Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken

Chapter Seven: The Wedding of the Red Viper

"You look beautiful my lady," Herit whispered as she finished helping Amara get ready for her impending wedding, it seemed like all the hard work of the past couple of weeks had been worth it to see her friend like this. 

There was no denying that today Amara would be the most beautiful woman in Dorne; they had been up since before dawn preparing her for the day ahead. 

Every inch of her had been washed and scrubbed in preparation for what was to come that day; there had been nothing left to chance and Amara hadn't had a moment to herself at all. 

No matter what she was doing, there was someone with her making sure that everything was in order for the wedding that was the talk of Dorne by this point. 

Now staring at herself in the mirror, Amara felt sick as she realised that there was no going back; she would be a married woman soon and she didn't feel as prepared as she should. 

Eyeing herself in the mirror for a moment longer, Amara couldn't help but think of her parents and the marriage that they had shared; she wanted what they had and she feared that she might not have it. 

It might have been true that Oberyn had been far more present in planning of their wedding and they had shared several walks in the garden since her new guards had been assigned to her. 

"It's nearly time my lady... we shouldn't delay," Lady Iset said, she was one of Amara's newer ladies and already the woman could see that the younger woman was standing out. 

She wasn't like the other ladies that had been assigned to her, she didn't seem like she was here to spy on Amara for anyone. 

It gave Amara hope that she would have another to trust in time, she wasn't foolish to completely trust when things around her were still changing with every step that she made.

Amara nodded her head as she turned to face the rest of the room, her eyes sweeping each of them knowing that after today things would change for them all; they would no longer be serving a lady but a Princess of Dorne. 

Herit was the first to move, they could not delay and it simply wouldn't do for Amara to be late for her wedding especially as it would be keeping the royals waiting. 

She might become a Princess today but she wasn't one yet and Herit was determined to make sure that Amara was every inch a Princess of her wedding day. 

Amara watched as her ladies left the room ahead of her, the corridors would be empty as she made her way down to the throne room and for the first time she would greet Oberyn without a veil covering her face. 

Offering a glance into the mirror behind her, Amara wished that her parents could be here to see her married; she wondered how they would have felt to see her marry a Prince. 

Instead she was here alone, her brother would not come to give her away instead he would throw a celebration in Fairmarsh to celebrate the fact that he was now related to the royal family. 

Amara stared at herself for a moment longer before she walked out of her bed chambers; the next time that she entered them she would be a married woman along with her husband. 

Walking down the corridors, Amara held her head high as she went not wanting to show any weakness when she entered the throne room for her wedding; there were no doubts in her mind that people would be watching her closely. 

Un-noticed by Amara, a man stood just out of sight watching her as she walked towards the throne room; there was no doubt in his mind that Amara was the most beautiful woman that he had ever seen.

***

Staring at Oberyn from her place next to her father, Ellaria couldn't help but mourn the fact that things would never be the same from this moment forward; she knew that if she wasn't careful then she would lose him. 

It only made Ellaria more grateful that today her father was by her side, she didn't think she could stand here and watch the man that she loved marry another. 

Of course, she hadn't originally been on the guest list for the wedding since she was Oberyn's paramour and they wouldn't want the bride being upset on her wedding. 

Lord Harmen Uller, Lord of Hellholt had not been pleased when he had heard that Oberyn would be marrying another woman especially after he had spent years with Ellaria and fathered her four children. 

The entire hall turned as the doors to the throne room opened and slowly Amara's ladies walked down the aisle ahead of her; each looking lovely in the dresses that they wore. 

Ellaria glanced to one of the ladies that was in Amara's service, she had planted the woman there in hopes of finding a way to bring down her rival but nothing had worked. 

It seemed that Amara wasn't as stupid as Ellaria had hoped for, it had come as a surprised that the only lady that Amara trusted was Herit and she only spoke to her in private about her thoughts. 

Finally Amara was revealed and Ellaria felt her stomach drop slightly, this was not what she had been expecting from her rival and she couldn't deny that the younger woman was as beautiful as she had feared. 

Turning to look at Oberyn, Ellaria felt tears fill her eyes at the look of awe on his face as he stared down the aisle at the woman who would be his wife in a matter of moments.

"She's rather boring to look at," Lord Harmen muttered to his brother, his eyes watching the woman that had stolen away what was rightfully his daughter's future; he had no idea what Doran had been thinking to agree to this match. 

Ser Ulwyck Uller snorted, he knew his brother had been upset with the turn of events but even Ulwyck had known that Oberyn would never marry Ellaria. 

He had everything that he had wanted from her and she had never pushed for more when she had first fallen pregnant with Elia; it would have been the perfect time to demand a marriage from the prince. 

Now they were watching him marry another woman and there was nothing that they could do about it now; they would just have to deal with what they had. 

Oberyn couldn't take his eyes off Amara, this certainly hadn't been what he had expected when he had imagined her walking down the aisle to greet him. 

A part of him had thought that she would wear a veil to cover her face until the last moment; how he wasn't entirely sure what to make of the woman that was to be his wife. 

"My Prince," Amara greeted with a smile as she finally reached Oberyn's side, her eyes watching his face intently a little pleased that he hadn't been able to take his eyes off her as she walked down the aisle. 

Oberyn tried to recover his mask, suddenly very aware that he had been staring at Amara; he was doubtful that his acts had been ignored. 

Turning to face the Septon, Oberyn couldn't help but feel a burning glare at his back and he very much doubted that it would end anytime soon. 

It had surprised him that Doran had invited Ellaria's father and uncle, even if House Uller was one of House Martell's most powerful vassals; they hadn't taken the news that Oberyn was to marry Amara well. 

No matter what happened in the next few minutes there was no denying that Amara was his wife and he was going to have to deal with that until his dying day.