Oberyn Martell was angry at his brother. No, angry was putting it too lightly. He was furious at his brother.
Recently, Doran had summoned him to Sunspear. He had been traveling around Dorne, trying to raise support for the true king, Viserys Targaryen. He had just arrived back at Sunspear and was not pleased with what he found. The new King's Hand was there, along with several of the Usurper's other lickspittles. They had visited once before, shortly after Elia's death. It was then that the Martells learned exactly who was responsible for the atrocities. Now the Usurper's lackey was back, and Doran did nothing but suck up to him and assure him that they had bent the knee to the Usurper and there would be no war. Ha. Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken. So much for our house words! Oberyn was raging. Doran acted as if Elia meant nothing to him!
Jon Arryn and his entourage had been gone for a week now, and Doran summoned Oberyn to his solar.
He entered the room, passing by Areo Hotah at the door. Doran was seated in a chair behind a small table. Oberyn walked over and stood before his brother. "Captain," ordered Doran, "please leave us. And shut the door behind you." Hotah thumped the butt of his longaxe on the ground and complied.
"Sit," said Doran simply. Oberyn sat in the chair directly across the table from Doran. He stared at his brother, his recent rage at Doran bubbling to the surface. Doran stared back, his face unreadable. Oberyn had known Doran all his life, but he could not always fathom what his brother was thinking. Neither spoke for several minutes. Finally, it was Doran who broke the silence.
"I know that you are angry with me," he began, "I have summoned you here because I need to tell you something."
"Then tell me," Oberyn shot back.
"I will. But first, you must promise me that what I am about to tell you does not leave this room. You must never tell anyone what I am about to tell you, not even your own daughters. Do you understand? Not a word may be spoken to anyone, unless I give you permission."
"I promise I will not tell anyone. I swear by Sun and Spear and Seven." Oberyn was suddenly curious. What was Doran going to tell him that required so much secrecy?
Doran studied him for several moments before continuing. "You believe that I care nothing for Elia, don't you? You think that I have truly bent the knee to the Usurper."
Oberyn did not know how to respond to this.
Doran continued. "You're fortunate that I managed to convince Jon Arryn that I did not support your attempt to raise Dorne for Viserys Targaryen. That would've brought the Usurper's wrath down on Dorne. Is that what you want, Oberyn?
"You know as well as I that Dorne cannot hope to win a war against the Iron Throne. The Lannisters have become strong. Cersei Lannister is married to the Usurper. We cannot hope to defeat them and place a Targaryen on the throne. Not now. Not alone."
"I will never bend the knee to Elia's murderers!" exclaimed Oberyn.
"Do you think that I have in truth? Never. You know me better than that. We wait. We will destroy the Lannisters on the Iron Throne when the time is right."
"How can you sit there and say that!" Oberyn's anger lashed out before he could stop himself. "Elia was raped and murdered! Her children were ruthlessly mutilated!"
A flash of anger appeared in Doran's eyes, but only for a moment. "I loved Elia too. I loved her children. I burn with anger and rage as much as you do. But an attempt to destroy the Lannisters right now would be disasterous. It would be certain doom for Dorne and for our family. Look at how the Lannisters treated our sister and her innocent children! They would not hesitate to execute us as traitors and use our heads to decorate the walls of the Red Keep. And do you think they'd stop with the two of us? They'd most likely execute our children as well. Do you want that to happen to your daughters? Five great houses are united in a tight alliance. The Tyrells, our ancient enemies, have bent the knee. What could we hope to do? We would be destroyed. Instead we must wait. Wait for Viserys to grow to manhood. Wait until a way can be found to weaken their alliance. Wait until we have gathered allies. Do you understand?"
"Yes," said Oberyn somewhat begrudgingly.
"When the time comes I plan on marrying Arianne to Viserys," continued Doran. "She will have the crown that should've been Elia's. And I will ensure that she will not be vulnerable as Elia was"
That made Oberyn smile. It seemed that Doran felt the same way he did about ensuring their daughters' safety.
"Now I will have you promise that you will not poison any Lannisters. An act like that would point directly to us. No. You will poison none of them. Do you swear it?"
"I swear it by Sun and Spear and Seven."
"Good. I promise you that they who murdered Elia will suffer. And you and I will see it. We will have vengeance and justice." Oberyn felt somewhat relieved. He didn't like being angry at his brother. He loved and respected Doran. And now it seemed that Doran was going to engineer the Lannister's destruction.
"We are not so different," he said.
"Indeed, we are not," answered Doran.