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[endlesswar]

[She is the one to lead where they go. His steady steps trail behind.]

In Dorne, women hold equal standing. I don't know the ways they carry on in the other kingdoms.

[In Westeros. Essos is... always it's own story entirely.]

Any who think so ill of women don't deserve their company.

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[ Her brows go up at that and she stops long enough to turn and look back at him, ]

Do you truly believe that?

[ Because, if she were honest, she would state that he doesn't look the type. He looks like one of those Essos warlords out here, among the green and water. ]

[endlesswar]

[Ah. Finally she's looking at him again. Frank looks back. Most men would take in the moment to posture, to puff up, to grin back. He meets her gaze the way one would with a wild horse, gaining mutual respect and trust. Except Karen is a lionness. And he has never had experience taming a lion. Just killing one.]

I do.

[About his land and how to treat the fairer sex.]

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[ He is different from what she had expected, she can't deny that. Though she still has her reservations. She gives him a once over after holding his eyes for a long, silent moment and then turns, walking again.

She heads over to the pool, careful in her movements so she doesn't upset the birds in it. It's a delicate sort of beauty she had never expected in the desert. ]

[endlesswar]

[He assumes that she has a vast experience with men. She has to. She must. Eyes like that. A body like she does. Frank is in for a shock. Following her step for step like a shadow. While her presence doesn't disrupt the birds they do get more active in the wake of his presence. Just a little. They're familiar with visitors.]

You can bathe in the Water Gardens. I would recommend to have it reserved or else risk sharing it. When the summer sun is high it offers so much comfort. This is one of the many pools.

[And there is an intricate pipe system that sprouts at set hours. It truly is a triumph of architecture.]

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[ Experience in watching them, hearing how they talk and treat other women. But personally? Very little. Intimately? No. It's why it's such a wonder so is still out here alone with him.

Her cheeks go warm again as she watches the birds bathe in the water in their own way. ]

I don't think I could ever do that.

[ The very thought makes her body feel hot all over. Especially if the man beside her were to watch... ]

[endlesswar]

[He steps closer to her, hand grazing the back of her arm. Frank cranes his neck to beer over her shoulder.]

No?

[That was a rather fast answer. The one word question has an honest, near childlike confusion.]

It is near custom, welcomed for Dornish and outsiders alike.

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[ The touch sends tingles through her arm and she shakes her head again in a silent answer. She clears her throat slightly before turning it on him: ]

Have you ever done that?

[endlesswar]

[He makes a humming sound low in his throat and now stands close enough for their contact to be far closer than before.]

I have. The water is cooled by the tiles and clean as crystal. It's a treat. I say a lady of an exiled family deserves a few treats.

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[ She looks over at him again and this time he's so much closer. She can clearly see the deep brown of his eyes and there's a surprising gentleness in them.

Her mouth feels dry and she licks at her lips without thinking about it, ]

I...I wouldn't feel safe out here, doing that.

[endlesswar]

I would stand watch with an arahk in hand to ensure you are undisturbed.

[That would mean he would witness her nakedness. Though that is not what he focuses on, not out loud. The fine garbs of the Summer Sea and Westerlands are fitted but there is so much more to imagine beneath. Frank hasn't been a man long on imagination or words. This might be the longest conversation he has had in sometime.]

If that is what you wish.

[The most important condition. Frank leans even closer, the bristle of groomed hair along his jaw is close enough to graze her skin. Just a little. You cannot rush these things. Realizing just how near he has become, he balls his hand into a fist and gently eases a step back.]

[paged]

[ She has to turn away when he leans closer, moving away once more. She feels slightly out of breath; as if she had almost lost herself in such a moment. And with a man she just met. As if there was some sort of pull between them.

She swallows hard and remembers the cup in her other hand. She drains it as she continues walking, asking afterward: ]

You would do this for a stranger?

[endlesswar]

[Now, now. That's no way to be, he scolds himself. Too much, too fast. And yet no outright words of refusal. No dagger glances.]

Are we truly strangers?

[Because it doesn't feel that way. There is an energy between them. Surely that was what drew his gaze to her. And the rest? Is it fated?]

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[ A laugh huffs out of her and she turns back to him, sunlight catching on gold curls when she turns. ]

Yes, we are. I don't even know your name. I don't know your house, your family, where you come from...

[endlesswar]

[They mock him as they bounce and move out of his reach.]

Francis, son of Giulia Castle and Khal Jakah.

[Which...isn't exactly a house or a name. In most circumstances he would be a Sand. The laws of Dorne and friendships have deemed him to be heir to the old and loyal house. So minor, would a Lannister even hear of it?]

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[ She doesn't recognize the house but she does recognize one part: ]

"Khal"? Like the Dothraki?

[endlesswar]

The very same. Yes.

[As a matter of fact. He walks closer to water's edge. It really is crystalline. Looking at it makes him wonder how her eyes would compare. It'd be best if they were side by side.]

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[ She stares at him for a long moment before looking away again, ]

And do you live as a Dothraki?

[endlesswar]

[Her expression is not immediately discernible in that stare.]

In my youth, yes. My father wanted me to see the ways of our people. Maybe he hoped I would take up the khalasaar when he passed.

[Just the facts.]

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[ Her face may not give him much but her tone does. ]

"Ways"? Like raping and pillaging?

[ Is she being disrespectful? Most likely. She's in no position to be looking down on anyone. But she doesn't condone of such "ways". She never has. And niceties be damned if she's expected to hold her tongue on it. ]

[endlesswar]

[Such is the way of all Westerners. He keeps his expression solemn.]

Like riding with my blood in a storm of hooves. Like living in an ocean of grass. Like earning every knot in my braid.

[He does not confirm or deny any of what she is accusing.]

I am also Dornish by blood and heart.

[And owe no explanation or apology.]

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[ She is less than pleased by that answer, her silent anger practically crackling in the air as she turns back the way they came and marches past him. He can use such words all he wants. But she doesn't see it as anything to be proud of. It was bad enough with lords from the Rock thought they could just use women and cast them aside. The stories she has heard of the Dothraki were deplorable, to say the least. ]

[endlesswar]

[He half turns, watching her become less of a woman and more of a storm.]

You think that is all that is done? No. It is not. Not any more. Not since the ascension of the queen.

[Which is all he shall say on the matter. Every son has a mother. And His birth into this world did not come from force or conquest. It would have been more simple if it had been.]

None dare to partake now for fear of dragons. They can outrun horses, you know.

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[ She doesn't stop in her walking, just tossing over her shoulder, ]

Do not talk to me as if I am stupid!

[ If anything, she's mad enough to throw her cup right as his head (though she's certain she would miss). ]

[endlesswar]

You asked and I answered, my lady. It is untrue to say you are stupid but also very unwise.

[He stays still a moment before walking after.]