The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Prince Doran Martell

Pink marble floors, pink pavilions and towers, pink walls.

The air, carrying a hint of chill, was mixed with a slightly decaying sweetness.

Before my eyes were rows of tall blood orange trees. The leaves were falling and yellowing, with many blood oranges lying beneath the trees, looking like a thick layer of blood oranges covering the ground. Occasionally, sparse blood oranges still hung on the branches, but they were all beginning to show a slight withered appearance.

Winter had arrived in the year 301 of Aegon's Conquest, and the arrival of winter had ended the bountiful scene of blood oranges covering the trees.

In the warm seasons, the blood orange trees bore so much fruit that those that had fallen to the ground had already begun to rot, turn white, and grow white fuzz.

Dorne, the southernmost and hottest part of the continent, was two-thirds desert. In the desert, water was the most precious commodity, but this flowing water garden had no shortage of it.

Everywhere were clear pools of water rippling with light and various decorated fountains, connected by a winding stream and many small waterways.

Green grass and fresh flowers decorated every beautiful pool and fountain.

Led by the captain of the guard, the Mountain and Arianne arrived in front of a three-story marble building with an arched gate.

The ground was marble, the walls were inlaid with marble, and the arched gate was also decorated with marble, all in pink.

At the entrance stood two tall, dark-skinned soldiers with gloomy faces, their gazes filled with obvious hostility, like hooks.

The accompanying guard captain spoke a few words in the local Dornish language, which the Mountain didn't understand, to the two soldiers inside the arched gate. The two soldiers looked at the Mountain and Arianne, their eyes filled with obvious vigilance and scrutiny, as well as hostility towards Arianne, mixed with some fear of the Mountain.

They saw the Mountain and should have been able to guess his identity, but unlike the guards Arianne had stationed here, they did not kneel when they saw His Majesty the King.

From their eyes, the Mountain could see that these soldiers had disregarded their own lives.

At the moment Doran Martell was captured, Doran's personal guards were almost completely slaughtered by Arianne's soldiers. Here, there were only two soldiers and one of Doran's guard captains guarding Prince Doran in this building. They regarded Arianne as a rebellious and unforgivable criminal.

Arianne's soldiers and Prince Doran's personal guards in the flowing water garden were all tall, with the same purplish-black skin, and their weapons were all long-handled heavy axes.

Footsteps sounded, and a bald warrior appeared on the balcony on the second floor, wearing armor, without a long-handled heavy axe, and with a long sword and short knife at his waist. He was taller than the other soldiers, and his eyes were filled with murderous intent.

The way he looked at Arianne Martell was as if he were looking at an enemy.

Arianne and the Mountain both looked up at the tall warrior who had appeared in the corridor on the second floor. Arianne spoke, but unfortunately, she also spoke in the local Dornish language, which the Mountain didn't understand.

The man coldly responded to Arianne's words, with an aloof and unapproachable indifference. He saw the Mountain and must have known his identity, but like his two gatekeeper soldiers, he did not kneel.

"Who is he?" the Mountain deliberately asked Arianne. He could naturally guess that the tall and mighty warrior on the second floor was Ser Jerris, the guard captain who had served Doran for decades.

The Mountain spoke in the Common Tongue.

"Ser Jerris, the guard captain of Prince Doran."

The Mountain looked at Jerris and said, "Captain Jerris, I am Gregor Clegane the First. I have come to see Prince Doran."

"The Prince is unwell and has just rested. His Majesty the King, please return," Jerris said coldly.

However, the sound of a wheelchair rolling rang out, and Doran Martell appeared on the balcony corridor on the third floor.

—A maid in a linen robe pushed the wheelchair, and a thin, calm-faced, gentle-eyed man sat in the wheelchair. His knees were covered with a light gauze-like silk, the color of which was deep yellow.

"Your Majesty the King, please forgive me for not being able to kneel to greet you," Doran Martell's voice was clear and penetrating. His hair was combed meticulously, his chin was clean-shaven, and he sat up straight. The contours of his face revealed a faint fortitude.

"Your Highness, can we come up and have a word with you?" the Mountain said very politely.

"Your Majesty the King is too humble and polite, which makes me feel uneasy. Please forgive my leg disability. Please wait a moment, Your Majesty, and I will come down to pay my respects immediately."

"Good."

The maid pushed the wheelchair and disappeared on the third-floor balcony. On the ground, two soldiers opened the arched gate and knelt on one knee together: "Greetings, Your Majesty the King."

Prince Doran was respectful and fearful of His Majesty the King, and they were well-trained by Prince Doran, and immediately changed their attitude. However, they were still full of hostility towards Arianne.

The Mountain and Arianne entered, not looking at the two guards kneeling on one knee on the ground. They led the captain and two personal guards into the hall.

The hall was clean and tidy, with various tapestries and reliefs filling the walls, and the floor was still paved with pink marble.

The guard captain Jerris quickly went downstairs and knelt on one knee in front of the Mountain: "Jerris greets Your Majesty the King, long live His Majesty."

The Mountain did not speak, but slightly raised his right hand. Jerris, who did not hear the King's response, looked up slightly and saw this gesture. He stood up and invited the Mountain and Princess Arianne to sit on the high seat in the hall together.

Guard Captain Jerris saw for the first time a person taller and more burly than himself. He was shaken by the Mountain's wall-thick arms and giant-like body. The Mountain's pressure on him was substantial, making it difficult for him to breathe.

*

A moment later, Prince Doran's wheelchair was pushed to the hall on the first floor by the maid. Prince Doran pressed his right fist to his left chest and bowed to the Mountain in the wheelchair, calling him His Majesty the King.

The Mountain knew that Prince Doran's legs and knees were suffering from an unknown disease, swollen and translucent, and that even the friction of his pants against his skin would cause him unbearable pain. In order to alleviate the pain of the friction of his pants, his pants were cut off a few inches above the knees, and in order to prevent people from seeing his swollen legs and knees, he covered his knees with a thin gauze scarf.

The Mountain did not care about Doran's leg disease. Doran's leg disease was a concern for him. He hoped that no one would know about his leg disease. This was a long-standing psychological problem, and everyone in Sunspear knew about it.

The Mountain cut to the chase and said, "Your Highness, I already have a child with Princess Arianne Martell. I hope Prince Doran can accept me and the child as members of the Martell family."

"Your Majesty the King, I am already very grateful that you can spare Arianne Martell and her tens of thousands of soldiers," Doran smiled, politely, with a calm tone and calm eyes, just like the calm pool outside.