Oberyn had convinced Reyna to take a long stroll with him in the gardens. To "better get to know one another," he had told her. They were walking arm in arm, just enjoying each others company. Reyna tilted her head back to catch the last few dying rays of the sun and Oberyn was struck slightly stupid by her beauty. Her full lips looked so damn kissable, and the slender arch of her neck begged to be touched. His eyes followed that arch until it ended at her cleavage. Her breasts were not overly impressive, but they were appealing.
"Can I help you with something my prince?" Reyna asked, a knowing smirk gracing her lips. Oberyn chuckled and pressed his betrothed tighter against his side. Reyna opened her eyes and Oberyn though he detected a hint of arousal in her wolf grey eyes.
"Just admiring, my love," he purred. Reyna's pale cheeks turned sunset pink, a color that was growing on Oberyn. As he continued to stare one question kept popping up in his mind. The rational part of his mind screamed not to ask, but his curiosity got the better of him.
"Does your sellsword know?" He asked. Reyna froze in place and snatched her arm away from him. Her eyes grew wide and the pink coloring on her cheeks turned scarlet red.
"What?" She practically snapped. Oberyn instantly regret asking, obviously she was upset and the last thing had had wanted to do was anger her. But he was too deep now to let it go.
"Lord Tyrion's hired man. Have you told him about the marriage?" Oberyn asked, trying to keep his voice even and calm. Reyna's jaw clenched, and Oberyn could practically see the wheels turning in her head, trying to come up with some story.
"Why would Bronn need to know about our marriage?" She spat the word 'marriage' out like it had put a bad taste in her mouth.
"I saw you two," Obery finally confessed. Reyna's eyes widened another fraction of an inch and her hands balled into fists.
"What exactly did you see, Prince Oberyn?" Oberyn recognized the voice that she was using. It was the same voice she used around court. The steady voice that betrayed no emotion and was simultaneously calming and terrifying.
"I saw you two… in the garden," he said with a suggestive raise of his eyebrows. He was trying to diffuse the situation and calm her down, but she only seemed to get angrier.
"Whatever you think you saw, my prince, was absolutely nothing. And it would be best if you never mentioned this to anyone at court," she threatened, her eyes holding a fierce fire that Oberyn had never seen before. Without waiting to hear his answer she turned on her heel and stalked back inside the Red Keep.
"Reyna!" He called after her, but it was no use, she was too angry to listen to anything else he had to say.
"Already fighting with your wife?" A familiar voice asked behind Oberyn. He didn't have to turn to know that voice belonged to none other than Cersei Lannister.
"Ah, but she's not my wife yet," he chuckled as he turned around to face her. The Queen Mother had her hair loose around her shoulder, the golden locks contrasting brightly against the black silk of her dress. She was flanked by four Lannister guards, each of which had their hands resting comfortably on the hilt of their swords.
"The papers are signed, she's as good as yours," Cersei smirked. "May I show you the gardens?"
"Well, I couldn't very well refuse a royal escort," he replied politely.
"No, you couldn't," she smiled sweetly, something that must have been hard for her. They walked in silence for a long time, taking in the serenity of the greenery around them. Cersei was leading them towards the beach, her eyes downcast and her hands clamped together.
"You have several daughters, don't you ?" Cersei asked suddenly. Oberyn regarded her curiously. He was sure that sooner or later this conversation would turn to her own daughter Myrcella.
"Eight," he replied proudly, conjuring up the faces of each of his beautiful daughters.
"Eight?" Cersei asked incredulously. "Eight daughters."
"The fifth is the most difficult. I named her Ellia, after my sister," Oberyn explained, a dull pain shooting through his chest at the thought of his late sister.
"A beautiful name," Cersei mused.
"Yes, but everytime I say it I grow sad," Oberyn admitted. "And after I turn sad, I grow angry."
"Perhaps that's why she's difficult," Cersei joked with a raise of her brows. "Gods love their stupid jokes, don't they?"
"And which joke is that?" Oberyn asked suspiciously. Cersei picked up on this and shot him the smallest of smiles.
"You're a prince of Dorne, a legendary fighter, a brilliant man feared throughout Westeros, but you could not save your sister. I am a Lannister, queen for nineteen years, daughter of the most powerful man alive, but I could not save my son. What good is power if you cannot protect the ones you love?"
"We can avenge them," Oberyn remarked.
"Yes, we can avenge them," Cersei repeated. They reached the steps that led down to the beach and Cersei began to slow. Each step was taken with what appeared extreme caution.
"You really believe Tyrion murdered your son?" Oberyn asked.
"I know he did," she stated strongly.
"My wife would disagree with you," Oberyn countered. Cersei chuckled and came to a stop. Oberyn watched the lioness carefully, still confused by their conversation.
"I expected that much. She and Tyrion were always close as children. She was once engaged to my brother, Jaime, did you know that?" She asked.
"No I did not," Oberyn confessed, surprised at the news. Reyna seemed to have been passed around as a political pawn for years. First to Jaime Lannister, then to Aren Dayne, again to some lord in Robb Stark's court, and now to him.
"She and Tyrion spent a lot of time together. They're best friends, she would never think him guilty of anything, but she does not know my brother as well as I do," Cersei explained.
"We will have a trial and we will learn the truth," Oberyn replied, taking another few steps until he could see the water. Cersei rejoined him, a small sneer on her lips.
"We'll have a trial anyway," she confirmed. Her green eyes fixed onto the water, a new vulnerable look in her eyes.
"I haven't seen my daughter in over a year," the Queen Mother confessed.
"The last time I saw her she was swimming with two of my girls in the water gardens, laughing in the sun." Oberyn sighed happily as he conjured up the memory. Myrcella was the picture image of her mother, with golden hair and green eyes. But she acted nothing like the dangerous lioness. Myrcella was nothing but kindness, not a mean bone in her body.
"I want to believe that. I want to believe she's happy," Cersei smiled.
"You have my word," Oberyn promised. "We do not hurt little girls in Dorne."
"Everywhere in the world they hurt little girls," Cersei scoffed. Oberyn let his dark eyes drift away from the woman, sadness filling in his heart as he realized she was right. He glanced back at Cersei and her face told him that she was tempted to ask him something.
"Would you bring her a gift from me?" She asked a little shyly. "I wasn't there for her name day. I don't know when I'll ever see her again."
"Anything at all," Oberyn promised. Cersei smiled and pointed towards the docks. A beautiful ship with striped sails was harbored across from them. The ship looked vaguely Dornish, but Oberyn knew that it had to have been commissioned here.
"The best ship rites in King's Landing have been working on it for months. Myrcella loves the open water."
Oberyn had never seen this much love in the queen's eyes before. That was the only thing he could admire about her: her love for her children.
"I will have it sailed down to Sunspear for her," he replied. The queen's tears began to brim up with tears, something that Oberyn was surprised to see. She turned her face away and dabbed at her eyes and when she turned back to him she was the stone lioness once more.
"Please tell her, that he mother misses her very much," she ordered. Oberyn nodded his head and watched as she walked back up the stairs. She paused, however, and turned back to face him.
"Do you think Reyna would be a good mother to children who are not her own?" She asked curiously. Oberyn could only assume that she was asking if Reyna would keep an eye on Myrcella.
"Probably not to my own daughters since they are all the same age, but I'm sure she will be extremely kind to her new good sister," Oberyn thought aloud. This seemed to please Cersei because she smiled and turned, continuing her path up the stairs.
Obery turned and took in the sight of the ship once more, thinking over their conversation. Cersei was right, Reyna would never think Tyrion was guilty, but what would he do if he had to pass a guilty verdict? He didn't want to hurt Reyna anymore, but he also wanted to do the right thing. And the right thing in this situation was to speed the trial along quickly so that he and his new wife could go back to Dorne.
He had written to his brother about Reyna's former betrothal to Lord Dayne but had only received some vague answer that told him they would discuss it later. Reyna turned to ice anytime anyone mentioned Aren's name and the fear that flared in her eyes scared even him. He had never seen such intense emotion in anyone before. She had to know that he would take them all back to Dorne and the thought of the move must be killing her. She'd be in a foreign court with no friends and no allies to keep her safe.
Then Oberyn had to deal with this new chasm between them. He never should've mentioned Bronn. He still didn't know Reyna's true feelings for him and feared that he might have ruined whatever good thing was happening between them. She had seemed happy, possibly even excited when she had signed the contract. He wanted to see those emotions in her eyes on their wedding day, not a blank stare and an indifferent attitude. He knew of only one way to fix things. He just hoped that it worked.