FLFirst Lannister soldier
You lost, friend?
Forgive me for staring...I don't see many Lannisters where I'm from.
FLFirst Lannister soldier
I don't see many Dornishmen in the capital.
Ellaria SandCome with me, lover.
SLSecond Lannister soldier
Gods, look at this one!
OOlyvar
Sirs, if you follow me I'll arrange for a private room-
SLSecond Lannister soldier
Why are you wasting a woman like this on a Dornishman? Bring him a shaved goat and a bottle of olive oil!
[Oberyn smiles and steps forward as Ellaria watches.]
Do you know why all the world hates a Lannister? You think your gold and your lions, and your gold lions make you better than everyone. May I tell you a secret? You're not a golden lion. You're just a pink little man who's far too slow on the draw.
[After a long beat, the second soldier makes a grab for his sword, but Oberyn instantly rams a dagger through his wrist, skewering his arm to the table, making the soldier scream in agony.]
Long sword is a bad option in close quarters. When I pull my blade, your friend starts bleeding, quite a lot, I'm afraid; so many veins in the wrist. [He twists the dagger slightly, causing the soldier to scream again] He'll live if you get him help, straight away. So...decisions.
Prince Oberyn! Forgive the intrusion, we heard there might be... [He breaks off as Oberyn wrenches his dagger free, causing the soldier to scream again] ...trouble.
[to Ellaria] Apologies, my love. [they kiss]
I don't believe you have met Ellaria. This is the Lord Hand Tywin Lannister and Cersei Lannister the Queen Regent. I suppose it is former Queen Regent now. Lord Hand and Lady Cersei, Ellaria Sand.
Ellaria Sand
My lord. My lady.
Can't say I've ever met a Sand before.
Ellaria Sand
We are everywhere in Dorne. I have 10,000 brothers and sisters.
Bastards are born of passion, aren't they? We don't despise them in Dorne.
I expect it is a relief, Lady Cersei, giving up your regal responsibilities. Wearing the crown for so many years must have left your neck a bit crooked.
I suppose you'll never know, Prince Oberyn. It's a shame your older brother couldn't attend the wedding.
Please give him our regards. With any luck, the gout will abate with time and he will be able to walk again.
They call it the rich man's disease. A wonder you don't have it, Lord Tywin.
Noblemen in my part of the country don't enjoy the same lifestyle as our counterparts in Dorne.
People everywhere have their differences. In some places the highborn frown upon those of low birth. In other places, the rape and murder of women and children is considered...distasteful. What a fortunate thing for you, former Queen Regent, that your daughter Myrcella has been sent to live in the latter sort of place.
AHAreo Hotah
The Prince does not wish to be disturbed.
Ellaria Sand
Remove yourself from my path, or I'll take that longaxe and shove it up your...
DMDoran Martell
Captain! Let her pass.
Ellaria Sand
Your brother was murdered, and you sit here in the Water Gardens, staring at the sky and doing nothing!
DMDoran Martell
Oberyn was slain during a trial by combat. By law, that is not murder.
Ellaria Sand
Your brother...
DMDoran Martell
You don't have to remind me. He was my brother long before he was anything to you.
Ellaria Sand
What will you do about his death?
DMDoran Martell
I will bury him. I will mourn for him.
Ellaria Sand
And then?
DMDoran Martell
You would have me go to war?
Ellaria Sand
The whole country would have you go to war!
DMDoran Martell
Then we are lucky the whole country does not decide.
Ellaria Sand
The Sand Snakes are with me. They have the love of their people. They will avenge their father, while you sit here in your chair, doing nothing. Oberyn is dead, and this Lannister girl skips about the Water Gardens, eating our food, breathing our air. How many of your brothers and sisters do they have to kill? Let me have her. Let me send her to Cersei, one finger at a time.
DMDoran Martell
I loved my brother. And you made him very happy. For that, you will always have a place in my heart. But we do not mutilate little girls for vengeance. Not here. Not while I rule.
Ellaria Sand
And how long will that be?
Ellaria Sand
Prince Doran will weep for your father, but nothing else. We must avenge Oberyn ourselves.
Without Doran, we have no army to march against the Lannisters.
Ellaria Sand
We don't need an army to start a war. Queen Cersei loves her children, and we have one of them.
[Nymeria flicks her bullwhip, flipping over a bucket to reveal a gagged prisoner buried up to his neck in the sand, with scorpions crawling over him]
A ship's captain who found me in Planky Town, claiming he had information to sell. He told me he smuggled Jaime Lannister into Dorne.
Ellaria Sand
He's come for Myrcella. If he gets to her before we do, we lose our only chance for revenge. You must choose: Doran's way, and peace... or my way, and war.
TSTyene Sand
I'm with you. Always.
Ellaria Sand
Nym? [after a pause, Nymeria nods] Obara?
When I was a child, Oberyn came to take me to court. I'd never seen this man, and yet, he called himself my father. My mother wept, said I was too young... and a girl. Oberyn tossed his spear at my feet and said, "Girl or boy, we fight our battles. But the Gods let us choose our weapons." My father pointed to the spear, and then to my mother's tears. [yanks the spear out of the sand, twirls it expertly, then throws it, impaling their captive through the head] I made my choice long ago.
[Jaime is escorted into the palace of Sunspear by Areo Hotah; Doran, Myrcella, Ellaria and Trystane are already there, drinking Dornish wine]
DMDoran Martell
Forgive us, we started without you. Please sit.
MBMyrcella Baratheon
Uncle.
MBMyrcella Baratheon
You don't like it?
MBMyrcella Baratheon
Not at all. The Dornish climate agrees with me.
Prince Trystane. How's your jaw?
TMTrystane Martell
A flea-bite.
Ellaria Sand
What are you doing in Dorne?
Looking after the safety of my niece, the Princess Myrcella.
DMDoran Martell
And rather than send a raven or speak to me directly, you decided to enter my country in secret and abduct our guest by force.
We received a threatening message. The Princess's necklace, in the jaws of a viper.
MBMyrcella Baratheon
That necklace was stolen from my room.
Ah, excellent. A last meal, before the beheading?
DMDoran Martell
Oh, I can't behead you. Many in Dorne want war but I've seen war. I've seen the bodies piled on the battlefields. I've seen the orphans starving in the cities. I don't want to lead my people into that Hell.
Ellaria Sand
No, you want to break bread with the Lannisters.
DMDoran Martell
And that is precisely what we're doing. Let us drink to Tommen, the First of His Name, King of the Andals and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms! King Tommen insists on his sister's return to the Capital.
DMDoran Martell
I cannot disobey my King's command. She will return with you, to King's Landing and my son, Prince Trystane, will accompany you both. If the alliance between Dorne and the Iron Throne is to continue, their engagement must stand.
DMDoran Martell
One more thing. My brother was named to the Small Council before his... death. Your father understood the importance of keeping Dorne in the fold. With Oberyn gone, Trystane will take his place on the Small Council.
Ellaria Sand
The word of a Kingslayer! [to Doran] No wonder you can't stand; you have no spine!
DMDoran Martell
You are mother of four of my nieces, girls I love very much. For their sake, I hope you live a long and happy life. Speak to me that way again, and you won't. [releases her, Ellaria storms off]
Ellaria Sand
[as Jaime writes a letter] You write like a seven-year-old.
My maester kindly agreed to copy it over for me.
Ellaria Sand
He didn't try to make you pay? [Jaime shakes his head] Maybe he's changed. The Queen will be thrilled to know you're bringing her daughter home.
Ellaria Sand
You love her very much, don't you?.
Of course! She's my niece.
Ellaria Sand
I wasn't talking about her. You think I disapprove? Why? Because people disapprove of that sort of thing where you are from? They disapproved of Oberyn and me, where you are from. Here no one blinked an eye. A hundred years ago, no one would have blinked an eye at you if you'd been named Targaryen. It's always changing, who we're supposed to love and who we're not. The only thing that stays the same is that we want who we want. I know your daughter had no part in the terrible thing that happened, to the man I loved. Perhaps, even you are innocent of that.
The last time a Tyrell came to Dorne, he was assassinated. A hundred red scorpions, was it?
Ellaria Sand
You have nothing to fear from us, Lady Olenna.
You murder your own Prince, but you expect me to trust you?
We invited you to Dorne because we needed your help. You came to Dorne because you needed our help.
What is your name, again? Barbero?
Obara. You look like an angry little boy, don't presume to tell me what I need.
Forgive my sister. What she lacks in diplomacy, she makes––
Do shut up, dear. [Glances at Tyene] Anything from you? No? Good. Let the grown women speak.
Ellaria Sand
The Lannisters have declared war on House Tyrell. They have declared war on Dorne. We must be allies now, if we wish to survive.
Cersei stole the future from me. She killed my son, she killed my grandson, she killed my granddaughter. Survival is not what I'm after, now.
Ellaria Sand
You're absolutely right. I chose the wrong words. It is not survival I offer, it is your heart's desire.
And what is my "heart's desire?"
Ellaria Sand
Vengeance. Justice.
[Varys enters]
If you want the Iron Throne, take it. We have an army, a fleet and three dragons. We should hit King's Landing now, hard, with everything we have. The city will fall within a day.
If we turn the dragons loose, tens of thousands will die in the firestorms.
Ellaria Sand
It's called war. You don't have the stomach for it, scurry back into hiding.
I know how you wage war. We don't poison little girls here. Myrcella was innocent.
Ellaria Sand
She was a Lannister. There are no innocent Lannisters. My greatest regret is that Oberyn died fighting for you.
That's enough! Lord Tyrion is Hand of the Queen; you will treat him with respect. I am not here to be queen of the ashes.
That's very nice to hear. Of course, I can't remember a queen who was better loved than my granddaughter. The common people loved her; the nobles loved her. And what is left of her now? Ashes. Commoners, nobles, they're all just children, really. They won't obey you unless they fear you.
Game of Thrones · 356 quotes
