Chapter 16: Innocent

“Refrain from talking false claim, girl-slave, it wouldn't matter to me, anyway. You're a scheme and a traitor! A great liar too. I would not insist on such foolishness, if I were you.”

He uttered the word under his breath, looks so irritated and angry.

His beautiful eyes grew with a flash of rage.

Racy could see his breathing quickened, , seemed like he was on the verge of losing his temper.

“Just believe me this once, my Lord, for I only spoke to you without lying. I already knew of my true birth, Maggy told me about it. Though, not everything. But still, I felt relieved, that, every accusations you have thrown at me were not true.” There were tears in her eyes.
She paced slowly towards him.

“Please, spare me from your wrong accusations, I only wished to live normally now and in peace, my Lord…” she continues. On bent knees she begged him.

Jon Snow was stunned for a moment, his gaze went down on the girl on his feet.
Both of his fists were tightly clinched.

“Get up. From now on, I forbid you to speak unless I tell you so, girl-slave.” his cold gaze never left her, ignoring the pitiful look in her eyes. Her pretty face was smeared with tears.

“N-no, my Lord. Please, don't do this to me.” she cried as Jon's Northsmen pulled her away from him. She struggled to get free from their hold, and ran back to Jon. But one of his men grabbed her before she could have reached him.

“I am Racy Sand! I was not a traitor's daughter And I demand my freedom, my Lord! Please… If you give me a chance, I could prove it to you." She cried hopelessly as his men took her away from him.

Jon was bewildered. Unfamiliar emotions were rumbling in his chest as he saw her in a desperate posture.

What she had told her must possibly be a great lie. It was part of her plan to lure him again, using her pleas and tears.

A firm decision had flowed over him as he went to the small council of Casterly Rock Castle. He must go back to Winterfell at once.
Bringing the girl-slave with him here caused him great trouble, and he regretted it.

“I don't believe she was capable of killing the herb lore healer, father. It doesn't make sense to me at all. The girl is innocent, with that I am most certain of." Tyrion, the halfman calmly said.

The Lannister siblings were there in the council room, including Lord Tywin and the Maester. They were talking about the murder of the herb lore healer when he arrived to join them.

"There you are, Lord Snow. You are just in time, we were talking about the crime of your girl-slave, please take a seat, so we could finally resolve this matter once and for all. The truth is, it was a great insult for the Lannisters of what your girl-slave did." exclaimed the Queen. There was refined authority in her tone. 

As Jon had settled in his seat, the halfman averted his gaze to him.

"Still, it depends on Lord Snow's decision, dear sister." annoyance were in Tyrion's tone.

"I doubt it. Since she was a traitor's heiress, it is not hard for us to decide her verdict. She committed her crime in our lands. The House Lannister has every right to give punishments to the oppressor. What can you say, Lord Snow?" a cunning smile was formed in the queen's delicate lips.

Jon cleared his throat.

"The decision has not yet been made, your Highness. We are still investigating if she was really the true killer of the herb-lore healer. Right now, she was strictly kept in prison. My men are watching her closely, it is impossible for her to escape. She'll face her verdict once we find out she is guilty of the crime. I can assure you that."
There was  pure authority in Jon's tone,unlike of Queen Cersei's refined authority in her tone was more of threat.

"How can we be so sure you won't betray us, Lord Snow? Since I could only see you had eyes on her?" she tested him.

"Cersei, stop it." Lord Tywin calmly told her.

"There is truth in everything that comes out in my mouth, father. If all of you and this young Lord never noticed of it, then perhaps, it's only me who sees it."

"Dear sister, we are discussing about a crime  in this small council and never mislead us with such unnecessary topic. It is not of our right to delve with other people's personal matters." the halfman looked annoyed while eyeing to his sister.

"We must be specific and clear with this so we can settle this matter before Lord Snow and his Northsmen will ride back to Winterfell." it was Jaime Lannister, in his casual tone.

"Where did you kept the girl, Lord Snow?" asked Lord Tywin. " She must be brought here for us to investigate."

As Jon heard of him, he ordered one of his men to get the girl-slave.

"She'll be here soon, Lord Tywin."

They were in their heated arguments when she entered the small council room with Jon's men.

"There she is, a quite beauty." exclaimed the half-man with pure amusement in his eyes as he stares at the girl-slave.

"M-my Lords... Y-your Highness.." She bowed and greeted them in a trembling tone. Her body was trembling too with fear, knees became weak as she landed her gaze at Jon Snow who threw a swift glance at her with blank emotions in his dark grey eyes.

"Take her to the seat."  Jon Snow commanded to his men.
Racy was settled to one of the seat next to Jon and the Halfman,Tyrion.

She nervously clasped her hands together on her lap to control her body from trembling.

"So, let us begin." said Jaime Lannister. He was holding a scroll.

"Racy Bolton, daughter of the late Lord Ross Bolton from House Dreadfort, we are hereby commanded  you to speak and confess your crime concerning the sudden death of the herb lore Healer. Now, confess." Jaime asked her with pure convictions in his voice.

But she hastily shook her head.
"I never killed Maggy, my Lord. The savages did it. If you would just hear me, I will tell you what had really happened." she looked at Jon. His face  showed unreable expressions.

"Go on, then."  Jaime waived his hand to let her continue.

"Thank you, my Lord." she swallowed hard. The familiar fear was starting to ate her whole being.
Telling them the truth was not her assured salvation since they may never believe her no matter what she says, especially Jon.

But she must take her risk.

"It all started when I met her at the Castle's kitchen, telling me unbelievable stories of  my true birth. I wanted to believe her. It was my only escape from Lord Snow's never-ending wrath for me, since I was believed to be Ross Bolton's heiress. The man who caused great havoc at the North and murdered Lord Jon Snow's family members, I was named a traitor's daughter. A scheme. But Maggy told me it was all a lie. I went with her to the deep woods out of curiousity  because she had promised me to tell everything. She knew my mother- Lorea Sand..I was told, they both came from Dorne. She even showed me the old portrait of my mother. But the savages came. They were circling outside her cottage. We tried to escape through the digged hole she had secretly made but when we arrived at the deep woods mouth, she was shot by an arrow on her back. I came back for her, I tried to save her but she insisted to end her life since she would just slow me down... " she cried when she could not take the painful fate of Maggy.
" It was not of my intention to be the cause of her death. I swear to the old Gods and the new, I never killed Maggy. I tried to save her so she could take me back to Dorne, to my family.."

She paused. Everyone went silent, all eyes were intently looking at her with disbelief and deep curiousity.
It was Lord Tywin who broke the  silence.

"So, you claimed, you are not the killer?"
She nodded.
" Y-yes, my Lord. I did not killed her. And I was not lying." she eyed to Jon's side who seemed to be in his deep thoughts.

"Lord Snow, please. I beg you to belive me." she pleaded to him. All she needed was his mercy.

"And what about this 'Dorne thing', Racy Bolton? Are you certain of it?" asked the Halfman, Tyrion.

"Yes, my Lord. And I need to go back to Dorne. I need to know the whole truth."

"No!" Jon's voice boomed in every corner of the council room. "It must be another part of your lies and schemes, girl-slave. You may be innocent of killing the Herb lore Healer, but you were still a traitor's daughter and nothing could ever changed that fact." he angrily growled at her.

"But it was true, Lord Snow. Let me prove it to you." she silently wept.

"So, perhaps we are done here, I saw the sincerity of your girl-slave's words, Lord Snow. I believed, she is innocent of the crime. " Lord Tywin stood. "Jaime, have those captured savages hanged before dawn." authority was in Lord Tywin's voice.

"Yes, father."
Racy was taken back to her prison by Jon's men.

"Thank you for cooperating with us to clear this mess, Lord Snow. And the issue about your girl-slave's true birth, it is no more of our consent. It is in your hands now if you would believe her or not." Lord Tywin shook Jon's hand before the young Lord left the small council room, left alone were Jaime, Tyrion and Cersei.

"I was very certian, she comes from the east. Her physical features spoke of it." exclaimed Tyrion.

"So, you wanted to play Maggy now, little brother?" the queen said annoyingly to him.

"Dear sister, I may be a little monster to look at, but my judgement are very precise and excellent. You knew it very well. I already told you, even father and Jon, she was not from North. " he sharply told her.

"If that is true, It would be very hard for the young Lord of  North since he had prettily outgrown great grudge for her. It would not be so easy for him to let her go." Jaime spoke to them while they were on their way back to their chambers.

"But it was the great affection I had seen from  the Young Lord's eyes, brother. Perhaps, my observation is just quitely poor."
The queen softly exclaimed.

They parted ways and went to each chambers, baffled and were slightly curious of the girl-slave's identity.

Meanwhile, Jon walked towards the dungeon of Casterly Rock. His pace were in haste.

"Open it. " he commanded to his men when he arrived in front of a cell.

"My Lord.." her voice were trembling when she saw him entered inside her cell.

"Take her back to my chambers." he coldly ordered his men, his eyes were narrowly scanning her.

"You believed me, my Lord. That is the reason why you are freeing me now from this prison.." she exclaimed. There was a hint of gladness and relief in her face as she looked at the young Lord.
He never know how painful it was for her to be this near him but she could not even touch or hold him.

And, it was forbidden for the likes of her since she was just a mere servant girl.

But if she could only have proof of her true birth, things may turn out differently between them. Jon's wrath towards her would vanished and there would be a chance, Jon's treatment to her will changed..perhaps.

"Get the men ready, Sam, we will head back to Winterfell tomorrow before dawn." she heard him talking to Samwell Tarly at the far side corner of his chamber.

"But how about Racy Bolton, the girl slave, Jon, should we take her back, too?"
Sam had swiftly glanced to where she sits, so she pretended herself she did not heard their conversation.

"Yes. Absolutely, Sam. We're taking her back, where else would she go? The girl-slave belonged to the North." Jon had firmly said.

"But everyone spoke of her, being a highborn from Dorne. Is it true?"

"No. She lied to lure us again." Jon snapped.

As Racy heard of it, her heart sank..she was torn between fleeing from Jon Snow so she could go back to Dorne and claim her right as one of the highborns, but her heart was painfully tied to him..


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