Festival of Roses

Bromley stood at the front of the Lord's box as the final eight jousters, mounted on an array of magnificent horses, presented their lances. The men saluted, and Bromley commenced the contest with a gesture of his hand.

Lily had spent the morning getting into her new dress. It had taken some effort but the results spoke for themselves. The auburn and red silks stood out like flames from the stands. The cut drew attention to all the right places as did the bouquet of silken roses that framed her significant decolletage. She sat towards the front of the stands and while she doubted this would succeed at distracting the jousters as her cousin had suggested she was curious what sort of interest it would attract.

Harben, looking more ashen and less like a fabled wight, had been brought to the Lord's box to watch the joust. Pillows propped him up awkwardly, and the young man seemed to stare listlessly into the distance, rather than watching the men competing below.

Next to Harben was Lysa, seated between the knight and her fiancé, a grim expression on her face. Olymer held her hand as he watched the jousts, and from time to time she glanced at the pale countenance next to her as if each time she hoped it might not be real.

On Bromley’s other side was Rayley. She’d invited the Tremaine twins to sit with her again to watch their father joust, though it was really Jynessa she hoped to see. She waved to Elwood after the knights had saluted Lords Bromley and Tyrell, and he raised his hand in return, displaying a green ribbon bound about his wrist.

Alicent sat in the stands, dressed in red today, watching Ser Lorent in particular closely.

Jynessa took her seat with a faint smile on her lips. "I must extend apologies from my sister. She was not feeling well enough to sit in the stands today," she explained. She waved to her father exuberantly and blew a kiss to the mystery knight. She then looked to Rayley and gave a soft shrug. "There is a certain excitement to a mysterious stranger."

Rayley beamed when Jynessa joined her, eyes sparkling with delight. "Oh, do you have some clue as to who it may be?"

Jyn got up from her seat for a moment and played with her ponytail in order to shield her face. "Not in the slightest, I'm afraid," she remarked in mock disappointment. She sat back down and then smirked. "Regardless, I hope my father is the victor today."

"I will be cheering for him," she promised. Rayley's eyes turned towards Harben, and she quickly refocused on the list below as the first knights made their thundering pass.