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The Hedge Knight’s Inamorata

Summary: Dunk is on a quest of his own to pave his way into knighthood. When a tourney at Ashford Meadow presents itself as an opportunity for him to prove himself a knight, he happens across a young lad who is adamant to serve as his squire and won’t take no for an answer. Whilst roaming amidst the crowd at the tourney, begging lords to vouch for him so that he might compete, he meets the princess of house Targaryen who instantly takes his heart captive.

Chapter 3:

“Could you at least try to seem interested” Baelor whispered to his daughter who looked like she’d rather watch a plant grow instead of the tourney “it’s Aerion’s turn”

“Exactly why I’m so disinterested” she rolled her eyes, fidgeting with the fabric of her skirts “gods I hope he gets dismounted during the first round to save us all the misery of having to watch him break multiple lances”

“Daughter” her father’s voice edged on warning, a stern look on his face while he spoke “enough, we are in the presence of other lords and nobles. I expect you to conduct yourself like a princess, not some spoiled child”

“Yes father” she bashfully agreed, sitting upright and looking to the tourney field with fake anticipation. She watched how Aerion, in his menacing black armour that resembled dragon scales, rode upto her brother. She momentarily remembered the conversation she had with Valarr just that morning and smiled to herself.

“Val, I swear I will name my firstborn son after you if you whack him in the side of his head with your lance” she pleaded, watching her brother laugh in amusement but she was not jesting “I’m being serious”

“What good is some boy named after myself? Now if you agree to give me that precious dagger you got gifted on your six and tenth name day-“

“Deal” she immediately exclaimed, earning yet another loud laugh from the prince.

Aerion then moved to the knight to Valarr’s left and challenged him instead and Y/N had to remind herself not to openly display her mild disappointment.

~

Duncan could only seem to focus on the princess. She was sat to her father’s right, seemingly fidgeting with in her lap. She looked as elegant as always, in her ruby red gown and curls that perfect fell past her shoulders. He wondered, for a moment, if she could see him from up there and immediately rolled his eyes at his own stupidity. He was a man the size of a boulder, it would come as a surprise if she could not see him, given how he was at the very front of the barricades.

He observed how prince Aerion rode toward the stands, announcing his request for the princess’ favour. He noticed how much different she conducted herself around Aerion and the other nobles; she was solemn, posture stiff as she moved. She turned to grab something that looked like a small floral wreath and slid it onto the lance Aerion had pointed in her direction. She did not smile nor seem interested, if anything it appeared to him as though she was acting purely out of formality.

Aerion didn’t seem to care if it were an act or not. He beamed proudly as the crowd cheered, riding toward the end of the field but not before throwing a nasty look in the direction of the hedge Knight who stood at the very front, which Dunk noticed.

People continued to cheer for the knights, Egg joining in with them, shouting ‘kill him’- strong words that Dunk felt were a bit much but he didn’t comment on it, for now he was far too invested in the jousting. It puzzled him though, when he noticed how low Aerion’s lance was. A trained noble as himself would surely not make an error this simple.

“His lance is too low” he muttered to Egg, mere moments before him, along with the masses, watched in horror as Aerion’s lance pierced the other knight’s horse in the neck, sending blood spewing everywhere before it fell to the ground along with it’s rider.

The knight pulled his young squire into a protective embrace to keep him from seeing the horrific scene unfolding itself. He involuntarily looked up toward the stands and saw Princess Y/N hold her hand to her mouth, probably in shock whilst her other arm held her father’s.

“Come on, we best be going” Dunk ushered Egg out and away from the crowd, one arm pushing the people aside who had now started to climb over the barricades in protest, his other arm securely around the younger boy “I think the jousting is done for the day”

The pair of them walked in silence, not caring that it had begun to rain.

“He did it on purpose” Egg muttered, fiddling with the rough fabric of his cloak, a habit Dunk observed his squire had in common with the princess.

“The prince?” Dunk looked down at the boy. He knew the prince was a touch stuck up but he doubted he would stoop to such a low and inhumane trick just to win at jousting “I don’t think-“

“He did it on purpose” his squire emphasised, looking up to meet his gaze. His voice didn’t falter and his gaze didn’t wander. He spoke with such certainty, it was as if the prince himself confirmed with the boy that he meant to do it.

“Alright, enough talk about that” Duncan wanted nothing more than to forget the image of that poor horse “run along and go watch the puppet show, that ought to lift your spirits up”

He watched as Egg hesitated for a moment, debating if he should prolong the conversation or not but then just nodded and walked away as he was told to while Dunk went to go get himself some much needed ale.

~

“He’s a monster” Y/N paced back and forth across from her father.

After the horrible incident, they all were ushered back to the castle and away from the raging crowd. Her father retired to his assigned study, for some light reading but his daughter tagged after him, going on and on about how awful of a person Aerion was.

“I came here for a bit of respite from the chaos Aerion brought about and now you come in here and continue to remind me of what occurred earlier” Baelor pinched the bridge of his nose. He loved his daughter but in the moment, all he wanted was some peace and quiet “I know exactly what happened because I was there”

“Father please, is there nothing you can do to break this engagement?” She went and sat by his chair next to the fireplace, like how she used to do when she was younger. She looked up at him with pleading eyes, that usually worked when she needed him to agree with her.

“It was a match made by the king and thus it would be impossible for me to do anything unless he commands it himself” he sighed, closing shut his book “do you think I would truly force you into something you do not wish to do?”

That was true, she had her father whipped around her finger. She got away with almost anything and got of things just the same. When she was little, she hated having to do needlework with the septa an after a bit of pleading, her father allowed her to train with weaponry instead for a bit, until she got tired of that too.

“Aerion does have a temper as wild as fire but he would never hurt you” he tried to give her some comfort, his heart aching slightly at seeing his dear daughter so distraught over this betrothal “I am sorry my darling, truly, but there is nothing I can do about this”

Letting out a defeated sigh, Y/N rose to her feet and smoothed out her dress, fighting back the urge to cry. What good would that do? She would still be his betrothed after shedding all those tears. After a momentary silence, she excused herself for bed and irritatedly stormed off but instead of going to her chambers, as she’d promised, she slipped past the guards and snuck out of the keep.

The puppet show was her favourite part of her evenings at Ashford meadow and she needed something to lift her spirits. She was tempted to help herself to some ale but she refrained from doing so, in fear she might go and punch Aerion in a drunken rage.

Upon her arrival to the tent, she was puzzled to see chaos broken out around it. There were guards pushing people away from the tents, torches carelessly thrown to the ground and the noise of people shrieking.

Curious, she dodged past people and made her way into the tent, taking advantage of the commotion. Much to her horror, she saw the place thrashed, puppets smashed and a girl, one of the puppeteers she’d recognised from last night, being held down by Aerion.

Before she could even shout for him to let her go, Aerion took two of her fingers in his hand and snapped it the other way, breaking them and eliciting a scream so chilling it made Y/N’s heart drop.

“Aerion!” She called, voice trembling with rage. His temper always unsettled her but this was a whole new side to him that left her feeling absolutely terrified. Before the prince could even turn to meet her gaze, ser Duncan whizzed past her and ran toward him, yanking him by the back of his collar and throwing him hard across the ground.

Aerion took a moment to process what just happened and then immediately reached for the dagger in his boot, ready to plunge the blade into whoever was stupid enough to lay their hands on him.

“Enough!” Y/N rushed to stand before Aerion, keeping him from getting to Duncan and the girl “you’ve gone too far”

“Get the fuck out of the way” he coldly spoke, eyes never leaving Duncan, who continued to stare him down menacingly “it’s sad really, that you’re so desperately whoring yourself to this flea bitten cunt”

Y/N’s lips parted with shock. She had never in her whole entire life been spoken to in such a manner. Her face hardened with anger and in a fit of rage, she struck him hard across the face. The slap came as a shock to the prince and he stumbled back a step with the impact. He touched his cheek where her hand had just collided and felt a low ringing in his ear.

“You cunt” he caught her by the arm and twisted it behind her back, his other hand gripping her free arm as she tried to elbow him “you’ve embarrassed me for the last time Y/N”

Y/N struggled to free herself from his harsh grip and yelled in pain when he yanked her arm further up.

Seething with anger, Dunk kicked the prince in the shoulder, forcing him to release Y/N and sending him flying backwards. Before he had time to get back on to his feet, Dunk bent down to grab him by the collar and repeatedly punched him and continued to do so even when he saw the prince beginning to bleed. It took three of the kings guard to pry the larger man off the prince and hold him down.

Aerion took his time to stand up, spitting out the blood from his mouth before using his tongue to push against one of his teeth at which he felt a sharp pain.

“Why did you throw your life away for her?” He asked in a low monotone voice, eyes darting between him and the princess “did you think she would ride off with you into the sunset? She’s a princess you big dumb cunt”

Dunk cast a glance toward the princess, who was sat on the floor holding one of her wrists that felt sore. She looked up at him sadly, knowing that Aerion would go on to do something horrible to the knight. He took great offence if mere words were spoken against him, the odds of him not retaliating to being beaten up were almost none.

“Fergus, take the princess back to her chambers, drag her if you must” Aerion watched as Y/N struggled against the guard’s grip before turning to Duncan, circling around him like a predator about to attack it’s prey “you’ve loosened one of my teeth, so now we’ll start by breaking out all of yours”

“Wait Aerion stop-“ Duncan heard the princess shout as the three guards tried to force his head down toward the stage, his attempt at trying to break free proving useless.

“Let him go!”

Duncan’s eyes widened with horror when he heard his squire’s voice boom over the madness happening. What was he thinking? Barging in here and demanding the mad prince to set Duncan free.

“Keep your mouth shut boy” he scolded, trying to turn around to look at Egg. He was just a boy, he couldn’t bare the thought of these people hurting him “or they’ll beat you up”

“No, they won’t” he replied back with confidence before addressing each of the guards by their names and commanding them to let him go. Duncan looked up at him with eyes wide and thoughts confused.

How did he know their names and why did they listen to him?

“What have you done to your hair?” Aerion asked Egg with disgust.

“I cut it off, I didn’t want to look like you” he snapped.

“Cousin?” Y/N weakly called out as she looked at the younger boy who she thought had been lost.

“Y/N” Egg simply responded, tone softening when he addressed her.

Dunk felt his heart drop to his stomach. Had he been ordering around a prince of house Targaryen this whole time? All the moments he threatened to give him a clout to the ear came flooding back and he gulped, suddenly feeling as though he might vomit. Truly this had to be some bad dream.

Aerion just seemed bored, also partially irritated that his younger brother interrupted what was about to happen to the hedge knight. He considered commanding the guards to carry on anyway but he knew his father and uncle would like to be informed of the younger prince’s arrival.

“Take this one back, throw him in the cellar or something till I’ve spoken to my uncle” he pointed at Duncan, looking at him as though he wanted to snap his neck “I will see you very soon, hedge knight”

~

“I thought you said you were going to bed” Baelor felt as though he was going to have a stroke “instead you disobeyed me, snuck out again and struck your betrothed in front of everyone”

“He called me a whore!” Y/N reminded as she raised her voice with anger. Was her father going to scold her when it was Aerion who instigated that reaction out of her? “Did you not hear a word of what I just said? He broke the girl’s fingers and then when Ser Duncan-“

“Do not raise your voice at me daughter, you weren’t meant to be there in the first place” he stood up, his voice thundering over her’s “and where did this sudden fondness for the knight come from? To such an extent that you keep sneaking away to go see him inspite being told not to leave this place unattended. To such an extent that you struck Aerion”

“That is not important” she crossed her arms, fighting the urge not to yell again.

“I think it is. I’ve just been informed that a brawl broke out between the prince and a hedge knight and that my daughter was part of it as well” he raised a brow “you are a princess, I should not have to remind you of this over and over. If this man is your paramour, I must insist that you to put a halt to this foolishness and realise how this sort of carelessness would ruin you”

“Gods be good- he is not some secret paramour of mine” Y/N’s face heated up as soon as those words left her father’s mouth. First Aerion and now him as well? “We- him- he’s just… kind”

Baelor sighed. His daughter was the more gentle one among all of the Targaryen children. Even as a child she preferred the company of others with a similar sweet disposition as herself. Aerion and her used to be close until her grew older and cold. Valarr was still someone she found comfort in, but he treated her like a child still instead of a woman grown. She hadn’t found herself a close friend in a long time, everyone around her too rowdy and obsessed with either fighting or drinking. And so, Baelor found it both surprising and odd how Y/N grew this comfortable around a random hedge knight she’d only met two knights ago.

“Aegon requested me to allow supper be served to the hedge knight” he sank down into his chair, averting his gaze from his daughter “you may go with him and inform the man that I wish to see him when he’s done eating. Come straight to me, do not loiter about”

“Yes father” she mumbled with no further argument.

She fidgeted with the fabric of her bodice as she walked downstairs toward the cellars, nervous about seeing him. If not for her idiotic betrothed, he wouldn’t be in this mess and merely apologising on his behalf this time would not aid him in anyway.

The door to his cellar was already ajar so she knew her cousin was already with him inside.

His cellar was damp and cold, the roof of it probably too low for a man as tall as Ser Duncan but she couldn’t be sure, he was sitting down on the ground as he ate from the tray of food Aegon brought him.

Her cousin was nestled in one corner, his knees pulled close go his chest and his eyes brimmed with tears.

“Hello” she meekly greeted and the knight looked up to meet her, his mouth stuffed with bread and his hardened stare softening.

He hurried to swallow the food in his mouth, coughing as he almost chocked on a piece. He quickly grabbed the mug of water and took a large swig, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand before looking up at her once again “princess”

“I suppose apologising for my betrothed’s behaviour is useless, isn’t it?” She sat down before him, not caring that her skirt would be ruined, that was the last thing on her mind.

“You’ve nothing to apologise for” he sweetly told her but Y/N could sense the uncertainty in his voice. He noticed her fidgeting with the fabric of her gown, something he’d noticed she did probably when she was feeling anxious “do not fret princess, you truly have no need to feel sorry for what happened”

Y/N saw him looked down at her fingers and let go of her skirt, surprised that he’d even noticed this little habit of her’s.

“Did you know your cousin was the one squiring for me?” He asked, casting a quick glance at the boy who looked like he would cry any minute.

Y/N’s brows furrowed with confusion. To her knowledge, he was lost on the road miles away from here.

“You ran away to squire for him?” She turned to look at him, her voice laced with sternness. All this time, she was so worried for him whilst he was running around Ashford meadow carelessly “we were so worried, what were you thinking Aegon?”

“I didn’t run away. Daeron wanted us to hide in an inn so that he might not have to enter the lists, that’s where I met Ser Duncan” his voice cracked as he tried to explain the situation to his older cousin “I only wanted to squire for him, so I didn’t tell anyone when I arrived here”

Y/N saw a single tear streamed down his cheek and immediately her sternness withered away. She held her arm out to him and beckoned him to come closer. Almost instantly, Aegon ran into her embrace, settling himself cozily at her side.

“What will they do to me?” Dunk asked looking between Y/N and Aegon, smiling faintly at the sight of them.

“My father wishes to see you when you’ve finished eating” she told him, looking at him sadly for not having an answer to his previous question.

“Well then I’m finished” he put down the last bit of the bread he was holding, dusting his hands against his pants and standing up “I’ve already struck one prince, I don’t mean to keep another one waiting”

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