The Red Viper and the Tempest.
An unlikely match from the beginning.
A moment of attraction, fleeting and memorable.
A hint of vulnerability, strong and lasting.
A spark of a flame, inevitable and ruining.
In the midst of storms and poisons, tw...
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"Are you sure about this, darling?"
Cassandra found herself asking for the hundredth time, her worry making itself evident.
Without meaning to, her eyebrows were furrowed and her forehead was crinkled as she inspected Oberyn's armor. On the other hand, Oberyn looked calm enough, having done this plenty of times in the past.
Owain shared his undisturbed mood, peeking out from inside their tent at the various flags being flown around the area. The gold of the Baratheons, the red of the Lannisters, the green of the Tyrells, and of course, their very own orange sunburst.
The three of them were in a tent of their own, guarded by Dornish soldiers. It brought a semblance of comfort especially when they were surrounded by many powerful families from all over Westeros.
While it was expected for servants and squires to help knights and lords prior to the tourney, Oberyn waved all that away to have his family with him instead.
Cassandra had protested but after Owain had cheered at the prospect of training as a squire, she found it difficult to refuse.
"Do not worry, my dearest. I have full faith I can win this tourney." Oberyn smiled confidently, lifting his jousting lance and weighing it in his grip.
"It is not always about winning, my darling. Gods, I hate this." Cassandra admitted, finally satisfied with his armor and handing it to him piece by piece. "Whoever invented these types of events must not know true joy."
Oberyn found himself chuckling at her frustration, glad that her mind was simply on the tourney and nothing else. He would be lying if he didn't think about how it was possible that her mind might be on a certain Northern lord.
When they had departed from the welcoming feast, Cassandra had only rambled about her brother and his tendency to meddle. She confessed that she found it very irritating that he saw fit to poke his nose into their marriage.
Neither of them made any mention of Ned Stark who had stood off to one side, watching them with an unspeakable expression. While Oberyn had gained a smidge of satisfaction at seeing his slacked-jaw expression, he knew he could not erase the friendship he and his wife once shared.
He was not blind or ignorant enough not to admit that they had a sort of friendship that would have been a good foundation for a marriage. He was also not stupid enough not to see that Ned Stark was still quite in love with his wife.
Of course, he could not fault the other man for that but it did not make it any easier to brush off. There was a small part of him that wanted to further shove his marriage into the other man's face.
A frown grew on Oberyn's face as he hastily fastened the gauntlets to his forearms and strapped his pauldron to his shoulders. He was so deep in thought that when he came to, he spotted Cassandra and Owain looking at him with barely restrained laughter.
