After the round in which Jon had participated had been completed, they had all become consumed in their conversations and had been distracted from the Tourney going on, but now, with Margaery's exclamation, both of them hurriedly turned their heads back towards the grounds, as there were only two people who could make her react like this.
And sure enough, coming back to stand amongst the new line of participants in the lists was none other than Jon Snow, who looked as if he hadn't even gotten the chance to change out of his armour yet before being called back.
"Back-to-back entry," Olenna murmured with a frown on her face, "This is highly unusual... Remind me again, were the order of contestants chosen randomly or did someone make a list?"
"They claimed that it was all random," Willas answered instinctively, "But I guess we know now that it's not true..."
And he was not the only one thinking this, as many in the crowd, commoners and nobles alike, who had only just started to settle back into their seats after Jon's previous victory, perked up once again when they saw the young Northerner returning to the lists.
Murmurs filled the crowd as the nobles began speculating the reason, while the smallfolk were only too happy to have their favourite contestant come back again so soon...
"AND HERE HE COMES AGAIN!" the announcer bellowed. "Jon Snow returns to the lists! Does this man ever tire? It is almost as if he is telling every knight in the Seven Kingdoms that he is ready to win this tourney no matter who stands before him!"
"As if it were his choice," Margaery muttered with a small pout.
Even though she did not have an intimate understanding of the intricacies involved in a tournament such as this, she knew enough to know that someone hostile to Jon had likely arranged this.
It was common knowledge that both the third and the fourth round were set to be completed before sunset, so it was a given that every knight who won would be forced to compete again by the end of the day, so that it would leave exactly sixteen competitors for tomorrow's quarterfinals, and semifinals before the finals the day after.
But it was while keeping in mind that they were not supposed to happen consecutively. Any knight who rode in the morning would have hours for them and their horse to recover, his armour repaired, and bruises tended, before his second match was set to occur.
Being forced to ride again almost immediately was very unfair for the rider competing out there.
"Perhaps they thought he won too easily until now, and are just trying to make it a tad bit difficult to make it more interesting," Olenna said with an amused look on her face.
"Surely, no one would be so careless with it?" Willas said with an unsure look on his face, "Jon is not some nameless hedge knight. Half the realm is watching; whoever did this could find himself in a lot of trouble if the boy chooses to retaliate."
"The water here is too deep for that to be so simple, lad," Olenna said with a sideways glance at the royal pavilion, specifically at the golden-haired individuals sitting there elegantly. "Besides, what is the big deal. It is not as if he will lose just because he didn't get a little rest," she snorted as her eyes drifted towards the rider opposite Jon, "And his opponent doesn't seem too impressive either. Who is that again?"
"I think that is Ser Meryn Trant," Margaery answered, a hint of concern in her voice, "Is he any good brother?" she herself was not very sure of the capabilities of the fighters, and how exactly one was supposed to know who was a good rider, and who was bad one, but the reputation of the Kingsguard was there so he had to be competent, at the very least.
"Well, I haven't heard about his Tourney history before, so the best I can say is that he is better than Boros Blount(The man famously known for being the weakest Kingsguard) but not as good as the likes of Mandon Moore and Ser Arys Oakheart, who are well known to be good."
"That is good then," Margaery said with a sigh of relief.
As long as he was not one of those truly legendary knights like Ser Barristan, she did not think that he would lose.
Though she did not know why she had this confidence in him, after all, everything she knew about his prowess was what she had seen during this Tourney like the others, but for some reason, she just knew in her heart that he would not lose out here.
Certainly not to the likes of Meryn Trant.
"You seem to be awfully concerned about the boy?" Olenna asked with a raised eyebrow, "Was the boy so charming that he managed to fool you after just one outing?"
"Of course not," Margaery immediately straightened up, "How could that be? I am just worried that he would lose the chance to go to the finals because of someone's scheme," she answered with just a little fluster in her voice, that she quickly supressed with a cough, "That would unfair not only to him, but also people like Loras who are looking forward to facing him,"
"I see."
Olenna studied her granddaughter silently.
Just for a few seconds, but it felt like considerably longer for Margaery, and when she looked away, she released a breath that she didn't even realise that she was holding.
Wait! Why am I panicking?
I did nothing wrong. I-It's not as if I'm in love with him or anything, I just find him a little interesting... that's all.
Unfortunately, her mind was not helping her at the moment, as it unceremoniously brought out the fond memories of their little excursion.
They had spent the entire day wandering through the streets of King's Landing without any destination in mind. One road led to another, one market stall to the next.
They kept moving from morning to evening, and their conversations were never stifled or forced, especially with all the interesting stories that Jon carried in his mind after having travelled to many places.
For the first time in a long while, Margaery had felt so relaxed, where she didn't have to pretend so much, where she smiled genuinely instead of that mask that she had perfected so much that no one could tell her true emotions.
They had purchased many a clothes, sampled a variety of foods from street vendors and restaurants alike, and visited strange shops she never even knew existed.
And the most 'interesting' thing was that payment for all those activities came out of her own purse because when the time had come for them to pay, the boy had simply shrugged and said with a sheepish smile that he had forgotten to bring his purse.
Who even says that to a lady?
The memory of that still made her shake her head in disbelief, as she knew well that if it were any other man, they would have begged for money from the streets before letting a woman buy anything for him, 'It would be just too shameful for their pride.'
Had she not already known how absurdly wealthy he was, she might have taken him for a swindler.
Oddly enough, though, she had not minded that part at all.
In fact, she even felt it was a novel experience to be the one to foot the bill for a change.
But then, at the end of the day, he had gone ahead and gifted her a ridiculously beautiful necklace made out of clear sea pearls. It was undoubtedly worth a thousand times more than all the gold that she had spent that day combined.
The brat had kept her on her toes for the whole, and while his unpredictability had irritated her occasionally, she couldn't deny that it made him seem that much more approachable to her.
And her mind couldn't help but think of him again and again, and she longed to see him again, to talk with him, to share her thoughts, her dreams, her ambition, wanting to—
Shit! Maybe Grandmother was right! I really have been charmed by him on the first outing...
"Here they go," Willas muttered, and Margaery's attention snapped back towards the lists.
Jon sat comfortably astride his majestic white stallion, waiting in the middle lane amongst six other riders.
PLAAAATT
At the blast of the horn, the gates sprang open, and horses surged forward simultaneously.
And almost instantly, Jon's horse, Pegasus, showed off its power and pulled forward with ease, despite having competed just a short while ago, and showed no fatigue whatsoever.
With every powerful stride, the beast devoured the ground in front of him.
Closer and Closer...
Jon lowered his lance with a flawless posture
Back straight and shield steady.
If a master at arms wanted to demonstrate the perfect jousting posture to a new trainee, then this was precisely what he would have wanted to show.
Across the lists, Ser Meryn was only third of the way with his horse when he saw his opponent charging down at him.
The fierceness of the young lad flustered him for a moment, but he gritted his teeth and committed to the charge, and lowered his lance, but in front of his opponent's lance, his speartip may as well be a weak swaying leaf.
Everything seemed poised for another straightforward victory for the boy from the North.
But then at the last moment something strange happened...
Jon suddenly flinched and jerked his head to the side as if someone had called his name... the distraction lasted only a moment, and he immediately regained his concentration and hastily turned back to his opponent.
But the damage had already been done...
His lance went sideways, while Trant's lance smashed into Jon's shoulder and violently threw him sideways in the saddle.
"No!" Margaery gasped in horror, shooting to her feet, as she watched Jon almost fall off his horse.
Thankfully, though, he didn't fall off and managed to stay locked to the saddle.
And after a few seconds of peril where he was teetering by a single thread, Jon pulled his reins and used remarkable agility to recover back on his saddle.
"Is he going to be fine?" she asked out loud with an anxious look on her face, as she stayed still on his horse as if trying to catch his breath.
"He should be fine," Willas answered with a frown on his face, "The blow was only glancing, and his armour absorbed most of it, so the damage shouldn't be too much... but what happened out there? He looked distracted for a moment..." he murmured with a confused look.
"He is coming back," Olenna said softly, sounding impressed despite herself, as she watched the boy wheel around back into the line, and then, without stopping a single moment, he picked up a fresh lance from the waiting squire his brother had lent him, and launched forward once again, as if completely unfazed by the previous blow.
Unlike Jon, however, Meryn had been entirely too satisfied with his strike and already considered himself a winner, so he was a lot slower in his response.
And by the time he completed his turn and accepted a fresh lance from his squire, Jon had already built up considerable momentum.
Once again, the distance disappeared rapidly between them.
Once again, Jon reached the halfway point long before his opponent.
And this time there was no mistake, no distraction... and no miracle.
His lance struck true.
*SLAM!!*
The impact exploded against Trant's shield, and the Kingsguard knight was launched clean out of the saddle and crashed into the dirt with a spectacular lack of dignity.
"ROOOAAARRR!"
The crowd erupted in jubilation as if they had finally gotten their vindication.
"LOOK AT THAT, PEOPLE!" the announcer screamed. "It seems that the previous scare was nothing more than a momentary lapse! Jon Snow is still very much alive in this tourney!"
Jon once again completed a leisurely circuit of the grounds, taking in the crowd's cheers, before finally disappearing toward his tent.
Only when he was alone did Jon allow a pained grimace to cross his face as he rubbed at the shoulder that had taken the blow.
A few minutes later, Robb burst into the tent, only to find a familiar acolyte he had seen on Jon's ship rubbing a paste on Jon's shoulder.
The frown on his face relaxed a little when he saw the shoulder was only a little bruised and that there was no sign of skin breaking open. "What happened out there?" Robb finally asked with a raised eyebrow.
No one knew better than him how skilled his brother was, especially when he was using those secret techniques of his; there was little chance he would have made that elementary mistake against a fat, useless knight like Trant, if something hadn't gone terribly wrong.
"It's Arya," Jon sighed with a helpless smile on his face as he waved away the healer, "The girl got the whole family into deep trouble..."
"What?!"
///
You must know about the secret path to the future by now, so I do not think I need to say anything further...