KINGSLANDING, THE FIRST DAY OF 45 AC

The end of the eventful year that was 44 AC was quite delightful, as the King would be blessed with another heir, for his "unwanted" wife, Kathryn had finally conceived again after 3 years.

Maegor had been looking forward to seeing who would come to the ball, and what they would look like. He had been trying his best to be civil and friendly to Naerys for the last month.

He had heard that many ladies from across the continent would come to the ball, and he wanted to see for himself if that was true.

He quickly scanned the room, taking in the sight and the mix of faces. There were women from different places, ranging from Westeros, across the Narrow Sea, and beyond.

There was indeed no lack of women. They ranged in age and appearance, and were all very beautiful.

Maegor felt excited to speak to them, and see who would truly manage to capture his attention.

Alanne, a noble lady from Lorath, eventually approached him. "You look confused, can I help you? I wouldn't want the king to see a confused guy walking around his halls."

Maegor turned around as he heard the voice. He looked around for a moment, before his eyes fixated on the young and beautiful Alanne.

She was the only person who had approached him so far, and he was a bit surprised.

"I was simply surveying the room. Nothing more."

"Of course," She paused. "I am Alanne by the way, if you need anything, let me know please."

Maegor looked her up and down once more. She was truly a beauty.

"Your name is Alanne..." He said her name slowly, as if inspecting the name and who it belonged to. "What is your last name?"

"We don't use last names where I am from, but technically I am a Rogare on my mothers side." Alanne responded with a shrug.

"A Lorathi-born Rogare..." Maegor thought to himself.

"And you are here on your own?" He then asked.

"Yes, Im a grown woman, i don't need my parents to hold my hand like I am five years old." Alanne joked.

Maegor smiled, amused by her confident and assertive tone. "You're still young though, no older than fourteen or fifteen I'd say?"

"I'm almost twenty, my pretty boy." Alanne said in a flirty tone.

Maegor's smile began to fade as he realized how bold she was.

"Oh, I do not believe you. Twenty you say?" Maegor took one small step closer to her.

Alanne quickly changed the topic. "Weren't you that guy that drove my uncle out of the Stepstones 15 years ago?"

Maegor narrowed his eyes. "Yes, I was the man that helped drive a bunch of pirates out of the Stepstones. Your uncle, I presume, was amongst them?"

"Yep." She shrugged. "Sargoso Saan, the leader, that's my uncle."

Maegor laughed, amused by her uncle's name.

"I remember him, he was quite a stubborn pirate. I had to use brute force to drive him and the other pirates from the Stepstones, since words and treaties didn't do it.

"Did he ever tell you much about me? If he did, did he paint me as an evil man?"

Alanne had to laugh at that. "Oh yes, he told me a bit, however he painted you more like a ruthless dragon spawn."

"Well, he wasn't all that wrong." Maegor then took another step towards her.

"Now, just so we get to know each other better, since you seem to know a lot about me, it's only fair I get to know something about you as well. So, I have another question...There are other maidens in this ball, all of whom want my attention, most of whom are much younger and much more beautiful than you. Why should I wed you and not any of them?"

Alanne, as unbothered as she was, decided to answer his question with the brutal honesty she was always taught by her family and tutors. "I have no idea, that is your choice."

This response took Maegor by surprise. He had expected her to beg, or to flatter him, or to get on her knees and worship him as most other maidens here would.

But instead, she simply stated that she didn't care, and that it was completely his decision.

This response... intrigued him. But, he decided to push just a bit further. He was interested in her, so why not have some fun?

"And if I don't wed you? What then? What happens to you, will you go home alone? Will you cry?"

"I will go home and move on with my life." She shrugged again.

Maegor could not help but smile.

"Then I will ask you this. What would your answer be, if I were to offer you my hand right now, at this very moment? What would you say?"

However, their conversation was ruined when a servant burst into the room. "Your Majesty! You need to come with me immediately!"

"The former hand, Dorian Hightower, he was assassinated. We are not sure who the culprit is, but the Queen has summoned us all to the Small Council room to investigate the matter."

Maegor was stunned. "Dorian was assassinated? The entire Small Council has already assembled? Seems like i must be there too." So without another word, Maegor ran off to the small council.

The members of the Small Council were assembled in the Small Council Chamber. The table was round, carved of weirwood. Each member's seat had the sigil of their House, with the Hand's being that of a gauntlet. The members of the Small Council were mostly annoyed by the summons, but some were frightened. No one in the room knew who had killed the Hand. They all awaited the arrival of Maegor.

Before Maegor could enter, Kathryn walked in, dressed in nothing but a robe, as she was busy relaxing.

Following that, Maegor entered, his face looked angry. The other council members seemed startled and embarrassed by seeing Kathryn like this. The others stared at her, and some made remarks such as "How does the King tolerate this?" or "Her beauty is wasted on him."

Maegor ignored their murmurs and joined them at the table.

"My lords." Kathryn spoke up. "I was called up in the middle of my spa day, I wasn't even given time to dress properly."

This just made the murmurs more intense. Some of the men of the council stared at her chest, while some avoided her gaze all together. The only people to respond to her statement were Lord Martyn Hightower and Lord Lyman Lannister.

"You did not have any clothes at your disposal?" Martyn asked, seemingly amused by the situation.

"I would have thought the King would keep better company," Lyman said, his look was cold and unfriendly.

Kathryn just decided to be blunt. "No because I was supposed to get my hands massaged and relax, carrying the kings heir inside of me is hard work you know, as we speak but no, instead I was called up to some stupid council because some stupid Hightower got murdered."

This time, everyone's gaze shifted to her. The murmurs were now of shock. In response to her boldness, some of the more vulgar men of the Small Council started to catcall and whistle. Lyman rolled his eyes.

"Your words seem quite unbecoming for a King's wife, Lady Kathryn." Lyman said.

"Queen Kathryn, my lord. Show some respect." She responded. Coming back to your previous statement, thank you, Lord Lannister, next time I shall come naked." This even got the kings first Queen, Jaehaera laughing like mad.

After the initial shock and catcalls, the other members of the Small Council started laughing. Martyn Hightower was practically rolling on the floor.

When all the laughter had died down, Jaehaera finally spoke, while wiping away the tears on her eyes. She was still smiling. "That is quite bold of you, Kathryn, saying that in front of the entire Small Council. I do wish I could see you like that."

"And I wish I could see you in that outfit, Jae." Kathryn smirked.

Jaehaera let out an audible gasp as she covered her red face with her hands. Why was she so flattered by this? Martyn smiled at the interaction. "I would also wish to see you both in those outfits."

"You sure do, Lord Hightower." Kathryn laughed, now pulling Jaehaera closer to her and holding her waist while holding Maegor in her other arm.

The members of the Small Council started to snicker at the interaction between the two women. The more brazen ones catcalled for the two women to kiss. It was obvious the interaction between the two women and the King had caught their attention.

Martyn smiled as he spoke to the women again. "You two have grown very close, it is almost as if you were lovers."

"Maybe we are a polygamous marriage, who knows?" Jaehaera chuckled, clinging even more to Kathryn.

"That would be quite interesting indeed." He said, his grin growing wider. Everyone else in the Small Council was now curious of the relationship the women had with each other.

Lyman, annoyed by what the conversation was changing to, spoke up. "May we please get back to the matter at hand? You two are distracting us from what is really important."

"My apologies." Jaehaera and Kathryn said in unison and separated, Jaehaera was now holding Maegors right side and Kathryn the left.

Maegor looked a bit embarrassed, but it was clear that he enjoyed the way the two women were holding him.

"It is quite alright ladies," he said, as the members of the Small Council stared at them.

"Fantastic, now what was the matter at hand again?" Jaehaera spoke up.

Lyman spoke up, again, terribly annoyed. "Former hand Dorian Hightower was assassinated. We do not currently have a suspect or know of the reasoning behind the murder. All we do know is that he was found dead in his chambers with a dagger through him."

Jaehaera, very boldly, replied. "How delight- I mean unfortunate."

"Sorrows, prayers." Kathryn chimed back in.

Several members of the Small Council laughed. Some outright laughed for a good thirty seconds before finally calming down.

"Yes, a tragic loss for the realm," Maegor said, he spoke coldly but with a hint of sarcasm in his voice, before his death, he fell out with Dorian so he wasn't sorry for him.

Martyn looked between the three of them and laughed. "The King does not seem very sorrowful."

"A man is killed, yet you three are not only laughing but also giggling like children," Lyman said, his tone was stern.

The room grew quieter. Martyn was the first to speak again. "It is true we do not currently have a suspect, but that does not mean we should not look into possible candidates."

"Why shouldn't we laugh? Some people cope with bad feelings by laughing." Said Jaehaera and then whispered into both Kathryn and Maegors ear.

"After this tomfoolery is wrapped up, I want you two to join me in my chambers, my bed is cold and I would love the company of both my husband and my wife."

"I will be there immediately," Kathryn said, her smile growing wider than it originally was.

Maegor was surprised by the sudden invite, but after recovering, he smiled. "I believe I would be delighted to join you as well after the meeting is over."

"Great." She whispered with a smile and turned back to the council. "So, what are the facts?"

"As I said, we do not know of any suspects at the moment, there were not many suspects that had motive or opportunity." Lyman answered.

"You are forgetting someone I would say had great motive to kill the Hand," Martyn said, his smile seemed mischievous.

"Who would that be, Lord Martyn?" Jaehaera was curious now, who could've possibly killed a man with more enemies than friends?

"You." Martyn said directly, his smile had completely disappeared, and he now seemed cold and unfriendly. "You never liked the Lord hand, so his death would come in handy for you, wouldn't it?"

The other members of the Council were just as shocked as Maegor was.

"That's virtually impossible, I was reading a book to my children. You can ask multiple of the guards and maids." Jaehaera argued, this accusation made her angry.

"Yes, but the guards can be bribed and so can the maids. The only thing you say you have to clear yourself is your alibi. We have no evidence you can show us to completely clear you." Lyman said, supporting this theory.

"Ask my child then. Fetch Prince Aerion and ask him yourself." She yelled.

"We shall do just that," He said, nodding to a servant in the room.

The servant promptly left the room and after some minutes he returned with Aerion in tow. The young Prince was now standing beside his father.

Jaehaera quickly picked the small boy up and sat him on the table. "You must be terribly tired, aren't you?" She stroked his hair.

The sleepy Aerion smiled and nodded as he nuzzled into Jaehaera's hands. "Mama?" He muttered.

"Yes sweetpea.. can you tell the blonde man there about your good night story?" She smiled back at Aerion. "After that, I will tug you back into bed, sweetpea."

He looked up and started to talk. "Well, mama and I had some dinner, then read some silly stories and mama tucked me in and kissed me good night."

"See, there you have it. There is my evidence. I cannot have assassinated the Hand when I was in the middle of reading to my young son." Jaehaera barked at Lyman.

Tyland sighed as he looked at the young Prince. "So it seems."

"Indeed, so, any other culprits?" Jaehaera asked, still very much pissed.

"Yes, there is one other name that has been tossed around a couple times." Martyn said.

"What name, don't speak in riddles, Lord Hightower. You're just as annoying as your brother with those riddles." She sighed.

"A certain lady." Martyn said, giving a look in Kathryn's direction.

"Pardon?" Kathryn barked. "As you can tell, I am very much pregnant and in NO capacity to sneak up behind a 185 pound, 6'3 tall man and then stab him. You're ridiculous." Kathryn seemed shocked and looked helplessly and angry at Jaehaera and Maegor.

"Martyn seems to believe that somehow, you, who is carrying a child, snuck up on the strong and imposing Hand who is also well-armed and stabbed him. I must say Lord Hightower, I have never heard something so absurd before." Maegor said.

Rhaella, who had been present all this time, finally spoke up. "Now that you mention the former hand being well-armed.. the culprit must've been someone he trusted."

"Indeed, but how many people did the Hand trust?" Lyman asked.

Martyn seemed to have a realization. "You do make an excellent point, Rhaella... but it cannot be his family or his small council members..."

Rhaella quickly slammed her hands on the table. "Don't even dare to try and turn this on me."

"But you must admit, it would be quite foolish to leave you out of the list of possible suspects. You were also in the castle when this happened. The Hand was killed sometime in the night, and you were awake. Were you not? Who can confirm your alibi?" Martyn replied with a smug smile.

"I was spending time with my fiancé, Prince Viserys." Rhaella responded coldly.

"And how do we know your fiancé did not leave your side at any point in the night? How do we know you did not sneak out of your room and killed the Hand?" Lyman jumped back in, he was relentless in his accusations.

Rhaella was by now extremely angry. "Because we were having sex. Hope knowing the heirs intimate business helps your case, Lord Lannister." She spat.

Martyn and Lyman seemed to be both shocked yet intrigued at the same time.

Maegor was not amused at all, and his face made that clear. "You are not helping your case, Rhaella. That makes you even more suspicious. Your story makes it obvious you and the Crown Prince were in a rather intimate situation. How do we know he did not leave you alone for a bit and you killed the Hand?"

"Because I know when I felt that princely sausage inside of my hooha, are you calling me a liar? Perhaps my lord father wants to watch next time?" Rhaella argued back.

Jaehaera burst out with laughter. "My gods above!" The other members of the Small Council could not contain their laughter. Even the normally stoic Ser Victarion Westerling, Lord Dorian's successor, was laughing.

Lyman was furious. "Silence, all of you! This is no laughing matter! This is a man's corpse we are speaking of!"

"I'm sure Lord Hightower is laughing with us down there in the seven hells." Rhaella chuckled.

"I do not have the time for your jokes." Maegor said as he glared at the young princess.

"She shrugged. "Back to the murder, any other subjects or shall we wrap up for today and resume this council tomorrow?"

"Unfortunately, we still do not have any other suspects, and all of these have been cleared up for the moment." Lyman said.

"Very well, I shall see you all tomorrow."