Chapter 19 - The Trial (Part 1)

~ Throne Room of the Red Keep ~

"Everyone, arise. I present to you, King Orys Baratheon, The First of His Name, King of the Andals, the Rhoyner and the First Men, Protector of the realm and its people," the herald announced to the entire auditorium full of people that had gathered from all over Westeros.

Lords of the North, the Vale, the Riverlands, the Stormlands, the Westernlands, the Crownlands, as well as Dorne. The only Lords that were not present were the Lords of the Reach, perplexing all the Lords that were present. Lord Paramounts of the regions were also present, except for Dorne as Prince Doran suffered from gout, making it extremely difficult for him to move around. However, his brother Prince Oberyn, his lover, his daughters and his niece Arianne Martell was present as well.

However, the most important people that were present were the Major Lords of the North, as well as the Lannister Household. The trial that was going to occur today, would decide the fate of the future relations between the North and the Crown, the Westernlands and the Stormlands.

Orys was regally dressed in fine silks that made him look like a powerful emperor. His clothes were all black with a green shoulder cape and the symbol of Houses Baratheon and Lannister on either of his shoulders. His crown was not the same as his father, but rather similar to Maekar the First's but with major differences.

It was forged with Valyrian Steel with golden spikes decorating it, with rare gems lining them. If sold, it could easily feed the stomachs of the population of an entire kingdom for months.

After sitting on the Iron Throne, he swept his eyes all over the people gathered, before he began, "I wish we could have met under better circumstance my lords, but it seems the gods are not that happy with us. After my father's death, it seems enemies have popped up all over the place, and we need to deal with them before my reign begins properly. So, without waiting any more, let us begin. Please, Uncle Stannis, bring the prisoner out."

The man nodded and did as he was told, signaling his men to bring him in. As soon as the prisoner walked in, many of the lords gasped.

Lord Eddard Stark, the man who fought a war alongside Robert Baratheon to fuck up the Targaryens, was being dragged by the guards to face his own trial. The blood of the Northerners which was usually cold like ice, was boiling hot at this sight. He was their Lord after all!

As he stood in the center of the Throne Room, Eddard Stark's eyes swept over the crowd. He was happy to find his son and wife present there alongside his friends and Lords; his eldest daughter was sitting alongside Princess Myrcella, looking like a beauty from a fairytale; while his younger daughter Arya was being held by two female guards as she struggled to get to him. And finally, his eyes laid on the man responsible for his current condition.

Orys Baratheon, the man who transformed the realm, but not a single benefit came to the North. While the Lords here enjoyed wealth and food, the people in his region suffered. The wolf inside him was waiting to be unchained right now, he couldn't do shit.

"Lord Eddard Stark, you are being charged with treason. You conspired to keep my birthright away from me and plagiarized a fake message to give you a position of power here. How do you plead?" Orys' voice boomed. The Lords who had never heard about what the Lord Paramount was being tried for, were left shocked.

"Not guilty," Eddard spoke up in a strong voice as well. He was not going to let this damn southerner trample all over him.

"Hmm, very well. Let us begin the trial. The first witness, Lord Stannis Baratheon, the one who was present in the room with you and my father that time shall take the stand."

Stannis got up on the podium and described the entire story to the Lords of the court. When he was done recounting the tale, everyone was looking at the Lord with suspicious eyes, even some Lords of the North.

Before anyone else could get a chance to say anything else, Orys ordered Petyr Baelish to take the stand and asked him to say what he had to say regarding this case. "Your Grace, we all know that the Starks are an honorable bunch and Lord Eddard Stark was a good friend of King Robert," Baelsih began, causing the Lords of the North and the Stark family to smile, thinking that he would testify for them. "But ever since Lord Stark has taken his position on the Small Council, he has been extremely fixated on the amount of gold we spend. I even heard him speak to the traitor Varys about how we spend so much on Tourneys while the people up North starve."

This just further cemented the suspicions of the Lords as what Baelish stated could very well be true. It was no secret that the Northern Lords had to ration food and grain a lot due to the shortage of it every winter. It wasn't very easy to transport these products North as well, so if they had enough gold, it could help the Northern Lords a lot.

"Lord Stark, is this why you decided to betray your King, so that you could remain in power to aid your region, knowing that the Hand has to worry about all 7 kingdoms?" Orys asked, as he looked upon the downed Lord. What nobody except Melisandre saw was that Orys had used his magic to heighten the feelings of agitation and frustration in the Northern Lord, hoping to end this farce quickly.

"NO! I did it because I do not want you and your bastard siblings that were born out of incest to sully the throne!" the lord roared. His words immediately sparked outrage with many guards taking out their swords and the hall full of Lords erupted in horror.

Tywin and Stannis were the most vocal of the bunch, calling for the Lord's head. Many Lords were outraged and the nobles who live in the crownlands especially so. They were very fond of the crown prince and his younger siblings, except Joffrey. To accuse them of being bastards… their anger was flaring.

Even the Northerners looked on in horror as this was something they not expected. This would cement execution on the spot if anyone was caught saying such things about royalty. The Starks had all color drained from their expressions. Was their patriarch trying to ensure their house went extinct? Sansa gasped in horror, looking directly at her lover. Would he reject her after this?

All of this seized when the sound of light laughing penetrated the air. Everything and everyone stilled as they stared at the Young King who was laughing at the Lord's proclamation. This baffled everyone. Had he lost it or was he angry?

TO BE CONTINUED…