Disclaimer: I disclaim.

Lost and Found

Chapter 2

Daenerys loved the afternoons best. Then, Sunspear went to lazy sleep and she could be left on her own, with no one begging for favours, no one asking questions, no one eager to please her or educate her about Dornish ways. She already knew more than she wanted about them and not even half of what she needed. Her respect for the Queen went up another notch: Myriah had managed to get used to Westeros ways admirably. Better, she had managed to bend them her way. Somewhat. It always amused Daenerys to imagine the nice, kind, proper Daeron and his new bride. He must have been sorely tempted to hide between his masters and septons! Actually, Baelor claimed that his father had done that sometimes, when Baelor was little.

But Daenerys was not Myriah. She didn't know how to make a place for herself here. The fact that she did not wish to be here at all did not help things. So she loved sitting alone at the terrace overlooking the marble courtyard and dream of a future that had not come to pass and a man she had not come to be with. No one interrupted her daydreaming – everybody was too busy hiding from the heat.

This afternoon, though, her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by wild enthused screams. A few children had come to the courtyard, wielding sticks that were meant to represent swords. Daenerys smiled at the sight, taken back to her own childhood when she had been surrounded mostly by boys who had loved doing this same thing and producing the same cries. It was a tournament now, it seemed. These had been exciting and glorious, and she had loved them more than she had liked real tournaments when she grew up. Men died at tournaments. Men died at war.

One of the most fearsome warriors in the courtyard was Alor Sand. Her smile disappeared. The boy behaved as if he belonged here. The worst part was, according to Dornishmen, he did – one of the too many differences between Dorne and Westeros.

Unbeknown to her, Maron had emerged from his private chambers and come near. She startled at the sound of his voice, "Does he make you uncomfortable?"

She looked at him inquiringly. "Alor," he elaborated. "Does his presence here make you feel uncomfortable?"

Daenerys hesitated, completely unprepared for such a question. She didn't know what to say. This was the first time she and her husband were alone together, save for the privacy of her bedchamber where they did not talk much. Should she tell the truth? Or a pleasing diplomatic lie? Would Maron get angry at her honesty? Should she say anything at all?

He seemed to be waiting for an answer. And Daenerys suddenly decided to be sincere. "A little," she said. "Or maybe somewhat more."

Maron looked sad but did not say a thing. Daenerys raised her chin, refusing to be cowed into silence. He had asked. The boy was not to blame, of course, but she could not help but feel uneasy at sight of the living proof of her husband's long affair with another woman. Bastards were not well-liked in Westeros, even the Great Bastards. Especially the Great Bastards.

"Things are different in King's Landing.," she said and gave him a surprised look when he took a seat next to her. 'I am sure I will get accustomed to your ways soon."

"Or not so soon," he said. Daenerys thought she had detected a faint trace of amusement in his voice but she could read nothing in his face. "I've seen how you look at our women. Are we really this shocking?"

He had watched her without her even noticing. Had it been Daemon, she would have felt immediately the heat in his eyes. She would have been alerted to his staring. A new wave of sadness washed over her.

"I am sure it is not so different in King's Landing,' Maron said, having taken her silence for confirmation. "We are just more reluctant to disguise these things. But people are all the same – here, at King's Landing, anywhere. They do have their desires and here, we are more upfront about satisfying them."

"Really? What about Alynna?" The question came out before Daenerys could stop it. She shouldn't have asked. She did not really want to know.

But her husband did not look offended. "No, Alynna was faithful to me," he said calmly. "She pledged her love and loyalty to me and I never had any reason to doubt her sincerity. Just like she never had a reason to doubt me, ever."

Now, Daenerys looked at him wide-eyed, forgetting to be uncomfortable. "You were never unfaithful to her?"

"I loved her," Maron said simply. "We were very young in the beginning and in all our years together she gave me everything I needed. Why should I have been unfaithful to her?"

Because she was your mistress, Daenerys wanted to say. Because men are not faithful to their paramours. Her father hadn't been. It had not stopped him from demanding that his mistresses be faithful to him.

"Listen," he suddenly said. "I know I am not the husband you hoped for. But I will do everything I can to make you happy. If you need something from me, you should just tell me."

"Even if I need Alor to be removed from court?" she asked, once again forgetting to check herself.

His face closed and on his face something that might have been a very brief flash of pain played momentarily. "Anything but that, Daenerys. I cannot give him up."

"Then, you have nothing that I need," she said tiredly. She had gotten her answer. It was the boy who mattered to him more. Not she.

He looked at the children in the yard and then her. "Here in Dorne, we believe differently than the rest of the Seven Kingdoms," he tried to explain. "Bastards are not necessarily a reason for shame. Neither are they inherently vile creatures. They are only children. Children who are born to enough disadvantages already without being hidden away."

Daenerys fanned herself with the fan she had brought from her chambers. Without even knowing it, her husband had struck the right chord with her. She had loved her father but she had disliked his horde of women that he changed whenever he felt like it. Love was never part of it. Even Daemon… He was always ready to bed whichever woman had taken his fancy for the day. And Daenerys had not liked it, despite knowing that it was she who he loved. Besides, she had a soft spot for children, she always had. And it seemed she had come to a place where some children were treated a lot better than they were in King's Landing. Maybe I could live here after all.

She looked at the courtyard. Alor was only five but it was obvious that he had been entrusted to a very competent master-in-arms. The basic movements and swift reactions were already embedded in him. She was not surprised when a few minutes later, he disarmed his opponent, becoming a champion in their tournament. She politely applauded and Alor, beaming with pride, placed a single yellow flower under her terrace. His meaning was obvious – he had just proclaimed her Queen of Love and Beauty. She had long ago noticed his fascination with her silver hair and purple eyes that were virtually nonexistent here.

She smiled at him. And kept smiling even after their group left the court, headed for the port, as long as she could say.

Much later, when Maron Martell thought about the beginning of his marriage, he realized that it had been this day when his bride had really started looking at him.