A letter from a friend
I wish I could write to you words of success. To tell you that I've settled and I'm happy here in Dorne. Of all things I wish I could tell you I married a Dornish Lord and that his loyal men were marching toward you, willing to add their strength to your own.
I cannot however. I write this letter on behest of Lord Uller, as he holds myself and the Princes of Dorne hostage in his castle. He believes he is lobbying for change, and will not allow me to see Prince Quentyn or Prince Oberyn. Beside me sits a letter from Theon. It asks me to relinquish my claim to my father's lands. Our Theon seems to have gotten himself in quite the situation. Not what you expected of him eh? But then again, I am in a similar situation as well. Lord Uller asks me to plead with you to give up your foolish quest for a crown. He waits outside the door for this letter. And the Maester waits with him to send it.
Robb, my dearest Robb. I know you won't give up your hopes to be king. Not even for me. And I've grown to care for Dorne. I even hoped to learn to love it as my mother's family once did. I believe Arrya would love it here. The warm weather. The calming waves. It all seems so far from the cold, barrenness of the wilderness surrounding your home...her home. I would love to bring her here one day. I believe she would be quite amazed by the Spitfires, tiny orange and red flowers that burst into flame when exposed to water.
I have come to know, Robb, that you and I were born to walk separate paths. All of us were. You, Theon, and I. You to be a king or a martyr, Theon to be lord of Pyke, and if his letter can be believed, married to the sister of my step-mother. His children will be in line for the Elder Seat as well. And I...Well I don't know what path is laid out for me to walk.
So please, continue your quest to be King. Fight for your father. Rescue your sisters and Theon if you can. Your life is yours to live, and you may do what you wish with the opportunities you are given. And should you choose to cede this claim to King in the North, write to me. And should I be alive to read it I shall come myself to wish you, and your wife, well as Lord and Lady of Winterfell.
This is likely to be the last letter you receive from me, masked by the pages of the false letter I've written for the sake of my new companions. I loved you once. Both of you. Theon so dependable...and you. Like an older brother, though you owed me nothing. I admit I once entertained the idea of being Lady of Winterfell myself. But I've long-since given up those childish dreams. This war drove a rift between us, and the gap is too wide to forge.
Be warned, Robb Stark. Should we meet again, it will not be as friends, but rather as rivals in the game of thrones. It shall not matter the memories we have of sneaking into the kitchens after dark. Or the night we spent kissing under the stars, before Ricken came to interrupt. Before I say my goodbyes I will promise you two things. One, I will look for your sisters. And should I be able to save them I will. I cannot promise that I can send them back to you. But I will do all that is in my power to keep them safe. And secondly, I will never forget you Robb. Even if the day shall come where it must be your life to save mine.
I love you,
Elyssia Thorne.
