Disclaimer: I do not own Game of Thrones or anything related. It belongs to George R.R. Martin, the creator of this wonderful universe and David Benioff and D. B. Weiss who created the show.
Chapter Thirteen: Not Expected.
Stepping into the room where the revel was taking place, Ellaria was rather surprised with how many people were in attendance; a part of her had hoped that the place would be nearly deserted. She hadn't thought that Amara was that popular and from what she had seen of the younger woman; she seemed to mostly keep to herself, she hadn't expected this at all when she had convinced Oberyn to attend.
Once they had been the centre of attention at court, everyone knew that it was them that made court parties a place to be seen; however, things seemed to have changed rather quickly. Her eyes swept over the faces in attendance, people that she had once thought as her allies now seemed to have flocked to Amara as if sensing something that Ellaria couldn't.
Holding her head high, Ellaria knew that there would be no ignoring her especially since she had arrived on Oberyn's arm; people were bound to notice the arrival of the Red Viper especially at an event like this. However, looking up at Oberyn, Ellaria realised that she might have another issue that she hadn't considered; she suddenly felt foolish especially since she had known the other woman would be there.
There in the centre of the room dancing with another man was Amara, she looked beautiful in the dress that she was wearing and a carefree smile on her face. Even Ellaria couldn't ignore the glare that was on Oberyn's face as he watched his wife with another man; she tried to pull his attention back to her only to be shrugged off.
She could only watch as Oberyn made his way across the room, his eyes firmly fixed on the one person that Ellaria would rather pretend didn't exist and she suddenly became painful aware of her situation. No matter how much she tried to tell herself otherwise, Ellaria knew that she was the other woman in this situation and she was declared officially as Oberyn's mistress now not as his paramour as she had been for years previously.
Oberyn stalked across the room, his eyes never leaving his wife as she continued to dance; annoyance filling him at the fact that she had not seemed to notice that he had arrived. Her dance partner also seemed to not have noticed that he was here and Oberyn found it hard to place the man's face; he had seen him around the palace that was certain but he could not think where.
"May I cut in?" Oberyn announced making sure his voice was loud enough to be heard, he watched as the man quickly released his wife and bowed down to him. Amara turned to face Oberyn, she schooled her expression as she looked at him hiding away any emotions about him being here but indifference; she glanced behind him only to see an annoyed looking Ellaria.
"My Lord Husband," Amara greeted, her eyes sweeping over him and she knew just what he had been doing before he had decided to interrupt her gathering. A part of her thrilled in the fact that she had managed to pull him away from his mistress; however, she wasn't going to fall into this trap that was clearly being set for her.
"I am afraid that I have already promised the next several dances to others," Amara said, she looked him straight in the eye and didn't back down. His deep brown eyes filled with fury at her rejection of his offer and she offered him a carefree smile before she offered her hand to another man; she didn't look back as the man lead her into what was another dance.
Oberyn was left on the side lines of the floor as people started to dance again; this was not what he had been expecting when he had come here.
The next morning Amara couldn't help but feel rather pleased with herself as she appeared for breakfast; she had been invited to dine with Doran that morning instead of breaking her fast alone like she normally did. Her good-brother had been nothing but kind to her since she had arrived and Amara had found a small part of her wishing that she had been wed to him instead of Oberyn.
Doran had encouraged her in her activities and he was pleased to see that she wasn't just sitting around and sulking because her marriage wasn't working out the way that she wanted. He had to admit that Amara was a match that his brother was lucky to have and Doran knew that she would forever keep Oberyn on his toes no matter what he did.
"Amara," Doran greeted with a smile, he was pleased to see that she had made it and he had to admit that this morning's courtly gossip had rather amused him. He loved the idea that Oberyn wasn't getting what he wanted and he couldn't imagine what he and Ellaria had expected by attending a gathering that Amara was hosting. It was nice to see the younger people of court seeming to enjoy their time here now; things had been rather dull especially since there hadn't been a first lady of court for a very long time.
"Doran," Amara replied taking a seat across from him, the view of the gardens was beautiful from here and she could see why Doran often choose to eat here when he was dining in private. The morning sun shone down on them as they were served their food, small talking starting between them as they started to dine together. Doran couldn't help but smile as he listened to Amara discuss her visits to the markets and he knew that people seemed to be enjoying the fact that their new Princess didn't hide away.
"I was wondering about Oberyn's youngest daughters," Amara said looking at Doran, she knew he would be the best person to ask about them. It wasn't like she could approach Oberyn or Ellaria to ask her questions, she would much rather they had no idea what she was talking about or the fact that she had taken an interest in their children. Doran stared at her surprised by the direction of her questions, he certainly hadn't expected this and he sat back in his chair; he was rather relieved that they were surrounded by people that they could trust.
"I was rather surprised to find they had no governess especially since they seem to live her at court with their mother," Amara said knowing that it was improper for them to be running around unattended and unsupervised. Even though they were her husband's bastard children, she still expected them to be educated as though they were his legitimate children especially since they lived at court.
Amara recalled the governess that her father had installed to care for her and her brother; they had barely been out of her sight from the moment they were born until they were of age. It had been rather sad to say goodbye to her and Amara had come to see her as a mother figure especially after her mother had died; it had been her governess who had prepared her for married life and prepared her for her future duties. Doran smiled to himself, he had certainly not expected her to express concern for his brother's children; he knew that this was something that he had also thought about.
"I ran into two of them not too long ago and they were so dirty and looked so frightened," Amara continued with a shake of her head, she knew a part of it would have been meeting her but she couldn't help but feel like there was something else. Doran nodded his head, he had heard all about her meeting with his youngest nieces and he had been rather surprised with how well it had gone; he could only imagine what would happen if Amara meet the older girls.
There was no doubt in his mind that some of them would be rather protective of Ellaria; she was the one mother that some of them had ever known and would take her side in all of this. Nymeria especially had experienced her unhappiness for the match that Doran had made for her father; she knew he had been with Ellaria for many years and thought they should be married.
"I am unsure of what you expect me to do," Doran mused watching Amara, he was only their uncle and so had no power over their education; he doubted that Oberyn or Ellaria would be happy should he meddle in that. He had raised his children the way that he had wanted and his brother had every intention of doing the same; Oberyn taught his daughters to fight and they were dangerous in their own right some of them.
Amara was silent for a moment, she knew that she had to play this carefully especially if she wanted her actions to go unnoticed by those who would stop her. Ellaria had sent her children from court, that Amara knew for sure now and she could only imagine what was being put into their heads while they were away. It was no secret that Ellaria's family had taken the most offence to her marriage to Oberyn; they saw it as a threat to their hold on Oberyn.
"I would like to appoint them a governess… someone to educate them," Amara said carefully, she would have to be careful and she was sure that having someone keep a close eye on the girls would prove beneficial. There would be no more of Ellaria hiding them away, she disliked the fact they had been so quickly sent from court because she had meet them. It had only made her more curious about Oberyn's daughters and yet she knew that she was in a position where she wasn't able to discuss her questions with in fear of speaking with the wrong person.
"I am sure that is doable," Doran told her, he was surprised by her suggestion and was rather relieved that it was something that he would be able to help her with; a governess was a smart idea for his nieces. Oberyn might have trained each of his daughters to fight and defend themselves; but they would be the end of his line should they fail to find husbands.
It was no secret that his eldest four daughters, the eldest being nearly thirty had not settled down; there was no sign of any of his daughters marrying and Doran feared for their bloodline. Amara smiled at that, she was pleased that Doran hadn't dismissed what she was suggesting; this was just the first step of what she had planned and she knew that she had to play this carefully. Focusing back on the food before them, Amara felt more at ease than she had in a long time and she knew that things were finally working out like she wanted.
"Good morning brother," Oberyn greeted approaching the table where they were dining, he had heard that they were dining together and invited himself along. After last night, he had not been able to forget that his wife had snubbed him in favour of dancing with another men; she hadn't even looked at him after they had conversed. Amara peered at Oberyn, she was surprised that he had come to join them since she was under the impression that it was just going to be her and Doran this morning.
"What are we discussing?" Oberyn asked, he didn't look at Amara wanting her to have a taste of her own medicine; he wasn't used to not getting what he wanted. Doran smiled into his drink, he had a feeling that things were about to get interesting; he could only imagine how things were going to play out between the two of them.
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