Freyr watched his sister eagerly chatting up the three male guests in front of him as they walked through the hallways that led to the Great Hall. Freyja had always been the first to make new friends: especially since she had always enjoyed discussing dueling strategies with other nobles that were around their age, and inquiring about the wisdom that the experienced warriors possessed.
Although Freyr was occasionally jealous of his sister’s ability to just chat with no worries, in this instance he was kind of glad she was distracting them from his presence. He was sure the trip to the Taicirus Kingdom was already going to be one where the focus would be mostly on him, so having a few extra moments where the envoy wasn’t paying attention was like gulping down water before entering a desert.
Freyr wasn’t alone in the back of the small group of young adults though. The lead diplomat’s sister, Íris, was also hanging back from the rest of the now semi rowdy group. Freyr couldn’t tell if it was because she was just a bit slower, or if it was because he was in the back of the pack as well; she had been introduced as the Taicirusian who would be his handmaiden during the trip after all.
Either way, when their eyes briefly met, Freyr decided to give her an awkward nod out of courtesy. When she returned his nod, Freyr couldn’t tell if it helped make the circumstances less stiff between the two of them, or if the seemingly mutual silence was actually more awkward now.
Freyr glanced at the female Fae that was matching pace besides him. He had assumed, correctly, that his in-laws would select a handmaiden for him for the trip and had been a bit worried that the person chosen would be an overly bubbly noblewoman who would want to be the best of friends during the trip. So the secretly male teenager was glad that Íris seemed to be someone who was going to just be quietly nearby and would be respectful of his personal space. Especially since he was going to be hiding his true gender during and after the trip.
Íris seemed like she would be understanding if he turned down any help she offered that would put his secret at risk. He had already drafted up a list of potential excuses to use if anyone pointed out any suspicious behavior of his, but if his direct handmaiden had been the pushy type the odds of him getting discovered would have been multiplied.
On closer inspection, Freyr thought he could see the mark of Sláine on Íris’ collarbone. It was a different location from where Freyr usually noticed Sláine’s mark on the god of health’s other Favored Ones; it also seemed to emanate more magic than the others he had met. It made Freyr a bit curious since Sláine was the type of deity to treat all of his Favored Ones equally, instead of picking favorites even among the Favored Ones.
Freyr wondered what type of magic Sláine had blessed Íris with since it was apparent that she was different. He couldn’t just ask though, since it meant admitting he could see more than what other mortals could perceive.
So the silence between the two people bringing up the rear continued for even longer. The shut-in teenager knew that, based on his mother’s earlier words, he should be making more of an effort to socialize with the figureheads of the envoy, yet it didn’t change the fact that he had never had much socialization practice growing up.
There were a few servants the loner prince had been at least cordial towards, since his family all prioritized the importance of befriending those who work under and with them, yet he had never felt the need to form proper friendships. Freyr had often been too busy hiding his various secrets and hidden truths, or reminding himself that his time in Ástland was limited and any friendships he made would be left behind as soon as he turned eighteen.
Freyr knew it wasn’t a healthy mindset to have, but it seemed like the least of his worries considering what Ianthe had done to his life. Knowing he had been just the replacement for his bright and charismatic sister ever since they turned two years old had him comparing himself to her every step of the way. Yet Freyr had never resented his sister for being the way she was. Freyja was the type to immediately come running whenever she caught wind of him having a bad day, or to guard him from the curious looks of the nobles during the events they had to attend. She was the twin who had an immense sense of humor, yet instinctively knew the boundaries and lines that she shouldn’t cross with said humor. The twin’s relationship might have looked distant at a glance to outsiders, but they really did have strong ties and mutual respect for each other behind the scenes. Freyr blamed himself if it looked otherwise since it would have been his fault for being so withdrawn from the world: even though they loved each other dearly.
It was safe to say that the closest thing Freyr had to a friend was his sister, Freyja. He was going to miss her immensely now that he would be leaving soon, and she would be officially becoming the first in line for the throne here in Ástland. He couldn’t imagine anyone taking her place in his heart for the closest person in his life. Freyr’s mother on the other hand…
His mother had always been bullheaded when she got an idea in her head, and it seemed like her latest idea was going to be insisting he needed to find a confidant, or at least a friend, in Taicirus. Freyr had never been one to go against his mother’s wishes, not like he would have been able to even if he was the type to oppose her, so Freyr wanted to at least appear like he was going to put forth the effort to befriend someone while he was still in his mother’s vicinity.
Freyr hoped that if his mother saw the prince making an effort, she would be relieved and wouldn’t question it in any of their eventual letter correspondences. He didn’t actually need to make a friend from it to get her off his back about his anti-social tendencies, he just had to show her that he could make an effort. If he did make a friend or confidant, then it would just be a bonus.
As the group got closer to the Great Hall where the banquet had been being prepared, Freyr tried to come up with some ideas he could use to try to get closer to the members of the traveling party he was joining. Freyr also was internally shooting down said ideas almost immediately as he realized how hard they would be for him to enact in one way or another. He really was an introverted and awkward prince after all… By the time they all reached the large wooden doors that opened up to the Great Hall, Freyr had been left with one choice: winging it as he went.
The leaders of the envoy would be seated closest to the royal family so they could continue discussing plans for the trip and any other topics that weren’t brought up during the initial greetings. Considering the only extended family the twins had were all traveling at that time, or were residing in different towns, Freyr would most likely be sat directly next to at least one of the envoys. If he could find an opening during the conversations to open his mouth, he could use that as a stepping stone to potentially get to know at least one of them better; therefore, showing an effort to his mother and relieving her of any anxiety she might still hold for the trip.
The question was, what topics would be brought up that he could interject himself in. Most of the discussions would probably be about the finer details of the travel plans, and Freyr didn’t have a strong enough opinion at the moment to consider forcing himself into any conversation of that type. Although he had memorized the various maps of the two kingdoms during his lessons growing up, the prince had never actually left the castle so Freyr mainly knew the towns based on their names, and not necessarily which ones would be advantageous to travel though or stop at.
As Freyr thought about it, he realized he had never actually considered and thought about what the month-long journey to Taicirus itself would consist of. He had been so focused on the probability of being able to hide his gender and other secrets that the fact that he was going on his first excursion ever had slipped from his mind.
The heavy wooden doors in front of the group slowly opened from the other side: revealing the large banquet table that already sat the other Taicirusian soldiers and servants who would be accompanying him for the next month or so. Seeing a majority of the room turn to look, it started to really sink in for Freyr that he would be leaving soon.
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