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The Princess stepped out of her chambers once she was ready. She wore her hair in a loose braid that wrapped around her shoulder, with an ivory silk gown that had a small slit in the front that enhanced her bust. The dress had short sleeves, along with small golden embellished stars, such as the ones in her House's sigil. She looked in the mirror one last time before leaving, everything appeared in place.

"Oh…my…" Joffrey trailed off after looking at the Princess, who entered the main chamber shortly after being introduced by her father. He walked up to her, examining her features. Elaine was a Martell in appearance, she had long, wavy black hair, golden olive skin, but also had some exotic features, such as her bright green eyes. "I knew Dorne had the most beautiful women, but you are something special." He smiled, making her feel both flattered and uncomfortable. Elaine noticed a small, redheaded girl behind the King who kept her head down. The girl looked up, which was when Elaine recognized her as Lady Sansa Stark of Winterfell.

His uncle, the imp, Tyrion stood behind Joffrey. He cleared his throat and stepped forward to introduce himself to Elaine, "Princess Elaine, a pleasure to meet you. A shame I hadn't known about you earlier." He sneered, referencing to his betrothed behind him.

Joffrey stepped back, and introduced himself much more pleasantly by kissing her hand, "Princess Elaine, of course, it is great to see you."

She smirked, and bowed for the two men, "Thank you, your grace." She turned to Tyrion and smiled, "A pleasure to meet you, my lord." She'd heard many rumors about the little Lord, especially how he didn't seem to be like any of his other family members. She had a feeling that that was true, as she noticed how annoyed he looked with King Joffrey.

He kissed her hand lightly, "The pleasure is mine, Princess Elaine."

Her father had made his introductions as well, and the King was surprisingly respectful to Prince Doran, contrary to the other rumors she'd heard about him. Elaine noticed again how Lady Sansa only kept her head down, until Joffrey had her introduce herself. The King elbowed Sansa in the side, "Don't be so disrespectful, my lady. Introduce yourself." He almost barked, having some restraint in front of his hosts.

Sansa stepped forward meekly, looking over her shoulder back at Joffrey before bowing before Elaine and Prince Doran. "Hello Prince Doran and Princess Elaine. It is a pleasure to meet you." She maintained eye contact for a second before looking away again. The King noticed and was not pleased with her disrespect, "Sir Meryn, can you have a talk with her about respect?"

As Ser Meryn yanked Lady Sansa, Prince Doran spoke up quickly, "Your grace, she has not offended us. She has been everything but rude," he smiled and continued, "We are honored to have all of you as our guests." Elaine nodded along with her father, feeling sorry for the girl. She had been aware of what she'd been through in the past month, and was hoping that the young lady would be able to get home to Winterfell soon. "Lady Sansa, might I show you around our Great Hall?"

Sansa looked surprised and too terrified to answer, but she responded as she was too scared to see how Joffrey would react, "I would love that, my lady." She managed to stutter. Elaine smiled in return, hoping to show Sansa that she wasn't going to hurt her. She walked over to Sansa and linked her arm in hers, leading the two of them out of the main hall. She turned to see Joffrey shake his head and whisper something to Sir Meryn, before returning to speak with her father.


Down in the gardens, the two girls walked together, taking in the scenery. "Tell me, my lady, why does he treat you so terribly?" Elaine asked, with her arm in Lady Sansa's.

The young girl stopped and appeared frightened, "He-he does not treat me terribly, Princess. He treats me like-like a true queen." She managed to stutter, but did not convince the Princess. Sansa was not a very good liar.

"Hm. I find that hard to believe, my lady. Do you love him?" Elaine expected a similar response but asked anyways.

Sansa gulped before responding as confidently as she could, "Of course, Princess Elaine. He has kept me safe and will make me queen and I will have his children someday." Elaine found it extremely hard to believe and felt sorry for the young girl. She wished there was more that they could do, but doubted she could really get through to the young lady.

"Fair enough, Sansa." Elaine wanted to change the subject, "What do you think of my home so far?"

A smile crept on Sansa's face unexpectedly, the first one Elaine had seen from the lady, "It is beautiful, Elaine. We are very lucky to be here."

Elaine smiled in response, "And we are very lucky to have you here."


Oberyn watched as the two young women walked together with their arms linked in the gardens. He shook his head, still in disbelief. He felt a hand on his shoulder, "My lover, come here, we can go to your chambers..."

He sighed, "Right, of course..."

Oberyn knew of his brother's plans, he helped come up with them as well. But it was different actually having a Baratheon and Lannister in their home. They did not belong here. But he knew it was what had to be done if they ever wanted to destroy the two houses. He turned back to his lover, Ellaria, and followed her to his chambers. It was in everyone's best interest that he kept his distance from the royal guests.