At The Prince's Pass

[brigida]

Tristeza looked her cousin fully in the eyes with more conviction and deliberate disdain than she could ever have imagined she could muster under such circumstances. "I don't imagine he could, Emelia." Tristeza’s voice trembled as she began, “My father was not fit to call himself a man, nor even to call himself a human being. He was lower than an animal; a monster. He had no soul, no conscious, and not a single ethical inhibition. As only a small child I saw him murder dozens of men; torture tens of children—and the women he raped, Emilia…” her eyes wandered about, as her mind searched for peace, and found it nowhere. “There was a woman found dead at his bedside; she was the first, they say--and then two more on the same day less than a week later. One was dead, though the other managed to survive. He raped her again the following month, and it was on that occasion that he exacted upon her the true extent of his fury. It was when I was six, I believe, that he raped, tortured, and murdered four cooks accused of steeling bread from the kitchen to feed their families; I knew them then as four, five, and six." She spat.

"Two more only three months later were found beaten so badly that they could not even be recognized. It was in the frightened and strangled whispers of these attacks, my lady; these cruel and heartless assaults, that I learned as a child how to count to ten—I assure you, I learned my numbers quickly after that.”

[Princess Ariel Targaryen]

Emelia looked at Tristeza, allowing her lips to turn up in a slow smile. "Better," she responded, looking at the Lady. "So, he had an interest in pain, hm? That in itself is not unusual, but if he was as much of a villain as you claim he is indeed better off dead. But that does not change what -you- did, my little Tristeza."

She looked at Tristeza. "Did it never -occur- to you to speak to me about what your father was doing? I've been in Sunspear often enough. Could you not have informed one of us of your father's crimes?" she asked. "I assure you, had I investigated, and if your claims are true, I would have found more witnesses than you did. Why did you let this go on for so many years?"

[brigida]

"It was the way of our house, Emelia. I had never seen anything different. As a child I watched his brutality as a doe watches a hunter with his arrow pointed at her sister. I was terrified, and yet I remained still, and silent, with same aggrieved expression I had learned so early from my mother,” She had never heard her Mother’s voice, for Lisette was a meek woman, and did not dare to speak in or out of Calciber’s presence. “It was in those early years of terror that I was far too weak of body to act out against his wickedness;even by reporting it--but I grew stronger, both of body and of mind, yet all the while the strength of my soul dwindled beneath his terrible oppression. I was as broken, and as useless as my mother until I saw him fix that greedy gaze upon Marcella. It was then, for the first time, that I ever felt the Martell blood course in my veins.” There was the nagging ache of gathering tears in her eyes as she continued, though this time, they were for anger, “She was my only friend, Emelia. The most trusted, and most esteemed any of my acquaintances. I saw him knock her to the ground in the same manner he had struck so many down before her. I saw him move toward her as a famished reptile for a meal, and it was then, My cousin, that my strength of soul returned at last, and with a fury for its long suppression. “

[Princess Ariel Targaryen]

Emelia nodded to Tristeza. "I understand," she responded softly. "You are, after all, of the line of Nymeria, and the strength of the Rhoynar can never be finally broken." She looked at Tristeza. "And it is hardly your fault you bent. But that does not change your responsibility for your own actions." She shook her head.

"You have killed, Tristeza, outside the sanction of law and without the right of my direction. You have committed treason against your lawful Lord, your father." She considered Tristeza softly.

"What penalty would you suggest I give you?" she asked.

[brigida]

"You are quite right, Cousin, on all counts, to be sure. I have killed. But it was not as a killing is quite supposed to be." Her confidence returned, though her voice shook steadily as she went on, “I cut his neck, Emelia, in one clean motion with the smallest of my daggers, and it was of this he died. I thought, in the first moment, that I had imagined the whole thing, like I had a hundred times before. It was only when his blood began to soak me, as cold as rain on my burning skin that I realized the act had truly been done. The bitter taste of his blood was, for me, not that of crime, but rather the taste of redemption, and I felt in that moment nearly cleansed of those countless crimes of inaction I had commited daily over all those years. I am a felon in the eyes of the state, Cousin. But for the first time I can remember, I feel innocence in my own heart. It is for this reason that I know I am not fit to make a suggestion for your ruling.”

[Princess Ariel Targaryen]

Emelia nodded to Tristeza. "Perhaps unfortunately, you were unable to cover up your responsibility for commission of the crime, for then I could simply pretend I had no idea what had happened, and I would have. As it stands, you've landed squarely in my lap, and not for reasons I might prefer." The last drew a trace of a smile on her face.

"You have been honest with me, Tristeza, and you are clearly a woman of honor. You will not seek to free yourself through deceit, or plead or bargain for your life. And perhaps by accident, the circumstances aligned so that you can claim your action morally right, for you defended an honest woman from forcible rape and death. So should I so choose, I may take that interpretation."

Emelia looked at Tristeza. "If I declared you free of all guilt in this matter, tell me what you would do with your freedom."

[brigida]

"I fear you will not appreciate my response, Emelia, but is an honest one you will get: I wish no more to do with the place from which I came. I do not hate Dorne, but I do not love it is a home is meant to be loved. Though I am proud of my heritage, I am in no way proud of my immediate heritage. If it is your wish, I will remain in this country, though I would prefer to make home somewhere to the North in all sincerity. I will however, not return to the house of my Parents; it is a place with which I have permanantly finished." Tristeza beheld her cousin gravely, and with a finality that spoke, perhaps, of a morbid resignation.

[Princess Ariel Targaryen]

Emelia shook her head calmly. "Your father's home -is- no more, with him dead," she responded, "but mine, you are not done with. You will not run from the duties to which you were born." She considered for a moment.

"If your mother still lives, I will see she is cared for. She undoubtedly deserved far better than she was dealt, and through your father she is of my kin as well. You will tell no one of your father's past activities; you will be very dumb about any attacks upon women before Marcella was assaulted; I don't need more shame splattered about than must be. But that said."

She looked at Tristeza. "Coz, I know you're also not going to follow the path of my sisters any more than I did, marrying the husband who will make the best alliance and bearing a houseful of brats. You're not made for it, are you?"

[brigida]

"No more than I am built for casting iron, Cousin."

[Princess Ariel Targaryen]

Emelia nodded. "And you're too fiery to be one of my handmaidens either," she responded, tapping her finger against her lips. She began to unbind Tristeza's wrists. "You have killed. While we do not knight women in the way of the Seven, even in the North women have begun to take up the sword in recent years. Will you seek to bear a blade, and perhaps a lance, for the honor of our house and the defense of our land?"

[brigida]

Tristeza shook her head. " I am not one to relish violence, Emelia. But I am also not well suited to much else in this whirlwind of politics--if it is your wish, so shall it be; I will do it with dignity, and honor, and most importantly, with discernment. I thank you for your understanding, though I cannot pretend to feel remorse." She nodded then, one short bob of her head. Her face and clothing were wretched with filth, though the fire of determination shone out from beneath the thin layer of mud and sand.

[Princess Ariel Targaryen]

Emelia smiled at Tristeza. "Good. Your mother was a Dayne, was she not?" she asked. "I believe then that I will place you under the tutelage of Ser Timm," she responded. "And you will find yourself saddled with diplomatic responsibilities as well, but they will allow you to see King's Landing and get out of Dorne as well." She smiled. "If you are a woman of discernment, as you claim, you will understand why the Martells need women of courtly skill as much as we need bladeswomen. And mark my words, you understand more of politics than bladeplay as yet. You have instincts that cannot be taught, and I would be a fool to waste them."

She leaned back once the ropes were undone. "Tell me where you left your Marcella, and I will have her fetched. She as well has nothing to fear."

[brigida]

"You can be quite kind, Emelia, and I am flattered that you think so well of me; I will do as well as I can by you, of this, you have my word." She smiled then, truly, for the first time in what seemed ages. "Marcella is in a villiage thirty miles south south east of the Pass--I do not know what it is called. I would ask you to send word of these events, but do please ask her what she would do, and, if you would, do not simply have her come--I feel she may be happy in a simpler life for a while--I have always felt that the tumultuous goings on of our family have caused she and others like her some measure of disquiet in their lives." Tristeza fixed Emelia with a solidly determined gaze, "Thank you, Cousin. For all you have done in the wake of this...occurence."

[Princess Ariel Targaryen]

Emelia nodded. "I will have Jon carry your words and my apologies," she responded, placing a hand on Tristeza's. "It's damnable that all of this had to happen. And no, Cousin. I must thank you, for reminding me that I need to keep a closer eye on Dorne, and not just struggle for Dorne's position in the outside world. I had thought Dorne free of such ills under my rule."

She looked at Tristeza. "Though I have a feeling that if your Marcella is anything like most servants, she'll rush to be at your side once more. She will feel indebted, whether or not you accept the debt as yours. I urge you not to cast her away."

[brigida]

A large army of forty thousand troops gathered at the Prince's Pass, led by General Quentin Fowler.