XXXVI. Closed Doors
Cassandra couldn't recall the last time she had been this happy.
She laughed freely as she chased after Owain and Arianne on the shores of the beach. Their cheerful calls only spurred her on, her feet padding on the white sand.
It was one of the days they spent in the Water Gardens. It was the day before they were due to return to Sunspear.
Before she could catch up to them, arms wrapped around her waist, halting her movements. She turned her head and was faced with the visage of the man she loved most on this earth.
"Oberyn! Let me go!" Cassandra demanded, struggling away from his hold. Despite the smile that remained on her face, an unexplainable sadness spread across her chest.
"Never." Oberyn whispered back, pressing kisses to her nape. "Never, ever for the rest of time."
"You're a sap." She rolled her eyes playfully even though she enjoyed his show of affection.
Slipping from his hold, she laughed as he tried to reach for her and she jumped just an inch out of reach.
Cassandra continued on her chase and just as she reached Arianne, she pulled the little girl back only to fall in shock when the little girl turned to reveal Rhaenys.
"Aunt Cass!" Rhaenys exclaimed in glee, wrapping her small arms around Cassandra's waist.
Tears began to stream from her eyes as memories came back to her in fragments. The bloody bodies covered in Lannister colors. The smell of fire and the taste of death. The feel of the Mad King's hands around her throat.
"Why are you crying, Aunt Cass?" Rhaenys asked, looking up at her curiously, poking at her waist.
Just as she opened her mouth to wave it off as nothing, Cassandra found herself back in the throneroom at King's Landing. Screams began to echo from different sides of the room.
The pleads of Rickard and Brandon Stark rang from beyond while Elia's cries for help reached her ears. Yet no matter where she turned, the room remained empty.
Her knees hit the floor just as the entire room burst into flames.
Cassandra awoke with a start, a gasp trapped in her throat. Her hands clawed up her neck as she struggled to breathe, the air coming in a few moments later.
When her lungs finally took in the necessary amount of air, that was when the emotions of her nightmare hit her. Tears began to stream down her face as she began to sob silently.
She cried for the deaths she failed to prevent, the future she had lost, and for the girl she had been. She was so exhausted from crying but when one lost everything, what else was there to do?
With her face buried in her hands, she cried until she felt her head throb. Each breath came painfully and her chest started to ache, her heart feeling the consequences of each loss.
"Please help," She whimpered between sobs, not knowing who it was she was calling to but wishing someone was out there to answer.
An object to her left clattered loudly to the ground, the dead silence of the night magnifying the sound tenfold. She felt herself jump at the sound of metal hitting stone.
Before she could register her actions, she scrambled out of her bed, almost getting tangled in the blankets in the process. Her eyes frantically looked around the room, looking for the one face she trusted to keep her safe.
'Oberyn,' Her lips formed his name but no sound emerged from them. All she wanted to see was him, all she wanted to feel was him.
When she did not find him, she made her way to the door and was about to pull it open to look for him when she remembered the events of the day prior.
She was in her own chambers, far away from him. Oberyn did not care for her. Oberyn did not love her. Oberyn would not do anything to keep her safe because she was the enemy in his eyes.
No one would keep her safe. Not even him. So she would have to brave the creatures of her nightmares alone. No matter how much she wanted his help.
Her hands itched to write her letters but after remembering the implications of those letters in her life, she let go of the idea altogether.
Her hand hovered over the doorknob though she made no further move. Instead, she leaned back against the cold wood of her door as she slowly slid to the floor.
Tucking her knees against her chest, she breathed carefully, trying to hold her pieces together despite wanting nothing more than to return to his arms.
She remained in that spot until the sun rose in the sky, not getting another bout of sleep as she refused to feel helpless in her nightmares all alone.
What she didn't know was outside her door sat the Dornish prince who had her in his thoughts, refusing to leave her alone at all costs. They had sat against the door all night, oblivious of the other's presence.
He had sat guard all night, forced to listen to her whimpers and sobs, thinking that the last thing she wanted was him even if he wanted nothing more than to burst into the room.
That is why even if their hearts called to each other in the dark, with the tugging of their heartstrings pulling them near, they remained at a distance.
So close, yet so very far.
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"Where is he?"
Oberyn entered the kitchens, looking the opposite of the picture-perfect prince everyone knew him to be.
His eyes were bloodshot and his hair was unkempt. It was clear that the prince had suffered another sleepless night as everyone had long since heard of the feud that had occurred between the husband and wife.
Days had passed since their confrontation and while no one had been present for the entire argument, gossip spread fast. By the end of the day, everyone had already heard of how Lady Cassandra moved out of their shared chambers and refused to leave her new ones.
"Who are you looking for, Prince Oberyn?" One of the servants dared to ask, despite fearing the prince's reaction.
"Owain. Where is he?" Oberyn questioned, his normally tame dark eyes looking around the kitchen frantically.
Knowing how the little boy had avoided the prince all this time and how endeared he was to them, none of the servants opened their mouths to answer.
Owain had been a constant presence in their kitchen and his stories had kept them company on most days as they cooked.
Besides, after knowing what Lady Cassandra did for the boy and having heard of the disagreement between the couple, not one of them felt inclined to answer.
After all, even if he was their beloved prince, his wife was a kind soul so if anyone must be in the wrong, then it would have to be Prince Oberyn. Until he apologized, they would remain silent on the matter.
When no one moved to answer, Oberyn felt his impatience get the better of him but before he could demand someone get him Owain, someone shuffled behind him.
Turning around, he was surprised to see Owain, his conviction strong as he looked up at him with what looked like anger and betrayal.
In a way, it was like how Cassandra had looked at him a few days prior. The memory of her face only brought him to wince. He had never liked seeing her cry but being the reason for her tears was infinitely worse.
"What do you want?" Owain glared at him fiercely, speaking through gritted teeth. The wide-eyed boy who had looked to him for guidance and training was a long way off from the little boy who looked furious beyond belief.
"Owain, I need your help." Oberyn said, getting straight to the point.
Cassandra had not left her new chambers in days. Servants would leave her food outside of her door but those trays were always returned to the kitchens with barely a bite taken out of them.
He was tempted to break down her door himself to get her to eat more but he knew that choosing to do such a thing would not fare well if he wanted to get back in her good graces.
Therefore, the only answer for it was Owain, whom they had both come to care for greatly. Only he did not expect the little boy to treat him with such hostility.
Owain scoffed, crossing his little arms over his chest as he turned his nose up. "Get someone else. I'm not your servant."
Oberyn hated that Owain thought so low of him but he certainly could not blame him. "I know you're not but please, you're the only person she would listen to."
Upon hearing his words, the young boy finally released all the anger he was struggling to keep inside. "I warned you. I told you that if you hurt her, I hurt you."
Oberyn only continued. "I made a mistake and I have regretted it every day since."
"No, your only regret is that you got caught!" Owain exclaimed, not wanting to hear any more of his excuses.
Oberyn placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, releasing a breath as he bent down to his height. "I just want her to eat. I don't want her to starve herself. She shouldn't have to do so, not over me."
Owain continued to glare at him, looking as if he would not be swayed before he came to the decision that Lady Cassandra would come first. "Fine, I will speak to her."
Oberyn breathed a sigh of relief as he expressed his gratitude. "Thank you, Owain. Thank you."
Owain shrugged off his hand before speaking. "I'm not doing this for you. I know what it's like to starve, to have to steal a small loaf of bread, to beg for a taste of water. Lady Cassandra saved me from that life and I would do anything to prevent her from feeling that way."
At that moment, the young boy looked older and wiser beyond his years. His experiences had shaped him into who he was and while his youthful joy may fool others, Oberyn saw in his eyes the burden he carried.
"Still, thank you." Oberyn said as an understanding passed between them. Cassandra will be put first but anything beyond her was not to be discussed.
Owain nodded once before heading in the direction of Cassandra's chambers. It was to Oberyn's relief when he heard the news that Owain and Cassandra shared supper, glad that the young boy's presence would remind his wife that she was not alone.
The empty dinner tray that returned to the kitchen only served to comfort him as he sat vigil outside by Cassandra's door for that night, as he had done so in the previous nights.
When Owain left Cassandra's chambers late that night, he was surprised to see the Dornish prince asleep outside her door. He found his anger dissipating a little, seeing how truly regretful he was.
After speaking to Cassandra and learning more of the situation, Owain could only hope that they could resolve everything between them for the moments they spent together were the happiest he had ever been in his life.
For the first time in his life, he had felt as if he had a family and he wished with all his might that they could be that once more.
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Hello everyone! Gosh, the feels in this chapter was almost too much! I miss them so much too :,,)
Next chapter, there will be a dinner party and we'll get to see another exchange between Oberyn and Cassandra. Lemme jus say, :,(( Anyways stay tuned and sending you all my love <3!