In the Halls of the Red Keep, Red Keep - King's Landing, CrownLands
Visenya walked side by side with Olenna, the two Of them discussing what had taken place so far in the trial; mostly Olenna, who needed an ear to vent. Thankfully for her, she had the right one, belonging to a person that understood her.
"l am telling you, my son has the same brain as his father. If it were not for me standing above his head, our money would have been gone to anyone with a sad enough story" the Queen Of Thorns complained as they walked the corridors of the Red Keep, passing by servants that quickly moved out of the way or bowed.
"Cersei knew what she was doing, although her act was not really needed in my opinion," Visenya commented, not that much worried about speaking her mind.
"With how rigged this trial is, I doubt any witnesses were truly needed after that fossil of old man you have as Grand Maester," Olenna said, making her walking companion smile faintly in amusement.
"Either way, justice needs to be served in the formal terms; whether any of us like it or not," she commented, her eyes ahead as they made their way towards one of the grand balconies existing. "Although, I do suspect there is more behind it," she confessed as they stopped by the railing, looking ahead at the city.
This seemed to draw the interest of the Queen of Thorns.
"You suspect Tywin has a plan?" she asked rather openly now that they were on their own.
The Dragoness shrugged her shoulders.
"I am not sure. I know him well enough to know that he always plans ahead but these are just my suspicions," she explained and glanced at the older woman. "Speaking of suspicions, I find it odd."
"What is odd?"
"Sansa's disappearance. The parts of the plan were very... private, so to speak. Whoever orchestrated her escape knew of all the details or at least the most important ones," she said, focusing fully on the shorter woman by her side, her face serious. "They had to know because it was all pre-planned. The escape happened during the chaos of the poisoning and earning enough time to escape from the Port before the order was given and the soldiers halted every ship from leaving."
Olenna was not stupid. She could see that Visenya had started to put the pieces together and had started to speculate; if not already know of what had taken place behind her back. However, she was not going to bluntly expose anything.
She chose, instead, to play it safe and proceed with care.
"Are you implying that I helped the girl escape, Visenya? For what? To secretly marry her to Loras?"
The Dragoness shook her head.
"No, that's not like you. You have nothing to win from this. You did not care enough for her to help her as a chance of doing something good and I have doubts you owed any debts to her father or the Starks," she started to explain. "You also could not smuggle her to Highgarden because if word escaped, it would ruin our alliance and you would not dare have Margaery living in a hostile environment; not after all you did to keep her safe from her second husband."
The Queen of Thorns was silent for a moment, observing the woman by her side. For the first time, Olenna could finally see exactly how calculating and trained her mind was. Her way of thinking, of quickly justifying and eliminating all those theories and suspects about Sansa's escape; was rather outstanding.
However, the older woman also saw just how dangerous Visenya could be as an opponent. Sure, Tywin was ruthless and knew politics but even he could not truly match the talent and skills of his wife; which were often shadowed or concealed by the pride of the Old Lion.
This was one more reason why Olenna had chosen Visenya to help her with the plan because she knew the woman possessed a mind that lacked in many whether be other women or men. Just now, the Dragoness had openly shown just how good she could be.
"Then who do you think did it?" she finally asked the younger woman, curious to see if she had managed to actually put all the pieces together.
Visenya let out a small sigh and looked forward again. She freed her hand and placed her palms on the railing before looking ahead at the busy city she once used to call home.
"I don't know yet. Another player in this game, for that I am certain. What I do not know for sure is how that person knew. Did they get their information from you or someone has been spying on us all this time?"
The older woman looked at the city as well, understanding where this discussion was leading. If she confessed that she had worked behind the woman's back, she risked losing the trust and future help of the Dragoness. However, if she chose to deny; then she had to admit that someone might know of their plan and both could evidently be in danger if the secret got out.
Yet, Olenna was not going to give it away all too easily.
"Perhaps they got it from me," she started, "Perhaps they happened to hear of the plan," she continued. "One can never truly know when this castle is infested with all kinds of birds."
The Dragoness said nothing but nodded her head faintly, catching on to what the Queen of Thorns was trying to imply in her words without directly exposing anything.
Their discussion came to an end rather quickly after that as the sound of bells was heard and they knew that they had to return for the Trial much to their dismay.
Throne Room, Red Keep — King's Landing, CrownLands
As the bell was heard, everyone from the crowd returned to their respective places. As the people walked into the room, one would hardly not notice Jaime in his Kingsguard armour as he walked over to his brothers.
Tyrion and Trystan had not moved from their position and had spent their time talking, just trying to imagine it was a random usual day the two of them would discuss and not a break between Tyrion's trial.
However, when they heard the bells, they knew their little daydreaming had to end. Yet, both were surprised upon seeing Jaime walking their way with a hard-to-read expression.
"Not going well, is it?" Tyrion asked as Trystan craned his head to look at his two brothers but did not directly move, not until their Father would come.
"You're going to be found guilty," Jaime said in a lowered tone as he leaned against the dais but both brothers heard him.
Tyrion scoffed in amusement.
"Oh, you think so?"
Jaime did not share his humour. Instead, he leaned even closer to Tyrion. "When you are, you need to enter a formal plea for mercy and ask to be sent to the Wall. Father has agreed to it. He'll spare your life and allow you to join the Night's Watch." He explained, making Trystan slowly stand up.
"Ned Stark was promised the same thing and we all know how this turned out" Tyrion said in an equally low tone, speaking for Trystan; who had the exact same thought in his mind.
"Father is not Joffrey. He'll keep his word." The oldest Of the male lion siblings said with confidence.
"How do you know?"
Just then, the three judges entered the room and everyone in the crowd stood up. Tywin even looked at where his three sons were, clearly displeased.
"Do you trust me?" Jaime asked. Tyrion nodded. "Keep your mouth shut. No more outbursts. This will all be over soon."
With those words, Jaime walked away to take his place. His two brothers watched him until Trystan felt the sharp gaze of his father, burning holes at the side Of his face. He said nothing but moved to his seat where his mother was already waiting for him.
Yet, as he walked there, one thought was in his mind.
Brother, what the hell did you do?
He questioned silently since it was clear that Jaime had struck some kind of deal with their Father.
Once Trystan had sat down, he looked at Jaime; who barely could look him in the eyes because of guilt. He simply could not look at them right now, knowing that none of his siblings would be happy with his decision.
However, he had to do it for his family. The mental promise he made to his good-mother was fresh in his mind and for the first time in his life, he would take one for the family. He did not care how his siblings would curse, hit or hate him for he did not regret it.
He would return to Casterly Rock and get married. A small price of his freedom for the freedom of his siblings. Tyrion would be a free man by the Wall and Trystan would no longer need to bear the weight of the heir, having the freedom to be more of himself and marry when it was time.
Even Visenya would not have to risk facing the fury of her Lord-Husband by trying to make him change the verdict and save Tyrion. She had done more than enough for them... for him and it was about time to be a man... to be the man she always knew he could be.
"The crown may call its next witness," Tywin said once everyone had settled down.
The sound of footsteps was heard echoing in the room and everyone turned towards the doors as the next witness walked forward. Tyrion did not turn immediately but upon seeing the shocked expression of his family, he turned and regretted it.
His lover, the woman he had been reassured was far away from King's Landing to be safe from the claws of his father and sister; was back and was apparently a witness to his trial.
He looked at her like a lost puppy, so happy to see her but also so sad upon realizing why she had been summoned forward.
She did not spare him a single look, instead entered the witness box and looked down.
Visenya and Trystan exchanged a look of worry and surprise, both aware of who the woman was and both knowing that if she were to be a witness; then things were about to turn bad really fast.
"State your name," Tywin demanded.
"Shae," the woman replied after a moment of hesitation.
"Do you swear by all the gods that your testimony will be true and honest?"
There was another pause, Shae clearly feeling uncomfortable under the stares of everyone but in the end, she answered.
"I swear it."
"Do you know this man?"
Shae looked at Tyrion, who looked like a beaten and hurt puppy; silently begging her not to betray him as well and testify against him. The look almost seemed to work but the woman, in the end, looked forward again.
She kept trying to look at the judges and mostly at Tywin but his imposing presence made it hard and instead, she kept casting her eyes downwards.
"Yes. Tyrion Lannister."
"How do you know him?" Tywin asked, going by each question the 'book' told him to go through but mostly did it to drag out the moment and watch Tyrion suffer more and more with each passing moment as reality was settling in.
"l was handmaiden to his wife Lady Sansa."
"This man stands accused Of murdering King Joffrey. What do you know of this?'
"l know that he's guilty." She said, making the crowd gasp. "He and Sansa planned it together."
This revelation seemed to have awakened the crowd, whose murmurs and whispers could be heard all over the room.
The Old Lion, though, was not going to allow that to a trial where he was the main judge. " Silence!" he commanded and in the next second, no one dared to speak let alone breathe loudly. "Continue."
Tyrion, at last, realized where this would lead and was forced to sit from the shock. His eyes not once left the body Of his lover, who continued her speech and ensured that his head would meet the sword.
"She wanted revenge for her father, her mother, her brother. She blamed their deaths on the king. Tyrion was happy to help. He hated Joffrey. He hated the queen. He hated you, my lord." The crowd once again started to murmur. "He stole poison from the Grand Maester's chamber to put in Joffrey's wine."
Visenya stared down at the woman, who she had not truly liked since the day she had found her in Tyrion's chambers; the day after the Battle of Blackwater Bay. Now, the Dragoness' dislike seemed to have grown but had nothing to say or do on the matter; not while the trial was ongoing.
She suspected that the girl had been paid to speak against Tyrion, proof that whatever feeling he thought she had for him; was false. She barely glanced at her Lord Husband, as she remembered his words during Joffrey's nameday.
She would not be surprised if he had a say in all of this or was behind her sudden appearance after so long and her 'eagerness' to confess.
This complicates but also helps a lot of the plan, she thought and kept her eyes on Shae.
She knew that if she dared to look at Tyrion, dared to look at his hurt expression; she would not be able to stand it. Once already he had been harmed by loving a prostitute and even she remembered that dreadful day; a bitter memory of the past that she often wished she could erase or change.
While the crowd already believed her, it was Oberyn who saw the holes in her confession.
"How could you possibly know all this? Why would he reveal such plans to his wife's maid?" he asked, proving that he was not as easily biased or influenced as some others.
"I wasn't just her maid," she confessed, making Oberyn arch an eyebrow and lean slightly forward. "I was his whore."
"I beg your pardon?" Mace exclaimed, shocked by the revelation and even the language. "You said you were his..." he could not say the word and that only made Olenna roll her eyes from where she sat next to Margaery.
"His whore," Shae repeated and Visenya closed her eyes for a moment, trying her best not to let any of her thoughts show upon her face.
Trystan, by her side, was simply too shocked to speak or move. He had met Shae more than once and he knew that she loved his brother and he loved her. To see her standing as a witness, testifying against him... it had simply left him speechless.
"How did you come to be in his service?" Tywin asked, throwing more oil into the fire.
"He stole me. I was with another man, a knight in your lordship's army. But when Tyrion arrived at the camp, he sent one Of his cutthroats into our tent. He broke the knight's arm and brought me to Lord Tyrion. "You belong to me now," he said. "l want you to fuck me like it's my last night in this world."
This caused the crowd to laugh and Tyrion to hand his head in shame. He had said those things to her but under a different context, under different conditions and in a far sweeter tone.
"Silence. Silence!" Tywin ordered with his tone raised, taking more than one repetition Of the word for the crowd to truly stop laughing.
As much as this was of importance to him, he did not like the crowd interrupting and laughing. Let alone laughing at the expense Of Tyrion because at the end of the day, the dwarf was still a Lannister and right now it was the family name being disgraced and humiliated in such a way.
"And did you?" Oberyn asked her.
"Did I what?"
"Fuck him like it was his last night in this world." He asked, earning a sharp warning glare from Visenya and Tywin.
He was not bothered by it. He knew that all of this was of embarrassment to Tywin as well in a way, through his family name, and he was going to use it.
To the crowd's surprise, Shae went into detail. "I did everything he wanted. Whatever he told me to do to him. Whatever he felt like doing to me. I kissed him where he wanted. I licked him where he wanted. I let him...put himself where he wanted... I was his property. I would wait in his chambers for hours so he could use me when he was bored. He ordered me to call him "my lion," so I did...l took his face in my hands and said, am yours and you are mine."
Tyrion felt as if someone had stabbed him in his heart more than once as if the blade was twisted left and right to make his pain even worse. He felt more hurt than when he found out that Tysa was a paid whore and never loved him. He felt all of his powers, his hopes of freedom and even his wits to leave him. "Shae." He called her name, looking at her with such plead; begging her to stop this torture and humiliation. "Please don't"
Yet, Shae was not going to feel sorry for him. "l am a whore..." she said, repeating the same words he had told her before he sent her away. "Remember?" her voice cracked for a moment but she quickly regained her composure and looked to the judges. "That was before he married Sansa. After that, all he wanted was her. But she wouldn't let him into her bed. so he promised to kill King Joffrey for her."
The crowd clamoured and Tywin did not stop them this time, letting them all take in the latest information and conclude how they looked at Tyrion in their own minds.
He seemed rather pleased with how things were going, although the humiliation of his house was not necessary. He could have avoided it if it weren't for Oberyn but he got the result he wanted. He glanced to his right where his family was, seeing how Cersei was snarling and glaring at Tyrion; now that there was an official confession and her chance to prove to anyone that she was right and he had killed her son.
Trystan was looking with disbelief and shock at Shae, who refused to meet his gaze. She knew that she was lying and she knew that he knew it as well; which was why she did not dare to look at him. The Half-Lion always had respect for women, he had been raised to be respectful, mannered and proper around them. Even with the prostitutes that Tyrion would try to send his way or show him when he dragged him to brothels, he never crossed the line. Yet upon his eyes falling on Shae, he truly started to wonder if it was fear or gold that had won her obedience.
He hoped it was the former because if it was gold, then even he was not sure what he would do if their paths crossed outside of the Throne Room.
Visenya had her attention on the defeated Tyrion, her gaze soft upon seeing the young man she had helped raise ever since he was a baby. She had helped raise him for 17 years and her heart ached upon seeing him like that.
This was not meant to happen, not like that, she thought, guilt clouding her thoughts and heart as her throat felt dry. Shae should have never returned, she shouldn't have confessed.
Eventually, Tyrion seemed to have had enough.
"Father, I wish to confess."
He said in a lowered tone but almost no one heard him above the noise of the gossiping crowd.
"I wish... to confess."
He repeated, this time louder.