Chapter 14 Chapter Fourteen The Stained Knight

Even in autumn, the night was unreasonably cold.A bitter, damp wind swirled down the street, stirring up the dust that had settled during the day.This is the north wind, full of chill.Ser Arys Oakheart pulled his hood up over his face.He cannot be recognized.Two weeks ago, a businessman was murdered in Shadow City. He had no malicious intentions. He came to Dorne to buy fruit, but what he found was not dates, but death.His only crime was from King's Landing. It's not that easy for the mob to deal with me.Letting them try, his hand brushed down lightly over the hilt of the long sword, which was half hidden in the layered linen robe.The outside of the robe has blue and green stripes, with rows of golden suns stitched on it, and the inside is thinner orange.Dorne's clothes were comfortable, but his father would have been furious had he been alive to see his son dressed like this.As the vassals of the frontier, the Oakheart family has a blood feud with the Dornish people, as the tapestry of the ancient city of Oak can testify.As long as he closed his eyes, Alex seemed to see them again: the "generous" Lord Agilon was sitting majestically on the sand field, with a hundred Dornish heads piled at his feet; Stern, with several Dornish spears in his body, blew his warhorn with his last breath; Ser Oliver the Green Oak, covered in white armor, died in battle beside the Young Dragon Lord.The Oakhearts were incompatible with Dorne.

Even when Prince Oberyn was around, the knight felt uncomfortable walking the streets of Shadow City every time he left Sunspear.Everywhere he went, eyes were fixed on him, and there was undisguised hostility in the small black eyes of the Dornishmen.The merchant always deceived him as best he could, and he even suspected the tavernkeeper of spitting in his drink.Once, a group of ragged little boys threw stones at him until he drew his sword and drove them away.The death of the Red Viper made the Dornish people angry. Although Prince Doran imprisoned the "Sand Snakes" in the tower, the streets were a little calmer, but openly wearing a white robe in the Shadow City is undoubtedly inviting attacks.On this trip to Dorne, he brought a total of three white robes: two woolen ones, one thin and one thick, and the third one was delicate white silk.Without them now, he felt naked.

Better naked than dead, he told himself, white robe or not, I am a knight of the Kingsguard.She has to respect that.I have to make her understand.Alas, he shouldn't be involved at all, but don't singers always say that love makes fools of men. On hot days, Sunspear's Shadow City often looks deserted, save for the buzzing of flies along its dusty streets, but once night falls, the streets come alive again.Ser Arys heard muffled music wafting from the shutters overhead, the jerky beat of a finger drum somewhere, to the rhythm of a spear dance that gave the night its pulse.Under the double curved wall, where three alleys meet, a brothel woman greets him from the balcony.She is covered with jewels and anointed with ointment.He glanced at her, shrugged, and continued on his way against the bitter wind.We men are so weak.Even the noblest man can be betrayed by the body.He thought of St. Baelor, "blessed," fasting himself to faint, to tame that shameful desire.Do I have to do this too?

A dwarf stood in an arched doorway, grilling snake meat over a brazier, turning the curling chunks with wooden tongs. The pungent smell of the seasonings brought tears to the knight's eyes.I've heard that the best snake condiments contain a drop of venom, stirred with mustard seeds and dragon pepper.Myrcella soon took a liking to not only her Dorne prince, but Dorne food as well, and Arys had to endure a Dorne dish or two now and then to keep her happy.The stuff made his mouth feel like it was on fire, and he drank the red wine gasping for air, and it burned even more when it came out of his lower body than when he ate it.But his little princess liked it very much.

He left her in the room and played chess with Prince Trystane.The chessboard is made up of emerald, agate and lapis lazuli squares, and the chess pieces are exquisite and gorgeous. Every time they play this, Myrcella's plump lips will be slightly opened, and her blue eyes will be narrowed into slits due to concentration.That game was called cyvasse, brought to Plank-town by the Volantene merchant ships of old, and from the orphans along the banks of the Greenblood.The Dorne court was fascinated. Sir Alex is also obsessed with it: ten different chess pieces, each with its own characteristics and powers, which vary from game to game, depending on how the player defends his squares.Prince Trystane took an instant liking to it, and Myrcella followed suit, so that she could play chess with him.She is not yet eleven years old, and her fiancé is thirteen years old. Even so, she has won more than lost recently.Trystane didn't seem to mind.The two children looked very different, the boy with olive skin and straight black hair, the girl as white as milk with locks of golden curls; white and black as Queen Cersei and King Robert.He prayed that Myrcella's life with her Dorne boys would be happier than that of her mother with the Lord of Storm's End.

Leaving her disturbed him, though she should be quite safe in the castle.There were only two doors leading to Myrcella's chambers in the Tower of the Sun, and Ser Arys had a man garrisoned at each door: they were the Lannisters, who had come with him from King's Landing. Rich, strong and tenacious, absolutely loyal.Besides, Myrcella had her maids and Sister Elantine, and Prince Trystane had his personal bodyguard, Ser Gascoigne of Greenblood.Nobody's going to bother her, he told himself, and we'll be safe to leave in two weeks. This is Prince Doran's pledge.Although Alex was shocked to see the Prince of Dorne looking so old and weak, he did not doubt the Prince's words. "I am sorry to have been unable to receive you and Princess Myrcella until now," said Prince Doran when Arys was summoned into Martell's study, "but I believe my daughter Arianne has expressed Dorne's wishes for me. Welcome, sir."

"Yes, Your Royal Highness," he replied, hoping that his blush would not reveal his truth. "Our land is barren and poor, but it is beautiful in its own right. It is a pity that you cannot go to any part of Dorne but Sunspear, but I am afraid neither you nor the princess are safe outside the walls. We Dorneians are Impulsive people, quick to anger and not easy to forgive. I'd like to assure you that warring is only the 'Sand Snakes', but I can't lie, ser. You've heard the people in the streets shouting to me to raise an army , pick up the spear, I am afraid that half of the princes also hold the same opinion."

"What about you, Your Royal Highness?" the knight asked boldly. "My mother taught me long ago that madmen fight uncertain battles." If Prince Doran was offended by the abrupt question, he did not let it show. "And peace is fragile...as fragile as your princess." "It's only animals that hurt little girls." "My sister Arya also had a little daughter named Rhaenys, who was also a princess." The prince sighed. "Those who would bring their knives to Princess Myrcella have nothing against her, like Amory. Ser Lodge has nothing to do with Rhaenys—oh, if it's him. They're trying to get me in." , think about it, if Myrcella was killed in Dorne under my protection, who would trust my reputation?"

"As long as I have breath, no one can hurt Myrcella." "A noble oath," said Doran Martell, smiling faintly, "but you are only one man, ser, and you can't be beaten with two fists. I thought I'd put my wayward nieces in prison and things would settle down, It just drives the roaches back under the bedding. Every night I can hear them whispering and sharpening their knives." He was afraid, Ser Arys realized, and lo, his hands were shaking.The Prince of Dorne is in fear.He was speechless. "I am sorry, ser," said Prince Doran, "I am weak, and sometimes . Take Princess Myrcella." Before the knight could protest, the prince raised a hand, the knuckles were red and swollen. "You, and her sisters, and her maids, and guards. Sunspear is strong, but below it is the Shadow City, and even inside the castle, hundreds of people come and go every day. The Watergardens are my place. Horse The Prince of Lun built this garden as a gift to his Targaryen bride to mark the union of Dorne and the Iron Throne. The autumn there is very bright...the days are hot, the nights are cool, and the sea blows a salty breeze The wind, and the fountains and pools. There are many children there too, boys and girls of high birth. Myrcella will have company of friends her own age. She will not be alone."

"Just do as you say." The Prince's words thumped in his head.She'll be safe there.But how to explain Doran Martell telling him not to write to King's Landing to report this move?Myrcella was safest if no one knew where she was.Sir Alex agreed, what choice did he have?Even as a knight of the Kingsguard, he was only a man, as the prince said. Alleys open suddenly into moonlit courtyards.Passing the candle shop, she wrote, through a door and up a short set of outdoor steps.He opened the door, climbed the dilapidated stairs, and came to an unmarked door.Should I knock?He pushed open the door and entered a large, dimly lit room with a low ceiling and a pair of joss sticks flickering in a niche carved out of the thick earthen wall.He found his sandals on a myrish rug, a tapestry hanging on the wall, and a bed beside it. "Miss?" he called, "where are you?"

"Here." She stepped out of the shadows behind the door. Gorgeous snake patterns surround her right forearm, and the red copper and golden scales shimmer slightly with the movement.This is the only coverage she has for her entire body. No, he wanted to tell her, I have come to tell you that I must go.But seeing her radiant in the candlelight, he seemed speechless, and his throat was as dry as the sands of Dorne.He stood silently, admiring the radiance of her naked body, admiring her deep throat, admiring her mature and round breasts, big dark nipples and the beautiful curve of her waist and hips.Before he knew it, he hugged her and she began to remove his robe.When she got to the short jumper, she grabbed the shoulders and pulled hard, tearing it all the way down to the navel, but Arys didn't care.Her skin was smooth and smooth, as warm to the touch as sand baked by the Dornish sun.He lifted her head and found her lips.Her lips were parted under his mouth, and her breasts were tightly held in his hands.Her nipples hardened under the caress of his thumb.Her hair was black and thick, and it smelled of orchids. The earthy and natural fragrance made his work hard and painful. "Touch me, ser," the woman whispered in his ear.His hand slid down her perfect belly, finding the wet and sweet hole at the base of the thick black hair. "Yes, there it is," he slid one of his fingers into her, and she murmured, whimpering, and led him to the edge of the bed, then pinned him down, "Again, oh, ah, yes, dear , my knight, my knight, my dear white knight, yes, you, you, I want you." Her hand guided him inside her, then slid toward his back, pulling him closer. "Deeper," she said softly, "yes, oh." She wrapped her legs around his body, as strong as steel.He punched her again and again, her nails scratching at his back, until finally, screaming beneath him, she arched her back in an arc.At the same time, her fingers found his nipples and squeezed until his seed was inside her.I'd rather die happy now, thought the knight, at least for now, he was at peace. But he didn't die. His desire was as deep as the sea, but when the tide receded, the reefs of shame and self-blame popped up abruptly as usual.Sometimes the waves would cover them, but they remained on the bottom, hard and black and slippery.What am I doing?Don't forget, he asked himself, I am a knight of the Kingsguard.So he rolled off of her, stretched, and stared at the ceiling.There was a large crack in the ceiling that ran from one wall to the other.He hadn't noticed it before, and he hadn't noticed the tapestry—it was Nymeria and her ten thousand ships.I only see her.Even if a dragon was peeking out the window, I couldn't see anything but her breasts, her face, her smile. "There's red wine," she murmured against his neck, sliding a hand across his chest. "Are you thirsty?" "No." He rolled over and sat on the edge of the bed.The room was hot, yet he was shivering. "You're bleeding," she said. "I grabbed too hard." He jerked back when she touched his back, as if her fingers were fire. "No," he stood up naked, "never again." "I have ointment that can heal wounds." But not a cure for my shame. "A little scratch is nothing. Forgive me, miss, I must go..." "So fast?" Her voice was always hoarse, her wide mouth was suitable for whispering, and her full and mature lips were the perfect object for kissing.Her hair fell from her bare shoulders to the tops of her ample breasts, black and thick, curled into loose, soothing circles.Even the hair on her lower body is soft and curly. "Stay tonight, sir, I have much to teach you." "I've learned so much from you." "You seem quite satisfied with those lessons, ser. Surely you're not going into another woman's bed, are you? Tell me who she is, and I'll fight her for you—naked, dagger for dagger." She Smiling, "Unless she's a 'Sand Snake', in which case we can share you. I love my cousins ​​very much." "You know I have no other women. Only... duty." She turned over, propped herself up on one elbow, and looked up at him, her big black eyes flickering in the candlelight. "Duty is a pock-marked bitch, dry as dust between her legs, and her kisses will make you bleed. Let Duty sleep alone, tonight with me." "My duty is in the palace." She sighed, "You're going to be with another princess, aren't you? I'm so jealous, I think you love her more than me. It's a pity that the girl is too young, you need women, not children. But I can Play innocent, if that turns you on." "Don't you say that." She was a Dornishman, remember.In the Far Lands, it is said that Dorne's diet makes Dorne men hot-tempered and Dorne women behave wildly.Fire pepper and other exotic spices warmed their blood, and she couldn't help herself. "I love Myrcella like my own daughter." But he could never have a daughter, nor could he have a wife, only the delicate white robe. "We're going to the Water Garden." "You're leaving at last," she said silently, "but it takes my father four times as long to do anything. He says he's leaving tomorrow, and you're sure not to start until two weeks later. You'll be in the Watergarden Alone, I assure you. Alas, where is that young warrior of old? He said he wished to live in my arms for the rest of his life." "I was drunk." "You drank three glasses of red wine and water." "I'm intoxicated because of you. It's been ten years... since I put on the white robe, I haven't touched a woman until I was with you... I never understood what love is, but now... I'm worried." "What's there to worry about my white knight?" "I worry about my honor," he said, "and your honor." "I know what to do with my honor," she said, touching her chest with one finger, drawing slow circles around her nipple. "And my own pleasure--if necessary. I'm a grown woman." Of course she is.Watching her teasingly smiling on the feather bed, playing with her breasts... Is there any other woman with such big and sensitive tits in the world?He looked at them and couldn't help grasping and sucking until they were firm and moist and shiny... He looks away.His underwear was strewn all over the carpet.The knight stooped to pick it up. "Your hands are shaking," she pointed out, "I think they'd rather come and touch me. Do you have to get dressed so soon, ser? I like you better now. Sleeping on the bed, naked, we are who we really are , man and woman, two lovers, united as much as possible. Clothes will set us apart. I would rather show flesh and blood than silk jewels, and you...you are different from your white robes, ser. " "One thing," Ser Arys emphasized. "I and my robes are one thing. It must end, for me as well as for you. If we are found..." "People will think you're lucky." "People will think I broke my oath. What if someone goes to your father and tells him how I've tarnished your name?" "There are many words to describe my father, but no one has ever called him stupid. My first night was given to the illegitimate child of God's Grace City. We were both fourteen years old at the time. Guess what my father did when he found out?" She pulled the bed sheet Grip tight and pull under the chin to cover the naked body. "He didn't do anything, to tell you the truth. My father liked doing nothing—doing nothing, he called 'thinking.' Tell me the truth, sir, are you concerned about my honor, or your own?" "It's both," he said, hurt by her accusation, "so this has to be the last time." "You've said that before." I did say it, and it was so intended.But I'm weak, otherwise I wouldn't be here.He couldn't tell her what was on his mind; she was the kind of woman who despised weakness, he felt it.She has a personality like her uncle, not like her father.He turned to find his torn silk jumper lying on a chair.She had just torn the dress down to the navel and removed it from his arm. "The clothes are ruined," he complained, "how can I wear them?" "Wear it the other way around," she suggested, "wrap the robe so no one will see the tear. Maybe your little princess will sew it on for you. Shall I send a new one to the Watergarden?" "Don't send me presents." That's just attention-grabbing.He shook off the short jumper and put it back on over his head.The silk sticks to the scratches on the back and feels cool.In this way, at least he can last until he returns to the palace. "I just want to end this... this..." "Is that your courage, ser? You hurt me. I'm beginning to think that all your sweet talk is a lie." How can I lie to you?Ser Arys felt as if she had slapped him across the face. "No, for love, I throw away all honor... When I'm with you, I... I can't think, you are everything I dreamed of, but..." "Words are like the wind; if you love me, don't leave me." "I swear..." "...No marriage, no children. See, I drank moon tea, and you know I can't marry you." She smiled, "But you may be able to convince me to keep you as my lover." "You are laughing at me." "Perhaps a little. Do you think you were the first Kingsguard ever to fall in love with a woman?" "There will always be people who take oaths more easily than keep them," he admits.Sir Boros Brawne was a frequent visitor to Silk Street, and Sir Preston Greenfield often visited his house while a certain cloth merchant was out, but Sir Arys refused to tell the fault of Brother Sworn, which made them shame. "Ser Terrence Toyne slept with the king's mistress," he said, "for love, he swore, at the cost of his life and hers, and the decline of his family and the death of the noblest knight who ever lived. " "Yeah. Where's Lukamer, 'The Womanizer'? He's got three wives and sixteen kids. That song always makes me laugh." "The truth is not so funny. He was never called 'Woman' Loukamer' in his life. His title was 'Strong' Loukamer. He lived a lie all his life, and when it was caught, his The sworn brothers castrated him with their own hands, and the 'King Renrui' sent him to the Great Wall, leaving behind sixteen crying children. Like Terrence Toyne, he is not a real knight..." "What about the dragon knight?" She threw the sheet aside and slammed her legs to the ground, "You just said that he is the most noble knight in history, but he slept with the queen and made her have a child." "I don't believe it," he said unhappily. "Prince Aemon's affair with Queen Nelish was just a story, a lie his brother made up. King Aegon favored bastards, and he said it on purpose in order to abolish his true son. He was It's not unreasonable to be called 'Yong Wang'." He found the sword belt and buckled it around his waist.Even though it seemed odd to match Dorne's silk blouse, the familiar weight of sword and dagger reminded him of who and what he was. "I do not wish to be called Ser Arys the Sinner," he declared, "I do not wish to stain my white robes." "Yes," she said slowly, "that exquisite white robe. You forgot, my great-uncle wore the same robe. Although he died when I was young, I remember him. He was as tall as a steel tower, always It tickled me and made me gasp from laughter." "I never met Prince Lewyn," Ser Arys said, "but it is agreed that he was a great knight." "A great knight with a mistress. His she is old now, but it is often said that she was a beauty in her youth." Prince Levin?Ser Arys had never heard of it.He was shocked.Terrence Toyne's treachery and the lies of "The Womanizer" Loukamer are recorded in the White Code, but Prince Lewyn's page does not mention any women. "My uncle used to say that a man's worth is determined by the sword in his hand, not the one between his legs," she continued, "so stop piously talking to me about sullying white robes. It's not Our love, but the monsters you serve, and the murderers you call brothers." The blow was close to the point. "Robert is no monster." "He climbed onto the throne astride the corpse of the child," she said, "though I admit he is not like Joffrey." Joffrey.He was handsome, and tall and strong for his age, but that was all.Ser Arys still felt ashamed to think that he had been driven by him to beat up the poor Stark girl.When Tyrion chose him to protect Myrcella and come to Dorne, he once lit a candle at the warrior's altar to express his gratitude. "Joffrey was poisoned by the imp," he said, not expecting the dwarf to be so vicious. "Tomen is king now, and he is not like his brother." "Not the same as his sister." This is a fact.Tommen was good-natured and did everything he could, but the last time Arys saw him, he was crying by the pier; Myrcella, though she had to leave her homeland and sacrifice her virginity to form an alliance, never shed a tear.The princess is braver, wiser and more confident than her brother.She was quick-witted and well-mannered, and nothing could frighten her, not even Joffrey.In fact, women are stronger than men and women.He thought not only of Myrcella, but of her mother, his own mother, the Queen of Thorns, the beautiful but deadly brood of Sand Snakes left by the Red Viper, and Princess Arianne Martell —especially her. "I don't want to refute you..." he said hoarsely. "I don't want to? I can't! Myrcella is more suitable for ruling..." "Sons take precedence over daughters." "Why? Who made the rules? I am my father's heir. Should I give up my rights to my younger brothers?" "Don't misinterpret my words. I didn't say...Dorne is different. The Seven Kingdoms never had a Queen." "Viserys I intended his daughter Rhaenyra to succeed him, right? But when the king died, the captain of the Kingsguard changed the arrangements." Sir Christon Cole. Christon the "Kingbearer" turned his siblings against each other, and the Kingsguard quarreled among themselves, sparking a civil war that the singers called "Dance of the Dragon".Some said he was ambitious, because Prince Aegon was easier to manipulate than his wayward sister; She used to be Princess Rhaenyla's lover, but later she intends to take revenge on her old love. "Kingbearer has cost lives," Ser Arys said. "He has paid dearly, but..." "...but you may be an emissary from the Seven, and when one white knight does something wrong, it's only fair for another to correct it. You know, my father planned to take Myrcella with him when he returned to the Falling Water Gardens Princess……" "It's to keep her safe from people who want to hurt her." "No. This is to keep away those who would try to crown her. Prince Oberyn the Red Viper, for example, would have put the crown on her head if he had lived, but my father lacks the courage." She stood up. "You said you loved that girl like your own daughter, so would you allow your daughter to be deprived of her rights and put in prison?" "Flowing Garden is not a prison." He retorted feebly. "There's no fountain or fig tree in the prison, don't you think so? But once the girl gets there, there's no way she'll ever leave. And neither will you. Hotah will keep a close eye on you. You don't know him, he's amazing. " Ser Arys frowned.The captain of the guard from Norvos was tall and scarred, which always made him uneasy.They said he slept with his longaxe at night. "What do you want me to do?" "I want you to fulfill your duty, defend Myrcella with your life, protect her...and her rights, and crown her." "I made an oath!" "To Joffrey, not Tommen." "Yes, but Tommen is kind, and he would be a much better king than Joffrey." "But he is not as good as Myrcella. See, she loves her brother too, and will do him no harm. Storm's End is rightfully Tommen's, for Lord Renly has no heir, and Lord Stannis has been deprived of it." Right, in the future, Casterly Rock City will also be passed on to Tommen through his mother. He will become the biggest lord in the entire territory... But according to the law, Myrcella should sit on the Iron Throne." "The law... I..." "I know the law very well." She stood with her head held high, her long black messy hair hanging down her waist. "Aegon the Dragon set up the Kingsguard and made an oath, but what one king makes another can undo or change. The Kingsguard was for life, but Joffrey can take away Ser Barristan's whiteness." Robe, for my dog; in the future, Myrcella will want you to be happy, and she likes me. If we ask, she will allow us to marry." Arianne put her arms around him, her face pressed against On his chest, with the head just touching his chin. "As long as you want, you can have me and keep your white robe." She's going to tear me in half. "You know what I'm thinking, but..." "I am the Princess of Dorne," she said in a husky voice, "and let me beg you this is not right." Ser Arys could smell her hair, and she pressed against him, letting him feel her heartbeat.She undoubtedly felt the reaction of his body too.She trembled when he put his arms around her shoulders. "Arianne? My princess? What's the matter with you, my love?" "Do you want me to say it, ser? I'm afraid... you call me lover and reject me when I need you most. Is it wrong to want my knight to protect me?" She has never looked so vulnerable. "No, no, that's right," he said, "but you're protected by your father's guards, why—" "You don't understand, it's my father's guards that I'm afraid of." For a moment, she sounded younger than Myrcella. "They were the ones who locked up my dear cousins." "Not locked up. I hear they live very comfortably." She smiled wryly, "Did you see them with your own eyes? He doesn't allow me to see them, you know?" "They intend to rebel, brewing war..." "Donna is eight years old, Laurie is only six years old, can they brew wars? But my father imprisoned all the Sand Snakes. You have seen him and know him. As the saying goes, fear makes the strong confused and do things they shouldn't do , and my father was never strong. Alex, my darling, you say you love me, for this love, listen to me. I am not as fearless as my cousins, my seeds are more Weak, but Tyene is the same age as me. Since childhood, we have been like sisters and talked about everything. There are no secrets between us. He will imprison her, and naturally he will imprison me... let alone Messi La." "Your father would never do that." "You don't know him as well as I do. I let him down when I was born without a lifeline. Several times, he tried to marry me to a despicable old man with all his teeth gone. Of course, he didn't give direct orders. Admit it, but the mere suggestion shows how much he doesn't care about me." "Even so, he still regards you as his heir." "yes?" "He left you to rule at Sunspear during his seclusion in the Fallingwater Gardens, didn't he?" "Rule? No, he appoints his cousin, Sir Manfred, as castellan, and old and blind Ricasso as steward, and his marshal collects taxes and sends them to Treasurer Aris Redbright to count, and his law and order The palace kept order in the Shadow City, his magistrates presided over the arbitration, and Maester Meath handled the letters that did not require the prince's personal attention. Above these he also placed the red viper; my task was to drink and entertain My honored guest. Oberyn visits Fallingwater once a week, and I am summoned twice a year. I am not my father's intended heir, and he has made it quite clear. Though our laws bind him, I know He was always ready to replace me with my brother." "Your brother?" Ser Arys put his hand on her chin, and lifted her head to better gaze into her eyes. "You didn't mean Trystane, he was just a little boy." "It's not A Cui. It's Quentin." Her fearless black eyes revealed a rebellious, unflinching rebellion. "I knew it when I was fourteen. I went to my father's study the other day, trying to kiss him good night, but he wasn't there. Then I found out that it was my mother who sent for him. There was still a candle in his room. Burning, and when I went to blow it out, there was an unfinished letter beside it, a letter to my brother Quentin, who was in Erenlin at the time. Father told him to obey all the maesters and masters Instructions, because 'one day you will sit in my place and rule Dorne, and the ruler must be sound in body and mind.'" A tear rolled down Arianne's soft cheek. "These are words written in my father's own handwriting, and they have been etched in my memory ever since. I cried myself to sleep that night, and many nights after that." Alex has yet to meet Quentin Martell.The prince was adopted by Lord Yronwood when he was a child. He served as a wine waiter first, then as a servant, and finally he was bestowed a knight by Yronwood himself, not even the Red Viper intervened.If I were a father, I would want my son to inherit it, too, he thought, but he could hear the pain in her voice, and if he spoke his mind, he would lose her forever. "Perhaps you have misunderstood," he said. "You were a boy at the time, and perhaps the Prince said that only to encourage your brother to work harder." "You really think so? Then tell me, where is Quentin now?" "The prince is currently in Lord Yronwood's army, stationed on the Boneway." Alex said cautiously.The old castellan of Sunspear had told him that when he first came to Dorne, and so had the maester with the smooth beard. Arianne didn't think so, "My father created an illusion, which doesn't match the information my friends got. In fact, my younger brother has disguised himself as a merchant and crossed the Narrow Sea secretly. Why?" "How do I know? There could be many reasons." "Or just one. Did you know that the Golden Company released their contract with Myr?" "Mercenaries often break contracts." "Never will the Golden Company. 'Words are gold' has been their boasted creed since the days of 'Cold Iron'. The war between Myr and Rhys and Tyrosh is imminent, and the contract will bring handsome rewards and spoils, why should it be terminated?" "Perhaps Reese or Tyrosh offered more." "No," she denied, "any other mercenary company I'd believe—most would change for a little money. But the Golden Company is different. They're all exiles or descendants of exiles , each other as brothers, obeying the dream of 'Cold Iron'. They not only longed for money, but also dreamed of returning home. Lord Yronwood knew this as well as I did. During the three 'Blackfyre' rebellions, his Our ancestors fought with Cold Iron." She took Ser Arys's hand, fingers intertwined. "Have you seen the coat of arms of the Tolan family on Soul Hill?" He thought for a while, "A dragon that devours its own tail?" "The dragon represents time, which has no beginning, no end, and comes back again and again. Now, Anders Yronwood is like Christon Cole resurrected. He deceived my brother and encouraged my brother to take the initiative to claim the inheritance," he said.男人不能向女人下跪……还说亚莲恩任性放荡，尤其不适合统治。”她挑战似的一甩头发。 “因此你的两个公主不仅有共同的目标，爵士……还共有一个声称爱她们，却不愿为她们而战的骑士。” “我愿意，”亚历斯爵士单膝跪下，“弥赛菈年长，也更适合戴上王冠。如果她的御林铁卫不愿守护她的权利，还有谁会愿意呢？我的剑，我的生命，我的荣誉，全部属于她……还有你，我心中的太阳。我发誓，只要我一息尚存，就没人可以偷走你与生俱来的权利。我是你的人。现在，你要我做什么？” “一切。”她跪下来亲吻他的嘴唇。“一切，我的爱人，我真正的爱人，我贴心的爱人，永远的爱人。但首先……” “说吧，说出来我就为你做。” “……弥赛菈。”