Hugh Hammer (ASOIF/SI)

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."


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