King's Landing 300 AC.
Cersei Lannister.
She woke alone and for the briefest moment was happy, until she remembered what day this was and so as she rose and the servants arrived to help her dress and ready for the day ahead, her mood quickly shifted. By the time she broke her fast with Jaime, Tommen, Joff, and her father she was sullen. Not even Jaime's smiles aimed in her direction could relieve the anger she felt in her heart. Each time she looked at her precious boy she felt it even more keenly. The idea of him wed to that harlot was one that she could barely stand to think about, and one that she could not help from doing so.
Were it not for the fact that there was another meal to be eaten a little later then perhaps her stomach would have been rumbling at the wedding itself, as her appetite deserted her such was her annoyance about the day to come. She barely ate at all and could not even drink wine as she wished either as her father had refused any of them leave to do so until much later in the day. It made her keen to be alone, though she hated solitude as much as she hated being around certain people. Cersei barely spoke to anyone or even listened to the conversations that were going on around her and it was only once they were done that she actually began to notice things once more.
Not more than an hour later she almost came to tears as she looked down at the wedding cloak she was to give her son as his groom's gift. A cloak worn by her on her own wedding day and by her mother before her and one now to be draped on the shoulders of a whore who did not deserve it nor her son's hand. A part of her wanted to rip the cloak up in pure spite. To destroy it just to shame Margaery Tyrell and yet she could and would not. It meant too much to her family and to herself and so reluctantly she nodded to the servants and then made her way to the Groom's Meal and the gift-giving. Her mind told her it could be so much worse and it could be to the Bride's Meal that she was heading.
"You are well, your grace?" Bernadette asked and despite her foul mood, Cersei smiled and nodded at the servant. She was the lealest and truest of them all and had even managed to remove some of her frustrations from time to time. The young woman knew the true value of a tongue and was in possession of a very talented one.
When she arrived it was to see yet another whore who didn't belong here. Sansa Stark was sitting in her place at the High Table as the Imp's wife and Cersei glared at the insipid little girl. Her presence irked her and she would have much rathered that she was at the Bride's Meal, though her father would never allow the girl to be that close to the Tyrell's ever again. The smile that came to her face was unbidden and yet a true one as she remembered how her father had outmaneuvered the withered old shrew and married Sansa to a horrible and spiteful creature, rather than the comely rose the girl had no doubt dreamed of.
Taking her seat she actually felt hungry and so she ate far more than she normally would and since it was a Groom's Meal she was able to wash it down with wine too. Soon it was time for the gift-giving and she bid the servants carry in the Maiden's Cloak and rose to her feet to present it to her son, Joff giving her his warmest smile as he accepted it. By the time she'd retaken her seat he'd been gifted a great bow by Jalabhar Xho, a pair of riding boots by Lady Tanda Stokeworth, and a magnificent jousting saddle by her uncle Kevan, Cersei smiling and nodding in appreciation at her uncle's gift.
She shivered slightly when Oberyn Martell presented Joffrey with a brooch in the shape of a scorpion and barely paid attention to the next few gifts. Cersei only looked her son's way again when Tyrion stood forward and presented a book on the Lives of Four Kings. The words he dared to speak to her son brought her anger back to the fore. The audacity of him to lecture her precious boy and to think himself clever while doing so, something that Joffrey too seemed affronted by. Listening to the words he spoke she sensed it in his tone and wondered if Tyrion did likewise. When her father's gift came and she saw what it was and how it looked in her son's hands, her smile was true and full. Joffrey looked so much like his father that she was briefly taken back to years earlier and shared kisses as they hid in the depths of the Rock.
"That book was one of a kind." she heard Mace Tyrell exclaim and it took her from the brief daydream that she'd been having.
What she saw made her smile grow even fuller, the book lay in tatters, and looking at Tyrion's face she could see that her precious boy had shown him up for what he was. She did not notice how her father glared at her son or how others looked to him, her attention too focussed on Tyrion and the Stark whore he named as his wife. Cersei reached forward and lifted her glass and then felt the wine slide down her throat, she thought that today may not be the worst day she would ever have after all.
A few hours later.
She had hated it, every single moment of it. From the Great Sept where she had to look on as her son draped her mother's cloak around that golden harlot to the smug looks on the faces of the Tyrell's as they had finally risen far higher than they ever deserved to reach. The sounds of people cheering as they made their way to the wedding feast were despoiled by the fact that Margaery Tyrell's name was shouted louder than even Joffrey's was.
Even when she managed to grab a quiet moment alone with Jaime it only further fouled her mood. Her stupid twin daring to speak about how well suited their son and the harlot were and showing just how foolish he could be at times. He could not see what she could, did not realize what she did and so he did not fear for their boy as he truly should. The roses would try and strangle Joffrey with their vines and the harlot would spread her legs to entrap him and pull him even closer. She loved her son and he could and should be the best king to ever walk the land, but he was a man and all men were weak when presented with what a woman had between her legs.
Looking at them now as they ate and made merry, as the harlot fed him from her own plate and laughed at all he said, Cersei could see the mummery at work. She felt the headache come on and she knew this day would be a long and trying one. Her hand reached out to the wine glass which she lifted up and swallowed down its contents most quickly. Bernadette moved forward almost before she even moved the glass from her lips and poured her another without needing to be told. The look the young woman gave her even managed to cause a tingle between her legs and she knew that she would be serving her differently before the night was done.
King's Landing 300 AC.
Olenna Tyrell.
It was rare that she woke so early in the morning, yet today she was up before the cock crowed. Her eagerness and excitement over the day to come was something that had caused her to get little sleep the night before, though she felt invigorated nonetheless. Breaking her fast earlier than the rest of the household, she had then spent most of the morning going over figures and making sure everything was set for the day ahead. She joined the rest of the family when they broke their fast just to listen and speak with them and her not eating had provoked some concern until Olenna told them she did so earlier.
Later she went with Margaery and Alerie to make sure the dress was as perfect as it had been at its final fitting and had then readied for the Bride's Meal. Olenna found herself to be hungry once again as the gifts were given to her granddaughter, and as Margaery thanked her. Before she knew it she was sitting in the Great Sept and watching as all her dreams finally came true. Her granddaughter was finally who she was meant to be, Margaery was Queen of the Seven Kingdoms and that made the worry in her heart fade for a little time.
It came back when she found that she could not see Sansa Stark and the thoughts that somehow the girl would not be present at the wedding feast began to take shape in her mind. Olenna almost panicked a little at the thoughts of Margaery having to share a bed with that monster and of what that would do to her golden rose. When she did see the Stark girl she breathed a huge sigh of relief. Even more so when she saw the hairnet on her head. One without the other would have been as useful as neither after all.
"She looks like a true queen." Alerie said as they moved from the Great Sept.
"As she was born to be." she replied happily.
Hearing the crowd cheer Margaery's name and just how loudly they did so, she felt prouder than she ever believed she could feel. She had already won the hearts of the people which would stand her in good stead when the rest of Olenna's plan came to fruition and would leave the Old Lion with no choice but to acquiesce to her demands. It was to this thought that she entered the carriage and they were taken to the wedding feast. Olenna enjoying the ride and even Mace's incessant chatter as he spoke of things she actually listened to. His own pride along with Alerie in Margaery was clear to hear and see and she could not fault him for that, not when there were so many other things he did that she found fault in.
He had told her about what the golden cunt had done at his Groom's Meal, his urge to shame his uncle robbing him of any sense of decorum, and were it not for how that may play into her plan, later on, she'd have worried about it greatly. Joffrey was a rabid lion, a mangy cat, and he needed to be put down before he harmed one hair on Margaery's head. If things went as she had planned today, then she wouldn't have to worry, so Olenna wore a smirk as she sat back in her seat and waited for the carriage to arrive at its destination.
"Mother." Mace said as he offered her his hand, which she took, to help her from the carriage.
"I do hope this goes well." Alerie said worriedly as they walked to the High Table, Left and Right behind them as she would not move anywhere in the Lion's Den without them.
"This will go exactly as I wish." she said firmly and though Alerie was not aware of what she wished from the day, she took her words' meaning as comforting.
Indeed it would, she thought to herself as the first course was served, Olenna barely eating anything, such was her excitement at what the day was to bring. Her eyes were everywhere as people celebrated the wedding and ate the food that her purse had bought for them to enjoy. She could see the Old Lion was doing just as she was, Tywin's eyes flittering from one person to another and more often than not ending up at where the Red Viper sat. Olenna knew that Tywin feared what Oberyn and Dorne may do, but sometimes he worried far too much.
The prince had brought his niece and his daughters to the wedding and while there was a large accompaniment of Dornish men at arms in the city, they were dwarfed by her own and the Lannister forces. Tywin should be grateful that Princess Arianne was here, she more than anyone guaranteed his safety and would keep Oberyn at bay. Doran would no more risk his daughter than she would Margaery, which was the only thing she had in common with the weak and placid Dornish prince. Her own eyes turned to Sansa Stark more than once and to the hairnet that she wore on her head. The gift she gave to Littlefinger to make sure it arrived here today clear for all to see and though she quite liked the girl if it meant the blame fell on her shoulders then so be it.
She sipped her wine as the ridiculous spectacle took place in front of them. Joffrey once again proved just what a cunt he truly was in his choice of entertainment. Gloating was all well and good and they had won the war, but he played little to no part, and the things that Tywin had done to bring them victory were shameful. If the gods truly looked down upon them and judged them when they fell, then she would give all her coin to see what judgment the Lannisters and Tywin, in particular, would have visited upon him. Looking to Margaery she saw how her granddaughter struggled to keep Joffrey's worst instincts at bay and she could wait no longer. Rising to her feet she moved to Sansa and stood in front of the girl who looked worriedly at her.
"You look exquisite child, the wind has been at you though." she said softly as she moved to Sansa, her hands going to her hair as if she wished to fix it "I haven't had the opportunity to tell you how sorry I was to hear about your brother. War is war but killing a man at a wedding is horrid." she said as she brushed her hand against Sansa's cheek.
She heard Tyrion as he moved towards them both, his footsteps heavy as he no doubt wished to be elsewhere. It almost made her doubt that she was doing the right thing, almost. Olenna may like Sansa somewhat and even Tyrion a little, but neither were her blood and neither would help her house grow strong. At least not by any actions of theirs that was. The bead felt so small in her hand that had she not known just what the strangler could do, she would have thought it not enough. Dropping it into the wine jug would be easy enough and she now just waited for the perfect time to do so, she did not have to wait for long.
"Mother where have…"
"Oh do shut up, Mace." she said agitatedly when she took her seat and though she had no true reason to be so curt with him, she did feel a little on edge as the show that Joffrey had thought would be so very funny finally came to an end.
For the next few moments, she looked on eagerly, and then she could not believe her luck. Only a cunt like Joffrey could manage to make her plans work even better than how she'd expected them to. The earlier humiliation of his uncle was more private, this one was clear for all to see. Wine spilled over his head, Tyrion trying his damndest not to say anything that would or could be considered treasonous and proving Joffrey a fool in the process. It was a mistake on Tyrion's part, spoiled cunts do not like being made to look like fools and so whatever game Joffrey had planned for his uncle, soon escalated.
When he told Tyrion to pick up his goblet and then to fill it, Olenna felt her heart race. Her one and only doubt in regard to Joffrey's death was that the Old Lion would suspect her or her family. Oberyn's presence she had hoped would be enough to make him look Dorne's way. Well, that and the Red Viper's own penchant for poison. Should he not, then to use Sansa Stark and Tyrion as her husband had been Olenna's true reason for going along with Littlefinger's plan. Should the hairnet be checked or should she be called in and suspected, it would be to them that she points the finger. Now given what Joffrey was doing, she did not need to and as Tyrion moved to the wine jug, she moved to the edge of her seat.
The roar was loud and it stopped everyone in their tracks. Tyrion, Joffrey, Tywin, all of them no longer concentrating on the game the king had been playing and instead were focused on the sound that rang out once more. Then it was chaos, men ran, spears were pointed and as Olenna tried to rise to her feet and looked to try and find Margaery, she swore she saw a dragon in the sky.
King's Landing 300 AC
Sansa Stark.
It was a beautiful morning when she woke up. In the light of the first moments as she awoke and when the confines of her prison were yet to disturb the natural peace of those moments. During her time at Red Keep, there were moments like this but they came so few and far between. They did not heal the pain caused to her soul or bring back the family that was dead but it did at least allow for a moment of escape from this accursed place. If Sansa saw the young girl who dreamed of feasts and dances in the Red Keep she would slap her and tell her to get some sense and grow up. It had taken blood for Sansa to realize that naïveté was a fault and not a virtue.
Oh, how she missed her family. Yet she would be remiss to say that she was not disappointed in them. Arya had disappeared and had most likely died. Bran and Rickon were only children burned by that craven turncoat and if Sansa only had the power to do something about him then she'd see him suffer as they surely had. Robb and her mother had been fools and while she had prayed to the gods for their victory they too were killed for their folly.
And then there was Jon. Jon was at the Wall; he was the only one left. Oh, how she wished to see him and apologize for her own foolishness that she had perpetuated for years. Truth be told, she was not disappointed in her family but she was with Robb. Evidently, he had cared more for the crown than his family if what she had heard was true. Sansa, having learned that it was her mother who released the Kingslayer and had him escorted for their exchange, not Robb.
But now they were both dead. Is everything all for naught? Sansa couldn't help but wonder. Why? What have we brought upon ourselves? This was her, the last of the Starks. Jon was a Stark in her eyes but what little do her eyes matter any longer? She was a pawn that was now being used to secure the North for those who wished to control it.
As she rose, Shae helped her get dressed. It was Joffrey's wedding day so Sansa was dressed much finer than she usually was. The Lannisters wished to keep up appearances and had spent a fortune on everything. The finest for the worst in Sansa's eyes. For how horrible they were, the Lannisters had a taste for the finest of all that could be bought with tasteless wealth.
If there was ever more evidence needed of just what kind of a man Joffrey truly was, then this day had given her enough of it. The way he had set out to humiliate Tyrion right from the start of it had stunned her somewhat. It showed her that even family was not safe when it came to his games and she knew that she had to be free of this place as soon as she could be. Watching him destroy the book Tyrion had gifted him was shocking to her. That Joffrey had destroyed it did not surprise her though and even the shaming of Tyrion had become rather common recently, but that he cared not for those who were present made Sansa more worried with each passing moment.
Tyrion's words were enough to remove that fear. He had been good to her, far better than she had dared to hope, and had not laid a hand on her or tried to bed her. Yet she was not safe with him and not free from Joffrey's reach and each day she spent in King's Landing made her more sure that he would harm her more. More so than physical harm, she feared he would force her to lay with him, that he'd put a pup in her belly like he had threatened to do on her wedding day. Sansa had gone to her room that night terrified, and she was more fearful of him taking his first night's rights than she was of her husband.
From the very start of the wedding, she was on edge and when Tyrion left her alone she found her eyes kept looking to see where Joffrey was and was relieved to see him still with Margaery. Perhaps that was why it took her so long to notice the woman in front of her, or maybe it was just that she hadn't expected anyone to come her way, as she was now pretty much ignored by most of the ladies of King's Landing. Why Princess Arianne of all people wished to speak to her, she knew not. Yet she smiled politely and prayed to the seven that it would not bring any attention to her that ruined her own plans for the day.
"Lady Sansa, I must say you look ravishing today." Princess Arianne said as she motioned to her about taking the seat beside her, Sansa nodding and moving it out for her to do so.
"You look beautiful, my princess." she said and she meant every word even if it came out rather awkwardly.
While not dressed in anything that Sansa would ever dare wear, the dress that Princess Arianne wore was incredibly flattering. That she had the figure to pull off such a dress was clear for all eyes to see and while she showed a lot of skin, it was what it didn't that drew the eye. Somehow it made it seem as if she was both showing everything she had to offer and yet not at the same time and it was scandalous to Sansa's eyes. Yet she admired the princess's confidence in being able to dress in such a manner.
"I normally adore weddings, but for some reason I find this one to be distasteful, much as I did when hearing about your own. Such a beautiful maid wasted on an imp." Arianne said and Sansa looked at her worriedly.
"Tyrion is a good man, my princess." Sansa said and Arianne snorted.
"Compared to most of his family, I have no doubt he is. A lady such as yourself deserves better, she deserves a man that pleases her every desire ." Arianne said before biting her lip in what could only be described as teasing and Sansa didn't know how to respond.
"Have you been to the capital before, my princess, to the Red Keep?" she asked, finally settling on a subject less fraught with potential problems that may trip her up.
"No, I find the capital to be nothing but a bore so far. Nothing but backstabbers and prudes in the Red Keep. I prefer the brothels over that castle even if it seems that it will be my home for the foreseeable future. What of you Lady Sansa? I am sure you would rather be someplace else. Perhaps a place where the white winds blow?" Arianne said Sansa could swear the woman was flirting at times but Sansa had a hard time pinning down exactly what the Princess of Dorne was doing.
"Of course Princess. I would love to be in the North." she said sadly.
"You miss your homeland, Lady Sansa? I can imagine so, perhaps in the near future, you and I will travel together. I long to see new places. My lover has told me many stories of the North. I find it to be a fascinating place." Arianne said and Sansa found herself lost in her memories. Sansa was shocked that the Princess of Dorne would have a Northern lover, how scandalous.
"Your lover Princess?" Sansa asked
"Oh, I am sorry. Yes, all dark hair and eyes with stories of the Wall and Direwolves, and he grinds my nerves at times but I shall never find a replacement for that wicked tongue of his. He shall arrive shortly, dear Sansa. I am sure you would love to meet him." Arianne said with a wink. Sansa was still just shocked that a trueborn Princess would openly admit to having a lover.
"Of course I don't know how he has not melted away. Snow isn't made to last outside of the North but yet he is here all the same." Arianne said with another wink and a shrug just as Tyrion walked back taking his seat beside them.
She watched as the princess walked away and then sat beside her uncle and the lady he was with that was not his wife. Dorne must be such a strange place. It was Tyrion more so than herself who noticed all the eyes at the Dornish table looking at her and when he mentioned it she brushed it off. Sansa speaking instead of the strange conversation she'd had with Princess Arianne while not speaking on its content. Whether this was some sort of test or something else she knew not and to be truthful she cared not, and she only wished this day would end and end quickly.
Never more did she wish for it than when Joffrey decided to humiliate Tyrion again. Showing he cared not where or who he did it in front of and not even this being his wedding feast would stop him from having his fun. She was surprised when Ser Dontos moved to her table and when he whispered in her ear. They'd spoken of him helping her and he'd promised he would, but she'd long given up on most of the promises that were made to her.
"At my signal, run my lady, run with me, there is a ship that awaits us" he said and she felt her heart begin to race.
Sansa ran for her life, never had she moved as quickly as she did and behind her, she could still hear the sounds of the dragon's roars. That alone made her feet move so quickly, even more so than the thoughts of freedom that should be filling her head. She had seen a dragon, a real-life dragon and it had come for the Lannisters. A part of her wished to stay, to wait and to watch and to see them suffer. Yet she knew she could not, this was the same as when Stannis readied to take the city. She'd found no comfort or respite from the dragons just as she would not from the stags. Her heart raced like it never had before from fear alone.
Why care for her? What would they do to a member of House Stark? And why should she trust that they'd be any better than the lions had been? The answers to all three questions were that there were none. She needed to be far from here, wolves did not belong in cages, not even gilded ones, they belonged free and she needed to be so. There was no one she could trust other than herself and the knight who'd come to her aid. Certainly, she could not take her chances back there and so she ran as fast as she had ever run and then she cried out when she saw the men surrounding them.
No.
No.
I have come too far.
Do the gods hate me? Are they punishing me for the wrongs I have done, of which I know there were many? Have I not been punished enough?
She almost fell to her knees as she cried out, her fate no longer her own to decide and as the men moved and Ser Dontos pulled out his sword, she looked to him and shook her head.
"Back away or I'll kill the lady." Ser Dontos said moving to her and she looked at him wondering if this mummery would work, yet something in his eyes told her that this was no true mummery.
"I'm sorry, Lady Sansa, truly. I quite liked you and was grateful for what you did, but I'm not letting these Dornishmen take me." Ser Dontos said as he held the sword far too close to her neck.
Dornishmen? These were Dornishmen? That made no sense, it was a dragon she saw, wasn't it? It was a green dragon larger than anything she could have ever imagined. She'd seen it and she swore she'd seen a rider on its back. Dornishmen couldn't ride dragons though, only those from House Targaryen could, couldn't they?
"Let go of the girl and we let you walk." one of the Dormishmen said and Sansa looked to him and to Ser Dontos.
"Last chance" the Dornishman said and then Sansa felt the knight fall to the ground and she turned to see a man standing in front of her, a man she recognized.
"Throw him the cells with the rest." Prince Oberyn said before looking at her. "Lady Sansa, Dorne is not your enemy. If you'd come with me, there is someone who wishes most fervently to speak to you." Oberyn said and Sansa looked at him and nodded before stopping after the first step. She didn't trust him for a second but she had no other option than to go with him.
"Who, my prince? Who wishes to speak to me?" she asked, to no reply.
King's Landing 300 AC.
Oberyn Nymeros Martell.
There were few mornings when he had woken up as excited as he had this morning. Fewer days when he had carried that excitement with him all the way through them. The meal he broke his fast with tasted better, the kisses he received from his daughters and the one he shared with Ellaria were welcomed that little bit more. Even the banter they all shared before readying themselves for the festivities to come all added to the feeling that had been growing inside him on all the days leading to this one. The feeling which made him wish to shout out loud, that this is the day.
This is the day that all debts are paid. The day when finally he can lay to rest the ghosts of the past and see justice served. Where the vengeance that his blood had called out for so many years would finally be sated. All the preparations were made, all the plans had been put into place and for the first time since he had come back to this accursed place, he actually found himself happy to be in King's Landing. A part of him wished he was here alone, that his daughters and paramour were elsewhere and that his niece was far from the place which had cost him so much. Yet he could not deny them their own justice and appearances needed to be kept up.
Ellaria had to be by his side because it was a wedding that he was going to and a role on the Small Council that had ostensibly brought him here. His girls were too wilful and too invested in seeing their kin avenged for him to leave them behind. While Arianne had her own part to play too and her presence allowed for them to have more men in the open. Which in turn allowed for them to have more men hidden in plain sight. There were no servants in either of their parties, no men who were not trained with spear, sword, dagger, or bow. They had brought the largest accompaniment of Lords and Ladies from Dorne that had visited King's Landing since his sister's wedding day. Simply because it meant it would allow each of them to be accompanied by a large household guard.
All in all, they had more than four thousand men in King's Landing and today the Lannisters would learn the truth of the full power of Dorne. On the battlefield, their cavalry may not be a match for the Knights of the Vale or even the Lannister's heavy horse. In a pitched battle, they may struggle to hold a shield wall or falter under relentless attack. Ambushes, ambushes though, that was what they did better than any army in Westeros and today the Lions and Roses would find that out, it would be a lesson they would never forget.
"You know what you must do, protect yourselves and each other." he said to his girls, the three of them nodding back at him "Ari, when Ser Daemon moves you move, understood?"
"I understand uncle." Arianne said, for once his niece did not argue with him, something he was more than happy about.
"My love." he said, moving to Ellaria who he took in his arms.
"Dalton and Anders, they are my father's best men, Oberyn, I know what I must do."
He called his girls and his niece in and they stood in almost a circle as he looked at them, the smile on his face as true as it had ever been.
"For seven and ten years I've kept my spear sharpened while waiting for this day. Your uncle, your father." he said looking at Arianne. "Has kept Dorne ready and waiting for the perfect time to strike. Like vipers, we have bided our time and now finally it has come upon us. For Elia, For Rhaenys, For Aegon."
"For Elia, For Rhaenys, For Aegon." they replied, their voices ringing out in the emptiness of the room.
The early morning passed far too slowly, Oberyn hearing rather than seeing what had happened at the Groom's Meal. Making his way through the pavilions and to his table, he was happy to see so many of their men had managed to make it. Some acted as entertainers and he almost laughed at how terrible some of them were, thankfully though others showed a hidden talent and so no one would be the wiser until it was too late. When he saw Tyrion Lannister walking with his squire, he greeted him in a friendly enough manner. As Lannisters went, he wasn't the worst of them, though there wasn't truly a good Lannister in his eyes.
"Prince Oberyn." he heard the voice call out and he found himself wondering just how much perfume Varys truly wore as he smelt it even over the food that was being cooked.
"Lord Varys, you have met my niece, Princess Arianne?" he asked, making polite conversation while Ellaria and his girls took their seats at their table.
"I have indeed, it is a pleasure to see you again, princess." Varys said and Arianne smiled politely back at him.
"A most excellent turn out is it not, Lord Varys?" Oberyn said and Varys looked at him and nodded eagerly.
"Most excellent indeed, though with so many people in the city it seems the Gold Cloaks have been drafted in, or men with gold cloaks anyway." Varys said and Oberyn looked to see the Dornish faces under the helms and smiled as he turned back to Varys.
"And outside in the city itself, do we expect there to be any trouble to spoil this most joyous of days?" he asked and Varys tittered annoyingly as he looked up at the sky.
"Only the day turning, my prince, only the day turning. Thankfully there is no sign of rain and so the day should go off as hoped for."
"Then if you'll excuse us, Lord Varys," he said, taking Arianne's arm.
"Enjoy the wedding, my prince, my princess." Varys said with a small bow.
As they walked to their table, Arianne looked at him with a worried look on her face, Oberyn moving in closer to her so she could whisper in his ear.
"I do not trust that man, uncle."
"Only a fool trusts Varys, Ari, but today he is with us." Oberyn said and for some reason, he was sure he was right.
The feast went just as he had expected it to go, Joffrey was his usual sadistic self and sought to do all he could to shame his uncle, Sansa Stark, and anyone else who caught his eye. Looking at Sansa Stark he could see how much she wished to be elsewhere and so with a nod to Arianne, he sat back and watched as his niece went to speak to the girl. He wished so much to be able to speak to her himself, to speak to her for true and let her know what was to happen, but he knew he could not. The risk was just too great and he had waited too many years for what was about to happen.
When Arianne came back she seemed disappointed by her conversation with Sansa Stark and he was about to ask her why that was when Joffrey began his antics with his uncle once again. Then he heard the roar and watched as the swords and spears came out and with a look to Daemon he was on his feet and moving as were his girls. He caught the spear that was thrown to him just in time to gut a Lannister guard with it. Moving quickly he headed for the high table and was soon face to face with one of the Kingsguard. Ser Preston Greenfield was a capable warrior but he was a terrible Kingsguard, the fool leaving his charge to come to him rather than taking the king away from danger.
"Viper!" he shouted and Oberyn chuckled as he spun in the air and brought his spear down catching the errant knight's unhelmed head.
"That's Prince Oberyn to you." he said though Ser Preston never heard him as he fell to the ground and breathed no more.
Around him it was absolute chaos, his men had revealed themselves and those dressed as Gold Cloaks had taken care of the Lannister guards foolish enough to enlist their help. He knew outside the gates of the Red Keep his men were closing down all the routes from the city to it. Behind them, Maegor's Holdfast too would soon be closed down and once they had the Red Keep and those within it, they had the city.
Some Lannister guards were firing arrows at the green dragon that had only let loose its flames in warning, Oberyn hearing screams from some of them as their attacks were answered with teeth and claws. Had his eyes been looking that way then perhaps he'd have felt as scared as those the dragon attacked did, the sight of men being ripped apart as easily as if they were a child's doll was a horrific one after all. His eyes though were focussed ahead and only ahead as he looked to Tywin, Cersei, Jaime, Joffrey, and the other Lannisters, and then he heard his daughter's voice as she moved to him.
"Sansa Stark, father, I can't find her." Obara said and Oberyn took a look around the open space that the wedding feast had been held in and cursed when he too could see no sign of her.
"Secure the Lannister's." he said and Obara looked at him in shock.
"Father?"
"Take them Obara, you and your sisters, make sure they are secured. I'll find Sansa Stark, we cannot lose her." he said and Obara nodded.
As he moved down the long passageway that was more than likely where Sansa Stark had run to, he turned back and was both happy and disappointed to see the Lannisters surrounded. The dragon had landed and its rider strode through his men, the white-cloaked figure moving behind and guarding their backs as they both cut down any man who dared come near them while the dragon loomed over them all threateningly.
He hurried around corners and ducked into halls and corridors, finally coming to a large group of his men surrounding Sansa Stark and a man who held a blade far too close to her neck. When his men offered the man safe passage, the offer though was rejected and so he moved swiftly and with a smack to the man's head, he was a threat no more. Oberyn ordered some of his men to take him away before he himself moved in front of a terrified-looking Sansa Stark.
"Put him in the cells with rest.'' He said before he then spoke in a much softer tone to the young lady as she was clearly scared and distrustful of his intentions. "Lady Sansa, Dorne is not your enemy. If you'd come with me, there is someone who wishes most fervently to speak to you.'' Oberyn said and Sansa looked at him and nodded before stopping after the first step.
"Who, my prince? Who wishes to speak to me?" Sansa asked worriedly.
"Walk with me and I promise you'll soon find out." he said and she nodded, reluctantly though it was.
King's Landing 300 AC.
Jon Snow.
He was nervous, the thoughts of what he was about to do and the path he had taken to be here all bearing down on him. Yet his nervousness was not for himself but for those he cared about. Others would be taking a greater risk than he was today and should it go wrong it would be they and not himself who suffered. He had gone over the plans countless times, looked for a multitude of other ways to do what needed to be done, and each time it had come back to this one. Everyone agreed, some more fervently than others, but every single one of them signed off on his plan and so all the pieces were then put into place.
Nothing had been left to chance, there was no room for doubt or second-guessing and just like they did, he too would play his part. After the young squire had tied the last piece of his armor to him, he walked from his room, nodding to Ser Barristan as he did so. They passed by servants who offered him bows and named him their king, past the lady of the keep whose husband and goodbrother were busy elsewhere this day, their own parts just as important as his. The look they shared was one of both hope and expectation, for if all went how it was supposed to today, then her house would rise just as much as his own did.
Soon enough they were on the cliffs and he stood waiting for the green dragon to land. Rhaegal had perhaps been flying with his brothers and with his mother and yet his dragon was eager to fly with him even more so. Jon wondered about that, considering it when he came up with the plans for their invasion of Westeros and the retaking of their family's throne. Would the dragons accept being parted? Would they be happy to fly to separate objectives or would they seek to stay together and do them one after the other? In the end, it was Rhaegal himself who told him all he needed to know. His dragon was eager to do what Jon himself wished, even if it separated him from his mother and brothers for some time.
"You are ready, Ser Barristan?" he asked when they saw Rhaegal flying towards them.
"As I will ever be, your grace." The Bold replied, his Kingsguard, the Lord Commander of his Seven and the man that he trusted to guard his back more than any.
"We have practiced this, and we are the diversion more so than anything else, Ser. Others will risk more than I." he said and Barristan nodded.
"As it should be, your grace." the knight said as Rhaegal landed and he moved towards him, his hand touching the green dragon's head.
"Tubī mazemi arlī skoros iksin iksis īlvon, īlon mazverdagon paktot mirre konir sagon pirta. Hēnkirī Rhaīgal." (Today we take back what is ours, we make right all that is wrong. Together Rhaegal.) he said in Valyrian, the language still sounding strange coming from his northern tongue, yet the trill that Rhaegal made showed he had heard all he said.
Had he a looking glass then he would have felt how he should have felt, how he looked. His black armor was tinged with red at the shoulders and in the Three-Headed Dragon that was embossed on his breastplate. The thin sword that was sheathed on his hip was one that had carved out a history all of its own and was finally back in the hands of someone skilled enough to wield it. Dark Sister was a sword of myth and legend and for almost two years he had been trained by the greatest knight in the land to be worthy of its reputation. While he wore no crown, he was still a king and so after placing the black helm on his head, he nodded to Ser Barristan and they both climbed up onto the dragon's back.
Then with a few flaps of Rhaegal's wings, they were in the air and Driftmark was soon behind them. He was tempted to fly to Dragonstone, to have Rhaegal join his brothers and to see their work there was done and yet he knew he could not. His work was elsewhere and so it was to King's Landing they headed and in less than an hour, they were flying over Blackwater Bay. If he timed this right then all would go as planned this day, the city would be taken and his sister would be safe. Those who had cost his family so much would be their prisoners and while there would still be work to do, the realm would in essence be theirs. He refused to let his mind go to where it could go if he was wrong.
Flying over the city he did not need to be on the ground to know just how imposing and impressive a sight Rhaegal provided. The green dragon flew low enough so that he could be seen and it afforded Jon a decent look at a city that up to now he only ever heard about. Places that had been spoken to him by Barristan, Oberyn, Doran, and Arianne were now no longer just images in his mind. The Great Sept, the Dragonpit, and the Red Keep itself, all resting on the hills named after the conqueror and his sister-wives, and only one of them was his destination.
As they flew towards the Red Keep he felt his excitement and his worries grow and then once he saw the setup for the wedding feast below him, he bid Rhaegal to roar and to let loose his flames. The green dragon needed no second invitation to do either. It was louder than Jon ever heard Rhaegal roar before, the sound seeming to increase as it bounced off the ground. Perhaps it was just his mind which told him so. The effect of the roar was instant, men rushing for cover, guards moving to form up around the Royal Family and he smiled when he saw which guards were nearest of all. Giving Rhaegal the command to roar again and noticing the first set of guards that he knew were not his own, he readied to do what was needed.
"Dracarys." he said and the men who'd formed up and were readying their bows to aim at him, Barristan, or Rhaegal were no more.
The wave of fire didn't burn them, there were no screams or cries of pain, they were simply gone. What had been a group of twenty or more men was now nothing more than a pile of ash and he found he felt no wrongness in their deaths. No guilt for taking their lives or for doing so in such a way. It wasn't callous, uncaring, it was simply that it had needed to be done and unlike had he done so with sword or spear, it had been done quickly. He bid Rhaegal to fly over the ground, to fly nearer the keep to see if there were men coming to reinforce the ones there. Once he saw there was not, it was back to the wedding feast and once again Rhaegal roared.
He could feel it, it was almost done and so he bid Rhaegal land and though there was a brief moment of hesitation from the green dragon, it was only that. With a sweep of his tail, Rhaegal cleared the ground around them, and then he and Barristan climbed down off the dragon's back. This was the one part of the plan that Jon had faced most pushback for, even his aunt wishing for him to stay on Rhaegal's back until it was all done and yet he could not, would not. Careless, reckless, perhaps even foolish, he needed to do this. Both for himself and for the family he had lost.
"You do as I say, your grace." Barristan said as he unsheathed his sword, Jon looked at him and did likewise.
"We move together, Ser." he said and Barristan nodded.
With a last look to Rhaegal who seemed both worried and oddly proud of him, Jon moved toward what he assumed was the high table. Around him most of the fighting was done, though there were still some pockets of resistance that were being mopped up by the Dornish soldiers. Moving swiftly, they were almost halfway there when the first men came their way, Lannister guards and not their own, and Barristan looked at him reproachfully. He felt he was lucky the famed knight couldn't see beneath his helm, as the smile he wore would no doubt not go down well.
"Yield and keep your lives." he said as the guards looked from Barristan to him, none of them accepting his offer "So be it."
Dark Sister had a thirst for blood people would say, whether that was true or not he wasn't sure, but today she would drink her fill. The first guard was killed with a slash that cut his neck, the blood covering the thin blade and Jon moving to the next before he'd even hit the ground. Beside him, Barristan made easy work of a fool who had thought he'd earn a name by ending the Bold, the sword that was thrust into his belly showing the folly of that line of thinking. Six men they faced and two had been killed with the first swings of their swords, the next two didn't last much longer as both he and Barristan moved through them to the last.
"I yield." one of the men said and Jon saw that it was the one facing the Bold, his own deciding to try his luck and soon becoming the third man to fall to his blade.
They moved past the dead bodies and the man who now ran off unarmed, only to see more guards come their way. These ones though were their own and were led by one of his cousins, Tyene, smiling at him and at the blood that dripped from Dark Sister's blade.
"I believe father would have wished you on the dragon, cousin." she said, smiling at him.
"There is work here to be done, Tyene, let us see to that and then await your father's reproach." he said and Tyene laughed as she and the guards moved to the last of the fighting.
A part of him wished that he would be here, that they would find the Mountain and that he could test his blade against him. He promised Oberyn that he would let him be the one to avenge their fallen kin, that he would be the one that would ensure that the Mountain rode no more, and yet Jon almost wished to see the man and for him to be forced to deny him. It was not to be, wherever the monster was it wasn't here and so instead it was others that he faced. The Kingslayer was not amongst them but a man who seemed almost as skilled as he was.
The man had killed more than one of the Dornishmen who moved his way, he was well dressed and yet he looked as if it was a mummery or recent thing and not something he was born into. His stance was not that of a man that was born to the life of a Lord or Knight's son and it wasn't at the hands of a Master of Arms that he'd learned how to wield the sword he held in his hand. When he saw him and Ser Barristan he hesitated, his eyes looking to him almost to give him a way out and Jon decided to offer him just that.
"Drop your sword, Ser, the fight is done and there is no need for you to die here today." he said looking to the man who seemed on the verge of doing so, yet held the sword a little longer "I have no quarrel with you that I'm aware of, Ser. I do not know you, drop the sword and I give you my oath that you'll be treated fairly. Or hold it and I guarantee you nothing but a bloody death."
"Fuck." The man said dropping the sword and it was only then that Jon saw the dwarf behind him, with a nod to the guards nearest to him, Tyrion Lannister was soon in their custody and he moved now even more hurriedly to where the last of the fighting was.
Obara and Nymeria were both in the thick of it and he, Tyene, Barristan, and the guards with him soon joined them. Their added numbers and his and Barristan's added skill soon ended the fight and once it did he smiled at who he saw. The older man could only be Tywin Lannister, the blond green-eyed woman was his daughter Cersei and the scowling boy who shouted that he was the king needed no introduction. Jaime Lannister was blooded and wore a golden hand, his sword lying somewhere on the ground as he looked at Jon's armor and Barristan's white cloak. He took off his helm and saw the confused looks on their faces, only Jaime Lannister seeming to recognize him and he knelt on the ground before him in what appeared to be something of a surrender and acceptance.
"Lord Lannister, you and your family are fortunate that justice needs to be seen to be done. Otherwise, I would take pleasure in seeing all of you fall where you stand. You made a mistake my lord, you left a son of Rhaegar Targaryen alive and I am afraid that mistake will cost you your head. Take them, see they are guarded well, we would not wish any harm to come to them before their time." he said to chuckle, and then he turned to move away from them and he felt her long before he saw her.
"It is good to see you well, husband." Arianne said as she wrapped her arms around him, the kiss he gave her was short but quieted down her worries and concerns.
"You as well, wife." he said to a small laugh from her.
"Is it done?" she asked and he nodded, feeling her lips on his once more.
Despite wishing for nothing more than to give in to the feelings that her lips were instilling in him, he knew he could not. He had not seen Oberyn and so he worried that something had gone wrong and he was just about to send the guards or to go looking for him when he then noticed him walking a little way further off. Oberyn looked unharmed and he drew Arianne's attention to her uncle before he then noticed who walked by his side.
"Go to her, Aemon, we can speak later." Arianne said as she kissed him once more and with a look to Barristan, together they moved to where Oberyn and Sansa were.
She had grown since he had seen her last, her height was impressive though she had always been taller than most women let alone girls of her age. Her red hair looked like the sun on a Shepherd's Warning. The blue of her eyes was as distinct as he remembered and it made him think of his brothers, of Robb, and even of her mother though he quickly put thoughts of Lady Stark out of his mind. Sansa looked fearful, frightened and so he moved even more quickly to her and when he was no more than a few feet away, she finally noticed him.
"Jon?" she called out. "Jon is it….can it be….Jon is it you?" she asked as she ran to him and before he could reply he was caught in an embrace that nearly toppled him and she was sobbing on his shoulder.
"Aye, it's me, Sansa. You're safe, you're safe now." he said and did his best to keep his own tears at bay.
It had been a little over two years since he last saw any of his brothers and sisters. A little over two years since he said his goodbyes to them and headed to what he thought was to be his life serving at the Wall. During that time he had done so much, learned so much, and lost so much. Jon feared he would have lost her too, the only one he knew the whereabouts of, the only one Jon had ever been given a chance to save. Holding her in his arms and then watching as she moved her head from his shoulders and looked him in the eyes, he thanked the Old Gods for giving him this chance and for giving him back some of the family he lost.
Red Keep 300 AC.
Tyrion Lannister.
How did it come to this?
How had they not known?
How had his father been caught so by surprise?
Those should and would have been his thoughts as Gold Cloaks were revealed to be Dornishmen and as Prince Obeyrn's daughters took down their guards as if they were nothing.
Where was his wife?
Was she safe?
Has she been harmed?
Was Shae at risk?
Were he another man, a braver man than he truly was then those perhaps would have been the thoughts that ran through his head, and yet they were not.
That's a dragon!
They're real.
The Targaryens have come to take their vengeance and dole out their justice.
That was where his mind went to and he knew that unless they got out of here. Unless they somehow managed to flee this city, they were fucked. He was too far from his father and brother, from his uncle and nephews, and from his sister. They would not send anyone to stand by his side and so it was only Bronn he could trust to do so. It would cost him, greatly, but could you really put a price on your head? The answer to that was no and he felt very much certain that his head was very much at risk now. They couldn't fight against a dragon, no one could despite what Dorne may think. Even if they could, they could not do so when they had been caught so completely by surprise. In time perhaps they could come up with a plan of attack, had they the time that was. Something that it was clear they did not and as he and Bronn moved through the panicked wedding guests, he wondered if his father had the same thoughts as he.
How do you bring down a dragon for true?
Can it even be done?
Where are the other two?
The last thought was the one he had most clearly of all. Seeing one dragon had made the tales of what Daenerys Targaryen had done even truer than Varys had said they were. Three dragons she managed to hatch and while his father had dismissed both the veracity of the tales and the danger the dragons posed, he had not. He had just not prepared for them and even had he done so, he could not have expected this.
It was a strange thing to find your mind wandering so when in truth you really should be concentrating on finding a way out of your predicament. Tyrion should be thinking of that and only that and yet his mind just didn't work that way, instead, it went to other thoughts, thoughts of dragons, and of what that meant. Even though what it meant for him and for his family was as clear as day. He heard another man fall to Bronn's sword and then he was told to shield himself behind him, something he did without pause.
"Fuck." he heard Bronn say and the next thing he knew he was being grabbed and moved by men who did not do so gently.
"I am…"
"We know who you are, Imp. Our king will wish words with you and your family. We do not, so keep that tongue of yours quiet, lest we decide to pluck it out from your mouth." the Dornishmen said before laughing loudly.
As japes go, it was not a very funny one he felt, or perhaps it was simply that he was on the wrong side of it for him to see the humor in it. While being moved he took note of all that he could and saw the wedding guests or what had been the wedding guests and were simply prisoners or hostages, were all being moved this way and that. They were being separated into groups and he could already see some of the battle lines being drawn.
Lords that were loyal to his house were not being treated well while the Lords of the Reach bristled and yet were being less manhandled than any, other than the Lords that had no true allegiance and the ladies of any of the houses. He was comforted seeing that, Tyrion knowing all too well that if this was his father's coup then none would get off lightly and so the dragons it seemed were better than Tywin Lannister in that regard at least. It did not fill him with any great confidence over his or his family's fates, but it did make him think that Sansa and Shae would at least be treated fairly.
He caught a glimpse of what could only be a Targaryen and it shocked him to see it was not the Princess or perhaps Queen that Daenerys was now that he saw. Instead, it was a man with dark armor and even darker hair and who bore a thin sword in his hand that was either true or a replica of a sword of legend. Behind this man, whoever he was, stood a man he knew all too well and he cursed Joffrey and Cersei for their foolishness. Ser Barristan, it seems had found a dragon to serve and as he tried to figure out who that dragon was, they were moved once more.
"Where am I being taken?" he asked as the guards shuffled him and Bronn along.
"The cells, where the fuck else would we be taking you?" the guard asked while shaking his head at the stupidity he'd found in Tyrion's question.
Much to his relief, it wasn't the black ones that they were taken to and he and Bronn were thrown into the same one. Ahead of him, he saw his father, brother, sister, and both his nephews, along with his uncle and more of his kin being placed in other cells and though he feared for all of their fates, he welcomed seeing that none of them had fallen in the attack. Taking a seat in the cell he looked to Bronn who wore a smile on his face, one that irritated him greatly.
"What the fuck do you have to smile about?" he asked and Bronn laughed.
"Out of the two of us, only one of us is truly fucked." Bronn said and Tyrion shuddered, knowing the truth of his words.
"So you will not be my champion, should I need one?" he asked and Bronn shook his head.
"That last time someone stood as a champion against a Targaryen king he faced fire, and that was without a fucking dragon." Bronn said and he had to admit that he could not argue with the man's logic.
He slept, he actually slept after they fed him, he slept and dreamt of two women neither of whom he ever expected he would get to lay in a bed beside again. Two women whose fate he knew not and who he worried for equally much to his surprise. Sansa Stark had suffered enough and so he hoped that she was being treated well and Shae he hoped would gather all that held value from the manse and run as far from this city as she could. His own fate he was sure was sealed and so he sought comfort in dreams and wishes for theirs.
"Someone's coming." he heard Bronn whisper, taking him from his thoughts as the door opened and Varys stepped inside.
"It was you?" he asked and was surprised by how much hurt there was in his voice.
"I told you long ago I serve the realm, Tyrion. The realm would suffer under your nephew, under your house and while Baratheon was a useless king, he at least left the realm to its own devices. Tywin Lannister, Joffrey, they would not. My king will wish words with you on the morrow, speak up for yourself, my friend. Perhaps you may keep that head of yours after all." Varys said as he stepped back out of the cell.
"My family?" he asked and he saw the shake of Varys head "Your king, who is your king?" he asked and Varys smiled.
"King Aemon Targaryen, The First of his name." Varys said and Tyrion looked at him confusedly "You may have known him under another, Jon Snow is not Eddard Stark's bastard son, Tyrion, he is the trueborn son of Rhaegar and Lyanna Targaryen and he is now finally in his rightful place. Soon your father is to be put in his. I wish you good fortune in the trials that come, truly." Varys said and then he was gone.
Tyrion almost fell back down onto the seat and then he began to laugh as loudly and as truly as he had ever done before.
"What's so funny?" Bronn asked.
"Ned Stark. Ned Fucking Stark played us all." Tyrion said, laughing still.
King's Landing 300 AC
Arianne Nymeros Martell.
She had been nervous all day even though she knew the plans were sound and they would prevail. So much could go wrong and they were so very close to everything they worked so hard for, that she could not help to worry. Oberyn, Ellaria, her cousins all had done their best to reassure her, and yet none of them could remove the doubts from the pit of her stomach. Seeing the Lannisters, the Tyrells, their guards only added to them or did so until she saw Sansa Stark.
When her uncle gave her the nod to go and speak to the girl, she rose to her feet and all her nerves faded away. Why that was she could not quite tell, but she welcomed it and her conversation with the young girl who was now her kin. It annoyed her that she could not just come right out and tell her what was to happen later. Tell her who was coming to end her torment at the hands of the House that had killed her father, mother, and brother. Having to speak around things rather than tell her that she was on her side, was frustrating, but she knew that she had no other choice but to do so. The risk of anyone, even Sansa Stark, revealing their plans was just too great and she hoped the girl would understand later.
Taking her seat back with Ellaria, Oberyn, her cousins, and Daemon, the nerves she had felt were no more. The plans they had were sound, their men were in position, and he would be here soon. She sat wearing a smile on her face as she thought of seeing Aemon again. It had been almost a moon since she had and Arianne found she missed him greatly and hoped that he missed her too. It was a strange feeling for her to have and showed the depths of her feelings for him and that those feelings were only getting stronger.
"You are thinking of him again." Tyene whispered.
"No I am not." she replied almost childishly.
"Yes you are, you only get that look when you think of him." Tyene said pointing at her face and Arianne giggled, knowing that as much as she may deny it, her cousin was right.
"I wish this to be over with and for him to be…."
The roar of the dragon soon stopped any further thoughts, Daemon moving to act her guard while her cousins were gone in the blink of an eye. Her eyes were drawn upward, the sight of Rhaegal as he flew overhead almost as majestic to her as the sight of the man who sat front and center on the dragon's back. She had seen him fly on the dragon many times, had even been taken up for a flight herself, and had looked down on Dorne awestruck. She never thought it looked a more inspiring sight than right now.
Watching the dragon as it unleashed some flames, as it flew overhead and people scattered out of its way as if they were able to outrun it or hide from it, her smile was once again on her face. When she saw it land, she reacted nervously, he was not supposed to do so, Aemon was supposed to stay up on the dragon's back. She longed to run to him, to be with him, and yet she could not. So she waited for it to be over, for the day to be done.
"The city is ours, the Red Keep is ours." Daemon said after what seemed both an age and no time at all.
"For true?" she asked and Daemon nodded. "It's safe?" she said a moment later and he nodded again.
Looking to Ellaria she could see her aunt was still worried and so she reached out her hand and felt it being taken as they walked from where they'd kept out of the way of the fighting. Each step they took only showed them just how true Daemon's words were. Dornishmen held Lannisters and Tyrells prisoner, her cousins moved just ahead of them and she pointed them out to Ellaria seeing her aunt breath relieved, and then she saw him and she couldn't help herself and run to him.
Her arms were around him a moment later, her lips on his just as quickly and she shared her first kiss with her husband in what was far too long to go without one. She had a witty line prepared and despite herself, she couldn't disagree with his response. They then shared an even longer more passionate kiss and she felt his own excitement begin to inflame hers. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Oberyn walking with Sansa Stark and as they broke from their kiss, Aemon did too.
"Go to her, Aemon, we can speak later." Arianne said before kissing him once more and then she watched as a brother and sister, cousins by law but closer kin by choice were reunited and she felt her heart beat that little faster for him.
He had lost so much over the years, not just in terms of his family but even in the memories of that family. The truth of who he was had changed some of the feelings he had for them, or for some of them at least. Seeing him with Sansa, who she knew had not been the sister he was closest to, seemed to be forgotten and while the young girl cried. Aemon too looked just as overwrought by the fact they were together once more, that he had found another piece of the family he had thought lost.
While Aemon had his reunion, she turned to make sure her uncle and cousins were unharmed and found Oberyn and Ellaria in the middle of their own kisses, which was no great surprise. She hoped that she and Aemon felt that way about each other one day, that many years from now they would still feel that way about each other. Each day since they'd been wed, she believed they were getting closer to it. Looking around the grounds where the wedding feast had been held, she was glad to see there was now no one here to stand in their way. Arianne moved to speak to her cousins, aunt, and uncle; then she saw Aemon and his sister move to them.
Later that night.
He refused to stay in the King's or Queen's Chambers until they had removed every piece of furniture out and had them replaced with new ones. Something she couldn't help but agree with him on. She had no wish to share the same bed that Cersei Lannister had fucked her brother in or to lay in a bed that Robert Baratheon or Joffrey Lannister had used for their own. So it was in Myrcella's room that they retired to after they ate and spoke on all that was to come.
The raven arrived that evening from Danaerys with the simple message stating that Dragonstone had been taken and secured. At the dinner, she apologized to Sansa for not being able to speak to her more openly and Aemon had introduced her to his sister as his wife, something the young girl seemed happy about. Aemon had spoken to her of his plans to take Winterfell back and to see the Bolton's pay for what they had done, to see the Frey's brought low for her mother and their brother and Sansa had welcomed it while worrying about it too.
Sansa behaved rather strangely, Arianne found. She listened and brightened when Aemon spoke to her but whenever she spoke to anyone else she was very guarded, barely saying much at all. Of course, all her courtesies were flawless even when the need for such was not needed. Arianne could not describe it but it felt as if Sansa Stark was still in a shell of sorts. but outside of that, she couldn't quite describe how the girl was feeling. Perhaps she still didn't think this was real and was waiting for the morrow to come so that she could see it was not a dream she was having. If so she wished the girl a good night's sleep.
It had been her words and not her husband's which had offered her the true comfort that all Aemon told her would come to pass. Arianne told her that this had been Aemon's plan, the city taken with barely a loss on their parts and that he had basically in one stroke taken the Seven Kingdoms too. True, there would be those they needed to deal with, some who would try and resist, but the Lannisters and Tyrells had done them a great favor by holding such a large wedding. Most of the Lords and Ladies of Westeros were now being held prisoner or hostage by their forces. In time they would kneel to her husband and their men and those who did not would face the anger of a dragon. It was to those words that she and Aemon had taken to their bed, and those she contemplated as she stood in what was to be their room for the night.
"What ails my wife so?" Aemon said, moving from the window.
"Thinking about what else needs to be done and who else needs to be brought to heel." she said and he chuckled as he moved closer to her and then she laughed when he pushed her to the bed.
"Aemon Targaryen." she said playfully as she moved up closer to the bed's headboard.
"Arianne Nymeros Martell." he said, sending a shudder through her with the way he did so. "My queen needs a distraction, perhaps I can offer her one."
Watching him as he undressed, seeing him climb on the bed and begin to move towards her, the look in his eyes as he did so, was distracting all right. No longer did she think of what was to come next, no, that was not exactly true, it was just not what was to come next for the Seven Kingdoms that she was thinking about. Instead, it was what was to come next for its new king and queen, for the man she was starting to feel for and for the life the journey they were about to embark on, together.
A/N: Up next we'll see how we got to this point as we go back to two years earlier and Jon's arrival at the Wall and see his world get turned upside down.