Lovino marched through the hallways of the castle, a few servants bowing to him at the sides as he went past.
The Princes and crewmates on that little rowboat had been the only survivors to make their way safely home to Niba so far. With Arthur's directions proving true, the morning sun revealed the coastline in the distance, including the city and the castle on the shores. They had arrived just after noon, and were immediately received by the household staff who were happy to bring them in safe and sound.
Two days had passed since their return, and nobody else from the ship had been found. They would wait a while longer to receive word in case they floated off elsewhere, before proclaiming that the rest of the crew had been lost to the sea with the ship. His father would have the misfortune of making that declaration, but Lovino knew he would eventually have to practice making those speeches as the future King of Solyra.
Lovino reached the door and swung it open, revealing the veranda overlooking the ocean. The skies were clear today, the sun was beaming down, and the waters were calm once again. He strolled to the edge of the veranda, where his younger brother leaned on the stone railing and stared out at the sea.
Again.
This was all Feliciano had done with his spare time since they arrived home. He would position himself at a window, balcony, or on the edge of the veranda, and stare out at the sea.
"Do you really expect to see her from here?" Lovino probed as he approached his brother.
"I can only hope so," Feliciano sighed.
"You do realize how ridiculous this is, right?" Lovino derided, "You're staring out at an ocean, hoping to see a mermaid. Not just any mermaid, but the one who saved you from a shipwreck."
"We know she exists," Feliciano justified, "You saw her too, when she rescued me. Fair skin, teal-green eyes, blonde hair, green tail -"
"Yes, I did see her," Lovino cut him off, "That doesn't mean she will ever return to find you again. She probably doesn't even know we've returned to Niba."
"But what if she does?" Feliciano persisted, "We've heard so many myths and fables about sirens leading men into watery deaths in the ocean. Why did she choose to rescue me? What if she wants to meet humans?"
"I cannot say," Lovino remarked.
"I want to see her again," Feliciano wished, "I want to thank her for saving me, and find out why she did it."
"That's not likely to ever happen, Feliciano," Lovino protested, "It's enough of a fable that she rescued you in the first place, don't push your luck."
Feliciano merely sighed again, prompting Lovino to roll his eyes. They had indeed grown up with those myths and fables, but Lovino had given up years ago on expecting to be the great hero of an epic himself. It still seemed like Feliciano was the hopeless romantic, however, and intended to hang onto these foolish dreams a little longer. Their world did have magic, with witches and fae all over the place, but a human royal had to be wary of dallying with the unknown.
Lovino suddenly heard footsteps behind them, and both brothers turned to see Alfred walking out to join them. The Prince of Aegaimore was wearing a fresh outfit, procured by the house staff as he lost everything in the sunken ship. The designs were kept simpler to not attract attention, but were still of good cloth that would last through his adventure.
"Did you find a good horse to ride?" Feliciano asked
"Yes, we found a suitable horse," Alfred confirmed, "Lars and Eric even let me take it out for a short ride, so we could get a feel for each other."
"They will no doubt make sure it's well rested and saddled for you," Lovino vouched, "And all your supplies are accounted for?"
"Laura is taking care of that now," Alfred reported, "She had the servants procure me some good riding clothes, as well as food and supplies to take with me. She did receive your request to include some money to buy food and supplies on the road, thank you for thinking of that."
"Of course, it only makes sense to do so," Lovino assured, "Use what you need, the rest can be returned when you return safely to Niba with your lovely damsel in distress."
"You leave tomorrow?" Feliciano checked.
"Yes, I will leave in the morning," Alfred verified, "I don't intend to rush the horse unless needed, we'll take our time. I should reach the base of the mountains by the end of the week, and will search for a tower from there."
"And you are absolutely certain you don't want to take anyone with you?" Lovino offered, "Not even one of our guards?"
"No, thank you, it's best I travel alone," Alfred justified, "I don't want anyone who crosses my path to suspect who I am, and that's harder if a servant or guard is there to address me with honorifics all the time. I do still have the gemstone, so I can summon Arthur if there's an emergency. He can't teleport me out of danger, but he can heal me after and look out for me. I'm sure I'll summon him when I reach the tower as well, to confirm I found the right lady. I'll definitely send him your way, as well to Madeline, if I have any important updates to share."
"We'd greatly appreciate that," Feliciano accepted.
"I'll keep a ship on call for next week, ready to sail to Thagia," Lovino promised, "Whether for your safe return or to deliver news to your sister."
"That sounds great," Alfred said.
The three of them fell silent after that, and stared out at the sea.