Ben had definitely noticed the absence of Alys for the past while. Being a royal guard, it was a common occurrence for him to see the King's Witch around the castle so when she suddenly became more scarce, he'd definitely noticed. Ben and Alys had a unique kind of relationship. He had guarded her before in the past but she was also the wife to his late uncle and they had had moments of bonding since the wedding and even since Logan's death.

He had just finished up a training session of his own when he spotted Alys leaning against a post and drinking some water. Something about her felt different, a certain light emanating from her. It made him smile. It also made him curious.

"Alys, hey, long time no see," he said with a grin as he approached, wiping a rag over his sweaty neck.

She turned to the familiar voice, a soft smile forming on her lips. Ben… she remembered him fondly. He had been one of the first to know about her pregnancy with the twins, and he was a great cousin… uncle?… to them as well.

Alys felt the sentiment shared with him. It had been too long. A pain grew as she tried to remember why she had been locking herself in. She remembered the scars, the pain… that she remembered. But… all she could think was she had an accident with a potion. Surely she messed up and caused some sort of horrible reaction. She remembered the burns…

“Far too long,” she smiled to him, shaking herself out of her thoughts. “Taking a break from guard duties?” She glanced back at the two in front of them sparring. The flash of metal catching her eye.

Ben knew all about how Alys had wolfed out in front of a ballroom full of soldiers but wasn't aware of Regan attacking her and the subsequent injuries. He'd seen them once very briefly in passing but he was pretty sure she hadn't spotted him that day as she was putting on a hood before leaving the castle in a hurry. Apparently things had been taken care of quite nicely because she looked amazing. She looked a lot like she had when things were happy, when she was living in newlywed bliss with his uncle and their new twins. It made his heart warm with happiness for her to see her like this again.

"Even the guards need to train every once in a while," he said with a grin. "It's a good thing there are enough of us to go around so we don't have to work constantly. Can you imagine?" she probably could. She was one of the busiest people that he knew. "Good training session for you too?" he asked.

”I’d be more concerned if you told me there were not enough of you,” she answered back, before taking another drink as the two in the ring hit the ground and proceeded to scrap from the dirt. She remembered the days she had been a royal guard herself, brief as it was.

He asked her about training and she turned to him, a slight smile. One that almost wouldn’t be seen unless she was looking directly at the other person. Ben would catch it. “Good start at least. I took time to heal, needed to, I think.” Her brows tugged for just a moment together before she continued. “But now I’m… I feel good.” She concluded. Her body felt good.

She really did have a pretty smile and he couldn't remember the last time he'd really seen her smile. "Well you look good. You look happy and healthy," he said with a grin, taking a drink of water and running a rag over his forehead. "I don't know, you just look like you have a weight off your shoulders or something." He smiled as he looked at her. She was such a good person and he felt like she deserved the world. "How have Adda and Atlas been? It's been too long since I've seen them."

A compliment, one that didn’t go unnoticed from him. There was a time she might have not done so, but now, a small touch of color danced between her freckles. She wasn’t entirely sure… but she knew she hadn’t been herself lately. “I think I’m finally getting some sleep. That helps a lot,” though she knew it was more than just that. She didn’t know why.

But the easiest topic was always the twins. “They are doing well. Growing too quickly. I’m not even sure how to keep up with them at times.” She found her eyes drawn to a ring as two soldiers were sparring. Noting the footing of one of them, and what she’d correct. “We could come visit you and Ellison, if you two are open to company. It has been a while.” She knew most of the Delaney’s hadn’t really approved of her. Especially Logan’s siblings. Marriage of connivence. Marriage because of the two offspring that grew in her womb.

Ben smiled as she spoke of the twins. He hadn't necessarily expected it of himself but he had actually fallen into fatherhood in a way that had been immensely fulfilling to him. He loved kids and he adored both his adopted children and the one that Ellison had been able to give him. He also really loved the other children in his life, like his cousins and nieces and nephews.

His eyes lit up with the suggestion of a visit. While some of the family had not approved of Alys mostly due to her commoner status at the time, it had helped that she was the King's Witch. Ben had never had such reservations. He had never cared much for separating people by class and had plenty of close relationships with commoners himself. He'd just been so happy that his uncle had found someone as special as Alys. What they had was incomparable and coming from different backgrounds certainly hadn't tainted their love.

"Oh we would love nothing more. It'll be nice to see the kids play together! How about tomorrow evening?" he suggested.