"...Harper...?" The name - the question - came after a long silence, the word rumbling up from the King's chest, slow and quiet. "...Is he well?"
His eyes remained focused on his own task, his expression unchanging as he delicately used tweezers and patience to position each setting and solder it into place. Whatever emotions passed through his heart at hearing the name of his former co-ruler and once-closest friend were hidden in the silence that he worked in as he went back to filing and polishing his own gift. The tiara began to gleam under his ministrations.
Maea's frustration drew his attention to her once more and he moved over to consider the ring. "Heat," he said at least. "To anneal the silver and smooth out the inconsistencies. But first, to fix the size..." He went back into the forge and exchanged a few words with his host before returning with a dowel rod, a jeweler's saw, and a clamp. "This was his size before," he explained, offering the dowel and showing how it served as the size of a finger.
He took the ring from her and set it on the dowel, which went in the clamp. "Cut here. And here," he showed her, indicating a small slice from the bottom of the ring. "Then we will heat the metal to soften it, and hammer it to fit the rod. Then you will use solder to seal it again."
His eyes remained focused on his own task, his expression unchanging as he delicately used tweezers and patience to position each setting and solder it into place. Whatever emotions passed through his heart at hearing the name of his former co-ruler and once-closest friend were hidden in the silence that he worked in as he went back to filing and polishing his own gift. The tiara began to gleam under his ministrations.
Maea's frustration drew his attention to her once more and he moved over to consider the ring. "Heat," he said at least. "To anneal the silver and smooth out the inconsistencies. But first, to fix the size..." He went back into the forge and exchanged a few words with his host before returning with a dowel rod, a jeweler's saw, and a clamp. "This was his size before," he explained, offering the dowel and showing how it served as the size of a finger.
He took the ring from her and set it on the dowel, which went in the clamp. "Cut here. And here," he showed her, indicating a small slice from the bottom of the ring. "Then we will heat the metal to soften it, and hammer it to fit the rod. Then you will use solder to seal it again."
