Chapter three
Smiths and tailors
it was midday before Justin had finally left the inn to find the Tourney grounds, following the back streets and roads looking for a short cut to spare him from the scores of knights and lords that would be travelling the main streets. Once he reached the grounds of the Tourney he noticed scores of men erecting the pavilions and the fences that would be used for the jousting. he sent Dexard off to register him into the melee, he stood there watching the servants setting up stalls and carrying kegs back and forth, Justin was sure they had no idea where they were going but he just leaned back, smiled and patted Thunder's neck. "Gods be good is that you Justin?" Justin looked around seeing a man he recognisd he stared at the man a moment before speaking, "Uncle Darrick, what are you doing here?" Justin was sure he would have received word if his family were coming to Kings Landing. "I'm here for the Tourney Lad, look at you, last time i saw you you barely passed my knee" Justin smiled he had not seen his uncle in years and it was good to see him again. "Oh and before I forget this is for you Lad, a present from me and your Father, to congratulate you on your Knighting" Justin's uncle pulled a purse from his saddle and handed it to Justin. "Uncle Darrick there must be at least 30 golden dragons here, thank you but it's too much" Justin tried to hand back the purse to his uncle before his uncle pushed his hand away. "Nonsense Lad, you're a knight now, we had planned to give it to you when you returned home anyway, now we are giving it to you" his Uncle smiled at him a smile Justin remembered fondly, whenever he had hurt himself his Uncle would always pick him up brush him off and smile at him, he had Justin father's blue eyes but his hair had gone a steely grey colour, when Justin had last seen him his hair was as black as night. "Where is father?" Uncle Darrick's smile was gone from his face now, "he's not coming Lad, he's had trouble in the lands around Eaglesend, I received a raven on the Kings road about your Knighthood, he told me to take the coin from my personal coffers and he'd give me the coin when I got back to the North" Justin couldn't help being and looking disappointed, he had hoped he would be able to see his father, to see the pride in his father's eyes, to hear the man congratulate him and pat him on the back and cheer him on in the melee. "Well at least you're here Uncle, will you be joining the melee?" "No Lad I'm too old for melees, I'll be Jousting though, anyway I had better be going Lad, I have much to do and not much time to do it in, I'll see you at the feast I hope, oh and the last time i checked that's not the sigil of our house, you'll want to get that shield painted over Lad" Uncle Darrick patted justin on the back and mounted his horse slowing riding off.
Justin looked down at the shield it still had the sigil of house Payne painted onto it, he had completely forgotten that everything he had for the tourney other then his sword belonged to Ser Payne. He had barely noticed that Dexard had returned from the master of Tourneys, "You're now Registered Ser, the Master of Tourneys says that the Melee will begin in a week" Justin nodded and climbed atop Thunder adjusting himself into a more comfortable position. "Dexard do you know where I could get the shield painted over and new armour? I tried Ser Payne's on early this morning it doesn't fit right" Dexard pondered for a moment, "the street of steel is where most smiths have their forges Ser we could try there" Justin nodded and tugged on Thunder's reigns bringing him to a slow trot. Justin began navigating the busy street, there was hardly enough room for people walking let alone a horse the size of Thunder but he made it through anyway, there were many smiths here all toiling away at whatever they had been paid to make. Justin had noticed that many of the forges had boys younger then Dexard working away in them, he wondered what it was like for a low born to have to work for the whims of high born Lords and Knights, but he quickly shook the thoughts from his head. He had spotted the name of a blacksmith's shop that interested him, The Blazing Trails Forge. He dismounted from Thunder grabbing the shield and armour then handed the reigns to Dexard before walking inside, as soon as he walked inside he was greeted by a thick smoke burning his eyes and catching in the back of his throat causing him to cough violently, "ah good Ser I assume you're here to buy some armour?" Justin could barely see the man through the smoke before he came closer to him, a balding man with a big gut and a thick grey beard hiding the rest of his face. "Yes, I'll need the new set by the time the melee starts, I have this armour here but it doesn't fit me, is there a chance you can buy it off of me to lower the cost of my own armour?" The man took the armour from Justin examining it turning it over and running his fingers over it multiple times. "It's in good condition, I should just be able to sell this on to another Knight who comes this way, I can give you 200 silvers, no more then that Ser" Justin nodded and the man set the armour aside and grabbed his purse handing over the money to Justin. "I'll also need this shield repainted, do you have anyone here who can do that?" The man whistled and a young girl came running over. "This is my daughter Lily, she knows how to paint anything you want Ser, be it a shadow cat, or a simple acorn" Justin looked at the girl she would not make direct eye contact with him but she was very pretty, he wondered if she would even know the sigil of House Maxward. "Do you know the sigil of house Maxward by any chance girl?" The girl looked up from him as if she was shocked that he would address her personally. "Yes Ser I believe so, a Mountain with a great sword in front" Justin was shocked, he had never expected a low born this far south to know the sigil of his house. "She's been taught well Ser, she knows all the sigils of every house in the seven kingdoms" Justin highly doubted that but to know of the Maxward sigil this far south was impressive. "paint it for me, if you do a good job there may even been a silver in it for your trouble"Justin smiled at the girl who blushed taking the shield and running off. "How much will the armour be? I'll pay extra to have it done by the melee" the man sized up Justin taking measurements and muttering away to himself. "If you want good steel and your family sigil by then it'll be five gold dragons" Justin looked at the man, he had remembered his father telling him how his armour came to around three gold dragons and that was not long before Justin had left, but Justin did not protest he handed the gold over and left, his eyes still watering and his chest still burning from the smoke.
As Justin got back onto the street Dexard was no where to be found he looked up and down the street but there was no sign of him, he had heard shouting from just around the corner, he had rushed there to see a group of boys attacking Dexard with sticks and stones. "Oi you leave that lad alone or they'll be trouble" the tallest of the lads had turned around to face him, he was dressed in rags, had long curly red hair and a fat belly. "Oh yeah and what are you gonna do about it ey?" The boys friends had also turned around now, some of them were Justin's age or even older. Justin reached for his scabbard and pulled his sword from it, "or I'll cut open your fat little belly and pull out your entrails" the boys had all looked at each other and decided to run off leaving Justin to tend to Dexard. "Sorry Ser there were too many of them, I tried to fight I swear I did" his head was cut and his knuckles swollen but Dexard had still managed to make it to his feet without aid. "It's fine Lad, I had many a fight when I was your age and been on the losing end more times than I care to admit, come on let's get back to the Inn we'll change and make our way to the feast" Justin helped Dexard onto his own horse before climbing atop Thunder. "Ser why did you name your horse? Ser Payne said giving a horse a name is stupid and promotes weakness, that if you were to lose a horse you've given a name to and made a connection with it you'll be upset when it dies and that's stupid" Justin turned his head to face the young squire his head was still bleeding even though he had covered it with a ripped cloth. "It isn't weakness lad, it's just something some knights like to do, some knights like to name their weapons, some like to name themselves in Tourneys, I choose to name my horse" Justin patted Thunder's neck as they navigated the street further. "So go on give your horse a name, pick anything you like I won't belittle you for it" Dexard pondered for a minute not sure how to answer, "I like Shadowfax, he's black like a shadow, but calling him Blacky doesn't make it sound very heroic does it?" Justin chuckled to himself and smiled at Dexard. "No not very heroic at all, but some of the most heroic knights rode horses with the humblest of names and proved themselves worthy of joining the annals of history, but I like shadowfax, you should keep it".
As they reached the inn Justin had realised he had nothing appropriate to wear at a feast, he noticed a tailors close to the inn and climbed down from Thunder handing the reigns to Dexard and proceeded into the shop. Everywhere Justin looked there were doublets of different colours and materials lining the walls, he inspected one of them running his fingers over it. "Can I help you?" Justin looked up from the doublet noticing a slim figured woman about the age of his mother. "Yes I intend to attend the feast tonight but I don't have anything appropriate to wear" the woman looked down at Justin his shabby dirty trousers and leather jerkin stuck to his skin like glue. "I'm sure we can find something Ser" the woman clicked her fingers and before he knew it Justin had three young girls around him measuring his legs, his shoulders and even his crotch causing Justin to turn red with embarrassment again. "Hmm I believe beige trousers, brown boots and a forest green doublet would suit you best what do you think Ser?" Justin knew nothing about fashion or what would impress anyone at the feast so simply nodded. "I can have it done for you in a few hours return then to collect it" the woman took Justin's coin and quickly walked away into the back of the shop. As Justin walked into the inn he noticed Ser Douglas and Dexard drinking and joking together, he smiled and found himself a place at the table with them. "Ah Justin I was just telling your squire about the time you lost the grip on your sword and hit poor maester Sibas in the face with it, he spent the next two weeks avoiding him convinced the Maester would chop him up to feed him to the ravens" Ser Douglas began roaring with laughter as Justin and Dexard joined him.
As the three men kept drinking Justin had nearly forgotten about his outfit for the feast, he quickly stood up and shot back to the shop. As he walked into the shop he noticed the woman was gone but there was a young girl standing there counting coins, her hair was a chestnut brown colour and her lips a dark red and she had quite a large bust as Justin had noticed. Justin approached and cleared his throat, "excuse me I was supposed to return to collect my clothes for the feast, a green doublet, brown boots and beige trousers" the girl looked up from her coins and stared at Justin for a moment, "oh yes the girls told me about you, you needed a little extra room in the crotch area" the girl winked and giggled at Justin who smiled nervously. "Well is it ready at all? Only I need it for the feast and it starts soon" the girl nodded and led Justin into the back. "Here's your outfit Ser" Justin approached and examined it, it was well made and it looked as though it would fit him perfectly. "This is amazing work, thank you" Justin smiled at the girl not noticing she had come a lot closer to him then she was before. "Are you sure you don't want to make sure the trousers fit you Ser?" The girl started to pull down Justin's trousers before he stopped her. "No I'm sure they'll fit they look big enough anyway" Justin quickly collected his things and moved towards the exit. "Well if you're not sure Ser I'm here till long after the feast finishes" the girl winked at Justin blowing him a kiss as he left. As Justin began to button up his doublet he couldn't stop thinking about the girl he had met in the shop, she was very pretty and he had never been with a woman before, he wondered what it would be like to feel her breath on his neck to kiss her lips and to have him slowly fuck her, he shook the thoughts from his mind, he loved Rina and wouldn't do anything to betray her trust like that, even if it took years it would be her he would be with. Ser Douglas and Dexard were still downstairs, Justin quickly called for the boy to get the horses. He walked out onto the street, a cool breeze brushed over him and hit the back of his neck, it was a relief from the constant heat he had noticed since his arrival, as Dexard brought Thunder and Shadowfax around from the stables Justin pondered on how much his life would change now he was a knight, he could return home and serve his lord father or he could ride from place to place, from Tourney to Tourney like the hedge knights of old, many hedge knights rose to glory and honour, Ser Duncan the tall rose from a lowly hedge knight to commander of the kings guard, Justin had often pondered if he could join the kings guard, he was a second son so there would be no need for him to hold lands or a wife like his brother would have to do, he could be the first Northern born lad to be in the kings guard. "Ser are you ready to ride to the feast now?" Justin hadn't noticed that Dexard had returned he was so lost in thought. "Yes, remember your place isn't with me at the feast lad it's with the other squires" Dexard nodded as Justin climbed on top of Thunder and rode to the feast.