Rufina again awakes with more bed partners than when she had gone to sleep. This morning she woke with four, only one that was there when she went to sleep, which is Emi. The other three are her orphans, Eliza, Beth and Benny. Eliza is snuggled up on the right with Beth sandwiched between them, Benny is atop of her and Emi on the left . She sighs and returns to sleep.

Tilly can only shake her head, Rufina must enjoy the company or is a deep sleeper. She sleeps alone because if anyone is in bed with her she would wake up if they moved. After lighting the candle on the bed side table, she gently poked Rufina awake. When her eyes were open she said, "Training time, Fina." Everyone had started calling her Fina since the children had arrived. And apparently she didn't mind in the slightest.

"Could you move Benny, please."

Tilly scooped up Benny, cuddling him before laying him next to his sister then leaving to wake the others. Mean while Rufina had twisted around and was straddling Emi, kissing her. "Time to wake, love." When she responses Rufina place a foot on the floor, standing, pulling Emi upright as she does. Going about her morning toilet, then dressing for training, Rufina is soon ready for Emi's help with the armor. The armor is soon on and adjusted, with Emi hugged and kissed then Rufina is out the door on her way to train.

Reaching the back courtyard, she greets the guard captain, "Good morning captain, what will we doing today?"

"First I would like you to show me what you have learned then we will proceed from there."

So we spar. First I attack him then he me. After fifteen minutes of this we take a short break then he coaches me in parry and thrust. We spend sixty minutes doing that, then the last twenty five in more sparing. When he calls an end, we are drenched and banged up.

"That is much better, your majesty." He bows, taking my wooden sword from me.

Removing my helmet, I shake my head, moving my hair about, perspiration flying. The others are gathered, waiting for me to lead them in Tai' Chi. I remove the gauntlets, laying them with the helmet near the stairs. Emi comes to remove the grieves and my boots, placing the grieves with the helmet. The boots are placed in the vestibule on our way through to the patio.

I assume vertical positioning at the front, waiting for them to settle. Once everyone is settled, "Thirty rotations to the right. Begin." After the warm ups and the thirty some minutes of forms, "And assume the vertical position."

Beth and Benny know that they are to set the table so go with Tilly and Abbey to do that. Emi and I goto pickup my armor but Eliza has my helmet already in hand when we get there. "Rufina, can we talk?" she asks as we climb the stairs.

"Of course sweetie. What's on your mind?"

"I have all the pages for the alphabet book finished. What do I do next?" Christina is holding the door to my rooms. She nods as we enter. The three of them start taking the armor off me, putting it on the rack.

"Eliza, I don't have anything for you to do at the moment. You could help Howard get his shop in order, perhaps he would teach you how to makes prints. You two could start cutting the blocks to print the alphabet book."

"That does sound interesting, it would give me a new medium to work in."

"And he knows how to make ink which is not to much different than paint which would been another medium to work in."

Eliza, stops what she is doing, with a thoughtful look on her face. Emi takes the piece of armor Eliza is holding, placing it on the rack, shaking her head, muttering,"Chasing rabbits, she sends them all chasing rabbits." Placing the last of the armor on the rack, Emi says, " Christina, please guild Eliza down stairs, while I bathe the Queen."

Christina takes Eliza's hand leading her out the door. Emi looks at Fina, "You should stop sending rabbits out for people to chase, love."

"What? I'm not supposed to share ideas with people, Sophia would have something to say about that, I'm sure."

She mixes the water as I strip, throwing my cloths into the basket. After soaping a cloth, she starts scrubbing my back. After handing me the cloth she soaps her hands, rubbing me all over, getting a few kisses while doing it. I'm soon rinsed and dried and being dressed.

We are soon sitting at the table with the others, chatting about what we have planned for the day. I ask Howard if he could use some help setting up his shop, mentioning that Eliza was free to assist him. I also told him that the book she had been working on was complete, ready to be transferred to the blocks so it could be printed. Eliza brought the sketches out so we could look at them after Howard asked about the size. Tilly and Abbey brought out breakfast, porridge with fruit, boiled eggs and toast with preserves. As we ate we continued to discuss the book, the layout, the number of colors and other pertinent subjects. Sophia was looking thru the pages then made the comment that there wasn't a title page or cover, which got us talking about that. We decide on the title, The Alphabet, written and drawn by Eliza.

After that, Beth and Benny clear the table, stacking the dishes on the trays. Then Emi and I carry the trays to the kitchen where we start washing the dishes. Beth and Benny help Emi dry them, stacking them on the shelf when dry. When we finished, Beth and Benny went off to be with Sophia and Christina for lessons, Emi went to straighten our rooms and I went to the study to sketch.

I had notice that the children had trouble get into and out of their chairs, especially Benny. The chairs were not designed for little people. I had laid out a sheet of paper intending to sketch a adjustable chair but went to the dining room to look at the chairs. As I studied them I decided that I would need a totally new design, one that could accommodate both Beth or Benny. This chair would need to be usable by a toddler to a 'tween. If Beth grew another six inches she wouldn't need a boosted seat, while Benny would need one for seven to eight more years. I stare at the chair for close to a quarter hour before deciding I need some professional help with this.

I head up stairs to the guardroom, intent on finding Vincent. When I reach the guardroom, I ask if Vincent is available. The man I talk to says he is on the ground floor of the tower with the captain. I thank him and descend to the ground floor.

When Captain Robert see me, "Your Majesty, How may I help you?"

"I need to borrow Vincent again if I may."

"Of course, your majesty." The captain looks around the room, not seeing Vincent he asks one of the men where he is. He is take a privy break is the reply. "Do you need him right away, your majesty?"

"No. I have to let Emi know we are going to town so it will be an half hour at least before I need him. Have him meet us at the garden gate, please."

I exit the tower and reenter the palace thru the front door. Emi is most likely in my rooms, cleaning so I ascend the stairs, check the children's room on the way to my rooms. I find Emi cleaning my bedchamber. "Emi, I need to go talk to Steven about some chairs for the children. Do you wish to come along?"

"Of course, love. Can I finish in here first?" I give her a nod. I sit on the chest to check my feet. Oh boy, they sure got dirty just walking from the study to the tower and back. I prepare a small amount of water then wash my feet before putting on stockings and my slippers. Emi has finished straightening the bed chamber so is ready when I am. Snuffing the candles we head down stairs again. As she is gathering the basket I go tell Tilly Emi and I are going to town for a little while and won't be long. We change to our shoes in the rear vestibule. As we pass thru the garden, I glace at the bathhouse which is progressing, the walls on this side are up and coated in mud. When we pass thru the gate we note that Vincent isn't there. I decide to turn the bricks one final time so start shifting a stack of bricks, turning them as I build a new stack. Emi is soon helping, shifting the stacks at the other end of the row. They are arranged in stacks of twenty bricks each, so it doesn't take long to shift and turn them all. As we are finishing the last stack Vincent appears.

"Am I late, Your majesty?" he asks.

"No, Vincent we were early." Standing, I clap my hands together to knock some of the dirt off. I offer a hand to Emi, who takes it and stands, picking up the basket from where she laid it before helping with the bricks. The three of us head down the hill to town.

"Where are we heading, your majesty?" Asks Vincent.

"Steven the furniture maker's shop, I need some chairs made for the children so they can reach the table." He nods in understanding.

When we reach Steven's shop, we enter, being announced by the ever present bell. One of Steven's older apprentices appears to welcome us, "Good morning, How may I help you?" He doesn't recognize me apparently.

"May I speak with master Steven, my good fellow?" I ask, smiling at him. He gets a frown on his face, I think it is dawning on him that I may be someone important, having a guard and a maid in attendance.

"Excuse me, I will fetch him." He ducks into the back room. Emi and I walk over to the displayed chairs to look them over. Vincent is standing near the door in a relaxed pose.

"Ah, I thought it was you, your majesty, from the description. Good morning, what may I help you with today?" Steven asks after coming from the back room.

"Good morning Steven. I need a pair of chairs suitable for children, one who is this tall, " I place my hand in the middle of my stomach, " and the another this tall, " my hand moves to below my waist. Currently they are sitting on large books placed on their chairs but it is hard for them to get on and off them. I was thinking of sketching a chair with a adjustable seat but my lack of woodworking skills defeated me. So I came to the expert on the matter."

"Adjustable chairs for children. Humm, that is a idea. Does the back need to adjust also? or is it fixed?"

" The back needn't be adjustable though it could."

He gets a far away look on his faces, standing there thinking. "Do you have your basket of sketching supplies? May I have a sheet of paper and a charcoal stick, please?" Emi digs them our of the basket, handing them to him. He starts sketching. He is about half way done when he stops, stares at the sketch then crosses it out, starting again. When he puts the charcoal down, he nods, "I think that will suffice." He turns the sketch around so Emi and I can see it.

I study it carefully. The seat is adjustable over six inches. The back slides so goes from zero to four inches out. He even thought to include a step so they could climb into the seat without help. I glance at Emi, she is nodding.

"Very good, Steven. Like I said I need two of them. How long is it going to take to make them? Three, four weeks?"

"Yes, four weeks is about right. The price will be one silver each." Emi hands me the purse then lays a sheet of paper on the table. Steven starts writing the receipt out, then as I lay two silver on the table signs top and bottom. Handing me the charcoal I do the same then tear the receipt in two, handing him one half. The other half and the purse are handed to Emi to return to the basket.

"How are your new apprentices working out, Steven?" He rolls his eyes. Oh dear, that doesn't look good.

"I take it they are not working out from that expression. Is it anything I can help with?"

"Thank you your majesty, I can handle them. They are being no more bullheaded than some of the other apprentice I have had. They will come around if they want to continue with me."

"What are you teaching them this week?"

"Tools, what they are and how to take care of them."

"If have a problem you can't solve let me know, I started this, I should help make sure it runs smoothly."

"Thank you, your majesty. I will start working on the chairs this afternoon."

"Thank you, Steven. Have a good day." I nod to him then turn, heading to the door.

When we return to the palace, I dismiss Vincent, thanking him for his assistance. Emi and I go through the garden gate, after checking how the bricks are progressing. They will will be ready in a few more days. Once in the palace Emi heads back to her cleaning and I back to sketching. I lay out the saw mill plans I had started a few days before, checking to make sure what I had done is up to snuff. No glaring mistakes, good. I have the frame of the building, the saw frame and the log trolly done so I begin sketching the gears.

I don't have the particulars of where the mill will be sited yet so design the gears so they can be built any size they need to be. The smaller driven gears (the trundles) are two round disks with round oak shafts as teeth spaced around them. These will mesh with the stout oak teeth on the larger gear. These teeth are secured around the rim of the frame of the larger gear and like the trundles are replaceable in case of breakage. The size of the waterwheel will depend on the site of the mill and the gearing will depend on the size of the wheel. These sketches are based on videos of the King's Landing sawmill.

I start sketching general plans for the waterwheel. Again this is because I don't know how large I can make it.

I am interrupted when Captain Robert come knocking on the study door, "Your Majesty, a ship as arrived. They are flying the flag of the Harding company."

"Thank you, Captain. Will you join me on my run later this afternoon?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, I would be happy to. At 1400, correct?"

"Yes, 1400. I'll meet you at the garden gate." I return to my sketches.

About half a hour later, there is a knocking on the door. Not being answered right away, they knock again. I lay down my charcoal stick going to answer the door. As I reach to open it they start knocking again. Pulling the door open, "Yes, how may I help you?" It is not someone I am familiar with.

"Good afternoon, good woman. I am Captain Issac Morris of the ship White Rose, I have some messages that I have been instructed to deliver to the Queen personally. Is she in?"

It's the clothes again, "Come in Captain Morris. Did manager Hawkworth describe the Queen to you?"

"Yes, he did. He said she was young, red haired, freckled, slim with shoulder length... Oh, you are the Queen! Please excuse me your majesty. Nobles don't normally answer their own doors."

"That is all right Captain, you aren't the first to not recognize me. So you have messages for me?"

"Yes." He opens the folio he is carrying, removing a smaller one. This one has a cord wrapped around it with the knot sealed with a stamped wax seal. He then removes an inkstone, brush and a small flask. After putting a few drops of water on the stone he then dipping the brush in the resulting ink before handing it to me. He presents a receipt to me to sign, which I do after reading. He then hands me the small folio. "Thank you, Your Majesty." He then leaves.