Chapter 15 - The Reign of King Jon I Arryn Part 2 (288 AC - 289 AC )
“Today Queen Lysa has been taken into custody following revelations of the royal baby's lineage”. Those are the only words detailing Queen Lysa’s affair in Grand Maester Ebrose’s accounts during his time as advisor to King Jon, an uncharacteristically short and brief account that does little to detail what actually happened. That does not mean all is lost, the details of the sordid affair that engulfed the Eyrie in 288 AC are to be found from a seemingly unlikely source, a Septa named Alys from the Riverlands. Her account, written twenty years after the event, an atypically sordid detail, especially coming from a woman of the Faith of the Seven, is trustworthy due to its source, which will be revealed later on. For now we will follow Septa Alys’ account for what happened.
The story starts in 282 AC, when Jon Arryn and Lysa Tully were married. The marriage was one of a political nature, like is often the case in Westeros. Unlike her elder sister, Catelyn, who was marrying a young lord, Lysa was marrying an old man who had previously been married. According to Septa Alys, Lysa was “repulsed and appalled by the thought that she would have to lay with the man”. For the duration of Robert’s Rebellion Lysa was at Riverrun, awaiting the Rebel’s victory. There is where her debaucheries began, with Septa Alys detailing vivid accounts of liaisons with cooks, pages, stable boys, knights and even a Septon. Still, when her husband returned and was named king at the Council of Harrenhal, Lysa was delighted to be named Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, with her new power making her the most important woman in Westeros.
Her new found delight quickly faded upon the Royal Court’s arrival to the Eyrie. There she was, according to Septa Alys “ravaged and ridden by the King often and without love” and Lysa’s revulsion grew stronger. It is here, in the middle of 287 AC, that the first provable meeting between Queen Lysa and the lover that would prove her downfall would take place. She found solace in the arms of a lord by the name of Renfred Bourney, the Lord of the Great Fork. Named by King Jon as Master of Whisperers at the suggestion of Lord Petyr Baelish, Renfred Bourney had proven to be an apt diplomat, and charismatic negotiator. It was said he could charm a Braavosi banker to sell his children, or sway a Dothraki Horselord to dance on command. Indeed, he was also noted to be well dressed and handsome. The night the Queen and Lord Renfred finally gave into their passions was when King Jon had gone to visit Lord Grafton at Gulltown, leaving the Queen in charge of the Eyrie. Septa Alys describes that “Queen Lysa had never felt such passion, and soon fell in love with Lord Bourney”. It is unknown how often they romantically liaised with one another, but to avoid detection they coupled in cupboards, storerooms, privies, and even in the Maester’s tower.
Queen Lysa and Lord Renfred Bourney
Eventually these sordid liaisons produced the inevitable, a child. Septa Alys writes that the Queen knew that she would likely be with child, but did not care. When she revealed she was pregnant, Lord Renfred Bourney was incensed, and begged Lysa to drink the moon tea to kill the child. When a tearful Lysa refused, Lord Bourney attempted to strangle her to death. It was only when Lysa used her chamber pot to beat Lord Bourney off her that she escaped. Found by Ser Raymun Darry of the Kingsguard crying in the corner of a hallway in the Eyrie, who brought her to Grand Maester Ebrose to help her. During his treatment of the Queen he discovered that she was pregnant, to the delight of the Grand Maester. Lysa attempted to stop Ebrose from revealing the child to the King, but was unsuccessful. When King Jon visited Lysa in their quarters that night, his joy at the news of her pregnancy only served to deepen her anguish and revulsion. Unable to bear the weight of her secret any longer, Lysa finally confessed the truth to the king, laying bare the details of her affair with Lord Bourney and the violent confrontation that had ensued.
When the King’s guards burst into Lord Bourney’s quarters they found them empty, with most of his valuables missing. A thorough search of the castle revealed nothing. He had escaped. As for Queen Lysa, the angered and bereft king ordered her to be confined to her room and placed under guard. During an emergency session of the Small Council King Jon revealed all, and named Lord Bourney as a traitor to the realm. All major ports in the Vale were put under guard, and the roads were searched by the King’s men. Lord Bourney would be found trying to board a Pentoshi carrack at Gulltown dressed as a sellsword. Upon his return to the Eyrie he was tortured and placed in a sky cell overlooking the valleys of the Vale. After a week in the cells he confessed to adultery with the Queen and begged to spend the rest of his days at the Wall. When dragged in front of the King and his court, Lord Renfred Bourney fell to his knees begging for forgiveness, stating that he was seduced by the Queen against his will. After a long silence King Jon spoke, saying “I forgive you Lord Renfred, I knew you were bewitched.” The surprised Lord stood and replied “thank you my lord, I will never forget-”. He was interrupted by the two massive screeching doors behind him, which were slowly being opened, letting in a torrent of light from the valleys of the Vale. Everyone knew what that meant. “You are free to go” exclaimed King Jon “through those doors”. Those doors in particular were the Moon Doors, which often led to a long drop and quick end. When Lord Bourney realized he tried to flee but was caught by two members of the Kingsguard, who dragged the lord towards the doors. “I thank you for your honesty” said King Jon as the crying lord tried to break free of the guards. Finally they reached the door and with one quick push he was flung from the door and towards the ground.
The Moon Door of the Eyrie
For the next seven months the Queen was confined to quarters as the bastard babe in her belly grew. The King had decided that her fate would be decided after the child was born, not wanting to murder an innocent child. On the sixth moon of 289 AC, the bastard was born, named Robin Stone. The Queen had three minutes to be with the child until it was taken from her to be given to the Master of the Horse, a wealthy commoner named Leo of Applethorpe, who was to raise the child alongside his barren wife. It would be another month, in the dying days of 289 AC, when Queen Lysa was brought before the Royal Court. As Queen she had the right to a trial, which the King did not block. The presider of the trial, Hand of the King Tywin Lannister, proved to be an apt investigator, and produced many witnesses, most of whom could not have possibly seen the infidelities that took place. Still, the trial came to an unanimous decision, she was guilty of adultery and treason, and would be subject to the King’s mercy. At first King Jon declared that she would be sentenced to death, but subsequently commuted it after a lengthy discussion with Lord Eddard Stark, whose wife was sister to the disgraced Queen. She instead would be sentenced to spend the rest of hers days as a silent sister, gaining penance by serving the Faith of the Seven. The devastated Queen begged the King to kill her instead, but the implacable monarch stood silently as she was dragged off by the guards.
So, how do we know much about this tale? As said before, the court's official chroniclers offered little on what happened, and those involved did not speak of the events. Septa Alys, who wrote the account twenty years after the events took place, had a primary source of unassailable provenance. None other than Lysa Tully herself. The former Queen was taken to a Septry near Darry in the Riverlands, where she was made a silent sister. Her twenty year career as a silent sister was tumultuous, with her being canned constantly for breaking her silence and fathering two further bastards of unknown descent during her time as a holy woman. Eventually giving up on the novice, she was sent to a septry in the city of White Harbour in the North, where she became a Septa, which is where she met Septa Alys. The act of rejecting the role of a silent sister is exceptionally rare, and it is often met with execution. However, Septa Alys writes that a royal edict from the ruling King allowed Lysa to change her role. In any case, on Lysa’s deathbed in 309 AC, she confessed all to Septa Alys, who gave her absolution and then, following her death, wrote what happened.
