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Veni Vidi Vici	By : Saber007 Category: Final Fantasy Games > Final Fantasy XV Views: 1503 -:- 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
- 14
- 15
- 16
"Oh, my god! Look at Lunar Temple trying to be sexy!" Tempesta teetered on the edge of her seat, hands flying in disbelief.
The view would probably be even more astonishing if she weren't looking through the monitor of her visor.
"I-I do not…think this is appropriate…" Lunafreya huddled in on herself, arms fruitlessly attempting to cover her exposed cleavage from the audience.
Even with the helmet separating them from being face-to-face, she could feel the leer lurking behind the screen and shivered self-consciously.
If anyone from home could see her, especially the priests, or heaven forbid, the cardinal…they'd scream out their lungs for her impropriety.
Clothes were meant to conceal, not reveal. Women were never meant to flaunt their appearances for that led to temptation and the eventual corruption of the female. Lessons as these had been drilled into her head by the men of the church.
How could Lunafreya be expected to go outside in this scandalous dress?!
"I agree. That dress is far too risqué for her. Why did you even pick it out, Tempesta?" Imperatrix tapped her foot on the floor, exasperated from the girl's shenanigans.
At this rate, they'd never leave the department store.
Multiple outfits had been tossed at the oracle to try on by the fist fighter, and each more outrageous than the last. The princess's selections were denied before they could be given to Lunafreya and so Imperatrix was sidelined into spectator, rather than assistant like she wanted.
Wild and flashy didn't suit Lunafreya like it did for Tempesta.
"Cause it couldn't hurt and I'm sick of these prissy, virginal, abbess outfits she sports." The younger Besithia flicked her hand flippantly. "Dammit, girl! I'm ready to gouge my eyes out if I have to look at one more pristine, white dress from you!"
"Imperatrix consistently wears white as well." Lunafreya retorted, forgetting to hold up the top portion of the dress. "Most everyone in this group does."
"Are you blind? She at least has other colors in the outfits. Every freaking piece clothing you have is white!" She jabbed her finger at the oracle's exposed white bra. "You put us imperials to shame!"
"Will you two lower your voices?!" Imperatrix whispered harshly at the store employees sending them scathing looks for the disturbance.
They were lucky not too many people were in the store, otherwise their identities would most certainly be blown.
Tempesta let out an immature noise at the reprimand, slouching unladylike in her seat. She'd been emotionally charged since meeting up with them.
"Is this truly what females wear to clubs?" Lunafreya tugged on the bottom of the short green apparel, sighing in defeat when she couldn't get it to cover everything as she wanted.
It felt as though the slightest movement would flash her bottom and top.
No, no, no.
She couldn't possibly wear this!
"Yup, so quit whining." The fist fighter then gestured to the dressing room. "That's a big fat no. Try something else, Lunar Temple. We haven't got all day."
"I do wish you would stop calling me that." She remarked with a disgruntled backward glance as she waddled to the changing area.
Alone for a moment, Imperatrix took ahold of Tempesta'a hand, squeezing it in a show of compassion. The girl refused to look in the princess's direction, loosely holding onto the support.
"Don't wanna talk about it, Impera."
"I understand. Nonetheless…I am here for you here, Darling."
She wobbled in her seat and it was obvious that the younger Besithia was fighting off an urge to sniffle. The emergence of the oracle quickly made Tempesta lurch out of the slouch.
"This is better." Lunafreya smoothed her hands over the long, light, dress that was a shade off being white.
Barely an improvement to the previous complaint. The masked female groaned.
"No." Imperatrix immediately rejected.
"Why not?! It appropriately adorns me."
"One, you cannot wear white to a club, it will get dirty instantaneously. Two, you will sweat profusely in that. Three, everyone will step on your train. Four, you will stand out in an evening gown." She ticked off all the points with a nonnegotiable deadpan.
She'd told the girl not to select anything out of the prom section, but of course Lunafreya had to be hard-headed, doing the opposite of what the imperial said.
Some habits wouldn't be coming to a stop.
In the oracle's defense, the prom division was the closest thing to noble wear. Not surprising for a princess to gravitate towards them.
"I have never had this much trouble selecting an ensemble for an outing." Lunafreya huffed, going back to the dressing room for the tenth time.
Imperatrix looked to her retainer, mouth curling into a grimace. "Was I this bad the first time we went shopping?"
"Ramuh strike me with lightning! You were a million times worse!" Tempesta laughed, legs and arms flying out in accordance with her blunt admission. "You wouldn't stop picking dresses with trains. You cape-obsessed freak!"
Man, she remembered that god-awful day.
"How many times do I have to tell you? Normal people don't wear things like that, you Shitty Princess!" The younger Besithia screamed at the princess modeling off a dress meant for wining and dining with some dandy from court.
Deflated, Imperatrix was very close to tears from how much she'd been berated by her retainer. Worse, her head hurt from having the girl periodically pelt her with shoes for every wrong choice.
What had she done to deserve such a perverted, violent, disrespectful servant?! Why did her father even bring the girl to her?!
Nebula was all she needed and even he didn't like dealing with another one of his siblings.
Tempesta's arrival in her life couldn't heal the ache in her chest from losing Pompeia. Her father was so wrong for thinking this blonde storm could possibly replace her sweet, little sister!
"Quit making that mopey face and try again!"
Another shoe impacted with Imperatrix's head and she stumbled, hitting a trolley and getting tangled up in the clothes. The embarrassment of her folly and the accompanying laughter crumbled the princess's composure. Tears leaked out of her eyes.
Too much, it was all too much!
"What? Did you get stuck? Aren't princesses supposed to be elegant?" Tempesta taunted mercilessly, yanking off some of the clothes to reveal Imperatrix. "W-What?!"
She froze up at the sight of the older woman sobbing soundlessly while staring at the ceiling.
"U-Uh, uh…I didn't…" The blonde fumbled with speech and action, eyes darting around for a solution.
At the approach of the store employees, the younger Besithia gained a spark of insight and kept the strangers out of range of the princess by barking at them to leave.
Nebula had made it clear to her that Imperatrix should never end up in a compromising situation while under her protection. This incident probably wasn't what the stone-faced jerk had in mind, but fell into the category of compromising.
"Hey." Tempesta kicked the other woman, snapping her out of the stupor enough to moan in pain. "Why are you crying?"
Imperatrix stared, mouth moving without sound. The blonde sighed heavily, aggressively untangling the captive and then dragging her into a dressing room.
"Why are you crying?! Aren't you a princess?! You're not supposed to cry." She repeated once the sobbing lump collapsed onto the bench.
"I am a human as well and I am not weak for feeling things!" Imperatrix exploded, standing to her full height to tower over the younger female. "I can get angry for people wronging me! I can be so sad, as to crack, crumble, and collapse until my heart can no longer bear it!"
Automatically, Tempesta's arms went out to catch the princess as she sank to the ground, trembling from the force of tragedy. She sat on the ground, watching the display without understanding.
"I have lost my mother. I have lost my baby brothers, Alexius and Zeno. I have lost my sister, Pompeia… It is all too much…"
"So you're crying cause your siblings are gone?"
The simple way Tempesta spoke irked the princess into glaring. "I could also list every comrade and citizen we recently lost in the savage attack by the Frostbearer!"
"Geez…he warned me you were a bleeding heart. I didn't take Nebula seriously since he had that stupid, blank face when he said it. You're dramatic as hellfire too..." The blonde shoved the other woman. "Quit moping! There's nothing you can do about dead people!"
Why the heck did Imperatrix care so much?
Tempesta didn't blink whenever one of her siblings died. They were quickly replaced with another by their mad-scientist father.
Why get hung up over that kind of thing?
She even heard the princess made a huge deal over Nebula's excessive injuries after the battle with the god was over. Dumbass shouldn't spare that kind of emotion on someone easily replaceable.
For all her supposed care, Imperatrix didn't even realize that Nebula was…
"You may be right…but I… I do not know if I can stop." The princess muttered defeatedly.
There was no point in further arguing with the girl. She was the opposite of her brother, unwilling to empathize or understand. Not to mention she was volatile and if an actual fight developed between the two, the store would come out damaged.
The emperor would surely punish her for the destruction and for giving the paparazzi more ammo to use against their family.
The Aldercapts couldn't weather another riot.
Another death…
"Will you stop already?! I don't like you depressed!" Tempesta complained pettily, lowering her voice into a mocking parody. "Be happy, alright?! Give the world a smile so bright the sun is jealous!"
She blinked, not expecting such sappy wording from a vulgar loudmouth.
"Don't look at me like that. Nebula used those words to describe you when I was being briefed on my new master." The younger Besithia scoffed. "I don't like you enough to use that shitty, flowery speech in association of you."
"He did?" The white-haired woman laughed, feeling some of the weight lift from her chest.
She'd been so worried when they carted him off on a stretcher, blood seeping out of his chest from the icicles protruding from the area. Wounds like that would've killed a normal person, but somehow he'd survived, returning as her retainer with only some memory loss as a consequence.
He should've never been on that battle field in the first place! Loyalty made him follow her and take a death-blow meant for her.
Nebula was her first cherished friend.
If there was any silver lining in the storm of death, his survival was among the small mercies.
"You're not like…in love with Nebula...are you?" Tempesta wearily gazed at Imperatrix, an ugly secret tickling the back of her throat.
That empty, robotic, killer wasn't the person the princess was thinking of…
"Excuse me? Where are you getting that from?! Nebula is my friend, perhaps even a brother…not ever a lover!" She replied, horrified at the thought of having a heart's longing for the elder Besithia.
It was inconceivable for her heart soar for anyone other than a mysterious red-head with a penchant for theatrics and exhibit of sophistication.
The very thought of Ardyn flushed her cheeks and banished the last of crushing agony.
The world might try to convince her that feelings made a person weak, but she wouldn't ever give in to that doctrine. Never would a cruel world steal the spark of her emotions.
To be soft...
She couldn't let the world make her hard, couldn't let the pain make her hate. Bitterness wouldn't steal her sweetness…
"Phew! That's a relief. It'd be weird watching you bone him…kinda like you boning me…"
"Um...what do you-"
Tempesta cocked her head, lopsided grin re-emerging and spoke over the woman. "And you're smiling, somewhat... Guess ya finally listened to my awesome advice. That shitty depression was getting you nowhere!"
She jumped up. Imperatrix gaped, mind still stuck on the previous portion of speech.
"Well, don't just sit there! You still gotta pick something out."
"Tempesta…perhaps this would be more successful if you showed me what civilians wear." The princess conceded to the demand for the sake of her time, health, and sanity.
"Fine, you loser. Dumb princess has to be catered to in every way." The fist fighter hissed with less bite than before, once more dragging the taller woman around without a care.
The employees stared, dumbfounded at the girl's shifting harmony. Now they were fighting over something entirely different.
The princess scrambled to prevent her retainer from undressing her in a hurried effort to pick something. It was an unorthodox scene that the workers studiously turned their backs on, when the blonde threatened them with bloody murder if she caught any of them gawking.
"Stop, stop! I'll be naked if this continues!" Imperatrix squeaked, no match for the superior strength of Tempesta.
Brought down to her undergarments in the corner of the store, she sighed miserably.
"Who cares?! It's nothing but chicks in here and don't you change in front of your military guys?" The younger Besithia tossed the offensive party wear into the face of a peeking employee.
"That is completely different…"
"Huh? Who knew you liked lacy underwear."
Mortified, Imperatrix's hands covered herself from leering blue eyes.
"Who's the lucky guy?" She beamed fiendishly, eyebrows waggling with perversion.
She choked, mind reeling from this entire experience.
Why had she agreed to Tempesta's insistence of visiting a club for her eighteenth birthday?!
Fostering a better working relationship between them was beginning to be of little concern to Imperatrix. The princess didn't know how much more she could put up with the girl's terrible manners.
"Here. Something like this is what I see city chicks wear. It's mild enough for you."
A burgundy sequin dress barreled into Imperatrix's face with enough force to send her neck backwards.
"This? It is…gaudy…" She appraised the apparel after removing it, holding it over her semi-nude form.
"That's the point, dumbass!" The other female proudly displayed a black and gold checkered dress for herself. "You want to stand out and have everyone drool over you. That's the allure!"
The princess blinked.
Could this be the way Tempesta distinguished herself? In a sea of similar faces, dressing skimpily and behaving boisterously were her methods of originality?
To a degree Imperatrix could understand the rationality of the younger Besithia's actions.
Furia complained constantly that there was no avenue for her to shine with her older sister monopolizing activities and used that as excuse to disregard the duties expected of a princess to party and fool around with handsome nobles.
She didn't know how to fix the complex brewing in the second princess…
Why couldn't the pinkette be as simple to please as little Euphemia?
"What do you know. The Shitty Princess has got a body under all that shiny armor."
Imperatrix sighed for the umpteenth time at the vulgar address from her retainer. Instinctively, she wanted to cover herself from the lecherous assessment, but knew that would promote further teasing and so kept her arms by her side while Tempesta circled her.
"Must you address me so offensively? Simply referring to me as princess is fine."
"When I feel like being nice to you, I will." The fist fighter snarked, stopping in front of the woman and nodding in approval. "Heh. Nebula is gonna have to beat people up for sure when they spot you."
A swivel and Imperatrix caught her reflection in the mirror. The dress didn't look bad on her and the color reminded her of the chancellor.
Too bad Ardyn had left Gralea for an assignment. He wouldn't get to see her dressed nicely...
"Tonight's gonna be killer!" Tempesta boasted to her reflection.
Still wrapped in thoughts of a red-headed man, Imperatrix's tone came out sweetly. "I know it will, Darling."
The younger Besithia stiffened from a hand hovering near her head. Were it not for the general air of softness about the princess, she would have snapped at the woman to keep her hands to herself.
"I can do your hair and then you shall look even more stunning than I."
"Yeah, right." The blonde huffed, moodily scowling at the hair she'd started growing out on Imperatrix's request.
The spiky locks were only a little longer than the princess's, the ends reaching her shoulders. Before, it used to look like all the other Besithia rejects because that was what the old man wanted.
Looking like every other mini Verstael, her body was just about the only other way to stand out. The barcode being the other, but who had time to distinguish all those numbers?
The princess's strokes to the girl's head were soothing. "It is your night, Tempesta. You will shine, I promise."
That party had been something else…
It was at that point that the fist fighter stopped being an absolute hassle to the princess. The fear of being replaced, or worse…an unwanted addition...began to fade after so much time around the bleeding heart.
Sometimes…
Tempesta wished she could've been like Nebula and given to Imperatrix from the beginning, instead of spending so many screwed up years with Verstael.
Maybe then she would've been normal enough for…
"I believe we have a winner." Imperatrix announced, zipping up the back for Lunafreya.
Slamming out the dark thoughts, the younger Besithia hopped out her chair to circle the model. "Finally, something decent."
The girl blushed, tilting her head in wonder for the reflection before her.
The dress was a light creme color, held up by straps, of an adequate length, and comfortable to move in. In this outfit with her hair freed from its usual style, she looked twenty-four.
She smiled, feeling a twinge of freedom.
Lunafreya looked like a young woman, not the holy oracle…
"No wonder Sour-Face kept you locked up. All of this would've drove dudes mad." The fist fighter poked at the lighter blonde's chest that looked even bigger with the boost of the dress.
"What are you doing?!" The oracle screamed, bumping into Imperatrix as she flew from the invasive touching.
"Checking out your goods." She grabbed at Lunafreya's hips next, pinching and squeezing. "Man, why's the world gotta be unfair? I want a body like you and Impera!"
Tempesta barely had a body next to these two vixens. Her breast and hips had grown, but still weren't anything to drool over. At this point her body wouldn't get any sexier unless…
"I'm leaving."
"Why?!" Imperatrix questioned the abruptness of the fist fighter's decision.
"Gonna get ready first and meet you there." She snatched up her items from the chair, moroseness following her to the register.
The princess was thrown off and her chest twinged with the need to pursue her depressed friend, but experience proved that Tempesta would be closed-off until she decided to express herself.
All she could do was wait and give the girl space.
"I am done." Lunafreya appeared in her regular clothes, prospective material neatly folded over her arm. "Where did Tempesta go?"
"Ah, not yet." Imperatrix wagged her finger and pointed to the other section of the store. "Now you get to choose shoes."
She blinked, looking from the princess to her own heels.
"Those will not do. They are dirty and worn." The woman answered the unspoken protest.
Indeed, the originally white heels accumulated dirt from the travels, obtaining a brown hue. The oracle nodded grimly, accepting the second mission in the face of her transformed foot-wear.
With her off, Imperatrix used the time to browse through the accessories for Lunafreya to speed up the process. She could've bought a new outfit like the girls, but the princess felt it prudent to be frugal with her dwindling account.
The hospital bill took out a chunk of money, particularly the scans she'd gotten for Nyx. She was worried about his lapses and disorientation.
There were also the moments she caught him grimacing in pain while he clutched his arm or face. He shouldn't still be feeling pain from the burns, but maybe the injuries were so traumatic that his brain was sending phantom pains.
Between Lunafreya and Nyx's expenses, those hunts were more necessary than she let on. Imperatrix literally couldn't afford to keep paying for everything.
The funds she received as crown princess were carefully balanced for projects at home. Emergencies were the only occasions that Imperatrix touched that account. Otherwise, she endeavored to sustain herself on an imperial commander's salary.
Thankfully, Nyx's competitive streak with her came in handy. He and Lunafreya had a good bit of gil on them now.
The oracle was flummoxed to be given an allowance by the glaive, but quickly got over it when he insisted on buying cellphones for them. The two purchased basic phones for communication.
Nebula cracked up over the older models when everyone traded numbers. The gunman was so used to touch-screen devices that anything else was ancient to him.
Needless to say, his guffawing ticked the glaive off and he entered Nebula in his phone as "Psychopath". The jibe didn't phase him as much as Nyx thought it would.
"What next, Imperatrix?" Lunafreya asked with a mixture of exasperation and humor, holding her bags out of reach from her curious dogs.
"We head back to the room and get ready."
The princess took some of the bags off the girl and they headed for the hotel. Tempesta wasn't inside the room she was sharing with the oracle, which meant she must've been in Imperatrix's.
Hopefully, the room wouldn't look like a tornado hit.
Why did both her retainers have to be messy people?
"No, no! You cannot wear your hair in the usual style." Imperatrix interjected as Lunafreya automatically began braiding her freshly washed hair.
The oracle looked up from the mirror, casting confusion towards the princess.
"Lets try something different. Wait there and I will return with my kit."
The white-haired woman went from one room to another, relived to find hers still tidy. She quickly browsed through the suitcase for what was needed. Kit found, she approached the closed bathroom door, knocking on it.
"Tempesta, are alright?"
The sound of running water cut off and the door was yanked open.
"I'm just peachy!" The fist fighter exclaimed too loudly.
She was already spruced up in a two piece ensemble of a dark gold halter-top and skirt. Her hair had been styled with the long strands spiking out like the mane of a lion. Makeup made her blue eyes appear feline and bold.
The cat was out to play.
"Have you already started drinking?"
Those cheeks of hers were flushed and a slight smell of alcohol wafted off the fist fighter.
"Duh! It's called pre-game drinking." The younger Besithia slunk past the princess, heeled boots clicking loudly. "Those stinking mimosas were weak as shit though. I want something stronger!"
She retrieved her phone from the inside of her boot, smashing her fingers on the screen.
Imperatrix listened to the girl go back and forth with Nebula about heading to the club early for her to drink. Surprisingly, they came to an agreement.
"I hope you do not drink yourself into comas." The princess voiced as the fist fighter went for the door.
"That's the plan, Impera." She gave a double thumbs-up with a stupid grin.
Imperatrix hoped that this destructiveness would be a one-nighter. She'd rather the girl talk to her and receive comfort from a friend rather than the comfort of a bottle and whatever other ridiculous behavior Tempesta chose to participate in.
She was completely over dragging home females in a repetitive cycle of blackouts, dalliances, and narcotics. Furia, Pompeia, and Tempesta had each cost her a number of nights, worried and strung-out over their antics.
The downside to being an elder sibling…always fretting over the younger ones…
The princess shouldn't have let her retainer approach Cor…
"How would you like your hair, Lunafreya?" Imperatrix finished setting up an impromptu salon in the bathroom, waving the styling tool around in preparation as she combed through the girl's hair with a small exhale of wistfulness.
"I would like a braid." She didn't feel right going without one, it was a Tenebraen trend.
If she were honest with herself…
Lunafreya wore braids so often in remembrance of Ravus first doing them for her when she couldn't be bothered to do it herself. After losing their mother it was hard for her to get out bed, let alone worry about looking presentable.
Those might have been the singular instances where her brother's forceful nature was warranted. Without him forcing her out of bed, dressing her, and feeding her, Lunafreya would've wasted away the first year of Queen Sylva's death.
"I suppose…it would not be too obvious if I do it differently…" Imperatrix got to work on the pale blonde hair at the stubbornness of the oracle.
Thoughts of the second princess came to mind.
The day of Furia's wedding had been a whirlwind of preparation with the eldest Aldercapt taking over the servant's job of grooming the bride since she tore into them without remorse over the littlest things, but curbed the attitude for her older sister.
She was a severe case of cold feet the morning of the ceremony. Unsurprising, seeing as she was an eighteen year-old getting married to a man eight years older, and unfortunately, one that didn't have the best opinion of her.
Ravus was downright belligerent when he found out he wouldn't be tied to Imperatrix, but Furia, the hotheaded disaster.
Imperatrix came very close to striking the man for his loose tongue. As pleased as she was that he viewed her favorably enough to show disappointment, that didn't give the prince of Tenebrae the right to insult her sister.
The marriage was meant to bind Tenebrae to Gralea in a more permanent and peaceful manner. It was also a solution to a large, glaring issue.
Neither Fleuret siblings could be allowed to ascend as a sovereign of their country while the label of traitor hung over their pale, angelic, blonde heads. An unfavorablee punishment levied on them after the regrettable death of the queen.
Someone had to be held accountable for the Lucians unlawful presence in Niflheim...and it fell on two royal children.
However, the emperor didn't fancy Tenebrae remaining ungoverned and wanted to continue the monarchy as he did in the other territories. The solution to the problem was marriage between an Aldercapt and a Fleuret, for with one of their own in the Holy City, another treasonous action wasn't likely.
Once a child was born from the union, Ravus would once again bear the title of royal prince.
"This is nice." Lunafreya commented, smiling at the outcome of the princess's work.
The sides were braided and tied into a bun at the back of her head with the rest curled and flowing over her shoulders. Light makeup had been applied to her face for a natural look.
"Now, do not take this the wrong way…but there are some ground rules…" Imperatrix prompted, carefully laying her hands on the oracle's shoulders at the smile rapidly declining on her face.
"Here we go…" She muttered frostily and an annoyed expression wanted to cross the princess's face, but she schooled her features and evened out her tone.
Amazing, how the girl had no problem being a salty brat. Where was that kind air she gave out to the general populace?
"You cannot use your full name while we are there. Nor can you go by Luna, it is too obvious."
Lunafreya perked up a little at the minor stipulation, expecting something worse to be demanded of her.
"How does going by Freya sound to you? Still your name and it is not likely to draw suspicion." Imperatrix began the process of gathering her things. "And remember to call me Em and not Imperatrix."
"I have never been called by that portion of my name." The oracle unfolded her hands to study the callousness of the once soft skin.
So many new experiences on this journey…
"Next…" She sucked in a breath, deadly serious for the following part. "You cannot leave with any man outside of Nyx."
For a minute or two, Lunafreya just stared blankly, not at all comprehending the insinuation.
"You are bound to be asked and you are an adult…but… It simply complicates things."
"Why would I leave with someone I do not know?" The look of befuddlement continued and the oracle looked at the princess like she'd lost her mind. "Why would a stranger even ask me to go with them? Will they require healing?"
Now, Imperatrix was the one making a face of incredulity and the awkwardness got to her. Her head lowered onto the crown of Lunafreya's and her hands squeezed the girl's shoulders.
"I-Imperatrix?" She'd tensed from the contact, but soon relaxed, tilting her head upward to gauge the issue.
An exhale later and the princess leaned on the counter of the sink. She decided to go for the frank path versus tiptoeing around the issue like another woman might.
"You have been educated on sex, yes?"
"What does that have do with—" Her affronted temperament cracked from realization and she withdrew in the seat. "Why would anyone—"
The oracle couldn't even finish her sentence, too flustered.
"Because you are beautiful, Lunafreya." The princess answered simply. "Of course men would want you in that manner."
"Yes, but…" The blush escalated from cheek to ears from the candidness.
Immediately, Lunafreya's thoughts went to Noctis possibly seeing her in that light. Her mind couldn't fathom the quiet, sweet boy looking at her with anything other than affection and admiration, like she was the smartest person in the world.
Just thinking of the dark-haired prince looking at her with desire stunned her and her skin prickled with mortification.
"P-People just do that?! How…how shameful… It's supposed to be for marriage…"
Imperatrix covered a laugh with her hand. People hardly played by the old ways, herself included.
She failed to be virtuous, enticed by a red-haired devil.
Lunafreya would most certainly rail if her lie to the girl was uncovered. It was embarrassing that she'd even lied in the first place, but the princess had still been angry with Ardyn…
It hadn't been a total fabrication…
"Men will try to flirt with you. If they offer to buy you a drink, do not let them give it to you. Either decline the offer or go with them to the bar." Imperatrix imparted more serious tips to the novice. "Never accept a drink you did not see the bartender prepare."
"Why is that?" At the turn in conversation, the oracle's nervous state receded.
"You could end up drugged by someone slipping something into your drink if you are not paying attention."
"Drugged?! What for?!"
"For a man…or woman…to take advantage of you." Imperatrix's frowned at her hands, the same ones that saw so much fighting. "Our world can be a dark place."
The oracle paled and she felt bad for scaring her, but better for her to be aware of possible consequences. The princess wouldn't forgive herself if something did happen to the girl.
"There is never one layer to things, is there?" Lunafreya mumbled, clenching at the bottom of her dress.
"Do you still want to go? What I warned you about does not happen often, it is more of a worst-case scenario."
She nodded slowly, a little hesitance in the action, but her willful nature won out. "I do not wish to forgo any new experiences."
In an emergence of affection, Imperatrix brushed the blonde's bangs aside, finger lightly caressing the cheek. "After I get ready, we will leave."
She packed the items into the kit, going to her room to finally take care of herself.
In less time than it took to prepare the oracle, the princess collapsed onto the couch to tackle the last step, strapping on her heels.
Loud banging on the door startled her into dropping the shoe.
"Who in the world?" Imperatrix opened the door with one person in mind for the rude disturbance.
"We gotta talk!" Nyx barged in without preamble, all temper and thunder as he stomped around. "I'm gonna kill Nebula!"
She was entirely shocked by his explosive outburst, never really encountering this level emotion from a male. Even her father had never yelled like this when he punished her.
Caught off guard as she was, Imperatrix didn't register the glaive storming up to her and pointing at himself.
"Look what he did to me!"
At first there didn't appear to be a problem to the princess.
The man was dressed in dark jeans and a navy dress shirt, unbuttoned midway to show off his chest and rolled up to the elbows to show off his arms. The clothing couldn't be the snag and she didn't see any injuries on Nyx that would upset him.
Looking directly at his face to voice her puzzlement was what made it click.
Gone was the mohawk and fuzzy sides. In its place a classical style of hair groomed behind the ear, and to the other side, the hair a curtain for the face. The beard had been trimmed down, a trail from one sideburn to another with the path diverting around the mouth.
Nyx looked less wild and more respectable.
"Well?!" He pressed, drawing the woman back into the present.
"Forgive me for any insensitivity to your cultural norms…but I see no issue. I rather like it." Imperatrix confessed honestly.
Nebula's barber skills were brilliant.
"You like this?" The glaive faltered, aghast that she was looking at him with a faint blush.
This…this wasn't Galahdian at all! He couldn't remember the last time he had a full set of hair and not a kind of mohawk.
It felt weird as hell…
"Yes. You look very handsome." The princess returned to the couch now that Nyx was reasonably calm. "When did Nebula get the chance to cut your hair?"
"Asshole shot me with a tranq right after he got off the phone with Tempesta." He followed her example, sprawling out next to her and glaring to get his point home. "That's the last time that shit flys. Any more and I'll knock him out!"
"I imagine you two did not come to an understanding over hunting?" She rhetorically stated. "And here I thought a manly activity would do the trick."
"It didn't. We still hate each other."
Imperatrix tsked as her shoe proved uncooperative for some reason.
"Here, let me." Nyx pulled on her leg, forcing the princess to twist on the couch to accommodate him taking a hack at the heel.
"Who said you could do that?!" She squeezed her legs together to prevent a flashing.
"Chill, I'm trying to help you." He didn't look up from the task, going for the second foot when done with the first. "Give me the shoe."
Imperatrix was resistant to the order, scowling at him.
"Quit looking at me like that. You order me around, it's only fair I order you around some too."
"Who are you to give me orders?"
"Fine. We can just sit here then." Nyx's yield was uncharacteristic and made her edgy. "I can entertain myself."
She shrieked as his hand went from the bottom of her leg to a little under her dress. The action unnecessarily tingled.
"Woah, your skin's as smooth as I thought."
"Stop it! Stop touching me!" Imperatrix wouldn't even address how the glaive thought about what she'd feel like in his spare time.
"Then give me the shoe."
"Are you seriously invading my space for something so stupid?!"
"Yeah, so give me the shoe, Impera."
"I will not!" She pushed against his hands and he only tightened the grip.
"I guess you're refusing to cooperate because you want to be touched." Nyx smirked, using both hands explore the skin under the dress as he leaned over the princess. "You were drooling over me."
"I was not drooling!" The scathing expression morphed into a fluttering smile that the glaive knew preceded trouble, but this was a lesson he didn't want to learn from. "I changed my mind, Nyx."
"Yeah?"
What changed? Did she want him?
Damn…did he want her…
"I will get the shoe for you." Imperatrix grasping at his shoulders and giving him the most suggestive look blindsided the glaive and before he knew it, Nyx was on the floor with the princess jamming her shoe against his chest.
"Holy shit!"
She leaned down to pick up the heel and deposited it near his hand, simultaneously adding more pressure to his chest. "Go ahead. Put it on for me."
He gaped at her expectant glower.
"Well?"
"I'm seriously turned on if this is what you meant by seduction. I knew you were a freak!" Nyx concluded the statement with a laugh.
Imperatrix wavered at the implication, removing her foot from the man's chest and stealing back the heel. She sat on the couch's arm to do it herself, hiding how unnerved she was by her display.
Sure Ardyn let her be in control and sometimes it went to her head, but Nyx brought out a domineering quality that she didn't like. It wasn't in her nature to be derisive to someone and that was where her speech headed in response to the glaive challenging her.
"Hey, Impera."
The princess jumped off the couch from the whisper in her ear. "What?! Go away already!"
Nyx ignored her, spinning his finger in a downward circle. "Do a twirl for me."
She rolled her eyes at the roguish grin.
"C'mon, model for me! You've damn sure got the body and looks for it." He crossed his arms, very tempted to pull out his phone and snap a picture.
Hair entirely straightened to flow to her back contrasted the waviness he got used to as Imperatrix grew out her tresses. Decked out in a silver dress that sparkled with a slightly see-through material around the legs and arms had Nyx recalling all the bits of skin he'd seen over their time together and arranging them into an approximation of what he assumed she looked like under the clothes.
"Give Daddy a show." The glaive teased.
Scorching heat consumed her face and the princess threw up her hand to keep Nyx from coming any closer to her. "Don't talk like that to me!"
"Why not? You love every bit of the way I talk to you."
Imperatrix regretted letting him into her room. "Gods! The minute I think well of you, you open your mouth and ruin it!"
"Hey, hey. You're annoying too!" He didn't let her shove him back, pushing against the hands on his chest . "There's a solution to this dilemma though."
Nyx wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her in.
A knock at the door got a fervent curse out of the glaive and a relieved sigh out of the princess. She jerked away from him and he let her go with a moody frown.
Lunafreya almost got knocked over from Imperatrix rushing out. She looked to Nyx and blinked.
"Your hair…is different…"
"I know." He shrugged, following after the speeding female.
He needed a drink since the world was set on leaving him dry.
XV
"Are you going to pace yourself this time?" Imperatrix asked the oracle as she poured the alcohol into glasses.
She preferred ordering a bottle and drinking from that instead of repeatedly buying from the bar. It ran less risk and was less time-consuming.
"I learn from my mistakes. There will be no repeats." Lunafreya demonstrated by slowly sipping, remembering well how awful and nauseous she felt the morning after trying to out drink Libertus.
She wouldn't be foolish again.
"You better. Neither of us wants to haul you to a bed." Nyx frowned after swallowing the liquid. "I'm too good at mixing. Other stuff just doesn't do it for me."
"You are so full of yourself." The princess rolled her eyes at him bleating about her beverage choice.
The one time he wanted to be gentlemanly, letting her select the drink and he groused about it.
"Oh, please! Admit it, I can top anything they serve here."
"In an effort to not lie, I will acknowledge your skills as a mixologist. However, I am not saying so to inflate your enormous ego."
"That's all I needed to hear, babe." He grinned smugly.
Imperatrix shook her head and leaned on the top of the cushion.
They wound down with a couple of drinks in the VIP section. They were secluded on the upper floor and could see all the other people dancing the night away to the DJ's mixtape.
Lunafreya was overwhelmed by the noise level and abundant activity below. Her eyes darted around swiftly to take in everything, often hounding Imperatrix over things she witnessed.
Nyx laughed as the buzz of alcohol settled in the oracle, opening her up for loud, meaningless chatter. He ended up having to repeat three times to the girl that the things around people's neck were glow sticks and not actual stars or tiny glowing staffs.
Another weird question was why the DJ had a bear for a head, which he had no answer for, and explained that some people styled themselves outrageously to stand out.
The arrival of the Besithia siblings alternated the focus from Lunafreya's jabbering to the blonde twins.
"Who is this?" The glaive prolonged his gaze at Tempesta, not knowing it was her.
The fist fighter paid him no mind, crashing into Imperatrix's lap.
The princess yelped, fumbling to keep her drink from spilling onto the girl. She was also responsible for keeping the wasted female from falling to the floor from Tempesta coiling her arms around Imperatrix's neck and swinging backwards.
Nyx whistled while Nebula scoffed at the buffoonery.
"She's a mess." The gunman was obligated to hunker down beside the glaive with no more room and wasted no time in gulping down the rest of his shot.
"Wait a minute…" Nyx's eyes flickered between the two arrivals. "Are you two—"
Nebula cut him off by introducing himself. "The name's Cloud and that's my sister, Storm. We're friends of Em."
The younger Besithia hooted, still hanging off Imperatrix like a monkey. The princess rearranged the younger girl so she was at least sitting on the couch instead of dangling in the air.
Nyx skeptically took in the information, going ahead with introducing Lunafreya under her alias and using his own name. His name didn't scream unusual and didn't require him to go by something else.
The glaive hadn't seen either of the masked freaks since coming into the club, but the feeling of being watched persisted and he thought they might've been hiding in the rafters or something.
These two conveniently showing up was highly suspicious.
Then again…
The two blondes had different names and acted like normal people. They didn't fit with the imagine Nyx had in mind for the imperials underneath the masks.
Plus…the guy the princess's alias versus her real 't be Nebula...
Was it rude for him to think Imperatrix couldn't have friends in Lucis?
Maybe they were from one of the Niff areas. Lord knew there were too many imperial bases in their country.
"Dance with me, Emmy!" Tempesta screamed over the music.
The princess turned her nose from the overpowering scent of alcohol, hands tugging at the fist fighter's chokehold.
"Good grief! Let her breathe." Nebula chucked an ice cube at his sister.
She freaked out from the sudden coldness trickling down her back and screeched as she fell off Imperatrix's lap.
"Damn, she's wasted!" Nyx gagged on a chuckle, scooting forward to help the female, but he was beaten to the punch.
Tempesta sprung up like there was nothing wrong, whirling on Lunafreya.
"Hey, you wanna dance with me?"
The oracle lit up, pointing to herself for certainty.
"Yeah, yeah!" She grabbed the girl's hand, wrenching her to stand. "Dance, dance revolution!"
The blonde females raced out of the booth, leaving three other people staring. Nyx slid over to the princess's side in the lull.
"Would you look at that. Our little girl has made a friend." He dropped an arm behind Imperatrix's neck. "They grow up so fast, don't they, babe?"
She raised an eyebrow at his overt show of possessiveness.
The freckle siblings weren't the only ones playing games. At some point they were going to have to get over their wariness and reveal their identities.
Since the blondes hadn't introduced themselves as her retainers, Nyx felt the need to mark his territory in response to the unknown male.
Stupid glaive.
"How do you know, Em?" Nyx rolled the name longer than necessary, casually wrapping his arm around the white-haired tease next to him.
Nebula's face stayed dully unimpressed as he gave the two a minor study and then cast his eyes over the booth to down below where two blondes were easy to spot in a sea of dark-haired patrons.
"We're childhood friends, the three of us." He would get a kick out of observing the glaive as a stranger, gauging the intruder's true motives for the princess.
"Childhood friends? You must be a rich kid then, especially with that accent." Nyx pulled Imperatrix right back when she tried to scoot away.
The little effort the princess put into escaping communicated how much she didn't really mind and he grinned.
"How'd you end up in Lestallum?"
The guy's accent was closer to an imperials and even though he wasn't speaking nearly as proper as Imperatrix did, he still sounded sophisticated.
Although, the princess as a guidepost for accents wasn't useful. She sounded way different from the soldiers he'd encountered, vaguely similar to his old comrade, Pelna, if he had to place it.
Lunafreya's accent didn't match up with the guy's either…
Where was he from?
"Being rich kids lets us travel wherever we want. We happened to be in the area." Nebula's blank expression tinted with disappointment that the glaive mistook as discomfort from not knowing him. "You're not her usual type."
"What?" Nyx said with a frown and sat up.
Imperatrix cringed, giving the gunman an unbelieving glower. He shrugged at her displeasure.
"I've known Em to like tall eccentrics of bright eyes and hair. You're the exact opposite." Nebula wanted to add more, but then that would give away the ruse.
Nyx was crude, hot-headed, and stubborn. The very opposite of the chancellor, who was composed and courteous. The similarities began and ended with their interest in Imperatrix.
The whole duration of their monster hunting was spent with the intruder calling the shots, leading the assaults, and being a general pain in the ass. There were so many times he stopped himself from shooting the big shot used to getting his way.
It was like dealing with his sister. Nebula was tired of the disturbances caused by those types of people.
Looks and near-death experiences were the glaives wining points with the princess. There wasn't any other explanations for her attraction to the beast.
"Wait a moment!" Imperatrix protested as she was hauled to her feet by Nyx.
"We're gonna go find Freya." He whisked the princess from the table and the blonde examining him like he was worthless furniture.
Rushing down the stairs as they were, Imperatrix came close to tripping. Fed up with the obnoxious behavior, she pulled, bringing the man to a forced stop. Nyx turned around with a complaint ready, but was outpaced.
"What is wrong with you?! This is not how you treat a lady!" She slapped his hand off her.
"What's wrong with you?! Is it so hard to give a guy a damn chance?!" He exploded in return, glaring heatedly at the woman a step above him.
It didn't make sense why he was so riled up by some dumb comments, but Nyx was.
"A chance to what?! Fuck me?!"
The glaive whipped back at the vulgar exclaim, missing a step and clinging to the railing.
"That's all you want despite me making clear that I expected more!"
Imperatrix stormed past him to the lower level, winding through the flood of people to get to the bar. Furious, the princess ordered a heavier selection and downed them. She continued having the bartender refill the glasses until she felt less like punching someone.
Every time…
Every got damn time she came close to liking Nyx, he screwed with her! Why did she expose herself like that to him?!
She should really despise him, if not for the obvious reasoning of their nationalities, then for his actions.
Laying his hands on all over her without permission. Belittling her like she was an ignorant woman. It all reminded Imperatrix of those disgusting nobles, soldiers, and strangers primarily interested sating their baser needs. Men like those had no respect for her.
Crawling skin and a sinking stomach were all the princess felt at the thought of laying with someone for pleasure and not love.
It didn't matter if she had physical responses to Nyx. She didn't love him…
Why then…when he touched her, she wasn't repulsed, as she was with other men?
"Emmy!"
Imperatrix grunted at what was looking to be a reoccurring incident for the night. Her spilled drink was a loss this time.
"Emmy, you look so frowny!" Tempesta clung painfully tight to the princess. "That's a no-no. Don't go back to that mopey bunk!"
Lunafreya leaned on the bar, blocking a group of males from ogling Imperatrix. She heaved for breath and poked at the braids that had fallen out the bun and hung by the sides of her face.
"Are you enjoying yourself, Freya." The princess asked, gratefully accepting the replacement from the bartender.
"Yes! It is a lot more tiring than a ball." The oracle's ears were blown from the loudness of the music, leaving her oblivious to the shouting she was doing.
"This girl was all over the place! Bumping into everyone and stepping on my feet." Tempesta wouldn't remove herself from Imperatrix's back.
Her cheek rested on the older woman's soft dress. She could see the guys checking them out and winked provocatively at them for the hell of it.
"It's hard to move when everyone is…" Lunafreya struggled to voice her thoughts, hands arranging themselves like she was holding a ball. "Is…is clumped together."
Imperatrix shook her head. Both blondes were drunker than her and she'd been drowning her frustrations in quick succession.
"Look, presents!" The fist fighter reached around to steal the newly arrived beverages.
The maneuver was stopped by the princess and she bore holes into the bartender.
"We didn't order these."
The man pointed to the group she'd ignored since sitting down.
"C'mon, lighten up! It's free!"
One glass disappeared in the blink of an eye, guzzled by Tempesta. Before Lunafreya could follow the leader, Imperatrix grabbed ahold of the employee's uniform.
To the casual onlooker, it might appear as though she was giving the man a flirty message by speaking so closely with him. Her intentions weren't of that nature as a fierce glare was given.
"Did these ever leave your sight?"
"N-No, Ma'm!" He frantically shook his head in the negative, fearful of the strong grip on his collar.
The truthful reassurance got the princess to release the employee and he rushed to take care of another order.
"Nyx will be upset you're flirting with other men!" Lunafreya looked scandalized on behalf of the glaive.
"Freya, you don't need to scream." Imperatrix stated flatly, internally telling herself not to flip out on the girl for bringing up the moron.
"That idiot's got no chance with this one!" Tempesta helped herself to the remaining glass when the princess made no move to take it.
"Really? Why?" Now the oracle was stage-whispering for some reason.
"Cause Emmy's a romantic." She fluttered her eyes in exaggeration, completely mocking the older woman. "She likes going on long walks in the moonlight and kissing in the rain."
"Hold on! I haven't done either of those things and don't want to."
The fist fighter covered the princess's mouth with her hand, effectively shutting her up.
"Guys don't like all that wooing crap anymore. It's all about the fun now."
Imperatrix visibly deflated when the group of men that bought the drinks approached the females to chat them up. She was in no mood for it and brushed off the generic conversation.
Tempesta ate up the attention, laying it on thick with compliments and jokes. She somehow pulled Lunafreya into the game of stringing along males. The oracle managed to not embarrass herself too much with her drunken rambles.
The combination of a seductress and an innocent seemed to do it for the males.
When a hand came into contact with Imperatrix's arm, she recoiled and excused herself from the situation.
The abrupt departure worked against her as sense began to blur with the crash arrival of alcohol's murky embrace. All the shots she consumed in a short span of time on top of the bottle shots from before hitting in one slam.
She needed space.
Deaf to the catcalls, the princess merged into the sea of bodies. Trudging through them all proved a grueling task and Imperatrix slowly lost focus.
Why exactly was she mad again?
How could she be upset when everyone else looked so upbeat?
Since reasoning escaped her, Imperatrix tuned into the beat.
Dancing always made her happy. Alcohol added to that amplified the jubilant mood. There wasn't anything to be mad about while moving to good music.
Attuned to the DJ's smooth transition to a pop song, the princess was a flurry of swinging white hair, twirling silver skirts, and moving bronze legs.
How she missed this!
It wasn't court dancing, with all its carefully choreographed movements, but simply moving how the body wanted to move. It was listening to natural instincts and letting go.
She didn't dance like this with her imp.
Nope!
He didn't really like her going to clubs. Much too chaotic and too many men wanting to snatch her away for Ardyn's taste.
The red-head did, however, enjoy watching her dance from a private booth.
There was one club she could get him to accompany her. A higher-end establishment that featured golden cages.
A bird fluttering happily in its beautiful cage amused and beguiled him to no end. He couldn't take his eyes off her when she danced alone.
The man loved his ironies…
"I've been looking all over for you, dammit!"
Imperatrix couldn't tell who'd yelled at her. Before she could turn, the person tugged her off the dance floor.
"What're you doing?! You messed up my flow!" The princess fussed once they stopped in a corridor.
Nyx groaned. "Just great! You're drunk."
She chewed her lip, thinking about it before responding. "Maybe…I mean, I think so…"
He couldn't help snorting at how straightforwardness stayed a feature of hers even when plastered.
"Okay…how? Did you go chug a pitcher or something?" The glaive decided to throw out the angry talking-to he planned on giving Imperatrix in light of her current predicament.
Were she a different woman, he'd flirt and talk, mind in the direction of future pleasures. That was the old him.
The guy in fear of not surviving the next battle and seeking to spend his downtime in Insomnia living it up like an acclaimed hero was supposed to.
After having the princess call him out like she did with that obnoxiously ugly, hurt expression…rubbed him wrong.
Why though?
Nyx was a grown man with nothing to be ashamed of. So how could a pint-sized female make him feel like an asshole on a daily basis?
One minute they could talk and joke without issue and he was reminded of the easy companionship he shared with Crowe. Then the next they argued and fought, sometimes with words and sometimes with fists.
His relationship with Imperatrix was easily the rockiest disaster he'd engaged in, but for some reason he felt compelled to keep trying.
He didn't know how to deal with all this shit…
"Dance with me?" Over her irritation, the princess leaned into Nyx, smiling coquettishly to get her way.
How would dancing with a male partner in this atmosphere feel?
Usually, Tempesta, her sisters, or very rarely, Aranea would indulge Imperatrix.
"Uh, what?" The glaive sucked in a breath at the clear bedroom eyes he was on the receiving end of, and the hands smoothing over his bare chest to push him out the hallway.
"Dance with me." She repeated less as a question and more as a demand.
"I don't know… Maybe we should sit down?"
"No, Nyx!" Imperatrix spun them around so she was backing into the club and the man was following her by the pulling on his shirt. "I told you what I want."
"Oh, damn…" He bent his head back, cursing to the ceiling. "I'm gonna get in trouble… I know it…"
"Nyx…" The princess cooed lowly. "Are you afraid? Can you not dance?"
"Course I can! That's not the problem."
She waved a hand. "Then come on!"
Without further notice, the woman gave a harsh jerk and he stumbled after her.
Only while she was inebriated could Imperatrix get away with steering him by the collar like some dog. It helped that her backside and hips were nice to look at…
Got damn…he was definitively going to get into trouble.
Once on the floor with dozens of other couples, Imperatrix threw her arms over Nyx's shoulders, swaying to the beat. Her eyes closed and she chewed her lip, sinking once more into the excitement.
The glaive gripped the hips he'd been ogling, stumped over pulling her closer to alleviate some of the tension he was stuck with, or leaving her at a distance to prevent precisely that.
Imperatrix Tellus Aldercapt, the Imperial Princess of Niflheim. He was out of his freaking mind for having any kind of interest in her.
The woman had been a distant enemy for years. Yet, here he was, annoying cliche and all, thirsting after the enemy chick.
Libertus would talk shit for days if he knew. His mom would beat his ass…
"H-Hey!" Nyx barked after someone bumped into him and Imperatrix slipped from his hold, but he dived for her.
She giggled as she was pulled up from an spontaneous dip, nestling closer to the glaive for the mellow music taking the stage.
"If you wanted to be closer, all you had to do was ask."
The princess curled her arms around the man's neck. The heels put her at the same height as him, letting the princess bring him close.
He tensed, nose twitching from the smell of perfume and the tickle of white hair.
Nyx wondered if her hair color was natural or if it whitened. Her eyebrows were the same color, which meant it had to be. The last indication would if she had the same color on…
The glaive shook his head, banishing the dirty thoughts. "Imp—"
"Hush!" She cut him off with a wrench on his hair, smiling coyly at his pained grunt. "That's not my name in here."
Throwing barbs in their usual way didn't come as easily when Imperatrix was being the instigator of seduction. For once, Nyx was genuinely astonished.
Her boast of being able to seduce someone had been laughed off by him. A prim princess like her couldn't possibly possess any tactic other than being coy.
She proved him wrong the first time by flipping him and crushing her foot into his body, driving him mad with a need to run his hands right up her dress again. Woman was on a mission to prove him wrong for a second time now.
What made all this more conflicting was the alcohol making her act out. Or was the alcohol bringing out what she refused to show?
"What's up with you? You're always so handsy and now you don't even want to dance with me!"
"This doesn't feel right!" Nyx forced himself out the embrace and off the floor with a huffing princess in tow.
Out of the flood of people and near the stairway, Imperatrix yelled at the glaive, renewing the previous struggle. He couldn't reason with her to go up to the VIP section and water down the buzz.
Their bickering got the attention of some men.
"Fantastic." Nyx grumbled from the group looking at him as if he was the bad guy for trying to get Imperatrix upstairs.
"Ugh! You're the guys from before." The princess was even less receptive to their inquires of assistance, snarling at the impertinent one that reached for her arm. "What? You get tired of the blondes?! Interested in something exotic now?!"
The male hopped back from her, rejoining his friends. Nyx sputtered at the crassness.
She could talk like a regular person!
"I don't need help from any of you!" Finished dressing down the strangers, the inebriated woman tossed her hair over her shoulder and stomped up the stairs.
"Dude, good luck with that. She's hot, but I wouldn't put up with that attitude."
"Shut up!" The glaive declared to the man sneering at Imperatrix.
They left on that note.
"Nyx!"
At the call, he rushed after the princess, helping her up the stairs. He sighed when they had to stop for her to remove the heels and she shoved them into his hold.
What was up with her always going barefoot?
The pair's arrival completed the gang and the five settled down to finish off the bottle.
Even with more liquid disrupting his thoughts, Nyx was still doubtful of the look-alike blondes and their closeness to Imperatrix. He still hadn't seen any masked weirdos in the club.
They wouldn't have been able to come in with those imperial getups. Which meant they were unmasked, hiding in plain sight.
Were Storm and Cloud actually Tempesta and Nebula?
Things weren't matching up though...
No angry insults or death threats. No killer vibes. Just two annoyingly attractive people with equally annoyingly attractive accents.
He didn't hold those qualities against the female, but the male…
"I gotta ask…are you guys twins? You look exactly alike, but don't look the same in age." The glaive tilted his head to take in the other odd feature of the siblings. "And are those barcode tattoos?"
Imperatrix choked on her drink, a rush of clarity impacting her mind. Nyx managed to touch on two sensitive subjects in barely a minute!
Nebula's face curled from the interrogation, smirk gone from a terrible joke Tempesta told.
He was prevented from answering by the fist fighter launching out her seat to force her way in between the princes and glaive. She clumsily brandished her arm into the man's eyesight.
"This here's a gift from our old man! All his creations get them." The younger Besithia's finger dragged underneath the black lines.
"Oh. It's a family thing. Weird, but I get it."
The odd wording went over his head.
He gestured to the marking on his cheek and under his eye. "We do tribal tattooing in Galahd. For marks of accomplishment and family marks."
"That all you got? Those are practically unnoticeable." Tempesta needled with a suggestive tone. "You look like the type to be covered in ink."
She got a smirk for that. "You're not wrong."
Nyx tugged up the bottom of his shirt, revealing how low his pants hung from the hollow leading to his pelvis being visible. More distracting was the defined tone of his stomach from upping his workouts.
Imperatrix coughed out her fixation on the man's body, listening to the explanation of the eagle tattoo from its owner.
The bird was a symbol of his courage during a dangerous hunt of a pack of Coeurls. The arrowheads beneath his eyes were for the alertness of a warrior. A star on his lower neck for hope and guidance in dark times. Above that, a crescent moon marking him as a protector of the land.
Most important to Nyx was the giant wolf tattoo on his back, representative of strength, endurance, and family values. The mark of the Ulrics since his too-many-greats-grandfather got stranded in a forest and survived from the nurture of a wolf.
"I'm top notch hunter material in Galahd." The glaive bragged, swaying a little into Imperatrix, who was right back to being tipsy.
"Top notch alright. Took on an Iron Giant." The princess nudged him playfully.
"Finally admitting I saved you?"
Imperatrix twisted her face in thought, then pinched her fingers to emulate a small space. "Maybe a little."
"You owe me a kiss then."
"You're never going to get over that, are you?"
"Can you blame me, baby?"
The two were absurdly close, flirty and playful, alcohol's prisoners.
"Gods! Can you two get a room and bang! The rest of us would like to stop gagging on your sexual tension!" Tempesta groused, sprawling over her brother's lap to rub her forehead.
Watching them just hurt and made the haze recede.
Nebula rasped out a chuckle, scratching at his beard. "It's so bad, I'd like to vomit."
"Try dealing with this for months." Lunafreya off-handedly announced while waving around a glow stick she got from the downstairs.
The oracle didn't know why it fascinated her so much, but she loved shaking the thing and watching it get brighter. She probably wasted money by buying so many that she had a necklace out of them, but whatever, it was her money to spend.
"You're a saint, girlie." Tempesta applauded.
"I am." She smiled at the acknowledgement of her profession.
"That's not a good thing to tell Storm." Nebula pawed at the pockets of his sleeveless vest, wanting to reach inside for a smoke.
"Why?"
"Because she'll make it her mission to wreck you." He settled for swirling a straw around in his mouth. "Em was like you and then she got messed up by bad apples."
"She needed me to mess her up." Tempesta defended herself at her brother's pointed look her way. "She was helluva boring without me!"
"Why are you freckle menaces always picking on me?!" Imperatrix flounced against the cushion, swiveling her hips to lean sideways on the armrest with her legs crossed.
The same inappropriate way she sat on her thrones. A small mutiny against convention that started from her doing it as a suggestion from Tempesta to get under a man's skin.
Doing so certainly threw off the people seeking an audience from her and helped turn things in her favor.
"You make it so easy." They managed to say simultaneously and gave each other funny looks.
"Creepy…" Nyx murmured.
"You both said you're friends with Em? Does that mean you know things about her?" Lunafreya articulated her words in a whisper, but everyone could hear her.
"No! Don't get them started!"
"Yes! Tell us juicy stories about this one." Nyx silenced the princess by stuffing a lemon slice into her mouth, and guffawed at the matching sour expression on her face.
The Besithia siblings shared a look, nonverbally communicating. A couple of seconds later, Tempesta burst out her seat to commence a story.
Nyx and Lunafreya found out how much Imperatrix's friends thought she was grossly peculiar when she wasn't in one of her bouts miserable gloom.
To them, the woman's obsession with Moogles and Tonberrys was the height of unnatural, as was her unfortunate habit of monologuing.
"No, for real! This one will stand before a herd of monsters yelling out obnoxious battlecries." Nebula gave Imperatrix such unlimited judgement with his glacial blue eyes that she hid behind her hands to escape them. "The rest of us are stuck thinking, 'Is this really happening?' and stand dumbstruck behind her."
"No way! What does she say?" Nyx chuckled at the scenes he was imaging.
The gunman gestured for his sister to take it from there.
Tempesta assumed a mock-stance of the princess holding her sword in warning. "I accept your challenge! Put before me tens, hundreds, or thousands. I shall defeat them all!"
Imperatrix groaned while Nyx and Lunafreya couldn't contain their joviality.
"She still says things like that, despite how many times we tell her it's embarrassing." Nebula stroked his chin. "People never listen to their friends. Shame, shame."
"There's nothing wrong with it! It's charismatic and motivating!" The princess decreed at having enough of being the butt of jokes. "I have seen plenty of others do it."
"Does she really wanna go there?" The elder Besithia glanced at the younger.
"Emmy is goddam delusional." Tempesta flopped on the couch, too wobbly to remain standing and doing impressions. "You've only seen characters on tv do that shit, you quirky freak!"
"No! Other fighters will shout out taunts and whatnot in battle."
"But not the goo you spout. What are we, in a video game? Who says the shit you say and can keep a straight-face?!"
"Whatever."
Imperatrix disregarded the laughter at her expense, eating the lemons and other fruit available on the table. Since one target was off the radar, Tempesta moved onto a new one, sliding next to the oracle.
"Soooo…did you get some numbers? You were talking to tall-dark-and-handsome for a minute."
Lunafreya went as red as her glow stick. "W-What? I wouldn't!"
"I don't blame you. Nyx here is more of a panty-dropper than them."
The oracle dropped her cup. Luckily, it was empty and her dress was saved from a mess.
The glaive stretched out his arms along the couch, making the unbuttoned shirt open further and show off his chest. Nyx grinned unabashedly.
"He's probably dropped too many for you though. Start with someone with a lower number, Freya."
"What does that mean?"
"It means stay away from his type." Nebula simplified before Tempesta could give more asinine ideas to the religious figure of the group.
"And what's your type, wise guy?" Nyx threw in retaliation.
"Oh, he's as bad as Emmy. Whipped on one." Tempesta waved her hand dismissively.
"Big talk coming from you." The gunman snarked at the snub.
"Shuddup!" All mirth quickly evaporated from the fist fighter, buzz gone.
"Oh, struck a nerve? I knew there was more to it."
"I said shut up! You don't know shit, Reject!"
At that insult, Nebula yanked Tempesta by the hair into his range. Imperatrix screamed as the girl punched her brother in the gut and he shoved her face into the table, restraining her from throwing more hits.
"Stop it! I said stop it! We're done!" The princess announced, separating the two.
A real brawl between the Besithias would cause major damage to the establishment.
"That got ugly." Nyx let Lunafreya out of his protective hold.
"Walk it off, both of you!" Imperatrix commanded, dismissing them with a wave for the exit.
Tempesta didn't need to be told twice, escaping in a raging flurry. Nebula retrieved his case of smokes, popping one in his mouth and leaving to light it.
They'd drowned out and avoided their problems enough for the evening. Terrible moods would follow in the morning with nothing solved.
XV
"My dear, we don't have time for this. You must get up." Ardyn repeated for the second time as Imperatrix nodded off in his arms, slumping into his chest.
"It is…barely morning…" She muttered, face burying into the darkness of the chancellor's coat and blocking out the bright light of the ceiling lights.
Her head was pounding, her stomach was rolling, and her eyes burned.
The princess appeared and felt like rubbish after the debacle of the previous night. She wasn't supposed to get intoxicated in the first place and couldn't remember precisely what triggered her doing so.
Tempesta…
The night was supposed to be for her sake and Imperatrix failed immensely at being supportive. Lunafreya was a better friend to the girl and they weren't even friends.
An apology on her part was mandatory. As soon as she got some more sleep…
"Noooo!" Ardyn groaned, vexed by the limp woman and let her flop onto the bed. "If you were anyone else, my patience would fracture and this would end badly."
The clothing reeking of debauchery was removed by the chancellor. He lifted the princess, carrying her into the bathroom, where Ardyn proceeded to lay her in the tub.
"Oh, you're not going to like this." The red-head smiled mockingly as he turned the nozzle, spraying water over Imperatrix.
"That's cold!" She shrieked, bolting up and knocking into the wall.
Her flailing would've caused her to fall out the shower and crack her head on the floor, but Ardyn bailed her out from that outcome by catching the princess.
"You bastard! Why would you do that?!"
"You're awake now." He shrugged his shoulders flippantly and pushed her back into the range of the water.
"Ardyn, it's cold!" She shivered, covering her nude body and attempting to move closer to the man in warm clothes than the icy water.
"Just making sure I had your attention." Ardyn didn't reprimand her for drenching him when her wet figure was clinging to him. "Here, Dearest."
With the nozzle turned for hot, some of his dangerous edge dwindled as he took in how dismal and small Imperatrix came across next to his larger frame and bulky coat.
"My sincere apologies, Musa, but I am in a bit of a hurry."
"What do you want?" She got off him once the water was hot enough.
The sight of black makeup running down her eyes perturbed Ardyn and he put in some distance between them, leaning on the sink. It wasn't until Imperatrix's back cut off the sight of running darkness that the man refocused on the question asked of him.
"I am in need of your military expertise, Commander Aldercapt." His normal sense of jest returned as the princess looked over her shoulder with a clear face.
"For what? You better not be up to anything ill-advised."
A wicked smirk edged out the more she exposed herself.
"Ardyn…focus. Why did you wake me?"
"Pardon me. Attraction does terrible things to a man." He sighed mournfully at not being able to soothe his needs for a certain individual with water and soap coating them.
He did want to make up for their last play…
Damned curse sabotaging him.
"I said…what do you want?" Imperatrix urged once out the shower.
Her level of crankiness was rising.
"First, I need you to get royally dressed." Ardyn grabbed the hanging towel, hiding the distractions from eyesight. "And I need you to do it fast."
He flicked her on the nose and sauntered out. She wrinkled her nose, drying herself with more force than needed.
Why did she put up with his trollish deeds?
Imperatrix brushed her hair and tied it into an updo, lamenting how straightening out the wavy tresses had gone to waste so fast. No other beauty processes would be needed for a military matter, and for once, she was thankful of the rigid dress-code.
Done, she stepped into the room. Ardyn lounged on the couch, phone in hand and texting someone. Without looking up, he pointed to the bed.
Her military uniform and weapons were laid out.
"I can't believe you've damaged the coat this fast. I had it made with the sturdiest materials."
The princess sniffed defensively as she strapped the thigh-holster for the saber on her leg. "Blame Titan. His constructs nearly seared off my arm."
One sleeve of the overcoat was beyond saving, leading the tailor to cut off the other for a sense of unity. Her long gloves were served to protect her arm now.
At least the coat was now more suitable for the humid weather. She should be used to sweltering heat after living in Persia, but the cold became her norm.
"Ready to go?" Ardyn got up, reaching the door before Imperatrix and opened it.
"After I wake the others."
"No, that won't do." He gripped the cape being used as a shawl to blanket the owner and tugged her in the opposite direction. "We've no more time to waste."
"W-Where are we going?!" The princess scrambled to turn around from the awkward undertaking of walking backwards. "I cannot leave without a word."
"To Aracheole Stronghold." He supplied once she was walking beside him. "And I already sent messages to your attendants."
"Has something happened to the base? I do not recall any settlements there." Imperatrix pulled the cape further over head at the rising sun blinding her.
Perhaps she could get away with sleeping in the car…
Scarcely four hours of sleep wasn't going to cut it after the night she had.
"Did you hear me, Impera?" Ardyn knocked his knuckles against the forehead of the zombie staring off in the distance.
"What were we talking about?" The princess blinked sedately, tilting slightly.
"Oh, goodness. This is not what I want to deal with, not today." The chancellor guided her into the passenger side, shutting the door with a sigh. "Such role reversals…"
Imperatrix lurched off the window at the roar of an engine and the wobbly feel of wheels moving along pavement.
"Oh, oh, I cannot…" She whined, balling up into a fetal position at her stomach clenching in nausea.
"Impera, I swear…if you empty your stomach in my car, we will be done." Ardyn warned, focus shifting between the road and the princess. "From lovers to strangers."
"That is the deal-breaker?! You love this car more than me?"
He hummed like it was a difficult choice.
"Insufferable imp! You will find yourself second to another."
That comment got the red-head's full attention. He frowned sulkily at the threat.
"Keep you eyes on the road." Imperatrix reminded, head falling onto the chancellor's lap to rest.
"Nyx couldn't possibly be in your good graces. You went to bed alone, even though I'm assuming you looked marvelous." Ardyn chuckled. "I'm jealous I didn't get to see the debut of that outfit, only the result."
"My head hurts too much to speak of Nyx. Tell me the reason for this kidnapping." She squirmed after a bump in the road caused her to go up and then down, sickness choked down forcefully. "It must be unpleasant if you keep avoiding the question."
"Very astute, my dear." He cooed snidely, petting the princess on the head. "You see…a trap has been set at the stronghold."
Imperatrix craned her neck upward, gauging how serious he was. Amber eyes twinkled dangerously with mischief.
"You'll recall I mentioned the prince's car was lost to him?"
"The…Regalia, you called it?"
"Yes. The prize was confiscated by the military and transferred to Aracheole." Ardyn's hand stroked downward from Imperatrix's arm to her hips in a cycle as he drove one-handed. "Can you guess the next part of the tale?"
"The location of the Regalia was leaked to the prince." She laid her head back down. "He will attack the base to recover it."
"Bravo! Right on point."
"You wish me to speak with the brigadier general in charge? Convince him not to kill Noctis?"
"That is half-right."
Imperatrix waited for Ardyn to elaborate, blinking rapidly in effort to stay awake.
"It's not the brigadier general you shall have to convince, but the high commander. Otherwise, I'd have paid the man off and the Regalia put somewhere less hostile."
"The high commander? Who is that?" A yawn escaped out.
"You were doing so well…" The chancellor heckled. "My dearest, hungover, little Musa...have you forgotten? The high commander is Ravus. He is the one I need you to persuade off carnage."
"Ravus? Oh…he was promoted, yes?" A bigger yawn and the princess couldn't keep her eyes open. "He…hates Noctis…"
"Indeed. Which makes him very likely to kill the boy if we don't stop him."
"Why does everyone expect me to do the impossible?"
"You are royalty. You carry burdens no one else will ever truly understand."
The soft breathing on his leg alerted Ardyn to Imperatrix's loss of consciousness. He continued petting her tenderly, humming a soft tune to keep her deeply drawn into sweet dreams.
What was he going to do with her?
Plans that he'd tirelessly calculated for years were beginning to go awry. Small though it may be, his concessions for Imperatrix were chinks that could cause massive cracks.
Goodness…
She was a blessing and a curse.
Why? Why now of all times did she appear in his life?
Right at the endgame, when things were in motion and the course couldn't be changed. All the years of torment, loss, and darkness were coming to an end…
"Oh, Dearest Musa… You shall hate me once more…" Ardyn couldn't sing anymore, the old notes of a previous life striking the ire of those within him.
Could he bear to cause her such suffering with his vendetta?
The pondering would have to wait as the stronghold came into sight. The chancellor stopped the car.
"Impera, my dear, it is time to awaken." With the earlier thoughts weighing on his mind, Ardyn leaned lower to rain kisses on the sleeping princess.
She groaned, unwilling to leave the comforts of surreal fantasies. "Let me rest…a little more…"
"Would, but I could. Will a kiss of true love rouse you, dear princess?"
Imperatrix hummed lightly.
Knowing that once they were inside the base he'd have to limit his conduct with her, the chancellor angled the woman's face to gently capture her lips. She eventually returned the affection with comparable consideration, and as more awareness sunk in, her lips moved to seize more.
He sharply inhaled the fading smell of peppermint products favored by the princess. Chaste intentions became spirited the moment a tongue swiped across his lips.
From there on the kissing dialed up from sweet to impassioned.
In the midst of Imperatrix sitting up to press closer against him. Ardyn detached from the session, panting into the crest of her head. He tightly gripped her chin with his thumb locked over her mouth when the princess decided to steal a last kiss.
"As much as it pains me to say…we must stop." The red-head soundlessly snickered at the fogged windows incriminating them. "We're not that far from the base that a pair of binoculars couldn't spy us."
She stilled, lips frozen on the chancellor's neck. Imperatrix bit him after remembering where they were and how they got there.
"Oh! I tell you stop and you do differently. So naughty for a princess!"
The woman hopped off him to wipe at her lips, feeling marginally better from the extra respite.
"This is already becoming obvious." Ardyn pulled at his shirt, examining the hickey on his neck through the mirror. "Everyone's going to ask who the lucky woman is."
In spite of the grievance, the imp looked rather smug about it.
"Consider it repayment for the dozens of marks you left on me." Imperatrix glared darkly. "Lunafreya literally asked me if I'd been stung by bees when she caught sight of them."
He laughed. "Would you like to give me a few more? Even the score?"
"Oh, no. Were we not in a hurry?"
"Yes, but a few more minutes of your lips on mine, or anywhere else you'd like...isn't going to cost us."
"It certainly will if we have to wait for you to calm down. Or are you propositioning me in your car?"
Ardyn didn't answer for a beat, tapping his finger on the wheel as he blatantly observed her with longing. "Not in my car..."
"What is with you and this thing?"
"I've had Vixen for a long time. Her sentimental value is high."
The princess didn't understand having that kind of attachment to a vehicle, but she didn't joke further about it. She kissed him on the cheek and then scooted to the opposite side.
"We still have to wait for you."
"Ah, very true. Can't appear in front of the masses like this." Ardyn leaned back in the seat, contemplating boring topics to smother his visible arousal.
"How exactly did Ravus become the high commander? Why even use that title? It sounds like the position is temporary." Imperatrix unfurled her cape, clipping it into place on her shoulders. "Should he not be the general?"
"Perfect moodkiller, my dear." The chancellor drawled tonelessly.
"I am serious, Ardyn. His promotion is unusual and I can imagine the rift it has caused among the other senior commanders, who have been enlisted most their lives."
"To be fair…both Ravus and yourself have been in military for half your lives. It's not that absurd to have youngsters in charge." He shifted the gear, stepping on the pedal to head for the stronghold. "Glauca wasn't much older than the two of you."
The princess's head swirled around, eyes wide. "Did you know the man under the armor?!"
"One question at a time! Weren't you just curious about Ravus?" Ardyn placed a hand over his his forehead. "My, oh my! Do your attentions fluctuate! How do I keep up?"
Her head hitting the glass window earned Imperatrix a pinch at the hip. She squealed, jumping off the door and rubbing the abused area.
"No damaging Vixen."
She cursed in another language.
Pretending he didn't hear her, Ardyn casually dropped a bomb on the other occupant. "Ravus's promotion stems from his successful siege of the Crown City of Lucis."
"N-No…not possible…"
"You were in exile when he promoted the plan."
The princess's head spun.
The peace treaty couldn't have been Ravus's idea, too diplomatic for someone more prone to aggressive options. She could envision the cowardly senators coming up with that ruse. Sacking the city from within, however, wasn't something unusual to hear from a commander.
The elder Fleuret had the tactical mind to engineer it and the motive to see it through. He hated Regis more than anyone else in Eos…
She'd heard the man curse the king to hellfire whenever someone brought up anything Lucis related.
Great.
One more thing for her to agonize over. One more thing she had to debate telling Lunafreya.
"Alright, Dearest Musa. Time for you to perform. Enchant High Commander Fleuret into sparing Prince Noctis." Ardyn said teasingly, though his words carried weight.
Imperatrix sighed pitifully, allowing herself a last bout of despair as the chancellor exited the car to stroll over to her side to open the door.
She could do this. She would do this.
A promise of peace had to be kept. It was owed to King Regis and every other unfortunate soul they'd doomed in Insomnia.
Please let that city be the last sacrifice towards something better…
"Princess Imperatrix." Ardyn called, hand stretched to help her out.
He held on afterwards, escorting her through the line of saluting soldiers.
One step, then two. She could walk this path.
- 14
- 15
- 16
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