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

Face Claim for Amara Cantrell is Sibylla Deen.

Chapter Thirty: Return to Fairmarsh.

"Is the lady awake?" Aye asked approaching the chambers, it was early in the morning and there was so much to be done; the days since Ammett's death had rocked the entire household and yet it was him that was forced to deal with the fallout. The maid that he was speaking with shook her head, it was still early and she had just delivered Lady Laerra's breakfast although the room had been shrouded in darkness.

Aye sighed with a shake of his head before pushing his way into the chambers, there was so much to be done and so little time to do it; he frowned seeing the state of the chambers that Laerra had claimed as her own. They had once been Lady Tuya's, the place where she had played joyfully with her children and a place that had held such happy memories and laughter for House Cantrell was now shrouded in darkness.

Even when she had died in 280AC, the rooms had been kept just how Tuya had left them at Azra's insistence and it was like the lady had never left them. Now they looked a far cry from the times of Tuya and Azra, the rooms were all but destroyed and trashed as Laerra sat on the far side of the room with her son held firmly in her arms.

"My Lady?" Aye called to her softly, he didn't wish to upset or scare her but it had been two weeks since Ammett's funeral and there were things that needed to be dealt with. He stepped carefully over the broken vases, his eyes taking in the carnage that Laerra had unleashed on priceless heirlooms; he tutted as he stopped at a vase that he recognised that had been created for the celebrations for the marriage of Azulon and Tiye.

"I am sorry to disturb you but there are things that need to be done, accounts that need to be handled and meetings with the household staff that have to be dealt with," Aye stated when he was close enough, he stared at the pitiful form on Laerra who looked like she had not slept in days. Laerra gave no inclination that she had heard a word from Aye, she stared down at her sleeping child and rocked him back and forth in her arms. The sight of Ammett choked on his last breathes would forever haunt her, she could not unsee the sight of him dying and she could not believe that she had trusted his murderer for even a second.

"My Lady?" Aye said a little louder, he edged closer to Laerra trying to gather her attention away from her baby; they had allowed her to wallow for long enough.

"Nahkt can handle it," Laerra dismissed refusing to meet with Aye, she stared down at Anthorn as if he was the only thing that mattered to her; she could not let any harm come to him, she had to keep her only child safe from harm. They had not left her chamber since the day that Ammett had died, the two of them had been hidden away since then; not even seeing the sun rise or set above their home.

"Princess Amara arrives today, it would not do for you not to greet her," Aye reminded her, it had not been an easy letter to write but Aye had done what he could to break the news of Ammett's death to Amara. Aye had asked her to return to Fairmarsh, pleading with her since it was clear that Laerra wasn't coping and they needed some clear leadership at this time when the people had no one to turn to right now. Laerra's head snapped up, her face enraged as she quickly got to her feet unable to believe that Amara was coming back to Fairmarsh and she would not welcome her back.

"No, she is not welcome here. This is all her doing, if she had done her duty as wife to Prince Oberyn then my husband would still be alive," Laerra spat her voice raising with each word that she spoke, her raised voice disturbing Anthorn who wailed at his mother's shouting. Aye stared at her, his eyes wide as he took a step back from Laerra who quickly moved to sooth her son; a frown set upon his face as he left the chambers knowing that he had work to be done.

Amara was returning to Fairmarsh and the situation would be dealt with, they needed strong leadership and Laerra clearly wasn't up to the task especially when she could barely care for herself. No, Aye knew what needed to be done and Fairmarsh needed strong leadership in the aftermath of Ammett dying; they could not appear to be weak especially with Amara now married into House Martell.

"I do not believe I have ever been to Fairmarsh," Oberyn admitted as they rode towards the place that Amara had once called home, he had travelled to many places in his life and yet he could not ever recall coming to Fairmarsh. He knew very little about Amara's home and he blamed his lack of knowledge on himself, perhaps if he had known more about his wife then they would have been able to prevent what had happened to her brother. A part of him did not wish to believe for a second that his daughter had done this, but her past actions only created more doubts especially considering what she had done to Amara in the name of her own mother.

"I doubt that you ever would. We are not a grand house nor one of the better places to visit," Amara replied with a smile, the white stallion under her moving at a steady pace as they made their way towards Fairmarsh. The lands of Fairmarsh had suffered with the slow decline of the House of Cantrell, the city itself was no longer as grand as it once had been and there was little hope for them before Amara's marriage to Oberyn.

"And yet I should have," Oberyn noted knowing that it was somewhere that should have been on his radar especially in recent times now that he was married to Amara. It was hard to believe that they had been married for several months now, it had not been a difficult time for the two of them but they were determined to make their marriage work; working together rather than against one another.

"You would have been bored," Amara teased him, she could not think of a single thing that would have enticed Oberyn Martell to her home; not even the fact that they were married. Only the death of her brother brought them here today, she would have never seen the walls of Fairmarsh again nor would Ammett have welcomed her home under any circumstances.

"I am sure I would have found some way to entertain myself," Oberyn purred, he had been most pleased with how things had been working between them as of late and he would not trade the progress that they had made for anything. It had never been something that he had wanted, he had seen both of his siblings marriages fail and he had been contended with his paramours and lovers but there was something about Amara that he could not shake since she had come into his life. Amara laughed and shook her head, just as Fairmarsh started to come in to view before them.

The city was just how Amara remembered it, it looked exactly as she remembered it from the day that she had left to marry Oberyn; her life had changed in that moment and Amara couldn't believe that this was happening. Despite everything that had happened between them, Amara would never have wished this on him and she hated that they couldn't have amended their relationship before she had left.

Ammett had always been suspicious of Amara, their father having never made it a secret that he would have preferred that she was his heir rather than Ammett. Fairmarsh was one of the few places in Dorne that held male-preference cognatic primogeniture over their succession which was more inline with the North of Westeros than the Dornish view on succession.

Azra had wanted to move the succession towards absolute primogeniture which would have seen Amara replace Ammett as heir; a fact that had divided the siblings with Ammett keen to keep his position as heir until their father's death. The entourage slowly made their way into the city, the people slowly coming out of their homes to see what was going on before they realised that it was Amara returning.

"May the Gods bless you," ladies called out to Amara as they rode through the city, they would never forget the sweet girl that she had been that had stepped up when her mother had died. It was Amara that they had seen, it was Amara that ensured the smooth running of the city and took care of any complaints that they might have.

There could have been no greater welcome home for Princess Amara, the people all cheering at the sight of her upon her return; relief knowing that they would be in safe hands with her returning to the city. Standing upon the steps of the keep, Aye listened to the sounds of the people cheering with little emotion on his face; ignoring the look that Nahkt shot him as they watched Amara ride into the courtyard for the first time in months. Aye smiled before moving down the steps with open arms to welcome Amara and Oberyn to Fairmarsh.

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