@rosegoldenboy liked for a starter
She and Ferdinand had had a fairly close and meaningful friendship during the war. There had been few she could confide in before him, and she had known without a doubt that he would always have her back. Both in battle and out.
And despite her distaste for tea, she’d always held a soft spot in her heart for the many they’d shared a pot together.
When she’d ascended to the thrown, she had known he wouldn’t be able to stay in Derdriu with her. He has his family lands he needed to return to, in what used to be the empire. He had citizens he needed to care for, a family reputation to restore, lands to reorganize and recover.
And he’d been doing well. She’d kept her ears open for all news she could gather of the exploits of the new Duke, keeping up with him despite the lack of correspondance. Both of them were far too busy for that.
But now that things were starting to settle, nearly a full year after the Unification and her correnation as Queen, and Byleth found herself anxious to see her old friend.
She had a very important request to make of him.
Castle Aegir is as welcoming as it is imposing. Appropriate, she muses, for a family as politically powerful as the Aegirs. There doesn’t seem to be much in the way of damage to the castle itself, though the journey to had shown plenty of lands still recovering.
She had sent a letter ahead of her trip, so presumably Ferdinand knew to expect her.