Banquet
Theon POV
Word has reached that the Lannisters and the Tyrells have sent more than fifty thousand men to the Riverlands. At least, that is what the Martells have told me. Oberyn had asked me to meet with Doran in his solar. I wasn't busy, as I had left others to make sure to sell our treasure. I wanted to empty my ships of unnecessary things before going for Essos.
Even without Doran's wish to find Daenerys Targaryen, I might have still gone to Astapor. I wanted unsullied. A few thousand of them could bring me many victories. Leaving them to protect the castles and my lands would reassure me. With the gold I got from the looting, buying them wouldn't be a problem.
When I arrived at Doran's solar, there was a massive map of the Seven Kingdoms with wooden figurines on top of it. Doran was so focused on it that it took Oberyn to call him three times for him to turn to us. I sat before him, and Oberyn brought a wine bottle and set it on the table with cups.
"Theon, what do you think of it?" Doran asked.
"Of what?"
"About fifty thousand are coming from the Westerlands. Another fifty thousand are coming from King's Landing. No matter how I look, it seems Stannis is trapped and cornered," Oberyn replied.
"How many Stannis have? Sixty to seventy thousand?" I asked.
"Close to seventy thousand with the Riverlands and the Vale forces joining him," Doran answered. "Maybe more. We still don't know how many able men are in the Riverlands."
"Then Stannis will not lose," I said. "On one hand, it was a mistake for them to divide their army. On the other hand, if they didn't do that, Stannis could move from Riverlands to the Westerlands or the Crownlands."
"Stannis has two options," Doran said. "Defend the Riverlands from both hosts, or strike one with all his might and break it."
"You could give him another option," I said. "Dorne could attack the Reach while their forces are in the north and the western shore, forcing part of their armies to return and give Stannis breathing room. Or strike the Stormlands, and force Stannis to break into the Crownlands and return home."
"Indeed, we hold the most power, not even entering the war," Oberyn agreed.
"But you will not do it. For you have the same problem as me," I looked at Doran. "We do not have men to spare. While one or two thousand loss means nothing to the other kingdoms, to us, it is a big loss."
"At most, I could gather twenty thousand," Doran said. "Losing one battle would be too much for my kingdom."
"But if you let them fight out on themselves, you will lose a chance to do anything," I wanted to probe Doran on what he was truly planning. "Will you serve Stannis or the Lannisters, or maybe you will aim for independence?"
"Neither. When you bring our queen, we will fight for her," Doran replied.
"If I bring her," I responded. "She might already be dead. Or I won't be able to find her. What will you do then?"
"We shall see when that happens," Doran replied. "I think I held you for long enough, my daughter has returned, and we will hold a banquet to welcome you to Dorne officially."
"Can't wait," I smiled. "I have to prepare a gift for you then."
I was annoyed that I couldn't get anything from Doran about his grand plan. Instead, I felt like he tried to test me. The banquet was just an excuse to get to my men to talk. I knew how carefully people like Doran did things. They would get every information they could find about someone before trusting them.
That was fine with me. I didn't care what they thought about the Ironborn or me. My job will be done as long as I can get them to work with us. Maybe I made a mistake proposing to marry Arianne. I had no intention of doing so. I planned to bargain with Doran for one of his sons to marry my sister, but I didn't expect him to agree so fast.
But maybe it was better. I knew why he insisted on his firstborn son and brother sailing with me to find Daenerys Targaryen. It worked in my favor. They would not suspect me that I might try to woe the Queen. If I had her, I would have a justification for taking the Iron Throne. The Ironborn wouldn't disagree with me if I were a consort of the Queen, and even Robb might agree to bend the knee on my request.
It was the best plan I could think of now. If Stannis and Lannisters fight it out to the end, both will be too weak to attack the Iron Islands and the North and if I get Doran to marry one of his sons to Asha, I will have three kingdoms on my side. I don't think the Vale cared who sat on the Iron Throne as long as it wasn't a Lannister.
The Riverlands will follow the winner. The Reach has no reason to fight to the death with a Targaryen on the Iron Throne. The Westerlands will be mine either way. The only one who could give me trouble to the end would be the Stormlands. Either way, if I get Daenerys to agree with my proposal, I will have the endgame with which my people can agree.
…
As the night fell, I was preparing for the banquet. Only now did I find out that I had no silk or velvet clothes, only ones made of linen and leather. They weren't the prettiest ones, but ultimately, I put on my darkest clothes as I didn't care about it to overthink. My Greycloaks, too, dressed as nicely as they could. Yet I was the only one who wasn't bothered by the heat.
After taking Martyn Lannister and Alysanne Lefford with me, I left for the banquet. One of the guards Doran sent to us led the way. Once we reached the great hall of Sunspear, I found it filled with people. Lords and ladies from various regions have gathered there. Music played in the background, and delicacies and wine were given out.
Eyes turned towards me as the herald announced my arrival. I heard whispers about me from every corner. I told my companions to go and enjoy themselves while I took Martyn Lannister to prince Doran. Seeing my action, the hall quieted down, and everyone looked at us. I just smiled and bowed to the prince and his family.
"Prince Doran Martell," I greeted him first. "I present you Martyn Lannister, son of ser Kevan Lannister. I hope you will take good care of him."
It was a great gift that solidified them to be the enemy of the Lannister. The news will spread fast, and the Lannisters will know about it. It was not like Doran Martell could refuse my gift, either. I could see from his uneasy smile that I had gotten him this time. I just loved messing with people and cornering them.
"Daemon Sand," Doran called, and a young man with blue eyes and sandy brown hair came. "You will take the boy as your squire. Make sure to take good care of him."
I almost laughed at Doran's decision. Making a Lannister a squire of a bastard was a pretty good insult for them. After this little ordeal, the banquet continued with lords and ladies coming to talk with me. Fowler's sisters were upon Alysanne, not letting her leave them. The rest of my men were busy talking with other lords or drinking and eating.
"King Theon Greyjoy," A woman with long black hair, large dark eyes, and olive skin came to me. "I hope you like the wine my father has prepared."
"I am enjoying it well," It tasted like water to me. "You must be the princess I heard so much about, Arianne Martell?"
"I hope you only heard good things," She replied, touching my shoulder. "Shall we dance?"
"Your wish is my command," I agreed, holding her by her bare shoulder and back. "And I heard many things, and the rumors of your beauty seemed not to be untrue."
"You have a sweet tongue, my king," She smiled at me.
"I hope it is to your taste," I wasn't shy in touching her, and she didn't seem to hate it.
"We can find it out later," Her smile was even sweeter than I expected. "I heard so much about your feats in battles. Songs and legends are already being written about you."
"It may be so," I replied.
"O King of Iron Islands, will you tell me about these battles?" She asked.
"I wouldn't want to ruin your wine with such gruesome stories," I said. "Let the singers tell the tale. Their songs will be sweeter than my words."
"I heard you be a most savage man in the Seven Kingdoms. It seems that was a lie," She said as the song ended with our dance. "How about you tell me about yourself later in my chambers, o King of the Iron Islands."
Arianne left me just as Oberyn walked up to me. He offered me a cup of wine, and I looked around, finding my men getting drunk progressively. I understood their tactic, get my men drunk and let them let down their guard to get as much information as they could give. Knowing this, I wasn't surprised that I always had a cup of wine in my hand.
"I hope you were enjoying yourself, King Theon," Oberyn said.
"I was," I replied.
"That's good then," He responded with a smile. "Have you decided when we are going to leave for Essos?"
"As soon as possible. I am a king and have responsibilities to attend to, so I can't be gone for long," I replied, even though I knew that even without me, Asha could take care of the Iron Islands by herself.
"Have you thought about the first destination?"
"Astapor," I answered him.
"Any particular reason why you chose the slaver's city?"
"To my knowledge, the last news about our little queen came from the Dothraki Sea and Red Waste. Astapor should have more information if she is still alive, and I have some business there anyway."
"I can't disagree," Oberyn replied. "I hope us coming with you doesn't bother you."
"The more, the merrier," I said. "Aside from you and Quentyn, your daughters are quite beautiful, and they should keep me good company on the long journey."
"Thank you for your compliment, and I am sure they are delighted to sail with the famous Black King," I thought that I at least get some reaction from him, but he didn't seem as hot-blooded as rumors would say.
"Just don't blame me if we don't find anything," I said.
"I am sure we will be able to find her sooner rather than later," Oberyn said. "Well, I will not get in your way of knowing your future wife better."
Sometimes it was hard to read the Martells, but at least I could say they were not fools. They looked close to each other and had some trust between them. It was time to learn more about them while pretending to be drunk and spilling my plans to the princess. I am sure that once I enter her chambers, she will try to have me wrapped over her finger.
At least I could enjoy it while it lasted. I have no problems telling her some things; no matter how well she holds a drink, she cannot beat me. I only needed her to confirm some things and for her to tell me how much power Dorne held. I didn't believe even for a second that twenty thousand were as much as this kingdom could have. Knowing Oberyn's connections with the sellsword companies, I am sure they can get thousands, if not tens of thousands, more men from Essos.
A.N. As always, If you want more, up to five advanced chapters, you can support me on pa treon. com \ ironwolf852