Although King Samuel was a bit persistent in the notion of Grace being his Queen he had come to find a way to sustain his kingdom. He had decided to go on this trip himself because he was his nation's best navigator and had even invented improved versions of many navigational tools.
Golden Sea had a lot of food and materials but not many artisans. On the flip side of the coin Pillar had few resources and many artisans. They quickly worked out a deal. Pillar would, actually Grace, would buy fabrics, metals, different types of ore and rather unique woods from Golden Sea and Golden Sea would buy spices, fruits, and veggies unique to Lystra as well as the unique stone there in the north, and Pillar contracted to sell clothing, furniture, appliances, and other items to Golden Sea as soon as they were produced.
Grace then invited King Samuel and his crew, guard, and royal retinue to stay in the Northern castle. She wanted to give the artisans time to produce things for them to buy before they left.
The skilled of Pillar quickly got to work. They were all excited about being able to resume their craft and no longer need to do things just to survive. They made blankets, tapestries, clothing, watches, jewelry, shoes, one couple even knew how to make reading glasses.
They did simple designs and complex ones, trying to appeal to more people. As items were finished the Golden Sea royals would go to see them. They were impressed by the designs, quality of the work, and the speed in which they were completing them. They actually started buying what they were inspecting.
Grace had already warned her people of this. She had told them only to show the tiniest percentage of their stock and save the bulk to sell to the country as a whole.
So they showed the simpler works and the smaller works that were finished quickly. And the Golden Sea royals loved it.
King Samuel even commissioned a few pieces of navigational equipment that his people could not quite manufacture properly. He found that the watch maker had the skills to complete the task and he paid him well. Allowing him to buy more of the special metal that those from Golden Sea brought with them.
In the end they stayed in Pillar for six months and the Lystran quickly manufactured and harvested. The artisans promised that the craftsmanship would increase once they were no so rushed. The people from Golden Sea had no complaints in the craftsmanship they were seeing now.
All this time Ashley and Samuel became fast friends and Samuel was secretly thinking to petition her parents for a marriage between her and his youngest brother. The more he knew her the more he felt they were like minded.
'I will have to get the timid fool to take the trip with the merchants.'
He thought to himself as he followed the beautiful young lady through some rather magnificent terraced gardens. When he found out they had been designed by Queen Grace he first fell in love with her all over again and then commissioned her to design gardens for various areas of his main castle.
He had tried to convince her to go back with him to see the areas herself so that she was completely sure of the dimensions of the areas. She had refused and he had to settle for sketches and diagrams based on his memory.
It was during one of their walks together that Ashley finally told her new friend about her best friend's situation. Samuel was furious. He already loved Grace and her three children very much and he was floored that someone would do such a thing to such precious people.
Sure he could tell how unaffectionate Grace was but he was sure she could learn such things over time. The proof was in her interactions with her children. She had already learned with them. It was just that she had not learned to translate that into interactions with Ashley or her favorite maid Teresa. But he could tell she cared for the two women deeply.
He never said that he knew of her circumstance and Ashley never said that she told him, but he did redouble his efforts to win her over.
He was determined to make her happy and to show her what love truly was.
Six months passed quickly and the Golden Sea great ship was now ladened with fruits, veggies, unique teas and all the created items the people of Lystra could finish. The ship sat low in the water as she waited for the king to say his goodbyes.
Samuel smiled deeply into Grace's eyes.
"One day you will be mine and you will finally understand what it means to be loved. You will need to visit us before that so that your new subjects get a chance to know you."
Grace pursed her lips but she had a lovely smile in her eyes. "I have many obligations here in Lystra your Highness. I apologize."
She bowed elegantly and his heart fluttered in a strange way. All he could do was look at her for a long moment. He softly kissed the back of her hand and then gave a fully inappropriate bear hug to Ashely. And with a smile to both women he turned and boarded his ship.
All of Pillar watched the great ship sail away.
"That was a very productive six months."
"It would've been better if you had taken him up on his offer. You would make a wonderful Golden Sea queen."
Grace side eyed her friend but then softened her expression and she sighed. "My husband has made that impossible through royal decree. Why do you still talk about such things?"
Ashley laced her arm around her friend's and pulled her away from the dock and back toward the castle.
"Because you and I both know that you will free yourself from such constraints soon." She frowned. "I just hope the black haired witch does not ruin things."
Grace said nothing to this.
As the two women walked back toward the castle a shadow seemed to stir and Grace felt her neck prickle as two of her guards looked to the shadow.