[Edric's POV]
Sometimes I just feel like using my Warhammer to hammer every nail forcefully. It's been… a lot more tempting since my little adventure. My body rushes with scorching blood, begging the question; who does this little man think he is?
The ego of a dragon is no jest.
'The sheer audacity...'
The little devil on my shoulder didn't help.
I restrained myself.
"Me learning your trade would not be the end of it, I am not here to make money or take your clients away," I chuckled. "More importantly, who is to say… that Qohor would remain standing in the future? The legacy of this fine art could live on through me - or you could risk its end. Another great art, fallen to time and forever lost because of you. Would you be able to live with that?"
"Now, you are a smith, and I'm sure you'd be fond of some benefits. I've just sacked the richest of the Free Cities, Volantis and Lys beside her, so… name your price."
Just putting it out there - in case he didn't know. Incentive sprinkled with a veiled threat. Suddenly, his attitude changed.
"... I was just thinking that you didn't have the time to learn those sorts of spells, Your Grace. Being a king is busy work."
"So is saving the world," I smiled, shrugging. "Not much I can do but advance with my greatest effort. Would a hundred thousand gold dragons be satisfactory?"
"..." His jaw dropped slightly. "A… hundred thousand?"
It was life-changing money, even for a smith of his pedigree - while only pennies to me. Well, more like a couple of pounds. It was a great investment, but it had a few little long-term strings attached that may make it worthwhile.
"Those who serve me well discover that I can be immensely generous. The generosity of a king, you could say."
Or an emperor, now… but news probably doesn't spread so quickly.
"I can't deny that, Your Grace. We can start whenever you wish."
"How about now? Share with me the theory, and what I need to work on, and I'll do it."
"Hard worker, eh?"
"From before I was born," I laughed.
I was being literal, of course.
"Aye… so it seems."
…
On the morrow, I prepared Arya's escort. A mixed company of fifty knights and men-at-arms led by Ser Balon Swann, who alone was more than capable of dealing with any trouble they could find along the way. Arya had kept to herself, seemingly only going through the motions.
"Forgive me for the delay," I said tactfully. "Soon enough, you'll be with your family, who make for better company than I. You were right about that, of course.. You should have gone with them in the first place. The fault lies with me..."
"... Enough, I really don't want to hear it," She turned away.
The cold shoulder. Suppose I don't deserve much more.
"Very well," I nodded, patting her head for one last time. She slipped away almost immediately. "... Live freely, Arya. Be whoever you want to be."
I meant those words. She was extraordinarily talented, I knew that perhaps more than anyone else.
"Farewell, Edric."
Her last words were short and cold.
"Farewell."
I watched them all ride out into the distance, the cold wind breezing by. The Other Edric had left her waiting all those years only to abandon everything, while I would marry someone else altogether. Depending on your view, either could be worse than the other.
My mind told me that she was better off separating from me early and becoming her own woman. Was it a way of justifying my actions? Maybe.
The cards were never in our favour.
...
After sending Arya off, I returned to my smithing. I 'stole' a forge and put it in the Plane of Euthymia while also physically smithing alongside my new mentor. For a moment, I could almost feel like an ordinary apprentice. It wasn't so terrible. If anything, it was a strange yet welcoming breath of fresh air.
The days continued to go by as I diligently hammered away, improving and learning with each attempt. The 'spells' for reforging Valyrian steel came naturally to me as... well, not to be too proud, but I was a bit of a magic factory myself.
Tobho Mott was more experienced than I, very easily... but my 'true' magic was superior to his 'spells' by several leaps and bounds - bridging the gap and pushing me even beyond his expertise when it came to working Valyrian steel.
Honestly, I might go down as the king who did everything but sit on my throne and 'rule'. The joke was writing itself. I'd be lying to myself if I said I loved being in one place, listening to pleas all day long. I preferred setting the big things in motion and letting everyone else deal with the smaller matters. That would be ruling, no? I could be more dedicated, of course… but I have a hundred other things to do.
And, well, I preferred making a difference with my own hands. Physically dealing with the problems.
After over two weeks of relentlessly refining my craft, I managed to forge what I desired to perfection.
"That will be one delighted and fortunate queen, Your Grace," Tobho Mott praised. "Such a crown is worthy of the dragon lords of old. And... you did it by your hand, no less. It came from the heart."
"I wouldn't go so far," I chuckled. "But... this will be an artefact of my dynasty, so it's only fitting that it be forged by me. The conqueror's crown was still worn over a hundred years after his death, until it was lost. This one may very well be worn for much longer than that... so it ought to be of the finest quality."
"I take it that you will make your own as well?"
"Of course... that's next. And then the fun part, the sword..."
"You have the spirit of a smith," Tobho Mott laughed. "Every bit of steel you wear and wield has to be made by yourself, eh?"
"How else can I be sure of its quality?" I smiled, shrugging. "All of that will come after my wedding, of course. I can't keep holding it off much longer."
"Enjoy yourself, Your Grace. You only marry once in your life... most often, anyway."
I would very likely be an exception to that.
...
The night before the wedding.
I 'snuck' into Daenerys' bedchamber after not seeing her for quite a while. She was still awake, however, and noticed me almost immediately. My stealth clearly wasn't the best. Actually, it probably was quite good if not for the fact that I was becoming the human equivalent of a tank.
All the hours at the forge didn't make me any leaner.
"Found some time away from the forge?"
"Aye, a little..."
"I thought you were going to marry it instead," Daenerys remarked, sitting up.
"A tempting prospect," I chuckled. "But, no... sometimes I just narrow my focus on one thing, blocking out everything else. It's productive for that one thing, of course, but everything else suffers..."
"I understand," Daenerys smiled slightly, shaking her head. "You have many duties to fulfil."
I sat down beside her.
"You'd be one of the more important ones."
"Charming," She remarked, chuckling. "Is this your attempt at seducing me?"
"Why bother seducing what I already have?" I replied, a little smugly.
"Is that how it is?"
"Mhm..." I tilted my head slightly. "Would you like to cuddle?"
"What an odd request," She raised an eyebrow. "I didn't take you for a cuddler at all."
"You'd be surprised, I suppose. I'm not the barbarian who only wants to mount you. Besides... I'd rather spare the lovemaking for the next night. Premarital sex is also quite frowned upon..."
"When did that ever stop you?" She laughed.
"Never," I smiled, shrugging. "Still, if I sin too much, the Father may pass his judgment on me."
"Are you not the 'Chosen Son of the Seven'?"
"I made that up. Fortunately, the Seven do not hold any power to do anything... for they don't exist," I said, chuckling. "Isn't that amusing - so many worship and hold so much faith in a god who doesn't exist? They pray and pray, their prayers remaining unanswered."
"How could you be so certain that they don't exist?" She questioned.
"I sense nothing that alludes to their existence... whereas the Old Gods, R'hllor and even the likes of the Drowned God have some... power, varying in strength. Then again, many of these 'gods' may just be a name for the magic that men were able to wield."
"... Many have considered you to be a god," Daenerys nodded.
"It is a simple explanation for the things that they witness yet can't quite comprehend. They benefit from it, I benefit from it... it's a win for both sides. Although I haven't gone out of my way to push that narrative, my actions have spoken for me."
"... I see," Daenerys paused for a moment before changing the topic. "Since so long as I had any memory, no place ever truly felt like home. My early years were spent in exile, travelling from one place to another. That has not truly changed... since you uprooted me from Meereen."
"..." I shrugged, not interrupting her.
"For some time, I imagined 'home' would be King's Landing... but, in truth, I feel like a stranger. A foreigner. The court only entertains me because I am to be your queen. Otherwise... I would mean nothing to them," Daenerys looked disheartened. "For the longest time, my brother would speak of how beloved House Targaryen was, how many loyal houses were biding their time for our return... how great a king our father had been. It all feels like a lie."
"Much of it was, to be sure," I wrapped my arm around her and gently pulled Daenerys to my side. "But people can be very short-sighted. Before Aerys there were shitty Targaryen Kings, sure... but there were just as many great ones who laid the foundations of the Realm. Without House Targaryen, there would still be seven kingdoms waging never-ending warfare on each other for centuries to come."
"... You're right, yet few see it that way," She sighed.
"You know, I used to never fit in too... not with a single soul that wasn't my guardian Cortnay Penrose or Renly. I was a bastard, and a stuck-up one at that, who treated others the way they'd treat me. Not the best combination for making any friends," I smiled, shaking my head. "But, one man gave me some advice that stuck with me till now. He told me 'You do not need to fit into any group. Become a leader and make everyone wish to fit in with you.'"
"It's alright if you don't feel at home, you've never been here before, and you don't know anyone... but the truth is that this is your home, now and forever," I looked around. "This is where you belong - with me. If there's anything you dislike, we can redecorate the entire Realm together."
I smiled, stroking her silver-blonde hair.
"The feeling will come with time, I promise. Everyone else will fall in line with us... and not the other way around."
She managed a smile, surrendering to my embrace.
"Your request to cuddle... doesn't seem so terrible now."
"I'll be here for as long as you need me."
I was feeling oddly romantic, but it was the least I could do to make up for being so busy recently.
Tomorrow... I'd be married. In some way, it felt unreal to me. I've thought about it so many times, yet going through with the act itself was all too strange. The last years of my life had made me think of marriage as a political tool, an asset to gain leverage with, but... that wasn't always the case.
There was a time when I thought of it as the kind of commitment you'd make with a soulmate. A pledge of undying love to the one you'd raise a family and home with. Something truly sacred... with no conditions attached to it.
These two perspectives could hardly be any more contradictory.
Such is my existence, it seems...