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"Rides the high that tears him down

Hates himself and loves the crowd

The king of fools a heavy crown

He didn't know he almost drowned."

Someone That I Used to Know

Zac Brown Band

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Chapter VIII - Clash of Kings

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Allie and I were making casual conversation, on our way to wish the competitors in the barn luck before the tournament started at noon. Before we could Lucy came around the corner, we met her with smiles but they weren't returned as usual.

"I don't get him!" Lucy stomps passed us, kicking up dirt.

"Who?!" Allie and I ask at the same time,

"Theodore!" Lucy grunted.

Allie and I gave each other a look, mutually agreeing to talk to Theo, hoping he might have more level head before chasing after Lucy.

We turned the corner. We both made eye contact with Edmund as we scanned the room. His greeting smile faded as he saw us beelining for Theo as he brushed his horse.

He met us with this signature smirk, "Morning Miladies"

"What'd you do to Lucy?" Allie questions right away. I deeply appreciate our collective idea of small talk, a total waste of time.

"What do you mean?"

"You broke her." Allie accuses him with a dramatic pout.

Theo scoffs, "I have no idea what you guys are talking about, I just talked to her."

"What did you talk about?" I question seriously.

"Do you two have a reason for being a little crazy right now or do I need to check the water supply?" Theo jokes.

"Too soon, kid," I say flatly.

"Oh, sorry." Theo corrected himself, remembering the events of two nights ago.

I return to the topic, "Just answer the question."

"I don't know..." He started pretending like he didn't remember a conversation from literally twenty seconds ago. "The usual pleasantries that you two forgot, the weather for the tournament, she asked what color I was placed under, which I forgot, then she wished me luck and-"

"Wait! She asked you what color you were assigned?" Allie asked, practically jumping on him.

Theo brushed it off, feeding his horse an apple, "Yeah, why? Does it matter?"

"Traditionally in a jousting tournament, supporters will wear the colors of the person they hope to rain victorious," Allie explains, nearly shaking the boy.

Theo stood still for a second, processing, "Shit."

I couldn't help but laugh at his wide eyes. "I've been on the road with a bunch of men for two years, and I even knew that.

"I- I gotta go," Theo said, dropping his brush and running after Lucy.

"Ya think?" Allie commented, her Loxley accent sounding more apparent.

"Men." I roll my eyes.

"You would think because of my brothers I might expect their stupidity but they never fail to surprise me."

We both chuckle, as we look at the other contestants. One hothead had the ego to look at Allie and I like their next challenge, which I angrily answered by spooking his horse into knocking him down. Allie was startled for a second, curious about whether that was a coincidence or not, but she peered at my hands, checking for any sign of magic. Sometimes, I swear she forgets about the sorcery in my veins. This is a possible reason why I caught a liking to her quickly. She treats me like I'm something to be cautious of. Everyone in court must think I'm going to explode at any minute with just one move.

"What color did you come here to find?" I ask, nudging my shoulder, "Possibly a Kings?"

Allie rolled her eyes, "My life does not revolve around the King. Family first. My brother is sporting, in his words, a 'very manly purple'."

"And thank Aslan for that. The amount of every bachelorette in the kingdom will be wearing either green for Edmund or Red for Peter. It's going to look like Christmas threw up all over the place."

"What color would you be wearing today? Theo's Navy Blue or Christmas colors?"

"Green," I answered, relenting to matching with a bunch of giggly girls that will make dreamy eyes at Ed all day without paying attention to the sport. "I joked with Ed about wearing the neutral white to avoid any signs of favoritism and he told me he would find green paint to throw at me."

Allie appreciated my humor more than Ed. We made our way around to the competitor, nicely wishing them the best of luck, giving me a chance to size up all the competition. Edmund who still had room to grow in his jousting uniform but with his experience had a decent chance. Participants would be wrong to underestimate his skill set.

Allie and I parted ways, as snuck around a dark corner to meet Ben who was accompanied by a few other acquaintances from around the castle. They stiffened when they saw me, hiding their sacks of coins used for betting.

"MiLady..." One of the older boys stumbled, trying to come up with an excuse for their gambling.

I looked at the sheet in front of them. A simple list of names with another name listed next to it. I noticed Ben's name next to Theo's and smirked, "Theo is small and nibble. A decent bet."

"So you'll be placing your bet on him too." Ben assumed.

Eyes widened around me, surprised I didn't come here to bust up their little party. Not all old habits die.

"Oh no, Edmund all the way," I place my bet, solidifying it with a bag of coins on the table. A few relieved cheers from my fellow supporters of the king in green arouse as I turned, leaving the stable.

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Susan surprisingly went against tradition, wearing both green and red to support two opponents. But of course, no one felt the need to correct the queen. Venus successfully snuck a navy blue ribbon into my hair. She had an obsessiveness to even the smallest detail, which I admired greatly.

After the long day for the children yesterday, the jousting event was strictly for adults. The mix of alcohol, heavy celebrations and the occasional aggressive injury that occurred was not for the eyes of the innocent minds of the children. On the other hand, the adults loved this kind of party. Friendly competition and a way of bringing people together.

I found a seat next to Lucy where Ben joined us as the time the start grew closer. I quickly explained the rules to her since this was her first tournament due to her age. The objective of the game was to break the opponent's shield or jousting armor if possible or unhorsing him. Whoever managed to succeed at this first moved onto the next round.

The first few matches went by slowly, no big competitions were held this early. The stronger fighters would prevail usually in the first run and move onto the next round without problem, but as they weeded out the weak links for the better part of the afternoon, we began to see possibilities for potential interesting matches. The most anticipated match was between the two kings, since this would be the first time they would not be battling at each other's sides. The tournament was set up so that the Kings would not go against each other unless they made their way across the bracket to the top for the finale.

Lucy jumped next to me every time one of her brothers started running their horse's full speed at another person, only to have a breath of relief seconds later when they won in one swoop.

The challenges started getting harder. One by one the stronger competitors were matched with someone of equal strength. Mason was paired against a soon to be lord from Glasswater Creek, which is south of the Cair Paravel. The two made for a great battle, going back and forth multiple times until unfortunately Mason's shield was breached. He shook the victor's hand as a sign of respect but said nothing else, going to meet his sister at the other end of the crowd.

That left the final four in the tournament, the soon to be lord, Edmund, Theo, and Peter.

The first in the semifinals to face off was Mr. Glasswater Creek and Edmund. Based on size the two, they appeared to be an equal match with armor on. I held onto my hope for Ed, hoping he would win. They ran two rounds without any signs of breakage, and because I couldn't hide the exciting stress building in my stomach, I cheered loudly for Ed, something frowned upon by the nobles. How boring it must be to live within a code of sophistication your whole life. Ben soon joined in and Lucy even hollered once or twice before Susan chastised her.

Edmund looked over at us through his helmet, and I'm sure there was a smile under the metal that protected his face.

Edmund pets his horse caringly, settling him before the next run. Edmund readjusted his lance and began his run, which would be his final. His lance tore through the right part of his opponent's chest plate, solidifying his spot in the final duel. Ben and I cheered loudly, congratulating Edmund from the stands.

Edmund took his helmet off with a great smile on his face along with trickles of sweat. He came over to Lucy, whipping his wet curls towards her, making little beads of sweat fall on her.

"Edmund! You are vile." Lucy squealed.

He looked at me next, setting his sights on his next target.

I glared at him seriously, "It would be a shame for all these people to watch you wrestle and lose to a girl in a dress."

"That sounds like a challenge for someone that hasn't been training."

"All your 'training' hours conveniently take place in the woods. After counsel hours are finished for the day and a certain lady is free for the time. I can't be sure if that is truly battle training."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Edmund stated, acting coy.

Edmund turned to the match, watching Theo and Peter mount up onto their houses, "Who do you want to win?"

"I can't pick between these two. Theo I will always see as a little boy with too much heart to handle and Peter is my king."

"Is that the only reason you can't choose, Peter?"

I expected a teasing manner to come from Edmund about the subject, but he seemed serious, curious about how I would answer.

"It's the only reason that should matter now, right?" I asked him. As someone that has been there through every step of Peter and I's complicated mess, I truly wanted to know if I was doing the right thing. It didn't feel right to my heart, but my head told me it was the best thing for the world.

With thunderous noise, the metal of the jousting equipment clashed together, breaking our conversation. The games began and my interest was fully obtained by hopefully the other time these two would be on opposing sides of a battle. I didn't know who to cheer for so I clapped with excitement after each run left the other unscathed. That was until a run proceeded that left neither unharmed. In an effort to dismount the other, both Peter and Theo fell from their horses. Peter landed flat on his back and Theo's horse took a nasty trip, causing the horse to take a tumble which Theo tried to lessen the impact by rolling but was not so lucky. The crowd screamed for both, terrified for their competitors.

Both grunted and in a second, Ben and I had already silently communicated for him to check on Theo while I made sure Peter was okay. This is one of those moments that my mother's teachings made me feel the worst when I discovered I needed the experience to help. All the medical skills I learned came from my need to take care of myself and Ben learned in the same way.

The crowd tried to grow closer for any indication on the condition of Peter and Theo as I took off Peter's helmet. His hands cradled his lower ribs. I pulled his arm out of the way as people offered help in any way they could.

"What's the damage, Doc?" Peter questioned, in between grunt of pain.

My eyes flashed up to his, abandoning the minor damage on his chest and tilting his head back and forth in search of a visible damage

"King Peter, do you know my name?" I said respectively, trying to keep emotion out of my voice with the surrounding numbers of people.

I didn't see him hit his head on the ground, but that doesn't mean I didn't miss an impact. The surrounding voices stopped in fear that their king had brain damage.

"Ashton, Prodigy, human weather machine."

I slapped his leg, where I know it didn't hurt. "This is not the time for jokes, Pevensie."

He laughed at himself which ended abruptly as he clenched his side again. I leaned over, inspecting the injury under his armor and shirt.

"There's no visible damage at the moment. But it seems like severely bruised or cracked lower two ribs." I called out loud enough for Ben to hear. By this time actual apothecaries and trainers had been located and they knelt by Peter and Theo.

"The horse, Ayla, seemed to take most of the damage, most likely a break of the front left leg along with a possible radial carpal tear. I'm afraid this will be her last ride for a while." Ben yelled over. Theo held the horses head in his lap, stroking his mane for comfort. "Theo faces a possible mild concussion.

The trainer looked between us. "This should end today's tournament. Theo's left without a steed and Peter could cause greater damage to himself." He suggests wrapping a temporary cast on the horse's leg so that he could be moved for in-depth evaluation.

"I'm sorry, Theo," Ayla muttered.

"The only thing you should worry about at the moment is fixing this leg." He kindly told her.

She nodded. Agreeing as she tried to limp to the medical tent away from the tournament grounds.

Peter and Theo stood, preparing to shake hands, which would solidify Theo's forfeit after losing his much-needed teammate.

"Wait." Ben stopped the two, "I can race in Ayla's place."

Shock arose all around. Only centaurs and horses had ever acted as steeds in tournaments. Benvolio would be the first polar bear, or any bear, to compete in jousting.

"If Theo is up for it, I see no problem," Peter commented, with a slight smile as he caught my eye.

Theo matched his smirk, turning to Ben, "How fast can you gain armor?"

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After an intermission of about thirty minutes, both parties were suited up and preparing to run again. My head shifted back and forth, praying that the game starts back up soon before I screamed in impatience. Lucy's leg bounced next to me, filled with nerves. Seeing her brother and a boy she cares much for, drop to the ground in the first rounds did not do well for her worrisome brain. She grabbed my hand, holding onto it as an attempt to calm herself as the boys began round two.

The first run was safe, both sides focusing on defense to avoid the same mistakes of last time. Ben adapted, learned from the first run and picked up his pace in the second one, making the clash of metal louder as they converged in the middle. In the third pass, Ben lowered his run, at the last second, bending in a way horses and centaurs we incapable of. Opening a position for Theo to jab peter from a lower angle. Damaging Peters, chest plate. Peter was lucky it was on the opposite side of his injury but it certainly did not feel good along with the taste of defeat.

Ben and Theo cheered in celebration for their victory. Jumping around like children, I laughed as they had to try to hide their excitement as they shook Peter's hand to show good sportsmanship. They returned to gasping about the event as soon as they left their general area.

The two victors sobered up from their joy when they saw Edmund preparing his horse. They had won the battle, but not the war. They had to defeat Edmund to be the true, sole champions.

Ben and Theo's game faces came back on, lining up for the final stretch. By now, my screaming for my favorite people was surely going to give me a sore throat tomorrow. I wanted both of them two win. To pick between Ben and Theo or Edmund was impossible.

They started running towards each other and I held my breath, waiting for impact. The crashing was loud. The whole crowd dropped to silence, trying to see who won the final battle. Edmund emerged from the chaos without a scratch on her armor. Theo and Ben started shouting obnoxiously. In Edmund's hand, held his lance, or what was left of his lance. Theo tackled Ben into a hug. The official victors of the 3rd jousting tournament were the underdogs, defeating both kings.

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This chapter ended up being like fourteen pages so I divided it in two and the next part should come within the next day or two.

How are you guys liking it? 

Mayhem is about to hit 100k and P&P is about to hit 70k. i don't know how to function. i never could have imagined that would actually happen one day. idont know how it makes sense but thanks my friends.