Chapter 10: Shining Tourney Grounds

Lady Barbrey Dustin had originally been all smiles, but the moment she heard the name of the "Sword of the Morning," Arthur Dayne, the smile on her face vanished instantly, as if it were snow in summer.

"Why must you mention the 'Sword of the Morning'? What is this, Lord Eddard? Are you determined to rub salt into my wounds?"

Barbrey's voice grew louder, and Greatjon Umber, Lord Roderick Ryswell, Lord Cerwyn, Wyman Manderly, and others, who had been chatting at the other end of the hall, immediately crowded over.

Eddard sighed helplessly, "Lady Barbrey, I was merely using the 'Sword of the Morning' as an example."

In truth, Eddard had mentioned the "Kingslayer" Jaime, "the Bold" Barristan Selmy, and Prince Aemon the "Dragonknight" in his speech—all of them perennial victors at tourneys—yet somehow, Lady Barbrey had fixated solely on the name of Arthur Dayne, the "Sword of the Morning."

During the "Battle of the Tower of Joy" all those years ago, the legendary "Sword of the Morning" Arthur Dayne had fallen; in that classic battle sung of by countless singers, also dead was Barbrey's husband, the former Lord of Barrowton, William Dustin.

Eddard had not expected that after so many years, the name of the "Sword of the Morning" could still reopen the scars in Barbrey's heart.

"Arthur Dayne killed my husband," Barbrey accused.

Eddard was one of the only two survivors of the "Battle of the Tower of Joy," and he understood how the fight had unfolded. Arthur Dayne had single-handedly slain three of Eddard's companions, but William Dustin was not among them; Eddard remembered that William Dustin had been killed in the battle by Oswell Whent.

Barbrey seemed convinced that it was Arthur Dayne who had killed her husband—could it be merely because of the fame of the "Sword of the Morning"?

Back then, Prince Rhaegar had placed Eddard's sister Lyanna in the Tower of Joy in Dorne and arranged for the legendary Kingsguard—the "White Bull" Gerold Hightower, the "Sword of the Morning" Arthur Dayne, and Oswell Whent—to guard her.

To rescue his sister, Eddard had brought Lord William Dustin, Ethan Glover of Deepwood Motte, Mark Ryswell of the Rills, the mountain clansman Theo Wull, Martyn Cassel, and the crannogman Howland Reed to fight the three Kingsguard; except for Eddard and Howland Reed, everyone else had died in battle.

Greatjon Umber, Lord Cerwyn, Herman Tallhart, Wyman Manderly, and others watched from the sidelines, and Lady Barbrey's father, Lord Ryswell, wore a look of deep concern.

The widow of Barrowton, Barbrey, recalled the brief honeymoon period of her marriage to her husband William Dustin and was immediately overwhelmed by grief. "Lord Eddard, my husband died to save your sister, yet you left his bones, along with those of the other warriors, to sleep forever in the lands of Dorne. Is it truly fitting to do such a thing?"

Eddard explained patiently, "Back then, Howland Reed and I tried to find the Silent Sisters to bring your husband's bones and those of the other warriors home, but in the chaos of war, there were bones everywhere, and the Silent Sisters could not find them at all. I was powerless to do anything but bury my warriors with stones."

Back then, Eddard had brought back her husband's red stallion for Lady Barbrey, but he had failed to bring back the body.

Lady Barbrey sneered, "Lord Eddard was powerless to do that, yet he brought back Lyanna's bones."

Eddard touched his heart, "William Dustin, like all the other warriors who died for Winterfell, lives forever in my heart."

Barbrey's eyes shimmered with sorrow, "Lord Eddard, I am grateful for your words. However, I cannot understand why you left the remains of the warriors in your heart in the strange lands of Dorne? My husband was born in the Barrowlands and grew up under the gaze of the First King; the people of the Barrowlands value nothing more than being laid to rest in their own soil."

"Back then, I immediately sent men south to Dorne to search for my husband's grave, but I found nothing. Your warriors simply vanished in a foreign land, on soil watched over by strange gods. Lord Eddard, if it had been your brother Brandon leading the party, he would never have abandoned his fallen companions as you did."

"Enough!" Lord Ryswell rushed over and grabbed his daughter Barbrey's wrist, "Have you lost your mind? How dare you disturb Lord Eddard with these old grievances."

Barbrey forced a smile, "I only wanted to invite Lord Eddard to see Domeric's performance on the tourney grounds. Lord Eddard brought up the 'Sword of the Morning,' so I chatted a bit more about it, that is all."

Lady Barbrey looked at Eddard with a sincere expression, "Lord Eddard, you must see Domeric's horsemanship and swordsmanship; he rides just like your brother Brandon. Domeric has always been my pride."

The crowd watched as Lady Barbrey turned and left, and Lord Ryswell looked apologetic.

"Lord Eddard, please, I beg your forgiveness. Ever since her husband died, Barbrey has been overwhelmed by grief. She lives in the hall beneath the tomb of the First King; some say the First King slowly drains the vitality from people, making the living become like corpses. Looking at Barbrey now, I am starting to believe in this curse."

Greatjon Umber said gruffly: "A woman who remains a widow for years will end up like this. Barbrey should find a man to love her fiercely in bed; love can nourish her. At her age, if she doesn't give birth soon, she will never have the chance."

Barrowton is the third-largest population center in the North, second only to White Harbor and the Winter Town. As the widow of Barrowton, Barbrey's dowry was considered substantial; marrying Barbrey meant ruling the Barrowlands with her, so after she lost her husband, countless suitors had flocked to her.

These included Greatjon Umber's two uncles, "Hother Whoresbane" Umber and "Crowfood" Umber, Walder Frey of The Twins, Lord Galbart Glover of Deepwood Motte, Wyman Manderly of White Harbor, and many nobles from the Reach and the Stormlands.

However, these men were all met with cold indifference in Barrowton, and as time passed, no one came to propose to Barbrey anymore.

Lady Barbrey was of a similar age to Catelyn; now that Catelyn had welcomed her fifth child and was fertile and productive, Barbrey had no children at all. Eddard suddenly realized that Barbrey treated Domeric as her own son; she wanted to prove that her child was no worse than the children of Winterfell, which was why she had so insistently invited him to watch the tourney.

When Eddard, Greatjon Umber, Wyman Manderly, Herman Tallhart, Lord Cerwyn, and others appeared at the edge of the lists, Lady Barbrey's face immediately blossomed into a smile. Roose Bolton's expression was grave; he whispered a few words to Barbrey, and she burst into loud laughter.

Robb and Domeric Bolton had already donned their tourney leather armor, holding blunted tourney swords, and stood in the center of the lists.

This was not a formal tourney, but the duel between the heir to Winterfell and the heir to the Dreadfort still drew many nobles, squires, and servants to watch, and the area around the lists was packed. Sansa, Arya, Jeyne Poole, and others were squeezed into the crowd.

Domeric Bolton was several years older than Robb. Although Robb often defeated opponents older than himself, he had no chance against Domeric, and his longsword was soon knocked from his hand.

"Just children fighting," Greatjon Umber commented lightly.

The next to appear was the Winterfell bastard Jon Snow, who performed slightly better than Robb but was still easily defeated by Domeric Bolton.

Eddard's ward Theon was of a similar age to Domeric Bolton. The master-at-arms of Winterfell, the servants, and the soldiers all hoped that Theon would win. Before the match began, Theon wore a confident smile.

But unexpectedly, Domeric quickly seized a flaw in Theon's defense; Theon's wrist was struck, and he was immediately disarmed by Domeric.

Watching his three pupils get defeated by the heir to the Dreadfort, the master-at-arms of Winterfell, Rodrik Cassel, helplessly tugged at his snow-white beard and complained to Robb, Theon, and Jon.

"In front of the nobles from all over the North, you can lose, but you cannot lose so miserably."

Lady Barbrey shouted at Ser Rodrik, "Old man, are these the best pupils you can bring out?"

These words clearly angered the master-at-arms of Winterfell, and he waved at Harwin, "Harwin, you go!"

Harwin was the son of the master of horse of Winterfell, Hullen, and was a guard at Winterfell, considered a good fighter. However, Harwin lasted no longer against Domeric than Robb had.

People then realized that Domeric had intentionally gone easy on Jon Snow and Robb when facing the two children.

The morning's swordplay tourney ended in a crushing defeat for Winterfell. The afternoon was for the jousting. At lunch, Ser Rodrik Cassel kept complaining that Theon, Robb, and Jon had performed too poorly, especially Harwin, who had made him lose face.

"I might consider letting Jory Cassel compete in the afternoon joust; I must win at least once," the old master-at-arms calculated.

Jory Cassel was the Captain of the Guard at Winterfell and had once participated in putting down the Greyjoy Rebellion; his horsemanship was superb. Smalljon Umber, Ser Herman Tallhart, and a group of knights from White Harbor also clamored to challenge Domeric.

Lady Barbrey led over a red stallion, and Domeric changed into his armor. The armor was the scarlet of the Dreadfort, the helmet was fashioned in the style of the Ryswell horse-head, and his shield was engraved with the rusted crown pattern of his aunt's house, House Dustin.

The master-at-arms of Winterfell longed for revenge, but the jousting became entirely Domeric's personal show. Domeric seemed like a centaur, unhorsing the Winterfell guards Alyn and Haihua one by one. Smalljon Umber, Ser Herman Tallhart, and Robett Glover were also defeated by Domeric.

Every time Domeric won, Lady Barbrey let out a wolf-like laugh, and Sansa and a group of handmaidens cheered. Roose Bolton's expression grew increasingly grave, his brow furrowed.

The master of horse, Hullen, said: "This boy's horsemanship is too good; man and horse are one, he is practically a centaur. The last time I saw someone with such good horsemanship was Lady Lyanna."

Eventually, Jory Cassel entered the lists himself and defeated Domeric, though by this time, after multiple rounds of jousting, Domeric's stamina had clearly declined, and many said Jory's victory was unearned.

Lady Barbrey brought Domeric to Eddard and, in front of a crowd of nobles, boasted: "Lord Eddard, is Domeric not better than your children? Whether it is your heir, your bastard, or your ward, the nobles from all over the North are no match for him."

Eddard smiled: "Indeed, Domeric is too excellent—skilled in music, well-versed in history, and his martial arts are so good. Lady Barbrey, you have worked hard to cultivate such an outstanding young man for the North. I have decided: I will take Domeric as my ward."

Lady Barbrey was stunned, "What?"

Roose Bolton, standing to the side, cursed under his breath as he walked away.

(End of chapter)