#'if ser aymeric wishes to meet the person behind the legend i would not deny him the pleasure of your company'

[fooltofancy]

oh he's HERE.

[kootiepatra]

#FFxivWrite2022 - Day 6 Prompt: "Onerous"

Before they were a couple, they were two sides of a negotiating table, and one of them really, really did not want to be there.

I've wanted to write this little snippet of wolmeric nonsense for a very long time... and then I didn't even get to the part where she meets him. :D Another prompt, perhaps.

MSQ: ARR patch quests

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The Warrior of Light willed herself to take deep breaths as she attempted to process what the young Scion was saying. She had already found it increasingly difficult of late to remain patient in shrugging off his youthful pride. For all of his accomplishments, his intellect, and his skill in a debate—marks of maturity, one would argue—at times Alphinaud still struck her as very much an extremely young man, just barely no longer a child. 

And in fairness, that’s what he was.

Now, riding high on a string of recent successes, his self-assurance was that much more stoked, and his ingracious slights (intentional or otherwise) were running much closer together than she was accustomed to.

“I consider your attendance essential,” he was saying. Not asking. Requiring.

Yet, that was only part of what was bothering her about this conversation. After all, she was not one to make a fuss over formalities, and she was amenable to being dispatched wherever the Scions needed her. She could handle a bit of brusqueness if need be. What she wasn’t handling very well was the reason her presence was “considered essential.”

As he was explaining to her, Alphinaud had finally secured a meeting with an Ishgardian he deemed important: the lord commander of the Temple Knights. Indeed, this was a person with enough political clout to potentially do something about the alliances Alphinaud hoped to forge. But apparently, in conversations she had not been privy to, Keimwyda’s name had come up—and this enigmatic figure had expressed a desire to meet her.

She felt as if her head spun. She was shocked that anyone within Ishgard’s walls knew who she was at all. She was even further baffled that a leader of the Temple Knights would have a positive impression of her, given the rocky run-ins she had with the Inquisition in the outlying settlements in Coerthas. Although in the end, all involved had praised her for a great service rendered, she had been none too comfortable with the unchecked power these officials seemed able to capriciously wield. She did not at all assume she would safely remain on their good side.

She forced her full attention back onto the diminutive Elezen lad before her. “If Ser Aymeric wishes to meet the woman behind the legend,” he was saying, “I would not deny him the pleasure of your company.”

You would not deny him…? Keimwyda marveled, taken aback at his presumption.

Yet she found herself nodding meekly, despite her inward protests, as Alphinaud bid her off to secure the blessing of the Antecedent, confident that he was right and that she would approve of the plan. And, he assured Keimwyda, if she felt like this was a waste of her talents—well, the long and short of it was, she was wrong.

She made her way silently over to the Solar in a daze, scarce believing that such a conversation had just happened.

Upon being admitted, Keimwyda laid out a brief—and much more polite—version of Alphinaud’s “request”. Minfilia thought it was a wonderful idea. Yes, by all means, meet this ambassador. She had no reason to object. Keimwyda accepted her decision with a stab of disappointment.

It must have shown upon her face, because after a beat, Minfilia spoke again. “If you’ll pardon my saying so, you seem not to be quite enthused about this,” she ventured.

“I… confess I am not,” Keimwyda hesitantly replied. “I believe that uniting Eorzea is important. I do. I am happy to lend my strength to that cause. But… I mislike this notoriety. I find myself missing the days when no one knew me as aught but an adventurer.”

The Antecedent placed a sympathetic hand on her shoulder, laughing gently. “I do believe I know how you feel. Things were so much simpler when we had to actually offer our services, rather than fend off pleas for help from every corner of the realm.” Her face fell slightly. “Such notoriety is the price of making an impact, I fear, Warrior of Light.”

Keimwyda did not miss the meaning behind Minfilia’s invocation of her title. “You are right, of course,” she acknowledged with a sigh. “Yet I do not trust the powers in Ishgard, and I am undecided which outcome worries me more: if this ‘lord commander’ wants to meet me because he has marked me as a threat, or if he wants to meet me out of nothing more substantial than a whim of entertainment.”

“Must we presume those are the only two possibilities?” the Hyur woman asked. Keimwyda lowered her eyes. Surely there must be more than that, but she struggled to think of any in the moment.

“In any event," Minfilia continued, "if it is of comfort to you, I trust you to have your wits and wisdom about you. You are no pawn, Keimwyda. Let none persuade you otherwise.”

The Roegadyn stood back uncomfortably, rubbing her neck, trying to weigh if she had the courage to ask the question on her mind. She soon decided she did. “I know Alphinaud believes that my presence will benefit his—our—agenda. But may I ask what you think?”

“In my opinion?” Minfilia began carefully, leaning back against her desk. “I fear I have no real experience negotiating directly with Ishgard. While the Scions have worked long and hard to build a good rapport with the remaining members of the Eorzean Alliance, Ishgard’s reticence has long made reaching out to them like speaking to a stone wall. I have limited insight into what their expectations or demands may be. Delicate diplomatic matters like these are Alphinaud’s field of study more than they are mine. If he thinks you will be helpful to him, then I have no reason to disagree. …And the envoy did specifically request you by name.”

Keimwyda attempted to take her words in stride, but could not fully conceal a pained look.

Minfilia met her eyes with concern. “If you truly find the assignment so onerous, I shall not force you to accept it. We can find a need for you elsewhere easily enough.”

“No, no,” the Warrior of Light answered quickly. “I would not ask that of you. ‘Tis by no means beyond my abilities to make a few pleasantries and then sit quietly in a meeting. If you believe it worthwhile, I shall go. I merely wanted to confirm that it was not just Alphinaud… erm. Well. What I mean to say is that I value your insight.”

Now Minfilia wore a pained smile of her own. “Ah, yes. His recent tone and demeanor—to you as well as to myself, frankly—have not been lost on me. Rest assured that I am evaluating how best to raise the matter with him.”

“Forgive me, I did not mean…”

“Do not trouble yourself,” she interrupted. “Pray feel at leave to speak freely on such matters. Your voice merits equal weight as any of the other Scions, no matter how precocious they may be.” She threw Keimwyda a wink, who could not help but sigh in relief.

As if on cue, Alphinaud chose that moment to stride into the room, reiterating in a much more long-winded way what Keimwyda had just summarized. She was grateful, however, for the way Minfilia introduced questions about Ishgard’s motives in calling for this meeting. After some small back and forth, the conclusion was reached that the Scions would be wary, but that they could not but treat this as a good opportunity, a step in the right direction.

Back out the door Alphinaud went, leaving the two women to conclude their own discussion.

“I suppose I must make ready to go indulge the curiosity of some Ishgardian noble,” Keimwyda sighed resignedly.

Minfilia laughed. “With any luck, your introduction will be slightly more worthwhile than that. But I thank you for going to the trouble all the same.”