Oathkeeper

Chapter 81: When The Law Unfolds Pt.2

By the time the Hand and Lord Hornwood were granted permission to enter the private quarters occupying the Queen, Sansa was back on her toes. Literally. She and Lady Cerwyn kept a long, telling, exchange as they passed each other in the doorway. Lord Hornwood and Lyanna were sure they were going to hear all about it in extensive detail. At least, Lyanna was.

With both arms behind her back, Sansa rubbed her thumb into her palm and waited for the woman to turn the corner with immense anticipation. Her mind may have been a bit overstimulated from the details of the Den but there was something lying beneath the testimony that was sure to uproot Lord Wellam. Something that awoke a youthful sense of curiosity she'd now hold for both him and Lady Kyra. And she was set to find it immediately.

"We'll be heading back in now," Sansa said abruptly. Just like that, she had her skirt hiked up and a foot of distance between her and Ser Tiberius'.

"Your Grace!" Lord Hornwood called after her, "Should we no longer reconvene?"

"We still have quite some time before they toll the bells," Lyanna added.

"There's been a change of plan," Sansa stopped. She turned back to face them with a fire igniting beneath her ocean eyes, "Tell them to toll the bells now,"

Within minutes the profound tolling resonated in every corner of the Harbor. The two nearly ceiling tall doors roared as they were opened. Ser Jayson and Ser Delaryn stood stiff while the Lady Hand and Lord Hornwood swiftly headed back to their seats. The announcing knight's voice bellowed through the hall, and everyone froze for the Queen taking simple strides towards the head of the entire spectacle. They remained on their feet, just as she. Silent with wandering eyes. Her bottom lip separated from the top and just before she drew in a deep, lung expanding breath, she paused.

"Thank you all for gathering back. Maester Yoren tells me Lady Greyjoy should expect to make a full recovery with more rest, so there is no need to concern yourselves with that," She addresses quickly.

"I'm sure you're wondering why I've called you back so soon and I can assure you, your time is just as precious to me as it is to you. With that being said, there will be an additional witness giving testimony today. I thought I might spare us the extra hour by cutting our rest period short. I'm sure this is alright with you all."

Sansa sat slow, taking the time to bury the devious grin clawing in her mouth. She peered over at Lord Wellam, who held an expression she'd been awaiting to see since yesterday. He was resilient on the surface but beneath, she could see complete and utter dismay.

Her thin gown barely sounded as she shuffled around in her seat. She checked with the judges and the knights who helped keep everything in order before embracing her volume,

"The crown calls its next witness, Maester Yoren,"

The old rusted chains rattled as rose from his seat in the very first pew. The clinks were deep, hollow, showing their subtle age over the Grand Maesters. He kept his eyes on a fidgety rotation between the Queen, the floor and his Lord. And each time they stopped on the young blonde, his pupils turned to concord grapes and his shameful stare lingered a little longer.

Sansa held a hint of anxiety in the back of her throat. In all of her brief stay at the Harbor, she'd only ever seen devoted loyalty and kindness, to both herself and his Lord. He'd even tended to her wife -- graciously and personally-- a fter she and her men sacked the city. This testimony would put him in a position of choosing and she truly could not be set on what to expect.

"Maester Yoren, do you swear that the testimony you are about to give is true in its entirety?," Sansa asked.

"I swear it by both the Old Gods and the New, Your Grace,"