After his breakfast with the Prince, Ned returned to his rooms, Robert was still sleeping in and so was Elbert. There is the sour stink of wine and overpowering perfume in their rooms. Ned wondered if they spent all three hundred gold Robert won yesterday. For today Ned will just enjoy the tourney events, Melee was already over by the time Ned arrived, and archery was finished yesterday.
That only left the jousts. The finalists performed well and made a good showing, Rhaegar reached finals by defeating Ser Barristan and he is to face Ser Arthur for finals. While they broke each other lances six times, it was on the seventh pass that Ser Arthur unhorsed Rhaegar. The already loud cheers redoubled. When the time came to crown the Queen of Love and Beauty, Ser Arthur did the polite thing and crowned Lord Tywin Lannisters sister, Genna Lannister, who if Ned remembered right married a Emmon Frey. She was a beautiful woman if a bit plump, but crowning her the polite and political thing to do. After all a Kingsguard crowning a unmarried maiden might raise some unwanted speculation.
As the cheers died down, the prizes were given and celebratory feast was announced, the King left with Lord Tywin and obvious Lannister children in the tow and the crowd dispersed. Ned followed the King and his party at a distance, the feast will being in about a hour and Ned thought he might as well follow the King now, they are going in the direction of stables anyway and he wanted to experiment some more with his powers. So Ned pulled through the bond and enhanced his senses and concentrated to listen in the King's and his Hand's conversation
"...propose a betrothal between Prince Rhaegar and my daughter Cersei ", Lord Tywin said in serious voice.
To that the King laughed out loud, there was a cruel and mocking edge to it, " Tywin, you are my most able servant, but a man doesn't marry his son to a servant's daughter. That jest you just made my day and filled my belly, I have no interest in attending the feast any more, Rhaegar will attend in my stead. See to it that the feast goes splendidly, won't you Tywin?" And the King just walked away from a white faced, teeth grinding Lord Tywin Lannister, a beautiful girl child with tears streaming down her face, probably Lady Cersei and a red faced boy with clenched fists with fury in his eyes who looked remarkably like Cersei, probably her twin brother Jaime. After staring at the back of the King for a while, Lord Tywin ordered his steed brought to him and turned towards the tourney grounds once again.
Fuck, The King just grievoulsy insulted Lord Tywin in his own home, and he wasn't very discreet about it either. When the King laughed he attracted attention of surrounding nobles. And at least some of them heard Kings words, and those words will be heard by all of Westerlands in a day and all of Westeros in three days. Tywin fucking Lannister, who wiped out two entire noble Houses for insulting his family name, now has been humiliated in his own home, the man won't forget this, and he will have his due in time, whether Aerys knew it or not he made an enemy out of Tywin Lannister this day. Is the King a fucking moron, you do not humiliate any lord of the Realm this way, if he didn't want to marry Rhaegar to Cersei, he could have just said that he will think about it and privately told him no. No, this isn't just about rejection, The King wanted to humiliate Tywin, have the things deteriorated so much between these once boyhood friends? If they had, why the fuck is the King still trusting Tywin to run his kingdom. But what if it isn't about trust, what if the King just wanted Tywin near him, so that he could rub Tywin's face into dirt time and time again. That would mean that the King is a moron and a petty asshole, possibly mad too, Fuck, if he had known true character of the King, Ned wouldn't have been within hundred miles of him. Now here he is, a friend of the Crown Prince. Rhaegar didn't seem to have much of his father in him and Ironeyes liked him, but Ned would be keeping careful watch over his new friend.
Ned did not have the stomach for feast after his epiphanies about the King. He would just retire to his rooms and order food from servants when he felt hungry.
Robert and Elbert attended the feast and returned late. Ned just had some food brought to him and slept early. And woke even earlier. Meditated for about an hour to sort everything he was feeling and everything that happened in this tourney. There is no doubt that Ned gained much for coming here, but he got tangled up with people he wanted to never go near. But that is how these things usually go he supposes.
Now he has to make sure their escorts are ready to leave and Robert and Elbert can sit a horse. Then there is the long journey to Vale that is ahead of him. Most of the lords and ladies who accompanied them will stay for another two days to a week at Lannisport, but there isn't need for Robert, Elbert and Ned to stay and Ned isn't very comfortable being in the reach of Lord Tywin. So today they would leave. He just hoped to gods that Robert didn't dishonour any noble ladies while here.
There is much to think upon his return journey to Eeyrie, the Prince's dragon dreams and the message that was planted in Neds head, there is work at Moat Cailin that Ned needs to be updated upon, and he has been without any word from the North for more than a month now, he didn't want his family to send any ravens to him, and he only sent one letter from Lannisport about the aid he secured and saying that he was well. So there is that.