Westeros Notorious Rulers and Families

Arianne Martell

Princess Arianne is the daughter of Doran Martell and Mellario, born in 276 AC.

Early Life: Born in 276 AC, Arianne was the firstborn child of her father, Doran Martell, Prince of Dorne, and his wife, Lady Mellario of Norvos. As her father's firstborn, she was Doran's heiress, according to Rhoynish customs and Dornish laws. Arianne spent several years of her early life at the Water Gardens. She had two younger brothers, but since Quentyn was sent away as a page to Yronwood at an early age and Trystane was eleven years younger than herself, Arianne was never close to them. Instead, her best companions during childhood were Andrey "Drey" Dalt, Garin (whose mother had been her wet nurse), Sylva Santagar, and her cousin Tyene Sand.

Tyene, in particular, was Arianne's best friend, since they were the same age, and thus were as close as sisters. Arianne and Tyene shared everything, including learning how to read, ride, and dance; they even shared a flagon of wine they had stolen at the age of ten and an early attempted sexual experience with Drey. On occasion, Arianne's older cousin Nymeria Sand would join Arianne and her four companions, and sometimes her cousin Sarella Sand would attempt to join them as well. Once, Arianne crossed the Mander in the Reach, when she and three of her cousins went to visit Tyene's mother.

Arianne once held her young cousin Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, but she was so young at the time that she no longer remembers. She does remember her great-uncle, Prince Lewyn Martell of the Kingsguard, of whom she has cherished memories, and who used to tickle her until she could not stop laughing. When Robert's Rebellion ended, Arianne was seven years old. At the age of eight, Arianne became afflicted with red spots and learned that the disease, while harmless for children, could be lethal for adults.

From a young age, Arianne was half in love with her uncle, Prince Oberyn. At some point, Oberyn brought her, Tyene, Sarella Sand, and Garin to the abandoned holdfast of Shandystone. While Oberyn showed Tyene the best way to milk a snake's venom, and Sarella went exploring, Arianne sat on a rock, dreaming that a tall, hard robber knight, with black eyes and a widow's peak, had taken her there to have his way with her.

Secret Betrothal: Arianne had a close relationship with her father, Prince Doran Martell when she was a girl. She would run to him when she had hurt herself and would go give him a good night kiss. However, when Arianne was fourteen years old, she stumbled across a half-written letter from Doran to her younger brother, Quentyn, who was being fostered at Yronwood. In the letter, Doran stated that Quentyn would one day sit in his place and rule Dorne, suggesting to Arianne that Doran intended for her younger brother to succeed him, passing over Arianne entirely. According to her own account, she cried about her discovery for many days. Arianne longed to be a dutiful daughter but wanted her father to show that he valued her. She began to rebel against her father in small ways. When she was still fourteen, she lost her virginity to Daemon Sand, the Bastard of Godsgrace, (an encounter which she still remembers as clumsy but sweet), and told Doran about it immediately afterward. Doran did nothing about it, adding to Arianne's feelings that he was "very good at doing nothing". In truth, Doran was only planning for Quentyn to inherit the rule of Dorne because he intended for Arianne to become Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. Unbeknownst to Arianne, her uncle Oberyn had traveled to Braavos years before, where he signed a secret marriage pact in which Arianne was betrothed to the exiled Viserys Targaryen. In return for Arianne marrying Viserys, Doran would support Viserys's claim to the Iron Throne. He once planned to reveal the truth about the betrothal to Arianne and was going to send her to Tyrosh to serve as a cupbearer to the Free City's archon and secretly meet with Viserys. However, Doran abandoned that plan due to suicidal threats from Arianne's mother Mellario, who was already deeply upset that Quentyn had been sent away to be fostered. Doran then planned to tell Arianne about her betrothal and his plans to help restore the Targaryens to the Iron Throne when Arianne turned sixteen. However, he changed his mind over time and kept the betrothal a secret from Arianne because he felt that she was too willful, and feared that if he told her, she would tell her cousins (particularly Tyene), and there would be no way to ensure the secret would remain a secret. When Arianne reached the age of marriage, Doran presented her with several suitors, all of whom were elderly lords (including Ben Beesbury, Walder Frey, Gyles Rosby, Eldon Estermont, and Hugh Grandison), while rejecting an offer from Lord Hoster Tully, who had invited Arianne to travel to Riverrun and meet his heir Edmure. Arianne refused all of the elderly suitors and asked to travel to Highgarden to meet Willas Tyrell. When Doran refused, Arianne and Tyene tried to go on their own but were intercepted by Prince Oberyn at Vaith. Another time, when Lord Renly Baratheon visited Dorne, she attempted to seduce him, but he seemed confused by her attempts and she was not successful. Because of having read the letter to Quentyn, the insulting marriage candidates Doran presented her with, and Doran's apparent coolness towards her, Arianne became convinced her father hated her. In truth, Doran presented her with the elderly lords as suitors because he feared that it would be suspicious if he did not attempt to arrange a marriage for her, and because he knew that Arianne would refuse them (which she forcefully did), thus keeping her free to marry Viserys.