Lord Thane Vaughn was sparring with his good friend, Sir Murray Whitman. Thane was often impressed by his friend's brute strength, although he wasn't a large man.

Their swords clashed noisily as they sparred. The day had grown warm and both men were sweating quite heavily.

"I suppose this is your answer to your true love being forced to marry another," Murray remarked as he swung his sword.

Thane didn't respond. He was busy battling his inner demons regarding Princess Tatiana's less than pleasant predictement.

He was pissed. He hated standing there, among the thick crowd, watching as the woman he loved, wed another.

It was despicable. Thane had half a mind to start a revolt against Tatiana's father for this shit that he forced his only child into.

Thane knew that Tatiana wasn't pleased with the arrangement. However, being the perfect princess that she was, she'd never go against her father's wishes.

Thane twisted quickly, as Murray swung away at him, narrowly missing has right hand.

"Watch it!" Thane glared darkly at his old friend. He turned, stabbing his sword into the hard ground.

"If you keep doing that shit with your swords, your father might disown you." Murray mopped his brow with his tunic, which had fallen open.

"As if I'm concerned about that." Thane glanced down the long, dusty road. He'd spotted Prince Oberyn's royal carriage earlier and it nearly killed him to know that Tatiana was trapped inside,  with that viper, likely slobbering all over her.

There was a reason Oberyn Martell was known as The Red Viper. Because he secretly was a damn snake. One that slithered along and devoured anyone he cared to.

Thane's stomach recoiled at the very idea of that snake touching his beloved Tatiana.

Thane recalled the conversation that had passed between him and Tatiana when he'd learned of her demise.

"Perhaps it won't be so terrible," Tatiana had said, although her eyes said differently.

Thane had gathered Tatiana in his arms and kissed her so passionately that she had ended up pushing him away.

"Please don't make this more difficult for me than necessary, Thane. I'm going to wed Prince Oberyn Martell. Rather I have your blessing or not."

"He's dangerous!" Thane spat. "And he's cruel. You'll be nothing more than a damn plaything for him."

"What other choice do I have? Father is the king. I must obey what he says."

"What a load of shit!" Thane was angry with himself for losing his temper with Tatiana. It wasn't her doing.

However, it still pissed him off something terrible.

"Are you planning on stealing Tatiana away from Oberyn?" Murray had slipped up behind him.

Thane turned abruptly, nearly causing Murray to fall backwards.

"If that's what it comes to. Yes." Thane stalked over to where he'd stuck his sword in the ground, yanking it out. And breaking the damn handle.

He tossed the broken sword in Murray's direction as it landed with a heavy clank on the ground.

"Have that looked at, would you." Thane strode away, leaving Murray behind, somewhat bewildered and annoyed.

.......

"This is such a majestic place." Oberyn had taken Tatiana to the white castle just a few miles away from his own castle.

It wasn't necessarily a castle. However, according to legend, it held a magical secret.

Once upon a time, a beautiful princess lived in the white castle. And according to legend, she owned a white dragon, which was rare and endangered.

An evil sorcerer heard about the princess' rare dragon and slipped inside the castle in the dead of night, under a disguise and stole the dragon.

When the princess learned what happened, she wept and refused to be comforted. She went to try and rescue her beloved dragon

However, she learned that the evil sorcerer had killed her dragon. The princess went mad with rage and grief, killing the sorcerer.

As soon as the sorcerer was dead, the dragon was restored to life. The princess was overjoyed and took her beloved dragon back home, where they lived until the princess died.

"What happened to the dragon?" Tatiana asked as she and Oberyn sat, eating a picnic lunch.

Oberyn smiled. He loved gazing upon Tatiana. She was indeed a beauty.

"What do you think happened, my princess?" Tatiana thought for a few minutes.

"Perhaps the dragon flew away after mourning the death of his beloved princess and occasionally returns to this place, seeing if perhaps the princess has been given another chance at life."

Oberyn grinned. He liked that answer. Tatiana certainly had a vivid imagination.

"Perhaps you are right. Or perhaps he turned into...me." Tatiana laughed, delighted at Oberyn's response.

"Perhaps. If that's so, I am deeply honored, my lord." Oberyn slid closer to Tatiana and gently kissed her full lips.

"It's still a sad tale," Tatiana said softly. She leaned away from Oberyn just a little.

Oberyn took his cue and slid back, not wanting to crowd his new bride. He understood that it was going to take time for Tatiana to warm up to him.

He was pleased, though, that things were off to a decent beginning.

......

Lord Werther was seated at the table in his bed chambers, looking over some important documents. A knock sounded at the doors.

"Come!" The doors were opened and his wife approached him. Vincent didn't look up.

"You are quite the actor, my lord," Ramona murmured, coming to wrap her arms around her husband's upper body and resting her head on his.

"As are you."

"Please tell me that we're going to dispose of the snake, known as The Red Viper, my love."

"Yes. I need some preparation time. This is, after all, a delicate matter."

"Indeed." Ramona straightened up, look of disgust on her face.

"The sight of that child bride makes me want to vomit. Although, I'm not surprised at Oberyn agreeing to wed her. The man has a terrible sexual appetite."

"Indeed. Hell, he's screwed half of Westereos. It's sickening to think that such a person is charge of not only the fate of his own kingdom, but Princess Tatiana's as well."

Ramona made a sharp sound in her throat. Her husband spoke truth. Oberyn Martell was a disease that needed to be wiped out.

With some luck, she and her husband would be the saviors of Dorne and restore this kingdom to it's rightful place, in their capable hands.

......

Tatiana was shocked. She'd actually had a wonderful time today with Oberyn. Perhaps she had misjudged him.

Perhaps he wasn't as terrible as he others painted him. He'd been so gentle and generous and kind to her today.

Although Tatiana still had strong feelings towards Thane, she thought that perhaps, in time, she could learn to love Oberyn Martell.

.......

As the prince and princess slept, the secret opening in the wall slid open and out stepped....Ellaria Sand.

She walked over to the bed, watching in silence as her beloved Oberyn slept. She didn't miss how his strong arms encircled his new bride.

Ellaria felt a surge of rage towards the young and beautiful princess. How she wanted to plunge a knife into Tatiana's chest and watch as her very life seeped away from her.

Ellaria felt tears welling up in her eyes. She leaned over and gently touched Oberyn's beautiful face.

Her entire body ached to be the one sleeping peacefully in Oberyn's arms, as she once had. Before this..whore came along and bewitched her beautiful Oberyn.

Ellaria leaned away. She couldn't bear to watch this any longer. She quietly slipped away, silently vowing to dispose of Princess Tatiana and reclaim her rightfull place beside Oberyn.