Tea time

The midday sun lit up the sky, its shimmering golden rays caressing the orange roofs of Shadow City's buildings making the tiles look as if they were made of amber.

Prince Arthur was standing on one of the many balconies that hang from the Tower of the Sun, the breeze ruffling his hair. He doesn't care, he leans on the railing and lets the gales wash over him and he closes his eyes, clearing his head.

Eyes closed, he reviews the events of that morning, the trial is going as planned. A part of him, the part that demands him to be honest and honorable above all, feels a certain remorse for the farce, for the show they are putting on.

`What nonsense-` he opens his eyes and looks at the sea in the distance, the waves crash against the rocks that surround the lighthouse and the whitish foam covers the surface. `Are all the oaths and promises I made so many decades ago worth so little, are they as unsolid as the foam produced by crashing waves?`

The oaths of a knight bind him to a form of conduct, a knight must always be honest and honorable, not resort to lies, deceit or trickery under any situation for those things are foul and beneath a true knight.

For a good part of his life Arthur lived by these principles, for better or worse he was always honest and honorable. To such an extent that his honesty got him into a lot of trouble as a child, from petty things like telling his brother to his face that his newborn child looks like a baked potato to offending a major house (Lord Rowan was bragging about how beautiful his bride is to everyone with two ears to listen, Arthur was the only one who did not verbally agree.Despite his attempt to be polite and proper, Lord Rowan was very offended by his refusal to flatter a maiden who might as well be a peasant dressed in silk).

When he started courting Dorna she had a lot of fun teasing him about his almost compulsion to be honest but in the end that same compulsion nearly cost him the love of his life.

("I am afraid, my dearest Arthur, you are not suited to be my consort for the consort of Dorne must be well versed in the tongue of lies. You have my heart, my love, but you can't have my hand. As Princess of Dorne I must choose the most suitable candidate not for me, but for Dorne.")

He tightens his grip on the railing and feels the stone, polished and smooth to the touch, against his fingers.

`What did those oaths give me?` He sighs and lets out an unamused laughter. `A broken heart, too many grievances and what otherwise would be a lifelong regret.`

His older brother laughed and laughed when he asked him to teach him to lie, to "play the game" as many call it.

It took him a lot of effort, both mental and physical, to pronounce his first half-truths (which he learned are the best "lies"), but as with everything he ever set out to do, he ended up mastering it. Nowadays he can say the most absurd of lies with a straight face.

`All for Dorna, all for House Martell, all for Dorne. Everything and anything for my family.`

That's the oath he swore the day he asked Dorna to marry him. That oath overlaps his knightly oaths, and by a lot.

"Prince Arthur." A servant spoke in a low voice, as if he did not want to disturb the prince in his solemn meditation. "Princess Dorne asks for you to join her for tea." The servant bows, Sunspear servants are always proper and respectful, loyal to the core.

`Or until someone gives them the right incentive for that loyalty to vanish like smoke in the air.` Arthur suppressed a snort and looked away from the sea, turned around and addressed the servant.

"Where is my beloved wife?"

"In the Golden Tea Room of the twentieth floor, my prince."

`Ah, her favorite one.`

Arthur nods and steps off the balcony, his cane echoing as it hits the floor and the prince can't help but remember better days, days when he could walk at a brisk pace and get from one side of the tower to the other in mere minutes. Now, with his legs still weak and brittle, he has to walk at a slower pace and be careful not to push himself too hard.

`Longing for the past only bitters the present and darkens the future`

The Golden Tea Room is a large room with walls decorated with golden tapestries depicting different historical scenes, each representing a teaching or moral that Dorna approves of.

The meeting between Queen Rhaenys Targaryen and Princess Meria Martell is one of the biggest and most beautiful, the Dragon Queen's hair is spun with silver and Princess Martell's golden eyes shine ominously.

("I will not fight you, nor will I kneel to you. Dorne has no king. Tell your brother that"

"I shall, but we will come again, Princess, and the next time we shall come with fire and blood."

"Your words. Ours are Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken. You may burn us, my lady ... but you will not bend us, break us, or make us bow. This is Dorne. You are not wanted here. Return at your peril")

"Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken" Arthur mutters to himself.

"Did you say something, Arthur?" Dorna looks up at him with a perfect eyebrow raised, her eyes questioning.

"Nothing, my princess. Nothing at all." Arthur looked at his wife, who was sitting at a circular table with their grandson to her right; there are two other free seats at the table. "I presume there's a reason you brought us together here, a few hours before the trial resumes."

"Can't a woman invite her husband and grandson to have some tea without scrutiny?" The princess winces in fake pain.

"A regular woman, yes, but not you, dear grandmama." Doran replies cheekily.

Arthur feels his lips quirk slightly.

`He is growing by gigantic steps, it won't be long before his witt will match hers` By the sparkle in the eyes of his wife, she knows it too, and she approved.

"Sit down, my dear. Don't just stand there like a statue."

Arthur sits to the left of his wife, just across from his grandson.

"Ser Ronnel's testimony has been as effective as we hoped, on the way here everyone I met was gossiping about House Yronwood's guilt. Even close friends like Lord Fowler can find no argument to defend them." Doran comments while he serves his grandfather a cup of tea, with a splash of milk and a bit of honey; just the way he likes it.

Arthur thanks his grandson and takes a sip of the tea, hot to the point of burning, but pleasantly sweet with a hint of bitterness.

`He does know how to prepare an excellent tea, I wonder who taught him. One of the kitchen staff, maybe?`

"I still think Ser Ronnel's testimony should have been the last nail in Yronwood's coffin."

His wife nibbles a cookie and lets Doran answer.

"Until a few days ago I would have agreed with you grandpapa but I have seen how effective grandmama's tactics are."

When his grandmother decided to postpone the trial for several days, he protested, thinking that those days would only give Yronwood time to gather allies and sympathy. Doran was of the opinion that they should have been direct and decisive.

The princess, on the other hand, wanted to put on a show before all of Dorne. A show has many acts and players, and the trial is but the final act. Over the last few days the princess spread rumors throughout the capital of House Yronwood's many crimes, turning public opinion against them and creating skepticism even among Yronwood's most ardent defenders.

("Time will make their doubts grow, those doubts will take root in their minds and hearts and make them question all of House Yronwood's actions. They will go over in their minds all the interactions they had in the past, carefully examining them for any clues. In many cases these interactions do not have anything strange or suspicious, but the human mind can trick even the sharpest. If they think there must be something suspicious, they will find it, even if that something does not exist.")

"Presenting the strongest and most decisive argument at the beginning of a debate is not recommended in most cases. It is usually better to slowly build the tension and destroy the opponent at the last moment." Dorna acknowledges. "But this time I don't want doubts to remain, for people to question the debate when it ends, I want everyone to be convinced of the results by the end even before they are made public."

"Before men, before gods... That second part of the plan has me more worried." Arthur admits. "As much control as we have over the first half of the final act of this show, that doesn't ensure the desired outcome in the second half. That part could ruin all our hard work and in these circumstances that could well be the last nail in our coffin."

"I understand your doubts, grandfather." Doran looks at him sympathetically. "I have to confess that my heart also shares them but we must trust father."

"Trystanne is not one to fail at these tasks." Dorna adds.

Arthur sighs and nods, he trusts his good son but only a fool would not be worried in this situation.

"We've already destroyed Edgar's defense before it's even his turn at trial, his witnesses will only serve to incriminate him further." Arthur reflects.

"Poor soul thinks his tricks will work." The princess grins. All the letters that Edgar wrote from his cell were examined by them, all the imprisoned lord's plots were destroyed even before they were set in motion.

"- but for some reason I can't help feeling a little uneasy, as if something is wrong." Arthur continues, unbothered by the interruption. The prince consort feels a tight grasp over his chest, an uncomfortable but not painful sensation.

"Every man and woman present in Sunspear has been thoroughly investigated. The guards are on the lookout for any suspicious movement both inside and outside the tower. Our youngest grandchildren are safe with our best knights looking over them, and of course Doran`s protections." Dorna says with more seriousness, her tone is sure and firm. "Doran is using his own abilities to ensure that the trial goes as planned. I recognize that even with all this something could go wrong, Arthur. Even with all our preparations and security measures, we are not gods. We are not omniscient, but we did our best. We just need to play our roles and have faith, that is all we can do."

The princess stares at him, waiting for his response. He nods and she continues:

"Now for the reason I called you here, I want us to go over the next steps."

"We all know the plan from head to toe," Doran protests with a groan. His reaction is quite understandable given that the past few days they have spent countless hours going over each part of the plan at least a hundred times, the prince could recite each part of the plan word for word, backwards.

The princess sends him an unimpressed look and Doran slumps his shoulders.

`I wanted to see Elia, Oberyn and Olyvvar before the trial starts again` The prince sulks.

Since he returned to Dorne he barely got to spend time with his little siblings. The preparations for the war and the trial took all his time.

Doran sighs and resigns himself to his fate.

***

NOTE: Check out my new story. Is another GoT story but very different from anything I have written thus far.

The Revolution of Westeros: https://www.webnovel.com/book/the-revolution-of-westeros_25576593506569105

Also there are advanced chapter in my p@ tre on if you are interested.

p a t r e o n. com /EdenofKovir