Jousting Tourney, 1351!

The hour break was over in one minute, and Mira was rushing to get back to her friends. She'd gone to the market stalls to buy a loaf of bread for them all to share. The horn blew to announce the reconvene and Mira broke into a run. She could barely hear the herald, but she thought he said Lydale. Perhaps Sir Esmond would be riding again.

"C'mon, Mira!" Ed shouted to her, waving her over.

She was nearly there, and then...

"OOF!" The bread went flying and hit a guy in the back of the head. She quickly picked it up and brushed it off, apologizing sheepishly. "I lost my grip, sorry!"

Mira turned to see who she'd run into. The girl looked familiar.

"Tari?" she asked with a smile. "Sorry for hitting you..Would you like to come and sit with us?"

"Dimia," Lyn said gently, shaking the girl. Dimia flinched and stretched. She was half in dream world, half in reality. Again, she wasn't a morning person.

"The break is over. I think Alec is looking for you," Lyn said, handing her a tart. Dimia ate it and nodded, her brain slowly trying to comprehend what Lyn was saying. Then, she snapped to her sense.

"Alec was looking for me?" she asked, sitting up a little bit.

"Uh huh. Something about he had something to show you," Lyn explained with a smile. Dimia blushed and Lyn shooed her away to go find Alec. Dimia went back to her tent, where Alec was standing by his father.

"Lady Falaise! I was just looking for you," Alec greeted charmingly. Dimia blushed.

"I'll be right back, father," Alec said, leading Dimia out of the tent.

"You two be careful. And, know who you belong too!" her father yelled after them. Dimia giggled as the two Gryffindors walked around the tourney.

"So, what do you want to show me?" she asked.

"Just wait. It's a little bit farther," he said happily. She smiled and stood next to him as he stopped by a tent. He gestured for her to come in and she gasped. Magical creatures hung in cages, buzzing around and being amazing.

"Wow," Dimia whispered, looking into all the cages.

"Come here," Alec said, gesturing to her. He was staring into a cage that was shaped like a flower. She glanced into the cage and gasped. It was a fairy home! Five different fairies buzzed around in the cage, doing fairy things.

"Amazing, huh?"Alec asked. Dimia nodded, speechless. Alec smiled as they stared at the fairies.

"Would you like one?" the store owner asked.

"No thanks. I wouldn't want to sepearate them. Thank you though," Dimia replied, very adult like. The tent owner nodded and backed away. This is amazing, Dimia thought to herself.

Arya sat comfortably on an old blanket, sipping a butterbeer. The break had been an eerie one, with everyone nervous about what had happened to Roger. No one really knew if he'd be okay. The jousting had resumed with excitement in the air once again, however, and they were several pairs in.

"Only two matches to go tonight," Asher said, eating an apple.

"Have you spoken to your brother, Peyton?" Arry asked gently, knowing the lad was worried.

"No, he's been in his tent since it happened," Peyton answered, furrowing his brow. "Mum says he's a wreck, though."

"I'm sure they won't press charges," Gavin said, slightly uncertainly. "It's a joust, they know the dangers of it when they enter."

Over by the king's pavilion, the herald announced Sir James of York riding against Sir Richard Parry of Berkely.

Kolby watched Richard as he came riding out, his horse draped in his family colors. Kolby smiled and waved and Richard reared back his horse in greeting.

"I didn't know both your brothers were jousting," Devan commented.

"Richard hasn't jousted for a while. Like, he's been practicing all summer, but now that he has a wife, he doesn't go to many tourneys anymore," Kolby told them.

"Interesting. He definitely took an arrow to the knee," Mick said, causing all the boys to laugh.

"Lads!" Osmond greeted. The small band of boys welcomed him as he came to sit in the stands. Richard rode up to his wife and she gave him a kiss as his token. The crowd cheered and the jousters took their positions.

"Sir James of York......that's Symon's house," Devan figured out.

"Good job. We sooooo didn't know that," Osmond said sarcastically. Kolby shushed them as he watched Richard and James ride towards each other. He cheered when Richard hit him in the chest, sending him flying backwards off his horse. Osmond and Devan kept insulting each other and shoving, while Mick tried to keep the peace between them. Kolby rolled his eyes.James got back up, a small dent in his chest piece. One more hit Richard, Kolby thought. The jousters leveled their lances again and rode towards each other and.....Kolby cheered as Richard hit him in the same spot again.

"Woo!" the band of boys cheered with the crowd.

"Wow. Both of your brothers are really good. Are you going to follow in their footsteps?" Devan asked. Kolby thought about it.

"I'm not sure yet," Kolby asked, as he watched Sir James ride off in shame. Richard looped around the arena and went out, the crowd cheering his name. Kolby smiled. One more match for the day, he thought.

(OOC: "Arrow to the knee" is a Nordic slang phrase. It mean "I got married and my wide has a tight grip on me and I can't go on adventures or jousting anymore".)

Marigold was actually not as interested as others in the joust. She found it a little unnessary for young men to risk their life for the sake of entertainment. So, she sat in the dirt, drawing circles and pictures. Asher, being the exact opposite of her, enjoyed every bit of it. Marigold sighed and slowly itched her way out of the group. Once she a bit away, she went walking through the tents. She wasn't really thinking of going anywhere in particular and was just walking.

"Look out!" someone yelled at her, pushing her out of the way. A cart came rolling by and she almost walked directly into it. Marigold gasped and came back to her senses.

"Thank you. I'm sorry. I just wasn't....." she said. But, she couldn't finish her sentence as she looked at her rescuer. It was a young healer boy, maybe fourteen. He was in traditional healer clothes, but he was a rank higher than her. He was dashingly handsome to boot, with auburn hair like her and brown eyes.

"You need to be more careful," he told her. She was stunned by him. He smiled a boyish grin and she giggled.

"Well, I'm Walt. And, you are?" he asked.

"I'm Marigold," she said happily, blushing a deep red.

"Well, Goodlady Marigold, I was just going to get a cookie. Would you care to join me?" he asked.

"Sure!" Marigold said, maybe a bit too quickly. He laughed and they walked to a food stand. Twenty minutes later, they were talking about various healing potions and techniques. Walt was actually a noble from a wealthy Scotland family. But, his father sent him to relatives when he was very young and then, those relatives sent him to Beauxbatons for his education.

"You know what really bugs me? When people just think that Episkey can be used for everything. I mean, we use it alot, but it can't fix everything," Walt said.

"Exactly. It's not like a miracle spell," Marigold commented. Walt laughed and she smiled. People started filing out of the arena as the last joust came to a close.

"Hey. Do you want to come in the medical tent? Since jousts are over, you can check it out," Walt asked.

"Sure! I've been looking for my mentor. I think he's here," Marigold said as they walked towards the tent.

"Wait....Robert Cosin?" Walt asked.

"Yes! How did you know that?" Marigold answered, completely shocked.

"A branch of his family, I think his mother's side, works at Beauxbatons and one of his cousins or aunts is my mentor," Walt informed.

"That's amazing," Marigold said. They entered the healer tent and Walt pointed to Robert, who was healing Roger while the Muggles slept.

"Robert!" Marigold called out. Robert whipped around and smiled. Marigold hugged him and Robert hugged back, a reunion between a second father and a adopted daughter.

"How have you been?" Robert asked.

"How did you escape?" Marigold asked. They talked for ten minutes, while Walt attended to Roger. They stopped when they heard people calling her name.

"Oh. Friends. Right," Marigold remembered with a grimace. No doubt they would be mad.

"Here. I'll walk you back," Robert said. Marigold said good bye to Walt as Robert walked her back to her friends.

"See? I told you she would go there!" Gavin jeered at Asher as they approached. Asher furrowed his brow but sighed in relief. Marigold smile. The world was right again. [/font]

Thea sat in the stand by her mother obediently. But, she was very bored. Very bored. At least mother has her stitching. I'm here twiddling my thumbs, she thought bitterly. Normally, Thea and her mother got along. But, today, her mother was all about proper tourney etiquette. Thea was glad that the day was over.

"Come along little ones," her mother called. I am not a little one. I start Hogwarts next year, Thea thought. She would never say that to her mother, for fear of hurting her feelings, but it still annoyed her. I'll be a little one to her for the rest of my life, she thought.

"Mother, can I go get Kolby?"Thea asked, politely. But, her mother snapped at her and Thea rolled her eyes. Her mother had the insane notion that Thea was going to be a proper lady and marry some French lord or something, so Thea was always in French classes. Her mother made her practice it on a daily basis.

"Mère, puis-je aller chercher Kolby?" she said eloquently. Her mother smiled.

"Oui," her mother replied. Thea walked out of the tent. But, as soon as she was far away enough, she took off in a run. She ran through the tents and came to the outskirts. She walked up a hill and sat down among the grass, playing with the blades of grass. Finally, to be away from mother, she thought, happily.

"Thea," an all to familiar voice said.

"Hello, Gloria," Thea said, not even looking at her. Gloria sat next to her. Gloria and Thea were attached at the hip. Wherever Thea went, Gloria was ordered to follow. But, it was okay. Thea and Gloria were very close, as sisters should be.

"Mother was very annoying today," Gloria commented. Thea laughed.

"You can say that again. But, I suppose it's for a good reason," Thea replied, as they dusted each other off and left on their real task of fetching their brother. They laughed and enjoyed the tourney, Thea's mood lifting.

"Kolby!" Thea called to her brother. Gloria shook her head as Thea pulled her along, forcing Gloria to keep up with Thea's bouncy walk. Thea waited on Kolby and then the three "little ones" went back to their tent. Then, they ran into a couple.

"Oh! We're so sorry! Oh, hey Kolby," a boy greeted. Kolby and the boy got very well.

"Hi. You're Dimia Falaise, right?" Gloria recognized. Thea shook hands with Dimia and the three siblings kept walking.

Adelaine dreamt that she had awoken rather early on the final day of the tourney. A little too early, in fact. The sun hadn't even risen yet. She scrambled around the tent, trying to find her clothes, when suddenly someone shouted her name.

"What?!" she jumped up, waking for real this time.

"M'lady, you'll be late for the jousting," Mary said, rushing around.

Adele wearily hopped up and got dressed quickly while Mary combed through her hair and braided it. She'd be sitting with her family today, to keep up appearances. Her father had been in a rage last night, threatening to take away every privilege she had. "How dare you go against me!" he'd shouted, throwing her ratty disguise in the fire. Feeling brave, she'd told him it was worth it to be with her friends and have a little fun for once.

"M'lady, remember what your father said," Mary nudged her cautiously.

"I know," Adele grumbled. "I'm to stay in the Beaumont pavillion and watch the joust like a perfect noblewoman, not talking to anyone."

With a sigh, she left the tent and headed for the pavillion.

Arya sat with Peyton, Seamus, and Asher below a dark red pavillion waiting for the jousting to begin. It was hotter today than it had been all summer long, and Arry had her sleeves rolled all the way up to her shoulders.

"Water?" Seamus offered her a canteen.

"You bet your Irish arse," she said absolutely, taking it.

"Who's up today?" Asher asked, munching on rolls filled with dates, honey, and pine nuts.

"Richard Parry, Cole Corbray, Abel Masterson, and my brother," Peyton answered, taking a swig of water. "Gavin's brother Esmond is at the top right now, so he'll be the final match."

Arya grinned with excitement and snatched a roll from Asher as Gavin, in disguise again, joined them. The tourney had gone by extremely fast, she couldn't believe today was the final day. The lads were making bets already.

"Parry's got it," Ash said. "Five Sickles."

"Are you kidding?" Gavin scoffed. "Esmond is definitely coming out on top."

"It's got t'be Corbray," Seamus shook his head.

"Is no one but me betting on Bart?" Peyton questioned.

"Arry, you want in on this?" Asher asked, elbowing her. "C'mon, you know you want to."

"Fine," she rolled her eyes and thought for a moment. "Seven Sickles on Esmond."

"Yeah, Arry!" Gavin grinned one-arm-hugging her and high fiving her.

Dimia was bored. Very bored. She was sick of the sweat, sick of the wine and food, sick of the horses everywhere, and sick of people in general. She was actually missing her home, which was weird because normally she couldn't wait to get out of the house. Alec sat on the other side of his brothers. He would sometimes look down at her, where Dimia was focusing primarily on her sewing, just to keep her mind off of the joust and the noise, even though she hated sewing.

"Dimia, are you alright dear?" her father asked.

"If I can be frank, I am very bored and tired father," Dimia admitted. Her father chuckled and smiled.

"That's very much like your mother. She was sick of jousts by this point too," her father commented. That caught Dimia off guard that she dropped her needle. Her father never compared her to her mother without some sort of breakdown. But, he said it so casually.  Dimia was confused.

"Well, thank you, father," Dimia said, in a very confused tone. That was weird, she thought, picking up her needle and continuing the sewing.

"I wonder what's taking so long," Adrian asked, when the fight hadn't started yet.

"I heard that there was something wrong with Abel's horse. I think he's using Adam's horse instead now," Alec commented. So, that's why Adam is missing too, Dimia thought, keeping quiet. After about 15 minutes, Abel and Bart came riding out. Dimia clapped.

"Well, here we go," Alec said, a bit unnerved. The injury yesterday must have really gotten to him, Dimia thought. She sighed. I wonder what Lyn and Reyna are doing.

((OOC: Let's play "Spot the out of place item")

Reyna sat with her hands folded, a goblet of Pepsi beside her on the bench. It was rather quiet in the Fendrel pavilion today. Symon was scowling out at the lists, and she was sure she knew why; Adelaine wasn't allowed to chat with anyone today. The girl was on the far side of her tent, a frown on her face.

"So...who do you suppose will win?" Lynette asked cautiously, trying to break the silence.

"Well, we should certainly be betting on Sir Cole," Reyna informed her politely. "He is one of our own, after all."

Lynette rolled her eyes. "I vote for Sir Esmond."

"Betting and voting are not for ladies," Lady Marla snipped, handing off baby William to a nursemaid.

Reyna and Lyn exchanged glances and tried not to giggle. After a moment, the joust finally started. Sirs Bart and Abel rode swiftly and intently toward one another and just as Bart's lance was about to make contact, Abel leaned out of the way. The crowd was half boos, half cheers.

"C'mon Bart," she heard Symon mutter quietly.

The riders went back to their marks and the horn sounded again. In one quick motion, Bart's lance rammed hard into Abel's side and knocked the Masterson off his horse.

"Woo!!" Symon jumped up and shouted, before their mother slapped him lightly on the arm. He sat back down with a huff.

"So Abel is out now?" Lyn whispered to Reyna, afraid of being scolded.

"Yes," Rey nodded. "I believe Sir Cole and Sir Parry are next."

Marigold was exhausted. Physically exhausted. She kept rubbing her eyes and yawning.

"I take it you didn't sleep so good," a servant said to her. Marigold just nodded and gave a thumbs up, meaning she was okay. The servant laughed and walked off. The joust was well underway and everyone seemed to be happily enjoying themselves. She honestly wanted to go home.

"Marigold, someone is asking for you," Mary told her, gesturing to the tents entrance. It was Walt. Marigold smiled and went to the entrance.

"Hey. You okay? I heard what happened last night," he asked.

"I'm fine. But, how did you hear about it?" she asked.

"A kid came into the healer tent with his friends, saying that he twisted his ankle. They kept talking about how there were two Adeles and stuff. Robert assumed you were the other one, since you and Adele are friends. He sent me to check on you," he explained. Marigold nodded and looked behind her.

"Well, I appreciate his concern, but I'm fine. I got a bump on my head, but I fixed it,"Marigold told him with a smile. He smiled too.

"Good. So, after the joust, are you going back home immediately? I thought you might want to spend some time with Robert," Walt asked. But, it sounded a bit like a date.

"I'm not sure. We might stay the night with the Fendrels, since this is their mansion," she said.

"Well, if you stay a little bit, meet us at the healing tent and we'll go get a drink or something," he told her.

"Okay. Well, I got to go. Bye," Marigold said.

"Have a great day, Goodlady Marigold," Walt said happily, leaving. Marigold chuckled and rolled her eyes. Then, she went back to serving.

Kolby ate more fruit as it was passed around. Richard's joust was coming up and everyone in his tent was on the edge of their seat. The tension could be cut with a knife. The announcer introduced the jousters and everyone cheered for their respective contestant. Of course, everyone in Kolby's tent cheered for Richard. The contestants took their positions. Kolby started to stand up as they rode towards each other. They lowered their lances and......the crowd went crazy as they missed.

"Kolby," Gloria said in a terrified voice. Kolby shushed her as the joust continued.

"Kolby, the de Hattes tent...." Gloria said again.

"Gloria, it'll be okay. Just shush," Kolby told her. Gloria huffed and walked off. The jousters took off again and they missed again! Kolby ran his hands through his hair. There was so much tension.

"Kolby!" Gloria yelled.

"What?" Kolby said, a bit surprised that Gloria raised her voice. She pointed to the de Hattes tent, which was on fire. Kolby watched as people scrambled to put it out, using buckets of water. No one was able to use magic. Too many Muggles.

"If it spreads, our tent is going to go up in flames," GLoria said.

"Sir Richard Parry wins!" the announcer said. Kolby looked back at the joust. Sir Cole was on the ground as Richard rode around triumphantly. KOlby smiled and then went to the de Hattes tent. He grabbed a bucket and threw in on the fire.

"Who started this?" Kolby asked a servant. They shrugged. Asher and their crew came running up.

"The family is still in there," Another servant said. Kolby watched as the fire only got bigger and began to spread to the Lydale and the Parry tent. Kolby sighed. Magic would solve this in a heart beat.

After the second joust, the tourney seemed to fall into chaos. Everyone was panicking as the fire started to spread between the tents.

"This is a disaster!" one of the Armand twins cried. Petyr shook his head and just kept serving the family. A servant girl named Mary came up to him.

"You need to keep this a secret. Marigold have ran off to see if her parents are okay. I need you to help me serve the Beaumonts too,"Mary told him. Petyr nodded and Mary ran off again. Petyr sighed and kept serving.

Luckily, the fire was soon put out and the joust continued. Mary looked a bit antsy when Marigold didn't return. He looked around and noticed some people limping to the medical tent. He hoped everyone was okay.

"Sir Richard Parry and Sir Bart Brix, take your positions," the herald announced. The riders came riding out and the crowds cheered.

Emmanuelle sat, hand on her head. She was exhausted already from the day's events. A fire? Really? It was hotter than Hades' doorstep already without flames.

"When will zis day be over?" she muttered, sighing.

"Emmy, would you like for us to fan you?" Cecily asked with a smirk.

"Oh, yes, we'd love to, m'lady," Ralf jeered.

The twins giggled and Em rolled her eyes.

"Cut it out," Victor said to them, giving Emmy a small smile. He was completely healed by now, thank goodness. "Just watch the joust."

The three of them did as he said and turned their attention back to the tourney. Sirs Bart and Richard were on their third round already; it was going to be a close fight. They leaned in, raced toward each other, and....

"Oh, that had to hurt!" Victor flinched as Richard Parry slammed into the ground.

The final round was coming up next between Bart Brix and Esmond Lydale.

Adelaine sat hunched forward in the Beaumont/Armand pavilion watching the beginning of the final joust. Sir Esmond and Sir Bart rode out valiantly and circled the arena, looking for someone to collect their final tokens from. The suspense levels were high; the winner of this match would go home with the gold...tons of it.

"Who are you rooting for?" she asked her father quietly, though she was still mad at him for keeping her from her friends.

"Sir Esmond," he replied drily.

She rolled her eyes (hoping he didn't see). The only reason he'd be going for Esmond was because Esmond came from a high family. Bart Brix was a mere hedge knight. Still, that's who she would be cheering for. Not Gavin's vain older brother.

"Riders, take your marks!" the herald shouted.

At the sound of the horn, the joust began. As was expected, both riders missed and went back for the second round. Again, they missed. It seemed like the entire crowd was holding their breath all at once. The knights prepped for the final round. Adele had never seen such determined looks on their faces. Come on, Bart, she thought fervently, knowing his family surely needed the prize money more than the Lydales.

"Oh, my word," Adele's mother said, cursing the sky. It was raining. Pouring.

"That'll be a messy ride," she heard Symon say a few feet away.

Adelaine's stomach was in a knot. The track was quickly turning muddy and slippery; jousting was dangerous enough on a dry day. The horn blew and they set onward, riding furiously toward one another. In one quick blow, Bart's lance sent Esmond flying into a puddle of mud.

"YES!!" Adele and Symon shouted at the same time, getting fiercely annoyed looks from their parents.

Thea hated rain. The tent barely kept the family dry. She watched everyone cheer as Bart Brix won. He circled the arena, waving. Thea smiled as the Brix tent cheered loudly.

"Excellent joust. Excellent," Thea's father, Tybalt, said, nodding his head. Thea excused herself and went out to the stables to check on Richard. Of course, Gloria tagged along.

"Take this for your chest pain and this for your headache," a healer boy handed Richard.

"Thank you very much," Richard replied in a sad tone. The healer boy walked off and Thea and Gloria walked up.

"You did great Richard," Gloria said, giving him a hug. He smiled.

"Thank you girls," Richard said.

"Come on. Father wants to have a small feast for you," Thea said, bouncing up and down. Richard smiled and the family walked back to the tent.

"Thea and Gloria! Your dresses are filthy!" Mary exclaimed as the girls came in. Thea rolled her eyes as she was taken away to change her dress.

The tent quickly filled up as nobles congratulated Richard on his almost victory. There was even more of a commotion at the Brix tent.