One Hundred Leagues East of Gulltown

[wookie]

Benfry looked disappointed at Tristeza's response to his question but shrugged at the last
"A strong Dorne is a threat. They proved that once before. And the name Martell still carries weight. Many no doubt feud perhaps because they feel that those who have bent the knee have 'betrayed' their oath to you and as you still yet live, perhaps some feel that they will continue to 'resist' as best they can until your eventual return. Under these conditions it gives me no incentive to encourage Dorne to stand united. Indeed, perhaps the opposite. So long as Lord Qorgyle feels his position is under threat then he remains indebted to us to secure that position. Should he ever feel he does not need the King's support or the Iron Throne anymore, we could be dealing with another insurrection" Benfry paused, taking a further sip of tea and pulling a face as he realised it had gone cold

"Some elements of rivalry and fractiousness was to be expected anyway. Many of these lords were 4th & 5th in line, some families are now virtually extinct and run by former underlings and others are governed by former reachmen and stormlords. I do not expect the dornish - long isolated from the rest of Westeros - to feel comfortable with any of these changes. Perhaps only time can heal the divisions. And maybe only once you, I and General Irwyn have all passed through the veil"

[brigida]

Tristeza met his eye with intensity: a look filled with pain, longing, and perhaps the slightest twinkling of hope. "I agree completely," she asserted plainly, her heart beating wildly; it sounded to her as though it was generally audible, though she hoped this was not the case. "My Lord Regent Smith: I beseech you, for one moment, to forget your prejudices against me, and to think on behalf of the Dornish people. They are your people now, and you owe it to them to act on their behalf, unless what is good for them is adverse to any other part of your kingdom.

"If you listen well--" she hesitated, "I fear that you will not see the sincerity--the honour of my request..." she bit her lip momentarily, "but if you listen well..." she repeated, "if you truly consider my words, I pray to the Gods you will know that there is truth and prospoerity in them.

"You say the feuding is caused in part: in great part, I would argue--by the sentiment many have that they betray House Martall by supporting House Qorgyle. I agree--and not out of seflishness, I assure you.

The Lordly Houses of Dorne have feuded historically--only one in history has proven able to elevate itself above the others--only one has ever rules successfully. That is House Martell. The other Lordly houses are bitter that they were surpassed for the position of Lord Paramount of Dorne--there is one way to alleviate this tension, yet it proves almost impossible to maneuver, for the only Martell of age to rule is Me. A known traitor, and universally hated beyond the reaches of my former Kingdom.

"But I am not the only Martell, my Lord Regent. There are others you could award the position. My children.

"But you will object to this, for they are my blood, and my blood is tainted, you will say: I will rebuff this. I love Dorne--and my crimes were all for the sake of that Love. A leader must love their realm.

Furthermore, (I plead you consider me honestly, for this is my proposal), I have come to offer you those same children to raise in your keep, for if they know you as a father, and the King and princes as brothers, certainly they would never think to betray their words. They will be bound to the King in a way I never was: by being raised with the idea that Dorne is one of nine Kingdoms, and that the king of those realms is their friend, and compatriot, rather than their rival.

"Perhaps you will say blood is thinker than water--but these children will soon have no blood. It is a second part of my offer that I will return with you to Westeros to face punishment for my crimes. I will accept death gladly if it contributes in any way to the ease of tension in Dorne..."

Her eyes became weary, and sad, "I have hurt Dorne more in my life than I have helped, and this is my final chance to leave them where I found them...If that is all I am able to do, then so be it. If I am able to do not even that, I shall die a wretch...which is certainly more than I deserve.

"If you disdain my son for his father, then pass him over for my daughter. Her father is the Sea Lord of Braavos, and if your King were to legitimize her, she would prove as a long-lasting tie between Westeros and Braavos which would prevent war, and ease hostilities between your lands. She is only a babe, and Lord Delinal has already agreed to allow her to travel to Westeros to foster in King's Landing.

"My Lord Regent Smith, I know I am a hateful specimen to you: but my children, who are rightful heirs to Dorne have done no evil. They are children, who know only my love, and not a word of my politics. If I told my son he should listen to you, he would think to do nothing else. He is a blank canvas, as is my daughter. A free chance for Dorne to belong truly to Westeros--they are the chance to erase the hostilies not only between Dorne and Westeors, but also between the feuding Dornish Lords. I pray you will see that, and punish them not for the name they bear."

She gazed at him intently, her breath stopped in her chest, her eyes wide, and imploring. Her mouth was a rigid flat line of tension, and her hands shook violently once more.

[wookie]

"They are not my people, Lady Martell. They are the subjects of King Rickon Baratheon" he corrected gently. "I have no wish nor desire to rule and look forward with no little longing, for the time when I can step aside and allow Rickon to rule in deed as well as name. He has already taken his first steps to do so and he seems both wise, honourable and just. Whatever ill feelings are harboured to me personally by the dornish - and despite your view, I have no hatred for them, just waryness - perhaps he can act as the healer that I cannot be" he paused as she continued on, his face expressionless as she ended

"I cannot make this judgement on my own, Lady Martell. You are incorrect in one aspect though. I do not hate you. I pity that such a capable woman as yourself fell in with evil companions and wonder how you would have fared, being brought up in an environment of love and not fear and isolationism" he sighed

"I doubt your children would think kindly on the King or myself if our first act in fostering them, should we agree to do so, was your execution. I also fear to allow either the children of the Sealord or Horas Blackwood into a position of power. Your children may be blank canvasses as you say, but the call of blood is not to be underestimated. Would they rebuff the father of their blood over the foster father who raised them? It is a troubling thought should such a situation come to pass" he blinked and sighed again
"As I say, I cannot give any assurances on your idea without speaking first to the King, which I will do on your behalf. Should you wish to pen a missive to the King, I will ensure it reaches his hands and no other. How old are your children?" he asked

[brigida]

"My son is two years grown, and my daughter less than one," she said, sounded half relived, and half disappointed.

[wookie]

Benfry nodded, half to himself as if her response had answered a question in his own mind
"So we are talking about a long time before we have to face the problem of facing another Martell in Sunspear" he said gazing at Tristeza intently. "You realise of course that you may be making your children into targets of assassins themselves?"

[brigida]

Tristeza gazed at him quietly, hiding the terror in her eyes, which was innate to the idea of seperating herself from her children. She swallowed a lump in her throat before she continued: "Were my proposal accepted...I would entrust their well-being to you, and to your court. I have only ever met yourself and Lady Royce; but I do believe, despite my best efforts to foster you ill will, that were your King to accept the burden of their presence, that you would protect them from the harm which threatened them. I know Lord Delinal agrees, or he would not have allowed for Irina to leave Braavos to foster at King's Landing."

[wookie]

Benfry made an irritated motion with his hand "Of course I would protect them, but no security is infalliable. What I meant was that you know by your offer that you are placing your children directly into harm's way. You could live a life of relative comfort and peace in Braavos and your children with you, watching them grow up and perhaps even have children of their own. Is the thought of reinstating their birthright in Westeros really worth risking their lives and ending your own?" he asked pointedly

[brigida]

Tristeza's eyebrow twitched upward, "It is certainly worth my own," she answered plainly, "but my children are already in peril: their fathers hate eachother. Were Horas Blackwood to learn that Irina was alive, he would devote no end of resources to killing her. By the same token he was relluctant to allow the littler Horas to venture to Braavos. He believes the Sea Lord is unstrustorthy. That he would kill the child as soon as look at him.

The danger does not end there: many aim to extinguish the Martell line, which makes them both targets all by itself. I love my children more than life itself, but what you must remember is that Dorne was once my child too, and I will never cease to think of it as such--it was my first, and to keep the second two to myself--to hoarde them away selfishly would be to condemn my first to a certain sort of death...

"I want peace for that Kingdom. I crave it with every fiber of my soul. The King is a target as well, Lord Smith, yet he was ordained by birth, and by the Gods to take that risk. So was I, and so were my children."

[wookie]

Benfry nodded "I expected that to be your answer Lady Martell. Very well, I will convey your request to the King. Do you wish to pen a letter in your own hand or do you trust me to relay your wishes accurately?" he does not seem offended by the implied insult, merely being matter of fact

[brigida]

Tristeza hesitated a moment, "I trust you will relay them accurately. I only regret that the words alone may lack the sincerity you have plainly seen--or I would hope it was plain, at the least." she muttered, "I have a final question I pray you will be able to answer, though I do not expect you to know certainly...Tell me, Lord Smith: were I to remarry...perhaps to a Dornish Lord. A Qorgyle, even, if it were to please the King...would a child which was the product of that marriage fare better than a child of Horas Blackwood or Sergyo Delinal in the King's eyes? A more viable candidate to restore the honour of House Martell?"

[wookie]

Benfry looked startled at the question and begins to speak, then stops himself. Finally, after a few seconds he replies
"How would the Sealord take such a union?" he asked, frowning.

[brigida]

Tristeza balked slightly at the question, "The Sea Lord has no claim over me," Tristeza answered simply, "and, though I cannot know for sure, I believe that if I were to relay my wish to remarry, and if I were to explain that the union would benefit Dorne, he would accept that (remembering that it was that self-same ambition which brought me to Braavos originally.) The child I had by him was unplanned, and as she is yet a Bastard, he can not believe in her claim as an heiress."

[wookie]

Benfry looked thoughful and nodded after a moment
"Very well, I will mention that as a possibility to the King. Ultimately, the choice whether to accept or not rests with him. Even should he do so, I can give you a long list of nobles who would as soon spit in your face as speak to you - at best" he looked intently at Tristeza "You should know that" he said, somewhat awkwardly

[brigida]

"Know it," Tristeza mused, "I live with it every day--but with any luck, it will not be my face they see." She paused for a long moment here, "Lord Smith: please tell the King..."

She seemed at a loss; "Please tell him...that as a woman who has continually made the wrong decisions, I have come to a point where I would know the right one when I saw it. Tell him, as a woman who loves Dorne more than anything, and who recognizes now that a crime against another Kingdom will ultimately hurt Dorne itself, I know for a certainty that this is the right decision. Tell him I have never once in my twenty years been able to say that. But now I can, and I would, and have staked my life on that certainty."

[wookie]

Benfry nodded, looking grave "I will tell him. Is there anything else Lady Martell, or is our business here concluded for the time being?"