Tournament of Crowns: Gods Among Titans

Twelve

...It was the name of my own father! My own flesh and blood! Part of me knew that my father would go this far, threatening me with murder and conquest. He's done it in the past...but for him to threaten me like this? With a terrible, ill-written letter!? Now, that crossed the line.

"Oh my Seven!" I said after clasping my hand over my mouth.

A switch flipped inside Oberyn, and his attention immediately turned to me. "What is it?" he asked.

I showed him the letter. "It's this letter," I answered.

He grabbed the letter from my hand and read it thoroughly:

My Defiant and Headstrong Daughter,

I have deeply grown tired of your insolence toward me, especially considering your involvement with Oberyn Martell, the most feared man in all of Westeros. Do you know that your life is in danger? Apparently, you don't. You conceited, naive brat.

I understand that your precious little prince won the duel and killed my highest-ranked general, which means that you survive...for now.

So I suggest that you travel back to the Iron Islands this instant to face your inner demons before I spill your blood on Dorne's burning ground. I will formally declare war on your precious prince and his kingdom if it means that I get what I want...and what I want is to make you regret all the terrible decisions you've made.

I hope you come to your senses and allow us to take the necessary steps forward in repairing our relationship.

Sincerely, Your Father,

King Brandeth Sparr

Oberyn's brows furrowed, his rage boiling to an ultimate point of no return. I could tell that he was furious. Not with me, but with my father. How could he do such a thing? Even though I didn't know what was running through Oberyn's head, I managed to understand one of these racing thoughts...This nightmarish bastard definitely crossed the line this time.

"This motherfucker," he snarled. "I can't believe he would do something like this."

"I can't believe it either," I responded. "Deep down, I knew something bad would happen on his own accord, but I didn't think he'd go this far."

He sighed, massaging the front of his forehead with his fingers. "It was only a matter of time before this situation got this far out of hand. Now, we don't have a choice."

"What choice?" I questioned.

"We have no choice but to fight back. Your father crossed the line, and we're going to show him that he did," Oberyn answered. "We have to fight back ten times harder."

"You mean, fight fire with fire?" I pondered.

He smiled and tightened his grasp on my hand, shaking it violently out of excitement. "Exactly! We're going to give your father what he deserves. I'll bet my goddamn life on it."

Silence loomed over the both of us as the realization of impending war became more evident with every passing moment. It scared me, but there was no way that I could suppress it. This war was coming one way or another, and there was no stopping its arrival.

"So what's the next step?" I asked, glancing over to a pondering Oberyn. "What do we do about him now?"

He met my gaze almost instantly. "We prepare to fight back."

Oberyn then immediately rose to his feet, having a sense of purpose that burst inside him. "Come," he said in a low, commanding voice.

Afraid of his low tone, I quickly rose to my feet and hastily followed him. I didn't know where we were going. I was pinning my sense of direction onto Oberyn, who seemed quite sure about our destination.