Martell Manse

[Princess Lyssandra Martell]

"If I ever become a Queen you can make it up to me. Come, we can discuss matters in the hall, like before." She noted Amelia's abscence, the drama had been the talk of the city for several days, and even for a recluse like Lyssandra it was hard not to hear about it. "Congratulations on your appointment, House Baratheon continues to be in the eye of the Queen.'

[Lord Oswyn Baratheon]

"If only it were just Her Grace." Oswyn replied, a note of melancholy entering his voice. "Too many eyes and ears hover about us for my tastes."

Kellington followed close behind, the inkpots clinking together as he did so.

[Princess Lyssandra Martell]

She nodded, "I have some unfortunate news, for us both." She paused, "It appears that word of our agreement has spread...somehow," she folded her arms across her chest, "And now I recieve threats."

[Lord Oswyn Baratheon]

"From whom?" Oswyn asked, bristling at the thought that someone would interfere with diplomatic affairs that did not involve them. "I trust by your house words that the Martells are not ones to bow to threats?"

[Princess Lyssandra Martell]

"I will take them into consideration and explore them if they are serious. Which I think they may be. My brother, whom I trust, believes your wife may be behind them. First to spread discord within the houses of Dorne, and secondly..it is clear she wants her son back." She studied Oswyn. "My goal Lord Oswyn, was to stop feuding and war, not to create tensions and conflict with another house."

[Lord Oswyn Baratheon]

"I wish for only peace and stability with my neighbors, the same as you." Oswyn replied, brow furrowed at the troubling news. "The West can call neither of us neighbors and they hardly share the Royal favor you have admitted my own house currently enjoys. You would consider letting the machinations of a shamed and spiteful woman impede an agreement that could end centuries of animosity between our peoples?"

[Princess Lyssandra Martell]

"Standing between a vengeful mother and her child is a proposition no one should take lightly, especially when she is backed by as prominent a house as the West." Lyssandra motioned for them to take a seat if they liked, she herself leaned against a table. "An angry woman is not likely to think rational. For the moment, until things are settled, I think we should come to a smaller agreement between our houses."

[Lord Oswyn Baratheon]

"The mighty Dorne cowed by a single woman. Your ancestors would be shamed." Oswyn grumbled, barely hiding his disgust. "I'll remind you that it was you that broached the idea of this peace and friendship, not I. When I offered you the care of my son, my former wife warned that you Dornish were all vipers, not to be trusted. That Doreah was the only one among our litter of any worth."

"Things are settled, Princess Lyssandra." he intoned. "That shameful creature will have no part in my son's raising. If you wish to speak smaller terms, name them, but this does not bode well for an amicable conclusion."

[Princess Lyssandra Martell]

Lyssandra was surprised Oswyn would become so flustered so quickly, she wondered if he was losing his wits, a trait often associated with weak willed women who were on their moon's blood time. "If you are trying to guilt me into this then it is not working." She said plainly, "I did broach the idea with you and I still think it has merit. I would like a small period of time to see how matters are resolved so that I may have all the facts. My brother leads an investigation into the matter of the threats." She paused again before speaking and eyed the weasely man with the parchment and ink, "The keep in the Stepstones is still in play."

"If we act as if the deal we agreed upon is still to go ahead, we may draw out the conspirators."

[Lord Oswyn Baratheon]

Oswyn sighed, in an attempt to calm himself.

"You have my apologies, that was not gallant of me." he admitted, breathing deep. "It has been a trying few days, as I hope you can understand."

"The deception seems unnecessary." he said, after considering her words with a more level head. "Whether we sign the original terms or only pretend we have, it will elicit the same response from those that threaten you. It seems a mummer's show with no purpose. We had already agreed that the keep in the Stepstones would transfer immediately to the Stormlands, with Vulture's Roost to do the same once my son is of age to become a page of your house. What differences do you propose?"

Kellington dipped his quill in his inkpot, prepared to jot down any terms agreed upon. He was sweating bullets, uncomfortable at the talk of threats and conspirators.

[Princess Lyssandra Martell]

Governing a house and making decisions was much harder than issuing commands in battle, an irony that displeased Lyssandra. She was fighting off the idea to scrap the whole deal entirely. "We can discuss the matter of transference of both the keeps when your son is of age, and when he is sent to Sunspear. That is the change that I propose."

[Lord Oswyn Baratheon]

"So you are requesting that we postpone this discussion for two years, with nothing to bind us to our word?" Oswyn asked, eyebrow raised. "Much can occur in two years."

[Princess Lyssandra Martell]

"I am willing to trust you, but you are not willing to trust me and I have been from the start. And I say this despite..what has happened." She eyed Oswyn, "Perhaps your faith in others has now been broken?"

[Lord Oswyn Baratheon]

"When we have been enemies this long, trust is hard to come by." Oswyn replied, meeting her eyes. "You may come to me seeking peace in two years if that is what you wish and I will welcome it, but I cannot promise an alliance between now and then. As far as I am concerned, our relationship has not changed for the better or worse. If a border conflict erupts, there is nothing to hold my Marcher lords at bay. I offered a lasting friendship with a centuries old enemy on your border, and you wish to postpone that agreement for fear of the threat of a land 900 miles away. If your resolve is so easily broken after only a couple days, how am I to trust you will be of the same mind in a couple years?"

[Princess Lyssandra Martell]

"Lord Oswyn," Lyssandra said calmly, "Others would ask me why I should trust you, after what has happened in your own househould. I did not want to make it my concern until it was forced upon me by threats, threats I will have investigated. Your word would hold your marcher lords and bay, and my word would hold my own lords in check. If you are announcing that you do not hold your lords accountable and unwilling to obey you, then I can simply say the same. But this sort of attitude leads us nowhere, and I believe we are above such simple squabbling. I am a novice at intrigue but even to me it is clear that a house supposedly far away can influence politics in my own region by supporting those that are at odds with my own family, just like an outside influence can assert itself in your own household. Our enemies count for us to be at odds Lord Oswyn."