Game Of Thrones: The God-Emperor of Planetos

Chapter 16: Chapter 15 - The Princess of Vengeance (III)



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"Decisions must be made indifferently, emotions, desires and responsibilities are something that any ruler must separate properly." Doran Martell, Prince of Dorne.

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POV: Doran Martell, Prince of Dorne.

Dorne - Sunspear.

Old Palace, Dining Hall.

Doran Martell was a man of forty-seven, with black hair with weathered gray tips falling over his shoulders, deep black eyes, and a serious, rather cold face. He wore fine gold Dornish robes and sat in a wheelchair.

"The boy's information tells us more and more that Eddard Stark has fooled everyone." Doran muttered with a pensive look on his face. He was like that, thinking about every word, every action, always trying to make the best choice for House Martell and Dorne.

Jon Snow.

Doran chewed the boy's name in his mouth, not sure at the moment if his suspicions were true or just his paranoia saying something impossible.

But he had never been a man who believed in morality and honor, he believed in family above all else and his instincts told him that Eddard was a similar man. He could sacrifice his own honor and marriage to protect his family, even if it meant having his own head cut off by the king.

Tapping his finger rhythmically on the table, Doran didn't even notice that his daughter had sat down next to him to break her morning fast.

"You look pensive, Father. Something is troubling you." Hearing the voice next to him, Doran followed it with his dark eyes and fixed his gaze on the girl with tanned skin and curly black hair. She wore an almost transparent blue silk dress and a lot of jewelry, and though she was thirteen, she was small even for a woman.

His heir, Arianne Martell.

Doran liked his daughter, she was cunning, deadly like any Martell, and most of all, he could use all her advantages to his advantage. That was what he was looking for in an heir.

Unfortunately, Arianne was a woman.

Even though Dorne did not have as many customs as the South, and a woman could rule Dorne, Doran did not want a woman to take the Sun Throne of Dorne; he was someone who believed that women were fickle and prone to the love of men, which was a danger in his eyes.

Would Arianne or her husband rule Dorne?

Though the chances were slim, he wasn't about to risk his family's fate on luck or anything else.

However, his male children proved to be one disappointment after another, Quentyn and Trystane were two ends of the same coin.

Quentyn, although intelligent, was full of doubts, fears and insecurities, almost like a child who hadn't grown up and constantly needed his father's support. Trystane, on the other hand, was his youngest son, too young and too kind for his own good.

Letting out a sigh, Doran didn't let his thoughts show on his face and brought the golden wine glass to his lips. As for his daughter's question, he didn't bother to answer. There were very few people who could make him talk if he didn't want to and his daughter was definitely not one of them.

Although the smile on her lips still remained the same, Arianne felt an overwhelming sadness seeing her father's indifference towards her. She wasn't stupid and she could see that Doran loved her, but not to the point of caring enormously about her, which hurt her.

Sometimes she wanted to have a dick to see if Doran would pay more attention to her than to her brothers, who had always been her father's main focus, even though she was the Legitimate Heiress of Sunspear.

While father and daughter stood in silence having similar but completely different thoughts, the doors to the Dining Hall opened and Oberyn, Ellaria and Rhayna entered.

Doran didn't notice his other nieces, his brother's bastard daughters, probably not in the Old Palace at the moment, perhaps venturing into the Desert of Dorne.

The Prince of Dorne's dark eyes fell on the nine-year-old girl, her lilac eyes indicating some kinship with the Ancient Valyria, everyone thought just another of Oberyn's bastards, but he knew, it was his sister Ellia Martell's daughter with Prince Rhaegar of House Targaryen.

The true heir to the Iron Throne, although he knew that no lord would accept a woman as queen, which made his choices rather delicate and risky for the future of House Martell.

But to Doran's surprise, the girl didn't have the feigned expression of happiness she usually wore; instead, she sported a big smile on her lips. The girl was traumatized by the death of her family, which had taken place in front of her, and she rarely smiled.

He didn't blame her, the death of Ellia and his nephew had been a huge blow to him and Oberyn, who were still furious about what had happened. If he hadn't had a calm mind, six years ago he would have headed for King's Landing with his army.

"You look happy, cousin." Arianne said, looking at the nine-year-old girl with a surprised look. If she thought about it, it was the second time she had seen her cousin smile so happily. The first was when she had received the news that Queen Rhaella and her two daughters were safe in Essos.

That was four years ago, and for all that time, Arianne had never seen Rhayna smile as innocently as before. But today, she saw the same smile on her cousin's sweet lips again.

"A pleasant evening, dear cousin." Rhaenys replied with a smile as she looked at her cousin with a warm look in her lilac eyes.

Although the Martells were not her real family, they treated her with all possible care and love. Arianne in particular spent some nights in her room to comfort her after long nights of nightmares.

"Uncle, I'd like to make a request." Rhaenys looked at her uncle, Doran, who had an impassive, cold expression. His lilac eyes were fixed on the most powerful man in Dorne.

Doran looked at Rhaenys and noticing his niece's appraising gaze, he raised an eyebrow and replied. "You may do so, dear niece."

"I want all the information about Jon Snow, Eddard Stark's bastard." Rhaenys didn't hesitate to speak her purpose, as to what everyone would think of her request, she didn't care.

Aenar's identity would be revealed sooner or later, if Doran discovered Aenar's identity, there would be no bad consequences. On the contrary, it would make her uncle bet even more on her brother.

Doran blinked a few times for a moment and glanced discreetly at his younger brother, Oberyn, who shook his head, saying he hadn't said anything.

He didn't answer right away and brought the glass containing the wine to his lips as he analyzed the nine-year-old girl. He knew his niece's every move, who she had spoken to or even trained with during that time.

It wasn't paranoia, but because of his niece's sensitive identity, everyone she spoke to had to be monitored in case she leaked her true identity for some reason.

Although Dorne was strong, the other side had six entire kingdoms, hundreds of thousands of soldiers while Dorne had around thirty thousand men. That number was nowhere near enough to withstand Robert Baratheon's rage.

Especially at this time, when the king was at the height of his prestige, defeating the rebellion of House Greyjoy.

Not one person in the Old Palace had mentioned anything about Jon Snow and there was certainly no way that people of unknown origins could get close to his niece, so he had severe doubts as to how Rhaenys had managed to learn that name.

"Why do you ask about him, niece?" Doran asked, his dark eyes fixed on the girl's lilac ones. He couldn't let on that she had the same indomitable look that his sister had.

Arianne bit into a piece of bread as her eyes wandered between her cousin and father, the intensity in the air suddenly heightened.

'Jon Snow? A bastard from the North. But what has a bastard done to gain the attention of her father and cousin?' Arianne thought as curiosity began to creep into her gaze.

"You shouldn't ask a lady's secrets, dear uncle." Rhaenys replied with an innocent smile as she looked at her uncle with a slightly sarcastic gaze.

Rhaenys' words caused Oberyn and Ellaria to burst out laughing.

"How rude of you to ask a lady's secrets, brother. It seems I have to remind you how to treat a woman." Oberyn spoke with a smile on his face, seeing the helpless expression on his brother's face made his day. How long had it been since he'd seen that expression!

Doran let out a sigh and stroked his forehead, listening to the muffled laughter in the dining room. He had no doubt, his niece really was his sister's daughter. Mother and daughter were so alike that the girl was practically the second coming of Ellia in his eyes.

Looking at his younger brother with a cold stare, causing both lovers to fall silent, Doran turned his gaze back to his niece and spoke quietly. "Although I'm curious as to how you know that name, I'll send some documents to your room."

Rhaenys put on a cheerful look and began to eat with intensity and fervor, something that everyone around had not seen her do for a long time.

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