"Your Grace, this..." Ser Davos was somewhat apprehensive.
"Don't be so formal. That's the king's command." Gendry laughed heartily.
They all began eating breakfast at the folding table beside the river. There was black bread, boiled goose eggs, peppered starfish, and fish fried with onions.
A little later, the morning mist dispersed. They spent a happy, pleasant morning together, temporarily putting the complicated war out of their minds.
The White Knights accompanied the king and queen into the tournament grounds. Today would decide the champion.
The call for the first match rang out, and the heralds blew their horns.
"First match: Storm Dragon King, His Grace King Gendry of House Liberator, against the Knight of Flowers, Ser Loras Tyrell of House Tyrell of the Reach."
The Knight of Flowers entered on an elegant white warhorse draped in ringmail.
Ser Loras looked unruffled, but inwardly he was extremely wary.
Loras had watched the king's matches. The king's speed, strength, and skill had all reached an inconceivable level, but Loras was proud and ambitious himself. He sought to create a miracle.
Gendry appeared on the field next, wearing black armor beneath a golden cloak.
After Gendry donned the Dragon Stag's Forked Helm, the leaping black stag and roaring red magic dragon each gazed imperiously in a different direction. The king resembled a giant standing on the battlefield.
"Long live Storm!"
"Loras!"
People began cheering for the two outstanding young men. Young though they were, both were exceptional in the lists.
Without Littlefinger, Renly, and Varys playing to the crowd, the ministers now seemed more elegant, but also more staid.
Loras looked at Gendry with a little jealousy, and not merely because of Renly. Beneath Gendry's radiance, he seemed somewhat out of fashion again.
Gendry waved to Daenerys, and the noblewomen and ladies