Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken [Aegon Targaryen]

CHAPTER ONE - WARNINGS

THE SUN ROSE OVER THE HORIZON, AND SARELLA KNEW THEY WOULD COME THAT DAY. A feeling deep in the pits of her stomach alarmed her as she woke, the sun shining through the window and into her eyes. They will come today, she thought, and I will not suffer the same fate as the rest.

Torrhen Stark knelt, as did the rest of Westeros from the Wall to the Reach. Harren was burned alive in his castle, and the woman who declared herself the Storm Queen was dragged before the dragon's ally, Orys Baratheon, gagged, chained and naked. They had not conquered Dorne yet, nor would they. The dragons could burn her cities to the ground if they wished, but they would never rule her people. She planned to tell them as much.

Dorne belongs to the Dornish. No dragon conquerors will change that. Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken.

Sarella called in her handmaiden and closest friend, Lena, to help her dress and keep her company. "They will come today, Lena," she told the girl, who glanced up at her in alarm.

"The dragons?"

"Yes."

"And we are prepared?" The girl asked as she began braiding Sarella's hair out of her eyes.

"Yes," she said, echoing her previous answer. "We are prepared."

"The Starks were prepared. As was Harren."

"If you have doubts, Lena, voice them outright."

Her handmaiden pursed her lips, then nodded. "They have dragons, Sarella. Dragons. How can we defend against that?"

"We cannot," she answered, simply.

"What?"

"Did you expect that I had some sort of protection against dragon fire? No, we have nothing to save us from being burned alive, should they chose to."

Lena's brows furrowed as she said her next words. "Should they chose to?"

"We are a large kingdom, Lena. They cannot afford to burn such a large kingdom without fear of a massive loss. They will arrive with dragons only to intimidate, at first. That will allow us enough time to negotiate."

"Negotiate?" Her furrowed brows relaxed, and a single one rose in question.

"Negotiate," Sarella confirmed. "You trust me, Lena, don't you?"

"Of course I do." An exasperated sigh left her handmaiden's lips.

"Good." Just as Lena finished braiding, a large shadow was cast over the castle, and a screech echoed through the air.

Sarella's eyes travelled up to watch the shadow fly over and circle around. "Hurry now, Lena. One has already arrived."

Sarella walked out of the castle, flanked by her brother Myles and friend Jayne Sand. The three watched as a great beast landed in front of them and a girl climbed off. Clad in riding leathers, with silvery hair flowing over her shoulders loosely and bright purple eyes, the girl was unmistakably a Targaryen.

A small smirk upon her lips, Sarella all but sauntered over to meet her. "We were beginning to wonder if you were going to arrive at all."

"I can assume you are the princess, then?"

"I am. But which one are you? Not the king himself, which I expected, but which sister?"

"Rhaenys," the girl answered. "I am here for you to bend the knee."

"If you had ever been to Dorne before, you would know it is not so simple." Sarella took a few steps closer to the girl, expression cool and calm. "Dorne will have no king, not on this day or any other. No foreign king, most of all. Dorne belongs to the Dornish, and on this day, we will not fight nor kneel."

"We will return, Princess," Rhaenys warned, "with Fire and Blood."

"Your words," Sarella mused. "Do you know ours? Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken. You may come as many times as you like, but Dorne will not fall. Tell your king that."

"I will," the Targaryen said, "but he will never let you alone."

"Then tell him to come himself."

Rhaenys Targaryen sighed, but nodded, and went to go back to her dragon. But first, she turned her head to say one last thing. "I will leave you be for now. But remember that my siblings will not be as forgiving."

The girl flew away on her dragon, and Sarella shut her eyes for a moment, taking in deep breaths. "Princess?" Jayne said. "Are you all right?"

"They will return. Perhaps not her, but one of the others. The other sister, more likely."

"Then we will be ready," Myles said, completely sure of himself.

"We will," Jayne agreed.

"We will," Sarella finished, exhaling and nodding. They would be. They were Dornish. Unbowed, unbent, unbroken.