Jericho was relieved to be back in his chambers after deciding to return to the Red Keep with his younger siblings, not seeing the point in staying any longer than he had to. It had taken Jericho a while to calm the two children from what they had seen, but after much persuasion and comfort, the young man was able to leave them with their caretakers while he went off to his chambers.
The young man was about to pull a book off his bookshelf when a soft knock interrupted him. Glancing toward the door, Jericho decided to see if it was his sibling's caretakers, who seemed unable to control the young and energetic children at times.
"Did you need help with my siblings?" He asked, opening the door only to realize his mother was on the other side.
"It seems you were expecting someone else."
"My apologies, mother. I thought you wer- never mind."
"Perhaps I should find people better suited to look after your siblings. That way, they won't have to bother you as much."
"I really don't mind. I love spending time with Myrcella and Tommen." He told the woman, not wanting people to lose their jobs because of him.
"I know you do, my sweet boy." Cersei said, placing a soft hand on her son's cheek as she smiled.
"Did you need something from me?"
"Ah, yes. I wanted to remind you that tonight we have a grand feast to attend in honor of the tournament ending, and no, you may not miss it. None of us can." She told her son, watching as he tried to find a way out of participating.
"If I must," Jericho said reluctantly.
"Good. I will see you this evening." Cersei said as she turned and walked away, no doubt going to chase another one of her children down to remind them of their royal commitments.
Closing the door, Jericho rubbed the bridge of his nose in annoyance. He knew the crown couldn't afford such a celebration, yet his father was putting them all in such a difficult situation just so he could have an excuse to drink, eat, and whore openly for the night. He wondered if Eddard could possibly talk his father out of having such an event, but Jericho already knew he wouldn't.
The young man decided to spend the rest of the day finding something suitable to wear and planning to spend a boring night sitting at the royal table while everyone else had their fun. But it didn't take long for the day to turn into night, somehow time seemed to have gotten away from Jericho as he made his way toward the banquet hall in the Red Keep, where everyone was already attending the celebration.
Standing outside the large doors, Jericho prepared to have everyone's eyes on him. But, unfortunately, it was the price he had to pay for arriving late. Jericho signaled for the knights to open the doors allowing him to walk into the banquet hall where people were laughing and enjoying themselves, only for it to stop the moment people noticed his entrance.
Jericho held his head high, not allowing the nobles in the room to see anything that could be exposed as a weakness. He knew most nobles thought of him as the disgraced heir having his title taken from him when he was young. And all of them were eager to unveil the reason why he was sent away for so many years.
It was clear no one had expected him to attend such an event by their wide eyes and open mouths of surprise. It was a known fact Jericho didn't participate in many celebrations even when he lived at Casterly Rock, he had spent most events in the library. Most thought it was because he was ashamed, but in reality, Jericho preferred the company of books over the backstabbing nobles.
As people continued to watch him on his way toward his family, Jericho felt a sudden surge of courage. He didn't know why or where it came from, but he found himself liking it. He wondered if it had something to do with what Aurora had been trying to teach him all this time. Each step brought him closer to where his family sat, and Jericho continued to feel eyes on him while the soft mummers of gossip rang around.
"I do apologize for my tardiness, your grace." Jericho spoke, reaching the long table as he gave his father a bow before taking his seat.
It didn't take long for all eyes to leave him and return to whatever they had been doing before he arrived. Jericho watched the room taking note of all the houses attending as food and drinks were served.
"Why were you late?" Myrcella asked, leaning over to her older brother with a concerned expression.
"It was nothing to worry about, little doe. I just lost track of time, that is all." He told the girl, giving her an assuring smile.
Myrcella's frown soon turned into a satisfied smile, glad her brother hadn't been up to trouble. "This music is lovely." She commented.
"Yes, it is."
"My Septa is teaching me a similar song on the harp. I'm quite excited about it."
Jericho's eyes softened on his sister, "I do hope to hear the piece when you master it."
"Of course!"
"I will look forward to it then." He told the girl, the two of them smiling at each other.
Jericho spent his time at the table while his siblings went about playing or speaking with the other noble children around their age. He was content staying where he was, studying the people around him. At the moment, his eyes were on the Stark family as Eddard sat at the table with his daughters, his expression grim. Arya pouted beside her father and tugged on her dress in discomfort, perhaps she had gotten into some trouble and was paying the price, Jericho thought. Turning his eyes to Sansa, he noticed the girl seemed in awe as she looked around the room, her eyes landing on multiple people until Joffrey caught her attention and asked her to dance with the girl excitedly, accepting.
"Perhaps you should follow your brother's example and ask someone to dance." Cersei suggested placing a hand on her son's shoulder. Jericho stared in surprise, not having realized his mother's presence.
"Who would I even ask? It's not as if young ladies are eager to dance with me."
"You'd be surprised." Cersei told her son knowingly as she took the empty seat belonging to Myrcella who had gone off to speak with some of the younger noble girls attending the celebration.
"I would be surprised." He told his mother matter-of-factly.
Cersei gave her son an amused smile as she scanned the room for anyone worthy of having a dance with her eldest son. "How about the young lady Hightower?" She suggested, her eyes landing on the beautiful young woman laughing with another woman.
"Why her?" Jericho asked with a raised brow wondering why his mother took a sudden interest in the Hightower girl.
"Did you not ask for her favor during the tourney?"
"You heard about that?"
"Of course I did. It's not every day a prince asks for a lady's favor."
Jericho averted his gaze bashfully, "I only did so because uncle Jaime suggested it."
"It seems your uncle was trying to introduce you to the young ladies."
"No, he just wanted to win a bet," Jericho said with a shake of his head, bringing his cup to his lips.
Cersei let out an amused laugh as she looked at her son, who gave her a small smile. "Well, no matter the reason, she seems like a lovely young lady that should have the honor of a dance with you."
Jericho stared at his mother in silence, he didn't want to dance. He would have much rather stayed at the table watching as everyone else conversed and danced, but it seemed his mother had other ideas. He knew socializing would help with his image, which was almost nonexistent given that he had been kept at Casterly Rock for so many years.
"Fine, I'll ask her for a dance." He finally spoke, standing from his seat.
"Have fun," Cersei said after him.
Making his way toward where the Hightower's sat, Jericho weaved between people making sure not to bump into anyone. Reaching the table, Jericho stood behind the young woman before clearing his throat and getting her attention.
"Oh! My prince, what brings you here?" The young woman asked, turning toward him as the others at the table pretended to go about their conversations while listening to what he had to say.
Jericho hesitated before speaking, "I was wondering if you would like to have this dance with me?"
Beatrice stared at him in surprise, her eyes slightly widening before turning them toward her father, who gave her a discreet nod. Then, turning back to Jericho, the young woman gave him a beautiful smile.
"I would love that." She said, extending a hand for him to take.
Giving her a charming smile, Jericho took her hand before leading her to where everyone else was dancing. He could feel the softness of her hand in his as they began their dance, following what everyone else was doing. It was a simple dance, at least to everyone in the room, having been taught from a young age how to dance by their Septa's or Septon's.
Jericho observed the girl taking notice of her chestnut hair and how it was done in elegant braids worn by many women in the south. Her rich green eyes seemed as bright as the flames used to light the towers of Oldtown when they declared war.
Taking her hand, Jericho twirled her, causing the specs of light green on her dress to shimmer brightly with the light in the room.
"I apologize, my prince." Beatrice suddenly spoke, causing Jericho's eyes to meet hers in confusion.
"What for my lady?" Jericho raised a brow, wondering what the girl could possibly be asking forgiveness for. Studying her face, he tried to find the answer, but he only discovered the light splash of freckles across her nose as her eyes shyly stared at him.
Pressing her lips together, Beatrice averted her eyes, "It seems that my favor did you no good."
Jericho looked at the girl in surprise before letting out a soft chuckle, "I assure you, my lady, that you had nothing to do with my loss in the tourney. Believe it or not, I am quite dreadful when it comes to tournaments like those."
"I doubt that very much." The young woman responded, her expression one of skeptically.
"Believe what you will, but I am telling you the truth, my lady." He said as the song came to an end.
Jericho bowed respectfully to Beatrice as she curtsied, then taking her hand once again, he led her back to her table before bidding her a good evening and returning to his own seat. The young man smiled to himself, finding that he had enjoyed his dance with the young Hightower. However, he knew they would likely never interact again since she and her family would no doubt leave in the following days. Not that it bothered him, given that he didn't even know the young woman.
While Jericho was left with his thoughts on one side of the banquet hall, Beatrice was dealing with her own on the other as she stared at her sworn knight standing among the other knights in the room, giving him a sly smile. She could tell the man was vexed by her willingness to dance with a prince, but it wasn't as if she could refuse him without causing trouble for her family.
But Beatrice couldn't entirely say she didn't enjoy her dance with the eldest prince. On the contrary, she immensely enjoyed it, finding that a dance with him was much better than dancing with other young and drunk nobles looking for her hand in marriage. Turning her attention away from the prince, Beatrice looked down at the food on her plate as her mind moved to the things she could do to make it up to her knight for causing him jealousy.
While the prince and the lady were occupied with differing thoughts, the music and laughter in the room carried on into the late hours of the night as peace allowed them to enjoy it all together. But as most would come to learn, the age of peace would not last much longer.
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Thank you for reading! Let me know what you think of this chapter.