dabra: Scorpions don't even work against dragons, it takes a one out of a million shot to bring one down.

Vasdos: The ending is already ready, this is Chapter 92 out of 110, so do expect the story to end soon.

Kary, House: Thanks!


Gerris

For the first time in nearly three hundred years, orange and red banners flew over the walls of Blackhaven. And this time, they were here to stay.

Gerris looked at the castle with a sense of pride. Everything had gone perfectly well, with Ned leading the men into the walls of the city, which was completely unprepared for such an assault.

The small garrison retreated into the inner keep, a towering behemoth of grey stone perched atop a hill overlooking the city and the valley outlining the Adder river, but it was nowhere near enough. If the reports of the city dwellers were true, Blackhaven had been stripped of its men with every new allegiance: Robert, Renly, Joffrey, Tommen…

Only three score men were left, which was nowhere near enough to guard each of the inner keep's gates. There were a few casualties on the Dornish side, but the castle fell.

And now, Gerris looked on into the Adder valley, at the stream of troops heading towards the inner Stormlands, and Summerhall.

Perched between two mountains lined with forests and brush, under a dazzling sun and with Dornish banners flying, one could think they were in Dorne.

Well, according to the Targaryens, we are.

A screech came from the sky, sounding the arrival of dragons.

Gerris, like everyone, looked with marvel at the cream-colored creature of legend flying between the hills and mountains, likely in search of something to eat.

The dragon then disappeared from sight, and routine continued.

Gerris would not stay long in Blackhaven, the armies would march towards Summerhall, since, if Quentyn's scouts were to be believed, Tarly had finally started to march towards them.

We only needed to put order in Blackhaven, and prove that Dorne had no malicious intent. It must be said that the previous occupations of the town by Dorne had been brief, but bloody.

This time, none of that.

Food and medicine were distributed to the people, and soon enough, with a few guards to promote order, everything settled down. It was almost easy, and Quentyn did not hesitate to be extremely harsh with the ones that broke the explicit rules in place.

Blackhaven was Dornish territory, and therefore considered an ally of the Targaryens.

Two men of the Golden Company were gelded and hung in the gallows for having raped the wife of a shopkeeper, who was generously compensated. Five more lost a hand for having stolen goods, and a few Uller men were sent to latrine duty for having gotten into fistfights with locals.

Those examples had the merit of setting things straight. Since the first day, there had been no incidents to report, and Gerris could hope that there wouldn't be any for a while.

And as to cementing Blackhaven as a piece of Dornish territory, well, the ceremony in the courtyard proved just that.

King Aegon and Queen Daenerys were not present, but Quentyn was there, along with Gerris himself, Gulian, Ned and a dozen men-at-arms, as well as Lady Allyria Dayne.

Well, Dayne no longer.

"Lady Starlight, by virtue of the powers conferred upon me by the Iron Throne, I name you Lady of Blackhaven, and Warden of the Adder Valley." Quentyn smiled at the brown-haired woman, who knelt before him. "The keep and its lands are awarded to you and your descendants in perpetuity. Rise, Allyria Starlight, Lady of Blackhaven."

Allyria rose, her brown hair tied in a braid to avoid it flying in front of her face.

"I thank you, my prince," she said while bowing simply.

"Your parents would be proud." Quentyn offered her a simple smile. "I cannot bring them back, but I promised your fa…uncle I would not speak a word of your parentage until you had a keep of your own to rule, and I kept my promise."

"My uncle told you?" Allyria asked, confused.

Gerris raised an eyebrow. What are they talking about?

"Well, Cletus' tales were…descriptive, if I may allow so myself," Quentyn hid a cough, "but brown hair, even dark brown, in a Dayne…that is unheard of. All I needed was to go to Starfall to seek confirmation."

Allyria nodded.

"I hope Blackhaven will suit you," Quentyn finally said, kissing her hand, "and I hope it will wipe many mistakes created by your uncle and my father."

"I loved the Marches," Allyria answered with a smile, "the sigh of the mountains and the sweet smell of flowers, the songs of the birds and the colder air. I asked to be betrothed to Lord Beric in part due to this, and to be able to protect Ned from Gerold. You rid me of him, protected him and gave me a keep, and for that, I thank you."

Quentyn bowed his head, while the Dayne lady took her leave, with Ned following closely behind.

Gerris, for his part, could only be confused.

"What happened?" he asked, once everyone had relatively cleared the courtyard. "What is this family affair I've missed? And why did Elinor not tell me?"

"Elinor knew nothing of Allyria's parentage, only Alyn and Allyria did," Quentyn replied. "Have you noticed the color of Allyria's hair?"

"I did." Gerris nodded. "Dark brown. What does this mean? She's a Qorgyle bastard?"

"Not a Qorgyle one, a Stark." Quentyn gave a knowing smirk. "Eddard Stark's bastard, to be precise."

"Eddard Stark's?" Cletus gasped. "But…with…"

"Ashara Dayne, precisely," Quentyn said with a nod. "You can understand why Lord Alyn was not keen to disclose that information."

Gerris acquiesced.

"Speaking of your wife, how is she?" Quentyn asked.

"As happy as could be." Gerris laughed while remembering Elinor's pale silver hair and her lavender smell as they parted in Sunspear. "She should be returning to High Hermitage soon, if only to see the affairs of her keep. Julian and Dyana will stay at the Gardens in the meantime. I hear my eldest is quite fond of yours…"

"Please!" Quentyn laughed in return. "All Ellaria tells me is how Julian keeps splashing Aliandra and little Qarl Vaith in the pools, he's a little terror!"

Gerris smiled fondly, thinking of his son. "Well, he's my little terror, and hopefully he grows to make a great knight.""I'm sure that with you and Elinor as parents, he will grow up to be a perfect one," Quentyn commented.

"You know…" Gerris spoke with a twinge of sadness in his voice, "I never got to properly thank you for it."

"For what?" Quentyn asked.

"For everything." Gerris' smile grew wider. "If you hadn't gone against your father, you wouldn't have been Prince of Dorne. Your inventions wouldn't be as known as they are today, I would not be such a prized match, and Elinor might never have been mine. But more importantly, Dorne would not have been the same without you."

"And who told me that I should always persevere?" Quentyn replied, looking at him in the eyes, "Who told me that I should never let go? That, in the end, each suffering that the gods inflict on us is to make the rewards even greater? Who supported me throughout these efforts? Who went to fetch me flowers in the middle of the night? Who supported me when I chose Nymeria instead of any other woman? Who helped me rule when I was in far flung corners of the world?"

"Gulian, Arch…" Gerris started, but was immediately interrupted.

"Don't be foolish, Gerris, it was you," Quentyn said with emotion in his voice. "I could not have gone so far without you. And Arch, and Gulian, and Ned, even Cletus, but you are my dearest friend, and I want to thank you."

Gerris didn't know what took him, but he hugged Quentyn tight, trying his best to not let tears flow.

"I'd go to the edge of the world for you," Gerris said, his arms still around Quentyn. "For my dearest friend."

"Stop, you'll make me cry," Quentyn half-choked on his shoulder.

"Let us speak of happier things, then." Gerris broke the hug. "I heard the King named you Master of Coin."

"The Queen did." Quentyn wiped a small tear from his eye. "The King named Ser Jon Connington as Hand, as expected."

"And you accepted?" Gerris asked, surprised. "I thought you wished to not touch anything related to the Iron Throne."

"It's only provisional," Quentyn replied. "The Small Council needs positions to fill, and since it is my gold that is bankrolling everything, I might as well have a say in it. When they'll take the Kingdoms, and we get our share of the Rock, they can as well name someone else, for I'll be going home."

"I understand that." Gerris nodded. "Do not take offense, but I do not like it here. The weather is too dull, even if the sun is shining on this day, and it is too cold. The mountains make me feel cramped, and I long for the warmth of Dorne."

"It makes two of us." Quentyn sighed. "I promise that once this is over, we will go home immediately, and have a feast like no other to celebrate."

"Your wedding, I suspect?"

Quentyn said nothing, but did smile.

"Have you finally found someone?" Gerris asked.

"No." Quentyn shook his head. "But I will marry when I return to Dorne, that much is certain. Whether it is Nymeria or someone else is still unknown."

"Have you considered the Stark girl?" Gerris asked.

Quentyn's answer was once again negative. "Sansa Stark is a sweet girl, but she also longs for home, and deserves to be loved. I can give her neither the North nor love."

"I understand." Gerris shrugged. "But she seemed to like Dorne."

"Liking Dorne, perhaps, but it is not her home." Quentyn sighed. "When this is finally over, I shall give her back to her family."

"As much as she likes her family, it seems to me that her place is more in the South than with them, else I have a very skewed view of Northern women," Gerris risked. "She acts like a Southerner, almost a Dornishwoman. She's grown to our customs, and she's not shy of telling some suitors off."

"We'll see," Quentyn said with a shrug "If she wishes to stay, I shall not oppose it. Perhaps she could marry a Dornish lord? Ned, perhaps? But I still think she would rather leave and meet her family once again."

With that, Quentyn smiled and left.

Gerris raised an eyebrow, and with a sly smile, shouted at him."Where are you going now, my prince?"

Quentyn turned around and pointed at the keep."I have some duties to attend to. Do not wait for me to start dinner, I might be otherwise occupied."

Gerris just nodded.

Whether it was genuinely work, or making love to his paramour, Gerris didn't really care. All he cared about was to finish this war, and go home.

But for now, what he really needed most of all, was a bath and some rest. After all, he had spent the day in the streets of Blackhaven, with Quentyn, visiting the sick, feeding the poor, and going amidst the ranks to maintain morale.

Gerris took a few moments to breathe in some more fresh air, but soon followed in Quentyn's footsteps towards the Keep, heading to his rooms.

Unfortunately, Gerris did not have a room all to himself like Quentyn did, and as soon as he entered, he was greeted by an all too familiar voice.

"Well, hello there, Gerris," the voice announced, "how was your time with our dear prince?"

"Hello there, Cletus." Gerris frowned. "Perhaps you should have come instead of doing nothing in this dark tower."

"Hah!" Cletus rose from his bed and closed the door. "I think not."

"What's gotten to you?" Gerris asked, angered. "For moons now you've sulked and drowned in bitterness."

"Bitterness?" Cletus laughed. "I'm not bitter."

"Of course, you are. A blind man could see that." Gerris frowned.

"I'm merely expressing the sentiment that our 'friend' is no longer such."

Gerris' eyes narrowed. He felt like he knew where the situation was going, but did not raise any concerns, and contented himself with a simple, "Sure."

"You don't agree?" Cletus asked.

"Listen, Cletus, if you wish to turn your back on five-and-ten years of friendship, that is your issue and yours alone, do not drag me into this," Gerris growled.

"Friendship?" Cletus' face was red with rage now. "He spat on that friendship when he jumped into the Snake's bed!"

"Don't you dare, Cletus!" Gerris warned. "We both know you talk of this only because you are jealous."

"Liar!" Cletus shouted, stepping forward.

"Don't call me so," Gerris defended himself. "I've known you since we were babes, Cletus. I know you better than your own mother."

"Then speak, fool!" Cletus almost threw back his head in laughter. "What do I think?"

"You won't care for it anywhom." Gerris shook his head and made for his bed.

"You insult me, then you turn your back on me?" Cletus frowned. "Is that what our friendship means, then?"

"Don't talk to me about friendship!" Gerris snapped. "You clearly proved yourself unworthy of it!"

"We both know Quentyn stopped caring for us the moment he brought us into Sunspear!" Cletus yelled. "We're hostages, not…"

Gerris heard the blow, but did not realize he was the one to have struck Cletus until he saw the Yronwood tumble towards the bed.

Still, he managed to muster the courage to speak, towering above the shocked man."Now, listen carefully, Cletus, because I won't say this have I doubted my friendship with Quentyn, but I am seriously reconsidering yours with mine."

Cletus silently stared up at him.

"For years you've been teasing Quentyn. You knew he was a maiden, yet you continued to talk on and on about your 'conquests'. I knew how uncomfortable he was, but he endured. I went to see him, after your drunken rants, and he said nothing. He thought it was funny, perhaps." Gerris scoffed. "And when we finally managed to have him build up some confidence, to have enough courage to lose his maidenhood, that's when you changed."

"I didn't," Cletus protested. "Quentyn turned our backs on us when he visited Sunspear!"

"Why?" Gerris asked. "Because he finally found someone he was happy with? Why does it matter who that person is? Or were you jealous because that Snake spurned you?"

Cletus made to stand up, but Gerris brought his hands to his shoulders and pushed him down to the bed.

"And why Quentyn specifically? You cared not when I was married to Elinor, why Quentyn? And then it struck me. It was because you're a jealous man. Because you could act superior to Quentyn when it was easy to demean him. But when Quentyn finally had what he wished for: titles, gold, and a woman who loved him, that's when you became jealous."

"I never demeaned him!" Cletus countered. "I have never said a thing to him!"

"Haven't you? I recall that the only person to flaunt his conquests was you. The only one to tell Quentyn that 'one day, he would also experience the pleasure of women,' was also you," Gerris countered. "It was you who made him feel weak, and it was up to me and Arch to pick his broken pieces. Honestly, it is a miracle he has held this long."

"I followed you, to King's Landing and to Volantis!" Cletus once again tried to protest.

"But why so? Was it out of friendship for Quentyn like us, or more because you were waiting for an opportunity to outdo him, like with the Tyrell girl?"

"Don't talk about her!"

Gerris shook his head. "I suspected as much. You thought you loved her."

"She loves me as well, Gerris!"

"Then why are you here, without her? Is she at Yronwood, or at King's Landing?"

Cletus stayed silent.

"Every day that Quentyn showered his paramour with affection, it made you into more and more of a bitter man, Cletus," Gerris spoke with venom now, "you saw what love was and seeing that it was denied to you and offered to Quentyn, you started to hate him."

"I never hated you!"

"Because I'm of lower status than you, you and I both know it. You never had to show your superiority over me. " Gerris chuckled. "And even if you did, Elinor never travelled with me, while you had to endure Nymeria Sand's presence at all times."

"And it doesn't bother you?" Cletus asked through gritted teeth. "That this Snake parades herself around him all the time?"

"Does it bother me that my best friend is in love? That his chosen one returns his affections?" Gerris laughed. "The answer is no, Cletus, I don't care. Not as long as it doesn't keep me from sleeping, and I never had this problem with him."

Gerris looked Cletus dead in the eyes now."You want to be bitter and pathetic? Feel free to do so. But do not blame Quentyn for it, and for the Seven's sake, do not question our entire friendship for it! Or have you forgotten the fruits of it already?"

"I have nothing!"

"Nothing? Cletus, you travelled the world. You've met someone you love, and you've seen more than many could dream of. Your sister is on the Small Council of the fucking Seven Kingdoms. Just because you were stupid enough not to ask that Tyrell girl to leave with you should not mean that you must hate Quentyn for it. Instead, hate the real man responsible, hate yourself."

Gerris shook his head and made to leave.

"Where are you going?" Cletus asked, his voice softer.

"To sleep elsewhere," Gerris answered. "I have had enough of you, and we ride north on the morrow. I do not want to be hindered any further."

"Where will you stay?" he asked.

"Gulian or Ned can make space for me. Quentyn and Nymeria too, mayhaps. Good night, Ser Cletus."

With that, Gerris slammed the door, and felt a massive weight lift from his shoulders.

Wandering the halls, he looked a bit lost, wondering if he hadn't been too harsh on Cletus.

But then again…

He sighed.

There were no good solutions. He just hoped this would awaken Cletus. He longed for his old friend, not the shell of a man he had become.

With a slow pace, he made his way to Ned's rooms.

Lord Dayne was surprised to see him, but let him in nonetheless.

"Ned, can I stay the night with you?" he asked, "I fear Cletus is being a hindrance."

"What has he done this time?" Ned sighed, almost exasperated.

"He's being moody."

Ned looked around at the state of the room, and nodded.

"Aye, you can stay. Just warn me if you snore."

"Thank you, Ned."

"That's what friends are for."