Children in this world mature earlier, and members of House Baratheon are naturally large and strong. Boremund was only sixteen this year, but Rhaegar hadn't seen him for several years and was shocked to find he had grown into a muscle-bound giant.
When Boremund heard Rhaegar's voice inside the castle earlier, he leaned out the window.Seeing that Rhaegar was still only about the size of a half-grown boy, he was overjoyed.
Boremund had always been older and taller than Rhaegar. Yet ever since they first met, he had never once defeated Rhaegar in a match.
If he waited until Rhaegar finished growing taller, he might never get another chance.
That would become the greatest regret of his life.
The two warhammers whistled loudly as Boremund spun them through the air.
At least he had some sense, they were training hammers made of wood.
"HA!"
With a shout, Boremund hurled one hammer straight at Rhaegar.
Rhaegar wasn't wearing armor.Getting hit by even a wooden hammer would hurt, so he quickly sidestepped and deflected it with his sword.
But before he could recover his balance-
Another hammer came flying.
Warhammers relied on raw power over technique.Usually they were held with one or two hands.
Using two at once actually weakened their force.
Rhaegar had expected Boremund to throw one hammer.
He had not expected him to throw both.
It was also partly Rhaegar's fault- seeing an old friend had made him less focused.
The moment he deflected the second hammer,Boremund had already charged into him.
What does it feel like to be rammed head-on by a charging bull?
Rhaegar was about to find out.
Just before Boremund's shoulder struck his chest,he lifted his arm and turned the brutal shoulder bash into a shove, using his entire body weight and running momentum.
Rhaegar was sent flying.
Careless… didn't dodge…
That was Rhaegar's last clear thought before the impact compressed his chest, squeezed the air from his lungs, and sent blood rushing to his head.
While still in midair, his vision spun.
"He's not dead! He stood up!"
When Rhaegar finally rolled over and sat up, he realized a crowd had gathered.
The one shouting earlier was Princess Alyssa Targaryen, Baelon's younger sister.
Behind her stood three even younger children with silver hair:
Maegelle
Vaegon
Daenerys
All were children born to King Jaehaerys and Queen Alysanne in recent years.
Adults usually didn't care about children sparring.
But the Lord of Storm's End fighting someone?
That was entertainment.
Boremund's booming voice had drawn attention quickly.
Adults walked over with polite curiosity.
Children simply ran full speed to watch.
Boremund squatted in front of Rhaegar, holding a wooden hammer.
"So, how does this round count?"
Rhaegar brushed dust off his clothes.
"You win, Lord Boremund."
Boremund burst into laughter.
"Victory belongs to muscles!"
He pulled Rhaegar up by the hand.
Boremund was built like an ox and trained every day just like Rhaegar.
Without real weapons or armor, fighting with only blunt swords and fists-
Rhaegar admitted that he probably couldn't beat him now.
More spectators were gathering.
Rhaegar didn't want to expose any special abilities, so letting him win once didn't matter.
Training yard matches weren't serious anyway.
"Glory to House Baratheon!"
Applause erupted.
Flatterers existed everywhere.
Rhaegar shot the speaker a glance.
It was some unknown old man, so he ignored him.
Boremund was slightly annoyed as well, but he kept smiling.
After inheriting Storm's End he had seen many people like that.
He ignored the old man and instead continued chatting with Rhaegar about his experiences over the past year.
Baelon's sister Alyssa crossed her arms.
"Baelon, Rhaegar isn't that impressive. You and Aemon praise him every day for nothing."
"That's not true!" Baelon hurried to defend him.
"I'll challenge him myself," Alyssa declared.
She marched straight toward the training yard.
Alyssa hated the lessons her mother arranged for her:
sewing
reading
singing
She dreamed of riding into battle like her father, sword in hand.
After begging for a long time, she had finally been allowed to train with her brothers this year.
And she constantly heard them bragging about how strong Rhaegar was.
But in her mind, Rhaegar was simply:
quiet
antisocial
always hiding in corners at feasts
stuffing himself with food
"Wait-!"
Alyssa pointed at the training yard.
"Or you go first."
"Me?" Baelon looked confused.
If he fought Rhaegar, he'd lose badly.
If he fought Alyssa:
losing would be humiliating
winning would make her cry
and their father would scold him mercilessly
Baelon froze.
"Hmph."
Alyssa snorted and strode into the yard.
She grabbed a training sword from the rack and pointed it at Rhaegar.
"Hard Rod Rhaegar! Let's duel!"
Rhaegar hesitated.
Jaehaerys had many children.
He wasn't familiar with Alyssa.
Baelon walked over and whispered:
"That's just her personality. If you refuse, she'll never leave you alone."
"Just go easy on her."
"I understand," Rhaegar replied, rubbing his still-aching chest.
He carefully looked at the girl.
She looked about seven or eight years old, only slightly shorter than him.
She wore tight trousers and a leather vest, dressed entirely like a boy.
By Targaryen standards, she wasn't considered beautiful.
In fact, she was rather unusual.
She had:
a thin body
a long face
large ears
messy reddish-gold hair
When she smiled, her mouth tilted slightly left.
Her eyes were heterochromatic:
one violet
one green
Only one eye carried the classic Targaryen trait.
Rhaegar privately wondered whether she was truly Jaehaerys's daughter.
Watching her sword movements, he judged she had trained for a few months.
Good. The advantage is clearly mine.
At that moment King Jaehaerys arrived with several people.
He had already been told what happened.
He nodded encouragingly to Alyssa, who was eager to fight.
Then he shouted to Rhaegar:
"Rhaegar- fight seriously."
Rhaegar cursed internally.
If I were a brute and actually obeyed you, I might accidentally kill her.
Knowing the king really meant "go easy on her but make it look real," Rhaegar dropped his sword and picked up only a round shield.
"Alyssa," he said.
"If you hit my body even once, you win."
"You said it!"
Alyssa swung wildly:
slashes
thrusts
diagonal strikes
Her sword slammed loudly against the shield.
Each attack involved large wind-up motions from her feet to her waist to her shoulders.
Rhaegar could easily predict the direction.
His shield blocked every strike perfectly.
"Not bad," Jaehaerys said, stroking his clean-shaven chin.
No one knew which fighter he meant.
"Alyssa's courage is admirable,"said Ser Lyonel Redwyne, giving the most balanced comment.
Meanwhile Boremund paced around Alyssa shouting advice.
"Stab his foot!"
"Damn it-stop hitting the shield!"
"Poke his eyes!"
"Stab his kidney!"
Back when Boremund stayed at Harrenhal, he had picked up Rhaegar's colorful vocabulary.
Several years later-
he still hadn't corrected it.
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