27 A Rift between Viper and Fox

"The last couple of days were quite exciting, Victor. First, I furiously destroyed everything I could. I didn't stop until everything I could move was gone and my hands were bleeding. Once my body couldn't move anymore, I started using my mouth. I tirelessly threw every curse I could think on you. Your guards are quite loyal to you. I could feel their killing intent growing by the second. But nothing changed the fact that I was trapped with myself and the choice I would make." Oberyn said self depreciatingly.

Victor was not surprised as everything Oberyn said and did was told to him by his guardians. He didn't expect any other reaction from the Red Viper to be honest.

"I know I put you in a tough spot. It is regrettable how things turned out to be this way. But I needed clarity for the future. Even though it is unfair to you to push for a quick decision." Victor explained seemingly without much emotion.

"After venting my anger, I started to think about the two options in my mind. Bow my head to you and have you protect Elia and maybe gain peace of mind and a lot of benefits for House Martell or go back to Dorne and take care of Elia myself, now that I know she will be in danger. This will also put a strain to our relationship, which believe it or not, I value very much. Not for the benefits I got, but for what I believe was your sincerity to our friendship." Oberyn said with a shaking voice. 

"A hard decision, my friend. Before you tell me your choice, I want to let you know that I reflected on myself too. Maybe I was a little too controlling in the past. Maybe this deadline was not appropriate. But what is done is done, I can't take my words back." A little relief could be seen in Victors eyes, as the pressure of being in full control of the World of Game of Thrones was slowly fading. He seemed to realize that there was no way he could control everyone to do just what he wanted and that whenever he would try to gain something there could be a risk of failure. And that even if he failed in the future, it wouldn't be the end of the world. He sighed as he concluded that he could have just gone on with his plans without full control over Oberyn and took a risk of failure in the future. Even if the little chance of House Martell and Oberyn betraying him happened, he could've just started again if the foundation in Lys was preserved. But there is sadly no medicine for regret in this world.

"I am glad that you come to this conclusion, this makes it a little easier to tell you that I have to decline your offer. Even if I could swallow my breath and suck it up for the sake of my sister our relationship would forever be strained by the fact that you would always be in control of me. This is not what either of us should strive for, little fox of Lys. But I understand. As a little genius that went without failure for most of your short life you look down on other people. Deep in your heart you insist your opinion is the best choice and you would like to control all your plans with 100% precision. But life doesn't work that way. Humans have emotions and the harder you want to control them the harder they will lash back at you, Victor. If you were a grown man and you put this offer in my face, I would go back to Dorne and start attacking House Di Natale as soon as I could, I really mean it. As a proud Dornish I felt deeply insulted, Victor. But I know you are still just a kid; you are a proud son of heaven and deep down you value our friendship, and you didn't mean to insult me. I even feel a little touched when I think about it. Because no matter the way you approached it, in the end you wanted to save the life my sister Elia, because you think a future is likely to happen where she will be put in extreme danger." Oberyn kept explaining to Victor and maybe himself absendmindedly, while staring into the ocean. His tone grew a little louder as he continued.

"But I can't accept it. But not only because I am too proud to bow my head, but because Dorne is too proud to bow. We didn't bow to the dragons of House Targaryen, and we will for sure not bow down to a five-year-old child. If I dared to leave my family only because there could be a chance my sister would die in the future and bow my head to a little noble house of Lys, the least of my problems would be the future of Elia. All Dornish would disdain House Martell for this, and my mother and older brother would face a crisis of leadership. My sister would fall down from one of the most desired women of Westeros to an outcast."

Victor was quite overwhelmed by everything he heard. Since coming into this world, he looked down on many people, just because he knew their future. But this world is not static, not a game. And the people are not game characters which you can control with just your wishes. This is a world with many extremely smart characters, a world of very complicated political interest groups and certainly a world where family honor is supreme. In hindsight it was a terrible decision to ask Oberyn to leave his family.

Victor was looking up at the only friend he had in this world, who was in a very bad physical and mental situation. He tried finding the right words to say, but it was extremely difficult for him.