When word traveled around the barracks that the Queen was in the military wing - and word certainly spread, with the voracity of a wildfire on a hot Aestas afternoon - most of the soldiers at least stopped to listen. When the whispers suggested that she wasn’t simply walking through but instead actively training, they started taking an active interest in the matter, meandering over to judge for themselves the combat abilities of one of their rulers.

Ber was not among this number. He had already been in the area, trying very hard to hit somewhere closer to the target’s center than the outer ring with a crossbow, when Queen Iliana and her trainer stepped into a nearby ring. Focused as he was on his task, he had merely glanced over - huh, she looks rather familiar, do I know her? - but paid them little mind until he noticed that the crowd gathering in the small offshoot of the training grounds had grown to an unusually large size. Unwilling to fail at archery in front of such an audience, he wandered over to get a drink and watch the pair training nearby when the realization, and the whispers, struck him simultaneously: That’s Queen Iliana.

Well. That certainly explained the crowd, and if all eyes were on her, at least they hadn’t seen his pathetic archery display. Hopefully.

Center of attention or not, he did not feel particularly inclined to return to target practice with so many people around - there had been a reason he had come to this area rather than the main training grounds - so upon refilling his canteen, he decided to stay there and join the onlookers. After all, it wasn’t every day a man saw a monarch, dressed down in training clothes like the rest of them, spar. Almost immediately, it became clear that she was still very new to wielding a sword, but judging by the smile on her face, he didn’t think she minded the way her sword fell to the ground again and again. Then her trainer was called away, and he noticed with a jolt that she was headed toward him. W-What— Every thought fled his mind and he froze, before some tiny little voice in the back of his mind saved him from embarrassment with an unimpressed, She’s coming over here to get some water, idiot.

Hastily, he moved out of the way and despite feeling rather tongue-tied, managed to offer a ”Your Majesty”. Oh dear. That had come out rather squeaky, hadn’t it. Not very impressive. Clearing his throat, he bowed respectfully as if his face wasn’t currently on fire, and fairly certain that he wasn’t about to breach decorum, he tried to recover with a significantly less squeaky, ”You seem to be enjoying yourself out there.”

Iliana had turned to find the barrel of water, only to find herself gazing at many eyes. She was sure that her past dagger tutor in Lorendale had suggested she do private lessons, in a spot where others couldn't see. It wasn't because he had ill will towards her and wanted to harm her, but simply because of this. The staring and surely the judgement that came along with it. Some looked at her with eyes that sparkled, as if they were amused or happy that she was trying. Cassian was no stranger to being down in the training grounds from what she had known.

Though there were those eyes where they were... perhaps disappointed? Never had they seen a queen actually raise a sword here. That was for the military, for the King's Witch, not for the woman who should be providing heirs and silent at the King's side. Just as Cassian's mother had done. The thought of the woman sent goosebumps raising all over her skin, still uneasy by the lack of any response from the woman to date. Iliana was sure she had never heard the woman's voice.

So after a small hesitation, she spotted the barrel and moved towards it, nodding to those who bowed as she passed through. But it would be the man standing beside the barrel who squeaked out that brought her green gaze from the ground up to him. She hadn't expected such a voice, but it was the fact that he followed up with a sentence to engage in a conversation that left her a bit more surprised. Those in Nevermere didn't always seem interested in her thoughts. She had tried over the last five years, but now? She had decided she was going to start the battle of making those see she had just as much a voice here as Cassian.

"I do," she replied warmly, one of her guards came forth, who had been blending in with the crowd, to offer her a clean container to scoop some of the water out for herself. She gave a curt nod for them to step back when done. "It's different than my usual day to day. And I haven't worked with a sword really. Only daggers," she offered. She had always tried to carry on conversations with others if possible. "Are you-" her eyes fell to look him for a weapon but found none, "here to train or are joining the onlookers?" She asked, taking a sip of the water.

She didn’t laugh, which was more than Ber had hoped for. She even talked to him and seemed genuinely interested in continuing the conversation, which was pleasantly surprising, even if it did leave him a little unsure of what he could talk about with her. Standing before him was a woman who was queen of two kingdoms, and he was just… Ber, a street rat turned soldier. Well, at the very least, he thought, watching, bemused, as a guard appeared and provided her with a clean cup. If there was still any lingering doubt as to her identity or importance, this eradicated it entirely. I know how to be polite.

“It’s nice,” He agreed, hesitating a moment before adding earnestly, “Since you like it, I’m glad you could get out here today, Your Majesty.” Though doing so was hardly as unusual for him, he enjoyed the time he spent training in the military wing well enough, and it was a bit gratifying to hear that he had something in common with literal royalty. However, just as she was not well-versed in sword fighting, he was not particularly familiar with using daggers - if fighting was that close quarters, he tended to solve problems with his fists instead - so he offered a slight shrug and said, “I suppose that’s what training’s for, ma’am. I can’t say I’m familiar with daggers myself.” Figuring that his knowledge of sword fighting would transfer over if necessary, Ber hadn’t made a concerted effort to learn how to wield daggers. It would be like using a sword, just… a shorter sword, and with less swinging and more stabbing.

Scratching the back of his neck with one hand, he glanced around at their audience again. “Train, ma’am.” He looked back at his abandoned target and the crossbow sitting dejectedly beside it. “I came over to get a drink and saw the crowd.” And didn’t feel particularly inclined to go back to training afterward. The eyes still staring in their direction, less so now that it appeared the queen would be doing nothing but talking, had the back of his neck prickling uncomfortably, and he didn’t think he would like very much the attention that came with ruling a kingdom. Suddenly, he felt a moment of pity for the young queen before him, if her life was such that she had this many onlookers wherever she went. Ber would freely admit to not knowing much about Lorendale other than what the rumors said, but he imagined that the situation would only be worse in her home country. A question struck him, and curious, he began, “If you don’t mind me asking, ma’am, is Skia very different from… Loren?”

Ma'am. Something about it made her lips curl upwards in amusement. She knew it was a term of respect, that he said it to be aware of her position above literately everyone there in the military wing. "I wish I could say I only learned the daggers because I had wanted to. But-" She glanced at her royal guard that was lingering. "Attacks against a royal are more likely to be in close combat than far away. War is not something that I plan to ever be on the front lines of. I think I'd only get in the way." She ignored the fact that she'd be terrified as well, facing down any enemy. She had not been raised like the others. Like... "I'm sorry, what was your name?" she asked.

So he hadn't been gawking at her. That was a pleasant surprise, and only warmed her a bit more towards him. Her eyes followed where he looked, noticing the abandoned weapon and target that were seeming to wait for the man. She was getting ready to encourage him to continue and not let her presence stop him. It seemed her trainer had better things to do as she watched them exit the training grounds with the person who had beckoned them away. But he asked a question instead.

"Yes and no," she answered as she looked back up at him. "Loren seemed to keep a more consistent sunny weather for one," she glanced up at what felt like consistent overcast. Something she had gotten used to over the years. "We have different titles than here, more stations than just 'lord' or 'lady'. Though you can use those there as well," she glanced around them. "The military is different, the magic is different," she found a faint smile on her face. "But they are both my home. One I have known my whole life, while the other still new." Since her marriage to Cassian, Nevermere had become a second home. "I really like the ocean here, it's beautiful." She answered seemingly out of no where.

Following her glance, Ber saw who he assumed was one of her personal guards lingering nearby and thought that if someone had the ability to get beyond a group of them, then a dagger likely wouldn’t stop them from hurting her. But, he supposed, it would never hurt to be armed and prepared for a situation that they all hoped would never come to pass. When she mentioned her lack of plans to avoid the front line of any war, he thought of the way her sword had repeatedly been knocked to the ground, offered her a small smile, and agreed, “That is probably a wise plan.” Truth be told, Ber had a hard time imagining her fighting in a war, if only because of her position. Not to mention, she seemed - softer? - similar to the way that the twelve year olds were before they started combat training, but simultaneously far more refined and genteel. Needless to say, he knew that Queen Iliana was not born in Nevermere and therefore lacked the formidable magic and training all of their women received - if all she had were her daggers, she would be very vulnerable indeed.

“Berengar Stormcrest, ma’am,” He answered her question politely, biting back the automatic urge to ask for her name in response before it could make him look like a fool. They all knew who she was. “It’s very nice to meet you.” And it was, he realized with pleasant surprise. Despite the constant concern that he would say something wrong or offensive, he found that he was enjoying their conversation, which he would not have expected from any noble, let alone royalty. Perhaps it was her youth? It was no secret that the queen was young, but he hadn’t fully comprehended how similar in age they were until she was standing before him like she did now. Though he was still painfully aware that she had far more power than he could ever hope to wield, the longer they stood there, the more she just seemed human.

Certainly her response to his own inquiry strengthened that impression. Having spent his entire life in Skia, Ber knew only Nevermere’s overcast skies, but he had heard stories of other places where the sun shone with no restraint. And more titles? What titles could a person have, what could they be, other than commoner, nobility, or royalty? He found himself suddenly grateful to not have to keep track of that. But it was nice that she considered Nevermere her home as much as Lorendale, despite the differences, and he said as much. Then he blinked for a moment at the non sequitur. “It’s—” Ber, who had never spent much time thinking about the ocean or its aesthetic appeal or lack thereof, cut himself off before he could stupidly say that the ocean was big. “It’s probably quite different from what you’re used to?” He was fairly certain Loren was not by the water. “Do you get to visit the ocean often? Or go sailing while you’re here?”

With a name to now call him, a smile lifted her face. "And it's nice to meet you, Berengar Stormcrest." She was used to people being unsure of what to say or the small talk. A lot of people seemed to only see the crown on her head or hear the sound of her last name echoing between their ears. She never faulted anyone for it, and in a way, she expected it now. Yet she felt more on level playing fields as she stood amongst the soldiers now and in pants instead of her dress and corset.

"It is, we have lakes... rivers. But the ocean is... endless it seems. I have yet to see anything break it except for Terra Nova. Though I admit, I have not sailed all the waves myself. But from what I have heard, no one has found anything out on those rolling waves." Her head tilted slightly to the side as he went on. "I don't, not often. I have been on a ship, but I am not sure that counts as actually sailing?"