While the Dornish girls were whispering to each other, and Oberyn was taking account of the supplies that Dacey had prepared for them, Jon had been taken by Dacey some distance away to have a private conversation.
"What was it that you said to me when I asked you to bring me along for this? That it was a two-man job. That more people would only compromise the mission," Dacey began with a sharp question the moment they were out of the earshot of the people from Dorne, "So what happened now? Did their pretty faces somehow change your mind?"
"As if," Jon answered with a snort as he shook his head, "I would not have brought them at all if it were up to me. But they somehow caught their father sneaking around and then blackmailed him, with the threat of telling his brother Prince Doran, to bring them abroad."
"And that was all it took for you to agree," she asked with a sceptical raise of her eyebrow.
"Of course not," Jon retorted immediately, "If it was just that, then I would have found some way to take care of them or leave someplace far away so that they would not interfere in the plan. But then, Oberyn told me that his girls are supposed to be even more skilled in the art of poison than he is, and since I don't have Sam with me here," he shrugged helplessly, "I thought it wouldn't hurt to have other experts on hand just to be on the safe side."
"So these girls somehow became assets useful for this mission, while I was just a liability who would just get in the way. Is that what you are trying to say?" Dacey asked with narrowed eyes.
"No, of course not," Jon replied, hastily waving his hand. Though he had no idea why his friend was in such a bad mood today, Jon knew that he had to quickly calm her down, as nothing sets off a Northerner more than their prowess being questioned. "You were obviously my first choice for this mission, after all, who else could I trust more with my back than you. But it's just that it is a personal matter for Oberyn and his family, you understand." Jon said, and Dacey reluctantly nodded her head, "And besides, there was no one else whom I could count on to take care of my family, was there. Speaking of which, where are they?" he asked hurriedly, trying to change the subject.
"Just a few hours away, docked in the middle of the ocean waiting for me," Dacey replied with a sigh, letting go of her earlier frustration, "Cory is here with me, so she can take us there quickly, if you want to meet them."
"No, no, it is better if I don't," Jon said with a nostalgic smile, thinking about the cute little sisters he hadn't seen in a while (at least not in person), "I am not even sure how I would explain all this to them,"
"You would have to, eventually," Dacey said with a snort, "Or I guess I would have to, when they reach all the way to Essos, and ask me why their beloved brother is not here to welcome them."
"Oh, I am sure you can keep them entertained long enough in Essos to forget all about me,"
"I don't know about that," Dacey replied with a wry smile on her face, "Not to mention the others, but that little girl Arya hadn't stopped asking about you for a single moment. I don't think any normal excuse would be enough for them to forgive your absence," she said before a sneaky smirk appeared on her face as she rememebered something, "Ah, except of course Lady Stark, who I must admit is a much better person than you had led me to believe," she said shaking her head disapointedly, "What was that about, Jon? I never expected that you were bad-mouthing Lady Catelyn so unfairly,"
"W-What are you talking about? I never talked badly about her."
"Did you not?" Dacey asked with an innocent tilt of her head, "Because I distinctly remember someone making quite a few jokes at her expense, especially about her vanity, about how she would look when she upturns her nose in disdain, how funny her appearance was when she would run after Arya while trying to act all proper, and—"
"Enough! Enough, I say!" Jon cried out nervously in a low voice, trying to stop her from spilling all his secrets, "Why do you still remember all that? That was years ago, and you know it was all in jest, right? I was just having fun... so don't tell any of this to her. Alright? "
"I could do that..." Dacey said slowly, "But then she and I have become such good friends over the past few days, so I don't think it's right for me not to tell her about the things her naughty 'stepson' used to say about her."
"Don't even joke about this, Dacey. You have no idea how much effort it took for me to get in her good graces. You can not make all my effort go to waste."
"Fine. I won't tell her about it," Dacey said with a wide smile on her face. She was quite happy to see Jon actually looking nervous for a change, instead of that smug all all-knowing look he always had on his face. It felt good to know that he had at least one weakness.
"Good," Jon said with relief in his voice.
"But you would be owing me for this. Owing me big time. Understand?"
"Sure," Jon said, agreeing immediately, knowing that his friend was the kind to only make simple requests, such as getting that particular fruit she was craving from the other side of the world or simply a new weapon, which were all easy for him to fulfil.
"Good, it is a deal, then," Dacey nodded with a smile, before she sighed sadly, "Ah, I just regret that I would have to miss that tournament of yours. I bet it is going to be very entertaining there."
"As if." Jon said with a snort, "If anything, it is bound to be a boring thing, what with all the most pompous nobles from Westeros gathering there in one place. It will be nothing more than posturing, simpering, and a whole lot of ass kissing. Trust me, you will be missing out on nothing."
"Promise," Dacey asked with a small smile.
"Promise," he replied with a roll of his eyes.
"Well, I guess I should get going then," Dacey said with a long stretch of her body, "Your family, especially your father, is bound to start asking questions if the ship stays in one place for too long without me being present."
"Good. Have a safe journey then," Jon nodded with a smile on his face, "And take that ship with you, will you? I brought it almost empty to increase its speed, and it would be a waste for it to go all the way back to North without any goods, so you may as well take it back to Essos with you."
"Sure," Dacey replied with a shrug, as she moved towards the boat, while nodding at Oberyn in farewell.
The boat had already been emptied by the Dornish, so with a simple push, the boat was back into the sea, and Dacey immediately jumped in and picked up the oars.
With a final nod, Dacey rowed away from the shore, and barely a few minutes later, the woman had completely disappeared from their sight as if a divine horse was pulling the boat over water from the other side.
"Wasn't that boat just a bit too fast?" Nymeria asked with a stunned expression.
"It was," Sarella replied, looking similarly surprised. "Perhaps that is the power one gets when they have muscles like that," she mused, her mind still stuck on the fact that a woman could have such a toned figure and still somehow managed to look beautiful.
"Oi! Enough slacking off." Jon's voice called them back to the present from behind them, "Pick up your luggage, and get moving. We do not have all day."
"Um, Jon. I think we have no day left at all," Sarella said with a chuckle as she pointed towards the horizon where the sun had already started to sink.
"So?"
"What do you mean, so?" Nymeria asked with a dumbfounded laugh, "What would be even the point of entering the forest at this time, if we have to stop and make a camp soon after?"
"Why would we make a stop?" Jon asked with a tilt of his head, as if he was genuinely curious.
"Why would we stop, he asks," Nymeria mimicked mockingly to her sister, "Because my dear friend from the North, unlike what may happen in your frozen wasteland, here, in the normal parts of the world, you do not move through a forest in the Night, not unless you want to die," she finished with a roll of her eyes, "Everyone knows that,"
"Oh, ho, don't tell me. Are the famous sand snakes afraid of a little jaunt in the dark?" Jon said with a teasing look in his eyes, "Who would have guessed?" he said with an air of disappointment on his face while placing his part of the ration from the stuff Dacey had brought for them inside his luggage, to make it easier to carry.
"He, he, very funny," Sarella said with a smile at his lame joke, but then she saw him picking up his luggage as if he was getting ready to move, and her smile immediately disappeared. "Wait, are you serious?"
"Of course I am," Jon replied simply, "Don't tell me? Are you scared, too, just like Nymeria?"
"Hey! I did not say I was afraid?!"
"Of course, I am," Sarella replied without a hint of shame, while completely ignoring her indignant sister, "There could be any number of dangerous things in there, from snakes, spiders, to wolves, bears, and maybe even tigers, and not to mention the very real possibility of losing our way in the dark. Don't tell me you don't fear any of that?"
"Eh! I have been through many more dangerous forests before, so no," Jon said with a non-chalant shrug, "I know exactly what to do to avoid predators in dark, so you do not need to fret about becoming anyone's food," he said confidently, becuase after all, as the self-proclaimed number one warg in the world, scaring wild animals, whether they be big or small, was the easiest skill in his arsenal.
"But—"
"And as for getting lost," Jon continued without giving the girl any chance, "That is not even a worry, as I know our path like the back of my hand. In fact, if I want to, I can go through with my eyes closed," he said with a smile as if he enjoying a private joke, "So don't worry too much and just follow my lead, and no harm shall come to you," he finished gallantly as if he were a knight.
The girls were left completely speechless at this wild bragging from a person they had previously considered very humble.
"So shall we go then?" Jon asked with a bright smile on his face as if what he said should have been enough to convince them.
"Of course not," Sarella said while looking at him as if he were insane, "We can't just follow you into danger just because you say so. In fact, I don't even understand why we are taking such a big risk before we have even seen our target."
"Because we have to," Jon said with a shrug, "I wouldn't have done this if it was not urgent, but sadly, I have solid news that the Mountain, along with his crew is going to set off from his place in less than two days, and our ambush site from here is almost a day away, and that is, if we are on the move continuously. So, since we have had plenty of rest on the ship on the way here, I want us to cover at least half the distance before we make camp to rest."
"B-But if it was so, then could we not have arrived earlier?"
"No, we could not," Jon said while shaking his head, "If we had arrived sooner, not only would we have to carry more luggage slowing our pace, but we would also have to find a place to stay, and make a fire, increasing our risk of discovery, and any later would have us miss the perfect chance, so you could say that I timed our arrival exactly right."
"Er..." Sarella was left completely stumped by this surprisingly logical reason behind all this haste, and unable to find a proper retort, the girl turned to her father in frustration as if asking him to help.
"Don't look at me, daughter. I have already promised him that I would do everything he asks me to do on this trip, as long as he gets me to him. So if he says to travel during the night, then I am more than ready to do so," Oberyn said resolutely, "But you both don't have to, you could just stay here and wait for us to come—"
"As if," Nymeria immediately challenged, "If you are not afraid, then why should I be?" she said proudly as she picked up her luggage, "Let's go. I am ready."
And with that, the three of them turned to look at the last person, who looked quite frustrated at the moment.
Sarella looked from one person to the other, but in the end, she saw no hope there, and after cursing the gods for a few moments, the girl groaned, "Damn it!" and reluctantly picked up her own luggage. "Why did I have to get stuck with lunatics?" she murmured to herself, which everyone conveniently ignored.
"Finally," Jon cheered as he raised his fist towards the forest as if he was the vanguard of an army, "Let's Go," he said as he began to lead the way into the forest that was only lightly illuminated by the fading sunlight.
It was fine for now, but soon Jon would have to light up a torch to make sure that the ones behind could follow him. "Just follow exactly where I pass through, and make sure—Oh," Jon was mid-sentence when he abruptly stopped with a dazed look on his face.
"Huh? What happened?" Oberyn asked curiously, as he halted himself from bumping into Jon at the last moment.
"They woke up," Jon whispered to himself with an, 'Ah, shit,' expression on his face.
The other end of his mind, that had been constantly inside his rat friend, had been caught in a difficult situation at that moment, leaving him to wonder if they could successfully escape the city or if he would have to use frost after all.
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