A Lioness Still Has Claws | Female Tywin Lannister | ASOIAF/GOT

The Princess Of Dorne

EDITED: 7th Jan 2022

264AC

The retinue from Dorne was impressive, Tya had to admit. There were plenty of knights, yes, but spearmen too, all atop sleek and elegant sand steeds, many wearing brightly coloured silk robes in fashions that weren't commonly seen in the court of King's Landing. The few ladies that rode with the party wore dresses in daring styles that revealed far more skin than was proper, and the Martell banners of a red sun on an orange field pierced with a golden spear were everywhere.

At the head of the party was a handsome woman who looked to be in her mid-thirties, with dark skin and darker hair drawn back in a regal style. She wore a more modest gown than many of the other ladies, in red and orange silk, and though she did not wear a crown as her ancestors had done before the Targaryen conquest, she looked a queen without it.

"Princess Loreza of Dorne," The herald announced. "Her son and heir Prince Doran, and her younger son Prince Oberyn,"

The Dornish heir was a young man, not yet twenty, and though he gave a small smile in greeting, bowing to the king and queen alongside his mother - Tya found it almost jarring to see the regal-looking Loreza bow to anyone, let alone Aerys - he seemed rather reserved and careful.

His younger brother, however, was a much bolder boy of six who moved remarkably gracefully for his age and wore an easy smile that could almost have been sweet if it weren't for his dark, watchful eyes. Princess Loreza's daughter Elia, however, was back in Sunspear; apparently, the young girl was too frail and sickly to travel such a long distance.

"A pleasure to see you in court after all this time, Princess," Aerys smiled charmingly. "And welcome, Princes Doran and Oberyn,"

"You're most kind, your Grace," Loreza replied, her smile remarkably genuine.

There had been a feast that night to welcome the Dornish retinue, planned by Aerys of course, who loved this sort of thing and was admittedly good at it. Dornish food was served for their meal. Tya tried one of the hot peppers and struggled to keep a straight face in public for the first time in years, with Jason beside her laughing at her predicament as she gulped down her own cup of water and then his own.

Besides the food, Dornish music played in the background and there were Dornish dancers for entertainment. To everyone's embarrassment and amusement, the king even wore loose layered robes in the fashion of their guests instead of his usual clothes.

It looked absurd - the material was vivid orange, which clashed greatly with his silver hair, pale skin and purple eyes - and Tya saw the young Prince Oberyn snickering until his brother nudged him in reproach. Princess Loreza, to her credit, praised Aerys' choice of clothing without batting an eye, making the king preen, but Tya caught the barely-there hint of mockery in her eye.

"Did you not fancy wearing Dornish silks like our esteemed king?" Jason murmured into her ear as they stood together at the edge hall, watching the dance floor, amusement colouring his tone. "I'm sure he'd appreciate you joining him in his enthusiastic welcome of our guests,"

It was the first chance they had to get away from the high table, and thus the first chance they had to speak somewhat openly about Aerys' choice of attire.

Tya fixed her husband with a flat look.

"He'd appreciate me dressing like that girl there," She nodded to one of the dancers, who was dressed nothing short of scandalously, her low cut, almost see-through dress barely covering her chest, with a large slit up the side to allow an almost unobstructed view of her long tanned legs. The eyes of many men in the room followed her every move; her husband made no attempt to hide that he was one of them.