AN- Hey guys, new chapter here. Before I start, I want to tell you a new character is joining in the story today, and I swear that he is not a OC, he is just a character that has only been mentioned in the books, not seen. You can look him up on the wiki if you want. Anyways, remember to R&R, and I hope you enjoy!
Tourneys and Returns
King's Landing- Atticus awoke to the sound of someone knocking on his door. He groggily got out of his bed, and slipped some clothes on. He looked out the window, and saw that it was still nighttime. He made his way to the door and opened it, to surprisingly find his father and aunt.
"Father? What is it?" He asks.
"Come with us to the docks, your great uncle Gerion has returned from Old Valyria." Jaime says. Atticus's eyes widen, and he nods and follows the two adult Lannisters. They make their way down to the docks.
"Wait, didn't he eave to find our house's sword Brightroar?" Atticus asks, as the arrive at the docks. Sure enough, a ship flying Lannister colors is there, with a blond haired man sitting in front of it.
"Jaime, Cersei! It has been a long time!" He says, and walks over to the two of them with a smile.
"Good to see you, uncle Gerion." Jaime says, giving him a handshake. Gerion gives his niece a kiss on the cheek, before walking over to Atticus.
"My my, how you have grown. When I last saw you you were but a little toddler. I hear you are heir to the rock now." He says. Atticus nods.
"I am, and it is good to see you as well." He says. Gerion smiles, and snaps his fingers. Two sailors bring out a very long box.
"Well, now that you are to rule the rock, I think you should carry this." Gerion says. Atticus slowly opens it, and gasps when he sees what's inside. It's Brightroar, the ancestral great sword of House Lannister. The blade is elegant Valyrian steel, the cross guard, while smaller than many other swords of the same type, is silver, and has the words "Hear me Roar" etched on. The pommel is, of course, a golden lion's head. The sword is smaller than Ice is, but still very large.
"I don't know what to say. Thank you, great uncle Gerion." Atticus says. Gerion walks into his ship for a moment, and walks out with a sheath.
"Your welcome. Here is the scabbard. I had it specially made in the free cities so that you can draw the blade from the back. All you have to do is twist it, and pull the sword a little up and then forward, and it will come out perfectly." He says. Atticus nods, and tests the mechanism, and sees it works just how Gerion said it would.
"How can I repay you for this?" He asks. Gerion thinks for a moment, before a devilish smile appears on his face.
"Well, I hear that the Tourney of the Hand is coming up. How about you enter? If I remember correctly your father won his first tourney at your age." He says, and Atticus grins right back at him.
"Done. You should probably bet on me or father." He says, showing some good old fashioned Lannister confidence. Gerion laughs, and then goes off to talk to his other relatives and to send a raven to Tywin.
One week Later- Atticus very rarely feels nervous, but now he does. This would be his first tourney, and the odds were not in his favor. The participants to watch out for were, just to name a few, the Hound, the Mountain, Ser Loras, Ser Barristan and even his own father. As Atticus tries to calm his nerves, Arya walks up to him, a smile on her face.
"Hey Atticus, are you okay?" She asks, noting the paleness of his face. He nods slowly.
"Yeah, just a little nervous." He says. Arya kisses him gently on the cheek, surprising him.
"You will do fine." She says, before walking away, leaving Atticus stunned and smiling. He is snapped out of his thoughts when the first contestants are called.
"Lorthar Frey, and Atticus Lannister!" The announcer says. Meanwhile, in the stands, Arya sits down in between her sister and Septa. Next to Sansa is Jeyne Poole, who came to King's Landing with them because Sansa insisted. Arya looks on as her betrothed and his opponent bow to the king, and prepare themselves.
"Who do think is going to win?" Sansa asks. Arya looks over at her sister, surprised as they hadn't talked much since the inn.
"Atticus, of course!" She says loudly, only to be shushed by Mordane. Atticus and his opponent line up, and begin to head for each other. Jeyne interjects herself into the conversation.
"How can a bastard like him do anything to a knight of the Kingsguard or Ser Loras?" She says, causing Arya to glare at her. Renly, who is seated behind the Starks, leans down to speak to them.
"Atticus is talented, but only a boy. I have a hundred gold dragons on the Frey." He says. As if to prove him wrong, a loud crack is heard, as Atticus unseats Lorthar in the first tilt. Atticus does a small victory lap, and nods at Arya when he passes her. Atticus unseats two more riders, before he finds himself facing Jon, who had entered and unseated Jory and a Kingsguard member, to the surprise of most and the sadness of many gamblers. Arya doesn't no who to cheer for, so just sits silently, and decides to cheer no matter who wins. They go two tilts, only barley touching each other, before Atticus manages to hit Jon in the shield, but doesn't manage to unhorse him. He gets the win via points, and shakes Jon's hand before they leave the field.
"You must be quite happy, seeing your future husband do so well." A voice says. Arya and Sansa turn, and see Littlefinger sit next to him. Arya almost immediately doesn't trust him. He seems like everything that Atticus warned her that she would find in King's Landing. A sleazy, slimy, conniving son of a bitch.
"Yes, I am." She says, and turns her head, trying to ignore him.
Meanwhile, Competitors Box- Atticus looks in the direction of his betrothed, and frowns when he notices Petyr Baelish next to them.
"Father, how far do you think I could throw one of these lances?" He asks, turning to face Jaime.
"Not far enough to hit Baelish." Jaime says, not even looking away from his horse. Atticus sighs, and settles on using a rock. He picks it up, lines up his shot, and throws it as hard as he can. He smiles at the satisfying smack as it hits Petyr's head. The other competitors chuckle, but gasp when they look back at the field, and see Ser Hugh, with a giant wood splinter in his throat. Atticus shoots a glare at Gregor Clegane.
"He will pay for all he has done when I am Lord of the Rock" Atticus says. Jaime rests a hand on his son's shoulder.
"Just remember to send a lot of men you don't care about to capture him." He says, but Atticus shakes his head.
"The man who passes the sentence should swing the sword." He says, and walks away to go tend to his horse.
"The tourney will continue tomorrow at noon!" King Robert yells. Jaime shrugs, as a death was as good of a time to stop for the day.
Next Day- The second day of the tourney passes without incident, and with Atticus slowly becoming a crowd favorite. He even manages to unseat Sandor, who even though angered, resigns himself to the fact that he lost. This secures himself a seat in the finals, with his opponent being either Ser Loras or the Mountain. As those two race at each other, Atticus notices something about Loras's horse.
"That little cheating son of a bitch!" He thinks to himself. The mare Loras is using is in heat, and he knew it. After the Flower Knight wins, Ser Gregor uses his massive sword to kill his horse, and then attack Loras.
"Leave him be!" Sandor yells, as he jumps down and duels the Mountain. After around a minute of fighting, King Robert finally stands up.
"Stop this madness in the name of your King!" He screams. The Clegane brothers separate, and Loras raises the Hound's arm in appreciation. Atticus breathes deeply as he gets ready for the joust. He gets on his horse and is very thankful that it is a mare. As the servants finish up cleaning the field, Atticus rides out, and meets Loras in front of the king. They both give a bow, and go to opposite ends of the arena. They both charge at each other, lances pointed straight out. The thunderous "Crack!" is heard as both of them hit their mark. Ser Loras can not stay up and falls immediately, but Atticus manages to hold on for a few seconds before he falls. Everyone turns to the king for his decision.
"The winner is... Atticus Lannister!" He yells, as the entire crowd erupts in cheering. Atticus smiles and offers and hand to Loras, who swats it away. Atticus just sighs, and a servant hands him the crown of flowers meant for the Queen of Love and Beauty. He walked over to Arya, and gently placed it on her head.
"I crown you my Queen of Love and Beauty, sweet wolf." Atticus said. He leaned forward and kissed her on the lips for the first time. The women in the audience all swooned, and when Atticus broke the kiss he laughed, a little embarrassed. The moment was broken up by yelling from where the Royal family was seated.
"Dammit woman! I will fight in the melee if I want to!" King Robert said. Atticus scowled at the king, but then turned to Lord Eddard.
"Make sure he doesn't fight, and keep half of the winnings." Atticus says, as he grabs the champions purse and dumps out half of it into an empty purse, before handing it to Eddard. Ned nods, and stands up to go talk to Robert. Atticus then bows to Arya before taking his purse and leaving.
"What do you think he is going to use his money for?" Sansa asks. Before Arya can say anything, Jeyne pokes her head in again.
"Probably going to go hire a surgeon so the Queen of Love and Beauty can at least have some of the qualities she is supposed to have" Jeyne says. Arya resists the urge to smack her. She stands up, and goes to leave.
"You can make fun of my looks when someone crowns you Queen of Love and Beauty" She says, before leaving them to her thoughts.
Next day, Red Keep- Atticus walks through the keep, Brightroar on his back and a small box in his hands. He makes his way to the Tower of the Hand, and finds Sansa and Jeyne practicing there needlework.
"Hello my ladies. Sansa, do you know where your sister is?" He asks. Sansa looks up from her work.
"She is with her dancing teacher. I think the way to her is that way." She says, and points to the right. Atticus nods and goes in that direction, only to bump into Joffrey.
"Bastard, don't think I have forgotten about the inn." Joffrey says. Atticus stares him down.
"Joffrey, please get the fuck out of the way before I put you on your arse again."Atticus says, and continues his walk towards Arya.
He begins to hear the soft clink of wood hitting wood. He smiles when he finds Arya, practicing her sword fighting with a Braavosi man. Atticus watches until they are done, and begins to clap when they finish, startling Arya.
"Well done. You couldn't get a better Water Dancing teacher than Syrio Forrel." He says, and walks over to Arya. Syrio is surprised that he is recognized, but appreciates the praise.
"What are you doing here?" She asks. Atticus smiles and hands her the box. She opens it, and pulls out a beautiful pendant. One side of it is a gold lion with silver eyes, and the other is a silver wolf with gold eyes.
"This is beautiful, how did you get it made so fast?" Arya asks, as Atticus places the necklace around her neck.
"Well, drop enough money in front of a jeweler and he will put all other orders on hold." Atticus says. Arya rolls her eyes, but then a thought comes to her mind.
"Wait, what did you do with the rest of your winnings?" She asks.
"Well, I gave about 10 thousand gold dragons to the orphanage in flea bottom. I went through the streets and gave three gold dragons to every adult beggar, and five to the children." He says. Arya jumps up and gives him a hug. He laughs and returns the hug.
"Who knew charity would impress you, sweet wolf." He says. Arya lets go of him.
"You are what impresses me." She says. Atticus smiles and kisses her on the forehead, before leaving her to finish her lessons. Atticus walks towards the library, and finds Ned Stark, lugging around a giant book.
"Hello Lord Eddard, doing some reading?" Atticus says, laughing. Ned looks at him with a serious face.
"This is the last book Jon Arryn read before he died" Eddard says. Atticus's face becomes serious, until a question he knew the answer to popped into his head.
"Where did you get the book?" He asks.
"From Grand Maester Pyce..." Ned says, before he realizes his mistake. Atticus sighs and shakes his head.
"So, what has the council been talking about?" Atticus asks, changing the subject.
"Viserys Targaryen, the Beggar King, has married his sister off to the Dothraki Khal Drogo." Ned answers.
"How big is his horde?" Atticus questions.
"Some say forty thousand, some same a hundred thousand, either way they have no ships." Eddard answers, but Atticus is unsure.
"The Dothraki could be convinced to come to Westeros, but it would take a lot. You should make sure that our dear King Robert doesn't do anything stupid." Atticus says, and walks away. Ned makes his way to his quarters, but is stopped when Yoren, a man of the Night's Watch, approaches him.
"Yoren, what is it?" He asks. Yoren is huffing hard, and visibly tired.
"My lord, your wife has taken Tyrion Lannister hostage. She says that he is the one that crippled your boy Bran." Yoren says, shocking Ned.
AN- Another chapter done! I want to talk about Brightroar for a second. I decided that it would look like the book version of Ice,which can be found on Valyrian (they no longer make it, but it's in the archives) , but would have the changes I listed. Anyways, remember to R&R, and I hope you enjoyed!