Areo I

Areo Hotah could not remember how long had been since a banquet such as this was held in the palace. Probably since the birth of Prince Quentyn. Then it was when the war and tragedies came to his lord's house. Areo still remembered the day the crow arrived with the news of the sack of King's Landing and what had happened to the prince's sister and nephews. The prince cried for countless hours and neither his wife nor the little princess could do anything to comfort him. The next day, he stayed into his room from sunrise to sunset without receiving any visitors or talking to anyone. The prince's brother, on the other hand, disappeared for a little over a week. It was Areo himself who had to pick him up and take him back to the palace when he found him totally drunk at the entrance of one of the city's taverns. According to Ellaria Sand, the prince's new lover, he had gone through the mourning drinking from tavern to tavern, fighting anyone who dared to speak to him or look at him badly.

Areo had only seen the prince's sister on two occasions since she married Prince Rhaegar. The first, when her daughter Rhaenys was born. She was very weak due to childbirth, but still treated them with the same kindness that she had had, although Areo noticed some sadness in her voice at that time. The last time he saw her was in Harrenhal, when he accompanied Prince Doran to the tournament. The Princess Elia who he saw there looked nothing like the one that had received him in Sunspear when he came with her lady, Lady Mellario, many years ago. It seemed that all the happiness she had, had left her, and that she could have burst into tears at any moment. But she didn't. Even when Rhaegar crowned Lyanna Stark with blue roses she stood there with dignity. Areo regretted that this war his last memory of her. The prince did not come to see her after the birth of her second child, as she was said to be so weak that she could have died at any time, so her husband forbade anyone from seeing her except the maesters who treated her. Barely a few months later, the rebellion broke out.

He passed his hand over the smooth handle of his halberd, his iron wife, while observing those present. He watched his lord as he talked to his brother. He watched Lord Stannis Baratheon and his onion knight, sitting at the honor table next to the little princess. He watched the ladies, the lords, the servants, the senescal and the maester Caleotte. Hidden on one side of the room, next to the main table, he watched them all.

Serve. Protect. Obey. That was his mission.

Lady Mellario was not present, however. That same evening she had had a heated argument with the prince regarding the marriage he had just arranged between the little princess and Lord Stannis. Areo had heard it all while he was on duty at the door. Lady Mellario had accused her husband of selling her daughter as cattle, arranging her marriage to a man who was ten years older than her when she was just a girl just for sealing the peace. Although Areo understood that in Westeros arranged marriages for children were the order of the day in order to create pacts and alliances, that was not the case in Norvos, where both he and the prince's wife came from. Areo had also struggled to get used to the customs of Westeros, though not as much as his mistress. She continued to shave from head to toe, as dictated by the norvoshi tradition, although when she was in public she used to wear a wig, which was a cause of mockery from many in the court, although none dared to do so in the presence of Prince Doran. Moreover, she still had a hard time speaking the common language of Westeros, as well as understanding it, so, in intimacy, she and the prince used to communicate in High Valyrian. Areo also sometimes struggled to understand the language, although the bearded priests had taught him before sending him with Lady Mellario, but in Dorne they spoke so quickly that he often struggled to follow the conversations. Areo didn't quite know what to think about the little princess' marriage. It's not that it was up to him to do it, that was for other people. The prince orders and Hotah obeys.

He looked again at Lord Stannis. The king's brother sat between Princess Arianne and Sir Davos. Although he was young, he didn't seem very energetic, he ate little and drank even less. In fact, he hadn't tried the wine he'd been served yet. He was tall, as tall as he was and broad-shouldered. He dressed austerely, with a gray-toned doublet without any embellishment beyond a cloak. He seemed fit, but he still did not seem to have fully recovered from the siege he had been subjected to during the war. This man is a fighter, Hotah thought, but he doesn't look like a great warrior. The man sitting next to him seemed even less so. From what he had heard, Ser Davos had been a smuggler before he was knighted by Stannis Baratheon and, he looked the same as if a man from the city outskirts had been taken out of his house and put to dinner at the prince of Dorne's table. In that moment, he seemed to be telling the little princess one of his stories of when he was a smuggler and every time he said something he looked at Lord Stannis for fear of saying something stupid. The little princess did not seem to realize the situation and kept insisting that Ser Davos tell her stories and listened to him, lost in thought as if she could imagine herself sailing on a little boat avoiding patrols in the dark of the night.

From time to time the little princess also addressed some question to Lord Stannis, but this one was much shorter with the answers than the Onion Knight. Still, the little princess kept insisting on both of them with her questions and kept smiling. The young Arianne had always liked to be told stories of brave knights and great adventures, but the closest thing to a great knight the princess had in her surroundings was her uncle Oberyn, and he used to be absent for long periods of time. Besides, he hadn't participated in the war, so meeting someone who had done it must be quite an experience for the young girl.

The banquet lasted until after midnight. All kinds of dishes were served: wild boar with typical Dorne hot peppers, tomato soup, pies stuffed with ham, onion and veal, and many other dishes. When they served the dessert, caramelized onions on smoked deer meat, Lord Stannis clenched his jaw and glanced at the prince for a long look at him to see if they were laughing at him. He didn't seem to notice, but his brother did.

"Surely it was a joke from the cook, Lord Stannis, " remarked Oberyn. "Don't take it the wrong way. You'll have to get used to these kinds of jokes when you live here."

He finds this place strange. He will also have to get used to it, just as Hotah had to when he came to this land. When he arrived in Dorne, he couldn't even eat the food without a knot in his guts. In that sense, Lord Stannis did not seem to have that problem, for he had tried all the dishes without squealing, no matter how spicy and Hotah had not noticed even a single drop of sweat on his face.

The little princess had been a little confused about her uncle's comment, and she kept asking Lord Stannis and her father what he meant, although she seemed very excited to be able to continue her interrogation of the young lord at the prospect that he would live in Dorne in the future. She was not the only one who had been confused with that statement by Prince Oberyn, as Prince Oberyn's mistress, Ellaria, asked him curiously what he meant, although the prince avoided answering the question with an ingenious comment. Others present who had heard the prince's comment had also begun to murmur among themselves and soon the gossip spread throughout the feast.

The murmurs were silenced when Prince Doran rose to propose a toast.

"Ladies and gentlemen, let us drink to the health of King Robert, the first of his name, king of the Andals, the Rhonyar and the first men, and lord of the Seven Kingdoms."

The servants had begun to move among the guests as the prince spoke, filling the glasses with a strong and sweet Dornish wine. The captain didn't drink, he never did at banquets. Neither did many of those present, many of whom had lost a family member or friend during the rebellion. Lord Stannis did drink, albeit very little, like Ser Davos, Prince Doran and his brother. Even the little princess drank, although she was served very little wine because of her youth. Hotah looked more at those who didn't drink, because if there was a problem, surely it would be one of them who started it.

And now, the icing on the cake. Prince Doran repeatedly struck the cup with which he had just toasted with a teaspoon to silence those present. Hotah, for his part, firmly grabbed his halberd, preparing for the worst.

"I'm sure many of those present will have been surprised by this toast. Despite how much it hurts and no matter how much I want revenge for my sister's death, Dorne must return to the king's peace. My people have suffered enough," the prince said. "That is why I have decided to accept the peace proposal that Lord Stannis has brought me here. The king will grant a general amnesty to all who fought for the Mad King and Dorne will retain the privileges it had within the Seven Kingdoms. In addition, to seal this peace, Lord Stannis has agreed to marry my daughter Arianne when she becomes a woman, and rule at her side as a consort when she rules Dorne."

Those present were silent for a few moments as they assimilated the prince's words. His worst fears were abandoned when the entire room erupted in cheers and applause over the new alliance, causing Aero to relax his grip on the halberd. He knew most of those cheers weren't sincere, but at least they wouldn't cause any trouble. The little princess had thrown herself into her father's arms and gave him a couple of kisses, one on each cheek, while he gently hugged her. Afterwards, he did the same with Lord Stannis despite the latter's visible discomfort when she did. His hands did not move from the table and by his pale face it looked as if he had been hugged by death herself, although he blushed a little when the little princess gave him a rogue kiss on the lips.

One of the few who did not seem enthusiastic about the union was Daemon Sand, the young squire of Prince Oberyn, who was friends with the little princess since they started playing together in the Water Gardens and one did not have to be too bright to know how he felt about her. Anger covered his face as he headed for the main table amid the hustle and bustle of the crowd. Hotah reacted quickly and he grabbed his forearm tightly when he stepped near him. He did not appear to carry any kind of weapon, but Hotah did not lower his guard. After all, the boy was the Red Viper's squire.

"Let me go, Hotah!" roared the angry boy. "I have to talk with the prince."

"Prince Doran has asked that neither he nor any of his guests be disturbed at the banquet," Areo replied with a hoarse voice and a strong norvoshi accent. "Please go back to your table."

"I'm not going to let the princess marry that man. He's the Usurper's brother, he shouldn't be welcomed here."

"Prince Doran has ordered no harm to be done to him. And I do as my lord commands me."

"Any trouble with my squire, Captain?" said Prince Oberyn, who had appeared behind the young Daemon. I'm getting old. Oberyn Martell could be stealthy when he wanted it, but a few years ago Areo would never have been caught by surprise by him.

"Tell the captain to let me go," Daemon replied as he tried to get out of Hotah's grip. "I will not let Arianne marry that man, my lord. I intend to challenge him to a duel for her hand, he will not reject it in the midst of so many witnesses."

Oberyn Martell let out a laugh when he heard that. "You won't do any of that, brat. I thought I taught you not to get into fights you couldn't win."

"I don't need to beat him. If I bathe my weapons with one of the poisons you taught me, I'll just need to make him a little wound for ..."

Oberyn slapped the boy, shutting him up and left his cheek red like a tomato. "In the event that you get away with it, boy, you'd provoke war between Dorne and the rest of the Seven Kingdoms. Have you thought about what would happen to your father, who is captive in King's Landing? ... Besides, you could never marry her boy, she's a princess, and you, a bastard, in case you'd forgotten. If she were one of my daughters you might have had a chance, but she's the heiress to Sunspear, you'll never be good enough for her."

The boy looked to the ground resignedly and tried to make one last effort to try to let go, though to no avail.

"Leave him captain, I'll take care of him," said Oberyn, who took the boy with him out of the room.

After the banquet came the ball. Prince Doran danced with his daughter three or four times, and so did Prince Oberyn when he returned to the room, though he did so without his squire. Ser Davos also danced with the little girl a couple of times and even her fiancé danced with her, although Hotah found that he did it rather out of obligation, as he did not dance with anyone else before retiring to his quarters. The prince retired soon after, followed by his daughter and Hotah. When he put the young woman to bed, Hotah accompanied his lord to his quarters.

"I have just promised my daughter to the brother of the man whose actions led my sister, mi niece and my nephew to death," the prince murmured. "With this I have prevented thousands of Dornish from losing their lives prolonging a futile war. Tell me, do you think I did the right thing?"

"It's not for me to say," replied Hotah. "But he doesn't look like a bad man. The little princess seemed very happy". Anyway, Hotah could be wrong. He has never been especially good in judging people beyond their combat capabilities.

"I don't think she fully realizes whom she is going to marry."

"If my lord so desires, he just has to give me the order and Hotah will take care of Lord Baratheon."

"That won't be necessary, captain. For now."

And here is another chapter. The next one will be in King's Landing and we'll see how the Small Council took the news coming from Sunspear.

Thank you all for the reviews, favs and folllows, it's really appreciated. I also corrected a couple of mistakes in the first chapter that some of you pointed me.

Thanks again for checking this out and we'll see each other in the next chapter.