser Illyn was the one meant to do the executing, but Robb had dismissed that. For someone such as Joffrey it was only right that he be executed by the son of the man he'd had executed. As for Janos Slynt, Robb would confess to getting a slight thrill from the thought of executing that lickspittle.
Slynt had actually begged on his knees before Robb when he'd been informed of what his sentence would be. He'd begged and offered up all sorts of information. Information like the fact that Petyr Baelish had never intended to support Father, and that Baelish had been using the Gold Cloaks to keep an eye on one of King Robert's bastards for some time. Robb had thanked the man for the information but had informed him that the sentence stuck. Slynt would be beheaded.
A stir in the crowd alerted Robb to the fact that Joffrey and Slynt had arrived. He blinked and saw them being led from their carriage out into the open. People started booing when they saw Joffrey, and someone threw a tomato at the boy. It splattered onto his face giving him a reddish tinge. Joffrey held his head up high as he was led onto the platform. He even winked at Robb!
Lord Tywin spoke then. "Joffrey Baratheon, you are here to face the charge of treason and kinslaying. You have been found guilty and are to be executed. Do you have anything you wish to say before you meet your maker?"
Joffrey exhaled, Robb waited for some sardonic remark, and instead was quite surprised by what he heard. "I did what I thought was right. I was my father's firstborn son. I was his heir before he was poisoned against me. I will die knowing you are all fucking idiots."
With that the boy went down onto the block, staring straight ahead. Robb drew out his sword, one of two that had been made from Ice. He did a practise swing then in one swift movement removed Joffrey's head from his body. The head fell onto the floor and rolled on the platform for a moment before Lord Tywin picked it up and held it up for all to see.
"Behold, the head of a traitor!" Lord Tywin exclaimed. Some of the crowd cheered, others booed, most simply waited.
Servants took the head-it would sit on Traitor's Walk-and others took the body-that would be burned.
A moment passed, then Janos Slynt was brought onto the platform.
Lord Tywin spoke once more. "Janos Slynt, you have been found guilty of treason, do you have anything to say before you meet your maker?"
A stain appeared on Slynt's breeches, and something emerged in a puddle at his feet. His voice quivered as he spoke. "Please, I beg you, please, don't do this! I'll give you more information! I'll tell you all about Cersei's greatest secret! Please!"
Robb glanced briefly at Lord Tywin to see if the man wanted to hear what Slynt had to say, Lord Tywin shook his head, and so, Slynt was forced onto the block. Robb raised his sword and swung. Slynt's head came off in one go. To prevent it from rolling off the platform, it was picked up and displayed for all to see.
Once that was done, the head and body were removed, and Robb handed his sword to Olyvar to clean. That was over and done with. One chapter closed; he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Her Grace The Queen!" someone said. Tyrion sat up and put the book on the bedside table. He got up as the doors opened and the Queen entered.
"Your Grace." He said bowing low.
"Uncle Tyrion." The Queen said, Tyrion noticed that it was Ser Arys who accompanied her. He pushed down the disappointment at not seeing Jaime. He hadn't seen Jaime since he'd been freed from the black cells. And now that he was being confined in a room in the Tower of the Hand, he had at least hoped to see his brother.
"Please, be seated." Tyrion said, gesturing to the only chair in the room, once the Queen had sat down, he took his seat on the bed.
"I have come to talk to you about what happened at court a few days' ago." The Queen said.
"Ah." Tyrion said. That had not been his finest moment. He had stormed out of the throne room and had thus committed an act of treason by not being dismissed first. Hence why he was being kept in captivity here.
The Queen looked right at him and said. "I know that you feel wronged and that you have always felt that the Rock was yours. And in a way you are right, you are Lord Tywin's heir, however, there were other things that influenced our decision."
"Such as?" Tyrion asked, wondering if he was about to hear his father's words come out of the Queen's mouth.
"Well for starters, something needed to be done for Tommen. When father named us as his heirs he sent a signal that he did not consider Tommen as his son. That meant that he was immediately disqualified from being in line for Storm's End." The Queen said.
"Do you know who his father is?" Tyrion asked. He had a very good idea who the father was, but he didn't want to say anything unless the Queen brought it up.
"No." The Queen said. "Only that father did not consider him to be his son. I do not care; he is my brother in every way that matters. But he could not have Storm's End because of what father did."
"You could have ignored it, and simply named him as Lord of Storm's End." Tyrion said. "You hold the levers of government, not Renly or Stannis. You could have done whatever you wanted."
The Queen surprised him then by laughing. It was a short laugh, but when she was done, her expression was serious. "We both know that's not how things work. Father doing what he did sent a strong message, and the Stormlords would've received it just as strongly, even if they sided with Renly. Once Renly is defeated, we needed to ensure that their allegiance would willingly shift to us. We couldn't do that by giving them a Lord Paramount who had been disowned by the mighty Robert Baratheon. A man who many in the region still admire."
Tyrion opened his mouth to counter her point when he realised, she was right. He imagined that and the Tyrell's support was half the reason Renly had felt confident launching a claim to the throne. He half looked like Robert.
"And yet, we could not leave Tommen rudderless. He needed something, and grandfather suggested a solution and we accepted it. We would've discussed it with you first, but you were indisposed." The Queen said.
Tyrion exhaled. Anger and bitterness and dejectedness mingled together inside him. "So, there is nothing I can say that will change your mind?"
The Queen shook her head. "I am afraid not."
"Fine." Tyrion said, an idea forming in his head. "I accept that this is what you've decided. Now that I've done that, can I be freed from this prison?"
The Queen looked at him for a moment, and in that moment, he felt as if he were being examined down to his very soul. He deliberately made his mind blank so his actual plan would not be revealed.
Eventually the Queen said. "Yes." With that she nodded to him and walked out.
He exhaled and slumped against the pillows. He knew what he had to do. He just needed to find a way to get out of the capital.
"Word has come from Winterfell, Your Graces." Lord Tywin said. "It seems that Deepwood Motte has been retaken, and that Moat Cailin is in the process of being retaken."
Robb exhaled as Myrcella squeezed his hand. "Who retook the Motte?" He asked.
"A force led by Ser Wendel Manderly alongside men from Bear Island." Lord Tywin said. "It seems that Ser Wendel killed Asha Greyjoy and captured Theon Greyjoy."
Robb nodded, fighting the conflicting emotions that came to the surface then. On the one hand he was relieved that the Motte had been taken and Theon captured. On the other hand, he was sad because he knew he had to punish Theon gravely for the crime he had committed.
"Lady Catelyn has asked what Your Graces wish to do about Greyjoy." Lord Tywin said.
Robb shared a look with Myrcella, he knew what Myrcella would do. She'd have Theon executed, tortured first, then executed. But he couldn't do that to his friend. He might hate the man's guts now, but the man had been like a brother to him before all of this.
Eventually, he said. "Write to her to offer him two choices. Either he can join the Night's Watch, or he can go into exile in Essos."
Lord Tywin made a note of that, and on the spur of the moment, and perhaps in a fit of anger, Robb added. "If he chooses the latter option, he must accept a gelding. I will not have him continuing his line."
Lord Tywin added that to the note with not a word, but he felt Myrcella squeeze his hand. He looked at her and sighed. He hated Theon and he loved him as a brother, but the betrayal still stung.
"There has also been news from the Iron Islands, Your Grace." Varys said.
Robb looked at the eunuch, he still wasn't sure whether he should trust the eunuch, but his information on Slynt, on Joffrey, on others had proven correct so far. "And what news is that?"
"It seems that Pyke has fallen into the sea." Varys replied.
"The castle?" Robb asked.
"The entire island, Your Grace. It seems it happened when Balon Greyjoy tried to drown Ser Wendel and Ser Marq. Nobody is quite sure what happened, but Balon Greyjoy and his brother Aeron are now dead. Whilst the citizens of the island are either dead or disappeared. The island itself started to sink into the sea after Ser Wendel freed himself from the attempts to drown him." Varys said.
"How?" Robb demanded; such a thing just didn't happen by itself.
"I am not sure, but I thought you should know." The eunuch said.
Robb nodded, then asked. "What of Petyr Baelish? Have your little birds been able to find him?"
The eunuch nodded. "I have heard whispers that he is still within the capital. Residing in one of his less than reputed establishments. Furthermore, I have heard that he has sent a certain bastard to the Vale."
"What bastard?" Myrcella asked.
"A rumoured son of the late King Robert, Your Grace. I do not know why he has been sent to the Vale, but I suspect only Baelish will know the answer to that." The eunuch said.
"The Hound can be sent to find Baelish, Your Grace." Lord Tywin said. "After all, what else is a dog for?"
Robb exhaled. He had not been sure of what to do with the Hound. A part of him wanted to gouge the man's eyes out for doing nothing whilst Joffrey had Sansa beaten, another part of him knew that the man was innocent. This presented a reasonable alternative. "Fine, tell him where to go and see that he succeeds." He commanded.
Just as he was about to turn to Ser Wylis to ask about the ship building programme, the door opened and a young man in the crown's livery appeared. The man bowed and then hurriedly said. "I have come from the docks, Your Graces, Stannis Baratheon's ships have been sighted in the Bay."