Tourney at Harrenhal V

- 281 AC -

- Harrenhal -

(3rd Person POV)

Leman carried Howland Reed to their tent. The young Lord of House Reed was a small man, unlike other Northerners. But he was no less loyal. The Reeds and the crannogmen lived on the neck of the North, making them have to deal with the marshlands where mosquitoes were your worst enemy. All jokes aside, the neck was not a harmless place to be and the Reeds understood how to navigate those places and knew the hidden location of their home. 

Leman placed Howland on the bed since Lyanna insisted so that she could start to treat him. She started her work and as she was working, Howland who was in a lot of pain managed to open his eyes. There he saw the rest of Lyanna's and Leman's siblings. 

"Oh, is this the young Howland Reed? What happened to you, my friend?" Brandon was the first to approach and ask.

"Some squires thought it was their right to beat him and humiliate him. But I showed them," Lyanna answers for him, since he is in a lot of pain and speaking hurts his chest. 

"You showed them what, exactly?" Benjen asks. 

"She beat the shit out of them," Leman summarised the entire event. 

*Groan*

"Hahaha, well done Lyanna. Those southern pricks better keep their hands to themselves. If you hadn't done that, I would have. Who was it exactly?" Brandon asks. 

"I won't tell you."

"What? Why not?"

"Because you will do something stupid again and then Father will be angry. Besides there is no need for you to bother about it, Leman already took care of the waste."

"Hm? Leman ... what did you do this time?" Brandon asks. His eyes narrowed as he looked at the figure of his brother. They are still at peace with one another. 

"Nothing. I just slapped them and then threw them away," Leman who is standing next to the bed where Lyanna is working, has his arms crossed and answers nonchalantly.

"Seems like hurting others is what you enjoy."

Leman looks at Eddard who spoke for the first time. 

"I am surprised to hear you speak to me, brother. Here I thought you had lost your voice after all that cocksucking you did to the southern falcon and stag."

"..."

!!!

The demeanour of Eddard suddenly dropped after Leman said those words. The implication was clear. Leman thought he was a bitch for losing his northern Stark values and adhering to 'honour' at all times. This made Eddard angry though and he was very close to losing his cool for the first time in a long while. 

"Pfff ..."

"Bahahahahahahahaha ... hahahaha"

Suddenly Brandon started to laugh out loud. He had tears in his eyes and was rolling on the ground. Brandon was the loudest and the one who was quite hot-blooded. He liked to speak his mind, that much he had in common with Leman, but he was not expecting Leman to be this bold and say what they all had thought for a while now. 

Faced with the laughter of his elder brother, Eddard could do nothing but swallow his anger ... for now. 

Benjen was also chuckling to the side as he managed to not fall to the ground. He loved all his siblings and since he was the second youngest and a bit more timid than the others, he had some leeway. He tried not to hurt Eddard too much, by trying to hide his snickering behind his hands ... it wasn't working. 

"You are but a simple-minded brute, Leman. The value of honour will forever be lost on you. Don't come running when someone stabs you in the back because you used the same methods as all the others."

"You are as unlucky as you are foolish, brother. Honour and the value of knights is an Arryn thing and has nothing to do with the Starks of Winterfell. We value loyalty but aren't scared of getting our hands dirty when it matters. If a fox gets into the chicken house, I will kill it and not show him the door. It's as simple as that."

"Bold words for someone who knows nothing of life. You are but 10 and 3 name days old, Leman. Don't speak like you have lived another life," Eddard says and walks out of the tent. 

'Another life, huh ...'

"Alright, if you have done enough brotherly bonding, I think it is time we go to the feast," Lyanna says after standing up. 

"Oh, right that is tonight is it not? I almost forgot about it," Brandon says. 

"Aye, and we will all attend. You as well Howland."

Howland Reed who sat up with difficulty, was not pleased.

"My lady, I couldn't possibly go to the feast. There will be Lords and Ladies of such high standing that I-"

"I insist. You are of high birth. You are Howland of House Reed, one of my father's men. This means you have as much a right to a place on the bench as any other. So stand up, because you are coming with us."

"B-but my lady what would I ... wear?"

"I could give you one of my things to wear for the evening since we have about the same stature," Benjen says after thinking about it. 

"Aye, that could work."

"But young lord I couldn't-"

"Nonsense! Of course, you could. Now go ahead and change and we will wait outside for you."

Lyanna was not easy to refuse. 

"Lyanna's right. You won't get another chance like this again," Leman says. 

"What do you mean, young Lord? I don't value connecting to others that much and just wanted to have a look at all the splendour once in my life," Howland says. 

"No. I mean the food."

"... what?"

"There's tons of free food. You can't possibly decline that. Although the alcohol is utter trash, you can just drink water."

"..."

"*sigh* ... and here I thought you were going to say something useful. Anyway, get ready now, we'll wait for you."

.

The group made their way through the corridors of Harrenhal and finally reached the grand hall where the feast was already in full swing. They made their way across the hall observing the men and women who were enjoying themselves with food and wine. There was laughter in the air and the alcohol flowed like a river to make this night all the more 'enjoyable'. 

The Starks and Howland Reed arrived at the section where the other Northerners were seated and sat down. Leman whose senses were assaulted with the smell of the freshly roasted chicken and other tasty meat, started to load his plate before he was fully seated. He didn't like wine, it was atrociously bad for a drink in his opinion. It just screamed entitlement and snobism. So he asked a servant to get him a jug of water and started stuffing his face with the food. 

Howland Reed sat next to him, feeling the strength and protectiveness that radiated from Leman. He was surprised about the manners with which the young lord of House Stark ate. Unconcerned with the looks of the other men and women who saw him. Without looking up from his plate, Leman started to load the plate of Howland who was just marvelling at all the extravagance. 

"N-no young lord you... *Sigh* ..."

"You must eat. Or you might never grow up."

"My lord ... I am 21 name days old."

"Huh?"

"Hahahahahaha" 

The other Northerners who heard this started to laugh at the ridiculousness of their talk. Leman didn't care about any of it and just continued eating while filling the plate of Howland more and more. 

As the hours passed a Black Brother, from the Night's Watch went around the hall and besieged the Lords to join the Night's Watch. Most of them just snickered at that. It was obvious that not one high born would ever willingly join the Night's Watch. When the man came to the Northeners, he once again asked. 

"My Lords, would you care to join the glorious brothers at the Wall? Our cause is a noble one and the honour you will earn at protecting your home will be worth more than all the gold in the realm."

The Northerners just shook their head. None of them could accept as they all had duties to their families and to the North. The Black Brother then turned to Leman who was still eating. 

"What about you, young Lord Stark? Would you like to join us?"

"*Munch munch* I can't ..."

"Huh? And why not?"

"*Mampf munch* ... I need to pass down my look to my descendants. The North would lose out if I didn't sire children."

"Hahahahahaha hahahahaha"

"Hahahahahahahahahahahaha"

The Black Brother thought he was being made fun of again and walked away. Little did he know, that Leman was serious. The North would benefit greatly if he had children. But that was something for the future to worry about. 

.

A young man sits down next to Leman who ... is still eating. The young man had curled hair the colour of beaten gold. He has flashing cat-green eyes and a smile that speaks of arrogance on his face. He is dressed in red with a golden lion emblem, which identifies him as a member of House Lannister. The young man didn't say anything and just looked at Leman who was still stuffing his face with food and didn't seem to want to stop any time soon. 

After being ignored for a while, the young Lannister started to get annoyed. He was used to being important and earning praise wherever he went. So when someone who was even younger than himself, ate like that and ignored him, he was unhappy. He grew more and more annoyed, as Leman continued to eat without bother. Not managing to hold it in any longer, he addresses Leman. 

"You sure have a large appetite."

"*Crunch* ... yes."

"..."

That's all Leman said before continuing to eat. He didn't even turn around to look at the Lannister. The amount of disrespect he had to deal with was very new to him, so he was unsure how to react to this. A part of him told him that he had to follow this up with something since he is a Lannister, but another part of him wanted to just leave the splash area of fat as fast as possible. 

"Do you always show so little manners to others? If so you have to work on that."

"*Crunch munch*"

"Did you hear me? I am talking to you."

"Mhm"

"Do you know who I am, or are all of you Northeners so clueless? Maybe it's a trait among you?"

Leman stopped eating for a moment and turned his head to look at the young Lannister. Thinking he was finally being acknowledged he continued speaking. 

"I am Ser Jaime Lannister, son of Tywin Lannister the youngest knight to receive a title at-"

*BUUUUUURRRRP*

A loud burp is heard in the dining hall. Like the sound of a T-Rex, the thunderous burp is heard and stops all discussions throughout the hall. Jaime has gotten the worst of it and looks at Leman, at a loss for words. 

"How's that for manners?" Leman asks and continues his fight against the fried chickens. 

Jaime Lannister's face shows confusion, then Realisation and finally anger at being treated this way. His hand shoots towards the hilt of his longsword and his mouth opens. 

"How dar- *mmmmpf*"

A big paw-like hand suddenly envelops his face and mouth and stops him from speaking. Leman holds the young knight there and slightly lifts him off the ground, without breaking his neck. 

"Let me tell you something little man cub. A man's food is his castle! Interrupt me again and I will knit your intestines into a sweater! You just bit off an eye that's bigger than your stomach can chew!" 

Leman then lets him go. 

"Now take your stick and piss off, before you wet your underpants, son."

"I won't forget this," Jaime Lannister says through his teeth. 

"Good."