Chapter 4
Making it Work
The sun had already set, but torches had been placed all around the workshop, and with the fire coming from the forge, Raven didn't have any trouble seeing what she was doing. Anya found her banging yet another small piece of metal on the anvil, shaping it. Anya sighed when she saw that Raven had not even touched her lunch, and the meat was probably disgustingly cold by now. She was glad Lexa never starved herself out of sadness after losing her mother because she'd found there was nothing more painful than to see someone she loved not eating, even if it was out of forgetfulness.
"How is it coming along?" she asked.
Raven didn't look up, didn't even stop working. She just spoke between two sharp falls of her hammer.
"The outside is going to be fine. The inside, however, I may need to think a bit more. Hope the kids aren't expecting it to fly."
"Actually they are. And spit fire too."
Raven finally looked up, shocked.
"Seven Hells. I'm going to have to rethink the inside drastically then."
Anya sighed.
"It's a joke, Raven."
Raven didn't seem to hear her, however. She placed the piece she'd been working on in a bucket and limped toward the table where she'd made all of her schematics.
"If I can just, maybe..."
Anya placed her plate on the schematics, right in front of Raven.
"I was joking, Raven. Now sit and eat."
"I'm not hungry."
Anya caught her arm before she could return to the furnace.
"You either eat or you come to bed, but I'm not letting you get back to work until you've done one or the other."
"And if I refuse."
The look Anya gave her told her exactly why she wouldn't refuse.
"Sit. Eat. I'm not leaving until you do."
Raven sighed, frustrated, but finally brought her stool and placed it in front of the plate. She sat down and groan. She'd been standing for such a long time that she'd completely forgotten how her leg had been killing her. She picked up the plate and began to eat. After the first bite, her stomach seemed to wake up and tell her how hungry she really was.
"You need to stop doing that." Anya declared.
"Doing what?" Raven mumbled with a mouth full.
"That, first. But you need to stop working for hours on end without taking breaks."
This time, Raven swallowed before answering.
"I'm not going to stop tinkering just cause I have a kingdom to rule."
"That's not what I said. You don't need to work all day and all night anymore and you don't need to starve yourself. It doesn't matter if you take a week or a fortnight to finish those dragons. Lexa isn't going to throw us out tomorrow because you took too much time."
"You sure? Cause I kind of feel like, if I don't deliver quickly, there's going to be a bunch of Unsullied sent after me."
"Now you're just finding excuses."
Raven didn't say anything. She finished her meal quickly, and once she was done she threw the metal plate back on her table.
"Alright, you can go now. I'll come to bed when I'm done."
Anya sighed, but still left Raven alone, and walked away, her steps accompanied by the fall of the hammer.
A year ago
When Anya went to join her cousins for breakfast, she started to hear the faint but rhythmic sound of something, she couldn't quite put her finger on what. She thought it would stop quickly, but it didn't, and depending on where she was it became louder or fainter, but it never stopped.
She found Elia and Loreza already at the table, on a balcony overlooking the water gardens. She took her seat and tried to look like the banging was not getting on her nerves. Midway through the breakfast, she threw her knife back onto the table and it clung on her plate almost as loudly as the banging she'd been hearing. Both of her cousins looked at her with surprise.
"What in the Seven Hells is this sound?!"
"What, the banging?" Loreza asked.
Anya crossed her arms.
"Yes."
Elia smirked.
"It's the girl who wants to be a princess."
Anya sighed. Of course, it was her.
"How long is she going to go at it?"
"Probably until she's done."
"The real question," Elia declared, "is how long as she already been at it?"
Anya frowned.
"You're lucky your room is on the other side of the Castle."
Anya looked passed her cousins, toward the gardens.
"She's been working all night?"
"All night. From an hour past sunset to... well, she still hasn't stopped."
Anya stood up and left without another word. At this rate, the girl would be done in a day, and she really thought this whole thing was a big joke. She needed to see how much she'd worked.
She followed the sound of banging, to a small court outside the palace, near the sea. There, she found the girl banging a piece of metal on an anvil, shaping it. Anya stayed a few feet from the workshop at first, staring. The girl had her dark hair pulled up and away from her face in the most simple of ways, with just a single band. The old red jacket she'd been wearing had been discarded, leaving her in a sleeveless top, already wet and dirty with sweat and grime. She had muscles alright, with the way she was beating the heated metal into form how could she not, and while Anya found she had a hard time looking away she didn't find them too distracting. Mostly.
Anya stayed there for another minute or so, thinking the girl would notice her. But no, the smith was so focused on her work she didn't notice anything. Anya walked closer. She found the workshop she had set up there was already clustered with a thousand things, from tools to scrolls to an untouched plate, which she assumed was the girl's breakfast. She cleared her throat when it became obvious she hadn't been noticed yet. Finally, the girl looked up.
"I heard your work was coming around quickly."
"Who told you that?"
Raven picked up the piece she'd been working on and placed it in a big bucket of dark water. Smoke instantly began to rise, accompanied by the sound of sizzling water.
"I heard you'd been working all night."
Raven shrugged.
"Doesn't mean you'll get your snakes just yet, m'Lady. It's going to take a bit more time than a few days."
She picked up another small heated ingot from the furnace and brought it to the anvil. Picking up her hammer, she once again began to beat it into shape. Anya felt the need to take a step back. She understood why Raven had been sweating like a fountain. Between the heat of her furnace and the heat of the sun rising quickly in the sky, adding to the physical exercise, she must have been desperate for a cup of water. But no, Raven dutifully continue to work.
"Have you at least taken a break?"
"What for?"
"I don't know. Rest. Drink. Eat. Your breakfast is still on the table."
"What? Oh no, that my dinner I think? Or maybe the one from two days ago. I'm not sure."
Raven shrugged and picked up her hammer in a firmer grasp before starting to bang once again.
"You've gone for three days without eating, all the while banging on metal like it was nothing?" Anya asked, shocked.
Raven shrugged once again.
"I've done worst."
Anya was about to reply, but she felt her mouth shut instead. This girl was starving herself, almost purposefully, even when she had food given to her just so she could work?
"Alright, I think that's enough."
Raven stopped herself before she could hit the piece of metal, but the hammer still weakly fell on it. She looked up at Anya.
"What?"
"You're going to drop everything you're doing, and you're going to come with me, and have some breakfast."
"Sorry, m'Lady, but no can do. I've still got four pieces to take out of the furnace, and I..."
Anya cut her.
"You said you wanted to become the Princess, right? Well, you can't take care of a Kingdom if you don't know how to take care of yourself."
Raven looked offended and frankly annoyed.
"I know how to take care of myself! I've been on my own for fifteen bloody years!"
"If you collapse right now, because you need water and food, and no one's around, you're dead. It could be a crocodile passing by who sees your unconscious body. It could be vultures. Even snakes. Now I'm going back to my breakfast, and I won't come back. So unless you come to breakfast with me, you're as good as dead."
Raven stared at her longly, wondering whether she was telling the truth or not. The cold look on Anya didn't help her make up her mind at all. Her dark eyes, however, helped a bit.
"Alright, fine. But I'm not staying long."
She untied the leather apron she'd been wearing around her waist, and placed her half-finished piece of metal back into the furnace. She picked up a dirty rag from the table nearby and quickly passed it over her face, adding to the grime on her face instead of cleaning it away. Anya didn't say anything. She only guided Raven to the table where she'd been having her breakfast. The smith limped behind her, slowly but surely.
When they reached the table, Loreza and Elia were still there, probably waiting to see what Anya would have to say when she would return. They were both surprised to find Raven behind her. Anya stood beside her seat and crossed her arms.
"Sit."
Raven sighed but obeyed. She tried to hide her groan of relief but Anya noticed it anyway.
"Now eat. I'm not letting you get back to work until you do."
Raven once again sighed, though it felt more for show now. She picked up a piece of meat and began to eat it. Loreza and Elia exchanged a look before Elia declared:
"We'll leave you two alone."
They stood up and walked away. Elia waited until they were far enough away that Anya wouldn't hear her.
"I give them a week before they start sleeping together."
"Deal."
11 months ago
Raven was observing the sea, her arms resting on the railing of the balcony. The sun was just about to set, but she needed to think. She'd been working none stop, and then when she'd felt she finally had the time she needed to regroup her thoughts Anya had roped her into the preparation of their Dornish tour. Now that everything was out of the way and they were supposedly ready to go, Raven had finally found the calm she needed.
She was about to embark on a journey alone with Anya, to claim the throne of Dorne. She was about to claim the title of Princess for herself. Clearly, she already had, but it was mostly to attract Anya's attention, make sure she would listen to her. Now that she'd listened, she would have thought this whole charade would be dropped as soon as she'd been listened to, but apparently, Anya did not intend to finally take the throne and left it in her hands. How could she even think someone like her, a commoner with absolutely no experience ruling over anything, would be cut to rule a kingdom?
Raven's reflection was derailed when she began to think a bit too much about Anya. She knew she really shouldn't but those dark eyes and those cheekbones had been haunting her for far too long now. She couldn't even remember a time where her thoughts wouldn't be put to the side because of the blonde. It was the worst of ideas anyway, trying to hit on the older woman.
"Dinner is about to be served."
Raven quickly looked behind her and found Anya coming to stand beside her. Raven tried to look at the horizon once again, but she could clearly feel Anya's eyes on her, looking her up and down. She'd finally washed the grime off of her and had been given some very fine and comfortable clothes. She might even look the part, with her hair tied back in a bun.
"Orange doesn't look too good on you," Anya commented.
Raven frowned.
"Hum..."
"Red's better. Maybe we should get it changed before we leave."
Raven pursed her lips, still thinking, or at least trying, and failing, with Anya so close to her.
"Have you changed your mind yet?"
Raven finally straightened herself and turned around to look at the blonde. Anya was leaning against the railing, propped on her elbows, her back to the sea. Raven had no idea what to reply, so Anya filled the silence:
"The more we spoke about the trip the more silent you were. You can always step down, you know. I won't hate you for it. We'll find another way to stop lord Manwooly."
Raven pursed her lips, one hand coming to rest on the railing to support herself.
"Why me? Why pick me, when you could have done it yourself? Or ask any of the Sand Snakes."
"Well first, you were the one who suggested it."
"It was a stupid idea to begin with! I mean, you just laughed at my face when I arrived, remember?"
"You know how to earn people's respect without shedding a drop of blood. That's not stupid. That's important. I don't know a lot of people who can do that."
Raven looked over at the sea once again. The sun had started to align with the horizon, setting the water ablaze.
"Why haven't you taken the throne yet? I mean, it just makes more sense."
Raven wasn't sure why she'd asked. She'd wanted to for a while, and she wondered whether she was trying to convince the blonde to take the position once and for all. Anya turned around to look at the sea.
"Power destroyed my family, among other things."
"What things?"
"Revenge, Duty, Love. But Power, it's another thing altogether. It almost destroyed the Seven Kingdoms in recent memories more times than I can count. I don't want to have the power, I don't want revenge, I don't seek love, either. My duty is not to rule over Dorne. I served Dorne before, without seating in the chair. I don't need to sit in it to serve my kingdom."
"You're afraid of power?"
Anya didn't reply, she continued to stare out.
"The only person who deserves to sit in that chair is someone who won't abuse its power. I know you won't. You've had power before and you haven't abused it."
"What are you talking about?"
"The snakes. You could have rigged them to attack us, to kill us, but you didn't. You know the people, you want to serve them. That's why you dropped everything and rode across the entire country to warn us. You deserve that chair far more than me."
Raven stopped looking at the water and stared at Anya instead. There was something hidden in her eyes, though Raven couldn't place it just yet. Finally, Anya looked back at her. Her eyes quickly found Raven's.
"So, have you changed your mind?"
Raven wanted to shake her head, but she didn't want to stop looking into Anya's eyes either.
"Promise me you'll stay with me. I need you by my side if I'm doing this thing."
"I'm not going anywhere. Promise."
Only after Anya had spoken did Raven close the gap between them to kiss the blonde's lips.
A/N: Hi guys! I hope you had a good weekend! I wanted to thank FFKiwi for leaving a review! This chapter was completely centered around Anya and Raven but we will be back to our original programming (and timeline) tomorrow, with a whole bunch of surprises! See you guys then!
