Sarella Sand POV
"So go on. Introduce yourself mongrel." Prince Stephen said, and his words caused a pin drop silence in the Hall.
She frowned as she wondered why the Prince was acting so arrogant all of a sudden. She'd talked with him quite a bit yesterday, and he didn't seem to be arrogant at that time. Was that merely a facade and he was genuinely arrogant on the inside. Or was he simply putting on an act right now?
She had no way of knowing for sure as she'd only known the prince for a short amount of time, so she shifted her attention and glanced at the seven challengers who'd come here to confront Prince Stephen.
Gerold Dayne doing something arrogant and foolish? That she could totally understand. But why would Daemon Sand, the Dalt brothers and the others join him in this foolishness. That seemed totally out of character for them.
Were they hoping to impress Arianne by taking down the Prince? She couldn't shake off the nagging suspicion that there was more to it than that. In fact, this entire situation seemed… staged.
She glanced at Arianne at the main table and wondered what she had a hand in all of this.
She had heard from the grapevine that Prince Stephen had rejected Arianne's advances last night. She hadn't given much thought to it back then. But now that she pondered on the matter more seriously, Arianne would definitely not be happy with such rejection. Was this her way of getting revenge on the prince?
Gerold's ominous chuckles shattered the silence, sending a chill down her spine.
"I knew that the northerners were an arrogant bunch. But to see it with my own eyes is really something else." Gerold said, and then in a sudden burst of movement, he drew his sword and pointed it at the Prince.
(AN: Dornish people see everyone else in Westeros as Northerners. Just as the Wildlings see everyone South of the Wall as Southerners.)
This caused all of Prince Stephen's men to rise from their seats, alarmed. After all, someone had just brandished a weapon at their prince. And while they didn't have their own weapons at hand, she could see that each and every one of them were prepared to fight for their Prince.
"Sit down." Prince Stephen told his men. His voice soft, yet powerful enough to reverberate throughout the entire hall. The voice of an army commander. "Let's hear what this cur has to say first." He added, looking lazily amused at the entire situation. As if one of the most dangerous man in Dorne hasn't just threatened him.
Prince Stephen's men reluctantly sat down on their chairs, but she could see that they were still alert and ready to defend their Prince in case these Seven men decided to attack him.
"Cur?" Gerold Dayne chuckled again, attempting to appear entertained, though she detected a tinge of anger in his laughter this time."I am Gerold Dayne, known as Darkstar to many. And I am the Sword of the Night," he declared.
Spoiler:Gerold Dayne
"Do they?" Prince Stephen asked, raising an eyebrow but otherwise seeming unbothered by that introduction. "I didn't know that House Dayne made low-quality replicas of the Sword of the Morning. And please, do enlighten me - what grand deeds have you accomplished to earn such a title? Or is that just how you always introduce yourself, hoping to make a name for yourself when you have nothing else?"
Gerold's face twitched and she knew that the Prince had touched a raw nerve of his. She didn't knew a lot about Gerold, but from what little she'd heard of him, she knew that he was very sensitive about his title. And even more so about the topic of the Sword of the Morning, since he was barred from taking 'Dawn' despite his skills due to not being from the main branch of House Dayne.
Gerold kept his sword pointed at Prince Stephen as he spoke up. "Enough of these jests! I, Darkstar, challenge you to a duel. I've heard a lot of rumours about your exploits in Kings Landing. And I want to see if there's any truth to those rumours, or if you're simply hot air."
"Oh? You wish to challenge me?" Prince Stephen asked, the amusement on his face increasing as he peered beyond Gerold, as if searching of something that was not present. "You, and what army?" He asked.
"You think that I need an army to-"
"Greetings Prince Stephen. I am Daemon Sand, and I would like to challenge to a duel as well." Daemon Sand said, cutting off Gerold's words mid sentence.
A flash of fury swept across Gerold's countenance, and for an instant, she feared he might use his sword to attack Daemon Sand. However, before he could act, Andrey Dalt stepped forward and added his voice to the conversation.
"I am Andrey Dalt. And I would also like to see for myself, if you're as skilled as everyone claim you to be."
Then another moved forward and challenged Prince Stephen, and another, and another until all Seven of them had done so.
She could see that Gerold Dayne was rather pissed off at the others stealing his show. Nevertheless, he had already lost his momentum, and there was little he could do to recover it. Despite this, he made a final effort to reassert his authority over his small group.
"So, what say you?" Gerold asked Prince Stephen Baratheon with a tone of arrogance, "Do you have the guts to face us in the arena?"
The Prince took a moment to silently survey all seven men before he chuckled, "Very well, it's me against all seven of you in a duel to the death. How does that sound?"
"I accep-" Gerold Dayne started to say but was cut off by Princess Arianne. "Absolutely not!"
Everyone turned to look at Princess Arianne at her outburst and she floundered under their stares for a moment before she regained her composure and continued. "If Prince Stephen died while being a guest of House Martell, then that would cause a war between Dorne and rest of the Seven Kingdoms." Arianne said, looking visibly unnerved by that prospect. "Do you want Robert Baratheon to come here and create a second Iron Islands"
"Bold of you to presume that I'll die to these curs." Prince Stephen said as he lazily got up from his seat as well. "These men barged into your hall, and bared live steel against your guest, and yet you did nothing. I would say that you lost your right speak on this matter long ago, Princess. Now…" He said and turned to the Seven men. "Will you continue to waste my time? Either accept this duel to the death, or scurry back to your mothers and hide behind their skirts. I've heard that you Dornish are rather proficient at that."
She watched with mild trepidation as challengers bristled at Prince Stephen's disrespectful words. As did every other Dornish in the Hall.
If the Prince had only insulted the Seven Knights, it might not have caused such an uproar. But by insulting the Dornish people as a whole, he had made it much harder for the Princess to defuse the situation. And for the Seven Knights to back down would be even more difficult.
Some might see the Prince's behavior as merely arrogant, but she could sense a deeper strategy behind his words. He wasn't disrespecting Dorne, but rather backing these seven men into a corner.
The only problem was that... if the Prince really died in this duel, then it'll cause a war between Dorne and the rest of the Seven Kingdoms. A war that Dorne will definitely not win.
As things stood, she could only hope that the Prince was even a tenth as good as those crazy rumours made him out to be.
"We accept." Gerold Dayne spoke up once again, a bloodthirsty look on his face. "Meet me outside-"
"No." Daemon Sand spoke up, cutting off Gerold Dayne once again. "The Princess is correct. If any harm comes to Prince Stephen, then all of Dorne will entire endeavor was a mistake. Prince Stephen, please accept my apology, but I wish to withdraw my challenge."
"Like hell we will!" Deziel Salt spoke up. "He just insulted all of Dornish people. We can't simply let him leave after that."
"So you would kill him because he said a few rude words?" Daemon Sand said, standing up against his fellow knights despite the pressure she could only imagine he was feeling. "You people might not care about it, but I'll not let my pride lead to the downfall of Dorne."
After his statement, Daemon separated himself from the rest of the group, earning himself disapproving looks from his fellow Dornishmen for his supposed "cowardice". However, she appreciated that there was at least one person with a sensible attitude amidst the chaos. It was a shame that more individuals in the group didn't possess the same level-headedness as him, and were easily baited by the Prince.
One more of the Seven Knights followed Daemon's lead and backed away from the main group. But the other five remained.
"And then there were five~" Prince Stephen said in a singsong voice, a large cheshire grin on his face as he gazed at the knights in front of him like they were his prey. "So, would anyone else like to back off?"
"The cowards have already been purged from our ranks." Gerold said as he spat in Daemon's direction. "We accept your challenge."
"Very well." Prince Stephen said with a smile. "When do you-"
"Please forgive me, Your grace, Princess." Ser Manfrey Martell said, standing up from his chair with some difficulty. "But I cannot allow this farce to continue any longer." Then the old man gathered himself up and spoke in a loud voice. "For the crime of brandishing weapons against Prince Stephen while he is a guest of Sunspear, I, Manfrey Martell, in the name of Prince Doran Martell, order the arrest of these five miscreants. Guards, apprehend them!"
Immediately, the dozen or so guards in the Great Hall took their spear and started moving toward those five men.
"Put down your weapons." Ser Manfrey Martell said, in his tired old voice. "And no harm will come to you."
Gerold scoffed at Manfrey's words as he changed his target and pointed his sword at the Martell guards, his other 4 collaborators looking unsure on what to do.
"It was your princess who put us up to this in the first place." Gerold spat out as the guards approached them from all the sides. "I'll not be arrested for following her stupid orders."
This caused another pin drop silence in the hall as everyone stared at Princess Arianne once again. The Princess for her part, looked betrayed and mortified at Gerold's words. Her reaction telling all of them that Gerold spoke the truth.
Even the guards looked confused now. Hesitant, on whether they should arrest these 5 or not.
She turned to look at Prince Stephen's reactions and if anything, he looked even more amused now.
"Princess." He spoke up, breaking the silence. "If you wanted to witness my abilities, then you should've simply asked me. There was no need for this charade."
Arianne for her part looked like she wanted to ground to rise up and swallow her alive.
"I… I thought that… that you wouldn't give it your all, in a normal spar." Princess Arianne said and Prince Stephen raised his eyebrows at the blatant lie.
Then he turned to look at the 7 knights who had challenged him. "Well, if you want me to fight these Seven in a simple duel, then I can do that as well."
"Really?" Princess Arianne asked, looking relieved. Though she had a feeling that the Prince wasn't done yet.
"ndeed, but there must be consequences for this farce. Otherwise, it will set a precedent that others can try to deceive me and get away with it. And we cannot allow that, can we?"
Arianne appeared uncertain at his words, but she eventually nodded, acknowledging that she could not extricate herself from the predicament she had created without some kind of restitution. "What sort of consequences are we talking about?" She asked
"That's simple, If these Seven managed to defeat me in a duel, then I'll bestow them 10,000 gold dragons to each one of them."
His words caused an instant clamour in the Great Hall and everyone started to whisper to one another at the extravagant price the Prince was willing to pay for his loss.
After all, 70,000 gold dragons was no small sum. In fact, she was confident that only 3 houses in all of Dorne that were capable of producing such a sum without going bankrupt. House Martell, House Yornwood, and the main branch of House Dayne.
And even the finances of House Yornwood and House Dayne would be damaged from giving away that amount of gold and would take years if not decades to recover.
The prince's willingness to bet 70,000 gold dragons on a simple spar suggested that he was either incredibly wealthy or incredibly confident in his abilities.
Knowing what she knew about the Prince, she guessed that it was both.
"And what if we lose?" Daemon Sand asked, focusing on the other side of the coin. For a good reason.
"Then all Seven of you would go to the Wall and become members of the Nights Watch."
The commotion in the hall increased and the Seven knights looked hesitant. Even Gerold Dayne seemed uncertain about accepting the challenge Apparently, death in a duel was a more welcoming prospect to him than spending the rest of his life in a frozen hellhole.
"What? You don't want to accept?" Prince Stephen asked, the amusement never leaving his eyes as he turned to the Princess. "It seems your knights are unwilling to fight me Princess. Alas, my abilities shall remain a mystery to you, and all else in Sunspear."
"How about another bet?" The Princess blurted out.
"Another bet?"
"Yes. Spending the rest of their lives in that cold hellhole seems like a rather harsh punishment. How about we bet on something… less valuable."
The Prince stared at Arianne for a long moment before he shrugged. "Very well. If those Seven are unwilling to take the bet, then I'll have a bet with House Martell."
"House Martell?" Arianne asked, sweating under the Prince's gaze.
"Of course. Since this was your idea in the first place, you should pay for it as well. It only seems fair."
Arianne looked even more hesitant now so the Prince continued speaking. "Don't worry, the penalty won't be anything harsh like that. In fact, it'll be downright easy."
Arianne looked a little relieved at those words and nodded. "Please. Tell me about this bet."
"It's simple." The Prince said. "If these 7 win against me, in a 7 vs 1 fight, then I'll give all the ships that I've brought with me, all 18 of them, to House Martell."
"Oh…" The Princess said, looking faint. "And what would you want in return, if you win."
"It's simple." The Prince said with a devious smirk. "If I win, then I want Sarella Sand," She jumped at her name being called, looking at the Prince in shock and incomprehension, "and Tyene Sand to serve me for the next 7 years."
"Serve you?" Arianne asked while her heart started beating faster and faster at the Prince's words.
What did the Prince want from her? She wasn't even all that beautiful, unlike Nymeria and Tyene.
The Prince nodded and Arianne licked her lips.
"Sarella and Tyene." Arianne said, glancing in her direction for a brief moment before she turned to the Prince and asked. "Why do you want those two?"
"It's simple." The Prince said as he looked at her, a devious smirk on his face that made her heart started beating faster. "I'm in need of a diligent scribe and secretary. Sarella is diligent in her studies and I believe that she'll fill that role perfectly."
She wondered if her job as his secretary would include relieving his lusts whenever he so desired it of her.
The worst part was that she wasn't sure if she would mind it if he asked her to sleep with him. He was handsome, charming, rich, confident, and most importantly of all, he was extremely intelligent and valued knowledge just as much as her, if not more.
No, the idea of sleeping with him didn't seem objectionable to her, although it certainly sounded strange since she had never shown much interest in boys before his arrival.
"And Tyene?" Arianne asked.
"I'm in need of a bedwarmer. And Tyene served me rather well last evening." The Prince said, eliciting some giggles and whispering among the people. "I was hoping that she would continue serving me, for the next 7 years."
Arianne looked like she didn't knew what to make of his requests and gave a nervous smile. "I'll not decided the fates of my cousins. But if they accept your bet on their own volition, then I won't be against it either."
"Very well then." The Prince said as he turned to look at her, bringing the focus of the entire hall on her. "What do you say Sarella? Do you want to come with me on my adventures, or do you want to stay in Sunspear?"
She squirmed under the eyes of so many people and licked her lips.
She wasn't sure how her father would feel about her decision. If he'll laugh in amusement or be red with anger. But for the first time in her life, she was sure about what she wanted to do.
So she cleared her throat and answered.
—
Tyene signed the contract with a big pout on her face.
"Did he really had to call me a bedwarmer and tell everyone that I slept with him." Tyene grumbled. "Now everyone looks at me strangely. So many years of effort to create an innocent and pious reputation. All gone because of him."
"Are you really complaining about being fucked by a stud like that?" Nymeria asked, teasingly and to her great surprise, Tyene blushed.
"N-no. I just wish that he was a little more sensitive." Tyene said, the pout never leaving her face.
"Stop complaining." Obara said from her side as she held her spear and looked down at the training yard where the Seven knights were currently doing their warm ups. "Being the Paramour of Prince Stephen is great opportunity for you. In fact, it is probably the greatest opportunity you'll ever get. Make him happy and you'll be set for life."
"Make him happy, she says." Tyene said as she scrunched up her face and glared at Obara. "Why don't you try sleeping with him and see how it turns out for you?"
"Was he good?" She found herself asking before she even realised it, and blushed as all her sisters turned to look in her direction. "I mean, in bed." She squeaked.
"Would you look at that?" Nymeria said, suddenly looking at her with great interest. "Our dear book lover, finally coming out of her shell."
"I'm just curious." She defended herself, trying to look stern, though the deep blush on her face probably gave her away.
"I'm sure you are." Nymeria said as she sidled up to her. "After all, you're going to spend the next 7 years beside Prince Stephen… or, under him."
"He has Tyene for that." She retorted, though the lie seemed unbelievable to even her own ears. "I'm merely going to be his scribe."
"Yes, yes. I'm sure you'll spend a lot of your time near his desk." Nymeria said before her eyes narrowed in amusement. "Or under that desk. Or over it. So many options."
"Okay, that's enough. Stop teasing her Nymeria." Obara said and she sent a grateful glance to the spear wielder.
"Very well." Nymeria said with a sigh before she turned to look at Tyene once again. "You didn't answer Sarella's previous question though. Was the boy actually any good in bed."
Tyene gave an unimpressed look to Nymeria. "You would not call him a boy if you saw just how big his cock was."
"Is that so?" Nymeria asked, looking even more curious. "You still haven't told us anything about that night Tyene. How is it that you were able to seduce him, when Arianne failed to do so."
"He didn't want to take Arianne's maidenhead because he fear that Prince Doran would then force him to marry her." Tyene said with a shrug. "There's no such problems with me. So he let me into his bed."
"Let you into his bed? From your screams last night, I would've guessed that he did far more than simple letting you into his bed."
Tyene blushed at that, and despite seeing it once before, it still managed to surprise her. To see the girl who usually like to play the part of an innocent child and tease everyone else being so flustered.
It made her thoughts wander.
Tyene opened her mouth to reply but before she could say something, the door opened and Princess Arianne walked in.
"Do you two sign the… document?"
"You mean the slave contract. Yes, we did." Tyene said, trying to appear annoyed even though everyone knew that she was anything but.
"It's not a slave contract. And you chose to sign it on your own." Arianne said as he took the contract and studied it. "Hard to believe that he really bet his entire fleet on this fight."
"It's not his entire fleet." Nymeria said, catching their attention. "I talked with some of his men last night, after they were sufficiently drunk, of revealed that he has over 45 trade ships and 15 warships, and he has ordered more ships from Braavos. Additionally, he's building a shipyard of his own and has made trade deals with numerous Crownlander Houses for wood, cloth, and other raw materials required to build those ships."
Arianne seemed surprised by that. "Where did he get the gold to buy all these ships from?"
"The rumours about acres of new spice farms popping up in Dragonstone are no rumours." Nymeria revealed. "The Prince has somehow managed to grow spice in the barren soil of Dragonstone. And we all know just how lucrative the spice trade is."
"That's rather interesting." Arianne said, looking thoughtful for a moment before she shook her head. "But we can talk about all this at a later time. For now, let's go. I need to officiate this fight."
"You're sitting as one of judges?" She asked and Arianne nodded.
"Yes. Me, Septon Green and Lady Asha Greyjoy are to sit as the 3 judges, since we technically hold the highest position in Sunspear. It'll be-"
"He's here." Obara said, cutting through Arianne's words as she pointed down at the training yard where Prince Stephen finally appeared. Wearing not a single shred of armour on his body.
"Is he going to fight without his armour?" She asked, a bit surprised by how much concern she felt for the Prince.
"I'll go and ask." Arianne said. "As for you, give this contract to Asha Greyjoy. We'll start this fight as soon as the other two judges have confirmed its validity."
"Very well." She said as she took the contract and walked out of the building and toward the stands where Asha Greyjoy and Septon Green were sitting.
"You're Sarella Sand?" Asha asked as she took the contract and read it.
"Yes." She said.
Asha read through the contract before she passed it to the Septon and nodded at her. "Welcome to the voyage. I hope you'll work with me to keep Stephen's worst tendencies in check."
She raised an eyebrow at Asha's confidence. "The contract says that I'll only become his scribe if he wins this fight."
Asha snorted at those words. "And as I said, welcome to the voyage."
"They're some of the best fighters in Dorne." She pointed out and Asha scoffed.
"They could have been the Seven best fighters in the world and it would not make a single shred of difference." Asha said, showing absolute faith in Stephen's abilities.
In the distance, she saw Arianne talk with Stephen about something (probably his lack of armour) only for him to wave her away.
Arianne strode up to the stands and sat between Asha and the Septon. "He'll not wear an armour." She said with some worry. "I talked with him and he decided that he didn't need any. Should we start this fight or halt it?"
"It is foolishness to go into a fight without armour." Septon Green declared. "But if the Prince is arrogant enough to do so, then who're we to stop him. It is my judgement that we go ahead and start the fight."
"And mine as well." Asha said, looking amused at the Septon's words.
"Very well." Arianne said and got up from her seat to announce the rules of the fight. The crowd went silent and listened to her speak.
The rules were simple. If you fall to the ground on your back, then you lose. If you yield, then you lose. If your opponent has you at his mercy, then you lose.
The Princess gave the signal for the fight to begin, and the crowd cheered as the seven knights advanced towards the Prince, intending to surround him from all sides. However, the Prince looked at them with amusement, unfazed by their tactics.
And thus started a fight that'll change the course of her entire life.