I got slightly tired of writing fluff and decided to add some action...

Two chapters today because I do not want to interrupt the flow of the action... and because I wrote too much LOL

Li(Guest) Thank you for the lovely comment.


Si vis pacem, para bellum

If you want peace, prepare for the war.

Pepper sat quietly amongst the rambunctious crowd, that had come for the Tournament des Pierres. Being a noblewoman, she was allowed to sit in the luxurious high box for the nobility, which provided a good view of the jousting area.

Happy stood at the gate to the box, arguing with the gate keeper. He pointed at her and Pepper knew she had to play a part. She imperiously raised her hand at the gate keeper, keeping her chin high. He let Happy through and he climbed up the box, to sit down heavily next to her.

"Thanks Pepper.. that guy was being a real ball crusher." Happy flushed then. "Begging your pardon."

She smiled and glanced back at the long tilt, covered in a richly embroidered cloth of black and gold. It was a wooden fence that served as a divider, which separated the grassy jousting area into two equal halves.

"Is Tony ready?"

Happy nodded. "Yes, he is in his armor, primed and raring to go. I do not know, who is more excited, him or his horse."

He may be excited but I'm damn worried.

Pepper thought back to five days ago.


Five Days Ago

A bright, sunny day and she and Tony had finished fishing at the Lake. They walked home, hand in hand, with no catch to show for their efforts. They were laughing over Tigliath's hilarious attempts to catch a fish, which just resulted in him getting wet.

As they walked up the hill to the Keep, Tony saw a small entourage of people ride up the hill. From the banner they were carrying, it seemed that the people of Dale, wanted an audience with the Iron Knight. Pepper recognized Luna Lestronia amongst the riders and she waved at her in greeting. Luna waved back but she seemed tense.

"Tony, what is going on? Why have these people come?"

He tightened his grip on her hand. "I do not know Pepper... but I don't think it is because of good news."

The visitors were received, their horses stabled and they were made comfortable in the dining hall. There were 4 men and Luna. They were seated around the fireplace. Tony set a chair for Pepper and stood next to it, leaning against the fireplace.

The men stared at Pepper and one rudely said, "My lord, we seek a private audience with you. Can you please send your woman away?"

She tensed but Tony placed his warm hand on her shoulder and said coldly, "Have a care, man from Dale, how you talk to my lady. She is my partner in everything. If you cannot keep an civil tongue to her, leave my house."

She leaned against his hand as another man quickly said, "Lord Stark, we mean no harm. We need help. Lestronia here, said you could help us. That you help people from far and wide."

He nodded slowly and said, "Tell me, what troubles you?"

Luna said passionately, "The Devil himself has come to Dale! We are powerless to stop him... We need your help, Lord Stark, to destroy him!"

Pepper and Tony were both confused.

The rude man explained. "Our current overlord Duke Kakade is... well...he is ..."

Luna interrupted bluntly, "He is a raging dipso, who cannot control his liquor."

Tony smiled at her and she continued. "You see Lord Stark, Kakade is an alcoholic and a gambler. Dale runs on the industry of its people. Kakade is just a glorified figurehead. But unfortunately for us, he gambled one too many."

Tony said grimly, "So he owes a lot of money in debt."

"No milord, it is much worse. He is completely bankrupt. He gambled more than what he had, which was not much to begin with. He lost everything and now the Devil has his marker and is coming to collect. He intends to take over Dale!"

"And the Devil is?" asked Pepper quietly.

"The Knight Rascar." They said in unison.

Pepper heard a loud gasp and realized it came from Magdalene, who had been eavesdropping as usual. She spat out angrily, "He is the Devil in human form!"

Luna exclaimed as well. "A debauched knight of King Alain, he seeks to buy land, so he can become a duke. He is the scum of the Earth. His cruelty, viciousness and violence know no bounds."

One of the men added sadly, "He simply massacred the people of Dora during a quest. He spared no one, not even the children. And then he made his men salt the earth, so the land would die."

One by one, each member from Dale narrated an anecdote or a rumor about this Rascar. Pepper gasped at the numerous tales of cruelty. She glanced up at Tony, who was stroking his beard quietly.

He raised a hand and the group quietened. "I have heard of this Rascar in passing. But how can I help you? Regretfully, I do not have the monetary resources to help Dale settle its debts. Nor can I simply murder Rascar for being a cruel man."

Luna said eagerly, "Milord, there is a way you can help us. Rascar and Kakade will meet soon to formalize the exchange of Dale's ownership. They will meet at the Tournament des Pierres to be held in a fortnight."

Something told Pepper she was not going to like, what was going to be asked of Tony.

Tony said slowly, "You want me to challenge Rascar? At the Tournament?"

"Yes milord! Rascal is a vain, arrogant man who cannot resist a bet. If you challenge him to a gamble and win, then you could save Dale."

Pepper had to interrupt here. "What sort of gamble and what are the stakes?"

"Well, the prize money for wining a match at the Tournament, is at least 500 gold coins. If Lord Stark wins, that amount is more than enough to cover Dale's debts."

Pepper wanted to ask a silly question but she was slightly embarrassed. Tony squeezed her shoulder, so she asked it anyway. "What sort of skills are tested at this Tournament? Is it a duel with swords?"

The rude Dale man snorted but gulped loudly, when Tony stepped out from behind her chair menacingly.

He turned to Pepper and said gently, "No, my lady, a tournament has only jousts."

"You mean ..."

"Two riders face off using lances. Each rider competes to knock the other one off his horse within two tries, using the lance."

Pepper gasped in horror. "This sounds barbaric!"

Tony chuckled. "It is. But it is a very common and very popular sport amongst knights. And gamblers. But gentlemen and Luna, I regrettably cannot compete in the Tournament because I am not officially a knight anymore."

The group became quiet, crestfallen with the news and Pepper breathed a sign of relief.

But her relief was premature. The rude man snapped his fingers and said happily, "But my lord, you can compete as an outlier knight!"

Luna gasped with worry and shook her head but the group cheered at that prospect and Tony seemed to be thinking.

Pepper asked curiously, "Outlier knight?"

Luna said tensely, "A disgraced knight who owes no allegiance. He belongs to no king. Hence he is regarded as a rogue soldier. He can compete in tournaments but the conditions of the joust shall be different."

Tony shuffled from one foot to the other, so Pepper asked suspiciously, "Different? How?"

"Well, there are three tries instead of two. And... it can be a joust to the death. Two knights enter, one knight leaves. In a standard joust, the point of each knight's lance is tipped, so as not to cause any physical damage but here... the lances are uncovered because someone is meant to die. That what makes such jousts more interesting and more risky. That's why their prize is also higher."

Pepper couldn't believe what she was hearing. "So basically, you are asking Lord Stark to challenge a crazy, cruel knight to a joust. A joust with uncovered lances and certain death for at least one opponent."

The men nodded while Luna just stared at her, eyes wide with worry and shame. Pepper uttered a very rude word and heard Tony suppress a snort of laughter.

She stood up angrily and walked away. She could hear Tony say to their company, "Give me and my partner a few moments to discuss this proposal."

He followed her as she ascended the staircase and stood in the corridor.

"Pepper... Pepper... let us talk about this."

She huffed and paced in place. "Tony, do not tell me, I pray, DO Not tell me you are going to accept this... this invitation to death!"

He looked at her quietly and she kept talking, anxious to make him see reason. "Tony, I know these people are desperate but I think between them, they can raise the money required to pay off the debt. You do not need to enter this crazy tournament."

She couldn't resist hugging him, resting her head on his hard shoulder. "Tony, please, please, you could get hurt badly, you could..." she did not want to voice the horrible thoughts in her head out loud.

You could die, bleeding into the grass on the field...

"I don't have anyone but you," she whispered slowly. "I don't know what I would do if..."

He held her tightly and sighed. "Pepper, sweetheart, do not worry so much. I have participated in outlier jousts before."

When she raised her head to look at him in horror, he shrugged simply. "I had to do it for the money. My point is, I know how to joust, I know how to win."

He kissed her cheek and whispered to her softly, "My lady, you are all I have too, you know... do not worry... I will come back to you."

"In one piece, I hope". she whispered, still worried.

He chuckled lightly and touched his forehead to hers. "If anything should happen to me, I pity Rascar because I know you will avenge me like an angel of fire."

Then he whispered mischievously to her. "Let us get rid of our guests and you and me can go train for this tournament. Think about it, you get to knock me off my horse. Haven't you always wanted to do that?"

She laughed then but inside she was still fearful. By now, she knew Tony''s mechanism to distract her from worrying was to use humor.


Pepper came back to the present with a start as the musicians began to play a lively tune, from the bandstand some distance away.

Three days ago, Tony and her had traveled to a nearby seedy tavern and challenged the drunk Rascar to a duel. She had been dressed as a man, so she had a chance to sneakily observe how this devil of a knight behaved.

Pepper had been expecting a creepy man but had been shocked to find that Rascar had the face and body of a god. Long luxurious blonde hair, chiseled face with blue eyes and a lean but muscular body. She had not believed that this man was the same man that Luna and the Dale men had spoken of. But then she had seen him cruelly trip the bar maid and how he had laughed at her fallen on the floor, ale all over her. And Pepper had realized that this man really was the devil.

Pepper had watched Tony stare him down and easily manipulate the vain Rascar into taking the bait and accepting the challenge. Rascar would face the Iron Knight in a joust at the Tournament des Pierres. The winner would win 1000 gold coins. The loser would be dead. Rascar had arrogantly clapped Tony on the shoulder and asked him to dig his grave in advance. Tony had shown admirable restraint and had not reacted at all, to any of the man's nasty taunts.

The hour of the joust was nearly upon them and Pepper glanced anxiously towards the right, the pathway from which the knights would ride, to present themselves before the Tournament master. After the presentation, the joust would start.

There are butterflies in my stomach... I must have faith in Tony, I must! He will not fail.

Just then a trumpet was sounded and the crowd started cheering wildly. Pepper and Happy leaned forward and looked to their right as Rascar, Champion of Darcy, entered the arena. She rolled her eyes at his opulent appearance, which seemed to highlight his vanity. The knight wore heavy armor, which was dull crimson red in color. His jousting shield, tied to his arm, was a bright yellow and its insignia was a bright red poppy. His horse had a bright caparison of red and yellow.

Knight and horse regally promenaded in front of the boxes, the knight waving his hand slowly at the cheering audience. She saw a number of women lean forward from each box, desperately handing the knight their favors. He raised his helmet guard and blew kisses to the ladies.

Pepper slowly turned right once again because her heart was starting to pound slowly. My Knight is here.

Sure enough, while Rascar posed and pouted for the adoring public, another trumpet sounded and her knight, the Iron Knight, entered the arena from the opposite entrance.

Pepper gazed at the familiar sight of Tony encased in pitch-black steel armor, his jousting shield also black with his Arc as its insignia. The Arc shone in the middle of his chest, bright blue. Balthazar was also covered in black with a steel chanfron on his head. Knight and horse entered the arena, quietly dignified as compared to the ninny that was Rascar.

Pepper heard the people in the nobility box start to whisper loudly. She did not like what she was hearing.

King Leoric's cast off!

The Devil walks amongst us, the Iron Knight!

Look at the nerve of him, the disgraced fool, competing with nobility! Who does he think he is?!

I heard he killed his best friend and his parents, all to win the attention of a demon who blessed him with an evil power!

She looked around angrily, the whispers irritating her.

Pepper looked at Rascar bow and preen before the ladies in the boxes, basking in their appreciative endless attention. And she looked at Tony, standing there quietly, patting Balthazar gently, seemingly ignoring the glares and the whispers of the crowd around him.

The Tournament Master stepped onto a podium, four rows below her seat. He cleared his throat and the trumpets sounded again, this time, calling the knights towards the podium. Rascar and Tony rode over.

The Master spoke then, in a loud, booming voice. "Welcome, one and all, to the last day of the Tournament Des Pierres. Today, we have a very special joust between two stalwart knights."

The crowd booed at this and Pepper gritted her teeth. The Master held up his hand and the crowd quietened.

"Alright, alright, let us be dignified. This is a noble tournament. Our first contender, is our current champion of the Tournament so far, Sir Rascar, Champion of Darcy, Knight of King Alain!"

He gestured at Rascar, who bowed theatrically in his saddle as the crowd went wild, cheering for him.

"And the challenger, the outsider, is Lord Stark from Lorinthia!"

Tony just inclined his head shortly as the crowd started to boo, a few clapped and some ladies tittered. Rude words were yelled but Tony remained unfazed and looked straight at the box next to hers. She couldn't see his face because of his helmet but Pepper realized he was searching for someone.

"In this joust, the first man to be unhorsed, loses. There will be a total of three tries. Knight Rascar, Lord Stark, please proceed to your positions."

Rascar came closer to the side of the box, shaking the hand of the Master enthusiastically. He leaned towards the anxious line of ladies nearly falling out the box, desperate to show their affections.

Tony was on the right side of her box, talking quietly to Balthazar. Pepper knew he must be trying to calm his horse down because Balthazar was snorting and pawing the ground with excitement. He kept looking up at the box next to hers and it hit her.

He is searching for me...

She just looked at him, unable to tear her eyes away for some reason. And then her heart told her what she had to do.

Pepper stood up quickly, moving around a baffled Happy and descended the box, gently moving around people, who were busy moving towards the other side of the box towards Rascar. The crowd's attention was on the other knight, so Pepper walked down to the lowest row. The boxes were raised at a height above the ground, so that people could easily see the knights. Standing at the lowest row, put her in line with Balthazar's saddle.

Tony was still looking at the box next to hers, so he did not notice her until she was right next to him and called out his name. He bent sideways towards her and even through his helmet, she could see his eyes twinkling at her.

He said through his helmet, his voice slightly muffled, "Pep, I was looking for you, I thought you weren't going to come. You look so beautiful today..."

Suddenly, Pepper felt overwhelmed with fear and sadness. Suppose he dies, suppose I never hear his voice again... and I never told him that I love him... I don't know what to say.

Tears filled her eyes and Tony noticed. He cupped her cheek gently with his gauntlet-encased hand and said softly, "Pepper, my sweet, whatever is the matter..."

She couldn't say anything, so she just caught his wrist and held his hand to her face. The steel was cold against her skin but she didn't care. "Tony... promise me... promise me, my lord..."

"Anything, Pepper..."

"Promise me, you will come back to me..."

She could see him smile through his helmet. "Sweetheart, I am not going anywhere..."

"Tony, you know what I mean..."

He sighed and stroked her hair softly. "Of course, I will."

She tightened her grip on his hand. "I am serious, Tony, promise me, no unnecessary risks or foolhardiness. And no being noble. Do what you must."

He patted her head gently. "I will come back to you, my lady."

Then he bent even lower and said softly, "Where ever would I go without you..."

Pepper pulled off the blue ribbon from her hair and she heard Tony's sharp intake of breath as she tied the ribbon tightly around his upper arm.

"My Knight, please accept my favor, a token of my deep feelings for you. I wish you the best of luck. I know you will do me proud."

People were staring at her now but Pepper did not care. She pressed her lips to the palm of his gauntlet and kissed him there. Then she squeezed his fingers once more and said tightly, "Remember your promise, my lord ... you must come back to me, Tony."

He nodded, his eyes glittering, letting go of her reluctantly as the trumpets sounded once more. Pepper stood there, watching Tony turn Balthazar and ride towards his position.

He turned back to look at her and placed his hand on his heart, then raised it to her in a silent salute.

She climbed up back to her seat. And started to say every prayer she knew.