Aleksei took a deep breath as the extensive stone walls that encircled the Frotleikr’s castle and capital city came into view in the distance. They were just moments from meeting his in-laws, along with officially starting his personal mission of going undercover as the knight that had been provided to be his bride’s personal guard during the trip back to the Taicirus Kingdom.
Aleksei had to admit there was a worry, other than the nerves of meeting his in-laws, that was now troubling him. As they approached, the prince became nervous that one of the others in the envoy would slip up and accidently refer to him by his real name and title instead of the identity his father had put together for him.
Aleksei tightened his grip on his reins; maybe this was a bad idea coming anonymously…
It was too late now though, the gates ahead of the envoy were already slowly creaking open as their arrival was noticed by the guards posted along the outer castle walls. There was no backing out now since Aleksei would have no way to send any signal that he wanted to discuss a change of plans with the rest of their group without potentially raising suspicion.
The small procession picked up ever so slightly as the exhausted members of the envoy seemed to see the glimmer of hope to finally be able to rest in actual comfortable beds instead of camping out on the hard ground with thin bedrolls. On the sparse days that were better, they had been able to rest by sleeping on the firm and scratchy beds of a tavern, but due to the size of their group they had to cycle through who was allowed to have the chance to take the brief respite of using the barely better accommodations; with the rest of the group camping out on the outskirts of the towns that they were passing through so that they didn’t overwhelm the small villages.
Aleksei heard the deafening sound of large bells ringing out as soon as the leading members of the envoy took their first steps through the gates. Then there was the sound of cheering on the other side of the towering stone walls that had seemed to almost double in size with each stride his horse took closer. Aleksei hadn’t actually realized how large the capital of the Frotleikr family’s domain was until he, too, passed through the gigantic gates that now seemed like they were going to swallow him whole.
On the other side Aleksei was met with the sight of huge crowds forming on either side of the main road. Aleksei briefly wondered if there was a seer living in the kingdom’s capital who had predicted their exact arrival time and had shared it with the rest of the city. It was also possible they just had quick messengers who had spread word of the envoy’s imminent arrival; although that wouldn’t explain how the entire city seemed to already be there waiting for their arrival from the moment they stepped through the gates.
Aleksei felt a bit weird having another kingdom’s citizens cheering for him as he walked along their streets. Glancing towards the other members of the envoy that he could see, it seemed that they ,too, were unsure what to do in that situation. It seemed like most of them had come to the consensus to just sit a bit straighter in their saddles and look straight ahead so that they looked imposing and regal; doing their best to hide the obvious fatigue they all were actually feeling. Aleksei followed suit, but did his best to not stand out much. He had no clue who could actually be watching him from within the crowd, and he didn’t want to accidentally give off the air of a royal instead of just a simple knight.
As the envoy continued forward, Aleksei’s ears slowly adjusted to the roar of cheers, and he started to be able to pick up snippets of the words the more hushed members of the crowd were muttering here and there.
“I’ve never actually seen Northerners before…” “They’re so tall.” “Look at the massive horses they ride.” “Mom, why do they each have so many hair colors?” “Look at the muscles on that one!” “Do you think their Prince also has multiple hair colors?”
Listening to the various voices as he passed them, Aleksei was genuinely astounded that their vocal inflections seemed to all be either in awe of the “Northerners”, or just pure curiosity about the envoy. The crowd seemed to be mostly speaking in positive and excited tones as they gossiped about the foreigners under their breaths, while others were just cheering the envoy on excitedly as they migrated forward.
Aleksei had assumed the citizen’s would be more melancholy about these delegates coming only to cart off their precious princess. Aleksei wondered if his bride’s own citizens had something against her; yet he hadn’t picked up any of the people of the crowd commenting anything along the lines of her finally leaving, it was only various gossip about the envoy.
Aleksei made a mental note to have Elvar chat with Ciar, the leading diplomat, to make sure he asked the Frotleikr’s for more information about the festive mood the city was in. Odds were that the envoy’s leader already had planned on inquiring about it, but the curious prince still wanted to make sure Ciar would ask just in case.
Aleksei speculated about the possibility that the citizens of the Ástland Kingdom held the same thoughts of his kingdom’s people that the union to the two would pass good fortune down to the people of the kingdom. It didn’t make as much sense though, since his bride was marrying into the Silvius family and therefore if there was any trickle down of blessings it would be to the Taicirus Kingdom that the couple would be running together.
Perhaps the enthusiasm was just that the two kingdoms were finally uniting via a political marriage, but Aleksei couldn’t see how it would incite such a large excited crowd who were all cheering for the foreigners as though they were fellow Ástlanders who were returning from a long trip.
Aleksei didn’t have a lot of time left to mull it over as the other end of the crowd of people was now in sight, and the tall elaborate decorated gates to main castle grounds lay ahead beyond the crowd.
Aleksei didn’t expect to feel the fluttering in the pit of his stomach as the second set of gates they would have to enter opened to reveal the lush outer courtyard of the castle his bride had grown up in. He wondered if the excitement of the crowds on either side of him was rubbing off on him and causing the nervous feeling in his gut to multiply. Sure, his bride wouldn’t know who he was yet, but Aleksei was finally going to meet this elusive person who it had been decided would be his wife all those years ago.
Aleksei admired the dark blue serpent motif of the castle gates as they passed through them. He knew from his lessons that the Frotleikr lineage stemmed from a Jörmungandr bloodline of the Dragonkin race, yet he had also heard that the twin heirs of the latest generation seemed to take after more of their maternal grandfather’s lineage of Dragon types.
Aleksei also had a touch of Dragon blood on his mother’s side that skipped generations and showed up in him, but the rest of his family stemmed from Drudic Fae, so Aleksei was momentarily curious what his own children would present as, if he even had children from this arranged marriage. Of course, providing at least one heir that combined the Silvius and Frotleikr bloodlines was one of the reasons this marriage was even taking place, so he probably would have to eventually consider the possibility.
Aleksei’s focus returned to the present as he noticed the arrangement of official looking servants lined up on the steps waiting to welcome the envoy. Once the procession of foreigners, led by Ciar, stopped at the base of the steps the person that seemed to have the highest rank amongst the servants spoke up.
“Visitors from Taicirus, we welcome you!” The man who was speaking looked like he was about a head shorter than Aleksei, but he also had a looming presence. It was as if he was taller than even the tallest of the envoys. “I am Aelius, the head advisor of Álfheim Castle. I am here to welcome you and help direct everyone to the different areas of the castle. The soldiers and other servants can follow the head maid, Alta, to the stables and the servant quarters to rest. Those who are to meet with the royal family can dismount and follow me to the throne room. After the meeting with the royal family, everyone will be able to reconvene in the Great Hall for a banquet that our chefs are currently preparing.” Aelius was quick and to the point laying out the plans they had set up for the envoy’s visit.
Aleksei was a bit surprised that they were immediately being split up and that it seemed only a few of them were going to be meeting up with the Frotleikr family. He knew he shouldn’t be as surprised though, since the Ástland Kingdom was bound to have different customs and etiquette from his home country.
Even though they didn’t have a chance to discuss it on the fly, Aleksei dismounted Melani along with Elvar, Ciar, and Íris: Ciar’s sister. Íris had been brought along to be his bride’s designated handmaiden during the trip; potentially continuing her role when they returned if the bride was content with the chosen handmaiden’s performance. As such, it would reason that she would also join the three males to represent the envoy that would be guiding his bride to Taicirus.
The four Taicirusians that had dismounted were the only ones who would really need to directly meet with the royal family since they each had very specific roles to play. Ciar was the lead diplomat for this trip, Elvar was supposed to be representing Aleksei as his right hand, Íris would be the one directly taking care of any of the princess’ needs, and Aleksei (under the name of Magne) would be the one directly put in charge of protecting her during the trip. Everyone else in the envoy were mainly overall guards or people who were in charge of the various supplies.
Handing over the reins of his beloved horse, who had been a support and reminder of home during the trip, he semi reluctantly turned away from the Taicirusian soldier that would take his ebony stallion to the stables. The undisclosed prince was now going to have to leave behind any of his comforts for the next month and become a quiet knight who would be watching over the mysterious person who had been selected as a candidate for the next queen of the Taicirus Kingdom.
It was now finally the time he had been preparing for. Aleksei, no… Magne stepped forward and joined the other three as they followed Aelius to meet the most important family in the south.
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