Though the funeral had been held for the Delesian King, most of the royals and nobles of Aladonia had opted to stay in Dele until after the coronation of the next King - as they knew that they would have to make their way there again soon - the Nokian rider couldn’t help but note that there was one figure that didn’t seem to be present. And he could also hear that he wasn’t the only one to note the lack of presence of the other. Before anyone would whisper and wonder why the brother of the Nokian king had disappeared, Magnus knew he needed to speak with him. The last thing he wanted was for the reputation of House Pithou to get tarnished, to have the sovereigns he had served for decades to be sullied because of one’s selfish desires.
Well, more sullied than they had been since Ram had disgraced his family by stepping away from the crown that had been his by birthright, that is.
Part of Magnus had wanted to fly back to the Cerulean Castle, to feel the wind against his face and the clouds upon his skin as he became one with his dragon, but he knew it would take time to get Udriam out of the dragon stables in Dele and he wanted to bring Ram back to Dele before the gossiping would get out of hand. So, after visiting the stables and running his hand over Udriam’s snout, he whispered a quick “yth geou gethrisj for vi vihaga poktosh, si inglata” to the dragon - to which Udriam blew out a hot breath threw his nose, causing his hair to billow behind him. The rider informed the hands that he would be back later with some game that he wants them to feed the dragon, as Udriam is growing rather bored with sheep and goat, and they gave a quick nod and uttered thanks as he left.
Walking through the portal, he knew that he was practically signing a death wish when he realized just where the King’s brother was. Pushing the steel doors open, the rider could only lower his head in an apology as the man addressed the fact that he had entered during a time when he was trying to find peace and calm. “My apologies, my lord,” Magnus started - it had been hard shifting from ‘your grace’ to ‘my lord’ after Ram had stepped down, but he had pushed past it and it was almost second nature now. “But your presence, or lack thereof, was beginning to be noticed by the gossiping crones of Dele. I came to see if I could escort you back, if only so that the royal family of Dele does not take this as disrespect.”
Pausing, the dragon rider took another step forward. “Please, my lord…” You’ve tarnished the Pithou name enough, haven’t you? “Do not make me come back empty-handed.”
It wasn’t exactly an unusual occurrence for Ram to lose track of his duties as a member of the royal family, even if he gave up the title of king long, long ago and was otherwise considered redundant. Once a royal, always a royal...
Magnus clearly did not forget this.
He doesn’t turn around to face Magnus. “Was that today?” he returns drolly, having not actually forgotten the RVSP and merely saying it to tease the rider. Ram knew Magnus his entire life. Literally. The more Ram aged, however, Magnus remained exactly as Ram remembered him as a child. He used to be Ram’s glorified babysitter, but now... he wasn’t quite sure what they were.
“Do the Gauthiers actually request my presence, or is it an arbitrary request to have me there...?”
