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[Starsea nickers and leans into the lady's touch.]

Say the word, my lady and we'll leave.

[Frank's smile isn't wide but more noticeable than usual.]

If we're lucky, there may even be some ripened fruit.

[ She looks back towards the home she shares with her parents and then back to him before nodding, ]

We can go now.

[ While she should have a chaperone, she's feeling... defiant today. ]

[Frank is more wont to have such lighter expressions in the lady's presence. Many have whispered about it. Women are not a strange sight in his presence. It's very rare for him to appear to be so visibly engaged enough to relax.

He mounts Starsea smoothly and offers his hand to help Karen up.]

Should we call for your handmaiden?

[As a courtesy. He really would prefer it to be just the two of them.]

[ She takes his hand with a grin, ]

I don't see why we should.

[ Continuing after she gets in the saddle in front of him, folds of her dress already riding up to her knees. ]

As long as you agree to be courteous and respectful of a lady such as myself.

[ Not that she was acting much like a lady at the moment... ]

[Up she goes, and into the seat close to him. An acceptable position for horseback riding. If they were in any other place or position this would be indecent.]

I agree to be most respectful and courteous to her ladyship.

[Two hands reach around her middle, the first to take the reins and then to lightly hold at her waist. A click of his tongue and Starsea starts to shuffle forward.]

[ She feels her cheeks warm at the arms around her but she does not comment on it. She merely reaches out to pet Starsea's mane again. She waits until they are outside the walls of the palace to say anything else. ]

When did you learn how to ride? How old? I've heard that Dothraki children learn to ride before they can walk.

[If he doesn't hold her, she could fall. And that is absolutely unacceptable for her to befall any harm whatsoever under his guard.]

Perhaps my second year. My father being the khal made sure of it. I had much to prove to the khalasar. I could at least sit in the saddle. Children as young as I was road in the carts with the elderly and mothers too pregnant to ride.

Second year? But that's so young!

[ She's as shocked as she sounds, unable to process such a thing. ]

Could you even speak at that age?

[Frank chuckles and gives her middle a little squeeze as they step through the second gate of the keep.]

I was quite vocal, actually. I was very fond of saying no.

[The sun is warm on his skin and Starsea kicks up her pace. Frank adapts easily.]

[ Karen laughs at that, not able to restrain herself (or wanting to). ]

Somehow... I'm not shocked by that. I've been told I was busy talking in another language at that age. But "no" was one of the first words that truly stuck.

For you? Imagine.

[He chuckles warmly. Already the lioness is opinionated in her own right. In infancy it must have been unstoppable.]

I learned to mind in my own way. My refusal for things didn't always hold dominance.

[ She laughs again, giving a light smack to his arm. She can't be too offended when she's more than proven that point. ]

Oh, I'm sure. It's not that much different in a court of lions. You have to stand firmly to have any worth. If you allow people to walk over you, what's to stop them from eating you alive?

[ Lessons her own kinsmen taught her more than once. She saw it happen to other relatives. She had just never thought her father would be one of them. ]

[No offense or any kind of darker emotion roused from her playful smack. In fact he is wholly intrigued.]

Woe to any that would ever.

[They're approaching a grove of trees that will provide a bit of shade for a time.]

I'm sure you were a lovely, spirited little lioness.

[ Her eyes go up to the branches as they travel under them, almost feeling like they were walking into a whole new country. ]

Little, yes. Spirited, most assuredly. Lovely is debatable.

[ There's a smaller laugh mingling in with that one, remembering the hard time she gave her poor tutors when it came to escaping from her studies. ]

Though my father had a way of making me feel like a princess even when I wasn't one and everyone else made sure to remind me. No, that title belonged to my cousins who lived on the Rock.

[ A pause, ]

Was there ever competition like that for you? Or were you respected as you were?

[Birds twitter and bounce in the branches above. The way the sunlight falls through the leaves dappling Starsea.]

Oh? With ivory skin and sapphire eyes? How could she be anything but lovely.

[Enfant terrible? The lady? Frank chuckles again.]

Ahhh, my own dear cousins were quick to test me. They taught me how to not just be stubborn and strong but clever. They had age and experience on me. And while they were my of my father's blood they were not so fond of me. They called me a soft little prince. No prince is a khal.

There's that silver tongue again.

[ But she smiles all the same. She's been told the Dornish either love those kinds of features or hate them, depending on how they feel about Lannisters and those from the west. It was comforting to know which Frank was despite their rocky start.

Though she frowns at his words, looking over her shoulder at him again, ]

All because your mother was Dornish?

[He contently sighs and bows his head as they pass under a low branch. It brushes his cheek close to her's. Quite friendly like. Karen is already in his lap for all points and purposes.]

Yes. I had to prove myself to them many a time. While it was not the most happy of times, I learned many a valuable lesson.

[ Her own cheeks flush at the contact, leaning away slightly before turning back to face forward again. Her body follows when she remembers how close they really are. ]

What kind of lessons?

[The steady tread of Starsea knocks them together now and again. Close as can be. Frank's hand stays respectfully still at her waist. The fabric of her fine clothes is soft, so soft and now and then is pulled by the gentle breeze.]

That I have to be resourceful and fast because I can be overpowered. And running to my father or the arms of my mother won't always be an option. In fact that stopped first or else they would have called me an infant until my death.

[He laughs about that now.]

[ Those are all good lessons. Even when she thinks she could never not rely on her mother for emotional support of some kind. She is a woman now but still loves the times when she can rest her head in her mother's lap. ]

Do you still talk to your mother?

When I can yes. My good fortune is her own. She does not care for courtly life any longer.

[Doesn't help that her choice of lovers has made her an outcast.]

Perhaps one day you shall meet her.

[Quite the possibility. The lioness agreed to a private ride. That is a good sign. There's another break in the trees and more burst of sunlight. It paints her hair a more brilliant gold.]

[ She dips her head when the sun hits, eyes downcast from the brightness of it. For a moment, she voices her own doubt at such a thing: ]

Are you certain she would want to meet me?

[ She's not considering a possible marriage with Frank. Not at this juncture even if her parents are seeing him as a potential suitor. She's thinking more about finding acceptance among these people she now finds herself surrounded by. She is stubborn and set in her ways. There's a good chance she will always be seen as an outsider here. ]

Oh yes. Anyone that believes they have the patience or stomach for my company has her favor.

[They come to another cover of trees, closer to the walled garden now. It shimmers in the distance from the Dornish heat.]

Your lord mother and father seem to be lovely people.

[ She looks over to the wall, feeling a hint of a smile again, ]

You have demonstrated having far more patience than I.

[ She then nods, ]

They are. They deserved better than the treatment they were dealt.

[ And some days she feels as if they deserve a less willful daughter. ]

Nothing worth keeping comes easily, be it a fine horse, glittering gold or a loving wife.

[Sagely words that are not his own. He leans forward into her as the dunes grow unsteady.]

You love them. I can tell.

[The northern countries and Westerlands show affection differently than they do in the sultry kingdom of Dorne. He has caught on by the way the willingly came despite the risk for a better life. And even in sorrow the lord knows his daughter is a prize and has prospects.]

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