Aleksei had conveniently been seated next to the Frotleikr princess when he had been guided to his chair. Looking across the table where Elvar was seated next to the male heir, Aleksei could see in Elvar’s eyes that the pink haired fox wanted to flash Aleksei a thumbs up sign. Aleksei was relieved when his impish friend got sucked back into his conversation with the prince sitting next to him instead; none of them needed Elvar to accidentally trigger any suspicions in the eyes of the Frotleikr family.
Looking over to his left, where the person he was probably going to end up marrying sat, Aleksei opened his mouth slightly to say something… only for his brain to draw a blank on what to talk to her about. The reserved princess that sat beside him seemed to be giving off an atmosphere that had put up a wall between them, making it hard to talk with her. Aleksei closed his mouth again and turned back towards the empty place setting in front of him. It wasn’t like there was anything to talk about at that moment, and he was sure he would eventually have time to discuss different topics with her since he would be her personal guard as soon as they started traveling again.
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Freyr noticed Sir Magni turn towards him and open his mouth to say something. The nervous prince awaited for the words of whatever important topic the knight wanted to discuss, only for the silence to continue on his right. Glancing over at the red and black haired knight, Freyr noticed that the young man had turned away instead of starting a conversation with him.
Sir Magni’s long crimson bangs were blocking Freyr’s view of his face, so he couldn’t tell what had caused the knight to suddenly not initiate a conversation with him. Freyr had hoped the knight would initiate the conversation so that the prince didn’t have to think up something himself to discuss.
Freyr tried to shoot a look at his sister to help him out and start a conversation that he could join in to, but Freyja was long gone and absorbed in a conversation with the fox eared Beastfolk about the duel styles of the north. It seemed like he was going to be on his own during the elaborate feast they would soon be partaking in. He wondered if, by the end, he would have to give up on showing his mother that she didn’t have to worry about him.
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Aleksei wondered how long the bubble of silence was going to continue on the side of the table where he was sitting. King Alf and Queen Ivithia had long since arrived and had started discussing the finer points of the return trip with Ciar, and the first and second course of the banquet had already been brought out as well.
While the rest of the table had been filled with various conversations, as the allied kingdoms started to feel more comfortable around each other, the three people sitting together on the left side of the table head were all just quietly eating the food being placed in front of them. It seemed like, since the Ástlanders didn’t know who would be seated where beforehand, the three quietest people had all been accidently sat together.
Íris, who sat on the other side of Aleksei, wasn’t the type to speak much unless spoken to directly since she had been taught to quietly stand behind the person she was serving until they needed something. Aleksei had stayed quiet because he didn’t want to accidentally out himself as the prince of Taicirus via his mannerisms or speech patterns. He knew that if he wasn’t careful while he was eating such an elaborate meal he could accidentally fall into familiar motions as if he was at home and hosting a banquet alongside his own parents.
The last of the silent trio was Aleksei’s bride-to-be. While the male heir of the Frotleikr family had been chatting up a storm on the other side of the table, the female heir still seemed withdrawn and untalkative. Aleksei wondered if it was just that she still didn’t have anything to input into any of the current conversations, or if it was the fault of those around her since no one had made the attempt to talk with her. Aleksei felt a hint of guilt since he was one of the said people who still hadn’t tried to start a conversation with her.
What would they talk about though? Aleksei had no clue what a young lady his age might be interested in and want to talk about.
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Freyr had given up. Each time he had thought of something to add to any of the numerous conversations around him, that particular conversation had already moved on from the part that he had formed input for. Freyr had now just resigned to the fact that he would be spending the rest of the meal in silence along with the other two people silently seated next to him.
So what if Freyr’s mother was occasionally shooting worried glances in his direction… Freyr had never been the type to open up, so why would she expect anything different from him all of a sudden? Freyr would have plenty of time to maybe find something to talk about once they were on the road. If he didn’t, that would be fine too; since he was supposed to be hiding so many things from the rest of the traveling party, not opening up to someone and potentially letting something slip.
As soon as Freyr had finally come to terms with his own social failures, he heard a somewhat rough voice awkwardly address him. “So… since I’m supposed to be Your Royal Highness’ personal guard, I will need to know what to expect in the coming month and a half. What does a typical day look like for you currently?”
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Aleksei wanted to bite his tongue. Why would he need to know her current daily schedule when they would be erasing it all for the duration of the trip? He couldn’t think of anything else to say though, so that was what slipped out of his mouth when he had finally worked up the courage to try to break the silence.
Aleksei felt a small bit of relief as he heard a soft, yet a bit husky, voice respond to his question. “You won’t have to worry about me running around. I prefer to just sit and read most of the day.”
So his potential future queen was a bookworm. Aleksei could probably use that as a branching off point to continue the conversation. The problem was how to make sure he was still acting like he was just intrigued because he was her guard, and not accidentally step over the boundary of familiarity and give away any hint of his true curiosities.
After some quick, but careful, thinking, Aleksei formed his hesitant response. “Will you be bringing any books to read during the trip?” What was he thinking? Of course she would bring books to read if she was trying to reassure him that she wouldn’t be running around carelessly… “Perhaps you can suggest some for me when I’m off duty.” Aleksei wondered if he was saving it, or just making it worse.
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Freyr knew Sir Magni was just taking pity on him and trying to make small talk. Why else would a bulky knight like him be asking for reading suggestions?
Actually, now that Freyr was closer to the knight, Freyr realized that, although definitely muscular, the knight was more lean than most of the other Taicirusian soldiers. If Sir Magni was a little bit shorter he would actually have a very similar build to Freyr’s sister. Although Freyr had observed a few of Freyja’s training sessions, he still didn’t know what training helped build which muscles. This meant Freyr couldn’t quite place why his new personal guard had such a different build from the other Taicirusians.
Freyr suddenly realized that, while he had been so focused on the knight’s muscles, Sir Magni was still awaiting a response, and Freyr had yet to think of any recommendations. He quickly blurted out the first title that came to mind; doing his best to make sure it still seemed like the pause was due to him thinking of the best book to recommend. “My Husband's Divorce Attorney is a decent novel to read in your free time. I’ve already read it a few times, so I can lend it to you for the trip if you seriously want to read it.”
Freyr was suddenly nervous about lending one of his favorites to a stranger. Odds were that the knight wouldn’t actually read it, but if he did then maybe Freyr would have someone to chat with about the books he read.
While Freyr was still worrying about whether Sir Magni would like the story, another small voice spoke up. “If you like My Husband's Divorce Attorney, may I also suggest Romance Splits to Your Royal Highness?” It appeared like Freyr’s new handmaiden was also a fan of his favorite stories.
“I’ve actually already read it… Do you have any more suggestions?” Freyr was a bit excited now that a topic arose that he could actually discuss. Maybe he would be able to satisfy his mother’s worries after all.
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