AN :
The story needs more power stones...
In the Game of Stones, you either win or you wait. The more Power Stones you offer, the faster the chapters come.
...
( Elia Martell POV )
The many colored glass panes of the Sun Tower's golden dome cast the Dorneish throneroom in a medley of intricate interlocking patterns. The light filtering through the stained glass moving and blending and competing just like the subjects of the kingdom. This afternoon though, the metaphor held no meaning for Elia. Only her mother mattered, sitting on the Sun Throne, looking pale, tired, and exhausted, but out of her bed.
She gave a weak smile to Elia as she entered the chamber.
"Mother!" Elia rushed forward, uncaring of courtly etiquette or tact. She embraced her mother, gaunt and cold, as she leaned over the throne, her mother laughing gently in turn, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Elia." Her mother's slender fingers traced down her back. "Darling girl, I'm so glad you're here."
Elia gasped at the feeling of her mother's body, so frail it felt as if she might blow away in the wind. She stepped back slightly in shock. "Mother…" Her cheer felt unnatural, unnerving. She looked far worse than she had before, so how was she so happy?
"Why aren't you in bed mother?" Doran asked her question before Elia could form the words, walking up behind her and to the side. "Oberyn told me-"
"I may sit on my throne when I want to Doran." Their mother's voice was quiet but chiding as she looked at the two of them, smiling slightly. "It isn't yours yet to order me about." She leaned back, closing her eyes. "I hope your journey treated both of you well." She said kindly, and Elia could only since.
"I…" she started, only to be cut off by her brother.
"Everything went well Mother," Doran said, stepping forward and taking their mother's hand gently in his. "We had a lovely time, I established myself before the court, and Elia and young Callum restated their betrothal." Her brother glossed over all of Elia's flaws as if they had never happened, and she was taken aback, looking at him in shock, though he just kept going. "In fact, we brought Young Callum back with us to stay for six months."
"Oh…" their mother blinked for a moment, and Elia grimaced when she realized that her eyes were bloodshot. "I… that's Joanna's child yes, sweet Joanna. Oh, I would very much like to meet him."
Elia felt a shiver run up her spine as her mother spoke. She had met Callum not two years ago and talked with him avidly. Her mother surely ought to remember him. Then…
She glanced over at Doran, and he nodded gravely.
"I will- I'll bring him in in a moment Mother," Elia said hurriedly, trying to keep the panic out of her voice. "Is there anything else I can… I can bring you?"
"Hmm, No no, I'll just talk to Doran for a moment." Her mother smiled brightly but it looked wrong with how gaunt her eyes were. "Go on now."
Elia hurried towards the door, not sure she could bear to look at her mother a moment longer. That pillar of strength she'd known through her life, she looked so frail now, so vulnerable, and so unnervingly lively for all that her arms seemed thin as twigs and her face was sunken and gaunt. It was all she could do to keep the tears from her eyes before she left the throne room.
Oberyn waited across the threshold, looking exhausted and grim.
"You've seen Mother then," he asked, a frown deep-set on his face. Elia reached for his shoulder.
"What's going on Oberyn?" Elia asked hurriedly. "Why is Mother like that? What's happened to her?"
Oberyn sighed, scratching his chin and shaking his head before his dark eyes met Elia's. "She's to die soon Elia." her brother said quietly. "The Maesters say it could be any day now, Her body is wasting away under her skin." He sighed. "The pain is terrible, so she's had more milk of the poppy than they'll give to anyone they expect to live through it. That's why she's in such good spirits. She's not all there." Oberyn had a haunted look in his eyes that didn't suit her little brother's face. She felt her heart sink as she pulled him into a hug.
"Oh, Oberyn," she whispered gently. "It must have been terrible for you."
She felt her brother freeze in her arms, then sag as his arms wrapped around her back. "I've… I've had better days, Elia, I won't lie," he said quietly, and they just stood there with each other for a long time. "It's hard seeing her like this."
Elia looked up into her brother's eyes. 'It must have been even worse seeing her get here.' she thought, feeling like the whole world was slipping away beneath her, like a sand dune collapsing underfoot. "We'll get through this," she said, as much to herself as to him. "I know we will."
"Oh, we will," Oberyn said, sounding a bit more confident than Elia felt as he pulled back from her embrace. "I've had time to resolve myself to it," he said quietly, and she felt all the worse for leaving him here alone.
Elia placed her forehead onto her palm and let her tears run free for a moment, sobbing slightly as she leaned against the stone wall. "She's… she's really going to be gone soon…" Elia couldn't remember a time in her life when her mother hadn't been there, save for her recent trip with Doran, and that had been a disaster. She'd been trying to avoid thinking about Mother, what with everything else going on but… "I… what will we do Oberyn?"
"Well, Doran will take the throne, and I assume we'll carry on as before, only more sad," Oberyn said, his voice gentle, but his words cruel. Not malicious, but cruel in their truth, Elia could see.
"It wasn't like this when Father died…" Elia said, rubbing at her eyes. Their father had been killed in a hunting accident when Elia was only six. She could remember crying, but not this soul-crushing anguish.
"Father's death was quick, and we didn't understand what it meant yet, not really," Oberyn replied. "It's worse to see her wasting away like this."
"Yes…" Elia could only agree, and the silence hung between them for a while longer. Eventually, Elia gathered her wits, and the tears dried up, she pushed herself off of the wall and looked towards Oberyn again. "She said… well it seemed like she wanted to see Callum, but I don't know if… do you think it's alright if he sees her like this?" Elia asked, looking down.
"Since when do you ask me for advice on things like that?" Oberyn tilted his head, sounding a bit surprised, and Elia rubbed at her forearm in embarrassment.
"Since I… well I made a bit of a mess of things in King's Landing. You can ask Doran." she silenced his question with a glare, though her gaze soon returned to the floor. "With this mess… I don't think I trust myself to be sensible. I don't want to make things worse."
Oberyn seemed taken aback by that, but after a moment he shook his head. "Callum has already lost his mother yes? I don't think… well, I think it might be good for her to meet him, and I doubt he will be upset."
Elia nodded. "I'll go fetch him then." they had left him in the entry hall while they went to see their mother, and she walked quickly across the palace to get him. She found him scribbling in one of those books of papers he often carried around.
The boy glanced up as he heard her coming, green eyes peaking from beneath blond locks. "Princess Elia, is something wrong?" Callum asked. "You look distressed."
Elia frowned and wiped her sleeve across her face, shaking her head. "I'm fine Callum, it's only that my mother is not in good condition." she sighed, "Still, she said she wanted to see you since you're here."
"Oh… alright then." He nodded and stood up, putting his papers into the leather bag he carried and nodding to her. "Lead on."
Elia gave him a short nod and turned away from him, keeping herself quiet as she led him back the way she had come. They went up the stairs and down the gilded hallway, past statues of her ancestors, Rhoynish and Martell alike, until they turned into the entryway of the throne room, and Elia caught her breath as she saw Doran helping Mother walk along, his arm entwined with hers.
"Ah, Elia dear." Her mother gave her a smile, gaunt and thin as she staggered along slowly. "Your brother is just taking me- taking me to dinner, even though I'm not hungry, the silly boy."
"You still need to eat Mother." Doran's voice was calm, but Elia thought his facade was like glass, cracking and near to breaking as he held her along. It was as hard on him as it was on her and Oberyn, each in their own way.
"Oh nonsense, It's you who needs to eat more you skinny boy." her mother laughed, but the sound was raspy, and Elia saw through the fabric of her dress that her torso was as thin as her arms. Elia could feel her stomach doing somersaults in her chest as her mother approached.
"I… Mother I brought Callum to see you, Lady Joanna's son."
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