Ambers || Jacaerys Velaryon

7. Miara

chapter tw: larys strong (had to be said)

Words failed Miara, her mind too tangled in the confusion and urgency of the moment. She hoped the Thorne boy would stop, do something else, anything but this. Instead, he mounted his horse again, tampered lance in hand, and returned to the arena as if nothing had happened.

She was nearly upon him when a firm hand gripped her upper arm, pulling her back sharply.

"Miara, what are you doing down here?" Erryk's voice was laced with concern, his eyes wide with alarm. He seemed fine after his earlier fall, but Miara's panic spiked at the thought of what would happen to Arryk-- how Thorne was about to dishonorably dismount another Cargyll.

"The other boy, I saw him!" Miara struggles against Erryk's hold, desperate to pursue Thorne, but Erryk holds fast. The confusion and fear swirling in her mind made it impossible to explain, and she didn't think to make any harsh moves to free herself.

"Saw what?"

As Erryk asks that, the next pass begins. Within seconds, Arryk is violently thrown from his horse, Thorne's lance hammering into the center of his chest.

Erryk immediately releases Miara, shifting focus to his brother, who now lays flat on his back. His fall had been far worse than Erryk's earlier slip. Thorne had aimed to make a point with this attack, sending Arryk practically flying off his steed. The crowd gasped in sympathy; it was a brutal blow. Arryk took a moment to even move, finally raising his hand, a small but crucial sign that he was still conscious.

Brave, loyal, strong.

Harwin's words echo in Miara's mind. Had it been brave to let that boy take the field? Was it loyal to allow him to hurt Arryk? None of her actions felt worthy of being held to the same standard as Harwin Strong-- Breakbones himself, the strongest knight in all the realm.

Miara's thoughts spiral as she hears her own voice now, defiant and proud. Where's the glory in hiding? Well, where was the glory in allowing a coward to prosper?

The Thorne boy prances around on his horse, lance raised above his head like a trophy, declaring himself the ultimate champion. His arrogance mirrors Miara's earlier pride, the desperation to be seen as worthy, and in that moment, she finally realizes she wants no part of it. If that was how Harwin saw her, she resented it completely.

Erryk moves as if to step toward the field, to help Arryk, but stops when Miara yanks his helmet from his hand and hastily unpins the cloak from his shoulders. Without a word, she dons them, covering her yellow silks and different face.

"Miara!" Erryk whispers urgently, trying to pull her back, but she's already running into the open arena. He was smart enough not to chase after her, staying hidden behind nearby tents as Miara did something he had merely joked about.

She sprints across the field, snatching up Arryk's fallen lance as she charges forward. The crowd shouts warnings to Thorne, but Miara doesn't care for stealth anyway. He turns, raising his shield just as she levels the lance. Summoning all her strength, she drives it upward, splintering a cracked plank of his shield. Pain shoots through her arms from the force needed to break the redwood, but she doesn't relent.

The boy topples backward off his horse, grunting heavily as he goes. He releases his lance and shield, attempting to catch himself on the ground. He scrambles to stand after his shameful landing, raising his hands in a plea for mercy rather than challenge, but Miara wouldn't have any of it. Mercy had no place here anymore, and that was his own fault. 

She swiftly drops Arryk's lance in favor of Thorne's, as he no longer has any use for it, and nearly growls as she swings it across the side of his helm. The impact rang out with a sharp hum, metal against metal. The leather of the lance's sleeve was too thin to dull her heavy blow, and the ringing reverberated through the arena as the boy fell roughly again, this time tearing his helmet off with a groan of agony. Thin streams of blood trickled down his temple, his helm doing little to minimize Miara's attack, and the iron block attached to the lance adding force to her hit.