It was as expected. Ned Stark was not allowing his 'son' to take part in the tourney at all, no matter how much Jon urged him to. Ned Stark did not want Jon in the public eyes and no matter how much the boy tried, he would not relent. Not even Ser Barristan had any luck in changing the man's mind. Ned Stark was adamant and he would hear none of what others had to say. Jon had given up all hope of changing his mind until the day before the tourney would be held the man came to Jon and agreed to let him join. He looked unnerved and fidgety. Jon had a sneaking suspicion that Brynden had something to do with this. The man in question did not agree to it nor did he deny it.

Jon signed up for two of the three events of the tourney. He had never learned how to joust properly. He didn't want to rely on the memories given to him by Brynden and end up dying because he physically never learned it. He stuck to what he was good at. He was confident that he could win the archery contest and the melee.

The first event was the Joust, which took a good portion of two days. It went on as Jon saw it in the memories. Jory wins the first two matches against Horas Redwyne and someone from House Frey before losing to Lothor Brune. Harwin and Alyn lose to Meryn Trant and Balon Swann in their respective matches while Jaime Lannister won his bouts to the semi-finals. Where he lost to Sandor 'The Hound' Clegane. The other semi-final match was between Ser Loras Tyrell, who had come this far by defeating Meryn Trant, Ser Robar Royce and two other Kingsguard Knights. He eventually went on to fight Ser Gregor 'The Mountain' Clegane, who had been ruthless all through but had only one casualty to his name in the form of Ser Hugh of The Vale.

The fight between Ser Loras and Ser Gregor had not been of force and ruthlessness though. Ser Loras with his mare in heat had distracted Ser Gregor's stallion well enough for Ser Loras to unhorse him. In his fit of rage, Ser Gregor beheaded his stallion in one swing and went for Ser Loras next. Ser Loras would have followed the stallion's example had it not been for Sandor Clegane coming to his defence. It was only at the King's order did the fight between the brothers stopped.

The Final fight was a forfeit on Ser Loras' end. The man was grateful to The Hound and showed it by stepping back from the competition. The Hound was all too happy collecting his winnings.

A feast was arranged at the end of the joust where Jon sat beside his uncle and just watched the court silently. All he learned from his observations was that The King was a bad drunk. But he already knew that.

The third day of the tourney started with the Archery competition that would go on for the entirety of the day owing to the number of people that had signed up for it. Jon had come out victorious in the competition, defeating Anguy of The Dornish Marches, Ser Balon Swann and Prince Jalabhar Xho.

The Next Day – Tourney Grounds

"You did well yesterday" Brynden commented while he helped Jon don his armour.

"I had a good teacher" Jon grunted as the weight of the armour settled on his body. "Isn't this a little too much? People we don't want will notice too soon" the boy argued. He was right to worry, he felt. The armour he wore was simple black plate armour and underneath it, he wore silver ring mail. His helm too was the same colour.

"This is a simple black armour you're wearing," Brynden said softly, looking on over carefully. "We want them to see you and when the time is right, we want them to connect the dots and make sense of it themselves" he explained.

The flap to the tent moved and Jon looked to the side to find Ser Barristan. The boy smiled at him. "Is the King going to take part as well? I don't think I can win if he does."

But Ser Barristan did not register what Jon had said. The sight of Jon in that armour brought something from inside Barristan Selmy that the man had long forgotten even existed, a memory of a man that he called his friend. The Knight quickly shook himself out of his thoughts and asked Jon to repeat what he had said. "Your father is with him. If anyone can change his mind, it would be him" Ser Barristan smiled once Jon asked him once again. "You look ready. I wish you the best out there today."

"Thank you, Ser Barristan" Jon nodded with a smile of his own. The knight then excused himself and left. "I think I might have given him a heart attack" Jon muttered.

"Focus on the fight," Brynden said softly. "I do not doubt that you'd be able to beat all that take part in this Melee, but I advise you to choose your opponents wisely. Remain horsed till the very end where you'll no doubt face Thoros of Myr. He'd be your trickiest opponent."

"I'll need to find some way to not lose control of my horse when I fight him and his flaming sword" Jon stated calmly. "Then it's a battle of endurance between us. His sword will snap at some point and I'll be crowned victorious."

"Good, you have a clear trail of thought" Brynden stated calmly.

"A lot is riding on this so I have to be level headed in my approach" Jon explained. "Did you find Anguy as I asked?"

"I did. He was all too happy to join our side" Brynden stated and Jon nodded. "I'll be sure to recruit more men that show potential in these competitions."

"You do that. I'll go win us some glory and gold" Jon picked his helm up and walked out of the tent.

The Melee Ground

Jon entered the melee ground on horseback alongside the other contestants. His eyes roamed his competition, judging each of them closely. Once done they moved to the stands. The King looked in a sour mood but he was relaxed and his seat. Jon felt relieved at the knowledge that Robert did not see it. His uncle on the other hand did. Ned Stark had stiffened when his and Jon's eyes met and Jon gave him half a smile before putting his helm on.

The King called for the melee to begin and the sound of hooves thundering replaced the relative silence. Jon's first opponent was Ser Theo Frey, who came at him expecting an easy win. Jon barely handled the blow with his shield but was able to recover quick enough to clip the saddle. Ser Theo fell and was dragged by his horse. Jon circled the grounds, watching the other contestants fight it out. Thoros of Myr was the standout, winning even without getting involved in direct fights, the flames of his sword sending the horses into a frenzy. Jon fought his fair share of men as well, hedge knights and fighters that came for glory. He had a harder time against knights and fighters of renown like The Freys, Patrek Mallister and Martyn Rivers, son of Walder Frey. It took almost three hours, but finally, Jon had his man. Thoros of Myr was the last man standing.

"For a newbie, you've done well lad" Thoros of Myr commented. "But this is where your luck ends."

"I think it'll last me a little longer" Jon shouted back, kicking his horse to come to a stop. The battle had been hard and there were times he felt as if he was going to lose. But then it clicked for him, the memories of a life he won't have. Every battle overlapped with them, every fighter he came across looked either like a Bolton man, a wildling or one of the dead. That made it easier for him to add more power to his swing and stick on his horse. Because if he fell it was death for him. And Jon Snow did not want to die just yet.

The two fighters stared at one another closely, kicking their horses gently to circle the other. Neither of them made the first move, both acknowledging the other's strength. But one of them was on a time limit, as evidenced by the flames on his swords starting to lessen and flicker. Thoros of Myr charged and Jon took off the other way. The crowd booed at him but Jon had his plans. The flames were almost out and Jon was not about to risk everything in a bout of glory hunting. He could hear Thoros telling him to stop running and when he looked back, he saw that the man was too close for his comfort. He swayed to one side and watched the man pass him.

You need to earn their favour before you can expect their loyalty, the words of Brynden came to Jon. If he stuck to his plan, he was guaranteed a victory. But would that earn him their good graces? Would playing safe make him seem like a reliable leader?

Jon clicked his tongue and gave Thoros of Myr chase. The man turned his horse around just as Jon was on him. He raised his flaming sword and Jon expected his horse to buckle and throw him off. It didn't. Jon swung, his sword clashed against his and then one of the swords snapped in half and went flying.