Capítulo 12: Chapter 11 - The Hand's Tourney
~ Day of the Tourney ~
King's Landing was bustling with activity. Many important Lords and their families, along with knights and warriors wanting to earn a shred of glory had heard about the Grand Tourney the King himself had organized for the celebration of his new Hand, Lord Eddard Stark, Warden of the North, as well as to honor his mentor and former-hand, Lord Jon Arryn.
Many prominent figures could be seen in King's Landing. Almost all of the Houses of the Crownlands could be seen attending and even some from the Westernlands and the Riverlands were present. Prince Oberyn, his paramour, his daughters and Princess Arianne were attending, along with a few houses of the Reach and the Vale as well; most notable of them being Lord Tarly's family and the household of Lord Royce. The Lord Paramounts of both the regions however, were not present, causing some confusion as it was well-known that the knights of the Vale and the Reach loved Tourney's.
So, why were they not here? That was the question on everyone's mind. They had seen Ser Loras Tyrell, Heir to Highgarden, roam around the city with Lord Renly, but those two were joined at the hip most of the time. This coupled with the fact that none of them had wives yet, sparked the rumors about their forbidden rumors… which some knew were no rumors at all.
This Tourney was going to be a week long, where the first two days the archery competition will be held which held a prize of twenty thousand gold dragons, followed by a day long break. After that, the melee will be held, the prize for which was fifty thousand gold dragons. The very next day, the joust will begin. If the joust will continue till the time the top 16 riders have been chosen. They will ride against each other after another day long break and the winner of the joust will be decided. The winner will not only get to crown a lady they fancy with the title of the Queen of Love and Beauty, but they will also receive eighty thousand gold dragons!
All of these presented a headache to Lord Stark and this wasn't only why.
~ Small Council Chambers (A few days before) ~
"Spending 150,000 gold dragons on the prizes?! Do you think this is wise?!" Ned Stark, or the stressed-out hand of the king screamed at Baelish. He knew that the people down South loved spending on the most foolish of things as well, but this was too much. That was the entire wealth all the houses of the North combined would make in 2 years?! and even then, most of it is spent on food, since the bastards of the Reach frequently raise prices of their crop. But he was shocked to hear that the crown has enough money to keep that much amount of gold as prize money.
"Lord Hand I know that you are worried regarding the prize money, but the amount of gold being used as prize money will be recovered within two days. Lady Lyra, the personal accountant of our prince who overlooks all his investments and profits, has worked with me on this and we have seen that the amount of gold shall be recovered within a couple of days. When the cost of food, drinks, and seating is accounted for along with extra services, all of it is recovered and we could even make a profit," Baelish stated in his slithery voice.
"Yes but due to so many riches being offered and the increased number of nobles in the city could lead to more crime as well? We don't have enough men to kee-" Lord Stark started, only to be interrupted by a cough from Lord Tarly.
"You don't have to worry about that Lord Stark. The Royal Guard as well as the men of the City Watch are keeping surveillance of the entire area. Lord Royce and I are looking over the entire process."
"That's true, Lord Stark. We have already taken care of many thieves and rapists. Be rest assured, the crime rate shall be as low as before," Lord Royce stated, agreeing to what Lord Tarly spoke about.
Eddard Stark was shocked and he became even more annoyed. The people North starved to death every winter and nobody sent help. If they had this much gold, they could have surely helped them. Even Robert and Jon did not help his realm and he felt a little betrayed at that. But he couldn't fault them, after all, the North never did ask for their help. He might do that now, after all his daughter was going to be queen.
Speaking of said daughter… she was currently with her beloved prince. If he went to find her there… he might die before Robert, looking at the positions she was in.
~ Archery Competition ~
True to Baelish's word (how ironic), they had recuperated their costs within the first three days in itself. They were on their way to make a profit now. How? Simple. Lords and ladies only want the most comforting and luxurious lodgings for themselves. The knights that came for the competition have already occupied most of the inns and taverns, which only leaves the Lords with the option of either camping outside the city or spend quite an amount and book a room in the hotels that Orys owns. Everyone knows what option they would choose.
The archery competition had been well. A knight from the Royal Guard had won and had presented the gold provided to him in front of Orys who was seated with the Royal Family and the nobles, alongside his fiancé, Sansa and his father-in-law and Hand of the King, Eddard Stark.
Orys just laughed it up and patted the knight on the back before having him join the rest of his brothers that make up the Royal Guard. He gave the knight the chest back and informed him to put it to good use, for the betterment of himself, his family and the realm. The knight took his words to heart and did just that.
The small folk and lords of smaller houses cheered for him and praised the prince's generosity, but to the high lords and the veterans it was a clear show of power and authority. It signified that even the Royal Guard held Orys in much higher regard than the King. Cersei only looked at her young lion proudly, while Joffrey grit his teeth in anger. He also wanted what his brother had, and his more sadistic side had started to think now. He was going to have what he had one way or another!
Robert was already drunk by the time so he didn't care much but Eddard Stark saw it for what it was. Even Sansa saw the clear powerplay and she could not her smile even if she wished. Orys had already started educating her on the matters of the court and he said that he was proud of the fact that she was learning faster than others. He was awarded with a pretty hot make-out session for that. They still haven't done 'It' though. Sansa had already told him she was ready but he decided to wait for a bit (He wanted to get rid of Ned Stark first).
Even Arya was starry eyed by the fact that Orys let female knights and warriors compete as well. She voiced this question to him and he replied with, "While it is true that most men do have stronger bodies than females; when it comes to strength of the mind, willpower, determination and learning skills, women are definitely better.
I don't like wasting resources, and women of such quality will do nothing but make the realm stronger. So, instead of having them waste their lives cooking food and being treated like an object by their husbands, they are nurtured and trained to be something more. Who knows, someday even you might join them." Orys explained all of this to her with a smile, and he could see the admiration in her eyes and blush on her cheeks, increase with every word he said. That day he had gained the respect of Arya, and that was just the beginning.
Eddard Stark on the other hand, was no that thrilled seeing Orys encourage his daughter to join the Royal Guard. While he did want Arya to learn water dance and be able to defend herself, he did not want her to join the battlefield. He had been there and he would not want any one of his children to ever enter the battlefield.
That's how those two days went.
~ Melee ~
Today was the day of the melee. The knights as well as the crowd was well rested and were ready for a round of men destroying each other brutally with blunt weapons. This time the melee had only two rules. One, no killing was allowed; and two, you could not even challenge an unarmed opponent. This was so that promising knights did not kill themselves when fighting. Everyone was excited, especially the small folk since it was said that the prince himself was going to participate as well. While they had seen Orys fight once or twice before, he had never participated in a tourney of this magnitude. So, he himself was quite excited as well.
He was currently in his tent, wearing only the chainmail he usually wears underneath his armor and relaxing before he has to wear an armor in the heat. He was currently lying down, thinking about how to get rid of both Varys and Eddard Stark at the same time. He had many options but he wanted something that would favor him and rally all of Westeros with him, rather than against him like what had happened in the show with Joffrey and the Lannisters.
He was broken out of his thoughts by a guard informing him that one Yara Greyjoy was coming inside. And she did.
Yara Greyjoy… she had grown into a fine young woman. When they had first brought her here, she had been like a wild cat, but now, she was more subdued. Why?
It was because she had realized when she was 13 that House Greyjoy was dead, as was the Ironborn tradition of reaving and raping. She had seen and heard the servants and small folk whisper behind her back how they were glad 'the fucking squids' were gone. It had enraged her, but she could see what they meant now.
Her people had only taken and taken from Westeros. Never had they utilized their sailing skills for good, nor had they ever decided they wanted to explore the realm, something that would have been possible for skilled sailors like them. She did not want to end up like her uncles and father and so she made a decision that day.
She would improve her sailing skills, and become a better person and sailor than before. She would sail the 14 seas and become the first of her people to do so. She also had a side goal. She wanted to become Orys' concubine. She had heard from servants how Royal concubines, not whores, but ladies who were allowed to warm the bed of the king and the queen wouldn't bother, had sometimes been regarded above some noble ladies as well. The mothers of the Targaryen Great Bastards lived their entire life in luxury until Aegon the Unworthy decided to dump them.
She wasn't a lady from a noble house anymore. But if she could convince Orys to make her his Royal Concubine, she could have some sort of standing. At least that was the plan.
Orys had to admit though, Yara did grow up quite nicely. She was 16 namedays old right now, and the former noble woman had developed splendidly. She had brunette hair that reached the middle of her back and she preferred to keep it open, rather than tie it up. Her curves could be seen perfectly given the thin sailor type clothing she wore to honor her Ironborn heritage. Perky D-cup boobs could be seen jiggling every time she stretched her body and puffed her rather generous chest out. She could easily challenge the likes of Catelyn and Elia in the rear department and Orys had to admit to himself, he wanted to grab them cheeks and play with them.
He straightened himself and stared at Yara with the same piecing gaze he inherited from his Lannister heritage, "Yara Greyjoy… to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit. And this better be good." He spoke up as he poured himself some whiskey in a glass.
Yara, who was used to this, suppressed the shudder that went through her body when Orys stared at her like a predator and she had to calm herself before she an accident could occur between her legs. As an Ironborn, she was always fascinated by warriors and the way they dominated their opponents, and to see Orys do it so casually; it caused her to feel somethings.
"Nothing, my prince. I just wanted to say good luck to you and check if you… needed something," she finished with a sultry smirk on her face. She had been trying to seduce Orys for a couple of years now, but to no avail was she successful. She thought now that he was going to married, he would like to have some fun before it comes to the point that he can only have sex with his wife.
Orys chuckled at her attempts, and shook his head before he began wearing his armor with the help of his guards. It was a pretty good armor. It was made of Damascus Steel (something he discovered in this world and only his men and the Royal Guard were armed with weapons and armor made from it) and had been painted completely black. It had a stag head and a lion head carved on either of his shoulders and was accompanied by a viridian green cape. It gave him a majestic look.
Before he went out the tent though, he said something to Yara that made her weak in the knees. "Your tactics have become dull, Yara. But you see, I love people who work hard and you have been working pretty hard on this endeavor of yours for a few years now. So, come to my room at night. Let's see if you can still ride like a sailor or not," he whispered in her ears before he smacked her ass and left the tent.
It was time to rumble.
PENSAMENTOS DOS CRIADORES 
Lucif3r_069
Lucif3r_069 Hey guys sorry for the mistake in last chapter. Also a lot of my lemons are inspiored this writer called Lord of Crime so i may take snippets from his stories at times. Go check him out on FF.net.
Creation is hard, cheer me up!
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