a/n: welcome back to book three of 'stars above, songs below'. i know i have left you waiting for quite a while, so i hope you enjoy this chapter.

if you need a refresher of what happened previously (or have not read what happened previously):
cerelle baratheon is cersei lannister's oldest child and ran away when she was young to escape a betrothal. she was taken in by oberyn martell and lived in sunspear for seven years disguised as his bastard, until he, too, wanted to betroth her to someone, upon which she fled again and ended up beyond the wall - and eventually at castle black, where she met jon snow, fell in love with him, and was convinced to leave to meet her family again (this was book 1).
book 2 followed her journey through the riverlands as she became the golden paladin, a robin hood figure who brought hope back to the smallfolk and fought against house lannister. her greatest opponent during this time was benjiamin vypren, who maybe perhaps somehow was becoming more than an enemy, but then he was killed by stark soldiers. cerelle was taken captive by robb stark, saved him at the red wedding, and then fled from riverrun to escape a forced betrothal to him *once again*.
there was a lot more that happened but i will explain it in this book whenever it becomes necessary to know.

i posted a small interlude between books 2 and 3 from oberyn's pov which you can find here

and i think that was enough yapping from me now. enjoy the story ^^

She did not know what she had expected, returning home near eleven years later. Relief, perhaps? Joy and hope, now that she was back. Or something in the complete opposite direction. Fear. Pain about having left at all.

Yet the only thing on her mind as she looked down on King's Landing and its red castle rising high above the city, was uncertainty. What if... What if her mother did not want her back? What if Oberyn didn't? What if she had changed so much no one recognised nor believed her? She had burnt so many bridges with so many people in her life, if that happened she might just throw herself into the sea and stay there. Perhaps the merfolk would be kinder.

Her mother's necklace chafed around her neck, the added weight of Benjiamin Vypren's ring doing her few favours.

(The scroll he had received from Tywin, foretelling the events at the Twins and confirming her grandfather's involvement, was hidden safely in her pocket. The words had faded due to her escape through the river, yet were still legible. Just in case.)

She wondered what Jon would say if he saw her now. Running away from her problems once again, abandoning his siblings, turning her back on the people who truly needed her. Sure, she had saved his brother, but at what cost? Would he be more disgusted about her cowardice or the blood on her hands? Or would he simply not care?

Such a thought terrified her.

Starlight grew restless beneath her, stomping with her hooves, trying to move forward. She patted her horse's neck, speaking calming words to her as much as to herself.

How her mare had, once again, managed to find her way back to her unsettled her. After the attack by the Stark soldiers, the thing at the Twins, and then her escape from Riverrun, she had thought her horse lost forever to her. But here Starlight was, white hide as glowing as ever.

Cerelle took a deep breath.

Standing on a hill until the sun set and rose again would bring her no closer to alleviating her fears. So she finally urged Starlight on, and set off for her city.

As she neared the gate, two things started increasing: the amount of travellers around her, and the terrible smell. Neither of which she particularly liked, but supposed she had to endure.

The city walls seemed smaller than in her memory, the cobblestone pavement less secure under Starlight's hooves, the streets populated with far, far more goldcloaks than possible. And then... There were Lannister soldiers walking along the houses and huts, never alone, always in groups of four or more, hands on their swords, faces obscured, and if any of them found out she was the Golden Paladin-

No. They would not. She was the Paladin no more, therefore no one would hunt her for it. Never again.

Her fingers traced her dagger's outline underneath her thin shirt. She would not draw it, would not draw blood with it, but just in case she needed it.

As she rode along the shops on Cobbler's Square and further on the Gods' Way, she turned Oberyn's words in his letter around in her head.

Look out for seven suns on the King's Way.

A direction, most likely, on where to meet with him. Only that she had no clue what these "seven suns" were meant to symbolise - paintings, statues, people even?

The King's Way led directly towards the Red Keep, and it took everything in her not to gallop through the gates and fall into her mother's arms. Yet she needed to meet Oberyn beforehand, to mend their bond before the court might rip them apart once more.

One after the other.

Manses lined the cobbled pathway, each rising higher and higher, reaching out towards the castle, yet not one able to replicate its glory. They were painted in all the colours of nature, with numerous decorations on its veneers, roses and animals and suns and mosaics-

She stopped Starlight abruptly.

One of the manses had seven golden suns painted above its wooden gate, almost indistinguishable against its yellow backdrop. But they were there. And in the front, equipped with a spear and a shield each, stood two guards of House Martell.

Where she had assumed her family would reside previously, she had not considered. The Red Keep had been out of the question due to the bad blood with its inhabitants, but outside of this… Of course Oberyn - or Doran - held property in King's Landing. Just in case, they might say if asked.

She dismounted and carefully walked towards the gate with Starlight's reigns in hand. Her heart pounded in her chest, louder and louder, rushing the blood through her body, clouding her thoughts.

"Pardon me," she said quietly to one of the guards. "I desire to speak with Prince Oberyn."

The man mustered her, his black beard hiding the lower half of his face and his head-scarf the upper half. "And who is it that demands such?"

She was about to answer, when the second guard suddenly called out, "Elle?" Turning to him, a smile had spread on his face. He looked almost the exact same as the man beside him, leading her to believe they might be brothers. "What happened to you?"

Two things could be meant by his question: the more obvious, of her having been missing for near three years, or the one at hand, of her current looks. The dirty and tattered shirt and pants coupled with her unruly hair and the three scars worked miracles of hiding who she truly was.

"That is a long story," she answered. "One I would like to discuss with my father first."

"Of course. Please, follow me."

The gate opened to reveal a moderate courtyard, yet filled with plants of all colours and sizes, encircling a happily-pattering fountain embedded into the ground. Stairs led up to a balcony stretching along the entire wall.

Starlight was taken from her by a dark-skinned stablegirl, who was close to having to wrench the reigns from Cerelle's hands. Yet eventually, she was pulled away by the guard and led up the stairs and through a simple red door.

She felt for her dagger. Just in case.

"My prince." The man had stepped between two panels and bowed deeply. "There is someone here for you."

He then gave way for her. She took a breath, and stepped forward.

Oberyn sat beside Ellaria and Elia, the round table between them filled with food. They all stared at her in disbelief, none of them moving as they had to take in who stood before them.

What if they did not recognise her? Worse, what if they did but threw her out again? If they had found out that - and why - she had run away, and now thought less of her? If they-

Faster than she could react, Elia had slammed into her. Her breath was knocked out of her, and in the grip around her body she had trouble regaining it, but she did not care. Her sister embraced her, despite everything, and so she could do little but hug her back, if awkwardly.

Elia pulled back, breaking their contact, yet her face remained full of glee. "I'm sorry, I know you don't like that, I just-" She broke off and threw herself around her neck again, moving the bandages underneath her shirt. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too," Cerelle whispered to her sister. "So terribly."

Oberyn and Ellaria had stood up as well, yet had not moved further.

"What happened to you?" Elia asked once they had separated completely. "One day you were just gone and no one knew anything."

"That is a bit complicated." Her gaze shifted to Oberyn for a moment, then back to her sister. "Could you leave me alone with our father? Just for a moment. Then I promise I will explain everything to you."

Elia looked to her parents, glee and happiness deluded by confusion. And worry. Ellaria walked forward and took her daughter's hand.

"Let us wait outside."

The door fell close, and they were alone.

She studied the man that had taken her in all those years ago, the man that had been more of a father to her than her true ones had ever been, who had raised her in the knowledge he had to eventually betray her. His appearance had not changed in the slightest.

"You've grown."

"I heard you talk to Doran." Better get right to it. "You have been planning to marry me to Quentyn and seat me on the throne ever since you found me in Braavos."

The few steps he had taken towards her - either to view her better or hug her as well - seemed forgotten. "Elle-"

"You lied to me. I thought I was safe with you, that I could trust you!"

"Elle, please-"

"You knew why I ran away! And yet you were planning to do the exact same thing to me!" For the first time, she did not care she was losing control of her voice. "For seven years I blindly followed every word you said, went to every lesson you sent me to, did not question why a bastard received a king's education-"

"It was for your best."

"For my best?! I do not want to be queen! I just wanted a family."

He looked at her. Only that, nothing more. Why would he not be angry at her, scream at her like she did to him, throw her out to punish her for her misdeeds? How could he be so calm when she was… When she had lost control far too easily.

"If I betrayed you so," Oberyn finally asked after a long silence, "why have you returned?"

Leave it to him to alway trump her, to be the only one she never won against. To be the only one to know her, inside and out.

"I… realised-" Her voice wavered. "How quickly light could be snuffed out, how easily one could go from having many regrets to none of them mattering. I realised I had to see you again one more time and ask you why? Why me?"

Why did you involve a little girl in your revenge schemes? Why did you treat the child of your enemy with such kindness? Why did you take me in at all?

He stepped closer, slowly, carefully, as if he were approaching a frightened animal.

She was taller than him, she realised with frightening clarity.

"It is true," he said quietly. "I took you in because I wanted to take revenge on House Lannister. Doran and I had plans to seat you on the throne and use you to punish those who had wronged us. But-" he quickly added. "Over the years I have grown to love you like you were my own. Back when you disappeared, I had already grown hesitant about our plans."

She wanted to scream at him, wanted to call him a liar and traitor, wanted to justify the many years they had missed because of her. But…

The conversation she had overheard had been as he had described. Oberyn had seemed cautious about using her and marrying her to his nephew. Had she truly destroyed their lives over this?

No. He had needed to learn a lesson. A hesitant reconsidering would not have undone seven years of lies.

"I will tell Elia." Not want, or should, or might. "She deserves to know the truth about me."

He gave a single nod. "What reason will you give for your disappearance?"

Oh, she wanted to scare him. Make him suffer the way she had that day, and tell him what he expected. Yet that was not her.

"That someone found out the truth, and I ran to protect you all."

And with that, she left the room.

a/n: i have an upload plan! one new chapter will release every sunday 6pm cet, so see you next week :3