THE NIGHT | arthur dayne

Chapter 5

Jorelle returned late to the tourney, missing a few rounds. She snuck back into her seat, passing people and apologizing for blocking their view. She knew she would hear about it later from her father, but she hardly cared. She cared more about the glares she was getting from Cersei.

Ser Arthur Dayne had bested all of his opponents, so Rhaegar was called to prepare for the champion's tilt. It would be the Sword of the Morning versus the Dragon Prince. The crowd was silent in anticipation.

"Rhaegar will win, for sure," Cersei whispered, leaning over closer to Jorelle. "Unless you sabotaged him."

"I did not do anything to Rhaegar. You know I don't care who wins," Jorelle snapped, insulted by her sister's accusation.

"Then what were you doing?"

"I just was talking to him. He seems very nice."

"Hmm."

Jorelle watched as Rhaegar put on his helmet and mounted his horse, riding up to the center of the arena as the crowd cheered. Cersei smirked.

Not far behind him was Arthur. It was the first time Jorelle had seen him and he was...he was quite beautiful. Alara was right. Alara was always right. She watched as he pushed his light brown hair out of his eyes. Jorelle sat up straighter, trying to get a good view as he mounted his horse and put on his helmet.

The two men lined up, beginning a tilt that was truly of champions. It went on for what felt like forever, lance after lance cracking in half on both sides. Each of the men had been hit several times but neither one fell off his horse.

The crowd grew restless, overwhelmed by the anticipation that the tilt had created. Jorelle and Cersei began to fidget in their seats.

Everyone gasped as the lance pierced Rhaegar, sending him flying off his horse into a puff of dirt. There was a second of silence and shock before cheers erupted and echoed through the arena.

Jorelle jumped onto her feet and clapped, but her excitement was lost when she caught a glimpse of her father in an argument with the king. His cheeks flushed red with fury as the king rose from his seat and left, walking away from the arena. Tywin stood and followed.

"What happened? I couldn't see," Cersei asked.

"Father and the king are having another disagreement," Jorelle replied. "It's probably about you."

"Well don't assume. Go find out," Cersei said.

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Jorelle walked down the dirt path in search of her father. She grew a bit cold as the clouds covered the sun and the ocean breeze became stronger.

She wasn't sure if she was more annoyed by Cersei's demand that she speak to their father, or by the fact that no one was crowned Queen of Love and Beauty because of the king's outburst.

Jorelle wanted to be crowned. She had never been chosen and she felt like that would be the biggest honor. It would also mean that whoever crowned her would be courting her and that would be an honor too, but the tourney abruptly ended and no one was crowned.

She suddenly stopped walking when she saw Arthur Dayne walking towards her. Her heart raced as he stepped closer and closer. She rubbed her hands down the front of her dress to smooth it out and tugged at her sleeves so that they would look more flattering on her shoulders.

"Ser Arthur!" She said smiling. "Congratulations on your win."

"Thank you, my lady. I don't think we've had the pleasure of meeting," he said, taking her hand and kissing it. Jorelle smiled.

"We have now," she replied. "You were very gallant today."

"That's very kind coming from you, my lady," he replied. He turned around as he was hit on the shoulder. The two boys exchanged some sort of handshake. "Are you angry about losing?"

"You always beat me, I can't be mad. One day I'll win," Rhaegar replied smirking.

"Have you seen my father?" Jorelle asked the prince. If her father was still with the king then Rhaegar would know where they were.

"He's with my father. They're arguing as they always do when they're together. It's a wonder they haven't killed each other yet," Rhaegar laughed. "It's something about me and your sister."

"Has the king rejected the offer?" Jorelle asked.

"I would assume so-"

"Oh, Cersei is going to be furious." Jorelle sighed. She wished she hadn't said that. Cersei would be so embarrassed if she heard that Jorelle was talking about her to Rhaegar.

"Your sister is a nice girl but my father would never accept any offers from Lannisters," Rhaegar said.

"All this talk about houses. Is this all we're going to do while we're here?" Arthur interrupted.

"What else is there to do?" Jorelle asked. She was partly genuine and partly joking.

"We're your guests. You're meant to entertain us," Arthur said. Jorelle was a bit surprised by how casual he was speaking to her. They had just met and he behaved as if they were lifelong friends. "Take us to do what you usually do."

"I don't usually do anything. I go on walks and read books," Jorelle replied. "Sometimes I practice my embroidery but I usually have other people do that for me."

"How boring it must be to be a lady," Rhaegar laughed.

"It's not boring. It what I'm supposed to do," Jorelle replied. "What do you usually do?"

"I practice fighting and...read," Rhaegar responded.

"How boring it must be to be a prince," Jorelle smiled.