Hand of the Heart | S. Rogers x Reader - Royal AU

Ch. 6 - Jousting

It was easier for you to eat this time around, perhaps because you knew everyone better. You once again conversed with the Ladies to avoid the questions that the volunteers were no doubt pining to ask.

Brock was staring at you again, but you elected to ignore his looks and enjoy your food and your delightful conversation with Wanda you were having about a trade deal that was made a few years ago.

When dinner was over, you wished everyone a goodnight and went to your chambers to sleep.

~~~~~~~

Most likely dozens of servants and guards helped set up the joust. It was the same area and set-up as the archery game, but instead of targets in the middle there was a long fence that was horizontal to you and the council; the tilt.

Each competitor was given a horse of the same breed, size, and training level. They were given around thirty minutes to get used to their equipment and horses before the game started. Dressed in your kingdom's colors, you and Eamon watched them trot and canter around the grounds.

"Who do you think will return to their kingdoms today, Eamon?"

He hummed. "All of the knights have a bit of an upper hand of course, but Prince Brock and Prince Erik have a promising technique from what I've seen so far."

You tilted your head back to face him, his chestnut curls resting on his forehead and he leaned down. "You would know."

He smiled and said, "I do spend some of my time watching the knights joust when I have no pressing duties to attend to."

Natasha, Shuri, and Wanda were not a part of the Ladies Court. The Ladies Court was given the power to give extra points to any competitor that showed extra ability or gallantry during the game. In all fairness, they had to be excluded due to favoritism.

They score points by either breaking their lance or landing the best hits. Automatic wins come from knocking their opponent off their horse completely.

The first men who were to compete were Loki and James. Eamon told you that James was at more of a skill level being a knight, but since Loki wasn't the direct heir to Asgard, he might have practiced more than the usual prince.

Loki's garniture was green and gold accented, and James' had blue and red accents. Loki's lance was painted gold and James' silver, but both were made of the same materials. A rare metal that Wakanda had an abundance of; vibranium.

Since everyone knew the rules of jousting, all you had to do was announce the start of the game.

You stood and walked to the end of your platform and simply yelled, "Let the second game begin!" and the whistle blew to signal the start of the joust.

Already lined up with the tilt, both Loki and James immediately had their horses sprint towards each other, their lances in the air.

It all happened so quickly, but James' lance clinked against Loki's chest plate. He didn't fall, but it sounded like it hurt. They'd have to do a  second round.

They lined up on opposite sides of the tilt, scrutinizing and analyzing each other before the whistle blows. Once it did, the horses charged and there was a fateful crack of metal hitting metal. You wouldn't have been able to tell who hit who if not for the green and gold accented garniture landing on the ground.

A few servants rushed to see if Loki was okay, but the majority of the crowd started to cheer for the champion of this joust. You sat up in your seat to see if he was hurt.

You glanced over to the council, who were smiling and clapping at the man's misfortune. You never liked jousts, nor any other game like it. You found them violent. But you didn't get to choose which games to play, you were simply the one who got affected by them.