The Viper and The Wolf

Chapter 4

The wedding feast was as modest and as casal as the Lannisters wanted, with only sixty or so guests. Very small number compared to a real wedding but a small number of them were Dornish. They all seemed quite excited to get to know their new but temporary princess. The food was dull to the Dornish standard, much to Oberyn's disapproval. It was a very small affair compared to Dornish weddings. Oberyn pitied Sansa that she wasn't getting the wedding she deserved. If her brother decided that the safest place for her was to be in Dorne, then he would give her a proper ceremony; lively and large.

Sansa did not refuse a cup of wine, letting the alcoholic beverage warm her from the inside. But smiles came easily to her lips whenever someone came by their table to congratulate them. She sat at the head table beside Oberyn with the feast active as people mingled around them while some ate at their tables. It didn't feel right for her to sit beside a man of high honor and power. A future sitting for a ruling Prince or Princess of Dorne.

Oberyn kept their hands clasped atop the table as they ate the mediocre food, brushing his thumb over her knuckles every few minutes. Sansa allowed it, never had seen hand-holding as threatening. "I apologize for all of this Sansa." He said.

"Apologize?" Sansa asked in a soft but confused tone. "Why?"

"This celebration is meager compared to Dornish customs. If we were to sail for Sunspear after tonight, you would be given the celebration you deserve."

Sansa smiled with heat covering her pale cheeks. She's never been that far south of the world. There of course were many parts of the world where she had never been. She knew she would be taken back to Winterfell some time after this marriage, but she couldn't help but feel curious about what Sunsear, or Dorne in general, was like. Every Dornish person she'd met there in Kings Landing had been very friendly and open with almost anything. Things she never experienced in the North with all their customs.

It was only when the musicians began to play that she was pulled from her thoughts when her husband pulled her to her feet and gently removed the cloak from her shoulders. Oberyn led her out amidst other dancers and they began to dance. He was remarkably graceful, which came as no surprise to Sansa since she'd seen him fighting with an equal amount of finesse.

Sansa felt the cold of the room as she was removed from Oberyn's grasp and passed to fellow male dancers on the floor. If not the Dornish, Sansa enjoyed the company of the Tyrells. They were kind but not as open. But just because they were kind and warm to her did not give her enough confidence to trust them. Sansa knew their hunger for power was just as desperate as the Lannisters. Being kind didn't open the window to trust. It was just before she was about to be given to Joffrey that the song ended and she found herself being quickly swept away from the dancers by Oberyn. It was as if he knew.

They stood with a group from Dorne rather than return to their table to finish their food and drink. They chatted with the people from Sunspear, Oberyn grinning from ear to ear as they chatted merrily. Sansa peeked over to the Lannister table to see none of them smiling but they were chatting. It was night and day to her eyes. After a few minutes passed and the music continued, Sansa turned to her husband sheepishly. "Will you pardon me, my prince?" She asked softly.

"Of course," Oberyn kissed her hand. "Go enjoy yourself."

Sansa smiled sheepishly as she wandered into the crowd to find and talk to Margaery. Oberyn watched Margaery embrace her before being consumed in what he had guessed was girl talk. He was curious about what. Oberyn sighed as he felt a familiar presence behind him as he held a fresh glass of wine.

"You don't seem drunk?" Tywin said.

Oberyn merely glanced at him before taking a drink. "Drunk on my wedding day? I wasn't planning on being so."