The Golden Rose and the Princess of the Sun
Prologue.
Willas Tyrell read the letter in his hands once again, he put it down and crossed his fingers to think before he picked up the letter again and read it again. He put it down on his desk and rose and walked over to the window of his chambers, even though the movement caused his leg to burn in pain, before walking back to his desk to consider the letter once again.
It was not the contents of the letter that disquieted him in truth, the friendship that he had developed with it's sender could be felt in every single word that was put to the page and the offer that it held was something that Willas himself had considered more than once in the past.
No, it was the reactions of those that he held dear to his heart that caused him to doubt it.
A knock at his door made Willas look up and when he gave permission to enter one of the many pages in service to House Tyrell peaked his head around the door. "My lord, your family is breaking their fast in the small hall and your lady mother would like to know if you will be joining them."
Willas rolled up the parchment and placed it in a drawer before he pushed himself up to his feet and picked up his walking stick, it was probably better to get this out of the way than leave it to fester. "I think I will indeed, thank you George."
It was not a massive distance between his chambers and the small hall in truth but with his bad leg even short distances caused him great pain to walk but he would not let his pain show, his father was already ashamed of his crippled heir and Willas would give him no more reason to complain than he had too.
His family was already sat at the table when he walked in, his father was sat at the head of it with his lady wife on one side and his lady mother on the other, next to his grandmother sat precious Margaery and next to his mother sat bold Loras.
The only one missing was Garlan who always liked to break his fast with his wife in private, Willas found himself wishing his younger brother was here as while he loved Margaery and Loras dearly Garlan always felt more like the one that he could rely on.
"Good morning my love," His lady mother spoke with a gentle smile as Willas walked over to the table and sat himself down, said smile always made Alerie Hightower look younger than her years and showed how lovely she truly was. "Did you sleep well?"
"Well enough mother," Willas said with a smile of his own before helping himself to a bowl of porridge, sweetened with honey and topped with blue berries.
Sadly, this morning eating did not seem to help him and his stomach was unsettled to the point that he could only help himself to a few spoonful's before he had to stop eating.
Thankfully none of his family seemed to notice as Loras and Margaery were talking to one another intently and his grandmother was in the the middle of a long rant which was holding the attention of his mother and father.
It would be better to simply get this out of the way, so he took a breath and gathered his courage and interrupted when there was a rare beat of silence. "I have received a letter from Prince Oberyn."
The reactions were varied, his father and grandmother both looked like they had smelled something awful, his sister and mother both politely waited for him to continue and his brother turned his attention to his food.
They all knew that Willas kept in contact with the Red Viper of Dorne even though he knew that his father and grandmother wished that he did not, but Willas had never bore the man any ill will for what had happened to him, it had just been an accident after all.
"He has invited me to Sunspear for a fortnight, so that I might see how the sand steeds are raised in the Prince of Dorne's own stables, they are apparently noble beasts," Willas cleared his throat and took a sip of apple cider from his goblet. "And I intend to accept, I shall begin packing tonight."
At that point several things happened at once, the first was that his little brother began to chock on his porridge and his mother started to whack him on the back in order to clear his airway, his little sister was staring at him with a heavy frown that did not seem to fit her face and his grandmother looked like a storm cloud in the shape of a woman.
"No," it took Willas a moment to realise that it was his lord father who had spoken, the Lord of Highgarden was in most cases a cheerful man and even when he was not he was not shy about making his displeasure known.
But Willas did not think he had ever heard his father more quiet than when he spoke that one single word. "No?" Willas repeated and then scoffed. "With what device should I deny him? He will take it as a slight."
"Let him, the Dornish bastard crippled you." It was his grandmother who spoke then, her words filled with more poison than any Dornish serpent could ever hope to hold. "If you need an excuse then use that, tell him your leg means you can not endure so long a journey and leave him to chew on that."
"Mother," Lady Alerie began to try and chastise the Lady Olenna but the Queen of Thorns was not about to be hushed.
"Be quiet Alerie, I was not speaking to you. And how many times must I tell you to not call me mother, I do not recall giving birth to you."
"Father please," Willas decide to ignore his mother and grandmother as getting in the middle of it would simply distract from his goal. "Prince Oberyn is my friend, I bear him no ill will and neither should you. What happened was just a terrible accident, that's all and he was very kind to me to have his maester care for me, I might have lost my leg otherwise."
"If a maester with a pinch of wits had been in charge of your care you might not be a cripple at all," his father shook his head and didn't seem to notice that he had shoved a a knife into his son's chest and carved his heart out with just his words. "You have too soft a heart my boy, I do not know why Oberyn Martell had invited you now but I sense some plot in the air and I do not like it, you will remain here and that is the end of it."
He should feel sad in that moment, Willas knew that he should but in that moment there was no sadness in him. Only an old and familiar anger that had been with him for so long a time, and for just as long had been ignored.
Well, no more.
"Does it make you feel better to blame Prince Oberyn?" Willas asked and his father frowned at him heavily and Willas saw the confusion in his eyes. "I'm sure it does, after all if you can blame him then you don't have to face up to the fact that it was your fault."
For the next few heartbeats it was so silent within the small hall that the sound of a pin dropping would be as loud boulder being launched by a catapult smashing into a wall, when someone finally spoke it was his mother who did so. "Loras, Margaery, leave."
Neither of his younger siblings argued but both of them gave him a look of concern as the left, once they had left Lord Mace Tyrell climbed to his feet, his was pink and his moustache was quivering with barely hidden rage. "How dare you!" He was roaring by the last word and it took all Willas had not to flinch, even as his knuckles turned white as his hand clenched tightly around his walking sticking
"Quite easily my lord," Willas spoke, "I was a squire, I was a child and I had no business riding in tourney at that age and certainly not against men twice my age. I was not even your squire, I was great uncle Garth's and he told that I was not ready and you ignored him, you said that you were the Lord of Highgarden and my father and that it was your decision and I so wanted to make you proud so I did not argue."
"It was your fault, and when I could not be the perfect knight you wanted you moved on to Garlan and Loras and I do not doubt that if you had a way to do then you would have already disinherited me and made Garlan your heir." His eyes were stinging and it was a moment of horror for Willas when he realised he was crying, he could not cry, he must not let his father see him cry.
His lord father just started him for a moment, his hands clenched tightly into fists and when he spoke his voice was rough like he had eaten stone. "Do as you wish, pack your cases and be gone from my castle by the morning and pray Prince Doran is hospitable for more than a fortnight, or that I wish to see you again by the time that fortnight is done otherwise you will have no place to go."
And with that his father was gone, his mother was weeping and his lady grandmother was muttering into her goblet about oafs, fools and dornishmen.
Willas turned and left the hall, he had packing to do.
End of Prologue
