The tourney grounds were located at the last gate of the Threefold Gate. The area and its vicinity had been cleared, and wooden stands had been erected.
Many landed knights in various armors and their squires had pitched tents nearby.
Tents and banners of all shapes and sizes undulated like waves.
Outnumbering the knights were merchants and vendors setting up stalls, several troupes of performers, whores, cutpurses, and crowds of onlookers.
Arthur occasionally spotted foreigners: Tyroshi with hair dyed in bright colors, and dark-skinned Summer Islanders.
"My Lord, the tourney events include archery, the melee, and the joust." Jimmy Sunderland, who had arrived at the grounds ahead of him, explained in his ear.
"Archery and the melee are the same as usual, but the rules for the joust are different from traditional tourneys."
"Different how?" Arthur bought several servings of honey-roasted sausages with garlic and dragon peppers from a Tyroshi vendor, along with some brandy supposedly made from pears.
"Prince Doran is holding this tourney to celebrate Princess Arianne's twentieth name day.
"According to tradition, Princess Arianne will sit beside him as the Queen of Love and Beauty. Five champions, having accepted her tokens, will defend her honor.
"Everyone else is a challenger. Defeating any champion allows you to take their place until defeated by another challenger.
"The joust will last for three days. The final five knights will decide whether to let the Princess keep the crown of the Queen of Love and Beauty or give it to another woman."
"Huh?" Arthur paused, stunned.
In his impression, wasn't there supposed to be only one champion in a joust, who would then decide the Queen of Love and Beauty and could also make a not-too-excessive request?
"Can the final five champions make a request to the Prince?"
Jimmy took the Tyroshi honey-roasted sausage Arthur handed him. "Probably not, My Lord."
Great. That plan's down the drain.
Chewing on the sausage, Arthur felt his goal of being knighted by the Red Viper drifting further and further away.
Tasting the complex and strange mix of honey, garlic, and peppers in his mouth, Arthur decided to stop thinking about it. Do your best and leave the rest to fate. It was his first formal joust; whether he could win a championship spot was still up in the air.
Just then, Edric ran over. "Cousin, I've already signed you up for the joust."
Beside Edric, apart from the ever-present Wick and Vic, was a knight Arthur didn't recognize, though his breastplate bore the sigil of House Dayne.
The knight was handsome, with a clean-shaven chin dominated by a prominent aquiline nose, high cheekbones, and a strong jaw.
He had thick silver hair with a streak of black running through it.
Sensing Arthur's questioning gaze, the knight spoke. "I am of a cadet branch of House Dayne, Ser Gerold Dayne of High Hermitage. I have been staying in Sunspear recently. People here call me Darkstar."
Darkstar.
In the original books, it was he who swung his sword at Princess Myrcella, who was fostered in Dorne as a hostage.
If her horse hadn't shied away from Darkstar's horse at the last moment, he would have cleaved the girl's head in two.
In the end, his sword slashed Myrcella's cheek to the bone and sliced off her right ear.
Arthur asked calmly, "Ser Gerold, what is Viscount Dimitri to you?"
"My elder brother." Gerold tucked his helmet under his arm, sizing Arthur up as well. "I regret that I could not come to fight alongside you when House Dayne was in danger."
"I heard you passed through High Hermitage on your way here. Did my brother have any message for me?"
"No." Arthur had indeed rested at High Hermitage for a few days on his way to Sunspear, but Viscount Dimitri had never mentioned Darkstar.
"My brother only remembers Ser Arthur Dayne. Since we were children," Gerold complained. "My house goes back ten thousand years, to the dawn of days."
"Yet whether it's my brother or anyone else, they only remember Ser Arthur Dayne."
Jimmy interjected, "He was a great knight."
Gerold was dismissive. "He had a great sword."
Jimmy wouldn't allow anyone to slander his idol. "And a great heart."
"You see? He's been dead for over a decade, and people still can't forget him." Gerold shook his head and looked at Arthur.
"Dawn belongs to the Sword of the Morning, but Darkstar is destined for the night."
Saying this, he took out a waterskin and took several gulps. Arthur thought he was drinking wine.
But the scent wafting from the skin wasn't alcohol; it was lemon.
Gerold wiped the water from the corner of his mouth. "Unsweetened lemon water. Want a sip?"
Seeing everyone shake their heads, Gerold put away the waterskin and pointed at the brandy in Arthur's hand. "Best not to drink before a joust. Though, I personally never liked the taste of alcohol."
Before leaving, Gerold added politely, "May the gods bless you to achieve the results and honor you desire in this tourney."
Scanning the grounds, Arthur saw many other knights seriously preparing.
Aside from some landed knights from House Fowler and House Dayne who had traveled with them, Arthur recognized very few.
Some were pacing out the dimensions of the lists, some carefully observing others' practice habits, and some were shooing away their squires to tend to their horses personally.
"The tourney is still seven days away. They are so serious." Edric clicked his tongue, his round face flushed with excitement. "But I love this atmosphere."
Arthur felt these knights were trying a bit too hard.
But they had to. In the joust, besides gaining honor...
The loser's weapons, armor, and mount belonged to the winner and had to be ransomed.
This ransom might mean little to the great lords, but for landed knights, sworn swords, and hedge knights, it was a significant sum.
So these knights took every tourney very seriously, unwilling to leave any opening.
Weather, terrain, condition, opponents—every factor had to be considered.
Later, Edric and the others wanted to watch a troupe perform a play.
It was mostly shadow puppets and juggling, which Arthur wasn't very interested in. Seeing it was dusk, he warned them not to stay out too late and returned to his quarters in Sunspear.
---
One day, you will sit in my seat and rule Dorne.
Arianne Martell still remembered the feeling when she secretly read the letter her father, Prince Doran, wrote to her brother Quentyn, far away in Yronwood.
First, it was like falling into an ice cave, followed by a blazing fury.
She didn't understand what she had done to incur her father's disgust so deeply that he resolved to strip her of her birthright.
Perhaps from the day Quentyn was born?
Or from the day she was born?
Splash—
Lost in thought, she heard someone entering the pool beside her, followed by Tyene Sand's sweet voice ringing in her ear.
"Nym, why didn't the Fowler twins come with you?"
"The Old Hawk wouldn't let them come to Sunspear." Lady Nym placed a tray on the edge of the pool. On it were a flagon of wine and several glass goblets.
"The reason... probably because I'm too close to them."
"What a pity." Tyene's face wore an expression as innocent as a septa's.
"Back in the pools of the Water Gardens, I used to ride on Jeyne's shoulders... or maybe Jennelyn's. I can never tell them apart."
"When I rode on them, no one could beat us. Not even you and that purple-haired girl."
"Purple hair?" Lady Nym sat on the edge of the pool, recalling for a moment before raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, the Archon of Tyrosh's daughter? How do I recall that you were the ones who couldn't beat us?"
Tyene didn't speak but lunged at Lady Nym, dragging her into the pool.
Water splashed everywhere as the sisters frolicked in the pool.
When the sisters stopped playing, Arianne wiped the water from her face. "Nym, does that mean you traveled all this way with an old man?"
Lady Nym broke free from Tyene's grasp and climbed out of the pool. She lifted the flagon and poured three cups in a row. "Of course not. I found myself a companion. A bastard."
"Oh? A Sand?" Arianne raised an eyebrow. "But I don't recall the Old Hawk having any bastards."
Lady Nym sat back on the edge of the pool and sipped her wine. "Not Sand. Snow."
"Snow. That's a Northern bastard name." Tyene's face flushed with curiosity. "Nym, what do Northerners taste like?"
Lady Nym didn't answer, just drank.
"Do you mean Arthur Snow?" Arianne swam to Lady Nym's side.
"The Snow you mentioned in your letter, who led Starfall's army to quell the Red Mountain wildling invasion and the Vulture King's rebellion?"
Lady Nym handed a cup of wine to Arianne. "Yes. He carries a lot of weight in Starfall now. Even the little Lord Edric has become his page."
Arianne took the cup, her eyes lighting up. To secure her inheritance, she understood she needed the support of Dorne's major nobles.
Only then would her indecisive father, Prince Doran, dare not move against her lightly.
In Dorne, the noble houses far from Sunspear with enough weight and power to influence her father were few. The ancient and noble House Dayne was undoubtedly one of them.
Perhaps...
Stomp, stomp, stomp—
Rapid, forceful footsteps approached from outside, interrupting Arianne's thoughts.
Arianne could guess who it was just by the sound.
The eldest "Sand Snake," Obara Sand.
"Arianne." Before she even arrived, Obara announced upon entering:
"I intend to enter the joust as a mystery knight. Arianne, if you give me your token, I would be glad to defend your honor and knock all challengers off their horses."
Looking at Obara, who always walked in a hurry, Arianne had no doubt she could do it. Oberyn had given each of his daughters a weapon.
Obara had the spear and a fiery temper. Nymeria had beauty and diplomacy. Tyene had poison. Sarella had knowledge and a thirst for exploration.
And her father, Doran? He only gave her that letter and a string of suitors old enough to be her grandfather.
Walder Frey, Lord of the Crossing, who had four wives.
Ben Beesbury, eighty years old, blind, and toothless.
Eldon Estermont, King Robert's uncle.
Gyles Rosby, who coughed incessantly.
"Greybeard" Grandison, who was actually a whitebeard.
Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken! The more Arianne thought about it, the more furious she became. She drained the wine in her cup in one gulp.
"This wine?" Feeling the rich sweetness stimulate her taste buds, followed by the lingering scent of peaches after swallowing, Arianne felt much of her anger and frustration dissipate.
"I don't think I've ever tasted this wine. What is it called?"
"Amber Peach Nectar," Lady Nym smiled. "Newly produced in Arthur's fief. Said to be brewed from peaches and peach blossom honey."
Obara jumped into the pool and reminded her, "Arianne, you haven't answered me."
"Obara, I trust your ability, and I wish I could give you my token to defend my honor. But I can't." Arianne put down the cup and looked at her.
"The five champions who will defend my honor are all chosen by my father, Prince Doran. Just like the five ancient suitors he chose for me."
"Arianne, the gods let us choose our weapons." Obara looked at her with eyes containing a fire similar to her father Oberyn's.
"The day my father came to claim me, my mother didn't want me to go.
"'She's a girl,' she said. 'And I don't think she's yours. I've had a thousand men.'
"He said nothing, just threw his spear at my feet, then slapped my mother, making her cry.
"'Boy or girl, we fight our battles,' he said, 'but the gods let us choose our weapons.' He pointed to the spear, then to my mother's tears. I picked up the spear."
"I ask you, Arianne, do you choose the spear or the tears?"
Arianne shook her head. "I have no choice. My father isn't Oberyn. He gave me no choice."
"No, Doran isn't the gods." Lady Nym poured another cup for her. "No one can strip you of the right to choose freely!"
"House Martell's sigil is the spear piercing the sun. House Martell's words are Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken!" Arianne gripped the cup, scanning the three in the pool, and made up her mind.
"I have a plan to resist my father, Prince Doran. I need your help."
"I am always happy to help with your affairs."
Tyene, closest to her, sipped her Amber Peach Nectar at the pool's edge, revealing a sweet smile as she responded first.
Lady Nym and Obara exchanged a glance and nodded under Arianne's gaze.
---
When Arthur returned to his room, he found Lady Nym sitting in a chair with her eyes closed. She opened them only when she heard the door.
Lady Nym: "How did your business go?"
Arthur lit the candle stand nearby to brighten the room before speaking. "Not well. Your father obviously won't agree to knight someone he's meeting for the first time."
"Do you need my help?"
"Didn't you plan not to get involved?" Arthur was surprised. "To prevent our pure relationship from souring?"
Lady Nym pursed her lips. "I changed my mind."
"Oho." Arthur was intrigued and sat beside her. "I really want to hear what made you change your mind."
He had used every trick in the book on the journey just to get her to spill some information, but she had steadfastly refused to help him get knighted.
"Because of love."
"Love?"
Lady Nym: "If you slept with another woman, I would duel her with a dagger."
"Unless she was Arianne or another Sand Snake. In that case, I would share you with them, simply because I love them."
"That is why I changed my mind and am willing to help you."
What kind of wild talk is this?
Although Arthur had accepted Dorne's culture of passion and sexual freedom, he was still stunned by Nymeria's words.
But he understood Lady Nym's meaning. What changed her attitude and made her willing to help him must be one of the Sand Snakes or Arianne.
However, Arthur still had to maintain appearances. "Nym, what nonsense are you talking about?"
Lady Nym didn't speak, just looked at him with a smirk, the candlelight reflecting on her face in an indescribably ambiguous way.
Arthur coughed and said seriously, "Tell me. What do I need to do? What do you want to do?"
Lady Nym asked, "Did you sign up for the joust?"
After receiving Arthur's affirmative answer, Lady Nym said:
"Do you think you have a chance of winning against my father, Oberyn?"
"You want me to fight him?" Arthur didn't understand. "Never mind the odds, winning or losing doesn't seem appropriate, does it?"
If he won, he'd shame the Red Viper. Asking him to knight him afterward would be a slap in the face.
If he lost, he'd have even less face to ask for knighthood.
Lady Nym made a disgusted face. "Are you afraid of him?"
Arthur rolled his eyes. He didn't fall for goading. "After the journey, we know each other inside out. Don't you know what kind of person I am?"
"No one knows a father like his daughter. As long as you defeat my father, with our help, I guarantee he will knight you."
"What exactly are you plotting?" Arthur was unsure what this group of Dornish women were up to.
Isn't a daughter supposed to be her father's little padded jacket?