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Chapter Twenty-Five: Happy Name Day.

Climbing the steps to the royal box with Herit and Sarella at her side, Amara could not believe that she was already celebrating her Name Day; it was hard to believe that another year had passed in her life and so much had happened in such a short space of time. The celebrations that Doran had organised for her were just what she needed to take her mind off her problems; any sort of distraction was welcome while she worked out her next move. For her first Name Day as a member of the royal family, a tourney had been thrown in her honour; with many signing up to show off their skills in front of the royal family.

"Happy Name Day," Doran greeted with a nod of his head when Amara reached the top of the stairs, she was the guest of honour and he was most pleased to see her make it. There were many reasons for them to celebrate and Doran wished to make the most of the peace at court before things started to fall apart; he had no doubts that the situation with Amara and his brother was far from over.

"I am sure that today will be a most entertaining," Doran continued knowing that not only had his brother signed up for several of the events today but so had a couple of the Sandsnakes. All wanting to show off their skills in the arena and Doran had a feeling that Oberyn wished to impress his wife; there was nothing that got the blood pumping than watching a good tourney.

"Your father seems pleased," Amara noted taking a seat beside Trystane, she had not seen his father like this before and she knew that the pressing state of her marriage was something that had played on his mind a lot as of late. Whether it be through Oberyn's actions or her own, it seemed that Doran had quite a bit riding on this marriage being a success especially given how his own marriage had worked out.

"My siblings are to return from Norvos where they have been visiting my mother," Trystane stated softly, he couldn't remember the last time that he had seen his mother but he knew she had struggled with life here in Dorne and what she had expected things to be like. Despite the fact that they were separated, it was no secret that his mother had hoped to gain full custody of him and his siblings so that they might come and live with her in Norvos.

"I am sure he has missed them greatly," Amara responded trying to recall what she had heard of Trystane's younger siblings, they had not been in Dorne for her wedding nor did she think they had been in Dorne for the last couple of years. Arianne and Quentyn had gone to visit their mother in Norvos shortly after the breakdown of their parents marriage wanting to make sure that she was comfortable there and happy.

"As have I, things are quiet here now and I am sure Quentyn had much to share about his travels," Trystane murmured with a frown, while he had missed his younger brother, he wasn't sure what to expect when his sister returned. Arianne had been close with Elia and now that Elia had been banished from court to Fairmarsh for her actions it would likely not go down well with his sister.

The last thing that Trystane wanted was for Arianne to cause trouble here, he had worried that his main issue might be his Baratheon engagement but her disliking Amara could be worse. It had been his father that had stressed how important the marriage between Oberyn and Amara was; although he would not reveal the reasons why it was important. Doran worried enough that Oberyn's stubborn behaviour had been damaging enough to the situation; there was no telling what they would have to deal with, if Arianne decided to pick up where Elia had left off.

"Then we shall make sure that their welcome home is a good one," Amara assured Trystane sensing the boys uneasy, she offered him a kind smile sure that they would make them feel at home again. It could not have been easy for them to be so far away from all that they had known and grown up with.

"Let the tourney begin," Doran ordered with a clap of his hands, he looked around pleased to see how many Houses had come to celebrate; he was most pleased to see that no damage had been done to House Martell's reputation. The poisoning of Amara could have set about a precedent that would not have been undone, not only damaging the reputation of House Uller but that of House Martell.

Clapping her hands watching Obara finish off her opponent, Amara smiled knowing without a doubt that Oberyn's eldest daughter had put in quite a bit of practice for the event since it had been announced. It had not escaped Amara's notice that Obara had been missing occasionally from her new position of guarding her to practice, though it did not mean that Ka or Lagos had fully returned to their positions.

In lieu of the fact that Obara, Nymeria and Tyene had been practicing for the tourney, it left guarding duties to Sarella who had quickly settled into Amara's household and rarely let her out of her sight. Not that she was ever alone anyway, she was always with at least one of her ladies only dismissing them for such events like this; she was sure they would want to enjoy the festivities. Amara was snapped out of her thoughts by the sight of Oberyn riding in on a grey stallion clad in his light armour, she paused in her clapping to eye her husband who made his way towards the royal box.

"My wife, would you do me the honour of allowing me to wear your favour for luck?" Oberyn asked, his dark eyes seeming to drink in how beautiful she looked in the dress that she had chosen for the events. There would be none that could say that Amara was not the most beautiful woman of the court, he did not think he had seen her like in all of his travels and he cursed himself for his earlier foolishness.

Before Amara could reply, Oberyn's competitor was announced and her stomach dropped knowing that such a match would not end well for anyone. She didn't dare look towards the side of the arena where Ka was now making his entrance, he had fought well in the last couple of rounds but she had not thought that they would cross paths this day. Feeling for the material that was tied about her wrist, Amara slowly untied it and climbed to her feet knowing that all eyes were on her and if she got this wrong then it would be her that played the price.

"It would be my pleasure Husband. I wish you all the luck of the Gods," Amara stated tying the material around his lance, her hands steady though she was sure they would be shaking. Whatever the state of her marriage, there was no way that she would announce it to the world at such an event; not in a way that could be so damaging and that she might not come back from.

Retaking her seat, Amara tried to ignore the talk around her of who they thought would win and how sorry a man like Ka would be for entering such a competition and end up facing off against a man like Oberyn. However, Amara couldn't help but fear what the outcome of this would be especially considering her entanglement with both men; she looked over at Ka trying to read his facial expression but his helmet blocked her view.

Clasping her hands together, Amara could barely watch as the joust began and the two men that had become the centre of a growing issue that Amara didn't know how to solve. The sound of the clashing made her flinch but her eyes cast down to her feet, she doubted anyone had noticed that she wasn't watching instead her eyes focused on the floor instead of the two men.

Trystane's words were enough to tell Amara just how the joust was going, she squeezed her eyes shut and found herself praying that it would be over quickly without bloodshed. It was Trystane's sudden curse that made Amara jump, her eyes snapping back to the scene before her and she blinked staring down at the sight before her of Ka unseated from his horse but a sword now in her hand. Her mind raced trying to figure out how it had gotten to this point, she peered at Herit for answers but Herit's pursed lips made it clear that she would get no answers.

Oberyn dismounted his horse and pulled out his sword, he glared at his love rival knowing that he could not allow him to win; he had unseated him and any other man would have taken the defeat. The crowds cheered around them as their swords clashed, both of men glaring at one another as they moved effortlessly in what could have been a dance as they fought each other.

Ka refused to back down, he would not be humiliated by Oberyn not in front of Amara nor the crowd around them; it was not just his pride at stake but the chance to impress the woman that he cared about. Being unseated by Oberyn had not been his plan when he had paid good coin to ensure that he would face Amara's husband in the arena on her name day.

Pushing back against Oberyn's blade, Ka gritted his teeth and swung wildly at the Prince trying to catch him off guard but for every move that he made was quickly countered; he slashed at Oberyn trying to find a weakness that he could use. He would need every trick that he knew if he was going to beat someone of Oberyn's level of skill, the man was famed for his fighting and the last thing that Ka wanted was to be caught by the end of his blade.

A couple of clashes between the two men who circled one another did little to change things and Oberyn was pleased to see that his plan was working. The longer he refrained from dealing with Ka and just disarming the other man meant that he was growing rather confident in his abilities and thought that he was actually holding his own against Oberyn.

Holding his sword tightly in his hand, Oberyn watched Ka's movements closely waiting for the right moment to strike; he didn't need to look up at the royal box to know that Amara was watching. He wasn't sure what he would see if he looked at her now, would it be concern for his wellbeing or worry that he might slaughter her lover; he did not know which would hurt more to him.

If she was concerned about his wellbeing then he knew that he did not deserve such care from her after the embarrassment that he had caused her on their wedding night. But if she was worried that he might slaughter her lover, then Oberyn knew that his restraint would not hold especially thinking of how the man had succeeded in a place where Oberyn had failed.

Faking a left, Oberyn launched an attack and knocked Ka off his feet with a swipe of his own; he didn't stay down long but the cheers around them got louder all calling for Oberyn to finish it. Stumbling back to his feet, Ka glared at him and Oberyn only grinned in reply as he waited to see what the guard would do in retaliation; he didn't have to wait long before Ka launched another attack at him. Knocking Ka's sword from his hand, Oberyn grabbed Ka's free hand and twisted him so the sword was now resting against Ka's neck and pinned him against his chest.

"You live because of her," Oberyn snarled into Ka's ear, he had spared his life because he did not wish to drive his wife further away but that did not mean that he would not fight just as hard as Ka would. Dropping Ka to the floor, Oberyn turned his back on his opponent and walked away without looking back knowing that this was just the beginning for them; this would not end until one of them had lost.

Sitting beside Doran at the feast, Amara's eyes swept the room taking in the celebrations that had been put in place for her name day; a sense of disappointment filled her at his absence and she had not thought she would miss him. Despite how the fight had worked out, Amara knew that she needed to stop acting like a confused little girl waiting for someone to tell her what to do; she had lost her way as of late and she knew what she had to do.

Sipping from her goblet, Amara pondered her next move glad for the chance to step back and evaluate what she was going to do now; she wanted nothing more than to regain her focus. Amara had allowed her to be distracted and her want to be noticed to consume her, she felt foolish for allowing herself to get to this point and she wanted nothing more than to get back on track.

"My Husband isn't here tonight?" Amara noted taking a glance at Doran, she had wondered why he had not appeared and as the night continued on, she knew he would not be making an appearance. Despite everything that had happened between them, he had allowed this night to be about her and Amara had planned to speak with him this night. There was something that they needed to discuss and if they were going to show people that they were a united front then they would need to work together and not against each other.

"He wished for you to enjoy the evening," Doran replied knowing that his brother's absence had been noted and it was not only him that had seen that Oberyn was not in attendance of the celebrations. He had been rather quiet since he had defeated Ka and Doran had no doubts his brother would savour his victory there; he had no doubts that his brother had sort out their finest wine to celebrate.

"Then I shall visit him," Amara stated moving to get out of her chair, she ignored the amused look on Doran's face knowing that there would be no better time than this to speak with her husband.

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