Finals

On the last day of Tourney Doran had breakfast with his family in the Red Keep gardens.

Doran gorged himself on lemon tarts and his mother teased him about it.

"Doran at this rate I'll have to hire a seamstress to stretch your pants." Obella says playfully and Doran pouts.

"Eat more fruit, son." Trystanne hands him the bowl of fruit. "If you want to grow as tall as me, you have to eat more than just sweets."

Doran picks up an apple and while chewing it asks his father about his chances in the finals.

"I won't lie, Ser Gerold will be a tough opponent. He is stronger while I am faster, luck could tip the scales either way."

"Yesterday you lost to him." Obella reminds him, "Many will bet on Hightower just for that."

"Better for us mama, when papa wins we'll earn more coins." says Doran with twinkling eyes. Obella turns to her husband and asks:

"When did our son become a miser?"

"I think it is your mother's influence, my love."

Trystanne and Obella continue teasing Doran over breakfast and Doran pouts and cross his arms.

***

For the finals both House Martell and House Tyrell were invited to sit down with the royal family.

Doran laments his fate, apart from Jaehaerys' children, he will be the only child there.

`At least the finals will be short,`

As soon as he arrives, Aerys calls him to sit next to him. Doran greets the monarchs, Jaehaerys, Shaera, Duncan and his wife before sitting down next to the prince.

"Good morning Prince Doran,"

"Good morning, Prince Aerys. How are you this morning?"

"Fine and you? Are you excited to see your father compete?"

"Yes, your grace."

The conversation turns to old tourneys that Trystanne and Gerold participated in. They both have a lot of wins to their name. Prince Trystanne won his first tourney when he was fifteen while Ser Gerold won his first tourney at seventeen.

They have competed several times against each other in the past, with mixed results.

"It will be a very close joust." says Prince Duncan.

"Yes," the king nods. "Prince Trystanne is faster and more agile but Ser Gerold is stronger and more robust."

"If it were a hand-to-hand combat, I wouldn't doubt Prince Trystanne's victory, but in a joust..." the crown prince looks thoughtful.

"How good is the prince in close combat?" Luther Tyrell asks. His wife, Lady Olenna, looks at him like he's an idiot.

"At the Tourney of his wedding he participated in the Melee. That day he engaged in single combat with Ser Duncan, Lord Royce, and Ser Gerold himself. He won all the battles." Remember Duncan.

"You omitted your own loss against the Sword of the Morning, brother." Jaehaerys jokes.

"Oh well." Luther clears his throat, "I couldn't make it to the wedding, too bad."

Obella looks at him with a raised eyebrow, biting her lip to keep from saying the Tyrells weren't invited. Makes no sense offending a Great House in front of the king for no reason, they are not in King's Landing to create more grudges.

`The Stupid Flower, what an appropriate name.` The princess thinks.

***

As the bugles sounded to mark the start of the finals, Doran heard the murmur of excitement as the crowd cheered the arrival of the finalists, who paraded from one end of the field to the other. The heralds proclaimed their names.

The knights paused in front of the rostrum, where they bowed their heads in salute to the king, the royal family and the other Lords and Ladies; Trystanne winked at his family and proudly showed the orange cloth tied to his right arm. They continued to their places, where they prepared for the joust.

Doran watched as squires at each end of the field held the steeds as the finalists readied themselves. They put on their helmets and took up spears and shields, equal in splendor. The prince's shield is purple like his robes and in the center it has House Dayne's star and sword in white, around the star and sword, on the circumference of the shield, are stars that Doran knows are made of silver. Ser Gerold's shield is green like the leaves of trees and in its center is a white tower on top of which a red fire burns.

Prince Trystanne rides a snow-white sand steed while Ser Gerold rides a brown destrier with white spots. Horses imitate their riders, one fast and agile, the other strong and robust.

The moment the knights put on their helmets, the Tourney field fell silent. Then a bugle sounded and the hubbub broke out.

Both riders spurred their horses forward, shod hooves hitting the ground and kicking up little clouds of dust. The two knights raised their shields and lowered their spears. Between sounds of wood and metal the two opponents collided with each other, Prince Trystanne wobbled a little in his saddle but did not fall to the ground.

When the public realized that the two lances had broken, they burst into a great ovation, a splendid omen for the success of the finals and testimony to the skill of the competitors.

The squires handed new spears to the jousters to replace the broken ones, which they flung to the ground, and for the second time the spurs were dug in.

Doran felt the stands shake with the uproar of the crowd, thousands of people surrounding the jousting grounds. Nobles and knights sat on the stands and on the ground there is a sea of ​​peasants, all observing the spectacle with great attention. The prince joins the crowd and encourages his father.

The king and his heir seem to support their new kingsguard while Prince Duncan supports the Dornish prince.

Aerys follows his uncle's example and encourages Prince Trystanne, or perhaps he is following the example of the heir Velaryon who is sitting a few feet away and they can clearly hear him encouraging Trystanne. Doran doesn't know if it is out of genuine support for his father or if Lucerys just wants Ser Gerold to lose since Ser Gerold unhorsed him on the first day of the tourney.

The jousting continued for what seemed like hours, the two opponents breaking spear after spear. With each broken spear the crowd erupts in a standing ovation.

On the fifteenth lap Ser Gerold's horse skidded a little in the mud created by the horses' hooves. Prince Trystanne noticed how Ser Gerold was caught off guard and temporarily lowered his guard, so he spurred his horse harder, increasing speed. Quick as lightning he was up from his mount and thrusting his spear forward with all of his might, by the time Ser Gerold realized what was happening Trystanne's spear had already touched his breastplate.

Time seemed to slow down as Ser Gerold flew from his mount.

Nobody moved, nobody spoke, for an instant you could hear the insects buzzing in the air. Then Ser Gerold crashed into the ground, Doran could hear the crash of armor hitting the ground from his seat. And the crowd went crazy, shouts of joy and huge cheers could be heard from the city.

Doran was screaming like no other, even Princess Obella joined in the ovation.

***

NOTE: After KL arc there will be a quite a few timeskips.