Baelon The Cruel And His Queen Of Love And Beauty || ASOIAF

Chapter Five

Baelon's eyes drifted across the jousting field, his expression filled with boredom and mild irritation. He occupied a lofty position in the grandstand, flanked by his family members. Unfortunately, he was seated next to Viserys, a fact that vexed him to no end.

Turning his gaze to his left, Baelon's eyes fell upon Elia and her husband, Rhaegar's face radiating a sense of anticipation. Their spawn, the young Rhaenys, perched on her father's lap, her eyes wide with gleeful excitement as she watched the joust unfold.

With an exasperated sigh, Baelon averted his eyes, his annoyance etched across his features. Beside him, Viserys erupted into cheers for one of the hedge knights, his fervor undeniable. Their mother, who sat to the other side of him, was quiet and looked down on the tourney with little interest.

Seated in the center of the grandstand, Aerys was enthralled by the scenes before him, just like Viserys was.

So much like a child sometimes, he shook his head in disbelief.

As the joust continued with knights clashing in fierce competition, Baelon's boredom grew, so he took it upon himself to bother Viserys, mostly for his own amusement. He knew it was wrong and immature to tease his six-year-old brother, but his innocent curiosity was too tempting a target.

Two new knights came out on their horses as a fallen knight was being carried off. When the field was empty, the two men screamed as they bucked their horses and charged at one another.

Baelon leaned toward Viserys and whispered, "It seems these knights believe the louder they charge, the better they'll joust. A true display of honor and chivalry, I'm sure,"

Baelon continued, "Some of these knights appear to think that clattering their armor and shouting loudly is the true path to glory. Perhaps they are hoping to scare their opponents away. Only fool's make that much noise when fighting,"

"I watched Rhaegar practice his sword work with Ser Arthur once, he screamed a lot," Viserys said, "Does that mean he's a fool?"

Baelon smiled at his brother and lifted an eyebrow, "What do you think?"

Viserys turned his gaze towards his left, where Rhaegar sat, his daughter pulling on his hair. His younger brother turned back to him with little emotion and said "He's a fool,"

He only shrugged in response.

As a particularly flamboyant knight entered the field, with his armor adorned in extravagant colors, Baelon couldn't resist a jab. "Ah, it appears we have a peacock in the jousting arena today. Let's see if his plumage can protect him from a lance,"

Viserys couldn't help but giggle. He leaned closer, whispered "Do you think he'll win, brother?"

Baelon replied with a grin, "Maybe,"

The tournament persisted, although it proved to be even more boring than Rhaegar himself. He was on the verge of dozing off, and it just so happened that he glanced in Elia's direction. Their eyes briefly connected, a smile graced Elia's youthful face before she returned her focus to Rhaenys, who was still tugging at her father's silver locks.

"Rhaenys, please stop that," Elia silently mouthed the words as she gently pried her daughter's chubby hands from Rhaegar's hair.

Baelon couldn't help but stifle a quiet chuckle, disguising it with a cough that caught Viserys' attention. Viserys turned to him with an irritated look. "Are you okay?" he inquired with annoyance, clearly vexed by Baelon's fake cough.

Baelon responded with an exaggerated smile, to which Viserys simply rolled his eyes.

Baelon couldn't help but release a heavy sigh, wondering why he had even bothered to attend this event.