Naveena LANNISTER :||: Queen Series #2

6) Guilty Of Being A Dwarf

Naveena
The doors of the king's hall swung inward, the Lord Commander of the King's Guard walking out with his traitor brother in irons behind him. The throne room was deathly quiet, grandstands hugged each wall on either side of the king, to seat the people who had gathered to witness the trial. The only sound was Jaime's boots on the tiles and the clinking of armour. Two guards flanked the dwarf as they led him to a  round box centred at the bottom of the stairs leading to the throne.

Tywin stood beside the king, two chairs on either side of the throne. I stood beside Cersei, acting as the concerned matriarch, the two of us watching Tyrion with stony faces. Jaime gave his brother an apologetic look as he chained him to the box. There was complete certainty the dwarf would not escape.

Tywin turned to the king, and Tommen stood, the rest of the court following. "I, Tommen of the House Baratheon, First of my Name, King of the Andals and the First Men, and Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, do hereby recuse myself from this trial. Tywin of the House Lannister, Hand of the King, Protector of the Realm, will sit as judge in my stead. And with him Prince Oberyn of the House Martell and Lord Mace of the House Tyrell."

As their names were said, the two other judges of the trial moved for their seats, standing politely in front of them waiting for the king to finish. "If found guilty, may the gods punish the accused."

Tommen walked down the steps, and two King's Guards joined his back to escort him to the seat on the other side of Cersei. The three judges sat, and the audience did too, silently waiting for Tywin to start. The most feared man in all of Westeros looked down on his youngest child, the one he hated most.

"Tyrion of the House Lannister," He began. "You stand accused by the Queen Regent of regicide. Did you kill King Joffrey?"

Tyrion shook his head, his chains rattling slightly. "No."

"Did your wife, the Lady Sansa?"

"Not that I know of."

"How would you say he died, then?"

"Choked on his pigeon pie," Gasps went through the court, Jaime turning to his brother with a glare.

"So, you would blame the bakers?"

"Or the pigeons, just leave me out of it."

Cersei inhaled sharply beside me, and I calmly placed my hand over hers, which rested on the armrest of the wide chairs we sat in. Tywin got comfortable. "The crown may call its first witness."

...

Ser Meryn Trant stood in the witness stand, situated slightly to the left of Tyrion's box, his gold cloak on his back. "Once we'd got King Joffrey safely away from the mob, the Imp rounded on him. He slapped the king across the face and called him 'a vicious idiot' and a 'fool'." Tyrion shook his head at the story being taken out of context. "It wasn't the first time the Imp threatened Joffrey. Right here, in this throne room, he marched up those steps and called our king a halfwit. Compared His Grace to the Mad King and suggested he'd meet the same fate. And when I spoke in the king's defence, he threatened to have me killed."

"Oh, why don't you tell them what Joffrey was doing?" Tyrion spat.

"Silence!"

"Pointing a loaded crossbow at Sansa Stark while you tore at her clothes and beat her!"

"Silence!" My husband sat forward, and Tyrion pressed his lips together, despising every second of this ridiculous trial. It was clear already that Tyrion's fate would only end up how Tywin and Cersei wanted it. With him dead. "You will not speak unless called upon. You're dismissed, Ser Meryn."