a guy: Arianne will do her duty for her house, she's not a cartoon villain.
Guest: It might be Tully blood that binds the kingdoms, but it's certainly not Riverrun that controls them. The Riverlands are certainly a junior partner in this alliance. Sure they are quite strong (The Tullys did annihilate the Lannisters during the Dance), but right now they're at their weakest and stuck between two hostile parties. Not the best bet.
ATP: Killing any of these is impossible with Quentyn's resources.
Katakuri: Meereen is still a long way down the road, but Doran has definetly not forgotten this path.
Halfblood: That's just Bloodraven being angry. As for the rest, updates are again, inconsistent due to work and RL.
TMI: More like Doran is weighing his options.
Lord Michael: Arianne knows that ever since Quentyn nearly died her position is doomed.
jiu: Daenerys won't appear in this story for a while.
Arianne
Arianne's face grew tense with each step she took towards the Water Gardens. The escort she was provided with was well-armed, and it was Areo himself that led the guard.
So much for a lonely traitor.
"What does my father wish of me?" she asked for the hundredth time to the Norvoshi guard.
The man stood as silent as ever.
"Answer me, Areo!" she pleaded. "You've known me since I was a little girl. I never wanted Quentyn to be harmed, he's my brother! Please, Areo, tell me what my father means to do!"
"I know not what your father wishes of you, little princess. The prince commands, and Areo obeys." The Norvoshi finally answered, before walling himself back into his silence.
The gates of the Gardens opened, and the group around her scattered, leaving only her, Areo and a few guards to continue the journey through the pools and palm trees.
She dismounted, making sure to look around for anyone lurking behind the trees and bushes. But there was no one. It was only her and her guards.
The pools she had played in during her childhood came and went, and with every passing step, she felt her will crumble a little more. With every alley, she worried that at the end of it would be a stump, ready to accommodate her head, as her father watched jubilantly from his seat.
But corners and alleys continued to unravel, and no such sight appeared.
The small group passed through a gate, and Arianne's heart sank.
Before her eyes laid a long, beautiful pool, with blood orange trees lining up the paths on both sides. She had played in this pool once, when she was younger. It was her favourite as the shade provided by the orange trees stopped most of the sunlight coming through, making the pools cool and lovely to play in.
It was there that she had met most of her friends. The Fowlers, Cassana, Myria, Sylva, Elinor, Taliyah. So many names, and how many were left? None.
At the end of the pool stood a platform overlooking the gardens, which were surrounded with a series of houses, making these gardens completely closed off.
Lost in her thoughts, she did not notice that her guards had left her, with Areo walking towards a small area at the end of the pool, covered by a large cloth. Underneath were four seats, with three already being occupied.
And her heart sunk again.
She walked slowly towards the empty seat, judging the figures before her.
Her uncle Oberyn seemed the happiest to see her, as he smiled when she walked in. He hadn't aged a day from when she was still a girl playing in these pools. Her father, though, was stoic as ever, but did greet her, which was more than she expected.
Her father would always greet her with a charade of some sort, and would never actually bother speaking to her. The prince stood still in his chair, pain still apparent in his eyes, as the gout likely ate him from the inside.
Finally, her eyes settled on her brother Quentyn. He was sitting down, arms crossed, with blood in his eyes. It was the first time that she saw him since he laid covered in blood on the courtyard in Sunspear. The fight with Daemon had left a deep scar in his face, that covered him from cheek to hairline, luckily avoiding his eye.
I did this?
She asked herself. She never wanted this. She never thought that this would happen. Blinded by hate, ambition and love, she had stepped too far, and she knew it. Her brother had come close to death, and her family would never forgive her for it.
"Father." She greeted them, trying to conceal the worry inside her. "Uncle. Brother."
No one answered.
Sighing, she took the chair and sat down.
"I did not give you leave to sit." Her father pointed out.
Arianne just frowned.
"Then punish me for it. Have Areo come here and whip me in front of your kin."
Her father stayed silent. Annoyed, she turned to Quentyn.
"Listen, brother, I never meant to…"
"Have me killed?" Quentyn spat out as he kept his arm crossed.
"No." She shook her head. "I never meant for Daemon to do this. I never wanted him to try and kill you…I just…"
She stood silent for a few moments.
"What did you intend, then?" Oberyn asked.
"I wanted Daemon to humiliate him." Arianne said, taking her eyes off of Quentyn's scar for a moment. "I wanted Quentyn to be beat down in the sand, I admit!"
She cried out these last words to her father's face.
"I wanted Quentyn to be completely humiliated lest all of Dorne turn against me. I asked it of Daemon, he had no part in this. Please, father, spare him."
"As it turns out." Her father spoke. "What comes of Ser Daemon is your brother's decision. It was his life that was put in danger thanks to your recklessness, and it is he who decided his fate."
Arianne's eyes went wide.
No, no, no, no. Please…
She turned to Quentyn, who sat emotionless in his seat. As she turned to him, eyes pleading, her brother read her question before she could utter a word.
He just shook his head.
"Quentyn has decided to spare Ser Daemon." Her father continued. "I ought to have his head, but this will not come to pass. I suggested the Night's Watch, but your brother thought that punishment was also too cruel. Instead, Ser Daemon will be sent to Norvos to serve your mother for ten years, and then be allowed to do whatever he wishes. This does not include coming back to Dorne."
Arianne nodded gravely. A life in exile was better than death.
"What do you wish of me, then? To die, and have Quentyn take my birthright like you always wanted? At least tell it to my face, for once."
"I never intended to rob you of your rights." Her father answered quickly.
"What about that letter sent to Lord Yronwood?"
"How did you know?"
"It matters little."
"Yes." Her father nodded. "I did intend for Quentyn to succeed me as ruler of Dorne. I promised him, and he has come back for that purpose. You, on the other hand, I had plans for you."
"Such wonderful plans." She laughed. "Gyles Rosby, Beesbury, Grandison, Walder Frey, Estermont…"
"Can we stop beating around the bush?" Quentyn finally lost patience. "Just tell her."
"Listen, Arianne." Oberyn spoke for the first time. "Your father offered you these matches because he and I knew you would reject all of them. We needed to make it seem like we were at least trying to find suitable matches."
"Terrible plan." Quentyn whispered behind her.
"You were promised to another." Oberyn replied. "To Viserys Targaryen."
"What?" she looked confused. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I wanted to, but your father thought it would be too risky." Oberyn replied.
"Why?"
"Because he thought you'd share that information with one of your lovers, who'd pass it on to someone else." Quentyn sighed. "I know, it's a really stupid excuse."
"And what of Viserys now?" she asked.
"He's gone." Oberyn replied. "Gone to the Dothraki Sea on a mad quest to bring himself an army to get to the Seven Kingdoms. The boy inherited his father's madness, and your father and I agreed that such a match wouldn't be suitable anymore."
"This betrothal should have secured our vengeance and our blood on the Iron Throne." Her father continued. "This isn't possible anymore."
"So, am I to have Dorne then?" her eyes lit up once more.
Oberyn shook his head.
"Even if you didn't mean it, all of Dorne thinks that you ordered Daemon to kill Quentyn." Oberyn replied. "You have overstepped your boundaries, niece, and Dorne can never be yours, lest we tear the kingdom apart in a bloody war."
Her eyes watered. Her birthright. Everything she had fought for…gone, because her family could not trust her with a secret.
"Quentyn will inherit Dorne. Trystane will be next in line." Her father said, sternly. "If anything should happen to them, the mantle of Prince will pass onto Oberyn, then Ser Manfrey. Do I make myself clear?"
"Very." Arianne replied, with tears in her eyes. "And what is to become of me?"
"We will find a husband befitting of your station as princess of Dorne. You have done our family name great harm, Arianne. You can see it as a way to repay that."
"This answers nothing." She continued. "Who am I going to marry, then?"
"We have not decided." Oberyn replied. "It is still in our interest to get vengeance upon the Lannisters, and to do this we will need allies. Powerful allies. There are only two suitable candidates for your hand."
"These are Willas Tyrell and Robb Stark." Her father cut in. "One can bring us the breadbasket of the Reach, and the other is the key to three kingdoms."
Tyrell or Stark…
Arianne nodded, sombrely.
"When will I know who is to be my husband?" she asked, her voice fading away.
"In due time." Doran replied. "We have to clear the mess you made in Dorne first, lest you be spurned by every lord in the kingdoms. Until then, I will see you get a proper education. It seemed that I have failed you in this regard. You will stay here with me in the Water Gardens, and I shall oversee that you are properly taught and ready to do your duty for our house."
"Very well." She answered, tears flowing down her cheeks. "May I leave?"
Her father nodded, as both Oberyn and Quentyn launched pitiful glances at her.
She walked towards the small houses on the edges of the gardens, not looking back. She waddled for a few moments in the staircase leading up to the floors above, finding her old room overlooking the gardens.
The door creaked open, and she collapsed on the bed, crying.
She didn't know how long she sat on the bed, looking at the dull ceiling, until she heard a knock at the door.
"I do not wish to talk to anyone." She quickly cried out.
The door creaked open anyways, as she grit her teeth and prepared to kick the intruder out.
"I disagree." The figure entering the room said. "I think you need to unleash everything weighing on your heart right now."
"Brother." She hissed. "What is with you and intruding my privacy?"
"I think you needed someone to talk to in a time like this."
"After I nearly had you killed?"
Quentyn touched his scar and sat down on the chair in front of her.
"I don't think you are a kinslayer. Mayhaps I'm the biggest idiot here, but although you bear some of the responsibility of what happened, you did not order me killed." He sighed. "You did order me harmed, though, and you did try to have my friend killed."
"Your friend?"
"Come on, sister." Quentyn looked at her dead in the eyes. "Don't take me for an idiot. You tried to poison Gerris."
"The Drinkwater one?" she asked, confused. "Aye, I wanted him incapacitated for the fight against you, so that you may fight Daemon after. But I never tried to have him killed."
"You didn't?"
"Of course not! I just had some Sandstone bite poured into his wine so that he feels wobbly during the fight and that is it."
"There was a decent quantity of Viper's fangs in that wine, Ari."
"What?" she jolted. "I never would have risked something like this! Two glasses could kill a man!"
"You didn't?"
"I swear it on my life, brother, I didn't order Viper's fangs poured into your friend's drink."
Quentyn looked confused for a moment, before changing subjects entirely.
"How are you dealing with the news?"
"As well as you can expect." She hissed. "Have you come here to taunt me?"
"No." He shook his head. "I am your brother after all, and I worried for your well-being."
"You worry for me?" she laughed.
"I do." He answered. "I know you wished to rule Dorne more than anything else, and all of this news cannot have been good for you."
"Promised." She chuckled. "My own father refused to tell me I was to be betrothed to a dragon. Tell me, Quentyn, did you know?"
"Yes."
"How long?"
"Two years?"
"TWO YEARS?" she cried out and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. "And you told me NOTHING?"
"Please let go."
"Not until you tell me why you didn't say a word." She hissed. "Why did father trust YOU with a secret he never trusted me with?"
"First of all, I found out myself. Father did not say a word to me." He pointed out. "And during our first meeting you decided to laugh at me for being a maid and scoffed at everything I said. That wasn't exactly what I was expecting my sister to be like during our first meeting in two-and-ten years."
She let him go.
"And besides, by the time I learned of the betrothal, I also learned that the boy was as mad as his father. I considered this betrothal null and void." Quentyn continued. "But let us assume that I had told you. Would you have believed me? Or would you have thought that I was concocting a plot to destabilize you and turn you away from your birthright? Worse, would you have told every single soul in Sunspear? I had everything to lose by telling you then. I had no reason to trust you, Ari."
"You didn't think I could keep the secret?"
"I didn't think you'd believe me, first of all. I can't even talk about trust." He continued. "I think father and uncle Oberyn made a severe mistake not telling you or trusting you with this secret when you came of age. That does not mean I could trust you with that same secret considering you were calling me traitor."
Arianne's anger dropped once again.
"Why the act, then?" she asked. "Why do you carry the frog along? And you are no maid, why not tell me this?"
Quentyn shrugged.
"Because I didn't see reason to tell you. What goes on in my bed is no concern of yours, just like I do not care much for what happens in yours." He answered bluntly. "And as for Achilles, he does have a name, he is…useful. Rhoynish tree frogs have certain abilities that little men suspect them of having."
"He's a token, then?"
"I'd say a charm."
Arianne didn't want to probe any further. She didn't care much about what Quentyn's frog was up to, and there were more serious issues she needed to discuss.
"Can you be honest with me, brother?" she asked.
Quentyn nodded.
"What do you think of father's betrothals for me?"
Quentyn took a minute to think.
"If I am to be completely honest, nothing much." He finally answered. "A marriage tying us to the Reach would make sense. The Reach is the most populous kingdom, can field the most men, and is a breadbasket. It would be our best bet to get our revenge against the Lannisters.
However, the Tyrells are ambitious. Perhaps a bit too much. Mace Tyrell is unrelenting at seeing his family end up on top of the kingdoms' hierarchy, and I doubt he'd stop at a lion sigil to get what he wants."
"And the Stark boy?" she asked. "I've heard that you have interests in the North."
"I have interests in their timber, but I know little more than what is already known to everyone. In any case, I think that this betrothal would be even worse." Quentyn sighed. "Father thinks that the North can give us three kingdoms. One is a frozen waste, one is a mountainous waste, and the last is one that is walked over by everyone. I fail to see how an alliance with the North can give us any real benefits, especially considering how close Stark and the Usurper are. This may change in the future, but this alliance could bring us more harm than good."
"This alliance has toppled a kingdom before."
"True enough." Quentyn replied. "But they had the might of the Stormlands, while the Westerlands did not raise their banners, and the Reach sent the majority of their forces to a siege, waiting to see what happened at the Trident. Should they face the Crownlands, the Westerlands, and the Reach again, would they win?"
"You don't agree with any of father's proposals, then?"
"I just fail to see how they will help us gain vengeance, that is all. Besides, I don't think you would like staying in Winterfell for most of your life." Quentyn sighed. "Otherwise, the marriage pact with the Reach could bring us a wide range of benefits and stop our dependency on the Free Cities' products, as well as confirm the ties we've had with them since the Rebellion."
Arianne nodded and smiled.
The irony of it all.
Long ago, she was stopped from getting to see Willas Tyrell. Now, she might end up betrothed to him anyways.
Her uncle Oberyn only had kind words for him, and she was inclined to believe it. As for Robb Stark...he was the great unknown. But men had bent to her will before, and she could do it again.
"And you?" she finally asked. "Has father given you anything?"
"I am to replace uncle Oberyn at Sunspear." Quentyn replied. "Otherwise, I have not been graced with any betrothals."
He said that last part with worry in his voice.
"Good." She nodded. "Freedom is good. Just…be careful."
"Of what?"
"Nym. Be careful that she…"
"She takes moon tea, I make sure of it." He quickly replied. "She isn't willing to give up her own freedom like this, either."
Arianne nodded, and looked at her brother, the scar ripping across his face a constant reminder of her stupidest mistake. She felt like crying, but composed herself.
"Tell me, Quentyn, do you hate me?" she asked.
"No." He replied, holding her hands as he sat down next to her. "I am your brother; I could never hate you."
Arianne nearly broke down in tears as she moved to hug him, making him jolt in surprise.
"I'm so sorry, Quentyn." She said, hugging him as tightly as she could. "I didn't think…"
"Calm down, Ari." He whispered, moving to hug her back. "It's all right. We can both do Dorne justice."
"Let's make Dorne proud of us, then, brother." She smiled. "We shall have our vengeance. For Elia."
"For Elia." Quentyn whispered as they continued the embrace for a little while longer.
She would not fail Dorne again, even if it meant living the rest of her life in the frozen North, or listening to honeyed words in Highgarden.
She would not fail again.