Chapter Twenty-Five: 299 AC, Sunspear

A Reunion of Family

Oberyn was suspicious after Aero had rushed into the room and then hurried away just as quickly. He brooded behind his brothers throne as he looked at Ellaria and his daughters thoughtfully, seen the glare upon Obara's face and how Ellaria shifted restlessly every few moments. Something had happened a couple of days earlier, he was sure. However, no one was speaking. The three elder Sand Snakes had been watchful and hostile to Ellaria, more so that they had ever been in the past, and Ellaria had begun jumping at shadows, paranoid that someone was watching her.

He had not laid with her in almost three weeks as he had been too busy trying to figure out what was going on behind his back, not to mention listening for rumors of Visenya. At the moment, he only knew she was at Riverrun, but her next move was a mystery to him. Ellaria and he had been fighting a lot recently and Oberyn didn't understand what happened. She had never been so clingy nor bitter, for her to change so quickly, something was going on.

It never crossed his mind that she was jealous about Visenya. Ellaria had been well aware of the fact he loved another when they first started sleeping together. He had been clear that well she was his paramour, he would go back to the woman he loved eventually. He had never hidden his intentions, but though Oberyn had been clear with the bastard Uller, he hadn't thought that with time, Ellaria would expect more.

His daughters too, had been different lately.

His fifth daughter, Elia, named after his sister who had also been his best friend, had broken down the night before in the stables. After a shouting match had broken out between, he and Ellaria again, he had taken off on his sand steed hoping some space would allow him to clear his head. When he got back, Elia had been in with the new horse she had been trying to train. She had turned away from him, but he could see the anger in her eyes. The memory brought tears to his eyes.

~Flashback~

He handed the reins of his sand steed, Warrior, to the stable hand and turned to see a small dark-haired girl standing by one of the stalls. He instantly knew it was his daughter Elia. He smiled slightly at the sight of her, but she spun to face away from him. However, he had seen the anger in her eyes. In a way he wasn't surprised, a few days before he had promised to meet up with her to train her horse, but Ellaria had barred them into his rooms, which had caused another fight between them. It seemed all they were doing was fighting now a days.

He moved over to her, "Elia," he said softly.

His daughter didn't answer him, she just continued to brush her black filly. He moved into the stall and pressed a hand against her shoulder, "Don't touch me," she snapped.

Oberyn dropped his hand from her shoulder surprised, "What have I done to make you so angry?" he asked softly.

She snorted, "When haven't you made us angry?" she muttered under her breath.

However, Oberyn heard her and spun her to face him, "What do you mean?" he asked curiosity and sadness filling him. It would seem he had failed his daughters somewhere down the line.

He had always been close with his daughters. After the rebellion though he had drifted away from his eldest four, he couldn't help it. Every time he looked at them all he could see was them with Visenya. When he met Ellaria, it was only supposed to be a few days of fun. After she had come to him pregnant with Elia, well that was when everything changed. He accepted her as his paramour and he raised Elia alongside his other daughters, even his other three younger ones, Obella, Dorea and Loreza. However, even he knew there had been distance between he and his daughters for a long time.

Elia scowled at him, "I mean that every time one of us want to do something with you, mother- she spat- makes sure you don't. Tyene asked you to test her on poisons years ago after she completed her training and you said you would, only it never happened because mother- she spat again- made you take her to the Water Garden's without us. When Sarella left for Oldtown, you said you would say farewell to her on the docks, only you never showed because mother- she hissed- had called you back to bed. Where have you been for anything important in our lives?" she said, all her words were quiet, but Oberyn heard them as though she had shouted them at him, each one a dagger to his chest.

He met his daughter eyes, eyes that he shared with her and ran a hand across his face, "Elia," he began. But she was to far gone to care, all the hurt, anger and fury that had been bottled up for years was coming rushing to the surface. "Where have you been for the milestones of our lives? Do you not care about us?" her voice was sad, and it cracked on her last question as a few tears leaked down her cheeks.

Oberyn instantly wrapped his arms around Elia, and she clung to him as tears streamed down her cheeks and she sobbed into his chest.

"Elia, you are my daughter, and I love you," he murmured, and she sobbed harder.

He just held her tight and rocked her back and forth until she finally calmed down, "Why don't you spend time with us?" she asked as she backed away from him and refused to meet his eyes. Oberyn flinched at the reminder he had been distant from his daughters for a long time. He ran a hand through his hair before waving her out of the stall to sit on a pile of hay. He dropped down so he was knelt in front of her, "You know when I was younger, I was going to marry a princess," he began with a quiet voice.

Her eyes met his and she was surprised to see tears in his eyes and not understanding why he was telling her this. "I met Visenya just before your aunt Elia married Prince Rhaegar Targaryen. She was known as Daella then and she was the Princess of the Seven Kingdoms. Obara, Nymeria, Tyene and Sarella all knew her, she's their naneth- here Elia sucked in a sharp breath. Her elder sisters never spoke of their mother and her name had been forbidden in court, so Elia had never heard it before. She had never known any of what her father was speaking of- and they were very close to her. After Robert's Rebellion, when Visenya wrote to tell me she wasn't coming back and she didn't know what we would see each other again, it was hard for me to be around your sisters. It was painful to remember how Visenya had loved them as her own and I could hear her laughter every time I was around them. When I met your mother, she kept the pain away," he admitted and as he talked, he realised she had been right.

Ellaria had kept him away from his family a lot.

She smiled slightly, "You never hated us?" she asked softly.

Oberyn closed his eyes shaking his head before two sets of matching eyes met, "Where did you get an idea like that?" he asked as he rose to sit next to her.

She turned so they were facing, "Mother. She kept saying that because we weren't your trueborn children, you would never love us the way you did her, even though she's a bastard too," she said sadly. Oberyn cupped his palms on either side of her face and tilted her head back to their eyes were level with each other, "I don't care that you're a bastard. I have never cared about the status of others. You are my daughter, and I love you, no matter how bad I have been at showing it," he said and for the first time ever, Elia could feel the love her father had for her.

She nodded after he released her face, "What was she like?" she asked suddenly. Oberyn looked at her confused, "Who?" he asked. Elia blushed slightly, "Visenya, their naneth?" she asked as she folded her legs up under her. Oberyn felt a smile play at the edges of his mouth, "She's a warrior, much like you Sand Snakes. She was trained by the Kingsguard, and I've never met a warrior like her," he began, and Elia allowed herself to actually sit down and bond with her father as he talked about the woman who was becoming a legend, even more known than her ancestor Aegon the Conqueror's sister-wife, Visenya Targaryen.

For the first time in many years, Oberyn allowed all the emotions, memories and thoughts to flood back into him as he talked about the wife of his heart with his daughter. "She will love you and your sisters, of that I have no doubts," he said as talked about what would happen during this war. "How did you meet?" she asked as she rested her head on his shoulder, it was the first time he could ever remember her doing so since she was a babe. At the end of his story on how he and Visenya had met, Elia was sleeping with her head laid down on his shoulder.

It made something inside him warm but also made him understand the distance between his and his daughters was unacceptable, and Ellaria's behaviour would no longer be tolerated.

~Ending~

He could feel the tears starting to drip down his cheeks so, he quickly turned away from the court and left the throne room as quickly as he could manage. He didn't see the concerned eyes of his seven daughters as they watched him leave, Obara moving to followed but was held back by Nymeria and Tyene. A smiling Aero entering the room instantly drew their eyes and Nymeria was practically vibrating as she shook her sisters shoulder, almost bouncing on her feet as she waited for the news Aero must have brought.

No one was quite sure what was going to happen in the next few seconds.

~!~

Aero returned to Doran and nodded his head.

Doran clapped his hands gaining instant silence and all eyes turned to face him. He rose to his feet, "It would seem that Dorne has visitors, loyal to the dragons," he said loudly, his heart pounding with anticipation. He couldn't wait to see her. Instantly all heads snapped over to face the doors and murmur broke out through the room, wondering if Ser Arthur Dayne had come at his Queen's behest or if it was Ser Gerald Hightower or Ser Oswell Whent.

The three eldest Sand Snakes' were the first to truly understand and they were all filled with anticipation and shifting and shuffling where they stood, as they waited with impatience.

The two guards who were standing by the doors opened them and two men, one dornish, one not wearing white cloaks entered first.

Everyone recognized Ser Arthur, the most famous Sword of Morning of House Dayne in history. Following after were two more men one wore the armor of the Unsullied, the other in regular leather armor. Two woman came next, one with long brown hair and blue eyes the other was a little girl with black hair and purple eyes who looked like a miniature version of Visenya, making a few hearts drop with fear of the Red Viper's coming anger. There had been no rumors of a bastard child, a few lords murmured. Voices were silences when the next woman entered after them and was instantly recognized as a Targaryen with her white-blonde hair, only her eyes were light blue with streaks of purple. Everyone knew her to be Princess Daenerys, the only surviving child of the late Queen Rhaella.

However, it was the woman who entered afterwards that held everyone's attention.

She was crowned in flames and a gown of white. It plunged low between her breasts and her back was totally bare. The fabric that linked together at her shoulders was connected to bangles wrapped around her upper arms, above her elbows and around her wrists. As she walked into the room, Doran rose to his feet and moved to meet her, a beaming smile on his face.

She raised her hand to stop him and then she turned to face the doors, all eyes following.

Eyes widened and shouts sounded, screams were heard, and curses rose throughout the room, instantly drawing Oberyn's attention from a few hallways away, forcing him to turn back around, curious about what he missed.

Escorted by a hundred soldiers, Tywin Lannister, Gregor Clegane and Amory Lorch were shoved into the room, a path instantly clearing to the throne, as everyone realized just who was now among them. The unsullied dropped them to their knees in front of the dais and Doran stepped forward, a snarl on his lips, a glare in his eyes, before turning questioning eyes to Visenya, wondering just what she intended with this show.

She walked up the stairs of the dais until she was by the throne and Doran wrapped her into a hug and pressed a kiss to her cheek, "Welcome home sister," he murmured though everyone heard him, before he pulled back and bowed low at his waist, "The House of Martell standing with Queen Regent Visenya and the House Targaryen."

She stepped back and then raised her head high, "Amory Lorch, Tywin Lannister and Gregor Clegane are brought before Dorne to face the charges of the murders of Crown Princess Elia Martell, Heir-Apparent Prince Aegon Targaryen and Princess Rhaenys Targaryen's during the sacking of King's Landing in the year of two hundred and eighty-three after Aegon's Conquest," she announced, her voice echoing soft and true through-out the room.

Everyone cheered as finally justice would be done, the three mentioned all turned pale as snow and Doran shouted for the guards, "Take them down to the dungeon. We shall hold a trial tomorrow," he ordered.

The chanting of her name echoed and Visenya smiled at everyone before her eyes began sweeping the room. Her eyes caught sight of a boy who looked like a much younger Oberyn with a girl who looked almost identical to Margaery Tyrell, making Visenya sure that she was Ryanne Tyrell her twin and the boy with her Doran's youngest son, Trystan. Then her eyes rested on Daemon Sand, Oberyn's sometimes lover and closest friend, that she remembered from years past.

But she couldn't find the girls she was looking for.

"Naneth."

Until a voice came from behind her.

Everything froze and silence echoed in the room. Everyone was waiting with bated breath over the reunion they were about to see.

Visenya slowly turned towards Doran's throne and standing there, oldest to youngest, were her four daughters, Sarella having slipped to stand with her sisters just after entering the room. The youngest who had been traveling with her and the oldest who she hadn't seen since she was a little girl. Obara, Nymeria, Tyene and Sarella all stood there, dressed in Martell colors of orange, red and yellow, proud as any trueborn Lady.

The eldest three had tears in their eyes as they gazed at the woman who had been a mother to them and Sarella smiling as she watched happily.

Visenya felt tears fill her eyes as she gazed at them, "My beautiful little ones," she whispered in elvish the language of her childhood. The language her and her brother learned under the care of Lord Elrond. The moment she spoke, broke the spell of tension and all four rushed to her, even Sarella though she had been with Visenya for moons, she was caught in the excitement of her elder sisters. Visenya braced herself and then found eight different arms wrapped around her, all trying to hug her at the same time.

Visenya cried as she held her daughters close to her, whispering her love to them and receiving theirs in return.

They all released her when Arthur cleared his voice, and Visenya turned to look each of them over, heart full of both pride and agony, for having missed so much.

Obara, tall and beautiful. She looked much like her ada and Visenya could see the lean muscle of lots of training all over her body. She pulled her into her arms, Obara nuzzling her neck as her naneth stroked a hand through her unbound hair, "You are just as beautiful as I always knew you would be," Visenya whispered, making Obara squeeze, a tear leaking down her cheek, before she stepped back and Nymeria took her place. Visenya repeated her actions as the elder Sand Snakes cried with happiness, all of them so thankful to see her alive and well. Then Tyene was in her arms, the daughter that looked so much like Visenya, "Missed you so much naneth," she whispered as she was folding into her naneth's loving embrace.

Once released the four eldest took a step back and Visenya's attention was drawn away from them to see the younger man, who reminded her so much of Oberyn, coming to stand before her with Ryanne. He bowed with a hand on the sword she had given him and then his dark eyes met purple ones and Trystan Martell instantly knew he had made the right choice. "Your grace, I am Prince Trystan Martell future ruling Prince of Dorne, welcome to Sunspear," he greeted with a soft kind voice.

Visenya beamed, "A pleasure to meet you and your intended Prince Trystan," she murmured with a bow of her head, as Ryanne dropped into a curtsey.

Their attention was drawn away by the voice the suddenly echoed throughout the room. It was a voice she had longed for over the years. It was the voice she dreamed was always whispering naughty and loving things in her ear. It was the voice of the one who held her fragile heart in his hands, despite all their long years apart.

"What is going on here?"

~!~

When Oberyn entered after hearing the earlier commotion, he was stunned to see a huge crowd of people in the throne room and even more stunned to see warriors he didn't know just standing around watching, noting they were a mixture of dothraki and unsullied. He saw his oldest four daughters gathered around Doran and Trystan, surprised to see Sarella had arrived back after having heard nothing from her in moons, and he saw Ellaria standing where he had left her with their four daughters and glaring darkly at the group around his brother.

Curious, he mussed.

He called out, silence echoed around him and then an isle formed to see Doran and Trystan standing before his daughters, who had formed a line blocking someone from view. Doran and his son shared a look, when Oberyn raised a brow, before moving out of the way. Oberyn slowly moved forward, his heart pounding as his eyes had finally caught the man standing at the back of the group, a man he knew was with the wife of his heart. Ser Arthur Dayne bore a smirk as he met Oberyn's eyes and as his four daughters smiled at him and then parted two to each side and the person they were hiding stepped forward, Oberyn's heart dropped to his feet and the breath fled his chest.

There she was.

Her hair was free falling down her back, purple eyes were bright and her body seen through the gown that clung to every inch of her. She wore a crown of flames, and he felt like his heart was ready to burst out of him at the sight of her. She was even more beautiful that he remembered. She had grown well, and his hands twitched with want, needing to know this was not a figment of his imagination. He came to a stop five feet from her, unable to take a single step farther and just stared. He couldn't pull his eyes from her; he was afraid she would vanish if he did.

"Oberyn," her whispered voice brushed over him, like a hard fist around his cock, and he hardened painfully. It had been so long and though there had been many partners over the years, no one else had ever compared to Visenya.

He stalked towards her quickly, everyone eyes watching as he moved to the women, he once thought was going to be his wife. Visenya didn't move, didn't flinch, she just stood there as he moved towards her. He pressed into her space until they were chest to chest and she slowly tilted her head back to meet his eyes, his eyes closing as he inhaled the sent of her skin and the perfume of her hair. His eyes roamed her face, seeing the small scar across her cheek that she had gotten from Ser Arthur when he was training her and a new scar that was on her forehead above her eyebrow, before he slowly reached up, terrified he was imagining her, and cupped her cheek with his trembling hand.

Visenya instantly closed her eyes and leaned into his touch as though it was the only thing on earth she wanted. Oberyn felt a tear leak down his cheek as his other hand came up to cup her other cheek, so he was holding her face. "Visenya," he whispered, and she shuddered as her legs went weak, the voice like a seductive touch down her spine. Oberyn wrapped an arm around her waist and held her tight to his chest as her arms came up to wrap around his shoulders, their embrace sending many to tears of happiness.

For the first time in sixteen years, Oberyn held the love of his life in his arms, and he felt complete as the bond long denied flared between them.

Unable to help himself, he tilted her head back by fisting her dark hair and slanted his mouth over top of hers in a deep claiming kiss. Her mouth opened in surprise and Oberyn took advantage of that by sliding his tongue into her mouth, tangling their tongues together deeply. The sounds of celebration broke out around them as Oberyn held her tight, their bodies intertwined and kissed the breath from her lungs.

The elder Sand Snake's grinned at their parents met each other for the first time in years, even as they rolled their eyes, remembering their youth.

However, the dark eyes of Ellaria Sand glared darkly as Oberyn kissed a woman who wasn't her and the woman clung to him as though they were intimately familiar with each other. She also instantly understood that this was the elder Sand Snake's mother, the woman Oberyn had loved and mourned over before meeting her, without anyone having to say a word.

She also knew that the woman needed to go if she was going to have Oberyn all to herself. Might as well as get rid of all his daughters as well, she thought as she smirked slightly, then there will be nothing holding him back from her.