Reyna was having a particularly pleasant day. She had been awoken to Bronn's strong hands on her body, had a very nice breakfast with her father and grandmother, had a productive meeting with the royal wedding planner, and now she was lunching with her younger siblings. All three Tyrell children were wearing black, but none of them were mourning. They were cracking jokes, laughing, and thoroughly enjoying each others company. Reyna knew after she was married she wouldn't have much time to spend with her family. Knowing Oberyn, he would leave for Dorne soon after Tyrion's trial, small council seat or not.
"Are you excited sister?" Loras asked as they finished the last of their lemon cakes. Reyna wiped her mouth clean of crumbs and shot her brother a pointed look. Marriage was something neither she nor her brother had ever considered. Margaery had been planning her wedding since she was three. Reyna knew eventually she would have to marry, but she had hoped it would have been her choice. Oberyn had been chosen for her by Tywin Lannister, probably to punish him for something.
"I'm not excited to be living in Dorne again. I'm pretty terrified," Reyna explained. Loras' hand went to his sister's knee, and he gave it a tight, reassuring squeeze.
"Have you told Oberyn? He could do something about it," Margaery suggested. Reyna's heart dropped at the idea. No one could know what had happened while she had been in Dorne. The thoughts still haunted her and gave her nightmares.
"No one can know. Only we three, grandmother, and Prince Doran know, and that's how I'd like it to stay. Not even Tyrion and Bronn know. Oberyn doesn't expect me to be a maiden on our wedding day and he doesn't care. Anything that has happened before is none of his concern," Reyna explained vigorously.
"But the Martell's are the liege lords of the Dayne's. If something happened between you and one of his bannermen, I'm sure he'd want to know," Loras commented, frowning at the terrified look on his sisters face.
"No one else is to know," Reyna snapped, effectively putting a stop to the conversation. All three Tyrell siblings sat in silence until a royal page arrived and asked for Reyna.
"Lord Tywin and your father have requested your presence in the small council meeting," the page repeated to them. Margaery and Loras shot their older sister confused looks, and Reyna merely shrugged her shoulders before following the page.
He led her to the small council chamber, a room Reyna had never been in before and left as soon as she entered. The only person in the room was her father, Mace Tyrell. He opened his arms up to his eldest daughter, and Reyna happily hugged him.
"What is this about father? And where is grandmother?" Reyna asked as Lord Varys entered the room. Reyna shot the eunuch a polite smile which he returned before taking a seat near the end of the table. Grandmaester Pycelle and Queen Cersei quickly followed him. Reyna bowed deeply to Cersei, but the woman merely breezed past her without another look.
"We are here to sign your marriage contract. And my mother is with the wedding planner. We only have a few days left," her father whispered back excitedly. Reyna tilted her head and took a deep breath. That meant that Oberyn would be at this meeting. She hadn't seen him since the brief meeting in the brothel and that had been almost three days ago. That day she had seen a brief glimpse of what her wedding night would be like. Oberyn had been shirtless and wearing extremely thin and slightly see-through pants.
His chest was toned and taut, and his arms were muscular from fighting. A very fine patch of black hair trailed from his belly button down past the band of his pants. While she hadn't meant to look, Reyna had caught a quick glimpse of the outline of his manhood. It was thick with a considerable length that had Reyna trembling just at the thought of it. She had felt his hands on her body before and knew that he was capable of giving immense pleasure and dealing excruciating pain.
She also had his promise that he made to her the night they all supped together. He was going to take his time and worship her body. The thoughts sent electric currents straight to her core.
Reyna was pulled out of her thoughts as Oberyn Martell himself strolled into the room. He paused mid-step at the sight of her and a slow smirk spread across his lips. A blush crept up the back of her neck, but she managed to push the feeling away and give the prince a polite curtsy. His eyes didn't leave her as he took a seat across from her father and they still didn't leave her when he began to drum his fingers on the table.
"These meetings aren't always going to be so early, are they?" He seemed to be asking her directly. Cersei scoffed, but still, his eyes remained on Reyna. Reyna was tempted to take the seat at the end of the table but was unsure if anyone else would be joining them, so she opted to just stand patiently behind her father.
"I was up late last night," he purred and raised his eyebrows suggestively. Reyna pursed her lips playfully and turned to look out the window. The small council chamber had an excellent view of the ocean, something that Reyna would surely miss if she went to Dorne.
"So, does this mean I am a master of something now?" Oberyn announced to the room. "Coins? Ships…?"
"Lord Tywin and I already determined that I should be Master of Ships," Mace Tyrell explained a little possessively. Reyna laid a comforting hand on her father's shoulder and then removed it once Lord Tywin strode into the room. Reyna sank into a low curtsy, surprised to find that Tywin stopped directly in front of her. He extended a hand and raised Reyna from her bent position. Everyone else had stood at the Hand's entrance, everyone except Oberyn.
"How are you this afternoon, Lady Reyna?" Lord Tywin asked. Reyna was shocked. Tywin Lannister had barely said two words to her before, and now he was asking after her.
"I am well my Lord Hand, and yourself?" Reyna asked politely. Tywin let a small smirk graced his lips and dipped his head to her. He motioned for her to sit at the foot of the table, between her father and Oberyn, and proceeded to take his place at the head.
"Lord Tywin it is a great honor to have been granted a seat on this council…," Mace started to explain but was cut off by the old lion.
"We are here to witness the signing of the marriage contract between Prince Oberyn Martell and the Lady Reyna Tyrell. The wedding is in four days, so this needs to be done quickly," Tywin announced.
"Do you need me here for this?" Cersei sighed a little dramatically. Reyna cut her eyes to the Queen Mother and couldn't help but send her a little glare. Oberyn must have caught this because he let out a low chuckle and tapped his finger on the table.
"Dorne is being brought back into the fold by this marriage. It is imperative," Tywin snapped, glaring at his daughter. Reyna decided then and there that she would never want to the on the receiving end of that look.
"Are you excited Lady Reyna? To finally be married?" Lord Varys asked. Suddenly everyone's eyes were upon her and Reyna felt like her face was on fire.
"Especially to a man so high above you," Cersei said with a poisoned smile. Reyna tried not to let the jab affect her, but she still felt the sting of it.
"I am extremely happy about this marriage and feel extremely fortunate to have such a fine man to marry," she smiled, turning her eyes to Oberyn. He had a kind and warm look in his eyes, something that Reyna could only describe it as a the look two good friends gave each other.
"I am excited as well, Lady Reyna is a gorgeous woman," Oberyn purred, the warm look in his eyes exploding into lust. Reyna lowered her head, and the remembered what he had told her about hiding her face. She lifted it once again and saw a satisfied smile reach the prince's lips. Someone cleared their throats, probably the Grandmaester, and the two betrothed looked away from each other.
"What other benefits will be received from this marriage?" Oberyn asked, turning to Tywin. Something brushed against Reyna's knee, and she realized that it was Oberyn's other hand. His touch sent a shock through her, and she found that she didn't feel the need to pull away. She allowed herself to indulge in his little touches, getting warmer to the idea of marrying the Dornish prince.
"Lady Reyna will now obviously become a Princess of Dorne, you will both receive lands in both Highgarden and Dorne, and you will get a castle of your choosing," Tywin explained. Reyna surprised herself by speaking up.
"We need no castle, my lord. We already will have the two most beautiful castles at our disposal, Highgarden, and Sunspear, we will require nothing else," she announced. Oberyn's hand tightened on Reyna's knee. She had a feeling that the touch was out of pride, not to shut her up. Tywin nodded his consent at her and motioned for another page to retrieve the documents. Reyna once again turned her eyes to her future husband and found him gazing at her curiously. She offered him a small smile, and he gave her knee one more tight squeeze.
The page brought out the long scroll of parchment and laid it out before Oberyn and Reyna, along with an inkwell and two quills. Oberyn unrolled the scroll and let his eyes quickly scan the agreement. He dipped his quill in ink and signed his name with an elegant script that Reyna had not expected from him. Oberyn slid the paper towards her and Reyna quickly skimmed the agreement. It stated all of the things that Lord Tywin had summarized and then some.
Reyna would claim no parental rights over any of Oberyn's bastards and would place her children above his. That didn't bother Reyna so much. Most of his daughters were either her own age or much older. She would like to befriend them but would have felt silly trying to be a mother to them, mainly when Ellaria, the mother to most of Oberyn's bastards, was still alive. It also detailed that if Oberyn were to die in any way that she would get a large widow's fund, the same thing applying to Oberyn if Reyna were to die.
The final thing that the contract stated was that by marrying her, Oberyn must never act in open rebellion against the king, seeing as his wife was soon to be related to the king by Tommen and Margaery's marriage, something surprised Reyna seeing Margaery was still technically in mourning. That one smelled of their grandmothers meddling.
Reyna picked up her quick and dipped it in ink, making sure that it didn't drip onto the paper. The needle-thin tip hovered over the article, and for a moment Reyna hesitated. She looked up at every member of the small council, looking at Lord Tywin the longest.
As usual, his expression was unreadable, but for a moment his eyes hardened as he picked up on her apprehension. He crossed his arms and motioned with his eyes for her to sign. Reyna's hand shook, and for a moment she felt that she was making a horrible mistake. Her stomach dropped, and the back of her neck became itchy and hot.
Oberyn's hand on her own finally made her turn away from Tywin. He gripped her hand reassuringly and leaned forward, his soft lips brushing against her ear. He pressed the sweetest of kisses against her skin and looked at her in a way that made her stomach drop, this time a delicious thrill associated with the sensation.
She nodded her head to him and wrote her name in her signature loopy script. Oberyn's smile lit up his face, and he lifted his soon to be wife out of her chair. Reyna gasped as he hugged her to his chest and the other council members clapped. He pulled away, and they looked deep into each other's eyes.
For a moment the world melted and all Reyna could see and hear was Oberyn. His uneven breath swept across her face and Reyna melted into him. What would have inevitably been their first kiss was interrupted by Mace Tyrell's joyous laugh and the fact that he clapped Oberyn hard on the shoulder.
"Congratulations," her father chuckled as he forced Oberyn to shake his hand. Oberyn nodded to the older man, his eyes sliding back to Reyna. She suddenly felt an excitement she hadn't felt in months. Life with Oberyn would be hard, but she had a feeling that it would never be boring. She deserved a little happiness after everything she'd been through. Her husband would protect her, and as long as they were together, she would never again feel alone.