House of The Dragon-For The Queen, Not The Prince:What Could Have Been

(Third Person POV)

The crowd erupted in cheering as Ser Harwin Strong dismounted a Hedge Knight who was able to join the Tourney. The Knight fell hard on his back, his horse running towards the end and his lance and shield tumbling down next to him. 

Ser Harwin rode his horse to the end and turned around, moving the slit of his helm up as he looked at the Hedge Knight getting up from the ground. 

"We have a winner!!" the announcer shouted, "Breakbones, Ser Harwin Strong!!!" 

Harwin glanced to the Royal Stands, seeing his Father clapping along with some members of the Court and Small Council. His eyes then momentarily set upon Rhaenyra, who was holding her daughter in her arms. She had a neutral look on her face, seeing the Knight compete. 

Harwin locked eyes with her for more than a few seconds, causing her to look away. But Breakbones did not look away, something that three men noticed instantly; The King, The King's Hand, and Harwin's Father. 

Lyonel Strong's face hardened and gave Harwin a warning look, silently telling him to stop staring. 

Harwin cleared his throat as the Hedge Knight approached him, "Well done." He said, "I'll have your ransom rather cheap, worry not." 

"Ah, thank you, Ser." the Hedge Knight said, "I appreciate it. I will have my belongings ready." 

"Ser Harwin advances to the next round!!" the announcer said, "He grows closer to the end. Might he be the champion of this important event?!" 

His squires were helping Harwin as he dismounted from his horse, heading over to the participants' stalls. The crowd was cheering, this being the first of the bouts. They could not wait to witness the excitement of a Joust like this. 

Over to the stalls, Otto stirred uncomfortably, leaning towards Viserys, "If that one wins...." He whispered, "It could spell trouble." 

Viserys sighed, "If you say so." He said, "We do not know what he would do." 

"I am referring to the Prince, Your Grace." Otto continued, "Daemon might not react well, depending on who that one names Queen of Love and Beauty." 

"And who might you think he would name?" Viserys asked

"Do I need to speak it?" Otto raised his eyebrow

"Enough of this." Viserys cleared his throat, "Let us enjoy the event." 

"Very well." Otto said as he straightened up

Over to the arena, the announcer got to the center, "And now!" He said, "For the next round! This is something that will be rather exciting! We have the Lord-Hand's very own son! Ser Gwayne Hightower! He will be facing off against Ser Jon Roxton!!" 

The crowd cheered as both Knights began to get ready to face each other off. Gwayne was wearing the Hightower colors as Jon wore the Roxton colors. 

Viserys was clapping, a smile on his face, "This is going to be a rather exciting Tourney, is it not?" He said with a chuckle. 

"I cannot wait...." 

******************

"And now....." The announcer said, "With Gwayne Hightower and Alan Beesbury advancing....we now have an exciting round ahead of us!! First, we have another representative of House Hightower! Lord Hightower's own son, Ormund Hightower!!" 

Ormund rode his horse to his spot, holding his jousting lance ready as he looked ahead. His helm was that of a classic Hightower one, shaped like the very tower itself. His Lance was green with black stripes as his shield was green with the Hightower sigil on it. 

The crowd was clapping, knowing that Ormund was a respected Knight and skilled jouster. 

"And his opponent..." The Announcer suddenly said, causing the crowd to grow quiet, "House Targaryen and House Royce's pride and joy! The Bronze Dragonlord, Aerion Targaryen!!!" 

As he announced this, a black steed appeared on the other side with Aerion sitting atop it wearing black and bronze armor. He had a cape flowing behind him, a bronze Targaryen sigil painted on it as he held his lance and shield while holding the reins of his horse. 

"Hm...." Aerion said as his horse shifted, "Hightower..." 

On the stands, Rhaenyra's eyes lit up, "Aerion....!" 

Viserys smiled, "Ah, there he is." He said, "Look at him!" 

The entire crowd began to clap and cheer, the sight of the famed Knight, the famous War-Hero that cemented himself in legend, was one that almost no smallfolk were used to. But Aerion Targaryen sitting atop a horse in the middle of a Jousting Tourney was far from the true magnificence that was the Bronze Dragonlord. 

Any smallfolk's true dream was to see him atop his true mount; the Bronze Fury. 

But one can only dream, as this was the closest thing they would get to seeing Aerion in action. 

Otto could only look at Aerion with a serious look on his face, "So this is it...." He muttered, "We'll see what the boy is made of." 

Queen Alicent heard what her Father was saying, "Hm, if that is what you want." She said while rolling her eyes, "Knowing the boy, he is nowhere near interested in something so pointless like a Joust." 

Rhaenyra looked at her but said nothing, Visenya beginning to shift in her arms. 

"Alright, that is enough." Viserys said, "Let us just enjoy this. This is a Joust!"

Back to the arena, the official raised his flags, signaling the riders to get ready. As both Ormund and Aerion were clearly ready, the official waved the flags down, signaling the start of the round. 

Suddenly, both riders' horses burst into a gallop, barreling towards each other as the two Knights held their shields up and aimed their lances at each other. 

There was a moment of tension as both horses inevitably met at the center and a loud crack was heard as both Lances came into contact with the other Knight. 

Ormund's Lance struck on Aerion's shield, and the force of the impact was enough to cause him to recoil slightly. Aerion's Lance, however, struck over the shield and onto the shoulder plate, causing his entire body to jerk backwards. The top portion of Aerion's lance broke, splinters flying everywhere. 

But Ormund was not dismounted; he was able to keep his balance as he got control of the reins, having his horse slow down and make the turn. 

"Curses...." He said as he felt the force of the impact still, "He aimed for my head, didn't he?" 

Aerion made the turn and saw that his lance was broken. "This is good, right?" He asked himself as some squires immediately went to replace the lance, "Hm....." 

He handed his lance to the squires and took the new one. He noticed that Gerold was standing a few meters away. 

"This is good, Aerion!" He called, "You broke your lance on him, he didn't damage you!" 

"Hm." He said, "That's not enough." 

"Well, if you keep it up, you win-" Gerold started

"I will dismount him." Aerion said, "He should be glad he survived the first tilt." 

"Aerion, what-" Gerold said with a frown

"Hya!" Aerion shouted, kicking the sides of his horse, prompting it to burst into a gallop

As he did this, Ormund also had his horse burst into a gallop. The crowd went crazy as this happened; this being what they had wanted to see from Aerion Targaryen. 

Both riders pointed their lances at each other, Ormund trying to aim at Aerion's head, but in the span of two seconds, something happened that shocked both him and everyone else who watched. 

While he did aim for Aerion's head, his lance grazed the helm, missing the mark. As this happened, Aerion's lance struck Ormund in the chest hard, shattering once again completely as Ormund's body flew in the air. 

He hit the ground rather hard as his lance fell right next to him, the air being taken out of his lungs due to the impact. 

"A-Ahh....." He wheezed as he writhed slowly

The crowd burst into cheer as Aerion slowed his horse down and turned around, looking at Ormund who was on the ground. 

"Hm." He said, "As boring as this is....it is not the most difficult thing to do....." 

"A trivial matter...."