Chapter 39
DORAN MARTELL
Pain had become a part of his life for as long as he could remember. Pain from the swollen joints. Pain from the lingering memory of his sister's demise.
Years had passed since the end of the rebellion, yet the pain and rage burning through him for the fate her sister had suffered refused to lessen, even as he stared at the news of war swallowing up all of the Baratheon brothers.
Robert Baratheon may have won the throne, but it was Jon Arryn who helped the man keep it. The Lord of the Eyrie had been instrumental in keeping Robert on the throne and building alliances for that purpose, and it had not taken long for the realm to descend into chaos after his death.
Robert had followed his Hand into the Stranger's embrace, and with his death the Seven kingdoms were embroiled in a war once more. Brother against brother, uncle against son.
It was tragedy and yet to him, it was sweeter than all the wines he had ever tasted. They wrote to him. All of them.
Stannis. Renly. Joffrey.
All of them sought his lances, yet Dorne still remembered Elia's fate. It still remembered her pain, and so he ignored their missives and enjoyed his wines as the Baratheons tore at each other.
Oberyn raged at him once more, just as he had when Robert had won the throne. He wished to assemble their men and march into battle himself, but Oberyn had always been the viper hunting down their enemies, while Doran was the grass that hid the viper before it struck.
The three sides were evenly matched, and he had thought that the war would last some time but much to his dismay the end of the war came through one singular battle. Renly Baratheon had marched on the capital with his armies, having convinced the Northern and Riverland host to lay down their arms.
It was a strange betrayal, but Robert's younger brother was always said to have a honeyed tongue. Still, it was a dangerous thing to do especially when the Lannisters held your lord and your daughters as hostages.
It was betrayal through and through, and they would have succeeded as well if not for the untimely arrival of someone who everyone had written out of the war at the beginning.
For far too long the capital had been filled with rumors about the cruel nature of Robert's heir. Joffrey Baratheon was considered by many to be a monster worse than the Mad King himself, in comparison to that his younger twin was thought to be everything his brother was not.
Steffon Baratheon had been raised by the Old Lion himself, and was considered by many to be the more suitable heir. Still, his birth weighed heavily against his competence for the laws were clear and no second son could come before the eldest.
Still, the shadow of his brother should have hung heavy on his back for just as the King died, Joffrey Baratheon wasted no time in sending out assasins after his brother, and all of the King's bastards.
The Lannisters may sing a hundred different songs about this, but truth was not easy to hide. Still, the younger twin had managed to survive and had sought refuge in Braavos, only to be captured on the way by Stannis and his men.
They had thought that this would be the end of the boy named Steffon Baratheon, yet the younger twin had proven himself once more as he slew his own uncle in single combat and them marched his own men to the capital to save the city from Renly and his men.
The Old Lion had managed to sprint his armies past the blockade on the Gold Road as well, and with his armies surrounded on three sides the war had ended swiftly as Renly Baratheon found himself slain by the blade of the boy Prince everyone had long written off.
And with that one battle, the war which was meant to last for years had come to an abrupt end.
The Northern and the Riverland host remained assembled at Harrenhall, but many lords within the host had already declared for the Iron Throne, and denounced the Council that had misled them about their intentions.
Most of them blamed Catelyn Tully, and her brother for the treason for with Renly and Stannis dead the winners were obvious enough.
The Tyrells had already surrendered and Storm's End was surrounded by some ten thousand men as its steward tried to shield himself from the worst consequences, and amidst this turmoil missives had come for Dorne as well, and the language in them had become much harsher now as the Crown summoned them to the capital for the coronation, though he did not miss how the message failed to mention the name of their next King.
"The Old Lion calls on us like dogs," he raged, and he had no love for the Old Lion as well but Dorne could hardly anger the Crown right now.
"That is hardly a fair assessment," Doran hoped to cool down his brother, and the language in the missive was hardly that offensive even though it was much harsher than when the Crown had sought their aide in dealing with the traitorous Baratheon brothers.
"What else do you call this?" Oberyn questioned, and Doran turned towards his brother as he sat and enjoyed the peace of his water gardens.
"A declaration of victory," he answered, and Oberyn's eyes narrowed.
"You predicted this," and even Doran was not that good.
"No," and he did not lie.
"The truth is that even I am surprised how the war ended," and he truly was, and Doran had thought and hoped that the war would last for a year or two and he would have loved to see the Baratheons and the Lannisters tear each other apart, yet much to his dismay the Lannisters had managed to secure victory in a swift way and now Dorne found itself facing a grand dilemma.
"Joffrey Baratheon did great harm to his cause when he tried to kill his own brother, but the boy has always been thought of as a monster," and there was a question if the boy even had Baratheon blood in him.
Still, it would have been easier to act if it was he who were to sit the Iron Throne, but Doran knew well that the Old Lion would never let that happen now.
He would not let customs and laws deny him his legacy.
"But his brother is different. He somehow turned the odds against Stannis himself while being a prisoner in his cells, and now with his contributions in the war it is much likely that he will be the one to sit the Iron Throne," and he planned on taking advantage of that.
He turned towards Oberyn who was frowning now.
"He is young, and is in need of a suitable wife," and Oberyn realised his intentions at once.
"You would wed your own daughter to a monster," and Doran would do what he thought was best for their House.
"Both the Starks and the Reach turned their backs on the Lannisters. They are traitors, and the boy will need to be wedded and bedded soon if Tywin Lannister wishes to save his legacy," and while he could always marry the Stark girl or the Rose of the Reach, there was a chance that war had soured their image in his head.
"But you forget brother," Oberyn added as his voice grew to a whisper.
"Arianne is promised to another," and she was indeed promised to a different King through a pact made in secret to the last Targaryen Prince alive on the other side of the Narrow Sea.
"Viserys Targaryen gathers his strength as we speak. We should ignore the Old Lion's letter and let his armies land on our shores," Oberyn suggested heatedly.
"Together with our own armies, we can end the Old Lion's ambitions once and for all," and Oberyn was not wrong to make that suggestion, but he did not agree with him.
"Petyr Baelish has sunk his teeth into Viserys Targaryen, and the man is reviled by everyone here. He is an upjumped thief who ruined many a lords with his actions, and they will always remember that," and there was little love for the Targaryens as well, for the wounds inflicted by the Mad King's cruelties ran deep.
"With Baelish standing by his side, few lords will ever raise their banners for the House of the Dragon," and so he was more inclined to ignore the pact of marriage between Arianne and Viserys.
"Few within the realm know of the pact," Doran clarified, and Dorne could not have its loyalty put into question at this moment, when half the realm was eager to prove their loyalty to the new King.
"We know well that the Spider had allied himself with Renly, but there has been no word about him ever since the end of the war," and it would serve them well if the man had managed to escape, but if he had been captured.
"You fear his capture?" Oberyn wondered, and he feared it too much indeed.
"He will not betray us," and he was not so sure of that.
"The Spider is a mysterious creature. Even I do not know where his true loyalties lie. He holds too many secrets in his heart, and if the Old Lion gets his hands on him and the secrets in his heart," he met Oberyn's gaze.
"It could bring Dorne to ruin," and Oberyn understood that as well.
"Yet you would still send me to the capital?" Oberyn countered, and Doran had already made his mind
"I would," he answered and his brother shook his head.
"How could you even think of joining hands with the Lannisters right now?" Oberyn balked, and his rage was obvious.
"Have you forgotten what they did to our sister? They ra..."
"I forget nothing!" he roared back, much to Oberyn's surprise, and just because he did not speak of it, it did not mean that Doran's blood did not boil with rage over what had happened to his sister.
"She was my sister as well. You are not alone in your suffering Oberyn," and those eyes narrowed.
"Yet you would make bed with the very people who slaughtered our Elia," and he closed his eyes, for the decision was not easy to make.
"The war has just ended, and the lords of the realm hunger for a chance to prove their loyalties to the Throne. What do you think will happen if we show any hint of disloyalty in this moment?" Dorne would find its deserts flooded with Stormlanders and Reach knights hoping to prove their loyalty to the new monarch on the throne.
"Let the bastards come. I will decorate our deserts with their blood," and thousands would suffer for that. Thousands.
"Have you forgotten our words brother," and now Oberyn knelt down until his face was right in front of him.
"Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken," and he remembered them well.
"We both desire justice for what happened to Elia," Doran countered.
"But war will not get us that justice," and he had already made his mind.
"An alliance shall," and Oberyn ground his teeth in frustration, but Doran knew that in his heart he knew that as well.
"You will go to the capital on my behalf with Arianne," and it was good that he had never told her about the pact, and he knew that she had become rather frustrated with him over the last few years and this would be her opportunity to further herself.
"Dorne was promised a Queen," and yet Elia was taken from them long before she could sit the Iron Throne.
"It is time to remind the capital of that promise...."
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