Chapter 1: Baelon
Harrenhal 281 AL, Fifteenth day of the Month of the Falcon.
Baelon Targaryen hates tourneys. In the past, he can easily beat his elder brother in sword play and riding. His superior strength and speed had served him well in their previous encounters. But yesterday, he lost to him for the first time. The lance that his brother held had pierced his horse in its eye which made the horse stop and threw him into the ground. The impact of his fall had left him a tremendous pain which he can still feel today.
"Brother, it is a change seeing you today here at the box, usually it is you who would be on the next round and Rhaegar sitting here watching you." A girl of three and ten says. Shaena Targaryen, his younger sister is a beautiful princess like their mother was. Like them, she have purple eyes and silver-gold hair. When they were young, their father, King Aerys, had them betrothed to each other, and she had been looking forward to marrying him. But that did not came to be as he was forced to marry Cersei Lannister, when she became pregnant with his son after having sex with her during a tourney.
"It's unfortunate that our brother pierced Sunfyre's eye, it's been hard to take care of him ever since I fell." Sunfyre, his horse was a black steed he tamed after it went wild in his courtyard in Duskendale. After his lost, the horse went wild that it the guards threatened to kill it with their crossbows. Thankfully, he was able to calm it before such a thing happened.
He began to look at the field and see the two knights facing each other. On one side is his brother, Prince Rhaegar Targaryen and on the other Ser Barristan Selmy, his mentor and the person he squired for. The two men sat on their horses and adjusted their hold on their lances. The horses then ran and the two men's lance point at each other. The lances hit each other and the horses stop at the command of their riders.
Despite hating tourneys, Baelon had watched them all his life. The more he watched, the more he understand how it's played. In most cases, the player have to use the lance to knock the opponent from his horse. Some players like himself use the lance to merely push the opponent of his horse sideways unlike using the lance to stab as others do. Rhaegar does the latter as evidence by Sunfyre's eye. But Ser Barristan is known to be good at evading lances as long as he can remember.
The two men clashed again and this time, the Ser Barristan is seen to be tiring as his hold on his lance is getting loose as Baelon observed. Despite that none of the two men fell, though Baelon felt that Rhaegar is planning something similar to what he did to Sunfyre. The two men then re adjusted their lances and the horses ran. The lance did not clash this time instead, Rhaegar used his lance to push Ser Barristan from his horse like Baelon does. Ser Barristan's lance is deflected by Rhaegar's shield. After a few grunts from the prince, Ser Barristan fell and Rhaegar had won.
"Thud!" Rhaegar then dismounts and offered a hand to Ser Barristan, which Ser Barristan accepts and rose from his fall. As this is happening Baelon felt angry that Rhaegar had used the same technique that he does to win this tourney. Piercing Sunfyre's eye was one thing, but stealing his using his style of jousting without his permission is another. Baelon then forced himself out of the tourney grounds.
"Where are you going?" a woman of seven and ten asked. "I am taking a piss, sister." "You are lying Baelon, I saw you pissing before the match started." Daenys replied. Daenys Targaryen his eldest sister, is born the year before his birth, in the third and twenthieth day of the Month of the Rose. Unlike her namesake, she does not have any dreams that could be deemed prophetic unlike her brother-husband, Rhaegar.
Despite that, he still walks away to tend his horse Sunfyre in the stables. "Daenys, let him be and go back to your sit. It is clear that your brother is a coward." His father said after he left. Hearing those words from his father felt bad as he always try to prove to everyone that he should be the heir, not Rhaegar. Being called a coward by his father, despite the fact that he accompanied Ser Barristan when they rescued him in Duskendale is something that broke his feelings.
Baelon then walk as fast as he can to the stables to run away from the tourney and go back to Duskendale. "Where are you going, Baelon?" Cersei shouted. Cersei Lannister had long golden blonde hair and piercing green eyes, she is said to be more beautiful than his sister, Daenys. "Cersei, pack your things, we are going back to Duskendale." "No, we are not. We are going to watch this to the end." Baelon then walked and Cersei quickly grabs and pulls him back. The couple struggled and many onlookers had gathered. Despite Baelon being the stronger of the two, Baelon gave in and went back to the tourney grounds with his wife.
"I proclaim, Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, the Prince of Dragonstone, the winner of this tourney!" said a brown haired old man. The audience cheered whilst Prince Rhaegar waved and took a crown of blue roses from a box carried by a servant. Baelon wonders where he got those blue roses since those are not native in the south. Blue roses are known to grow in the north and also can be found at Ib. Merchants from the north are known to charge a high price at for those kinds of roses this time of the year. Ever since his wedding last year, the luxurious lifestyle of the royal family and the elaborate torture and spectacle every time the King would execute someone had cause expenditures to rise and tax revenues to fall since Houses gave decreasing amount of taxes each month to the Iron Throne.
Unlike most people on that stage, Baelon knew that there's only friendship not love shared between his elder siblings. Baelon knew that Daenys view her brother-husband as a mad man obsessed with prophecy and had and admiration for him. Though, Daenys is a beautiful woman, Baelon did not admire her like the admiration he had for Shaena and Cersei.
"Your grace, would you preserve the honor of my daughter, Lady Larra and allow her to remain the Queen of Love and Beauty, or will you appoint another?" Lord Whent asked. "I will appoint another." Rhaegar with the crown of blue roses walked to the audience, passed by his sister-wife and crowned a young maiden with brown hair.
