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Loreza had never understood why her father avoided the old house like he did. Sure, she knew about the death of her aunt and cousins on the premisses but the way he seemed so hurt whenever any of Loreza or her sister brought it up.
“She is so present there. I feel like she could walk around the corner any moment to tease me and I have to confront her death again.”
If only Oberyn knew how right he was.
Loreza did understand that her father would rather not be reminded of the beloved sister he had lost there unjustly but as far as Loreza herself could had seen it, the house was all aunt Elia’s not the slightest trace of her husband in that house.
The decour was classical dornish style, the living room filled with fotos of a little girl, her toddler brother and so many more face familiar to Loreza now that they had grown older, while the gardens were in bloom with nativ dornish flowers, even in it’s now wild state. There were old faded paintings and drawings pinned to the fridge, the sort that little children drew…
Sure, the family had died in the house and maybe Loreza just couldn’t understand the pain because it was so far outside her imagination, but she would argue that her family had so evidently lived here too, that she couldn’t condone the wish to get rid of it.
Maybe one of her eldest sisters could use it?
(Maybe not Thyne because she wouldn’t appreciate a space she couldn’t make her own, but Obara struggled with décor and could use a place away from the daily chaos that was life at Sunspear)
One evening when she could here her father and uncle discuss a sale again, she decided to sneak out and go to the house. She wasn’t entirely sure what she could do in the middle of the night to strong arm a different decision but she would figure it out as she went.
Maybe she could admit that an abandoned building in the middle of the night was kind of ire, but maybe she had consumed to many cheesy horror movies set in the North with people being attract by vengeful demons in old rotting keeps forgotten by men…
The house was in fact just an old dusty house but darker, now that it was nighttime. She found the same cozy living room and when she rounded the corner she found someone else that was trespassing on Martell property.
A woman was sitting by the kitchen table, long black hair tied in a simple half-knot, while her hands folded over the faded tablecloth. Loreza had approximately two seconds before the stranger’s dark eyes were on her.
The thing was Loreza might not have seen her aunt Elia often because most pictures in this home were taken by her and didn’t have her in it, but that didn’t mean Loreza hadn’t seen any. It was just a rare occasion.
And maybe she did watch to many movies, because she was surprisingly calm.
(Maybe someone was playing a prank on her?)
“Who are you? What are you doing in my house?”, the maybe-ghost-of-her-dead-aunt asked and well it was polite to answer. The girl blinked like only once to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating or spontaneously drugged, which again was an impressive acceptance rate.
“I am Loreza.”, her voice was a bit too high. “And this is technically not your house anymore…”
Maybe-Elia furrowed her brows and her pretty was was scrunching with the motion. “I am very sure that this is my house, young Lady. Loreza who? You say that like I should know the girl that brakes into my home in the middle of the night.”
“Loreza Sand. My papa is Oberyn Martell and-”
“My brother doesn’t have a daughter named Loreza. Sarella is barley a toddler and he doesn’t even take much care of the other three girls he has. If you lie-”
“My mother is Ellaria Sand-”
“Harmen Uller’s daughter? Unlike me Oberyn never talked to her-”
“And if you are my Aunt Elia, you don’t know any of that because you have been dead for quiet a while. Because I am the youngest daughter of my parents of eight for Papa and four for Mama.”
Elia had looked angered and annoyed when she had thought Loreza to be an intruder, a lot like her uncle Doran looked when he was angry but maybe a bit more tired. Now when she started to grasp the implication, she deflated.
The beautiful ghost looked so tragically sad that Loreza automatically reached out to comfort her only to learn that there was no touching her.
Loreza fought back tears by biting her lip. “My sister, Mama’s first child is named after you. Papa misses you so much.” Talking grew more and more difficult while the burning in her eyes blurred her sighed. “And so does Uncle Doran. Papa got his act together, you know? I wasn’t there obviously, but he honored your wishes and took Obara, Nym and the others in, became a Dad and he is a good one. I think he regrets that it took losing you to be decent…”
She brushed the tears away with a jacket sleeve and took a giant breath. To Elia’s credit, she looked way more put together than you would expect to be after being told you are dead.
“If I am dead for so long…? If my children…”, she didn’t finish the sentence. “why is the house still here? Why isn’t anything changed…?”
“Well, it was too painful for Uncle Doran and Papa to get your stuff out, so it sat here for a long while.. Now they are talking about selling it, but I think a sibling or cousin should get it. It’s a pretty house.”
“Oh, those two….”, Elia’s dark, sad eyes locked onto her once more. “Just tell me one thing. Are they happy?”
She hated that she couldn’t do anything to comfort her, but Loreza smiled nonetheless.
“Yes they are. Uncle Doran is divorced now and he argues a lot with Arianne because they are both so stubborn. The house is full but so joyful and Obara for example can’t take the noise as well, but Uncle Doran loves his children and that we all agreed to stay close, Mama and Papa are in love and going strong. I don’t think they will ever marry but it’s not that they have too. So yes, I think all and all we are okay.
They miss you, Aunt Elia, and they will continue to miss you but they are loved.”
The beautiful ghost smiled a sad little smile.
“I wish I could hug you, little sunshine. I wish I could have met you all.”
When Elia’s tears started running there was no stopping them and as suddenly as she had appeared she vanished once more.