"What are you doing, Lady Stark?" a voice started, causing you to flinch where you crouched in a corner, close to the entrance to the bed chambers of Cersei Lannister. The shock caused you to tumble backwards, falling against Oberyn's legs as you gave him a nervous smile.
"Nothing, I thought I saw something on the floor was all," you quickly lied as he reached out a hand to help you to your feet. "It was nothing," you added in a rush, watching as he raised an eyebrow at you, your behaviour obviously coming across as strange to him. Of course it had, you had been spying on the Queen Regent, not something to take lightly at all.
"Of course not, and I assume it was just coincidence that you saw something right here," he smirked at you and your cheeks turned a deep shade of red, your flustered appearance giving you away and ridding you of any hope you had of lying to him.
"Please don't tell them I was here," you begged, staring into his eyes. His smirk quickly fell from his face as he watched you panic.
"I was just teasing. I won't tell, you have my word," he told you as he held out an arm for you to take. "If they see us speaking out here they'll grow curious," he uttered, allowing you to link your arm with his as he lead you from the hallways and into the gardens. "What were you doing so far from your chambers, My Lady?" he asked once you reached one of the many sets of tables and chairs that were scattered throughout the grounds of the Red Keep.
"I could ask the same of you," you told him as he pulled the chair out for you, letting out a throaty chuckle, nodding at your comment.
"That you could," he started, his tongue running over his teeth as he watched you. "But I'm sure your story would be much more interesting," he smiled at you as he took the seat across from you, waving away the servant girl who had come hurrying over to you.
"More interesting or one which would be more beneficial to you?" you quipped and he grinned again, watching as you tilted your head to watch him.
"You are far too clever for your own good, Y/N," he chuckled before speaking again. "You caught me, it would be beneficial for me to know why you were spying on Cersei Baratheon," he told you and you snorted at his comment.
"You would have to be a fool to consider her a Baratheon, she never stopped being a Lannister," you uttered, looking down at your hands for a moment. "And it's not strictly spying if I didn't learn anything. I have no information for you, I'm afraid," you added and he simply shrugged.
"That still doesn't explain why you were doing it," he spoke softly. "Come now, Y/N, we both know you'll tell me eventually, so why don't you cut to the chase. We have time for a cup of wine when we are finished with business," he added, making you smile.
You leant across the table beckoning for him to come closer. "If you think I'm stupid enough to speak about this in such open conditions then you have underestimated me just as everyone else in this city has, and frankly I'm very disappointed," you whispered to him before climbing to your feet. "I expect I'll see you later, Prince Oberyn," you told him more loudly before curtseying slightly and heading off towards your own chambers.
You had grown to enjoy the conversations you got to share with Oberyn, but you were being honest when you told him it was not something to be discussed in the open. The Queen regent had her spies constantly surveying the castle and you were lucky that it was not one of them who had found you hovering around her chambers. It was unlikely you would have made it to the end of the week if she knew you were watching her.
*Time Skip*
You weren't sure why, but you were surprised when you found Oberyn standing at the door to your chambers an hour later, but you gave him a large smile anyway. "How can I help you?" you asked as you gestured for him to come inside.
"You said we couldn't speak openly. I thought this is a little more private," he uttered as he settled himself at the table that overlooked the rest of King's Landing, grinning up at you when you gave him a playful scowl.
"Fine," you told him as you made your way over to sit opposite him. "I'm investigating the death of Jon Arryn," you told him, watching the smile fall from his face. "I know she had something to do with it and my father wanted to get to the bottom of it," you added as you finally took your seat, pouring out a cup of wine for each of you and drinking deeply from your own.
"Are you insane?" he questioned, his voice low and bitter as he spoke. "You're going to get yourself killed," he told you and you scoffed, watching his face grow annoyed.
"And you think you wont be if you keep looking into Elia's death?" you asked, your eyebrows lifting as you looked over at him.
"It's not the same," he growled. "She was my sister," he added and your eyes narrowed.
"And he was my father. We're not on different teams here, Oberyn, they've wronged us both," you growled at him, watching as his eyes squeezed shut. "And we both want revenge," you added and he nodded without opening his eyes. "So we can work together?" you asked him and he nodded again, allowing his eyes to drift open to look into yours.
"But you need to stop creeping around the Red Keep. They'll get suspicious and we can't afford that," he uttered and you nodded in agreement. You both sat in silence for a moment sipping awkwardly from your drinks as you both thought.
"Sansa can't know," you told him and he hummed at you in question. "She means well but she's under their thumb. There's nothing she can do to help us, especially not with the marriage to the imp," you explained and he thought for a second.
"Tyrion will keep her safe, he's the only honourable Lannister I've ever met," he told you and you smiled your thanks at his comforting words. "Who are you to marry?" he suddenly asked and you shrugged in response.
"My father was talking of a marriage to one of Mace Tyrell's sons before he died, but now there aren't many who would take me," you murmured as you picked at you nails.
"We should join our houses, to fix the alliance," he told you, making your eyes shoot over to look at him.
"I thought you only had daughters," you uttered and he chuckled.
"I meant that you could marry me. I think it would be best to have an alibi for why we'll be spending so much time together," he told you firmly and you gave him a small nod.
"That would be wise, I assume you'll present the idea to the King?" you asked him and he hummed an agreement. "Then it is settled, I'll be your wife," you told him and he laughed when your cheeks turned red.
"Once we have joined our houses, we'll be able to have our revenge, but for now I think it would be a good idea to get to know each other a little better. After all, if you are to be my wife you should know a little bit about me or they'll question the match," he told you and you smiled giving him a nod.
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