Oberyn merely chuckled in response.
"I would have," he said, "but not now."
"Have a seat, Lord Oberyn," Rhaenys gestured toward the empty chair.
Oberyn nodded and occupied the seat. Rhaenys, too, took her place, and the two remained in silence for a few moments before Rhaenys broke it.
"What brings you here, Lord Oberyn?" she questioned, "this far away from Sunspear."
Oberyn took a deep breath and sighed.
"Is my intention not very obvious?" he asked. "Do you not realize that I have come here from so far away to verify if you really are who you claim to be? To see if you really are Elia's daughter. To see if you are really my niece?"
"What have you seen so far?" she asked, hardly allowing any expression to appear on her face.
Even the mention of her mother's name did not make her flinch. And Oberyn was a little disappointed by this.
"Nothing," he responded.
"You have not given me any clue to think in either direction. Are you really Rhaenys?" Oberyn questioned, refusing to mince his words.
"Did I not make this known to the whole world?" Rhaenys replied. "Rhaenys Targaryen is who I claim to be. Why would I refuse something that I am claiming publicly."
"Any proof?" he retorted.
His expression was grim and his eyes were fixed on her face, searching for any telltale sign. It was as if he expected to spot a lie directly on her features.
"Why would I bother to give proof?" Rhaenys almost scoffed. "It is not I who arrived at Sunspear claiming to be Rhaenys and asking that you take me in as your niece."
Oberyn clenched his fist in frustration. He had hoped to get some clear answers, but the lady in front of him was acting completely arrogant and nonchalant. Yet, he could not really fault her for it. As she had said, she had not come to him. She had no responsibility to provide any proof.
"Why did you not come to Dorne?" Oberyn asked. "We were your only remaining relatives."
"What would I have achieved by coming to Dorne?" Rhaenys retorted. "To be used as a political tool to achieve the goals of House Martell?"
Oberyn remained silent for a couple of moments before he almost burst out laughing.
"It looks like you really are not Rhaenys," he said. "If you were, you would have known that your uncle would never do such a thing. You would have known how much I loved you."
Rhaenys smiled at Oberyn's confidence.
"Can you guarantee the same about your elder brother, Doran Martell?" she asked.
Oberyn narrowed his eyes but did not speak. Rhaenys, on the other hand, decided that it was enough. It was time to come clean.
"And I know you much better than you are giving me credit for," she remarked. "Like this one memory you might recall."
"When I was small and you were in King's Landing," she continued, "you sneaked a maid into Mother's room."
"Mother caught you and the maid, and she was livid," she said. "In her anger, she almost forced you to return to Dorne. She only relented because I begged her to let my favorite uncle stay for a few more days."
Oberyn's eyes widened as he heard this. Every word of what she had said was true. Absolutely true. There was no more denying it. No more doubts. She was Rhaenys. She was his niece.
"Rhaenys?" he mumbled.
His eyes were almost brimming with tears. He was on his feet and wanted nothing more than to jump toward her and wrap her in a hug. But he halted. Rhaenys still had no change in her expression. She was still sitting there with the same neutral look on her face.
"Rhaenys?" Oberyn called, almost reaching out to her.
"You should take a moment to calm and compose yourself, Lord Oberyn," she remarked.
Oberyn felt shocked and surprised. He was her uncle. Why was he being treated like this? He could not understand. Even so, he took a deep breath, composed himself, and sat back in his chair.
"Why are you doing this?" he asked. "I am your uncle. Why are you treating me as a stranger? Why are you being so cold and distant?"
"It is true that you are my uncle, Lord Oberyn," she said. "I remember a lot of those happy days I spent running around the Red Keep with you."
"And if I had only been Rhaenys, it would have been different," she continued, "but now I am also a queen with five dragons at my disposal. We have not seen each other for years. I do not know your intentions or what you want from me."
"For all I know, this whole emotional act could have been nothing more than a ploy to fool me and earn my trust," she added.
Oberyn was stunned. He was not expecting to hear these kinds of words.
"Do you really not want to have anything to do with us?" Oberyn questioned with a sigh. "Do you even consider us as your family?"
"I do," she replied.
Oberyn felt a small sense of relief.
"But the question is not about me wanting to have anything to do with you or not," she continued.
"It is about what you expect from me. Are you here so that you can use me in your games?" She asked. "So that you could use my dragons for some of your puny goals?"
"Those are not puny goals!" Oberyn retorted, loudly. "Your mother, my sister, was killed in the most brutal way possible. We thought that something similar had happened to you."
"You must have known what happened to your mother and brother. Maybe you witnessed it yourself. I do not even know how you survived and escaped.
"But what is wrong with me wanting revenge?" he almost shouted. "What is wrong with me wanting the head of the Mountain and of Tywin Lannister for what they did to my beloved sister?"
"I am willing to go to any length to have my revenge," he bellowed. "I am willing to give my own life ten times over for just a chance to have my revenge!
"And here you are," he said, pointing his finger toward her, "with all the power at your disposal, holed up in this manor, playing queen and all that."
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