Chapter 15 - End of the Tourney

As the menacing figure clad in black armor rode into the field on his ride, the crowd went crazy. The adoration they had for their prince was simply too much and ever since they saw him win the melee with his skills and beat knights like Ser Barristan, they wanted him to do the same here, at the joust.

His opponent, Lord Yohn Royce, the Master of Laws, also sauntered onto the field, though the cheers he received could be described as whispers compared to the bellows that greeted the Crown Prince.

"Lord Royce, are you sure your bones shall be okay participating in an event like this?" Orys asked with a smirk, which the Lord of Runestone returned with laughter filled with mirth.

"Aye, my prince. That maybe the case for an old man such as me, but I did not earn the name 'Bronze Yohn' simply due to my House Crest," the old lord stated with confidence.

"Well then, let us begin Lord Royce. It'll be an honor to joust with a knight as famed as you," Orys stated as a man brought forth a lance in his hand, just as another did for Lord Royce.

The two stared at each other for a few moments, before a clap was heard and the two sprung forward in action. The dark figure of the crown prince and his brown mare rushed forward towards the Lord of Runestone who was dressed in a grey armor, while he rode a black stallion.

The two met in the middle and Orys could see that Lord Royce was aiming for his shoulder or collarbone as they were the easiest part to strike and earn the win. But what the Vale lord did not account for was the unnatural strength of his opponent.

A loud cracking noise was heard as the lance of the Crown Prince hit Lord Royce in the chest, causing him to quite literally fly off his horse and land a good distance away from the field. Healers immediately checked his condition which was reported to be okay, he only had some bruising on his chest but his armor had been completely broken.

Due to the health of the Vale Lord not being in danger, the crowd began cheering once again, as did the members of nobility and the Royal Family.

Orys just turned around and rode away, eagerly awaiting his next match. He had a promise to fulfil after all.

~ Small Time-skip ~

The following matches were interesting as well, but not as interesting as the opening one had been where they got to see a man fly away and have his armor broken due to the force of his opponent's strike.

Ser Loras was up next, and he bit the short end of the stick when the name of Ser Barristan appeared on the screen. Loras and Renly were confident they would at least win this event, but now it didn't seem that way. Especially when the Knight of Flowers was unhorsed on the second tilt itself. This caused Sansa to laugh, especially when the young Tyrell landed in a mud and it covered him entirely. Orys was sure had he and Lord Stark not been there, Renly would have strangled her.

Next match was of Ser Hugh, the squire of the late Jon Arryn, but even he wasn't favored by lady luck as he was facing Sandor Clegane. Now it wasn't known whether it was intended or not, but due to the excessive force with which Sandor hit the young knight, it caused him to fly off towards the wooden fences where a stray piece of wood lodged itself in his neck, killing him. This caused Sandor to be disqualified as Orys had forbidden anyone from using excessive force. If the opponent suffered permanent damage or worse, they died, then a harsh punishment shall be bestowed upon them.

This was bummer in the event, but the next match quickly changed the atmosphere as it went on for 12 tilts, with Thoros of Myr eventually losing against the Lord of Blackhaven. Though the two could be seen shaking hands and speaking to one another while smiling, signaling the start of a wonderful friendship.

The next match brought some more sadness to the event as Tybolt Lannister, the son of Lord Tygett Lannister, the youngest brother of Lord Tywin lost his life against Ser Jory Cassel of the North. After the fourth tilt, some words were exchanged and in the next round, Ser Jory's lance hit true but it also caused a stray piece of Ser Tybolt's armor to chip off that cut his throat open. This enraged a lot of the western lords but they were soon calmed down when Ser Jory was escorted to the cells so that he could be tried alongside Clegane for what they have done.

Then came the most exciting match of the event. Ser Jaime was up against Oberyn Martell, the Red Viper. The two simply refused to bow down to one another, leading to the match lasting till the 15th tilt, after which finally Ser Jaime was unhorsed and Oberyn Martell proved why the Martell's were still feared. After all, no one but Orys had seen Oberyn coating his lance with a poison that would make a person kore sluggish as the time went on.

That left only four people to compete with each other. Ser Orys Baratheon, Ser Barristan Selmy, Prince Oberyn Martell, and Lord Beric Dondarrion. The matchup was Ser Barristan against Prince Oberyn, a match that went on for 5 tilts before the viper bowed his head against the Old Knight due to him still being hurt and tired from his match against Jaime, leading to Ser Barristan proving why he was still the best in the King's Guard.

Lord Beric gave up on his match against Orys before it even began due to seeing the condition Lord Royce was in. He did not wish to go up against that.

Hence, the finals were set. The student versus the teacher.

Orys Baratheon and Ser Barristan eyed each other from across the field as they were handed their respective lance. Both were equally excited for this match as the two could be seen grinning from ear to ear, well more smiling in the case of the Lord Commander of the King's Guard.

As soon as the clap was heard, the rides of the two knights rushed forward as they came closer to each other with each passing moment. Ser Barristan knew he wouldn't win if Orys' attack hit him in a vital area. Hence, he decided to be on the defensive.

But Orys could read what the old man was thinking easily. He could see he would much rather block than go on the offence since he had seen that the Vale Lord had made the same mistake. But Orys wanted to win this and win it with something extraordinary. So, he decided to fuck with everyone and as the two came closer to each other, Orys threw his lance at the Old Knight, who was taken by surprise and hit in his left shoulder, causing him to tumble down his horse.

The entire arena was silent for a long moment, but soon the cheers resounded. This was way too good as they had never seen anyone beat someone like that! Even the Lords and the Royal Family gave the young prince a standing ovation.

"Ladies and men, we have a winner! Our very own Crown Prince, his grace, Prince Orys Baratheon!" the herald announced, as Orys walked forward and placed a crown made of blue colored Winter Roses that found its way on the head of Sansa Stark, who was blushing under all the attention.

And with that, the Tourney of the Hand, finally ended.