House of The Dragon:The Rise of the Emperor of the Seven Kingdoms

Dorne, Sunspear – Old Palace.

Maekar looked out at the sandy city with a bored gaze; it had been a week, and the lords had still not arrived. It made him realize that the nobles were gathering and would come toward them like a wave.

He was not alone in the room; Clarisse was by his side, unexpectedly protecting him at every moment. She was even cautious around Mara, not even letting him drink anything that hadn’t been thoroughly checked for poison.

"Your uncle is a bit slow," Maekar commented with a smile, looking at Mara, who was wearing clothes that would not be considered decent for an unmarried woman. She wore a sleeveless white dress that covered the center of her breasts but left the edges exposed. The silk dress hugged her thin waist as it flowed down with a slit.

Clarisse looked at her with a hint of disapproval because of the clothes. Even in Dorne, it was not proper for an unmarried lady to dress so provocatively for a man who was betrothed.

Mara let out a graceful laugh and spoke in a lazy tone. "He’s not slow, but Jorah is very good. He checks our meals and drinks, not letting any assassin get close or even plant poison."

She looked at Clarisse and found the woman’s look somewhat adorable. However, looking at Maekar, who seemed impassive despite what she was wearing, a trace of resentment flashed in her eyes. It would be a lie to say she wasn’t tempted by such a handsome young man.

Unfortunately, regardless of how she dressed or acted, he had no eyes for her. It made her wonder if she lacked enough charm to win over this dragon prince.

Maekar certainly knew he was being seduced and, like any man, was happy to be the target of a beautiful woman like Mara’s seduction, but he was not a man who thought with his groin. Gael trusted him so much; he didn’t want to betray her trust.

"Clarisse also won’t let me have anything that hasn’t been tasted or eaten first; she’s more worried than I am," Maekar commented with a laugh, looking at the woman beside him with an amused gaze.

Clarisse merely rolled her eyes and did not respond to Maekar’s teasing; she had discovered that the prince liked to take many risks. This was Dorne; he shouldn’t even think about eating or drinking without any concern.

Mara also smiled and thought they looked like a mother protecting her son, which was rather funny.

Suddenly, the window beside them exploded into large shards of glass that flew everywhere. An arrow flew toward Mara, who was on the sofa across from Maekar’s. The girl didn’t even have time to react before the arrow hit her shoulder.

A painful groan escaped Mara’s lips as the arrow pierced her shoulder.

Clarisse reacted in the next instant; she rushed toward the window, using her own body to block the field of vision of whoever was outside.

Meanwhile, Maekar went toward Mara. Seeing the arrow in her shoulder, he knelt beside her and quickly checked the wound. After hesitating for a moment, he looked at Mara and spoke in a calm tone. "I’m going to count to three and pull the arrow out; we need to know if it’s poisoned."

Mara clenched her teeth and nodded.

"One, two..." As Maekar said "two," he yanked the arrow out with a swift motion.

Mara looked at Maekar with a wronged expression and breathed heavily.

Maekar looked at the tip of the arrow; surprisingly, there was poison. However, checking Mara’s wound again, he found that the poison was not as potent as expected.

"There’s poison on the arrow tip," Maekar said; his expression was solemn.

Meanwhile, the sound of clashing metal echoed in the room. Maekar looked quickly and saw Clarisse fighting a man in black robes, holding two daggers. He was likely the assassin who had shot the arrow.

Mara pointed to the beautiful wooden cabinet and said, "There are poisons and antidotes inside the left drawer; smell the poison on the arrow and take the antidote across from the poison with a similar smell."

Knowing how Dorne was, how could the princes and princesses of Dorne be unprepared for something like this? All the poisons in Dorne and even some from Essos were inside that cabinet, such as the famous and rare Tears of Lys.

Maekar found the drawer and was dazzled by the amount of poison before him, but he set those thoughts aside and quickly smelled the poison on the arrow tip and began smelling poison after poison.

Honestly, it wasn’t a good idea, as many smelled very bad, like rotten fish or a very cloying sweet scent. Finally, in the fourteenth vial, he caught a similar scent, took the antidote, and rushed back to Mara.

He opened the vial and poured it into Mara’s mouth, and she swallowed without a second thought. Her large, black eyes stared at Maekar with a bright gaze. She felt that this man grew more handsome the closer she looked.

"Stop thinking about that right now." Maekar, seeing her expression, couldn’t help but rebuke the young woman with a cold look.

"If Clarisse cannot handle a mere assassin, she can give up the title of Sword of the Morning." Mara did not get angry and spoke with a smile, even with her shoulder bleeding.

Maekar rolled his eyes and staunched the bleeding with several silk cloths. Even at that moment, Mara was still trying to seduce him. He didn’t know if the girl had some problem or if she had confidence in Clarisse’s skills.

Suddenly, screams began to sound throughout the castle, making Mara’s face change drastically. She couldn’t believe her uncle would actually dare to invade the Old Palace so arrogantly.

"Princess, do not leave the room!!!" Jorah’s voice sounded from outside the room as the sound of metal reverberated through every corner of the castle. "Get into defensive formation and be careful; there is poison on the assassins’ blades!!!"

"It seems I was mistaken; your uncle is very bold," Maekar commented in a calm tone, but there was a hint of curiosity in his gaze. "I really want to know how he’s going to convince the lords of Dorne."

"I think I know what he’s thinking." Leaning against Maekar’s chest, Mara said with a smile. "He’ll blame you and say he invaded the castle to avenge me."

Maekar resolutely pulled away, making Mara pout in dissatisfaction at his attitude.

"But if he fails, he’ll still be to blame," Maekar said with a confused look. This was a truly risky assassination. If it failed, all the blame would fall on Mors himself.

"Do not underestimate how much the nobles dislike me; they’ll probably blame some group of sand thieves," Mara said in a cold tone.

Maekar was speechless, but it showed how unpopular Mara was. No wonder she died before the Great Council. Even when her own castle was invaded, the nobles just closed their eyes and pretended they saw nothing.

Honestly, it was one of the worst reigns Dorne had ever seen. But that wasn’t Mara’s fault either. Throughout her life, the girl had never left the castle, let alone actually ruled. In comparison, the regent had acted until her adulthood and created a network of interests between the nobles and himself.

In the end, Mara was Princess of Dorne and Lady of Sunspear in name only; she had nothing but a handful of guards and nothing more.

"However, I will take revenge on Mors tenfold. I’ll make him wish he had never left his mother’s filthy, cavernous womb," Mara said in a chilling tone, full of coldness and murderous intent.

"I’ll help you; after all, we’re accomplices," Maekar said with a smile.

"I wish we were more than just accomplices," Mara murmured loudly enough for Maekar to hear, but he chose to pretend he hadn’t heard a thing.

Seeing this, Mara showed a somewhat disappointed look. Was she so ugly, or was it because she was no longer a virgin maiden? However, she had slept with only one man in her life, and it was only once.

Wearing a resentful look, Mara showed an unsatisfied expression and turned her head, not wanting to look at Maekar’s handsome face again.

---------

Read the advanced Chapters on my Patreon!

/GOTSW

Read my other books:

House of The Dragon:The Rise of the Emperor of the Seven Kingdoms

Game Of Thrones: The God-Emperor of Planetos

Percy Jackson: Godwyn the Golden.

Game Of Thrones: The King’s Court Wizard