Chapter 17: The Princess of Dorne

The smell of death, piss and shit hung heavily in Harrenhall which reminded Jaime of King's Landing. That alone was reason enough for Jaime to get as far away from this cursed castle. Harrenhall has been granted to Petyr Baelish by his father and Jaime hoped the curse would take that worm. The new lord of Harrenhall has so far not even deigned to visit his castle and the Freys had converted the castle into a prison. The Mountain's men also called this cursed place their lair and by the looks of it, the place mirrored seven hells.

From Jaime's inspection, he gleaned that the Mountain's men had turned the place into a personal hell of Riverlands. He had seen the large stack of bodies that were waiting to be buried making him nearly wretch. Most of them had their limbs missing and some of them were leaking their guts into the soil turning it blood red. Crows circled the castle in thousands and a sort of unnatural cold had settled on this place.

Jaime paused as his second in command and daily training partner Bronn walked towards him with a scrunched up nose.

"Most of these prisoners are Smallfolk who have no idea of what's going on in their own lands. Only a few belong to the Young Wolf's army." Bronn reported.

"Deserters from the Northern army?" asked Jaime.

"Nay, they are survivors. Looks like the Freys didn't get them all and I bet some of them joined the Brotherhood without banners. Can't even do anything properly. You have shitty allies." Bronn commented in his usual brazen way.

"Don't I know it." Jaime muttered as he scowled at some of the Freys that ran around the castle like little rats. It burned him to work with these filthy little shits but he has no choice in the matter.

"I've to warn ya. That septon-knight has been asking for ya."

That gave Jaime pause.

"Ser Bonifer Hasty?" he asked curiously.

"Yes, that one. He has been loudly complaining about the mistreatment of the prisoners and smallfolk. Expect him to pay you a visit."

"Let's go visit him before that happens." said Jaime as he walked around Bronn but the knight of Blackwater Bay was quick to follow.

"You want to speak with that mad preacher! Don't tell me you have found religion as a solace? I thought you Lannisters were made of thicker skin." said Bronn

"Far from it Ser Bronn. I mean to have Ser Bonifer and his host of men to hold Harrenhall. After what the Mountain's men did to the smallfolk a gentle touch is warranted on these lands." said Jaime

"Never took you for a kind-hearted man."

Bronn commented with a scrunched up nose.

"I am not. I merely need the Mountain's men at some other place."

A look of understanding crossed Bronn's face.

"To Riverrun the fuckers go." said Bronn

"Yes indeed. I don't intend to spend more time in this land and the quickest way back home is to take Riverrun from the Tullys. If Riverrun falls Raventree Hall will follow and Riverlands will be pacified. I will be back by the King's side and you will be back in your castle."

"The capital is not what it used to be. I am truly happy to be here. Those fanatic fuckers are running around the place destroying all the 'pleasurable' attractions of the city. We also saw they are spreading into the Crownlands as well."

"I thought you were a brave man Bronn. You seem to fear the Sparrows tittering around the capital."

"When they are bold enough to make your sister walk the streets naked to the Red Keep then yeah I am fuckin scared."

That brought Jaime to a standstill and he conceded to the point Bronn raised.

"You are right. They are a dangerous lot." said Jaime remembering the conversation that he had with the High Sparrow before his departure.

"I don't know why you lords won't just kill the whole lot of them?"

"It will only increase their support and inflate their numbers." Jaime shook his head.

"Then kill the other fuckers that join them as well. Your father proved how effective that was with the Young Wolf and his Northern army. You don't see those fuckers trying anything do ya?"

"Why do you think we are here then Bronn?" Jaime sighed and thought about the Young Wolf.

In many ways, his father's actions brought an early end to the war but the cost afterwards was something the Lannisters will have to deal with generations. Even the allies that he has right now looked upon House Lannister with barely disguised disgust. A hint of weakness was all it would take for every lordly house to turn on the Lions. He was broken out of his musings by someone calling his name.

"Lord Jaime."

Jaime found that it was maester Duncan that had accompanied his host.

"My lord, a raven from the capital." The Maester wheezed out before handing over the sealed parchment to Jaime.

As he read the contents of the message his eyes widened in surprise. It was from his uncle updating him about the events transpiring in Stormlands and the Ironborn invasion of the Reach. His uncle was advising him to finish the matters in Riverlands as quick as possible and return to the capital post haste. It also asked Daven Lannister to return to the Rock in order to prepare for a possible war against the Ironborn or the Golden Company.

"I know that look. It's more bad news isn't it?" asked Bronn before muttering about how Westeros was going mad.

"We have to conclude our affairs in Riverlands as soon as possible. The capital will be in need of reinforcements."

Turning to Bronn he ordered the former sellsword to prepare the men for a forced march. The order was not going to be well-received but he had his duty and so does the men under his command.

******

Arianne found her new robes to be very amusing to wear and at the same time arousing. It was nothing fancy as there was hardly anything fancy about a septa's robes but she liked the purity that goes with it. Even her cousins Nymeria and Teyne were wearing a similar garb. Their weapons were concealed inside a false bottom built inside the cart they were travelling.

The Dornish were not held in high regard in Stormlands and it would have been foolish to travel as the Princess of Dorne. She would be captured and sent to King's Landing in a heartbeat. Hence the disguise as Silent Sisters travelling around the lands healing the Smallfolk on their way to Griffin's Roost. Her cousin Nymeria had the experience in these matters. So far in their journey, no one has recognized them until Griffin's Roost. Once inside the safety of the castle they had revealed their identities to the garrison that was holding the castle.

It was there she learned what her supposed cousin was doing. The whole countryside was ripe with rumours of the fall of Storm's End. Most of it was as usual unbelievable tales. Some rumours had it the castle was burned down by dragon fire. Another story tells the tale of Aegon paying a hefty sum of gold to the defenders of the castle to surrender. Another story had it that Aegon and his men climbed a mountain of corpses to breach the wall as the dead had piled up outside the walls of Storm's End.

It was in Griffin's Roost she learned the truth of the matter. Apparently, her cousin had personally led the attack on the castle. It was not clear how he breached the walls but somehow he managed to sneak in with his men and forced the garrison to surrender after a brief battle. Then the next target of her cousin was House Estermont. They promptly bent the knee when a sizeable host marched into their castle. The same thing happened to Bronzegate, Haystack Hall, Grandview, Crow's Nest and Felwood. The rest of the Stormlords were adopting a wait and see approach all except lords Tarth and Swan.

House Tarth has always been loyal to the Baratheons and with the Stormlands under foreign occupation Selwyn Tarth would no doubt try to attack the forces of her cousin. House Swan is a Marcher house and they were the second most powerful in Stormlands. With the Baratheons being completely stamped out it stands to reason for them to try and garner the favour of the crown. They have been extremely cautious so far as they have yet to leave the marches and give battle to her cousin.

Arianne assumed Lord Swan was merely preparing for a Dornish invasion and support from the Crown.

'Well, he will be in for a rude awakening.' she thought with a conniving smile.

Her father has been planning and plotting revenge against the Baratheons and Lannisters since the murder of her aunt. Over the years her father had made overtures to Renly Baratheon in the guise of friendship. The fool had been ecstatic to make new friends and sold out his own bannermen. Her father being the conniving snake started to use his pull among the Dornish lords to join houses with the Marcher lords of Stormlands and the Reach. Blackhaven was now effectively under the rule of Allyria Dayne, the younger sister of Ashara Dayne. Some of the daughters of the Marcher lords have married into prominent Dornish houses all under the guise of promoting peace between Stormlands and Dorne. The same tactic was used for the Reach as well.

Her father had once tried to set a match between Quentyn and Margery but it fell out of favour as Mace Tyrell had grand ambitions. Those ambitions came true for the Lord of Highgarden but for how long would that last. Dorne was not going to allow the Baratheons or the Lannisters to sit the throne that easily.

"Arianne look." Teyne pointed her finger into the distance and she saw the massive castle of Storm's End from their ship.

A smile blossomed over Arianne's face as she set her eyes on her destination.

"What makes you think you can identify whether this Aegon is aunt Elia's son?" Nymeria asked as she joined Arianne at the bow of the ship.

"It doesn't matter whether he is aunt Elia's son. What matters is whether he has the ability to gather the lords of Westeros and fight the Lannisters." said Arianne, waving her hand dismissively.

"That is very uncharacteristic of Prince Doran. He is usually more guarded in choosing his allies." Nymeria cast a questioning look at her cousin.

"Oh, he is guarded alright. The other kingdoms are now weak and our spies in King's Landing reports that the Tyrell-Lannister alliance is going from disaster to disaster all thanks to Tywin's mad daughter and these Sparrows. The Reach is torn with the Ironborn reaching their shores and their queen being imprisoned in the Sept of Baelor. The Lannister army is engaged in Riverlands and the capital is under the Faith Militant's control. The time has come for the Lannisters to feel the sharpness of Dornish spears. This is the perfect moment to strike, as soon as we assess this Aegon Targaryen, of course."

"I am not complaining Princess. It is just hard seeing Prince Doran being this proactive. Usually, he just waits, waits and wait a bit more."

"We have waited more than a decade Nym. Now, we will have our revenge." said Arianne and she could see the castle of Storm's End was getting closer and closer.

Half an hour later, Arianne, Nymeria and Teyne disembarked from the rowboat into the shores of Storm's End. There was a contingent of men waiting to greet them on the shore. Arianne guessed that the Maester of Griffin's Roost must have sent a raven to Storm's End.

"Princess Arianne." A man in a red doublet bowed briefly in greeting. She noticed the man had grey hair with an aged face showing wrinkles but she did recognize him for who he was. She was only four or five namesdays when she visited King's Landing but she did remember the lord of Griffin's Roost.

"Lord Connington. We met once in King's Landing many years ago."

"Ah, yes. I remember Princess. You were with Prince Oberyn when you visited your cousins." remembered Jon and nodded at Arianne.

"So where is my cousin? Is he not here?" asked Arianne and made a show of looking around.

"His grace is in the castle. He has been most eager to meet his mother's side of the family." said Jon Connington before leading them towards the towering high walls of Storm's End.

"I am most eager to meet my cousin as well. My father is also eager to learn all about his nephew and the plans he has for the future." said Arianne, but her attention was on the troops of her supposed cousin.

The men were well-armed and armoured. As they walked further into the castle she could see the camp stretched across the plain lands of Storm's End. There were men digging trenches around the sides of the camp and a lot of them were training manoeuvres on foot.

"They are training to quickly reform ranks from a cavalry charge. Westeros does have good cavalry forces and the Golden Company has not faced Westerosi cavalry in decades." Jon explained when he noticed Arianne and the Sand Snakes were observing the men.

"Have they not faced other sellsword companies in Essos? Surely other companies have cavalry forces across the Narrow Sea." Asked Nymeria with a frown.

"Not all of them and Westerosi horses are different. Most of the cavalry here have knights who have trained hard and proven their mettle in tourneys and battles. We will not underestimate our foes." said Jon Connington to which Arianne merely nodded.

Being the heiress of Sunspear she was taught battle strategies, the strengths and weaknesses of Dornish forces from a young age. Dornish cavalry was one of the weaker forces and the Dornish army was vulnerable against cavalry especially one skilled as the vaunted knights of the Vale. The battle of Trident had exposed the weakness of the Dornish army and her father has been secretly preparing for an eventual conflict. Dorne was not prepared to face multiple kingdoms but the War of Five Kings has weakened the other six kingdoms significantly all except the Reach.

Her musings were cut short as she stepped inside the walls of Storm's End. Her eyes widened as she saw huge armoured beasts being led around by men of the Golden Company. She had heard of the war elephants the Golden Company employed in passing but this was the first time she was seeing one in the flesh. Even in Norvos, the elephants were hard to come by and those that were there in the city were small in size and was not suitable for war. The elephants in Norvos were instead used as a symbol of wealth and prestige as the animals were expensive to feed and nurture. They were also used to transport felled trees from the mountainous forests surrounding Norvos.

The elephants employed by the Golden Company was another beast entirely. They stood almost 20-30 feet tall towering over any other beast she had seen with her own eyes. They had massive trunks and two long white tusks that were cut sharp to spear into an enemy. Their legs were massive as thick as the bark of a Weirwood tree. With steel plates covering the war elephants they were surely going to be a terror in the field if used correctly.

Jon Connington noticed her interest in the elephants.

"The war elephants has been the pillar of strength for the Company in the Disputed Lands."

"I wonder why you fear the Westerosi cavalry, my lord. These beasts can trample down any cavalry in battle." said Teyne looking at the beasts in awe and a healthy dose of fear.

"The elephants are strong and powerful beasts, my lady. But they also have their weaknesses. They are difficult to control in the chaos of war and hard to manoeuvre. One must know when to use them and when not to." said Jon before leading them into the castle.

"How many elephants are there lord Connington?" asked Arianne curiously.

"Right now only fifty. There are another hundred of them waiting to be sailed across the Narrow Sea." said Jon which surprised Arianne and the Sand Snakes.

"That is a lot of elephants. How are you going to feed them? The elephants I have seen in Norvos are very expensive." asked Arianne as she looked inquiringly at the lord of Griffin's Roost.

"The elephants of Norvos are another breed, Princess. They require special care and diet to survive. But these beauties are bred for war and all they require is tree leaves with some select vegetables added to the mix. The only factor that will hinder the elephants will be the climate of Westeros." said Jon

Arianne merely hummed in response. Her attention was on the guards and the pathways of the castle. She had never been to the ancient seat of Storm Kings before and now that she had laid eyes on it she had to say that it looked intimidating. She didn't know why but the structure just oozed power and commanded respect from anyone that lay eyes upon it. Comparatively, Sunspear would be a pleasure palace. Storm's End on the other hand was a proper castle built for war.

They walked in silence for a few minutes before Jon Connington led them into a large hall. Arianne realized that it was the throne room of the Storm Kings of old. On a dark grey throne, her supposed cousin sat looking regal as any king would be.

'He has the looks of a Targaryen but that doesn't mean he is Elia's son.' she mused.

Her two cousins quickly fell into a curtsy as their names were announced.

"I had hoped to meet my mother's family for quite some time. You are welcome in these halls Princess Arianne, cousins Nymeria and Teyne." said Aegon as he stood up from his throne and descended down to their level.

"House Martell was very surprised to learn of the survival of one of Elia's children. My father has tasked me with learning the truth of his nephew's survival."

"You doubt I am Aegon Targaryen?" asked Aegon with a raised eyebrow but Arianne could see the way his eyes tightened at the corners.

"Everyone you would meet will doubt you are Aegon Targaryen. The whole of Westeros knows you to be dead. It is difficult for us to believe you are who you say you are. I admit you have the Valyrian looks but so does half of Essosi people in Lys, Myr, Tyrosh and Volantis."

"I can personally vouch for Aegon's identity princess. I have stood by Prince Rhaegar's side and he always called me his friend. Isn't my word enough to convince the Prince of Dorne or yourself?" asked Jon with a frustrated look. Looks like this is a common enough query that the Griffin lord has been dealing with since landing on Westeros, Arianne mused.

"You are a trusted friend of Rhaegar Targaryen but not Elia Martell." Arianne reminded the lord of Griffin's Roost. She knew some of the details of what had happened in King's Landing during the Mad King's reign. Her uncle Oberyn had spoken about lord Connington and his blind love for Rhaegar. Which was why she decided to throw a little insult to the dead Silver Prince to see whether that will provoke lord Connington. "He could be anyone, even a bastard son of Rhaegar for all we know."

"Have a care how you speak of the Prince. He was an honourable man…" Jon snarled

"…who also kidnapped, raped and killed a daughter of House Stark or did you conveniently forget that part lord Connington. Bring Rhaegar down from the pedestal you set him on lord Connington because he is the reason my aunt suffered under the hands of Lannister dogs. He lit the fires of the rebellion that saw Martells and Targaryens butchered."

Before the dialogue could spiral out of control Aegon intervened.

"You are right princess. My father's actions caused a lot of strife for both of our houses. I will try and make amends as best as I can after the war with Lannisters is over." Aegon intervened to peacefully avert the tension that was building up but Jon was having none of that.

"If you are sceptical of the King's identity then why are you here Princess Arianne?" asked Jon with a scowl.

"I may not be able to divine his true origins but I can see with my own eyes whether he can put up a fight against the Lannisters and Tyrells. As of right now, Dorne is building up her forces in the Prince's Pass. The Lannisters are going to send an army to attack you and when that happens Dorne will be ready to enact its revenge. But that will only happen if I am convinced that you can match the Lannisters in the field of battle."

"You can't just…" whatever Jon was going to say was cut off by Aegon.

"Enough Jon." Aegon placed a hand on his Hand's shoulder making him pause before turning to address Arianne.

"You do not want Dornish forces to commit another folly like the Battle of Trident. I understand and I accept your position, Princess Arianne. If you doubt our shared blood ties then I will convince you to ally yourself with me through my ability to inflict damage upon our shared enemies." said Aegon before offering his hand to Arianne. "Is that acceptable?"

Arianne stared into Aegon's eyes intently before taking his hand. "We have a deal."

Later that night Arianne lay sprawled across in her bed with the naked bodies of her cousins pressing down on her from two sides.

"I thought Prince Doran charged you to validate his identity and negotiate a marriage alliance between House Martell and Targaryen?" asked Teyne as she pressed a soft kiss on Arianne's neck.

"What my father wants and what I want are two different things my sweet Teyne." Arianne purred as she felt the hands of Nymeria on her bosom.

"I will not be some broodmare with no power like Elia Martell. What I want is my birthright cousin. I want Dorne and I will not concede it to that fool Quentyn." said Arianne with a serious tone that was uncharacteristic of her.

"Enough talking." said Nymeria as she pulled her cousin into a kiss launched the three of them into a night of passion.