2nd Month of 299 A.C. The Water Gardens
Princess Arianne Martell
Almost all her life she had been taught to hate the Baratheons and the Lannisters for what they had done to her aunt Elia and her cousins Aegon and Rhaenys, it was just normal for them to curse the Usurper and his kin. There was nothing odd about making promises to kill them, nearly every Dornishmen and Dornishwoman had done so since news of the sack of King's Landing had reached Sunspear. Her father and her uncle had done nothing to dissuade this, and so she was very surprised when her uncle-not her father- told her that her youngest brother Trystane was to marry Myrcella Baratheon the usurper's only daughter. Such news was a shock and a surprise, she thought her father had taken leave of his senses, and then her uncle had told her that the girl would be a hostage for good or for bad, and something inside her had wondered at that.
The girl was sweet alright, she might look like Cersei Lannister in miniature, but she did not have any of her mother's coldness, according to what her uncle said. And it was clear she adored Trystane. Her youngest brother adored her as well, truth be told Arianne thought that it was quite sweet watching the two of them get along so well. She herself thought the girl was sweet and kind and she genuinely did seem to like it here in Dorne. So that was a point in her favour, another point in her favour was that she was curious about the place that would one day become her home, she wanted to know about the different people and customs of Dorne, and she did not sneer when she learnt something that was perhaps unsavoury. Yes she would make a very fine wife for Trystane.
And yet whilst her brother had his future wife there by his side, she remained single. She was twenty and three now, and had never been betrothed nor had any truly eligible bachelor presented to her. Edmure Tully might once have been her husband but her father had rejected that offer. Instead he had offered her to Lord Eldon Estermont, a man so old he could have been her great, great grandfather, then there was old Lord Wyl, a man so crazy he was convinced there were dragons still flying the skies. And as if to add insult to injury her father had even considered a proposal from Walder Frey. That had stung, she had been so dejected and angry along with her cousin Tyene she had fled towards the Reach and Highgarden where she would marry Willas Tyrell, only for her uncle to come and lead her and Tyene back. Not once did her father explain himself, leaving it to uncle Oberyn to do all the explaining. She despised her father, and she despised her brother Quentyn whom her father clearly favoured to be his heir. Why she could not understand, Quentyn though a boy, was a complete moron.
She wondered if perhaps that was why her father had summoned her to the Water Gardens, to finally tell her to her face that she was not going to be his heir or succeed him as ruler of Dorne once he was dead. That she was finally going to be sold off to some crazy old man who could not fight for her rights, anger filled her as she thought of it. As she looked at her father sat there in his wheel chair, gout making his limbs flare and puffy. Her uncle stood by her father's side as always, a serious look upon a normally laughing face. Anger made her shake, and she was about to speak when her father sighed and said. "You are angry Arianne. I know you are."
She snorts. "And what gave that away father?"
"Your whole body is shaking with anger, and you give off the sense of a person deeply in rage. Tell me what has made you so?" her father asks.
The question rankles her. "What makes me angry? Do you truly have the nerve to ask what makes me angry father?"
"I am asking am I not? I would not ask if I knew." Her father replies calmly.
Her whole body shakes with anger now. "That is nice of you father. That you deny knowing what it is that makes me angry, when you are the very source of it. You and Quentyn."
"And what have we done that has so angered you Arianne?" her father asks.
Arianne strides forward then and snarls. "You know damned well what you have done. But since you seem so gods damned forgetful as of late father, let me remind you. I saw the letter, the letter you wrote to Quentyn when we were no more than children, telling him that he would one day sit where you sit. You did not even mention me. What have I done that so displeases you apart from be born a girl?" The look that passes between her father and uncle then is one of shock. "Do not try to deny it father. I have the letter with me. You are trying to remove me from the succession, and for no other reason than the fact I was not born with a cock between my legs." She snarls.
"Arianne…." Her uncle starts.
"No, don't you defend him uncle. You were the only one out of the two of you who ever treated me as a person. Not some scrap of meat to be sold off to some man who could be your own grandfather. He was." Arianne snarls looking at her uncle.
Her uncle looks hurt and then he turns to her father and says. "Tell her Doran."
"Tell me what?" Arianne asks.
"The time is not right Oberyn. She cannot afford to know now." Her father responds.
"Tell me what?" Arianne asks louder.
"If you do not tell her, I will. This has gone on long enough Doran. She has suffered long enough." Uncle Oberyn snaps.
"TELL ME WHAT?" Arianne all but shouts.
Her father sighs then and says. "That letter you saw, was not me disinheriting you Arianne. I could never do that to you, for you are still my little girl. No it was me planning for the future."
"Future?" Arianne asks confused looking between her father and her uncle. "What do you mean?"
"I never meant to disinherit you Arianne. You are my firstborn, and my only daughter, I could never do that to you. And if you wish to become Princess of Dorne upon my death, which will be sooner than we think, then you are most welcome to it. But I had a grander plan for you." Her father says.
"Did that plan include offering me off to the oldest men in the seven kingdoms?" Arianne asks scathingly. Her father winces at that and she presses on. "Or refusing a potentially very good match that could have helped us during this war?"
Her father sighs again and says. "I needed to make it look like I was making an effort to see you married. But I needed to make sure you could still be available should the plan come to fruition."
"What plan father? I do not understand, what plan would require you to make it seem as if you were looking for a marriage for me, when only using the ploy as a screen?" Arianne asks her frustration growing.
"A pact was signed long ago, just after Jon Arryn returned to King's Landing, with a guarantee for peace from Dorne. We promised not to make war then, but we never said about anything in the future. You were always to be a queen Arianne. Always, nothing else would do for you." Her father responds.
"A queen? You wanted to make me a queen? But to whom? You did not offer me to Renly Baratheon, or even to Robb Stark when the war broke out." Arianne says confused.
"Those two are not the true king. You were to be the queen over all of Westeros Arianne. And we would also get revenge for Elia and Rhaenys." Her father responds.
"You meant to marry me to Viserys Targaryen? A Martell Queen for a Targaryen King? Is that what it was?" she asks something like anticipation filling her now.
"Not Viserys Targaryen no. The boy whilst a prince is nowhere near good enough for you Arianne." Her father responds.
"But he is the only male Targaryen left alive, unless you wish for me to try and marry the girl." Arianne japes.
Neither her father nor uncle laugh at that, it is their seriousness that makes worry begin to grow inside her. "There is another male Targaryen alive, who has a far better claim to the Iron Throne. One who is more closely related to us than Viserys Targaryen." Her father responds.
"Who?" Arianne asks somewhat confused.
"Your aunt's son Prince Aegon." Her father responds.
Shock descends upon her then, how could this be possible? Her cousin is dead, dead alongside her aunt and other cousin. "How?" she asks. "He died during the sack of King's Landing. His body was presented to the usurper."
"That was not his body that was presented but the body of a baby from Pisswater Bend in King's Landing. Elia had the good sense to know that something would happen to her son should Robert Baratheon win, and so she sent the eunuch Varys out to find a babe who could take his place. She looked for someone to replace Rhaenys as well, but alas no one could be found in time." Her father pauses then taking a deep breath. "When the rebels came, the eunuch took Aegon from Elia and gave the babe to one of our own men that was there in the city, they fled by ship to Pentos where the boy has been raised. After the rebellion, a pact was signed between myself and Aegon's three white swords, that in exchange for our support, Aegon would marry you."
Arianne feels dazed as she digests the news. All this time…"Why did you not tell me sooner? Why all the secrecy? I would not have told anyone."
Her father sighs then. "I wanted to tell you, truly I did Arianne. But I could not risk anyone finding out. You were young when the pact was made, and there was always the risk in those days that the usurper and his spies would come to know the truth. But the usurper is dead now and his kingdom is falling to pieces. Aegon shall return soon and we shall have our revenge."
Arianne looks at her father for a long moment then and asks. "And what of Myrcella. She is a Baratheon, Aegon will want her dead in revenge for his sister's death will he not. Are you willing to have an innocent little girl die?"
"Myrcella is under my protection, she is betrothed to your brother. She will not die. Your cousin knows this. She will marry your brother as intended. And we shall provide Aegon with the support he needs to take the throne." Her father responds.
Arianne looks at her father and asks. "But we do not have all the strength necessary for him to win the throne father. You must know that. The Lannisters hold King's Landing and have the Tyrells backing them how then are we to beat that?"
At this her uncle speaks. "The Tyrells and Lannisters are fighting one another inside King's Landing and outside they are fighting northmen and rivermen. They will not have the strength to fight on a third front. We shall aid Aegon with our might, alongside the loyal lords of the Stormlands and the crownlands, and the Reach as well. This will not be an easy fight but it will be a victorious one."
"You are certain?" she asks.
"Most definitely." Her uncle responds smiling slyly.