Steffon Baratheon

Dorne, Sunspear 297 AC.

The young prince followed the princes of Dorne and Areo Hotah. Ser Barristan Selmy stayed by her side the entire time, outside the throne room, he met Melisandre again, he gave her a small nod, so the woman with red hair and eyes approached to hand him something wrapped in a golden cloth. The prince accepted it with a smile, and then whispered something in his ear.

"What's that?" Oberyn asked after the red woman walked away from her.

"You'll see." the young man answered with a smile.

"She is a very beautiful woman," commented Prince Oberyn, who seemed to detest the silence.

" Yes she is"

"Did you fuck her?" The young prince laughed at the Dornish's question.

"She is my advisor, Prince Oberyn, she is a woman with much knowledge about the history and customs of the rest of the world." I simply answered "but yes, in fact I lost my virginity to her."

They both shared a laugh at the last comment.

The five men continued walking through the palace until they reached one of the walls. Prince Doran ordered three chairs to be brought.

"Ser Barristan, please leave us." I ordered the knight

"My prince?"

"Leave us, this is a conversation we must have alone.

The old knight nodded and then took several steps back, enough not to hear what the three princes were saying, but enough to be able to keep an eye on Steffon.

Prince Baratheon took his seat, and looked at Areo Hotah and then looked at Doran, raising an eyebrow.

"Leave us Areo." Doran said after a moment of hesitation.

"Are you sure my prince?" said the burly man, looking at the blue-eyed youth.

"Of course," said Doran, smiling, "Prince Steffon has proven to be a very calm young man, I'm sure he wouldn't try anything out of line." Steffon smiled. "Isn't that right, Prince Steffon?"

"Of course"

"Besides, if he tries anything I'll cut his throat," Oberyn said, trying to make a joke, although Steffon was sure the Red Viper of Dorne wouldn't hesitate to do it if he tried anything.

"As my prince wishes"

Making sure the Dornish guard was far enough away Steffon unwrapped the cloth, revealing a book:

The Lineages and Histories of the Great Houses of the Seven Kingdoms, With Descriptions of Many High Lords and Noble Ladies and Their Children.

"Is that what you wanted to show us?" Oberyn said, letting out an incredulous laugh, " an history book."

Steffon just smiled at him and started flipping through the pages of the book until he reached the part that talked about the lineage of House Baratheon.

"Please read the physical descriptions of the members of House Baratheon, Prince Doran," said Steffon, handing the book to the eldest of the Martell brothers. "And be sure to pay attention to the names of the families that intermarried with them."

Oberyn was about to protest but his brother raised her hand to stop him. Doran looked at Steffon once more and began to read aloud:

"Lord Orys Baratheon, black hair, Axel Baratheon, black hair, Lord Borros Baratheon, black hair, Lyonel Baratheon, black hair, Gowen Baratheon, black hair..." upon reaching that last name Doran paused briefly and looked at the name of Lord Gowen's wife, Tya Lannister, at the same time noticed something that caught her attention that particular union, they had three daughters and a son together, all with black hair.

After looking at Steffon again who just smiled at him, Doran continued reading "Ormund Baratheon, black hair, Steffon Baratheon, black hair, Robert Baratheon, black hair, Joffrey Baratheon... golden hair, Steffon Baratheon, black hair."

After finishing reading Doran stared at Steffon for a moment before finally speaking.

"Your brother Joffrey is..."

"He is not my father's son..." This changed the expression of confusion on Oberyn's face, to one of complete shock, similar to when he saw Gregor Clegane and Amory Lorch fall from the boxes. "none of my siblings are."

Both Dornish princes turned to look at each other in surprise.

"So who is...?" Oberyn began to say in a voice that only expressed confusion.

"My uncle Ser Jaime Lannister the Kingslayer" this left the princes in shock once again. They both remained speechless for a while, apparently Steffon had the ability to leave them speechless.

"But you and your brother…" Oberyn said, trying to find the right words. "you are twins."

"The gods love their little games, Prince Oberyn." Steffon said indifferently, making a wry face. "And from what I know, this kind of thing had happened before, maybe not in my family but in others."

"And in case you have any doubts, you should know, I've seen several of my father's bastards, and no matter who their mother is, they all share something in common, they have blue eyes and black hair."

Before Oberyn could speak again, Doran did, "How did you find out?"

"I saw them once when I was six, from then on, I started putting the pieces together, it wasn't that difficult."

"That means..." Oberyn began, smiling, "that you are the heir to the Iron Throne."

Steffon simply nodded.

"Who else knows about this?" Doran asked cautiously.

"Melisandre knows" upon hearing this Doran noticed the woman in red watching them from a distance "I'm pretty sure that eunuch of Varys knows, after all he knows most of what happens in King's Landing" Steffon He made a gesture of displeasure when mentioning the eunuch. "Just like that libidinous old wretch of Pycelle."

"AND?" Prince Oberyn asked with interest, only for Prince Steffon to shake his head.

Both Doran and Oberyn looked towards where Ser Barristan was, finally understanding why the young prince had asked the old knight to let them speak alone.

"So, you haven't told this to anyone else. Why?" Doran asked, now his curiosity had taken over.

"If I did that, there would be a war." Steffon began, his expression became serious again, just like his face. "I would be named as my father's true heir of course, but an all-out war would immediately break out against House Lannister and my grandfather would never surrender. Not to mention that my father would try to marry me to one of Ned Stark's daughters..." Oberyn I let out a laugh at that last one. "But more importantly, if I told my father the truth, he would not only kill my mother and the Kingslayer for her betrayal, he would kill my little siblings, Myrcella and Tommen, whom I love very much."

"And your brother Joffrey?" Oberyn asked.

"He's a cunt," Steffon said, laughing, "if you knew him, you'd understand."

"Yes, we have heard a few rumors," Doran acknowledged, "some of them are quite disturbing."

"I assure you that they are all true."

"If you haven't told this to anyone, other than your lover, the red woman," Oberyn said, looking at him with the same curiosity as his brother. "Why tell us?"

"You asked me for a reason to accept the alliance I proposed to you," Steffon replied as if he were the most obvious thing in the world. "I just gave it to you, not only am I the true heir of Robert Baratheon, I also have information that would destroy the reputation of House Lannister." Both princes smiled a little when they heard that. "And just because I haven't spread this knowledge yet, doesn't mean I won't."

"What makes you think we won't do it?" Oberyn said with a mischievous smile on his face.

"And risk letting all of Westeros know of your plans to crown Viserys Targaryen," Steffon challenged, Oberyn's smile faded, "besides, you can't reveal anything without proof. You'll be lucky if half the kingdom even believes you, and It's me who have all the proof, and knows how to use them correctly."

At that moment Doran began to clap his hands while he smiled. "Well played Prince Steffon, very impressive" Steffon smiled at the compliment "but if you still don't plan to reveal the information you just gave us, that means you have a plan."

"Yes, yes I have one"

"Which is it?" Oberyn asked.

"You haven't accepted my proposal yet"

Both princes remained silent again after this, it was obvious that the revelation that the young prince had just given them was not enough, so Steffon spoke again "You didn't think I would get all my eggs out of the basket did you? But, if you really want another reason, I can give it to you."

"And which one is that?" Oberyn asked mockingly, raising an eyebrow.

"Varys."

"What about the eunuch?" Oberyn asked.

"Who do you think he serves?" Steffon asked them both. "I mean, every time someone asks him, he says: I serve the realm." The Dornish princes said nothing so he continued. "And Ser Barristan once told me that the decline of King Aerys' reign began with Varys."

"The spider is not trustworthy, everyone knows that, Prince Steffon." Doran declared without knowing where the young man was going.

"Yes, but who does he serve then? I know very well that he is not loyal to my father, nor to my mother. But he was not loyal to the Targaryens either." Before the Martell brothers could answer, Steffon decided to ask a question. "Were you at the Great Tournament at Harrenhal, Prince Oberyn?"

"Yes." Oberyn answered simply.

He doesn't like to talk about that, I guess.

"Is it true what my grandfather told me? that the tournament was only a facade to be able to gather a Great Council against Aerys and declare him unfit to continue ruling."

"Yes." It was Doran who answered this time.

"Who do you think could have told that to Aerys? He had already decided not to attend the tournament, but changed his mind at the last minute."

The Dornish princes remained silent again, with a thoughtful expression. "Perhaps it was the same person who put into Aerys's head the stupid idea that Ser Lewyn Martell had betrayed Rhaegar on the Trident. Which was why Aerys decided to keep Princess Elia and her children in King's Landing in case the Martells turned against him, despite you having shown nothing but loyalty to House Targaryen, even after Rhaegar Targaryen shamed you."

Oberyn's expression turned furious again, while Doran stared at Steffon again.

"Varys was never loyal to the Targaryens, I'm pretty sure he contributed to his downfall and I know he plans to do the same to my family."

"And you want our help to stop it." Oberyn said looking at him surprised but before Steffon could answer, Doran spoke:

"Answer me something, Prince Steffon," said the ruler of Dorne, looking into the eyes of the young prince in front of him. "You could have gone to any of the great Houses of Westeros. Why choose us?"

"You want revenge against my grandfather, and he cares about nothing more in this world than his family legacy, and those are his children, who have committed the worst of betrayals, once we will unmask them in front of the eyes of the entire Kingdom, his name will be sunk in the dirt." and at that moment since Prince Steffon arrived in Dorne he could see that for the first time the Dornish princes were really considering his proposal, so he decided to finish speaking "obviously it will take time, we have to consolidate our position, our forces and resources. So what do you say?"

"We will need time to consider..."

"Two days." Steffon interrupted. "That's how long you have to consider my proposal."

"I'm afraid that's not enough time."

"That's all the time I have Prince Doran, if you agree we can talk a little more about our next moves and I will also ask you to choose the people who will return with me and Arianne to King's Landing to inform my father about the marriage. And if you don't accept" both Martell brothers looked at him with great attention. "Then I will leave Dorne without wishing you any ill will, and hoping that the gift I brought you will make you leave my uncles Stannis and Renly, my younger sibilings Myrcella and Tommen out of any revenge you plan against my family."

Once again the princes of Dorne were left speechless.

"Now, I would like to enjoy Sunspear's hospitality," said the prince, rising from his seat, leaving his hosts more conflicted than ever.