Daenerys looked at the excavation. The men had dug deep into the earth within the walls. This time, it wasn't to lay the foundations for the castle; it was to create an artificial lake. It seemed like a simple idea, to dig, and then the problem would come when they had to fill it with water. That was a mistake; the earth swallowed the water easily, and it would end up empty before they had a chance to fill it.
At that moment, the men were throwing shovelfuls of clay and flattening it, which would prevent some seepage. The problem Daenerys faced was filling it. She couldn't just order her men to carry buckets of water back and forth; no, she had to find another way.
She found a method in Jae's notes that worked for her. It consisted of creating two wheels, one inside the water channel from which the water would be taken. In this case, the GodsEye. The other would be at the destination, where the water would fall. A huge rope would connect both wheels with buckets tied to it to carry the water. Both wheels would be turned, causing the buckets to move, enter the GodsEye, and come out full of water. These buckets would travel the entire distance between the two ropes and end up falling where the second wheel was.
Now there were a few problems.
One of them was the materials. Dany had to create a rope that would go from the GodsEye to the walls of ArgentStone, and that rope had to support the weight of hundreds of buckets full of water. In addition to the rope, there were the wheels that would have to support the same weight.
Daenerys found a solution in replacing the buckets with small wooden logs. Barely thicker than her wrist. These logs would be hollow, allowing them to fill with water at the wheel in the GodsEye. Furthermore, considering the distance, she would create not just one wheel, but several along the way up the hill. This would reduce the weight the rope had to bear and reinforce its trajectory.
Dany wanted to continue working, but the problem remained the enormous rope. It would take the men weeks or months to create it so that the project would be paralyzed for the time being.
"You seem more stressed every day," a mature voice appeared at her side. "One would think that seeing Jaehaerys would have made you happy," Lyanna said with a smile.
"It did... but only for one night," Dany said without blushing. In the past, she might have let modesty get the better of her, but that was then; she was no longer a child.
"Ah... men go to war, to kill... and to die," there was a hint of melancholy in her voice.
Dany understood why. Tohrren had left the day before, leaving Lyanna alone. She thought no one noticed, but even Daenerys' maids gossiped sometimes. She had to do everything she could to keep them from saying anything; she didn't want gossip about Queen Lyanna.
"Jaehaerys will live," Dany said, with a bit of doubt; someone had wounded her husband. She hoped Jae would tone down a little of that feeling of invincibility he constantly had, although with a dragon at his side, it wasn't entirely certain that would happen. "Tohrren too," she added, looking at Lyanna, who didn't even pretend to be confused.
The queen fell in love with a bastard. What songs the troubadours would write! Dany felt a little sick at the thought of her castle as a source of gossip.
"I know," Stark said slowly. "At this point, no one takes the Ironborn seriously," she said, wrinkling her nose.
"Have you made plans?" Dany asked. "You're a widow now," she added at the end.
Lyanna smiled for a second. It was such pure satisfaction that Dany felt a little uncomfortable.
But only Lyanna understood what she had passed at the hands of Rhaegar, and the princess would not judge her. "I just want to go to King's Landing and throw the biggest feast in history. Maybe steal Rhaegar's bones and swap them for those of a donkey," she said with a small laugh. Then she bit her lip. "I've been thinking about going to the capital. I should, my husband is dead. But I don't think I'll be able to keep from laughing at his grave," she looked up at the clear sky. "Besides, there's still his red bitch." Melisandre was still alive. "I'd like to enjoy the peace of your castle a little longer, princess," she asked finally.
"You are welcome to stay as long as you wish. How did Visenya take it?" Dany asked about the little girl.
At that moment, Lyanna's smile faltered a little as if she had just remembered something.
"I don't know," she said, grimacing uncomfortably. "I haven't told her. By the gods! How could I have forgotten?" She had been so caught up in her own satisfaction that she had forgotten to talk to her daughter. Visenya probably already knew; everyone was talking about the king's death, so it was unlikely that she hadn't heard while running around with Bethany Blackwood and Lyanna Mormont.
The trio of girls was a disaster. They were the terror of ArgentStone, and in a way, they brought life to the castle. Dany didn't mind their mischief, but Lyanna couldn't say the same.
Dany walked through the grounds of her castle, her escort following her without hesitation. Despite living there for so long, she was still amazed by the magnitude of ArgentStone.
She inspected the construction progress and returned to the tower where she was staying. As she climbed the endless stairs, she planned to call her maids; she used to have regular meetings with them.
"She has to go! We should call one of the guards to drag her out," she heard Rhialta Vance's voice snarl.
Despite living with her for several moons, she could barely tolerate her. Her sister Emphyria was much more to the princess's liking. She didn't behave like a lady; she wasn't a barbarian; she had manners, but she also had hobbies that didn't fit with what was expected of a young lady.
"Don't be so harsh with her!" Emphyria intervened. Dany hurried over. She didn't want a shouting match between the two sisters.
"I agree that she has to leave. But kicking her out is not proper for a lady, Rhialta," another soft voice, belonging to Desmera, tried to mediate the situation.
"Missandei is staying here," this time it was a girl throwing fire, Daenerys' niece, who seemed angry at the comments of the princess's ladies-in-waiting.
"Princess... I think the best thing..." A new voice, unknown to Daenerys. The princess interrupted her as she entered a living room large enough to hold a few dozen people. It had been designed for small gatherings, without the need for a large hall that would remain mostly empty.
"Dany, tell them to leave Missandei alone!" Visenya looked at Daenerys with fire in her eyes.
Finally, Dany looked at the "intruder," a small girl with golden eyes. Her skin was dark, as was her curly hair. She had a look of constant fear on her face.
"Rhialta... it's not right to mistreat children," Dany scolded the girl, who cowered in her presence. "Don't smile so much, Visenya. I thought I said no one was to enter the tower," she scolded the little girl, who turned away. "Your mother was looking for you. She has something to tell you." Dany didn't think that Visenya would take the news badly.
"It's not the princess's fault, this one is," the little girl tried to take the blame.
Dany immediately felt sympathy when she heard her speak. "This one" is how slaves often refer to themselves instead of using "I." So this girl was a former slave.
"I know Visenya well. She is capable of dragging a dragon into the castle if she sets her mind to it. Don't blame yourself, Missandei," Dany said, remembering what Visenya had called her.
"I brought her to meet you!" Dany could see Rhialta almost turning red with anger at the way the little girl spoke to the princess. The other two maids were nearly unperturbed, although Desmera narrowed her eyes slightly, as if uncomfortable.
"Me?" Dany pointed to herself.
"Yes. You complained a lot about the merchants of Essos, because you didn't know their language. Missandei speaks a hundred languages!" Visenya said with a smile.
"Is that true?" Daenerys asked the girl, who shrank back.
Then the princess crouched down to her level, took her trembling hands, and spoke again: "Are you a translator?" she asked.
Missandei nodded.
"This one is, princess," she said in High Valyrian.
Dany smiled, thinking it would be a little awkward to learn from a girl of Visenya's age.