Ch. 4 - Thorns - cont.

Tobias
§

Ser Toby woke up to find that it had rained outside, muddying the pathways and probably the melee field as well. But the conditions didn't bother him so much as the knowledge that although this was supposed to be all in sport, Ser Ilyn Payne fully intended to kill him. Toby avoided the others somewhat as Corwin helped him get ready. Their anxiety over his safety was not exactly reassuring. He rode to the field and met with Orvus and Clay, and was introduced to the men who would fight alongside Payne. They were Ser Morveer Day and Ser Mangus Feist, and although he had not heard of them, he had no doubt that they were formidable opponents in their own right. The two groups stood across the field from one another, waiting. Then there was a trumpet blast that signalled the beginning of the match, and they moved in to do battle.

Toby knew he should probably coordinate with the others, but as the fight started, all he could think about was Payne's arrogant smirk. He yelled and charged the man, thinking only of his goal-- to see Payne downed, to protect the honor of the house he had grown up in. Payne was older, though, and a more experienced fighter. Though Toby's first blow struck true, it didn't do the crippling damage he had hoped, and now Payne had a chance to retaliate. And Ser Day was moving in behind him to strike as well. He could see, out of the corner of his eyes, his allies trying to catch up. Ser Orvus came up to take Day's attention off of Toby, and the two fought fiercely as Toby and Payne traded blows. Toby had come away bleeding a couple of times already, and it was dawning on him just how good with a sword Ser Payne clearly was.

Clay was held up by the large Ser Feist, who was armed with a battleaxe, and it was all he could do to stay on his feet. Everyone was hit, and the fight was getting plenty bloody, but nobody was ready to yield. Orvus managed to disentangle himself to come aid Toby in fighting Payne, which Toby would have been offended by at the beginning, but now he welcomed the aid. He struck at Payne again, and it was a successful blow, but his sword also hit the side of Payne's shield and stuck there. The momentary distraction was enough for Orvus to hit Payne in the side, where he'd been struck already, and the man crumpled, gasping out that he yielded. The trumpets sounded again, and Lord Tyrell called the victory for Toby's side.

That was nice, Toby thought, and he wasn't sure, as he collapsed, if the roar in his ears was the noise of the crowd or the rushing of his own blood.

Drezielle
§

Zel could hardly believe that Tobias still lived after the blows he had taken on the field. He was carried off bloody, but still breathing, and they hurried him back to the pavilion and settled him down. Toby was awake, but Zel suspected that was only because of the pain. Florie was in tears, but the girl knew well enough to stay out of the maester's way while he worked at bandaging wounds and applying poultices. Partway through the rest of their morning, a messenger in Highgarden colors arrived and said he carried a message from Mikel Mynot, asking if, because of the gravity of his injuries, Ser Toby would forfeit the joust at no loss to his honor. Before Zel and Florie could make an answer that wasn't likely to get Toby killed,Toby pushed himself up a bit more with a little groan, and announced his intent to go to the joust in the morning. The messenger bowed, left, and Zel wondered if the knight had survived today only to be killed on the morrow.

It was quiet in the tent for a while, then Florie, who had been pacing, strode up to Zel and begged her to come shopping with her. Zel was a little bewildered by the request, but she agreed to go along, and Florie explained as they walked that she wanted to buy Toby a new shield, since his was now rendered useless. Zel cheered a bit at that, since they would be shopping for things she was more accustomed to, rather than dresses and bows. She needed to pick up her own armor in any case, since it should be ready.

The new armor fit well, and Zel was pleased with the work. It helped her hide her gender even more, which was something she desperately wanted right now. Florie, it was clear, needed to be guided in her purchasing. She was easily drawn to pretty tents with big, colorful signs, and though she could tell the general quality of a shield, it was clear she was out of her depth when it came to shopping for such. Zel talked her down from a couple of purchases, and found her a less flashy area with solid, less expensive shields. She then guided the other young woman through the selection process, and found a shield that had been marked down because the knots in the wood it was made of prevented it from holding paint very well. It would be fine to give to Toby for the time being. He would just need it long enough to protect them on their trip back home, if he survived long enough to hold it.

They arrived back at the Felsward pavilion just as another Highgarden messenger showed up, saying they were cordially invited to celebrate their victory tonight inside the castle. Zel thought that surely they would make excuses, but Florie thanked the man for the invitation and asked Cyril to rouse Jonys. When Zel asked her, Florie said simply that it would be an insult not to go, and it would look very bad for their household. More insanity, Zel thought. She would never understand the nobles.

Florie
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Anxious as Florie was about Toby, it was harder to be excited about going to a party at Highgarden. Still the decorations were beautiful, and there were candles everywhere, and branches with sweet-smelling flowers hung around. A thread of envy worked its way through her, too. She had always done her best to make Blackbane a place where finer things would not be out of place, but even at its finest, her home would look like a joke compared to this. Then there was the little stirring inside of her, the voice that whispered this place did not even really belong to the Tyrells. She tried to ignore that voice as she made her way through the crowd on her brother's arm, with Cyril and Zel following behind. They began to make their pleasantries, and Jonys started eyeing a buxom Dornish woman with flowing black hair and an outfit that Florie personally thought was tasteless. He was halfway over to the lady when Florie saw Lysette nearby, and she grabbed Jonys's arm and hissed that he had better greet his lady before anyone else.

Lysette was ecstatic to see her husband-to-be, and Florie shooed them off to dance. Cyril and Zel were already firmly ensconced at the table with their food, and Florie didn't blame them. She sipped wine and then wandered over to be asked to dance, and to watch Jonys. He seemed to be handling himself well, so when a man with golden hair and green-gold eyes asked her to dance, she smiled prettily and accepted. He was tall, handsome, and a good dancer besides, but what had Florie intrigued was that as they danced, he shared little bits of gossip and biting little remarks about the other guests in attendance. It had been a while since Florie had been able to share a bit of cattiness like this with someone, and she was laughing at the end. She stepped off to the side with him and at last he introduced himself as Tywin Lannister. Florie managed to smile, but she could barely breathe for shock. She had known the Lannisters were in attendance, of course, but it was another thing entirely to be dancing and flirting with one-- and not just any family member, but Tywin himself.

After this, though, the conversation turned a little strange. Tywin's biting remarks didn't spare the Felsward house, Florie found, and she defended her family's pride the best she could, given their recent misfortune. This particular flirtation, she could see, was dangerous. And she couldn't help thinking of Ser Tobias, wounded back at their pavilion, and the look he would probably be giving her if he were present. Florie politely extracted herself, wishing she knew more about the Lannisters themselves. She barely had time to catch Jonys as he wandered towards the Dornish woman again, and she dragged him back to toast their house, and to flirt with his lady some more.

Cyril
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Cyril awoke early in the morning to tend to the sick and injured in the Felsward pavilion. When he had originally recieved notice of his post, he had wondered how busy he would be with such a small family. Now, wondering at that was laughable. When he had made his rounds, he took out the single vial he had reserved of his energy-giving potion. Florie had asked if he could make it new, and he said he could, but this would be much simpler, and nobody needed to know he had kept it. Cyril was shrewd enough to know when to hedge his bets, certainly. Florie had fretted the night before about Toby, about whether it was even safe to give him the potion, but it was clear that the knight would drag himself to the joust in any condition, or kill himself trying.

So Cyril dosed Tobias when he woke, and the improvement was quick. He had energy and liveliness, even though he'd seemed on death's door the day before. Corwin helped him get his armor on, and then handed Toby the new shielf. Toby blinked, and asked where it had come from. "Florie bought it for you," Cyril said, and a moment later, Toby bellowed for Florie. She came running, her hair halfway done, and her eyes wide. Right there, Toby grabbed her by the shoulders and kissed her, and then before she could respond, he jammed on his helmet and hurried away to ride to the field. Florie looked stunned for a moment, and then vanished back to her area. A little alarmed that Toby only had Corwin to monitor his behavior, Cyril hastened to ready himself enough to get to the field with Florie and Zel.

They went and sat anxiously in the stands. Zel kept muttering that Toby would get himself killed, and Cyril wasn't certain she was wrong. Florie just sat silently, her features pale. The first couple of matches went by, and then Toby appeared at one end of the field, and Mikel Mynot at the other. They charged, and when they met in the middle, Mynot's lance simply shattered on Toby's shield, and Toby's lance connected solidly. Mynot was unhorsed, against all odds. Now it would be over. Cyril started to stand, and then saw Toby get back in place to face a second challenger. The maester sat back down with a groan. This time, it was not so easy. Both men hit one another's shields and rocked in their saddles as their lances shattered, but neither fell. One final turn was called-- and if neither won, the match would be a draw. But on this last one, the other knight struck Toby hard and he fell from his horse. Cyril took off running to attend him. All they could do now was hope that this hadn't killed him.