Author Notes:

Third chapter in a row featuring major Witcher lore (or invented lore). Next chapter will be entirely within the world ASOIAF though.

Rosamund

"I will be sure to let your mother know that you are fond of your new home," Prince Oberyn Martell was telling her as he kissed her hand.

Rosamund Baratheon blushed. "Thank you, my prince." It was only partially a lie. While she did like Dorne, it was certainly not the place she would have wanted to spend the rest of her life. In truth, she even felt disappointed that she wouldn't be returning back to King's Landing again. "Be sure to tell Tommen that I miss him too."

"Have no fear, princess," the Red Viper assured her, "he will be told."

She stepped back, allowing for Prince Oberyn to say his goodbyes to the rest of his family. His paramour, Lady Ellaria Sand, would be traveling to King's Landing with him, to claim the seat on the Small Council her uncle had promised to House Martell, leaving behind his daughters, niece and nephew, although he would be traveling with a strong retinue of other Dornish knights, lords and ladies.

Rather than traveling by sea, as Rosamund had to travel to Sunspear, instead the Prince would be riding over land. She would have thought it would be safer to sail now that her Uncle's fleet had been broken at the Battle of the Blackwater, especially in comparison to traveling through the Stormlands, passing through the lands of lords who had all fought for Renly or Stannis, but her wisdom had fallen on deaf ears. Instead, they seemed more weary of fall storms, and the possibility that they would be sunk by one.

As the Red Viper of Dorne set out into the night, Rosamund and her good-family returned to the Castle of Sunspear. As strange as riding in the darkness seemed to her, she supposed it was the only sensible option, often struggling with overheating even while sitting in her room. Riding through the Dornish Sands in the peak of day seemed unbearable to her.

Walking through the Shadow City, Ser Arys seemed on edge, as he had been ever since they arrived. Something about Dorne had made him seem so terribly nervous, but nothing bad had happened. Nobody had tried to kill them, they hadn't encountered any stray bandits in the city, or anything else of the sort. If anything, Sunspear felt safer than things had been in King's Landing. Though she couldn't deny that it felt less like home.

Just like their journey through the city, the walk back to the Old Palace passed without anything to remember. The only problem was that she felt tired and a little sore, enough that she was starting to consider asking Ser Arys to carry her the rest of the way, but within a few minutes of the thought first crossing her mind, they had made it back to the castle.

Once they were through the Threefold Gate, Rosamund made her way to the domed Tower of the Sun, aware that Ser Arys was following her, though not Trystane.

Ever since the raven had come from Winterfell, Rosamund and Trystane had slept in separate chambers. She tried her best to hide her grief, but Myrcella had still been her sister. Most nights she laid awake, struggling to sleep as her mind didn't allow her to think of anything else. And every day, she was forced to live with the same shattered dream. When the war was over, Rosamund wouldn't ever get to pay her sister and her children a visit at Winterfell and see the royal court she had made for her husband. Never again would she get to greet her sister with a warm embrace and smile as they remarked at how much each other's children had grown since they had last seen each other. Never again would Rosamund get the chance to ask her sister for help when she needed it.

All of it was gone.

When Rosamund finally had made it back to her bedchamber, she started to cry again. Myrcella was gone now, and slowly she was realizing that the family she had left behind in King's Landing was gone too. Her mother, Uncle Tyrion, Tommen, her grandmother, Lady Joanna, her cousins, Tyrek, Joy, Willem and the rest… even Uncle Jaime and Lord Tywin. She didn't know if she would ever see them again, or even when. The only solace was that she wouldn't have to see Joffrey ever again, but this seemed much too high a price to pay for that.

As Rosamund crawled into her bed, she reflected on how lonely she felt. Now it seemed like she knew nobody, even Trystane who had always seemed so kind and someone who Rosamund was happy to marry when they were in King's Landing, seemed half a stranger.

Arianne and the Sand Snakes were kind enough, but Rosamund always felt the sense that they were more interested in her status and only ever showed her affection as Trystane's wife. But they always seemed to be holding something back, hiding secrets, and judging her for things out of her control. Dorne wants revenge for Princess Elia and her babes, Arianne had warned her the day after she had arrived.

And it was those words that Ser Arys Oakheart had taken to heart too. Where once he was kind and warm, now he always seemed to be skeptical, unwilling to let Rosamund make her own choices, unwavering in his suspicions of the Red Viper and Princess Arianne and the Sand Snakes.

I cannot stay here, Rosamund thought to herself, looking around at the paintings in her bedchamber. I must leave as soon as I can.

But she glanced down at the swell of her belly. As her child grew faster and faster, she knew she wouldn't be able to travel. She wasn't able to ride from castle to castle, and if Prince Oberyn wasn't willing to risk the open seas now, there was no chance that they would allow her to sail somewhere.

She had suggested to Trystane that they pay his mother, Lady Mellario, a visit in Norvos, but as she thought about it, Rosamund knew it would be at least two years or more until that was possible. After the babe was born, and old enough to either travel with them or to be left behind without their mother and father.

The babe gave a gentle kick. If you're a boy, I'm going to call you Myrcellus, she resolved. She couldn't name her daughter Myrcella, and she didn't like names like Myrielle that much either. But they couldn't stop her from naming her son something similar to her older sister's name. Softly caressing her round stomach, she finally felt glad that there was at least something she could do that made her feel a little better. Not much, but it was something.

Rosamund found herself slowly drifting off to sleep as she curled up underneath the covers. Softly singing Jenny of Oldstones to herself, she fell asleep, dreaming of a grand ceremony.

When she woke, the sun had already risen. Her back ached just a little as she sat up and raised her arms high above her head to stretch. After paying a visit to her chamberpot, Rosamund combed her hair and then dressed herself in a crimson silk gown that had been a gift from Prince Doran, residing at the Water Gardens, with a pair of rings and a gold and ruby necklace that Arianne had given her to match her gown. Slipping on her shoes, she made her way down the Tower of the Sun to the Great Hall, so she could break her fast.

As she entered, she saw that everyone had already been waiting for her. Arianne smiled as she walked over to her, "Oh Ros, you seem bigger than you were yesterday."

Rosamund gave a feigned smile. "And you're as lovely as ever," she said as Arianne gave her both a hug and a kiss. She didn't like that Arianne had taken to calling her Ros, though at least the other Sand Snakes still used formal courtesies.

"Join us, my lady," Tyene said, inviting her over to the table.

As Rosamund sat, she could see that they had prepared a special dish that contained significantly less peppers and spices, since of late the normal spicy food had been upsetting her stomach, despite how much she enjoyed the taste of it.

"Did something happen?" she asked. She had been at Sunspear for almost a month now, enough time to recognize how her good-family acted during breakfast when a raven had arrived bringing major news from the war. "Is it the war?" A battle? A marriage? A peace? Some new alliance?

"From the west," Lady Nym announced, "the Young Wolf took another wife."

"Another wife?" Rosamund struggled to hide her dismay. "What do you mean? How could he?"

"He had taken the Crag, and the Lord's daughter, Jeyne Westerling, stole his heart and he took her hand."

Stole his heart? How can that be? Rosamund had seen how much Robb Stark had loved her sister. Even that earlier marriage of his had been complicated, and not really about love at all. He wouldn't have fallen in love with some new girl so soon. "It can't be."

"It is," Lady Nym confirmed. "He has wed again."

Rosamund realized that in all her time thinking about her own grief for Myrcella, he hadn't even considered the grief of her good-brother. The Young Wolf had lost his brothers, wife and children in one night, along with his home, being betrayed by a close friend. She couldn't imagine how much grief he had been in, but it made her feel selfish, for not only failing to think about him at all, or feeling that it was so wrong that he had found a new wife so soon. If she was able to give him the comfort he needed, what right do I have to be mad at him? And even if she hadn't offered him comforts that he needed, she was sure he had wed her for the sake of alliance then, something she couldn't bring herself to begrudge him of either. In any case, her outrage quickly passed, and Rosamund now felt ashamed that it was her first thought.

"Is there anything else?" she asked, "any other news from the war?"

"The Lannisters dispossessed House Florent," said Tyene, sounding both intrigued and completely uninterested at the same time, "and the Tyrells claimed Brightwater Keep for themselves. There were some others who supported Stannis that were stripped of their lands, chiefly the Carons."

"The Florents and Carons?" Rosamund knew that her uncle's wife was a Florent, and she had heard that Lord Bryce Caron had been slain without any sons to follow him, so she supposed they would make sense. "Who else was dispossessed?"

"Other houses, each smaller than the last," Lady Nym said, "I suppose that is what they get for following Stannis in his folly."

Rosamund nodded. She had heard her uncle had made vile accusations about her mother, but was told not to worry about them. Her uncle was just a would be usurper, aiming to justify his claim to the Iron Throne, even though it by rights belong to Joffrey and Tommen before him at least.

Arianne spoke up. "The war is all but done. Lord Redwyne's ships will sail from the Arbor to besiege Dragonstone, and Stannis's strength will be ended. The Young Wolf and Old Squidling will end each other's power and Lord Tywin and Lord Mace will together bring their armies through to squash whatever they still have."

I wouldn't be so sure. Rosamund knew her good-brother had won every battle he had fought, but more importantly, there were others who still had yet to join the fight. She was more than aware of Lady Lysa Arryn who still had yet to swear fealty to Joff at the Eyrie. The war would not be won until it was really, truly over.

"I ought to ride to speak with my father," Arianne continued, "convince him that we should march some of our men. We should besiege some of Stannis's loyal supporters in the marches, and use it to gain more lands."

"Are there lands to justify such an endeavor?" asked Obara. "The greatest prizes will have been divided among the Lannisters and Tyrells already, given to their loyal men. All we will have is the insignificant scraps. We should have marched sooner, when we would have stood to gain more. Now we'll be laying siege to small castles."

Rosamund could tell that Obara yearned for war, but a war that would truly be remembered. "I'm sure Prince Oberyn will be able to make plans in King's Landing," she suggested, "he'll be able to advocate for some lands being given to Dorne."

"Perhaps," Obara agreed.

"I need to visit my father regardless," Arianne announced, "I'll be riding on my own tonight."

"As you will," Lady Nym said. Both Obara and Tyene nodded too.

Rosamund felt mystified, but these cousins that Arianne was oh so close with didn't seem to have any protests to this. "When will you return?" she asked, just wanting to know.

"By the morrow," Arianne announced, "as long as my father wakes up to speak with me that is. Otherwise, I will have to wait until nighttime to ride back."

"Oh," she said. She wanted to ask what it would be about, but was worried that they would scold her for asking about matters that weren't of her concern. Instead, she just looked down at her food that had been mostly untouched and started to eat. Like with things such as Quentyn, she had learned not to press too deeply into the secrets of Arianne and the Sand Snakes, unless they offered information. "Where is Trystane?" she asked to change the subject.

"Somewhere," Arianne said, indifferently. "You should stay with us though."

"I'm tired," Rosamund told them, rising as she did. She wanted to go back to her bedchambers now, even though she had slept well the night before.

They didn't say anything as she started to walk away, and made her way out of the Great Hall and to the Tower of the Sun, having barely eaten anything. Rosamund tried to think of things that would cheer her up but couldn't.

I just want to be able to make it through breakfast, she thought miserably. One day was all she needed, then she could hide with her grief again. Is it too much? Despite all the kind words Princess Arianne and the Sand Snakes had given her, she could never stop feeling as though they were judging her. But even when Rosamund wanted nothing more than to just project strength to them, she failed.

She was nearly out of breath as she finally climbed to the top of the stairs that lead to her room.

"Princess…" Ser Arys called out, moving towards her.

"I'm fine." Rosamund continued to walk, though Ser Arys moved to her side and put his arm around her. "No really, I'm-"

As Rosamund nearly tripped on something, her sworn protector managed to catch her and keep her on her feet.

"Are you certain?"

With a sigh, Rosamund conceded defeat, putting her arm around him, allowing him to lead her the rest of the way.

Once the door was opened, she staggered the rest of the way to her bed, while Ser Arys only watched, closing the door behind her when he knew she had made it there.

Meanwhile, as she crawled into bed, not bothering to change out of her gown or take off her shoes, Rosamund started to cry. She didn't even know what it was for.

I need to get away from Sunspear. I don't belong here.

You don't. This isn't your place, another voice seemed to whisper back.

Rosamund wondered if she was losing her mind. Is it the child? The castle? The Sand Snakes? It seemed like her dreams were all telling her that too. That this wasn't her place. But if not here, then where?

She wished that she knew.

The Princess seemed to lose hours as she remained in her bedchamber, and the first she remembered, the sun was already beginning to set in the west. She rose to get something to drink, and considered getting something to eat, but ultimately decided to not go back to the Great Hall again. Not only because she wanted to avoid the Sand Snakes and Arianne, but because she wasn't hungry, and didn't want to face the inevitability of Ser Arys carrying her back to her bedchamber like a baby.

Still, she wanted to go somewhere, and decided that if she couldn't go down, she would go up.

From her balcony, she knew that her room was not at the top of the Tower of the Sun, though she had been told there was little to explore there. But I will, she resolved. Whatever secrets lay up there, I will find.

Standing up, Rosamund once more made her way to the door, and opened it, feeling pleasantly surprised to find that the guards who were normally posted outside her door were missing. She judged they had gone to eat dinner, and somehow it had been forgotten that at least two needed to be at her room per her uncle's orders.

There were stairs that lead upwards, just at the end of the hall, and Rosamund followed them. Old but unused, the stairs had a good deal of dust and sand that must have accumulated over the years with them seldom being cleaned, though there were some footprints still.

Her heart began to beat a little faster as she made it to the end of the stairs and found herself at a black door. She opened it, revealing a hallway that looked similar to the one her room was located on, only there were no torches or candles to provide lighting. Just the light that seeped in through the windows allowed her to see.

Outsider. Trespasser. Monster. Do not tread here, voices seemed to whisper in her head, but Rosamund heard nothing. Go on, another voice said, one that seemed almost familiar to her.

In the end, she followed the voice urging her forward, passing through all the doors on the hallway, until she made it to the very last one on the right. Turning the knob slowly, she opened it to reveal not another room or hallway, but a small area with a ladder, with only an old rug for decoration.

Noticing that the rug was uneven, Rosamund bent over and moved it, finding a ring of keys under the rug. Hidden for whoever uses this place.

Despite how nervous she felt, for the first time in a while, Rosamund felt like this was something she had to do. Hands trembling, she gripped onto the ladder, and climbed, careful to ensure she did not fall or hurt herself. If she did, she knew that she was not likely to get any help and wondered if anyone would even find her. Whatever she was going to find up here was a secret the Martells held dear.

Pushing open the trapdoor over her head, Rosamund managed to squeeze her way up, to find herself standing before a door. A door made of metal, long turned red with rust.

With a sigh, she began to fumble with the keys. Attempting one after another, trying to find which one would work.

Go no further, the voice seemed to echo within her again, but Rosamund ignored it once again, finally finding the correct key on her sixth attempt, and gently pushing the door open.

Inside was a room unlike any other that she had ever seen before. There were several desks, one of which had more than its fair share of letters strewn about, another which had several links of a chain. Six in fact, as she counted them.

Beyond that, there were vials of what looked like potions, and tools and equipment that looked like it was designed to make them. Two whole bookshelves were there, and as she looked through each book, not a single one of them was a title that she recognized.

"What is this place?" she muttered to herself. Glancing at the wall, she saw several spears hanging there, each with shafts taller than she was, with long but very delicately thin points, like the one that she had seen Prince Oberyn with.

A laboratory, Rosamund realized as she started looking through the notes, many of which were signed by the Red Viper himself. Prince Oberyn's laboratory.

One of the letters was written by the prince to his mother, who wrote to him of a betrothal she had negotiated for him. Another was written by a man who signed the letter as Qyburn, writing of some methods he had been developing.

"Madness…" she muttered. "This is all madness."

As the sun was getting lower, she knew she would need to either light a candle soon, or she would be blind here, but that need was superseded by her own curiosity. All those stories she had heard of the Red Viper being a master of poisons and schemes, all of it was here.

And now the Red Viper was traveling to King's Landing too. It made her nervous to think of what the man might be planning there, but even her thoughts about that were overridden by her curiosity about one table. The only thing that laid on it was a well decorated box, each side matching, with what seemed like a very light blue gateway, surrounded by weaving, golden lines that looked like the roots of a tree.

Now everything seemed to be telling her off, but her curiosity grew stronger now as she slowly opened the box. Only to then be disappointed by what she saw within.

It was just… a rock.

A strange rock, but still just a rock, imperfect and hardly seeming to be that extraordinary or valuable. It wasn't gold or ruby or emerald or silver or any other metal that she recognized.

"What are you?" she thought out loud as she picked the stone up, holding it in the sunlight. Turning it now, she saw there were some engravings, not drawings, but what looked almost like characters in some different language,

A feeling of power started to flow through her fingers, like it was transferring from her to this mysterious stone, which began to glow, rising out of her fingertips, hovering in the air. "What have I done?" she whispered, as she stood back, watching it.

For a few more seconds, it seemed to just sit there, floating, while she nervously debated running away or grabbing it and putting it back in it's box.

But her mind was made for her when suddenly a loud pop, and a blue flash came. Rosamund glanced away, instantly feeling much colder than she had been before, and seeing that there was now snow in the laboratory.

"Who are you?" she called out, as she spotted a pair of figures standing before her as her vision returned back to normal. "What do you want?"

The two men looked at her, puzzled. Both were slender and at least six feet tall, though neither was taller than her father. Both seemed to have pointed ears too, not just pointed as some people she had met, but outright jutting upwards for at least an inch or two into points that were much higher than any ear she had ever seen. One was older, his hair greyed, and his face somewhat lined, but appeared to be without any wrinkles, while the other was younger, blond and slightly taller and more fit. Both men possessed deep blue eyes, and seemed to be like any other person she had ever seen, were it not for their clothes and ears.

"She activated the Sunstone…" the older one whispered, "but…"

"The Sunstone?" Rosamund was confused. "Where did you come from?"

"Where we came from does not concern you, witch," the younger one answered.

"I'm not a witch," she protested. Witches aren't even real to hear Grand Maester Pycelle tell it.

"How did you use the Sunstone then?"

"Is that what it's called?"

"Indeed it is," the older man said, his voice sounding much calmer, as though he were trying to soothe her. "A relic meant to search for lost lovers, even between worlds." He glanced down at her. "Were you perhaps searching for the father of your child?"

"No… He's not lost. I just picked it up and then… And then it started to glow and float in the air."

"The witch has talent," the older man said to the younger one. He then started moving over to the one table that had chairs. "Come, girl, tell us your story. Tell us about yourself."

As the men sat down, Rosamund knew there wasn't a choice. She first introduced herself as Rosamund, and asked for their names in return, which they gave. The older of the two was named Avallac'h, and the younger was named Carathir. And while Carathir seemed to look around for something to keep her warm, and seemed to be busy trying to undo all the snow within the laboratory, Rosamund explained to Avallac'h everything about her life. That she was the second daughter of King Robert Baratheon and Queen Cersei Lannister, how upon her father's death, a war had broken out, with both of her father's brothers as well as her good-brother crowning themselves as kings, in addition to Lord Balon Greyjoy crowning himself and rising in revolt too, and how her sister's good-father had been killed by her brother, which had to be the cause of all of it.

She explained that how as the war went on, her Uncle Tyrion, made an arrangement to have her married off to Prince Trystane Martell, who she had already given her maidenhead to, and gotten with child by, in order to secure an alliance between her family and the Martells, after the war that had won her father the throne had created a rift between them, and secure all of Dorne for her brother's realm. Now as the war was starting to look like it was almost finished, she was still to remain at Sunspear, and as she had been bored, she had searched the castle and found this lab with the Sunstone.

All the while, the two men remained silent, Avallac'h in particular listening very intently, as he allowed her to tell her story to him, and how she had ended up activating the Sunstone.

"Your turn now," she said, once she was done. "I told you about me, now you need to tell me about you."

"As you will," the older man said, sighing just a little. "Caranthir and I are not men of your world, but elves."

"Elves?"

"An older race," Caranthir explained, "older than you humans."

"Maybe… Perhaps this world is different," Avallac'h mused. We waved his hand to dismiss the thought, "in any case, we were searching for a girl. A powerful girl who fled to another world that we haven't been able to locate her in. We've been following all magical occurrences like this, attempting to locate her."

"And so you thought it might be here? Because I activated the Sunstone?"

"Indeed," Avallac'h answered. "This world of yours is quite unlike most we've been to, from what you've described. And there is something about it that seems… strange."

Oh good. "Will you leave me now?"

"Yes, I suppose we will."

"What of the stone?"

"It is yours," Avallac'h said. "Do what you will with it, so long as it remains in your possession. We will not trouble you again."

"What if…" Rosamund's heartbeat started to pick up again. "What if I want to summon you? What if… I need your help?"

"What sort of help?" Avallac'h answered, holding his hand up to Carathir, who seemed like he was going to protest again. "What would you need?"

"I don't know."

"In that case, all you need to do is hold the stone in front of you, thinking of us. Whisper, 'I give you my heart, but shall take your head,' and we shall come."

The younger elf didn't seem pleased by that, but did not protest aloud.

"Let's go, Carathir," Avallac'h said. "Before we miss our chance."

With a nod from Caranthir, Avallac'h stood and walked over to the younger elf, and they turned away from her. They took several steps, and then suddenly another flash and burst came.

Within a moment, they were gone.

Gods forgive me, Rosamund thought, as she put the Sunstone back into her pocket, and started to rush out of the lab, praying that the guards were still absent from her room.

Author Notes:

Thanks for reading folks.