Letters were sent to all of Westeros, announcing the birth of our prince. I was advised to stay in bed for a week after the birth, in which time my beloved niece, Myrcella arrived. She is the spitting image of both my siblings in different ways, it still bothers me the sins they have committed but I cannot betray them, however, I think I will tell my beloved about her.
She greeted my son with the biggest smile, happy to finally have a cousin. Doran swore to me that she would be safe, he said to me "We don't hurt little girls in Dorne." An obvious reference to my father sending the Mountain to murder his young sister and her children, hurtfull comment but fair. Even with all the many mistakes and atrocities he has committed in the past against many families of Westeros, including his own, I can't bring myself to hate him. Now that I think about it, I have much to tell him about my past.
***
A month has gone by since the birth of our little prince, it was a bit nerve wracking, I couldn't really bring myself to leave his side for more than a couple of hours. I made the wet nurse feed him with me in the room and the maester had to come at the end of every week to check him.
The first month is the most crucial in health for a new child, but my Elio pulled through with his mother's stubbornness and his father's strength. Speaking of his father, Oberyn has been doing the most for both of us. He has been rubbing my feet every couple of nights and brought me hot compresses every other night for my aching back, while cuddling Elio every chance he gets.
It is truly something to watch your love turn into a father, of course, Oberyn has been one six times before but seeing him cradle Elio's tiny head and speaking sweet nothings to him made me love him even more. Our daughters have been coming every day in between lessons to see their little brother. I will never keep them separated simply because of the conditions of their births, they are all my children and I will raise them as siblings.
I am at the nursery looking over my little lion, he is so beautiful. Elio is Oberyn in a smaller version, his little hairs as dark as his, his nose, and skin touched by the sun but his eyes... his light blue striking eyes are the color of the sky when the sun is high, those are all me. "My little lion, you will be fierce and just, you will go down in history for all of the best reasons."
I hear Oberyn's chuckle and can practically feel his smile from the door. "With parents like us, I have no doubt our little viper will be grand... as will any other children we might have."
"I am still recovering from Elio and already you are thinking of more. You must think of me as indestructible, beloved." He holds me from behind, "I will take as many children as you are willing to give me. Come, now we must go to bed."
Once we reach our chambers and change into nightgowns and go out to the balcony, we sit as we did the night of Elio's birth, me resting between his arms. "Beloved? I have been thinking about my father, specifically about the letter and the gifts he has sent to celebrate Elio..." He hums behind me.
"He wrote about how proud he was that I made him a grandfather to another boy, but also of how relieved he was that the birth went smoothly and not horribly like that of my brother Tyrion... With the war that two of my siblings are fighting up north, the third one missing along with one of my closest friends and the impact of yet another war made me realize that I haven't really told you much about my life before Dorne."
He lets out a breath and says back to me, "I suppose we haven't given ourselves the time to talk, we were much to busy hosting court, fighting of mistresses, and enjoying some glorious sex in your friends' villa."
I twist my body to face him, "Oberyn I know and understand the hatred you have for my father but to me he is my papa even when he has wronged me in many ways." He frowned, urging me to explain more. "I grew up in bliss, everything I wanted I got, though I always acted like the perfect daughter and lady my father demanded I be... so I got cocky, thinking I was immune to his wrath and I started a relationship with one of the knights, Johna."
"We fell in love and planned to run away to Essos with his family, he made me promise once that I would protect them. We met behind a tavern, I had brought some of my jewels to pay for the passage, when my father showed up with three of his most trusted knights... One of them grabbed me and made me watch as my father had my loves's hands and feet removed, then his eyes and tongue, and left him to die of blood loss. All the while a song, the same song we danced during our wedding feast, played in the tavern... When I came back from Essos, Jaime told me that my father had Johna's family executed for treason as soon as my ship left port. I was so distraught because I couldn't keep my promise to him, that I thought about little else in the days to come, and then I came here to marry you..."
He looked at me with utter shock in his eyes, "And still you love him?"
"Yes"
"Even after he murdered your lover? Did he murder every other lover you've had since?"
"I've had but one lover since Johna... he is a soldier from Essos, I met him at a party and we spent our time together in Lys, Daario Naharis is his name. And no, my father hasn't killed him, I don't think."
"I can't say I understand you Flower, I mean he has been horrible to you, and according to rumors to your siblings as well, and yet you love him. Why?"
"He is still the man who raised me with all his love. My family is extremely flawed, I haven't told you half of the crimes they are responsible for... yet I can't really explain my heart but he is and always will be my dear papa."
He didn't say anything after that, we just held each other in understanding, knowing that the love that has bloomed between us is stronger than anything and anyone around us. Love, and to think that just a few months ago I thought it to be nothing other than folk tale.
***
The next day I took him to my vault of treasures, showed him everything from the dresses to the bones of the dragons I brought back, until he started to go through my journals, I let him read freely as I played with our son's tiny hands. "Flower, you are an amazing artist, I didn't know you held such talent. These drawings remind me of my own travels to Essos."
After some more time the nurse took Elio and I was playing with Sarella when Obryn broke out in laughter. "You certainly took a liking to drawing me, I feel most flattered love. And I assume this man is the one you called Daario. Very good looking, definitely has the body of a soldier, even though I hate the thought of another man in your mind I have to admit, you have good taste."
"Hahaha, why thank you beloved. But as you can see from the drawings, even when we were together in Lys you still found a way into my thoughts." Sarella left to continue her classes and we took to walking the gardens.
"Now I understand why your men love you so, you gave them great lives and little rules to follow when in Essos. And that funny looking man that brought you cheese is the one that looked after the Targaryan children."
He kept talking and laughing for hours on end, until Tommy came to our path, "You highnessess, greetings. My princess I come bearing news from the capital."
We rushed inside to a quiet sitting room, "Lord Stannis Baratheon reached Kings Landing through Blackwater Bay just like you predicted." I suddenly forgot how to breath, holding Oberyn's hand waiting for more.
"Both your siblings and two nephews live, but Lord Tyrion sustained a significant wound to his face while attacked in battle... our birds have gathered enough to say that it was Queen Cersie who sent assassins after him and it was his salesword that kept him alive long enough for Lord Lannister's army to arrive." Cersie, have you lost your mind?!
"And how did they defeat Stannis' navy?" Oberyn asked besides me. "Lord Tyrion sent boats with wildfire and blew them all up. Your warning gave him more time to think, my princess, you helped your lord brother survive." A soft smile came to me, good I was feeling so useless from so far away.
"Toko, before you leave you better tell me that you have found the rats within our birds." It was his turn to smile, "Yes, Laso left a fortnight ago to root all of them out. Apparently some of Littlefinger's birds found their way into our ranks, but just this morning Toko got a message stating that he had them all killed."
"Good, now do as I say... I need you to find out what the self proclaimed King in the North has been up to. We need him to go back to Winterfell before my father's army is stretched too thin for comfort." Oberyn chips in "Tommy, also have someone look into the whereabouts of the two young Stark boys, I fear for their lives while they are alone, specially if one of them is crippled."
"There is much truth to your words beloved. Tommy, go talk to Mordred and Henry they would know who to trust back in their homeland, if the children are in danger, have them brought here to Dorne. We'll keep them safe."
After Tommy left to carry out our orders we spent the rest of the afternoon eating and laughing for we, even from afar, still have a saying in the game of thrones. A deadly dance we very much enjoy together.
A/N
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