Chapter 15
King's Landing stunk.
During his years of fostering in the city, Link had grown almost accustomed to the stench of waste and fish. King's Landing's natural stench was never more glaring than outside the city, where a breeze of clean air would wash over him just as he inhaled another lungful of the putrid air wafting from the sprawling mess of a city.
Link's nose wrinkled from beneath his helm as he stood among the tents on the tourney grounds. The stifling heat only seemed to make the foul smell worse. Link could feel sweat gathering on his brow as he shifted in his armour, the page that he had paid to serve as his squire for the duration of the tourney had done his job well. Too bloody well.
"Next!" A man called out wearily, tearing Link from his internal complaints. The first thought that came to mind upon seeing the bedraggled herald was how unassuming he was. Rat brown hair fell lankly to the herald's slight shoulders. The man was of a height with Link and looked as if he might collapse at any moment, but still managed to ooze condescension from his hazel eyes.
"What is your name Ser?" The herald asked as he readied his charcoal and parchment.
"The Knight of Time." Link boomed, his helm deepened his voice from that of a boy to a man. The herald looked up from his parchment and erupted with laughter, his face going from pasty white to a dark shade of puce as he gasped for air. Link frowned, he had thought it a good name for a mystery knight.
"Oh, and what lofty quest did you depart on, slaying the cockerel who woke you up too early?" The herald asked as he laughed again and Link reddened with shame. I have faced monsters that would make you weep, Link thought before exhaling and letting the jape go, it would not do for his plan to fail just because he couldn't keep his temper.
The herald gazed at Link with amusement before shrugging and noting him down on the parchment. "Call yourself whatever you want, mystery knight. As long as you pay like everyone else." The man said with a smirk. Link handed him two gold dragons and walked on.
Banners and tents of every colour surrounded Link as he walked towards the stadium, a seemingly never ending sea of heraldry. The pink maiden of Piper danced with the seahorse of Velaryon and the purple thunderbolt of Dondarrion under the occasional breeze of the stifling day. It was a forest of colour and people. To Link, it seemed as if there was a banner for every tree in the vast Kingswood that King Robert loved so much.
One particular standard made Link freeze in his stride and clench his teeth, three dogs on a field of yellow hung limply above a large tent. House Clegane, the Mountain. His lessons had ensured that he would never forget the heraldry even if Link wanted to. Rage pooled in his belly at the thought of the man, nay the monster that dwelled within. I will not rest until justice is done, raper
Lann had decried his plan as foolish and reckless when Link had told him the full extent of his plan, but Link knew that he must prevail, for all those the false knight had hurt and to see Val's blinding, beautiful smile unburdened once more.
"I mislike you facing off against the Mountain that Rides Link, prodigy with the blade you may be. Seven Hells I mislike this whole plan of yours." Lann had said with a considering frown on his face. Link sighed and ran a hand through his hair, he would need to get it trimmed soon.
"Gregor Clegane must be stopped, his sins cast a grim shadow over the honour of the seven kingdoms and his crimes against the innocents are infamous." Link spat, anger churning in his gut and sweet song of righteousness ringing in his ears.
"With all due respect, m'lord, can you hear yourself speak? Vile as he is, the Mountain is one of your lord father's most loyal bannerman. How do you think he would react if you killed one of his best weapons?" Lann said, his tone belying his exasperation.
Link smiled, "I never said that I was going to kill him, only bring him to justice. When the tourney is won, I will deny the winner's purse and instead petition King Robert for justice. The King, whilst uninterested in ruling, is still a just man. If I request to put Ser Gregor on trial for allegations of rape and murder he will not refuse." Link said with triumph, yet still his loyal friend and guard frowned.
"Even if you can collect enough evidence in time, m'lord, what of your Valyrian lady? The stir of a son of Tywin Lannister crowning a smallfolk girl from Flea Bottom could put her in danger." Lann said, his usually jovial face tense and serious.
"That is why I will not be the son of Tywin Lannister when I win the joust, just a simple mystery knight hoping for justice." Link said with a confidence he didn't feel, from the look on his face Lann could see through his false bravado.
"Your plan could fail." Lann warned, though by the way the tenseness was bleeding away from his shoulders, Link knew that he was warming to the plan.
"Mayhaps," Link allowed with a nervous smile on his sun kissed face. "But what is life without a little risk?" Link asked with a grin, Lann laughed and shook his head with amusement. Val's worried face flashed in his mind's eye and he instantly sobered. "Lann, if things do go awry and I am discovered, I need you to get Val out of the tourney grounds and back to the city, to somewhere safe. I can handle the vipers at court. Promise me, Lann." Link said. He could fail at any part of his plot, from as simple as Tyrek not giving a convincing enough cover to him losing the joust in the first round, but Link couldn't allow Val to come to harm.
"I promise Link, I will protect her as if she were mine own." Lann said, as solemn as a crypt, before handing him a dagger with a simple leather sheath. "Please Link, take this. It's my lucky dagger and it'd put my heart to rest if you had it with you" Link nodded and took the dagger.
His friend's words and his knife strapped to Link's side reassured him as the page he had hired to squire for him helped him on his trusty steed Epona for his first joust. Link nodded to Pate the page and nudged Epona into a slow walk as the herald announced his name.
"The first match of the day is between one of the King's own seven, Ser Meryn Trant and the mysterious Knight of Time!" The herald announced with a pompous voice and whilst the crowds roared around him. He looked up to the stands where the King and his court sat; Tyrek was pale next to King Robert as he served him his wine and Jaime was troubled as he stood to the right of the King. Disappointment pooled low in his stomach as he watched his brother. It seems like I won't face off against you today dear brother.
Link saluted the King and nodded to Trant before taking a lance from Pate the page and kicking Epona into a gallop just as he saw Ser Meryn move. Time seemed to slow around Link as the Kingsguard in his enamel white plate and golden destrier charged closer. Epona seemed to get even faster, mere inches from the rail, Ser Meryn was so close that Link could see the whites of his eyes through the man's shining helm.
Link crouched low in his saddle, readied his shield and braced his arm for impact. Crash! Link's ash lance exploded into a million pieces and the Kingsguard knight went flying from his saddle, his own lance only glancing off of Link's shield.
Time slotted back into place and Link could suddenly once again hear the booming cheers of the crowd. He bowed in his saddle to the King before jumping from his horse to help Ser Meryn to his feet.
"I will need no ransom from you good Ser, well met." Link said, his voice echoing through his helm. Link's helmet, unlike Ser Meryn's, was visorless with two slits for his eyes and a collection of holes to breathe through. They shook hands and saluted the King once more before going their separate ways.
As Link brushed down Epona and fed her an apple, the page he had paid to squire for him began to tell him who was next in the lists. "Ser Barristan Selmy bested Ser Monford Velaryon as you were preparing m'lord. The Bastard Knight, Walder Rivers, is against his kinsman Black Walder Frey." Link nodded and Pate left him to his thoughts. Epona snorted as he combed her and Link smiled. A match against a Frey should be interesting, Link mused, and he had heard an odd rumour about Black Walder's fury at court.
Link heard the crowd roar through the walls of his tent, their shouts no doubt could be heard from even the Red Keep. Link sighed as he led Epona out to the arena once more from the back of his tent. "No rest for the wicked, hey girl?" Link murmured to his horse who only snorted once more.
Link nodded to Pate as he entered the tourney grounds and the boy handed him his lance and shield. He looked to his opponent at the other end of his field and nodded. The man scowled at him with narrowed eyes, his black beard which covered a no doubt chinless face, matted and dirty underneath his half helm. The Frey's horse whined as he dug his armoured legs too far into its flank. Link's gauntlet tightened around his lance, there was nothing Link despised more than casual cruelty from the powerful. This Frey, Link guessed, was Black Walder and it seemed that the rumours about the man's anger and cruelty were true.
The herald called the match and Link burst forwards on his steed with a grim determination. Link crouched low into his saddle and observed Black Walder as he charged forwards with a vicious glint in his eye. The Frey knight was leaning forwards in his saddle, letting his shield drop slightly in favour of giving his lance a slightly longer reach. Link smiled as the world went still around him.
Black Walder's lance struck his shield and exploded with a mighty crack before the Frey knight was launched from his saddle with a hit in the chest from Link's lance. The crowd roared and Link saluted to King Robert, who was already drunk from what Link could tell with his red cheeks visible from behind his coarse black bear and Tyrek's harried expression.
Link turned to Black Walder who had torn his half helm off in frustration and nearly laughed. The man's ferret-like face was red with wrath, volatile and more dangerous than his Frey kinsmen; he mayhaps be, he was still a Frey.
"I need no ransom from you, Ser Frey. Only for you to learn kindness and treat those below you as a true knight would." Link said, his voice booming through his helm. With his piece said, he saluted the King once more, who looked thoroughly amused, and rode from the arena.
Link left Epona outside his tent to rest as Pate hurried after him. His tent was sparse and grey, with only a stand for his armour and a nest of dry straw for bedding as furnishing.
"Your next joust won't come for some time m'lord. Ser Celtigar will clash against Lord Yohn Royce and after that Ser Barristan The Bold will joust Lord Tytos Blackwood, the herald said. After that, Ser Beric Dondarrion is to joust against Ser Garth Greysteel, the winner of which you will go against next Ser. Then it'll be time for the other brackets to joust, only after them will you joust m'lord." Pate said in a rush as helped Link from his armour, his head swam with all the information but Link just shook his head with a wry smile. The boy was excited and Link didn't want to ruin that.
"Thank you Pate, that will be all. Go on and watch the rest of the matches. Come and find me again when it is time for the next joust." Link said, as he lay down on the bedding. Pate beamed at him before hastily bowing and running from the tent. The scent of horseflesh filled the tent as he drifted between sleep and consciousness and brought him back to a happy day, moons before.
"Why do you always name your horse Epona?" Val asked as she leaned against Link's chest. Epona neighed beneath them whilst she trotted alongst the sand of Blackwater Bay, no doubt in response to her name. Against the inky black sky, the stars were tiny shards of light, yet they still shone brightly. The Sword of The Morning clashed against the Ice Dragon and the Warrior danced with the Stranger in a sea of darkness. Link winced as Val showed her impatience by elbowing him.
"I dreamt of her, as a child. In my dreams, I have seen beasts that would make the sternest of lords quake in their boots and marvels beyond imagining. My father named my dreams folly, but Gerion, he called it magic." Link said, sadness weighing down his heart despite the breathtaking sight before him.
"He sounds kind, your uncle." Link looked to the sky once more. Do you look to the sky and think of me and Joy and the Rock uncle, or are you dead already?
"He'll come back, Link. Now enough moping, sleepyhead! Let's see how fast we can get back to the city."
Val's laughter still rang in his ears even as he faced off against Ser Beric Dondarrion, eldest son to an ailing father, heir to Blackhaven. Dondarrion was a slight man, but anyone would be tall on his majestic black courser and with his red gold hair, Dondarrion could have passed as one of Link's many Lannister kinsmen.
The smallfolk cheered and the high ladies swooned as he rode past, his confident grin as bright as the sun. Link nodded to the knight, saluted the King and focused. The cheers of the crowd, Robert's booming laughter and the murmurs of the court melted away, all that mattered was the comforting weight of his oak shield and ash lance. The herald announced the match and then, all was still.
Ser Beric broke the peace first as he thundered forwards on his inky courser and Epona charged forwards to meet him. Link readied his lance and breathed. The sunlight danced against the Lightning Knight's polished grey armour as his horse kicked up clouds of dirt and dust. In one moment the space between them seemed endless, a yawning chasm of doubt and anxiety. In the next, Ser Beric was upon him his lance a hairbreadth away. Link breathed as a splintering crash echoed in the air, Link's lance exploding against Ser Beric's chest. The heir to Blackhaven grunted as he struggled to stay ahorse, his own lance hitting solidly against Link's shield.
The crowd roared louder than any cavalry charge as Link and Ser Beric returned to their stations and Pate handed Link a lance with an anxious smile. Link grinned through his helm and nodded at Pate, grabbing the near weightless lance from the shy boy. Link focused once more on Beric Dondarrion, the thrumming energy of the crowd around him washing away like the castles of sand he had made with Val on Blackwater Bay.
The herald announced something which Link ignored and they were off again. Where the distance between them had seemed endless to Link on the first charge, this time the distance was gone in a blink of an eye. Ser Beric's lance evaded Link's defence and struck him in the chest, sending a jolt of pain through him. Link grunted as he rode past, winded but unmoved. Ser Beric was not so lucky. Link's lance had struck him directly in his stomach with a crack like lightning sending a jolting force up Link's shoulder.
Ser Beric fell from his horse and the crowd erupted, Link looked to them and saw Val, her smile brighter and more beautiful than any star could be. Link grinned and waved back before dismounting and helping Ser Beric up. The man was of a height with Link, who was tall for his age.
Dondarrion shook his hand , graceful in his defeat. "Bravo good Ser! I haven't had a trouncing like that since I was a boy I'd say. I'll have my ransom ready for you in my tent after the joust."
Link laughed, slightly embarrassed at the praise. Thank Farore for my helmet, Link thought. "Please Ser Beric, there is no need for a ransom and it was a good match."
"We should go drinking some time, mystery knight." Beric said with a laugh
"Mayhaps some day." Link replied before saluting the King and bringing Epona to the fringes of the arena. Pate, as excitable as ever, sat next to him as they watched the next joust.
"M'lord, the next joust is between Ser Mandon Moore and Ser Gregor, the Mountain That Rides. This bout will decide who is in the final." Pate said in one breath, Link sat forwards, enraptured. There he was, the source of Link's ire and the reason Link entered the lists; Gregor Clegane.
The man was huge, near twice the size of Link with arms as thick as tree trunks. His steel plate was the thickest Link had ever seen, grey and battle worn. He seemed, to Link, more monster than man. In comparison, Mandon Moore seemed nothing more than a boy in his father's armour. Link snorted at the irony.
Ser Mandon showed courage, that much Link could give him, as he sat tall on his golden destrier with his white enamel plate reflecting the afternoon's sun. Despite his bravery, the knight of the Kingsguard's efforts were futile against the monster. Moore's aim was true and his lance exploded against Gregor's plate but the Mountain was unmoved, his lance struck Ser Mandon with the force of a lightning bolt. Moore fell from his horse with a dull thud as his arm broke with a sick crack through his shining plate.
The crowd was silent as Ser Mandon was dragged off the field. Pate was pale as he told Link that he was to face off against Ser Barristan the Bold for the penultimate joust, his freckles seeming darker than usual. "M'lord, if you win against the Bold, then the Mountain could-"
"Don't worry Pate, I'll be fine. Remember, Clegane may be strong but a sword wields no strength unless the hand that holds it has courage." Link said with a reassuring smile before mounting Epona when the herald announced his and Ser Barristan's match. Pate handed him a lance and his shield, and nodded at Link, his face regaining a bit of colour. Link passed Ser Mandon on his way onto the field and winced at the sight of his pained ashen face on his cot, maesters surrounding him.
Across the field, on the other side of the long rail was Ser Barristan Selmy. The knight's white cloak billowed out behind him, his stainless white plate a reflection of the legendary knight's honour. The man was old but Link had no doubt that he was every bit as dangerous and skilled as the song's say. Despite living in the Red Keep for the past few years, Link had had few interactions with the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard but all knew of his talent.
Epona vibrated with anticipation underneath him as he waited. The herald gave the call for the joust to begin and the crowd held its breath as Link and Barristan charged towards each other. They met with a mighty crash as the smallfolk cheered, each of their lances meeting their marks and exploding in a rain of splinters.
Link nodded to Pate as he handed him another lance once he brought Epona back to his side. The herald gave the call for the second tilt to begin and Link charged once more, his focus tunnelling in on Ser Barristan. Link's lance met Ser Barristan head on and exploded against his chest, jolting the man but still the Kingsguard knight remained ahorse.
Ser Barristan's lance had evaded Link's shield and struck him in the shoulder, nearly tearing Link from his saddle and ending the joust. Pain flared in Link's side and Link grunted again. I can not lose here, not when I'm so close to justice.
Link grabbed another ash lance from Pate and calmed himself. Val's face flashed in his mind and he steeled himself. Link would not lose here.
He crouched low in his saddle as the third tilt began. "Remember to guide your lance as you ride Link, never let it flag. Keep your shield up and if your heart is true you shall succeed." Gerion's whispered words from years prior came back to him. Link breathed. Crash! Ser Barristan's lance glanced against Link's shield as Link's lance crashed into his middle, unhorsing the legendary knight.
The crowd cheered as Link helped Ser Barristan up after dismounting Epona. Barristan smiled at Link. "Well met Ser Time, you are welcome to keep my horse but I am afraid I will have to ransom back my armour."
Link shook his head. "Keep your armour and horse Ser, I need no ransom. It was an honour to tilt against you."
Barristan shook his hand. "And you, mystery knight. A word of warning mayhaps, the Mountain is not an opponent to take likely but also not as insurmountable as he may seem."
They saluted the King and Link rode Epona back to Pate. Even after Link's encouragement the boy was still pale, his ashy skin clashing with his dirty blonde hair and dark eyes. As he turned back to the field in which the tourney arena surrounded, Link could see why. The Mountain sat on his baying black destrier like the Stranger himself, killing the cheer in the crowd and inspiring fear to all.
Link sighed and nudged Epona towards him after Pate had given him a fresh lance. For the first time in a long time, Link prayed. The Seven who are One, Golden Goddesses of Hyrule hear me. In my past life I was the Hero of Time, gifted with your strength and power. The man I face is a monster; a defiler of women and slayer of children. So I beg of you; give me the strength to be a hero once more.
A warm wind blew through the holes of his helm and the slits for his eyes and Link smiled, knowing he had his answer.
The King stood from his chair at the top of the stands and grinned. "Warriors, today you have shown great courage. Now begin!" Robert boomed.
With that they were off, time slowed to a standstill as Link crouched low into his saddle and thought. He would only have one chance at unseating Gregor Clegane, Link knew. No matter how skilled a jouster he may be, The Mountain's strength was infamous and seeing his joust against Ser Mandon solidified this in his mind.
The Mountain charged with a great roar as he levelled his lance at him. Link marshalled his strength and met Clegane unflinchingly. Link struck his lance against Clegane's chest with an almighty push, foreign strength welling deep within him. The Mountain struck his lance against Link's shield just as Link unhorsed him, sending Link toppling backwards, only managing to stay on his horse through the strength of his thighs.
The crowd erupted with more noise than Link thought possible as Link made his way back to Pate, wincing at the mangled state of his shield. If that had been just a little to the right, Link shuddered at the thought.
One voice cut clearly through the crowd's accolades. "Sword!" Gregor roared at his squire, his great helm having come off at some point.
The herald cried out, "Ser Gregor wishes to continue in a contest of arms, do you agree, Knight of Time?"
Link dismounted from his horse as Pate babbled about how big the Mountain was, Link cut through his panic "Pate, bring me my sword." The boy nodded and ran to the side.
Link turned to the herald, "I do agree." Link shrugged off his mangled shield and rolled his shoulder as Pate handed him his Qohorik forged bastard sword, its pommel wrapped in leather.
Link looked to the stands to see Val's eyes wide with panic and Lann deathly pale. He thought of the boy Olyvar, who had just wanted to be a knight, of Elia Martell and her poor children who had no choice and of the countless others that the monster across from him had made suffer. Justice had come for the false knight.
The Mountain roared as he charged at him with a greatsword longer than Link was tall. Link rolled under a swing that would have cleaved him in two and slashed his sword at the back of the Mountain's knee. Gregor roared as Link's slash hit true and whipped around faster than Link thought him capable of.
Link jumped to the side of another swing that would have split his head in two and stabbed at Gregor's unprotected skull. The great dog brought his greatsword up, as quick as a whip to block. The force of the parry rattled Link's teeth and made his arms tremble. Even with the lingering vestiges of Goddess given strength Link knew he wouldn't last long in a contest of strength against the monster.
His greatest advantage against Clegane was his speed, even as fast as he was the Mountain couldn't hope to match him. Jaime's words from a week earlier echoed in his mind, "I would deal him defeat by death through a thousand cuts,".
Link dodged another slash from Clegane's monstrous blade, feinted left and then slashed underneath Clegane's raised left arm. He grinned as the Mountain That Rides took the bait and laughed as he roared from the deep gash in his armpit, the Qohorik steel slicing through his chain mail.
"I have come to bring you to justice, False Knight." Link said as he ducked under another of Gregor's swings.
"You are a dead man, mystery knight!" Gregor shouted.
Link laughed as he danced around Gregor's attacks, he felt more alive than he had in years. Through the battle haze Link could almost convince himself that he was back in Hyrule, on a quest to save tens of thousands of lives that he hadn't already failed.
Link slashed his sword up at Gregor's chest after ducking under another of his savage swipes, but the steel of his sword only screamed against the Mountain's thick plate. "You murdered that boy on these grounds! All he wanted was to be a knight." Link shouted as he rolled to the side of one of Gregor's mighty thrusts.
"I've killed a lot of boys." The Mountain shouted before swinging his blade around, almost decapitating him. Link feinted low and stabbed high, Gregor stumbled back but was unable to avoid the bite of his blade. The giant man's cheek weeped red from a jagged slice under his left eye, even as the monster roared Link didn't let up, evading his harried swipes whilst jabbing at his groyne, his armpits and his hands.
Link danced around The Mountain with grace, despite his own plate. Dodging and ducking under each swipe of his ugly blade, always prodding his defences. Link slid to the right of a violent thrust from the mountain and put a distance between them, evading each swipe of his blade.
He could feel sweat drip down his back from his matted hair under his helm and his limbs felt like lead. The duel seemed to stretch on forever and Link knew his exhaustion would only grow by the minute. I need to end this now.
The Mountain, by contrast, seemed to get only more wrathful and violent as the fight went on. Clegane could have been wrought from stone, other than the wounds Link had dealt him, he seemed no more exhausted now than when the fight began. Link needed to distract him. "How many Clegane?" Link shouted as he jumped out from Clegane's reach.
"Are we fighting or not!" The man roared, barreling to meet him. Link slid away and slashed along his side, cutting through the man's yellow surcoat once more and only leaving a scratch on the armour.
"How many innocents have you cut, butchered and raped?" Link said, as he bobbed and weaved from Clegane's advances.
"Shut up you cunt!" He thundered as he tried to charge at Link again, only for Link to dance around him once more and strike Clegane in the head with the flat of his blade with all his might. The Mountain stumbled and Link advanced, ready to finish the duel. Clegane roared and swung his sword in a wide arc, Link jumped backwards, a hairbreadths away from being sliced open from belly to throat.
Link edged away from The Mountain, cautious of the dazed but still raging giant. "What of Elia of Dorne and her son? How many others have you cut down like them?"
"SHUT UP!" The Mountain roared, loud enough to shake the very earth and charged at him. Link focused, all that mattered was Clegane. Link slashed his sword against the ground, sending dust and dirt flying into the monster's eyes. The man screamed as he blindly swung his greatsword and Link easily ducked away, slipping around the giant and thrusting his blade into the gap in The Mountain's armour, behind his knee.
Clegane roared again as he collapsed onto one knee. Link slammed the flat side of his blade onto the man's hand, making him drop his greatsword and faced him, bringing his sword to the monster's throat. "Yield, false knight." Link said, his voice dripping with disdain as the crown erupted louder than thunder around them.
Quicker than Link thought him possible Clegane grabbed Link's sword in his thick armoured gauntlet and wrested it from Link's grip, the Qohorik sword going flying behind them from the force. "I'll show you justice you cunt!" Gregor roared as he punched Link in the ribs with his gauntleted fist.
Link gasped with pain as he felt his ribs crack and heard his armour crunch under the blow. Link stumbled, but before he could even think of getting away from his reach, the Mountain grasped Link by his gorget and slammed him into the ground. His bones rattled from the force of the impact. Gods why is he so strong?
"I killed all your precious innocents like this!" Clegane spat as he brought his hands down on Link's helmet, squeezing it with all his strength. The crowd screamed and the King shouted as the finely made steel of his helmet started to warp and cave in under the pressure. I can't die here! Link thought despairingly as he scrambled for purchase on anything that could help him. He struck Gregor in the face to no avail as his helmet started crumpling under his monstrous strength.
His gauntlet brushed against something by his side and Link could have cried with relief, how had he forgotten Lann's dagger. Gregor laughed, oblivious, as Link unsheathed the dagger from his waist. The Mountain would laugh at the suffering of others no longer. Link drove the dagger through The Mountain That Rides skull with a scream of rage, driving it into the man's brain and killing him instantly.
Link wheezed as Clegane collapsed in a boneless heap on top of him, the weight of the evil man nearly crushing him. Link kicked and squirmed out underneath Gregor Clegane as best he could in his armour before finally clawing his way out onto the grass of the tourney grounds unburdened. He may have been free of The Mountain but he still couldn't see, his near crushed helmet obscuring any chance of vision. Link sighed in resignation and tore the helmet off with one almighty tug, it wasn't as if his plan had gone well anyhow.
The crowd was silent as he staggered to his feet, even without a looking glass, Link knew he was a sore sight. Blood covered his right eye from a cut on his hareline that stung as the rush and terror of battle left him. His shoulder felt battered and he had broken at least a few ribs from what he could tell. He looked towards the King's podium at the centre of the stands and he sighed at the sight that met him. Tyrek looked ready to throw up and Cersei was red with wrath. Jaime, from what Link could tell, looked as if he was both proud of Link and wanted to throttle Link, whilst Tyrion had gone an ashy white, horror clear in his mixed match eyes even from Link's vantage. The Lord Hand seemed even older than usual, the deep lines of his face seemingly carved there, but it was the King's expression that was most intriguing.
King Robert was laughing. Laughing! As if Link's brush with death was the most amusing thing he had ever seen. He even stood from his throne-like chair and clapped, like Link's fight with The Mountain That Rides was a grand show. It was Robert who broke the shocked silence that seemed to hold everyone captive. The crowd erupted, cheering and screaming his name. Clegane's men dragged him off the field and maesters swarmed him, trying to get him off the field. Link brushed them off, despite the pain. Even if it was stupid and dangerous, Link had a promise to keep and a Queen to crown.
Link called for Pate who brought him Epona and his lance whilst also helping him on his horse. Link rode a quick victory lap around the stands, waving to the crowds and winking at Val when he passed her, who looked more angry than Link had ever seen her. That, he decided, would be a problem for the future.
Link brought Epona back around to the King's podium and held his lance out to collect the crown of flowers. He looked up to see Cersei in a furious argument with the King. Link shifted anxiously in his saddle, pain throbbing in his ribs and slowly spreading to his back. "Let the boy have the crown for Gods' sake woman." Robert said. Link looked up, puzzled. Usually Cersei was so composed in public, the picture of the perfect, if disdainful, Queen. It was only in the private dinners held in the Queen's ballroom did her veiled insults truly begin.
A page stepped forwards and placed the laurel that marked the Queen of Love and Beauty, this time being a crown of winter roses. Link noticed the King looking at the crown wistfully as the page placed it on his ash lance. Link nodded to the page and bowed to the King and Queen in his saddle, pointedly ignoring the looks Tyrion, Jaime and Tyrek were shooting at him.
He spurred Epona past the stands of nobles and back to the smallfolk, again ignoring the looks of shock from the King and his court. He nudged Epona to a stop once he reached Val and Lann. He nodded and smiled at Lann, who whilst pale looked proud. If it hadn't been for Lann and his dagger, Link would be dead. He hopped off of Epona and whilst the jump made pain flare greater in his ribs and up his spine Link's smile endured. He grabbed the crown off of his lance and stepped towards Val.
Val's beauty made him more breathless than any lance could, especially in that moment. A pink blush dusted her cheeks, and despite the worried anger he could sense in her pale lilac eyes, something else was there, an emotion that Link didn't know. He brought the crown up and reached over the wall of the stand to place upon her silky moonlight hair.
"To you, my Queen of Love and Beauty." Link said. Val beamed with tears in her haunting eyes and Link's heart soared.
Grand Maester Pycelle advised bed rest to allow his broken ribs and bruised everything else to heal, but King Robert dismissed him, saying "If the boy can kill The Mountain and still get up to crown a girl he can drink some bloody wine."
The feast itself was just as lively as any other of King Robert's feasts. Most of the time, Link could avoid sitting at the high table, preferring to sit with Tyrek and Loras, but with Loras gone with Lord Renly to route out the new Kingswood Brotherhood and Link having won the tourney he had no choice. He sat on King Robert's right with Cersei being to the King's left and Joff and Cella to his right. Little Tommen was still too young for feasts and tourneys. He smiled at the thought of the happy golden babe.
As the servants brought course after course of food, Link frowned at the waste of it all no matter how glorious it tasted. They started with a thick soup of barley and venison, crusty hot bread and salads of sweetgrass, spinach and plums. Crabclaw pies followed the salad. Then came a pastry coffyn filled with pork, pine nuts and eggs. Later came sweetmeats and pigeon pie and lemon cakes frosted in sugar. The food was lovely, that Link could not deny, but the thought of the smallfolk in the poorest parts of Flea Bottom who survived off of Bowls of Brown turned Link's stomach.
The pain in his side and head increased throughout the night and Link found himself drinking more and more summerwine to ease the pain. "Easy on the wine boy, or that girl of yours won't be able to thank you properly tonight!" The King had laughed and Link had smiled through the pain and embarrassment.
"What was it like?" Joff asked from his right as he bit into his lemon cake. Link swallowed down another gulp of summer wine before turning to him. Joffrey was tall for his age but not as tall as Link. His eyes were bright green, like Jaime's and he had his mother's golden curls. Link looked closer at the boy searching for any trace of his father or Myrcella in him before shrugging and giving up. Where Joffrey and Tommen were all their mother, little Cella was mostly her father. The only thing Cella had inherited from Cersei it seemed was her beauty, even at as young as five Myrcella was pretty.
"What was what like?" Link asked. He and Joff hadn't interacted much, their first meeting where Link had found Joff torturing that poor pup putting a sour taste in his mouth. Maybe he had changed.
"What did it feel like to kill a man?" Joffrey asked with a vicious gleam in his eyes. Link sighed and drained his cup. Joffrey had most certainly not changed and Link's head throbbed too much to care.
"To be honest, Joff, I felt absolutely nothing. Mayhaps a healthy dose of panic as he was trying to cave my skull in, but after. No satisfaction, no regret. Does that make me a bad man, I wonder?" Joff sighed and pouted, clearly disappointed before turning away from Link to poke and proof at his lemon cakes.
He turned to find the King looking at him, not drunkenly looking in his direction as he sometimes did, but really looking at him, as if searching for something. Had the King heard his and Joffrey's conversation? Mayhaps he was angry that Link had turned down his offer of knighthood once the joust had truly concluded? Robert nodded and clapped a meaty hand on his shoulder, seemingly having found what he was looking for. "It makes you a warrior lad, and a better man than me."
The King turned from him then and reached for his goblet of wine, murmuring something about Link being his son. Link shrugged, his head was pounding too much for him to care much about anything. Link looked past the King, to his sister, and found her deep in a whispered conversation with their brother Jaime. Something about how close they were and how they looked at each other set Link's teeth on edge. From the way Lord Arryn was staring at the twins from his side of them, he had noticed it too. Link shrugged again, it was probably a twin thing, and reached for the flagon of wine to refill his cup.
Only for Tyrion to take it from him once he had it full. "I believe, sweet brother, that you have had enough." Link gulped and ran his hand through his hair, Tyrion was probably not as happy with his antics today as King Robert was. Tyrion signalled Link to follow him after he had finished draining Link's cup of wine and he grudgingly rose from his chair, bowed to the King and followed after Tyrion.
Tyrion led him from the Great hall and through the drawbridge of Maegor's holdfast. Maegor's was a keep within a keep, constructed by its namesake, Maegor the Cruel. Most rooms had no windows, nevermind balconies, as Maegor had designed the Keep within a Keep to be the most secure place in the castle, except from the North facing rooms. Link had one such room.
Once Link had closed the door to his chambers, his brother rounded on him. "What you did today was a very foolish thing, no matter how righteous it may have been. Clegane, no matter his evil deeds, was a tool of our house, a tool which you have destroyed."
Link was appalled. "No matter his usefulness, Tyrion, that man was more monster than knight. He deserved to be put down, his deeds cast a dark shadow over our house and if I am to be its Lord then by the Seven I will rule through honour not fear." Tyrion's face twisted at Link's mention of him being Lord and Link winced, that had always been a sore subject with Tyrion no matter how much he had begged his father to make him heir.
Tyrion's face softened. "You could have and very nearly did die, Link. What would we have done then hmm?"
Link sighed, guilt twisting his stomach into knots. "My plan wasn't to try and duel him to death Tyrion, it was to beat him to a joust. I didn't think he would be so brazen as to murder me in front of all those people." Link knelt down and hugged his brother, before standing up once more and sitting by the balcony.
"I am proud of you Link, you must needs be less reckless though and not just about yourself." Link frowned.
Tyrion sighed again. "Your smallfolk friend, Val. She is known to Cersei and the court now, and once Cersei knows, father will be sure to follow."
"But she hasn't done anything wrong." Link said, panic making his head throb more.
"Let me tell you, sweet brother, of a girl I thought could do no wrong." Tyrion said, his voice echoing ominously through the room. "The second time Jaime saw you Link, you were but a babe." Tyrion said, his voice low, "he was given leave by the King to visit the us in the Rock." Tyrion's gaze was so cold that it almost hurt to look at him, and as the shadows danced around his malformed face, Tyrion reminded Link painfully of their father Tywin. Gerion always said that the only time I had met Jaime was as a babe, he never mentioned a second visit.
"As we travelled along the road, Jaime and I encountered bandits on the road, troubling a young girl. Jaime slew the bandits whilst I comforted the girl. Her name was Tysha, and she was a whore." Tyrion said harshly, his fist clenching around his goblet, cutting through Link's thoughts. "I took her to a nearby inn, the Lion's Head, where she told me she was the daughter of a crofter. We drank, we fucked and were wed the next morning with only the pigs as our witness."
"You're married?" Link choked out, shock thrumming through him.
"Not anymore." Tyrion replied with a false smile full of poison. "We stayed at a cottage by the sea for weeks, just the two of us. Young and in love. I wasn't much younger than you are now, a few moons mayhaps." Link swallowed, the pain in his head and body rising with his sense of foreboding.
"What happened?" Link asked, almost too scared to ask.
"Like I said, Tysha was a whore. Jaime had paid her to make me a man. Once father found out, he brought us back to the Rock and had the marriage annulled. Father then bade every guard in the barracks to pay Tysha silver coin, then they fucked her. After they had finished, father had me fuck her, and then payed her a gold dragon, for Lannisters are worth more. Think of that the next time you visit your smallfolk girl." With his warning said, Tyrion left his chambers, leaving Link sick to his stomach.
Link found Val waiting for him at their spot in Flea Bottom, the sight of her washed Tyrion's horrifying warning from his mind and soothed the aches of his body. "How do you fare, my Queen?" Link called out with a grin as he climbed up on the roof. Val whipped around to face him, her beautiful face wreathed in fury. Link's heart skipped a beat at the sight of her.
In a blink of an eye she was in his arms, her face burrowed in his neck and her arms clutching his back. Before Link could even think of snaking his arms around her, Val tore herself from his arms and slapped him in the face. Link blinked, shocked. Of all the possible scenarios that he had mulled over he hadn't expected that.
"What was that for?" Link asked owlishly, palming his jaw.
"I thought you were dead!" Val shouted, her ethereal face a perfect model of scathing fury, only the tears pooling in her eyes said otherwise.
"Oh, Val." Link breathed, understanding falling upon him like a solid presence. Val reached out and gripped his red silk tunic, pulled him towards her and kissed him. Link blinked in shock before cradling her face in his hands and deepening the kiss. Her lips were soft and warm and better than anything he had dreamed of.
She broke away slowly, and looked into his eyes. To Link, Val's eyes seemed to be pale lilac fires, always dancing with emotion, always passionate and strong and perfect. That night, they were still and content. She stepped away slowly, her face flush and a mischievous grin on her face.
"I have something for you." Link said with a smile.
"Oh" Val asked as she toyed with her crown of flowers, "go on, Knight of Time."
"You told me that night that you wished to be queen so you could help and house all the orphans of King's Landing." Val nodded, intrigued. "Well, I asked around and there's a manse, just outside the city with a lovely view of Blackwater Bay. Usually I give the winner's pouch to the almshouses to give out to the people who need it but I thought maybe you could have it, If you wanted. The manse may not be big enough to hold all the orphans of Flea Bottom, but it'd be a start."
Val looked at him, shock freezing her solid, her mouth a perfect o. Link panicked when her eyes flooded with tears. Link hurried to explain, "Val, you don't have to if you don't want to. I know you don't like the thought of dragging me down, which you could never do, it's just-"
Val interrupted him with a searing kiss. "Thank you Link, oh thank you. You really are a hero you know? Better than even that Hero of Time you love to sing sad songs about. I lo-" Val broke herself off by kissing Link again. Link pulled her close and listened to her breathing, trying, desperately to swallow the lump in his throat.
"Better than the Hero of Time? Now that's something to boast of." Val laughed into his chest and Link sighed into her hair. I won't fail this kingdom, not like Hyrule. I won't fail you Val, not like I did her. Link thought, as he squeezed her tighter.
Hello Everyone! It has been a while sadly. The reason for that is sickness. I've been terribly sick for a long while now but I'm back into the swing of things now hopefully.
1. In the duel between Gregor and Link, Link employs some of the same tactics as Oberyn due to A. common sense and B. Gregor's condition. Gregor suffers from intense headaches and regularly uses Milk of The Poppy to even function which is crazy. This is why he reacts the way he does in regards to Link talking.
2. The twincest: Eagle eyed readers can spot implications of this near the end of the chapter and Yes Jaime and Cersei are fucking.
3. Read, Review and have a lovely summer!