2,033Wife of the Wolf, Husband of the Sun.
Book 2
Chapter One-Hundred and Forty-Two
The sun was blazing bright, but not half so bright as her rage.
Obara Sand stormed through the corridors of the Sandsink, the castle of Lady Nyssa of House Drywell, with Lady Nyssa's grey rat scurrying to keep up with her. Servants scrambled to get out of her way as Obara hurried onward towards Lady Nyssa's solar, she threw the door open and stormed inside and did not give the older woman a chance to speak. "Is it true?"
"It would seem so," Lady Nyssa said with a sigh as she put her quill down on the table, next to the parchment she had been writing on. "There was a bird from Sunspear last night, Princess Arianne writes that she is under siege and is requesting aid from all true and loyal Dornish houses."
"And when did this bird come?" Obara asked, the familiar feeling of her rage burning deep in her gut. She already knew the answer, but she wanted to hear the other woman say it.
"Last night, Maester Olson woke me up as soon as it arrived," Lady Nyssa turned her gaze to said Maester who had finally managed to catch up. "I thought I made it clear that you were not to tell Lady Obara until I decided what I was to do about this news, did I not Maester Olsen?"
"Forgive me my lady, someone must have overheard our conversation and this is a small castle, the stable boys and kitchen maids were gossiping about it and when Lady Obara came to me," the grey rat swallowed dryly, he was clearly trying his hardest not to look at her. "Lady Obara made it clear that I would suffer if I did not tell her."
"Is that so?" Lady Nyssa said with a frown before she shook her head. "Leave us Maester, Lady Obara and I must speak in private."
Obara had never seen a man look so relived as the maester did in that moment and with a small bow he scurried out of the room, leaving the two of them alone. Lady Nyssa rose and poured herself a cup of lemonsweet, she poured one for Obara as well but she would have preferred it to be a cup of strongwine. But she took the cup all the same.
"What would you have me do?"
Obara blinked at the older woman's question, dumbfounded, before she found her voice. "Answer this outrage! My uncle, our prince, has been murdered! My cousin is under siege! You should have already called your spears! We should already be marching on Sunspear and the Water Gardens, if you are too craven to do it yourself then give me my spear and I will lead them, I'll have Ashara Dayne and her children's heads before the moon turns."
Lady Nyssa sighed and shook her head, "how many do I have in the castle of my garrison, you have lived here ever since the rebellion, you must surely know?"
Obara scowled, "You have seventy men-at-arms in your service."
"Yes, I have as well thirty archers, twenty crossbowmen and five knights in my household. That is enough to defend a castle from attack, it is not enough to take war to an enemy. House Dayne is one of the most powerful houses in Dorne, they are not an enemy that anyone would make easily."
Obara slammed her cup down on the table, the pale yellow lemonsweet splashed on the desk. "So you will do nothing!? As your liege lord lay murdered and his daughter, your new liege, is under threat!?"
"There is nothing I can do, House Dayne is not alone in this. Princess Arianne writes that she can see the banners of Wyl and Yronwood flying before her walls, and other houses as well from the mountains. Do not fear too much however Obara, your Aunt is the Queen and House Martell remains one of King Eddard's strongest allies. I imagine a northern army will march down the Prince's Pass soon enough, and the loyalist houses will flock to those banners."
Obara ground her teeth, her rage growing stronger and stronger deep inside of her. If Yronwood has joined in on this treason then that meant that these rebels had Quentyn, and if they had the Water Gardens as well then they had Trystane as well. Assuming they were not already dead.
"And if the Iron Throne does not respond or if they fail to relieve my cousin, then you can claim to these traitors that you are sympathic to them. You have me as a hostage after all, and I have Martell blood if not the name. Perhaps you are already planning to send them my head." Obara spat, her hands clenching into fists.
Lady Nyssa could try, Obara may not have been allowed to wield a weapon that wasn't dulled steel or wrapped, but she was still big and strong and if she was die then she would make sure that she beat the other woman to death first.
"There were two letters you know, one from your cousin begging for my aid, I imagine she sent ravens to every house in Dorne and more than a few were shot down, but I also received a raven from Lord Anders Yronwood, he has asked that I send my spears to join the siege and yes, he has asked for your head as well. I could have done so, I could make new friends and make myself quite powerful is there is a new House to rule Dorne."
"You may have noticed that your head is still attached to your shoulders, Obara I rode alongside you in the rebellion during our raids into the Reach, along with my daughters. My sweet trueborn sons rode with your father. My boys are gone, Derric and Tor both died in battle, Baelor was murdered in the shadow city by a thief, Aegor died when his ship was caught in a storm on his way home from Lys and my Doran died from a burst belly."
"My daughters are gone as well, you were there when it happed at Sweetwater Castle. Daggers is the only child of my body that I have left," Lady Nyssa sighed and shook her head. "You have been a comfort to me over the years, a headache at times, to be sure but you do not know me at all if you think I have it in me to do you harm. My men will remain here to defend my home, and you."
Obara did not know what to say, her anger was still there and her heart was screaming for justice, for vengeance. And yet, she could not deny that to hear such words were sweet to hear, she did not doubt her father loved her, that her aunt loved her and her sisters did as well, even Uncle Doran for he would surely have removed her head if he did not, but it had been so long since anyone said such sweet words to her.
Lady Nyssa took pity on her and shook her head with a smile that was as sweet as it was sad, and that made Obara's heart ache as she remembered how her own mother had used to smile at her. All her smiles had been sad. "Go back to your rooms, my sweet girl. Grieve for your uncle, rage and destroy everything within there and scream so even the men of the Night's Watch can hear you, you are safe here."
Obara left.
She did not rage, nor destroy anything, she simply sat in the darkness. Obara did not weep, her father had taught her how worthless they were, all she did was sit in the darkness and think.
Her father was more than likely dead than not, ever since he had been wounded in the rebellion he did not drift far from Sunspear and the Water Gardens now. The thought of that made her want her spear once again, but then she remembered Lady Nyssa's sad smile and her stomach twisted into knots.
She wondered if her sisters knew what had happened yet, Nymeria and Tyene in King's Landing and Sarella up in the North with her paramour. Did they weep or rage like her, were they planning their own vengeance or was Aunt Elia soothing Tyene and Nym's rage, was Sarella weeping bitter tears while Rickard Snow tried to give her comfort? Obara did not know.
Serving men brought her food later in the evenings and it was all her favourites, a bowl of snake stew that was so hot that it threatened to sear her taste buds and burn her lips, flatbeds baked golden and cubes of sharp white cheese, cream cakes topped with slices of blood oranges and a flagon of strongwine to wash it all down.
A fully belly and grief made strong allies when it came to luring someone into sleep, and while Obara slept she dreamed. Her mother was waiting for her, with tears of blood rolling down her cheeks and a hole where her heart should be. And that hole was filled with fire.
Obara did not leave her rooms on the morning that she woke, nor the day after that. She prayed for the first time in a very long time, though it offered little comfort to her.
It was on the third day when she heard the horn and a serving man burst into her chamber, his eyes wide. "Lady Obara, your father is here!"
Obara ran.
When she saw Prince Oberyn in the great hall of the Sandsink she did not know if she should laugh or hit him or hug him, she would not weep though. Never that.
War had aged him beyond his years, his hair had long since gone to grey and there were more lines around his eyes than she remembered, she had last seen him not half a year before. He walked with a stick, and his eyes were red. He's been weeping. Obara realised, baffled. That is wrong, you taught me to never weep. You showed me how they were worthless when you struck my mother and offered me the spear. You taught me to be strong, to hurt the world if it hurts you. You must not weep.
Prince Oberyn Nymeros Martell smiled when he saw her and stepped towards her, resting a hand on her shoulder. "It is good to see you my daughter, our House and blood is under attack and we must stand to defend it. And take vengeance."
Obara nodded. "I am yours my Prince, always. But how did you escape from the Water Gardens?"
"I was not there," Prince Oberyn said with a sad smile, "I had gone riding to Lemonwood not two days before, I cursed myself for that when word came to us. I would not have been able to save Doran if I had been there, but I would have died for him all the same. Dalt is with us, they've always been loyal. And now I ride to each keep and castle, to make sure we have our allies in the war to come."
"Oh, Ashara and Darkstar sent some of their creatures after me, but House Dalt had leant me some guards and I had our sweet Ser Daemon with me," Her father waved his hand over to his paramour, the first time Obara had noticed him. "Their blood stained the sands, and it will not be the last."
"Now then," Prince Oberyn turned to Lady Nyssa and gave her a smile that was all teeth. "Lady Nyssa, I know that you are loyal and I am no fool. I know the forces you can muster are...let us say modest, I will not ask you to raise them for us. Yet. I have come for my daughter, that is all."
Lady Nyssa stared at him for a long moment before she finally spoke. "Prince Oberyn, by Prince Doran's decree Lady Obara is to remain confined to my castle as punishment for her crimes in the rebellion."
"My brother is dead woman, I am working towards gaining vengeance for him and for that I need Obara." Oberyn Martell frowned. "And my brother's decrees died with him, she is mine."
Lady Nyssa turned her attention to Obara then and she had never seen the woman look so sad. "You do not have to go with him, he does not have the strength to force the issue."
Obara blinked and swallowed, and shook her head. "I made my choice long ago."
Her father smile and Lady Nyssa wept silently. "I told you she was mine."
End of Chapter One-Hundred and Forty-Two
I think this might be one of my favourite chapters that I have ever written to be honest with you all.
If you liked it then please consider leaving a review, constructive criticism is always welcome and please consider following and favouriting.
With warmest regards,
DiscordantSymphony