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( SUNSPEAR, DORNE ) LATE 284 AC
WITH A RAZOR, an edged chipping of pewter, she shaved away the scruff that had began to fill in his beard; one of the servants had offered to do the job for her, but she'd dismissed them with a wave of her hand, keen to spend time with her intended. She had originally been planning on telling Oberyn of her suspicious of Mellario, but refrained,
He asked, "So how is your grandmother? In stable enough health for you to return, I presume?" He peeled a blood orange and popped one of the segments into his mouth, and one in hers when she requested. The flesh was sweet, with a hint of raspberry, which she enjoyed. She decided, she liked blood oranges.
"It was simply — I want these in the buffet, these are good — a misdiagnosed bout of sickness. Our maesters have estimated that she'll be back on her feet within the sennight."
She opened her mouth for another segment through the tangle of arms.
"That is good news," he agreed, peeling the skin of the orange further, his hands tainting the pinkish colour of the flesh. "The news we received here was ... not so good."
"How so?" She chewed, "What happened?"
He sighed, and Gwendys blew on his jaw to rid it of stray hairs. "Doran has been in pain for months." He explained, "I've been trying to convince him to see a maester since he first made me aware of it, but he always dismissed it as nothing. Recently, his pain has been so severe that it's become urgent that he has attention. They diagnosed him with gout, and its now obligatory that he uses a stick to walk on. If it gets any worse, he'll be confined to a wheelchair."
"Oh my," Gwendys exclaimed before pausing, dropping her hands down and placing the razor on a cedar wood table, placing her hands in her lap. "He must be devastated — Mellario and Arianne, too."
"Yes, indeed. They all have been. Nobody wants to see a loved one deteriorate like that," Oberyn told her, "Not wanting his enemies to know how feeble he has grown, he remained at the Water Gardens, where he is far away from curious eyes. He'll only see his trusted courtiers and advisors. And his family, of course."
"Will Lady Mellario and the princess be going with him?"
"Yes, for now," nodded Oberyn, placing his hand into her lap, "He'd like to be in company of his family."
"So they shall miss the wedding?"
"No, they shall attend the ceremony and the feast. Doran wants everyone to know he's in good condition."
"Gout," she rolled over the word with her tongue, "That poor man."
"He may never be able to walk again, if it worsens. That, and our alliance with House Yornwood is on the rocks again. As it happens, the friendship we made between ourselves and them seems to have fallen through. Doran speaks of sending young Quentyn —"
