The Winds of Winter Arianne I (Sample Chapter)

I'm going to do something a little different- I'm going to do a post on a book that hasn't been released! Everyone knows that The Winds of Winter is taking forever to come out, and it's easy to forget sometimes that several sample chapters have been released. So I'm going to take a look at some of those, as time allows, and share my thoughts. Bear in mind these are sample chapters and things may change, and obviously there will be spoilers for the series. This week I'm looking at the first Arianne chapter from the Winds of Winter- for those not familiar with Arianne, she is the daughter of the Prince of Dorne. Her father, Doran Martell, has sent her north to meet with Jon Connington and Aegon Targaryen, who have just landed on Westeros with the Golden Company, to claim the Iron Throne. 

Arianne rides forth with six companions, her sworn sword being Ser Daemon Sand, the bastard of Godsgrace. She's known him forever, and indeed he was the first man she ever slept with, but he was rebuffed when he asked for her hand- a bastard is not a fit match for the princess of Dorne. So he's resentful of that, but still has feelings for her- and she finds him attractive, still. They also have two knights with them, a keeper of ravens, and two ladies-in-waiting. One of them is Elia Sand, the oldest daughter of Prince Oberyn, the now- deceased Red Viper. She's a little wild thing, only fourteen, but rides like the wind and fancies herself a fighter. 

Their journey takes them to the castle of House Toland, where they spend the night before taking ship. At dinner they ask of news, and all the talk is of the sellswords who have landed all over Cape Wrath- across the Sea of Dorne- and have been taking castles left and right. Some say it's Jon Connington, returned from exile, a man thought to be dead, while others say it's the Golden Company. Of course readers know it's both Jon and the Golden Company, in service to Aegon Targaryen, the supposedly long-thought-dead son of Rhaegar. It is Jon Connington who Arianne has been sent to meet, after a letter from the man arrived in Dorne asking for Martell support. 

The letter says that a dragon has returned to Westeros, to claim vengeance, but it makes no mention of Daenerys- or Quentyn, the brother of Arianne who went to ask for Daenerys' hand in marriage. The plan was for Quentyn and Daenerys to marry, thus cementing an alliance between Targaryen and Martell, but no word has come. Now Arianne is going north to meet this Aegon- perhaps to wed him? 

Some other news of interest is relayed at dinner. Krakens have been pulling ships under at sea, and since the Redwyne fleet passed through there are ships everywhere now, passing back and forth between the Free Cities and Westeros. Some of those are no doubt ships carrying the Golden Company, and there are ironborn as well. And then the youngest Toland daughter, Teora, speaks up. She has dreams where she can see things, and she sees dragons. 

 "They were dragons. In my dreams. And everywhere the dragons danced the people died."

 A couple thoughts on this. First of all the mention of krakens may be another hint that bad things are coming - the mention that there is blood on the water and it draws them to the surface- may be another hint that a mass blood sacrifice on the water will draw some monstrous thing from the deep. Also there's a brief mention that Maester Toman may be trying to discourage Teora's visions, yet another indication that maesters always seem to be trying to suppress things that don't support their worldview. 

The next step of their journey is aboard the Peregrine as they set sail. Ser Daemon seems skeptical that the Aegon they are going to meet is really who he supposedly is, and Arianne wonders about Viserys, and why Dany would let her horselord husband kill her brother. She wonders if perhaps Dany feared a Viserys/ Arianne wedding would sideline her and consign her to the horseclans, snce the original plan had been to wed Viserys to Arianne.