Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken

Chapter Twelve: Secret Admirer

"Are you sure that this is a good idea Princess?" one of her ladies asked taking in the gathering that Amara had put together that evening, she was sure that the Prince would not be happy when he found out what she was doing. 

Amara rolled her eyes and looked to the lady who had spoken, she knew that most expected her to act like nothing was wrong and try to pull Oberyn's attention away from Ellaria but right now she couldn't bring herself to care. 

If her husband wished to waste his attentions on his whore then so be it, Amara cared not what he did and she was going to enjoy herself no matter what anyone else thought. 

"I am doing nothing wrong. Just hosting a small gathering for people to enjoy themselves," Amara replied smiling at her guests, she didn't understand why she couldn't have fun and was expected to just sit around and wait for Oberyn to pay attention to her. 

If she did that then she would end up an old maid before her time and Amara was determined to enjoy herself; the music was playing throughout the room and many people were dancing. 

Moving away from the lady, Amara made her rounds smiling to the people that had come to her chambers for such a gathering and she found herself more relaxed than she had been of late. 

There had been no more signs of Oberyn's daughters, she had a feeling that Ellaria had hidden them away so that they wouldn't run into her again. 

A fact that rather disappointed Amara, she had been unable to shake the meeting with Loreza and Dorea from her mind; she couldn't help but have more questions about the two youngest children. 

No one would speak with her about them and she guessed that they thought that doing so would upset Amara in some way since they were only her husband's children.

"Princess," Ka said bowing before her, he had been watching her all evening and she looked simply beautiful in the dress that she was wearing; he couldn't understand how Oberyn could forsake such a beauty for a mistress. 

Amara was everything that he had ever wanted for himself and he cursed the Gods that she had been married to a man that didn't seem to understand what he had. 

"I was wondering what you thought of the flowers?" Ka asked knowing that his gift had remained in her chambers, he had hoped that she wouldn't be too upset with the fact that he had sent her such a gift. 

His question made Amara pause and she looked at him surprised, she hadn't thought that it would be one of her guards that had sent her such a gift. 

The fact that she was meeting the gift giver so soon surprised her, she had thought that she would be left waiting for months to find out who had sent them. 

"It was you?" Amara questioned not sure how she felt about that, she had never thought that it would be someone this close to her; she saw Ka everyday and she would have never expected it to be him. 

Ka nodded his head, a small smile on his lips when she didn't storm away; he felt honoured that she had kept his gift and he hoped that he wasn't going to be turned away. 

"I have another gift for you Princess... if I may," Ka said feeling unsure of himself, he didn't want to upset her and he would understand if she wished to send him away. 

Amara didn't speak unsure what to say as he produced the beautiful necklace that he had with him; it had turquoise gems on it and was made of gold. 

"Surely you have another that you might wish to gift this to," Amara whispered, she was a married woman and she felt bad that she could offer him nothing in return while he was gifting her such beautiful things.

Ka shook his head, he knew of no one else that was worthy of his gifts and he had seen how sad she had been at the fact that her Lord Husband had forsaken her for another; he cursed Oberyn for making her feel that way. 

A woman such as she should be blessed with many children and Ka was sure that she would be happy to have a big family; something that would be denied her because her husband loved another. 

"No one as beautiful as you Princess," Ka told her, a smile on his face as he moved to put the necklace on her; he was most relieved when she allowed him to do so. 

The necklace looked perfect on her and Ka couldn't believe that he had been able to gift it to her in person; he feared he would have to sneak into her rooms later that night. 

"Thank you," Amara said touching the gems, she had never been gifted anything so beautiful before and she couldn't believe that Ka had given it to her. 

She glanced around and was relieved that no one seemed to be paying them much attention; she was sure they would whisper about what was happening here. 

A part of her found that she didn't care what they might have to say about the fact that she was being gifted such a beautiful gift by her personal guard. 

Her husband had no interest in her and was more interested in his mistress, it stood to reason that should she want affection of any kind then it was only fair that she was able to look elsewhere as well. 

"Perhaps we should dance?" Amara suggested with a smile, she saw no harm in dancing with Ka and it was the least that she could do after he had gifted her something so beautiful. 

A smile formed on Ka's face and he offered Amara his hand before they moved towards the make shift dance floor; he had never believed that he would be given such a chance.

***

"You seem distracted," Ellaria complained lounging back on Oberyn's bed, she frowned not happy that she wasn't the centre of his attention right now; she was most pleased with how things had turned out recently. 

Oberyn's attention had remained firmly on her and she was thankful for that, she had been worried when she had heard that her youngest daughters had run into Amara. 

It had made Ellaria worry and she had quickly sent her children to her father's estate knowing that they would be out of trouble there; she didn't need them bonding with their step-mother. 

Oberyn didn't reply as he got to his feet and pulled on his robe, he walked across the room to where a bottle of wine awaited him and he quickly poured himself a glass. 

The sounds of music from his wife's chambers could be heard from his own and he frowned at the fact that she was throwing a party that she had neglected to invite him to. 

It had truly surprised Oberyn that she had managed to flourish at court, he had thought that she would be completely unprepared for life at court. 

Ellaria closed her eyes as she listed to the music from down the corridor, she couldn't believe that Amara was throwing a party; she recalled the days where they had been the centre of entertainment at court. 

Now Oberyn seemed to brood over the fact that Doran had married him off, they seemed to hide away more now in an attempt to avoid his wife. 

"Perhaps we should join them," Ellaria mused knowing how much that would throw Amara off her game, she had been paying close attention to everything the younger woman did now. 

She was playing the game well and Ellaria would admit that but she very much doubted that her plans would come to anything; she had Oberyn and that was what mattered in the long run especially given that she was the mother of his youngest four children.