…Chapter Start
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(General Pov)
The dance between the two individuals commenced the kiss of steel between the two reverberating but was lost in the sea of melodies of the ongoing fights around them.
Blades separated for a moment—giving time for the force to travel through their arms before shooting forward in retaliation eager to cause the sweet sting of steel to be felt.
Daemon met Loras's blade with his own before smoothly transitioning into an upward slash that was calmly met by the flat side of Loras's sword and, with a fluid movement, carried the momentum upward and, by proxy, the sword upward, leaving Daemon open—an opening Loras took gladly.
Squelch-
He trusted at the opening of Daemon's armor staining his sword red—The lion hissed in pain as he was pricked by the thorn of the rose.
He stepped back, not having enough time to assess his wound, which was slowly getting numb from the adrenaline, but under the sudden flurry of Loras's attacks, he had to keep his focus elsewhere.
He deftly raised his hands and gripped his sword to parry Loras's attack, biting his lip under the helm before bringing back his blade for his own powerful downswing, forcing Loras to make a hurried block, forcing him backward as his forearm shook under his armor.
'Damn it…he drew first blood.' Daemon thought as his hands dropped to his side, and if he wasn't wearing steel, he would have felt the wetness of blood. But what he could feel, however, was the lingering sting of the wound.
"Seems like I drew first blood!" Loras replied excitedly; he adjusted his grip on his sword, taking advantage of the seconds he was given after they separated—Daemon's smile was hidden under his helm, but his only physical response was a horizontal slash at Loras's hip.
'Now!' Loras thought as he parried the blade and would have hit Daemon in the stomach if he hadn't pivoted out of his swing and was struck on the gap between his armor and his leg, cutting him. The sudden opening of the skin caused Loras to step forward, then pivot and, as if by instinct, raise his sword to intercept an attack—The lingering echo of steel made a minstrel proud.
It was clear that The Lion's claws were equally as sharp as the thorns of the rose, something he must have forgotten when he scored his first hit but it stuck like glue in his mind.
"Your last hit," Loras said. "A greenseer and a knight? Now, isn't this unfair?" Daemon quipped in a jest.
They quickly separated, and both attacked; each movement was mirrored, each attack there was a parallel, and with each cut, another was opened.
There was no shield to intercept blows, and with their skill being similar, any small openings were quick to be taken. The crowd roared if it was meant for them they wouldn't know as they were lost in their dance.
They circled each other after separating, neither faltering nor showing signs of it. Their armor now sported shades of red that were dead in their blood, and from the spectator's view, it wasn't deep else. Why would they still fight with such ferocity?
Their duel drew the eyes of many—women, men, and bards who were already drafting the lyrics for their next songs about a Mystery Knight going toe to toe with a Noble of Highgarden the alcoholics and peasants would eat this right up.
'Damn aren't most Reach knights bad at fighting? I didn't expect to get this much trouble from fighting Tyrell from all things.' Daemon replied as he blocked an attack wincing under his helm.
He then sidestepped and turned his blade so Loras ran right down the flat side, leaving him flat-footed for a second, but Daemon didn't bite, stepping out of range.
'But I won't lie and say that this isn't fun.' He continued.
Both attacked at the same time, moving alongside their attacks, motioning their swords to intercept the low slash, and raising their hands to intercept the upward slash.
They rotated, keeping a distance of 3 feet before Daemon thrust his sword at Loras's helm. He dodged and swatted his hand to the side and thrust his own, but Daemon pivoted away from the attack and counter-swatted Loras's hand.
Daemon raised his sword to face Loras, taking a familiar stance that his father would take while Loras held his sword forward.
"I must say I am impressed, and if you don't mind me asking, but who trained you?" Loras asked, taking a deep breath.
"The greatest man and knight I know," Daemon said vaguely.
Loras attacked low, but Daemon blocked stepping in, raising his sword for a horizontal slash but was blocked narrowly by Loras. Daemon made a quick decision, using the guard of the sword to interlock Loras's blade and force the sword downward to hit him with the pommel with force knocking the air out of him.
He swiftly pivoted and tilted his sword back into position and started to swing his sword high and low upping the pressure on Loras who he could hear breathing heavily but he still held his own and met his slash with an overhead one knocking his sword down and followed with a slash at his head, telegraphed causing Daemon to lean back and stare at the castle forged steel as it bypassed the gap in his helm.
He smirked, upping the intensity again—his body numb from the adrenaline attacking with an overhead that Loras blocked, but Daemon followed by pulling back and immediately attacking with a diagonal, positioning his body at an angle to make it harder to block, but Loras leaned back and parried and countered.
He met the sword with his own, and he could swear by the Seven he could see the faint spark coming from the slash, thrusting his sword through the gap of Loras's armor, stabbing his thigh and making him yelp in pain, but was quickly met with the pommel against his helm knocking him back.
The tide of the fight shifted as the sudden infliction of pain seemed to awake Loras's body and he felt the sudden stings on his body that were mixed in with the sweat.
A sudden shift in a fight can be deadly especially when two are similar in skill.
The Lion's ferocity was unmatched and even the roots of the rose could only defend even meekly.
Loras tried to parry the attacks, but the strength behind them was slowly making his hand weak, and against the flurry, one managed to stab him again in that same spot but deeper, causing a meek cry to leave his lips—one that the lion before him heard.
Blood was in the air followed by unease.
The final tune was evoked, and with that, the songs of steel undertook a new turn.
He attacked desperately with an overhead slash but was met with an upward slash that negated the force behind the swing and Daemon using the strength from his slightly robust build parried it to the side, removing one of his hands to punch Loras on the liver making him freeze for a second enough time for him to follow with his own overhead slash that he hurriedly made a block to.
But the force behind it…was simply too much for the Red Rose.
The force of the blow knocked the badly positioned knight to the floor but his hand was still holding his sword and would accommodate a new hold to thrust it but-
The crowd would quiet down as a foot was placed firmly on his wrist.
A sword was placed at his neck—the shade was placed over Loras's form as the sun was…dark.
"Y-..Yield." Daemon said through tired breaths.
Loras exhaled and inhaled sporadically before raising his other hand to remove his helm revealing his handsome visage that was stained by a busted lip.
"...I yield…well fought…Ser." Loras said tiredly, narrowing his eyes in pain.
"Well…fought and I'm no Ser," Daemon said the latter quietly before removing his foot and putting a hand out to pick up Loras.
Loras accepted the hand sheathing his sword and sighing in tiredness while looking at the green eyes of Daemon.
"I hope you win this thing…I hope the person who bested me wins this thing." Loras replied with a smile.
"That's hope talking; The Mountain is still competing, I believe—I won't be too complacent, Ser Loras, but I have to go now. The tourney never ends." Daemon remarked
"That it doesn't say farewell, Ser Daemon." He replied before leaving the pit.
Daemon watched him leave smiling, but that was cut short when pain flooded his body with each step he took. Although he had won, he was still damaged, so now he had to play the rest of this tourney safely.
He started to walk, but with each step he took, he felt a sting on his side—his first wound that was inflicted on him in the melee wasn't deep, but he would make that old fart named Pycelle clean it so it doesn't fester to anything worse.
"The things I do for my desires." He muttered to himself before halting.
"I don't need to seek out an opponent. I could use this time for a breather and to slow my breathing." Daemon said softly, using his sword as a crutch to survey the area. Surprisingly enough, the knights around were shortened drastically than before, with only 15 knights available.
"How long were I and Loras fighting? I swear the number was higher? But, this is good—fewer opponents for me." The Black-haired male replied.
He began to survey the other battles as a group of knights were teaming up on the mountain and was holding their own for a good bit Lyn Cobray seemed to be fatigued holding his own against 2 knights while the 2 Royce's dwindled down to just 1 and he was within the group fighting the Mountain.
"The Mountain who rides…Monster amongst men with the strength to crush a melon with one hand and Lyn Cobray—the man who killed Prince Lewyn Martell…Banes of Dorne, I might say, but…they are men, and all men suffer from fatigue." He said to himself.
He was aspiring to be knighted today, and to do that; he needed to use his head and not rush in blindly like a fool after a long fight like most idiots do. Daemon stared at his hand that previously touched the wound; seeing the blood on his fingers and looking at them for a good second, he sighed as if this was the price of his selfishness.
"Uncle Tyrion isn't going to like this—neither father after the melee ends…probably going to be berated but it would be worth it…and I still have the Arbor Gold in my room to dull my wits and keep my mind away from the pain." He continued before laughing.
He looked around the area moving slowly towards a random shield on the ground. He stared at the shield that was plain without a sigil on it causing his eyes to glimmer in relief before picking up the weapon and fasting it on his left hand.
'Not planning on fighting those two without a shield—I'm not mad.' He thought.
He then positioned himself to oversee the fights as the Mountain seemed to start picking off the other knights using his brute strength, shattering swords or denting in heads with the flat side of its greatsword.
Lyn Cobray with Lady Forlorn easily cut through the castle forged steel of the knights and force them to yield under his swordsmanship and might of his Valyrian steel sword.
"Numbers are dwindling…around 8 knights left." He said to himself watching the numbers slowly dwindle and energy slowly leaving their bodies.
'I'll watch and attack when the time is right.' He thought.
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(Moment's Prior - Scene Change)
"L-Loras lost?" Renly said in disbelief something that wasn't lost on only him as a majority of the women and houses from the Reach and Crownlands stared in shock as a Mystery Knight bested one of the most renown knight's from Highgarden in a duel that even the most blind would cherish to memory.
"That he did Lord Renly, I do hope you would follow our deal." Baelish replied in a sly tone, his smirk still being kept on his face.
"I will—worry not for I am a man of my word but this is…unbelievable if I didn't see with my own eyes." He stated In shock but quickly snapped out of it before narrowing his eyes at the Master Of Coin before asking.
"Do you know who that Mystery Knight is?" He asked inquisitively.
"Maybe I do, maybe I don't—I am but a humble servant of your brother Lord Renly." Baelish replied.
His expression and tone infuriated Renly but he hid it expertly. The man truly didn't let anything on but he assumed he truly did know as he came with him with the proposal so why wouldn't know who's under the helm?
"It's as you say Lord Baelish—but I'll be keeping an eye on this Mystery Knight." He replied.
Baelish didn't respond as quickly, only smirked before facing the pit watching the Mountain defeat all that opposed him so far.
"Do as you wish, Lord Renly." He stated.
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….Chapter End