How long had it been since she was last in Wales?
At least two decades, if not a bit longer. Nerys was never the best at keeping track of time, especially for something that happened so long ago. She left the kingdom when she was still a child, clinging to her aging grandfather’s arm as they boarded the passenger airship to Auguste.
Even with her foggy memories, though, she thought the castle town would have been busier than this. There were a few people lingering about, bartering with shopkeepers and the like, but certainly not the crowds one might expect from the capital city. After coming from the bustling ship that was the Grandcypher, this was a bit of a shock.
Speaking of the Grandcypher, Nerys thought on how coincidental it was that the airship’s illustrious Captain kept company with the youngest prince of Wales. It had been an age since she’d last seen Percival, though he barely remembered her once she introduced herself. He had been quite young at the time, after all, and she admittedly spent more time with his two older brothers during her visits to the castle.
She smiled at the memory of those halcyon days. Life had a way of twisting and turning and having its ups and downs, but the time she spent in the castle with her grandfather were some of her warmest childhood memories.
The feeling of nostalgia only grew as she entered the city square. Despite how empty the square felt, there were still musicians sitting about, playing music for those that did happen to wander by. She didn’t want to add more competition, but hearing their music only caused her fingers to itch with a desire to join them.
Nerys rarely left the ship without some kind of instrument. Even her small lyre could be used as a weapon if she needed it to, after all, and it was much easier to carry than the massive harp she wielded. But this was no battle; it was music for the sake of joy, music for the sake of entertainment—and it just so happened that there was a spot to sit on the ledge of the fountain.
Setting the base of the lyre on her thigh, she plucked a few notes to ensure her instrument was still in tune before delving into a melody of a song she’d not played for quite some time.
All things considered it was a simple tune, but she’d learned it as a child, after all. Despite its simplicity, Nerys’s musical skill was obvious in her playing. Each note was struck with confidence unlike the trepidation she once had as a student, trying to reach her small hands to the correct strings to complete the chords.
She didn’t notice the small crowd that stopped to watch despite the scarcity of people wandering around the square. When she played music for fun she had a tendency to get fully absorbed by it, letting the melodies and the memory of the notes in her fingertips pull her mind away from the present. She could hear the murmurs of the crowd, of course, but paid their sounds no mind—
But a deep, commanding voice managed to cut through the din and grab her attention.
“I don’t believe I’ve ever heard that tune played on a lyre before.”
Fingers slowing their plucking, Nerys looked up to see the owner of said voice and was surprised to see the crowd parted, expressions gleaming up at a man she never thought she might see again.
“Aglovale,” she replied, a soft smile settling on her lips.
A few gasps arose in the crowd, their eyes turning back to her. One woman at the edge of the crowd hissed under her breath a quiet “King Aglovale,” emphasis on the King.
“King Aglovale?” she parroted back, looking back up at the man before her, who simply chuckled.
“That is my title, yes,” he chuckled, stepping closer to her. It was then that Nerys noticed the retinue behind him...bodyguards and advisers, she supposed. Suddenly her heart was in her throat and she wasn’t quite sure why.
“But I believe we can forgo the pretense,” he continued, stopping a few paces from her. “Unless you would prefer it, Nerys.”
“I think that decision comes down to you, King Aglovale.”
He apprised her for a moment before smiling and extending an armored hand to her. Without thinking she placed her hand in his, and as he raised his arm just a bit she stood in turn—and became hyper-aware of just how many eyes were on them at this moment.
“It has been quite some time, hasn’t it? Twenty years or so?” he asked, but didn’t leave her time to answer the question that he clearly already knew the answer to, instead positing another. “What brings you to Wales again?”
“Just a pitstop,” she replied, oddly conscious of every bone and muscle in her arm that was attached to the hand that was still in his own. “As it turns out, Percival knows the captain of my ship—”
“The Grandcypher?” he interjects, and she nods. “I’ve heard about that ship and her magnanimous captain, but I didn’t know you were among the skyfarers on board.”
“And I didn’t know my captain was rubbing elbows with Welsh royalty,” she chuckled. “I’m honestly surprised you even remember me, Aglo—er, King Aglovale.”
Nerys couldn’t place the mirth she saw in his auburn eyes, but gazing up at him like this did nothing to quell the ache she was feeling in the pit of her chest. How often had she thought of this moment and how it would play out? She never could have guessed it would be like this, but then again, she never guessed it would happen in the first place.
“If I was being honest, it was the song that reminded me, even if I’d only ever heard the tune on piano before. In fact, I don’t believe I’ve heard that song since you and Cadoc left Wales.”
“It was quite some time ago,” she mused, voice trailing off before crawling out of her thoughts and attempting to pull her hand back from his. “But I’m sure as King you’ve got many duties to attend to, so I would hate to keep you too long.”
“It’s true; as King, my duties are never truly finished. But if you would be so inclined, I would enjoy it if you were to return to the castle with me for some tea. It has been quite some time, has it not?”
She didn’t expect his hand to enclose around hers before she could pull it away, and she certainly didn’t expect an invite to the castle on top of it. Only able to blink for a moment, Nerys eventually found her voice once she’d processed Aglovale’s request.
“Oh...! Well, if you insist, then I would love to stop by for tea. It would be nice to see the castle grounds again, and I’ve got nothing on my schedule for today, so...”
“Perfect. We shall return to the castle at once.” Turning back to his retinue he called out a name, one adviser perking up. “Have the kitchens prepare refreshments for when we return.”
“As you wish, my Lord.”
“Shall we go, then? The castle isn’t far from here, though I’m sure you remember that,” Aglovale said, returning his attention to her.
“Of course,” she agreed. The first thing on her mind was that she was still all-too-cognizant of her hand in his, her skin resting against the cool metal of his gauntlet.
The second was wondering just how Maeve and Serafina would react once she recounted the details of this meeting to them later once she got back to the ship.