273 AC
Chapter X
The Anniversary Tournament: Part II
Jonos
If nothing else, the Anniversary tournament gave Jonos plenty to do.
Most notably, Jonos got the opportunity to spend time with a family he had not seen in a while. This was the first time he had seen his siblings in almost five years.. Darnold certainly had spirit and bravery in abundance. More so than Jonos had at that age. He also possessed something Jonos lacked. Genuine talent with a sword in his hand. He was sure if it was honed, he would be a much better fighter than Jonos would ever be. And parts of Jonos wanted to be the one to guide him that path. But first, he had to guide himself towards that path. The toil squires endured to reach knighthood was no joke. Some would even stay squires for the rest of their lives, and never be knighted. Jonos did not plan to be one of those squires.
Jonos had just finished his preliminary matches squires' sword competition that got him through to the final day of the tournament. There the finals for the jousting and the grand melee would also take place. However, squires jostled to make the final day, as they would not get the same opportunity in other tournaments. Jonos had to beat five opponents in the sword competition to earn the right to fight in front of the grandstands. Tough challengers from House Farring of Farring's Cross, Mace Tyrell, a signifcantly older squire, and surprisingly two squires from House Frey. They were also present at the tournament, but Ser Brynden seemed to have a low opinion of members of their house. Jonos took the time to recuperate with his friends in their own area of the tournament ground.
"I have to admit, Jonos, it was an impressive display you put on during the individual sword trials," Robert remarked, adjusting his own armor the melee he would be participating in.
"I still don't get why you two put so much effort in these mock fights. Why is it so celebrated here in the south?" Ned chimed in.
"I wonder about that myself, Stark," Petyr replied, "But the reason also seems to escape me." Ned nodded towards Petyr. Both of them had no interest in any of the competitions despite having the ability to do so.
"No matter. It's too bad we won't be in the same group for the squires' melee preliminary. I wanted to test your mettle personally," Robert remarked.
"You wouldn't want that. At least this way both of us will be able to fight on the final day of the tournament," Jonos retorted with a grin. Robert feigned offense.
"Then, I wish you good fortune in your melee. That way I can claim victory over you in front of most of the nobility in the Seven Kingdoms, tomorrow,"
"In dream, maybe," Jonos said dryly, "It's too bad, Darnold didn't see any of my matches earlier in the day. He was apparently sick from what mother told me this morning."
"I doubt it. He might just be dejected, because of that Lannister girl," Robert stated, nudging Jonos on his shoulder. Jonos rolled his eyes, "Poor boy was prevented from interacting with her further after the incident with Ser Kevan. The chaperones of House Lannister were like a line of pikes."
"My brother certainly had no intention of giving up on her," Jonos sighed. He turned towards Petyr, "It's your fault the boy even took an interest in the Lannister girl. Lord Tywin isn't going to take this lightly."
"I didn't know your brother would actually take my advice," Petyr shrugged. He started to flip the dagger he usually carried with him. Jonos preferred a castle forged short sword. He assumed Petyr carried a dagger. because pages did not have the right to carry arms like squires did.
"My brother has other things to focus on than chasing young ladies around. I don't want him to end up like Robert over there," Jonos explained, shifting his gaze toward Robert.
"I think it is high time to start taking your own advice, Jonos. You seemed very keen on approaching women during the feast's dance," Robert stated tilting his head toward Jonos, "You danced with a quite shortlist of young ladies, including Ned's sister, Lyanna." Like most feasts, there was often a dance after everyone had eaten their fill. He made the acquaintance of quite a few young ladies. One of note was Janna Tyrell, sister to Mace Tyrell, Lord Paramount of the reach. She had been cordial and engaged in conversation with him during their dance. Jonos had an inkling that she wasn't interested in actually getting to know Jonos. But rather, she was interested in him because of his status as heir to titles of Warden of East and Lord Paramount of the Mountains and Vale. And then there was Lyanna Stark, Ned's sister.
.She had been off to the side with her mother and brother Benjen. Both were surprised that Jonos even asked her to dance. Lyanna didn't seem too interested, but she begrudgingly accepted after prodding from her mother. She had unusually quick and deft movements, making it difficult for Jonos to keep up. She had very little interest in making conversation and simply accepted the dance at the behest of her mother.
"By my account you were the only person she danced with too, Jonos. Not that I care, I trust you more than Robert to be honest" Ned added in. Robert stopped adjusting his armor to give Ned a glare.
"I was simply doing my duty at a social function. It is the duty of knights to display honor and chivalry. It wasn't an attempt at new conquests, unlike some people I know," Jonos replied, giving his eyes like piercing daggers to both of them, specifically Robert.
"Sure, Jonos whatever you say," Robert mocked, "I have to admit, I prefer ladies with a little more build than Lyanna. No offense, Ned," Lyanna wasn't the most pleasing to the eye, Jonos had to admit. Compared to both Cat and Lysa, she certainly presented herself as less of a fair and delicate maiden. She was skinny and stood almost a head and a half shorter than him. Consequently, Jonos gave little importance to the looks of young ladies around him, as he simply had better things to focus on. Unlike most of his companions, except Ned.
"No offense taken. I'm sure many will regret ignoring her once she grows older and turns out much fairer than her current state,"
"And does my sister fit this build of yours, Robert?" Jonos asked him. Robert began to flush with embarrassment, "You seemed to enjoy dancing with her last night."
"Sharra, well uh-," Robert stammered, "you know what, let's not talk about that."
"I have to admit, though, I'm glad to see my sister enjoy herself in a social gathering. My thanks for that, Robert," Jonos started with a mock bow.
"He also seemed to be giving looks to the other young men, who asked for a dance," Ned added.
"She declined most of them, not to my surprise. She has no interest in talking to strangers at all. I felt a little sorry for Mace Tyrell, he took it pretty hard." Jonos said solemnly.
"She did accept one. The prince himself asked to dance with her. A lot of the other ladies, who probably had the same idea, gave her jealous stares throughout the night," Petyr contributed to the conversation. Robert's embarrassment further grew as a result of Petyr mentioning this.
"He's a prince! Of course, she was forced to accept," Robert rationalized to himself.
"I seemed to have missed this. When did she dance with Prince Rhaegar?" Jonos asked, genuinely taken aback. He did not notice Prince Rhaegar. He was hard to miss given his unique appearance. Jonos swore he had watched everyone who approached his sister.
"She did. You were far too busy trying to keep up with Lyanna to notice I'm afraid," Ned answered.
"How come no one told me this earlier?"
"We assumed you already knew. Not that it matters, Robert's been eyeing his cousin menacingly since then," Ned explained with Robert's embarrassment continuing to grow.
"It might be easier to just pursue Lyanna, Robert. You have a prince to compete with if you want to continue your streak of attempted conquest on your friend's sisters." Petyr quipped, "Though you might have to compete with Jonos for Lyanna and she's quite young. I supposed that might say something about Jonos." Jonos gave a confused look to Petyr, "However, no one seems interested in her and Jonos is clueless, so have at it I guess,"
"Perhaps my fist will pursue your face," Robert said with a characteristic hostile tone about him. Petyr put his hands up like he had done nothing wrong, clearly pleased with provoking the much larger boy.
"Look alive boys," someone yelled. Jonos turned to see Ser Brynden waving at them, "Jonos your melee is about to start, so unless you want to forfeit, I suggest making your way to the ground with haste."
"Don't worry we'll be right behind you," his friends told him as he rushed towards Ser Brynden. He could see the relief enter Robert's face as they were no longer talking about Sharra and Rhaegar. The thoughts about events of the dance were now no longer present in Jonos' mind. He had a melee to focus on.
The melee grounds were similar to the grounds he had fought in during the sword competitions earlier. The first jousts and the grand melee also happened today. However, they would start to happen near noon, when everyone was assembled in the grandstands. His competitions happened at dawn and the early morning to no fanfare as per usual. Jonos had already earned a place in the sword competitions. He would need all the experience in mock battles to prepare him for the real battles to come.
Ser Brynden and his friends watched from behind the wooden fence that served as a barrier to keep them inside the dirt circle melee ring. The goal was to eliminate competitors by either making them yield or physically forcing them over the barricade and out of the ring. Thirty squires were all gathered ready for the competitions to begin. Only ten would remain at the end. The sparse spectators, including the knights of the squires and others.
Jonos looked around and saw some familiar faces in the ring with him. One of them was the heir to Winterfell and Ned's older brother, Brandon. He stood probably close to his height, but slightly taller and much more stocky and well built. He was a head taller than Ned, but it was probably because he was slightly older than Ned. Brandon did not interact much with him during the feast.
Besides that, Jonos could not recognize the other fighters, except for the one of the squires he beat during the sword. Jonos assumed he would be out for revenge during this event. It was also his only chance to compete in front of the crowd tomorrow.
A horn sounded to indicate the start of the melee, and chaos ensued as squires started to hack away at one another. Dust flew in the air as several squires began to fall down because of blows they received or simply stumbling. Jonos quickly moved to the squires in his immediate vicinity. He hacked away and managed to knock one of them over the railing causing one of the first eliminations.
The disorganized scrum continued to fight as they had barely enough room to maneuver, making Jonos' weaknesses more amplified within the confined space. It would have been more chaotic if they were in full plate like the grand melee later on today. Jonos managed to escape the scrum and catch his breath in the corner of the ring where no one else was.
"Get back in there, Arryn! You can't win standing off to the side like that!" Ser Brynden commanded. Jonos noticed Robert saying something to Ned, but he couldn't make it out because he could not hear their voices over the sound of tournament weapons clashing against half-plate armor of the squires. Petyr stood there looking off at something else.
Begrudgingly, Jonos entered the fray once more, but not before the lumbering Brandon Stark managed to throw two squires out of the ring at once. He made a third one yield on the ground before he turned his attention to Jonos. Many of the squires avoided him, but Jonos wasn't going to do that. Bravery is a knight's greatest trait.
Brandon locked eyes with Jonos and lunged at him. Jonos matched him, giving his sword a low block. The impact of Brandon's strike was enough to strain the muscles in his arm. Jonos didn't have much room to maneuver, so he had to make sure to use every technique in the book to stay Brandon's aggression.
Jonos did a high feint hoping to get Brandon to swing at it. Like a prey to a hunter's trap, he fell for it. He ended up swinging at air allowing Jonos an opportunity to repost with a blow to his exposed back. Jonos continued to give Brandon more exercise by making him attempt to lock swords for a favorable exchange. Brandon knew he was much stronger than Jonos, so he tried his best to deny him space by closing in at every opportunity. It didn't help that Brandon seemed to be aiming the tournament blade at Jonos' head with viciousness. If it made contact it might take Jonos a couple minutes to wake up. There were eliminations going on around them, and some even tried to distract the fight between Brandon and Jonos. However, they were swept aside, while they had a dance of tournament steel in the middle of the ring.
Brandon made one of his long winded slashes towards Jonos. Cleverly, Jonos met Brandon, knowing he had avoided all crossing blades with him the entire fight. Brandon, surprised, couldn't put all his weight and strength behind the blade, and was driven back to the edge of the ring, not able to get a good footing.
"Good fight, but it's all over now," Jonos said with a grin. He twirled his sword and tried to swing to get his sword to make contact to send the off-balance Brandon over the fence. However, before he could make contact, Brandon had stepped out of the way. He was unusually deft for his size. All of Jonos' weight went forward with him as he swung. Brandon checked Jonos with his shoulder causing Jonos to leave the ground a good five feet. The fence that blocked them broke after Jonos' body barrelled into it. He hit the dirt face first. His ears began to ring and it took a while for his vision to focus once more, as he rolled to lay on his stomach.
"Over for you," He could hear Brandon say from the ringing in his ears. It looked like he would not be going on to the melee on the next day after all.
"Can you stand?" he heard someone say as they extended a hand to him. After his vision settled, he saw the hand belonged to Ser Brynden. He took the hand and as soon as he got up grounded his tourney sword in frustration, "And what was that I told you in training?"
"Watch what your opponent does and focus on their movements. If not, you could fall into a trap," The melee still went on as his friends now gathered around Jonos and Ser Brynden.
"Unlucky. Don't worry, I'll be sure to pay him back in the melee tomorrow," Robert stated to try to console him, "I thought you had him there, though." Jonos thought that too. He was sure that he had the duel won and that he could go back and focus on the others until only ten remained. He didn't even place in the top twenty after his elimination by Brandon.
"Nothing to be ashamed of Jonos, my brother is a formidable fighter," Ned reassured him. Jonos went back to looking at the melee, and saw that Brandon had now begun to assert himself. Most were eagerly avoiding him or trying to team up against him. He stood tall, however. Seemed like he was in his element with the chaos that was the melee.
"That's the difference between the sword and the melee, Jonos. Not a bad attempt, Jonos since it's your first real melee," Ser Brynden stated, "You still got the sword tomorrow. You also have to squire for me in my jousts later in the afternoon too, so get some rest while you can now. Jonos nodded and excused himself from his friends.
He had to squire for Ser Brynden in the joust later, but other than that nothing noteworthy occurred. He sat there as his knight advanced to the final lists on the final day of the tournament. He prepared the horse and handed him lances next to Petyr. Robert had to perform his duties as a squire when he assisted his cousin, Denys Arryn in a joust. Denys was only four years older than him and he had already been knighted at eighteen. He was the only knight from the Vale to reach the final lists after unhorsing a member of House Darklyn. People had begun to call him the "Darling of the Vale". Jonos imagined himself in the same armor as his cousin, carrying the same sigil. One day he would get there.
The next day of the tournament arrived with haste, Jonos found himself standing next to Ser Brynden and eight other squires in front of the grandstands. The sea of gentry, commons and other spectators all had their eyes on them. The squire's melee had just finished with Robert narrowly losing out on being named its champion after he was knocked out of the tournament by an extremely tall squire of House Clegane. Jonos could not believe the size of the man.
"An amazing performance from the squires. But now for your entertainment, we have squire's sword competition!" The crowd roared in approval as the master of ceremonies announced it, "Eight squires have earned the right to compete before you and in the honor of King Aerys himself. Without further interruption, we will now announce the pairings for the matchups" Jonos eagerly listened for his opponent. The announcer pulled out two parchements from a pile, which Jonos assumed contained the squire's names.
"Jonos Arryn, squire to Ser Brynden Tully will be fighting Prince Rhaegar Targaryen squire to Ser Gerold Hightower," Wonderful. Some had the custom of purposely losing to members of the royal family so as to not hurt them. Jonos was not going to do that. There were other names announced, but Jonos could not hear them. He had his eyes focused on the silver haired prince. The prince noticed him and also locked his own set of purple eyes on him. He nodded in acknowledgement, which Jonos courteously returned the favor. There would not be any courtesy when the match started between them. He stood next to the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, who was his knight. The White Bull, Gerold Hightower, a mighty and imposing reachman, stood in his white armor, proud and tall. It must have been an honor to squire under someone so important. It did not surprise Jonos, Rhaegar was a prince after all.
Their match was the last match in the quarterfinals. The crowd, however, seemed to be engulfed in the match, because the crown prince was competing in it. The match began as per usual with both of them paying their respects to the king. King Aerys waved them off and they faced off against one another for a brief moment. The sounds of the crowd became muffled as Jonos focused himself on his opponent.
He was slightly taller than Rhaegar, but both had a similar build. He couldn't really see his face as the helm he was wearing covered it. They wore half plate armor, unlike the full plate that was worn during the main sword competitions yesterday. The individual sword competition was more a side show with the joust being the premier competition when it came to the knights and lords. However, this was the equivalent to the joust for squires as jousts were rarely hosted for the unknighted.
Jonos got in his stance, and before he knew it the sound of the horn began the match. Jonos decided to not wait for the Prince to strike first and aggressively made the first strike. Jonos began to drive him back with hits. However, the Prince kept pace while circling around him with agility.
In time it was Jonos going back on the defensive. It began to become hard for Jonos to deflect his sword hits. They had come in fast from every angle, soon Rhaegar had landed clean hits to his half plate. Jonos knew he had to do something fast before he was disarmed.
Jonos made a slight drop in his guard allowing Rhaegar free hits to his chest armor. Rhaegar felt he had tired Jonos out and soon he began to attack Jonos with all he had hoped to end the match. Just as Rhaegar struck him, he met Rhaegar right where his blade would have struck on his chest armor. The surprise caused him to stagger back. Jonos continued to follow him as he crossed with Rhaegar's sword. Jonos gained control of Rhaegar's arm during this sword cross. He twisted it uncomfortably, giving the prince a choice between his sword or a broken arm.
Prince Rhaegar quickly dropped the sword. Jonos took the opportunity to drive his shoulder into his now guard. There wasn't any armor besides padding protecting the area where he was shoulder checked. Jonos could just hear the air escape his opponent. Rhaegar doubled back and fell to the ground. Unsure of whether or not it was appropriate to hit a grounded opponent, especially given his status, Jonos hesitated.
However, to his surprise, Rhaegar threw off his helm and held his hands up, "Well fought, I yield." The sound of the crowd returned to Jonos' ears as he looked around. The familiar faces he could see, including his father, mother, sister and brother were cheering as Jonos raised his sword in victory. The king seemed uninterested, but he did not look too pleased about his son's loss.
"Prince Rhaegar yields! Victory belongs to Squire Jonos," the master of ceremonies announced, "After a short intermission, the semi-finals of the squire's sword will begin." Jonos went over to his opponent and offered a hand to him. He accepted it and pulled the Prince up.
"Good fight, my prince,"
"And you as well, Arryn. I wish you the best of luck in your next match," The prince extended his hand for Jonos. Jonos took it and shook it. As the two walked towards their respective knights, Jonos took one last glance at the Prince. He may have looked like someone who didn't seem formidable in a fight, but he could not deny the prince's skill in swordsmanship. If he did not use that maneuver he had been taught by Ser Brynden, he would have surely lost the match. But now was not the time to mull over what could have happened. He had a match to focus on.
Unfortunately for Jonos, in the next match, he was given a lesson in swordsmanship in front of the crowd when he drew a Dornishman named Arthur Dayne. He had squired for some unknown Dornish knight, He was two years Jonos' senior. However, his technique with the sword was almost unnatural . In the end Dayne toyed with him and Jonos begged for an end to his misery resigning himself to another exit in the round before the final. This time there wasn't even a third place match, so both squires that reached the semi-final were given a bronze prize. Another bronze sword to add to the ever growing collection.
Jonos watched the final in the squire's sword with Ser Brynden, as his knight was preparing himself for the final jousts that were happening right after the grand melee after the squire's events. They saved the best spectacle in a tournament for last. Ser Brynden complimented him on another good showing and his placing in the top three of such a large tournament was nothing to scoff at. Jonos watched as Arthur defeated his opponent, who Jonos could not remember the name of when it was announced. In the end, King Aerys in all his benevolence, decided to knight the squire for his impressive performance, much to the approval of the spectators. Jonos wondered whether he could have become a knight if he had won his match against Arthur. He would be one of the youngest knights in the history of Westeros. A Knight after just over a year of being a squire. And I came two matches short of that feat.
The tournament's final events passed by, with his own knight not progressing past his first match of the day in the joust. Then again, he faced Ser Barristan The Bold, where he was not expected to win. Ser Brynden put on a show and was by no means an easy opponent for Ser Barristan. However, Ser Brynden was still disappointed in his elimination. The crown of victory rested upon the head of Ser Barristan that day. The hero in the War of Ninepenny Kings, tournament champion, member of the Kingsguard. He would one day be mentioned in the same breath as those legends.
Before long he was once again back with his brother, Darnold, Robert, Ned, and Petyr. The final feast was underway with the nobility deciding on celebrating with one last nature.
"I can't believe some still have the energy to feast. It's been a bloody long tournament," Robert remarked.
"You must just be drained because Sharra could not attend because of illness," Jonos joked.
"It's funny to not see you dancing among the ladies today. Perhaps, Lady Lyanna's absence has affected our dear friend Jonos hasn't it," Robert retorted, nudging Ned. Jonos didn't know why Robert continued teasing him about one dance. But Jonos shouldn't be upset, he loves to tease others over the smallest things as well. They continued to mock each other playfully as they watched people dance on the side. It wasn't like the commencement feast, as many were tired from the festivities of the days prior. However, Jonos' father and mother took the time to dance in the center.
"My parents look happy. They must count themselves lucky to marry for love," Jonos remarked.
"Aye, my mother and father are more or less indifferent about one another. But it is the case for most arranged marriages,"
"I can't judge your father, but if he shares your appetite for women. It might trouble some," Petyr stated. Robert looked a little hurt.
"What did I do to your friend, Jonos?"
"I don't know. What did he do to you, Petyr," Petyr shrugged and told him he was just speaking his mind. Jonos watched his parents dance and wished he would find someone like his mother. He didn't know, maybe he had already met his future wife. Though he knew that with the nature of political marriage, he had to make do with what wife his father decides for him. His heart wanted to find someone to grow old with like his mother did with his father.
"Excuse me for a moment, lads. I need some fresh air," He told his friends. His friends nodded to him as he left.
The night air greeted him as he walked towards the training yard. No one would bother him here. However, he could hear cracks as if something was hitting something else. It would be a normal sound if it was filled with people training. However, no one could have been in the training yard, especially at this hour. Great, ghosts. I wish I had won the silver prize, it would have been more effective against the ghosts than the bronze one I have now.
"Benjen, come on you can't just drop it before I do it,"
"I'm sorry." TWO GHOSTS. I don't stand a chance. Jonos went toward where he heard the voice he assumed came from a demonic apparition. To his relief, he did not see ghosts when he got to the main training yard. He saw a familiar girl and boy sparring with training swords, presumably from where they stored it in the training yard. The girl was wearing what looked like the boy's gear that he used during sparring. The boy was hitting her, albeit lightly in the area where the half plate would be. She kept her training sword in a guard that looked eerily familiar. Then she raised her sword to try to meet the blade, but instead of her meeting the sword, Benjen ended up hitting her hand. She dropped her sword. Jonos laughed out loud, but the two who had previously not noticed him. The girl, who Jonos assumed was Lyanna stared at him vehemently.
"And what are you laughing at?"
"Nothing of note. It's just amusing to see you attempt the technique I used on the prince earlier," Jonos stated trying to contain his laughter, "Best get the basics down before you do that."
"Oh really? I bet those basics really helped against my brother, Brandon," Lyanna declared triumphantly, "I saw you spill over the top of the fence during your melee yesterday."
"How? I could've sworn I would have noticed a noble girl, though admittedly you do look like a-"
"Like a what?"
"Nevermind," Jonos said, cutting his comment short. He didn't know whether she'd take offense to him saying she passed for a boy, "All I'm saying is that technique with a blade isn't something developed overnight, especially for someone like yourself,"
"Someone like myself?! Oh, that's what it's about. It's because I'm a girl isn't it?" She spat venomously. Got to admit, Ned's sister certainly has more bite than he does, "Let me tell you. I have more 'technique' than most." She walked to Jonos and tried to look as intimidating as she could for someone significantly smaller than him.
"Care to demonstrate then, Lady Stark?" Jonos replied.
"Gladly," She looked over to Benjen. He was silent during this entire scenario, "Benjen, hand him your sword." Benjen looked over to his sister unsure about this situation.
"Sister, I don't think this is the best idea,"
"Benjen. Hand. Him. The. Sword," She commanded fire underneath each of her words. Hesitantly, Benjen went over to Jonos and handed him the training sword. Jonos, still in his garments for the evening feast, had to discard the doublet he had on him to help his restricted movements. Of course, Jonos wasn't going to put full effort against a girl almost four years his junior, but he hated putting that doublet on anyway.
"You ready, she-wolf?" Jonos asked, giving his sword a few practice swings in front of him.
Lyanna just made an odd face, and then immediately lunged at Jonos. She didn't have any technique or weight distribution on her swing. It was just a wild swat towards Jonos. Jonos didn't even try to parry it. He just stepped aside and watched her stumble forward.
"You have the spirit, I'll give you that much," Jonos stated with one hand on his hip while using the other hand to grip his sword casually. Lyanna turned toward him with more aggression in her eyes. Lyanna continued to try to swat at Jonos, but the ones that didn't hit air were brushed aside with simple low and high blocks. Though, as she pressed her aggressive assault on Jonos, he could tell that she was giving it her best effort
As soon as Jonos had given the she-wolf sufficient exercise, he dove in head first with his talons. Simple swipes and combinations with his dominant left hand began to bombard Lyanna's unorthodox guard. However, to Jonos' surprise she was ducked and weaved through them. One thing was certain, Jonos knew where she developed the footwork she had during their dance in the commencement feast. However, it was clear that the young girl had begun to tire from the exchange. Not wanting to toy with her any more than he already was, Jonos thrust forward with his sword. He forced a clash with Lyanna's sword and as expected she could not parry the weight behind his strike. The wooden sword clattered on the ground beside Lyanna.
"Had to admit you put up more of a fight than I thought you would at first," He said while pointing his sword at her, "This is the part where you yield, however." Jonos half expected her to say something back to him. But she just stood there. Then Jonos noticed that her eyes were watering up.
"You beat me. There, I said it," Lyanna said while wiping her eyes, "Some squire you are disarming little girls and putting them in their place," Even while crying she still found a way to try to mock him. Clever girl.
"I'll take the swords and put them away. Don't worry-" Benjen paused, possibly trying to remember Jonos' name, "-Jonos. She'll get over it." Jonos handed the young boy his sword, Benjen picked up the sword on the ground next to Lyanna. Benjen left the both of them alone in the training yard probably to go put them back in the place where the two of them smuggle the training swords. Jonos was probably right in his assessment that Lord Rickard or any of their parents had them carrying their own training swords.
Lyanna continued to wipe her face, trying to hide the fact that she was crying. Feeling bad, and probably thinking that he shouldn't have even put that much effort in sparring against what amounted to an inexperienced young girl, Jonos went up to Lyanna.
"Lyanna, it wasn't my intention to embarrass you or put you in your place, as you call it," Jonos explained. Lyanna had removed her hand that she had buried in her face to hide the fact that she was crying. Jonos understood, Lyanna was a girl of nine. She did hide her emotions better than Lysa did, who wore most of her emotions on her sleeve, "You put up a good fight. Some squires older than you that I've fought couldn't even do what you did in our short spar." Lyanna perked up slightly at the compliment and her little sniffles stopped. It wasn't really to just to cheer her up, though Jonos had intended to cheer her up. He genuinely meant what he said.
"You're just saying that so I won't cry, aren't you," she said skeptically.
"Well that's half true, but I meant it." Jonos paused, "If you really wanted to know what I did to the prince, it was more luck than anything. It isn't really a technique you can rely on, But I admire your spirit. If I had more time with you, I would gladly teach you how to fight with a sword."
"Really? But mother always said it wasn't lady-like to use a sword. She would always scold Benjen and if she found us fighting with sticks or sparring with them."
"Well they tell me playing the lute is a waste of time, but do I listen to them?"
"You play the lute? Well you do seem like the type…" Lyanna muttered the last part too, with a small smile on her face. Jonos pretended not to hear it.
"Here, you deserve this more than I did. Plus, I have a feeling I might be collecting more of these in other tournaments," He said, grabbing her hands and putting his bronze prize in them.
"Really? Your prize. I shouldn't," She said to him.
"I insist. Maybe one day when you become this ages' Visenya, you'll remember the hapless squire, who drove you to become the warrior you became," Jonos said with a grin. Uncharacteristically, given her behavior towards him during the feast and now, she rushed over and hugged even with the prize in hand. Either he tripped or excessive fatigue in his body caused him to fall to the ground with Lyanna following suit landing on top of him.
"Warn me next time you do that," Jonos stated.
"Wasn't expecting you to fall over that easily. No wonder you lost to Brandon like that," Jonos feigned offense and Lyanna giggled.
"Of all the-?!" Someone roared from behind stood an angry northman, and a familiar one at that. He really didn't really seem pleased with what he saw. Then again, if Jonos saw his sister in this position at this hour of the night, he wouldn't be too pleased either. Even if it was Robert or someone he knew.
"Brandon?" Quickly both got to their feet.
"Hello sister, I thought you would be in our quarters, because you were 'feeling under the weather', but you seem all too happy as I see it," Brandon stated with heat behind his voice, "This behavior is unacceptable, especially for a young lady, yourself"
"Brandon what are you talking about, Jonos was just teaching me the proper way to handle sword,"
"He was showing you what?!" Excellent choice of words, Lyanna, no way he could misinterpret that. It was also quite the stroke of bad luck that he was not there.
"It-" Before he could say another word, Brandon had already slammed his fist into Jonos' stomach. Not expecting that, Jonos doubled over to the ground in pain.
"Brandon! What was that for?" Lyanna said in horror as Jonos tried to recover from the swift kidney shot that he had taken from the large framed northman.
"Stay out of this, Lyanna, this is for your own good."
"Brandon? What is going on and why is Jonos on the ground?" Jonos, who managed to recover from the punch, looked over with the rest of them to see Benjen standing there back from putting away the practice swords.
"Benjen, you arrived just in time. Let's get your sister away from that scoundrel over there," Brandon declared. Jonos wasn't one to take insults from people he barely knew. He definitely wasn't just going to allow Brandon to talk to him like that.
"Scoundrel? I'm trying to explain myself, " Jonos stated. Brandon quickly replied with a left hook to Jonos' face, which caused him to stumble again.
"Really? And what part of sparring involves holding my sister on top of you without any swords nearby?" Brandon retorted, "You must think me a fool to believe that is a normal activity to spar at this hour of the night without equipment."
"She did that on her own accord, I was actually surprised when she did that to be honest," Jonos responded, still trying to catch his breath from the punch. He really needed to get better acquainted with unarmed fighting, "But, I am telling the truth we were just sparring not whatever else"
"He's telling the truth. I was putting away the swords that they were using earlier," Benjen chimed in to defend Jonos. Brandon was still unmoved in his stance.
"You shouldn't have let her spar in the first place! You'll get people like him taking advantage of her,"
Jonos began but he was cut off before he could say anything.
"Come on, you two. Wait till father and mother hear about this," Brandon declared. Lyanna tried her best to wiggle out of her brother's grasp. Brandon then pointed a finger at Jonos, "And you. You better watch yourself because you're playing with fire with me. Stay away from Lyanna if you know what's good for you."
Jonos tried to get another word in, but he could not. Brandon had already begun to walk away. Jonos sighed, it was one of the first times he legitimately had his blood boil at the sight of someone. The arrogance. The rudeness. And most of all, the lack of any resemblance of respect for anyone else but him did not appeal to Jonos. However, as Lyanna was being dragged away by her brother with Benjen meekly following, she looked back at him. He read her lips and it looked like she was saying "Sorry about him".
Jonos then noticed she had kept the sword he had given her hidden from Brandon. As he was left alone in the yard like he had originally planned, he wondered if she would remember him after their interaction in the yard. And if so, whether or not she would risk Brandon's wrath because of it. These questions bounced around Jonos' mind as he walked back to rejoin his friends in the dying embers of the Anniversary tournament feast.
A/N: Greetings. I hope you all had a good week. Here is another chapter of the story. It is the second out of the three parts that I have out of the Anniversary Tournament Arc. I tried to keep these arcs to a minimum, but with the scope of the story (259-284ish), there are a handful of tournaments that are required to be in the story. It also gives us a good time for Jonos, Sharra and Darnold to interact with other important characters in the time period. Keep in mind, I had Arthur Dayne born in 257, because the only thing I could find about his birth was that it was in or before 260 AC. He is not Kingsguard in this chapter, as he would only be about 16 here and he is just a new knight. However, don't expect to stay a knight for long as he becomes the sword of morning off-screen later in 273 giving him a grand total of nine years with that title. This version of Arthur Dayne is a bit on the young side, but I hope his role in the story will be great as one of the best swords in the Kingsguard. Jonos also interacts with Lyanna for the first time. Lyanna was really hard to write and the little scenario in the end was to try to make Jonos have a few enemies, and give him an obstacle towards friends/potential romantic interests. I tried to make a nine year old Lyanna resemble Arya in terms of appearance and personailty, though her appearance will change a lot much like how I expect Arya to 'glow up' when she reaches twelve or thirteen. Kind of like how some people who are considered ugly in like sixth grade suddenly undergo a metamorphsis when they reach high school/late middle school. Also, Jonos cannot be friends with EVERY major character and not everyone is going to like him, so Brandon is on the list of quite a few people that are not fans of Jonos. Other than that there were plenty of combat set pieces to show that Jonos' skills and weaknesses (besides where he just gets curb stomped by Arthur to keep him grounded).
I will see you guys in Sharra's chapter on Monday, while also editing out stuff for the return of Fury. Thank you guys for all of the support, I will see you guys then!
