The Jousts! (9/19, All Day, Open to All, read ooc note)

[Falmek Severne]

Falmek smiled genuinely but nervously as Aurelia offered him her favor in the way she chose to. He tried really hard to mask the fact that he was as red as the sunset, only to fail. He took a moment to ride off to where he needed to be positioned for the joust, using the time to collect himself. He was truly young at heart in a sense; no woman had ever before shown him such a gesture in his life that he could recall, but then he'd never had the confidence or the inspiration to put himself in the position until today. He took a deep breath and felt himself relax, knowing that perhaps this was the day of a new beginning for him.

Turning to her once more, he called out. "The road to victory is assured for me, knowing that I have your favor!" With that he smiled to her and returned his attention to the upcoming competition. Even being so caught off guard, he had to maintain his focus. For the next few moments, the joust would be the only thing in his world.

Falmek dropped the visor of the helmet over his face, patiently awaiting the signal to begin. In an event like a joust, tremendous attention to detail is required. A good jouster must be sensitive to his opponent's movements and mindset. One good hit is all it takes for one man to ride victorious and one to walk away in defeat. Knowing when to strike is just as important as knowing how to do so. Many young, brash jousters would seek to go all out on the first pass; while for some experienced jousters this was a viable strategy, for most it was no different than flipping a coin. Falmek knew this was not the way to go.

The flag dropped to begin the joust, and Falmek rode forward to meet his opponent. As he and Argon approached each other, the representative of House Drake lunged at him quite swiftly, an attempted blow that Falmek barely managed to deflect. Both men were still mounted after the first pass.

He seems to be the aggressive type, but he's clearly no slouch. Argon was a tough opponent indeed, and thus Falmek had no intention of rushing the fight. Perhaps if he could manage another pass, he could get a definitive read on him and take him down. The signal was given for the second pass, and Falmek rode forward once more.

This time, Argon struck at him with the same level of ferocity, but Falmek failed to fully deflect the blow. The lance cracked and split against his armor, and in an attempt to stay on his horse he rolled his body with the force of the blow. He felt himself begin to lose balance, but by clutching the reins with his hand tightly he managed to stay on.

Falmek started to breathe heavily and urged the horse to stay calm. He chuckled a bit to himself in relief that he was still mounted. He doesn't let up, does he? He seems very persistent in striking hard and fast. After taking a moment to relax, he believed he had a winning strategy.

Argon's lance was replaced, and not long after the signal for the third pass was given. Falmek and Argon rode to the center of the lane, and as they struck at each other, Falmek positioned his lance to strike at Argon's left side. As he anticipated, Argon attempted another fierce strike, and Falmek's lance struck him in such a way that it used his momentum against him. Argon's lance barely grazed against Falmek's armor as he went tumbling to the floor.

Falmek let out a deep sigh of relief as he removed his helmet, receiving the cheers and applause of the crowd and gently bowing his head in gratitude. He had come out of this bout victorious once more, and in the back of his mind thoughts of Aurelia brought him a moment of peace in the excitement. Even if he were not to win his next round, somehow he felt that for him this day was complete.

[Nicholas Ambrosios]

He had told them he'd arrive in time, and indeed he had. Thankfully weather had been on his side and his ship anchored in the harbor the day he'd expected it to. He had lingered at the port to oversee the few belongings he'd need as they were unloaded to carriages. Great thing about coming so soon before a wedding was you got to travel light. He did not see the need to come earlier like the other lords. His Province Lord had traveled with the king and thus had represented Strom better than Nicholas ever could. Of course, Solbra would be different... He'd have to go much earlier then than he'd done this time around.

The Ashpool's servants showed them to their rooms, their sister glad to finally be off of the ship. Minerva stuck close to his side, her tiny hand gripping the bottom of his tunic as she looked around as though in awe. His brother had been opposed to letting the child travel with them, but Nicholas had insisted that she was old enough. She handled the voyage well and was actually more fascinated by the workings in and on the vessel than she was sick or whiny. That was more than he could say for his sister...

"Where is everybody?" Nicholas asked, turning to somewhat acknowledge one of the servants.

"They are all at the tournament, Lord Ambrosios."

"Oh dear," his brother said. "Your timing, as always, is impeccable."

"Nonsense... I arrived exactly when I wanted to." With a sharp about face, he turned to his servant and said, "We shall be attending this tournament. Prepare clothes for us all. This travel attire is most unacceptable."

"Will young lady Minerva be joining as well?"

"Why wouldn't she?"

"Dear brother, must we?" His sister complained. "We've only just arrived. Surely Lord Letalis will understand our absence, would he not?"

"Do not tire yourself with trying to comprehend what Lord Letalis would understand. Dress quickly and do help your niece." He knelt and with a softer, sweeter voice said to Minerva, "Go with your aunt. She'll help you so that you might be the prettiest girl at the tournament."

"Yes uncle," she said.

The disappeared into his sister's chambers and he turned to his brother. "Pity I was not aware of such a tournament. You and I would have surely excelled... And I must say, it would have been devilishly fun to knock you off of your horse."

"In dreams, brother."

===

It appeared as though the first round of the finals had just finished. That suited him well. This was the most interesting part, anyway. It did not take him long to spot the man he'd come to greet, and without further ado, he went towards Rex Letalis. His family followed him wordlessly, which was actually surprising for the three year old. A quick turn of his head to glance at her told him she was much too fascinated with the jousting to pay attention to much else.

"Lord Letalis," Nicholas said, stopping next to him, standing at attention, and then bowing. "It is a pleasure to see you again. And Lady Regina," he said with another bow. "If at all possible, you are lovelier now than the last time I saw you. Lord Letalis, you remember my brother and my sister." He looked over now at the other woman seated next to Regina. It took him a moment to recognize her as it'd been years since he'd seen her. "Lady Loralynn Castell, you're looking quite well."

[Alrik Sterlyn]

Alrik sat in the Sterlyn box, surrounded by his family, but in all truth, he wished Fallon would have been in the box with them. Damn, the joust wasn't exactly his favorite sport either. Alrik's all time favorite was the melee, and who didn't bother organizing a melee if they were having a joust and an archery contest?! Honestly???

Oh well, he just sat back, glancing about his siblings and the rest of his family. Looking over the way, Victor and Celeste were sitting there, seemingly interested in what was going on. His eyes shifted the other way, to the Severne box, and his eyes landed on Fallon. She was beautiful as ever with her curls glimmering in the sunlight with every shift of the breeze.

Sighing, Alrik looked back over to the joust, he was trying to pay attention...he really was.

[Rex]

Rex smiled, looking over Nicholas and his family. “Lord Ambrosios, a pleasure as always. Lady Ambrosios, you're looking absolutely splendid, if I don't say,” Rex said, waving his hand over a couple of empty locations on the bench. “I'd love it if you join us, won't you please?” Rex asked, glancing over at the Ambrosios family.

“How was the trip over? How are my new ships coming along?” Rex asked, a snide smile crossing his lips. By the gods, it seemed as if he hadn't seen Nick in...years! Had it been so long?

“Regina's knight, Eli, won with her favor. He was lucky he got her sleeve, and she was lucky he won so she got her sleeve back!” Rex said, laughing!

[Fawna Drake]

Fawna snuck up quietly behind her husband and slid her arms around his broad shoulders.

"Is this seat taken?" she playfully teased. "I'm feeling much better despite this awful heat and would love to join the two of you."

Fawna put on a smile because she loved the excitement and magic of the tournaments, even though this stage of pregnancy was making her feel terrible. She hoped it was just the hormones and that nothing was wrong, placing her hand wistfully on her stomach.

[Jayce]

Eva had dropped his hand and wiggled away as she made her little joke. Jayce had only smirked and contented himself with kicking the leg of her chair.

“Fawn loves these types of affairs.” He said, bending forward to see if she was still in the Drake box. “But in her condition, I think it’s a little wearing on her. Although she tries not to let it show.” Craning his neck, he could just make out their box. No Fawn. Well, she must have decided to go for that nap after all. Who could blame her? But he thought she would be disappointed, still, to miss any of the festivities. Life at home was quiet, and she had really been looking forward to this gala event and all the so-called glamour and excitement of the court. Jayce himself was not so very taken with such affairs. But it was his duty, and he was glad to bring his beautiful wife and show her off a little. They had only just found out that she was pregnant again, and that was some cause for concern, given the past misfortunes. Their family physician had declared the journey safe enough, though, and Jayce could not have brought himself to deny Fawn the pleasure of this little outing. So, here they were, along with the rest of the Drake clan.

Jayce felt two arms encircle his shoulders from behind. Is this seat taken? I'm feeling much better despite this awful heat and would love to join the two of you.

He, in turn, placed his hands over her forearms, not looking around, and pulled her a little closer. “Madame, your company is more than welcome. But have a care that my wife does not catch you with your arms around me. She gets a tad put out about those sorts of things.”

Jayce laughed and turning his head, managed to kiss Fawn on the cheek. He reached around and pulled her into his lap. “I’m sorry, I do believe that seat was taken. But you can have this one.” He kissed her again, gave her a little squeeze, and murmured in her ear, “I’m very glad to hear you’re feeling better, my love.”

[Darryn Etny]

His next match was against the province lord Matthias Ashpool. Darryn had seen the man joust earlier in the day, and he was impressed with the skill Matthias showed. Still, he was holding onto Rhiannon’s favor, tucked into his armor near his chest. Her luck and his skill would win this match. He pulled himself up on his horse, his squire helping to secure him. Lances were fitted and armor checked for weakness and then Darryn was ready to ride. He glanced to the stands to see if Rhiannon was looking at him, but he couldn’t tell from her expression one way or the other.

He turned back to face Matthias, putting his full concentration on the match.

[Aurelia Whitstone]

Aurelia watched Falmek joust. While she was normally uninterested in the sport, he had asked for her favor and she hoped he won. She’d enjoyed the evening they’d spent together; he’d been able to keep her mind off Matthias and her troubles, and when he won she found herself standing to clap and cheer with the rest of the crowd.

“That’s how you show favor, Rowan.” Aurelia yelled to her cousin over the screams of the crowd. “You give a man something to really joust for and suddenly he could knock anyone off a horse just to see you smile. I suggest you try to be more outlandish next time. Maybe Stevon will ask again during the sword, and you can give her two garters to top my one.”

The rounds continued to pass, most of them boring Aurelia. But when Matthias was up again, she found herself rising to her feet She had no desire to watch him again, win or lose. She stared at him for one long minute, then promptly turned on heel and left the box.

[Loralynn Drake]

Watching Lexington destroy Jean Tristan was a rainbow after the storm. Beautiful to behold, no matter the violence that had come before it. His leg was definitely broken, and she relished the moment that squires and pages and doctors rushed to aid him as they helped him from the lists. His cries of agony at moving were music to her ears, an everlasting song of such a lovely pitch she’d remember it forever.

How many maids will want to fuck you now? But she knew the injury would change nothing. He was still Lord of the House with money and power and they’d crawl under his sheets to warm his manhood all the same.

She turned back to Regina and smiled, “Lexington is such a strong jouster. My brother will win this competition.”

[Magdalena Ayala]

Magdalena fanned herself again, watching her husband get ready for the next match. She noticed that Victor had addressed her. Oh no, about the matches. She didn't know a thing about jousting. She'd have to try and be general... "Oh yes, he's made us very proud, isn't that right Felix?" she addressed her son, who, now that his father wasn't involved, had calmed down a bit.

"Lexington seems to have quite the decisive victory himself..." she mused, turning her attention back to the round two matches at hand - Cesar was now matched up against her cousin, who she remembered as being quite into sport - when he was a child, that is, so who knew now? Felix started up with his cheering again, and so Magdalena tried to turn her full attention to the match.

[Hadwyn Curtenay]

It was going to be a difficult match with Lord Ayala, Hadwyn knew that much. He had only met him briefly, but he could see from the previous match that Lord Ayala was serious about his study of sport. So Hadwyn prepared as best he could, but as was true of these things, the only test would be if he could emerge victorious.

A good first pass gained him the edge, and so he was readying himself for the second. Surely Ayala would take a different strategy? Or perhaps not, either way, Hadwyn wouldn't adjust much. They set off their horses, with Hadwyn breaking another lance on the chest of Cesar. Things were going well! He decided not to change much for the third pass.

That might not have been the best idea, Hadwyn thought, picking himself off the ground after a sound dehorsing. Of course, Cesar would catch on eventually! How could Hadwyn be so stupid? He was frustrated, but he didn't let his feelings show - he felt he had to be extremely proper at these things, given the island's reputation, and his family's especially. So he went to congratulate Lord Ayala on a well played match - at least he didn't come off with a permanent injury, like that Ovador Lord had.

[Regina Ambrosios]

Regina grinned at Nicholas as he greeted her with a compliment. "Well-timed arrival as always, Lord Ambrosius. I hope your crossing was uneventful." She waved to the little girl with his family- the result of his less-annoying sister's scandalous marriage, if she remembered the story correctly. Pity that was the sister to die.

She laughed at Rex's summation of her exchange with Eli. "Luck had little to do with it- the Ainsley's are born champions. Though of course there might have been some chance of a true contest if you were riding, Lord Nicholas."

A scream of pain from the list field drew Regina's attention to the squires dragging Jean Tristan from the field. She met Loralynn's eyes as her friend declared Lexington's superiority. "I will trust your judgement, but forgive me if I continue hoping for a Strom victory. I haven't seen Lexington joust before- but poor Jean Tristan. Broken legs can be so... tricky to heal properly." Regina's words didn't hold one ounce of sympathy for the man and she smiled at Loralynn. "Wouldn't it be a pity to see him unable to ride again?"

[Matthias Ashpool]

For some reason, watching Aurelia get up and leave the Ashpool box was just the final straw needed to taper off such a crappy day. Matthias didn't really need to look at it that way; in fact, he had been doing very well in the joust, and for all accounts he should have been pleased with himself. But... ,he couldn't marry the woman he loved, he had a traitorous bitch for an aunt, and his little sister seemed to be flirting with a Tresson, which didn't really put him at ease. Not to mention the fact that Donovan had been his only decent competition who had fallen, due to technicality, and then he had to suffer the anguish and rage of watching Falmek Severne asked Aurelia for her favor, and then suffer the degrading moments as that damn woman gave him her garter with no decency at all. He had half a mind to stalk right up to Falmek and give him a black eye over even thinking about speaking to his woman, let alone looking in her general direction. But then again she wasn't his woman, now was she? And that enraged Matthias even more, so when it came time for his next joust, he was no longer a man but a raging bull, seeing red plastered over all of the stands, and the knights, and especially the lovely young woman retreating from the Ashpool box.

Poor Darryn Etny had no idea what was coming to him, which was probably why Matthias took the man straight off his horse on the first pass, blasting him with one fell thrust of his lance. It was over in seconds, just a spray of splintering wood, and Darryn had barely caught his breath before Matthias was off his horse and out of the arena.

"Sir Darryn Etny, unhorsed - Lord Matthias Ashpool wins this joust!" The stewards voice rang out over the field, but fell upon deaf ears, as Darryn seemed to be trying to regain ground and Matthias was no where to be seen to celebrate his victory. It had all happened so fast, hadn't it?

[Cesar Ayala]

Cesar rode over to his wife’s cousin, removing his helmet and then his gauntlet and extending his hand.

“Very, very well played, Lord Hadwyn. But that is how fickle our lady is, Lady Fortune. She smiles on you for five minutes, then turns her back on you. It was luck gave me this victory. You were a formidable opponent.”

He shook the young lord’s hand. Well, he didn’t quite mean all that he had said. It was a tried and true strategy. If you knew how to take the hits, allow your opponent to show you his strategy. Get him on a roll. Then go for the opening in his style that he had unwittingly showed you. It had worked for Cesar on numerous occasions. No doubt he had been in three times as many tourneys as Lord Curtenay. The boy was good though. He had skill, a lot of promise to be great. Cesar made a note to ask his wife about inviting her cousin to Chryssa one day. Or perhaps he would come with the king’s tour. Cesar believed it was by far best to treat the man you had just won a victory over with grace and courtesy. Leaving unresolved grudges behind only invited revenge.

Wheeling his horse around as Hadwyn’s squire ran up, Cesar faced the Castell box, nodded his head to Victor, waved again to his family, then rose off the list.

[Nicholas Ambrosios]

He sat beside Rex once the seat was offered and looked out as the body of a knight was being carried away. He fought back a laugh. Sodding fool. If you couldn't handle the ferocity of such competitions, perhaps it would do well to realize that one's place was in the parlor taking tea rather than in an arena doing what real men did. "The trip was relatively smooth if long. Happy to be on solid ground again. As for your ships, my lord, I have personally overseen their construction and they'll be ready in two months time for you. I invite you to come stay so that you may see them yourself. Or would you prefer to be surprised?"

It had been many years since he'd seen Rex, and even longer since he'd seen Regina. His compliment before had simply come across as the proper niceties, but it didn't make it any less true. She was far more beautiful than he remembered. He smirked at what she said, but couldn't help but agree with her. If he and his brother were jousting, it'd be less than acceptable if they didn't take the top two spots. "If I had only arrived sooner, my lady, I would certainly be out there to win in honor of Lord Letalis." He wondered if that had come to pass if he'd have won her favor and not the knight Ainsley.

[Darryn Etny]

Darryn had no idea what had just happened. He hadn’t even settled in lance into place when he’d gone flying from his horse. Had Matthias been that fast. He shook the cobwebs from his head as his squire helped him up. He turned to congratulate his foe on a victory well taken, but Matthias was no where to be seen. Had the man fled after such a strong win?

He pulled off his helm and walked over to the Severne box. “My lady, it seems that my jousting as ended,” he called out to Rhiannon, “But if it please you, I would be honored to hold your favor to grant me luck during the sword fights tomorrow. Perhaps my steel will do better than my lance. Regardless, I thank you once again for your support.”

[Aurora Letalis]

Ah, the jousts. Aurora didn't really like them, but she didn't hate them either. It was always interesting to see who won. It would be a little better, though, if she weren't here with her brothers. She still wasn't sure why Auron was ignoring him, and Alrik was too distracted to be much company. She could go visit others, perhaps, but it would probably be a bad thing to abandon her brothers, even if they weren't paying her any mind.

At Auron's comment, she looked around to try and find what person he had meant. There could be a few options, but since she knew he didn't really care in the first place, it didn't much matter. "I'm not obligated to cheer for any of them, since nobody asked my favor," she said, putting a little pout in her voice. But Rex wasn't competing, so it probably would have been bad if anyone had.

However, on watching the next few matches, she changed her tune a little. "That one, though," she said, pointing to the man who had left his opponent crying in the dirt, "That one shows promise. He's the one I'm going to be watching." She couldn't make out the house on the flag from where she sat, but it was no matter, really. Whoever he was, he certainly showed the talent and ferocity to win the whole match.

[Cassandra Brynn Rivers]

"You won," Olivia said, following behind her. "You proved your point. You can bandy with the best of them, but the fun and games are over now, Cassandra. You got lucky with the last match, but this is Lord Lexington Castell you're talking about now. Did you see what he did to his last opponent. Will be surprised myself if that man walks right again. Just bow out now. Give your steward the white flag and let's be off. Please. If you got hurt, how do you think your father will take the news? You're supposed to be under Lord Castell's protection!"

"You talk too much," Cassie said. "Lexington is indeed a fine jouster... Possibly the first I've faced today who can give me a real challenge. You say I've proven I can match up with the best of them? You are wrong. This match will prove once and for all that I can. Win or lose, if I can endure, I walk away victorious."

"You're going to get yourself killed!"

She laughed. "Perhaps... But at least it's better than dying of use and old age." Mounting her horse again, she returned to the arena and waited for her opponent to arrive. She had to admit, she was feeling more nervous than usual. Olivia was right about one thing... Though she had been in danger even before now, she hadn't been extremely worried about suffering an injury by the hand of any jouster until this very moment.

[Rhiannon Severne]

Rhiannon was lost in her thoughts, straying entirely from the match, until she realized that Etny was getting thrown off his horse. She was momentarily quite concerned - that Desrosiers had just gotten seriously injured, after all - but once she saw that Etny could stand, she was fine with it. Perhaps now he could get some sense knocked into him about what a serious situation he waltzed into. It was one thing to be an optimist, but really... he was nearly arrested with the Cromwells!

Then he was asking to keep the favor - fine by her, then he would not ask her for it again tomorrow. "Of course, Lord Darryn, may it bring you luck in the sword fight," she said, simply.

[Lex Castell Rivers]

Lexington grinned at his brother, obviously pleased with his performance. He ignored the penile reference and clapped him on the shoulder, trying to calm himself before his next match. It wouldn't do to be all riled up and then do something careless. He tried to figure out who he was jousting next, but the prep areas around the lists were so crowded it was hard to say who was who. He'd never heard of this person, to be sure.

Catching his sister's eye, he waved her kerchief at her and bowed to her, making a note to meet up with her later to properly celebrate. It was hard to remember that she supposedly still loved the man he'd just utterly defeated, and he half wondered if he ought to go over and apologize for breaking him, but he decided against it. There was no way he'd be able to pull off being sincere about regretting hurting him.

It didn't take long, though, and it was time for his next joust. He double checked the saddle and stirrups before mounting up, conversing with his brother until he saw the jouster preparing opposite of him. "Lars...what...am I supposed to do with that? I'm gonna kill him, and it's gonna be a complete accident!" He was actually honestly worried. It was obvious the jouster across from him was significantly smaller than he was, but he'd made it this far, so he had to be good. Either that, or the rest of the jousters he'd faced had had a similar aversion that he himself was having.

[Larson Castell]

Larson was adjusting his brother's armor and looked up as he spoke. There, mounted, was his next opponent. Tall and lean he didn't look like he really had the muscle to be in this sort of competition. "Well .. it takes all kinds." Larson said, shrugging.

After a moment of his brother rambling on about his worries, he looked up to him and met his eyes. "Listen, if he's here it's because he wants to joust, if he dies. He dies." Looking down to the ground, after a thought struck him, he continued his sentence, changing his mind. "But you're not like me that way. So I suppose you should go easy on him. It's true if you killed this guy Victor would probably be a bit angry. Though if you wanted my opinion I'd be all for it!" he said laughing.

[Jocelynn Mallory]

It was hot and she was miserable. She sat in the Castell's box, fanning herself with a ornate, purple and gold fan, tutting at every possible chance and subtly wiping the sweat from her brow. The only high light of the day was that House Castell had been doing well... At least until the unfortunate incident with her cousin's saddle. She'd seen him begin to shift on his horse, and as soon as she realized what was happening, she knew that there simply would be no recovering. Still, she was sad to see Donovan lose. She'd rather hoped she'd get to see him face off in the finals. That... and between him and Lord Ashpool, she much preferred her cousin. It went without saying, really, but more to the point, there was something that put her off about Matthias... Daunting in many ways, he was most certainly a man she would rather not cross if given the opportunity to avoid him.

"Pity..." she remarked when he was unhorsed. "Though, for my cousin, I must say I'm pleased her future husband has made such a marvelous showing." She could not imagine Jarvis doing so well. At least Evelyn was getting a man now. She was not speaking to anybody in particular, but even so, she continued, "I do hope that Lexington fares well. He has done a positively marvelous job thus far... Why, who was the man he just rode against? I do not envy him the pain he's feeling."

After some time, it seemed that it was once again Lexington's turn to joust, and turning her head to regard the other rider, she had to force herself to bite back her laughter. This miniature knight would surely be impaled to pieces upon Lexington's lance, and she had to say, she was going to enjoy every moment of watching her cousin own yet another rider.

[Branwen Llewelyn]

The day was getting long, and the heat was sweltering. She loved the tournaments, her brothers had always been around when they were all younger, pretending they were jousting or fighting with wooden swords, and it was always welcome to see the real thing. But they were almost done with this tournament now, it had taken nearly the whole day - Rhys and Gareth had been knocked out soon before these final rounds.

She looked up to the Ashpool box - there was her cousin, she could see her hair in the sea of blonde that was the Ashpool box. She thought she could pick out everyone else, but then she thought she saw an incredibly tall woman... HEY! If Evangeline and the other Drakes could be in the shade, surely she could.

"Daddy, I'm going somewhere!" she said quickly as she started walking to the box. Her dad looked momentarily concerned, but turned around and saw where she was headed, rolled his eyes, and looked back at the tournament.

When she arrived, she took the seat Aurelia had vacated, between Evangeline and Lyneth. She threw her arms around Lyneth. "Cousin!" Lyneth bristled somewhat, oh, she was so weird sometimes. "Hey, Eva. And Jayce and Fawna!" It was too hot for formalities, although Lyneth would probably disagree. She tried to get a read on Fawna - she had heard that she was pregnant again, but they had such trouble that she didn't want to mention anything. And then there was Rowan... she saw the Tresson kid take her favor. "And Rowan... is there something you've been meaning to tell us?" she grinned devilishly.

[Jayce]

Jayce nodded to Branwen in a friendly way. “Branwen, it’s good to see you. It’s been quite a while.” It had been quite a while since he had last visited Hsynka. Great hunting up that way – elk, moose, mountain sheep. That was about the only thing that really excited Jayce as far as a reason for traveling. Branwen’s father was a most cordial host as well. And all those red headed children – Jayce smiled. He hadn’t seen little Branwen for what – three or four years? She had been a pretty girl – she was grown now into an even prettier young woman.

“And how is Lord Llewelyn, and Lady Alison?” He’d have to make a point of tracking Caradoc down and having a drink with him. Always best to keep congenial hosts who lived near prime hunting grounds on a friendly basis. “It’s a shame your brothers had bad luck today. I’m sure your father would have liked to see them win.”

He gave Fawna a bit of a squeeze. Her pregnancy was no family secret, but he would allow her to choose who to share their good news with.

[Cassandra Brynn Rivers]

She had to concentrate to block out the outside noises. It would take everything she had to pull off a victory here -- Yes, she knew even making it this far was something to be proud of, but she had not entered the tournament to almost win. Victory was where she'd set her sights, and she would have it no other way. Reaching her hand out for her lance, she glared at him, waiting for the signal to start the tilt. Once given, she dug her heels into her horses side, urging him to run. At first she aimed for his head, but realizing she did not have a proper opening, she shifted her lance down, feeling the impact go up her arm as it broke against his armor. She had not suffered a hit on the first tilt... Thank the gods.

She turned, reaching out for another lance, feeling much more confident about her chances now. The second tilt began, and since the blighter's head was still too hard to hit, she went with the system that had worked the first time. Only she'd left an opening for him as well, and she groaned when his lance broke on her chest. She gripped the reigns hard to keep from being knocked off. Damn but did Lord Lexington back quite a force. It certainly was the hardest she'd been hit all day. The only consolation was that when she looked up at her own lance, she realized that it was also broken. "Where did I hit?" she asked one of her men.

"His chest, sir," he replied, taking the lance from her and handing her another one.

She nodded and took another breath, her chest smarting still. Well, her confidence was only slight shaken. She could not afford to take another hit like that though. It took all she had not to be unhorsed. A little less sure of herself, she began on the third tilt, her lance grazing off of him, not breaking at all. Unfortunately, his found it's mark, and in the exact same spot. She breathlessly rode back to the end, trying not to hunch over her horse. This is what she wanted, wasn't it? A challenge. And he certainly was giving that to her. Both were tied... She'd have to step up if she expected to prevent a come back. Though, at this rate, they'd soon have to move to swords, and that's what Cassie was best at.

Fourth tilt began and she rode forward, her eyes narrowing, her focus going to his chest. It was the wider and easier target, so even if he managed to hit her, she might still get lucky and land a blow. That's exactly what happened. Damn his aim was exceptional, and he hit the same spot again. Her arm lifted slightly to his upper chest, her lance shattering blowing bits of shrapnel every which way. Score still tied, but at least he hadn't gotten one up on her and that's what mattered.

"Are you all right?" her man asked her, taking hold of the reigns to help her get steady.

"Lord Lexington is no laughing matter," she said, looking back at him. "But I take heart in knowing that I can honestly win here."

"I suggest missing," he said. "And making sure he misses as well. Force the tie and then meet him with steel."

That actually wasn't a bad idea... But even as she reached for a new lance to prepare for the fifth and final tilt, she realized that something wasn't right. Lexington wasn't ready to go. There seemed to be some confusion going on over there, but from her vantage point and from behind her helm, she could not know for sure. "Are they withdrawing?" she asked incredulously.

"I don't know... but it appears that way."

[Lex Castell Rivers]

Lexington sat on his horse, trying to set up a strategy. He had to know what this person was capable of before he could figure out just how much force to hit with...and so when the first flag was dropped, he rode at his opponent with as much speed as normal, but he slid his lance to the side at the last moment, instead taking the full force of his hit. The cogs began working in his brain as he blocked out his brother hollering at him for missing. He now knew about how much force this man could put behind his lance, and thus had the relative weight down, too...if he could manage to hit in the same place consistently, he was almost assured a victory.

The next tilt he took aim for the very center of the man's body, where his center of gravity would be, and rammed into it with all his might. Turning to look back, he cursed as he realized he was still on his saddle. He'd thought it would be an unhorsing for sure! No matter, though. Despite the small target, he was confident he could win. That is, unless this went to swords. He had a hell of a time fighting against the smaller men...they were usually tricksy and fast. He, on the other hand, was not.

Third tilt went much the way he wanted: he broke his lance, hitting around the same area he had before, and he didn't manage to hit him well. Still, this wasn't over yet, and he refused to get preemptively excited. The flag fell for the fourth tilt, and Lex rode forward toward him, lance aimed at the target he saw in his mind over the man's chest. His lance connected, but so did the other jouster's, and Lex's world exploded in pain. Almost immediately he found himself unable to hold his lance up, and he rode up to where his brother was and put up the visor on his helmet, his face visibly pale under the redness of exertion.

"Lars, something's not right. My arm is going numb..." He dropped his shattered lance to a waiting squire and tried to flex his fingers, but found that doing so shot fire through his chest and arm. He winced, wishing he could see through his armor to figure out what the hell happened. Dismounting in a most ungraceful fashion, he stood before his brother. "I can't see past any of this armor...can you see anything wrong?"

[Larson Castell]

Lars had been cheering for his brother's final blow, but as his posture sunk, so did his heart. Lex came riding up to him, and no sooner did he have to ask, then Lars had half his armor removed from him. "Shit .. You've got a good sized shard. It's the white flag on this one." Larson looked at the man, waiting at the side for a signal, and he shook his head. The white flag was in the post and Lars was removing more of Lex's equipment.

"Do you want me to remove the shard myself? I think I can do it." He said putting on a leather glove so he could grip the wood better. "Wearing so little armor is your downfall, brother. Shall we get you dismounted and take this someplace else? We don't want to cause a scene now do we?"

Or do we? This little knight was going to pay for marring his brother, Larson would make sure of that.

[Fawna Drake]

Fawna sighed as Branwen approached their box, feeling poorly, she didn't have the patience for it. Besides, she was never overly fond of the "red head clan". She was relieved when her husband started making small talk.

Fawna noticed Branwen glancing at her stomach and she wondered how fast the gossip of her pregnancy was spreading. She wasn't in the mood for sharing the news and hoped the topic wouldn't be brought up. She knew Jayce wouldn't say a thing. He was sweet like that...always respectful of her feelings. As Jayce was talking, Fawna looked lovingly at him and hoped this one would stick. She just couldn't take everyone feeling sorry for her again.

[Lex Castell Rivers]

Lexington could feel the blood dripping down off his fingers. He only had to look down at the dirt below him to see the red stain, slowly becoming larger. His shoulder was a little close to focus clearly on, but it was hard to miss the chunk of wood, still painted on one side, stabbing from his muscle. His eye twitched, and his face paled a shade more, but he kept his face clear from visual signs of pain.

"There are ladies present...they shouldn't have to see this. I'm supposed to make women swoon, not faint from horror." He managed a grin, trying to have a sense of humor through the pain. He left his horse, his armor, everything where it stood, knowing that the squires assigned to his house would clean it up and see everything where it should go.

He dropped his voice so only his brother could hear, although doing so over the sound of the stadium was a tricky thing. "If you can get it out, do so, but I have the feeling it's gonna bleed like a sonofabitch, so I'm going to need somewhere to sit and something to staunch the blood. The sooner I can get it stitched up, the better." He began walking, slowly since his head was spinning a little, toward the preparation tent that had been set up for the Castell family, leaving a small trail of blood behind him.

[Auron Sterlyn]

She was referring to Lexington Castell. Auron had paid enough attention when they announced the next competitors. He didn’t bother to answer Aurora, choosing instead to watch as the two knights from Ovadar went at each other. The jousts were getting boring, except of course for when Matthias drove that Etny from his horse and slammed him into the dirt in the first hit. Auron had managed not to laugh, but he couldn’t help but enjoy Etny’s defeat.

From out of no where, he suddenly spoke, “I’d have asked for your favor, Aurora.” He hated the animosity that existed like a brick wall between them. She’d taken one brick down by speaking to him.. perhaps he needed to remove another. “If I competed of course.” Which he didn’t, nor would he ever. And a few months ago, Aurora’s favor was all he would have cared about.

His eyes glanced back over to Rhiannon’s box. Now he felt so torn.