The Little Wolf

Chapter 25 | Fleeting

"Come!" Arianne whispered as they sneaked out of the Palace. Doran Martell had put every guard he could find to defend the castle at night since they were surrounded by war in all directions and they could easily be attacked.

"I thought you said that the soldiers had been taken care of," Lilia said. She could not recognize herself anymore when she looked at her reflection in the water. In Dorne, their architecture was like nothing else and they even had some sort of pools in their gardens, right by the exterior halls. She touched the water with her hand, watching the very image of herself dissipate. It was ironic how that moment corresponded to what she felt at that moment.

Her dark hair was gone and so were her typical clothes. Her hair was auburn and she had some sort of veil to cover her hair in order to make it easier for travelling. And she wore a dress unlike any other she had worn in the past. Her dress was blue and also gold, which gave the illusion that she was the bastard daughter of a Tully of Riverun.

"We don't have all night, hurry up and leave your melancholy to another time or to the journey, somehow it gets to look even more gracious" Arianne pushed Lilia towards the stables where a young man was passed out on the floor with a cup of wine in his hands. The wine had been dropped on top of him, staining his clothes. The way was dark and there were no torches to guide them, the only thing Lilia could see was someone standing there.

"Wait, what about Winter Rose? I can't just leave her behind!" Arianne rolled her eyes at the Stark girl, getting her gaze straightly directed to her.

"We'll get your wolf pet once you are safely married at Highgarden. Think about her as a reassurance that people will have for your return"

Lilia was unsure, she didn't want to leave Winter Rose behind. After all, the wolf had been her companion through the hardest of times. Leaving without her seemed unnatural and unacceptable though she knew that, deep down, Arianne was right. Winter Rose had to stay as leverage and Lilia promised she would come back for her.

As they walked closer to the person, her identity was revealed.

With three horses ready, Tyenne was waiting for them. Her blonde hair and blue eyes were different from her father's. Lilia had learnt that Tyenne was the daughter of a Septa, which came to her as a surprise. On the other hand, she had to admit that Oberyn Martell was not a man who was determined and could easily seduce a woman. In fact, she herself thought he was extremely attractive though he was too old for her and far too unstable.

She had learnt that The Red Viper of Dorne was an unpredictable man and that she could never know what his next was going to be, which intrigued her a bit. They shared the same prospects about the other – they both thought of the other as an interesting enigma that they could not solve no matter what they did.

Tyenne didn't share the same physical appearance, yet she had the same look on her eyes as her father. In fact, Lilia had come to realize that all the Sand Snakes had that look, though they were very different. Personality wise, she had come to realize that Tyenne wasn't as much of a fighter as her sisters. Obara and Nymeria were all about fighting, but Tyenne... she reminded her of Sansa. She didn't dress as luxuriously as Nym, but she was as sweet as the Stark redhead. She was very kind and thoughtful, and not as simple as all the others. And then, the relationship she kept with her cousin, reminded Lilia of herself and Sansa. She missed her and she feared that her little sister had gotten a worse fate than what she herself got.

"I'm sorry but we had some trouble on the way" Arianne excused herself. Tyenne touched the veil Lilia had on as well as the auburn hair falling towards her back and smiled approvingly. "Have I not done a wonderful job?"

"You have! Willas Tyrell will fall on Lilia's knees when he sees her" Tyenne pointed out with an excited expression. Then, as Lilia was starting to think that the blonde girl had gotten lost in her own fantasies, her smile widened even more. "You'll have to allow me to take part in the organization of the feast"