Laughter rang throughout the building as men drained their mugs of brown ale, the first alcoholic drink any of them would have drunk since before they joined my guards. Whilst one beer wouldn't cause anyone to gain a beer belly overnight, cutting alcohol off completely should lessen the temptation of drinking.
However tonight was a night of celebration instead of a night of training, and rewarding my men with a drink for their hard work over these last few weeks is the least I could do. Though the rate at which the kegs were emptying was rather worrisome, after all that ale cost me more than one might think, even if they did come from Uncle Kevan's storehouse.
"You seem to be enjoying yourself." Jaime said as he sat next to me, tankard in his hand, he gestured his head to a mug of my own. I nodded, feeling a little bit tipsy myself. You only really start to notice when your drunk when you stand up and it feels as if you are standing on the deck of a ship when you do.
"I was just listening to one of Trent's tales of heroism." I replied, moving my eyes towards one of the more entertaining members of my guard, "Hearing how he once slew a band of robber knights harassing a young village girl really does instil me with the belief that I have some of the best men in Westeros at my side." Jaime chuckled at that as he took another drink.
"I thought the Kingsguard weren't meant to drink." I ask as I stare at Jaime, who finishes his drink and wipes his mouth. "We're not." he clarifies as he saw my questionable look, "We're not in the sense that it is frowned upon. A little fact you won't find in your books is that Corlys Velaryon, the first Lord Commander, was a big drinker and somehow 'forgot' to inform Visenya Targaryen that there should be a vow to not drink alcohol." I scrunch up my nose at that, it didn't seem like a mistake that Visenya Targaryen would miss, even then she could've still added it even after she formed the Kingsguard.
I shake my head, letting it go before I change the conversation, "Anyway, I have a surprise booked for the men tonight." Jaime raises an eyebrow, "Oh? an even bigger surprise than the ale?" I nod, "I have sent Monty to some of the better quality brothels in this part of Lannisport with an offer of a large day's wages to any of the whores who wish to come here. I honestly think Monty will be out of his depth a bit but he's a hard worker and should manage."
I explain, Jaime asks "What do you think father is going to do when he finds out you have solicited whores for you and your men."
"I never said I was going to fuck them, they're for my men and they deserve to be treated as an asset, not a cost. Though I am doubting that, this night has already put a heavy weight on my finances." I reassure Jaime, father probably wouldn't care if I was to sleep with a whore once, after all many members of the nobility did and even Uncle Gerion frequents a few of the more expensive brothels every now and then.
"Cerion" a voice calls out to me, making me turn my head left towards the door. Monty is there, walking over and sitting down in front of me, "They're here." he tells me quietly as he jerks his head towards the way in which he came. I nod back, "Okay, go and bring them in when I have finished talking." He gives a gesture of affirmation and walks back out the door.
Standing up, I clap my hands loudly,
"QUIET!" everyone stops and turns to face me at that, "As you have all been working hard this last month, I have another surprise for you all, It is all paid by me so don't worry about that." As soon as I finish, the door opens and in walk near two dozen prostitutes. Immediately the men are shouting and whistling, "Don't force them to do anything they don't want to do, if you do then your out, I have no place for rapists in my guard. Now go and enjoy yourselves." The men start filtering outside of the building, where there should be more women, you need quite a lot for around 300 men.
"I would say that was quite a good reception." I say to Jaime, he just shakes his head, "Of course it was, those kind of whores cost a pretty penny, it would be a first time experience for most of them.
Anyway, I should settle for an early night, I need to meet with father again in the morning to discuss the loan." Jaime moaned, I just let out an amused scoff as he vacates the building. Seeing that it was going to get kind of noisy in the here, I follow Jaime to leave as well.
Bumping into someone as I was about to exit the door, I hear the person say "I'm sorry" in a soft foreign accent. Looking up, I meet the same pair of violet eyes that I had seen several times over this last year. The owner of those eyes was a young woman, no more than a couple of years older than myself. Valyrian features which consisted of long, silver hair and purple eyes, an upturned nose and sharp jawline.
"It's okay." I reassure, "I was just going to go for a little walk because it is going to get pretty busy in here." The girl gives me an understanding look and stares over my shoulder for a bit before looking back at me, "Can I join you?" she asks, stumped by what to say I just nod my head.
'As I have agreed I saw his eyes brightened, I don't if it was hallucination or something else'.
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Thanks for reading this chapter, The main story is now going to start. Be prepared