Surpise Guests

Tytos Lannister's birthday was full of surprises. The servants woke Doran up hours before sunrise on his mother's orders, quickly dressed him in one of the more elegant outfits he brought with him, and rushed him to the courtyard where the Lannisters receive important guests.

Doran was still half asleep and it was hard for him to keep his eyes open, when he reached the courtyard he saw his family, the Lannisters and all the lords and ladies; all dressed elegantly looking at the great doors that are the entrance to Casterly Rock.

"What's going on?" he asks while suppressing a yawn.

"The royal family is coming." Tywin replies, who seems to be more awake then him.

Doran looks at him surprised because the Targaryens had sent a letter apologizing for not being able to attend and a gift, an exquisite sword with a sheath made of basilisk skin. When he heard what the sword scabbard was made of, Doran almost had a heart attack but quickly calmed down remembering that the basilisks of this world are not titanic serpents with deadly glares, they are rather a type of komodo dragon; at least they look a lot like them.

His parents stood to the right of Tytos, to his left were his family. His wife, then his children in order of age. Doran noted that Tygett is not present.

`The baby must be sleeping`

Doran stands between his father who has Mors in his arms, and Lewyn who has an annoyed expression on his face.

"Tired, uncle?" Doran jokes, Lewyn mutters something about dragons but Obella's gaze silences him.

"Behave."

"Yes sister."

At the sound of trumpets the Targaryen entourage entered the gates. At the front were about fifty guards with black cloaks and armor with the red dragon on their chest. The guards stepped aside to let in a group of knights in snow-white cloaks.

Doran recognized them all, Ser Gerold Hightower with his long brown hair, Ser Orys with his stoic expression, and Ser Harlan with his grayish hair mixed with some brown. The rider who rode between the kingsguards had short black hair and mesmerizing dark purple eyes, Prince Duncan Targaryen.

Behind the knights entered an elegant but simple carriage, which told Doran that the people inside it are neither the queen nor Princess Shaera.

Duncan dismounted from his horse and opened the carriage door, first his wife Jenny came out and then, to Doran's surprise and delight, Princess Rhaella.

As the prince and princesses approached, they all bowed to them, if it were the crown prince or the monarchs they would have knelt until they were given permission to get up; but being the prince who renounced his inheritance, his wife of peasant origin, and a princess quite far in the line of succession, such a thing is not required by protocol.

"Casterly Rock is yours, your grace."

"Thank you, Lord Tytos." Duncan replies with a charming smile. "Princess Obella, Prince Trystanne, Prince Doran, Prince Lewyn, it is good to see you again. I must say that you have grown a lot since the last time I saw you, especially you Lewyn, the last time I saw you you were a little younger than Doran. And this must be Mors."

The Martells greet him politely, but Doran's attention is more on his friend than her uncle. Rhaella smiles at him before greeting the others, Doran smiles back, unknown to both of them several people watched their interaction.

"Prince Duncan, Princess Rhaella, Lady Jenny, it's been a long time." Roger Reyne greets them jovially, the Targaryens respond politely but Doran, having remembered his conversation with Rhaella a year ago, can see the slight tension on Duncan's and Rhaella's faces.

`They do not like him, his attitude towards Jenny irritates them but they both maintain courtesies.` Doran also realizes that Jenny is not in the least bothered by Roger's lack of courtesy, it seems that the Red Lion it might as well be invisible to her eyes.

`Doesn't she like him or is there something more?` Jenny, despite the criticism of the nobility, has exquisite manners and knows the protocols by heart, but since she seems to ignore Reyne on purpose, he deduces that something happened between them, something that made the princess dislike Roger.

"This is my son Roy, he is the same age as the princess. Maybe they could be friends?"

Doran is irritated by what Roger is obviously trying to achieve.

`She' s just a kid!`

"We'll see." Duncan replies without promising anything.

"Lord Tytos, I have noticed Jason's absence. Is he alright?"

"Yes, your grace." Tytos explains that Jason Lannister, his younger brother, will arrive later that same day by ship because the Sea Lion, as many call him, was driving away some ironborn ships that got too close to Lannisport, his seat.

"How was the trip?" Obella asks them.

"Lovely, the seas were calm and the winds fair." Duncan responds.

"Would you like to freshen up a bit or would you rather have something to eat, your graces?" Jeyne Lannister asks them. Duncan replies that they want to freshen up and get some rest before the banquet. When they reached the elevator Doran stood next to Rhaella and the princess whispered something to him.

"Come to the Godswood at noon."

Doran nods, after reaching one of the highest floors they say goodbye to the Targaryens.

"Doran, do you want to go take a nap?" Lothar asks him, at first Doran was going to say no but then he remembered the long day ahead so he says yes.

But when he gets to his room, he has a hard time falling asleep.

`Why did the Targaryens come without notice? What does Rhaella want to talk about?`

Doran tosses and turns in bed, a thousand scenarios playing out in his mind. In the end he decides to meditate.

Meditation not only helps to calm his mind but also to rest his body, the type of meditation that Doran practices he learned from some Shaolin monks in a magical temple in the mountains of western China. It has a complicated name that roughly translates to `Wings of the Soul`, it took Harry years to master but it was worth it as this type of meditation not only helped him master the Mental Arts but also helped him regenerate magic. Monks regenerate their magic fifty times faster than an ordinary wizard, Harry got to the level where he regenerates his magic twenty times faster.