The Iron Throne of Ice and Fire

"The Sand Snakes are free, Uncle Oberyn taught them that, Father."

Prince Doran's smile was weak: "Leave us alone, Alio."

The prince's guard captain nodded slightly, slammed the handle of the long-handled ax in his hand on the floor, turned around and retreated.

After the father and daughter were left alone, Prince Doran looked at her for a long time before slowly speaking: "Tell me, Arianne, why did you kill Kevan Lannister? Have you thought about the consequences of the matter being exposed?"

Her father's tone sounded very tired, which made Arianne angry: "It's for the honor of Martell! Father, your brother went to King's Landing in your place, but they killed him!"

Prince Doran didn't seem to care about his daughter's accusations. His expression was sad: "Every time I close my eyes, I can see Oberyn joking with me."

Arianne was furious: "You are the prince of Dorne. You should avenge your brother, instead of mourning cowardly here!"

After saying that, Arianne walked directly to the chess table and sat opposite her father.

Prince Doran looked at her: "I did not allow you to sit down."

Arianne glanced at the chess game, then picked up the "Heavy Cavalry" and jumped a few squares and put it down. Her tone was still a little angry: "You can call the guard captain in and ask him to whip me to punish me. Arrogance, you are the Prince of Dorne and that is your right."

Prince Doran moved his eyes to the chessboard, picked up the "bishop" and ate the "heavy cavalry" that Arianne had just jumped over.

"Who helped you?"

Arianne's anger dissipated in her father's ignorance. She may have been accustomed to this kind of relationship between father and daughter.

Picking up the "dragon" and eating her father's "elephant", she raised her lips and said, "A new friend of the king's leader."

"You are the chess piece and he is the chess player."

After saying that, Prince Doran stretched out his hand and used his "catapult" to eat Arianne's "dragon".

On the chessboard, Arianne stared at Prince Doran's "catapult". She had no pieces to capture it.

Her fingers flexed: "I am the chess player, I found him."

The "Light Cavalry" on the opposite side jumped over, and Arianne knew that this was her father's bait.

Prince Doran's voice then sounded: "Without friendship, he has no reason to help you unless he needs you to do so."

Arianne's anger reignited, she gritted her teeth and said, "I climbed into his bed."

After waiting for a while, seeing that Arianne did not make a move, Prince Doran said, "...will he marry you?"

Seeing that she pursed her lips and remained silent, he added: "...It seems that your pleasure in bed with him is meaningless."

Arianne's fullness rose and fell slowly for a few times before she said, "He is already engaged, and I rejected him."

Prince Doran's calm gaze swept across Arianne's face and said, "Is there anything to prove that he is a participant?"

Arianne breathed out, shook her head after a long silence, and said: "The plan went too smoothly. When I realized it, it was already too late..."

As she said that, she suddenly smiled: "He is better than any man I have ever seen... Well, now that I think about it, I started following his tongue from the moment I met him, and he took advantage of my fire of revenge. ”

"It's good if you can figure it out."

After a pause, Prince Doran continued: "Everyone in the Seven Kingdoms thought...including me that he was just a chess piece selected by Lannister for everyone to see, but it turns out that he is the chess player. Arianne, It’s no surprise that you are no match for him.”

His eyes narrowed slightly: "Now tell me, is it because of his 'guidance' that Obaya and Nymeria did not come back with you?"

After a moment of silence, Arianne shook her head: "This is their own idea, I can't interfere."

Prince Dolan frowned slightly: "Care is not connivance. You are my heir, and they should obey you."

Heir?

Arianne's eyes flashed with sarcasm, and after a pause, Prince Doran asked, "Then, what do they want to do? Tell me, Arianne."

Arianne turned her face to the other side and said, "The Sand Snake wants to avenge the Red Viper."

"Are there another impulsive assassination? There are many eyes in King's Landing. They are already alert. Their situation is very dangerous."

"They will not be impulsive. As long as they are not exposed, they will not be in danger."

"Why are you so sure that their actions will not be exposed? As an heir, you should be rational."

After hearing the end, Arianne stood up and said angrily: "Reason, reason! Your weakness has brought shame to the Martell family! Father, aunt was killed (Rhaegar's wife), uncle was also killed, They all died in King's Landing!"

Her breathing was heavy, she slowed it down, tried her best to suppress her anger, and then said: "Also, did you just know that I am your legal heir?"

Prince Daolang still ignored his daughter's anger and said calmly: "You have always been."

Arianne sneered: "If that were the case, you would not let my good brother become the adopted son of Lord Anders Yronwood (Lord Martell, the most powerful lord of Dorne), and your heir, You spare no effort to find a bad old man as a husband for him."

Black eyes and black eyes looked at each other. After an unknown amount of time, Prince Doran said softly: "Sit down, my heir."

In fact, Arianne was already regretting her impulsiveness at this time. She should show her father that she did not dare to disobey the Lord of Dorne, and... shed a few more tears.

But at this moment, she didn't want to play the role of a poor daughter. She sat down with a snort, and it seemed that only she could hear this sound.

The room was very quiet. Prince Doran was distracted for a while before he slowly spoke: "You must love your two brothers, Arianne. As your brothers, they must behave properly, have a sense of responsibility, and help you win the hearts of the people of Dorne. And you..."

He looked directly at his daughter: "As an heir, you must not only inherit my honor and rights, but also inherit the Matthew family's... indomitable."

He continued: "Old man... It also means that they don't have much life left. After the war of usurpation, Dorne has been away from the Iron Throne for more than ten years. Baratheon and Lannister are wary of us, We can only use other methods to return to the center of the Seven Kingdoms. Arianne, you are my heir, this is the responsibility and obligation you must bear. "

"Father, I..."

Prince Doran raised his hand to stop his daughter who wanted to speak: "Dorne's strength is the weakest in the Seven Kingdoms. When Daeron I wrote "The Conquest of Dorne", he was willing to write that Dorne's army was larger than the actual number to boast of its great achievements. We are also willing to go with the flow to make others afraid. "

The teacup was gently placed on the table. Prince Doran paused for a moment, then took a sip of the teacup.

Looking at his daughter who was drinking tea seriously, Prince Doran continued: "But the actual situation is... courage cannot replace numbers. Dorne cannot fight against the Iron Throne, at least I can't avenge my sister and brother alone. I was labeled weak and incompetent, so I suppressed Dorne's revenge. Now... what should I do if someone suspects us? Or, what should I do with you, Arianne?"

Arianne's eyes were red, but she uttered a nonchalant voice: "Just pretend you don't know anything. Aren't we used to doing this?"

Since the conversation between father and daughter, Prince Doran's voice had emotional fluctuations for the first time: "... It's hard for me to swallow my anger."

Arianne shrugged: "I will let the Sand Snakes come back as soon as possible. I know what to do in the future. Father."

She murmured with a slightly dissatisfied tone: "Why didn't you tell me clearly earlier..."

Prince Doran sighed slightly: "Ears can't replace personal experience. I'm waiting for you to grow up."

Although Arianne was moved by her father's love for her at this time, she had heard too many sweet words and could no longer let down her guard.

"Father, I am twenty-three years old this year, and I have been an adult for seven years."

Prince Doran glanced at Arianne who was complaining, and said: "I didn't tell you about my arrangement to protect you. Arianne, according to your nature, the secret is just a wonderful story. You can whisper it to all your Sand Snake sisters when you go to bed at night. I can imagine the scene of rumors everywhere."

Arianne's cheeks flushed: "I... have grown up."

Prince Doran tapped his chin lightly: "Yes, you should grow up."

Arianne shrugged slightly: "Your complexion... is not very good, do you need me to take you to the bedroom? ”

“Leave this matter to the servants, they will do better than you.”

Prince Doran put down his teacup: “I need you to go to King’s Landing on my behalf, let’s set off tomorrow.”

Arianne said in surprise: “King’s Landing? Tomorrow?”

“I got intelligence that the Lannister army was defeated at the foot of Riverrun. This result will directly affect the struggle between theocracy and royal power in King’s Landing. This may be a good opportunity for us.”

Prince Doran took the “spearman” from the chessboard and stuffed it into Arianne’s palm, saying: “Keep an eye on your sand snakes, my heir.”

…………

…………

Red Keep, throne room.

Since the news of the defeat of the Lannister army came, the Lannister forces in the Red Keep have been in a panic.

Among them is Prime Minister Harys Swyft (Kevan’s father-in-law), who jointly controls the Royal Council with Grand Maester Pycelle.

He has taken the initiative to give the main seat at the Royal Council table to Grand Maester Pycelle, who nominally controls the six thousand gold robes of King’s Landing.

At this time, Grand Maester Pycelle was sitting at the head of the long table, with Prime Minister Harris on the right, and on the left were the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Earl Giles Rosby, and Humphrey Waters, who was promoted by Pycelle to the commander-in-chief of the gold cloaks.

The Lord Admiral, Earl Matus Rowan, was absent.

Grand Maester Pycelle, who was always hunched over and looked old, leaned majestically on a high-backed chair, and glanced at the people present with a turbid vision, saying: "The raven brought... the heir of the Marquis of the Twins protested against the invasion of Crabbe's army into their territory."

Prime Minister Harris curled his lips: "Didn't Duke Green tell us before that it was because Frey betrayed Lannister that led to the defeat of the Riverrun battle? It is indeed the shameless Weasel Family, who even dared to ask for help from the Imperial Council."

Cough cough cough

After coughing a few times, Earl Giles reminded: "Prime Minister, Duke Green's letter said that someone had doubts, but he did not express it clearly."

Prime Minister Harris opened his mouth and responded: "Since Green has raised doubts to the Royal Council, we cannot take it lightly. I think the Frey family cannot be trusted."

Earl Giles coughed a few more times and moved his eyes to the main seat: "Lord Pycelle, please tell me how to respond to the heir of the Twins' request for help."

After he finished speaking, Prime Minister Harris also turned to Grand Maester Pycelle.

Under their gaze, Pycelle cleared his throat and said: "This matter can be postponed for now. We need to make a more important decision now, which is related to the future of the kingdom."

Seeing them listening, the grand maester nodded with satisfaction, and then sighed: "The Queen Regent is no longer able to take care of the kingdom due to accusations from the church. We should elect a regent to rule on his behalf until His Majesty Tommen comes of age. Seven Kingdoms.”

In Harris' mind, Duke Green is a pro-Lannister noble. Pycelle's voice fell. As the representative of Lannister in the Red Keep, he couldn't wait to speak: "Lord Pycelle, I recommend the Eagle's Nest. The Duke of the City, Green Kleb, is capable of shouldering this glorious burden."

Grand Maester Pycelle looked at the pondering Chancellor of Finance: "Earl Gales, who do you recommend?"

Gales covered his mouth and coughed a few times, then said: "Perhaps... the Duke of Highgarden, Mace Tyrell, is a good candidate. His daughter is the king's future wife, and he will do his best for the kingdom."

Prime Minister Harris made a strange snort from his nose: "Gyles Rosby, don't forget, Margaery Tyrell has also been accused by the church. If she fails to prove her innocence in the church's trial, With her innocent body, she is not qualified to continue to be the king's fiancée, and the honor of the royal family will be affected..."

Prime Minister Harris suddenly thought of Cersei, so he moved his lips and stopped talking.

"Humphrey, please pour me a glass of wine."

Upon hearing Pycelle's instructions, the golden-robed commander immediately stood up, took a wine jug and poured him a glass of wine, then returned to his seat and sat down.

Taking a sip of summer red, Grand Maester Pycelle put down his wine glass and said, "Whether it's the Duke of Metz or the Duke of Greene, among the Seven Kingdoms, they are the only two who are the most suitable candidates for regent."

His eyes passed over Prime Minister Harris and Earl Gales: "But no matter what the final decision is, before that... the church must end their trial first. We are unanimous on this, right?"

Due to the nervousness in his heart, Earl Gales even forgot to cough. He and Prime Minister Harris looked at each other secretly and nodded towards Pycelle.

Seeing this, Pycelle's old face flashed with a look of satisfaction, paused, and said: "The Royal Council needs to send a royal minister to inform the Archbishop that we will invite a Duke to serve as the regent of the kingdom... "

He looked to the right: "Prime Minister Harris, I'm sorry to bother you with this matter."

Harris was stunned and said in a panic: "Lord Pycelle, I am not suitable...those sparrows are hostile to Lannister..."