Fandom Xenoblade: The Queens' Bond

[Echo1001]

"Assuming he actually made it, yes." Nia confirmed. "We invited some of our friends, hopefully we can expect to see them."

---

Soon enough, the group had made it back to the party, the event having grown slightly more lively since Nia had left it to fetch the guests. Noticing the Kevesi guests, Mio straightened her posture, looking respectfully at the taller Queen and her friends. It was easy to tell that she was Nia's daughter. She smiled warmly at them, she felt a little nervous, but nothing too domineering, simply just a bit of antsy nervousness to meet the Queen.

Mythra noticed them return, and she waved with a small grin on her lips. "Hey, welcome back. Hope you slept well." She stated simply, her voice holding a certain amount of nonchalance mixed with anticipation.

"Thank you." Said Shulk, as he examined the party. It was quite nice for something thrown together seemingly in a few hours, and left him rather impressed. "You said your name was Mythra, right?"

"Yep."

"Right. Well, your family sure seems to know how to throw a party. If I didn't know any better, I'd have assumed all of this was planned from the very beginning."

"Well... I think Nia mentioned something about wanting to do something for your Queen, so... Guess that's why Rex mentioned celebrating with a party." She replied, glancing over to the large man. "Either that, or he just wanted an excuse to have Pyra cook everything that ever existed."

 

[ReaperMelia]

Rex laughed as he scratched his head, a faint blush spreading across his face. "As much as I love Pyra's cooking, this was all to welcome our guests! And I might have had something in mind before they got here." He grinned at Nia, giving her a quick thumbs-up. He hadn't mentioned it to the queen, but he had been planning a bit with some of his friends around the castle so they could throw something together to celebrate the arrival of the Kevesi trio. Of course, they had originally planned to give Melia and her friends more time to settle in before celebrating, but Rex couldn't help himself when the idea of a party arose.

Pyra chuckled a bit before addressing Melia and her companions. "I'm always happy to put together something nice for a special occasion! Please help yourselves. I hope you'll enjoy Agnian cuisine!"

Riku made his way to the table, examining the spread. "Riku isn't sure where to start..." He looked over his options, amazed by the variety.

"Thank you all for putting this together for us. I can only imagine how much work it must have taken." Melia addressed Nia's family, gazing around the room at them all. Her eyes stopped as she saw Mio. Approaching the young Gormotti, she gave her a warm smile. "Ah, you must be Princess Mio, correct? I'm Melia. It's a pleasure to meet you. I've heard all about you from your mother."

Sena's knees felt a little wobbly as the Kevesi queen started walking right over to the Blade and her friend. While being close to Mio meant spending plenty of time around the Agnian royal family, she'd heard the Kevesi queen wasn't quite as casual as Nia. She did her best to straighten up and give the queen a big smile, quietly observing the conversation between Melia and the princess. Maybe this would give her a little time to figure out how to address the queen...

 

[Echo1001]

"Ah, yes...! It's a pleasure to meet you too, Queen Melia." Mio nodded, briefly bowing. "It's an honor, really. I... Head about what you did with ma. Thank you." She wasn't sure what to say, not out of nervousness, but simply just out of not knowing what to say. So, she defaulted to thanking the woman. It wasn't a lie, she was certainly quite thankful that she was cooperative in saving the two's worlds. "I hope you make yourself at home, Queen Melia!" She exclaimed, before giving Sena a reassuring smile. "Isn't this so interesting, getting to meet somebody from so far away?"

Shulk chuckled, his attention brought to Rex. "Well, in that case... I should offer my thanks to you as well. You clearly know how to treat guests."

"Ah, Queen Melia?" Mio asked, glancing up to greet the woman's gaze, her mother having already grabbed something to eat as noticed from her peripheral vision. "What... Well, if you don't mind me asking, of course: What is Keves like? I've always wanted to visit, something about it just... Feels like it's drawing me there. I can't explain it."

Having turned her attention to her daughter's conversation focus, Nia too expressed interest. "Oh yeah, I wanna know too. Is it that different from Agnus?" She asked, holding a small frosted pastry up to her lips, a bite having already been taken out. Mio was a bit surprised, her mother was so stressed about this meeting and very meticulous about wanting it to go well, yet here she was addressing her guest of honor with a pastry shoved into her mouth.

 

[ReaperMelia]

Once again, Mio's question managed to pull Sena out of her thoughts and back to the party. "Oh, uh, yes! It's very interesting! It's an honor to meet you, Queen Melia. I'm Sena." She spoke hastily as she bowed with a bit more energy than Mio had put into her own bow.

Melia chuckled a bit. "It's nice to meet you, too, Sena. You must be Mio's friend that Nia mentioned. And thank you for the warm welcome, Mio." She listened carefully to Mio's question, and before she could answer, the queen chimed in as well. Melia tried to hide her amusement at how laid back Nia had become; if anything, she was glad that her friend felt at ease around her already. She took a brief moment to focus back on the conversation before responding.

The queen nodded to Nia as she answered the question. "I recall you said that your world was originally comprised of many different titans before they came together to form one landmass. Our world was originally two titans: one organic, one mechanical. While there were still all sorts of different types of places across the two titans, I feel as though we've seen a wider variety of environments on our journey here than I had expected. That being said, we haven't quite encountered anything like the mechanical environments we found on the Mechonis in our world. In fact, I would say that Agnian machinery and technology is different from ours as well. Yours looks so... sleek. Shulk and Riku would probably be better at explaining the differences than I am, though." She laughed before continuing.

"And of course, I would assume that a world with as many different titans as yours likely had many different cultures across its landmasses, and that's something that I've noticed as well. Once we arrived in the city, we saw so many different kinds of people unlike anyone we've met in Keves. Nia, you've told me about some of them: Gormotti and Blades like yourself, to name a couple. There aren't any Gormotti or Blades in Keves, though I haven't seen any High Entia or Machina here in Agnus. Of course, both of our worlds have Nopon." She chuckled a bit, glancing at Riku loading his plate up with all the food he could eat. "I'd love to learn all I can about you and your people. I believe that if the Kevesi and Agnians come together and share our stories, we'll only become stronger allies in this new world we share." Melia smiled. "The strongest similarity I've noticed between our nations is the sense of unity. Before I was the queen of Keves, I was the crown princess and eventual ruler of the High Entia. We once isolated ourselves from the rest of the Bionis, but my brother and I ultimately chose to side with the Homs and Nopon to protect our world. We made peace with the Machina from the Mechonis as well, and once we all came together as one, we were stronger and better off than we were before. I sense that you and your people understand the importance of unity as well. Of course, without it, none of us would be here today."

The queen redirected her attention towards Mio. "I suppose I went off on a bit of a tangent, but I hope that answered your question at least a little bit. While Keves and Agnus are very different in a lot of ways, I think that we're also similar in other important ways. I'd love to show you and your family around Keves one day so you can see this for yourself."

 

[Echo1001]

"Wow... That sounds so different from what I grew up with." Mio muttered, astonished by the tale Melia had told them. She had heard stories about the Titans of Alrest from her mother, but this was just as fascinating. It sounded like something out of a fairy tail, or a book. Something made up by the imagination. But, it was real. "I... I'd love to visit Keves sometime. That's really kind of you to offer."

"Why not do it then?" Mythra asked, as if the answer were obvious. Her statement did get Nia's attention, though, as well as Mio's. "I mean... Why not just go with them? When they go home, I mean. You could even take Mio with you. Been a while since you two did anything like that together anyway. Why not?"

"Wh-... Why not?" Nia responded quickly, surprised that the suggestion had even came up to begin with. "I may not act like a bigshot fancy Queen all the time, but I still am one y'know. I've got a job to do, if I'm goin' somewhere on a big trip like that, I can't just abruptly leave whenever I want without warning!" Though the Agnian Queen was hesitant, and though she did not want to leave her post, she did know that the idea sounded rather entertaining. It had been too long since she went on some kind of adventure, sitting around on a throne and doing menial governmental tasks was not the life for her, even if she lived it.

 

[ReaperMelia]

"We can take care of things here!" Pyra chimed in, stepping over to Nia. "You might be the queen, but we're all still the royal family! We'd be happy to take care of things here while you two go to Keves."

Melia looked between Nia and Mio, smiling at the two. "It's up to you, but I'd love to have you tag along when it's time for us to go back home. It would only make sense for both queens to visit their allied nations, and I'm sure the journey would be a good opportunity for Mio to learn more about the world. We can call our friends ahead of time to make sure Keves is ready for your arrival." Melia did her best to sound as calm and level-headed as usual, but the idea of having the queen and princess tag along excited her. She'd love to speak with them as much as possible, and maybe she'd get a better idea of what that strange feeling that pulled her to Agnus was if she traveled with Nia.

Sena's eyes lit up as she looked over at her friend. "A trip to Keves sounds so awesome! You're so lucky to get a chance to go, Mimi! Oh, um... if Queen Nia's ok with it, anyway." She cleared her throat, trying to calm herself down. While she really was excited for Mio, she hoped that there wasn't a hint of jealousy in her tone. She'd love to go, too, but she wouldn't want to impose on a royal voyage. Maybe she'd get a chance to go later, but she wanted to make sure her friend could go as soon as possible... And wanted to hear all about the trip once she returned.

 

[Echo1001]

Hesitating even further, Nia stepped back, chuckling a bit. "I-I, well... That's... An idea, but..." She sighed, drooping her head. However, when she raised it, she had a smile on her face. "Fine, since you're all beggin' me so much. Can't deny I'm interested." She added on, having difficulty hiding her elation. It's been forever since she's gotten away from the stuffy highlife of a Queen, so the idea of going on an adventure again felt like something significantly more close to home than being a royal and sitting atop a fancy throne.

Mio couldn't hide her excitement either, as she looked at Sena with a wide grin. "Is this actually happening? I've wanted to go to Keves for so long... Oh, I wish you could come with us, Sena!" She blurted out suddenly, her anticipation taking over her formalities for but a few moments, as she celebrated the prospect of visiting the foreign land that Melia hailed from.

 

[ReaperMelia]

Melia smiled back at Nia. "I'm glad to have you two coming along. I'll make sure everyone back home knows to prepare for you two to stay with us."

"I'm so happy for you, Mimi!" Sena exclaimed. "Well, maybe I can come next time...?" She let out a nervous laugh, trying her best to hide that she really wanted to join them. She knew she'd hear all about Keves from Mio, and once preparations were made for the travel route to open to the public, she could go with her friend any time she wanted... but she still wanted to go now. In part to explore a new land as soon as possible, in part because she'd just miss her friend.

Melia turned her attention to Mio and Sena. "Unless she has something else keeping her occupied, I don't see any reason why Sena can't accompany us. I had two companions join me on the journey to Agnus, after all. You're more than welcome to come to Keves if you'd like, Sena."

Sena's eyes widened as the queen's words sank in. The Blade flashed a big grin at Melia and gave her a quick bow. "I would love to! Thank you so much, Queen Melia!" She spun around to look at her friend, face beaming. "We're gonna go to Keves together!" she exclaimed before laughing. At this point, her excitement completely drowned out her anxiety about the fancy party.

 

[Echo1001]

Smiling happily, Mio immediately embraced Sena, extremely excited to see where this journey would take them. She wasn't going to lie, the fact that Sena could and would come along with her made it significantly more exciting than it already was; And it was already incredibly exciting. "I'm so glad!" She exclaimed cheerfully. "We're going to have so much fun, I already know it!"

Nia laughed at her daughter's antics, her excitement melting away the prior hesitation she felt. It was complicated: She felt a responsibility to stay and oversee Agnus, but she also wanted nothing more than to do away with the Queen business, at least for a little while. She wanted a break, and this would be an amazing opportunity to get one. Perhaps the perfect chance to get away from the stressful job of leading a nation.

"You're very thoughtful, Melia." Replied Nia, the Gormotti girl showing her appreciation. "You've obviously made the two of them pretty happy. I've got to say, I'd love to see the sights... I've still got to show you lot around Agnus at some point, but I hope you'll return that favor in Keves."

 

[ReaperMelia]

Sena wrapped her arms around Mio, still laughing excitedly. "We definitely will! I can't wait!" The Blade still felt like she was dreaming; it was hard to believe a plain old girl like her would get to go on a royal journey to a faraway kingdom, especially with her closest friend as a travel companion. She knew it wouldn't be an easy journey, but with Mio at her side, she was ready for anything.

Melia nodded in response to Nia, smiling as she spoke up. "Of course, Nia. I'd be happy to show you around our kingdom. There are so many places to visit and people for you to meet... I know all of my friends are eager to meet you." She chuckled a bit, imagining how surprised they would all be to hear that her Kevesi party wouldn't be returning alone. She was excited for a chance to spend more time with the queen, especially after seeing how excited she was about the upcoming journey. Melia figured this would probably also be a good opportunity to get to know Nia better when she wasn't having to keep up her formal appearance.

"You'd better tell us all about Keves!" Pyra chimed in, grinning at Nia. As much as she would have loved to come with, she was just excited Nia would finally get a little break. It was no secret that the responsibilities of a queen were stressful for the Gormotti; a little fun and adventure would be a good thing for her right now.