Chapter 12: The Duels

Jon

Jon had barely slept all night, the nervous excitement he'd felt had been overwhelming, it was only after Jaime had come to see him that he'd managed to fall asleep. Now though it was time to wake up, Joy would be up early and he wished to see her before he made his way to Lannisport. He was glad Gerion would be bringing her along to the duels, but he hoped she'd have a small nap before then.

He got up and washed himself before dressing, he'd taken a bath yesterday and would no doubt need one today but a quick wash was all he'd give himself time to do. As he dressed he looked to the small thin sword, he hoped he'd get away with not using it until he planned, but it depended on the draw. He made his way down to Joy's room and hoped she'd be awake.

"Yon." he smiled as he entered, to find her wide awake and waiting for him.

"Morning, Joy." he said as he held his hands out for her.

"Mon Yon, boo boo." she lifted her arm were a small bruise had formed.

He lifted her up in his arms and kissed the bruise making her giggle, "Now boo boo all better."

"Beller." she said as he tickled her making her laugh.

They walked down the corridor together making their way down to break their fast, this was one of his favorite activities of the day, playing with the little girl when she woke, usually he'd spar with Jaime first thing and then clean himself and make his way to Joy's room, before breaking their fast together.

But Jaime had told him when he visited the night before to get some extra sleep and he'd see him later, he and Tyrion had already left to meet the Tyrell's in Lannisport so it'd only be him and Joy for breakfast, Gerion doing Jaime's lordly work until he too left for the tourney. The serving girl Laena smiled at him and Joy and went to get their meal.

Jaime

Jaime was nervous, Tyrion and Jon had dealt with the north and while he'd dealt with the lords of the west and with Lord Arryn, this was different, today he'd be dealing with the queen of thorns herself. He and Tyrion sat waiting for their uncle before they made their way over to meet with the Tyrell's, his father would never have gone to them, he'd have made them come to him, met them at the rock, his domain, but Jaime's goals were different.

"Is everything set for tonight?" he turned and asked his brother.

"Yes, both feast's are well organized and the new girls I had serve the king last night were much appreciated." Tyrion replied.

"Good work brother."

He watched as Tyrion smiled, his brother had done an excellent job, they'd gotten the trade deal with the north, although Tyrion gave Jon a the credit for that, but the arena, the feasts all of that had been Tyrion and he was proud of the work he'd done, finally Kevan arrived.

"Ah good, if your ready uncle, we have a ways to go." Jaime said with a smirk.

"Why do we have to go to them, surely they should be coming here to meet with us." his uncle said clearly agitated.

"Why uncle if you'd rather not, I'm sure Tyrion and I can handle things."

"No, no, it's fine, I'm ready lets go." Kevan said quickly.

They arrived at the building they'd given the Tyrell's for their stay in Lannisport and were met by a steward who showed them to where the meeting would take place, as they walked Jaime almost laughed, less than two weeks the Tyrell's had been here and they'd already turned this place into a miniature Highgarden, there were rose's everywhere.

The Tyrell's were waiting for them as soon as they entered, Mace sitting beside his good brother Lord Paxter and the Queen of thorns sitting to his left, they rose as they made their way to the table. All except Olenna who no doubt was playing up her old age.

"Lord Jaime, my lord's a pleasure, please come sit." Mace said a large welcoming smile on his face.

"Forgive me if I don't rise my lords, at my age it gets harder and harder." Olenna said looking directly at Jaime.

"My Lady, think nothing of it." Jaime said as charmingly as he could watching as she raised her eyebrow before smirking.

"Lord Mace, Lord Paxter, I trust your enjoying the tourney so far?." Kevan asked.

"Indeed my lord it's been most exciting, you must come to a tourney in Highgarden the next time we hold one." Mace replied.

"We would be delighted to, wouldn't we uncle." Tyrion said as Kevan nodded.

"My Lords, there is much we must discuss and the duels start soon, shall we get to business?" Jaime said moving things along, he wished to be done here as quickly as possible and left to Mace this would turn into an all day affair, as he spoke he noticed Olenna looked at him with something like approval.

"Of course Lord Jaime, so how can we be of service." Olenna said.

The discussion themselves were pretty straightforward, increased trade between the reach and the west, more products being bought by them and the purchase of some ships from Lord Paxter. All of which would cost the west a lot and make the reach a decent profit, even with the discounts they'd managed to get. Jaime had led the negotiations but the ideas themselves were mainly Tyrion's.

When they were finished, he looked to his brother and uncle, one looking happier than the other, Lord Paxter seemed happy, while Mace was puffed up and stuck his chest out like he'd just won the damn tourney himself, it was Olenna's face which interested him the most though, the woman looked at him constantly and it was unnerving, although she had kept relatively quiet in the meeting itself.

"My lord's, Lady Olenna, I think we've achieved all we wish, may the reach and the west both continue to prosper," Jaime said while Mace and Paxter nodded their agreement.

"Lady Olenna, I wonder if I may take up a moment of your time on another matter." he asked cryptically.

"Of Course Lord Jaime, I was just about to have a small spot of luncheon, would you join me."

"It'd be my pleasure my lady."

Jon

The area where they were waiting was just off the arena's main structure, it was a small yard with some tents for the competitors and was just out of sight of the people inside, there was a small gap where they'd enter from and Jon stood there looking at the arena itself.

It was magnificent to see, three sides were covered while one had been left open, the largest side would hold the King and Queen and the most important lords and ladies, while the other two sides would hold lesser lords and the men and women of Lannisport and the west, that had been lucky enough to get a seat. The open area would be were most of the people who couldn't get a seat would stand and was raised so it was almost a hill, allowing for people to be able to see better.

Jon was nervous, not of the duels themselves, he'd trained for that but there was a big difference sparring in front of a few people in Casterly Rock and dueling for a prize in front of a huge crowd, a crowd filled with not only the Lords and Ladies of the realm but the King and Queen also. Not that he cared particularly for either of them, the king was a drunken whore monger and the queen was an out and out bitch.

He looked over to see how the rest of the competitors were handling things, some like Loras and the Royce's seemed to be almost preening themselves, others were quieter seemed completely overwhelmed. There were one or two doing stretches and loosening themselves up although Jon noticed they were actually over exerting themselves, something he had been guilty of before Jaime pointed it out to him.

" You need to be loose Jon, not tired."

" But doesn't this loosen me up my lord?"

" Aye lad it does, but your putting too much effort into it, you should let it flow, let the movements become more natural, here let me show you." after that they spent a few minutes before each spar doing the same few movements, now Jon did them without even thinking.

Finally they were called and they made their way into the arena itself, Jon saw some of the boys look around in awe and he couldn't help feel the same, the three sides were completely full of people and the crowd that filled the open end was enormous, Jon had never seen so many people in the same place at once. The King and Queen sat high in the stand looking down perfectly at the dueling circles, he saw Jaime sitting with his family and smiled as Gerion had Joy waved down at him. As they were lined up Jaime rose to his feet and began to speak.

"Your Graces, My Lord's and Ladies, good people of the west, I bid you all welcome to the squires duel." Jaime said as the crowd cheered.

"The boy's before you represent the best of Westeros, they are the future knights, the future lords, they will lead men and bring honor to themselves and their families. Here today you will see them show their abilities and in years to come, you will be able to tell your children tales of seeing the first ever winner of the duels of Lannisport." Jaime paused as the crowd grew louder.

"Tourney's come and go, joust's and melees happen everywhere, but here in Lannisport on this day, everyone here will be part of something new, something no one has seen before, Your Graces, My Lords and Ladies, Men and Women of the west, here today we bear witness to the future." the chants rang out and Jaime smiled at Tyrion before taking his seat, he looked to Jon and almost mouthed the words 'Show them Jon, show them a real king' .

Barristan.

Barristan felt his emotions rise at Jaime's speech, Lannister had never been one for talking too much, sure he'd make quips and jokes occasionally but never before had Barristan seen him command attention the way he did during this tourney. The things he'd said about the boy's had made Barristan even more eager for the duels than he had been, he was right these boys were the future and if his suspicions were right about young Snow then this was more true than anyone here knew.

He looked out as the boys began to make their way back and caught sight of the young man he most wished to see, the boy walked casually as if he hadn't a care in the world and Barristan smiled, he even walked like his father. After the joust Barristan hadn't even cared he'd lost, seeing something in Jon Snow the first time could have been a trick of the light, but the second time he saw it, he knew the truth.

Jon Snow was Rhaegar's son, it made sense to him and he could kick himself for not thinking it through before now. Ned Stark was too honorable to father a bastard and the boy did have Stark looks on the surface at least, which meant he was either Brandon's or Lyanna's. While Brandon was a known cad and it couldn't be ruled out, the boy's age worked against that being the case,which only left Lyanna.

Barristan wasn't aware of the exact circumstances between his prince and the Stark girl, but he knew he didn't kidnap her, that was not Rhaegar and Arthur would never have stood for it. Which could only mean she went willingly, the more he pondered on it the more it became clear, Arthur and his other brothers left guarding Lyanna Stark had always seemed strange to him, but left guarding a pregnant girl carrying his princes child, suddenly made all the pieces fall into place.

There were still question's that needed to be answered, what was Stark's role in this? What was Jaime Lannister up to? Was the boy a bastard or trueborn? But Barristan would get the answers before he left which left only one question that he needed to ask himself, What will I do?

Olenna.

Olenna sat beside her granddaughter who seemed especially nervous, no doubt worrying about her brother, Jaime Lannister had built this dueling up into something which Olenna could not understand, after all it was just small boy's playing with pretend swords, what was so special about that. But the speech he had given had riled the crowd up, she saw men and women in the crowd shift in their seats, their excitement for what's to come suddenly raised. Jaime Lannister was a puzzle to her and one she knew she'd need to solve soon, she thought back to their meeting earlier that day.

She made her way to outside where the table had been set up for her luncheon with Lord Lannister, sitting down she nodded to the younger man and bid him join her, after offering him some cheese and some fruit, with a glass of arbor gold to wash it down, they began to speak.

" So my lord, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

" So it is a pleasure then?" Jaime replied with a smirk.

" Why of course my lord, any lunch with me is a pleasure, is it not?" she said as she raised her eyebrow and looked at him.

" Indeed it is my lady."

" SO?"

" Ah, to the point, I like that."

" At my age time is precious my lord."

Jaime laughed catching her by surprise, before quickly schooling his face.

" You play that card well my lady, but we both know your age doesn't preclude you from being the real power in the reach and that your in no way a less formidable woman because of it."

Olenna smiled at him, a genuine one, she really did prefer to play with someone who played back, it made winning so much more fun.

" My lady, our two regions are the most prosperous in the realm and yet relations between us have always been how shall I put it."

" Put it whichever way you like Lord Lannister, we both know the reason for why our relationship is how it is." she quickly interjected.

" My father is dead my lady, I'm the lord of the west now, I believe that we can have a much more mutually beneficial relationship going forward."

" We could, but should we?" Olenna said snarkily.

" It does neither of us good to be at each other's throats, lady Olenna, either in trade or in other ways."

" Ah, I wondered when the lion would roar."

"I assure you Lady Olenna, If you ever hear me roar you'll know it."

" But we're getting off track here, my lady, as I said I think we can help each other, now and more importantly in the future, which is why I'd like to be able to speak frankly to you if I may."

" You may."

" I know Jon Arryn has come to you looking for help financing the crown." Jaime said noticing the quick look of understanding on the older woman's face.

" And why would he do such a thing, when he has Lannister gold to support him" Olenna asked already knowing the answer.

" Because I cut off our aid to the king, we no longer support this king's wasteful use of the realms resources."

Olenna looked carefully at Jaime, there was something going on here, something she wasn't a part of and it annoyed her, it annoyed her no end.

" My lady, a word of advice, if I may." Jaime said as she nodded to him to continue.

" Aerys was a mad man but under him and my father the realms finances were well looked after, the treasury was full, sometimes a king may be good at some things and terrible in other ways. When such a king sits on the throne decisions have to be made, people need to be careful to make the right ones, otherwise they get left behind should things change."

" What are you not saying Lannister," Olenna asked in an annoyed tone.

" Many things my lady, many things." Jaime cryptically replied.

As she sat there and thought upon the meeting she felt a headache come on, there was a game afoot and not only was she unsure of the players, she wasn't completely certain of the game itself and it vexed her. She had agreed with Lord Lannister that their two realms would work closer together, she needed to know what he did, what was he up to?

The duels

Jon

He stood facing his first opponent, the sword felt good in his hand, he had been drawn to fight second against a young lad from the Stormlands who was squiring for Ser Aemon Eastermont and was a couple of name days older than Jon. As they waited for the judge to explain the rules Jon studied the young man he was facing, Larger than Jon by both a few inches and pounds the boy looked clumsy on his feet to Jon, he'd no doubt be stronger but Jon would be quicker and he'd use that against him.

"The duel is to five points or a yield, one point is awarded for a hit and once the result is called you must shake hands and make your way to the back after bowing to their graces, am I understood?" the judge, Lord Brax asked.

"It is my Lord." Jon and the young man, Andrew he had said his name was, both answered at the same time.

"Then take your positions and I bid you both good fortune." Lord Brax said as they moved to face each other.

The first swing was hard and heavy and Jon was waiting for it, stepping deftly to the side he quickly struck the boy across the arm and followed it up with a hit to the side while the boy tried to recover from the missed strike.

Two points up Jon moved back as he again allowed the older boy to make his move, this time he parried and feinted before catching the boy once again on his arm and side. The boy relied on his strength too much and wasn't used to quick counter attacks, Jon could almost see the disbelief on his face that he was already four points down and hadn't managed to get a hit in.

The final point had seen Andrew learn his lesson, his attack was more cautious this time, his swings a little less powerful, Jon though was in his element, he was fully in control of this match now and he began to enjoy himself. He parried a hard blow to his left and feinted a return forcing the other boy to step backwards, as he did so Jon was upon him, a short thrust followed by a quick arc to the right gave him his opening.

He swiftly took it, his sword hitting the boy square in the chest and earning him his first victory, he held his hand out and Andrew shook it with a shrug of his head and a small smile, he'd been beaten by the better swordsman and he accepted it with grace earning him Jon's respect. Finally both boys turned to bow to the king and queen.

"Your Winner. Five points to none, Jon Snow." Lord Brax said smiling.

After heading to the back Jon made his way to the gap between the pavilion and the arena to watch the next match, Loras Tyrell versus Lord Brax's son Flement. As with Jon's opponent Loras's had him beat in size, weight and age, Flement was just below the age limit, barely managing to qualify for the duels. He looked on as the two boys faced each other both looking eager to begin, Jon was probably more nervous than either of them truth be told.

As the fight began Jon noticed that just like his duel Loras relied on speed and skill while his opponent favored strength. Where Jon was efficient and kept the showing off to a minimum though Loras revelled in it, his strikes were flamboyant, his arcs exaggerated and Jon smiled as he watched them fight.

Loras eventually triumphed five points to two but Jon had seen enough, if he faced Loras he'd beat him, as good as he was his showmanship took away his effectiveness. A good guard was better than a cheer from the crowd and if he continued this way Loras would find himself dead on a field before long. He watched as Garlan chastised his brother, Loras looking hurt that his brother wasn't celebrating with him.

Before too long it was time for his second fight, this time against Artos the young boy who was Ser Wylis's squire, Jon looked forward to facing his fellow Northman, it made him think of the times he and Robb had sparred in Winterfell and while he missed his brother, he found he didn't miss their spars as much as he thought he might. He would never be as good as he was now if he'd stayed and the friends he'd made here made his longing for Winterfell seem almost a distant memory.

As he stepped into the arena he looked to see Jaime nod down at him, beside him Tyrion gave him a smile and as he looked to Gerion holding Joy he gave her a wave, overjoyed to see her wave back and though he couldn't hear it he could see she was shouting his name 'Yon' he thought and his smile beamed back at her.

He nodded to Artos and noticed his grip was similar to how Robb would hold his sword, an idea came to him and he wondered if it'd work here. As the two boys faced each other Jon took a defensive stance and waited for the other boy to attack, he weakly parried the blows and allowed Artos to get the first strike in feeling the pain of the blow against his left arm. As he backed away he waited and saw what he wanted. Artos like Robb increased the power behind his swings feeling that he could easily breach Jon's defense.

Jon though parried both strikes by maneuvering his sword so the blows glanced off it rather than thorough it like they had the first time, the momentum caught Artos by surprise and as he tried to readjust his feet Jon made his move. He quickly swung his sword to Artos left forcing him to turn to parry and as he did so Jon swept his legs from under him, before he had a chance to react Jon's sword was placed against his neck, the boy laying on the ground unable to do anything but nod.

"I Yield." Artos said as Jon helped him up to his feet.

"Where did you learn that Snow?." Artos asked shaking his hand.

"Fighting my brother Robb, he fights like you, so I tried something that worked on him and got lucky." Jon said.

"Nah, wasn't luck Snow, you beat me fair and square, good fortune Snow, win this for the north."

Jon turned as Lord Brax readied himself to make the announcement, the lord patting him on the back and giving him a nod.

"Your winner by a Yield, Jon Snow." Lord Brax announced as the crowd cheered the first yield of the day.

Jon and Artos bowed to the King and made their way from the arena, they said their farewells and Jon walked to the tent where the boys kept their equipment, he grabbed a mug of water and swallowed it down before filling the mug again. He went over to where he kept his things and checked to make sure the thin sword was still there along with his spare tunics, once he saw that they were where he'd left them, he made his way again to watch some more of the match ups, there were only three more left in this round and then it'd be down to the last sixteen competitors.

Some of those who'd lost had surprised Jon, Waymar Royce had been easily beaten by a Riverland squire and the Strongboar's squire had been beaten by a young man from the Vale, a Harding. Loras had made it through the second round and seemed to have taken some of his brother's advice and Robar Royce had won both his fights five to nought, so Jon knew he'd be hard to beat. He had watched as a tall silver haired boy easily beat a young man he knew to be Lord Farman's squire.

The young silver haired boy intrigued Jon so he waited to hear who he was and was surprised to find he was a bastard just like him, Aurane Water's the bastard of Driftmark. Jon had only recently heard the name during his studies of the allegiances of the houses. A Velaryon by birth if not name Jon was surprised the lord of the Driftmark had even attended the tourney not having seen any of them here himself.

As he looked at Aurane he wondered if this was how the Targaryen's had looked, with their own silver hair and Valyrian features. With the matches now over and the next round still to be drawn, Jon quickly grabbed some food and ate while thinking about his next match, he was sat there lost in his thoughts when he heard his name being called.

"Jon, your up, come on, you need to win, I still want to face you in the final after all." Loras Japed at him.

"Aye, of course we both have to make it to the final to do so." Jon said back with a smile.

"Well it'll be no problem for me, so it's up to you to keep your end up." Loras joked and the two boys laughed.

Jon made his way to the arena for his third fight only to be shocked to see he was facing Aurane Waters, he shook his head and laughed, the god's loved their jokes didn't they he thought, as he readied himself for the battle of the bastards.

"Aurane Waters." the taller boy said holding his hand out.

"Jon Snow." Jon replied and shook his hand earning a smile from the other man.

"Well at least a bastard is making it through to the next round." Aurane said as they both laughed.

Aurane was easily the most skilled of his opponents so far, he edged him in speed while Jon once again bemoaned the fact he was facing an opponent that was stronger than him, the first two points were split, Jon had earned the first quickly and almost while he was celebrating that fact had lost the second.

As they faced off for the third Jon moved quickly, he swung twice rapidly in succession both to Aurane's left forcing the other boy to slightly turn to protect that side, once he did so Jon used the same exact strikes and caught the boy across his right arm and in his right side, the quickness of his change of direction giving Aurane no time to protect his other side.

He stepped back and waited for Aurane to strike back, parrying the harder blow and waiting for the return one, when it came he sidestepped and once again struck out quickly, his blows were even faster this time, left, left, right, left, right, right before a strike caught Aurane on the knee and allowed Jon to tap him softly on the shoulder with his blade winning the bout.

Aurane glared at him in annoyance, before he shook his head and offered his hand to congratulate him for the win. Jon shook the offered hand and the other boy patted him on the shoulder before they both turned to take their bows and make their way from the arena. The judge this time was Ser Addam and he actually winked at Jon before announcing the winner.

"Your winner five points to one Jon Snow." Ser Addam said as the crowd cheered.

As Jon and Aurane made their way out he noticed Loras was heading in, he turned and wished him good fortune and continued to walk with Aurane.

"You caught me by surprise, Jon, I've never fought anyone that quick before."

"Lord Jaime gave me some exercises to help with quickness, it's helped me a lot, I could show you if you like."

"Lord Jaime, as in Jaime Lannister?" Aurane asked.

"Aye, I'm his page," Jon replied.

"Well you can keep whatever the hell the kingslayer taught you to yourself." Aurane angrily said as he began to move away.

"Call him that again and it'll be more than my sword you'll be taking a beating from." Jon said as he squared up to the other boy.

Before things could escalate though Ser Addam stepped in between them.

"Enough, on your way Waters, Snow come with me." Addam said as Aurane angrily stormed away.

"I'm Sorry, Ser Addam." Jon began before Addam interrupted him.

"Nothing to be sorry about lad, you were standing up for my liege lord, who also happens to be my closest friend, that's exactly what a future knight should do." Addam said with a smile.

"Besides, the boy was being an ass." he continued making Jon laugh.

Jon watched on as Robar defeated yet another opponent, this time the boy was actually bigger than Royce, but it hadn't mattered and Robar had beaten the young Banefort squire easily, Jon admired how Robar fought, he was strong and skilled and out of all the potential opponents he'd face, Jon felt he was the one that could beat him.

When the fight was over Jon made his way to the arena for his fourth fight, his opponent was an actual Lord and Jon smiled at that fact. Beric Dondarrion was a few name days older than Jon in fact if the tourney was held in just a few more moons he'd have been ineligible to participate in the duels. Jon had seen the lord speaking with Thoros of Myr after the melee and wondered if the two men were friends or if like Jon, Beric just wished to see a flaming sword close up.

"Ah, Lord Snow, ready for your run to come to an end?" Beric said smirking at him.

"You know I was just wondering the same about your own run, my lord." Jon said smiling back.

"Ah, that's the spirit, care for a wager, how about 50 gold dragons to the winner."

"Of course, my lord, I shall endeavor to spend your coin wisely." Jon said making Beric laugh.

The two boy's lined up, for the first time Jon was facing someone he was matched with strength wise, Beric was skilled also and quickly they fell into a rhythm, thrust, parry, feint, riposte, the first point took almost ten strikes before Jon earned it with a strike to Beric's thigh, he had put so much power into the strike that he noticed the other boy immediately wince before favoring his other leg.

Jon quickly struck again this time it took only six blows before he once again caught Beric on the same leg, this time with even more force. After that the rest of the duel was pretty easy, Beric's movement was limited by the strikes to the thigh and he was clearly worried about receiving another one so he protected it, at the cost of protecting other parts of himself.

Jon caught him on the arm before catching him on the side and then the arm yet again, each of the strikes enough to win a point but none of them with the force he'd hit the boy's thigh with. Beric looked almost relieved that the fight was over, he actually smiled at Jon probably after realizing that Jon had pulled his strikes to avoid any more injuries.

"Well fought, Lord Snow, I shall wear that bruise with pride, you're a fine swordsman Jon and it's no shame to lose to a better one than I." Beric said holding his hand out.

"Aye, my lord, today was my day, but it's been a pleasure to duel against you." Jon said smiling at him.

"More for you than me, Jon, it's a warm bath and a rubdown I'll need after that."

"I'm Sorry my lord."

"Don't be, you won and taught me a fine lesson, perhaps one day we'll spar and maybe I'll teach you one back." Beric said his lack of malice clear by his smiling face.

"I have no doubt you would, my lord."

Jon and Beric both turned to take their bows as Ser Addam once again declared the duel for Jon. They both made their way to the back as Robar Royce and another boy Jon didn't know made their way out, Jon nodded at Robar who ignored him and walked past almost hitting him in the shoulder.

"Grumpy fellow isn't he." Beric said.

"Must be all that mountain air in the Vale." Jon said as they laughed.

"Aye, it's been good to meet you Jon, I wish you good fortune in the battles to come."

Jon thanked him and turned to watch as Robar easily beat his opponent, he stayed where he was as Loras made his way out to face his opponent, a Florent, Jon smirked, this would be interesting, there was no love lost between the Tyrell's and the Florent's and while Loras didn't seem the malicious type, Jon had no doubt the other lad would feel some of the strikes he'd receive.

He was proved right, Loras was way more skilled than the other lad, but given how hard he'd hit him and the scowl on Loras's face the boy had obviously made things worse by saying something to annoy him, As they both now made their way over to where Jon was standing, he noticed the Florent had taken a hard knock to the head that would surely leave a bruise and he'd be lucky if his nose hadn't been broken.

"Loras." Jon said following him out of the arena.

"LORAS." he shouted as the other boy stopped.

"What, oh sorry Jon, I didn't realize it was you."

"What happened?"

"Oh nothing, he's just an idiot."

"Loras." Jon said softly.

"He insulted my sister Jon, called her a, never mind." Loras said shaking his head.

Jon felt his anger bubble up inside him, how dare he, the big eared fool, Margaery was sweet and kind and who did he think he is? He's lucky he only got a bruise, if I'd have been facing him I'd have knocked him on his ass.

"You did the right thing, you clobbered the big eared fox," Jon said making Loras laugh.

"I did, didn't I."

"Aye, Loras, you did, come on it's time for the draw, hopefully you won't clobber me when we face in the final." Jon said smirking.

The two boys walked to where Lord Brax, Ser Addam, Lord Crakehall and Lord Serret standing, the four judges arguing over who got the final and semi finals. Ser Addam gracefully stepped away and it was finally decided that Lord Brax would take the first semi final with Lord Serret taking the second with Lord Crakehall taking the final.

Ser Addam placed the four names into a jug and drew them, Robar Royce was to face Mychel Redfort, the two vale men well known to each other, which left Jon to face Loras to both of their disappointments. Their disappointment seemed to be shared by the two Vale boys who looked at them before walking away, both clearly thinking it'd be easier to face either of them than each other, it was true then, the Vale was full of arrogant shits Jon thought.

"Well looks like it won't be the final we both wanted, Jon."

"No, but it'll be just as good Loras, we both know whichever of us wins will be win the final, so this may as well be our final." Jon said trying to lighten the mood.

"Aye, that it will Jon, Good fortune my friend." Loras said holding his hand out.

"You too, you'll need it. Jon said." before shaking his hand and laughing, making Loras laugh with him.

They stood facing each other, both waiting for the other to make their move, finally Loras swung his sword, Jon parried and made a thrust of his own which Loras easily swiped away, the blades crashed together both boys seemingly evenly matched, before Jon turned and spun catching Loras by surprise, the hit resounding as he caught him on his leg. Loras grimaced and backed off, but Jon didn't give him time catching him as he retreated and scoring another hit this time to the boy's arm.

Loras retaliated though Jon was able to parry the blow and noticed the other boy beginning to get frustrated, he took advantage and with a quick swing to the left followed by a feint to the right, Jon caught Loras once again on the arm. He knew now he had the match won, Loras as good as he was hadn't received one on one training by Jaime Lannister. But Loras was someone Jon now considered a friend and he didn't wish to humiliate him.

Jon waited for the strike and slowly moved towards it, giving Loras the chance to change the angle he was swinging his sword and catch Jon hard across the shoulder, the blow was harder than Jon had been expecting, he watched as Loras smirked before they began again. The next hit took much longer, he made Loras work for it before he missed his strike to give Loras the opening, he was better prepared for this hit though and it didn't hurt as much as the last one.

Jon moved quickly to take the next point, a low thrust was followed by a hard swing at the arm he'd hit twice, he knew Loras would protect it, so halfway through the swing he changed direction catching the other boy completely by surprise, he instead thrust his sword and caught Loras in the chest, the return strike by Loras caught Jon napping, he had been deciding what strike to use for the finish and Loras seeing him hesitate had capitalized catching him on his thigh.

He backed away and allowed Loras to come to him, the other boy dictated the pace and the crowd cheered as both boys put on an exhibition, feint, thrust, parry, swing, left, right, high, low, the blades moved with swiftness and precision, after what was probably only a minute or two but to both boys had felt an hour, Jon saw his opening, his movements quickened and he once again caught Loras on his arm.

The crowd cheered as the duel ended, Jon held his hand out and Loras after shaking his head took it, before Lord Brax walked over and gave both boys a pat on the back.

"Your winner Five points to three and our first finalist, Jon Snow." Lord Brax said as the crowd cheered.

Jon and Loras bowed and he looked to the stand to see Jaime looking on with a huge smile on his face, beside him Tyrion was also smiling while Gerion and Joy were waving at him which he returned, as he was turning he caught sight of where the Tyrell's were sitting, he was surprised to see Garlan give him a nod and as he looked to Margaery she was wearing that same lob sided grin he had come to realize he really liked.

"Come Jon, you have a final to prepare for." Lord Brax said as he and Loras began to walk away.

"You did well, both of you." Lord Brax said with a grin.

"It was Jon's day today." Loras said a note of sadness in his voice.

"Then perhaps it'll be yours tomorrow." Jon said and smiled at his friend.

"Aye, I'll get you next time." Loras said returning his smile.

Jon watched as Robar beat Mychel Redfort, five points to one, the larger boy was certainly the best he'd seen during the competition and Jon knew he'd need to be at his very best to have a chance of winning. He quickly made his way to where he kept the other sword and swapped them out, he'd been fortunate not to need the thinner sword thus far and knew it was his best chance at winning. Jon's biggest strength was quickness and with the thin sword he was much faster than with the normal one.

"Your Graces, my lords and ladies, men and women of the west, it's my pleasure to introduce the finalists of the Lannisport duels of 290 AC. Representing the Vale Robar Royce and Representing the north and our liege lords very own squire, Jon Snow." the herald said as both boys walked towards the dueling circle.

Jon had tried talking to Robar but the boy had ignored him, apart from looking at him like he was dirt, apparently Robar was influenced greatly by the faiths teaching and for him Jon wasn't just a bastard but a heathen also, Jon just shook his head, he remembered the stories from Old Nan of how the Kings of Winter continually threw back the Andal attempts to take the north, he thought of Theon Stark the hungry wolf and what he had done to them and he smiled.

The two boys turned to bow to the king and queen and Jon looked to see Jaime give him a nod while Tyrion and Gerion smiled down at him, he saw Joy excitedly bounce on her father's knee and he smiled back at her. He saw that Loras was sitting back among his family and he nodded and got a wave in return, Margaery too gave him a wave and he couldn't help himself and waved back at her before noticing the look he got from her grandmother.

"You both know the rules, first to five or a yield, I wish you both the best." Lord Crakehall said as both boys turned to face each other.

"What the hell is that, a girls sword," Robar said with a sneer, finally noticing the blade Jon was carrying.

Jon said nothing he just looked at the boy and then as he had seen Jaime do countless times, he tapped the point of his blade on the ground and held it out ready for the spar to begin. Robar began aggressively as was his style, the first strike actually aiming for his head which annoyed him immensely, Jon began to move his blade and watched as the expression on Robar's face changed.

He had spent many hours practicing with the larger heavier tourney swords in public, while in the privacy of his room he'd used the smaller, thinner blade Jaime had gotten made for him. The difference was startling at first and incredible by the time the tourney began, Jon was always fast, but the lighter blade and the training had enhanced it by leaps and bounds.

Before Robar made his next swing, Jon had caught him on the front of his left knee, then he spun to strike him on the back of the same one, now behind him he smashed his sword on the back of his right knee, before he spun again and struck him on the front of the same knee, four strikes so quick and precise that Robar never had a chance to see them coming, let alone stop them, as the boy fell over from the pain of the strikes Jon crashed his blade down hard on his wrist, he felt the bone pop and the sword fell from Robar's hand.

Jon raised his blade and pointed it at Robar's neck, the bout was over, he won five to nought but he wanted to hear the boy Yield.

"Yield." Jon said.

"I Yield."

Jon nodded before turning to the crowd, he could see some stunned faces in there and it took a second before the cheers began, Lord Crakehall made his way over to him, his head shaking in disbelief.

"Your winner and the champion of the squires duel, Jon Snow." Lord Brax said as Jon looked to see Jaime watching him, the pride on his mentor's face mirrored by the feelings bubbling in his chest.