'These oranges look so good,' Diane said, picking up one of them out of the box.

'Harvested just yesterday, my lady,' the Dornish sailor said.

'And already here today? Dorne is close but not that close.'

'Alright, caught me there. Two days ago- three at the most.'

Diane smiled, 'We will take all you have.'

The man immediately brightened up, 'I'll get you a box of tangerines for free.'

'You are being rather generous today, Gulian.'

'Oh well, the things you are ready to do for your favorite customer.'

'I trust you brought my favorite wines as well.'

'Of course, my lady. Already handed them to your servants.'

As Diane was looking through other goods Gulian brought, Athelstan wandered around the trunks with all the different fabrics. He was not really planning on buying anything but he enjoyed looking at different patterns (they seemed extremely unique to him, considering he only saw how people dressed at King's Landing and Dragonstone) and touching various fabrics. The emerald green silk looked rather nice but such a color was forbidden in the castle (he didn't know why so he decided it was just Diane's weird quirk) so Athelstan passed it by.

'Hi, hello, I apologize,' a man suddenly stopped him. He had short brown hair and was in his early twenties. 'But I was pointed out in your- Gods, you are pretty,' he blurted out when Athelstan turned to him.

Athelstan blinked in confusion, 'What?'

'Yeah, sorry, it came out of nowhere. But I mean, look at you, can you blame me?' the man let out a rather awkward laugh and then proceeded to change the topic, 'Anyway, I was pointed in your direction by that lovely lady,' the man pointed to the side and Athelstan looked to see Jamaya smirking and waving at him. He rolled his eyes good-heartedly and turned his attention back to the man in front of him. 'She said you can help me. My name is Adrian, by the way. I should have probably led with introductions,' he frowned. 'But well, too late for that. What's your name?'

'Athelstan. And sorry,' Athelstan shook his head. 'What do you need help with again?'

'Right. I'm looking for Diane Waters. I was told she is supposed to be here.'

Athelstan blinked, processed the information, and then asked, 'Do you mean Lady Diane Targaryen?'

Because Athelstan knew that Diane used to have a bastard last name before she was legitimized and he didn't really know anyone else who was called "Diane Waters". Granted, he did not know everyone at Dragonstone but it was still a rather unique name as far as he knew.

'Lady? Wait, was she legitimized?' Adrian's eyes widened. 'Wow, that's amazing. So where can I find her?'

'Not so fast,' Athelstan said because the man in front of him seemed rather eager to see Diane and he couldn't quite figure out whether it was suspicious or not. 'She is a ruler of Dragonstone, you cannot just go and see her just because you want to,' he pointed out. Despite Diane being way more approachable than other Lords and Ladies, she was not everyone's friend and she should be treated according to the position of power she held.

'A ruler? Oh no, did Prince Daemon pass away? That's a shame, I rather liked him,' Adrian said, pursing his lips.

'No, Prince Daemon is alive and well. He handed his seat to Lady Diane when he married Princess Rhaenyra.'

'Blimey, I missed quite a lot, didn't I?' Adrian scratched the back of his head. 'Look, I was told that I can be a hard person to keep up with so I do apologize. However, I would like to see Dia- Lady Diane when it is possible. I've come here from Lys because I was told she wished to see me... and well, when your friend calls, you come. Even more so when the letter has a royal seal on it and a mildly scary messenger attached to it.'

'A royal seal?' Athelstan asked in confusion but wasn't able to say anything else because Diane's voice sounded.

'Dove, do you wish to try papaya? I've just realized I have never actually tried one because it always costs an arm and a leg and this one is fairly cheap,' she mused, approaching Athelstan with a fruit in her hands.

Adrian immediately lightened up, 'Diane!'

She raised her gaze and after a second of disbelief, her lips stretched into a wide smile. 'Adrian!' she exclaimed, throwing a papaya at Athelstan who knew her long enough to actually catch it, and then hugged her old friend tightly. It had been decades since she had seen him last.

Adrian hugged her back just as tight. 'You have grown up quite a lot.'

'So did you!' Diane moved back, keeping her hands on her friend's shoulders. 'Look at you, you are a man now.'

'Well, I aspire to be,' Adrian chuckled. 'And you are a lady!'

'That I am. I suppose you have already met Athelstan,' Diane gestured at the boy who was still holding papaya in his hands.

'Not officially but I got the idea he is like... important.'

Diane chuckled, 'He is my right hand. He also has a spider-raven that is extremely attached to him so be respectful.'

'I don't know what that is but I better not find out, I suppose. A pleasure to officially meet you, Athelstan,' Adrian extended his right hand.

Athelstan shook it, 'Likewise.'

'Adrian and I grew up together in Dragontemple,' Diane explained. 'He is like my brother... in a non-Targaryen way.'

'If you are not extremely busy doing lady things right now, there is someone I would like you to meet,' Adrian said, and he sounded just a tad nervous.

'Of course, lead the way.'

Adrian led them to the place where the docks connected with a brick street. There was a woman who sat on the bench with two big bags nearby. She looked like she was in her late twenties. She was wearing a hand-knitted dark red dress with a knitted green shawl and had curly red hair that almost reached her waist. She smiled as she saw them coming.

Adrian approached her and took her hand, 'Diane, I want you to meet my wife Ashy. I was selling her the idea of Dragonstone pretty hard so I hope you won't disappoint.'

Diane let out a laugh, 'It is so nice to meet you, Ashy.'

Ashy smiled as well as she remained seated, 'I heard a lot about you. The antics you got up to when you were children were one of the first stories he ever told me.'

'Perhaps some of them did not paint me in the best light but I stand by everything we did,' Diane pointed out.

'Remember when I wondered what she is doing now?' Adrian said. 'She is a ruler of Dragonstone! With a title and everything. Do you live in the castle?'

Diane smiled, 'Yes, I live in the castle.'

'Oh,' Ashy realized. 'My apologies for not greeting you properly, my lady,' she said and made an attempt to get up by pulling herself up using Adrian's hand but it was obvious it was a rather hard task for her.

'Please, don't strain yourself on my behalf,' Diane assured her. 'Gods know, the formalities are unnecessary.'

'Thank you,' Ashy gave her a small smile as she lowered herself back on the bench. 'The long travel has been hard on me.'

'Perhaps, you should get some rest then. There is a tavern just right there,' Diane pointed at one of the buildings. 'It's not yet evening so it should be rather quiet and has comfortable couches. The food is also good. Sailors say their fried salmon is the one to kill for.'

'Sounds like a good idea,' Ashy agreed.

'I'll help with the bags,' Athelstan volunteered as Adrian proceeded to pick Ashy up in his arms. The ease with which he went about that told Diane that Adrian was used to carrying Ashy around. Which meant "the long travel" was probably not the only cause for her weakness. But it was not the time to ask such kinds of questions so Diane smiled and said, 'And I'll run ahead and make sure the table is ready.'

***

'Thank you for finding time to talk to me,' Adrian said, breaking the silence as they walked along the shore. Ashy was left in the tavern with a full table of different foods ("Thank you, truly, but I am not sure I will be able to eat that much even if I spend the whole day at the table") and Athelstan to keep her company while Adrian and Diane took some time to catch up.

'Of course,' Diane smiled. 'I am not exactly busy and I haven't seen you in years.'

Adrian sighed, 'I'm sorry.'

'About what?'

'That I haven't written to you all these years. It was not... very good of me,' he said and it was obvious he felt bad about it.

'That's alright. I understand,' Diane said. She might have been mad at him all those years ago but decades had passed for her since she last saw him and the disappointment faded. She had been sure she would never see him again and now that she did, she didn't wish to mull over the past. 'Life happens to all of us.'

'I just- I want you to know that I wanted to. But first I had no money for it. Do you know how much it costs to send a letter to Dragonstone from Lys? A fortune! And then the war for the Stepstones happened and apparently that new Lady of Dragonstone rubbed the Triarchy the wrong way so-' Adrian suddenly stopped as if only now processing what he said. 'Wait, that was you, wasn't it? The one who pissed off the Triarchy.'

'That was me, yes,' Diane let out a laugh. 'Not completely on my own but, according to my sources, my name is amongst the ones they curse regularly. I take pride in that, actually.'

'Wow,' Adrian muttered as they continued their stroll. 'But I suppose between the two of us you were always the one meant for great things.'

'Don't sell yourself short.'

'I don't. I have an amazing wife who loves me and I thank Gods for her every night but- other than that, I have achieved nothing.'

'What about that artistic school you went to Lys for?'

'Grand Academy of Arts. And no, it didn't work out. It took me two years to scramble enough money and actually get in and then I had to drop out halfway through my third year. I could not afford to stay and take care of Ashy- her condition worsened then, and she could not work, and someone had to put the food on our table- you know how that goes.'

'May I inquire about your wife's health? You know that I don't mean to prod but-'

'No, that's alright. We don't know what she has. No healer actually figured it out. But it's something all the women in her family had. Her mother, her grandmother, her aunts and cousins. She knew since she was a kid that she would probably get it too. She learned to live with it,' Adrian shrugged. 'Some days are better than others. She might seem the picture of health one day, and the next her heart would beat so fast as if she had just run a race, she would have a terrible headache and feel so weak she could barely get out of bed.'

'Makes it hard to keep a job.'

'Yes. She is an artist too, I met her during my first year in the academy. But her health made it hard to meet the deadlines and expectations- she decided to quit before she got expelled. Which is such a shame. She is truly an amazing artist. When she has the strength to work, she produces literal masterpieces. She is also brilliant at knitting clothes. Almost everything we wear she made herself.'

'Perhaps, you should allow one of our healers to examine her,' Diane offered. 'I don't promise a miraculous cure but you know as well as I do that healers here are better than anywhere else.'

'She made peace with her condition so she might not want to be poked and prodded again but- I'll talk to her. We came here, after all. Might as well use everything this place has to offer,' Adrian smiled.

'What exactly brought you here? As much as I am happy to see you, I am a little bit confused.'

'A man with a letter showed up at our doorstep one day. Offered me money for the travel if I agreed to come back to Dragonstone,' Adrian took the letter out of his pocket and handed it to Diane. 'Things were shit so I figured why the hell not? It was time to deem my life in Lys a failure and come back to my roots. Ashy wasn't that hard to persuade either. So we took the money, caught the ship to Dorne, and then found one that sails to Dragonstone.'

Diane smiled in disbelief as she skimmed through the letter. She knew the handwriting. And she could not believe he went to such lengths to reunite her with her childhood friend.

'But enough about me,' Adrian suddenly said. 'I want to know more about your life in recent years.'

'I would like to say that nothing happened but I would be lying,' Diane laughed and told him about how she claimed Silverwing, her involvement in the War for the Stepstones, how she got legitimized, the basics of her trip to Valyria (Adrian didn't believe her at first but then freaked out when he realized she was not kidding), the changes at Dragonstone and other things that came to mind.

'What about your love life? Are you married?' Adrian asked. 'It's only fair, I showed you my wife.'

Diane let out a laugh, 'I am not married but I have two sons. Aegon will turn six soon and Aemond's second birthday is just two months away.'

'Wow. I would love to meet your sons! If they are anything like you, I am sure we will hit it off.'

'They are a lot like me. But, sadly, they are not here right now. It's complicated,' Diane sighed. 'They are with their father in King's Landing. And my family is nearby so I know they are looked after. I fly to visit them as much as I can.'

'I'm sorry,' Adrian said.

'It's alright. I knew I wouldn't be able to take them with me when I came back to rule Dragonstone,' Diane shrugged. 'I wish I could be with them every day but I also know they are the happiest where they are right now. And their father updates me on their daily life with his letters.'

'May I ask who their father is? You can tell me to fuck off if you want.'

Diane laughed and raised the letter that she was still holding in her hand. It took Adrian a few seconds but he got the hint.

'Oh? The Hand of the King?!' he exclaimed.

'Yes.'

'Blimey, you do know how to pick them,' Adrian scratched the back of his head. 'He must love you quite a lot if he went to all this trouble of tracking me down. Not like I was hiding but I want to think I am not very obvious either.'

'Yeah, I think he does,' Diane smiled a little.

***

Otto tensed when the doors to his bedchambers suddenly opened right when he was changing clothes for the night. But as he saw the intruder, the tension changed into relief.

'I didn't expect you until next week,' Otto said with a small smile, as Diane closed the doors behind herself. She was wearing her dragon riding clothes which meant she most likely came to him straight from the Dragonpit.

'A small change of plans,' she smiled and approached him so she could kiss him. 'The boys are sleeping?'

'Yes. Took less than a chapter before both of them were out,' Otto answered and then asked, 'How many books about this little red fucker are there?'

Diane let out a laugh, 'I am not sure. Why?'

'He gets dumber and dumber the more I read.'

'Once again, dear, these are children's books. They are not meant to be a textbook for smart political and military moves.'

'I know that. However,' Otto pointed his index finger at her, making Diane smile. 'I still take issue with the author's plot development choices. Just because the books are meant for children, it does not mean they should be so unrealistic.'

'Animals talk in there.'

'That's the least unrealistic part.'

Diane laughed, 'Well, at least Aegon finds your commentary entertaining.'

'Are you hungry?' Otto asked. 'I have already eaten but I can request a plate to be made.'

'No, thank you. I had dinner with Adrian and his lovely wife this evening.'

After their stroll on the beach, Diane invited Adrian and Ashy to stay in the castle. They tried to decline, saying they did not wish to be a bother and they could find other accommodations, but Diane insisted. Adrian was her friend, after all, and the castle had a lot of spare rooms so they could stay there for as long as they needed to figure out what to do with themselves.

'Ah,' Otto made a sound, the corners of his lips tugging slightly upwards. 'Then I believe my efforts were not in vain.'

'Every time I think I have you figured out, you keep surprising me,' Diane said. 'Do you know how rare that is?'

'I feel like I shall remind you that this was precisely your demand for this-' Otto made a movement with his hand, pointing at both of them. '-to have a fighting chance.'

'Truthfully, I did not expect you would be able to achieve it.'

Otto made a face, 'Flattered.'

Diane let out a laugh and then asked, 'You want to hear that you are doing a good job?'

There was a small pause and then Otto said, '...yes.'

'You are doing an excellent job,' Diane praised, wrapping her hands around Otto's waist. 'Now, why don't you figure out how to take my clothes off, and then I'll show you how good I can be at rewarding a job well done.'

Otto looked over Diane's dragonriding clothes which definitely presented a more complicated task than just pulling a dress off her and said, 'I like challenges.'

***

Otto woke up with a ray of sunlight hitting him right in the eyes so his first awake thought was about the fact that he forgot to close the curtains the night prior. However, he then remembered what (or who) exactly disrupted [in the best sense of this word] his morning routine.

He was not the one to stay in bed long so as soon as he opened his eyes, he was ready to get up and start his day. And then he paused.

It only then occurred to Otto that, despite being with Diane for months now, he had never seen her sleeping before. If she stayed the night, they were either awake for the whole duration of it (resulting in Otto being absolutely miserable and sleep-deprived the next day but it was so worth it) or she was gone by the time he woke up. It did not really bother him because well, what's so special about just waking up next to someone? He had done it before. Nothing really special about it. Sometimes it even gets awkward when your morning routines clash.

Apparently, he was wrong again. Which was fine, he kind of got used to being wrong when it came to Dian,e and most of the time it was for the better. Because waking up next to her did feel special. To know that after he fell asleep, Diane chose to stay in his bed and spend the night made him so irrationally happy. Maybe he was just an enamored fool and it actually didn't mean anything significant but Otto supposed he was way past caring about such things.

She looked so beautiful, tangled in his sheets, hugging his pillow. Suddenly Otto wished he could wake up to such a sight every day for the rest of his life. But it was not that simple, never that simple with Diane, and Otto was smart enough to appreciate the uniqueness of it all and the fact that he was allowed to see her like that in the first place. So he didn't rush to start his day anymore, just laying there and watching Diane sleep.

However, the sun was relentless, and eventually, the room turned bright enough to make Diane stir. She turned from her stomach to her side, hiding her face in the pillow for a few moments, not quite awake yet, before she rolled more to her back, slowly opened her eyes, and caught him looking at her. 'Good morning,' she smiled before rubbing her eyes to wipe the remnants of her sleep away.

Otto wished to say the same but what he actually said was, 'You stayed.'

Diane turned to her side to fully face him, still smiling, and echoed, 'I stayed,' as if this change was as important to her as it was to him. At least, Otto liked to pretend they were on the same page. They most likely weren't but what was the harm in dreaming, right?

Diane probably thought he was looking at her funny because she giggled and pecked him on the lips before sitting up on the bed and taking most of his blanket with her. Her hair had grown quite a lot since she came back from Valyria and was way past her shoulders now. There was also a slight wave in it that Otto noticed recently. He was aware that it was a rather weird thing to pay attention to but he still noticed a change a month ago or so because of how straight Diane's hair used to be before.

'Do you wish to have breakfast?' Otto asked. 'I may order it here.'

Diane turned to look at him. 'Not worried your servants will notice you've been ordering for two lately?'

'They know better than to ask questions.'

'Then ask for something they can make fast. I have a lot to do today and Athelstan is about to get very confused about why I'm not in my rooms,' Diane said as Otto got up from the bed.

'You did not tell him you left?' Otto asked, throwing on his robe.

'It was a spontaneous decision,' Diane's smile turned just a little bit wicked.

Otto chuckled as he tied his robe, 'I quite enjoy your spontaneity.'

'Of course, you do.'

***

'You seem to be in a rather good mood lately,' Viserys pointed out. They were sitting in the King's bedchambers where Otto had come to talk about some day-to-day running-Seven-Kingdoms things that he, unfortunately, couldn't either decide on his own or was obliged to inform Viserys about.

Otto - who earlier that morning fucked Diane on his breakfast table instead of actually having breakfast with her and then quickly ate something that resembled a sandwich to get him by - raised an eyebrow. Perhaps, Viserys was right. He was in a good mood and couldn't give two shits about Viserys' wishes to run the Seven Kingdoms that might or might not have been politically stupid (while keeping an appearance that he cared very much, of course). Viserys could start a war with the Dornish again for all he cared. Otto would just go hide at Dragonstone (he was almost sure Diane would let him do that because if nothing else, he knew she believed he was good in bed and that had to count for something, right?).

'Perhaps, there is the reason for the change of your demeanor,' Viserys continued, obviously prodding for information.

'I wouldn't say so,' Otto answered, even though for a moment he entertained the thought of just telling Viserys that his former mistress chose the Hand over the King. And he fucked her way better than Viserys ever could.

But well, he wanted to keep his life and his position, so he provided the most unspecific answer he could come up with and kept his mouth shut about the rest.

Sadly, it did not satisfy Viserys who apparently had more desire to discuss Otto's personal life than the matters of the Seven Kingdoms so he said, 'I heard servants talking about you having a guest in your tower quite often.'

Otto was aware the rumors were going around. He was pretty sure Diane knew about them as well. But, as long as they weren't naming anyone or pointing fingers, they were not his problem. Surely he wasn't the only unmarried man in the castle to have an intimate relationship? According to Diane, Mellos had whores in his rooms all the time (that was an interesting piece of gossip that Otto wasn't sure what to do with but glad to have nonetheless). That was a rather mundane occurrence so Otto wasn't sure what prompted Viserys to be interested in it all of a sudden.

'Perhaps, there might be another Lady Hightower quite soon,' the King added with a smile that looked almost mischievous.

Otto wanted to leave. They were not that close. Of course, Otto advised Viserys on his marriage before (mostly by pushing Alicent in the King's direction) but that was because Viserys' marriage was a political decision and somewhat impactful to the well-being of the Seven Kingdoms. His love life, on the other hand, had nothing to do with it.

'I highly doubt that, Your Grace,' Otto decided to be vague instead of outright denying things because something told Otto that the King wouldn't be satisfied unless he got some details. 'Marriage is not on the table.'

'Why not? Surely it has been long enough since your first wife's passing.'

Otto pursed his lips, 'My late wife has nothing to do with it. It is simply... not that type of relationship.'

Viserys frowned, 'As a man of Faith, I do not believe you frequent whores so... oh, Otto, is she married?'

Otto gritted his teeth for a second before answering, 'Not to my knowledge. She is simply... not a woman who is looking for marriage.'

And she would never take a Hightower name, of course, but Otto decided not to say it because it might sound too specific.

'Huh,' the possibility of a woman not seeking marriage seemed to perplex Viserys. 'Well, you should be careful then. If your... connection comes to light, she won't have much choice in that matter. Or perhaps that is the very reason you should make it public,' the King joked, which made Otto unreasonably disgusted with him. He was not sure why exactly, considering that it was almost customary for royals and nobility to have very little choice in the picking of their spouses and it was almost an obligation for a man to marry a woman if he "ruined her", but to think that Viserys talked this way about Diane (even if unknowingly)... it made Otto's blood boil.

'I shall respect her wishes,' Otto answered, hoping he didn't sound as angry as he felt, and took a sip of his wine to refrain from saying anything else.

'Of course. That's for you to decide,' Viserys smiled as if they just had a rather nice chat.

While Otto for the first time in his life considered that he might actually hate the King.