Ch.28

(Talrit POV)

The rest of the day was very awkward as Tywin Lannister was expertly hiding his anger, but I could still feel it and see it in his eyes. I am sure the King could also which is why he kept staring at Tywin with a smirk on his face, he also had Jaime stand with the other Kingsguard nearby. Later that day when we all returned to the keep to rest of the tourney's last day tomorrow Oberyn approached me.

"Lord Valtaris, seems I lost the bet we had," Oberyn says to me now that we are not surrounded by other nobles and I'm currently in the library.

"Yes, you did lose the bet. Seems I will be traveling alone," I say without looking up at him and he sighs before sitting across from me.

"The last thing I will say is, journeys are always better with company. Plus I know all the good places to visit," Oberyn says to me in his last-ditch effort to convince me.

"If the prince can not convince me to stay here, why do you think you can convince me to travel with you?" I say to him with a tired sigh as I do enjoy his company but want to be alone now.

"You are right, I probably can not convince you. Though I do hope you consider my offer, as we may not have known each other long. But I feel a kinship with you, like me, you love exploring to see the world while learning new things, and seeing the beauty in life. At least that is what I gather from speaking with you," Oberyn says to me before standing up and taking his leave.

After he leaves I go back to reading, but consider his words about having a companion on this journey. Plus his statement about me is not very accurate, but he is not wrong that out of all the humans I met, including Gerion and Tyrion, Oberyn is the one I enjoy most being in the company of.

'Plus it would be extremely easy for me to leave at any point to explore on my own,' I think to myself and shrug off these thoughts to finish reading.

The last day of the tourney ended with a jousting contest as its main event for the day. The winner was a knight from the House Tyrell, known as the House of Roses. As their insignia is a golden Rose on a green field. Many speak ill of the house saying they are all 'flowers' which I would assume means they are weak, but seeing the knight win the jousting contest I would not agree with the statement completely.

As the day ends, the week-long tourney in celebration of the marriage of Rhaegar Targaryen and Elia Martell was over. Many people would be speaking of this tourney for some time I would think, with the drama that happened about Tywin's heir becoming a Kingsguard. With the morning of the next day arriving, Rhaegar came to me, most likely trying to convince me one more time to stay as I would be leaving today.

"Lord Valtaris, once again I plead that you stay and help me," Rhaegar says to me as I walk to the dock to find Oberyn to ask if I can join him on his journey.

"Prince Rhaegar, your concerns about this prophecy are noble and I once trusted a vision your family saw of the destruction of Valyria. But this prophecy does not affect my clan, nor do I want to stay in a place that is as infected with hate, lies, and schemes as King's Landing is. Though, should the prophecy be true, I will come back and help you stop this great war. As I will protect the innocents as best I can, use this amulet and say my name before sending me a message with it. Though only if you truly need my help," I say to Rhaegar who gives me a saddened look at not convincing me, but smiles hearing my end statement.

"Then I understand and respect your choice, I tried to convince you and failed. Though I appreciate the fact you will help once the prophecy shows to be true," Rhaegar says to me with a smile and I nod my head. We then walk to the docks together as he was heading there any way to meet with his wife and say goodbye to his brothers-by-law.

When we arrive at the docks the ship the two Martell brothers and sister arrived on is ready to sail. Though the two brothers are waiting for the Prince to say goodbye as their sister is speaking with them already when we arrive. Oberyn seeing me raises an eyebrow curiously and then smirks at me seeming to understand why I am here.

"My Prince and Lord Valtaris," Prince Doran Martell say to us while bowing to the Prince and greeting me. I've talked with him a few times during his time here, but not as much as I did with his other siblings. Though he knows about me I am sure from what his siblings told him of me, especially Oberyn.

"Sorry I am late, I was speaking with Lord Valtaris one last time. It seems I failed in my capability to persuade him to stay here. Though I assume he is here to travel with you Oberyn?" Rhaegar says and I nod my head while looking at Oberyn who chuckles and pats my back happy that I finally agreed to travel with him.

Once they all say their goodbyes, their sister gets a bit teary-eyed since this will be the last time she sees her brothers in person for some time. Once on the ship, Oberyn shows me the courters I will be sleeping in during the journey. We will be headed to Sunspear first for his older brother to return to ruling there. Then we will be taking the same ship to the city of Braavos where we will begin our journey throughout the continent of Essos.

The journey to Sunspear took just over a month and Oberyn talked to me nonstop about all the things we could see and do. He was also very excited to show me his home of Sonspear where we would spend a few days preparing for our long journey. The city of Sunspear was very beautiful, though not as much as my clan's city. The keep called 'The Old Palace' was located on a hill overlooking the sea, with the city below it, much like King's Landing.

The buildings were very unique as they were the first I've seen built in the way that they are. They all appeared to be made from this white stone, with domed roofs. The heat in this place was much hotter than that of other lands I've been to, outside my volcano. Though the heat brought comfort to me as I prefer the heat, the hotter the better for me. The people in the city were much happier and lived off much better than the ones in King's Landing. The greatest part being it did not smell of piss everywhere, though it did have some smell as is to be expected.

"Welcome to Sunspear! Much better than that smelly shit-hole of a city, right?" Oberyn says to me and I nod my head, as his brother chuckles upon hearing Oberyn's statement.

"Yes, much better. King's Landing really is a shit-hole and desperately needs to be reworked," I say as we walk to the keep and the citizens happily greet the two princes as we walk by.

We arrived in the city just past midday, so we spent the rest of that day relaxing in the keep. As Doran could not have to jump right back into his duties running the city, though Oberyn brought me to their library at my request.

"You are the first person I met that loves reading more than anything else," Oberyn says to me as I skim through the books here and see if there is anything I've yet to read about.

"I love learning new things. As there is always something to learn and as time goes by things change, so one can never stop learning. Plus the more I know the better I can help my people as they seek out my guidance," I say to him as I found a book that is about their history here.

"You know I could tell you about my family's history instead of reading it from a book. Though I hope we can see your city on our journey," Oberyn says to me as I open the book and read through it.

"I'm sure you could tell me about your history, though not in as much detail as written in this book. As for my city, maybe we can visit it once we've had our fill with the other sites," I say to him and he nods his head.

"So why Braavos first? Not that I care where we go first, just curious as to why start there," I say to him as I quickly read the book and memorize every word I read.

"Several reasons, one being my brother wants me to meet with the bankers there on behalf of our family. Another being I heard much about the city from the travelers by the docks and wish to see it myself. And lastly, I figured we could start at the top of Essos and work our way down to the other cities," Oberyn says to me and I nod my head.

"Though I am curious, as you travel alone and are noble or rich, yet you do not have guards with you. I assume that means you are a capable fighter? Would you be interested in sparring?" Oberyn says to me and I expected this question sooner, but I guess he didn't want to speak much in King's Landing as it is covered in spies. From the highest of servants to the lowest of scum in the city, they are always serving someone.

"Yes, I like to think I am a very capable fighter with a wide arsenal of options to win a fight," I say to him almost done reading the book as I've become a speed reader from reading as much as I have.

"Then want to spar when you are done?" Oberyn says to me with excitement in his voice, seems he likes fighting as much as he likes fucking from all the stories he tells me about sleeping with people almost on a daily basis.

"Ok let's go," I say standing up and stretching as I just finished the book. Oberyn stares at me surprised.

"You really finished that quickly?!" Oberyn says to me.

"I did," I say nodding my head.

"Ok then let me quiz you as we walk to the training area," Oberyn says to me with a playful look on his face and I shrug motioning for him to ask away.

As we walk to the training area I answer all his questions correctly and even correct him at times when he miss remembers something. He stares at me like I'm crazy as I read the hundreds of pages quickly and memorized just as quickly.

"Fuck me, you are like a walking history book. Are you sure there is room in that brain of yours for fighting?" Oberyn says to me with a look of disbelief at my ability to learn that quickly.

"More than enough, learning to fight is something that I enjoy also. Over the years I've been teaching myself new ways to utilize all my skills," I say to him, but really am suggesting the way I've learned to use my magic in ways to almost defy the rules of the universe.

"Well as you know I'm a master with the spear, so I will go with that. What are you going to use?" Oberyn says to me grabbing a sparing spear as we reach the training area.

"I'll start with the longsword and go from there," I say and he just grunts hearing me.

"So basic! You should try something more interesting!" Oberyn says to me standing across from me before the spar begins.

"I said I will start with the longsword, then once I beat you with it. I will pick something else and beat you with that," I say with a smirk and he laughs hearing me, then gets into his fighting stance as I do the same. The guards and trainees in the area all stop to watch this fight.