In the Water Gardens, a couple sat together who hadn't seen each other in several years. llario broke the silence, asking softly, “How is your gout?”
“It's better,” replied Prince Doran, his usually composed deanor now laced with discomfort. Their separation hadn't been due to a lack of affection, but rather llario's strong disagreent with sending their young son away to be fostered.
Doran had recently received Viserys’s “Great Announcent,” but it was llario who provided him with the more detailed account: the Night, the Dothraki, the dragons, and the "Emperor" title.
Less than two years ago, Doran had thought Viserys would struggle just to take Tyrosh. Now, he couldn't find the words to describe his feelings—regret hung heavily over him. He regretted not keeping a closer watch on Arianne, allowing a bastard to take her virginity. Doran prayed llario wouldn’t ask about it, for he truly wouldn't know how to explain.
“Do you think Viserys will still honor the original marriage contract?” llario asked, unaware that Viserys already knew of Arianne’s situation. Doran decided to keep this a secret for as long as he could.
“He... He and we have signed a new marriage contract,” Doran admitted.
“A new marriage contract?” llario’s voice held a note of surprise.
By 'new marriage,' Doran ant that Viserys’s heir would marry into House Martell, but Viserys himself would not. He had Tyene, the Red Viper’s daughter, bring the 'new marriage' contract to llario.
“When was this marriage contract signed?” she asked.
“A... less than two years ago.” Doran regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth.
Less than two years ago? Viserys had only just conquered Tyrosh at that ti. Could he have foreseen his rise to power even then? Or was he already planning the hatching of the dragons? Even if that were true, another problem remained. Breaking off the engagent right after conquering Tyrosh seed like an attempt to “cast aside the one who had helped you.” Were the n of House Martell all so soft that they could accept such a slight?
“Tell , what was the reason Viserys gave for breaking off the engagent?” llario pressed.
Prince Doran couldn’t find the words. It felt as if his vocal cords had vanished; his mouth opened, but no sound erged.
Just then, a sudden cry of surprise ca from outside. “Mother!”
llario turned to see Arianne, and mother and daughter imdiately embraced tightly. Arianne was her firstborn, and when llario had left Sunspear, she had done so under cover of night while Arianne slept. Now, after five or six long years, they were finally reunited.
“Mother, I’ve missed you so much,” Arianne whispered.
“Arianne, my Arianne,” llario responded, holding her daughter as if she never wanted to let go. After what seed like an eternity, the mother and daughter finally sat down together.
“You’ve grown taller,” llario observed.
“Yes, Mother,” Arianne replied softly.
Watching the intimate reunion between the two, Doran let out a silent sigh of relief, feeling as though he had narrowly escaped a disaster.
“Mother, I heard you just returned from the Disputed Lands?”
“Yes, but it’s now called the Hopeful Lands.”
“Hopeful Lands?” Arianne repeated, surprised.
A silver-haired figure appeared in Arianne’s vision. “So, did you see Viserys? How is he doing? I heard that so ti ago, Viserys fought the Dothraki?”
Arianne’s words left both her parents at a loss for what to say. How could they tell her that Viserys had beco an emperor? It would only upset her more.
“He—won,” llario finally said. “Viserys defeated the Horselord, and now the danger in the Hopeful Lands has been lifted.”
Arianne nodded, as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. “Okay, if you have any more questions, we can talk about them tonight, when we sleep together, alright?” llario added, gently rubbing her daughter’s hair.
“Alright! Okay!” Arianne smiled happily.
Once Arianne had walked away, llario turned to Doran, her eyes narrowing. “Our daughter is no longer a virgin, is she?”
Doran was taken aback. How could she know just by looking? “Viserys broke off the engagent because of this, didn’t he?” she pressed.
Doran’s mouth twitched, but he still didn’t say a word.
“Doran, you are not a good father.”
“I…” Doran tried to respond, but the words caught in his throat. llario didn’t wait for him to finish. From the perspective of a lord, from the perspective of the Prince of Dorne, Doran had made all the right moves. But as a father, he had failed to consider Arianne’s needs, and now they were all paying the price.
Before leaving, llario handed Doran a letter Viserys had asked her to give him. When Doran opened the envelope, seven shiny objects of different colors spilled out, so landing in his lap, others on the floor. Tyene quickly retrieved those that had fallen and handed them to him.
For a mont, Doran didn’t recognize what they were. But soon, realization dawned on him. “Dragon scales!” he exclaid, running his fingers over the scales, which felt like sothing between stone and tal. Any lingering doubts about the return of dragons vanished.
He then took the letter out of the envelope. The demands inside were similar to those made on Highgarden. The first was the sa: Dorne was to send troops, as Robert had requested. The second was to gather as much grain as possible.
But Viserys wasn’t forcing them to choose sides—at least, not yet.
After all, Dorne was not the sa as Highgarden; their loyalties were intertwined, yet distinct. If Viserys wanted to influence Dorne, he had more than one way to do it. In his letter, Viserys simply inford them that he wouldn’t be attacking Westeros anyti soon. The second point, as Doran had already learned from the Red Viper, was related to Viserys' preparations for the Long Night. Dorne had been stockpiling grain for a long ti, so this demand wasn’t particularly surprising.
As Doran examined the seven-colored dragon scales in his hands, a deep sense of regret washed over him. He couldn’t help but wonder if things would have been different had he been honest with Viserys about Arianne. Might they still have been able to negotiate a better outco?
At that mont, Manfrey entered the Water Gardens.
“Prince, the Lady has returned?” he asked.
“Yes,” Doran nodded, handing Viserys' letter to Manfrey and showing him the dragon scales.
“These are the dragon scales,” he added, his voice tinged with a mix of awe and regret.
Manfrey glanced at Doran's expression and imdiately sensed that the eting between Doran and llario had not gone well. He could guess the underlying reason, but knew better than to involve himself in such personal matters.
“Prince, how many troops should we provide to Robert?” Manfrey asked, carefully steering the conversation back to practical matters.
“Five thousand. If we get the other houses to contribute, we can muster ten thousand n,” Doran replied, though his tone was sowhat resigned. The weight of past decisions and their consequences bore down on him.
'All of this', he mused bitterly, 'stemd from Robert’s rebellion. If it hadn’t been for that, my house might have produced a queen.'
“But Prince…” Manfrey began, sensing the tension in Doran’s words, and trying to navigate the delicate situation.
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