Chapter 135 – The Arm of Dorne

[301 AC – King's Landing]

Hearing his words Arianne's full lips drew a beautiful arch, her eyes shining with love and joy, making the Dornish Princess look all-too enchanting as she looked up at him with the afternoon sun caressing her caramel skin.

Taking a step back, Arianne grabbed his arm as she pulled him from the terrace back into his study and directed him towards a great table on which a big piece of leather was laid out, stitched into it was a rather detailed map of the known world.

Pulling him towards the wide armchair standing right next to the table, the Dornish Princess signaled him to sit down in it with a light push, before she placed her shapely rear right in his lap, her sensual curves waking the desire in Phenex' heart.

Pulling a parchment from her robes, while leaning back against her husband's strong chest, she felt Phenex' arms wrap themselves around her waist intimately, causing her to let out a quiet sigh of comfort, loving the way her soft curves merged with her love's chiseled form.

His heat and strength suffused into her body, making her feel conquered and protected in a way nothing else did.

Unfolding the parchment in her hands with difficulty, as Phenex distracted her by drawing a line of soft kisses on the side of her neck and up behind her ear, which caused a pleasant shudder to run through her lithe form, a sensual moan escaping her lips.

"Phenex … ", she whispered almost breathlessly, hoping for a short respite so that she could tell him what was on her mind for some time now.

Her love understanding what it was she wanted, drew back a little after leaving one last kiss below her ear and nibbling on her earlobe for just a moment, his arms around her tightening just a fraction as to draw her in even closer.

Turning her head back and up, Arianne addressed her divine husband: "You know I was by my father's side before and sometime during the conquest of the Reach, don't you?"

"I remember that quite clearly. Especially the times I visited you after not seeing you for a few days.", Phenex replied with a mischievous smile, before he continued with a raspy undertone that caused the Dornish Princess' chest to tighten and her lower body to pulse in need, "I remember you were quite insatiable, my little minx."

It took a few seconds for Arianne to refocus herself and suppress the desire that had been stirred by her love's mere presence.

"Y-yes that time.", she stated almost inaudibly, a slight red tint colouring her smooth cheeks, making her look even more seductive than she already did.

"I had some meetings with my father during that time and he came to me with an idea.", Arianne continued her voice slowly returning to her normal tone, even though her eyes still carried heat and desire in them, "We discussed it several times since then, though as it involved you nothing has yet come of it."

"I didn't want to trouble you with it during the conquest, but since the situation has now somewhat stabilized and all that is left to do is dealing with the White Walkers, I thought it might be time to tell you about it.", she ended and held up the parchment for him to see.

A map of the region around the Stepstones, including the Eastern Coast of Dorne and the Western Coast of the former Disputed Lands, which was now named Tribus Terris and was part of the Blessed Lands, was drawn onto the parchment in black ink.

There was also a red outline drawn from the Dornish coast and through the archipelago that was the Stepstones and back to Dorne, leaving only a single waterway that connected the Narrow Sea with the Summer Sea between the two continents.

"My father had this idea after he saw your wedding gift for me and when he thought it over, he realized that this could be of great benefit to the Red Temple and Dorne.", Arianne stated with some nervousness in her tone.

"A single canal to facilitate trade, controlled by the Red Temple. The Stepstones, basically useless land to anyone but fishers and smugglers, could become arable land for Dorne. Not to mention the trade between Blessed Lands and Dorne would be so much easier if we could use this land to build roads connecting to Sunspear.", she added, before looking at her lover and waiting for his answer.

A thoughtful look appeared in Phenex' eyes as he answered: "You want me to rebuild the Arm of Dorne?"

"Basically, yes.", the Dornish Princess admitted quietly, knowing that this could be of great benefit to her homeland.

Thinking it over, Phenex understood that doing as Arianne asked, would indeed be of benefit to the temple.

The Stepstones, while under the Red Temple's control, needed a lot of manpower to patrol so as to avoid pirates once again settling down on those islands.

The entire region consisted of more than a hundred islands, some smaller, some less so, which meant that it was a huge and continuous effort to stay in control of the area, especially since the vegetation on most of these islands was very dense and therefore hard to surveil.

Restoring the Arm of Dorne would free up these men and allow Dorne to gain access to a large plot of arable land.

And while manpower was not really a problem for the Red Temple, as its forces were truly innumerable, it was a question of efficiency and practicality, as wasting resources was not something Phenex liked to do.

With the creation of a large enough canal between Essos and Westeros, the trade would also flourish even more, not to mention that regulating such would become much easier for the Red Temple.

Doran, as the Ruler of Dorne, had also proven himself more than trustworthy and very cooperative. He had even allowed the Red Temple to form a Bright Sun council to govern Dorne under his supervision after seeing the efficiency and competence with which the councils ruled the Blessed Cities and the lands under the temple's control.

With Arianne also being his wife, Phenex saw no reason to reject what she asked of him.

Leaning down, he placed a soft kiss on her lips as he replied softly, his lips still touching hers: "I will tell Kinvara later to meet with you and your father to plan the specifics. After the White Walkers have been dealt with, I will restore the Arm of Dorne."

"Yes, later.", the Dornish Princess agreed with a seductive whisper, still sitting in his lap. Her upper body was half-turned and one of her hands rested on his chest, drawing slow circles, while she stared up at him with her soft lips and eyes like dark chocolate, longing and desire evident in them.

Connecting their lips in a deep kiss, her tongue diving hungrily in his mouth, Arianne moved out of his lap, while her hands fiddled with the clasps of her dress for a moment.

Breaking their kiss reluctantly, the princess straightened her back and let the silken dress flow down her enchanting curves, revealing her full breasts, each topped with a firm chocolate berry. Her flat stomach was accentuated by a silver chain inlaid with diamonds that sat on the beautiful curve of her hips and was fastened to a piercing in her navel.

The valley between her perfect thighs was cleanly shaven and her small slit lay bare, unobstructed to Phenex' sight.