A/N: I own nothing except my OCs. A Song of Ice and Fire is owned by George R.R Martin.
-The Stormlands, Storm`s End-
Sharply contrasting the previous day, the weather was rather sunny. Many were pleased by this, as Lord Steffon was hosting a tourney on this day. The courtyard was where the tourney was to be held. Steffon gave the boys permission to watch, but not to attend. While Elbert was slightly disappointed, neither of them complained as they were too excited.
The tourney grounds were bustling with lively noise. After moving over to the jousting lane, Artys and Elbert were even more restless. Having seen what the melee was like, they were eager to see what the rest of the tourney had in store. Among the crowd, they spotted one familiar face.
"Denys?" Elbert spoke questioningly.
"Well met, cousins" the young knight smiled. The two Arryn boys approached their relative, smiles on their faces.
"I would never have expected to see you here" Artys said.
"Aye, there`s a fair distance between here and the Vale" Elbert added.
"Well, Lord Jon requested me to meet you here to discuss your travels home" Denys said. "I only learned of the tourney once I arrived."
"And you wish to compete?" Elbert asked.
"But of course! The whole realm needs to understand why the Knights of the Vale are the finest in Westeros!" Denys declared proudly. While Artys and Elbert shared a smile, other spectators were less than pleased at the knights shouting.
"As loud as always" one of them sighed.
"They never stop boasting" another scoffed. Lots of murmuring followed these statements, much to the dismay of the Arryn cousins.
"Pay them no mind. They only wish to throw slander at the competition" Denys said, shaking his head.
"Is this truly what people think of us?" Elbert asked under his breath.
"Hey, look over there!" a voice called out. Turning towards the direction of the voice, the boys saw an incredible sight. Atop a black steed, flanked by a pair of Kingsguards, one of the most famous people in all the Seven Kingdoms came into view. Rhaegar Targaryen, Prince of Westeros. His silver hair was unmistakable, the long strands flowing in the light breeze.
"The Prince himself his here?" Elbert muttered aloud, breaking the silence.
"…It would appear so" Artys replied. The three boys simply watched as the prince of the Seven Kingdoms rode by.
As the roars of the crowd erupted, the nest round of the joust was scheduled to start. Robert was seated in an elevated seat, while Eddard and the Arryn cousins were among the others in the bleachers. The two contestants of the round were getting into position. The Lord of Storm`s End was preparing to joust with the Prince of Westeros.
"Who do you think will win?" Artys asked.
"Hard to say for certain" Eddard replied.
"Lord Steffon has more experience" Elbert spoke.
"True, but Prince Rhaegar is said to be one of the best knights in all the Seven Kingdoms" Artys said in reply.
"Either way, this is sure to be an exciting bout" Elbert spoke. The other two boys nodded, turning back to the knights as they were getting ready. Steffon strapped the shield to his arm, while Rhaegar grabbed the spear from the squire beside him. Waiting for the signal, both men pulled down the visor of their helmets.
As the horn sounded, the two competitors charged at one another. The crowd leaned forward, anticipating the moment of impact. However, when the competitors passed one another, Steffon deflected Rhaegar`s blow with his shield, while the Westerosi prince leaned away from his opponent`s strike.
"So close" Elbert spoke, mirroring the anticipated crowd.
"The next clash will be it" Artys said.
"Not bad, prince" Steffon muttured under his breath, smirking all the while.
The two riders got back into position, lowering their spears. After the horn sounded once more, they charged at each other again. This time however, Rhaegar`s spear stuck the Storm Lord in the side, knocking him off his steed. The crowd erupted into cheers.
"The prince has won!" a lord called out.
"Father!" Robert yelled in distress. The Eyrie boys simply watched, mouths agape at the outcome. Rhaegar, who had handed his horse to his assigned squire, walked over to his fallen foe.
"That was a great fight" he smiled, stretching out his hand.
"Indeed it was" Steffon smirked, taking Rhaegar`s hand and standing up. The cheers of the crowd got even louder, drowning out the thoughts of the combatants. The two men shook hands, each with smiles on their faces.
"Prince Rhaegar, he appears to be as skilled as the rumors claim" Elbert spoke in awe.
"No kidding, unhorsing Lord Steffon is no small feat" Artys replied. Eddard sliently nodded. One thing was certain, this event was one the boys would not so easily forget.
After the joust concluded, the big celebrations begun. Spectators and participants alike were enjoying the festivities. Women gossiped amongst each other, while the men were drinking and singing all jolly. Artys was taken aback by the sheer joy surrounding him, a stark contrast with the competitions that had preceded.
To get some fresh air, and get away from the noise, Artys stepped outside the tent. He saw a man, presumably a knight, leaning next to a tree while vomiting. Another man stood next to him and patted his back. He continued wandering to find a clearing to take in the air.
"P-Please leave me be" a timid voice called out. Turning towards the voice, Artys noticed a young dark-haired boy surrounded by three older boys. Based on his equipment, Artys guessed the young lad was a squire. He was carrying a newly polished blade and a small bag hung from the belt around his waist.
"Why? We just wish to talk" the tallest boy said in reply. Based on his armor, he looked to be a knight himself.
"I-I need to get going" the timid squire said.
"There`s no need to rush, lad" a second knight spoke. As the three men approached, the squire looked around in slight fear. Being reminded of the incident with Robert, Artys walked over to the group.
"What is all this commotion about?" he asked as he approached.
"Nothing you need to concern yourself with, milord" the third boy, who had dirty blonde hair, replied roughly. Artys simply raised an eyebrow at the response.
"We simply wish to speak to this lad here" the tallest boy added.
"He seems to be quite frightened" Artys stated, nodding towards the shivering squire.
"He is just nervous" the knight spoke, irritation on his face.
"Then perhaps you should leave him be" Artys suggested. At that, the three boys fully turned towards him.
"What was that?" the tallest squire asked.
"I am asking you to leave him be" Artys replied.
"My, someone feels confident" the boy with dirty blonde hair said. Sharing a smirk between them, the other two boys pulled out wooden weapons. The knight instead wielded a real dagger.
"P-Please leave, before you get hurt" the squire called out meekly. Ignoring the plea, Artys stood his ground. Despite their intimidating approach, he was not backing down.
"What is all this about?" a voice called out. As they all looked in the direction of the voice, they started slowly backing up.
"Denys!" Artys called out happily.
"S-Ser?" the knight asked nervously.
"Is there a problem?" Denys asked.
"These three will not leave the poor squire alone" Artys replied.
"A-Actually, we were just about to take our leave" the blonde boy said. The other two nodded, before they ran away with dropping their swords. Before leaving with them, the knight directed a sharp glare towards Artys. The nervous squire let out a sigh of relief.
"Many thanks, both of you" he spoke, bowing timidly.
"Always happy to help" Denys smiled.
"You should get going now" Artys said.
"Aye" the boy nodded before picking up his belongings and taking his leave. Once he was out of sight, Denys turned to his distant cousin.
"Why take such a risk?" he asked.
"…I simply could not stand by and watch" Artys replied. Noticing his tone, Denys raised an eyebrow.
"That all?" he inquired.
"Yes" Artys abruptly replied. Denys let out a sigh.
"Such shameful behavior for a knight" he spoke under his breath. "
"I will have a few more drinks, care to join me?" Denys asked his distant relative.
"No, just go and enjoy yourself, you have earned it" Artys replied, offering a small smile.
"Don`t wait too long, or Robert will have devoured all the food" Denys said, patting Artys on the back. After sharing a hearty chuckle, the Arryn knight left the heir of the Vale to his own devices. Turning to see if anyone else had seen the commotion, he saw others just going about their business. It appeared no one else had seen, or even cared, about the boy being harassed by the trio of knights.
"Just like back then" Artys thought aloud. Unbeknownst to him, his neutral glance gave way to a frown. As his view of knights had once again changed, the young turned to walk back to the tent where celebrations continued as ever.
A/N: Yeah, there`s no excuse for this chapter taking so long to publish. I blame my lack of motivation after Game of Thrones ended. Still, I deeply apologize for taking so long. To try and make up for it, I will and release the next Alyssa chapter soon. Not promising any specific date, but will have it done before summer is over. I also apologize for the low quality of the joust, action sequences are not my strong suit.
Hope you all have a fantastic day/night/evening. Please stay safe and take care.