Arianne III

It was a quiet night and the sky was completely clear, with no cloud visible on the horizon. The reflection of the moon could be seen clearly in the black waters as the Fury advanced in the dark of night. She should be in her cabin, sleeping with Stannis, who had gone to bed early, but that night she couldn't fall asleep no matter how hard she tried. According to the oarmaster's forecasts, one of Ser Davos's sons, they would arrive in Sunspear that same night or well into the early morning. It had been several days since the fleet had passed the island of Estermont and two days ago they finally reached the Broken Arm. The deck of the gigantic war galley was practically deserted. Only she, the helmsman and a few sailors who had their night rounds were there.

She sat on the wooden floor with her back resting on one of the masts and raised her head to contemplate the starry sky. How many, Arianne thought. She wondered if anyone else would be seeing that wonderful view. She imagined Eddard Stark, thoughtful in the Red Keep while his best friend was debating between life and death. Tywin Lannister, expectant with his hosts in the Golden Tooth without knowing the storm that was coming to him. She sighted the star of Nymeria in the starry sky, a white star, very bright and with a milky tail formed by a thousand ships. She shone as bright as any man, and so will Stannis and I when we're kings. Too bad no one will ever know what I had to do to get to the throne, but that's how it should be.

Tyene had assured her that she had administered the poison to Robert after the banquet on the first day of the Hand's Tourney, so according to her calculations the Usurper should have already died writhing in pain in his bed. It was a poison that acted very slowly, but once the first symptoms appeared the victim died within a few days. As she had been told, it was a poison that even her Uncle Oberyn did not know about, for it was one Tyene had created herself. It was completely impossible for Pycelle to save him, even if he wanted to.

What worried her most was that the Lannisters might be on alert after Catelyn Stark's incident with the Imp. The Kingslayer had almost tried to kill Lord Stark and she was sure he would have done so if he had not been surrounded by Dornish guards. Anyway, the Lannisters didn't have enough men to deal with Stark's and Renly's guards together. In addition, she had taken care of bribing half a dozen officers in the gold cloaks should they be forced to take sides. She wasn't foolish enough to trust Janos Slynt, because he was too ambitious and she knew that his soul was already bought by Littlefinger, to buy his favor she would have needed to offer him half of Sunspear. But the middle ranges were a completely different case. They had lower aspirations and were much cheaper, to buy them, a little gold and vague promises were enough.

One of the deck boys caught her attention. She knew a lot of sailors were young, but this one wouldn't be more than ten years old. Besides, he made strange moves with his arms and legs, like he was fighting a ghost or something. When she looked at him closer, she realized that he was not a sailor, but Arya Stark, Lord Eddard's daughter whom she had accepted as a pupil the day before they left the King's Landing. She intended to take her with her to Sunspear from the day Ned Stark told her about the girl, although he had been very reticent about her proposal. It wasn't until Jaime Lannister threatened him and his family that he scathed the proposal. He told her that he only sent her to Dorne until everything was calmer in the kingdom, but if things went as Arianne expected, that would take a while to happen. She hadn't talked much to the little girl, but she liked her, she reminded her of her cousins when they were little and played with her in the Water Gardens. Just by seeing her there, she thought of her daughters. She missed them so much. She missed Shireen's hugs and little Nymeria's smiles. She was hoping the young Stark girl could be friends with her daughter, the truth is that the poor thing needed new friendships. She used to play with her distant little cousins in the Water Gardens, with her younger sister and sometimes with that retarded fool Stannis had brought from Dragonstone, but almost no other child used to approach his daughter. The poor child had contracted greyscale as a baby and her face was disfigured, so the children believed it was contagious, although both Master Caleotte and Cressen had assured her that her daughter's dead skin was completely harmless once she had overcome the terrible disease.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping?" Arianne asked Arya curiously.

The girl, who had not noticed her presence until then, was startled and almost stumbled upon doing her exercises, but managed to maintain her balance at the last moment.

"It's easier to practice at this hour, when there are fewer people on deck," she replied. "In addition, Obara says that you have to be prepared to fight at any time, night or day, rain or shine. My lady."

"Yes, it sounds like something Obara would say, where is she, by the way?"

"In her cabin, sleeping. I think his words were: I'm tired, do whatever you want, but leave me alone," Arya replied.

Arianne let out a laugh when she heard that. "Why doesn't that surprise me?" said Arianne with a laugh. "You shouldn't put so much pressure on yourself, child. Maybe if your instructor doesn't follow her own rules, you shouldn't either, do you? Take a break."

"She's already a warrior, but I still have a lot to learn. I don't have time to rest."

"Don't force yourself too much anyways," Arianne sighed. She once secretly asked Obara to teach her how to fight, but her training did not even last two days before she gave up. She was surprised that the Stark girl had lasted so long. "If you see Obara oversteps her boundaries, tell me. Your father would kill me if something happened to you during your stay here."

"Don't worry, my lady. I'll do nothing that worries you, but please let Obara keep training me," the girl pleaded.

"Quiet, quiet," calmed Arianne. "I'm not going to ban you from anything unless it's dangerous, but I know my cousin won't put you in danger. She knows you're very important to us."

"I'm looking forward to arriving at Dorne," Arya excitedly said as she continued her exercises. "Are there more women warriors there, as the stories tell? As Obara and Queen Nymeria?"

"There are, although it's not very common either. My cousin is like that because she was raised by her father, my Uncle Oberyn, the Red Viper of Dorne. Her sisters are also strong, each in their own way. I'm sure you'll like them, especially Nymeria. She is the one who most resembles Obara, although she prefers to use daggers instead of spears."

"My wolf was also called Nymeria," the girl said with melancholy in her voice. "But I had to abandon her because of the queen and Joffrey. Because of them and my sister."

Sansa Stark, Arianne thought. She still remembered her encounters with Lord Eddard's eldest daughter. To some extent she had forced them a little, especially in the tourney. The girl was too naive and a little dumb, really. In a way she had tried to help her, to make her see that the world was nothing like the fantasy stories they had told her, although she could not resist humiliating her a little from time to time, especially after she had called Shireen ugly, but it was all for the good of the young girl. The two sisters can't be more different. Like Obara and Sarella I suppose, although in their case it's because they are from different mothers. The truth is that Arianne had never felt very close to her brothers either, so she could understand to some extent how little both Stark sisters loved each other. In her case, it was because Quentyn had been sent to Yronwood at a very young age, and when little Trystane was old enough to start a conversation she was giving birth to her first daughter, so there had not been much time to create a true bond between Doran Martell's three sons. In fact, for Trystane, Shireen and little Nymeria were more his sisters than Arianne herself. Despite this, Arianne did not hate either of them, let alone in the way young Arya seemed to hate her older sister. She simply felt some indifference to them, though she would not hesitate to fight for them the same way she would for her daughters.

"Sunspear in sight!" cried the lookout from the top of the mast. Similar shouts soon followed from the rest of the ships in the fleet. One of the sailors came down to the hold to wake the rest and soon the deck was more alive than ever, with the rowers banging their shovels against the water in unison, the crew calling each other loud to page the sails and the sound of a war horn indicating to the asleep city the arrival of the immense royal fleet.

"Come with me Arya. We're just bothering here. Let the men do their jobs."

It took them an hour longer to hit port and the sun was beginning to peek through the city's buildings when they were finally able to disembark and would have done so later if she had not been able to convince her husband that examining the damage the fleet might have suffered was a task that could wait until the afternoon or which he could delegate to someone else , like Ser Davos or any other captain.

She crossed a wooden walkway to the docks and recognized her uncle, who headed the Dornish delegation that awaited them to escort them to the Old Palace. Normally her uncle would have stayed in the palace, as he was the ruler of the city in the absence of her father and Arianne. Besides, the Red Viper wasn't too given to getting up early as long as he could avoid it.

"Prince Stannis, niece, daughters. I'm glad you're here safely," her uncle said when he greeted them. This time he did not wear his usual smile, but his countenance was completely serious. "When we got the news of King's Landing, we feared the worst."

"News? What do you mean uncle?" asked Arianne, pretending to be curious. She knew exactly what news he meant.

"A raven arrived from King's Landing a few days ago. Your brother is dead," he told Stannis.

"My brother? Renly?" said Stannis perplexed.

"No. His Grace, King Robert, died of a terrible disease from which he could not recover. His son Joffrey, your nephew, now occupies the Iron Throne."

Everything's going as planned. Wait a minute... Joffrey?

"His Grace commands you to return to King's Landing with your wife and children to swear your allegiance to him, just as he commands my brother and nephews. If you refuse, you will be declared a traitor to the crown and enemy of the kingdom. You are also removed as Master of Ships and you have been replaced in the Small Council by her majesty, Queen Regent Cersei."

No, this wasn't supposed to happen. What has Lord Stark done? Has he betrayed us and given the kingdom to the Lannisters? Arianne tried to keep her composure but could notice that her uncle had noticed her change in mood. At her side, Stannis was debating between surprise and anger.

"What happened to my brother Renly? Is he still in the capital?" asked Stannis.

"Your brother fled the capital in the dark of night while his brother King Robert was debating between life and death. It is not known where he was going, although he is probably in Storm's End or Highgarden. He is also ordered to return to swear allegiance to the crown, as are most of the great lords of the kingdom."

"What about my father and my sister? What happened to them?" asked Arya Stark. The girl had been listening to the conversation behind her back.

Her uncle looked at her curiously and then looked at Arianne, like asking her who that impertinent girl that was interrupting them were. "She is Lady Arya Stark, " said Arianne. The girl winced when she called her Lady. "Lord Eddard asked me to accept her as a pupil just before we left the capital. Didn't he warn you?"

"He didn't have time, apparently. Lord Stark was declared an enemy of the crown accused of attempting to provoke a war with the Lannister house. Rumors differ, but it seems that the Mountain defeated him in the Mummer's Ford, when the Hand of the King was chasing him to put him to justice for the pillage, he had carried out in the Riverlands. His whereabouts are unknown. Some rumors say that he is being held prisoner by Lord Tywin, others say that he has fled to Winterfell and others that he is dead."

"What?" said Arianne perplexed. What madness is this? Why was Lord Eddard chasing The Mountain through the Riverlands when his friend was dying?

"No! No, no, no. It can't be true," the girl squealed as she debated in tears. "My father would never be defeated by someone like the Mountain." Her cousin wrapped her in her arms and took her to the castle as the confused little girl kept screaming and crying.

"Tywin Lannister has been named Hand of the King instead and the war has broken out between the Tullys and the Lannisters. What are you going to do, Prince Stannis? Will you go to King's Landing to swear allegiance to your nephew?" asked his uncle totally serious.

"He's not my nephew. I don't share blood with him, just like I don't share blood with Tommen or Myrcella. None of them are my brother's children, they are the result of incest between Cersei Lannister and her brother the Kingslayer," her husband replied when he managed to assimilate the situation.

"Will that be our excuse? I suppose it's pretty good, although I don't need any to kill Lannisters," her uncle said, arching an eyebrow, though Arianne felt that he wasn't surprised at all.

"It's no excuse, it's the truth," Stannis said.

"It's true uncle," Arianne added. "If you saw the three sons of Cersei you would have no doubt."

"I don't care, honestly, it's not me whom you have to convince," the Red Viper replied by shrugging. "Come on, your father is waiting for you in the palace."

"Is my father here?" asked a surprised Arianne. Her father hadn't left the Water Gardens in the last two years. The Old Palace of Sunspear had too many stairs and her father could not even stand up without suffering horrible pain, so he had moved to the Water Gardens, a quiet place not far from the city. Knowing that he had to return to the city caused her deep sadness, for she knew how painful it was for her father.

"He returned along with your daughters as soon as the raven arrived from King's Landing. He has already summoned the vassals, at the moment, hundreds of lords and knights are massing their hosts in the footsteps of the marches."

"Go on ahead. I have to give some orders before the crews hear the news," Stannis said, turning to the docks. "I must prevent any ship from leaving the port until I make sure that all the captains are loyal to me."

They left Stannis behind with a handful of men and set out for the Old Palace as the city's inhabitants shouted as they passed.

Nymeria's been inciting the people, Arianne thought. She doubted that her cautious father would have been the one who inflated these spirits of bellicosity into the population. Although my uncle may have helped her.

"Make way for Prince Oberyn and Princess Arianne!" shouted one of their escorts as they made their way through the crowd.

"To the spears!" roared a woman from one of the balconies.

"Glory to Queen Arianne and King Stannis!" exclaimed a man with a marked Dornish accent.

"Death to the Lannisters! To the spears!" squealed others.

Queen Arianne, the truth is I really like how it sounds. When they reached the palace gates, so many people had gathered around them that the guards had to push them to make their way. Arianne greeted them with a smile on her face, enjoying the mass bath that was taking place. At her side her uncle didn't seem so happy, but he didn't say anything.

When they arrived at the palace, Arianne thought her father would receive her at the entrance or in the throne room of the Tower of the Sun, but her uncle escorted her to his private rooms, where Doran Martell was sitting in the wheelchair master Caleotte had made for him so that he could move more easily. Areo Hotah, her old friend and protector, stood guard at the door. Hotah hit the ground with her big halberd and let it pass. Her uncle didn't come in with her and neither did the captain, who stood guard at the door. She hadn't seen her father in almost a year, and she've never seen him look so bad. His face was pale and his joints so swollen that it hurt just by looking at them. Doran Martell looked up to look at her, his eyes clouded with pain. At that moment, Arianne nearly fell to her knees and wept, but managed to keep her composure.

"Father, how are you feeling? Does it hurt a lot?" stammered Arianne.

"Does the sun warm?" said her father, smiling faintly.

"You didn't have to come back; you could have stayed in the Water Gardens..."

"No, it was necessary. Dorne must remember that it still has his prince in the midst of this madness. From what people cry out, it seems that I must now refer to you as Your Grace."

"We haven't heard of Robert's death until we've touched port. It is very difficult to assimilate that he is dead..."

"With me you can stop interpreting this farce, Arianne. Robert's death has surprised you as little as it surprised me," her father cut her.

"What? What are you talking about?" said Arianne confused.

"I've known of your plans from the beginning, daughter. You're not as subtle as you think. And if I know it is quite possible that our enemies do too."

"How, how did you know?" said Arianne incredulously. Impossible, I was very careful. Only Tyene knew of my plans and she would never betray me, not me. Every person included in her plans would have doubled the risk of treason, that was what her father had taught her, so for this endeavor she had only dared to trust Tyene, her cousin and possibly her best friend since she was a child.

"You were very careful, I admit that, but you forgot that Tyene will always be loyal to her father above anyone else, even you. And there is no person who I trust more in this world than my brother," his father admitted.

"You knew, and even then, you allowed us to go ahead with the plan to kill Robert and crown Stannis, why?"

"I have planned my revenge against Robert Baratheon and Tywin Lannister since I received the news of Elia and her children's deaths. That you became queen was my intention from the moment I arranged your marriage to Stannis Baratheon, when you were still nothing but a child. But Stannis would never usurp his nephews' throne, so I had to find a way to get rid of them first. The fact that you managed to convince him that they were Cersei bastards solved a lot of problems. How did you managed to do it?"

"I didn't do anything, father. He was the one who convinced me."

Her father opened his eyes like plates.

"Then is it true? Are they the fruit of incest between Lord Tywin's children?"

"Stannis is completely convinced of it, and the truth is that I am inclined to think the same myself. Anyway, does it matter?" She took a chair and sat in front of him. So many sleepless hours were starting to have an impact on her.

"Of course it matters," answered her father. "Truth is always more convincing than a lie, no matter how well elaborate it may be. Do you have proof of the incest?"

"No," acknowledged Arianne. "Not here, anyways. There were many bastards of Robert in King's Landing and Lord Arryn and Lord Stark seemed to have discovered more convincing evidence, but Lord Arryn died before he could act and tell Robert. And it seems Lord Stark had more urgent matters in the Riverlands."

"A pity. The Usurper's death... was it painful?" said her father frowning.

"If what Tyene has told me about the poison she used it's true, then Robert Baratheon should have died in terrible suffering, wallowing among his own feces."

"Good, good." His father smiled slightly. "It was the kind of death he deserved."

"The poison should have acted slow enough that Lord Stark would have had time to tell Robert the truth about incest," Arianne added. "Everything would have been easier that way."

"It's a shame, really. I didn't count with Lord Stark's honorable stupidity either, just like you didn't either. The truth is, that's where I made my mistake, a very serious mistake, apparently. Your plan was good, to let Lord Arryn or Lord Stark be the ones who proclaimed Stannis king and took control of the capital. That way the Lannisters would be surrounded by enemies and it wouldn't seem like an attempt to usurp the throne. You missed certain aspects, but I took care of fixing them."

"What do you mean?"

"Why do you think most of the royal fleet is docked in Dorne?" Her father didn't give her time to respond. "I spread some rumors that the merchant ships sailing here had little security and I exaggerated a little about the numbers of the pirates in the letters I sent to your husband. Nor that it matters now. That fleet will not serve us much against the many armies of our enemies."

"Lord Stark's death does not change anything. The Lannisters are alone against Dorne, the Stormlands, the North, the Vale and the Riverlands. And if Renly manages to convince Lord Mace, all the power of the Reach will also join our cause."

"The situation is much more dire than you imagine. Lord Tywin has defeated the Tully army and right now his brother is besieging Riverrun. It is true that Lord Eddard's son is currently descending the Neck with an army of northerners, but I doubt it will be enough to defeat all the power of the Lannisters. Moreover, if Lord Eddard is not dead and instead is in the hands of the Lannisters, they could exchange him to strike a peace deal with the Starks, and Lady Arryn has not yet summoned her vassals. And that is not even the most troubling news: If what Sarella tells us from Oldtown is true, Renly has proclaimed himself king in Highgarden. Soon all the power of the Reach will follow him."

Those news fell like a jar of cold water on Arianne. She couldn't believe it; she couldn't believe how all her carefully drawn plans were falling apart as her father spoke.

"Then..." Arianne said with a thread of voice. "We only have Dorne."

"The weakest of the kingdoms. The Young Dragon liked to exaggerate the number of our armies for his greatest glory, and we like to water the seed he planted so that our enemies will fear us. But you should know that our armies can't compare themselves to the Lannisters' or the Tyrells'. I'm convinced Stannis sure knows, though I don't think that'll stop him if he decides to pursue the throne. We cannot aspire to win."

It was said that her husband knew the levies that could summon even the most insignificant lord of the Seven Kingdoms. Arianne knew firsthand that this saying was not an exaggeration.

"What are you going to do then? Won't you support us, not even you?"

"If I had some common sense, I would have arrested you along with your husband as soon as you disembarked," Prince Doran sighed. His countenance was completely bleak. "Dorne would stay out of this and I would let the Tyrells, Starks and Lannisters destroy each other. But you're my daughter, so I'll support you if you really want that throne."

Arianne got up and headed for her father's cyvasse board, took the onyx king and stroked it among her fingers. She thought of her daughters, Stannis, her father, her brothers, her uncle and her cousins. Finally, she thought of her mother. Norvos, that's where we'll all end if we fail. There or dead.

But I won't fail.