The second day of the tourney at Harrenhal began with fresh sunlight and renewed excitent. The crowd buzzed as the trumpets blared. Nobles took their seats while commoners scrambled for any vantage they could find. Levi stood in his usual place, hands behind his back, with Arl beside him and a few caravan guards mingled among the spectators.
Rhaegar Targaryen rode again.
Levi placed another 1,000 golden dragons on the prince without hesitation. The competition today was fiercer. One of Rhaegar's matches was against none other than Brandon Stark.
The crowd leaned forward as the two heirs faced off. Lances shattered. Dust rose. Then, in a blink, Brandon was unhorsed.
"Again," Arl muttered. "Rhaegar rides like no other."
Levi nodded, eyes fixed. The prince barely looked winded. His posture was perfect, regal even beneath the armor.
The second bet was another win. Levi was now 2,000 golden dragons coins richer, and the Braavosi bookkeepers he bet with kept their stone-faced composure, but Levi saw the tension in their eyes.
By midday, the jousting was over.
Then ca the horse races. A field was cleared, and riders lined up. Levi shrugged and placed a modest 100 dragons on a lean, grey mare with an aggressive stride.
She lost.
"A lesson," Levi muttered. "Don't bet without knowing the field."
Arl laughed. "A hundred golden dragons coins for a lesson? You're the only one i know who would sacrifice a hundred golden dragon coins for a lesson."
That evening, Levi returned to the tavern to the hum of whispers. Rumors rippled through the crowd faster than the ale flowed.
"It's true. Lady Lyanna Stark is promised to Lord Robert Baratheon," one man said.
"And Ser Jai Lannister's been nad to the Kingsguard," another added. "His Majesty, King Aerys Targaryen himself did it. Sent him straight back to King's Landing to guard the queen."
"The Lion turned white-cloak? At fifteen?"
"Says a lot about the king's mind these days."
Levi sat still, the words striking harder than expected. He thought of the girl he had glimpsed from afar, Lady Lyanna Stark. Proud. Wild. Beautiful. And now promised to another.
A heaviness settled in his chest, unexpected and unwelco.
Lysa noticed. "You alright, Levi?"
He took a slow breath, his voice low. "So, it's true then. Lady Lyanna Stark and Lord Robert Baratheon."
Lysa gave a small nod. "It's causing quite the stir when it was announced before the tourney. So talk about it now again because Lord Baratheon seems to spent so of his ti in brothels."
Arl leaned in, eyebrows raised. "What is it Levi? Sothing wrong?"
Levi stared into his cup. "No. But it feels... wrong sohow."
Arl patted his back. "That's the world for you. Marriages are wars without swords but hey, that's noble talk."
Levi gave no answer. He simply drank.
The third day arrived. The jousting resud, but it wasn't the final round yet.
That morning, murmurs began about a strange new knight who had appeared on the lists. A figure clad in mismatched armor, bearing a weirwood shield painted with a laughing face.
"They're calling him the Knight of the Laughing Tree," soone said near Levi.
Levi raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. A nobody claims to be a knight with mystery. Let's see if he can win the jousting match of one against three."
The story unraveled quickly. It was said that the day before, three squires had tornted a crannogman from the Neck a small and quiet visitor. Now, this mysterious knight had challenged the squires' masters: Ser Benfred of House Blount, Ser Robin of House Frey, and Ser Darreth of House Haigh.
Levi placed a 1,000 golden dragon coins bet on the Knight of the Laughing Tree for every knight he fights.
The duel began. The first to fall was Ser Benfred Blount, cleanly unhorsed in a single pass. Next ca Ser Robin Ryswell, who held a little longer before being struck to the ground. Finally, Ser Darreth Haigh fell after two tense tilts. Each victory was t with gasps and cheers.
The crowd buzzed. The knight was small in fra, but skilled each strike asured, each pass calculated.
After unhorsing the last of the three, the knight addressed the royal stand. A herald announced the words for him: he sought no reward, only that the knights should teach their squires humility.
Then, just as suddenly as he had co, the Laughing Knight vanished. By sundown, he was nowhere to be found.
So claid King Aerys had taken offense at the weirwood sigil and sent n to find and unmask him.
"Vanished into the woods," one gossip said.
"Or killed," whispered another.
Levi pocketed his winnings and frowned. "Knight of the Laughing Tree," he said. "How he rides is so familiar. He's not that tall, and it feels like another woman in it... could it be the woman from the archery? But sothing feels different."
The final event of the day was the grand lee. A brutal contest of endurance. Hundreds entered the field. Knights, hedge knights, free lances all hungry for coin and glory.
Blunted swords clanged. Shields splintered. Dust and blood mixed with sweat as the field beca chaos.
Levi didn't watch he was too busy thinking about The hooded archer and The knight of the laughing tree.
No bets this ti. Too unpredictable.
So said Ser Barristan Selmy made it to the end. Others claid it was Ser Gwayne Gaunt or a naless knight from the Dornish Marches. In the end, people who watched it kept talking about who won, but Levi didn't care he didn't participate nor gambled.
As the sun dipped behind the broken towers of Harrenhal, Levi and his companions returned to the tavern. Their purses heavier, but their minds weighed by the day's strange turn.
"What did I say about betting on mysteries?" Arl chuckled.
Levi only smiled. "Sotis, Arl, the strangest shadows hold the greatest profits."
The laughter of rchants echoed into the night, as the tourney entered its final stretch.
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