The summer heat of King's Landing was proving to be unbearable today.
Brienne sat in what was rumored to be the shadiest area of the Red Keep (lies! vicious lies!) keeping a careful eye on the young children sparring with the supposedly respectable rulers of the kingdom a few feet away from her. She shifted slightly, trying to ignore the sweat coating her skin and adding an additional level of discomfort to what was afforded to her by her swelling belly.
The master had told her the newest babe would be here in two more moons, but Brienne hoped that his estimates were off. She couldn't bear being pregnant in these roiling temperatures much longer.
Jaime and Brienne's daughter Joanna was at the center of the melee in front of Brienne, grinning mischievously as she tried to rout her younger brother. Selwyn, as cautious and methodical as his sister was reckless, hit her with a spar she wasn't expecting, and she crashed down to the ground, pouting as Selwyn looked up at Jon and Jaime with a glint of triumph in his eye.
"Careful!" Brienne called out as Samwell Tarly's son Jon reached out to help Joanna from off of the ground.
"She's fine!" Jaime insisted as he guided the sword of Sam's daughter Meleesa.
"She's a better swordsman than the rest of this lot," Jon insisted as he attempted to maneuver Sam's oldest son into a position facing Meleesa.
"I won't dispute that," Brienne replied, laughing as Joanna danced on her feet, ready to take on Jon's namesake as her next opponent.
Jon chuckled as he stepped behind Joanna and pointed to Meleesa's parries as Joanna nodded at him, utterly captivated.
Brienne mused again on the most popular topic of gossip in the royal court: why wasn't the king married yet? Managing the kingdom was a collaborative effort, with she and Jaime handling most of the business around the capital while Jon frequently spent his time in the North and various reaches of the kingdom. Rumors of far-flung mistresses in various corners of the kingdom persisted, but Brienne didn't trust most of them: a few ham-fisted attempts at royal matchmaking had proven to her that Jon's seduction skills were likely as ridiculous as her husband's had been on that long-ago night after the dead had been defeated.
If there was anyone else in Jon's life, it was an exuberant ginger personality who lived beyond the wall. And Brienne knew it was extremely unlikely that anyone would believe that gossip if it happened to get out.
Being a king, I guess it's all fine and well.
There was time for that in the future, Brienne supposed. As for now, there was her burgeoning family as well as Sam's, linked to Jon through friendship, loyalty, and the royal tag team effort that had somehow brought peace to the kingdom after so many years of blood and hardship.
Their clan was in good shape. Brienne only hoped it wouldn't be too long before their newest member joined them.