The smith could barely believe his luck : Blimau, this comely soul said yes ! The ceremony will be performed in two weeks from now to give everyone time to prepare. Lord Gendry really was a great man he decided. Yoren's father both sent his steward to help organise and fix every single detail and provided as much food and drink as could be desired! And all of this from a high lord to a simple commoner.

Well, maybe not a simple commoner. Since Privan was his firstborn son's smithing master and the one who brought the boy to his father… And Lord Gendry was definitely no ordinary lord !

Glee eased his usually heavy footsteps as he worked at the forge. Nothing very hard to do, many tools to fix. As he was focusing on a scythe, a persistent cough caught his lungs for a moment. He needed rest, but there was always more work to do and the smith was on his own now since Yoren was almost not helping in the forge anymore.

A fond smile grew on the smith's lips when he thought of the boy. He may have changed recently, the nobility of his blood finally showing, he was this shy and caring little boy still. He helped to prepare the wedding eagerly and was very excited about the whole business.

Maybe it was linked to Cara, a young servant placed under Blimau's orders. A lovely small raven haired girl with the sweetest smile, well, less sweet that Blimau's, of course. Those two youths would blush whenever they noticed the other was watching and they barely dared to speak to each other…

He will have to talk to the boy soon, to tell him about women and how to treat them right. It might not be his role but he really wanted for Yoren to have his values about this very important topic, to point him to the right direction.

Gods, he really missed Yoren. They did not meet often lately.

Privan understood very well why… The boy was always running now he was back on his two feet : to his class with the Maester, to the harbor with Ser Hillin and to the yard with his siblings. And on top of all of that, he had to rest finish his recovery. How could he manage to find time to smith ?

Maybe one day he will. Privan was missing his former apprentice. He missed his silent presence by his side, his sharp grey look on things and more than anything the affection that links them. He wished everyday for the return of Yoren by his side, even for short moments only.

The smith wished for the presence of the son but he had most of the time, the company of the father… Privan had to recognise the Lord of Storm's End was a good smith, quite astute but was especially impressive by his endurance and strength.

He was able to work restlessly for hours on one piece without even a drop of sweat, focused on his goal. This man was surely the stubbornest man Privan ever saw ! The Lord was working on a gift to Yoren apparently, a gift involving acorn-shaped ornaments… Quite a strange gift, that was for sure…

Privan washed himself quickly before exiting the forge. He had to retrieve little Lady Arya's sword to fix it for the next fencing lesson. The smith thought the Arya he knew would be very proud of this young Lady who was carrying her name. He met several servants on the way, all congratulating him and Blimau for their wedding and promising to bring as many gifts as possible. His breath was quite short at the top of the stairs, castle style life really was softening him ! His cough even came back for a time.

Cara gave him the damaged sword since she was cleaning the Lady's room. The smith liked this young girl, always sweet and kind. He remembered the way Yoren looked at her the last time he came to visit him when he was abed. His eyes seemed to be attracted by her, no matter what and he was blushing lightly every time she looked in his direction which was quite often since the girl has been assigned to his service for the time of his recovery.

Privan was happy for his former apprentice. This boy needed love and tenderness more than anything else. His mother did her very best to give him all of that but a lifetime of hardship and trials was keeping her from expressing her love openly and freely. Privan knew Yoren was learning a lot about love ever since he came to Storm's End : his father and siblings and even himself ! The boy asked him so many questions about Blimau and their imminent wedding. And when the smith asked him why he was in a such a hurry to know about that with a jeering tone, the lad became beet red and as mute as a fish.

On his way back to the forge, he saw Adas from afar. Caught in his bubble of happiness, the smith almost missed him. He liked this man who really helped Yoren's recovery, making him forget his health thank to songs and tales. He was even teaching music and singing to the boy and to Privan's surprise, the boy sang quite well !

The singer was hiding, making sure not the be followed, obviously, arising Privan's suspicion. The smith tried to be as discreet as possible. The singer was heading to the harbor. Privan almost lost him because of this damn cough ! This time, it was so heavy he thought he would choke !

He did not wait to recover, he needed to know what the singer was hiding. He arrived just in time to see the singer give a mysterious parchment to an unkown sailor who gave him a purse in exchange. The two of them spoke a bit, there as so much noise the smith only managed to catch a few words from Adas « The target trusts me » and « I'm here to help with the mission. » from the ginger sailor. The two of them quickly parted after that. The salty air of the harbour had the sour flavour of treason.

A spy ! Well, two of them with the sailor! That was the only explanation ! A spy serving who ? Privan's heart stopped. Yoren, it has to be about him, right ? He was the target ! Who else could it be ? Lady Baratheon's family or one of their bannermen decided to root out the cause of the current situation ! Panic stroke his mind with the force of thunder. He had to get back to the castle and tell everything he saw to Lord Gendry. Yoren's life was in grave danger.

The smith ran as fast as he could manage, his cough slowing him down more and more. By the time he arrived into the castle's hall, he could barely breathe.
Everything around him was darkening and his ears apparently refused to work since he was not able to hear what his love, Blimau was telling him as she came close, her face full of love and concern.

Her arms were the last thing he felt before dark.

The singers were right after all, a woman's hands are warm.