The Wolf and The Lion || Jaime Lannister

Fifty Five

Rayna

I wait in my office with Sansa and Jon. Bronn is in the dungeon making sure the assassin doesn't die before I can have his head cut off. The maester is refusing to let anyone see Jaime until he is finished with him, Jon had to drag me away screaming from the maesters chambers when I refused to leave my husbands side.
"It's been hours", I croak my voice raw and undone, the first words I've spoken since I stopped screaming. My tears have dried and everything is numb as I sit at my desk waiting to find out if the love of my life is dead or not.
"If the maester is still in there that means Jaime is still alive", Sansa says trying to give me assurance "There is still hope"
I don't want false hope anymore. I don't want sugarcoating. I don't want someone to tell me it's going to be okay. I want the truth.
"Jon, that knife went under his rib cage and it was angled towards his heart, do you think he has a chance?" I ask him, after all he was stabbed to death and resurrected "You know more about dying from stab wounds than any of us"
He is choosing his words very carefully. Jon has never seen me so unhinged and Sansa has seen me like it only once although I doubt she can remember it well. There have only been three times in my life I have been this hysterical. When I saw Father lose his head, when I saw Robbs body and now seeing someone attempt to assassinate my husband before my very eyes.
"I'm no maester but going off what I've seen he has a chance but-" he cuts himself off.
"Finish the sentence", I order.
"He lost a lot of blood Ray, he isn't a young shining knight anymore, he's early forties and older men don't heal as well as younger men"
He is still sugar coating, still avoiding the brutal truth.
I pull my dagger out that I keep strapped to my thigh, it's an average sized dagger. It could easily reach my heart if I was stabbed where Jaime was. It would be even easier to pierce my lungs or other organs.
"The dagger was probably this size, it was buried to the hilt, tell me Jon what are the odds it didn't hit anything fatal?"
The door opens and Brienne enters looking distressed.
"Ser Jaime, is he alive?" She asks looking more distressed than I've ever seen her.
So the word has spread. Ser Jaime Lannister was attacked by an assassin and I suspect they have also heard the Queen went mad in the courtyard over it.
"We don't know, the maester has been in there for hours, he won't let anyone in", Sansa answers for me.
Brienne approaches me "Rayna, I'm so sorry"
"Don't be", I reply numbly "The only people who should be sorry are the ones that will lose their heads for this"
"And who are they exactly?" Sansa asks.
"Littlefinger is the mastermind behind this, he was the one who told me. I told him that he is going to die tonight and he said not if Jaime does first, Cersei however is the one who ordered it and she sends her regards"
I play with the Lannister ring on my finger that I've worn for years now. My hands are still stained in Jaimes blood but I don't care anymore. I just want to see him.
There is a knock on the door. Sansa stands and opens it a crack and I sit upright expecting the maester.
"Lady Sansa, the Lords are waiting for the Queen", Davos says nervously and I slump back in my chair. Still no word from the maester.
"Let them know the Queen is unwell", she answers but I stand.
"Let them know I am on my way", I instruct.
"Yes your grace", Davos says and he leaves to give the message.
"Rayna you aren't in the right mind" Brienne says, cautionary as always.
"I'm not", I agree "But I'm going, I have people to execute"
I pick up Jaimes sword and walk straight past her and out the door.
"At least change your dress, you are covered in blood", Sansa calls as she tries to catch up to me.
"Let them see me like this, let them see that I am not hiding anything"
I ignore their pleas for me to reconsider this.
"Bring the prisoners", I shout and I keep walking until I reach the hall.
When I push the doors open everyone inside falls silent. They bow their heads as I walk to my chair and sit.
Half of them look shocked and the other half afraid as the see me disheveled and bloody.
I place Jaimes sword on the table and Jon and Sansa take their seats on either side of me.
No one is willing to stand and speak first.
"Lord Royce, stand", I command and he walks forward and stands before me.
"Your Grace", he says bowing slightly. He is a southern man, he shouldn't take issue with me marrying a Lannister but I have something more important to address before they come and attack me for my choices.
"What is your opinion of Petyr Baelish?"
He is taken back by the question and stutters "I don't have an opinion your Grace, he is the Lord Protector of the Vale"
He's a smart man but it's clear he fears Littlefinger.
"Has he ever threatened you?" I ask and then I add "It would be wise not to lie"
"Yes", he gulps and I can see he's shaking.
The doors open again and Bronn drags in Littlefinger and the assassin.
Lord Royce looks between us with his mouth hanging open "What is this?"
Littlefinger is pushed to his knees and the men in the room whisper amongst themselves. I raise a hand and they all fall silent.
"Lord Baelish you are charged with murdering my aunt Lysa Arryn and helping her murder her husband Jon Arryn, treason against my family, conspiring against me and organising the attempted murder of Lord Jaime Lannister"
The room watches on in shock and suspense.
"I pushed Lysa to protect you", Petyr says coughing up some blood and I can see his beating from Jaime was worse than I originally thought.
"You did it to seize power in the Vale, which you did, then you sold me like a whore to the Bolton's and betrayed me"
"You agreed to it Rayna", he reminds me as he stands on his feet to speak to me.
"I did under false pretences, then when I withdrew my consent and threatened to leave as was my right as a free woman you threatened to have me chased down and brought back. Then you abandoned me there as I begged you to get me out. Consequently I was raped and beaten daily until I escaped and took Winterfell back. You then began conspiring to marry me and when I refused you began attempting to turn my sister against me, to have me overthrown, make her Queen, marry her and become King in the North"
"I only did it because of your affair with Jaime Lannister", he dares announce, then he turns and addresses the room "The North should belong to Sansa now that the Lannister is your King. Your Queen wed him in secret last night"
They all speak is hushed voices amongst themselves until little Lyanna Mormont steps forward. The only one with the guts to speak.
"Is this true?" She asks.
I inhale deeply as I look at the sword in front of me. At Jaime's sword which is still bloodied.
"No, Jaime Lannister is not the King" I answer honestly "There shall be no King in the North for only a Stark shall hold that title"
"She married him, by law he is the king", Littlefinger yells spitting blood into the floor and Bronn hits him hard and he falls back onto his knees.
"Yes, Jaime Lannister is my husband", I confess shamelessly "I married for love but he does not claim the title of king"
"Your brother did the same and it cost us the war", someone dares to spit out. "Now you're making the same mistake by fucking a Lannister"
I stand and slam my hand on the table.
"My brother was a good man and a good king, yes he broke a bloody oath who hasn't? The Frey's would have betrayed him one way or another. Do not disrespect me or slander my brother again or you will be banished from Winterfell", I threaten "I will not tolerate the abuse he tolerated over his marriage to Talisa. I made no such oath as he did and Robb even gave his blessing for our marriage so I will marry who I damn well please"
The room is dead silent as Littlefinger looks up at me with blood running from his nose "Tell me Rayna, how far is he from death?"
"The dagger was buried to the hilt, he'll be dead by morning", the assassin laughs and Bronns hits him hard as well. If Jaime survives I'll talk to him about giving Bronn a bonus for all his hard work. Perhaps he might even get his castle.
"Good, Robbs foreign whore was bad enough", a man from the back of the room yells "We don't want a fucking Lannister in Winterfell, all Lannister's deserve to lose their heads just like those little boys did but Robb wouldn't listen, he lost his men defending Lannister's and now you'll do the same"
"Step forward" I command and a man I don't recognise walks to the front of the room until he stands before me "Who are you"
"I served your brother, he sent me away when I helped murder the two young Lannister boys", he confesses "Your husband is filth and you aren't a Stark anymore, your a filthy fucking Lannister"
I motion for my Bronn to grab him and he beats him to his knees.
"You are banished from Winterfell, leave, if you return you will be sent to the wall"
He is escorted out by several of my soldiers.
I scan the room, I won't let them insult me like they insulted Robb. Robb did the right thing killing Lord Karstark for killing those boys. Robb may have hated Lannister's but he had honour. When today is finished everyone here will know that violence and killing over pettiness such as houses will not be tolerated.
"I stand here covered in my husbands blood. He may be a Lannister but he is one of the most honourable men I know, without him I would not be standing here and the North would still be under Bolton rule so do not dare stand before me and say I am making my brothers mistakes. You wanted to know who I would marry, what my children would be named and what man from which great house would father them", I say that loudly I'm almost telling as I continue looking around the room, seeing them muttering and I try to keep myself from screaming at them "I married an honourable man from one of the greatest houses in Westeros and if he survives he will father my children and they will be named Stark", I declare "He is the Queens consort and by marriage Lord of Winterfell, and these two men attempted to murder him. My husband wants no throne, wants no title unlike the man on his knees before me, Lord Baelish would have married me to take power for himself and killed me if I denied him it"
"I loved you Rayna, everything I've done was because I love you", he pleads.
"And for that you will die"
I take Jaimes sword in my hand, the sword that was forged from my Fathers sword, and walk around the table to the middle of the room where Littlefinger kneels.
"My Father said the man who passes the sentence should swing the sword, he lived by it, my brother lived by it and so shall I"
Everyone in the room seems to hold their breath.
Bronn brings forth a chopping block.
"Thought you might be needing this", he says as he sets it down in front of me.
I look at Littlefinger before ordering "Bring the assassin foward"
Bronn grabs the assassin who seems to be barely clinging onto life after Jaime ran him through.
"Your head will be sent to Cersei", I tell him before Bronn pushes his head down to the block.
With a single swift motion I bring the sword down on his neck.
When I raise Jaimes sword it is dripping in blood. Sansa and Jon watch on nervously, neither of them have interrupted me yet so I carry on.
Bronn removes the body and takes the head.
I look at Littlefinger who is trembling.
"Does anyone wish to speak?" I ask the room and everyone remains silent except for Lord Royce.
"Your Grace, who will become Lord Protector of the Vale?" he asks.
"You", I answer
"Thank you your Grace", he answers looking somewhat startled but bashful.
I stand tall and proud as I look around the room. So many men standing there and judging. Looking for signs of weakness, of madness.
"Do you find him guilty", I ask the crowd
"Kill him", someone yells out and they all murmur in agreement nodding their heads. Perhaps they are as thirsty for blood as I am.
"Jon, Sansa", I say addressing my siblings wanting them to stop me if this is wrong "Do you find him guilty?"
They both look somewhat disturbed by my state of mind but apparently not by the acts I've committed "He sold you to the Bolton's, that is treason", Jon says quietly.
"He murdered our aunt, and would have murdered your queen and forced me to marry him so he could have the throne", Sansa says to the room "He has betrayed our family, he betrayed our father and caused the conflict between the Starks and the Lannister's by framing the Lannister's for the assassination attempt on Bran. He began the War of the Five Kings and for that he deserves to die"
The room nods their heads in agreement with my sister and his fate is sealed.
"Lord Baelish, kneel", I order.
"Please", he begs one last time.
"Now", I order "Your head will be sent to Cersei as well"
He rests his head on the blood soaked block.
"Lord Baelish I sentence you to death for the murder of Lysa Aryn, conspiracy in the murder of Jon Arryn, conspiracy in the false conviction of treason and consequent execution of Lord Eddard Stark, the attempted assassination of Bran Stark and framing Tyrion Lannister for it and therefore being the man who began the conflict between the Starks and the Lannister's which lead to the War of the Five Kings, selling me to the Bolton's to further your own power, arranging the assassination attempt on Lord Jaime Lannister, conspiring with the enemy Queen Cersei Lannister, and finally conspiracy to take power in the North by conspiring against myself, the Queen in the North"
An animalistic growl escapes my throat as I strike my sword down.
The smile that comes to my face is half madness half relief. Littlefinger is finally dead.
I clean the blood off the sword onto the skirt of my already bloody dress.
I return to my seat leaving Littlefinger where he is.
"His head shall be sent to Cersei along with the Declaration of Independence"
"Wouldn't that be a declaration of war?" Lord Royce asks cautiously.
"Almost all of the seven kingdoms are in open rebellion and the conqueror Daenerys Targaryen is on Dragonstone, we are the last of her worries"
Or at least that's what I thought, that's what Jaime told me, clearly we were wrong if she sent an assassin to kill him.
I stand and read the declaration.
As they look at me I remember something Cersei told me once, that the only way to ensure loyalty was to make sure they feared you. I told myself that if I was ever a Queen I'd make them love me. When they crowned me I felt loved and now I feel feared.
I look at Jon and Sansa and their faces are set in stone, trying to conceal any expression but I know them well enough to know that they feel just like everyone else in the room does.
Like they are looking at a mad Queen.
I can't become that. I will not. They will fear me just enough so that what happened to Robb will not happen to me but they will love me as much as they loved my Father.
"My Lords I would like to apologise for my disheveled state", I begin as I address the room "I was born in this castle and I was raised here by my Father, the man who's death sent the North into an uprising. He was loved by his people and his family, as was my brother. For so long I have taken it upon myself to avenge their deaths and finally they have been avenged. I understand that many of you are skeptical and don't approve of the man I have chosen to marry but I married for love and he holds no power in the North, you will not have a southern man ruling over you, the North shall belong to the Starks now and forever. Petyr Baelish sought to take the North from us and he has paid with his life for it. The assassin who attacked by husband also paid. As I said when I was crowned this is a new era, The North is supported by the Freefolk, by the Vale and the Riverlands and we support them, they are our allies. My husband is a Lannister and I would like to remind you all that the only Lannister that is our enemy is Cersei Lannister. My husband is loyal to myself and to the North and our children will rule both the North and the West. I understand how I appear to you, many of you saw me after he was attacked and you see me now, a bloodied woman who cut off two men's heads but I am not mad, I am not a tyrant. The only tyrant queen is Cersei Lannister. My Father did not tolerate hate, my brother did not tolerate it and neither will I. My Father beheaded deserters, my brother beheaded a man who killed two young boys, he didn't care what house they belonged to because they were just boys and like them I will not tolerate unjustified hatred and violence. This will be my only warning, if you have a problem speak to myself or my sister who is hand of the queen, if you choose to take it into your own hands and there is death involved then it will be paid for. I understand the losses that were suffered in the War of the Five Kings against the Lannister army and I love the North and I swear to protect it with my life but I will not allow injustice"
I look at Sansa and Jon who seem relieved and I know that I said something right. I remember my speech at Riverrun, the one that brought the Lords back to my brothers side. I pray I can achieve the same.
"And that is what we need, a Queen who is just and honourable but will strike down our enemies and show no mercy", Lyanna Mormont says and the room cheers in agreement.
I allow myself to take a deep breath and exhale in relief however even I'm now unnerved at what I've done since I've entered this room. The madness that consumed me.
Jon stands "My sister is one of the strongest people I know, she has fought harder than anyone I know, when she rode into the Battle of the Bastards I thought it was madness but it's not, she was a woman who held a sword willing to die for her home. She is also one of the bravest women I have ever met, I wish her a long reign and pray for her husbands recovery for no man is more worthy of my sister than him"
I almost begin tearing up again as he says this. I take his hand in mine and squeeze it tightly.
Suddenly the maester walks in with Jaimes blood staining his robes.
I grip Jon's hand tightly needing an anchor as my whole world hangs in the balance. I study the maesters face for any indication but there is none. I prepare myself for the worst.
Finally he announces "He will live"