Oberyn was sure that he was starting to have deliriums. There was no possibility that he actually saw Vaenera Greyjoy's face in the bushes spying on him and Cersei Lannister.
Yet, the blood he found on the leaves told a different story.
She really was here just a few minutes ago when he and Cersei were walking down the main alley. He looked at the place from this perspective and couldn't help but feel admiration. If she hadn't hurt herself, they would never have known she was there. Her navy hair blended with the branches, and the only thing that told him who it was were her eyes.
Oberyn could still feel the shivers that came down his spine when he realized who was watching them. Those blue eyes with yellow spots...
He wondered how much she heard from their conversation. Probably most of it, but that wasn't what concerned him. What was more disturbing was that he didn't really know who Vaenera Greyjoy truly was.
The day he met her on the streets of Flea Bottom, he didn't think much of her presence there. He assumed she had sneaked out of the Red Keep to have fun, buy some fake jewelry, or even fuck some boys or girls, depending on her taste.
But now...
Now he saw that she was really a prisoner in the Red Keep. A bargaining chip and, as much as he hated that term—a brood mare used by Tywin Lannister to ensure the survival of his bloodline.
What was she doing there in the first place, since she was under the watch of guards all the time?
How could she escape so easily? She seemed to know exactly what she was doing out there. It definitely wasn't her first time.
And he didn't even want to think about what happened at the wedding. Now she was eavesdropping.
Oberyn had heard what they did to her twin brother Theon, but that was a fairly recent case. When they met in Flea Bottom, she seemed like she knew exactly what she was doing.
Like she had been doing it for years.
Prince Oberyn also remembered how she saved Sansa Stark's life at the wedding. She seemed to care deeply for Tyrion's wife. He had a feeling that the Starks weren't the only ones she cared about.
Oberyn's mind went back a few years to the reason why the Greyjoy twins were sent North in the first place.
The Greyjoy Rebellion.
A sudden realization struck him. He was somewhere in the Free Cities when this happened, but he knew his brother Doran was highly interested in the flow of events.
It took Oberyn a while to understand why his brother was so involved, but a name appeared in his mind.
Malena Tyrell.
His mind went further back to when he was just a boy, maybe four or five years old.
He, Doran, and their father traveled to Highgarden to confirm the engagement between his brother and Malena Tyrell. He recalled the sight of a woman who would later be Vaenera's mother. He cursed under his breath. How could he not have realized it sooner? She had the same smile as her daughter and the same eyes, though her hair was light like the sun. He remembered that she had sneaked out a portion of extra biscuits. He was really disappointed when they returned to Sunspear only to find out a few days later that Malena left her family and married Balon Greyjoy.
Her and Vaenera seemed like two sides of the same coin.
Prince Oberyn furrowed his brows. He remembered that in one of the letters from Doran, he was informed of Malena's death.
YOU ARE READING
The Great War- Oberyn Martell
Fanfiction''This story unlike many others from this world begins not with inflaming fury, not with debt needed to be paid or not even with a winter that was coming. It begins with love that was sowed and had grown and it will end with fire and blood"
