Chapter 36: Addam Velaryon V
"Its not exactly… glamourous is it?" he asked, huddling into his cloak
a little deeper, thankful for the fur lined cloak that Lord Cregan Stark
had gifted him.
Hugh grunted out a laugh at this "glamorous lad? War is only ever
glamorous in the stories, not in the living." Prince Hugh was likewise
wrapped in a northern cloak and like him seated as close to the fire
as he could, the flap of the tent their shared doing duty as a canopy
above them to ward off the incessant sleet that was falling.
Their dragons were huddled around two bonfires not far away, both
beasts as uncomfortable as their riders, but much grumpier about
the weather conditions, regularly voicing their displeasure with deep
growls and the odd blast of disgruntled sounding dragonfire.
Addam grinned internally at him calling his friend 'Prince Hugh', who
seemed to be uncomfortable at being suddenly addressed as 'your
grace'. He liked Hugh and like him the newest Prince of the Blood
was a former smallfolk, and Addam felt a certain kinship with the
large, ex blacksmith. It helped that Hugh seemed to be a genuinely
good man, moderate in most things and not prone to vice or many of
the other sins he saw the supposed 'betters' of Westeros commit on
a daily basis.
Though the army of Lord Cregan Stark was not so, prone to these
vices and sins he was forced to note. These northmen were a
straight-talking lot, they said what they meant, and they gave the
impression of not caring one whit for the supposed niceties of
southern courtesy and behavior.
Prince Hugh and Lord Stark had hit it off immediately, the Warden of
the North and the ex-Blacksmith developing something of a
friendship, probably because both men had little time for flowery
court language or speaking in indirect terms. Prince Hugh and Lord
Stark were wont to spar often in the morning, and with other northern
lords on occasion, who Addam had heard remarking that Hugh
would fit in rightly in the North.
"How long do you think we will be, well, here?" he asked, gesturing
to the encampment that surrounded them.
"In the field, I don't know, probably as long as it takes, and however
long that is" came Prince Hugh's reply. "I know many would prefer for
us to be camped at castles, keeps or towns, but that ties us to easily
known locations and makes us vulnerable to Vhagar. Like the
Greens our forces are spread out and not bunched up, specifically to
make us less of a target to that old bitch."
"Should we, I mean our dragons, also be split up also in that case?"
"No, neither of our mounts could be assured of taking Vhagar on
their own, even with the tactics and attack methods we would use, its
safer to have us both together."
"I hope you are right" Addam replied.
"Why, are you anxious to get back to that hive of scum and villainy
that we call Kings Landing?" asked Hugh, laughter bubbling up his
throat.
"No, but anxious to get out of this fucking weather!"
"What's wrong with you lad!" came a grumbling, deep voice "its
hardly cold at all, and it's not even snowed properly yet!" announced
Lord Stark, who was striding up to their tent with Lady Alysanne
Blackwood in tow, and a score of guards.
He and Hugh stood up and bowed to the Warden of the North and to
Lady Alysanne, Hugh retrieving two more folding chairs from the tent
to offer the Lord and Lady.
Both sat down, Lady Alysanne was wearing men's clothing and
armour as she usually did, Addam by now being used to this oddity.
"I'd offer you mead if I had any" Prince Hugh said, "but as I don't you
will just have to accept the hospitality of two grumbling southrons!"
"No worries your Grace, Lady Alysanne and I are just back from
some scouting for tomorrows march, as predicted our march and
attacks have cut off a large portion of the Green's forces and they
are apparently withdrawing towards Tumbleton as expected."
Hugh just nodded his head at this, he had been present when the
strategy to be followed had been decided upon and he had been
present at most of the meetings that had reported on their progress.
Lord Cregan and his northemen had been diverted away from Kings
Landing and directly into confrontation with the forces of the Greens.
The first battle had been at the bridges over the Blackwater at
Dawbridge1 a rather messy skirmish to all accounts but one which
the northern cavalry had won in the end.
Since then, and with the support of their dragons, they had steadily
pushed the Greens back out of the upper Reach, clearing out the
border with the Riverlands first, at the insistence of the contingent of
lords, and a lady, along with a portion of their men, from said
Riverlands.
It was slow and sometimes laborious work, not helped at all by the
atrocious weather, which grounded the dragons three days out of
seven, Hugh refusing to fly if the clouds were below five hundred
feet, except in certain circumstances. In most cases the Greens fled
before them, only turning to fight here and there, and only if it was to
their advantage. And the Greens had cottoned on to the fact that the
weather was restricting their dragons, and so often only gave battle
when they thought the dragons would not be flying.
Prince Hugh had dissuaded them of that notion, for if there was a
battle that the dragons could reach in time, he would not hesitate to
commit the dragons. But of course, this had its price, both Vermithor
and Seasmoke bore the scars of scorpion bolts and numerous
arrows across their bellies and wings. Seasmoke had even crashed
into a line of trees during one skirmish, almost ending tumbling out of
control and making him near soil his pants in fright.
"Any sign of Vhagar?" Hugh asked when the taciturn Northern Lord
looked like he would say no more.
"None yet, and the report from our spies is that the Dragon has
barely moved from where it is roosting at Bitterbridge."
"That cannot last, unless the beast or its rider are gravely injured"
came Hugh's concerned sounding reply.
"We have no indication of that, the dragon apparently flies every few
days with its rider atop it, though it is never gone for more than a
day, most times its flights are only an hour or two in duration" replied
the Warden of the North.
"Hrmmmm….still I don't like it, it makes me nervous…." Came
Hugh's answer.
"You, 'nervous', surely not your grace?" came a coquettish sigh from
Lady Alysanne, who batted her eyelashes outrageously at Prince
Hugh.
"Not as nervous as a bride on her wedding night at the thoughts of
losing her maidenhead, but still, nervous enough….." came the reply
from Hugh, Addam frankly shocked at what the Prince had just said.
"I've no need to be nervous of that, for I lost mine to riding my
favorite horse at ten and three!" retorted Lady Alysanne, brazen as
brass and without an ounce of shame, Addam felling his ears
beginning to redden at the turn this conversation was taking.
"And I'm sure the horse deserved it more than most husbands
would!" Hugh retorted, to a few seconds of utter silence until Lady
Alysanne burst into hysterical laughter, Lord Stark letting out
growling guffaws that Addam hoped were laughter and not
paroxysms of anger and rage.
"Oh….I like this one, a shame he is too pretty for my tastes….." Lady
Alysanne replied with a look that fairly terrified Addam, she looked
like she wanted to eat something alive, and was not choosey about
which one of them it would be.
"Too pretty?" smirked Hugh "Lord Stark, I believe that was an invite
to you to ask Lady Alysanne for her hand….."
"What?!" stuttered the northern Lord, his face aghast looking.
"Far too cleaver also" smirked Lady Alysanne, who seemed to be
totally unconcerned by the consternation she had caused.
"I get the feeling I was both insulted and complimented, and at the
same time!" replied Lord Stark in a deadpan tone of voice, but the
slightest of grins pulling at his mouth let Addam know that he was not
at all annoyed at what had been said. Which was just as well as far
as Addam was concerned, surrounded by thousands of armed
northmen in the camp, even with dragons to back them up.
"Men! So fearless on the battlefield, so terrified of the battle for a fair
maiden's heart!" laughed Lady Alysanne, pretending to swoon
dramatically.
"That is because we cannot fathom our opponent my Lady" came
Prince Hugh's instant reply, a grin spreading on his face.
"Oh? Is that so, I think you know the ways of a fair maiden's heart all
too well your Grace" purred Lady Alysanne in reply.
Was, was Lady Blackwood flirting with Prince Hugh? Or was she
pretending to flirt with him to make Lord Stark jealous? Or was she
really flirting with Lord Stark in some strange, roundabout way?
Addam was confused, and he resolved to ask Hugh about this later
on, for he seemed to know exactly what was going on, as did Lord
Stark. But then had the Stark Lord not been already married? That
must be it he decided, and Hugh had probably also once been
married also, just not mentioned it as of yet. Yes, he decided, that
must be what it was, how they seemed to understand what was
going on and he was completely at sea.
"Speaking of fair maidens, you must be missing your betrothed your
Grace?" asked Lord Stark, his face serious despite the barest hint of
humor Addam thought he heard in the man's voice, though that
might just be his gruff accent.
"I would not want to put the fair Princess Rhaena through any of this
my Lord, she is better off in the comforts of the Red Keep."
"Soldiering not for women?" asked Lady Alysanne, her voice light
and playful.
"Not for this young woman no" came Hugh's reply.
"And you Lord Addam, I hear that congratulations are also in order
for you?" asked Lord Stark, seemingly keen to make him feel even
more uncomfortable.
"Erh, well, ummmh….there have been, well, rumor's that I will be
betrothed to one of Lord Borros Baratheon's daughters, I can pick
whichever one of them I want, apart from the one who caused Prince
Aemond to clash with Prince Lucerys over Shipbreaker Bay, she is to
have her tongue pulled and be sent to the Silent Sisters…"
"Of course, all of this will only come to pass once the war is over"
Hugh came to his defense, "and maybe not even then, it depends on
our Regent, Prince Daemon."