Hugh Hammer (ASOIF/SI)

 "You look well Hugh, holding the wain like that!" he laughed, Hugh

 smiling and looking genuinely happy, holding as he did in the crook

 of his arm the baby daughter that Alysanne had birthed him, who

 they had named Alys.

 The babe was asleep in Hugh's arms, having barely stirred when

 Alysanne had insisted that Hugh take her daughter in his arms.

 They were all seated in the common room of his quarters in the Red

 Keep, a fine and clear morning illuminating the room with bright

 winter sunshine. It was still cold outside, not real, proper cold, but

 cold enough all the same. Maybe he was getting soft after all this

 time in the south he mused. In the next moon he would be departing

 for the North finally, with Alys old enough to travel, and Alysanne

 having recovered from childbirth.

 "Yes he does, does he not," came Alysanne's reply, causing a blush

 to rapidly spread across Lady Floris's face, the girl obviously

 embarrassed by what Alysanne had said.

 "Now my Lady….." he answered, knowing that Alysanne was unlikely

 to be dissuaded from running off at her mouth, as she was wont to

 do, especially with Hugh, as the pair of them were well able to trade

 good natured verbal barbs.

 "Sush you big oaf!" she laughed. "Prince Hugh is a natural, look at

 him! He will make a great father; of that I am certain of!"

 "Well, hopefully," Hugh replied, never taking his eyes off the babe in

 his arms, gently rocking her back and forth, eliciting little bubbling

 noises from Alys.

 "Hopefully he says…..really Hugh…."

 He rolled his eyes to heaven, she was impossible, this wife of his.

"Aye, it's up to the gods is it not, to grant us children…" Hugh replied,

 in a serious tone he did not like his friend using, a tone that Prince

 Hugh had come to increasingly use as the days since his elevation

 to Lord Regent. The burden of ruling did not sit well with Hugh, that

 much was obvious, but he governed well, from what he had seen so

 far, and the Realm seemed to be stable and in a safe pair of hands

 for now.

 If only those blasted southern cunts would stop their plotting and just

 get on with ruling, things would be so much easier. He had said this

 to Hugh, who had laughed and replied that he might as well ask the

 Lords of the realm to stop breathing instead.

 "He, my husband, he, he does seem to handle children well," Lady

 Floris finally replied, a tiny, shy smile just about appearing on her

 face.

 The girl was young, probably too young to be wed, at least according

 to Alysanne, who had remarked that this was the second wedding

 where Hugh was marrying a girl far too young. He had reminded his

 wife that Lady Floris had been the price that Hugh had extracted

 from House Baratheon for their support in what Hugh had rather

 grandly named 'The Hour of the Wolf'.

 He laughed at that 'The Hour of the Wolf' indeed, he had just done

 what was right, what was just, to set things straight and clear out the

 worst of the traitors and scum who presumed to taint the Red Keep

 and the government of the Seven Kingdoms. The information

 provided to him by Lord Strong, Lady Misery, which Prince Hugh

 also had been made aware of was enough, and he had acted as a

 Lord should, with swiftness and no remorse.

 Personally, he would have beheaded the lot of them, Prince Hugh's

 preference for impalement was… disturbing, but he knew that Hugh

 had meted out this punishment for the men who had raped his first

 wife, Princess Rhaena. At least it did send a clear message that

 Prince Hugh was not to be trifled with, and the gods knew Hugh

 would need every ounce of help he could.

For despite his name, despite his title, most, if not all of the so-called

 Lords of the Realm seemed to be unable to look past Hugh's bastard

 and smallfolk status. Even with the largest living dragon as his mount

 Cregan was deeply concerned about the possibility of his friend

 being murdered by the greedy, power-hungry cunts who called

 themselves Lords.

 And so, this was why he had proposed leaving a special guard made

 up of loyal and no-nonsense northern men behind for Hugh's

 protection. Hugh had accepted this idea, calling it the 'Varangian

 Guard', a strange name, whose origin Hugh had said was rooted in

 Essos and prior to the rise of the Freehold. The men of this guard

 were sworn personally to Hugh, and would serve for five years, with

 an option of a further two, before being replaced by new men from

 the North. He had already sent out ravens to the North informing his

 lords that he would be requiring their best men at arms for this role.

 He returned his attention to the room, Lady Floris having taken Alys

 from Hugh's arms and she was now cooing and making little faces at

 Alys, who seemed to be enjoying the attention if her pleased

 sounding gurgles were anything to go by.

 He shared a quick glance with Alysanne, who looked contented, but

 he could detect his wife's thoughts from the look in her eyes.

 Alysanne was a very, very observant woman, and she was a great

 asset in the Red Keep, where everyone was a dammed liar it

 seemed, even Hugh on occasion. His wife was convinced that all

 was not well between Hugh and his pretty young wife, that there was

 a subtle tension between them, that frankly he could not see.

 They looked like any other newly married couple, attentive to each

 other and clearly well pleased with being married to each other.

 Alysanne had pointed out that Hugh was much more attentive to

 Floris than she was to Hugh, and that the girl seemed unduly

 nervous most of the time.

He dismissed this as her youth, and her new station as a Princess of

 House Targaryen, and the fact of all that had happened, including

 the fact that Hugh had burned her father do death, not to mention the

 events of the 'Hour of the Wolf'.

 Alysanne had not been convinced by his arguments however and

 admitted that when she had met the girl on several occasions she

 had seemed to be far too, reserved, and evasive, and Alysanne

 suspected that the girl was hiding something.

 What that something was Alysanne could not say, but it intrigued his

 wife, who seemed to be determined to find out.

 'Women' he said to himself, it was most likely absolutely nothing of

 import, probably some foolish frippery that these southrons liked to

 indulge in as they had no real concerns to occupy their minds.

 "He is a man of many talents, is your husband, though I am sure you

 already know that," came back Alysanne's reply, causing the girl to

 blush all over again, before he could reprimand his wife again she

 continued on. "It's such a pity that his duties as Lord Regent take up

 so much of his time, that and sparring, tending to the dragons, being

 the surrogate father to his surviving siblings, you poor girl, how do

 you get a moments time alone with that handsome husband of

 yours?"

 He wanted to flee the room if he was honest, and he noticed that

 Hugh was only slightly discomforted by Alysanne's words, but poor

 Lady Floris blushed ever deeper if that was possible.

 "His, his grace is a busy man, but he makes time enough for me,"

 came the girls reply, each word said with slightly increasing

 confidence, at least she was not totally cowed by his wife's sharpish

 tongue.

 "Oh, I'm sure he does."

That was it, he had had enough of all of this, but Prince Hugh beat

 him to it, "you are really determined to embarrass my wife, are you

 not Lady Alysanne?" Hugh asked, the grin and light tone of his voice

 taking any sting out of his words.

 "I mean nothing of the sort!" Alysanne retorted, mock horror

 plastered across her face.

 "I think Lady Alysanne is trying to find out how many times we lie

 together," Lady Floris retorted, surprising everyone with this outburst,

 even if she said it in a low, almost whispered tone.

 "Ha! Finally!" laughed his wife, a look of smug triumph creasing her

 face. "Well?"

 "Seriously Alysanne, seriously?" was all he could say, only slightly

 surprised and annoyed by his wife's antics, who just raised a single

 eyebrow at him in return.

 "Why?" asked Prince Hugh, "this great big northern oaf not doing his

 duty by you, and you need to get off by thinking of me and my wife?"

 He nearly choked at this, as did Princess Floris, but Alysanne just

 laughed and laughed at this response.

 Prince Hugh stood up and saying, "well, on that note, we have to go,

 I promised my good lady wife a ride on Vermithor."

 "Oh? Is that what you call it, I heard its very big…." Alysanne retorted

 as he palmed his right hand into his face, before giving Hugh a bow

 as he left the room, Princess Floris handing over Alys to Alysanne

 and fairly darting from the room.

 Once Hugh and his wife were safely out of earshot he rounded on

 Alysanne, but she just said rather deadpan, "they are not fucking,"

 completely taking him aback.

 "Wha… I….?"

"They are not fucking; the lass is probably still a maid I'd wager."

 "How, I mean….?"

 "We women have our ways Cregan, but it's obvious as daylight. And

 the chit herself is rather confused by it, she does not seem to know if

 it's a good thing or a bad thing that Hugh is not stuffing that huge

 cock of his into her cunny."

 "…"