"Grief does not diminish valor. I am sure that all the Reach will be celebrating, Lord Daven; whatever sadness we may feel, I doubt the smallfolk will have much love lost for a second Dornish queen. Lord Tyrell must find you a bannerman to boast of, truly," he said with a slight smile, wondering if the young lord would feel that slight sting.
Aksel nodded gravely at the mention of the princess. "Indeed. Such things seem almost more terrifying, here in these kinder lands. And then, our Northron stories remain only stories," he said, shaking his head. "What puzzles and worries me most is why Princess Elia was targeted. She seemed most amiable, did she not, to Northrons and men of the Reach alike?" He sighed. "Defying her sister to marry the king--I have heard it said that the princess always put the interests of the Martells first, but it seems to me that of late she was favoring love and parties over power and politics. She is an innocent," he said quietly, "or as close to one as these courts afford. Why an attacker would choose her, and not, say, Queen Aeria, who has so much more experience with statecraft... It is beyond my understanding."