Putting a face to the eyes
"Cerion, get up here!" Ser Benedict calls me up, I receive pats on the back from both Monty and Tyrion on either side of me. "You got this!" The latter said as I took up my sword and walked to face my opponent. Jaime was standing there in the middle, flicking the edge of his blade as it makes a quiet metallic ping sound, a cocky grin on his face. He had no reason to smile like that of course, an age gap of seven years did little to make things fair, he just like to taunt people is all.
"You ready?" He says to me, his grin widening a little, "I would say that the scales are in your favour, you face is so ghastly that I cannot bear looking at it." I just shake my head scoff at his jape, it would seem that the years apart have made me forget how infuriating he is sometimes.
Seeing that I wouldn't take the bait, Jaime straightens up and holds his sword in a strong, yet loose grip. I reciprocate, getting into a stance that almost looks stiff in contrast to Jaime's relaxed one.
"You'll start when the coin touches the floor." Ser Benedict announces from the side, fumbling in his pocket for one. Out of the corner of my eye I see him hold out the coin in front of him, before releasing the coin and letting it fall to the ground.
Neither Jaime or I make the first move, we both know Jaime could finish this spar easily, however it wouldn't do any good to have the heir of Casterly Rock annihilated so quickly in front of his future subjects and chances are that father is watching from a window somewhere.
Seeing that I wouldn't make the first move, Jaime swings his sword in a diagonal cut, which I meet with a swing of my own. Swords are not as heavy as made out to be by some people, the average balanced longsword weighs around 1 to 1.5kg. Instead of backing off in order to give myself more room, I push forward to go on the offensive. After all, The best defence is a good offense and hesitating is only going to lead to Jaime disarming me.
I launch a flurry of slashes and stabs, trying my best to make sure there is no conceivable pattern to my attack. Jaime matches every single one as he continues walking backwards, changing direction whenever he gets close to a wall or bystander. My sword was a bit shorter than Jaime's, whereas I used a single-handed Longsword, Jaime preferred a bastard sword with a hilt large enough to be grasped with nearly two hands. My tactic was to grab Jaime's sword with my unoccupied hand and push as hard as I could whilst simultaneously holding my sword to his neck, it isn't the most practical strategy as I would most likely lose the hand if the blade had an edge to it, the highest risk I am facing here is a broken wrist.
As Jaime lifts up his sword to block an overhead strike, I take the opportunity. Reaching out and grabbing the flat of the blade, I push. The sword goes at an odd angle within his hands and just as I near the tip of my sword towards his neck, he grabs onto the sleeve around my bicep, pulling me close towards him before shoulder barging me to the floor.
The feeling of the gravel scraping across my faces stings and my eyes burn slightly from all the dust and sand that had managed to penetrate my eyelids. Though the gravel gives me an idea, hopefully one that works this time. I reach out with my empty hand, the other still clutching onto my sword, and grab a handful of gravel.
"Yield" I freeze as the cold steel point of Jaime's sword gently touches the back of my neck, a light pressure on my forearm stops me from throwing the collection of small stones and sand into his eyes. Knowing that there wasn't much I could do in this situation, I let out a sigh and say "I yield." Immediately the sword as well as the pressure on my arm, which I now know to have been Jaime's foot, are both removed and Jaime grasps onto my hand and helps me up.
"I saw what you were going to do." Jaime says to me, just quiet enough that only we could hear it. "It was a smart idea and it could save your life one day, However you need to know when and when not to do something like that. Fighting dirty can be considered dishonourable, even in a spar. Honour is a quality many look for in a lord and it is a form of trust that they will do what is morally right. Some of the greatest people I have ever known were the most Honourable as well. Now honour has its costs, don't be naïve and foolish to think that your honour has a higher worth than that of your life, family or those that you care about and there may come a time where you will have to break your honour for what you feel is right." Jaime gained a far away look in his eye as he said this, "Now, lets go and get you cleaned up, then you can show me these soldiers you've been training."
"What about Ser Benedict, I doubt he'll just let us leave." I ask, ignoring the sudden change in conversation, Jaime just smiles and winks at me, "I am sure he won't mind, if he does then he will be the second person I drop to the floor today."
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Laughter rang throughout the building as men drained their mugs of brown ale, the first alcoholic drink any of them would have drunk since before they joined my guards. Whilst one beer wouldn't cause anyone to gain a beer belly overnight, cutting alcohol off completely should lessen the temptation of drinking.
However tonight was a night of celebration instead of a night of training, and rewarding my men with a drink for their hard work over these last few weeks is the least I could do. Though the rate at which the kegs were emptying was rather worrisome, after all that ale cost me more than one might think, even if they did come from Uncle Kevan's storehouse.
"You seem to be enjoying yourself." Jaime said as he sat next to me, tankard in his hand, he gestured his head to a mug of my own. I nodded, feeling a little bit tipsy myself. You only really start to notice when your drunk when you stand up and it feels as if you are standing on the deck of a ship when you do.
"I was just listening to one of Trent's tales of heroism." I replied, moving my eyes towards one of the more entertaining members of my guard, "Hearing how he once slew a band of robber knights harassing a young village girl really does instil me with the belief that I have some of the best men in Westeros at my side." Jaime chuckled at that as he took another drink.
"I thought the Kingsguard weren't meant to drink." I ask as I stare at Jaime, who finishes his drink and wipes his mouth. "We're not." he clarifies as he saw my questionable look, "We're not in the sense that it is frowned upon. A little fact you won't find in your books is that Corlys Velaryon, the first Lord Commander, was a big drinker and somehow 'forgot' to inform Visenya Targaryen that there should be a vow to not drink alcohol." I scrunch up my nose at that, it didn't seem like a mistake that Visenya Targaryen would miss, even then she could've still added it even after she formed the Kingsguard.
I shake my head, letting it go before I change the conversation, "Anyway, I have a surprise booked for the men tonight." Jaime raises an eyebrow, "Oh? an even bigger surprise than the ale?" I nod, "I have sent Monty to some of the better quality brothels in this part of Lannisport with an offer of a large day's wages to any of the whores who wish to come here. I honestly think Monty will be out of his depth a bit but he's a hard worker and should manage." I explain, Jaime asks "What do you think father is going to do when he finds out you have solicited whores for you and your men."
"I never said I was going to fuck them, they're for my men and they deserve to be treated as an asset, not a cost. Though I am doubting that, this night has already put a heavy weight on my finances." I reassure Jaime, father probably wouldn't care if I was to sleep with a whore once, after all many members of the nobility did and even Uncle Gerion frequents a few of the more expensive brothels every now and then.
"Cerion" a voice calls out to me, making me turn my head left towards the door. Monty is there, walking over and sitting down in front of me, "They're here." he tells me quietly as he jerks his head towards the way in which he came. I nod back, "Okay, go and bring them in when I have finished talking." He gives a gesture of affirmation and walks back out the door.
Standing up, I clap my hands loudly, "QUIET!" everyone stops and turns to face me at that, "As you have all been working hard this last month, I have another surprise for you all, It is all paid by me so don't worry about that." As soon as I finish, the door opens and in walk near two dozen prostitutes. Immediately the men are shouting and whistling, "Don't force them to do anything they don't want to do, if you do then your out, I have no place for rapists in my guard. Now go and enjoy yourselves." The men start filtering outside of the building, where there should be more women, you need quite a lot for around 300 men.
"I would say that was quite a good reception." I say to Jaime, he just shakes his head, "Of course it was, those kind of whores cost a pretty penny, it would be a first time experience for most of them. Anyway, I should settle for an early night, I need to meet with father again in the morning to discuss the loan." Jaime moaned, I just let out an amused scoff as he vacates the building. Seeing that it was going to get kind of noisy in the here, I follow Jaime to leave as well.
Bumping into someone as I was about to exit the door, I hear the person say "I'm sorry" in a soft foreign accent. Looking up, I meet the same pair of violet eyes that I had seen several times over this last year. The owner of those eyes was a young woman, no more than a couple of years older than myself. Valyrian features which consisted of long, silver hair and purple eyes, an upturned nose and sharp jawline.
"It's okay." I reassure, "I was just going to go for a little walk because it is going to get pretty busy in here." The girl gives me an understanding look and stares over my shoulder for a bit before looking back at me, "Can I join you?" she asks, stumped by what to say I just nod my head.