Aegon Targaryen. Alive and well. How? A sliver of proof, all on a short piece of paper that could have been forged for all she knew.
Damn it all to the seven hells. She wouldn't think about this for the moment.
"What are you planning?" Tyene's voice drew her out of her endless questioning.
...
Her cousin had followed her to Highgarden, along with a few other companions so that she may feel a little less alone in this endeavour: Sylva Santagar, Joss Hood, Jayne Ladybright, Garibald Shells, Larissa Moonstone, Trebor Tear, and Deria Nasyr.
Some of them were friends, others knew the Reach well enough, and others like Hood, Shells, and Tear were in charge of her protection should she need it.
Arianne would have liked to have a few other ladies with her, but most of them were bastards, and giving her one bastard handmaiden was already pushing close to insult, despite Tyene being of princely blood.
As for Tyene, she was dressed a lot more conservatively than usual, wearing a beautiful orange-and-green dress that married the colours of Dorne and the Reach to perfection. After all, Tyene was half-Reacher and looked more like a Reacher than a Dornishwoman, for her to fit into Highgarden was child's play.
"Just thinking about a lot of things, Ty." She answered truthfully.
"About your betrothed?" she asked.
"Amongst other things." Arianne nodded in reply. "But he is not my betrothed."
"Yes, yes, semantics." Tyene laughed. "He's handsome, heir to the second-richest family in the kingdoms and by far the most beautiful castle, sweet, charming, and intelligent. If one forgets his bad leg, it's a wonder he went unbetrothed for so long. So, what's holding you back? Does he not please you?"
"You would have been the first to know if he didn't." Arianne scoffed.
"I thought as much. I hope you will let me share him too. I wish to see what a Tyrell is capable of." Her blonde-haired cousin smirked. "But if this isn't it, what is wrong with him?"
"Nothing, but…" Arianne trailed. "He seems too perfect. Too proper, like it's all an act."
"What's wrong with that?" Tyene scoffed. "You know that men put up acts when in the presence of women as well as I do. And it has never bothered you beforehand."
"You may be right…" Arianne sighed. "I've also been thinking of home."
"You know that you may just break the possible betrothal, too?" her cousin stared at her with a slightly surprised look on her face. "All it takes is a letter to your father saying that although you like your betrothed, you don't like the Reach or Highgarden and…"
"No." Arianne shook her head. "Highgarden is a far more worthy prize than Sunspear, no matter how I look at it. The only difference is that I do not have any claim to Highgarden."
"Nor do you have any to Sunspear." Tyene slightly frowned. "Anymore."
"Mhm." Arianne just looked away, her face a mixture of shame and sadness. "But we cannot fix the past, can we? Highgarden is as good as a prize as I am going to get. Skyreach is only a week away, and Sunspear is not further off if you take a ship from Oldtown."
"Then what do you miss?"
"I'm surprised you don't want to be there for the birth of your nephew or niece."
"Ah." Tyene coughed. "I care somewhat, of course. I would have loved to be with my sister for this moment, if only she hadn't decided to have a child with him…"
"Listen, Ty, I know Quentyn was harsh but…"
"Harsh? He humiliated me!"
"I know, but you didn't have to do what you did to try and bend him to your will. I tried to dissuade you, remember?"
"Yes, yes, I damn well remember…" Arianne could sense the rage through Tyene's voice. "But I will not step into a room with your brother if I can help it, less I punch him…or worse."
"You won't harm him, Ty." Arianne frowned.
"I'll at least get back at him." Her cousin seemed determined, to Arianne's shock. Usually, Tyene was sweet and jovial, just like the Tyrells, but her brother had unleashed the snake underneath.
"Perhaps." Arianne conceded, not wanting to be drawn into an endless argument. "In the meantime, it doesn't change the fact that I would like to have been there to witness the birth of my first niece or nephew, bastard or not."
Tyene huffed and crossed her arms.
"Let's talk about something else." Arianne shook her head and readjusted her hair, sensing that the tension in the room needed to be defused, and fast. "How is lady Margaery?"
"Still giving birth, as far as I know," Tyene replied.
Indeed, the young rose had gone into labor in the early hours of the night, which explained why her future betrothed had left her alone with her cousin for the moment, probably too worried about his own future niece or nephew to devote any attention to her, which she perfectly understood.
"I hope it goes well for her." Arianne nodded.
"I don't see why it shouldn't." Tyene shook her head. "The master here has apparently overseen over three hundred births and he has never delivered a stillborn child."
"I'm just thinking about grandmother and aunt Elia, you know they were both frail…"
"Yes, I remember." Tyene acknowledged before a twinkle settled in her eye. "I see. You're still thinking about Nym, aren't you?"
"Yes." She confessed.
"Nym is strong, I have faith that she will be perfectly fine, especially since Skyreach's master is quite experienced too, or so I've heard."
"Yes, let us hope so. Howev…"
The sound of knocking cut their conversation short.
"Enter." Arianne beckoned the person in.
It was Willas, dressed in his green doublet, his cane by his side. He carefully bowed to both her and Tyene, earning a smirk from her cousin.
"Arianne, would you be interested in a little family reunion?" he asked. "If you are not too tired, of course. We may postpone it to later."
"Oh." Arianne looked surprised. Wasn't lady Margaery still in labor? "I'd be…glad to? I'm not tired and I am quite presentable."
Willas smiled slightly, while Tyene shoved her towards the Reachman with a smirk that did not hide her intentions at all.
"Just ask him…" she whispered as she took Willas' hand and exited her rooms.
"I hope I didn't leave you on your own for long." Willas quickly told her once he was out of Tyene's earshot.
"Oh, you needn't worry. Tyene is good company, and I'm sure the other girls would be happy to play cyvasse with me. Ser Garibald has proved to be too staunch of an adversary for me, I fear." She reassured him. "Although, since we are to be betrothed, I do not think that you need to ask for my permission to enter my rooms."
"I didn't want to appear rude." The Reachman confessed as they walked down Highgarden's halls. "Besides, last time I came, you were hardly presentable…"
Arianne laughed.
"Oh, you know, by that point my body was no secret to you." She smirked at him seductively. "And besides, Tyene was only helping me put on a dress more appropriate for the Reach. I fear that our own Dornish dresses would be quite scandalous for the region, or so I've heard. Therefore, I needed her help to try something on that would fit me better, such as this one."
Arianne wore a large dress that didn't restrict her movements as much as a typical Reacher dress would, and showed her Dornish heritage quite well, being embroidered with the burning sun and the spear of her house. It covered most of what needed to be covered, and provided her with some breathing space, unlike a lot of typical dresses in which she could hardly see a girl breathing normally in.
"I didn't want to interrupt anything…" Willas tried to excuse himself, but Arianne waved him off.
"There's nothing to interrupt. And besides, you'll hopefully get to know my cousin's body as well as my own." She teased. "After all, she and I do share a lot."
To her surprise, Willas didn't even blink at the suggestion, and instead threw another jest.
"I've got enough trouble pleasing one magnificent woman, it would be greatly overestimating my capabilities to please two."
"Nonsense." She laughed. "You'll do just fine. But…"
She trailed.
"But?" Willas looked at her, confused.
"Well, this reunion is…most unexpected." She raised an eyebrow. "I would've expected you to be at your sister's side during her ordeal."
"Ah…" Willas nodded. "My sister gave birth to a lovely, healthy baby girl, with jet black hair and eyes as green as our sigil. She named her Floris."
"And you didn't tell me?" Arianne punched Willas in the shoulder. "Congratulations."
"Thank you." Willas nodded. "Well, she gave birth last night and is in good health, and I didn't wish to interrupt your sleep after…"
"You could've told me." Arianne shook her head in annoyance. "I understand why you didn't, but I quite care for your sister and I would have loved to see your niece with my own eyes."
"If it is that, if you wish, we may go and see her this afternoon?"
"It would please me greatly, Willas."
"Then I shall do as my princess commands." He nods.
"And this family reunion, what is it about?" she asked, not letting Willas breathe. "After all, shouldn't you wait till lady Margaery has recovered?"
"Erm…usually, yes." Willas seemed to hesitate while he leaned on his cane. "But in this case, things have changed drastically.
And a reason why we would like you to attend this reunion is because we have gotten news from your own family, and these matters concern both you and I and my family would like to have your opinion on it."
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