It was easier than Weiss expected to convince Ser Jacelyn to enter into her service. She had expected some pushback, or a laugh to her face after Weiss told him of her offer. It was a generous offer, especially for a recently crippled and newly risen knight such as himself. With the City Watch in desperate need of officers to replace their losses from the Sack, Weiss was confident that a man as capable as Ser Jacelyn would rise quickly through the ranks. Weiss had promised him her patronage, and the eventual promotion to Lord Commander of the Red Cloaks should he prove to be loyal and competent once she had power as Lady of Lannisport. As a sign of their deal, Weiss gifted him several gold dragons and left with the promise of arranging a blacksmith to fashion him an iron hand to replace the onr he lost. The plan only worked since Ser Jacelyn wasn't aware of Mother's pregnancy, since a little brother would slightly unravel Weiss' future plans. Weiss wasn't one to put all of her eggs in a single basket, so she had to come up with a backup plan should she gain a little brother

Weiss had recruited five other knights, and left them with different promises to hopefully gain their loyalty. She had found them as she wandered the tourney grounds, watching, and silently judging them before she made her choice to take a risk on them. Every action she took could backfire on her, any of the men she had chosen could betray her, yet if they did, Weiss would be sure to repay them fourfold. A Lannister always paid their debts, yet that went both ways. Should they prove to be loyal, Weiss would ensure that the men she had recruited would be rewarded greatly and reach positions where they would benefit and support her.

She returned to the Lannister box shortly before the start of the joust, just after the midday meal. The guards allowed her and Ser Robart to pass without a word, they knew who she was. Many of the Lannisport natives knew who she was, there weren't many Lannisters with Valyrian features, or many people with white hair this side of Westeros. The Crownlands would be full of those with similar hair and eyes, those with Targaryen, Velayron or Celtigar blood running through their veins.

Whispers about the winner of the archery contest had already started to spread while she was gone. In the end, neither of the Frey's had won, the victor being some smallfolk archer from the Stormlands. She didn't care enough to remember the victor's name, odds are he was going to be returning home anyway, so not worth trying to hire him. Ser Robart remained with the guards as Weiss entered the box itself. Sliding past Ser Damion and Ser Stafford Lannister who were engrossed in dull conversations, Weiss made her way back to her seat beside Mother.

"I have returned, Mother." Weiss said softly, bowing at the waist. Mother was still with Lady Genna, and was joined by a large woman that was wider than even Lord Tywin's beloved sister. Likely Lady Shiera Crakehall, Ser Damion's wife. Ser Damion's mother was a Lannister of Lannisport, Grandfather's younger sister.

Mother turned and gave Weiss a kind smile. "Good, you have arrived just in time for the start of the joust. Did you have fun?"

"Yes, Mother!" Weiss tilted her head to the side ever so slightly. She took her seat beside Mother, ensuring that her back was kept straight. The archery targets had been removed, leaving only the jousting divider. She was a bit intrigued by jousting, she'd heard about it in her past life, but never really seen it before.

The joust was the main event of every tourney, with the winners able to claim fame and glory should they perform well. It would be hard, but with fame and a large amount of dragons on the line, many would risk their lives to win. With famed knights such as Ser Jaime, Ser Barristan the Bold and Bronze Yohn Royce, the competition would be fierce. Soon, the announcer's trumpets started to blow, and a horde of armored men on horses bearing banners rode out onto the field.

Lannister, Frey, Hightower, Mallister's white and purple eagle, the Whent's sigil covered in bats, and countless other houses sent their sons and lords to represent them. Cousin Daven Lannister would be representing the main Lannister branch, since Ser Jaime being of the Kingsguard meant that any of his victories would be for King Robert. He looked elegant and beautiful in his golden armor, his helmet designed to look like a roaring lion, and with Ser Boros Blount in white, they looked like the knights of the stories that Alysanne and Alis loved to hear about. All Ser Boros needed to do was keep his helmet on to hide his ugly face, and maybe not speak.

The finals of the joust would be held on the morrow, since it would take hours for all of the riders to finish competing. The first melee would be shortly after that, with close to fifty men competing to win glory and dragons. Yet, Weiss was more concerned with the second melee, which was to be held on the last day of the tourney.

"Get on already before I piss myself!" Weiss heard King Robert boomed from the box beside the Lannisters. Laughter erupted from the men and women that joined him there. Classy.

The majority of the gathered knights and few Northmen rode off of the jousting grounds after a short parade around the lot, gathering favors from ladies. Thankfully, no one had the gall to ask Weiss, not so soon after the death of her betrothed. Plus, she was a bit too young, one of the few times she was grateful.

The first lancer was a Northern Lord, a poor one with armor that was battered and rusted, with discolored patches showing at a distance, against Lord Jason Mallister who wore full plate upon a beautiful destrier. The Northerner's shield was recently painted, a black bear dancing in green woods. Weiss narrowed her eyes as both men trotted to their start positions.

"Pardon me for the intrusion." A familiar voice said, causing Weiss and the other Lannisters to turn their head. It was a large boy, with straight blond hair and bright blue eyes. His fine and expensive doublet with three spirals of green, red and blue. The Massey squire Weiss had fought at King Robert's command?

"What is it, boy?" Ser Stafford, who was the closest to the Squire, said with a tone of annoyance. Not that she could blame him, interrupting a display like this was most unusual.

"His Grace, King Robert, has invited the lady Weiss Lannister and her mother, Lady Ceria Lannister to join him in the Royal Box." Justin Massey said awkwardly. That immediately caused whispering amongst their cousins and distant family members.

Now that was interesting. What did King Robert want? Hopefully he wasn't expecting her to joust.

Jorah Mormont and Jason Mallister had already broken a lance by the time Weiss and Mother entered the Royal box. Several lords and ladies were present, including several Hightowers, Lord Stannis, Lord Tywin, and a man with a long face who sat to King Robert's right. With long brown hair, closely trimmed beard, and gray eyes, he must've been Eddard Stark, Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North. He was younger than Weiss had expected, but those eyes remind her of Ruby, oddly enough. That shade wasn't silver, not by far, but it was close to it, enough she could guess what it would be like.

"Your Grace." Mother bowed before their King. Weiss followed her example. Lord Tywin sat to King Robert's left, his eyes uninterested in watching their King grope and fondle some serving lady. Instead, his eyes were fixated on the joust.

"More Lannisters." King Robert's face was red. Ser Barristan stood behind him, clad in the white armor of the Kingsguard, forgoing his helmet. "But at least these ones I like." He burst out laughing accompanied by some of the sycophants in the box.

Out of the corner of her eyes, Weiss spotted Lord Stannis and Lord Eddard form a matching grimace. King Robert didn't seem to care that he was shaming his wife in front of his goodfather. She swore she could hear someone's teeth grinding, but she wasn't able to figure out where.

"Your Grace." Lord Eddard started speaking, likely to reprimand his friend. He didn't pay Weiss and her Mother any attention aside from a curt nod. Weiss was unsure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, given the situation.

"Take a seat, enjoy the rest of the joust." King Robert ignored him. "One day I hope to see you competing." He looked at Weiss with a large grin. She resisted the urge to shudder, visibly.

"As you command, your Grace." Weiss said, hiding her smirk with a polite and childlike smile. If their king gave her permission to compete once she was older, then no other lord could say otherwise.

They took their seats beside the Hightower women, introducing themselves with ladylike smiles that hid their true thoughts. Weiss sat next to a pretty, older girl with golden hair and skin the color of cream. Weiss was still the paler of the two. The Hightower girl appeared nervous, flinching when Lord Jason Mallister's lance struck the Mormont's shield. Yet, the Mormont's lance struck true, and knocked the Lord of Seagard to the ground.

The Hightower girl cheered as the Mormont gave a victory parade around the yard. A silver ribbon was wrapped around his bicep, one of the colors of House Hightower. He stared in their direction, taking off his full-helm. Ser Jorah Mormont was old, at least twice the age of the Hightower girl he stared at, yet she returned it with a loving gaze.

Lynesse Hightower looked like a lovesick puppy. Weiss remained silent, allowing the two to have their moment. Lady Lynesse wasn't her friend, even if Weiss thought the match would never work. Ignoring the sheer age difference, they were from two entirely different kingdoms, and from his appearance, he wasn't very rich, while she was. Contrary to how stories had put it, going from wealthy to being poor wasn't a fun experience, she could attest.

Weiss pushed the thoughts of the two lovebirds, or was it lovebears, away. Cousin Daven would be jousting next, against some random knight with a quartered sigil, with a silver axe on green and a gyronny of black and white. Cousin Daven wore fine red Lannister armor with a full-helm that looked more useful for fighting than most of the armors here. He had just won his knightship during the Siege of Pyke.

Ruby would have enjoyed watching this.

A/N

This chapter was shorter than I had expected, but it turned out to be necessary to keep the pacing. The next chapter should be the last of the tourney arc before we begin our timeskips, starting from a few months at a time to years. And the interlude chapters from around the world.

It's going to be a lot of fun.