Stephen Baratheon POV
A Few Days Later.
He sat in the dining table with a bubbly Shireen on his lap, while his mother sat beside him and talked his ears off.
"You're becoming just like your father." His mother complained. "Do you hate your family so much that you feel the need to leave time and time again?"
He smiled as he fed some more soup to Shireen and wiped the excess from her cheeks before rolling his eyes at his mother.
"Stop overreacting mother. I'm only leaving for a few moons for trade agreements and nothing more. I'll be back before you know it."
"Those trade agreements can be made with ravens." His mother countered.
"Some of them can be. But going out there and making these deals face to face is far better." He said. And it was true, since his Negotiation related Skills only worked face and face, and not via letters.
His mother glared at him, even as she tried not to fidget on her seat in agitation. "Can you not go to the Iron Islands, at least? Just stop your voyage at Lannisport and come back." She pleaded.
"Going to the Iron Islands is one of the primary reasons why I am embarking on this journey in the first place, mother." He said calmly.
"And what if those barbaric savages decided to harm you, or hold you hostage? What would you do then?" His mother asked, completely forgetting about his exploits in the last war in the face of her worries.
He side glanced at Asha who was doing her best to ignore Selyse's tirade.
Having lived under the same roof as Selyse for a few months, Asha had become accustomed to her impolite comments about the Ironborn and did her best to ignore his mother as much as possible.
"They won't do that, mother. His Grace, King Robert, destroyed their fleet and slaugh…" he paused at the word 'slaughter' as he looked at Shireen on his lap and then at Asha who was firmly ignoring their conversation "...defeated their army. They know that trying to keep me hostage would not end well for them."
His mother tapped her fingers on the dining table in agitation before she realised what she was doing and paused, before she glared at him once again.
"I still don't like it." She declared. "Why are you even going there? They don't grow anything of value."
"I already told you about that mother." He said, feeding some more soup to a reluctant and fussy Shireen. "The Iron Islands produce the largest quantities of iron ore in Westeros, which I plan to use in my Bessemer Converters to produce vast amounts of steel."
After all, Robert's army might have destroyed all their important infrastructures, and Tywin might have collapsed some of their mines, but the Iron Islands still had the largest Iron deposits in all of Westeros. A setback like this would not be enough to stop them from mining for more Iron ores.
"And what good would that steel be if something happened to you?"
"Nothing will happen to me, mother." He said as Shireen started to squirm more and more on his lap, not wanting to eat her veggies and drink her soup. His Babysitting Skill helped a lot at times like this. "I'm even taking 3 War Galleys as precaution, along with my usual Flotilla of Trade Ships, so you don't need to worry about anything happening to me."
"So you say." His mother grumbled, sending a glare in Asha's direcation. He had a feeling that she was about to say something uncharitable toward Asha or her people, so he stepped in.
"Mother. Let's stop arguing in front of Shireen." He said firmly, and his mother paused for a moment before she huffed and nodded, before she went back to eating her own breakfast.
Despite this, he had a feeling it wouldn't be the last argument.
—
"I don't get why you're dragging me with you." Asha complained as she rode alongside him through the rough dirt roads that led to his various plantations.
"Maybe this is just another one of my elaborate schemes to seduce you." He replied with an easy smile as they arrived at his first plantation.
This one was spread in an 18 acre area, with over two dozen people working on it. Since this plantation consisted of a tree that mostly produced seasonal fruits, it didn't require lot of people to tend to it.
"Ah, what a romantic setting for your seduction scheme" Asha drawled as she looked around at the blood orange trees with mild curiosity. "Will you woo me with the lovely smell of Horse shit, or does your plan relies on drowning me in insects?"
"Both." He said negligently as the leader of this plantation walked over to him.
He engaged in conversation with the manager for a brief period, but as there were only a handful of workers managing the plantation and the blood orange trees were not particularly difficult to cultivate, their exchange was brief. He soon proceeded to inspect the trees on his own.
He placed his hand on the leaves and branches, utilizing his Shaper power to examine the biology and overall health of the trees.
After assessing a dozen of these trees spread across the plantation, he retrieved his diary and jotted down a note, "Plantation #1B: requires 30% additional fertilizer, potentially more when trees start producing fruits."
"Remind me, how long has it been since you started these plantations?" Asha asked as they left the Blood Orange Plantation and started riding toward the next one.
He made a mental note to increase the size of that plantation by a few more acres before he turned to her. "About 1 and half years." He said.
"Are trees supposed to grow that large in that time?" She asked, her face cutely scrunched up in confusion.
As Asha had pointed out, the Blood Orange trees had grown remarkably fast in the past 1 and a half years, reaching a height of 4 meters. With another six months of growth, they would likely begin producing fruit.
He had employed his Shaper power to hasten the growth of the trees, but not excessively as they typically reached their full height within 3-6 years. He didn't want the plants to grow too rapidly, as they could deplete the soil of nutrients and harm it.
"No. These ones grow more quickly than others."
"Why?"
"Because I'm blessed by the gods. Haven't you heard?" He said with a teasing smile and Asha rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, right."
They then rode in a peaceful silence after that until they reached the next plantation.
This was one of the largest and most valuable plantations he owned, surrounded by a three-meter-high stone wall that encompassed its entire 35-acre perimeter.
They rode to the only entrance into the plantation, which was guarded by two men at all times.
He greeted the guards at the entrance and then proceeded into the plantation, where he observed rows of tilted ground interspersed by narrow grid of water canals.
"What is that?" Asha asked curiously as she glanced at the small, knee sized plants growing on the ground. Each laden with dozens of violet coloured flowers that held large crimson coloured stigma within them.
"That, my dear Asha. Is the most valuable spice in the world." He said as he climbed down from his horse and started inspecting the various Saffron plants.
The manager of this plantation came running to him and started giving him the report on the plantation.
The plants were healthy. The workers were relatively happy, though more than a few were complaining about back pains. Water supply was a bit irregular, but otherwise, things seemed to be mostly in order.
As they should be, since he used his Shaper power to make sure that all his plants will be hardy and will not have trouble growing despite the difficult environment of Dragonstone.
He had also implemented several modifications to his biologically engineered plants to ensure that they couldn't be taken from Dragonstone and cultivated elsewhere. He didn't want people from the Reach or Essosi spice merchants to profit by stealing his hard work.
In his diary, he noted down, 'Construct a water reservoir, possibly a lake, for a steady water supply. Also, hire additional workers.' He made another note, 'Explore the possibility of establishing a fishery in the lake.' With that, he finished his inspection of the plantation.
He plucked one of the flowers and gave it to Asha who took the flower but gave him a deadpanned look.
"And what am I supposed to do with it?" She asked, while some of the guards following him chuckled, resulting in them getting a stink eye from her.
"That's particular flower is worth 2 Silver Star." He told her and she paused as she looked at it once again.
True to his words, the flower was indeed that valuable. Mostly because he had used his Shaper power to make sure that each stigma of Saffron was 5 times larger than that of a normal Saffron flower. And that each flower produced about 5 times more stigmas.
Meaning that each one of his biologically modified Saffron flower produced about 25 times more Saffron than a normal Saffron Flower from Yi-Ti.
When considering that each biologically modified plant produced about 4 times as many saffron flowers as a regular plant, the resulting yield of each plant amounted to a hundredfold.
Meaning that in the 35 acre of plantation, he was producing as much as 3500 acre worth of Saffron grown in Yi-Ti.
When you consider the other Biologically Engineered Spices, Dry fruits, Fruits, and Vegetables he was growing in his other Plantations, was it any surprise that his coffers were overflowing with gold?
Shaper power was truly a great cheat for anyone who had the ability and the resources to put it to use.
They spent the next few hours traveling from one plantation to the next. And he use his Shaper power to examine the health of his Biologically Engineered plants and listened to the Plantation Managers' reports regarding their issues and difficulties.
By the time they were done, they'd covered over a dozen miles on horseback and the sun's harsh rays were beating down upon them.
He didn't feel any exhaustion himself, nor did his biologically engineered horse, which he had modified to have great strength and vitality. However, his guards and their horses were starting to lag behind, so he decided to take a break in one of the nearby villages.
Mostly because he also needed to check something in that particular village.
"Hey… isn't that one of those Red Priests who came to you a few days ago?" Asha asked as she pointed in the distance where he could see Moqorro was sitting under the shade of a large tree, with over a dozen little kids surrounding him.
"He is." He said as the head of his guard went to the village Elder to arrange for some water and fodder for their horses.
"What is he doing here with those kids?" Asha asked, looking a bit wary and skeptical. Mostly because of the healthy dose of respect and fear she held for Melisandre, who was a Red Priestess.
"Teaching them." He said as he decided to observe from this distance, even as he modified his eyesight to that of an eagle in order to get a closer look at the 'class'.
"Teaching them what?"
"Basic alphabets and Numbers." He said. "I also wanted to ask the Red Priests and Priestess to teach history, geography, and basic science. But since they're not from Westeros, they won't know a lot about its history or geography. And I doubt they're very well versed in Science. So for now, basic alphabets and numbers it is. After that, they'll move on to more difficult things like Grammar, creating proper sentences, basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, etc. But all that is in the future."
Although he wasn't entirely confident in the ability of the Red Clergy to teach these children, he knew he had to start somewhere with his education program.
He had provided the necessary funds to the Red Clergy and instructed the villagers to send their children to be taught by them. Now, all he could do was wait and observe to see how effective they were at teaching. And make changes accordingly.
He had given the Red Clergy a lot of freedom in how they'll go about teaching the kids. However, he had imposed two restrictions: they could not physically discipline the children and they could not teach them about their Red Religion. With the threat of being kicked out of Dragonstone if they defied his orders.
Asha looked at him confusion and asked. "Why?"
"Why what?" He asked back, wondering what she was confused about.
"Why teach the Smallfolk?" Asha asked in profound confusion. "Like… what is the point? Do you want to make them your personal scribes or something?"
"No."
"Then what's the point of them learning how to read or write? What use could a farmer, a miner, or a housewife have in knowing how to do these things."
"There are many benefits to being educated." He told her. "For one, they'll know how to count and won't be cheated when dealing with savvy merchants or corrupt tax collectors."
He noticed Asha's skeptical expression, so he explained further."Teaching children about the geography and history of the world expands their minds and enables them to think on a larger and more comprehensive scale than uneducated peasants who know little about the world," he said.
"Once again, what's the point? A farmer will still remain a farmer, even if he learns that Braavos has the largest Fleet in the world. Why waste your time and money on this?"
"Perhaps. However, an educated peasant has the potential to rise above their station. They can choose to become a scribe, a Maester, or an assistant to one, and help educate other uneducated individuals. Additionally, I would place more value on an educated soldier over an uneducated one."
Asha looked thoughtful at his words before she shook her head. "Nah, still don't see the benefits of educating the children of the small folk."
He shrugged. "There are numerous reasons to educate children, including developing their critical thinking skills, increasing their awareness of their place in the world, giving them the ability to dream of a better future, and removing superstitions. However, ultimately, it is a personal belief of mine."
"And what's that belief?" Asha asked, looking even more skeptical than she did when he first started answering her questions.
"My belief is that an educated populace would always be better than an uneducated populace."
"That seems like a stupid belief." Asha scoffed. "Wouldn't it be better to teach these brats something actually useful. Like how to use a weapon, shoot an arrow, or ride a horse. That way, they'll useful during war times at least."
"I would rather they be more useful during peacetime." He said, shrugging as he pondered about subjects that would be beneficial for the Smallfolk.
Maybe teaching Herbology could be useful? Giving them an idea of how to make basic healing paste, or antidote, other such stuff would be more useful to them than learning Pythagorean Theorem.
At the end of the day though, he realised that this dream to create an educated populace and a proper School Curriculum was going to be more of a trial and error process than anything else.
Especially since the Education System from his past world was extremely inefficient. And he wanted his own system to be better than that.
Teaching the students how to set goals, develop good habits habits, the benefits of meditation, and how to keep your finances in check would be far more useful than teaching them extremely complicated maths.
'Perhaps we could have specialized classes for those who aspire to be farmers or sailors,' he mused, considering the most practical curriculum for the children. 'Teaching them the fundamentals of swordsmanship and horseback riding could also be beneficial, providing them with the opportunity to become guards or even household knights.'
He noted down any new ideas that came to him regarding his education system while his men drank some water and took their rest before they eventually departed back to Dragonstone Castle.
—
"I'll ensure the school is fully built by the time of your return, my lord." Mel said, giving him an assuring smile, and he smiled.
"I know I can trust you. Mel." He said "Please ensure that you purchase carpets for the students to sit on and procure slates along with a steady supply of chalk for them to use. I do not wish for them to write on the ground when there are more suitable alternatives available."
"More expensive alternatives, you mean." Asha interjected from the side and he nodded.
They were currently in his room. With him and Mel sitting on chairs near the hearth (where he'd kept his two dragon eggs), while Asha lazily lounged on his bed.
"Perhaps. But I'm willing to spend a great deal of gold in order to educate my people." He said. "My only regret is that even if Lucerys succeeded in creating the pulp paper, it'll still may not be affordable enough for the students to use regularly."
"Chalk and slate should be good enough for low level education my lord." Mel said as she put a hand on his shoulder as a sign of support. "If any of the kids want to have a greater education then they can always go to the Citadel."
He nodded, even though he was inwardly making plans to create a University here in Dragonstone for those who didn't want to travel through half a continent for more knowledge. That University would also serve as a Public Library for those in his domain.
"Make sure to give Lucerys any additional funds he needs." He said, and then added. "Within reason of course. And tell him not to hire anyone else while I'm gone. I don't want others learning the secret of making pulp paper through spies."
"It'll be done my lord."
"And start working on this artificial lake once those Ironborn workers finish working on enlarging the port. I want it to be large enough to comfortably water all my plantations for a few moons, in case there is a draught."
Mel nodded as she jutted down his instructions on a dairy of her own. "Anything else, my lord?" She asked, looking amused.
"Make sure that the Red Priests and Priestesses aren't causing any trouble." He said. "And if more of them come, then remove the disobedient ones, and put the obedient ones to the task of teaching more of those village kids."
"Got it. Anything else?"
"Make sure his whores don't catch a disease." Asha supplied from the side with a cheeky smile.
"Don't ever say that in public, Asha." He told her seriously. "My reputation would suffer if people learned that I own all the brothels in Dragonstone."
"Of course your grace." Asha said with a simpering smile before she rolled her eyes and muttered 'hypocrite' under her breath.
He ignored Asha and turned to look at Mel instead. "That's about it. Don't let my mother burn the castle to the ground while I'm gone. And things should be fine for the most part."
"Don't worry my lord. I'll make sure your mother behaves herself." Mel said with an amused smile. "Trust me, your domain is in good hands. You should focus more on your upcoming voyage instead."
"You do realise that going from Dragonstone to Iron Islands, is not much of a voyage, don't you?" Asha snarked from the side and he frowned as he looked at her once again.
"You're being a bit too uppitty today Asha." He said. "Do you want Daddy to spank you?"
Asha took out her dirk from its sheath at his words. "Try to spank me, and I'll cut your hand off."
He raised an eyebrow at her as a smile formed on his face. "Is that a challenge?"
Asha stared into his eyes for a long moment before she scoffed and put her dirk back in its sheath. 'Asshole'. She muttered under her breath and he smiled as he went and sat beside her.
"What's wrong? You're acting strange today." He asked, feigning fake concern. "Is it that time of the month again?"
"Eat shit and die." Asha said and he chuckled before he sobered up and looked at her, more seriously this time.
"No, seriously Asha. You're acting weird today. Is everything alright?"
Well… he technically had a guess about what was wrong. But he wanted to hear it from her own mouth, just to be sure.
Asha stared in the distance and remained quiet for a long moment before she turned and looked at him, a slightly pleading expression on her face. "Can I join you on this voyage?"
He raised an eyebrow. "You mean the voyage to Iron Island. Of which you used to be a princess until only a few moons age."
Asha gritted her teeth and clenched her fists with suppressed emotions but nodded. "Yes. Can you take me with you."
He pretended to look thoughtful for a moment even as he did a hip-hop dance inside his head. Then he turned to her and smile. "Okay, but I have one condition."
Asha looked hopeful at his words as she sat up on his bed and nodded. "What's your condition?"
"Say, 'please daddy'." He said with a shit eating grin and Asha stared blankly at him for a moment before she picked up his pillow and started beating him with it.
"Okay, okay." He said as he pretended to be wounded from her pillow attacks. Once she stopped, he stared at her. "Seriously though, I thought you would've asked me far earlier than this."
"You expected me to ask to come along with you?" Asha asked and he nodded.
"Of course. Though I definitely didn't expect you to wait till the last moment to spring it up on me. Almost thought that you wouldn't ask." He smiled "Turns out you're more of a pussy than I expected."
Asha growled at him as she came up to his face. "Say that to my face asshole."
He narrowed his eyes and moved forward until their faces were inches apart and smirked. "You're a scared-ass pussy. Now what're you gonna do, bitch?"
Asha's eyes narrowed and he was sure that she was going to punch him in the balls before Mel clapped her hands in order to get their attention.
"Okay. That's enough fighting from you two." Mel said as she gave them an exasperated look. "My lord, please stop teasing her. And Asha, please stop falling for his teasing."
Asha snorted and looked away, though there was definitely a smile on her face. A smile that was gone when she looked at him once again. "And the King will not have any problem with me going back to the Iron Islands?"
"He entrusted you to House Baratheon of Dragonstone. If he wanted you locked up inside a castle, then he should've sent you to the Red Keep instead." He said with a shrug, though he was aware of how 'well' Selyse would've treated Asha without his presence.
And while he wasn't telling her this, the main reason he was taking her back to the Iron Islands with him was so that he could earn some goodwill from her Mother (who was currently the regent of Iron Islands) and get some more discount on those Iron Ores.
Asha went quiet for a moment before she put a hand on his arm and gave him a slightly embarrassed smile. "I'll probably not say it again, so listen up… Thank you Stephen."
He smiled at her as he hand her hand on his own. "Don't mention it Asha." Then smile turned into a smirk. "After all, you're my bitch. And I take care of my bitches."
"And… you've gone and ruined the moment once again." Asha said as she shook her head in exasperation.
"Are you talking about the moment when you looked a step away from kissing me?"
"I was not going to kiss you."
"You were."
"No I was not."
"Yes you were."
"No. I definitely wasn't."
"You were, you stupid pirate bitch."
"No I wasn't, you milk drinking baby."
"Milk drinking baby. That's the best you can do?" He asked, raising an unimpressed brow.
"Well, you are 5 years younger than me." Asha explained.
"That doesn't mean anything. Plus, ask Mel, and you'll learn that I'm a rather proud milk drinker." He said as he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
"Okay… now you just entered the creepy territory." Asha said with a fake looked of disgust as she backed away from him.
He shrugged. "Creepy is still better than a coward."
"I'm not a coward."
"Yes you are."
"No I'm not."
"Yes you are." He said, and they continued their banter well into the evening.