"May I call upon Brandon Stark to serve as a witness?"
Sakura instantly became nervous as her brother walked towards the lectern. The eyes of many were upon him and she hoped that Bran won't screw this up. The presiding judges were King Robert Baratheon, Lord Wyman Manderly and Lord Roose Bolton, who were seated in front of the lectern at the center of the room.
"Brandon Stark, by the grace of the Old Gods and the Seven, do you swear to tell the truth, and only the truth in this honorable court?" Lord Manderly asked from his chair.
"I swear," Bran replied raising his hand solemnly. "I swear that I will only tell the truth while I present myself in this court."
"Then, let us begin." Lord Roose Bolton spoke up. "Tell us what really happened in the Broken Tower, Brandon Stark."
"My sister and I were playing in the First Keep early that morning, Lord Bolton." Bran began.
Please, please, don't mentioned about me running up the wall, Bran. Sakura thought desperately.
"I was climbing up the wall while my sister remained on the ground." Her brother stated. "And as soon as I reached the window of the Broken Tower, I saw something that I shouldn't see."
"What did you see, Brandon Stark?" The King asked, his face darkening in obvious rage.
"I saw Ser Jaime Lannister with the Queen, your grace." Brandon said, "They were doing something that only a husband and wife should do."
"You mean they were fucking, boy?" The King asked in a thunderous voice. "They were fucking while the rest of the men were out Hunting?"
"Yes, your grace." Bran replied in soft voice, appearing thoroughly intimidated by the King.
"Then, that's my proof!" King Robert declared, standing up from his seat. "I have enough of this sham of a court show! I demand that Ser Jaime Lannister be beheaded and my wife and her children be banished from the Seven Kingdoms!"
"But your grace,"
Surprisingly, it was Sakura's Lord Father who began to protest against the King's sudden outburst.
"There must be a court trial, your grace." Her father said, trying to calm down the furious King. "Lest all the noble lords and ladies present here will see you as an unjust King for denying both the accused a just trial."
There was muttering of agreement amongst the assembled crowd.
King Robert turned pink in embarrassment for being put in his place by his friend. The King opened his mouth and was about to say something to Lord Eddard Stark – probably a reprimand – when Sakura suddenly stepped forward and said, "I will be your next witness, your grace. If you will allow me, I will give you more proof of your wife's infidelity and strengthen your case against her. Then, we can all call it a day and end this sham of a trial."
"Arya, sit down!" Her father ordered harshly. "You haven't even been called yet!"
There was a short pause while the King regarded Sakura with a curious expression.
"It's alright Ned," King Robert suddenly said, sounding calm again. His eyes fixed on Sakura while he sat back down on his chair. "I want to hear what she has to say…Please proceed Lord Manderly, Lord Bolton."
Then, the trial commenced once more.
"We call upon Arya Stark to serve as a witness against the accused." Lord Manderly called out, continuing the trial like nothing happened.
"Come forward, Arya Stark." Lord Bolton said out loud.
Sakura walked towards the lectern where Bran stood.
"It's my turn, Bran." She told her brother, tapping his shoulder.
Bran just nodded his head without meeting her eyes and then he stepped down from the lectern.
Afterward, Sakura was asked to solemnly swear that she only tell the truth in front of the court, like Bran had done.
"Tell us what happened that day on the Broken Tower, child," came Lord Manderly's demand as soon as Sakura had sworn that she tells the truth.
"Like my brother said, we were playing on the First Keep." She told her audience, "Bran was climbing up the Broken Tower when he saw Ser Jaime Lannister and the Queen together through the window."
"Then, what happened afterward?" Lord Bolton inquired in his quiet voice.
"I saw Ser Jaime pushed my brother off the window." She stated and the crowd gasped at her words. "And it was only by sheer luck that I was able to catch my brother in time before he completely flattened himself on the ground."
"And what did you do thereafter?" came Lord Manderly's question.
Sakura had to sigh in relief when she realized that they didn't question her methods to save her brother.
"I ran up the stairs of the Broken Tower and confronted Ser Jaime Lannister about what he did to my brother," Sakura told them. "Once I arrive at the top of the Tower, I saw the Queen and Ser Jaime hurrying to put on their clothes and I knew instantly that they were doing something incestuous in there."
As expected, the crowd reacted in absolute disgust after hearing Sakura's story.
"LIES!" someone screeched and Sakura turned to see the Queen, who was in chains, glaring at her with venomous eyes. "You are a lying bitch! Don't believe what she is saying, Robert! That child is a lying monster!"
At once, both Robb and Bran spoke up to defend her.
"My sister is not lying!" Bran shouted while Robb said loudly, "Don't call her a lying bitch, you bitch!"
"YOUR SISTER IS A LIAR AND A MONSTER!" Cersei Lannister yelled, "AND I'M GOING TO ENJOY WATCHING HER –"
"SHUT UP CERSEI!" King Robert roared as he abruptly stood up, his chair crashing towards the ground. "I WILL HAVE YOU WHIPPED WOMAN IF YOU CONTINUE TO INTERVENE IN THE PROCEEDINGS!"
"But Robert –"
"I SAID SHUT UP!" The King thundered, his face dark as storm clouds. "Lord Manderly, you may proceed!"
"Robert, please listen to me!" Cersei Lannister cried out with tears glistening in her eyes. "Please don't believe those lying children!"
"I SAID SILENCE!" Robert bellowed and the room quietened down, "I TOLD YOU TO PROCEED LORD MANDERLY!"
"Alright, your grace," came Lord Maderly's cool response, still acting like nothing happened.
"The Maester told us that you acquired a wound to your stomach, when you confronted Ser Jaime. Can you tell us about that?" Lord Manderly inquired.
"Yes, as I was trying to ask Ser Jaime's reason for pushing my brother off the tower, he instantly attacked me by order of the Queen. He stabbed me in the stomach with his sword and was planning to leave me for dead," came Sakura's response. "I would have died if my brother Bran hadn't called the guards and led them to the Broken Tower."
"That's not true!" a voice yelled in outrage, and Sakura turned to see that it was Ser Jaime Lannister who had spoken out of turn this time. "I didn't stab the girl with my sword! She ran straight for it!"
"And why would she do that, Ser Jaime?" Lord Bolton asked, directing his cold blue eyes at the Kingsguard.
"I don't know! Ask her!" Ser Jaime replied, waving his hand in Sakura's direction.
"That's nonsense!" King Robert interjected before Sakura could say anything. "If I hear one more word from your lying mouth, you Lannister bastard! I'll have your tongue cut out!"
"I dare you to do it, you sorry excuse for a King!" Ser Jaime Lannister retorted right back, glaring at King Robert Baratheon.
The crowd gasped in shock at the knight's daring.
King Robert's face turned an angry puce. He stood up from his chair, his belly protruding while he glared at his former Kingsguard.
"I have enough of this sham of a trial!" Ser Jaime suddenly said, standing up as well. "I demand a trial by combat!"
"And who is going to be Ser Jaime's opponent?!" was Lord Bolton's question.
Ser Jaime Lannister's eyes landed on Sakura and she instantly knew what he wanted.
"Lord Eddard Stark!"
The moment King Robert Baratheon declared the name, Sakura paled.
Her Lord father might be good swordsman, but he was nothing compared to the Kingslayer.
She knew that Ser Jaime was going to win the trial by combat if she didn't do something about it.
So Sakura made a choice and that choice was to finally show her true strength.
She was going to fight and that meant stepping forward in place of her father.
"No!" She cried out before she could stop to think. "I volunteer!"
