So this is a rewrite of my old story, Closing Walls and Ticking Clocks. I really liked the plot of it, but I wrote it when I was like 16 and a really immature person, so you guys can imagine it was kinda badly written and cringy looking back. I know a lot of people liked it, and after deleting the story today, I'll sadly miss my best reviewers on it, but it's an idea that deserves better, so here it is!

For those of you that haven't read it before, welcome! I wrote this to be a more lighthearted, AU version of Game of Thrones. I was kind of sick of all the characters in fic ALWAYS being white, so I made a Puerto Rican girl from modern times instead and stuck her in this world. All my OCs have elements of people I admire/are very dear to me, so they will be as realistic as I possibly can make. This is a more "fun" fic, but it's still Game of Thrones, so yes drama is also part of it.

I own absolutely nothing but my OCs and ideas. You know, the stuff that's not on the show/books.

Marina

She felt cold when she woke up, as if she had not been exposed to the heat she was accustomed to and the lack of sun had sunk to her bones. Where am I? She wondered, she could sense nothing. To contrast against the brief, chilling numbness, a heat wave came crashing upon her like a dragon's breath, bringing with it an excruciating amount of pain. She tried touching her head, clutching at it to remove whatever was causing the ache, but found that she could not move, her whole body paralyzed; feeling as heavy as stone, and the immense struggle with herself to do a simple action such as open her eyes was making her go into a state of despair. The sound of voices came soon after she started to adjust to the blinding white light. Clear, seeming to be too loud but at the same time, muffled by a ringing in her ears that would've made her scream, if only she could.

"I don't care who she is or what she might know, Illyrio. I am your king and you will not have her here for a second more. She's a pretty bitch. If I sell her to the right lord, I'll have enough gold to buy a ship for my future Dothraki army, all you need is to hand her to the lords of Westeros and let them do their bidding with her. Or even the free cities if you don't feel like wasting your slaves on taking her across the narrow sea" Said a voice, disdainful and poisonous as a snake, with a high sense of authority that was not matched with the respect, patience or discipline required to rule. The following however was much lighter, calmer, almost soothing, as the ringing in her ears started to decrease.

"Yes, your Grace, as you wish. Although we should have her examined first. Clients are hesitant to purchase damaged goods"

"Is there ever damage with them? I've heard that most of her kind simply come with blood, no wound, few belongings, sometimes a knife shoved into their loins. I wouldn't suspect her to be any different" The snake man countered, his tone seeming impatient. She felt a nudge to her head, and the ringing came back as the pain pulsed through her and she heard the clinging of something small and metallic on the cold stone floor. She tried to focus on something else - anything else, smelling leather and grass and some other foul smell she could've sworn was horse shit.

"That is not a knife. I suppose… She looks Myrish, highborn. Different from the others. Much younger too." The calm voice, Illyrio, replied.

"She sure looks dead to me, like all the others. See?" He snapped, and a sharp kick came to her head, the pain being enough to send her back into an unconscious state, the blinding light fading into darkness.

Oberyn

"Oh my… fuck" was the first thing he heard when she woke up, her voice raspy and barely there. The girl had been sailed from Pentos to Dorne, bought by the prince himself, and had been asleep for a day ever since her arrival. The Maester sent on the voyage had attempted to stay with her, but Oberyn had shrugged him off and decided to care for her himself, using the knowledge he had acquired from the citadel and one of his own Maesters.

After receiving word from his friends in Pentos that Illyrio Mopatis had acquired one of them, Oberyn was quick to purchase her; everyone in the ship thinking her dead, but for the warmth of her skin and the faintest of breaths.

Even if the merchant had dressed her in pentoshi clothing and jewelry once bathed and taken care of, her nature could not be disguised, and he knew that by buying her he could actually be saving her from a much worse fate. This way, she could blend in Dorne - as her coloring did favor the Rhoynish blood that the Martells had flowing in their veins - and he could teach her how to behave in the continent without sticking out enough to be seen as a threat and getting herself killed or stolen away for leverage.

He was surprised to see the young girl hold her ground with foul language instead of a scream like most usually would do in her situation. He had heard the stories of the French man who had come to appear to the Tyrells, and how incredibly bright he had seemed to be regarding war strategies and the future itself, what would happen to them all - although his informants said the stranger kept his lips tightly sealed on the subject.

There was another, much older one, as a watcher on the wall, who had not taken his vows yet occasionally acted as a Maester along with Maester Aemon, baring much different knowledge than the old Targaryen. Through the last few years, few others had appeared in Westeros and Essos, with blood on their bodies but no open wounds or scars, and great stories about the people of the known world. Most were old - or at least much older than her - with characteristics ranging immensely in coloring, features and motivations, but none of them had ended in Dorne - the smallfolk knew to hand them into their lieges if they had, for a large price, and now one rested on his keep. One of the only strangers that had appeared throughout the course of the last years.

"Well I certainly did not expect that" he said, the girl's eyes popping open as she sat up abruptly, clutching her head in pain and gritting her teeth to hold back a groan. Oberyn was giving her an amused smirk when her eyes looked upwards, the warm, dark brown eyes nearly matching hers. "Here" he said as he handed her a cup with water, her eyes suspicious before he rolled his eyes and drank a sip, handing it to her. "It's water, I won't poison you" he said, and she reached for it hesitantly before drinking it down, closing her eyes in relief as she drank quickly and handing him back the cup, which he filled again, handing it back to her and watching her drink it bit slower than the last before she spoke up again.

"Where am I? Who are you?" She asked looking around, making him raise his arms up in surrender and laugh at the suspicious manner that the question left her lips, her voice now a softer timbre, although still holding a smoky edge to it. No matter the action, she stood her ground admirably as he simply smiled at her, her eyes seeming to narrow even further at that. "Don't antagonize me".

"I understand you are confused and in pain. I am Prince Oberyn of the House Martell, and right now you are at my keep, where you have been taken care of for the past days by me. I would show more gratitude to the man who saved you from being bought like a slave by some high lord with a fat belly and a small prick" He said calmly.

At that statement she laughed, repeating him "Oberyn Martell… right, I'll play along. So I was bought like a slave by you instead" She added sarcastically, now seemingly better as her hand let go of her head to run a hand through her hair. Her comment made him speechless for a while as he opened his mouth to say something before closing it back up, taking time to think before continuing.

"You are not a slave. You're our guest. My guest"

"I remember the snake man's voice… Was that supposed to be Viserys? He sounded much worse in person than in my head… no it's impossible" she muttered to herself, making the man chuckle and nod. "This is impossible. Who are you really?".

"I already explained"

"No." She protested, "Oberyn Martell is just a book character. Is this some twisted game to you? Let me go home"

At her words, he inched closer, resting his elbows on his knees, making her inch away, closer to the wall that trapped her between the large bed of the guest's room and himself. "I don't believe you can go home. I'm sorry. But trust me when I say that I don't mean to hurt you. I paid to keep you safe, and in turn you will help our house"

"Trust is earned" She said, "not just given, especially not paid for", still wary of him.

"Then let me earn it. You can ask whatever question you want" he leaned back, relaxing and not knowing if it was his words or actions that caused her to do the same, a small frown on her face as she thought.

"Where are we?"

"You can answer that by yourself"

"Where" she pushed, earning a small chuckle from him.

"Dorne, of course. Sunspear, in one of the guest rooms of the keep" She nodded. "You have good survival instincts and you are smart, I can tell that about you. Just be careful who you play with, some men would hang you for your words" He said, the girl nodding while still seeming conflicted.

"I'm sorry, but I… it's hard to believe you. The Martells are fictional characters, and it'd be pretty easy to fake all this if you have enough money and a movie set". She said, looking around the room decorated with Martell colors. At that he nodded curiously, helping her stand and watching her eyes run to the unfamiliar gown she wore. "What. the fuck. am I wearing?" She clipped, a glare running up to meet his eyes once again.

"You were dressed like that when I… acquired you. I imagine Illyrio must've dressed you in pentoshi clothing so it would not raise suspicion in your travel. Now that I think of it, your first stop should be your chambers for a bath. You've been asleep for four days".

"Illyrio Mopatis" She stated, making sense of the dialogue now.

"Yes. He found you with a few belongings, he brought them to me as well. Here" He said, reaching for a brown bag and handing it to her. In it were objects that he had not been able to identify, which she explained to be the hooped earrings she had been wearing when found, school books, her makeup bag, the former soiled clothes, as well as her cheer uniform and the necklace set she had worn now for over two years, ever since getting it from her father for her 15th name day, she explained. The memories made her smile, the expression on her face contagious enough to make him smile as well and notice how she took her time snapping the three thin golden chains on before looking back at him. He saw her face fall slightly as a disturbing thought seemed to get into her head and her eyes widened. He watched her expression change from hesitance to remembrance before settling on worry.

"My… my father. I was with him the last time I remember. We were… oh my god, What happened?" He saw her eyes well up with tears.

Doing his best to help, he came closer, his voice softening. "That's a question I cannot answer, but you came to us alone" he said, pain flashing through her face before she suppressed it quickly, choosing to distract herself with other subjects.

"Why didn't you keep it?" She asked, and when she looked back up at him, her face was back to confusion.

"Pardon me?"

"The bag, the books, the jewels… Why didn't you keep it for yourself? Why would you give them back?"

"And steal them away from a lost girl? I have standards and morals, dear." He said, his thick accent making her smile slightly "And all the jewels I could wish for".

"Eh, you can never be too safe" She muttered and shrugged, his laugh making her raise an eyebrow.

"Your speaking is one of the things we must work on, apparently"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Soon, now you'd probably like to be alone. I'll have the servants bring you some food and run your water for a bath".

Short? Yes? No? For the people that had already read my story, I hope you're liking the changes. I won't work THAT much on the plot as of yet, just on my own writing and characterization. I hope you're all liking it so far! I have written up until like chapter 10, but I'll post them gradually since I'm super slow to write due to my indecisiveness.

Reviews are always more than welcome! Let me know if you like it so far.

Hugs, Bela