Chapter 56. Reuniting with an Old Friend

3.6K 236 23
                                        

'These oranges look so good,' Diane said, picking up one of them out of the box.

'Harvested just yesterday, my lady,' the Dornish sailor said.

'And already here today? Dorne is close but not that close.'

'Alright, caught me there. Two days ago- three at the most.'

Diane smiled, 'We will take all you have.'

The man immediately brightened up, 'I'll get you a box of tangerines for free.'

'You are being rather generous today, Gulian.'

'Oh well, the things you are ready to do for your favorite customer.'

'I trust you brought my favorite wines as well.'

'Of course, my lady. Already handed them to your servants.'

As Diane was looking through other goods Gulian brought, Athelstan wandered around the trunks with all the different fabrics. He was not really planning on buying anything but he enjoyed looking at different patterns (they seemed extremely unique to him, considering he only saw how people dressed at King's Landing and Dragonstone) and touching various fabrics. The emerald green silk looked rather nice but such a color was forbidden in the castle (he didn't know why so he decided it was just Diane's weird quirk) so Athelstan passed it by.

'Hi, hello, I apologize,' a man suddenly stopped him. He had short brown hair and was in his early twenties. 'But I was pointed out in your- Gods, you are pretty,' he blurted out when Athelstan turned to him.

Athelstan blinked in confusion, 'What?'

'Yeah, sorry, it came out of nowhere. But I mean, look at you, can you blame me?' the man let out a rather awkward laugh and then proceeded to change the topic, 'Anyway, I was pointed in your direction by that lovely lady,' the man pointed to the side and Athelstan looked to see Jamaya smirking and waving at him. He rolled his eyes good-heartedly and turned his attention back to the man in front of him. 'She said you can help me. My name is Adrian, by the way. I should have probably led with introductions,' he frowned. 'But well, too late for that. What's your name?'

'Athelstan. And sorry,' Athelstan shook his head. 'What do you need help with again?'

'Right. I'm looking for Diane Waters. I was told she is supposed to be here.'

Athelstan blinked, processed the information, and then asked, 'Do you mean Lady Diane Targaryen?'

Because Athelstan knew that Diane used to have a bastard last name before she was legitimized and he didn't really know anyone else who was called "Diane Waters". Granted, he did not know everyone at Dragonstone but it was still a rather unique name as far as he knew.

'Lady? Wait, was she legitimized?' Adrian's eyes widened. 'Wow, that's amazing. So where can I find her?'

'Not so fast,' Athelstan said because the man in front of him seemed rather eager to see Diane and he couldn't quite figure out whether it was suspicious or not. 'She is a ruler of Dragonstone, you cannot just go and see her just because you want to,' he pointed out. Despite Diane being way more approachable than other Lords and Ladies, she was not everyone's friend and she should be treated according to the position of power she held.

'A ruler? Oh no, did Prince Daemon pass away? That's a shame, I rather liked him,' Adrian said, pursing his lips.

'No, Prince Daemon is alive and well. He handed his seat to Lady Diane when he married Princess Rhaenyra.'

'Blimey, I missed quite a lot, didn't I?' Adrian scratched the back of his head. 'Look, I was told that I can be a hard person to keep up with so I do apologize. However, I would like to see Dia- Lady Diane when it is possible. I've come here from Lys because I was told she wished to see me... and well, when your friend calls, you come. Even more so when the letter has a royal seal on it and a mildly scary messenger attached to it.'

To Take What Is Rightfully OursWhere stories live. Discover now