Weiss

The tourney for Prince Joffrey's twelfth nameday was much larger and grander than the one Lord Tywin threw at the end of the Greyjoy Rebellion, just outside Lannisport. The tourney grounds, a city of tents just outside of King's Landing, felt like an entirely different beast when compared to the capital of the Seven Kingdoms. Arm in arm with Alysanne Lefford, Weiss allowed herself to smile as they strolled past the different booths full of merchants selling their trinkets. Weiss loved shopping, even here in this world where everything had to be handmade and were likely covered in imperfections. In her mind, that just added some character to them, anyone could pick out something perfect.

"Rosamund would love this one." Alysanne said with a soft smile. They were looking at a booth filled with jewelry and hair pins from Dorne, or at least that's what the merchant claimed. Standing a few feet away behind them were Cedric and Pod, dressed in their finest red leathers with the sigil of House Payne sewn onto their breast. She pointed towards a hair pin that looked like a seahorse, the symbol of Mother's Velaryon blood.

"It's pretty." Weiss' eyes scanned the silver pin carefully. It was a pretty thing, with two small sapphire gems in the place of eyes. She turned to the merchant, a tanned man with light brown hair, whose eyes had narrowed upon seeing Weiss's lion logo on her clothes. "How much?"

"A silver stag for two, my Lady." The Merchant answered with a bow of his head. He was likely charging a higher price than usual due to the tourney, but Weiss wasn't in the mood to barter. Besides, she could afford it.

"I'll take it." Weiss motioned Pod closer with her free hand. He carried a bag with a couple stags, since Weiss preferred to carry her own money. Her two idiot Payne's were rather clumsy, and she'd prefer not losing most of her gold dragons. "And this one as well."

Weiss pointed at a broach that was forged into the shape of a roaring lion, with two small emeralds for eyes. It was an impressive piece of metalworking, and would make for an excellent gift, if need be. The Dornish man nodded and grabbed the seahorse pin and the lion broach carefully, extending his arms in Pod's direction, who handed him the stag.

"Thank you for your business, M'Ladies." The Merchant bowed his head as Pod handed the broach and pin to Weiss' lone waiting hand, Alysanne was tightly holding onto the other. Evidently Alysanne was still a bit nervous, especially among such large crowds, but that was OK. Weiss was a good friend to her, and Cedric was armed.

"Rosamund will like this." Weiss said simply with a smile. She handed the pin to Cedric, who placed it in a handbag that he had slung around his shoulder, and turned her attention to the broach. Now that she was looking closer at it, she was impressed with the craftsmanship. It was a lion standing on its two hind legs, the tiny emerald eyes shining in the sunlight. "And this reminds me of your eyes, Alysanne."

The Lefford girl's cheeks turned a shade of red as she looked away. Sliding her arm out of Alysanne's grip, Weiss carefully attached the broach to her friend's dress.

"You are very kind, Weiss." Alysanne said softly. Why was she being so shy? The Lefford's, while not the richest family in the Westerlands, were one of the most influential and powerful houses. The Golden Tooth was a heavily fortified castle that guarded one of the main entrances into the Westerlands, and Lord Lefford was one of Lord Tywin's closest confidants outside the family.

"Nonsense." Weiss smirked as she adjusted the broach so it wouldn't look crooked. "Now all will know that you belong to the lions." She winked at Alysanne, who blushed in response. She didn't get why, it was just adjusting a broach.

"O-Of course, Weiss." Alysanne formed a small smile. Her friend had been engaged to Robert Brax, Father's former squire, who had earned his knighthood the year before. Ser Robert was a good choice, he came from a powerful family, was a second son, and knew Alysanne extremely well. They had all grown up together in the Gold Keep, and had gotten along fine. She was happy for them, since she knew she was going to be known as the Maiden Widow for the rest of her days at this rate. She was just going to be herself with an entire castle full of cats at this rate.

"Good." Weiss grabbed hold of Alysanne's arm once more. "Now come, Daven is competing in the archery contest and I wish to cheer him on."

"Very well." Alysanne, the taller of the two girls, pulled Weiss even closer as they walked into the crowd of smallfolk and nobles. Behind her, she could hear the sound of her dolt Paynes following, and smiled.

Why did she feel like she was being watched?

The archery grounds set up for the tournament weren't quite what Weiss expected. Sure, there were stands for the audience to sit in and watch, along with the assorted food carts and stalls, but she was expecting something a bit more dramatic. Instead, it was almost simple, a clearly staked out patch of grass with lanes marked by rope, and at the end, there was a series of roughly man-sized targets, obviously training dummies stuffed with straw. Said targets had been given kite shields covering most of their chest, complete with a Targaryen Dragon in red on the front, and she could just make out some smaller, more colorful distortions on the targets. Obviously the goal was to score the most points by hitting some targets, and, as she thought about it, they were well-placed. The eyes, a weak spot near the heart, and even, weirdly enough, the knee.

It looked modern, well, more modern compared to the average archery contest. Weiss had attended a few back in the Westerlands, and this was easily the largest of them. Weiss and Alysanne took a seat near the front of the audience stands, not wanting to get their dresses stuck on the benches corners should they want to sit higher up. Cedric and Pod sat directly behind them, using a Lannister sigil sewn opposite the one of House Payne to move a few minor noble ladies. Lower ranking Lannister she may have been, Weiss was still kin to Lord Tywin and the King, which earned her more than a few glares and stares. Nobody was willing to act though, not openly at least.

"It looks like we got here in time." Alysanne commented. She smoothed the skirt of her dress and gave the competitors a glance. There were dozens of them, the noblemen wearing clothes with the sigils of their houses, and the commoners with plain clothing. She could see and recognize sigils from all across Westeros, with a particular lean towards the Westerlands, Stormlands and Riverlands, oddly enough. Houses such as Freemount, Foote, Errol, Frey, or even Selmy, all competing for a fat purse as a reward,

"Indeed." Weiss scanned the competitors for a glance of Daven, and made sure he didn't back out. The archery and ax-throwing contest were being held today, though the Royal Family wouldn't be attending, leaving more room for more attendees for such a minor event. The melee would be the following day, starting after everyone broke their fast, and then the joust would be on the final day of the tourney after that.

Weiss' armor and a blunted version of Kalimeris were already prepared for the melee. It made her anxious, since she was about to reveal her skills to a much larger group of people, and not just the observers at the training yard. All the years she'd spent training and her reputation were on the line. If she failed, well, she refused to think about such a fate.

"Will you be competing in the joust, Ser Cedric?" Alysanne asked, angling her head to give the Knight of Payne a look. Weiss could tell he gave her friend a grimace without having to turn around. She knew exactly how he'd react, and could already imagine it.

"I will try, Lady Alysanne." Cedric said sheepishly. Weiss had been the one who forced him to sign up for the lists, even if he was going to embarrass himself, at least Cedric was going to give it his all. Or get knocked into the dirt by the Kingslayer or the Knight of Flowers, who Weiss still hadn't seen a glimpse of.

"Do or do not, there is no such thing as try." Weiss shot her sworn sword a glare out of the corner of her eyes. Cedric remained unaffected and gave her a smug smirk. He was likely going to allow himself to lose on purpose. Well, in that case, the poor man was going to have to undergo some remedial sparring, once they returned home.

"None have said wiser words." A familiar voice interrupted them. Cousin Tyrion waddled into view with a Red Cloak behind him, a man named Jyck if Weiss remembered correctly. A heavyset man who, oddly enough, didn't seem to mind working around Tyrion, and had no small talent with a blade.

And he was the man who helped Cousin Tyrion procure whores during their journey. Cousin Daven had more than a few stories about their misadventures. The one with the goat herd, that innkeeper, and the traveling band of minstrels was certainly scandalous, but no less humorous, to hear. And Jyck often forgot to tell the whores he hired that they were to service a dwarf.

"Cousin Tyrion!" Weiss exclaimed as the infamous Imp placed a chaste kiss upon her cheek. He placed one upon Alysanne's hand and gave Pod a wink. To be fair, he was rather charming, even with his unsettling reputation and near constant odor of wine.

"Please pardon my tardiness, I was placing bets on our dear Coz." Tyrion took the seat beside Alysanne, which made a lady in Piper colors scoot away and whisper under her breath. "I will be a much poorer dwarf should Daven lose. Still, at least I will recoup my money once you win the melee on the morrow."

"A Lannister dwarf is still richer than most of the realm." Weiss jabbed as Alysanne leaned backwards so she could get a better view of Tyrion. The Lefford squeezed Weiss' hand gently.

"True, but my ego will be poorer." Tyrion countered. "My poor pride."

Any retort Weiss may have had was cut off by the sound of the trumpeteers blowing their horns and the standard bearers waving the flags of House Baratheon, the crowned stag dancing in the wind above the other sigils. Rolling her eyes with a small smile, Weiss turned her attention to the competitors.

Daven made it to the semi-finals when a commoner beat him, and Cousin Tyrion became a much poorer dwarf.

A/N

A shorter chapter to end the work week on after updating almost everyday. Thank you to everyone who has been supporting the story! With this chapter we now have over 100k words done.

Night and I never expected to make it this far, and soon hope to reach 200k and beyond. We have big plans in store, with twists and turns.