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A Dragon Kissed by Sun Chapter 43 (The Melee)
🕑 Added 2023-03-16 20:53:43 +0000 UTCAs the entrances into the melee grounds opened up, Jae once more checked his armor and weapons one last time. A sword strapped to his side alongside a heater shield he held tightly by the handle. His armor was all still there as well. Unlike many of his opponents, Jae wore no colors, save for the small cloth of blue wrapped around his left arm. The plate protecting his chest blended rather well with the chainmail surrounding it.
The melee came second after the joust, an exciting follow-up for many. Afterward would be the Archery contest. Jae didn't really care about archery. He had achieved what he sought out to do in this tourney. House Tarly had sworn loyalty to him. They had almost 70% of the overall army in the Reach. House Hightower was never the same since the Dance, but they still held close relations with the Faith of The Seven.
Jae couldn't wait to go to Winterfell. He wanted to meet his other family. If things were a little different, I could have been raised by Lord Stark; instead, Jae thought, happy that his uncle had decided to let Prince Oberyn raise him. Jae was happy in Dorne.
As he fastened his belt and sheathed his blade into its scabbard, the thought of winning still crossed Jae's mind ever so frantically. The strongest opponent he could face was Ser Jaime Lannister.
The horns blew out in the distance, snapping him away from his thoughts. It was time.
Out in the Tourney Grounds, all of the fighters convened in the middle. There were around fifty or so competitors, it seemed, a dozen more than in the initial fight that happened before this melee. That fight was held for men of higher esteem, knights and noblemen who could pay for participation, as well as fighting in mounted combat. This was a brawl, performed completely on foot, and using whatever the combatant has or possesses to win. Amusing for the most part, it still looked as if it was a festivity intended for the nobility to enjoy. It was this half of the melee many peasants were waiting for.
King Robert stood up in a stupor from his chair, and all of the participants perked up as silence overtook the Tourney Grounds. It looked as if the King was going to say something before he cocked his head to the side and spit on the ground, and snorted. A wave of his hand was the signal for the standard bearers to lift up the banners and the announcer to begin the game.
"By the grace of the Seven!" he started, reading from a finely decorated parchment worn from use over the years. "You warriors and knights, ever brave, gather here to fight for glory and honor! With blessings from His Grace, King Robert Baratheon the First, take up your positions, and let the un-mounted section of the Melee begin!"
While this was a free-for-all, the beginning of the melee still had half-and-half participants going to their respective parts of the Arena. The rules themselves more or less encourage chaos to spread upon the first clash. The halfs would converge upon one another upon the start of the fight, yet afterward, there were no sides, and it was every man for himself. This way stopped fights from devolving immediately into bloody pits of death.
With around twenty of his fellow combatants alongside him, Jae looked over to the other side, the same amount of fighters opposite them. Even here, in the melee meant for the less esteemed members of the tourney's participants, Jae stuck out. He had no fancy regalia to adorn himself with, no banner to fight under, no colors he could call his own. Rather, all he had was a bit of dented armor and some shiny weapons that paled compared to some of the spectacles his other soon-to-be opponents had. In the corner of his eye, he could even spot something he was excited to fight. One of the Kingsguard knights had joined the fray, and not just any knight, it seemed. Turning to his side to get a better look at the man, he grinned to find no other than Jaime fucking Lannister standing just a few feet away from him.
'Just my luck...' was all Jae could think as he put his helmet on and strapped it tight.
The horns were soon raised, and the King gave the signal to begin. With a mighty sound, the tourney became flooded with cheers from the onlookers, which in turn, were quickly deafened by the thunderous charge of the combatants toward one another. Unlike many of those around him, Jae was not aiming for anyone in particular. He pulled his shield up and simply charged forward, being prepared to knock whoever was first in his sight onto the ground.
His sword and shield gripped tightly, and Jae prepared himself for the impact. A rather larger fellow seemed to be his target, and the two collided, as did dozens of others, and soon the storm of combat had begun.
For two long hours, they all fought. Many fell, others surrendered, and some most likely were killed in the chaos of it all, yet in the thick of it, Jae only thought of his own survival. That did not stop him from picking a few things up in the instances where he did fight actual battles. Tricks and deception here and there, techniques and genuine shows of prowess earned him the spot quickly as one of the remaining few that were still standing.
Battered, bruised, and tired beyond belief, Jae stood alongside a dozen or so other fighters. Soon enough, they each found their combat partners, those that didn't would gang up on one of a fighting pair before turning on the other. Jae was lucky in that regard, at least. He began a duel with some knight, most likely part of a wealthier house if his armor was anything to go by. Clad in pure plate save for the tabard around his chest, the shining armor had long been dirtied during the entire melee. At this point, the only thing differentiating the two was that one bore a standard, while Jae himself was bannerless.
A checkered black and purple field with a lightning bolt in between it was his opponent's crest. Jae did not care what house he belonged to, merely what way he was going to cut the man's skull with his sword.
"It's time to die, bastard." The man growled, glaring at him. Jae wondered if the man had some personal vendetta against him but did not care. Instead, he rushed him with precision attacks one after the other. The man, who was taken aback by his speed, tried to deflect everything he could.
"You son of a Bitch. I will Rape your Sisters once I kill you." The man shouted through his rotten teeth, trying to get Jae to rile up.
Letting him catch his breath on purpose, the man attacked, thinking this was a good chance, his sword aimed at Jae's head. The Prince easily parried the pitiful attack before shoving his sword deep into his throat, the mail was good to protect the body, but the neck was one of the few places left unprotected.
The man choked on his own blood. As Jae moved back, the man fell on the dirt, his body moving around, trying desperately to breathe air, his hands putting pressure on his open neck, desperately trying to breathe.
There was no time to celebrate, however, yet while keeping himself aware of his surroundings, Jae did take a moment to regain his breath, it was safer, no doubt, yet he could never get over how hard it was to breathe in this helmet of his. Quickly scanning his surroundings, he saw that most other fighters had also been taken out while their exchange was happening, leaving only two others for Jae to face. 'Just two more... two more and I win...' he thought to himself, a stream of hope entering his mind, only for it to be dashed away the moment he saw who he would inevitably face.
Jaime Lannister and Thoros of Myr fought against one another in a heated exchange of blows, Thoros of Myr fearlessly facing off against Jaime with a smile on his face and nothing but excitement in his eyes. From where he was looking, Jae could not fault anyone in the audience for paying little attention to his endeavors. Even he was mesmerized by the dance of blades happening in front of his eyes just a few feet away. He took this chance to rest. These two would tire themselves out, and as the fight went on, Jae already made peace with himself on how he would lose, intent at this point on just not dying, his little scrap back there being the closest he had been so far to actually biting it all. He wasn't intent on intervening in this bout between the two, using the opportunity to regain what little stamina he could while trying to keep the blood flowing in his veins.
It looked almost like something out of an old wives' tale.
Soon enough, it looked as if The Kingslayer was victorious in the battle, dodging one of Thoros's blows and striking the knight over the head with the butt end of his pommel, making him fall, before Thoros of Myr surrendered when the kingslayer's sword was right in front of his face. As the crowd cheered, Jaime Lannister quickly turned his sights on the last remaining opponent. Helmetless and without even a shield to protect him, the Kingslayer spotted Jae as a Hunter would spot its newest prey, ready for a fresh meal. Jae quickly readied himself.
"Seems it's just you and me then, Jon," The Kingslayer spoke.
"Indeed, I have always wanted to fight you, Ser Jaime. The man who is said to be the strongest swordsman in Westeros." Jon said as he prepared himself for the battle. He knew defeating Jaime would be even tougher than defeating The Mountain.
"From Dorne, you got quite the fame by slaying The Mountain." Jaime praised the prince. The Kingslayer would lie if he said he wasn't excited about this fight. He had always wanted to be the one who would one day kill The Mountain, but being one of his father's banners had stopped him.
Ser Jaime couldn't keep the smile away, and he wasn't trying to. The Prince had given him hope for the future, a future where he could finally serve someone worthy to call King and for Tyrion to become Lord of Castely Rock, Jaime thought with a newfound hope in his eyes.
His grip around the pommel tightened, his feet digging into the ground as he prepared for the fight.
"He was all brute strength. Speed is always one of the most important things." Jaime furrowed a brow at his words.
"You're a regular Duncan the Tall then, aren't you? I suppose that makes me your Targaryen Prince, the big bad dragon for the hero to slay."
"I'd hope not. There are not many knights who've faced dragons and lived to tell the tale, have there, my lord?"
"Hah! Right, you are. Now come, let's end this." he raised his sword with both hands. Jae felt his heart pounding in his throat, he was tired, but he hoped he could gather enough strength to win this, or at least not lose right away.
'I suppose he's right.' Jae thought, 'No point in delaying the inevitable at this point.' while he was certain of his defeat at this point, it did not mean he wouldn't give it an honest effort, and so he charged bravely toward the dragon's gaping mouth.
The moment his first swing had begun, Jaime Lannister looked ready to deflect, parry, and dodge all the same time, yet what he did not seem to expect was a feint, and that was exactly was Jae performed. Just as he had brought down his weapon, he pulled the sword back and jumped a few feet backward, putting distance between them.
The clash of swords rang throughout the arena. The spectators had gone silent. House Martell was watching the fight intently; Arianne watched with fear, her hands clutched together in her lap. She knew the Kingslayer was on their side. He had sworn his sword to Jaehaerys, Prince Oberyn hadn't been happy, saying he had failed to protect Elia and her children, but Jae had countered his argument, saying they would need someone inside during the War. Arianne had agreed with Jae. While she held no love for the Kingslayer, what had happened during the rebellion couldn't be undone. It would be smarter of them to use Ser Jaime rather than refuse his offer for help. Looking back at the fight, the match was evenly fought. But she knew just how good with a Sword was The Kingslayer.
Watching them fight, whenever the blade came close to Jae, she felt her heart skip a beat, her throat dryer than the deserts of Dorne. She felt Nymeria's hand on her shoulder, reassuring her that nothing would go wrong.
Jae deflected a swing before jumping forward, catching the Kingslayer a little off guard. The Lannister tried to keep his distance by using his sword when Jae swung his sword towards his sword hand. Jaime tried to move his hand away and use his sword to block the attack when Jae used his feet to kick his hand. The Kingslayer winced in pain, the grip around his sword loosened up a bit, but that was enough for Jae to use his hand to punch him in the face, staggering him, before hitting his sword hand again, the sword fell from his fingers, stabbing the ground as Jae put the tip of his sword right underneath Jaime's chin.
He slowly raised both of his hands with a smile. "I Yield."
The moment those swords left his mouth, the audience exploded in cheers. Almost everyone was applauding except for the Royal Family.
Especially Queen Cersei, who couldn't fathom how Jaime had lost. She would often boast that her Jaime was unbeatable, a Golden Knight through and through, yet, in front of her eyes, the bastard of Prince Oberyn had shamed them once again. Her teeth chattering, her hands balled into fists. She wouldn't let this slide.
She imagined what her father would do if he were here. He would never let him breathe another day. He would make sure the entire Martell Party in Highgarden would never leave the Reach, she thought, knowing her father was always right. His Banners were loyal to him, and everyone respected him.
Because of Jon Arryn's foolishness and his soft side, House Greyjoy was still standing in their barren wasteland. If her father had been the Hand of The King instead, Cersei knew her father would have burned that worthless island. He would have never left their rebellion slide so easily.
A burst of laughter reached her ears, and she turned to look at her husband laughing, amused that Jaime had lost, his mouth stinking of alcohol and meat. To Cersei, he smelled like a corpse who was decaying from the inside. The thought brought a smile to her face, the many times she had dreamed of plugging a dagger into his belly and opening him up.
As she looked at the bastard's face, he was talking with Jaime before shaking hands as if they were old friends. His face shone with happiness. She caught a glimpse of his purple eyes, her heart skipped a beat, her tongue wetting her lips. She hated to admit that the bastard was incredibly handsome. It reminded her of Rhaegar, my promised prince, Cersei thought with bitterness in her mouth. If only things had gone how her father had promised her.
She would have been married to Rhaegar and had his kids. Beautiful silver-haired prince and Princess. She squinted her eyes, watching the bastard from up close. Cersei hated to admit that a part of her wanted him dead for humiliating my house twice, yet, another part imagined her hand going through his long curly hair, forcing his face down between her thighs, her womanhood soaked wet at the thought of his eyes looking back at her as he devoured her cunt.
Back at the arena, after talking with Ser Jaime. Jae rejoined his family, and they all congratulated him for the victory. He had won both the Melee and The Jousting and killed the Mountain, proving himself a worthy warrior, but he knew this meant they would soon leave. Jaehaerys was quite looking forward to seeing The North and The Wall.
Later
The grin on Jae's face had never been more genuine. Gone was the smoldering look of intensity that was stereotypically him, replaced by a smile that brightened up his face and helped him to look his age. People often commented on his maturity as he celebrated with his family the happiest night he had spent in Highgarden so far.
When he saw the exhausted-looking serving girls at the feast, Jae decided to make an effort to thank them each time they brought a new dish. The food was magnificent, consisting of what seemed like endless amounts of courses of various peppered types of meat, starting with a full roast chicken per table and ending with stewed venison decorated with an assortment of vegetables. There were bowls of bacon and potatoes, and the desserts were splendid. Jae had been seated with his family. Now, he was eating some of the best food he had ever tasted, surrounded by three of his siblings, Arthur Dayne, his father, and Arianne Martell, who was sitting beside him.
His sisters' reactions were comically different. Obara smiled graciously but seemed genuine when she told Jon she was pleased nobody got hurt.
"Does this mean you're a knight now? Dorea will be so jealous! I am not calling you ser, though."
He laughed. "I'm not a knight, little sister. All I did was win the Melee."
"You shouldn't be so modest, Jae." Oberyn, looking flushed from the wine, counseled. "You didn't just beat anyone. The Kingslayer is renowned in the Seven Kingdoms. You will do yourself no harm to be proud, but don't let it go to your head. Hone your skills, and know your weapons. Practice is key."
Once the dancing started, Lady Margaery was the first to want a dance with him. At any other moment, Jae would have laughed at the way Arianne was glaring at the Tyrell girl before murmuring something under her breath, something about whores.
Knowing a dance wouldn't harm anyone, Jae accepted once they started dancing, they were lost in the sea of people dancing all around them. Despite being surrounded by people, it felt like they were the only people in that Hall. Jae noticed the blunt way she was flirting, from speaking in a low husky tone, her body pressed more against his than usual.
After dancing some more, it seems his lady got tired of dancing.
"My Lord, can we go outside? I want to show you something," she suggested and fluttered her eyelashes.
Before Jae could even think of an answer, Arianne marched towards them, glaring at Margaery.
"Lady Margaery, might I have a dance with my cousin." She spoke with a fake smile that anyone could notice, her voice dripping with venom like a snake.
Lady Margaery was tempted to counter her or say something to show that she wasn't afraid of the Whore of Dorne, but her partner stepped in before they could cause a scene.
"My lady, I enjoyed our dance. Might I have the next dance with my cousin?" Jae asked apologetically. The golden flower of Highgarden glared at the princess before pulling up a bright smile toward Jae.
"Of course, my lord." She reluctantly said. Jae turned to look at Arianne, he expected her to lead him away, perhaps back to their table or even outside of the hall, but instead, she grabbed him by the collar, slamming her lips against his, like many other times before, Margaery looked as if she had just swallowed a lemon at the sight in front of her, as Arianne gave Jae a sloppy kiss.
Pulling away, Arianne smiled triumphantly when Lady Flower walked back to her table.
"Wow, what has gotten into you?" Jae asked. He didn't understand why she wanted to do that. While he thought Margaery was a Beautiful lady, he didn't need Tyrell's support when he had House Tarly.
"Nothing. I don't like the way she's eyeing you." Arianne breathlessly said she had the suspicion that perhaps Lady Margaery knew something she shouldn't. For all she knows, Jon is the bastard son of Oberyn. Why would someone like Lady Margaery try to seduce Jon?
"Don't worry, Arianne." He spoke with his deep Dornish accent, his thumb caressing her delicious-looking skin. Arianne shuddered at the way his hand went around her, she felt like a prey about to be devoured by a Dragon, and she loved it.
"Perhaps tonight I will show you why I don't need her." He spoke slowly to her ear; Arianne felt a little lightheaded. She couldn't understand how he had such an effect on her by simply talking to her ear.
"I can't wait, my Prince," Arianne whispered to his ear before they started dancing.
Comments
TheWateringWizard
?? The archery happened two chapters ago, how can it be happening after the melee now? Shouldn’t the tourney have opened with the archery? And come on, the Tarlys don’t represent 70% of the Reach’s army. Seriously, can you imagine if a vassal of Lord Paramount had his House’s army be nearly 3/4 of the Kingdom’s army? Great chapter, the fight with Jaime was very well written. It’s hilarious to see Cersei like that and I can’t wait to see what braindead idea she has. Hehehe Arianne being jealous, that’s sweet. I really want them to acknowledge their relationship
