Pain.
Pain and dirt and blood.
There was a ringing in his ears and he didn't know where he was. One second, he was trying to keep his balance on a 2,000 pound animal and the next second he was on the dirt floor of the arena. He saw flashes around him as he struggled to keep his eyes wide open, but he could only make out figures through his blurred vision.
"Hey kid. Kid."
He groaned, clutching his head as he tried to sit up too quickly. Damn, his head was pounding. It took a second for his vision to adjust, but he could see the warded off room of the arena. The makeshift beds that served the sports office.
"Jon. Jon, look at me."
He looked up as the face of the company doctor came into his vision.
Donald Luwin. Doctor Donald Luwin. The Sports Medicine head of the Westeros Professional Bull Riding Corporation, or the WPBR for short.
"Jon, can you hear me" Luwin asked him softly, stabilizing Jon's head with a hand.
Jon nodded weakly, his head still pounding as hard as before.
"Say it Jon. I need to know if you still have speech function."
"Yeah. Yeah, I hear you…"Jon replied just as weak as his nod.
"That's good. You took a hell of a hit out there, son. Who was the bull again?"
Luwin began to reach for some gauze, using it to wipe the blood trailing from Jon's temple.
"Crosswired" Jon replied with a groan.
Jon reached for an icepack but Luwin simply smacked his hand away with a tut. He had no option but to wait for Luwin to finish.
"Yeah, that bull's wires did look to be crossed. Started jumping around in the chute, didn't he?"
Jon only nodded at that.
"You should've just waited for the time to tick down. Judge would've given you a shot at another bull."
"I didn't want another bull. It was the championship round. I needed a big score to have a chance at winning."
"And look where that got you. A bloodied skull with a concussion. The only thing you'll be eating tonight are the remnants of dirt from the floor."
Jon winced at that. He knew he likely didn't make the buzzer. 8 seconds. That's all a rider needed for a qualified ride. 8 seconds to win some money. Make the 8 seconds and you get paid. Fall off before? And you go home empty handed. Tough situation but that's life. Anyways, it wasn't about the money. Not a single rider in the business asked the paycheck before the ride. It was all about the thrill. All about the victory. Who was the best rider? Who was the rankest bull?
Bragging rights. That's what it was all about.
"How long did I last out there, doc?"
Luwin looked at him with pity in his eyes.
"You really want to know?"
Jon nodded as Luwin finally went over to hand him an ice pack for his throbbing head.
"7.51 seconds. Nothing sooner, nothing later. They watched the replay, but I think it was just more to see where it all went wrong. Don't be too hard on yourself kid. Crosswired has only been ridden…oh I don't know. I can count the number on one hand, that's for sure. I think about 4 out of a good 50 odd riders."
"I could've been number 5" he muttered.
Luwin smiled softly as he placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"You're still a man, champ."
"I ain't champ yet, doc."
"You will be. One day."
"Still haven't won an event. How the hell am I supposed to be the overall champ?"
"Baby steps, Jon. First, you go on a riding streak. Then, you win your first event. Third, you go on a winning streak. And then, you qualify for the WPBR Finals. After that, it's only a matter of riding better than everyone else and winning."
Jon shook his head.
"I don't want to just win the WPBR Finals. I want to be the overall champion. I don't want to just be the World Finals champion. I want to be the WPBR World Champion."
His head began to pound once again, but Jon ignored it as he lost himself in his dreams.
Winning the finals was certainly a crowning achievement for any rider. It was the most grueling challenge for any rider. Perhaps it wasn't the most demanding physically, but the intensity and pressure of riding in front of 50,000 fans. Every single seat filled as the best riders from Westeros and Essos competed for 6 nights. 7 rounds in total. 7 rides from hell. No man had cleared all 7 rides.
Luwin interrupted him from his thoughts as he spoke up.
"Well, you're going to need to rest before you run, kid."
"What am I looking at, doc?"
"Realistically? I'd prefer for you to sit out of the competitions for at least a month. There's a good chance you've been concussed. However, you're not going to do that, are you?"
Jon shook his head.
"I can't. Iron Cowboy is in 3 weeks. I haven't been formally invited. I need to impress Levi's."
"Your sponsor, right? I thought you were sponsored by DeWalt too…they aren't pushing you for a spot? I know they have 10 riders to submit this year."
Jon shook his head.
"No, I'm sponsored by them by default since Levi's and DeWalt are partners. But, only Levi's came to me with a contract after my rookie year last year." Jon sighed as he applied further pressure on his ice pack. "It would be my luck to be sponsored by the sponsor with the worst showing last year."
"Yeah, I remember that" Luwin trailed off. "Their riders had a horrid showing last season. They had 10 slots to submit riders for Iron Cowboy. All of them were eliminated in round 1. Only 3 riders made it to round 2 at Last Cowboy Standing. And only 6 of their riders qualified for WPBR Finals. Heavy consequences, I guess, but you can't bite the hand that feeds you."
Jon nodded. That was true.
"Alright, doc. I think I'm gonna go head out. And try to see where my ride went wrong…"
Luwin nodded.
"At least take next week off, Jon. You took a nasty wreck. Worst one of the night. Naharis came in after you and left before you woke."
Jon nodded weakly but ignored the words dully. There was no way in hell that he was missing Stonehelm or Blackhaven. They were the last two routes before the annual Iron Cowboy at Summerhall.
Iron Cowboy was one of the three major events of the WPBR, alongside The WPBR Finals. It was the second most grueling of the three competitions. The qualification for the event was different than other events. Rather than the best 30 riders ranked in the Built Ford Tough Standings (Ford is the sponsor of the WPBR), the sponsors had a certain number of spots that they could fill with riders of their choosing. This year's sponsors were Levi's, DeWalt and Monster. Levi's had 5 spots this year while DeWalt and Monster had 10 spots each. The remaining 5 spots were chosen by Ford themselves.
Last season was Jon's rookie season, making him ineligible to qualify for Iron Cowboy as he had no sponsor. Of course, if Ford had taken notice of him they could have invited him to one of their five spots, but Ford always chose to sponsor the top 5 riders of the world.
The current top five of the season were Drogo, Naharis, Emmet, Forrester and Martell. In that order.
Jon thought that he might be approached by Monster for a sponsorship, they were the current hot sponsors, and had settled for a sponsorship from DeWalt. He couldn't believe that only Levi's wanted to take a shot on him. He was the rookie of the year. He had beaten every other rider from his generation.
Grenn, Pyp, Podrick and even his half-brother, Robb. Yet, they had all received offers from better sponsors. Grenn and Pyp had signed with DeWalt. Robb and Pod signed with Monster. Jon hadn't even been approached by the two. It was either ride for Levi's or remain unsponsored.
He was almost to the locker room when he was barreled into by his friend, Grenn, causing the level of discomfort of his head to be dialed to 100.
"Gods, Grenn" he hissed "my head!"
"Oh, sorry man."
Jon waived him off as the two made their way to the locker room.
"Jon! You're ok. Thank the Gods."
It was Pyp. Podrick and Robb stood behind them, along with Theon Greyjoy.
"That was a nasty hit you took, Snow" Theon said snootily.
"Lay off it, Theon" Robb said.
Podrick only shook his head as he picked up his duffle bag.
It seemed that everyone had already packed their belongings, leaving only Jon in his dirtied vest, chaps and cowboy hat. Doctor Luwin had taken the liberty of removing his riding glove and had placed it in one of his vest pockets.
"We'll leave you to it, Jon. We'll wait for you by the monitor next to the chutes" Robb told him kindly.
Jon nodded as he began to take off his protective vest. Robb always knew him better than most. Robb knew that Jon wouldn't want to talk to them for a while. It always stung after every bull he was bucked off of. He wouldn't be able to avoid them for long though seeing as they were waiting by the monitor next to chutes.
"How bad was it?" Jon asked them.
They hadn't even gone over the playback yet but he wanted their initial reactions.
"Terrifying."
"Scary."
"Heart dropping."
"Hilarious."
Jon rolled his eyes as he pushed his way past Theon to look at the monitor. Podrick had already fast forwarded the event to the point where it was Jon's turn.
He pressed play. Jon could hear the commentator's voices, Oberyn Martell and Barristan Selmy, as he readied himself on Crosswired.
["And here we see the rookie of the year, Jon Snow. Jon Snow placed 7th going into the championship round. After bucking off in round number one yesterday, Jon had a good ride today atop the bull 'Who Dat' today in round two. 88 points. The best ride of the round but bested by six other riders who cleared both of their bulls" Barristan said.
"Yes, Jon Snow fell spectacularly off of 'Red Skull' in round 1. Not even clearing half the needed time, spinning into the bull at around 3.5 seconds. Luckily, our bull fighters were on their day as bull fighter Greyworm managed to push Jon out of Red Skull's line of damage."]
Jon rolled his eyes. Oberyn always was an asshole to him.
["Yes, erm" Barristan coughed, "well, Jon Snow needs a score of eighty-nine and three quarters (89.75) to slide into first place. Crosswired should be more than a worthy adversary for such a score. The highest score being ninety-three and a half (93.5) points last year at the world finals. The lowest score being a ninety (90) rated ride. That was out of 4 total qualified rides."
"Out of a total of just over 50 attempted rides. Let's see if Jon Snow can be number 5."]
"Jon Snow seems to be having a bit of trouble in the shoots it seems" Barristan said, "Crosswired appears to not want to play ball with the rider from the north. He appears to be anxious to buck in the shoots."
"Mm. Jon Snow would do well to let the clock run down. The chances of winning the event are next to impossible with riders such as Daario Naharis and Quentyn Martell still to ride. Emmet is currently out to injury while Forrester and Drogo have taken the week off. No doubt all three riders would have pushed Jon Snow from his 7th place to 9th if they were here today.]
Jon clenched his fist.
[The monitor showed Jon tightening the rope around his gloved hand. Robb was attempting to push Crosswired into a stationary position with his boot atop the bull's hump. After being satisfied with the wrapped rope around his riding hand, Jon pushed his black cowboy hat down with his free hand. Jon slid his groin until it was resting on his riding hand.
Crosswired began to buck wildly once again in the chute.]
Jon smirked as he saw the events play out. No doubt that Crosswired was adjusted to the routine. The bull knew when a rider was ready to give the go ahead for the gatekeeper to open the chute. Crosswired enjoyed bucking as much as a rider enjoyed riding.
["Oh dear" Barristan said, "Crosswired is certainly causing a ruckus in the chutes."
"He should wait for the judge to offer another bull. Winning the event is beyond him. Best to ride a bull and take the additional paycheck to his earlier qualified ride."
"He's not here for the money" Barristan replied. "Jon Snow is here to show the world that he means business. He wants to be the best. He was the rookie of the year last season. This is his chance. To be the best, you've got to beat the best. He may not win, but he's going to make those six other men in front of him work for it."
"I never understood this honorable lie you riders claim "in it for the fun". I never once chose a bull without knowing the payoff I'd receive for riding it. Perhaps that's why I'm the only 3 time world champion."
The viewers could her Barristan Selmy sigh over his mic.
"Well, it appears that Jon Snow isn't going to wait for the re-ride. And here we go!"
Jon had given the go ahead with a nod, the chute opening wide as Crosswired walked slowly out of the chute before hopping 5 feet in the air.
"Crosswired launches himself in the air, he's spinning towards the right, right into Jon's hand. Snow has a good seat, matching Crosswired spins. 4 seconds! 5! 6! Seven, another hop and OH DEAR! Oh my!"]
Jon winced as he saw himself fly into the air. Somehow, when the bull had spun around the seventh second, Jon had been slightly unseated and had been lifted just a bit into the air. And just as Jon's body was coming back down towards the back of the bull, Crosswired had decided to hop straight into the air, causing Jon to fly straight up, his entire body was completely vertical, his riding hand the only anchor keeping him from flying further into the air.
Another wince when he saw his body bounce off the side body of the bull and his face straight into the steel chutes.
He could see his body limping loosely, Greyworm jumping atop his riding hand in order to free him. The hang up was relieved rather quickly and Jon could see himself moving slowly and trying to sit up before falling back down.
The clock read 7.39 seconds but Doc Luwin said that the final official score was 7.51.
"Tough luck man" Grenn said, "I'm surprised you're standing clearly after that wallop."
Theon snickered, earning a smack to his shoulder from Robb.
"The bull scored a 46.5. That's an impressive opponent" Podrick remarked.
"Yeah, best bull score of the night in fact" Robb said.
Jon grit his teeth. He would've had a high score if he had only just lasted half a second longer. Well, depending if the judges thought he had good form. A qualified ride was scored on two factors. The rider and the bull. Both rider and bull were scored out of 50 but only the bull's score was guaranteed to be given. A rider was only permitted a score if he made the entire 8 seconds.
"Who won the event" he asked suddenly.
"Gendry" Podrick answered.
"The rookie? He rode before me…" Jon asked in bewilderment.
"Yeah…erm…no one else managed to clear their bulls…" Grenn trailed off.
"How does it feel Snow? Only half a second from winning Storm End's event?" Theon was rather smug. However, it didn't last.
"You didn't even qualify for the championship round…" Podrick said.
Theon glared daggers at him.
Jon stared off into space before cursing as he suddenly backhand one of the steel bars of the chutes with a closed fist.
Everyone backed away from him as he began to pace, muttering low curses under his breath. When he calmed down he asked his friends how the fabled "better riders", according to Oberyn Martell, performed.
"Both Naharis and Quentyn failed to clear their respective bulls, Drogon and Viserion" Podrick said to him.
"Both bulls come from the same owner, don't they?" Robb asked.
Podrick nodded.
"Daenerys Targaryen. Been making a good deal of waves with her bulls. She has five good bulls. But everyone knows the three un-rideable bulls she owns."
"Drogon, Viserion and Rhaegal, isn't it?" Grenn asked.
Podrick nodded again.
"I want to see their rides" Jon said.
Podrick turned back to the monitor as he forwarded to Quentyn Martell atop Viserion.
["Here we see your nephew, Quentyn. Viserion of course has been unridden during his duration here at the Built Ford Tough Series. Alongside his brothers Drogon and Rhaegal. Viserion is arguable the tamer of the three brothers, but still a worthy opponent. Small and light, Viserion is known for his spins rather than his powerful kicks. He's positioned to spin into Quentyn's hand, but that hasn't helped any rider in the past."
"Yes" Oberyn replied. "I've met the bull before an event once. Gentle with a fire burning within his heart. Not unlike his owner."
Barristan coughed.
"Anyways" Oberyn continued, "I have full faith in Quentyn. I think the ride is assured if the bull spins into his hand.]
Jon smirked as he heard from his friends what the result would end up in. He wished he could have been next to Oberyn as Viserion bucked his nephew from his seat.
[Quentyn looks ready and in position. He gives the go ahead! Viserion hops towards his right-but no! Viserion begins to spin away from Quentyn's hand and to the left. Quentyn is sliding- and it's over at three seconds…"]
"You think Oberyn left to go cry his eyes out?" Robb asked.
["Yes, the bull was smart enough to spin away from Quentyn's hand. As you could see, Quentyn had a perfect seat as Viserion came out of the chute and had a decent seat when Viserion chose to spin left. A slight stumble caused Quentyn to come a bit off balance, but that's all a bull like Viserion needs."]
"Never mind" Robb remarked.
[An image of a beautiful silver haired woman appeared on the screen. She had a smug look as she raised her chin while her bull made his way back to the steel corral.]
Theon whistled.
"I wouldn't mind riding that" he said.
"Her bulls would buck you off in less than two seconds" Jon said offhandedly.
"That's not what I meant-"
Grenn shushed him as Podrick forwarded to Naharis' turn on Drogon.
"Shit, that's one big animal" Grenn said.
Indeed, Drogon was a large black bull with ferocious looking horns that pointed at an angle. It surely had no business performing as an athlete for the WPBR. Jon could not believe such an animal to be athletic. How wrong he was.
["Naharis appears to be smiling as he converses with Drogon's owner, Daenerys Targaryen. Daenerys is the daughter of famed late Stock Contractor, Aerys Targaryen. Aerys unfortunately perished a few years past and left his legacy to his three children. Rhaegar has produced a few noteworthy bulls, we saw his bull 'Crosswired' earlier today. However, it isn't strange to say that Daenerys' bulls are of exceptional and higher caliber. Notably this bull here…Drogon. Is Daario Naharis, perhaps, coaxing information from Daenerys in order to have a better shot at her bull?"
They could hear Oberyn snort at Selmy's comments.
"He's trying to coax something" Oberyn said smoothly.
Barristan ignored him.
"Naharis is set. The world number 2, second to only last season's number 1 rider of the world, Khal Drogo. Against Drogon, a contender for this year's Bull of the Year. Naharis slides up into his seat, lefthanded. He gives the go ahead!"
Drogon immediately darted out of the shoots the second it was opened.
"Drogon takes a giant leap! And OH! Naharis is launched toward the bull!"]
Silence. That was the reaction of the four riders as they saw the monitor.
"Well…damn." Theon said.
Jon stood in silence as he processed what he had just seen.
The bull had taken a giant leap and it hadn't even given Naharis an opportunity to get a proper seat. Drogon must have leaped a good six feet in the air. Naharis' neck had smacked against one of Drogon's horns as he spun like a top against Drogon's head. He was hung up for a second but was freed by Greyworm. He walked off towards Sports Medicine, clutching his throat. Looking back at the replay, Daario was lucky. Drogon's horn had caught onto his vest before sliding towards his throat. It probably would've been crushed if it had made direct contact.
The screen showed a worried looking Daenerys as she observed Daario walking off. She gave a glance at her bull before making her way off screen and, presumably, towards the Sports Medicine.
"That bull shouldn't be able to jump that high" Robb whispered with awe.
Podrick and Grenn stood dumbstruck.
Theon remarked how "hot" Daenerys was.
Jon simply stared at the screen in silence.
"It's just another bull" he said to them. "Someone will ride him eventually."
And that someone would be him. He was going to be the best. And he didn't care if it was Viserion, Drogon or this other bull, Rhaegal.
Jon would clear them all in order to win.
