A/N: I updated this chapter to fix a small mistake. If you got a notification about it, I'm sorry. You can ignore that notification and go to Chapter 9 instead (I'm posting that chapter at the same time as I edit this one). The original A/N for this chapter follows.
Hey everyone! Here is the fourth chapter, as promised. It's much more action heavy than the past few chapters (especially the second half, which is in Annabeth's POV), and has a LOT of historical details involved relating to knight's armour and the joust. I tried to explain them as best as I could as they came up in the narration of the story, so this chapter might "tell" more than it should (according to the "show, don't tell" rule of writing), but it was necessary in order to make the story clear. If anyone still has questions by the end of the chapter, feel free to ask about it in a PM or review and I'll answer.
Thanks to everyone who reviewed last time. They were: PrincessOfAtlantis101, ACosmos97, and GriffinGirl8655. You're awesome! :D
Enjoy!
The outer bailey was bustling with activity when Percy and Annabeth arrived. Guests were still pouring into the courtyard from the outer gate, but the couple avoided the crowd as they approached the tiltyard, where the joust was going to be held. They passed by a number of brightly coloured pavilions on the way, but Percy led Annabeth around them. The tents were used to house surgeons and the combatants participating in the joust. The latter group could get rowdy before tournaments, so he didn't want to expose Annabeth to their crude behaviour.
Once the couple was past the pavilions, their path crossed with the crowd's. Most of the people were villagers from the castle town, so they were heading for the left side of the tiltyard, where they would stand and watch the tournament from behind a short wooden barrier. Percy and Annabeth were heading to the right, where a large grandstand built flush against the outer gate provided seating for nobles. Percy led Annabeth to the royal box in the center of the grandstand, where both of their families and the Duke of Titania were already waiting. Only two seats remained, so Percy claimed the chair next to his mother, while Annabeth sat between Percy and Kronos.
The Duke of Titania immediately engaged Annabeth in conversation, so the queen used their distraction to speak privately with her son. She leaned discretely in his direction and kept her voice low as she questioned, "Is everything alright between you?"
Percy responded in an equally soft voice, "Yes, mother. Everything is sorted now. It was just a small misunderstanding."
"Good." The queen kept her voice at a whisper to avoid drawing unwanted attention, but she glanced at Percy from the corner of her eyes. "She's a very pretty woman when she's not glaring, don't you think?"
Percy's cheeks tinged pink. "Mother!"
Sally ignored his rebuke; she continued to stare expectantly at her son until he gave in with an exasperated sigh.
"Fine! Yes, she's beautiful."
Percy didn't realize how loudly he'd spoken until his mother's eyes widened. He saw Annabeth turn to look at him in his peripheral vision, but he was too embarrassed to meet her gaze. He stood abruptly, and then stated, "I need to go change into my armour."
Percy left the royal box with a scarlet face. He passed by his parents, the duke and duchess, and the duke's giggling twins on the way. Humiliated, he hurried down the grandstand's wooden steps and walked swiftly towards the pavilions. He found his tent at the outer right edge of the cluster, less than a hundred meters from the tiltyard. It was the only tent with green and gold vertical stripes, which made it easy to identify.
Percy lifted one tent flap and ducked inside, but he glanced over his shoulder towards the grandstand as he entered. He half expected to see Annabeth staring back at him, but when he looked, she was still talking to the Duke of Titania. Her face wasn't flushed, like his was, but she was smiling too largely for someone in conversation with Kronos.
Percy groaned and let the tent flap fall back to its usual place. Not for the first time, he wished that he had better control over his mouth.
"Is everything alright, sire?" A familiar voice broke the prince out of his thoughts.
Percy turned to look at the boy who had spoken. "Everything is fine, Ethan."
Ethan frowned and looked closely at the prince, "Are you feeling ill? I heard you groan, and you look a little flushed—should I withdraw your name from the tournament?"
Percy shook his head. "No, I can compete."
"Are you sure, my lord? There is no shame in withdrawing due to an illness."
"I've already told you my answer," Percy scolded.
Ethan apologized profusely for his impertinence, but the prince just waved him off. "It's fine. Just ready my armour so I can get dressed."
"I've already prepared it, my lord."
Ethan gestured to a long table in the center of the otherwise empty pavilion. Percy moved to stand beside the table when he realized that it held his jousting armour. The pieces were carefully arranged in the order he would need them, beginning with his sabatons on the left, and ending with his helm on the right.
"Excellent!" Percy smiled at his squire. "Good work, Ethan. Now help me get dressed."
Ethan smiled at the praise as he moved to stand next to Percy. He grabbed the sabatons from the left side of the table, then knelt so that he could fit the solid metal boots over Percy's leather moccasins. As soon as the sabatons were secure, he stood, grabbed the next piece of plate armour, and returned to his kneeling position. He fastened the smooth metal pieces, called greaves, to Percy's lower legs so that they covered the prince's ankles and calves. After that, Ethan was able to stand for the rest of his task. He continued to dress the prince from the bottom up—after the greaves came the cuisses to protect Percy's knees and thighs, and the gambeson came after that. The gambeson was a thick leather jacket used for padding underneath the armour on Percy's torso and arms. It helped absorb the shock of any hits, and stopped the prince's armour from chaffing his skin.
Once the gambeson was secure, Ethan helped Percy into a chain mail haubergeon, which covered the gambeson for extra protection. He also placed a gorget—a solid metal collar—around Percy's neck, and then he added the prince's breastplate and backplate. Ethan continued to dress the prince by attaching faulds to the bottom of his breastplate, so that four overlapping metal bands covered Percy's hips and lower back. Then the squire finished his work with the torso equipment by attaching tassets to the faulds, so that thick metal plates covered the prince's upper legs for extra protection.
Once the tassets were properly adjusted, Ethan moved on to Percy's arms. He placed spaulders over Percy's shoulders, vambraces on his arms, circular besagews to cover his armpits, and gauntlets to protect the prince's hands and forearms. Finally, the squire reached for Percy's surcoat—a blue and green robe emblazoned with a single golden trident in the front, which would help distinguish the prince from other armoured knights in the joust. Ethan placed the surcoat over Percy's armour and secured it to the prince's waist with a leather belt. After cinching the belt, he placed a chainmail coif over Percy's neck and stepped back.
"All done, sire."
Percy nodded his acknowledgement, then reached for his shield and the bascinet-style helmet still resting on the table.
"Thank you, Ethan." The prince paused to adjust the chainmail coif around his neck, then continued, "Can you dress Blackjack in his armour as well, and then go through the warm-ups with him? I'd do it myself, but my father will be making an announcement soon, and I should be in the grandstand with him."
"Of course, my lord. I'll see to him immediately."
True to his word, the boy left Percy's tent quickly. The prince departed shortly after, carrying his helmet and shield with him as he walked back to the grandstand, then climbed the stairs up to the royal box. Shuffling past the duke's sons, the duke and duchess, and the king and queen was much harder in his bulky armour, but he managed to do so without bumping into any of them. He lowered himself into his seat slowly, and then glanced around at his surroundings.
Flags and colourful banners bedecked the tiltyard in front of him. Three wooden barriers ran the length of the field—two "lists" at the outer edges to keep spectators off the tiltyard, and one "tilt" in the middle to separate the knights when they jousted. A large crowd of commoners was sitting on the ground behind the farthest list as people waited for the tournament to begin. A few small children were running around the crowd around and laughing, which seemed to amuse some of the nearby adults, but annoy others. Percy just grinned at their behaviour; he, too, had been a mischievous child, so he knew how much fun they were having.
The sound of trumpets broke Percy out of his reverie. He noticed four heralds standing in their brightly coloured liveries at each of the corners of the tiltyard. Two more stood at either end of the royal box in the grandstand, and in the judges' box immediately overhead. All eight heralds were playing a tune on their trumpets to catch the people's attention. They were successful, because the crowd went quiet and the rowdy children quickly returned to their seats. By the time that Poseidon stood to deliver his customary opening speech, the spectators were so quiet that Percy could hear birds chirping in the distance.
"WELCOME!" Poseidon shouted so that everyone could hear, "I welcome everyone here to this spring tournament, where the best knights in our kingdom will compete in the joust! But before the festivities begin, I have an announcement to make."
Poseidon paused and swept his gaze across the crowds on both sides of the tiltyard. The people seemed to be hanging onto his every word, wondering what the king would say next. Poseidon did not wait long to satisfy their curiosity.
"I am pleased to announce the betrothal of my son, Prince Perseus, to the Duke of Attica's daughter, Lady Annabeth Chase." The king turned to look at his son and future daughter-in-law, "Rise, so the people may see you."
Percy and Annabeth stood as commanded. Percy took an additional step forward to the edge of the box, so that the people could see him more clearly, and vice versa. Annabeth only hesitated for a second before joining him, and once they were standing side by side, the king's announcement seemed to sink in for the people. The crowd, which was in an excitable mood because of the tournament, exploded with positive energy. Commoners and noblemen alike began to cheer so loudly that the grandstand started to shake. That quietened some of the ladies, who glanced nervously at the wood beneath their feet, but a full minute passed before the rest of the crowd's cheers died down. Even then, the sounds of excited chatter drifted across the tiltyard.
When the king raised his right hand in a bid for silence, however, everyone immediately heeded his request.
"The couple thanks you for your excitement and well-wishes. They will be married in forty days at the castle chapel, but that is a celebration for another day! For now, we rejoice together at the good news of their engagement. Let every knight here dedicate his performance to their honour. I will award the victor with a golden chalice, inlaid with sapphires, rubies, and other precious gems."
A few spectators gasped at their king's generosity. Such a cup was worth double a knight's yearly income, if not more!
Poseidon didn't even acknowledge their astonishment as he concluded his brief speech. "Now, let the festivities begin!"
The crowd responded to Poseidon's speech with deafening cheers. Looking at the people then, Percy never would have guessed that Merchester was on the verge of rebellion; the spectators' eyes were shining with admiration for their king. Even Poseidon seemed caught up in the euphoria. He turned towards Percy and Annabeth with a large smile on his face, then winked obviously at them before returning to his seat.
Annabeth took that as her cue to do the same. Percy almost joined her, but he changed his mind and left the royal box instead. Now that the announcement had been made, the opening ceremony would begin. He needed to join the other knights before the processional started.
~~~ A Kingdom Divided ~~~
Annabeth watched Percy leave. The prince's ornate jousting armour seemed to slow him down, but his movements were otherwise fluid. They lacked the awkwardness that plagued most armoured knights. In fact, the prince seemed to move more confidently when he was in his armour than when he was without it. He reminded her of Luke, in that regard.
The heralds began to play another short tune on their trumpets, which drew Annabeth's attention away from Prince Perseus. She directed her focus towards the judges' box, instead, because that was where the Grand Marshall would open the ceremony by reading the rules for the joust. The judges' box was directly above where the royals sat with their guests of honour, so Annabeth couldn't actually see the Grand Marshall stand as the trumpet songs subsided, but she heard his loud voice call out to the people.
"Greetings, lords and ladies! Forty-six knights have answered the call to compete in this tournament. They have all agreed to adhere to the rules of the joust à plaissance. Those rules are as follows: first, that the knights who joust must run four courses at most, with three lances, and no more. If in these four courses one knight should hit the other, splintering his lance, and the knight upon whom that lance splintered did not break his own lance by striking his opponent, he shall be vanquished. Furthermore, if one knight splinters two lances and the other only one, the winner shall be the knight who breaks two lances. But if the knight who only splintered one lance knocks off his opponent's helm with the same blow, a tie shall be declared between him and the knight who splintered the two lances."
Annabeth leaned forward in her seat as the Grand Marshall continued, "Thirdly, if a knight shatters two lances by striking his opponent, and the knight who has been struck knocks him off his horse, even though he did not splinter his lance, a tie shall be declared between him and the knight who splintered the lances. Furthermore, if one knight knocks down both his opponent and his horse, and the other knocks down the knight but not his horse, then the knight whose horse fell with him shall be the winner, because the fault in this case was the horse's and not the rider's. And in the case of the knight who fell but whose horse did not, the fault rests with the knight and not with the horse. Furthermore, lance staves shall not be judged properly broken if they are broken crosswise, but only if they break after striking with the point."
The Grand Marshall paused for a moment, and Annabeth thought she heard a man's quick intake of breath before the announcement continued, "The sixth rule declares that, if in the four courses each knight splinters two staves, or one each, or they each strike in the same place, a tie will be declared between them. And if in the four courses they never manage to hit each other at all, let the judgement be that they jousted poorly. Finally, if any knight should drop his lance whilst charging, without ever coming to blows, his opponent should raise his lance and not strike him, for it would be unchivalrous to strike an opponent who had no lance."
Annabeth frowned as she tried to understand the Grand Marshall's words. She had only attended pas d'armes style jousts before, and the rules seemed very different. Nevertheless, if she understood the Grand Marshall correctly, then the joust a plaissance rules were simple: the participants received three lances to use against each other in a match, but to keep the tournament from dragging on too long, each match was limited to four runs. The knights' goal was to break the lance on their opponent. If they broke their lance on their opponent's body or shield, they received one point. If they managed to remove their opponent's helmet, they received two points, and if they unhorsed their opponent, they received three points. Whichever knight amassed more points won the match. He was permitted to advance in the tournament, but the knight who lost was eliminated.
The Grand Marshall finished speaking while Annabeth revised the rules in her mind. "With the rules thus stated, the processional shall begin. May the best knight win."
The Grand Marshall grew silent after that, so Annabeth turned her attention to the end of the tiltyard, where a large group of knights were standing with their horses. Both they, and the animals they rode, were dressed in metal armour and surcoats. Each knight was holding a shield in their left hand, and in their right hand, they held a wooden pole with their house's flag on top.
Annabeth watched as one knight, on the far right side of the front row, hefted his family flag high and urged his horse forward to open the processional. A herald introduced him to the crowd, but the man needn't have bothered. Everyone recognized the royal trident on the knight's green flag, so they knew that it was Prince Perseus.
The crowd cheered so loudly for the prince that Annabeth couldn't hear his full introduction. She simply watched as he circled the tiltyard with his flag held high, then returned to his original position beside the other knights. The next knight urged his mount forward and repeated Percy's actions. Eventually, the other the forty-four knights competing in the joust circled the tiltyard as well. Her friend, Luke, was the last to ride forward, and she cheered loudly for him. He returned to his place at the end of the line, then Percy and the second knight from the processional rode forward.
They moved into their positions for the joust. Percy was on the left side of the tilt, closer to the commoners, so the other knight rode to the far end of the right side. He turned to face Percy, then both knights waved over their squires. They no longer needed their family flags, because their surcoats and shields could still identify them, so Percy and the other knight exchanged their flags for lances. They held the lances straight upwards in their right hands while waiting for the match to begin.
They did not have to wait long, however, until the heralds in the judges' box blew their trumpets, which signalled for the men to begin. Both knights responded immediately. They spurred their horses into a canter, then gently lowered and aimed their lances. They met in the middle of the tiltyard, and both men's lances shattered on the other's breastplate. They returned to the starting positions, but this time, Percy was on the right of the tilt while the other knight was on the left. Their squires quickly handed them new lances, then removed the pieces of their broken lances from the tiltyard.
As soon as the squires were out of the knights' paths, the heralds signalled for them to ride again. They did so, but this time, when they met, Percy's opponent missed while the prince shattered his lance on the other man's helmet. That blow wasn't enough to knock the knight's helmet off, but it drew loud cheers from the crowd.
Annabeth leaned forward in her seat as the opponents returned to their original positions on the field. She watched as Percy's squire cleaned up the broken lance bits from the tiltyard, then handed the prince his final lance. If Percy broke the lance during the next round, and managed to stay on his horse, then he would win the match.
The heralds blew another note on their trumpets, and before Annabeth could even blink, the knights were moving towards each other again. They aimed their lances carefully as they approached, and each managed to break a lance on the other's shield. That meant Percy had won the match!
Several audience members jumped to their feet as they cheered. The king remained seated, but he applauded loudly for his son while Percy returned to the ranks of knights at the edge of the field. The other knight also left the tiltyard, but he joined the nobles in the grandstand so he could watch the rest of the festivities in comfort.
After the tiltyard was cleared of the debris from the previous run, the next two knights rode forward. They had to tilt for all four runs, because two of the rounds resulted in both knights delivering glancing blows and riding away with their lances intact. The losing knight from that match also chose to join the nobles in the grandstand after he was eliminated, but the knight from the third match returned to his pavilion with an injury. The next several matches seemed to pass in a blur for Annabeth—although she was very pleased when Luke unhorsed his opponent in the first run of his match, and then went on to win the match.
Soon, half of the original forty-six knights were eliminated. Percy rode forward for his second match, which he won in the first three rounds, again. He returned to his place just as the next two knights rode forward, and the tournament suffered its first casualty in that match. The crowd grew somber while the dead knight was carried off the yard and his body returned to his pavilion, but the people were back to cheering moments later.
Several more hours of jousting passed, and as much as Annabeth enjoyed watching the sport, she was beginning to grow weary. Her interest was aroused, however, when she realized that only two knights were left. They advanced to their positions on the tiltyard, and when Annabeth looked between them, uncertainty pooled in her stomach. Who was she supposed to cheer for—Percy, as her betrothed, or her childhood friend, Luke Castellan?
A/N: I have to leave in 5 minutes so I'll make this note fast. I hope you enjoyed the joust! It was a lot of fun, but a lot of effort, to write.
I admit that this wasn't my best chapter, but I promised that I would update today and I didn't want to break that promise. If I have time when the story is finished, I'll come back and fix it up a bit.
Actually, there's one more thing I want to say. The rules I published for the joust a plaissance are actually the official jousting rules published by King Alfonso XI of Castile in 1330. I copied it almost word for word from his official statue, but I did change a few words to make it more readable. I also added a quick "explanation" afterwards (in Annabeth's train of thought) to summarize the points and clarify anything that might not have been clear in the official rules stated by the Grand Marshall. If you want to see the official statute by King Alfonso XI, you can go to 2015/01/07/medieval-rules-jousting/ .
Thanks for reading!