Wife of the Wolf, Husband of the Sun

Chapter Twenty-Four.

It was a beautiful clear morning with the sun shinning high in the sky, the field outside of King's Landing next to the river was crowded with dozens of tents of all colours, shapes and sizes. They seemed to stretch out to the horizon and beyond it.

There were also dozens and dozens of house banners, some Ned recognised as he, Elia, Oberyn and Oberyn's daughters were walking in between the tents, the golden rose of House Tyrell, the grapes of House Redwyne, the falcon and moon of House Arryn, the silver sun of House Karstark, the merman of House Manderly, the roaring giant of House Umber, the bear of House Mormont, The red trout of House Tully, though Catelyn was still in the north with Brandon and there was no sign of Lysa either, the towers of House Frey, the black portcullis of House Yronwood, the falling star of House Danye, and the stag of House Baratheon, though Ned was disappointed when he heard that Robert had appreantly decided not to come and had sent his younger brother Stannis in his place.

There were dozens he did not recognise, a purple unicorn on silver, a golden pyramid with a sun on blue, a lamb holding a golden goblet on a green field and a burning tree on a field of grey. Ned learned a great deal about the noble houses of Westeros from Lord Arryn and his father but most of his knowledge was more centred around the houses of the North and the Vale.

When he had learned that he was to marry Elia he had decided to learn more about his wife's houses and from Robert he had learned a little more of the houses of the Stormlands though it wasn't quite more than what he already knew, Robert was apparently not the most involved Lord Paramount of his part of the seven kingdoms.

When it came to the other kingdoms most of his knowledge was limited to the great houses and their most powerful allies as it was often hard to keep track of all the other houses from all the kingdoms.

"Why do I have to where this?" Obara's affronted voice brought Ned out of his thoughts and he turned his head to look back at her, he couldn't not help but grin a little at the large frown on her face as she tried to walk in the green and quite poufy dress she had been forced into.

It reminded him of Lyanna.

The thought of his sister made him feel sad, it had been long time since they had left Winterfell and he missed her so much, he missed all of them. He missed his father and wondered if he was still alright from his attack, he had received a letter from Lya and she had written that he was doing much better but he would feel better when he got to see his father with his own eyes.

It wasn't that he didn't believe his sister's word, it was just that Lyanna had been trying to be brave for the rest of them ever since their father had collapsed and she wouldn't want to worry him.

He missed Brandon, his big brother. He could almost see him riding a horse and laughing loudly, his eyes filled with joy with a pretty maid in his arms. He missed Benjen, his baby brother who was coming along so well with a sword and kind eyes.

He missed Winterfell. He missed home.

"You have to wear it because we are the Queen's guests." His wife responded to her niece, her voice was gentle and kind as always but there was a hint of iron in it as well that showed that she would bare no arguments about the fact. "Therefore, you are going to wear a dress because it is the polite thing to do and you do not want to disrespect her, I promise that as soon as the tourney is over for the day you may go back to wearing a doublet and trousers."

Obara kept frowning but said nothing else as she kept up her pace, Ned smiled and reached out and took Elia's hand and his smile grew when Elia smiled back at him and pressed his hand to her stomach. Her stomach had grown but she was still small, he had found himself wishing for the moment when the child would have the legs to kick.

He had the vaguest memories of feeling his mother's stomach when she had been carrying Benjen and how he had laughed and laughed when he felt his unborn brother kicking inside of her, the little fluttering kick barely there but he had felt them all the same.

Elia would be a lovely mother, he had seen all the truth of that when he saw her interact with Obara, Nymeria and Tyene, any child would be lucky to have her as a mother. He just hoped that he would be able to say the same of himself when it came to being a father.

It wasn't that he didn't like children or that he wouldn't enjoy being a father, when Elia told him that she was with child it had been one of the happiest moments of his life after all. But he wasn't sure what sort of parent he would actually be, he had never truly dealt with very young children before, he was Brandon's younger brother and for a great portion of Lya and Ben's childhood while he was fostered up at the Eyrie.

He wanted to be a good father, more than anything.

He was brought out of his increasingly melancholy thoughts by Oberyn's laughter. "Come now Obara, stop your frowning." He said with a smirk as carried Tyene one handed and held's Nymeria's with his other. "It is hardly the end of the world now is it? If you promise to be on your best behaviour then I will promise that tonight you and I will spar until you are tired."

That seemed to brighten the sullen girl's mood, she did not smile but she did stop frowning and she did seem to pick up her pace a little. Oberyn hummed his satisfaction and began to whistle a tune under his breath.

They passed by another dozen or so tents before they reached the large royal tent, a gigantic purple beast that stood apart from the rest of the tents and seemed to stretch into the sky, in front of tent flew the Targaryen banner, the three headed read dragon on black. Next to it stood the golden lion of House Lannister, to symbolise the fact that both houses would soon be joined.

Behind the tent the Direwolf of House Stark and the speared sun of House Martell were flying in the breeze, to announce to all the world they were the royal families honoured guests. Said honoured guests walked into the tent, two servants standing outside the royal tent holding the heavy velvet flaps aside so they could walk inside.

A servant waiting inside the tent announced them all. "Presenting Lord Eddard Stark, second born son of Lord Rickard Stark. His wife the Lady Elia Nymeros Martell, Princess of Dorne and her brother, Prince Oberyn Nymeros Martell, Prince of Dorne and his baseborn daughters, Obara Sand, Nymeria Sand and Tyene Sand, honoured guests of Queen Rhaella."

As soon as the servant had finished announcing them the king himself turned to look at them for a moment before he scoffed and turned his head, he was the first thing that caught Ned's attention in the tentbut it was not a difficult task, he was sitting in a large chair made of ironwood that looked almost as uncomfortable as the iron throne in the middle of a slightly raise platform. He looked terrible, his silver hair was ragged and messy and there were splotches of dirt that told Ned that it hadn't been washed in weeks as well as large knots, his purple eyes narrowed when they came in and his fists gripped the armrests of his chair tightly, his nails which were so long they were starting to curl threaten crack right off.

Sitting next to him in a smaller chair was the queen, she was dressed in lovely purple dress and her long silver hair was pulled back into a simple plat with not a hair out of place, there was a simple gold tiara with a green emerald set in it atop her head and a golden necklace around her neck with a single diamond set in that. She smiled a warm smile as soon as they came in.

Standing in front of their parents was the Crown Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, he was beautiful even Ned could admit that, with long silver hair like his mother and striking violet eyes and delicate features that somehow did not seem at all weak, it was quite easy for Ned to see why all the girls in the seven kingdoms wanted him other than the fact he was the prince, and Prince Viserys Targaryen who seemed bored out of his wits as he held on to his elder brother's hand and swung back and forth on his feet.

They were only four of the seven Kingsguard in the tent at the moment, The Lord Commander Gerold Hightower, Ser Barristan Selmy. Ser Arthur Dayne and Ser Lewyn Martell. The four men were still as statues but Ned was certain that he saw Ser Arthur's eyes lighten slightly when they landed on Elia and that he saw Ser Lewyn's stance relax ever so slightly.

The other guests of honour were already inside the tent, Cersei Lannister was even more beautiful than her future husband to be, with her long golden hair and green eyes the two of them made quite a pair, she was dressed in a black dress with red lace around the sleeves and the neckline of the dress, she was clearly taking great pride in wearing her future husband's colours as she walked over to him and put her arm around his, not even seeming to notice that they had entered or if she did then she did not much care.

Jamie Lannister was standing by a long table, straining with the weight of the food it carried, with a goblet of wine clutched in his hand with displeased frown on his face. He was dressed in a red tunic with a golden lion emblazoned over the breast.

The fact he was here unnerved Ned, it wasn't that he wasn't expecting the man to be here as of course he would given that it was his sister that was marrying into the royal family. It was simply that recently Ned could not seem to turn a corner or look over his shoulder and not see the golden Lannister standing there waiting for him, and for Elia. While Jamie had always been polite to Ned it seemed to be Elia that he was more interested in.

He always spoke with much more interest, more passion to her. He always tried to make her laugh and more often than not he succeeded.

And didn't that thought just make his blood boil? He had never thought of himself as a jealous man but for every laugh that escaped from Elia's mouth, for each smile she graced the Lannister boy with all Ned wanted to do was slam his fist into his face till he didn't look quite so pretty anymore.

Perhaps he had gotten a bit more of the wolf blood than he had thought?

He saw him smirk slowly when he saw Elia and again, in that moment all Ned wanted to do was punch him. He looked like he was going to walk over and start to say something but he was stopped when the King spoke, his voice was low and seemed to be raspy with misuse and it took all Ned had not to shudder when he heard the barely supressed anger in his words.

"It would seem my former Hand thinks it wise to keep me waiting." The king said as his features darkened to match the anger in his voice, his purple eyes turning nearly black as he gazed around the tent. Seemingly intent to find something that would displease him that he could pounce upon.

His eyes eventually landed on Cersei. "Tell me, "Good daughter" What excuse can you provide for your father's absence? Why does he think it wise to keep me waiting?"

To the Lannister girl's credit she did not flinch or cower under the gaze and showed no sign of any fear at the rage that was barely supressed even as Rhaegar tried to make her step back and her future good mother could barely stop from shaking. "I am certain that my father is not meaning to cause you any offense your grace, he would never do such a thing. I am certain that he will be here any moment."

"He had better be." He muttered as he glanced all around the room. "I've given Tywin everything, I allowed him to serve as my Hand. I made him the second most powerful man in all seven kingdoms. And I allowed him to have Joanna."

That last word seemed to have robbed the tent of all it's air, the queen tensed and closed her eyes suddenly looking so very weary, Elia took hold of Ned's hand and squeezed which he squeezed back. Oberyn muttered something to his daughters which Ned couldn't make it out but he was sure that it was something along the lines of telling them all to be very quiet.

The crown prince was clearly trying to find a way to both placate his father and pull his future wife away while his little brother was whimpering fearfully, clutching his older brother's pant leg and burying his face into it.

Jamie Lannister was standing to the side, looking completely confused at the King's words while his sister simply kept standing there with a happy smile on her face, only the slightest tensing of her fingers giving Ned any indication that the king's words had affected her.

And through out it all the four knights of the kingsguard simply stood, as silent as statues and did not show any reaction to any of the words that their king had uttered. They were not orders and thus were not important.

"Did you know about that, that he stole your mother from me? She was supposed to be mine, she had no right to deny me. I was the king and see was only a lady of the queen, she was sent back to Casterly Rock without my leave. Tywin was jealous of me and her, he saw her falling in love with me and he could not have it." The king said, his voice rising with intensity and spittle flew out of his mouth.

"I..am sure that my lord father did not mean to offend your grace in anyway." Cersei began but it was clear that did not know how to continue for a moment as her eyes glanced around the tent for a moment, perhaps looking for a way to escape. Her eyes suddenly landed on the queen and the nervous smile was rather quickly replaced with an arrogant smirk when her eyes landed on the queen. "But, if your grace would excuse me for mentioning it, I would remind you that it was not my father who sent my mother back to Casterly Rock. The queen dismissed her from her service and she obviously could not stay in King's Landing after that."

There was sharp intake of breath from the queen who had adopted a look of shock, the shock quickly faded and was soon replaced with a look of what could only be described a mix rage and utter dread, rage at the Lannister girl and utter dread at her mad husband's reaction.

The king was silent, he simply stared at Cersei for a moment before he smiled, showing all of his teeth. He turned his face towards his wife and reached out to stroke his wife's face, though there was no tenderness in the gesture. "Yes, yes you did. Didn't you Rhaella? Tell us all, why did you do that? Joanna was your friend wasn't she? Your closest friend aside from that Dornish whore."

There was sudden gasp from Elia and Ned turned his head to look at her, seeing the pain on his wife's face from hearing how cruelly her mother was described felt like a dagger in his heart and for a brief moment he wanted to take a dagger and plant it in to the Mad King's own heart. But his own cooler temper prevails and he realises that he could not do that if he planned on leaving King's Landing alive.

Ser Lewyn's expressionless face was twisted in anger for just a moment at hearing the King he swore himself too describe his sister in such a way but it only lasted that moment before it completely faded, like it had never been there at all.

It was Oberyn that had the biggest reaction, he set Tyene down on the ground next to his sisters and began to walk over to the raised platform. Before he could get so close that the king could notice and the kingsguard could do little more than tightening their fingers around the hilts of their swords Ned reached out and quickly grabbed his arm to stop him from taking another step.

Oberyn turned his head to glare at him but Ned did not even slightly loosen the grip, he simply shook his head. Elia stepped forward and pressed her hand to her brother's arm and shook her head as well. Oberyn sighed softly, took a breath and then took a step back.

"We're all waiting for your answer my sweet wife. Why did you send such a dear friend away, answer me. Look at me!" The king roared as he roughly grasped her chin and forced her to look at him. "Why did you send her away?" He repeated.

"Because I can tolerate a great deal from you Aerys, but I would not have you turning one of my ladies, my friend, into your whore." The queen spat and the tent was filled with a shocked silence and none was more shocked than the king himself as he stared wide eyes at his wife. The shock soon turned to rage and he drew back his hand and slapped Queen Rhaella so hard across the face that her head snapped back, she turned back to look at him with a straight face and a purple bruise rapidly forming on her cheek.

"Father! Please that's enough!" Rhaegar shouted as he stepped forward, the king whirled around to face his firstborn who seemed to take the look with the same bravery as his mother. "What does any of this matter now? This was decades hence. The lady Joanna is long since gone and we have guests, a king and queen should not disagree in front of their most loyal subjects."

The king looked like he was going to say something but at the last moment seemed to change his mind, contenting himself by muttering something so low that only he and his wife could hear. Rhaegar sighed, sounding equal parts relived and exhausted before he turned to his future wife and whispered into her ear before leading her away from his parents, taking Viserys with them.

Ned, Elia, Oberyn and his daughters followed them over to the long table, none of them caring that king had not officially greeted them. "Hello Prince Viserys, do you remember me?" Elia asked the small boy as she let go of Ned's hand and knelt in front of him.

The little prince frowned a little as he stared at Elia for a moment before he began to speak. "Your princess Elia, you were supposed to marry Rhaegar instead of Lady Cersei, why didn't you?" He asked as he glanced back at his future good sister and Ned couldn't be sure but he thought that his frown seemed to darken.

"Father decided that it was best that Princess Elia and I married different people Viserys, that it would be better for us and better for the kingdoms." Rhaegar explained to his younger brother gently as he leaned down to ruffle his hair.

"I still think you should be marrying her instead." The bluntness of the statement caught everyone by surprise but it made Oberyn let out a snort of laughter, coloured Cersei Lannister's face red and made Elia grant the small boy a gentle smile.

Elia stood to her feet and stepped towards Cersei Lannister and Ned followed behind her, he got the sense that the Lannister woman was far more dangerous than she appeared and even in a tent filled with people he would not let her face the woman alone.

"You look very beautiful Lady Cersei, such a lovely dress and Targaryen colours suit you." Elia said as she stepped close, pressing a kiss to both of her cheeks before she stepped back.

Cersei smiled at her and reached out to take her hands. "How very kind you are, that's all anyone ever says about you. How utterly kind you are. And thank you, I made this dress myself when I had a bit of spare time. You wouldn't believe how busy I've been since I came to King's Landing, I imagine that when Rhaegar and I are married I will become even busier."

"True, you will be a princess soon. We will have something in common." Elia said warmly, a gentle smile on her face.

"Yes." Responded Cersei with a hum before she pulled her hands away from Elia's. "But of course I am going to be the queen one day, you're a princess but only really in name considering your married to man that is below your station and your rank can not be greater than his. In a matter of fact since you married to him you technically aren't a princess any more, are you? You're a lady."

Elia's face fell for a moment and she seemed lost at what to say in reply to that, Cersei gave a small smirk and turned to walk away. Elia reached down and way playing with her wedding ring and Ned couldn't help but sigh, it was true that Elia had in fact married down and her title was no longer princess but in fact lady and it opened some old wounds for him. He wasn't even the first son so it was not as if he could even give her Winterfell.

He these thoughts fled his mind when he felt delicate fingers intertwine with his own and he looked up to see Elia smiling at him kindly with eyes full of love as she guided his hand to rest over her stomach where their child was growing. "I am happy with you, I love you more than anything in this world." Elia said in a low voice so that none would hear the words that were just for him and for just a moment he forget that it wasn't only the two of them in this tent. "You must know that."

"I do. And I love you." Ned whispered as he leaned down to press a gentle kiss to her lips while his hand stroked her stomach gently.

"I only wish that I was worthy of that love, worthy of you." His mind whispered to him treacherously but he did not pay it any heed, simply kept kissing his wife and not caring what anyone thought of the public display of affection. Not caring when he was fairly sure when he felt someone glaring at him and not caring wither it was Cersei Lannister, her brother, her betrothed or even the king himself.

The silence of the tent was suddenly broken by the sound of a loud trumpet, it was so sudden that the surprise of it caused Ned and Elia to break apart as they both turned there heads towards the entrance of the tent. The heavy velvet flaps were pulled apart and four figures walked in and the servant began to announce them.

"Presenting Lord Tywin Lannister firstborn son of Lord Tytos Lannister, Lord of Casterly Rock, shield of Lannisport, Warden of the West and Lord Paramount of the Westerlands." The servant had to take a moment to catch his breath from rattling off all the titles that the one man had possessed before continuing. Also presenting Lord Kevan Lannister and their sister, the lady Genna Frey and Lord Tyrion Lannister son of Lord Tywin, honoured guests of King Areys, the second of his name."

Now that the announcements had finished Ned could take in all who stood before them, everyone's eyes were of course drawn to the Lord of Casterly Rock himself. Tywin Lannister may have been older than Ned's father but he did not at all seem to be at all frail or feeling his age, his golden hair was still full and his green eyes were piercing, them seem to bore into you and expose every secret in your soul. This was a man who would do anything for his own advancement and the advancement of his family and everyone know that and respected it.

And feared it as well. You would have to be an utter fool not to fear Tywin Lannister.

Or utterly mad.

His brother Kevan was almost an utter contrast to him, where Tywin was sharp Kevan seemed softer, where Tywin's eyes were harsh his seemed softer, where his brother gave off an aura of authority and intimidation he gave off an aura of simple desire to follow and being content with where he was. But Ned knew that did not mean the second son was weak or naïve, he was still a dangerous man but perhaps not as dangerous or at least not as ruthless as his brother.

Lady Genna was a fat woman, there was no point in going around it she was a very fat woman. She was not quite as large as say Lord Manderly or some of his sons but she was still a large woman. Still, this did not make her any less beautiful or any less dangerous than any Lannister and Ned was certain that he could see glimpses of an intellect that was the match of either of her brothers and perhaps even surpassed them.

Then finally it came to Tyrion Lannister himself, the killer of his mother. The imp. Even in the north they had heard all of the stories, that Joanna Lannister had born her own death and death took the form of a hideous monster, scaled green skin and leathery wings with a tail and teeth like dagger blades and red eyes that burned like coals.

The stories were wrong, it was just man who was little more than a boy. His head was a little too big for his body, his limbs were a bit short and his eyes were mismatched but other than that just a man. Not an unattractive one if someone looked past his height but of course very few people would be able to do that.

Cersei stormed over to her family, her brother following after her. "What are you doing here?" She practically spat at her younger brother who looked up at her with a smirk and something twinkling in his mismatched eyes.

"Sweet sister, this entire tourney is for you. I would not be able to live with myself if I missed this, oh of course I had to beg our dear father to allow me to come but as I am here now would you not grant me a kiss of your dearest affection." The young man's words were dripping with mockery and for a moment it looked as though Cersei would slap her brother across the face but at the last moment she remembered that she was being watched so she quickly ducked and pressed a kiss to his cheek before she stood back to her full height.

"Where are Uncle Tygett and Uncle Gerion?" Jamie asked his father after he had stood up from greeting his brother with a warm embrace and his sister had went on to greeting her aunt and her uncle.

"I left Tygett in charge of Casterly Rock until I return and Gerion went off on another fool's errand before I could stop him." Tywin replied to his son as he examined his son for a moment. "You look well, that is good. Have you found someone you think may be a worthy bride?"

Jamie shook his head and the former hand of the king shook his head before stepping past his eldest son and knelt before the King and Queen. "Your Grace, my Queen." He spoke low, his voice the picture of nothing but willingness to serve. "I am grateful for your invitation."

"I trust that you are grateful to me Tywin?" The king asked, a smirk playing on his lips. "I changed my mind and allowed my heir to be married to the daughter of my servant, never let it be said that I am not kind and I do not reward loyalty. You are loyal to me, aren't you Tywin?"

"Of course Your Grace." Lord Tywin said lowly and Ned was fairly certain that he could hear just a trace of anger in his voice but he couldn't be sure but he was certain that if he was as proud as it was said that Lord Tywin was then he would be more than angry, he would be furious. "Truly, this is a glorious day. Soon our houses will be united as they always should have been."

The king hummed but said no more and then queen stood to her feet. "I do believe that we should take our place in the stands, everyone else will be ready? Shall we go husband."

"Yes, yes, yes." The king stood to his feet and even that clearly took a great deal of effort but still he managed to do it. "Let us get this over with."

The group began to leave the large tent and waiting outside were two litters, Aerys got into one and Rhaella entered hers, Viserys following her in and Rhaegar being ordered to join his father, and the servants began to carry them to the stands, the rest of the group had to content themselves with walking but it did not take them long to reached the stands. As guests of the royal family they would be sitting next to a raised platform where the king and queen would be sitting.

Rhaegar was sitting to the right of his father and the Lannisters were sitting next to him, his betrothed sitting rather close to him. Ned, Elia and Oberyn and his daughters were sitting to the left of the queen, who had Viserys sat in her lap. The servants were just finishing preparing everything for the joust which would be the last event of the tourney.

Soon the rest of the stalls began to fill with people, dozens, hundreds of noble lords and ladies dressed in coloured silk and smelling of flowers, it made Ned's nose itch. There was the sound of armoured feet approaching and Ned looked up to see the other three members of the Kingsguard, Ser Oswell Whent who Ned could only recognise from the black bat on his helm, Ser Jonothor Darry who was an unpleasant looking man with his white helm tucked under his arm and Ser Harlan Grandson who was quite possibly the oldest looking man that Ned had ever seen, he looked older than his grandfather had done on his deathbed but he did not look frail, if Ned ever had to fight him then he did not think that he would win.

The first event of the day was the archery competition, there were four oversized targets set up on the field across from the stands. The goal was for the for the thirty-six competitors to hit the centre of the target or as close to it as they could, the first eighteen with the highest scores would go on to the next round. During said round the targets would be moved further back in the field to make it more of a challenge. The prize for the event would be two hundred gold dragons

Those eighteen would then be picked until there were nine and then those nine would be sorted into three groups of three and they would be forced to compete against each other and then one from each group would be put up against one another, to form a final three. The final three would then have to take aim at a target and hit the bull's-eye dead in the centre and they would only have the one shot to make it, if they missed then they would be disqualified and the victor would be whoever hit the target if the other two missed.

The competition took a great deal of time, the sun was slowly beginning to turn orange and Tyene was now fast asleep in her father's arms and from what Ned could see it looked as though the young prince would not be far behind her either, his eyes dropping shut and his head nodding.

Eventually however the final three archers were all that was left, the first was a tall man with skin as black as cold and with a shaved head. His name was Xobla Za and he was a prince of the summer islands, he was dressed in red and gold silk and his bow was half his height and while it was made of wood that seemed to shine like gold when it was hit by the sun and into the wood were carved elaborate designs.

By comparison the man standing next to him was quite plan, he was short for a man not even reaching six feet in height and he was quite plan to look at, dull brown hair and grey eyes with a long face, he was lean bodied as much from training with the bow as much as he was from being underfed his entire life. At a glance he looked a little like a Stark. His name was Edric Waters, a lowborn bastard but that had not stopped him from reaching the final three competitors, he was dressed in plan boiled brown leathers and held a simple bow made of a brown wood.

The final competitor was quite a strange sight, it was a noble from one of the free cities but it had been so long since the event had started that Ned couldn't remember which one he hailed from, Myr perhaps nor could he actually remember his name. While his opponents were both leanly muscled he was quite a fat man, he was dressed in purple and green silks and his long red hair was tied back into a braid and had rings on all of his fingers, he had an awful smell about him like dead flowers. His bow was the only thing that could mark him as competing in the competition, it was a dark black and for a moment Ned thought it was made of iron but then he realised what it actually was with soft gasp.

It was dragonbone.

The man was obviously extremely wealth, to say that Dragonbone was rare would be like saying it was unusual to have a wilding woman as Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, it was beyond a rarity and too see such a thing crafted into a bow was almost utterly impossible.

And so it began, the Xobla Za was first as he stood at his mark. He drew back the string of the bow and released his arrow. It flew through the air and embedded itself into the target but only into the third ring of the target. There was a soft applause through out the stands and the Prince stood back from the mark.

Next to take the mark was the nobleman, he raised his bow and Ned realised that while there was a great deal of fat about him there was a strength in his arms, a hint of muscle that might've been there once as he lifted his dragonbone bow, drew back the string and let the arrow fly. It hit sure, the arrow struck the target right in the centre and this time the applause was anything but soft as it reminded him a little of thunder.

Oberyn had to settle Tyene as she was disturbed by the loud applause and once she was calm again Edric Waters took his place at the mark, he would not win of course as the centre had already been struck but it spoke well of him that he decided to take his shot anyway instead of simply standing down.

The boy took a deep breath and held up his bow, released his arrow and it struck exactly where the boy had wanted it to go, splitting the shaft of the nobleman's arrow and burying itself into the centre of the target. For a few moments everyone who had been watching were dumbstruck about what had just happened.

And then there was applause that sounded even louder than what had come before and in between there were shouts and loud cheers at what they had just seen. The lowborn bastard ducked his head and in fairness to the prince of the summer isles and the noblemen of the free cities neither of them seemed extremely upset they had lost and congratulated the boy.

The boy was given the winner's purse and the nobleman was given the runner up prize of five hundred silver and all three men then left the field. By now however it was late and the king decreed that there would be a feast now and the melee and the joust would be held on the morrow.

The stands emptied slowly and their occupants made there way to another field where several large tents were grouped together, inside each of the tents were several large tables overflowing with food. Several large boars which had been roasted in goose fat with apples shoved into their mouths, served on a bed of green leaves, red beats and pine nuts.

Sliver trays were loaded down with thick slices of venison, bowls were filled with spiced boiled eggs and there were plates topped with dozens of baked pies, filled with venison, pork, beef and rabbit meat and were stuffed with vegetables such as peas, onions and carrots.

There were several trout as well, some were baked in clay and Ned needed Elia to help him crack through the clay and he tried not to blush in embarrassment as he asked her to show him and how effortlessly she did it, the rest of trout was either rubbed in hot spices from the free cities that made your tongue burn or were wrapped in sweet bacon or were coated and baked in bread crumbs.

And there were cakes and pies and tarts as well, lemon cakes topped with lavender icing and frosted with suger, honey cakes that were drowning in the sweet stuff and sticky to the touch, there were blackberry cakes that were moist to the touch and filled you mouth with flavour, the tarts were filled with lemon curd, blackberry jam and sweetened pumpkin.

There was wine and ale by the dozen, dornish reds and arbour golds and sweet summer wines as well. The ale was dark and the mead was sweet and sticky. Needless to say it would not be long until the people in the tent would be all well and truly drunk.

Ned, Elia, Oberyn and his daughters were all sitting at the high table along with the king, queen, their sons and the Lannisters. Ned had his hand wrapped around a mug of dark ale which he had only half finished and Elia only allowed herself to have cups of warm water, Oberyn was on his third glass of Dornish Red and Obara was allowed to have one as well as her sisters contented themselves with milk with honey.

Cersei Lannister had a great deal more wine than any of them and her aunt muttered something to her youngest nephew which caused the little man to roar with laughter but his sister was too drunk and too infatuated with the prince to pay it any heed, she kept mentioning how she could not wait for the joust tomorrow and the prince simply smiled and nodded and said yes to everything she said.

The queen explained why the future princess seemed so excited about the event. "Rhaegar will be participating in the joust, when he wins he will crown Cersei the queen of love and beauty to officially announce that they are to be married to all those who are in attendance."

Suddenly the queen gained a look of melancholy and she glanced back at her husband before she returned her gaze to her guests. "I was crowned the queen of love and beauty, when I was a little younger."

"By the king?" Elia asked gently although her voice held a note of disbelief.

"No." The queen admitted before she continued. "Areys was not the king then, he was still just a prince and I was still just the princess. I was crowned by a gallant man, a kind man, a good man." She said with a fond smile on her face as she cast her thoughts back. "I would've married him, had my father allowed it but he wanted me to marry Areys." Her smiled had fallen away as she took a deep drink of wine from her goblet.

From then on there was no more conversation and the night was only filled with singing, laughing, cursing and the sound of eating. Edric Waters was sitting near the high table as a mark of honour, both of his rivals were sitting next to him as his guests, and he was laughing louder than anyone as singer named him as Edric the Brown for the colour of his hair, leathers and bow.

Eventually the night grew late and it was time for all to rest otherwise there would be no events, Ned had to carry Elia as while she had not drunk anything she was quite tired from the long night and he did not wish to risk her falling to the ground and hurting herself or the baby. Oberyn was also forced to carry Tyene who had been fast asleep for an hour now despite all the noise in the tent and Nymeria as well who had fallen asleep in her chair after the king had ended the feast.

Ned placed Elia down in the bed that had been set up in their bed and climbed in after her, wrapping his arms around her as soon as her was fully in. "Are you enjoying the tourney?" He asked her gently as he stroked the bottom of her back, it had started to ache lately as she began to put on the weight she would need to carry the babe and he knew it eased the pain if he stroked there.

"I am." Elia said softly, her eyes were closed and Ned knew that it wouldn't be long until she was dreaming. "I love the north, you know I do but forget all the sounds of a tourney, all the colours and the smells and how alive everything is. The gallantry and the knights and the excitement, I have missed this all a great deal but please know I wouldn't trade you for anything. You do know that, don't you?"

"I do." Ned said softly before he pressed a kiss to Elia's forehead, his lovely wife hummed her approval and then after a few moments her breathing evened out and she was dead to the world, Ned sighed softly and closed his eyes as he held her tightly.

It was Oberyn who awoke them, the man was standing above his bed and looking down at them with smirk. "Come along now you two, I would surely love to remain in bed but we would not want to disappoint out queen now would we? We our her honoured guests after all."

Elia replied by throwing a pillow at her brother's face and Ned couldn't stop himself from laughing until his sides hurt.

Eventually the two of them did manage to get out of bed though it was with a great deal of reluctance on both sides and they all made their way to the stands, they took their seats from the day before as the king, queen and the Lannisters were already there, apart from Prince Rhaegar and Jamie Lannister of all people. The field which had been used for the archery competition was now going to be used for the grand melee.

Ned had to admit that he was not a fan of the entire concept of the meele, there was little honour in the battle. There no coordination it was simply a frenzy of battle to the last man standing. It was perhaps true of a real battlefield as they could be chaotic but why someone would want to emulate war truly escaped him.

It started too soon and already it was chaos, swords meeting swords and shields slamming against helms. It was bloody mindless affair and Ned could not see how anyone was the true victor of the event.

But eventually there was a victor regardless, he was a monstrous man of nearly twenty and was the largest man that Ned had ever seen and made his father almost like the size of a regular man. He wore a yellow surcoat with black dogs. He lifted his helm to reveal an unpleasant face and he practically snatched the winner's purse out of the hands of the pale face servant who presented it before he stormed away, his footsteps shaking the earth.

Ned feel Elia tighten her hand around his and he turned to look at her only to see that she had grown very pale. "Elia? What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Do you want to go back to the keep?"

"No. No." Elia said as she shook her head and gave him a warm smile. "I am fine I promise you, it was just...he is a very fearsome man. I do not believe that I have ever seen the likes of him before."

"Gregor Clegane I believe, the son of one of Lord Tywin's bannermen. Or he may be the lord now I am not sure if his father is dead or not." Oberyn pointed out as they watched the man leave. "Some call him the mountain and I think you can see why, I would call him a monster. There are certain stories about him after all."

Neither Ned nor Elia wished to hear those stories and soon enough it was time for the joust, a group of servants quickly made sure that the ground was even and the first match soon began. it was Prince Rhaegar, dressed in night black armour with a three headed dragon made of rubies embedded in his breastplate, and Ser Arthur, their horses stormed down the lanes at one another and Prince Rhaegar's lance splintered against Ser Arthur's breastplate and he was thrown from his horse.

There was thunderous applause from the stands but to Ned there was nothing louder than the sound of Elia's gasp as the sword of the morning landed and rolled and the sigh of relief she gave as he stood up and was lead away by his squire to be seen too by the maester.

Next to ride it was Ser Jamie, dressed in armour made of glided steel, and Ser Barristan the Bold. None cheered louder than the lady Cersei when her brother unseated the old knight.

It went on for at least four more hours and by then the conclusion that everyone know was already coming. Prince Rhaegar and Ser Jamie would ride against one another, They both raised their lances but while Rhaegar's lance did splinter against Ser Jamie it did not knock him from his horse. The two men came around again but this time it was Ser Jamie's lance that splintered against the Prince's breastplate and unlike Ser Jamie, Rhaegar was knocked from his steed.

Cersei Lannister screamed so loud as her prince lay still on the tourney ground and Jamie Lannister lifted his helm, his face pale and for a moment Ned thought he was going to be sick. Tywin Lannister's face was stormy and Queen Rhaella looked as though she was going to faint and King Areys...

His face was utterly blank.

There was a collective sigh of relief when the Prince stumbled to his feet and his squire lead him away to see the Grand Maester. A squire placed the crown of love and beauty on Ser Jamie's lance.

It was a beautiful crown, made of dozens of red, yellow and orange flowers. Cersei Lannister smiled as her brother approached but it feel as he rode past and there was sudden gasp all through the stands.

Ned didn't know what unnerved him more when Ser Jamie Lannister placed the crown atop Elia's head, the arrogant smirk on his face, the simmering rage that Ned felt in his gut, the look of sheer and utter hate that marred Cersei's features, the unreadable look on Tywin Lannister's face, the look of confusion on Queen Rhaella's face, the look of murder that probably mirrored how Ned himself felt on his goodbrother's face.

Or the unreadable glint in the mad king's eye.

End of chapter Twenty-four.

I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, it took a great deal of work. I know some people wanted Ned to compete but I couldn't think of a good enough reason for him to do. Anyway, I think there will only be two or three more chapters in King's Landing and then we can move on to the next arc of the story.

I also suppose that now would be a good time to address the point of canon, for the most part I am using a mixture of book and show canon. An example for this chapter is Tyrion is closer to how the show depicts him but he does have the mismatched eyes of book Tyrion.

Another example is that the sand snakes are closer to there book depiction but Nymeria does use a whip like her show version as I do think giving her Obara's training with the whip made sense but she does still use her daggers as well and Tyene in this fic is closer to the book as she doesn't use daggers and only uses her knowledge of poison, when she is older of course. and her sweet façade as her weapons.

Please review, follow and favourite if you liked it and please feel free to give any constructive criticism.