Jaehaerys stood in front of his brother and a group of lords who looked at him with fear, contempt, and pity. He should have seen it coming. Tywin wanted two things: to control his daughter or to kill him during the tournament. So far, he had achieved neither; he would have to solve the problem another way.
"Are you sure of your words, Lord Lydden?" asked the prince.
Among the audience were Jaime, Tyrion, and Tywin; Tywin's wife was with the Queen Mother, Rhaella, elsewhere. From House Targaryen, only the king and his heir, Aegon, were present. Cersei and Oberyn were there, the former watching the prince as if he had won a prize. Serena was with them, trying to keep as much distance as possible between herself and her brother.
The lord who had given him asylum and to whom he had entrusted the prisoners pointed at him as if he were the most horrible person ever to set foot in Westeros.
"Yes, the prince arrived and killed dozens of men who were patrolling my lands," said the man angrily, his broken voice betraying his lies.
"Did you send those men to attack me, Lord Lydden?" Jaehaerys shook his head. The poor man had sweat dripping from his forehead as if he were in a sauna.
"The men were patrolling my lands, good men, whom you murdered!" The man glanced sideways at Tywin Lannister.
"What a fucking farce," the prince muttered in annoyance.
"Besides, the prince has brought slaves from another continent!" said another man.
"Slavery is forbidden in Westeros," muttered one of the lords in the room.
They appeared to be involved in foul play, feigning surprise and anger. 'This was actually Tywin's idea?'
"So much hatred and desire for justice," Jaehaerys scoffed. "Why didn't you come to my castle to complain? I would have listened to you and taken your words into account," the voices did not echo again.
The men had heard of dragons and ghosts. Only fools would seek death by confronting the prince on his own lands. Although, despite having heard of dragons, they did not remember how hot their flames were.
"Murder and slavery," said Lord Tywin. "How do you plead?"
"I am as innocent of murder as you are of exterminating House Reyne," said the prince. Tywin's face remained impassive, but he could see Tyrion Lannister shifting in his seat. He didn't know if he was uncomfortable or enjoying the spectacle.
"And the slaves?" asked Tywin.
"They have been freed. Dozens of them asked for help to return to their homes, and I granted it," he said sincerely. He was not guilty of anything.
"My men were murdered!" Lord Lydden continued, just as the entire room began to look to see where the verdict would fall.
"The word of a prince against the word of a lord. Every time you open your mouth, you tarnish my name. The name of the Targaryen family," Jaehaerys used his family as a shield.
The man looked at the king, who remained neutral in the whole affair. The king said nothing, only looked at his brother.
"I spoke of justice," the little Lydden man said, lowering his tone. His words were beginning to lack weight.
It doesn't matter how much the lack of field Lord Lydden's words start to see to everyone. It will end in an unresolved matter. A fight, they wanted him to ask for a trial by combat. But do they really have a champion strong enough to face him?
"You speak lies," another voice interjected this time.
Jaehaerys watched Tywin's face wrinkle slightly in a grimace of disgust.
"Do not speak out of turn, Princess Serena Nymeros Martell," Tywin scrutinized her with his gaze, and the girl cringed in her place, finding an incredible resemblance between Tywin's eyes and Joffrey's.
"I remember the men charging at us. I was part of the group. I could have died that day. I didn't know who those men belonged to, but Lord Leddyn has already pleaded guilty; he attacked your granddaughter. Why isn't he in chains?" the girl continued, watching the little lord's face transform into despair.
"Serena, come here," Cersei identified her father's bitterness and moved to control her daughter.
"I almost died, Mother!" said the princess. "But you don't care about that, do you?" she almost shouted in front of everyone. "You didn't care when Joffrey—" The princess's face turned ninety degrees to the right.
"Those are private matters," Cersei began to drag her out of the room, after she slapped her. "Sandor, get her out of here," she ordered the dog.
"No," said Prince Oberyn as he approached. "What did Joffrey do?" he asked his daughter as he caressed her cheek, where it was beginning to swell. He looked at his wife with a hint of anger.
The room held its breath; they had come initially to judge the prince, but the situation had shifted too quickly. Now, everyone wanted to know what secret the princess of Dorne was keeping, and that her mother wanted to prevent from coming to light.
"He-he..." Jaehaerys felt bad seeing the princess stammer as she searched for the words. Serana's black eyes met Jae's purple ones, and she found her courage. "He raped me," she whispered. "Mother knew it, she ordered me to stay silent, she said I would destroy Joffrey's life if I talked."
Jaehaerys couldn't see Oberyn's reaction, but he seemed to tremble and curl up, like a snake about to strike. He didn't utter a word.
"Lies!" Cersei shouted, panicked. "It was Jaehaerys who ordered you to say that, wasn't it?" she asked her daughter softly. "There's nothing to fear; he can't hurt you." She tried to caress her daughter, but the girl recoiled in disgust.
"He saved my life," Serena said, not to Cersei, but to Oberyn.
"Enough!" roared the lion of Casterly Rock. "Everyone except House Lannister and Targaryen, leave!" Disappointment and anger were palpable on his face, not toward Serena, but toward Joffrey, whom he glared at furiously. If Oberyn didn't kill his son, Tywin might well do it himself.
The lords quickly left the room. None questioned how Tywin seemed to act more like the king than Rhaegar himself.
"Help!" Joffrey cried as he fell backward. "Damn bastard bitch," he yelled at Obara, who had attacked him with a dagger, a red line opening up on his chest. If it weren't for Sandor's quick movement, the dagger would have ended up embedded in his heart.
"Get her! What are you waiting for?" The Lannister men moved toward Oberyn's bastard daughter.
"Touch my daughter, and I'll kill you," said Oberyn, who continued to stroke Serena's head.
When he said that sentence, he looked directly at Joffrey, who broke out in a cold sweat.
"Get Joffrey out of here and confine him to his chambers," Tywin ordered.
"Yes... Protect him," Serena said wearily. She watched as the men who had been trying to capture her sister turned to Joffrey and took him out of the room.
"Joffrey didn't do anything. It was all Jaehaerys' fault! He was the one who forced me to send Serena to his cursed castle. Oberyn, he threatened me, said he would kill Joffrey if I didn't do as he ordered. I swear to you, I swear by our children," Cersei lunged at her husband, who remained still.
"Serena didn't lie," Oberyn said. "I remember when she was little and didn't want to behave like a lady; every time she wanted to confront you and tell you she didn't want to sew or paint, she would look at me, seeking the courage to tell the truth. She did the same thing today, but she didn't look at me; she looked at the prince," he continued with pain. Oberyn felt like he had lost his daughter's confidence.
"The truth is uncertain. A child's behavior is not reflected in adulthood," interjected the king, Rhaegar. "We need to get to the truth," he said, looking at Jaehaerys. "Did you order her to lie?"
"I can't order him to do anything," said the prince. "Although I indeed threatened Cersei with killing Joffrey if he continued to rape other women. I hope he stopped, it will be a shame for him to die," he confessed, looking at the woman who turned pale.
"I'll take care of Joffrey, stay out of it," Oberyn said sharply.
"You can't believe your son would be capable of such barbarity. You raised him, you made him a formidable warrior," Cersei reproached her husband.
"And a horrible man," Oberyn clicked his tongue. "We don't hurt little girls in Dorne, even less our family."
"It's Tywin's daughter's word against the prince's," Rhaegar said. "A greater trial will be needed," he continued.
"I demand a trial by combat," the prince said. "I will defend my word or that of Princess Serena," Tywin's face soured.
"Wielding a weapon like a barbarian is not what makes us noble, brother, you should know that by now. You can't end every trial that way," Rhaegar said. "Everyone knows your strength. The nobles will not accept it as valid unless it is a trial by seven and—"
"Then let it be a trial by seven," the prince said wearily. Walking toward the exit. They had no one who could win in a single duel, but seven men... they also haven't them... they fault had been so delusional. "Choose the date," the guards looked at Tywin as he approached the great doors. They opened them afterward. "Serena, are you coming?" he asked his ward.
"Yes," she replied.
"Stay away from my daughter, you bastard!" Cersei shouted.
"Go, Serena," Oberyn said. "Tyene, Sarella, go too, protect your sister." 'As his father couldn't,' he added in his mind. The Red Viper's voice was silky and broken.
"Oberyn!" Cersei complained.
"I need to talk to our son," he said. He walked toward Jaehaerys.
The two princes glanced at each other; neither said a word before Oberyn sought out his eldest son's chambers, ignoring the desperate cries of Cersei, who Sandor held back on the orders of her father, Tywin.