Disclaimer: I do not own Game of Thrones or anything related. It belongs to George R.R. Martin, the creator of this wonderful universe and David Benioff and D. B. Weiss who created the show.

Face Claim for Queen Sanira: Caitlin Stasey.


Chapter Seventeen: The Mountain and the Viper.

Walking into the arena, Tyrion took in the gathering of the court that had come to watch his fate be decided; his family were seated and Tyrion couldn't bring himself to look at the smug look on Cersei's face as he walked towards where Oberyn was preparing for battle. His hands still bound in handcuffs in front of him as if he was a dangerous criminal, not the man that had saved them all for being overrun by Stannis' soldiers.

"Looks like very light armour," Tyrion noted taking in the armour that Oberyn was to wear to fight the Mountain in, it was far lighter than he would have liked. The Mountain certainly lived up to his name, a mountain of a man that he was and a favourite henchman of his father's for his ability to deal with problems; mostly it ended with the death of anyone who crossed him.

"I like to move around," Oberyn replied stretching a little as he prepared for his fight, he was eager to get started and had spent many years dreaming about the day that he'd be able to exact his revenge for the death of his sister. Elia had been his better half, the only one that had ever truly understood him and she had been taken from him.

First in marriage to that spoilt prince that had not deserved her, the one that had shamed her in the last days of her life for the Stark girl. Then by those who had sacked King's Landing and had Elia watch her two children die before she too left this world. Oberyn couldn't imagine the fear that she would have felt in those final moments, dying alone on that floor; he would make them pay for what they had done to her.

"You could at least wear a helmet. You shouldn't drink before a fight," Tyrion instructed frowning as he watched Oberyn drink from his goblet, he didn't want to end up dead because his champion had gotten drunk before the fight had even begun. His eyes flickered from Oberyn to the man's paramour, who was at his side with a look of pride upon her face as she prepared to watch him fight his greatest enemy.

"You learn this during your years in the fighting pits? I always drink before a fight," Oberyn replied scoffing at Tyrion's advice, he knew what he was doing and he wasn't going to change his plans now just because Tyrion was concerned about his fighting style.

"It could get you killed. It could get me killed," Tyrion warned him, he didn't want this to be how his story ended; he was an innocent man no matter what his sister believed and his father wanted. He knew that the only one that would miss him was Jaime, his brother who had stuck with him through thick and thin; the one that had treated him not as a pest but as his brother when no one else treated him as family.

"Today is not the day I die," Oberyn replied as the crowds started to cheer and his opponent stepped into the area, his eyes following the man that he knew was responsible for the death of his sister. Ellaria stepped closer to him, her eyes also locked on the man, the monster, that Oberyn was to face today.

"You're going to fight that?" she asked staring at the Mountain, she had certainly not expected this to be the foe that Oberyn would be fighting on this day. She looked away from the Mountain to stare at her beloved, surely he realised that this was a suicide mission; there was no way he could win against a monster like that no matter how good a fighter he was.

"I'm going to kill that," Oberyn corrected her, his eyes offering her a quick glance before returning to focus on the Mountain; he had been waiting years for this moment to come and finally he would have his revenge. He washed his hands and wiped them off as they stood in the shade around the arena.

"He is the biggest man I've ever seen," Ellaria said with a shake of her head, her eyes moving to search Oberyn's face as she tried to comprehend what he was about to do. He had reassured her that all would be well, that their plans were fool proof and there was nothing for her to be concerned about.

"Size does not matter when you are flat on your back," Oberyn stated turning away from the Mountain to inspect his weapon of choice, he nodded to the squire that had been leant to him and he had prepared the weapon himself to ensure it was ready for the fight. The spear was one that he used quite often, he knew how to use it well and he was more than prepared for this moment; he wasn't going to screw up the moment that he had been waiting for.

"In the sight of gods and men, we gather to ascertain the guilt or innocence of this...man Tyrion Lannister. May the Mother grant them mercy. May the Father give them such justice as they deserve. And may the Warrior guide the hand of our champion..." Pycelle announced waffling on as he looked towards the seats where the Lannisters were seated.

Tywin waved his hand in boredom to speed up the process, he leant back in his seat ignoring the mindless chatter from Arlenna next to him. He stared down at the Grand Maester who quickly wrapped up and stepped out of the ring, the horns sounding to start the fight; Oberyn pulled Ellaria to him and pressed a kiss to her lips.

"Don't leave me alone in this world," Ellaria pleaded with him, she didn't know what she would do if something happened to him; their daughters were very young and she could not imagine raising them alone. His older daughters were a force to be reconned with, she was so proud of them even if she wasn't their mother; she looked out for them and she loved every part of them because Oberyn was a part of them.

"Never," Oberyn vowed to her, he gave her one last look before he turned away from the woman that he loved and faced the monster that had taken his sister's life. He tossed his weapon in the air and gave it a twirl as the crowd cheered and the two men started to circle each other, the two of them staring each other down as they prepared to clash with one another.

"Have they told you who I am?" Oberyn asked with his back to the Lannisters, his eyes focused intently on the man that he had spent years preparing to fight and kill. He would not give him a quick death, he would make him suffer for what had happened to his sister; there had been many nights that he had dreamt of the moment that he would be able to avenge his sister and her children.

"Some dead man," the Mountain snarled as he lunged forward clashing with Oberyn and starting the battle, the two men twisting and turning as they fought. Oberyn was rather an impressive fighter to watch, he twisted and turned with ease as he dodged and blocked the strikes from the Mountain's sword.

"I am the brother of Elia Martell. Do you know why I have come all the way to this stinking shit-pile of a city? For you," Oberyn boasted staring at the man that had brought so much pain to his own family. There was no emotion on the monster's face, no care for who Oberyn was and why he had come all this way to see him; it didn't even look like he even remembered who Elia Martell was.

"I'm going to hear you confess before you die. You raped my sister. You murdered her. You killed her children. Say it now and we can make this quick," Oberyn offered cockily, his eyes never leaving the man before him as he blocked any blows that came his way and landed a few of his own. The Mountain roared as he lunged towards Oberyn, his sword quickly blocked by the other man who deflecting each of the hits that the Mountain tried to land against him. It didn't take much for Oberyn to knock the helmet from the Mountain's head, the unimpressed looks from the Lannisters only feeding into Oberyn's confidence.

"Say it. You raped her. You murdered her. You killed her children," Oberyn demanded as the Mountain turned back to face him, charging forward again only to find his blows blocked in ways that he had not seen before. The force of his blade doing nothing to slow down Oberyn as he continued on, who continued to twist and turn; his moves unlike anything the Mountain would have experienced before in battle. He moved like a snake, ducking and dodging, twisting and turning, leaping and blocking; each move showing just how the man had received his name.

"You raped her! You murdered her! You killed her children!" Oberyn continued to rant, his voice growing louder with each phrase; the Mountain catching his swear and throwing him back to the floor. Ellaria looking alarmed as he fell, her eyes wide watching her love who was quick to return to his feet as if the mountain of a man hadn't just thrown him to the floor.

The next set of clashes for the men, were just as evenly matched for a moment before the Mountain cut the spear in two; however, he stills struggled to land a blow against the quick moving Martell Prince. His squire was quick to throw him another spare, there was no slowing any movement from Oberyn.

Their blades crossed several more times, Oberyn moving closer and closer to the Mountain with each clash; there had never been such a show before and the crowd cheered as they watched the combatants move. Oberyn was again thrown to the floor by the Mountain, who stomped his way over to the other man; lifting his sword above his head as he prepared to bring it down upon Oberyn only for him to finally make his move.

He drove his spare into the Mountain's gut, the man seeming to pause for a moment as he stared down at the triumphant face of his competitor who pulled the spear from his gut before moving away from the Mountain who stumbled forward trying to right himself.

"You raped her! You murdered her!" Oberyn shouted, his voice nearly drowned out by the cheers from the crowd as he blocked more attacks from the Mountain; the man nearly slouching forward as he pushed on with the fight. It was there that Oberyn caught the Mountain on the back of the leg, ensuring that the spare dug in to the back of his thigh as he brought the man to his knees by cutting him there.

Cersei pursed her lips watching the scene before her, she ignored the impressed look upon Jaime's face; this was not how she had expected things to play out when she'd chosen the Mountain as her champion. Arlenna was whispering praises about Oberyn, she leant to the side speaking to another lady about the impressive man before her and questioning the rumours about what sort of lover that he was.

"You killed her children!" Oberyn raged as he charged towards the Mountain, his movement causing the man to fall back as Oberyn's spear was embedded in his chest. Blood spitting out of his mouth as he collapsed back onto the arena floor, the spare pointing towards the sky as it was embedded in his chest and he lay there breathing heavily.

"Wait. Are you dying? No, no, no. You can't die yet. You haven't confessed. Say it. Say her name. Elia Martell. You raped her. You killed her children. Elia Martell. Who gave you the order? Who gave you the order?! Say her name! You raped her! You murdered her! You killed her children. Say it. Say her name. Say it!" Oberyn raged pulling the spare from the man's chest. His voice growing louder with each word as he turned to point at Tywin who looked far from impressed with what was happening.

He could only watch as Oberyn continued his speech circling the Mountain as he waited for the dying man to confess to his sins. In his ranting Oberyn looked up to meet the eyes of his love, Ellaria nodding at him with pride; it was then that the Mountain struck, swinging his arm out to trip Oberyn and bring him to the floor.

"Elia Martell. I killed her children. Then I raped her," the Mountain spat grabbing a hold of Oberyn and holding the man above him. His free arm swing forward to punch Oberyn in the face, only to stop as the Martell Prince drove something sharp through the arm that was holding him as well as pressing sharply down on the wound that he'd already given him to the chest and dropping Oberyn to the floor beside him with a screech.

Ellaria screamed as she watched the scene before her, her lover rolling away as quickly as he could to avoid being grabbed again as he quickly righted himself. He breathed heavily for a moment, looking back at the monster that had finally confessed and nearly killed him as he had done his sister. Grabbing his spear, Oberyn got to his feet and made his way over to the fallen behemoth of a man; twisting his spear in his hands before standing at the top of his head.

It was there that he looked up at Tywin Lannister for just a moment before breaking the sharp end of the spear down and cutting through the throat of the Mountain; who was reaching to grab him again. There was a choking noise for a moment, the cheering of the crowd nearly drowning it out as Tywin Lannister got to his feet.

"The gods have made their will known. Tyrion Lannister, in the name of King Tommen of the House Baratheon, First of His Name, you are hereby named an innocent man," Tywin announced to the crowd that continued to cheer and he was forced to look down upon the Martell Prince who had a look of vengeance across his face as he stared back at him.

Ellaria moving forward to congratulate her lover while Tyrion closed his eyes in relief, he could have never imagined when the Mountain had been chosen that this was how it would end; he owed his life to the Martell Prince who had risked it all for him. A look towards the royal box did little to ease Tyrion's mind, he felt a pit in his stomach looking at his father and sister.


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