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Veni Vidi Vici	By : Saber007 Category: Final Fantasy Games > Final Fantasy XV Views: 1504 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy XV, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 13
- 14
- 15
This chapter has mature material.

I finally got the comrades expansion! Took a shot at making a draft of what Imperatrix would like using the skin models offered in the DLC. You can check out the samples on my DeviantArt page.

I'm listed as ExtraSaber on DA since Saber007 was taken.
XV
"Same drill as before, until Lunafreya awakens we must occupy ourselves." Imperatrix informed the two males sitting across from her at the table.
Done with Ramuh, they returned to the only major city available, Lestallum. The place was still under construction, but funnily enough, the citizens were chipper about some festival coming up.
Well, if assassins gave the people a reason to cheer, she wouldn't say anything. Even though she found the whole thing very dark when taking into account the real leagues of assassins hidden throughout the desert countries of Niflheim.
The secret order led by the Old Man of the Mountain was nothing to scoff at. If these people knew who and what they were honoring, would they still celebrate?
"These comas are inconvenient." Nebula slouched in his chair, neck rolling in Nyx's direction. "You should use this time to not be useless."
"What does that mean?!" He sneered at the visor lens.
"It means go do some hunts."
"Hunts? Why the heck do you want me to do those?!"
The gunman sighed, garbled noise long and grating. "Do I really need to explain that?"
Nyx gave him the deadest stare possible.
"A hunt earns you money and experience. Two things you're severely lacking as a refugee and cripple."
At the glaive swelling up for a fight, Imperatrix quickly intervened in a soothing voice. "He means that in the nicest way possible. And honestly, it was my idea, Nyx."
He simmered down to a degree, sitting back in his seat to cross his arms.
Best keep himself caged before he slammed on the weirdo.
"You would greatly benefit from them, and you are natural-born hunter from Galahd. Nebula will assist as well." She flattered the man to get him onboard with the plan.
If Lunafreya were up, then she'd be going as well.
Money and experience were something both oracle and glaive needed. Imperatrix couldn't keep burning through her funds like this.
"Is my presence necessary, Your Highness? He is The Hero of Kingsglaive, I am sure he can handle some low level missions on his own." Nebula subtly needled, fingers twitching on the armchair.
Someone save him…
The glaive would have him go through an entire carton of cigarettes from stress.
"Yes, my friend. You must go." The princess was immune to the gunman's rising irritation, fixing him with an unimpressed frown.
She switched to Latin so Nyx wouldn't be privy to her dressing down. Nebula groaned at being chewed out for his laziness and avoidance of training.
"What are you guys saying? I really hate it when you switch languages!"
"Consider this an opportunity to strengthen bonds. You two are the knights of our company, it would not do for either of you to continue being at odds." Imperatrix returned to the common tongue, beaming sunnily at her male friends. "I expect the difficult missions to be taken! It is time for you to rank up, Nebula. You are falling behind."
The elder Besithia's response was slow. "Yes…Your Highness."
"Hold on a second!" Nyx threw up his hand in the "stop" motion. "What rank are you, Impera?"
"The highest." She answered simply.
"The Hand of Mercy…" The gunman snorted derisively at the paradox.
His master could be slave driver at times.
What was wrong with taking on the easy quests? It was quick money and he wouldn't have to constantly save the glaive's ass.
"Oh, oh, hell no!" Nyx blurted out, scowling at the princess. "You are not beating me at hunting! I'm taking on every damn bounty til I surpass you!"
Imperatrix got over her surprise at his outburst, simpering in challenge. "Good luck then, Nyx Ulric."
He was taken off guard by the allure of her smirk, monetarily losing his bluster.
"I can't believe I'm going to have to babysit this moron." Nebula scoffed at the glaive ogling his liege.
"Shut up! I'll run circles around you, Mr. Trigger-Happy!" Nyx retorted, grabbing his coat and heading for the door. "I'll meet you in our room."
The elder Besithia nodded lazily in agreement.
"What are you going to do in the meantime, Impera?" He glanced around the opulent, but uninteresting room. "There's not even a tv in here! What's up with these hotels not having them in the rooms?"
Imperatrix shook with laughter at his aghast appraisement.
Gralea was a city of technology. A less modern city like Lestallum was driving Nebula up the wall.
She'd chosen a different hotel for them this time. There wasn't a risk of Iris or any of her entourage encountering the imperials here.
Without knowing who the brunette teenager was and why she shadowed their party, the princess wouldn't take any risks by staying under the same roof as her.
Imperatrix's identity couldn't be exposed, nor could Lunafreya's.
The girl was in the hospital, warded off in good hands for the duration of her recovery. She'd get a phone call from the doctors if there were any changes in her condition.
"I have plans for the evening."
"Ehhh, were you just trying to get rid of us then?" Nebula goaded knowingly.
"Possibly." She bantered with an innocent smile to divert.
He rasped out a chuckle, standing up with one final question lingering on his mind. "Tempy tell you when she's coming back? All I've gotten is silence."
"No. But I assume she is well." Imperatrix's expression slipped, trickling towards concern.
"Don't worry. She'll be barging in with her tail between her legs soon." The gunman paused at the door, massaging his neck. "When's she gonna learn that killing the Immortal is outside her capabilities?"
"Tenacity leads to triumph..." The princess muttered half-heartedly.
She didn't approved of Tempesta's obsessive fixation on Cor Leonis…
Ever since the first time the fist fighter lost to the man, she went out of her way to battle the Immortal whenever news of his whereabouts surfaced.
Nebula found it grotesquely amusing to see his sister fail repeatedly, returning back to them bruised and defeated. He enabled this compulsive behavior by sharing Cor's location with his sister when it didn't interfere with retainer business.
Imperatrix didn't feel as good about this meeting of a cat and lion...
But it was out of her hands...
"Oh, Nebula, could you do me a favor?" The princess called before he exited the room.
"Yes?" He tilted his head backwards.
Imperatrix rubbed her forehead for what she required of her retainer. "Please speak to Nyx, man to man. Make him understand about propriety. My words fall deaf on him."
"How assertive do I need to be?"
At his twitching hand, the princess waved her hand in the negative. "Words only, Darling."
"Pity, they won't work as well as my guns." He shuffled his feet, debating over addressing this further.
"Not now..." She could tell he was willing to lend an ear, but Imperatrix didn't want to get into an analyzation of her physical attraction to the glaive.
"As you wish, Impera." Nebula bowed his head. "Stay out of trouble."
She was left alone.
The next few hours were spent bathing, fixing her appearance, and looking through her suitcase for clothing.
There were exquisite dresses and skirts for her to choose from. The long, flowing Gralean style was too obvious, too grand for the streets of the city. Those outfits were reserved for any audiences with nobles.
Even though she longed to wear one and the accompanying accessories.
No.
The softer, silken robes from Persia would draw less attention. With that in mind, Imperatrix dressed in a dark blue kaftan with a tie around the waist. Normally, she'd wear the traditional shoes to go with, but heels were better suited to the harsh cobblestone.
She smiled contentedly for the feminine reflection she saw.
Hair no longer short, it was pinned up with strands dangling down. She'd trimmed her bangs to even them all out after Nyx's impromptu haircut. Earrings adorned her ears, rings adorned her fingers, and a necklace graced her neck.
Were she any vainer about her appearance, she'd spend a fortune on the highest curatives to lather on her scars, vanquishing them to non-existence and rendering her an unblemished sculpture.
Scars, however, were stories of survival.
Imperatrix wouldn't erase her tales.
"I do seem to have an affinity for them as well.." She pondered to her reflection, idly tracing the most significant reminders around her mid section.
Ardyn and Nyx both bore grievous battle wounds.
The glaive's story was known to her. His wounds were a consequence of magic, of great triumph over behemoth daemons and the empire's Diamond Weapon.
The flame-licked cracks a testament of his sense of loyalty and duty.
The Hero of Kingsglaive…
The chancellor's story remained vague and out of reach for her. Many things about him were a mystery to her and out of respect for his pain, she didn't pry.
Imperatrix desperately wanted to know more!
How could she know a man all her life, yet, only graze the surface of the kaleidoscope?
"Ah, the boys have left." The princess noted the absent jeep in the parking lot. "I hope they do not kill one another…"
Trial aside, the males were still on bad terms.
Both her retainers were very antagonistic towards the glaive, territorial of her in way she wasn't accustomed to.
The Besithia siblings teased and prodded her in regards to the red-head, turning a blind-eye to that courtship. They even behaved congenial, for the most part, around Ardyn.
Obviously, they didn't approve of Nyx and were making that abundantly clear.
The narcissistic man was a lot to put up with…
"Oh, Ardyn!" Imperatrix saw the Vixen enter through the tunnel.
She hopped off the railing and lifted her dress to descend the stairs, internally giddy over the ability to do so. Hurried steps in heels with skirts clenched in hand, took her back to frivolously running in the gardens.
Ah, the beauty of her home before eternal snow…
"Ardyn!"
The man looked up at her call, doing a double-take. His lips stretched and he leaned over the passenger door to watch her approach with dreamy admiration.
When she neared, his arms came up.
"Into my arms, Musa. Like old times!"
"You cannot lift me from there." The princess stated, leaning into him with the intention of hugging the man, but she gasped as he tugged her over the door.
She fell into Ardyn's lap, astounded by his strength.
"Hmm, not quite the same. Should we try again?" He offered teasingly, twisting beneath Imperatrix to turn off his car. "It works best when I'm standing to catch you."
"You…do not look well enough for a second try…" This close up, the princess could see what she couldn't before when rushing towards him.
She took his face in hand.
"Are you sick?"
Ardyn's skin was paler and colder, the amber in his eyes highlighted to eeriness from the black bags underneath, and there was…a tremble of something in his voice.
The man performed the most important human functions in absolute scarceness. He barely slept or ate most days, constantly needing to be reminded to do so by her or a secretary.
Was it no wonder that he had spells of unhealthiness with him fevered and strung with pains?
"Is your leg hurting?" Imperatrix scooted off, only for Ardyn to wrench her back in place on his lap.
"Ah, ah, ah! Show me the enthusiasm again. I am in much need of it." The chancellor sat up, tapping their foreheads together. "The prince will be the death of me!"
"His Highness…was that unmanageable?" She couldn't tell if he was just being his theatrical self or genuinely upset when he was sporting that snideful grin.
"You've no idea, my dear!"
He adjusted so his long limbs weren't bunched in the car, back pressing to the door and legs lifting to slide the princess forward on his lap and into his chest.
Imperatrix still sat sideways, focusing most her weight on his good leg, despite his reassurance of her placement being no inconvenience.
Such a worry wort.
"Enough of the prince." His fingers traced the curve of her face downward to the neck, where he twisted the loose hair around a finger. "Such beauty is in you... May I be so bold as to kiss you, Princess?"
"You may." Imperatrix propped herself up on his chest, presenting her cheek with a demure smile.
Not the place he wanted, but the chancellor pecked the flushed area anyway, controlling the urge to steal more as a vagrant would. He did lay another on her hand, boldly meeting her eyes as he did so.
The princess clenched at his collar, thumb almost grazing the skin of his throat.
"Careful now. It will be you in need of temperance."
"I stopped caring about virtues a long time ago." Ardyn ran his knuckles up and down Imperatrix's back, the sheer material all but letting him feel the heated skin beneath. "Besides, how else does one show reverence to the divine?"
He much preferred Persian material on her than anything else. It brought back memories…
She pursed her lips, one step from chewing them to keep the giggles from escaping.
The imp was purposely rubbing in the spot she was ticklish.
"Something wrong, Dearest?" The red-head baited, knowing what he was doing.
A muffled wail later from the sensitive area in the middle of her back being stroked, and Imperatrix leapt off a laughing Ardyn.
"Fine! If you wish to play games, then play we shall!" She sniped his treasured fedora off the backseat and escaped from the red convertible.
The princess twirled tauntingly with her bounty held aloft in the air.
Bemused, the chancellor slid out the car. He chased a little after the woman, putting little effort into actually retrieving his stolen hat.
She hid the item behind her back, twisting and turning away from Ardyn in a manner that he found sultry, in complete opposition to her girlish grin and good humor.
"As adorable and fun as this is, our time together is short, Musa." The chancellor abruptly gave up, bending to the princess's height with his hand held out expectantly for his hat.
Imperatrix stiffened. "You have somewhere to be? Am I keeping you from work?"
At her rearing up for a lecture on procrastination, he quickly diffused the situation. "A figure of speech, my dear. Nothing more."
Was it though?
His sense of time was distorted.
Things moved too slow for him. Years blurred together, getting duller and more repetitive with each one passed.
Then she appeared…
When it came to Imperatrix, no amount of time felt enough to fill what had been lost. Time moved too fast with her, each memory blazed into his mind.
The knife was twisting further and further the more he indulged in this human fantasy…
"I should like to move onto the actual date portion of the evening, Ardyn." The princess tapped on the fedora gracing the chancellor's head, making it fall over his eyes.
"Oh, I haven't been a date with you in forever!" The red-head flicked the hat up and smirked at her. "Tell me, do you still kiss on the first one?"
She lightly shoved him in mock offense. "No!"
"Then thank goodness this isn't our first."
"Ardyn!"
The man plopped his hat on Imperatrix's head as he passed her. She huffed at the action, dashing after the chancellor to latch onto his arm and glare at him as they walked about the city.
"Why did you want the hat if you were going to use me as rack?"
The imp was always planting the thing on her head.
"A rack? You are mistaken." Ardyn enclosed his fist over the hand in the crook of his elbow. "It's there to be warmed."
"Your head is better for that."
"Au contraire, it is better to have a female's touch."
The honeyed drip in his tone was too much for it not to be innuendo.
The princess leaned into his arm, fluttering her eyes at the man.
She wasn't losing this game anymore. These men would learn not to toy with her!
"Is it the only thing in need of that?" Imperatrix flirted brazenly to get under Ardyn's skin.
The twitch in his arm and subtle lag in his step revealed the success of her maneuver.
"Well…"
At the end of the street, right before the stairwell, the chancellor pushed the princess up against the wall.
Caged in between his arms, Imperatrix sucked in a breath from the close proximity. It was as if she could be swallowed into Ardyn, blending in with the darker atmosphere of the street.
He whispered into her ear. "If you would do the honor of warming my bed, I wouldn't say no."
This close, she could feel the smoothness of his face and nuzzled into it with a content sigh.
He'd shaved for her.
"Behave and I might." Imperatrix breathed into his ear, feeling his shiver.
"A thorny request…but I will give it my best shot for you." He took a deep breath and separated from her, fixing the hat on the princess's head as she pushed off the wall.
She rolled her eyes.
"Onward, my Dearest!" The chancellor flourished his hand.
Imperatrix took his hand, letting him help her up the stairs to the higher-end food district. She was insistent on Ardyn eating something after driving for hours and after he confessed to not remembering the last time he ate.
The food would put some color into his skin.
Sadly, he could only be sold on eating deserts. Red-headed sweets addict.
The couple entered a pastry shop, being seated at a secluded table, far back from the other attendees. The place was overly romantic and corny, like something out of Euphemia's comic books.
Imperatrix sighed in fond exasperation. "Of course you would choose a place as this."
Ardyn got kicks out of the most absurd things…
"I blame all you princesses for this guilty pleasure of mine. Were it not for all you persuasive girls, I wouldn't frequent places as this." He browsed over the menu intently.
"You sound like Father...half-heartedly complaining…"
She and her sisters did drag the male figures in the family to the most feminine restaurants that made them gag and itch.
Her father was constantly grouching over the abundance of femininity in his life and the lack of masculinity, but he never turned down a request from any of his daughters to go shopping, eat out, go to a theatre, or some other non-physical activity.
At least, that used to be his way…
Before he became obsessed with empowering the empire, Iedolas was more her father than her sovereign. Now it was reversed, he was her lord first and her parent second.
She couldn't even bring herself to call him...
The only communication between them had been his directive on the Astrals, sent to her by email. A generic one distributed among the high-ranking members of council and military.
Was her father truly mournful over his actions towards her?
Did she still have his love?
"Impera, these little delights won't eat themselves."
In her contemplation, the chancellor ordered half the menu. All the items were arranged on a multi-layered platter.
The red-head had even gone ahead in preparing their drinks, a heavily sugared one for himself and a more plain one for the princess.
She cringed at the future sickness that would befall her after ingesting so much unhealthy junk.
Maybe she should have eaten before their date…
"Ah, have this one, my dear!" Ardyn pushed a plate bearing a heart-shaped pastry with icing towards Imperatrix.
All the previous depressive energy disappeared.
The princess giggled at the childish display of affection. Then giggled some more as the man proceeded to find every heart-shaped, or any kind of stylized item, and set it on her plate.
By the end of the search, Imperatrix had a little piece of art in front of her from Ardyn's arrangement.
"You have made it too pretty! I wish not to disturb it." The princess smiled at the dish of stars, hearts, and flowers.
"Then here."
A fork laden with cake was proffered.
"Ardyn…" Imperatrix glanced about for watchers.
Other customers were in their own worlds, paying them no mind. The employees didn't give them a second glance either, completely indifferent.
They were the typical couple here.
She wasn't a princess to be ogled at. He wasn't an official to gossip about. There were no photographers in hiding, prepared to sell scandalous stories to the highest bidders.
Imperatrix could behave as she wished here in Lucis. To these people she was an ordinary face in the crowd.
"Do you no longer like red velvet?" Ardyn questioned, reminding her that he was still extending the cake.
Hesitation gone, the princess consumed the red desert.
The chancellor hummed, gaze becoming hooded from residue icing being licked off lips. Wanting a repeat, he presented another piece.
"I can feed myself." She remarked wittily, even though Imperatrix leaned forward to polish off the fork.
"Forgive me, but your pretty mouth is transfixing." A foot hooked underneath her chair, dragging the princess closer to the man opposite.
With how slow he was doing it, she could've stopped him.
"And you're licking your lips…how you are driving me mad..."
Ardyn's arm dropped over the top of her chair, hand coming up to caress her cheek.
"Behave, Darling…" Imperatrix warned from the less chaste hand on her thigh squeezing with a desire to move upward.
The tablecloth prevented anyone from seeing the compromising position they were getting into.
Self-control was needed on both parties at the moment.
"As you command, Your Highness." He made a show of removing his hands and keeping them above the table.
The new seating arrangement had the princess moving her silverware.
Ardyn found himself feeling a swell of satisfaction from her not moving back to the other side. Overall, he was pleased with her affectionate conduct and her openness with it.
Sneaking around was fun and all, but not having to bottle up all his urges for the sake of appearances was refreshing.
He would enjoy these last fantasies for as long as possible…
"Ardyn, do you need to rest?" Imperatrix touched his arm, concerned by silence and slackening posture.
"Hmm, not yet. There is something you could do for me though." The chancellor perked up with a wicked grin.
"What is it?" She was wary of that look.
"Be a dear and feed me the rest." He appealed in a low tone.
Nerves bubbled in her gut and the princess picked up her tea to sip, deliberating on the matter.
The imp had deliberately eaten the items in need of utensils, leaving behind the finger foods.
She'd have to hand-feed him. Knowing Ardyn, he'd lick her fingers as she did it…
The lewd remembrance of their time in Saxham sprung to mind and heat flooded inside her.
"Someone's thinking naughty thoughts!" The red-head teased. "I was being completely innocent in my request."
"Lair, liar! You meant for that reaction." Her blush amplified.
"I didn't. I simply wanted to be doted on. It isn't my fault you find innuendo in everything!"
"I do not! You exude it!"
Her words fleetingly took him to another time.
He chuckled faintly, bopping Imperatrix on the nose for her unintentional deliverance of nostalgia. "Oh, Dearest Musa. You bring back memories…"
She wrinkled her nose, quirking her lips at the air of wistfulness he sometimes allowed her to see. "Good ones?"
"Mostly…"
"Will you tell me one?" The princess took her turn to be the silly lover, desert offered to the recipient.
The cookie was eaten in one go by the chancellor. Instead of her fingers being licked like she suspected, they were kissed.
Unpredictable imp.
"Story time over tea and cakes? Are we in your suite, Princess?" He snickered, tugging on her hair. "Will you not all asleep if I start entertaining you?"
"Then you can carry me to my room." She leaned into his side, playing along. "And sing me one of your songs. They are so lovely…"
"Story or song? You may have only one."
"What a difficult choice."
The stories were often far-fetched to the ears and sounded implausible.
For example, how could Ardyn know with certainty all the mythical creatures told in bedtime stories were real and lived alongside humans?
Dragons flew in the sky and swam in the sea. Unicorns traversed the land. Carbuncles, sylphs and all other manner of creatures were abundant in the ancient ages.
The most exotic creatures in this day and age were the untamed monsters that drifted in uninhabited areas. And of course, each country possessed their own set of animal life that were foreign to other places.
The chocobos, griffons, and other avian birds of Lucis. The dolphins, whales, and millions of other marine life in Accordo. The tigers, horses, and other mammals of Niflheim.
The three aspects of life.
Land, sea, and sky, reflected in the three countries.
More fantastical than any other were the stories told by Ardyn as they stood inside the historical center, right before the statue of her greatest ancestor.
He never seemed to run out of things to say about Tellus Aldercapt.
Her ancestor was a king that rose to become the first emperor after uniting all the countries under one rule. It was he that conned their continent as Niflheim. He desired to unify all under the sky to his rule, truly re-establishing the ancient civilization of Solheim.
Like many, Tellus's ambitions exceeded the thread of his life. Those dreams would live on in every one of his descendants that took on his name.
"I cannot decide…"
Stories and songs. Both were prizes.
As wicked as Ardyn could be, he held an angel's voice. It could pull at the soul in all kinds of ways.
Only three voices could move Imperatrix to tears. Two of them belonged to the Fleurets, and one to the chancellor.
"Then neither you shall receive." Ardyn shrugged after the lengthy deliberation finally ended.
He'd eaten almost everything in the span of the princess's answer.
"Why not both?"
"No, no, no. I must stop spoiling you." He smeared icing on Imperatrix's cheek as her face scrunched up in disagreement.
"Ardyn!"
"Yours truly!" The chancellor descended on the spot before she could wipe it off with a napkin.
His tongue cleaned the mess in an open-kiss.
"Don't do that!" She muttered, frantically looking around for watchers.
He used another finger to smear more down her neck after finishing with the icing on her cheek.
"Ar-Ardyn…" Imperatrix dug her fingers into his thigh in response to the lips and tongue gliding up her throat.
She couldn't help but extend her neck for him.
"We will get thrown out…"
"Shush now, Musa. They won't know if you're quiet…"
He…had a point...
From where they were seated, the back of Ardyn was in view and she was mostly blocked from sight by his large frame.
A few other couples were also flaunting their closeness; playful smooches, animated cooing, and cuddling on display.
This really was a place for romance…
"You were supposed to be feeding me. I'm only continuing that."
Imperatrix wanted to sob from how unjust the chancellor was being. She wanted to kiss him, but that would disastrously open the door for more.
They were in public. Manners were mandatory!
"Cut it out." She demanded, pushing on Ardyn's chest.
The man expelled a whine of protest, but obediently stopped necking her.
Privately, he preened at the love bite unintentionally left on Imperatrix's throat. A fit was sure to transpire once the hickey was spotted by its bearer.
"Let us finish here and be gone." The princess regained her composure, adding some distance to the tempter next to her.
"It's you that needs to finish."
"Stop it!"
"Musa, Dearest, I meant your tea and cake." The chancellor prided himself for how kept turning the tables.
That blush needed to forever grace the princess's countenance.
"Of course you did." She sniffed, drinking her lukewarm tea to reel in her frayed nerves.
Imperatrix was awash with yearning wishing to be aired.
The last few deserts were finished. The princess was then filled with the urge to walk off the energy spike and avoid anything sweet for months.
Like a gentleman, Ardyn paid and held open the door for his date. Outside the shop, the sun had set, replaced with the glow lights of Lestallum.
The hustle and bustle of the day died down to calmness.
"Intriguing isn't it? How one is revered and one is feared?" The red-head strolled around the square, hands rolling in motions for his riddle.
The answer wasn't lost on Imperatrix.
She looked to the sky. "Day and night, the duality of life."
The sun for humans. The moon for daemons.
Two existences fighting for dominance.
"Which do you prefer, my dear?" He faced away from her.
"Both." Her heels sounded loud on the cobblestone as she stepped nearer to the man.
"No one likes darkness…and they shouldn't…"
She tentatively laid her hand on Ardyn's back. His abrupt mood swings could unnerve those not used to him.
His malady could also be agitating him. The minor limp in his gait hadn't gone unnoticed by her.
"Light and darkness are equal parts of nature. We cannot have one without the other." The princess edged forward to glimpse his face.
She saw abundant tiredness.
"Thus, while I may fear the creatures of the night, I acknowledge them as parts of the whole."
Tempesta and Nebula…her precious friends. They bore darkness in them and she would never hold an ounce of hatred towards them for it.
Unlike most…she didn't abhor daemons, just feared them as she did anything with power greater than her own.
"I wish to take you somewhere, Impera. Will you come with me?" Ardyn announced after stroking her cheek.
She extended her hand.
"Even if it's outside the city?"
The hand wavered, but then steadied. "I would need to retrieve my sword first."
Softly, he smiled at her trust. What a fragile, invaluable thing it was.
"You needn't one when I will be your blade, slashing left and right for the pretty princess."
"I have never seen you fight. My faith in that scenario is shaky." Imperatrix ran her hands over his arms and chest. "But your body tells a different story. Who have you fought?"
"I've lost count over the years, I'm afraid."
"What…is this?" She paused over the obstruction within the chancellor's coat.
"Your sword if need be." He let her inspect the inside.
"How?!" The princess stared awestruck by the magnificent red blade strapped to the interior of Ardyn's overcoat.
How had he casually walked around with a full length sword on him?
What kind of trench coat had all these pockets and hidden features?!
"What else are you hiding in there? Is this the sword I felt when we danced? Is my uniform tailored like this?" Questions flew from Imperatrix the more she searched the interior and found numerous pouches.
She was respectful enough not to sift through them.
Ardyn cracked up at her youthful break in personality, answering the questions in order. "Many things. Yes, it is. I did fashion yours like mine."
Imperatrix squeaked at the tidbit.
She would have to thoroughly examine her uniform. It hadn't even occurred to her to check the insides for compartments!
"I do think we should be on our way." He skipped away from searching hands, gesturing to the streets.
"Oh, yes, yes!" The princess chased after the chancellor, skirts flying behind her.
Somehow the red-head managed to stay ahead of her, leading Imperatrix on a merry chase to the parking lot. She was befuddled by his ability to seemingly disappear from sight and reappear with a grin around another corner.
She passed it off as her imagination and slowness from her apparel.
"Your chariot awaits, Your Highness." Ardyn opened the passenger door.
"Oh, how I miss mine." The princess said longingly, sliding into the front row.
She pushed the buttons for the hood to rise.
He spared her an amused grin as the radio was the next thing on her objective. Finding nothing satisfactory, the princess rummaged in the glove compartment for the CD case and set it on her lap to flip through.
"You're so very comfortable with my car. It's oddly charming."
"Well, I have been in it too many times to count."
With no one on the roads this late, the chancellor could get away with one hand for steering, freeing up the other to rest on Imperatrix's knee.
Ardyn certainly liked being able to touch whenever he wanted, both in public and private.
He expected a little resistance from the sudden freedom, but the princess appeared to like the attention, so long as it stayed within decency.
Ah, the sunny smiles that would come out now that he could be as lavishing as wished!
Those beams of her returned lost little flutters…
"You would play this…" The chancellor sighed good-naturedly.
Imperatrix's mien was cheeky as she scooted closer to him. He let go of her knee to lift his arm in invitation.
"It is a long-standing favorite." She affixed herself to the usual place, inside Ardyn's arm. "Admit it, you like it."
"I would have to after listening to it well over fifty times, else you'd rob me of what little sanity I have."
This mixtape of jaunty pop songs had been sort of a joke and sort of a serious gift in the highs of their courtship. The CD stood out the most from all the others due to the listing of love songs Imperatrix loaded on it.
The very one playing was the tune she hummed during their passionate re-kindlement.
Loneliness and distance made her finally thaw to him.
She'd been isolated like never before. No friends, no allies, and without aid in foreign territory.
Was it any wonder she clung to him?
He'd hesitated…
There was always that nagging resistance to reel Imperatrix back into his pit, but sentimentality won out. Ardyn proved himself to be as base as any other mortal man, giving in to the fragments of humanity brought out by the princess.
It was wrong, cruel even, to continue defiling her with his vile existence.
But he couldn't let go, not again…
As the song she loved so aptly put, he could break her heart and each time it healed, amazingly, tragically, it beat for him.
A true monster he was to take advantage of that…
"Wait, you cannot drive into here!" Imperatrix yelled as the Vixen drove fearlessly into the opening of a cave.
"And why not?" Ardyn stole a fleeting look at the empty spot by his side, already missing the reminder of her body and the scents of perfume.
She sputtered, hands pointing to around them. "The carbon monoxide from the car is poisonous in closed quarters!"
The chancellors eyebrows lifted in surprise.
He did lower the hood before entering. Technically, they'd already inhaled the gas.
"That slipped my mind…" Ardyn tapped his chin, now starting to wonder if this plan was hazardous, instead of romantic.
"How could that slip your mind?! Is your mortality that forgettable?!" The princess tugged on his sleeves, disbelief coloring her face.
How ridiculous! This man was horrendously carefree!
"Well…" He drawled guiltily.
Mortality meant nothing to him.
"Are you trying to kill me again?!"
"Dearest, for the millionth time...you were perfectly capable of escaping the city! And the destination is open-aired enough for the car."
Imperatrix huffed, even more disbelief building.
Either Ardyn's faith in her was near pedestal-high, or he really underestimated how dangerous The Fall had been.
Daemons, glaives, giant statues, airships, magitek armors, and natural disasters. Really, it was more of a miracle that she'd survived the night at all!
"I swear! I want to strangle you most of the time." The princess said with deadly calm.
The cad!
"Oh, please do, my dear!" The chancellor smirked with so much sensuality that her thoughts swiftly left her. "You have so many sides to enjoy..."
He chuckled at her loss of words, turning off the headlights and stretching his arms out on top of the seats.
"Dearest, look."
The princess snapped out of her fantasy of choking Ardyn at the base and making him beg for forgiveness while she took him on the command table.
Her face flooded an alarming shade of red from the sinful thoughts. She was slow to take in what the imp wanted to reveal.
"Gods above!" Imperatrix cried out.
She launched out of the car, awed by the cavern of crystals.
The woman spun around in excitement for every catch of light that twinkled the colors of sunset. Jewels of light were all around her, as was the beam of the moon from the jagged-lined opening up above.
Truly, a representation of the dualities. Day in the cave, night in the sky.
"Impera, you silly girl! You cannot dance around here barefoot!" The chancellor kneeled before her, inspecting the princess's feet and then cleaning them with a handkerchief.
"That tickles!" She giggled, hunching into his shoulders.
He smiled up at her, his own laughter on the horizon as he slid heels onto dainty feet. "Are you Cinderella?"
"If I am, this story is playing out of order."
"When do things ever play out in a straight line?"
She was prevented from replying as the chancellor hooked his arms around her waist, lifting and twirling in one breath. More mirth escaped from her lips and Imperatrix wrapped her arms around his neck.
Foreheads meshed, noses brushed, and breaths mingled.
The princess's legs dangled in the air. She felt weightless in their swaying.
Amber met sapphire.
"This was meant to be our dancing on that rooftop, with fireworks as the backdrop." Ardyn was very near crashing their lips together.
Love came through the eyes and Imperatrix's were consuming.
"And have everyone gossip?"
"They already do."
"Whose fault is that, Darling Caesar?" She closed the remaining distance, covering his mouth with hers.
He responded immediately with a muffled moan, arms circling beneath Imperatrix's and bringing her impossibly close.
The clatter of a shoe on the smooth, crystalline floor brought the two out of the tide.
"Sweeping me off my feet and out of my shoes. How gallant." The princess quipped, still heady off the rush of sinking, of yielding to the helplessness that came with an open heart.
"At your service, Your Highness." He lowered her into the elusive footwear. "Would you care to dance with a partner this time?"
Imperatrix centered herself, casting dubious eyes upward and off the man willing to look at her like she was the world he revolved around.
"I suppose this is open-aired enough that we will not asphyxiate from the car running."
How had Ardyn even found a place like this?
The yellow, reds, and oranges reminded her of the gorge they fought golems and saw Titan rise from the ground. The place even had the same dense feel she was coming to associate with magic.
If she stared hard enough, the colors beneath her feet appeared to move in waves, magma within the glass.
Could this cavern have formed in the aftermath of the Archaean's judgement?
"May I have this dance, Princess?" Ardyn reappeared with an outstretched hand, reminiscent of his stance at the party.
Music filled the cave.
"My Lord Chancellor." This time there was no reluctance giving him her hand.
A curtsy and bow later, the two stepped closer.
The flutter of clothing as cautious hands took their places, the inhalation of anticipation, and the locking of gazes began their waltz.
It was nothing like the stiff and formal one from months ago, where the chancellor subtly kept attempting to bring her closer, and the princess staunchly rebuffed anything less than a foot between.
That dance had been the most tense and disconnected show of choreography. An insult to the true ones they were capable of.
No.
Their movements were model of clarity, closeness, and culmination this night.
The gentle intensity in Ardyn's palm as it shifted from the hollow of her back to the various trends of dips, spins, and tugs, belied how eager he was for more contact.
It was a testament of control on his part that he wasn't acting on his impulses.
A change in music style and the princess clung tighter to the red-head, grateful that he'd removed the great black overcoat.
She could feel the prickle of his skin beneath the ruffle-styled dress-shirt.
And so, their respectful motions graduated to a dizzying sway of brushes, strokes, and caresses in their re-enactment of an intricate mazurka.
Were they at court, the intimacy of their touches would draw scorn and whispers.
Nothing mattered but the beating wings of arms overlapping, the towering arcs of arms guiding spins, feet chasing ripples of time, arms lifting in flight, necks bending and tilting to catch souls, arms merging to clasp and unclasp hands like chains, and chests heaving with breaths heavy and ripe as a nebulous cloud before the pour.
Blinded were the lovers.
"Ardyn! Ardyn, I want you so badly…" Imperatrix proclaimed, tugging on his neck to bring him down to her level.
He accommodated without delay, kissing her with a ferocity that bent her over his arm in a final dip.
Were it not for the mounting pain in his leg and the stinging of old wounds, Ardyn would've fallen to the floor with the princess, a servant to her will.
"Let us…return…" The chancellor grimaced from the combined state of pain and pleasure he was experiencing. "This is no place for that."
He hated this cursed state of his.
Constantly in a state of suffering with no end. He hated it with every fiber of his being!
"Yes…" She was disappointed to leave the beautiful discovery, but allowed herself to be pulled away.
A dream.
Her darling first love created wonderful dreams for her to store in the chains of memory.
XV
"Not fair. This is unfair, Ardyn!" Imperatrix whimpered, giving a fruitless struggle in the chancellor's embrace.
She was pined, back to chest, with him against the hotel door, trapping her arms underneath his in a vice grip. Hungry lips attacked her neck, nibbling and suckling at the skin.
"Unfair was you touching and kissing me the entire drive back." As she gasped and arched into him from sneaking a hand underneath her dress, Ardyn rumbled into her jaw. "I am merely returning your ploy, my dear."
The princess twisted to crash their mouths together, moaning at the tickle of her undergarments falling to the floor and the chancellor testing the waters.
"Oh, Musa…" Was all he could mutter out in appreciation for the woman before him.
Only she could make the pain and noise stop…
In his distraction, Imperatrix escaped his hold, earning an undignified grumble from Ardyn. She tugged on his belt to get him to follow.
"You have to take something off as well." She urged, eyes lidded and smoky.
"Yes, Your Highness." He tipped his hat and then tossed it to land on the table. "And now you."
The man got an eye roll for that trick.
The princess unfastened the tie around her waist, loosening up her dress. She tilted her head in challenge, fingers dipping into tops of his trousers and brushing against his skin.
Ardyn yanked the red scarf, smirking in triumph. He had far more trifling layers of clothing to spare.
Imperatrix's kaftan was all she had to barter.
In a moment of inspiration, she plucked out an ornament within her sinking bun and let it drop on the table.
He laughed, waving his scarf in surrender. "I concede, Princess. We will be at this all night should we continue."
An exaggeration, but he hadn't the patience to remove every article of his elaborate apparel, nor the restraint to watch Imperatrix pluck every clip and every pin out of her hair without being overcome with the fancy to claim her lips and tangle his fingers in those white waves.
"Are you…sure you do not want to rest?" Some rationality seeped in as the princess deftly removed the hair accessories and combed the freed hair over her shoulder.
As much as Imperatrix wanted him, her desires wouldn't supersede his health.
Despite what he said, she was worried over the winces, his even more frigid feel, and the paleness. He was being stubbornly nonchalant as usual over his health.
"I have plenty of time to do that and little to be with you." Ardyn dropped his coat over the couch and leaned on it to take off the most tedious items, his boots.
The chancellor looked up from the workings of his vest at the sound of fluttering silk. He managed to catch the ephemeral scene of a dress gliding down a maiden and leaving her bare.
"Don't move!"
Imperatrix startled, unconsciously covering herself and looking for some unseen danger. "Y-Yes?"
"You're such a sight…I want to capture you…"
His fingers itched with the need for pen and paper. His throat seized with the need to sing. His heart seized with the need to burst.
"I love you, Musa…Imperatrix…"
So many names, so many instances, so many memories to uncoil.
She…
She was still his even now...
Tender lips pressing to his quieted the roaring and creeping shadows threatening to bleed out of him. The princess cradled his jaw, extracting the man out of a spiral and into a circle of repeated kisses.
He chased after her to the bed, yanking down his pants. She pulled the shirt off his head instead of bothering with the buttons.
They fell onto the cushioned-surface, heat converging with chill.
Imperatrix in her eagerness, hadn't a mind for any more foreplay. With an impatient tug, she united them.
Ardyn moaned weakly, trembling at the sublimeness of it. The man clenched at the bedsheets, as he wasn't the only one affected by the sensations.
He wasn't in the best condition to disregard the darkest whispers. Which was worse, the loud ignorable ones or the subtle ones that were hard to distinguish from his own?
"Oh, Darling. My Darling…" Imperatrix crooned sweetly, rocking against him. "Fall, for you have me."
"Impera…" The chancellor laid atop her, running his hands over her face to sweep the white strands from her blissfully closed eyes. "Please look at me."
She obeyed, sighing from him moving inside her once their gazes locked. Tangled around Ardyn, her breath quickened and her stomach coiled.
Reason shattered with all encounters with this man. Urges and feelings took the forefront and Imperatrix wasn't wise enough to deny herself these misdeeds.
"Go faster, Darling." The princess complained, teased enough by the languorous pace that was still managing to get her closer and closer to the end.
"Please, please, Musa…you have to…" He hissed, cheeks puffing from his exhale.
The red-head paused their grove of ebb and flow.
"Ardyn, why?!" She protested at being jerked back to the beginning of gratification.
Her legs clamped at his waist were the only things keeping them conjoined as the man sat on his knees, mildly pouting at her.
"You must slow down! I regret to say I'm not in a state to please you more than once." The chancellor brushed his moist hair behind his ear.
The usual gravity-defying locks were flat and looked longer.
It was an interesting look…
"You feel so sensitive and good…I'll go first if you don't change pace, Musa."
The admission floored her with pride and tenderness. She sat up on his lap, gently tracing the scars on his chest.
Focusing on the visual representation of Ardyn's pain would temper her lustful impositions.
"Those words are not helping as they should. I am a horrible lover, wanting to have you more, when it should be the opposite."
He groaned and Imperatrix hid her face in his neck, assuming the man was disappointed.
"How is it horrible to want to give someone loving pleasure when they are hurting?" Ardyn murmured into the princess's hair. "I'll never say no to sharing this with you. Never, never, never…"
The chancellor resumed his original stride, hand rubbing up and down Imperatrix's back to soothe her. His mouth then locked onto her exposed chest from her elevated position in his lap, tending to the two in slow succession.
"This is torture!" The princess mewled while digging her fingers into Ardyn's hair.
Imperatrix really had to stop herself from smashing onto the poor man. Honoring his request was proving unmanageable.
She couldn't bear feeling this wave for hours like the chancellor could, coming close to the plateau, then denying the fall for another climb.
"Oh, for the love of—" Ardyn cut himself off with a guttural groan, throwing in the towel to the princess by falling backwards.
He was a throne for her to perch on.
"Go on then! You youths have no ears for listening."
"I am sorry, Darling Caesar!" Imperatrix covered the lower half of her face, slightly embarrassed to have irritated him, but oh so happy to be able to move as she wanted.
"Oh, well..." The red-head pulled her hands off, exposing the shy expression beneath and laced their fingers for the princess to brace herself on. "I am ever so flattered with the voracious way you take me! Please Princess, have away with your humble servant, your Ardyn, your Caesar."
Her answering smile scorched. He got that thrilled shiver of anticipation.
"Hearing you beg is so endearing."
Imperatrix took her cue, rolls unravelling her loyal subject and bringing hue to the surface. Almost every breath of his was a cry of her name. Ardyn's legs buckled against her backside.
"Are you singing for me, my Darling? Shall I sing for you?"
"Oh, yes! I entreat you to do so, Your Highness. Please call my name, fill my heart with song!"
"Ardyn, Ardyn, Ardyn…" She rolled her neck, sweeping her hair to the back. "My beautiful, wicked, Darling Caesar."
The princess had him delirious, taken back to another time. A time of desert heat, sands, and perfumed wind.
His ambers dreamily peered at the woman weaving a spell he was more than willing to be put under. He pressed her hands to his chest, clinging to the one over his convulsing heart.
The beating had long since passed a healthy speed for a mortal.
"Ah, Impera, my Musa…" He couldn't take any more of what his paramour was bestowing on him.
Hands flew to dislodge the princess before night could tarnish day.
"Don't you dare!" Imperatrix slapped them away, fastening her thighs around Ardyn's waist, taking him deeper and deeper. "All of you, that was the promise!"
Had she not made that clear the last time?!
"You radiant, foolish girl!" The chancellor was a turbulent mix of spite for the riskiness, and joy for the acceptance.
His eyes prickled from the poison gathering and burning to trail down in a black corrosive path.
"Fall for me, Darling mine. Do it, do it for me…" She curled her hands around the back of Ardyn's head, swallowing any further protests with a passionate kiss.
He snapped.
A great shudder claimed the red-head and for cherished seconds, or minutes, Ardyn speared through the finale with such speed it had to be hurtful for the woman on top. Imperatrix beamed through it all, as if she was the one reaching heights.
His head flopped over the edge of the bed, mind torn asunder and still singing rapture's measure for the princess's pecks to his vulnerable neck.
"Oh, Dearest…please leave your mark on me…"
The soft brushes became bites and he groaned contentedly.
She rose up to admire her handiwork. Sated and slothful, she liked applying the words to him in place of herself.
What a joy it could be to see the person she cared for over the moon from her actions. It was an aphrodisiac on its own.
Imperatrix leaned over to kiss Ardyn and he lazily returned it. She got off him, going for the balcony doors to crack them and air the room. The lights were then turned off, darkening the room for sleep.
"Dearest Musa, won't you come here?" The chancellor beckoned, red hair a beacon and raised hand a lifeline.
"Yes, Darling?" The princess stopped by the side of the bed.
"Closer." His arm wrapped around her waist to lift the woman. "Right…here…"
"N-No!" She wriggled out the hold, flaming up at the insinuation of sitting atop his chest for his mouth to…
No, no, no…she wasn't for that!
"Why not?" He caught ahold of her hair, marveling at the length and luster of snow. "It hasn't bothered you before."
"What do you mean? The answer to that is obvious!"
"Dearest, my energy dwindles. Tell me why."
The princess turned around, shyness apparent from her hands endeavoring to cover the blush. "You spilled into me…your lips cannot go there…"
She was so red-faced, and just young...that he doubled over in laughter.
"Don't laugh at me!"
"I-I only d-do it because I love you." Once in control of himself, the chancellor pulled some more on the hair in his grasp, inviting her closer. "Come here, Princess. Since my mouth frightens you, my hands are up to task."
She dithered in place for a minute before giving in.
Imperatrix cuddled into his side, head resting on a sturdy bicep. Ardyn's lips pressed to her forehead.
"You'll forgive my heinous crime of taking my pleasure first, won't you, Your Highness? So ignoble of me." He drawled serenely, masterfully beginning to play a tune on the most sensitive, sweet, and sacred instrument. "I fell pray to your magnificence, but I'll make amends."
She moaned, moving to bite once more at his neck. He had to studiously distract himself from getting aroused.
"Let me please you, Musa. Let me send you into eternity. Let me serve you."
Imperatrix became a frenzy of languages.
Ample supplications and dexterous conducting made the princess soar, stretching and arching into the chancellor.
Were he not exhausted to his soul, Ardyn would've taken her again from how mesmerizing she looked. He wasn't satisfied unless he saw that expression of completion at least twice.
Tragically, his affliction zapped what little energy he had.
Enfolding Imperatrix in his arms was his last undertaking as he drifted off.
XV
"What exactly should I buy?" Imperatrix contemplated, face hovering over the row of over-the-counter pharmaceuticals.
Here she was, the crown princess of the Niflheim empire and a commander in the army, shopping for medicine in a convenience store for a forty-six year-old man huddled up in blankets, shivering, coughing, and whining up a storm in her hotel room.
The ridiculousness of it all...
The giant troll had woken at the crack of dawn with convulsions and then stubbornly underplayed his problems to her, rolling himself up in all the blankets available when she cut the lights on and saw how he looked.
Ardyn's skin was deathly pale to the point the veins under his skin could be seen. His scars had somehow been irritated and were a canopy of reds, pinks, and blues.
If he'd stood still long enough for her to touch him, his skin most likely would've been arctic.
He looked like a man on the verge of death…
It took her breaking into frustrated tears for him to cave. He accepted her plea of taking medicine instead of waiting it out.
"He is feverish…" The princess unsurely picked up antibiotics and some heat pads.
Without knowing exactly what bothered the man, she didn't know if general supplies would help. All he'd told her was that it flared up every now and again.
That bitter frown he wore when explaining it was unsettling.
She didn't want him to die…
"Is he like Uncle Florian?" She wandered around the store, items cradled in her arms and periodically checking her phone for messages from either the chancellor or the hospital for the oracle.
From the day he was born, Florian Tellus Aldercapt was besieged by illness.
Her grandmother hadn't even wanted to bestow a name on him after his tenth day of life, as was custom for the Dekate ceremony.
She thought it a waste to name a child that wouldn't live past the month and callously named her second son Florian, for his lifespan would be no longer than a flower.
The Dowager Empress and Regent had many spiteful stories to share with her sons and grandchildren. The joke was on her though when Florian outlived her, even if his life had always been a half-life from the illnesses.
Tuberculosis stole much of her uncle's life.
What time he had left was being spent in the comfort of a villa with servants to cater to his every need.
Seeing Ardyn sick with no way for her help was agonizing…
"Hey, Em!" Iris skipped into Imperatrix's view, all smiles and bounces.
Immediately, her guard was up for the over-the-top cheer.
What were the odds that the teenager would shop in the same store as her with how large of a city Lestallum was?
Serendipity wasn't in the girl's corner.
"Hello, Iris. Out alone again?" Regardless of her caution, the princess smiled politely.
She'd allowed this girl to follow her unhindered in her fretting! Nebula would've given her the coldest form of disappointment for the slip-up.
"Yup! No one can keep this girl down!" She pumped her fist.
"What brings you here?"
"These babies." The brunette held up a stack of comic books Imperatrix wasn't familiar with.
"You enjoy those?"
The princess wasn't a stranger to comics. Euphemia loved them and would spout off the current series she was reading to whoever would listen.
Though, the genres she delved in were either corny romances or supernatural stories, not the swash-buckling superhero material Iris picked out.
Maybe…
The reading material was what made her sister so bizarre…
"They're not really my thing, but it's a necessary sacrifice." Iris's colored nails scrapped against the plastic covering.
"What do you…" It clicked for the older woman. "First crush?"
The teenager gasped, covering her rosy cheeks with the superhero paperbacks. "How'd you know?!"
"Been there, done that." She replied breezily.
"Really?! Did you get the guy?"
"More or less…"
She and Ardyn were periodically in a state of courtship and fallouts.
"I have to hear this. Oh, please, Em?!"
Iris's enthusiasm channeled the ingrained instinct of sibling indulgence. The princess divulged the early stages of her pursuit of a certain imp while waiting in line to purchase her items.
Ardyn had been so well read and poetic in his manner, that in effort to impress him, she studied great poets, esteemed composers, and timeless playwrights. The effort paid off in their conversations, shifting his behavior from courteous to romantic.
Her venture also had the benefit of re-establishing her as a socialite after years of military regimes hardening her.
The princess had the chancellor to thank for her re-discovering that side of her soul. The side the senators had stripped from her…
If it weren't for that silly infatuation, Imperatrix might've let go of the last threads of the girl she was before the mantle of crown heir fell on her.
She used to have many interests and burgeoning talents.
So many "what ifs" that could have been…
"I hope your friend feels better." Iris said once they were outside the store. "Maybe you should get her some flowers, too. That'll make the medicine go down."
"I thought it was a spoonful of sugar for that." Imperatrix jested, to the brunette's delight.
She eyed the stand pointed out to her.
"What makes you think she is a flower love?"
Why was Iris assuming Tempesta was ill? The mask wouldn't have given anything away and the fist fighter wasn't even in the city.
"Of course she is." The teenager insisted with confidence and then faltered at the princess's raised eyebrow. "I mean, she looks like a flower-kind-of-girl. White dress, blonde hair, blue eyes, the exact kinda girl you'd read about in some medieval novel."
Alarm bells went off at the girl's blubbering.
It wasn't Tempesta she was talking about, it was Lunafreya!
Did Iris know she was referencing the oracle?!
"I think I will buy her a flower. Would you like to help me pick?"
"Sure!" The brunette ran to the stall, nervousness gone to inhale the aromas of fresh flowers.
When she handed a blue flower to the princess, Imperatrix knew Iris wasn't some random girl.
Anyone could've pegged the selection on their previous discussion of irises and sylleblossoms, but she was too trained from a life of hidden messages and knew it was a declaration.
For the second time that the teenager left her presence, Imperatrix wondered who the girl was and how much of a threat she might become.
Could she be an Insomnian from the citadel? That was the only explanation for how a mere girl knew her identity from day one.
By the time she returned to the hotel, the princess wanted to nap. Her energy was low from the night's activities, being prematurely awoken, and mulling over Iris.
"Ardyn, I am back." Imperatrix greeted, kicking off her shoes and then falling on top of the large lump of blankets curled up on her bed.
She lodged her head into what she thought was his neck, limbs snaking around his body.
"You took longer than I thought you would." His voice came out muffled from the cocoon.
"I was distracted." Imperatrix tossed the plastic bag off to the side. "I bought you flowers and medicine."
"Flowers? Aww, how sweet. You're making me blush, Dearest." He wriggled a little beneath her, and instead of laying along his side, she ended up flat on his chest. "I got you something as well."
"How?"
"Magic." The chancellor quipped. "Look in the corner."
The princess sat up to look in the specified direction.
There was a cart of room service dishes that she completely missed. Her stomach clenched in hunger.
"Can you hold anything down, Ardyn?"
The red-head groaned in response.
"That is not a no." Imperatrix slid off the lump, inspecting the food.
The items were catered to her tastes, lacking in meat and high in fruits. Clearly, the man didn't plan on eating himself.
She rolled the cart closer to the bed, splitting the things into a plate for herself and one for the chancellor.
"Yes, my dear?" Ardyn finally spoke after the repeated nudges to his face.
"Come now, butterfly. Leave your cocoon." The princess cooed.
"Imperaaaa…" He turned in the opposite direction of the poking.
"No more of that! You must take the medicine and then eat something." Imperatrix climbed over the lump to retrieve her purchases.
"Noooo!" The chancellor whined at her beginning to untangle the sheets.
"Ardyn, stop being childish! I bought the medicine to help you!"
"But Impera, those things are useless!"
"Oh, my gods! Am I really having this argument with you?!" Down to the last blanket, the princess tugged the barrier around his face. "Just take them!"
"I don't want to..." His complaining was followed by him actively clasping the sheets to his body, overpowering Imperatrix's attempts.
"Why are you so strong?!"
"My dear, need I remind you? I am naked underneath this and your uncontrolled wriggling is exciting me."
The princess froze on his lap, hand flying to her mouth to cover the gasp.
This was reminding her of Nyx and the sleeping bag…
At her unresponsiveness, Ardyn drew back the covers from his head, blinking at the onslaught of light. "Impera?"
She still didn't say anything, reaching over for the antibiotics, uncorking one and pouring the liquid into the measuring cup. When the innocent cup was held out, he sighed.
"What's on your mind?" The chancellor stalled.
The liquid was nudged expectantly and Imperatrix continued staring at him.
"Medicine for your thoughts? Fine." He scooted up, careful not to upend the princess.
The one good thing about this was that he couldn't actually taste the liquid, but he pretended to gag afterwards just to heckle his nurse.
"You have to take another."
"Why?!"
"Because you are a giant and an adult, which means a larger dose." Imperatrix rolled her eyes and refilled the cup.
This time she didn't wait and pressed it to Ardyn's lips before more bleating could escape. He swallowed the thick, unappealing remedy.
The man was at least thankful that in the peak of his torturous existence his sense of taste was gone.
Out of curiosity, he'd tried cough medicine before when a flu hit the royal family and they all were bedridden with coughs, stuffy noses, delirium.
What a farce!
Doctors of this age pawned their products off as sweet when the items, were in fact, not sweet. He'd rather just deal with the upfront unpleasant remedies of old.
Sweets were just about the only thing he could really taste on a good day. He didn't want that sense spoiled by paltry imitations.
"Now was that so awful, Darling?" The princess goaded once she finished giving him all the supplements and applying the heat pads to Ardyn's skin.
A small snort creeped out from how silly he looked. The chancellor gave her a look of mischief.
With no warning, he lunged forward to capture her lips. Her surprise at hitting the bed with the imp on top enabled his tongue to slip into her mouth.
Imperatrix shrieked from the liquid she tasted.
"Was that so awful, Dearest?" He mocked after releasing her from the kiss.
"You are the worst!" Her face scrunched up in disgust and she shoved him off to go for the juice nearby.
Howls of laughter discharged from the red-head.
After the horrid aftertaste of cherries was drowned, the princess jerked her arm backwards to give the glass to other person saddled with the experience. Ardyn took it from Imperatrix and then slightly glared at the plate she set in front of him.
"I'm not—"
"Since you have the energy to be frisky with me, you can gear that towards eating." The princess insisted over the chancellor.
His frown switched to an impudent grin. "Will you feed it to me then?"
"On one condition."
"Yes, my dear?"
"You have give to me answers."
Ardyn shrugged his shoulders in a manner that told her he was undecided, but could be persuaded. She sat on the bed to do as he wanted.
Goodness, she babying him today…
"Did I mention how pretty you look?" The chancellor asked as he pulled her on his lap.
Garbed in a sleeveless lilac dress with the hair clipped behind her ears, the princess was the picture of domestic as she fed him pieces of the omelet he'd ordered for her.
"Thank you…" She flushed at his rapt appraisal, fork trembling in her hand from how peaceful his smile became.
Why couldn't Ardyn be like this all the time? Or at least seventy percent of the time?
"Are you always to remain a mystery? My Darling Caesar masked, even from me?" Imperatrix huffed sadly.
Done with the food, she sent pleading eyes his way. For his part, the chancellor's expression transitioned to sorrow.
"How should you love me then, if I wasn't an enigma?"
"What a thing to say! Am I so shallow to you?!"
"No! What I meant was…" He seized her smaller hands in his, stopping her from pounding him on the chest with her unconvincing hits. "You wouldn't be able to love the man, if you knew what a beast he was."
The resigned opinion of her ticked Imperatrix off, as did Ardyn's self-deprecation.
"You are not all bad, Darling Mine. I have seen your capacity for good."
Most the income Ardyn received as chancellor and co-director of R&D went into the city, donated to libraries, museums, theaters, and schools. He was patron of more establishments than the emperor.
The man kept busy with more projects than anyone at court.
Another redeeming quality was his easy immersion within her family. She couldn't remember a time the red-head hadn't been involved with the Aldercapts.
That young, gangly, teenager she used to crane her neck to look at…
Her father practically adopted the man, giving him rooms in the wing reserved for the royal family. A privilege given only to retainers and the most trusted.
For someone so disdainful of people, Ardyn was surprisingly kind to her siblings…and of course, her.
"Ah, all done."
Imperatrix felt a weight on her head. "A flower crown?"
She left the wreath undisturbed, wondering how the chancellor had weaved it into her hair so fast. It was barely a minute ago the princess saw him fiddle with the bouquet.
"I dub thee, Imperatrix Mundi, Empress of the World." Ardyn pronounced with a flourish, hand over his heart and bowing his head playfully.
With the blankets off his body, she could see the veins were no longer visible and he was back to a normal pallor.
The medicine and heat pads worked!
Imperatrix decided to participate in the game. "As empress, I command you to reveal your secrets."
"I'll require a substantial bribe for that, Your Radiance."
"Name your price."
The lascivious once-over set the bar high.
"Darling Caesar…if you must have me, then answers are the key."
Ardyn gave her a smacking kiss. "An answer you shall receive, for I bend the knee."
She tackled him onto the bed. Ear pressed to his chest, the princess felt the vibrations of his added mirth.
"What ails you?"
Looking into those treasure troves, he couldn't deny Imperatrix. "An illness I gained from helping others…"
He could make small concessions…
"Is it terminal?"
"It cannot kill me." Ardyn busied himself combing through curling white hair, bitterness rising to the surface along with the millions of roars.
If only the damned malady had killed him…
"Did you obtain this ailment before you came to Gralea?" The princess could feel how taunt he was, how his arms began to assimilate her into him.
"Yes…"
He acquired it long before that.
"Is it…connected to the scars?" Imperatrix turned a little to kiss the blemished palm near her cheek.
"It is the cause of them."
Agonized resentment poured so heavily from Ardyn that she moved upward to smooth her lips over every bit of his face.
The princess would ask no more of the man.
"I love you, Ardyn. I wish that was enough to mend you."
The chancellor rolled them, unquenchable yearning driving him to begin divesting Imperatrix of clothing. She objected weakly to the advances, concerned about his health.
The zealous way he pawed at her proved that his episode had reached its conclusion.
"Won't you tell me it again, Dearest Musa?" Ardyn implored breathlessly.
"I love you, so, so much. I've never stopped…" Imperatrix declared her feelings over and over at his request, the meaning of each confession growing with every chip of the mosaic meticulously crafted to beguile and divert.
The man cursed himself as he became lost in the woman who tethered him.
Why was he doing this her? To himself?
She deserved far better than the scourge of Eos...
XV
"The others shall be here by late evening. In the morning we can be off." Imperatrix poured some tea, passing the saucer to Lunafreya.
She hummed in acknowledgement.
They were sequestered in the hotel room, having a late lunch since the oracle was slow to rise, still lethargic and weak.
The blonde joined awareness much sooner than the last time. Three days of sleep versus the week of sleep from the previous rite.
Hopefully, Lunafreya was getting stronger.
"Is something wrong?" The princess noted how depressed the girl was, picking at her food and hardly speaking.
Even Umbra and PRyna were moodily sitting at their master's feet.
The splendor of the room, the balcony doors open, drapes fluttering from the wind, scents of a good meal, all of this should've been enough to put anyone in a good mood.
Yet, the brightest singularity in the room dimmed.
"Do not mind me…" Lunafreya deflected mindlessly.
Imperatrix mildly rolled her eyes, putting down her phone to give the oracle her full attention. "Lunafreya…you must learn to open up. To build rapport requires willingness form both parties."
She blinked, mind coming out of its haze to gawk at the woman across from her.
"If you are tired, I can go out for you to have the room to yourself?"
"No!" The oracle bursted out.
Uncertainty tinted the snow-haired woman.
"I am not tired."
Imperatrix didn't want to contradict Lunafreya, but the blonde didn't look great with pallidness and eye-bags.
Goodness, she was faring no better than Ardyn had a few days ago.
The chancellor left yesterday, a hundred-percent back to his energetic self, like fever never took hold of him. He'd kissed her goodbye with a promise to return with a surprise.
Since one surprise had already been good, the next was sure to be unpleasant. Buttering her up before he knocked her off kilter was the pattern of the imp.
Up and down, round and round, Ardyn couldn't be consistent. The man had to be on the top or on the bottom of the wheel…
"I want to go outside…" Lunafreya muttered timidly after being under Imperatrix's worried staring for minutes.
The princess snapped out of her reverie. "Outside?"
"Yes. I want to do…something…"
She remembered how happy it made her to go shopping in Insomnia. The oracle was allowed to go into as many stores as she wanted.
Imperatrix had been a patient chaperone and informative teacher throughout the experience. The princess had been that way for much of their time together…
That outing wasn't the suffocating affair she had to put up with in Tenebrae. Guards following her, speaking for her, and doing the purchasing for her just made everything unbearable.
All but forced to be a spectator in her own life.
She was tired of being cooped up in rooms, tired of having no say, tired of being weak!
Lunafreya was fatigued with it all…
"There is something we can do…" Imperatrix rolled her foot, apprehensive for what she had in mind. "I am not sure how agreeable you will be to it."
The blonde tilted her head, eyebrows furrowing. "Is it to do with imperial business?"
"No." She quickly shot down with a snort, leaning on her knuckles. "See…Tempesta went out on a mission and it…did not go well. She is in a slump now."
"Tempesta? In a slump?" Her look of disbelief got a longer sigh out of Imperatrix.
"I know she seems continually lively, but my little Darling does have lows." The princess smiled sadly, thinking both girls needed an outing. "Tempesta, called me to go clubbing with her. A good time is her solution to everything."
What a "good time" consisted of varied on the younger Besithia's mood.
Beating a person to a pulp was for when she was angry or angry on someone else's behalf. Partying was for when she wanted to float on the cloud nine of booze instead of walking through the hellfire of life.
"Clubbing? What is that?" Lunafreya's face sparkled in the way it did when exposed to a new normalcy an average person wouldn't bat an eye at.
"It is like dancing at a ball. In a much more confined space, with lots of people and louder music." She explained as simply as possible, wincing for the more delicate explanations that would be needed for the innocent girl's sake.
"Furia throws balls. If 'clubbing' is similar to that, then I would not mind going."
The oracle had been aghast to have dozens of strangers in her home when her sister-in-law first started hosting social gatherings.
The manor was her prison and sanctuary. She didn't want it invaded with imperials!
Her reservations were swept under the rug after Furia forcibly dragged her around the balls, conversing with the noble families of Tenebrae. A custom she'd fallen out of after the death of the queen.
Those gatherings were the second princess's method of ingraining herself to the people she now lived among. It was also a method for the oracle to connect with her forgotten people outside her duties as the healer and voice of The Six.
Maybe if she spent less time ignoring the imperial guests and actually spoke with them, Lunafreya wouldn't have so much bottled up resentment.
She had to be above the vices…but it was so hard…
"If you are to go out, then you will need a dress." Imperatrix mussed out loud.
The selections Tempesta threw into her suitcase wouldn't be suitable for Lunafreya, nor would they fit the girl.
For a maiden of holy virtue, the blonde possessed a body built for sin…
Ample cleavage surpassing hers, angular curves to fill out clothing better than her, and the beautiful visage of a cherub.
No wonder her retainer insisted on calling the blonde "Lunar Temple". Terrible Men would do anything to defile her.
Oh, gods…
Imperatrix would have to keep a hundred eyes on the girl. At the club, males would be all over Lunafreya!
"Does Lestallum have shops with suitable attire?" The oracle inquired with a skeptical study of the city outside the window.
She'd seen the native women in pants and more rugged clothing. The atmosphere of the city wasn't formal like Lunafreya was used to in the east.
Much of Lucis felt more laid-back than anything in the empire…
"Oh, no need to fret. I am sure they have plenty of stores." Imperatrix stated, already having seen the many bars and clubs in the city.
Having so many entertainment establishments was so sure to yield stores catering to that brand.
"If you say so."
"Finish eating and we can go." The princess stood from the table.
She mournfully gathered the laptop and binders off her bed.
There'd be no more work getting done today.
Blighted, lovable, Ardyn had left more of his work with her to complete on his behalf. Typical noble matters that he didn't care for.
She was now in charge of distributing land holdings, ennobling rising courtiers, stripping corrupt nobles, and the most tedious of all, accepting and rejecting party invitations for the chancellor.
Hah!
If Imperatrix wanted to be cruel, she could forward acceptances to every function. Ardyn would be forced to attend and deal with pompous aristocrats pandering for his favor.
She wouldn't be that mean to him…
He did have the consideration to share his plans for the royal progress with her, making Imperatrix aware of the younger princess's movements.
Ardyn listened to her input on the project, making adjustments based on her first-hand knowledge of their territory's loyalties.
Who better to judge, than the commander who surveyed the lands for the duration of her exile?
The emperor wouldn't be joining the tour. She didn't know how to feel about that…
"Imperatrix, we are ready to go." Lunafreya signaled for her, waiting by the door with her dogs.
The princess studied the oracle.
"What is it?"
A hat she'd bought earlier for the girl was produced and held out.
"That again? I assure you, the heat will not make me faintish." Lunafreya frowned at the coddling.
Imperatrix had pushed for her to wear the hat during her discharge out of the hospital. She'd gone along with because the sun had been too much for her sensitive eyes.
It was completely unnecessary now.
"Humor me. The doctor said to take it easy."
The real reason for the headwear hadn't been disclosed to the girl.
"Alright." She put it on just to get going, securing her hair into the item.
"It is very pretty on you." Imperatrix added to cheer her.
Adorable was more apt, but she knew it would displease the recipient of the compliment.
Most importantly, the hat disguised Lunafreya's features. If Iris tailed them, she wouldn't be able to immediately tell it was the oracle.
Some sunglasses would have doubled the effect, but then the blonde would appear too tropical for the grungy city. The white lace dress was already too nice, no need to make the noble upbringing stand out more.
"Do you have a favorite color?" Imperatrix asked as they walked the busy streets.
The dogs faithfully trotted behind them.
"Blue."
She gave the oracle a knowing grin. "Like the blue of sylleblossoms?"
"Yes. Not very creative of me, is it?"
"No, but they are your country's flower. I cannot fault you for the favoritism." Her grin gained a measure of playfulness. "Or do you prefer the blue of a certain prince?"
Lunafreya blushed to the tips of her ear and down her neck. "Imperatrix!"
She dissolved into laughter, and funnily enough, the oracle found it infectious. She laughed with the princess, chest lighting with an easiness unfamiliar to her.
The pair looked like the average friends out for a day of leisure.
- 13
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- 15
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