Chapter 130. A Marriage Proposal.

Chapter 130: Chapter 130. A Marriage Proposal.

Jaehaerys considered for a moment the possibility that the air pressure might make the air preheater explode. A small possibility.

"It is not going to explode," Samwell said as though repeating a mantra.

The idea of preheating the air before forcing it into the furnace had been Sam’s. If it failed, it would be his failure. Jaehaerys trusted the idea. There was only a small chance that something would go wrong, and if it did, it would mean they had been complete fools and overlooked something.

"Probably," the prince replied. Sam gave him a betrayed look. Jaehaerys rolled his eyes. "Everything is probability, Sam. If it explodes and you are still alive, make sure it does not explode a second time," he said with a smile.

The blast furnace roared before them. The bellows worked, driven by men and mechanisms that already existed. What was new was the path the air followed before reaching the tuyeres. The theory was simple. If the air was heated before entering the furnace, more heat would be left for the ore, which meant a higher temperature.

That would increase the pressure inside the duct Sam had designed. According to Jaehaerys’s calculations, there should be no problem unless the brickwork broke. What could cause a large explosion? he wondered, but found no answer. The brickwork was not reinforced with runes, so it would come apart easily enough.

"Begin," Sam said in a thin voice. The prince repeated the order more loudly. The men started, opened the damper, and began pumping air.

"It is too long, Sam," the prince said as soon as he heard the bellows laboring harder. The air was moving, yes, but with resistance.

"I thought that if it was too short, it would not have time to heat before entering the furnace," Sam said defensively.

"It is all right, Sam." The prince said nothing more about it. "Learning is part of everything in life. Try different lengths and—"

A shriek cut him off. Air began escaping through a crack between the bricks.

"Improve the material." The mortar had not withstood the expansion from the heat and had begun to break apart. "Maybe iron, or special bricks." The prince left the choice to Samwell.

"I am sorry, my prince." Sam’s ears were red.

"Just fix it. There is nothing wrong with something going badly. In the end, even I did not know how it would turn out." Jaehaerys was a learner of many things, yes, but he did not have every answer or every piece of knowledge in his head. Truth be told, the prince had expected it to work on the first attempt.

Samwell gave an order to some youths standing nearby. They were orphans Jaehaerys had taken under his protection to educate. One of them picked up a metal rod about a meter long. The prince thought it useful to have a proper system of measurement. He did not want something as variable as "a rod." He had established a standard measure and ordered every smith to work from it.

Then he had them divide it perfectly in half. After that, he had it divided into centimeters. He wanted measurements standardized.

"Four meters and forty-five centimeters, my lord," one of the boys said.

"Jaehaerys," Sam said in a slightly odd tone, almost reluctant. "What measurements—"

"Decide yourself. I do not care how long it takes, or how many attempts it needs. It is your project, Sam. Take charge of it."

The Tarly straightened and began giving orders.

Look at him now. To think that a few moons ago he could hardly piss without being frightened by the noise, the prince thought with satisfaction.

—-------------

Daenerys approached the prince with mud-covered shoes and an angry expression. She carried two rolls of parchment in her hands. The prince went to her at once. The princess deserved his full attention. Dany wore a shorter dress, designed so it would not drag through the mud of the construction works.

"You look happy," the prince said as soon as he saw his wife. "Who am I supposed to hang?"

Daenerys rolled her eyes. Part of her knew he meant it.

"It is about the copper mine," the princess explained. "It is more complicated than we expected. It is deeper, the rock is harder. There has to be ventilation, drainage, and a new road."

Jaehaerys opened his arms and wrapped them around his wife’s waist. His fingers traced circles over her lower back.

"How much?" the prince asked.

Dany handed him one of the parchments. It held the rough estimate she had calculated from the miners’ reports.

"Roads... are there no roads from ArgentStone?" the prince asked when he saw the figure. It was large.

"No. There is a road, but it ends in Wode lands. Wode has no intention of letting us use his roads," the princess said, pulling away from Jae. "How do you suppress it?"

"Suppress what?" Jae asked, not understanding.

"That... feeling of wanting to climb onto a dragon’s back and burn his lands until he gives in." She looked into his eyes.

"The same way you do, my love. You know what happens in war."

"The smallfolk suffer most." Dany nodded, breathing out. "Ser Wode irritates me far too much." She clenched her teeth. "There is something I have not told you." She lowered her gaze.

"It is never too late." The prince took her hand.

"Wode asked for Rhaelle’s hand."

"You are starting to squeeze," Dany told him, and Jae released her hand at once.

The prince looked up at the blue sky. The towers of ArgentStone rose high above them. Little by little, the castle’s construction was nearing its end. It was a red castle. It was beautiful, but it was not silver. He had to change that. To Jae, ArgentStone was named for Daenerys’s silver hair, but the rest of the world did not know that. In a few years, perhaps the meaning would be lost. He wanted to leave it recognizable for eternity.

"Jae." Dany took his arm.

"If you had told me then—"

"You would have killed him," Dany interrupted softly.

"No," the prince whispered. "I do not know. Could Ser Wode take a blow from me and live?" He shrugged. He kept looking at the castle to calm himself. "How did he ask?" His voice was too soft, too restrained.

"It was for his heir," Daenerys answered. "He said that..." She stopped.

"What did he say?"

"That the... that the circumstances of Rhaelle’s birth make her barely eligible for a marriage to a defender of the Seven. He offered to take her in immediately, teach her the customs of the south, and remove every pagan trace from her." She tried to soften the words. Lord Wode had not made that easy for her.

"Did he say bastard, Dany?"

The prince watched his wife nod.

"How do you suppress it?" he asked, repeating the question Dany had asked only minutes earlier.

"Think about what war would do, my love," Dany said.

The conflict might seem small, but Wode would not be the only enemy they fought. They would be fighting the religion of the Seven. A mine could end up becoming a religious war.

"What if it was not a war, Dany?"

The prince drew a deep breath. His purple eyes grew very dark. Dany stroked his face, watched his eyes clear again, and asked the question with her gaze.

"Send a letter for me." Jae took her hand and kissed it.

"A letter?" The princess brushed her husband’s lips with her fingers.

"Yes, a letter. To Lord Wode. Tell him I will be coming to his castle," the prince said. "It is not an impulse. Believe me, I am thinking this through."

Dany narrowed her eyes.

"You are going to defend your daughter’s honor," the princess said.

"At this point I am becoming fond of trials by combat, Dany." Jae smiled, though his mouth held a dry, distant twist. "It will be before his gods, under his rules, in his own castle."

"He will have no excuse to refuse." Daenerys nodded. It was logical, though that did not make her feel any safer. Her husband would still be going into an enemy castle. "Brandon and Tohrren are going with you. I do not care if you are the finest warrior in the Seven Kingdoms."

Her voice was firm. Jae could only raise his hands.

"You will come back to me," she said. It was not a question or a request. It was a statement. "If you die, I will marry another man."

Jae took her by the nape and kissed her. "Then I will come back from the dead to kill him," he replied.

The jealousy in his voice sent a shiver down Daenerys’s spine.

’If you die, Jae, a part of me will die with you forever. I would rather die than leave another man at my side,’ the princess thought as her dress fell to the floor.