#love seeing nox's mischievous side

[youreverydayghost]

The instant that picture is taken, his eyes widen with surprise before he sighs with a hint of exasperation and rolls his eyes.

He does see that genuine smile though, and it does give him another surprise - a pleasant one. Same with those words. Both of these things make his expression soften. Maybe he should smile more...

Still, he turns away as he thinks to himself.

Be right out... he mutters before flying off into his quarters. He grabs his tote bag, puts several things in it such as his wallet, some magic scrolls for emergencies - including a disguise spell, since Nox suggested it - and a signature weapon of his: a metal hand piece with lethal finger claws. Then, he bolts out of that room to meet the doctor outside. He lands beside him before speaking and checking his tote bag one more time.

Alright, I do actually have a disguise spell and some other scrolls for emergencies, as well as some other things... Got everything I need. And you've got all that you need as well?

Always rare of him let his hair down would have put it up if he had the time. Ironing his shirt keeping it smooth and cleaned up. Usually wouldn’t do this out of nowhere, but needed to since need to be more presentable for his little journey he is going to do.

Getting his shirt, having a feeling someone is there. “something you want?” He questioned out as he was putting his shirt on.

[hamsterboos]

Don't Say No

I'm super excited about today's prompt because it's something that I think is really fun and I got inspiration for this from a pjo fic I read months ago and I can't remember the title so, uh, woops. Either way, I hope you guys like it!

Word Count: 2068 Read on AO3 Rowaelin Month Master list

Day 3 of Rowaelin Month Prompt: Secret Relationship

~~~~~

Nox was tired. Everything at work had become mundane, and there was nothing interesting ever happening anymore. People came into work, tired and complaining about how it was the start of yet another week, and they would chatter about their weekend and any plans for after work. All Nox desperately wanted was to not be mind-numbingly bored as he read through yet another manuscript.

Thankfully, this Monday turned out to be slightly different than all the other Mondays. Nox knew something was up when the low toned chatter turned high pitched and excited as people wandered about the floor where Ashryver Publishing was located, pointing to the open door that led to their boss’ office. The layout of the floor was fairly open to allow people to easily converse with one another and move about the area while the higher ranking members of the company had closed offices, but Aelin tended to leave her door open to allow people to come in and speak with her.

Nox was fairly friendly with Aelin, and it was because of her that he’d gotten the job as a publisher reader when he couldn’t find a job, so he was understandably confused when there was nothing different about her when she walked out of her office. Her blonde hair was out as it normally was, and her makeup was done perfectly as usual. Nox’s eyes scanned over her as he tried to figure out what people were so huffy about this particular Monday until his eyes landed on the folder she was holding in her left hand.

“Holy shit, you’re engaged?!” he blurted out, seeing that diamond glinting off her left hand’s ring finger. Aelin looked down at her hand as though she were seeing it for the first time before rolling her eyes at him.

“Yes, Nox,” she responded with a small smile that was almost teasing. “I am.”

“I didn’t even know you were dating anyone,” he answered, leaning his elbows against his desk.

“Well, it wasn’t exactly something to publicize at work. I was dating someone, and now my boyfriend is my fiancee,” Aelin answered. Her eyes glanced about the room before she sighed. “Alright, everyone has two minutes to ask me questions.”

It was like a pack of hyenas had been given their first meal in days with the way the questions were thrown at Aelin, but she answered each one quickly and with her usual dose of sarcasm that made Nox smile.

“Have we met him?”

“Maybe, maybe not, and that is a serious answer. I don’t know if you’ve ever run into him on the sidewalk or in a restaurant or bar.”

“Is he good looking?”

“Yes, I have standards.”

The two minutes seemed to fly by with the way people barely got any information about her fiance, and Aelin looked way too pleased with herself that Nox couldn’t help himself. When she had dismissed everyone after giving people work, he made his way over to her office.

“So,” he started, leaning against the doorframe, “the big bad CEO of a publishing company has gotten herself someone who can deal with her.”

“If you’re trying to fish for information, you’re going to have to try much harder,” Aelin responded, a mischievous glint in her eyes that he’d seen way too many times.

“It’s okay,” he answered instead, “I won’t pry. I’m just happy for you, Aelin.” That brought out a genuine smile on her face before a ping on her desktop drew her attention from him for a brief moment.

“Ah, it’s actually good you’re here! We have a temporary hire coming in for the next month, or so, while we try to find someone else who can help you read incoming manuscripts. Let me just go get him.”

Nox chose that moment to sit down in one of the two chairs in front of her desk while Aelin stood up to grab her ID off her desk and walked out of the office. Nox waited for a few minutes, taking in the decorations of her office, including the small mementos she had scattered everywhere. The office had only been hers for two years, but it seemed as though she’d been living in that office for years with the way she had personalized it.

The company wasn’t an insanely big publishing house, but they had quite a few popular authors with best-selling books under their belt, and it was the intimacy of the employees within the company that drew aspiring authors and people passionate about books to it. Part of it had to do with the fact that it was a family business, Aelin’s mother owning it before she did, but part of it had to do with how much Aelin loved what she did. The photo of her parents, cousin, and sister-in-law alongside a photo taken at one of the staff dinners two years back was enough proof of how much she loved her work family as much as she loved her blood family.

The sound of Aelin’s heels and the sudden lack of chatter indicated to Nox that she was back with the new hire, who must be definitely impressive enough that his entry topped Aelin’s engagement news.

“Okay, Nox, I’m pretty sure I don’t have to introduce you two, but Nox Owen, meet Rowan Whitethorn, our new temporary hire.” Nox turned around to find himself looking at a man that he worked with for nearly a year before he left the company two years ago. Rowan was a tall man with platinum silver hair and a handsome face, even from Nox's perspective. The tattoos swirling down his arm definitely also helped with his popularity amongst women.

When Nox made eye contact with Rowan, the man smiled, and Nox nodded back in greeting.

“Isn’t that technically rehiring someone?” Nox asked, looking at Aelin and raising an eyebrow.

“That’s what I said when she offered me the position last week,” Rowan responded, sitting down in the seat next to Nox while Aelin took her seat across from them.

“It’s temporary!” she protested. Nox sent her a look that he knew she’d be able to read perfectly for that doesn’t matter, and with the way she groaned, he was sure that Rowan might’ve sent her the same look.

“Ugh, both of you get out of my face. Rowan knows what he’s doing so I doubt you need to do anything, Nox, but just give him a new manuscript that came in,” she grumbled, waving them off and going back to her computer.

Nox stifled a laugh as he got up.

“Hey, is it just me or did she get a lot hotter over the last two years?” Rowan asked quietly, and Nox had to stop himself from tripping and falling on his face.

“Man, she’s engaged. Like very recently too,” Nox responded just as quietly.

“Oh,” he answered, his eyes falling to the ground before snapping back up to Nox’s face, “well, if it’s recent then I don’t really mind.”

“Dude! That’s not okay!”

“Harmless flirting never hurt anyone,” Rowan protested as they sat down in their seats. Ever since the last publisher’s reader quit, that seat had been empty, and luckily enough for Rowan, that was his seat when he still worked at Ashryver Publishing.

“It will hurt if you break up her engagement.”

“If it breaks her engagement because I’m flirting with her, then she was never meant to be with that guy.”

“Oh my god,” Nox responded, turning back to his work.

“Hey, don’t worry,” Rowan spoke, and Nox reluctantly set his gaze upon the man, “It’s really not that big of a deal.”

Nox disagreed, but he did his part, so Nox simply shrugged before getting back to work. Hopefully with enough refusal from Aelin’s side, Rowan would get a hint and quit it.

*****

Rowan did not get a hint and quit.

In fact, as the week passed and so did the following week, he only grew bolder in the smiles he would send Aelin, in the side comments, the inside jokes (since when did they even have those?), and Nox was getting frustrated.

“Dude,” he hissed as he pulled Rowan aside before they stepped into the restaurant that they were going to have a staff dinner at, “seriously, quit it. I don’t want you breaking Aelin’s relationship just because you find her pretty.”

“She’s more than just pretty, Nox,” Rowan responded, more serious than Nox had expected him to be.

“Yeah, well, then you know that she’s a loyal person. Don’t make her break that.” With the way Rowan had nodded, Nox figured that he had finally, finally gotten through to Rowan.

Unfortunately, throughout the entire dinner, Aelin and Rowan were sitting next to each other laughing, leaning into each other. He couldn’t believe that Aelin was actually falling for Rowan’s bullshit. It wasn’t even like he was flirting outwardly, either. It was the small things that he was noticing while watching the two discreetly. Rowan would give her a napkin when she needed it, pass her something before she even asked, simply knowing that she wanted it when her eyes had drifted over to it. It was insane how attentive the man was, and it wasn’t fair that the subtle flirting was actually working.

Nox couldn’t even say anything in front of everyone, lest he risk bringing...whatever that was out into the public where he was pretty sure Aelin didn’t want it to be. He was contemplating whether or not he should talk to Aelin about the whole situation with Rowan, and he was doing just that as he leaned against his car, waiting for her to step out of the restaurant. He’d left along with the others so as to not make things suspicious, but he did notice that Rowan hadn’t left the restaurant either.

Nox was just about ready to leave when he heard Rowan’s voice ringing through the parking lot. “Look, maybe we could just tell them.”

“No, it’s way too risky. The whole reason why we stopped going out in public together was so that we could get all the other stuff settled first,” Aelin responded. Nox was definitely intruding on a private conversation, but also, he was incredibly curious about what was happening.

“They’re all about to lose their minds with the way they’re trying to figure out what’s going on between us.”

“That’s because they’re not blind, Rowan,” she laughed as their voices got closer. “I don’t really know what I would say to them, anyway,” she finished just as they were in his line of sight — holding hands.

Nox’s brain stopped working right then because, holy shit, his boss was cheating on her fiancee with her employee.

“Nox? What are you still doing here?” Aelin asked, catching sight of him.

“I, uh, wanted to talk to you...but apparently you...don’t care about your engagement.”

“What?” she asked, clearly confused. Her eyes drifted to Rowan who simply shrugged with a teasing smile.

“You’re cheating on your fiance with Rowan!”

A snort escaped Rowan, and that was the moment where Nox could see understanding shine in her eyes. She turned to Rowan before elbowing him in the ribs, and then turned to look at Nox. “This idiot is my fiance.”

Nox blinked once, twice, trying to comprehend the words that had come out of her mouth. “This man? Your boyfriend?”

“Fiancee,” Rowan corrected.

“Shut up, man. You had me thinking she was going to cheat on you! With you!”

“Not going to lie, it was really funny, though. You were freaking out for the last two weeks.”

“That’s just cruel, dude.”

*****

Despite being incredibly salty about the entire situation, Nox did have to admit that it was hilarious seeing his co-workers’ reactions to the wedding invitations that clearly started that Aelin Ashryver Galathynius, their dear boss, was marrying Ashryver Publishing’s ex-employee (now known as the new literature professor at University of Doranelle) Rowan Whitethorn.

Never had he seen more outrage at the fact that the two had hidden their relationship from the entire company for so long, and honestly, Nox was surprised they had managed to hide the relationship with the way the two couldn’t go longer than five minutes without some form of physical contact.

It was sickeningly cute, and he couldn’t help but think that Mondays weren’t so mundane, after all.

[damn-stark]

First meetings ~ Jesse Imagine

Jesse x Fem!reader

Request by anon “Ahhhh I know you're doing a mini series for Jesse, but would it be ok to request a stand alone?? one where their first meeting was when they shared a shift in overnight lookout and it's hard to stay quiet and focus on their task and they find out they're never assigned together for look out anymore lol thank you so much!! I love how you're cranking out a lot of requests and I really appreciate your hard work!! Hope you have a healthy and safe week!! Keep up the great work!!”

———-

You carefully hold the corner of the piece in between your fingers and flip it over to look for your name, doing a quick scan and finding nothing. You take a peak on the next page and let your eyes scan. At first there was nothing, but that was just your mistake for simply glancing and not really reading.

But when you finally find your name you groan. Not only because you’ve been assigned to overnight lookout on the wall, but because you were partnered with Jesse. Someone you hardly knew….great.

This was going to be a long night.

——

“You’re late.” A voice so kindly greets in the shadows of the makeshift patrol room.

“Hello to you too.” You greet with a feigned smile.

The light above basks Jesse's face as he finally pushes himself to his given height. A disapproving look clearly on his face.

“You were supposed to be here ten minutes ago.”

You roll your eyes as you take a seat on the chair next to his. “So? It’s just ten minutes. No harm in being late.”

Jesse sighs and glares at you for a minute before deciding he wasn’t up for arguing with someone he hardly knew. Which given the awkward tension that now took place, you wish he would’ve kept arguing. Even if it was pointless.

At least then it wouldn’t be so quiet.

“I’m surprised you’re assigned to the wall lookout. You’re usually out patrolling in the day.” You say to try and break the silence.

Jesse shifts in his seat and puts the rifle down. “I think Maria is trying to teach me something by putting me here.”

An amused huff of air leaves your nose at his comment, nothing verbal shared after and letting the little room be surrounded in silence. Something that didn’t sit well with you. Or him. So quickly to break the tension you moved to pull out a stereo you had hidden. Making Jesse's eyes watch your every movement out of curiosity.

“What are you doing?” He wondered.

“Putting music on...obviously.” You retort as you set the music on a low volume.

“We’re not really allowed to do that.”

You scoff and put the music louder, pulling out a deck of cards from your jacket pocket and throwing it on the small table in front of you.

“I don’t think—”

“Ehh. No.” You quickly cut him off. “It’s too quiet here. It’s messing with my head. Plus I’ve heard nothing but great things about you, so to spare me from the awkward silence you have to show me your fun side.”

Jesse hesitates for a moment, his eyes shifting to you and the view outside, a small smirk on his face as he gives in.

——

“Ha! Winner!” You chuckle as you throw your cards on the table.

“No, you were cheating!” Jesse remarks loudly.

You shrug and smirk, “no impossible. I don’t cheat.”

“Another round then. To prove you’re not a cheater. I win, I come do this task again. I lose then I don’t .”

You groan and shoot him a narrowed gaze. Choosing to give in regardless. “Fine, deal.”

The game didn’t last long as your winning streak finally broke. Making said man across from you grin proudly.

“Guess you’re seeing more of me.” He announced proudly. “And I guess you’re not as good as you say you are.”

That was only because you let him win.

“Another round!” You demand loudly.

Jesse shakes his head, his smile never faltering. “No, I don’t think so.”

“Come on.”

Jesse shrugs, “don’t be a sore loser.”

You scoff and try to hide your smile. “What?! I am not!”

“You are!” Jesse chuckles, a mischievous grin on his lips, “unless you don’t want me to come back again.”

You try and think of a remark, but all that comes out is a scoff, feeling an instant heat on your cheeks at your sudden shyness. And before you could give him an answer Maria suddenly enters the room. Making both yours and Jesse's smile fall.

“Jesse. Y/N.”

You both immediately stand up and nervously glance at each other as you await for her to talk. Knowing that her narrowed glare meant nothing good was going to come out of her surprising visit.

“You guys are supposed to be on lookout not playing games and listening to music.” She complains, her eyes shifting between Jesse and you. “You both know better. What if an armed group, or a swarm of infected appeared, neither of you would be aware because you’re both loud and distracted.”

You swallow thickly and let your eyes fall on the floor, not daring to meet Maria’s glare. Only feeling it, and hoping that Jesse wasn’t going to get in trouble for something that was your fault.

“I’m sorry Maria. It won’t happen again.” Jesse spoke for the both of you.

Maria exhaled deeply and gave both Jesse and you one last glare before walking out and leaving you two to do your job.

It was quiet at first, neither Jesse or you daring to speak up first, or at least not until Maria made some distance from the room. And when you made sure she was long gone you turned to Jesse and couldn’t help but fall in a fit of laughter.

“I told you.” He grinned as he sat back down.

“We were not that loud.” You scoffed.

While you looked at the view ahead, Jesse couldn’t help steal another glance, a smile playing on his lips before he had to look away.

“Either way, I had fun. She isn’t going to stop me from that.” You muse.

Jesse nodded in agreement and followed your line of sight, “I had fun too.”

——

The day after the patrol you found yourself now exceedingly heading towards the schedules, a hopeful smile on your lips and a nervous feeling in the pit of your stomach.

A feeling that dropped when you saw you were appointed to the same spot, but with someone else.

Shit.

“What are you scheduled to do?” Jesse asked behind you, causing you to jump slightly at his unexpected presence.

“Nothing with you.” You turn and face him with an amused smile, “sadly.”

“I don’t think Maria is going to partner us together ever again.” Jesse chuckled. “Not with how we were last night.”

“Damn shame.” You smirk, “I had fun.”

“How about later today before your shift, we have a rematch?”

“Sounds like a date.” You grin.

.

.

.

Tagged: @expecto-nox​

[mooglecharm]

[FFXV] [ravnis] [lunoct] The Set-up

Summary: Luna keeps sending Ignis and Ravus out together on diplomatic missions. Noctis doesn't like it. On their fourth mission, however, things come to a head...

(The Nox Fleuret siblings are sexy but weird, Noct can’t keep his mouth shut, and Ravus and Ignis fit the firstborn-and-middle-child relationship dynamic.)

Notes: Written for the wonderful @mochatrope ♥♥♥ whose idea this was to begin with, and who has also specified that this is “an AU where nobody dies.”

I’m presuming also that in this AU, nobody got blinded and nobody’s arm got burned off by nobody’s ring. Luna and Noct got married in their 20s, Noct still becomes king (there’s no need for a Wall now, so Regis happily retires and lives off the land, idk), Niflheim is defeated and Eos is going through a long, tedious process of rehabilitation. It’s a time of disarmament, of forging peace pacts, trade deals and lasting alliances.

Finished in 4 parts.

***

“You sent them away where?”

“Altissia,” Luna cheerfully repeated. “New trade routes need to be finalized. Formal representatives from Lucis were requested for the deliberations, so I sent the two of them.”

Finalizing trade routes...this meant Ignis was going to be away for at least another week. And Noctis had been counting on his advice to deal with certain matters of state.

True, he could just call Ignis to consult - and it was important to firm up those trade routes to Altissia.

However...

“My love,” he cautiously began, “this is the fourth time you’ve sent them away together. I haven’t seen Ignis for more than 30 minutes total since we came back from our honeymoon in Tenebrae. That was three months ago.” He sighed. “And when I do see him, it’s only so he can tell me you’re sending him away with Ravus again. To be honest, I’m starting to forget what he looks like.”

Sometimes things could make you anxious enough, Noctis mused, without your wife smiling innocently, as if she didn’t owe you an explanation.

And the anxiety just got worse if said wife was looking up at you, hands behind her back and a twinkle in her eyes, like a mischievous child with a plan to save the world.

“Was there a specific reason why they had to take this specific trip together?” Noctis pressed.

“Because Altissia is such a romantic place,” was Luna’s very honest answer. “And they’re cute together, aren’t they?”

“WHAT?!”

It came out as less of a sputter, and more of a yell.

Luna was taken aback.

“You,” she began, wide-eyed, “don’t agree?”

Noctis told himself to calm down. Luna didn’t mean ill. Of course she didn’t.

But holy hell.

“Cute?” he echoed disbelievingly. “Are you seriously -- Ravus??”

Luna frowned. “What’s the matter with Ravus?”

Noctis didn’t even have to think about it. “He sided with the Empire and tried to get us all killed!”

“Yes...but...in the end, he didn’t.” She eyed him sidelong. “You’re not holding a grudge against him for something that never happened, are you?”

How do you tell your wife, the love of your life, that YES, you ARE holding a grudge against her older brother, for trying to kill you, even if he didn’t succeed?

.

.

[ Read the rest here ]

[kaetastic]

| Silence . Potter!Reader x Sirius Black . part 1

WARNING: oral smut ;)

pairing: Potter!Reader x Sirius Black

words: 1703

(A/N: part two will contain the smutty smut smut ;)))))) be patient. gif not mineee. if you want to get tagged for future stories, please do tell!)

PART 1.

A giggle erupted from Sirius, as his fingers caressed your exposed thighs, hairs waved up from his simple touch, “Sirius!” You whispered-yelled to the adonis, slapping his bare chest. He grunted in pain, holding his sore chest; head melted into a pillow. You couldn’t help but giggle at the dramatic man your heart could not resist but love. “Shh!”

With the odds against you, a creak of the wooden floorboard echoed outside of your room; a faint mumble of Lumos and an approaching light caught your attention, you pushed Sirius’s head deeper into your blanket; throwing some pillows against his covered body- to hide the uneven human-pillow.

“Ouch woman! This hair is precious!” Sirius winced.

Making sure his body was hidden, your leg draped over him- hugging it close. Your elbow propped onto a pillow; resting your head on your hand. Hoping it would pass off as a long body pillow, the door creaked open to reveal your brother in his manly pyjamas (they were monkeys in pyjamas), a wand in his hand as he mumbled Nox, the light fading. His hair was messy as if it had been styled by a tornado.

“Y/N?” He mumbled, rubbing his eyes; a faint pout on his lips.

“Oh? James, what happened?” You held all the temptation of slapping Sirius as you felt your short pants being pulled down, puddling at your ankles; his warm breathing on your chest, making you pull away from him.

“I heard some voices.” James blinked to adjust to the faint lighting of your room.

“Mhm, no voices, nope, just me and myself.” A soft chuckle prodded your chest, Sirius seemed to be amused as he dragged his fingers from your ankle to your inner thighs; drumming it lightly, peppering delicate kisses onto your collarbone. Your arousal dampened your panties, slightly clenching your legs together at the sudden wetness.

“Really? I swear I heard a deep voice..” James yawned, continuing to be sceptical of the situation, still tired.

“I think you’ve gone mad brother of mine, now, if you could leave, I-I’ll sleep.” You smiled. Closing your legs tighter as you felt Sirius dragged his index finger across your now wet panties, in hopes of stopping him, but he pushed it away. Prodding his index finger through your panties.

You squirmed slightly, a moan about to escape from your lips, realizing James was still at the door, finishing it off with a loud yawn, “Are you sure? I think I’ll wait for awhile.”

Mouth gaped open at his choice of action, you were left-dumbfounded, shooting flabbergasted and annoyed daggers at your brother who did not seem to understand your desire.

James dragged his frail and tired knees, falling face straight onto your California-sized bed, “James, I won’t be a-able to sleep if you’re here.”

Sirius poked again, this time deeper; allowing his finger to move back and forth, the cotton stayed bounded together, “My room is so far.”

He mumbled, his words muffled by the mattress, twitching to breathe. His haid rested on his cheeks, facing away; waiting for a snore to emit from James, you pushed the blanket away to look down; your eyes met your smirking boyfriend.

“What are you doing?” You whispered, begging for him to stop- frustrated at your older brother’s decision to stay.. during such tough times.

Sirius did not answer, crawling out of the blanket to check on the weighed side of the bed; smirking as he confirmed it was in fact, his best friend. Sending a last mischievous smirk before pushing himself back into the blanket, “Sirius!”

The boy did not seem to care as he maintained eye contact, pulling down your bra- your nipples exposed to the cold air of your bedroom, hardening. Taking a quick glance at your dead-like asleep brother.

He flicked his tongue, giving tiny kitten licks; you ran your fingers through his hair. Watching him as he melted his lips onto your breasts, sucking one whilst his hand kneaded the other; pulling you closer by your waist.

A nipple between his teeth, he tugged it, letting it bounce back into place, “S-sirius...” You glanced to check on your brother yet again, worried he might wake up from his slumber.

“Shh...” He whispered, head lowered; his fingers played around with a miniscule bow that was attached to each sides of the panties. He gazed up, his eyes full of daring lust. Not allowing his eyes to wander anywhere else, he pulled down the panties irritatingly slow, with a smirk.

Feeling the liquid sliding down, Sirius chuckled faintly, “Fuck, you’re so wet for me babe,” You tired your best to surpress a moan as he slid his middle finger across the sticky liquid; laying it flat before popping it into his mouth, “You taste so good.”

Going deeper into the blanket, he stopped when he was face-to-face your drenched thighs; cupping your vagina, tugging it up. You squirmed at the sudden warmth and pressure. He licked his hands, peppering kisses onto your inner thighs.

Blowing air onto your sensitive folds, you laced your fingers through his dark hair. Cursing at him mentally for teasing you. Before he rubbed your clit in circles, softly and languidly, pushing the bud occasionally; eyes rolled to the back of your head.

Grabbing a pillow to let out the sounds, you bit into it, letting out your raspy moans into it; satisfied with its’ ability to muffle- well, some of it.

His warm hands pulled your right leg, laying his head on it; you squirmed as his hair tickled you. Opening your legs, he rested it on his head. So your thighs were wrapped around his head. He pushed in a single digit, curling it. You could feel your walls clenched onto his finger, not allowing him to leave. But he was unbothered, shoving in another finger, scissoring you. Thrusting it in and curling it. In and out, you felt your essence drip from his fingers down your thighs, puddling on your now wet sheet. You pulled away biting your lips, humming a gasping moan.

Pulling apart your drenched lips with his scissoring fingers. He laid his tongue flat, covering your whole clit, letting out a satisfied moan, sending shocks of electricty through out your body. Your body jerked closer in response. He licked to have another taste before he dipped his tongue between your folds. Your hips bucked to move closer, if that was possible, “Fuck!”

Surely by now your pillow would have been torned, but it still holds its’ durability.

He hummed, sending vibrations across your body; removing his fingers as his tongue had already made place in you. His hands glided, resting to knead your needy breasts. Your hands grasped his head, pushing him deeper into you. His tongue flicked around, you could feel it in your inner walls, as he rubbed your clitoris in circles. Your stomach clenched. As you grinded into his head, wanting more friction- and he chuckled.

Pushing your left leg straight up, he dragged his tongue, that was covered with your glistening wetness, from your drenched folds to your mid-thigh, nipping your flesh gently, to which you gasped at. You could feel his smirk on your skin. “Sirius, just make me cum for fucks sake.”

His lips rested back at its original place, his hands on your ass; shoving it deeper into his face before eating you out mercilessly and deliciously. You jumped back slightly at the pleasure. A flushed crimson blush smeared onto your face as he made lewd noises. If you could just sit on his face, you would’ve, but since your brother was in the same room- it would not only be too much movement (which would wake the princess up) and weird as his best friend was eating out his younger sister... while he was asleep!

Your mouth gaped open, soft gasp of moans escaped as his tongue swirled around, shoving a finger in. Curling it as his tongue lapped relentlessly. When you spilled your sweetness into him. He moaned. My whole body was writhing as I tried to maintain a steady breathing, wanting to be quiet as possible. I checked under the blanket to face him, to see him gulping down the liquid. Wiping the rest that displayed itself onto his face, sucking his fingers- grunting, not wasting a drip.

He came out of the blanket yet again, his warm breath tickled your ears. His raspy voice whispered, “I could fuck you senselessly right now, but Prongs here.. fuck.” He was so close to your ears you could hear his tongue clicking his teeth. He groaned, frustrated at his mate.

You both glanced at James at the same time, huffing as the sexual tension rise, “Just fuck me,” Sirius snapped his head to face you, not believing if you just muttered those words. “You heard me, fuck please, I just need your cock in me. Now.”

His breathing changed heavily, groaning, “What?” Not answering your question, he tried his best to make minimal movements and sounds. Wincing as your bed squeaked, his body hovered over yours; grabbing your wand.

As if he already planned it, he mumbled hoarsely, “Muffliato.” Flicking the wand at the door, it clicked, a sign it was locked. Before pointing your wand at James, muttering few more incomprehensible words under his breath. Your hand rested on his arm, looking at him as if he has gone mad. He smiled, removing the blanket off of him. Your eyes could not help but to glance at the prominent bulge in his pants. Poking the wand at the immobile body of his friend, he flinched back. Scaring you. Your eyes widened before it was shut tightly, waiting for the screaming of your brother.

But the air was silent. Sirius chuckled, throwing your wand onto the table. Making a clashing sound, you winced, “No need to be silent anymore Potter, we just have to watch out for our speed.”

He slammed his lips on you.

PART 2

Tag: @songforhema @accio-rogers

[wizardessheart-sideb]

Image ID: A chapter image done in the style of Wizardess Heart. A large, off-white imagine with a guy on it. He’s wearing a dark gray uniform. There’s a lavender bar over him that reads “Tsukasa Kuze.” The rest of the text reads “Main Story” and “Chapter 2: On the Very First Day” /End ID]

Chapter summary: It's my first day of classes and things are harder than I thought they'd be. And now something strange happens with Tsukasa...

The shrill ringing of my alarm woke me up and immediately my stomach was rolling. The strong smell of bacon and something sweet was strong in my room. If anything, it made my nausea worse. I didn’t even open my eyes as I turned my alarm clock off. Did I really have to get out of bed? Couldn’t I just sleep a little longer?

Five more minutes wouldn’t hurt…I plucked the clock from my nightstand and just as I was about to reset it, there was loud knocking on my door.

“Time to wake up! If you keep sleeping, you’ll miss breakfast!” Isabelle’s voice shouted from the other side. Ugh… With my stomach feeling so gross, maybe that’d be for the best. Would I be able to keep anything down right now, anyway?

“Okay, thanks, Isabelle!” I replied as cheerfully as I could given how little sleep I’d gotten. I groaned as I got out of bed. I hadn’t even done anything yet and I already felt dead tired. Somehow, I stumbled through getting dressed and ready for the day.

When I stepped out of my dorm room, the smell of breakfast just intensified. The door to our kitchen was open and as soon as she caught sight of me, Isabelle waved me in.

“Oh, there you are! We were wondering when you’d get up,” Aika greeted me. She was seated at the table, blonde hair tucked into a neat bun and make up done. How did she have energy for that? It felt so early, even though I knew it wasn’t.

“Your food’s gonna get cold,” Dorian spoke up. He was standing at a counter, pouring batter into a fancy-looking waffle maker.

“You made me breakfast?”

“Of course he did,” Isabelle said. “He cooks all our meals.”

“He’s totally the daddy of our dorm suite,” Aika added.

“How dare you make me go through the five stages of grief this early in the morning,” Isabelle hissed. Aika just shrugged, taking a sip of her cocoa.

“What? I’m not wrong,” she commented nonchalantly. “Also it’s like, eight in the evening.”

“YOU KNOW WHAT I MEANT!”

Unsure of what to say, I just grabbed the plate of food Dorian brusquely shoved towards me and sat down across from Isabelle, who now had her head down on the table. Dorian sighed and grabbed his own plate, sitting across from Aika. I cut into the fluffy omelet and cheese started spilling out. Dang, Dorian’s really making some fancy stuff.

“So, are you nervous?” Isabelle asked me, sitting up, chin resting on her hands.

“Oh, um… yeah, a little,” I told her.

“You’ll be fine. Your class has some total sweethearts,” she reassured me. That’s a relief. I already knew Tsukasa was a classmate, and if everyone was like him, I’d be able to make friends fast.

“You mean there’s four decent people out of fifteen in their class,” Dorian muttered under his breath. My stomach had slowly stopped feeling sick, but thanks to that quip, the nausea was back. There’s only four nice people in my class?

“I mean, that’s better than none!” Isabelle said hurriedly. She pouted before smiling at me. “Ugh, whatever. Anyway, you’re going to be fine. Your class is small and as long as you stick to the nice ones, you’ll be fine. You have Tsukasa, but you also have Hiro and Clive and you’ll love them.”

“Fandamilia is also very nice but jeez, she’s so energetic when she’s not drunk,” Dorian added. Aika glared at him, fixing her posture to be pin-straight.

“Dorian, are you trying to start a fight at the breakfast table?!” Her voice was harsh. Cold. She nervously glanced over to Isabelle, who had a similar look of fury on her face like Aika had had moments ago. “Isabelle, ignore him.”

“Don’t befriend Fandamilia,” Isabelle commanded.

“Our newbie can befriend who they want. Fandamilia is nice and even though she has her faults, she still deserves to have friends,” Dorian argued heatedly.

“Uh…” How was I supposed to react to this? It’s not like I knew Fandamilia and could say anything to support Isabelle or Dorian. There was no other choice but to just sit there and watch the scenario implode before my eyes.

“Isabelle doesn’t get along with Fandamilia anymore,” Aika whispered to me. But that didn’t really do anything to clear this up. Why didn’t they get along? Why were they friends in the first place? Why do I need to avoid Fandamilia? Dorian sighed and sat his teacup down onto the table a bit too forcefully, some tea sloshing over the side.

“Look, befriend her or don’t. Make the choice for yourself and not because Isabelle told you to,” he told me. His eyes were burning and I couldn’t do anything but sit there and wither under the pressure. Isabelle just rolled her eyes.

“I’m just trying to save them some heartache. It sucks when you befriend someone and then they try to justify some jerk’s terrible behavior,” she said. Oh. I guess that explains a little more. But I still wish I could get the full picture.

“I don’t like him either, but Fandamilia needs friends that aren’t Zeus,” Dorian said. “How do you expect her to grow if she doesn’t make more friends?”

“I don’t think you can even call them friends. He doesn’t really acknowledge her,” Aika lamented. She sighed, stirring her cocoa. “She should just summon herself a boyfriend like I did.”

“What?” Did I hear that right? No, there’s no way I heard that right.

“Oh, a gender-reversed take on the ‘hur dur my wife’s a demon’ boomer joke. Classy. Innovative. Straights can keep their rights now,” Isabelle retorted.

“Oh my God, shut up. If I can’t be the cute one, I have to be the funny one,” Aika replied, just as fiery. Dorian just pouted at Isabelle.

“I can’t believe you’d call me or Aika straight. I might be dating Aika but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate a nice, tall man willing to destroy this -”

“I HATE THIS FAMILY!” Aika shrieked. Dorian just snickered instead of finishing his sentence, but it’s not like I didn’t know what he was going to say. Part of me wanted to say, “let him speak,” but I don’t know if I can really joke around with them like that yet.

There was a knock on the wall and when I turned around in my seat, I saw Tsukasa sheepishly standing there. Everyone straightened up a bit.

“Oh, hey, Tsukasa. Care to join us?” Isabelle asked, starting to get up. But Tsukasa just shook his head and Isabelle plopped back down into her chair.

“No, thank you,” he told her before turning to face me. “I came to see if you were ready to head to class.”

“Me?!” It made my heart flutter a little bit, as strange as it was.  

“Oh, really now…” Dorian commented, voice low. Aika reached over and lightly smacked Dorian’s arm at his mischievous tone. Something about it made me flustered and I started looking around wildly for my bag.

“Oh, um, give me a moment to do dishes,” I said. I started to stand up, but Dorian snapped and in an instant, my dishes floated into the sink.

“I take care of the dishes. Don’t worry about it,” he said, flashing me a smile.

“Are you sure?” I didn’t want to just let him do all the work, especially since he made breakfast.

“This is how it always is,” Aika told me. “Don’t let us keep you.”

“If you say so…” I grabbed my bag before joining Tsukasa. We fell in step with each other as we made our way to the classrooms.

“How did you sleep this morning?” he asked.

“I was out. The trip yesterday was more exhausting than I realized,” I laughed. Part of me wondered if I should bring up last night. He wasn’t really having a good time, but if he came to get me, then he must be feeling a bit better. And besides, maybe it wasn’t my place to pry into his life. “It’s weird how tiring travel is.”

“I know, right?” he said, a large smile on his face. “When my brother and I moved here, we were both so exhausted from the trip that we slept for a full day once we got to our inn.”

“You moved here?”

“Yeah. My brother and I lived in Hinomoto all our lives, but we moved to Gedonelune four years ago. It was right after my fourteenth birthday.”

“Oh, that’s exciting. Do you like it here?” I’d lived in Reitz my whole life. I didn’t really know much about Hinomoto other than it was an archipelago east of us. That was it, basically.

“I do. Hinomoto was really nice and I wouldn’t mind moving back, but I really like Gedonelune and I’m glad Azusa had us move.” That must be his brother. “We used to live in the imperial court and while it was nice living in luxury, I’m not a huge fan of having so many rules. I think some rules are necessary, but there were some that were just dumb.”

As Tsukasa told me about his life living among royalty, we got to campus. The hallways were full of students just milling around and it was the same inside our classroom. There were already some students in their seats, reading or sketching absentmindedly or just staring off into space. No one acknowledged us when we came in and no one said a word as Tsukasa lead me to the front row and sat down. I took the seat next to him, to the right of a girl with a big, green ponytail full of curls and in front of a guy with black hair with bleached ends. I quickly got my things out of my bag. I wanted to ask him how difficult classes were, but it’s not like I could now. What if someone overheard and made fun of me? The girl next to me didn’t seem like she’d notice since she was fidgeting with some paper, but the guy behind me had bad vibes radiating from him.

The bell abruptly rang and the remaining students filed in quickly. The girl next to me slumped a bit and put her paper away, taking out a notebook. The nerves in my stomach started to act up as more people came inside. This was really happening. My very first day of classes at Gedonelune Royal Magic Academy! I just hoped I could keep up with everyone else. Prefect Nox walked into the classroom, a smile on his face. Okay, this wasn’t bad at all! I had Tsukasa here with me and I had Prefect Nox teaching my first class!

“Okay, everyone here? Good. Let’s get started.” Nox leaned against the podium, eyes lazily scanning the classroom. We locked eyes and his grin widened. “Although, I guess I should introduce our new student.”

“Oh!” I shot up out of my chair, waving nervously to the rest of the class. Apathetic eyes met mine, if they looked up at all. Tsukasa was the only one who greeted me with a smile. That melted some of my nervousness away. “Hi, I’m the new transfer student!” I gave them my name. “Let’s, uh, let’s do our best to get along.”

“Sounds fake, but whatever,” someone spoke up. I couldn’t tell who it was. The rest of the class snickered and I sunk back into my seat. I glanced over to Tsukasa, but he was glaring at another student.

“That was rude.” Yikes, what that really Tsukasa talking back?! Sure, I didn’t know him well, but for him to sound so angry and ready to throw down was disconcerting, to say the least.

“Hey, let’s not get into a fight, okay?” Nox spoke up quickly. “Let’s just let it go and start class.”  He just plowed on, telling us to open our books. I reached out and tapped Tsukasa’s shoulder, leaning in towards him.

“Thank you,” I whispered. He smiled.

“Don’t mention it.” I’m so lucky to have Tsukasa in my class. But now I see what Dorian was talking about. People seem like they can be really snide here.

“All right, today we’re working on defensive magic,” Nox announced. “I know it doesn’t seem as cool as offensive magic, but if you can’t use defensive magic, you’re as good as dead in a fight. We’ll be going elemental shields today, specifically water. Can someone tell me what you’d call water when casting a spell?” Everyone’s eyes dropped to the ground, trying to avoid Prefect Nox’s eyes. “Fandamilia?”

“Uh… Aqua?” The girl with green curls answered, uncertain.

“Correct. Keep up the hard work, Millie.” She beamed. So that’s Fandamilia. She didn’t look at all like I imagined. She didn’t look at all like the mean girls from movies. “For today’s class, you’ll have to create a shield large enough to protect yourself and your partner. I’ll fire attacks at you and let’s hope your shields are strong enough. Get in pairs and then get in horizontal line from that wall to this one.”

My stomach knotted itself. The shield didn’t sound bad enough, but Prefect Nox testing it? That was what worried me. I looked around me, looking for a partner.

“Tsukasa? Do you want to partner up?” I asked him.

“I’d love to.” Again, he gave me one of those lovely warm smiles. Even though I was nervous about the assignment, seeing him smile settled my nerves. “Um… Would you like me to go first?”

“Oh, um, no, I can go first if you like,” I replied.

“All right. That’s fine with me.” I just nodded. We got in line and Prefect Nox, of course, went to the end closest to us. I could throw up then and there. I stared at the textbook, hoping that somehow, it’d help me conjure the shield easier. Student after student had success and my nausea got worse and worse. Prefect Nox arrived to us and I took a deep, shaky breath.

“O water, protect us from harm! Suctum aqua!” I waved my hand a large shield of still water appeared. I… I did it?! I’d never tried this spell before. Thank goodness it worked.

“That’s a great size,” Nox commented. “But let’s see if it’ll hold up. Sagitta aqua!” Several arrows of water easily pierced my shield and splashed into me. I coughed, letting the water drip out of my mouth. My shield dissipated. “Your shield looked a little thin. Next time, make it a little thicker and maybe try getting the water to swirl. That should help deflect some attacks,” he told me.

“Thank you.” I’m the first person in class to fail… I can’t cry. I’m not going to be the first person to fail AND the person who cried in class on their first day.

“水! (Mizu!)” Tsukasa quickly drew symbols into the air and a shield appeared. It was much smaller than anyone else's and Prefect Nox frowned.

“I think it needs to be bigger, but I’ll go ahead and attack. Sagitta aqua.” Again, water arrows went flying to Tsukasa. He lifted his shield but as soon as the arrows hit it, the whole thing broke and sprayed water on not just him, but me and the girl on his other side.

“I’m sorry, you two,” he said. He pulled out a handkerchief and gave it to me.

“Next time, make your shield bigger and keep it together. A shield that breaks means you’re going to get some serious injuries,” Nox critiqued.

“Thank you.”  Prefect Nox went over to Lyza and I saw Tsukasa’s shoulders slump ever so slightly. As awful as it was, part of me was relieved I wasn’t the only one that failed. But at the same time, I felt bad that Tsukasa had failed too. I put my hand on his bony shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. He turned to me and mirrored me, putting his hand on my shoulder and giving it a reassuring squeeze. Maybe we were going to be okay. A few more minutes passed and Prefect Nox reached the end of the line.

“All right, those were all good first tries,” Nox announced. “Let’s do this again and keep in mind my constructive criticism.” I almost gagged. Again?! We have to do this all over again?!

We didn’t improve much and by the time we were back in our seats, I was ready to take a nap. Who knew classes would be so exhausting?

“Good work today, guys. Here’s today’s results,” Nox said. He snapped his fingers and a large list appeared on the blackboard. My stomach dropped to the floor as I read the names and realize what it was. It was our names and our scores for the day. I kept reading and saw mine and Tsukasa’s names at the bottom of the list with only a few points each. Some kids were cheering, others gloating about how well they did. I just wanted to disappear into thin air.

“Are you okay?” Tsukasa’s gentle voice was in my ear, his hand on my shoulder.

“No. Why are our scores up on the board?”

“It’s like that for every class. It’s supposed to motivate us, but I think it’s kind of terrible.”

“No kidding.”

The rest of my classes didn’t go that well and by the time the final bell rung, I was ready to go back to my room and die in peace. Everyone was pretty quick to leave the classroom as I sluggishly put my stuff away.

“Hey. Are you okay?” Tsukasa inquired. I just sighed.

“Yeah, I guess. I didn’t know things were going to be so intense here,” I replied.

“I know what you mean. These classes are hard and on top of that, they make it like a competition.”

“I don’t see how this makes anyone motivated.”

“Everyone here is kind of competitive. Well, most everyone.” Somehow, that didn’t make things better. “If you’re worried about your grades, how about we go study together?” Tsukasa suggested. I didn’t know how much he could help me, but it’d be nice to suffer with someone else.

“Sure. We can go study for a while.” Wallowing in self-pity will have to wait. After all, I guess I do have to study hard so I’d be accepted as an official student.

The halls were already cleared of students, but in the distance I could hear faint chatter coming from near the entrance of campus. Hm. I wonder what that is? Tsukasa lead me down the hall and to two large wooden doors.

“I’m sure there will be some study rooms open for us,” Tsukasa said as he held the door open for me.

The library was massive. Shelves lined the walls and were standing proudly on the floor like soldiers, lined up perfectly and precisely. Tables were shoved into any space they could find that was out of the way of traffic. Tsukasa lead me through the stacks and to the back wall. Several doors lined the walls. Next to them were windows looking in to empty rooms. Again, Tsukasa opened a door and motioned for me to go in.

“Thank you.” What a gentleman. It was a cozy little room. There was a blackboard in addition to the table and chairs. Tsukasa took the seat across from me and started pulling his textbooks out.

“So, what do you want to study?” he asked.

“Uh…” “Everything” would be a bad answer, wouldn’t it? “Gosh, I don’t know… Is there anything you want to work on?”

“I don’t have a preference,” he responded. Great. More pressure. I know he was probably trying to be polite, but I had no idea what to do.

“Um… Man, I really don’t know. I feel like I have to work on everything,” I sighed, leaning back in my chair, arms crossed.

“We can study whatever you need to. I’ve got all night.”

“I don’t want you to ignore what you need to do for me, though. My failures shouldn’t cost you anything.”

“Hey, don’t say that.” He leaned in closer to me. “I’m not sacrificing what I need to do. We’re working together on things we both need. This is a two-way street.” Something about his words reassured me. It sounded so mature and certain. Well, maybe mature wasn’t the right word. Perhaps authoritative was a better term. He looked so strong in that moment. But in a second, he quickly looked away. “Sorry, was that weird? My brother says it all the time so I thought it would be comforting…”

“Pft… Haha!” The switch from confident to shy struck me as funny. But at the same time, it was so sweet he’d try comforting me when we hardly knew each other.

“It was comforting. Thank you, Tsukasa. I really appreciate it,” I told him. We shared smiles. All of a sudden, the crescent moon brooch on his cloak start to glow.

“What’s with your brooch?” he asked. Huh?

“Is mine glowing too?!” I asked.

“Wait, mine’s glowing?!”

We looked to our brooches and saw them glowing brighter and brighter until the light seemed to shoot out of the brooches. Sparkles mixed it the air and exploded like a firework, beautiful and fleeting.

“That’s pretty, but… What is that?” I asked him. He shrugged.

“Were you trying to cast something?”

“No. Were you?”

“No.” Then what was it? “I know sometimes if you sing well enough, magic crystals can form in the air. Maybe this is something like that? With friendship?” Friendship… Does he see me as a friend? … I suppose I see him as a friend…

“I… I guess it is.” Something about this situation felt so odd. It didn’t feel threatening or something, or bad, but still. I wondered what that magic was all about. Even as Tsukasa and I shared a smile over our new friend status, I still couldn’t help but wonder what had happened.

[oveliagirlhaditright]

Summary: For @bluerosesburnblue, since she was having a hard time lately and loves sibling relationships. Some Nox Fleuret siblings bonding that we should have had:)

I Love You, I Want You to Know Ravus’ PoV As Ravus and Lunafreya did something different for a change, in having breakfast in Tenebrae’s go-to outdoor café, he couldn’t help noticing that she was eating those high-calorie cakes again and Ravus couldn't have been happier for this: Lunafreya deserved this little bit of happiness in her life, since she denied herself so much. And though Ravus did think she'd lost herself some, since becoming Oracle, perhaps this was a hint that pieces of her old personality were still there somewhere. ...Though Ravus and Lunafreya had been fighting a lot lately--and he'd never understand how she couldn't take his side on the issues of Lucis and the "King of Kings"--they were having a nice time now; and it was actually Lunafreya had invited him here, since she still had some short time before her Oracle duties and he wasn’t due to train his troops for a while, either. "Sister," Ravus chuckled at the expense of the sibling who had always meant so much to him, "Why do you like these cakes so much? Is it the flavor, or the color... or-" In some ways, Ravus thought it was ludicrous to assume that his baby sister would like a certain food, just by the look of it. But one ate with their eyes first, did they not? And surprisingly enough, his guess ended up being true! "I love the red of the strawberries," Lunafreya said around a mouthful of said fruit. "In Tenebrae, we mostly have sylleblossoms. It's true. But every now and then we get lovely red carnations. This reminds me of that." "You always have loved your flowers," Ravus mumbled absentmindedly. Their late mother had been the same, and it made him love Lunafreya all the more for it. "But I find the real question, is why do you love this chocolate dessert as much as I do, brother?" Lunafreya asked cheekily, to which Ravus could only blush and stammer. Should he tell her he was playing the part of the typical girl here, and just loved chocolate? But before Ravus could think what to answer, Lunafreya was already coming up with one for him. "Is it because you do see Prince Noctis as a friend, and thus love our country’s signature tart because he does?" And there was the topic that always pulled the siblings away from each other… That selfish "Chosen King" who would have his sister sacrifice herself for him just to show him the way! How Ravus wished he could set him on fire… Lunafreya was teasing her, because of course she was, but Ravus had to know what had ever possessed her to joke about this. But then again… Ravus thought maybe he ought to keep his temper. Because Lunafreya actually being brave enough to talk to him about the “love of hers”, that she knew he despised, must have said she was starting to trust him again. But he did take an angry swig of his tea, and somewhat slammed the cup down back onto its saucer before deciding to dignify that with a response. "Lunafreya, are you blind? I am not talking of the Memory Lane Pastry... that that prince apparently loves so much, but rather of chocolate cake here. Sometimes the simplest things, with just a bit of fruit added on top for flavor, are the best." And since before Tenebrae had become annexed by the Empire, the siblings had spent quite a bit of time cooking with their mother—and were somewhat experts—Lunafreya seemingly giggled, in knowing how this should have been untrue for their palettes, but somehow wasn’t for Ravus. Sensing that the conversation had gone into a good place again, Ravus decided to keep it up: as the waitress deigned to bring the two their breakfasts (ever since Lunafreya had ascended as Oracle, they had their dessert first)."...So, Lunafreya," Ravus began, as he dug into his scrambled eggs with ketchup while his his sister ate toast with melted peanut butter on top of it. "Just- just for fun, I swear. I'm not harping on your career choice today... but if you could be anything other than the Oracle, what would it be?" Lunafreya had a certain look in her eyes as Ravus said this, that he couldn't quite figure out. She also seemed to be contemplating putting butter on her toast as well, as a single serving of it shook within her hand? But finally, she said--even blushing some while she spoke--"A model, of course. Can't you tell by all the fancy clothes I buy--one of the only luxuries that I allow myself--that I love fashion? And, no: when the media just happens to get a bad picture of me and they post it in a magazine because they like my makeup, or whatever... that doesn't count." Ravus winced at the last, because while he'd always think his sister was beautiful, he had seen some of those images himself and she did always seem awkward in them. "What about you, brother?" Lunafreya questioned with a kind smile on her face, as she reached over and cut a piece of Ravus’ eggs that would have been too big for him to chew. Ravus instantly thanked her for that, because he actually hadn't seen it and probably would have choked without his sister's healing assistance... so perhaps she really was meant to be the Oracle, after all. "...My answer’s… not as exciting as yours, Lunafreya: it's not much different than what I do now: but I would have liked to be a fencer. Doing swordplay, while not having to kill for Niflheim, would have been a dream." Ravus had actually thought Lunafreya would laugh at him for the admission, but she seemed to be in awe more than anything else. Perhaps she was imagining him in fencer’s gear and going to his matches to cheer him on after school: it was the life they should have had. But her fascination was over quickly, and Ravus noticed at once when his sister got a mischievous glint in her eyes. She seemed to want to reach across the table and take his hand in hers, like they were gossiping girl friends, but in the end she did not. And Ravus did not know if he was relieved for this or sad. "I suppose it's not overtly exciting, Ravus. But you know what is? The feelings I know that Miss Highwind has for you! And every day she's becoming more and more fed up with the Empire! You should pursue her!" ...Ravus didn't know what it was in the coding for siblings, that the thought of Noctis at all touching his little sister made him want to destroy the world, but meanwhile, she enjoyed speculating about his live life... but it was certainly something that was there. And something that was annoying. "I swear she doesn't have feelings for me, Lunafreya! Please drop it!" And Ravus said this not because he doubted that Lunafreya was wrong about the woman... but because he was gay--something that no one else knew--and the idea of him with a girl made him very uncomfortable. And there must have been something in his angry outburst, because Lunafreya gasped loudly and put a hand over her mouth as she looked at Ravus in shock. "Oh, Ravus! I'm so sorry that I didn't know until now. I'm so sorry!" There was a ridiculous inner part of Ravus—that must have been a little girl--that wanted to cry for the situation now, but he did not… For it actually felt somewhat… good to get this all out in the open. And while there were people now eavesdropping on this conversation between the Niflheim army commander and the Oracle, he found that he couldn't have cared less. "This whole breakfast, you've been trying to reach out to me, Ravus, when I should have been doing so to you for so long." Ravus started to hold his hand up to let Lunafreya know that what she was saying was ludicrous, and that of course he--the older brother—should be the one focusing on the little sibling. But he felt himself holding back... Truthfully, it did feel good to feel cared about by Lunafreya again. He smiled at her, as he evilly stole a piece of her own dessert now. Things between them weren't perfect: someone soon noticed that the Oracle was at a table near them, and came to her in begging for healing—which of course Lunafreya gave. And so with that, Ravus was again reminded of how he hated her Calling, and the knowledge that she'd always put that before everything else. But today, he felt more hope between them than he had in a long time... so perhaps it was a sign of good things to come. And after Ravus eventually chose to stand by this… this Chosen King—all because the kid had finally manned up when the butler that he didn't deserve, went and tried to kill the Chancellor after he'd kidnapper him—Ravus realized he had been right to believe all those years ago. Noctis had somehow found a way to bring their Lunafreya—no, Luna—back, and now she was running into Ravus’ arms: the promise of the future for them finally in sight.

[writinginstardust]

After The War | Chapter 3

Pairing: Dorian Havilliard x reader

Warnings: mention of injury/death

A/N: Welp, that took a while but like it’s done so that’s all that matters as far as i’m concerned. Look i’ll admit i’m not 100% happy with this chapter but I don’t actually hate it and I really enjoyed having more of Yrene to write so that’s where we’re at. In case it’s unclear there’s a just over 2 week time skip from the last chapter. Word \Count: 2908

*

“Holy gods that feels amazing,” I groaned out as Yrene's magic soothed the aching muscles in my leg, the tension washing out of my body on waves of relaxation. She looked up at me and smiled, pleased to be helping, before frowning as her magic probed further.

“This isn't as good as I'd hoped it would be by now. You really need to remember to use the salve I gave you. Have you used it at all since you arrived?”

I averted my gaze guiltily. I hadn't in fact used it once since leaving Orynth and probably hadn't for about a week prior, too busy preparing for the journey. She could read all that easily on my face and fixed me with a look that could probably scare a Valg Prince into submission.

“(Y/N), you have got to take care of yourself. This is never going to heal properly if you don't look after it when I'm not around.”

“I know. I'm sorry. I'll try and remember to do it more often.”

“I'm getting your maid to remind you every night, it's the only way.” I sighed and rolled my eyes but she was probably right. “Oh, and no over-exerting yourself, especially once we start more therapy in a couple of days. Yes, that does mean no long evening walks with Dorian, you two will just have to find some other way to occupy yourselves.”

I tried not to show it but I felt myself deflate at that. Those walks had become my favourite part of the day. I could still spend time with Dorian I supposed, but it wouldn't be the same. The gardens were peaceful in the evening and I found myself more relaxed than I had in a long while with nothing but Dorian and a light spring breeze for company. Again Yrene noticed and couldn't suppress her smirk, she had become far too intuitive to my emotions.

“Alright, I'll take it easy for a while.”

“Good. We can get started in a couple of days, Chaol said it's practically back to back meetings until the Eyllwe royals arrive but that you'll all have a lot more time after that. Trust me, you're not going to want to be doing much between sessions.” I shuddered at the thought of what might be coming but it was a necessity if I was ever going to be rid of the last remnants of the war. “Relax, you're undoing all my work worrying about it.”

“Sorry.”

“And stop worrying so much anyway, it's not good for you or your recovery.” She sent a fresh wave of healing magic through me pulling the tension from all my muscles rather than just my leg.

“I'll try, though it's a bit difficult when I'm in charge of my Kingdom's foreign affairs at the moment.”

“That's understandable but you're doing an amazing job, you really needn't be concerned about messing up. Nox won't let you and neither will Dorian or Chaol, they're on your side in all this and they don't plan on letting anything go wrong for you and Terrasen.” She smiled reassuringly and withdrew her magic, resting a comforting hand on my shoulder. “And neither do I.”

I felt myself welling up at her kindness and had to swallow a lump which had formed in my throat before I could choke out a soft “thank you”.

“Don't mention it. You're like a part of the family now and family looks out for each other.” The soft smile she'd been sporting spread into a mischievous smirk. “Another thing family does is tease each other about their love lives. So with that in mind, how's everything going between you and Dorian?” I almost choked on air at the question and tried to fight down a blush at the knowing glint in her eye.

“I don't know what you're talking about.”

“I think you do. You forget I was there when you were out of it and you had no filter. You may have confessed some secrets to me, and guess who some of them involved?” Stomach dropping, I hid my face in my hands and peaked at her through my fingers.

“Oh gods, tell me no one else heard?”

“Don't worry, no one heard most of it though I think you should know that you told Dorian he was pretty the first time you two met.”

“Please tell me I didn't.”

“Unfortunately for you, you did. Dorian appreciated it though, he was unbearably smug about it actually.” Yrene herself looked pretty smug about it too.

“Well that's got to be just about the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to me.” Before Yrene could reply, Dorian strolled in, his smirk making it evident he'd heard my last comment. I just hoped that was all he'd caught.

“Now that's a story I'd love to hear.”

“Oh you already know it, better than she does actually.” I shot a betrayed glance at Yrene, feeling my cheeks heating up even more now that the star of said story was in the room.

“Ah so we're talking about the time she ran around naked and shouting her undying love for me?”

“I may not remember most of what happened but I know I didn't do that,” I said around a laugh. “Aelin would have never let me hear the end of it.”

“That's true. I assume you're talking about her calling me pretty when we'd only just met then?” Yrene nodded. “That's not embarrassing, in fact it's a rather common occurrence. You get used to it when you're as pretty as I am.” He winked and flashed us both a charming smile as we rolled our eyes.

“Pretty damned full of yourself maybe.” I muttered under my breath, as Yrene made a similar comment. Playing along, Dorian clutched a hand to his heart dramatically.

“Such cruel words from such lovely ladies, however shall I survive the wounds you inflict?”

“Drama Queen,” Yrene teased.

“I am not! Tell her (Y/N).”

“I'm with Yrene, you have a rather large flair for the dramatic.”

“Not you too!” He groaned in mock despair, “I thought we bonded, how could you betray me like this?”

“You call that bonding? Yrene saved my life and nursed me back to health, you're going to have to do something spectacular to top that and get me taking your side.”

“Well it looks like I have some catching up to do.”

“Good luck with that.” Yrene fixed him with a challenging glare, clearly not ready to lose my favouritism yet. This little battle was going to be most enjoyable.

“I don't need luck. Bonding starts now, (Y/N), you ready to go?” I blinked at him in surprise.

“Go? Go where?”

“It's 5:30, thought you might like a walk in the gardens like normal.”

“No. She's not allowed until I'm done with her leg so no walks for a while.” She smiled a deadly sweet smile at him. “I know that's your bonding time...how unfortunate...Are you sure you don't need some of that luck?” He scowled back at her but reached for my hand to help me to my feet anyway.

“You underestimate me Yrene. Come on (Y/N), I have another idea. You like reading, right?”

“How ever did you know? It's not like I've ever spent an hour gushing about books with you.” I somehow managed to keep a teasing tone despite my internal freak out that he kept ahold of my hand and mentally congratulated myself on that achievement.

“No, that's never happened, I must just have excellent intuition.”

“Yes, I'm sure that's it.” I rolled my eyes. He was still holding my hand!

“Glad you agree.” He smiled and pulled me towards the door, calling out behind us, “See you at dinner Yrene!”

“Bye!” I added with a little wave, “and thank you!” A quick goodbye from Yrene followed us out of the room and I giggled as Dorian continued to pull me down the hall, a determined look on his face.

“What's the rush for?” I asked, for Dorian had yet to slow his pace and I was struggling to keep up.

“What? Oh, sorry, sorry!” He slowed to a more regular pace and I smiled my thanks. “That better? I didn't realise I was walking so quickly.”

“It's fine, I just don't think Yrene will be pleased if I mess up my leg right after she told me to take it easy. She's scary when she wants to be.” I felt Dorian's shudder through our clasped hands.

“She certainly is.”

We arrived at the library and only then did Dorian seem to realise he'd been holding my hand the entire journey. He stuttered out a surprised apology and I could have sworn I saw a light blush spread across his cheeks as he pulled his hand away and pushed open the library door. I silently mourned the loss of the comforting warmth from his hand in mine. It had felt so natural to have them slotted together like that. It felt right. As if it was a basic fact of existence that they were meant to be together. ...Maybe that was a little excessive. But those weren't the kind of thoughts I was meant to be allowing myself though so really it didn't matter. At all. My heart certainly wasn't leaping at the thought that maybe this was meant to be something more all along. Well maybe it was but my head remained in control...for now at least.

“So, I was thinking,” Dorian's voice brought me well and truly back to the moment, “with all the meetings and dinners and everything going on, I've had almost no time at all to just relax with a book and I doubt you have either.”

“You're right there.”

“Which is an absolute travesty, and since I treasure our time together I thought what better way to solve this little problem than by reading together? I'm a genius, am I not?”

“Not far off I suppose, I see one flaw though if your plan was ‘bonding’.”

“And what might that be?” He raised an eyebrow, which seriously, how does he do that?, and I flopped down onto one of the plush couches in the centre of the room.

“Reading is usually a solitary activity, we can't bond just sitting in silence.”

“And that, my dear, is why I'm going to read to you. You can make all the delightful sarcastic comments you like and keep me entertained while I read.”

“Does that mean I'm allowed to make fun of your horrible romance novels then?” I couldn't keep the grin off my face at the thought of that.

“They're not horrible,” he said with a scowl, “but yes, just this once you can say whatever mean and untrue things you wish about them.”

“Excellent! Get reading then pretty boy.” I smirked as he rolled his eyes and wandered off to find some suitable reading material.

2 hours later I was woken by a gentle shaking and the searing heat of Dorian's hand on my shoulder. I blinked at the dim light of the room, unable to recall the afternoon light fading into the darkness of another evening.

“And finally she wakes. Gods, (Y/N), you sleep like the dead.”

“Wha-? When did I...fall asleep?”

“About ten minutes after I started reading. I’m disappointed, you only managed two snarky remarks before you drifted off, am I really that boring to listen to?” In my state of only semi-wakefulness I didn’t register the joking in his words and quickly tried to stutter out an apology.

“No-no, sorry. You’re not...boring, you’re- you’re actually very pleasant to listen to. I just- Yrene’s healing tired me out a bit...I think...maybe… But you’re not boring, I promise. I like listening to you, you have a,” a yawn interrupted me and I let my eyes stay shut as I shifted to get more comfortable on the couch, “really nice voice, very soothing.” It took a few seconds in the silence that followed for my mind to realise what my mouth had just decided to say without permission of my rational thought. When it finally registered my whole body tensed and i could barely bring myself to crack open an eye and gauge Dorian’s reaction. Why did you say that!? That’s weird! ‘A really nice voice’? (Y/N) why would you say that!? Well at least that finally woke me up fully.

....Actually, that was not a good thing. Being totally aware brought to my attention just exactly what position I was in, pulled into hyper-focus how close Dorian was to me and everywhere his body touched mine. Legs draped across his, sides practically pressed together, a hand still resting on my shoulder and the fingers of the other brushing lightly against my own on the couch. His face and that heart-stopping grin were way too close, mere inches away from me and the ridiculous notion that it would be so easy to just lean up and kiss him flitted about in my otherwise currently empty mind. That was a dangerous and ill-advised thought and I tried desperately to push it out but with Dorian so close it was impossible to do so entirely.

“Dorian! (Y/N)! Are you in here? Are you sure they haven’t left for dinner yet, Yrene?.”

“Of course they’re still here, you think either one of them would willingly leave the library unless there was some kind of emergency?” Yrene and Chaol’s voices broke our silence before Dorian could say anything and we quickly moved a little apart before they rounded the last book case and spotted us.

“What did I tell you? They’re predictable.” Yrene had a triumphant glint in her eye as she addressed her husband before turning back to us with a raised eyebrow. “Are you coming?”

“Of course!” I quickly stood and walked towards the couple, jumping on the excuse to get out of such close proximity to Dorian before I did something foolish.

Together the four of us made our way to dinner and with every step I felt calmer and less inclined to act on any of the impulsive thoughts i’d been struggling more and more to control. The closeness to Dorian was always easier to bare around the others and I sent up a thank you to the gods I knew listened no longer for their presence. That had been too close in the library. Too. Close. I had a sense that my emotions were only going to get more difficult from here on and that instilled in me both dread and a strange excitement. Gods, why did I have to go and fall in love?

*

Dear Aelin,

Oh things are getting too good! I mean, slightly unbearable for the rest of us because they're both oblivious and also refuse to do anything about it, but still good. Dorian even told Chaol he likes her but he's worried so that's something we're going to have to deal with and (Y/N) all but admitted it to me today. And...gods, they think they're subtle, they think no one notices the way they can barely keep their eyes off each other, how they go out of their way to spend time with each other, how they're so obviously happier when they're together. It's so frustrating but obviously no one really wants to pressure them into anything so we'll see how it all plays out (we're not going to stop meddling when we can though!).

Although, saying that, I'm not sure we need to meddle much. Chaol and I walked in on the cutest scene in the library earlier, (Y/N) and Dorian were pretty much cuddling while she slept (my fault, healing takes it out of you) and gods you should have seen the way Dorian looked at her, it was so gentle and loving and I swear if they don't get it together and get together I might have to smack them both. Anyway, she woke up and I'm sure I literally saw Dorian ascend because he found her so cute but we all really needed to get to dinner so we had to interrupt. Honestly if we'd left them long enough I think they seriously might have given up and just kissed but alas the timing was terrible. It's going to happen though, I'm sure of it.

I'm rambling too much about them but my point is we definitely did a good thing, they're perfect for each other, Even Nesryn and Sartaq have said so and they've not even been here a week. They say hi by the way!

Oh and you'll be happy to know (If (Y/N) hasn't already told you), you've got yourself a nice little trade deal and it's worked out well for you as far as I can tell (I'll admit I don't pay a whole lot of attention to the more boring matters).

I hope Ren and Evangeline got back okay, tell them we miss them and we miss all of you too, I'll keep you updated with the Dorian/(Y/N) situation when anything good happens but I doubt they'll be anything for a while as I'm finally going to fix up her leg properly. Still, with them you never know! Everyone sends their love and hopes you're still well.

Love,

Yrene

[autumn-maple13]

Lost to Time - Chapter 25

Chapter 25: Storm

Sylleblossom petals of various colors floated around on a gentle breeze, carrying amongst them fragments of crystals both clear and purple hued. A milky white sky stretched far beyond any kind of horizon, with sage plants and wildflowers reaching out beneath it in every direction. Amara looked up at the dancing petals from where she seemed to be floating herself, the flowers and sage leaves just barely brushing her skin where it was not covered by the strange green gown she wore. Stranger still, was the way the plants below her seemed to be reaching up and melting into the air as she tried to move onto her feet. Her bare soles touched soft grass that ran across the ground, and it tickled her toes as she stepped lightly amongst the flowers – only pausing to reach down and pluck a single arm of sage. The smell was oddly intoxicating and nearly lulled her into a trace before she realized she was not alone in the field. A slightly darker sage colored cape was placed on her shoulders, and a new weight was sat upon her head. Amara turned around, facing the person who had put the new items on her and gasped.

Her father stood before her dressed in white, with longer hair more neatly brushed to frame his face – and blue eyes instead of the amber he possessed now.

Beside him stood the woman who she had received visions of – Aera, with a smile on her face as she stood with a hand on Ardyn's arm.

Though neither spoke to her directly, their gentle gazes spoke volumes of their love and pride toward the girl, with sadness and guilt prickling the edges of the emotions.

A hand coming to rest on her shoulder made her turn, only to see her adoptive parents standing at her side – their faces reflecting those of her birth parents. Somnus stood somewhere between the two pairs, and though his back was to her she could feel an intensity around him that seemed to call her name.

Amara began to walk towards him, only to freeze when Noctis appeared at his side – facing her with a twisted express of fear and confusion.

Looking at him, thunder began to rumble through the air. Lightning struck the ground all around her, lighting the field on fire and filling the air with smoke so thick it consumed everything around her. Yet, the flames did not touch her – the smoke did not choke her. She held out a hand and watched both part in front of her, waving her hand so that the area around her cleared. Her parents, Somnus, Noctis, no one stood with her now. The sylleblossoms and wildflowers were gone as well, leaving only the sage plants growing about her – their leaves seeming to reach for her.

Their smell filled the air and Amara allowed herself now to slip into sleep.

Amber eyes opened and cringed against a bright light that filled the strange room. Letting a grunt escape her, Amara sat up and stretched, even though the motion made her realize how painfully stiff she was.

"You're finally awake." A gruff voice made her look to the side, where she was surprised to find Ravus standing in a doorway, a strange Magitek armor on the arm she distinctly remembered burning in the Citadel.

"Ravus Nox Fleuret, does this mean I'm in Niflheim?"

The man clicked his tongue, closing his eyes in a disapproving manner, "Of course not."

The Glaive looked at him a bit warily, but relaxed when she realized he was unarmed, and her Kukris were on the nightstand beside her. "Where am I then?"

"Still in Lucis, I assure you. The Chancellor demands it for whatever reason. Just as he demands I babysit you."

"Prince Ravus," she saw him flinch, but open his eyes to look at her, "I have no right, but I would like to ask you a few questions. Non-invasive ones, of course."

Ravus sighed, crossing his arms for a moment before deciding to enter the room properly and shut the door behind him. He stood in front of it though and looked at her through narrowed eyes. "Let me remind you, Glaive, that my allegiance is to the Empire."

"Of course. I won't ask you anything military related, or personal."

"Then speak and make it quick."

"How long have I been out?" she pulled her hair over her shoulder as she spoke, looking at how long it had gotten. Whereas it had only been just past her shoulders before, it now reached all the way down her back – though it remained as wild as previously.

"Only a few days. We noticed your hair as well, and no, before you ask, we can't explain it."

"Has Chancellor Izunia done anything that concerns me?"

"He's made a point to visit you often, but the strangest thing he's done is pet your hair and tell you stories. Although, one of my men swears he caught the Chancellor kissing your forehead one night." Ravus almost seemed disgusted.

"Has he told you anything about his connection to me?"

Now that caught the commander's attention and made his gaze snap directly on her face. "What connection?"

Seeing what could be a chance to put a bit of tension into the situation, Amara decided to stand now, and though her legs were shaky from her long sleep, she stood before him with her head held high.

"Chancellor Ardyn Izunia is my biological father." She made sure to change the purse of her lips to a sneer, and her gaze into a mischievous glare, adjusting the very way she stood to reflect her father's stance. It clearly shook the man in front of her, who couldn't seem to disguise his confusion. "I'd tell you to ask him yourself, but I doubt he'd give you much more than a riddle. He doesn't seem to want many people to know just yet but seeing your position I would have thought that you at least would be aware. Especially when he's placed you in charge of me while I'm unconscious."

"You can't really expect me to believe that," he finally spoke again after several moments of trying to collect his thoughts.

"Oh, go ahead," the duo looked over at the door they hadn't heard open, both surprised to see the object of conversation standing there looking a little bored. "It's true, but that doesn't mean I'll let it go if you let it slip anywhere outside this room, Ravus."

"Father," Amara looked at the man as she put her hands on her hips. "What the actual fuck."

"We still need to talk."

"The only thing that needs to be done is you letting me go so I can go find my friends before they get their dumbasses killed."

"Is that any way to speak of your Prince and his entourage? Especially with your feelings for-"

"I will stab you if you finish that."

"Wouldn't be the first time someone's stabbed me, darling." Ardyn chuckled, strutting past the confused high commander to rest a hand on his daughter's head. "Besides, I can't let you go anywhere until I'm sure you're alright. Speaking of, I hope your current quarters and clothing are to your liking?"

She hadn't actually looked around before he brought it up, so she took a moment now to examine the less than plan room – from its satin covered bed to the sturdy wood and leather furnishings, even a bottle of wine and a few books of poetry sat nearby, with a chess board set up on a small table beside them. Her clothes were neatly folded atop another table at the end of the bed, where she also spotted her jewelry and accessories, though a look down at herself showed someone had changed her into a forest green dress that almost seemed plain when she thought back to the dress she wore in the dream that was haunting the edge of her mind.

"Don't tell me you expect me to stay with you know that you've kidnapped me."

"Of course not, but there's no telling how long your friends will take in getting here without their dear car."

Realizing he must have the Regalia somewhere nearby, the woman narrowed her eyes. "Where are we?"

"Now, now, we have other more important things to discuss." The chancellor waved dismissively at Ravus, who seemed for a moment unsure before he took his leave, though not without another glance at the younger redhead. Ardyn waited until the door had been closed once more before he walked over to the chessboard, pulling up one of the nearby chairs to sit at one side. Amara soon made herself sit at the other and pretended to examine the pieces before giving her father a look.

"What's with my hair?"

"A side effect of sorts. You nearly tore your body apart taking out our Magitek the other day, and your body went into overdrive from the number of curatives we had to use on you to help speed up the healing process. I've managed to keep your nails trimmed, but I wasn't about to touch your hair." She took a moment to look at her nails, which were a bit longer than she remembered. "Of course, if you wish to cut it, I'd be happy to help."

"Maybe later," the Glaive looked at her pieces again before she moved a pawn into play. "What happened when you decided to send me through time?"

The man shook his head, moving a pawn of his own. "You were lost to me, only your mother had any idea of what really happened to you. However, she couldn't tell me anything. Bahamut had "blessed" her with some sort of knowledge about it, then sealed it away so that she couldn't speak of it."

You were sent where you were needed. "Is there any chance I was meant to end up here? Or do you think Bahamut meddled with it." She moved another pawn as she spoke, eyeing him cautiously.

"Could be either, could be both, only he really knows." Ardyn also moved another pawn, reflecting her own motions. Amara allowed a few moments to pass with only the click of the pieces being moved before looking at her father's face again.

"Who was Somnus?"

The man moved a knight a bit too roughly as if he were caught off guard. "I see you've remembered a bit more. He was… a brother to me."

"Are you the man who appeared in the old portraits with him?"

"Yes, though some also could have been of Gilgamesh, his shield."

Amara eyed one of her own knights, moving it to stand before her king in place of a pawn she moved already. Ardyn moved a bishop in front of his queen in reflection. A few more pieces were shuffled around, each of them reflected the other in some way. "What was the plague you were infected by? Was it the Star Scourge?"

"I see you paid attention in class. I guess you could say it was the Scourge, but I came to be infected by so much it affected me differently than the standard victim."

"Because you were of royal blood." Finally, a move left her losing a pawn to one of his own, only for her to take his in retaliation and leave him without another easy target. "Weren't you?"

"Yes. I was Somnus's older brother." The battle had begun now, each losing another two pawns before he stole a bishop and left her to make the hard choices.

"You were a Lucis Caelum."

"I was the elder Lucis Caelum."

"Where did Izunia come from then?"

"I don't remember anymore." He seemed to fumble as he tried to answer her, though still clearly trying to keep other things hidden for now. Losing a bishop and a knight brought him back to their game though. "Part of the curse of my immortality comes with the ability to pass it on, and in the process absorb the memories of those I infect. Sometimes I can't even keep my own memories straight from how many I've taken in."

"Then how can I believe anything you've told me?" she was beginning to corner him, and it made her father smirk as he looked at the board – seeing her finally move a knight into play properly. "Can you tell me that?"

"I can actually. For some reason, my memories involving you and Aera are remarkably clear. That's not to say there aren't areas that have slipped through the cracks of course."

He lies. Too many of his supposed clear memories are tainted, clouded by his hatred. "Why did you side with the Empire after all this? Did something happen to make you hate Lucis?"

"And its sin bearing royal line, yes, though I don't think you're quite ready to hear that part of my story darling. Check."

A rook was taken out by her king without much of a glance. "Does that mean that I'm actually a Lucis Caelum?"

"Yes."

"Check." His bishop was moved to block the path of her own rook. "Does that mean I'm technically a princess?"

"By all technicalities, however, because I was denied the throne due to the Scourge, I doubt you're actually able to lay any kind of claim. But you are also a Fleuret because of your mother's blood, so if it awakens properly you could always take on some of her Oracle legacy."

"I don't think I want either positions, thanks." She took a moment to take care of a pawn getting too close to her side of the board, then with her next move sacrificed a knight to take his queen. "I'm much more suited to a position like this, than one of power."

"You could have both."

"No thank you. Check."

"Finally using your queen, I see."

"And a rook won't stop me. Check."

"I suppose a quick moment won't either?"

"Not while my rooks are in play. Check."

"It's still too early to call." He smirked, using a pawn on his side for shelter, but frowning when she dispatched his other knight. "Well then."

"Check."

Ardyn glared at the board, moving his king again but looking surprised when she moved her remaining knight. "Not going to box me in?"

"You still have a bishop."

"And we have a stalemate now that you've blocked my last pawn. Who taught you to play?"

"I had to do something to earn a bit of extra credit in high school since I was always being called away for missions with the Glaive. So, I joined the chess club since it offered the most useable credits. I didn't tell the guys about it though, but Iggy caught me once and started playing matches with me during breaks when we were at the Citadel together. Last I checked he was ahead, 76 to 72. We haven't played since I graduated though."

"But you still remember the scores?"

"I wanna beat him one day, of course, I remember." Amara trailed off, allowing the thunder rumbling outside to distract her as her father reset the board.

"Then allow me to start a new scorecard for us."

[fallen-imagine-angel]

Merry Christmas (Harry Potter AU with Peter Parker) Chapter 13

Notes: Hey guys, so here’s chapter 13! Chapter 14 should be up either tomorrow or the next day, hopefully. Also, I’m debating whether I should keep the series going for a little bit longer (I have a couple more ideas I could use) or if I should end it at chapter 15. Let me know what you would rather have happen! And, tag lists for everything are still open! Just drop in my ask and let me know!

Summary: The chapter where you have your first merry Christmas in a very long time.

Merry Christmas - Chapter 13

Peter Parker x Reader

Word Count: 1,734

Warnings: none?? this is just a pure fluff chapter? Wow. (okay, I lied. a hint at angst at the end but...just enjoy this chapter, okay? while it lasts)

It’s Christmas day and you’re the happiest you’ve ever been. You and Peter still haven’t talked about it yet, but you’re slowing getting there. In fact, you’re pretty sure the conversation will happen soon. You’re just not sure what the outcome will mean.

“Wake up, wake up! It’s Christmas!” Peter jumps on the bed, stirring you from your deep sleep. You groan and grab your pillow, throwing it in his general direction.

“Five more minutes…” You mumble, smiling lightly when you feel him grab your hands and try to tug you up.

“You missed, and no! No more time for sleep, it’s now time for presents!” He giddily drags you into the living room, you only half awake now.

“What do you mean presents? For me?” You yawn.

“Uh, yeah! You’re family now, whether you like it or not.” He nudges your shoulder with his and gives you a small smile. You smile back and lay your head on his shoulder. Tony and Aunt May walk in moments later, giving you two the look.

“I’m tired, don’t say anything.” You sleepily wave a dismissive hand at them. They just chuckle and start passing presents to you and Peter before finally taking a couple of their own. You look down to see you and Peter both got three presents. You might’ve snuck a present under the tree for Peter at some point.

“(Y/n), you got me something?” Peter grins at you. You shrug slyly and grab your present from him.

“Of course I did. Open it up, I think you’ll like it.” You smile at him. He unwraps it to unveil a brand new Firebolt with his name engraved into the tip of the broomstick. 

“You got me a Firebolt!?” He yells, tackling you in a big hug. You laugh and hug him back, savoring his touch.

“Yes, I did. I know you’ve always wanted to do Quidditch, but you’ve never had enough money to buy the broom to play. Now you have a broom. Is it my turn to see what you got me?” You smile and sit up, definitely noticing how his hand stays planted on your lower back.

“Hold on, hold on, hold on. This thing is worth...a lot. How did you afford it for me?” Peter asks.

“Easy, I’ve still got a lot of savings that my parents can’t get to. With or without them, I’m rich. Now, is it my turn?” You grin.

“Wow. And yes, yes it is. I’m positive you’re going to like my gift.” Peter smiles confidently, one hand on your back, the other clutching his new Firebolt.

“I’m intrigued.” You smirk and place the box on your lap, undoing the bow and opening the box. There, sitting quietly is a black kitten. 

“So you can take her to school with you when we get back,” Peter explains. You grin and pick up the small cat, pushing the box aside and setting it in your lap.

“Boy or girl?” You smile down at the kitten.

“Girl,” Peter confirms. You pet the kitten’s head, hearing her purr already.

“What should we name her?” You whisper.

“We?” Peter raises his eyebrows. For a minute, you’ve forgotten that Tony and May are in the room.

“Yeah. We’re her parents, so we both get to choose a name for her. I vote Nox.” You coo, snuggling your face up to the kitten’s face.

“Nox? Like the spell?” Peter scrunches up his face in confusion.

“Exactly!” You nod, setting the cat in Peter’s lap.

“I...actually like that. Nox it is.” He nods and starts to pet Nox. You stare gleefully at the boy you love and your new kitten as they get along. You look over to Tony and May who are staring at you and Peter with that face. The face that says “oh aren’t they so cute together?”

“Next presents!” You clap your hands together, knocking everyone out of their love-struck trance. Tony and May laugh nervously, knowing you saw them, as they open their presents. 

The rest of the morning goes very smoothly. Then Ned and MJ show up.

“The party has arrived!” Ned announces as he steps over the threshold of the door, making you laugh.

“What did you guys get for presents?” MJ asks, smirking.

“A kitten. And some other things.” You smile.

“A brand new Firebolt. And...other stuff, but the Firebolt was the coolest.” Peter grins widely. You look over at him and smile lovingly. Not that he noticed, though.

“Dude! A Firebolt!? Who got you that?” Ned punches Peter in the arm and runs into the living room to find the Firebolt.

“(Y/n) did, actually.” Peter nudges you in the side causing you to blush.

“That’s totally awesome!” Ned returns to the entry hall holding the Firebolt. You laugh.

“Okay, well, now it’s time for my present reveal. I got a nose-biting teacup. I’m gonna prank some unsuspecting first-year and it’s going to be great!” MJ pumps her fist in the air.

“Do you think you could use that on Flash?” You hum, grinning mischievously.

“Absolutely. More than once.” She nods in approval. 

“Dinner’s ready!” May calls out, and everyone goes rushing to the dining room to be served. You sit between Peter and MJ.

“I’m starving.” MJ digs in as soon as she sits down, causing May to chuckle.

“This food is delicious, Aunt May!” Ned praises, stuffing his face with food.

“Why thank you, Ned.” May smiles and daintily eats. You feel a foot nudge yours, from your right side. You give Peter the side eye, only earning a slight chuckle from him. He nudges your foot again, causing you to nudge his foot back.

This goes on for a while, and a couple of times you accidentally hit MJ’s foot in the process, earning a sigh from her.

“Would you two stop playing footsie over there? I’m trying to eat, and the tension is really making it taste sour. You know what, let’s just go watch a movie. Star Wars, anyone? Aunt May, Tony, dinner was great. Thank you.” MJ stands up and walks out of the living room. You, Peter, and even Ned break out into giggles.

“I guess we should follow her.” Ned stands up, followed by you and Peter. You all walk to the living room, which connects right to your room.

“Lovebirds get their own loveseat.” MJ points to the two-seater couch. You blush uncontrollably. 

“I think we’ll be okay just sitting on the couch.” Peter shrugs.

“Nope. No. I am not dealing with you two flirting through the entire movie right next to me. You get your own chair for that.” MJ shakes her head and plops down on the couch, spreading out to minimize room for any more than one person, Ned.

“Okay. Our own chair it is.” Peter awkwardly lets you sit down first before sitting next to you, leaving a little space between you.

“Boo.” MJ gives Peter a thumbs down.

“What? You said you didn’t want to see us flirting through the whole movie, so I’m not-” Peter tries to explain, but MJ cuts him off.

“I meant not next to me. When you two are sitting alone, have at it. I know all you two wanna do is drool over each other instead of watching the movie.” MJ waves her hand dismissively before starting the movie.

“She has a point.” Ned agrees before sitting back to watch the beginning credits.

“We do not...drool…” Peter trails off, biting his lip awkwardly. He then minimizes the space between you until there is none.

~+~

A few hours later of not paying attention to the movie at all, after which you have found yourself comfortable lounging across Peter’s lap as he plays with your hair, you look over to see both Ned and MJ peacefully asleep. MJ snores loudly as her head lays on Ned’s shoulder. Ned is leaned back against the cushions of the couch, not looking very comfortable but also not looking like he cares much.

“Do you want to, uh, go into your room real quick? I think...I think it’s time we talk.” Peter bites his lip, a habit he has that you secretly love because it’s adorable. He leads you to your room and you sit down on the bed.

“Talk about what?” You play naive, nervous for how this conversation is going to play out.

“You know what. Don’t play dumb.” Peter laughs nervously.

“Okay, okay. Where do we start?” You ask, looking down at your hands in your lap.

“I’ll start by saying that...I’m still in love with you. Everything I said back in the cabin of the train was true and still is. I’m deeply and madly in love with you and there’s nothing I can do about it except to hope that you feel the same.” Peter starts, nodding his head slowly at the things he says.

“Wow. Well, uh, I can silence your fear by saying that I absolutely feel the same. And I think that this time, both of us are ready for a relationship.” You smile.

“I would completely agree with that.” Peter breaks into a grin wider than you’ve ever seen before, and that’s saying something.

“It’s always been you, Peter. And if I’m being honest, I think it always will be you.” You admit, smiling like crazy. Your cheeks start to hurt.

“I know it will always be you,” Peter repeats, bringing up a hand to cup your cheek.

“Good.” You breathe out, nervous and giddy at what you think is about to happen.

“Can I kiss you?” He whispers, and you nod ever so slightly to give him your permission. 

Then it happens. Your lips connect and you feel every emotion you’ve ever felt for Peter fill your heart with joy and love. Peter makes you feel something you’ve never felt before.

Peter makes you feel loved. Peter makes you feel like you have a home.

“I got it! First kiss! Go, go, go!” You turn to see MJ and Ned rushing away from the doorway to your room.

“Hang on, how long have you two been awake?” You break the kiss with Peter to yell at them. Peter’s just laughing.

“We were never asleep!” Ned calls back. You sigh but chuckle right after. You love them. You love everyone here.

And maybe that’s why what happens next is so soul-crushing.

Tag List: @nerdofthehighestcalibre @carry-on-ms-believer @trumpettay @tcmhcllqnd @farfromjustordinary @anglekit123 @ajl090 @mysticalmagicmoon

(Strikethrough means I can’t tag you)

[beks21]

3 May, 2018

In honor of today. Thank you, @littlerose13writes , for the beta and the encouragement.

Update: read on Ao3

Harry sighs as he plops onto the bed. Ginny stirs from her place behind him, already tucked under the covers.

“Alright, Harry?” she asks quietly, twisting so she’s on her side facing him. She reaches out and touches his hip, not quite patting, not quite stroking, just being there. Harry doesn’t answer right away, and Ginny doesn’t need him to.

“Come on,” she says after a moment. “Come to bed, Harry.”

He turns and looks at her over his shoulder, cocking an eyebrow. “Trying to get me into bed, hmm?” he jokes. He’s trying to hide, he knows, and more than that, he knows that he can’t hide from Ginny. He never has been able to hide from her, not for more than twenty years.

“I always am,” Ginny returns easily. She releases his hip with a gentle squeeze, still watching him. Harry sighs again and makes his way under the covers. He takes off his glasses, waves his wand at the lamp, and places both the glasses and the wand on the bedside table.

As soon as he is settled comfortably against his pillow, staring up at the dark ceiling, Ginny moves towards him, curling an arm across his chest and sliding her leg over his. Harry smiles to himself, glad that Ginny can’t see him in the dark. Ginny knew he was hiding from her, and here she is, not letting him get away with it.

He takes a breath. What can he say? But before he has to find the words, Ginny whispers, “are you still thinking about yesterday?”

Harry turns his head and gazes, as best he can in the dark without his glasses, at the faint glow of Ginny’s red hair around her face. “How do you always know?” he asks, a bit in awe of his wife. Without seeing it, he knows Ginny is grinning at him, that smart, knowing grin that he loves so well.

“I’m good at reading you. I have been doing it for a little while, you know,” she answers lightly, and she presses her face to his bicep, kissing him and then resting her forehead on his shoulder. “So?”

“So?” He kisses the top of her head, somewhat awkwardly since she’s so close.

“So, are you still thinking about yesterday?”

Harry smiles again, not bothering to hide it this time. “You don’t let me hide a thing, do you.”

Ginny adjusts her leg a bit higher on his. “No,” she says in a low voice. “I don’t let you hide anything, so quit avoiding the bloody question and answer me.”

The smile slides from Harry’s face and he sighs again. “I was just...thinking,” he says, somewhat evasively, and Ginny pinches his side. “Ouch. Okay, okay,” he concedes. He rubs the spot she pinched and then takes her hand and links their fingers together.

“Okay,” he says again, “I was thinking about how twenty years ago, everything seemed so… so dark, despite us having won. I was thinking that twenty years ago today, a different kind of battle was fought, or at least begun, and sometimes it feels like, like I’m still fighting it.”

He is surprised that his throat feels thick, and he swallows, forcing down the guilt that still worms its way into his belly. The weight of all the deaths, of those broken families, of the damage that was so rampant, sinks down on him, and Harry feels for a second like he cannot breathe.

Ginny is there.

“Harry, Harry,” she says, propping herself up on her elbow and catching his face with her other hand. He feels her reach for his wand, hears her murmur ‘lumos,’ sees the soft glow of light. “Take a breath.”

He does, and the weight lifts a bit, and Ginny is there.

“That’s it,” she murmurs, stroking his cheek. “Keep breathing.” She shifts so she’s almost lying on top of him, and Harry welcomes the feel of her, the real, tangible weight of her that somehow helps him keep breathing.

When he is calm again, when his heart has returned to its normal rhythm, Harry finds the wherewithal to wrap his arms around Ginny and pull her closer, which means she is fully on top of him now. He tugs on her shoulders, and she relaxes down atop him, turning her head so her cheek rests against his chest. A bit of her hair flops onto Harry’s mouth, and he huffs it away gently.

They rest there together, Harry savoring the stillness, and after a minute Ginny lifts her head again. She looks at him, then whispers ‘nox’ and sets his wand back on the bedside table.

“Do you know, I consider today sort of our second anniversary,” she says conversationally, like they haven’t been married for sixteen years, like she hasn’t just prevented a panic attack in her auror-husband.

Harry squints at her. “What?”

Ginny smiles at him, a soft, loving smile that is just for him. “Today,” she repeats, “is the anniversary of when we got together the second time.” She slides off him, landing on her side, and adjusts the covers around them; Harry keeps one arm around her shoulders and helps her with the other.

“How d’ya figure?” he asks when they are settled again, linked fingers resting on his chest.

“Don’t you remember? It was the first time you woke up and I was in your bed.” Ginny wiggles her eyebrows at him mischievously. Harry grins and slides his hand from her shoulders to her hair. As much as Ginny’s long strands had entranced him, he finds the pixie cut unbelievably sexy.

“Oh, yes,” he whispers, tickling her neck so she shivers. “I do remember now. What was it you asked me? ‘Harry, where am I?’”

“And what did you say?” Ginny retorts, shimmying her shoulders to move his hand. “‘Convince me,’ wasn’t it?” She leans forward to kiss him, a lingering kiss that leaves Harry breathless when Ginny finally pulls away.

“You know it’s not your fault, right,” Ginny whispers to him. Harry opens his mouth to protest, to remind her that she says this every year, but she cuts him off. “I know I’ve said it before, and I will keep saying it for as long as you need to hear it. It’s hard, these anniversaries, I know, and so I’ll say it again. It’s not your fault, it’s not your fault, it’s not your fault.”

The lump is back in Harry’s throat, but this time it’s gratitude for his amazing wife. “Thank you, Gin,” he tells her hoarsely. She looks into his eyes for a moment, and then, satisfied, she snuggles down and rests her head on her pillow. Harry falls asleep with his arms around her.

[the-truth-will-light-the-sky]

Pandora’s Box

@ravus-week​ Day 2 Prompt: Day Off

Summary: Away from Gralea for a time, Ravus Nox Fleuret returns home to Tenebrae. He skillfully plays his favorite instrument as a sort of reprieve yet forgetting his role as Niflheim’s commander for a while strips him of his facade, pushing him to unwittingly dabble with his box of emotions and fear.

Pairing: Ravus Nox Fleuret and Veritas Lux Seculum (oc)

Warning: Slightly mature, angst, mentions of death

Footsteps echoed in the halls of white within Fenestala Manor, the sunlight filtering through the foliage that tapped on tall, clear windows on a bright morning. The footsteps ceased in front of a gigantic door that was left ajar. Creaking as it opened further, the sound of soft piano keys spilled from the brightly lit room into her eager ears.

Veritas Lux Seculum smiled at the figure whose brows were uncharacteristically calm and beneath those were the palest blue eyes of young sylleblossom colors. As she walked towards him, Ravus’ lips curled upwards in a smile.

‘You always know when I’m coming.’

‘Quite so. Those soundless steps are betrayed by your perfume. Soft notes of spring florals do suit you well, my darling.’ 

‘Perhaps I ought to refrain from putting it on. What kind of guard am I if I could be detected just as easily?’

Ravus chuckled, tilting his head to the side to look her in the eyes. Strands of stray hair drooped down on his face as a playful smirk spreads across his lips, eyes full of mirth.

‘Leave it on. I shall miss this scent once I’m away again.’

Seeing her blush at his honest declaration, Ravus pushed on as the piano keys shifted to a livelier tune.

‘Although, I do not need to put perfume on my person anymore. Your scent seems to have seeped in to my clothes. I like it. It’s rather comforting, especially at night.’

Veritas found herself breathing in deep at his openness, her hand resting upon his shoulder as he continued to play.

Ravus scooted to the side of the bench and she sat down. Her warmth enveloping him in an embrace. The momentum of shifting keys slowed down to a familiar gentle tune. Veritas hoped she remembers the notes her lover taught her the first time she tried to play the piano.

‘Shall I?’

Veritas asked meekly, surprised to even find her voice at a very delicate moment such as this one.

‘If you would, that would be a delight.’

‘I might make mistakes. I always do, in fact.’

The soft chuckle that escaped Ravus’ lips was encouragement enough so she lifted her fingers up and started following his playing. Her clumsy fingers and her lack of good memory skill for remembering even a short piece indeed pushed her to make mistakes despite her willingness to learn.

Ravus continued to play on his left hand as his right one gently lifted up his lover’s fingers, carefully placing them on the correct keys. 

Chuckling nervously, either because of another mistake or with the sudden touch of his skin on hers, Veritas pushed on, trying her very best to follow through.

Another mistake, oh dear. 

As he played, Ravus leaned lower to his side and kissed her hair, his chuckle reverberating with every wrong tone that echoes in his brightly lit library. 

He smiled and secretly hoped that she would make more mistakes. He would freely give his kisses if she wished for it. And she does, thank the stars.

The shadows cast by the Tenebraen oaks outside the window shifted, slowly then violently, submitting to the whims of the summer breeze.

The lovers kept on playing and correcting for a while until their throats reminded them of thirst.

‘Ah, no wonder. We’ve been playing for an hour. Or I should say you have been playing. Shall we take a break?’

Veritas suggested, stretching her hands above her head as she did. 

Ravus watched her, his eyes falling to the golden necklace of two hands joined together in a loving clasp.

Noticing his curious observation, she turned in her seat to face him fully, her eyes shining in mirth.

She leaned closer to inspect his neck where a similar adornment should be.

‘And where is yours, Ravus? I thought you hoped to always see this upon my person all day and even all night.’

Veritas teased, her eyes searching for a hint of soft gold on his neck, only for the lord of Tenebrae to fasten his hands on hers before she can part his collar.

‘My goodness. Surely you would have the decency not to undress me here? If you missed me so much Veritas, pray tell me. I shall endeavor to please.’

Ravus’ eyes turned a shade darker. His initial gentleness slowly being replaced by a mischievous and suggestive demeanor, his hands wanting to wander someplace else.

A surge of red tinged the cheeks of a stunned Veritas, the sudden slightly naughty proposition of her usually stoic lover sent a jolt of surprise.

‘N-no! I would not do such a thing! I daresay it is you who missed me so. Cheeky!’

She did not pry her hands away from his iron grip. Instead, she pulled him to her gently, pressing her forehead to his.

As Ravus bent towards her, a faint shine of soft gold caught her eyes — it was the same necklace they both share, and it was neatly tucked beneath his inner shirt.

‘Ah, there it is. I’m quite pleased to see it around your neck, Ravus. Shall we have tea then?’

Ravus pulled away to cast her a look of disappointment.

‘Tea can wait, my darling. I, on the other hand, could not.’

Hot cheeks turner even redder, Veritas pulled her hands away from her lover’s grip. Ravus reached out to grab her once again but she agilely dodged to safety.

‘No more, darling! I’ll shall steep the tea. And if you would rather conduct yourself as a proper lord of Tenebrae would, you would keep your teasing in the latter part of the day.’

Veritas warned as Ravus sighed, her petite frame tiptoeing to reach for the tea pot that sat on the highest part of the shelf by his collection of illustrated books of flora and fauna.

Seeing her dilemma, Ravus stood and acquired it for her, only to keep it on its perch, his body bending down to reach his lover’s lips. 

Veritas’ eyebrows knit together, yet still she tipped her toes again so that she may reach his eager lips.

A soft kiss, but it was much appreciated and loved.

Ravus’ eyes softened even further, seemingly melting in the short but intimate moment.

Tea and scones with fresh fruit jam laid on top of the table, silence and the occasional banters and laughter filling the room. 

Ravus misses moments like these where all he could ever worry about is how to be able to coax his beloved into spending more time with him than what was necessary or possible. There was no one to demand him of anything, really. He can be himself once again in her presence.

Seeing her in his home with his sister along with everyone and everything he grew up with gave Ravus a wonderful surge of emotions. Emotions that, according to him, were quite unnecessary now given the circumstances of their fate. But even for just a day, they’re welcome to come back to the young prince that slept deep within Ravus Nox Fleuret’s hardened heart.

Veritas’ feet swung from the chair, a carefree smile etched upon her youthful face. She sipped her tea slowly, her eyes resting upon the sylleblossom flowers  on the table.

‘The flowers are blooming really well this summer. The farmers even made tea out of sylleblossoms. It’s a rather new trend but it seems like everyone’s gone fond of them. Perhaps you’d like to see the farms tomorrow? The people miss you, Ravus. It has been some time since you visited them to teach medicine and natural remedy.’

‘A singular drop from a dark nox blossom upon innocent fragrant tea taken every day for a month can induce a slow and painful death to its drinker...’

‘What was that?’

Ravus’ heavily lidded eyes looked at her, the shade of blue now cold ice. 

‘I was only musing.’

‘Pray tell me who you were planning to poison? If it’s that idiotic and repulsive Calligo, do let me know. I shall make it so.’

‘My, aren’t you the wicked one,’ Ravus said as he bit on his fourth piece of honey biscuit.

‘It takes one to know one, my darling.’

They played with the idea for a while, the macabre talk of poison and slow death are masked behind their innocent laughter. But thoughts of death slowly ate away the lively discussion.

A man such as Calligo deserves such a fate, Veritas thought. He was and still is ruthless. His laws that were imposed upon the land and people of Tenebrae made the nation suffer not just their loss of freedom, but their loss of hope. 

In a month, scores of so-called ‘traitors’ are put to the sword, all done with just one word from the commanders of Niflheim. Tenebraen retainers dwindled to half their size, either they died fighting for their country or they cowered away to the iron rule of Niflheim. 

Veritas had once tried to murder Calligo and the other Gralean officials a few years ago but failed. Ravus tried his best to stage their accidents yet he too, succumbed to failure. 

It was then that Ravus decided to use Veritas’ advice.

Use whatever it is that is available to you and twist it to your advantage. That way, you can gain the upper hand.

A sound advice turned into a plot that Veritas never wanted to implement. She felt guilty of all the blood that she shed despite the sense of righteousness it gave her once the deed is done. Now the idea of killing does not sit well with her no matter how much of a warrior she has become over the millennia. 

Veritas despaired at the fate of the once gentle prince. At the loss of his innocence and freedom, Ravus fell prey to hate. Hate that consumes not just the mind but his whole being. 

‘Revenge by death shall not pacify a wounded heart. Only forgiveness.’

Ravus stood up from his chair, obviously irked by her admonition. 

‘Death comes to those who deserve it. I shall see to it.’

‘Your revenge is directed to someone unworthy of your hate. Ravus, King Regis is --’

‘The man I’m expecting to see once my revenge is ready for the stage. He did all of these things. If he had only helped us...’ Ravus stopped, shaking his head.

Ravus’ hand opened the window to the balcony, his body shaking.

‘...every thing would have been different.’

Veritas’ throat suddenly hurt as if thorns had decided to strangle the life out of her. She replied with a trembling voice.

‘The empire is using you. They played with your loss and turned it to hate. They deserve your vengeance, not the Lucian king.’

Ravus turned his head to see Veritas standing beside him, her hair blowing violently in the wind.

‘You’re wrong, Veritas. I am the one playing this game!’ 

Ravus’ voice boomed in his fury. 

‘They are my puppets. The lot of them.’ 

He clutched his side where his father’s sword usually resides. Sonus Nox Fleuret died by the Empire’s sword, his blood spilling unto his mother’s pristine white clothes and shaking fingers. He heard in his mind his own teenage cries of despair, echoing so loud like a taunt.

His voice suddenly turned flat as if he was an entirely different person. It came out like a whisper, a shadowy trace of the strength that marked his fury a few seconds ago.

‘In the end they shall see how the prince of Tenebrae delivers justice to those who murdered his family and his life.’

Soft arms encircled around his body, the sound of tears seeping into his heart. She could say nothing more at the moment. Words could not reach him. 

Only love.

Veritas could only hold him, hoping that somehow she could ease his pain. His body went rigid, tremors shaking his inner core.

‘Every day I see more and more of my country falling to inhuman hands, their limbs bound in shackles. The night reminds me of the once passionate violin that echoed in this very room, the laughter, the love and everyone that deserved to be saved. And yet here I am, devoid of every thing that once were mine.’

Ravus felt his heart spilling forth. He frantically grabbed his emotions and tucked it deep within himself once again, sealing it up to open again on another day. He nearly slipped but he caught himself. 

Veritas’ small hands soothed his back as words of reassurance filled Ravus’ ears.

‘I know for certain that one day, you will overcome the shadows of the past, learning from it and growing even stronger of heart and soul. I have seen you and you have come a long way. Believe me when I say this -- there is a future for all of us. I believe in you, Ravus. You need not fear the unknown for I am here with you, always.’

Veritas hoped her words reached the deepest pits of his heart and crushed the darkness within. He was such a kind-hearted man; he still was today yet his kindness is not freely given to anyone anymore.

She felt strong arms embracing her, his scent mingling with hers felt like a reassuring hug.

After a while, Ravus pulled away. The gentle breeze blew, heralding the coming of night. 

‘Shall we retire for the day?’ Veritas asked, wiping her tears away.

Nodding, Ravus took her hand in his.

And so Ravus Nox Fleuret spent his last night once more as he lay beside his lover, holding her tightly as if melting into her as they sank in the warm sheets,  his lips whispering reassurances that he would come back again. 

Ravus held on to his words as a sort of string which he attached to her heart. She kissed him so and only hoped that soon they can all live without fear or regret.

I couldn’t think of a proper title, so I went with ‘Pandora’s Box’. It sort of symbolizes Ravus’ emotions, that when left open, his painful memories would come spilling forth, forcing him to remember who he truly is. But as his plot begins to unfold, this box will be a hindrance. So he hides it all the time. 

‘What can not be seen nor felt can never hurt me.’

Also, this is supposed to be a light story, but somehow Ravus insisted that his voice be heard. So I obliged, willingly.

[cha0ticmimzy]

Chapter VIII: Dinner For...

Author’s Notes: Can we appreciate that word count? But this chapter is relatively tame. Though, the next chapter gets spicy and I’m READY TO POST IT after I read through it to make sure I didn’t mess up. BUT IN THIS CHAPTER you see a little bit of politics, a little bit of dorkiness, some DANCING.  Word Count: 4567 Warnings: None. Rating: Mature.

This was a good dinner enough, to be sure, but it was not a dinner to ask a man to.

The walk down to the formal dining hall was full of chatter from Aurora, talking about herself, Ravus, the family, how Insomnia differs from Tenebrae. She asked about his family (he’d become an expert at lying about his family by the age of fifteen), if he had any pets (she was excited to learn about his corgi), if he had any hobbies or talents. It had helped to relax him, truly- as did the warm hand upon the small of his back. Finally, he worked up the courage to ask the question that had been eating at him.

“Why aren’t you like, freezing to the touch?” He asked, brows furrowing as he looked over to his right, where Ravus walked. “Like, I thought all vampires were supposed to the cold- like a dead body?” His cheeks flushed a dark red as a snort of amusement escaped Ravus.

“While we are, technically, dead- we are not fully dead. Our body still holds blood within it. There’s a long-winded explanation I could give and the full science behind it, why we’re able to breed, why we still require blood- but that would take longer than we currently have.” Ravus explained, before removing his hand and stepping forward. Prompto startled, eyes wide as he realized that the mahogany doors they were at lead to the formal dining hall. Oh.

“You’ll be fine, Prompto. Remember, elbows off the table, back straight, and wait until everyone is served before eating. Sit across from Noctis, not beside. Rise when Regis and Sylva arrive, and do not sit until they have.” Aurora whispered to him, her lips almost brushing against his ear. He nodded, eyes wide, blood rushing in his ears. He felt Aurora squeeze his shoulders before the doors were opened, revealing the massive formal dining room.

On the wall to the far left, a large fireplace in the shape of a lion’s maw sat, a fire crackling softly within it. A few small chandeliers hung from the domed ceiling- which was so high that he could barely see the top, he noted. The chandeliers hung low enough to cast decent lighting, but not low enough to touch. At least, not without standing on the table. Or a chair. Or the shoulders of a very tall man. They were small- at least, smaller than the one that hung over the long oak table. Each one was made of glass, a perfect, smaller replica of the large one hanging low- low enough to touch. To the far right lay a set of double doors- no doubt, leading to the kitchen. He could smell food cooking- his stomach rumbled, but he found himself wondering just what was being cooked behind those doors. The floor was a deep, rich mahogany that shined, freshly polished, as if shoes had never before touched its surface. The walls were a deep maroon, golden trim work acting as an accent.

The table itself was a piece of artwork, the color such a rich, deep brown, it was nearly black. There were places set up- one at each end, and then five chairs on either side of the table. As they approached, he took note of who was there already. A man, one of the ones he’d seen with the king, and Lady Lunafreya. Aurora took him by the arm and lead him to his place, across from where he assumed Noctis would be sitting. She took her seat beside him, placing herself between him and Ravus. Lunafreya sat beside the large seat at the end, no doubt where the Lady Sylva would sit.

His stomach was filled with butterflies holding razor blades.

“Calm down,” Aurora murmured, reaching beneath the table to give his hand a quick squeeze. “It’ll all be fine. Just breathe.”

Breathe, right. He could do that. Breathe in, and then out. Maybe. Watch him be the first human without asthma to completely fail at breathing like a normal person would.

“So, you are the troublemaker?” The soft voice held a thicker accent than Ravus’ own but made Prompto nearly leap out of his seat. Cornflower blue hues widened as he turned, meeting the lavender gaze of Lunafreya. Her eyes held more of a red hue than Ravus’ did. “We’ve not formally met yet. I’m Lunafreya Nox Fleuret, second in line to the throne of Tenebrae, and the next Priestess.” She introduced, flashing a smile that bordered on threatening.

“Right- I’m, ah. Prompto Argentum, your highness.” He greeted, giving her a nervous grin in response. Luna hummed, sharpened nails painted a delicate ivory tapping upon the table top.

“You’re… Different.” She began, leaning forward. “The way you smell is-”

“There they are!” Aurora quickly interjected, rising from her seat as Noctis made his way in with Ignis and Gladiolus training behind. Noctis looked… Amazing. The suit he wore was simple- black and dark grey pinstripe, a black button-down shirt beneath, with a tie of the richest navy. His hair had been tamed somewhat, less of the bedhead mess it’d been earlier. Ignis wore a suit of maroon, which was surprisingly flattering; it made the green of his eyes stand out behind the black, thin rimmed glasses. Behind them trailed the big guy- Gladio? He wore a deep grey suit with a tie that matched Ignis’ suit- and, now that Prompto looked closer, he realized that Ignis wore a bowtie the same color of Gladio’s suit.

“Glad to see you survived.” Gladio teased as he rounded the table, taking the seat beside Prompto. Ignis sat across from Gladio, and Noctis took the seat directly across from Prompto. “No hard feelings from earlier, yeah?” He asked, thick arm draping over the back of his chair.

“I do hope you’ll forgive my earlier actions,” Ignis spoke softly as he settled into his chair, head tilting to the side. “I’m afraid I acted purely on instincts.”

“Yeah, no, it’s fine!” Prompto quickly replied, voice pitched higher than what he’d intended to sound. Cheeks flushing, he looked away, focusing instead upon the table. A silence fell over the table, the only sound that of the cooks working, fixing their food. Glancing up, he caught Noctis staring at him, causing the prince to startle and sit up straighter. Cute, he thought to himself, a smile curling the edges of his lips upwards.

Ravus cleared his throat, drawing attention towards the silverette. “So, Noctis,” he began leaning forward with a mischievous glint to his lavender eyes. “I’m curious- did you purposefully dress up tonight for our esteemed guest?” He teased, drawing forth a laugh from around the table, Gladio’s being the loudest. Prompto watched in awe as Noctis’ cheeks darkened in hue.

“I dressed up because I wanted to.” The prince defended himself with a pout, slumping back in his seat as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“Liar, you spent over an hour trying to figure out what tie color would be best.” Gladio replied with a smirk, mirroring Ravus as he leaned forward, though his smirk seemed far harsher compared to Ravus’. Noctis slumped further down, lip jutting out in a pout.

“Well,” Aurora interjected, coming to Noctis’ defense. “I think that the prince looks rather handsome tonight! It certainly is a pleasant change.” Prompto couldn’t help but smile and nod in agreement, watching as Noctis’ eyes widened, his confidence returning as he straightened up slightly. “Though, I’d love to fix your hair-”

“Get up.” Lunafreya interrupted. Her voice was soft, her words barely heard and yet seeming to boom through the room simultaneously. Quickly, they all rose to their feet, the sound of chairs scraping along a marble floor echoing out, creating a harsh chorus. A moment passed before the door opened, revealing the men that had been with Regis that first night. He couldn’t recall their names… Though the woman that walked alongside Regis was what made Prompto freeze.

Lady Sylva Nox Fleuret, Queen Regent of Tenebrae. She stood tall and proud, her shoulders squared, chin raised. Her dress was a fitted evening gown of white, flowing down to the floor. She looked ethereal, her skin almost seeming to glow in the golden light of the formal dining room. She wore no crown, instead letting her hair flow long and free down past her shoulders, stick straight and pale blonde. Her lips were tinted a curious color, not quite red but not quite purple, somewhere in the middle, and her eyes were ringed with black kohl. She commanded the room in a way that Prompto had never witnessed. As for the men she walked with…

King Regis stood tall and proud despite the prominent limp. Before Prompto had been born, there had been a great battle, one that Regis was injured in, causing his leg to be injured grievously. Rumor has it, that he’s lucky he was able to keep it. Yet despite that, he was still handsome, a charming smile upon his lips, his facial hair trimmed to perfection, wine red hues glinting with humor. He wore a suit of onyx, the button down beneath the jacket solid black, accompanied by a solid, wine red tie. A metal brace encircled his left knee, and a menacing cane was clutched in his right hand.

The men behind him were in suits, as well; the one with the dark brown hair and intense blue eyes wore a suit of navy and black, with a sky black tie. He was lean, slight, but he had a subtle strength to his movements. His companion wore a suit of ash grey that did absolutely nothing to hide the muscles that lurked beneath. Now that Prompto looked closer, he noted that the larger of the two held quite the resemblance to Gladio; perhaps he was his father? That would make sense…

Regis walked completely around the table, pulling out Lady Sylva’s chair before pushing it in for her, before going to his own chair. All together, they took their seats. A silence crept across the room, and Prompto felt the sudden urge to start fidgeting, his left leg tensing beneath the table.

“Shall we begin?” Regis asked, a smile curling his lips. As if on cue, the doors to the kitchen opened, and food began to pour out, carried upon silver trays. The servants- or would it be wait staff? Prompto wasn’t sure- moved with startling ease despite the heavy trays they carried. “I do hope you enjoy pasta, Prompto.” Regis spoke up, causing Prompto to startle. “Linguine Carbonara is the only thing we could all agree on.” He joked, causing a soft round of laughter to fill the room.

“It’s my favorite.” Prompto managed to get out, offering a nervous, small smile. Beside him, Aurora reached over, patting him on the hand twice before reaching out, taking hold of her freshly filled wine glass. At first, he thought it was simply red wine. However, upon closer inspection, he realized it was far too thick to be considered a wine, and his stomach churned at that realization. Blood. They were drinking blood. Though, the man in the navy suit who came in with Regis had his glass filled with actual wine; red, Prompto noted. So… Was he human?

“So, Prompto,” the smooth, silken voice of Lady Sylva had his head turning, meeting the deep red violet gaze of the vampire. “Noctis mentioned that you’re a photographer. How long have you been interested in it?” A normal topic. Prompto released a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

“Since I was a kid. My mom bought me my first camera when I was eight- it was one of those simple little digital cameras.” He replied with a flush, flashing a bright smile. “And from then on, I fell in love with it. I… At my apartment, I have a small collection of antique cameras, actually.”

“Antique cameras?” Ravus asked, a brow raising in curiosity. “How many do you have?”

“The last time I checked, it was around six or seven. They can get pretty expensive, so I don’t get to get every single one I see.”

“Do they still work?” Came Lunafreya’s voice as she leaned forward, resting her chin upon her hand.

“Some do- some of them are missing parts, one of them’s missing it’s lens, and you just… You can’t, y’know, find the lens for it anywhere anymore. They don’t make them anymore.” Prompto explained, only to pause as his plate was set before him. The pasta looked perfect- picture perfect. And the salad that came with it looked almost fake with how green the lettuce was, how perfect the parmesan shavings were.

“You work for the Insomnia Times, correct?” Regis asked, voice soft, velveteen. Prompto managed a nod, watching as the king cut into- something. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know what the meat was made of. “Do you like it there?”

“Yeah- yes, it’s nice. I have a good position; I work as a field photographer, so I’ll go out and get pictures of accidents or events.”

“So, you’re like a glorified paparazzi?” Gladio asked, amusement evident in his tone. It made Prompto pause, cheeks heating up in embarrassment.

“I wouldn’t-”

“I think that’s an amazing job.” Noctis spoke up, gaze trained not on Prompto, but on Gladio. “Someone needs to be out there, documenting what’s happening. Otherwise, history wouldn’t be recorded.” An uneasy silence settled across the table as Noctis and Gladio had a silent battle with their eyes, daring the other to speak up.

“Well,” the man with the shaved head spoke up, clearing his throat. “As lovely as this all is, we should eat before our food goes cold.”

“Yes, we should!” Aurora agreed, perking up.

Regis took hold of his wine glass and raised it up, causing those at the table to mimic him. “A toast- to our new friend, to new routes opening, and to the history that is about to be made.” Quietly, the members of the dinner agreed before beginning to dig into their food.

The pasta was heavenly. The sauce was perfect. Prompto found himself eating slower than he normally would because he wished to savor the food. That, and to distract himself from the fact that on either side of him sat a vampire, who was eating- what he desperately hoped- was a slab of extremely rare cooked meat. Cornflower blue hues glanced from his own plate to across the table, catching Noctis staring at him. A smile curled his lips as he watched Noctis panic, magenta hues widening as his cheeks colored. A soft snort escaped Prompto, prompting Aurora to look up and watch the scene unfold.

“So, Noctis,” she spoke up, causing the prince to send her a desperate look that Prompto read as “please don’t do this”. The woman had no sympathy. “How long do you plan on housing Prompto here?” She asked, causing all eyes to suddenly be glued on the pair of boys. Noctis shifted in his seat, frowning.

 “As long as he wishes to stay.” He answered with a shrug, directing his gaze back towards Prompto.

“And you, Prompto? How long do you wish to stay?” Aurora asked, head tilting to the side to study him. Swallowing the pasta that remained in his mouth, he thought over the question.

“Well… I mean, I wouldn’t mind staying for a few days? But I have a job, and my dog, and my plants…” He trailed off, shrugging. “So, a few days, maybe four? At most.” He decided with a nod. Though, he noticed the way Noctis’ shoulders seemed to sag at his answer. Brow raising, he opened his mouth to ask, only to be interrupted by Ravus.

“You’ll be attending the Gala, I assume?”

 “Gala?” Prompto echoed, eyes widening in surprise. “I… Hadn’t planned on it? It’s invitation only, and I’m just a- a commoner-”

“Nonsense!” Ravus shook his head, arms crossing over his chest as he leaned back, before staring Noctis down. “Noctis will invite you. Won’t you?”

“Of course.” Noctis replied with a scowl, before wiping the expression from his face. “Only if you want to attend, though.”

“I… It’d be an honor!”

“Good.”

As dinner continued, the conversation topics easing from one into another. Prompto felt himself relaxing, even laughing as the bald man- Clarus, Gladio’s father, he’d been told- recalled a story with Regis and a man named Weskham, who was not in attendance. By the time dinner was finished, he’d relaxed into the way they worked. He’d been in the middle of laughing when the feeling of a foot creeping along the inside of his calf made him freeze, cheeks heating up. It couldn’t be Aurora nor Gladio, which left…

 Noctis.

Sparing the other a quick glance, he found the prince staring at him once more. Only, this time, he didn’t look away. Instead, he kept his gaze locked on his face. Swallowing around a suddenly dry mouth and throat, he reached out for his wine glass, only to knock it, and Gladio’s, over accidentally. A sound of surprise escaped him as he reached out, and before anyone else could react, had grasped both glasses and set them right once more.

Silence filled the room.

“Impressive… Reflexes.” Gladio commented, golden hues wide in surprise. Prompto gave a nervous titter of laughter, withdrawing his hand. His heart beat hard within his chest, blood rushing through his veins, echoing in his ears.

“I do believe we should all retire for the evening.” Regis broke the stunned silence, gaze locked upon Prompto.

“I agree,” Sylva echoed, slowly rising from her seat. Regis rose from his, and as one, the rest of the table rose. Lunafreya joined Sylva this time, looping her arm with her mother’s. Regis was flanked by Clarus and Cor as the left the dining room together. Prompto could just make out the murmured tones of conversation as the door closed, leaving the remaining six within.

Ravus cleared his throat as he stepped away from the table, hand outstretched to take Aurora’s. “That was entertaining, to say the least. Who knew you had such good reflexes?” His tone was joking, thought the tension didn’t waver within the room.

  “I have an idea!” Aurora declared, leaning into Ravus with a giddy grin before she turned her attention to the four still standing awkwardly at the table. “Come to the ballroom with us!”

“The… Ballroom?” Noctis questioned, a brow raising. “Aren’t they decorating for the Gala?”

“They are, but they should be done for the night. And the night is still young! Plus,” her smile turned mischievous, wicked, as she stepped over to Prompto, draping her arms over his shoulders. “Prompto most likely doesn’t know how to dance- properly.”

“She has a point,” Ignis chimed in, a smirk pulling at his lips. “You will need to know how to dance for the Gala.”

“I-… If Noctis wants to?” Prompto answered uncertainly, looking over at Noctis who looked, for lack of a better term, like a deer in the headlights. It prompted a snort to escape him, which caused Aurora to let out a giggle.

A sigh left Noctis before he shrugged, hands sliding into the pockets of his jacket. “Why not?”

A cheer left Aurora as she quickly linked her arm with Prompto. Together, the pair led the men from the dining room, giggling and laughing. Perhaps it was the wine, or maybe leftover nerves spilling over, but Prompto hadn’t felt this excited in a while. Aurora paused them as she looked over her shoulder, lip jutting out in a pout. “They’re so slow.”

“What was that?” Ravus called back, a brow raised. “We’re slow?”

“Oh, we can’t have that.” Ignis murmured, unbuttoning his waist coat. “Can we, Gladio?”

“No, we can’t.” The large vampire agreed, flashing a toothy grin.

Aurora released Prompto’s arm quickly before taking off in a sprint- one he would never have been able to keep up with. The trio took off after her, leaving Prompto behind to walk with Noctis.

Prompto’s eyes were wide as he stared at the retreating figures. “That’s… Fast.” A snort from Noctis brought him back to earth. Quietly, he walked alongside the Prince, enjoying the silence between them. “The architecture here is gorgeous. I-… If you don’t mind, I’d love to get some photographs of it? I know you guys don’t let paparazzi inside, so there aren’t many photos of how it looks in here. And it’s a shame, because this architecture- it’s Gothic, and calls back on some of the oldest parts of Insomnia, and I’m rambling.”

Noctis was smiling as he listened, magenta hues studying the blond. “I’ll have to clear it with dad, but… I don’t see a problem with it. I’ve been saying we need to let the public in more, instead of creating a protective barrier to keep us in and keep them out.”

“Good idea- oh. Is this the ballroom?”

“About time! Come on, slowpokes!” Gladio called out as they entered into the grand ballroom. It was in the midst of being decorated, tables set out but not yet covered, fabric sat in heaping piles of satin and silk, rich reds and deep burgundies. The ceiling was tall, and as Prompto studied it, he found that there were paintings across it, depicting the creation of man. Beautiful.

“Now, Ignis, are you alright to play?” Aurora asked, watching as Ignis took his place at the piano.

“I heal quickly. I’m fine,” he assured, though his words reminded Prompto of what had happened earlier. A grimace crossed his face.

“Good!” Clasping her hands before her chest, she turned, dress swirling out about her knees. “Ravus, you’ll teach Prompto!” She all but ordered, watching as her soon-to-be husband raised a brow.

“Me?” Ravus asked, amused.

“Him?” Prompto echoed, alarmed.

“Yes. Now, come on!” Aurora pulled Ravus to his feet, watching as he took off his suit jacket, leaving him in a vest and button down. Sleeves were rolled to his elbows as he moved to the center of the floor. “You too, Prompto!”

“Ignis,” Ravus called over his shoulder. “Play… Nocturne in E Flat Major, please. Op nine, number two, to be specific.” The sound of knuckles cracking filled the air as Ravus turned to study Prompto. A coy smile curled his lips as he slowly bent down at the waist, extending a hand in a far too elegant fashion. “May I have this dance, Prompto?”

A flush darkened Prompto’s cheeks as he reached out, placing his hand upon Ravus’ palm. “Sure…?” A chuckle escaped Ravus as he placed his hand upon the small of Prompto’s back, pulling him closer.

“Your left hand will rest upon my right shoulder- I’m leading. Keep your arm up, but not too stiff- relax, Prompto. I’m not going to bite you.” Ravus directed softly, and Prompto shifted nervously. “There we go. Now, chin up, and either keep your gaze over my left shoulder, or at me. Nowhere else. Ignis, if you’re ready?”

 “Wait, I’m not-”

“Hush,” Ravus whispered, shaking his head. “Relax and follow my lead.” His voice was so soft, Prompto noted, the accent of Tenebrae creating a soft purr in his words. He found himself relaxing as the piano notes began. Ravus stepped forward, and he stepped backward. “One, two, three. One, two, three. There we are, see? You’ve got this.”

It was easy, once he got the hang of it. Cornflower blue hues focused on Ravus’ face; his lips held a nearly perfect cupid’s bow, and he had… Freckles. They were light, but he could see them, dusted across his nose and the high points of his cheeks. And moles- more than he’d thought. And his eyes… Prompto found himself suddenly moved away, his hand still gripping Ravus, before he was pulled back. “There we go! See, a natural, you are.” Ravus praised, bringing a smile to Prompto’s lips.

The song ended, and as Ravus took a step back, he found himself floundering. “Bow,” Gladio called out, causing Prompto to frown. But Ravus dropped into a bow at the waist, and Prompto quickly followed suit.

“Very good! Noctis, your turn! Let’s make sure you still know how to lead.” Aurora teased, and Propmto would have laughed if it weren’t for the intense look upon Noctis’ face. Swallowing thickly, he held himself still as Noctis approached.

“Here, I’ll take over,” Ravus murmured softly, taking Ignis’ place at the piano. Quietly, he began to play, a soft, dark, medium paced song. Ignis didn’t want to admit it, but Ravus was better than him at the piano.

Leaning over, Gladio whispered to Aurora. “What song is he playing?”

“Franz Liszt’s Liebestraum- Love Dream.” She replied softly as she watched Noctis take Prompto into his arms, the pair easily moving together. Far more easily that he moved with Ravus.

Far more easily than she’d seen Noctis move with Lunafreya.

Prompto’s gaze was locked upon Noctis’ eyes, that intense magenta hue burning into his sole. He didn’t remember starting to dance, didn’t realize that the waltz Noctis was leading him in was far more difficult than the one he’d just gone through with Ravus. No, all he could focus on was the intensity in Noctis’ gaze. He could feel his cheeks warming, could feel his chest and neck flushing, the tips of his ears turning red. But it wasn’t from embarrassment; no, he wasn’t embarrassed in the least. His heart was beating a hard, steady rhythm within his chest.

 He wanted, no, needed to kiss Noctis. He had to. Noctis was his. He was Noctis’.

Far to soon, the song ended, but Noctis didn’t part. No, his fingers dug into the fabric of his shirt, and he simply studied the blond with the freckles within his arms.

The sharp sound of clapping startled them both apart. “Well… That was… Something.” Aurora spoke, cheeks flushed a bright pink. Clearing his throat, Ravus rose from his seat and draped an arm around Aurora’s shoulders. Ignis and Gladio moved closer to one another, and it occurred to Prompto that perhaps their dance wasn’t the most appropriate.

“I… I’ll take Prompto up to his room. I’m sure he’s exhausted,” Noctis called, and before Prompto could agree, he was being all but drug out of the room by Noctis.

“Hey, hey, buddy, pal, slow down.” Prompto forced Noctis to stop, causing the other to spin around. Brows furrowing, Noctis stared Prompto down, and for a moment, Prompto wondered if he’d done something wrong.

Until Noctis surged forward and captured Prompto’s lips in a stinging, biting kiss.

Prompto wrapped his arms around Noctis’ shoulders, pulling him closer, as Noctis backed him up, caging him against the wall. He could feel the tips of Noctis’ fangs pressing into his lips, but not breaking the skin. Truth be told, he wasn’t sure how long they stood there, kissing, until he felt Noctis’ tongue brush against his lips.

“Take me to my rooms,” Prompto whispered as he pulled back from the kiss, cheeks flushed rosy, eyes glazed. A smirk curled Noctis’ lips as he leaned down, pressing one lingering kiss after the other to Prompto’s neck. A shudder danced down his spine, spreading across his skin like a cold, silk blanket.

   “Gladly.”

[thechocobros]

“SEE LUNA SAFE TO ALTISSIA” - part 17

Pair: Nyx Ulric / Lunafreya Nox Fleuret

Previously: message me so I’ll give you the links ;)

Words: 9344

Plot: Luna and Nyx didn’t fell in the Empire’s trap, Nyx didn’t had to use the ring and he survived. What would have happened if Nyx really had the chance to ‘see Luna safe to Altissia’, like he promised to Regis? Part 17: The final battle has begun. Thinking that Nyx is dead, Luna tries to focus only on her mission to guide Noctis. She is determineted to tell him the truth about the prophecy and to dispose of the malicious Astrals, but this will come with a price ...  

Personal Comment: LAST CHAPTER BEFORE THE EPILOGUE! (an epilogue i accidentally deleted from my drafts but ok -.- ) I’m sorry for the horrible delay, I know I didn’t update in an eternity. I hope this big finale will repay your patience somehow. It was an extremely complicate chapter for me to write, more than the other ones probably, due to the action sequences. But here we are, my fix-it fic is over. It was an amazing journey, I loved it. It was long, difficult, but both Nyx and Luna deserved it. I hope you all think the same.

Let me know what you think, guys :))  I just want to thank @loveiscosmicsin for the costant help she gave me and YOU ALL READERS, because I wouldn’t have finished this novel fic if it wasn’t for your amazing support. I love you all. 

Stay tuned for the epilogue ;)

Luna stood paralyzed before Ardyn Izunia, mouth agape in sheer terror. She was fully aware that the man was the most inconvenient of obstacles at that point of the fight. Leviathan’s power raging in the background she had no energy to face the Usurper at the same time too.

But for some kind of destiny’s joke, the man didn’t seem to have come to fight for now. He bowed deeply instead, taking his hat off in sign of respect.

“My fair princess! How long I have waited to meet you! The pious Oracle - the Personification of Purity - who rebelled to the prophecy that decided your destiny. A model for the future generations, to never accept a fate written by someone’s else hand. I barely was able to contained my joy when you slew the Glacian.”

Lunafreya frowned and pressed her fingers around the indented grooves of the trident, seeking support in its comfortable power. She knew that if things would have turned out badly, she could count on her white magic, but at the same time gears whirred in her brain, seeking for other possibilities. Wit had always been her best weapon since she was nothing but a scared little girl, powerless in front of the cruel Empire.  

“You seem very well informed for a mere chancellor, Ardyn Izunia. So am I.”

“Then permit us to be honest to each other,” Ardyn sang with his mischievous voice, mellifluous enough to impress her, but not enough to mesmerize her.

“I didn’t expect you would response with a smile to the death of one of the Astrals, the very ones who wish to give the true king their blessing.”

“In a matter of speaking, the prince receiving those blessings was originally part of my plan,” he was attentive to not using the word ‘king’. “But perhaps I can handle it better without that condition. I’m a flexible man, after all. Anyway, let’s not speak of myself. I came here bearing gifts! This is an altar where sacrifices are offered afterall” he continued, indicating Leviathan destroying the city just a mile away. The goddess’s tail swept away an entire building in one swift motion.  

Despair filled the atmosphere and soon the bleakness of the situation will embrace the Oracle as well. Luna’s focus on Ardyn was frustratingly deviated by her worry for Noctis who she couldn’t see anymore. Her first instinct was to run straight to him as soon as possible but then Ardyn gestured to the airship that brought him here. The hatch of the ship automatically unveiled an unbelievable sight in the cargo hold. Luna gasped and widened her eyes in disbelief.

The Crystal.

The ancient artifact bestowed upon the Caelum dynasty of yore and the object of desire that Niflheim made off with in the confusion of Insomnia’s mayhem. It retained a calm glow as it was simply anticipating for one to exploit its magic.

“What is the meaning of this?” Luna asked, trying to divert attention away from her confusion.

“Oh, don’t recognize the Crystal when it’s right before your eyes? The Empire, obsessed by their greed and whatever shiny bauble that caught their attention at the moment, hasn’t quite tapped into it.”

“The Draconian and the Infernian are sealed within it,” Luna said, trying to connect the puzzle pieces.

“You’re right. And you should give them a good wake-up call.”

Leviathan moved and another earthquake summoned a sort of small tsunami which almost reached the altar and swept Luna away. When she was able to stand on her feet again, her knees had bled through her dress and Ardyn Izunia was staring at her with the most malicious of the smirks.

“What game are you imposing?” she challenged, raising her voice over the storm, simply not in the mood to entertain him.

Ardyn extended his arms, feigning concord in a circumstance that hardly was.

“Why does everyone jump to that conclusion? Do you think that I’m not capable of charity? Why, I came all this way to bring the Crystal to you.”

No, of course Luna didn’t believe in the gesture or his words for a second. In fact, she immediately considered the option of fleeing while there was still a considerable distance between them, a distance that the Chancellor was aware of.

To awaken two more deities into the chaotic fray would only wrought more destruction upon them all, she knew it too well. But at the same time, she contemplated that an opportunity would be wasted if she didn’t. At any rate, chances of survival after calling upon them were slim, and if she perished, who would have rouse Bahamut and Ifrit in her stead? She had to give Noctis the opportunity to fight the Gods and reclaim the power of the ring at all costs.

Perfectly aware of following Izunia’s twisted games, she decided to do as he asked for now. She aimed her trident toward the Crystal and let the white magic flow from her. She began to sing and pray, perpetuating the ritual, a performance done way too well by now. As the white lights around them flurried, the Crystal started to tremble so much it almost disintegrated, and everything else in the area subjected to silence. Enclosed in the proximity of her calling, there was the reason why both Ifrit and Bahamut shouldn’t have been driven from the Lucian Crystal in such a violent fashion. Once freed, nothing in the universe could encompass the awesome power of their combined antithetic might. But it was now or never and Luna didn’t really have other choice.

In a instant, the Crystal’s energy exploded.

A burst of an raw, unimaginable force.

The incredible effort sapped Luna every ounce of her strength, never had she been close to death’s gate. The blood from her face dissapated, along with breath bated and heart had skipped a beat. The feeling of losing control on her own body overwhelmed her more than the fatigue ever did and more than the illness looming over her. It was unusual and somehow… unclear.

In the depth of the silent absurdity, Luna reached for her stomach, where she felt something indistinguishably protruding from her side.

She blinked, seeing a dark substance coat her fingers. It couldn’t be blood. It was not the right color.

With Luna’s bearings regained, her eyes adjusted to the Chancellor who had enclosed the distance at last, offering a malevolent smile to the Oracle’s confusion. The blade that met the mark of its incision couldn’t be confused with an hazy dream. It was real. 

She had been stabbed.

There was no reason to look for a particular motivation beyond the unexpected act. Retrieving the weapon from Luna’s reach, Ardyn casually wiped the dagger with a handkerchief. Her role fulfilled, she was expendable in his eyes.

As she gasped and instinctively applied pressure to the wound, Luna had a delayed reaction to the pain. She was occupied with the regret of not surviving long enough to speak to Noctis one last time. What would have given to have the chance to make amends, to finally tell him about the prophecy, and giving him the chance to choose to save himself. She would have sold her soul in exchange of the opportunity to apologize, the thought had been on the back burner of her mind, in their correspondance, but it was too late. How selfish she had been before Nyx opened her eyes? All her life, she deluded herself into protecting Noctis by withholding the truth of his destiny? She never told her childhood friend that bearing the Ring would cost him his life and now, it was too late. She didn’t deserve forgiveness, nor mercy. She earned this death sentence.

She lifted her chin, noticing over Ardyn’s shoulders the colossal visages of Bahamut and Ifrit raised from the nothing after their prison was no more.

She also noticed Noctis, standing on the top of a building, looking at the chaos raging against him. He was ready to face Leviathan and probably also the other Astrals, but he was alone and still not at the peak of his power. It turned out clearly he didn’t use the Ring yet. It was just a matter of time before he realized that his only chance of survival was to doing it.

A tear streaked Lunafreya’s cheek. Ardyn best not misunderstood it as a sign of weakness, but desperation filled her veins like never before. She would have told Noctis the truth about the Ring, and permit him to choose his destiny even if it was the last thing she did in this life. 

But it would mean that she would be reunited with her husband in the Beyond.

—————-

Luna didn’t know that Nyx was not dead. He was alive, refusing to stand ground at a crucial moment.

As soon as he understood that the airship was not leading him in the right direction, he warped from one rooftop to the next, never stopping. Things started to be even more complicated after just a couple of minutes when Leviathan was repelled by the Oracle’s magic. Nyx understood that his wife’s negotiations didn’t succeed and chaos erupted. Debris, crashing walls of water, and explosions hailing around him made evading almost impossible. He had to summon all the tricks in the books to reach an intact building where he took cover for a minute to catch his breath. He felt exhausted already and he got nowhere. On the contrary, he lost track of the altar... or what was left of it. In spite of this, he was totally able to see the fight was growing exceedingly violent.

Soon enough he felt ready to warp again, but a different kind of explosion prevent him from doing it. He froze, looking to the sea, outraged by the scene before him. Two huge and threatening entities appeared not very far from Leviathan, raising from the darkness with cries of hysteria and writhing manically as if they were wild beasts released from restraints. Maybe that it was, especially considering the circumstances.

Nyx couldn’t believe his eyes.

“Bahamut and Ifrit?” he murmured, stupefied. Aside from fairy tales, he did not know anything about the Astrals before meeting Lunafreya, but she recently educated him about mythology, even at cost of sacrificing the safe and intimate moments they shared in bed. Not like Nyx could fault his wife’s bad timing of a time and place, it was a terrible habit, but at least the private lessons turned out to be useful. He was now able to recognize the Astrals.

The Glaive was aware that Lunafreya would attempt summoning Bahamut and Ifrit later on, but he was also aware that the Crystal was under the Empire’s control, possibly very far from here. So how come Lunafreya summoned them already? Something he couldn’t known must have happened.

“How is it possible? Where did you find the Crystal?” And then realization hit him like he was struck by lightning. “Izunia!”

The mere pronunciation of that name send a chill up to his spine. If the Chancellor found a way to Lunafreya, it meant that she was in mortal danger. And Nyx couldn’t believe she accepted to envoke two more enraged gods into the fray. It could only mean the situation was desperate.

“Damn, pulling the brave princess act again,” he cursed beneath his breath. He would tell Luna in person soon though. If he got to her in time.

“Nyx!” The unexpected voice which called up for him sounded like the frenzied mix between surprise and relief.

Nyx turned around to meet eyes with the Crown Prince of Lucis, covered in grime and soaked with sea water, a very far image from the one of royal blood would be presented. Now that Nyx knew the prophecy that Noctis should have fulfilled, the one of him becoming the True King of Light, he wondered if the Astrals have been not only malicious but also befuddled all along because there was nothing majestic in that skinny and clumsy young man. The universe dictated that he was the Chosen One? With a small smile, Nyx thought that maybe it was because Astrals thought he would have been the perfect lamb to lead slaughter – silent, pliable and compliant. Like in Lunafreya’s case, bad news were in store for them.

“Your Highness.”

“What are you doing here?”

In that moment Leviathan’s move threw a debris in Noctis’ direction and if Nyx didn’t warp in time, the impact would made its mark.

“About to go save Lunafreya’s ass, but I guess I can make time to save yours.” Nyx yelled in the attempt to be heard in all the confusion. “What’s up with you royal types and attracting the worst of every situation possible?”

Noctis lifted his chin and shoved the Glaive off him.

“It’s not like I asked for this and yet, here I am.”

Nyx sighed dramatically. This wasn’t the time or place to discuss this, so he didn’t comment any further and just helped the boy up.

“We gotta go. Did you use the Ring already?”

“They wouldn’t be alive if I did,” Noctis grunted, staring at the Astrals raging in the distance. “I … still don’t feel ready.”

When he caught the apprehension in those words, Nyx felt hesitation knot inside his stomach. If carrying the ring on a chain on his neck made the Glaive feel like he had a leash, wearing it on the finger must have felt like succumbing to the death. And the prince was nothing but a boy, brave but naive. Strong but inexperienced. Did he sense where putting the ring would have lead him? Did he guessed the required blood prince beyond it? If he did, he didn’t say anything.

“Should I wear it now, Nyx?” Noctis asked instead, looking at the Astrals in the distance. There was so much distress brimmed in his eyes and an hollowed echo in his voice that Nyx almost wished to shield Noctis away from every possible harm. Sadly, fleeing was not an option.

A pointless response was on the tip of Nyx’s tongue and remained unsaid, leaving him insecure of how to answer the prince. He had to have faith in his wife, trusting she would have guided Noctis until the very end, doing the right thing, and revealing him the truth, all with a smile on her lips. His main goal now was to protect them both.

So Nyx took Noctis’ shoulder and pulled him close, to encourage and to assure him he would have stand by his side, no matter what. Noctis seemed grateful for that hasty but heartfelt gesture and exchanging an understatement nod, they warped ahead at the unison.

The prince and the Glaive, off to save their princess.

———

If those were her last breaths, Luna would have used them to blow things in a way that Ardyn couldn’t ever predict.

Watching with distraught eyes of her own blood dripping on slippery stone, she retrieved her trident again, imparting all her power to it. A thick ring of light encircled her, vibrating and taking everything down like a tsunami. Her white magic yearned to reach the target, searching every perimeter of the atmosphere with spasmodic accuracy until it finally found the prince and another very dear person that Luna didn’t expect to sense.

———

Warping closer to the Astrals felt like shooting against the world’s end. It was fire and water, wind and earth, the elements shaken, the certainties lost in a vortex of unknowns. It hurt. It really did. 

If Nyx and Noctis didn’t have each other to rely on, there was no way that they could safely navigate through the vortex of destruction on their own. There was only forward, but obstacles before them forced them to embark detour after detour and time wasn’t on their side.

But then, they sensed Lunafreya. Like a sudden slap on the face, they suddenly knew she was there. They did not see her face, nor her figure. But it was her and she was everywhere.

“Your Highness, it’s time!” Nyx screamed, seizing the prince’s arm as he pointed at Leviathan, the closest divinity. “Take her out, I’ll cover you!”

Noctis nodded to the Glaive and focused, absorbing Luna’s magic from the chaotic atmosphere with deep breaths and closed his eyes. He secured himself to the wall of a building but he was rewarded for his concentration when he begun to levitate, the ancestral Armiger appearing from the nothing and circumnavigated about him.

Nyx looked at him in awe, holding the kukris in his hands, feeling that his own weapons couldn’t compare, much less leave a dent. For a moment he was certain that Noctis would have been fine against Leviathan without his help and such an intuition found confirmation when Noctis projected the first attack.

It was a blast. 

Fueled by the Oracle’s white magic, Noctis warped and slit, weapons serving him like a dozen of new arms. Nothing dared to move again after his lethal and unstoppable contact. Nyx had troubles in following his lead in the chaos but whenever he caught him, he saw him hitting the target with great precision and he felt so proud of him and even more so of Lunafreya, who lent such an outstanding strength to him.

It was then his mind caressed the memory of Luna that he felt his heart ache in the desire of being reunited with her as soon as possible. He quickly gazed the altar and the gods in the distance with renewed resolve and his feet started to move by themselves. First, they trotted, then they ran, and in the end, he warped. Without taking his eyes off Noctis, he got closer to his wife and finally reached for her.

———————

But what he expected to be the fulfillment of his promise and an happy reunion, quickly turned into the worst nightmare when he faced the truth of what happened during his absence. An absence that almost swept away the light from Luna’s eyes.

“Nyx…” she whispered, letting the trident fall and trying to lift herself up from her forearms.

Luna would have thought she was dreaming if the pain she felt reminded her that the time on this world was to a close. 

“Lunafreya!”

Luna lifted her chin enough to see the Glaive warping next to her, panic spreading all over his face. She found again all the details she thought she lost forever: the small tattoos, the braids, the shape of his jaw, the perfect lips now split and covered with blood. His strong arms picked her up, touching her with desperation and at the same time, delicately.

“I thought you were d–” Luna started, but her breath halted abruptly, stealing away her words.

Nyx adjusted her in his embrace and checked her out from the point of her head to the tip of her heels. His heart fell in a black abyss as soon as he noticed the wound on her abdomen and the urge of doing something almost brought him to the edge of the sanity.

“I’m fine!” When he screamed, he was angry. Damn, he was so angry. This was not supposed to be happening. “What happened to you? What–?” A grimace of pain moved on Luna’s beautiful forehead and she felt the urge to hide her face in his neck to alleviate her suffering. She wanted to cry because he was real, he was alive, and she was dying instead. Where she was headed was somewhere her Nyx would not be.

“Nyx. Nyx…” Her voice was on the verge of tears. “I’m sorry. I did all that I could, I–”

“Hey, the prince got the Ring, okay? He’s gonna fix this mess. You did it. Now look at me. Stay with me. You’re not dying on my watch, Lunafreya.”

Luna smiled and looked at him expectedly.

“You did your job. You delivered the Ring to Noctis… and you came back as promised.” Nyx got drawn by the sweetness in her tone and in that moment everything around them disappeared, the raging Astrals, the decadent city, the chaos, the wounds. It was just the two of them, looking at each other in the eyes, trying to stop the time and capture eternity in the middle.

“Told you I would,” Nyx whispered, caressing her cheek with the thumb, wiping away the water of the ocean. Or maybe, it was her tears.

“Thank you… My dearest Nyx. Help Noctis now, I beg this of you. I beg you.”

“You still have to tell him about the Ring,” Nyx said, frantically, hoping to offer her more reasons to stay, like his wish to remain forever together wasn’t enough.

Luna surprised him by answering, “I will.”

Her promise left Nyx speechless. Then her lips moved, but no sound that he could make out until he leaned in. She gained all her remaining strength to whisper, “I love you” and closed her eyes, looking so tired and pale.

Nyx’s eyebrows furrowed, panic stirring in his chest as soon as he understood what was happening. The acutest pain hit him and paralyzed him. He wanted to say something but couldn’t. His lips were trembling badly. Tears pushed and asked to be released, but he couldn’t do that either. So he just stared at his wife, numb.

“Nyx!” Nyx recognized the voice. It was Noctis, calling for him from a close distance, like an echo, it barely reached him. Another voice joined, a different one, with an aristocratic accent.

“Noct!” This was Ignis. He arrived there, too.

But the Glaive ignored them both. He kept staring at Luna. He got closer to her lips and pressed his forehead to hers, trying to gift her his warmth, praying in vain to save her. 

When he failed, he felt the world stop moving.

—————–

When he almost finished Leviathan off, Noctis had ran toward the altar, sensing Luna’s magic abandoning him. The attempt had caused him pain not only because Leviathan’s hysteria: Bahamut had joined the battle, taking the Goddess of the Sea’s side and throwing the young Prince in the ocean like he was a mere puppet. Noctis couldn’t explain how he survived that.

He felt the Ring calling for him, asking to be used but he did his best to ignore it, certain he had to wait a bit longer. Just a bit longer.

So Noctis swam to the river, Luna’s white magic sneaking away from his veins. As soon as he reached the altar he understood why. She was dying. So pale, so beautiful, curled in Nyx’s arms.

“Nyx!” he called, but then Noctis fell to his knees, a sudden tiredness embraced him. Something else was happening, something inside him. He didn’t even had the time to panic because energies were quickly abandoning him. He had the time to look for the Ring in his pocket, pressing it against the palm of his hand.

“Noct!”

The prince turned aside and noticed Ignis alongside with Ravus. He smiled to his loyal advisor then his sight got blurry. The ring toppled to the pavement and he fainted.

————-

Ravus was still paired up with Ignis when they headed for the altar. But as the High Commander’s breath hitched in seeing his sister’s corpse, Ignis ran to Noctis’ side instead and quickly checked his pulse. Sensing it was still there, he sighed in relief but at the same time searched for the cause of his fainting and founded nothing but the ring beside him. He took it with justified fear and then swallowed, turning around to look at Nyx and Ravus.

The Glaive was huddled there, staring at the woman in his arms. His eyes were empty, haunted by the final words bestowed to him. Not even Ravus, destroyed by seeing his sister lifeless, could equal his level of numbness.

Ignis understood. He understood far better than Noctis or Ravus ever could. He knew what meant dedicating your life to someone and not being able to protect that person in spite of every effort. If Noctis wouldn’t been revived, he would have felt dejected from existence in the same way. So he stood up, thinking of getting closer to Nyx and Ravus to offer them comfort, but there was not time for mourning because the Astrals were still raging in the distance and because someone appeared not very far from them.

“Ardyn!” Ravus seethed, recognizing him.

“Hello there. What a happy reunion in such a distressful time.” 

Ignis quickly assumed a defensive position, certain that he wouldn’t have let him closer to Noct or Luna. “Nyx Ulric! On your feet!” he called, praying that the Glaive would abandon his comatose status and react because they needed him now more than ever. “Nyx!”

When Nyx lifted his eyes, there was death inside. "Give me the Ring,” he said.

Ignis gasped. Nyx knew what using the ring would mean. When Insomnia was under attack he saw Ravus using it and suffered the consequences. Lunafreya had told him that Noctis himself - the Chosen one - would have consumed his life for using it. So when he asked to Ignis to hand him the Ring, he knew that what would have been the consequences, but he just didn’t care. Lunafreya, his princess, his wife, his reason to live, had died in his arms and this made him reckless. His life meant nothing now she was gone. He failed his mission. He didn’t protect her. To atone for such a sin, he would have sacrificed his life to kill the murderous Astrals and maybe also the Usurper, so Noctis didn’t have to.

“No, Nyx. Using the Ring is a right reserved to the True King and only Noct –” Ignis started, but got interrupted by the Glaive’s prompt response.

“You wouldn’t use it if it was Noctis in Lunafreya’s place?”

Ignis didn’t reply, averting his gaze with a grimace. So when Nyx reached for the Ring, Ignis hesitated just for a second before handing it over to him. Damn the consequences.

It was fast. Nyx wore it before Ignis’, Ravus’, and Ardyn’s shocked eyes. And the darkness fell on that dimension, bringing Nyx face to face with the powerful kings of the past.

—————————-

Blades of grass caressed Noctis’ cheek and he woke up. At the beginning he couldn’t recognize the perfume of the sylleblossoms, too much time was passed since he last smelled it. Twelve years, probably.

As he stood up and the blue color of the flowers filled his eyes, he understood he was inside a dream, there was no other explanation to such a contrasting scenery. Trapped inside the body of when he was just a eight years old boy, he looked around, searching for Luna, the only one he shared the memory of the sylleblossom field with.

“Noctis?”

There she was, the younger version of her. Blond hair on her tiny shoulders, the cute little dress, she was exactly like he remembered in her fondest memories.

Noctis felt his heart warming up, childhood dreams filling with bittersweet tenderness his mind repressed from the associated pain of her visage.

“Luna?”

“So you found your way here.”

Noctis stood up and looked at her. Once again, they were two children in a flower field, talking surrounded by peace.

“And you found me” Noctis whispered then, comforted by that thought.

“A chance to see you once more. Who would have thought?”

“Luna. Where are we? What’s happening?”

“I needed to have a moment to speak with you, Noctis. Before I go.”

“Go where?”

In that moment, the wind swished graciously and Luna’s beautiful white dress follow the breeze, getting longer in the air. When Noctis lifted his chin to look at her again, the child was gone and an adult woman, mature and emotionally drained, replaced her instead. Still, she was beautiful.

“Where you can’t follow, Noctis. I’m dying. I enjoyed my moments of happiness. Since I left my goodbyes with Tenebrae months ago, I knew this day would have come,” she whispered, but her echo could be heard from the distance in the irisdescent atmosphere. “The Astrals ordained my death and rebelling against them came with a price. I’m ready to the fare as long as you, Nyx, and the all of Eos are preserved.”

The mention of that name in the conversation woke doubts in Noct’s mind. Even if he was trapped inside the body of a child, his memory of an adult was able to reach for the image of Luna dying with Nyx’s lips on hers. That caused him pain but also a dazzling feeling of emptiness.

“You love the Glaive, don’t you?”

Luna let a second pass and then nodded.

“I was happy, Noctis. He made me happy, even for just a little while. So don’t think you couldn’t save me because in a way... He did already when nobody else could.”

Noctis forgot how to use the tongue to speak for at least one minute straight. The feeling inside his heart was confused and uncertain, very similar to the frustration of not being able to do what he always wished to: helping Luna.  

“What… What should I do then? What do you want me to do?”

“Your burden is heavy enough. You still must banish the Darkness from our Star, Noctis. Ardyn Izunia is the Usurper and even if we’d succeed in killing the malicious Astrals, he still would try to have his revenge on your lineage. The only power able to destroy him is the one restrained in the Ring, but about that you must be warned of something your father and I never had the courage to share with you.”  Luna could barely conceal her sadness looking at the child she shared so many fond memories with. He really cared for her, as much she cared for him. It was about time to speak him the truth and guide him one last time before parting ways. They were like parallel lines, after all, always so close, never destined to entwine.

“What is it about?”

“The Kings ask for a blood price. The Old Wall can be summoned from drawing the essence of your life.”

“Does it mean I’m gonna die…?”

Luna’s heart ached.

“So speaks the prophecy, Noctis.” The spark died in the boy’s eyes and Luna had only a faint hope to offer him. If she would have suggested him a corect line of action which implied saving his life, she would have considered her calling of Oracle really fulfilled. Guiding him was her mission, after all. Making him happy was her wish. “But you can defeat it, together with your best friends and with the loyalty of the Glaives like Nyx. So many people are ready to stand by you all along, Noctis. So many people are ready to challenge fate to see you safe. Not a single life will be taken if you will share your burden with all of them.” 

“Share my burden…? How?”

“Inside the Crystal, you’ll find an answer. The Kings of Yore will show mercy to their descendants. Once you’re inside there, your trials will start and you’ll enter into reflection. Remember you’re not alone. If you’ll keep in mind that you don’t have to carry your burden alone, you’ll manage to survive the cruel fate the gods chose for you.” 

A sudden and far noise broke the peace of the meadow. The sylleblossoms delicately waved, the earth underneath their feet did, too.

Noctis panicked a bit like the kid he seemed, while Luna looked upon the sky with sad eyes. Understanding what was happening, she got so close to tears and had to battle a lot to be strong.

“What’s going on up there?” Noctis screamed. The dream they were trapped in started to collapse. 

“You belong to the realm of the living, Noctis” said Luna then, aware of running out of time, “Godspeed. Reclaim your throne. Nyx has certainly used the Ring already like the stubborn fool he is. Don’t let the Kings burn him alive for his recklessness, I beg of you. Join forces with him.” 

The sylleblossoms around them started to melt and moved like waves of water. Still, Noctis had questions.

“What about you?” Luna shook her head in response. “No! Luna!” The mysterious flow pulled Noctis away from his friend and no matter how much the boy streched out to reach for her, he just couldn’t touch her.

Luna didn’t ask to be saved though. She was smiling, because she told Noctis the truth in the end because Noctis would have saved Nyx and together they would have saved the world.

Her duty was done.

Her calling finally fulfilled.

———————

Nyx found himself floating in an indefinite blue space, surrounded by darkness and clueless of what expecting next. He figured that such a place was an alternate dimension used by the Kings to get in touch  with the mortals but he couldn’t be sure. Yet, all that space, with no appropriation of space or size, made him even more anxious than he already was. He was sure that the Kings of Lucis wouldn’t have welcomed his impudent initiative, so he stood there alone for a long minute, in silence and uncertainty, contemplating the possibility of his imminent death.

“Show yourselves, Kings of Lucis!” he called out in the end, tired of waiting.

Like they were sparks of blue fire bursting out of a volcano, the spirits of the kings appeared all around him, minacious and powerful. They didn’t make a sound nor move a breeze. What did he expect from ghosts? And Nyx hoped that ghosts may go gentle on him.

“You call upon the wards of this world’s future, mortal. And if you come lusting for our power, you must first stand in our judgment,” one of them started. Nyx thought it was the most important among them so he turned around until he faced him.

“You did nothing as Insomnia burned and now, you did nothing as the woman who did so much to preserve the light in the world - the woman who dared to challenge the gods when nobody of you did – suffered and died. She is the blood of the Oracle, but you let her alone in this fight!”

Nyx’s voice trembled as he spoke so, but didn’t end it there. On the contrary it screamed out loud. He was angry, he was in agony, he was ready to fight not only the Gods but also the ghosts of the Kings of Lucis in order to receive even the slightest hope of bringing Lunafreya back. The pain of having lost her had hurt him so badly that he was ready to try and risk everything. He would have gladly got down in hell, sunk his feet in the river Styx and fought the devil himself if it was necessary. Everything. Everything to keep her safe - or in this case, to bring her back.

He didn’t want to think it was over and that she was lost forever, not yet, but he couldn’t deny that the situation was kinda desperate.

“Man is a fool creature, clinging to his past and cowering from his future” answered the Kings in fact. “Wasting his strength on bygone days. And what future are you wards of? So shortsighted. And cursed never to rise above it. It does not fall to us to guard your city or your woman.”

“But it falls to you to guard the future!” Nyx screamed back.

“Guarding the future is something we do of our own accord. At a time we so choose.”

“The longer you wait, the more the world burns! Old or new, or whatever it is, give me your power. Now! Destroy the gods. Banish the darkness. If you can’t save her, don’t let Lunafreya’s death be in vain!” Nyx’s voice was starting to get not only reckless, but also really desperate. With Lunafreya gone and the prince unconscious, if the Kings of Lucis would have refused to help him too, there would be no hope.

He wanted to save everything and everyone, it was something written in his blood and he couldn’t help with it.

“You do not command us. Yours is not even royal blood.”

That statement hit Nyx’s nerves. He couldn’t believe that the Kings would have been so irrational and stubborn to refuse his request just because he wasn’t a member of the royal family. Truth to be told, he could have asked nicely, but there was no time for it. They had to listen to him, and quickly. So he opened his mouth to try to work out a response and give them a piece of his mind when another voice joined the conversation, interrupting him.

“His may be not. But mine is.” 

Nyx boggled and turned around in shock.

He may have not spoken with that voice so often, but he would have recognize it between a milion similar ones.

Noctis was standing there, some steps away from him, lifting his chin to face the Kings, an unspoken courage on the face. He was raising his right hand in the air and it was then when Nyx noticed the ring on his finger. Puzzled and confused, the Glaive checked his own hand, seeing that the ring had dissapeared from there to materialize on the prince’s. This caused an hesitant smile dawning on his face.

“The Ring. How…?” Nyx whispered, adressing to Noctis. “How come you’re here?”

Noctis glanced at him briefly and smiled wryly. “Luna.”

That name made Nyx’s heart lighten and enlarge. “You spoke with her…?” he asked increduolously. 

Despite his question, Noctis walked ahead, ignoring him to address the Kings instead.

“Father.” One of the shadows twirled gently and bent down, getting closer to Noctis with obvious familiarity. He didn’t say anything, so Noctis did first, “Grant to Nyx Ulric to go on living. I’m gonna need him as much as I’m gonna need the support of my friends. That’s how I can defeat the prophecy, isn’t it?”

“The prophecy is matter of the gods and the Kings put it into action. You must know by now that the power of the Ring costs a life because it’s fed with vital energy. No one can change this” the mechanical voice of the ghost king replied. 

“What if each one of us sacrifice a piece of their own life instead?” Noctis asked it as a question, but he looked pretty confident about his suggestion. “In that case, you’d have your blood debt and we all would survive long enough to enjoy the light of the dawn for years.”

A deep silence fell among the ghosts of the kings.

“Who plotted this scheme?” Someone asked. Surprisingly enough, there was stupor in the question like they were outraged that someone actually dared to elaborate such a proposal.

Noctis didn’t answer but his grin milded with a tender expression, revealing the truth without speaking a word.

Luna.

It was certainly her the one behind the suggestion.

King Regis - it was clear it was him under the solid armor which made him hard to recognize - stepped ahead, slowly. “For years I mourned your fate, Noctis. I would have done anything to save you and I still would. But your life is very high valued, your request cannot be granted so easily. If we accept, how many people would have to share your burden when it was meant to be only yours to bear?”

“I don’t know. How many people died for me until now? Without my knowledge?”

Regis boggled at the veiled accusation, hit right in the feelings. In his mind shocking images of Insomnia’s destruction probably appeared, because he immediately seemed to submit.

“I’m sorry, Noctis. I was only trying to spare you the pain... I thought your destiny couldn’t be changed.”

Noctis’ face frowned in suffurance. “I wish I knew about what gods had in store for me, Dad. We would have find a solution together. And maybe … you’d still be here, too.” The boy almost started to cry but he quickly hid the feelings behind a mask of resolution, determined to settle down the right priorities. He looked at his finger, were the ring was positioned. Glowing with a menacious shade of red, it looked like an horrible instrument of death.

“But we can still change destiny, Dad. I’m going to get home back. Trust me. Believe in me.

King Regis took a long minute before nodding. For some reason, Nyx imagined he was smiling under the helm.

“My wayward son is ready to be a king, then” he said then, a voice so human in spite of the eerie reverberations. And he stepped back, to rejoin the rest of the Kings. “He’s right. A lot of people will be ready to lend him their strength. We must prepare to pay our blood debt and Noctis will do what he must. Let’s grant him our power and send the Glaive back with him.”

There was a long silence, but for some reason, the King who spoke first - the most hostile one - didn’t bother to object. It was like he trusted King Regis completely even if he was technically the latest addition to the club.

“Very well, Chosen. You and the impudent Glaive return to the realm of the living. We’ll grant you our powers. And then you’ll enter into Reflection, for you, the journey has just begun.” 

But Noctis didn’t seem to be satisfied yet.

“The world is going to need a guide while I’m inside the Crystal. Who should I trust for this? Ravus? I don’t think so. You all know that Eos always looked to only one person for inspiration,” he added, knowing exactly he was crossing a line he shouldn’t have get close to. Asking to the Kings a ressurection when he just obtained the greatest powers almost for free was really… audacious. In spite of this, there was the sparkle of a smile on his lips. Like he knew that Kings wouldn’t ever deny anything to their beloved last heir.

Nyx realized he was not so shameless compared to him. And for this reason, he promised his eternal loyalty to that young King instantly. 

“Now, now, Young King. We take lives, we don’t give them” one of the Ancestors replied though. “The favor you’re asking is something only the gods are able to grant. Throw them on your feet and they shall do as you order. They will give back the life they slowly sucked away all along. The Oracle is not of our concern.”

Noctis turned. He and Nyx shared a deep and meaningful glance.

Nyx didn’t know what to say, so great was the confusion and the emotion. He just saw history being written under his very own eyes and he could barely realize it.

“Of course. The Six ripped off Luna of her white magic, and if we kill them one by one, they’re gonna give back what they took. Luna’s life included. So, we can stick to our original plan” Noctis whispered, opening the palms of his hands and closing his eyes. The Ring glowed again, glowing red, and Nyx understood they were going back to reality with an unbelievable pact sealed with the old Kings of Lucis. Unable to formulate into words the strong emotion he felt inside, he just stepped ahead, closer to Noctis. As he reached for his shoulder, King Regis interrupted him in the attempt of stealing another promise.

“Nyx Ulric. You used the Ring and this will take a major tool on you, no matter if you’ll survive or not. The old wall is no joke and you was so reckless to ask for it. However, I am getting used to trust you with the lives of the dearest people I still have on earth, because I know you didn’t let me down and never will. Take care of my son.” 

Nyx took only one instant to figure what Regis wanted to say. The Ring was made of black magic, the darkest and the most powerful one. If it was true that the life price would have requested a certain amount of strength from Noctis’ best friends, a major price would have come upon Nyx, because he dared to use the Ring, going way too far. He couldn’t think of playing with fire without getting burned. At the same time, he couldn’t regret trying. So he nodded with a serious expression.

Regis probably was satisfied of his courage, so he added, “However, once that Luna is back, she will help you fighting the darkness of the Ring’s repercussions. Godspeed.”

And if that was the deal to be struck, the darkness didn’t scare him.

So, he smirked like he was used to, “Where do I sign?”

——————-

With a flash made of light, they returned back to reality.

Ardyn didn’t got any closer and the Gods were still raging behind, so both Nyx and Noctis realized that just a couple of seconds had passed since they left the real world to speak with the Gods.

So they didn’t lose any more time, they both sprinted up on their feet and summoned their weapons, Nyx the kukris, Noctis all the ancestral weapons in his arsenal. Shoulders against shoulders, they shared a nod and silently agreed on what to do.

They parted ways without even the need to wish each other “good luck”, because no luck was needed. They both had the power of the Kings of the past and that was an assurance of victory already.

Noctis threw himself agaist the Astrals first, knowing they were the priority if they wanted to clear the path to Ardyn and if they wanted Luna back. With the Ring on his finger he was unstoppable and lethal while Leviathan was heavily injured already. He didn’t took a lot of time to knock them off, one by one, but Nyx didn’t notice anyway. In fact, everything happened so fast that Nyx could barely aknowledge the sequence of action at all. He didn’t have the time to see Noctis killing Leviathan and Bahamut, then Ifrit, then summoning Titan and Ramuh and dispose of them too. He didn’t have the time because he was busy keeping Ardyn occupied until Noctis would have been back and he did it amazingly.

Like Regis’ ghost warned him, the power of the ring was taking a toll on his body already. He was feeling the dark magic of the Kings running through his veins, leaving marks similar to burning cinders on his skin. In spite of this, he didn’t bother. He would have kept the promise he made to Regis: he would have stood by Noctis side, no matter at what cost. He would have gifted him his own vital energy at the right moment. And he would have survived to see Luna running back in his arms.

Nyx learned that hope was the most powerful magic in his own arsenal. Without it, he wouldn’t have been the hero everyone labeled him with when for the first time in forever, he felt to stand the title.

Thinking of this, the power of the ring overwhelmed him to the point he completely lost the control on time. Maybe the pride and the self condidence were pushing him towards the darkness quicker than he could expect. Once again, he didn’t care.

Ignis and Ravus came to help him and that was when Ardyn himself started to lose the fight. All of a sudden, the Usurper couldn’t avoid the blows delivered by the kukris, nor the trajectory of the magic, and Nyx felt the darkness inside him getting stronger and stronger, he lost his soul to it.

He kept casting death spells, until the climax brought him to the point where he could barely remember how to breathe.

That was the moment when a voice called for him.

“Nyx, that’s enough.” 

He couldn’t stop immediately, even if he wanted to. He kept attacking Ardyn, like another wave of darkness had deleted his rationality, replacing it with pure fury. It was not until he recognized the voice calling him that he halted.  

“Nyx.”

He gasped.

His vision blurred.

He stopped this time.

He let the kukris falling on the ground and all of a sudden he felt like the powers of the ring abbandoned him, which made him kneel down and almost faint. His heart missed a beat, confused by the lack of adrenaline he previously lost himself to. If a pair of pale arms didn’t embrace him, he would have certainly crushed his face to the ground.

The scent of her hair hit him first. Then the warmth of her skin. Nyx sighed deeply, finding relief even before completely aknowledging what was happening. He used his last reserves of strength to hug her so tight that he feared losing her if he didn’t hold her close.

“Ardyn is gone,” she whispered in his ear, delicate like a sylleblossom and gentle as a breeze. 

He was not instead. Trembling and panting, the Glaive asked harshly, “Is he dead?” 

“No, my love. But he will be, one day. By the hand of our King, not ours.”

Fair enough.

Only then, Nyx sighed deeply, slowing regaining control on his muscles. As the power of the kings started to leave his body, he felt the skin melting and the brain going empty. He almost wanted to cry to give to vent the numbess, but he ended up abandoning himself to her, burying his nose in her hair.  

“We both did enough, Nyx. Let’s take a break.”

Her voice was so calm, and that was the only thing that prevent him from falling apart.

Nyx flinched back to look at her, eager to involve other senses in the relief of having her back. And Lunafreya was there, real and alive. He admired the square shape of her jaw, the bones of her collarbone, the crystal blue of her beautiful eyes. She was covered in powder and dirty water, but she never looked so human and beautiful. He immediately reached for her cheeks, to caress them and wipe away a tear stemming from the source.

“You’re back,” he whispered, still shaking. The spirals similar to burning cinder reached his neck, but the only touch of Lunafreya’s hand took it away with a glow. Her healing magic was his cure. Not even when he made love to her thinking there was no tomorrow, he felt more intimately connected to her like when she cured him in that specific situation. She literally sucked away the darkness inside him with the delicate touch of her fingers and that felt like heaven. With a sigh of relief, he leaned forward to kiss her smile. When they interrupted the kiss a minute later, she finally managed to nod. 

“What did you offer to the Kings in exchange of my life?” 

“Nothing more than what we already planned to offer. The lives of the Six.”

Luna opened her mouth in disbelief and immediately checked the marks on her stomach. Nothing was visible under her thin and white dress, which meant they were all gone. The knife wound created by Ardyn was gone, too, and only the stain of the dark blood smudged the fabric. The destruction of the gods inverted the course of her destiny, exactly like they originally expected. When Noctis killed them, their death gave back her life, her magic and her health.

Realizing this, Luna gasped but the shock on her face was well concealed by the calm of her inner confusion. She was just too surprised to actually show it. She just stood like that, Nyx’s hands on hers, and said nothing.

In the meantime, around them the fog had cleared, revealing that Ardyn had dissapeared. Ravus and Ignis - exausted by the surreal fight - limped toward Nyx’s and Luna’s direction, dismay on their faces that in Ravus’ case quickly turned into excitement.

“Lunafreya!” he screamed, shamelessly stealing her from Nyx’s arms to hug her like he never did before. Luna gladly accepted his affection for once, wondering why she had to die before seeing his brother act like when they were children. “You were dead. How…?”

Nyx stood up with difficulty, looking at the weird spirals on his burning skin slowly dissapear, leaving behind scars. Shelving the mixed feelings he had towards the Ring’s blood price and Noctis’ survival, he focused on the view of Altissia around them.

Destruction and chaos was everywhere.

The corpse of the gods had dissapeared immediately after their death, but the signs of their rage remained in the felled buildings and broken bridges. The darken clouds in the sky opened a little, so the weak rays of sunshine could touch the flowers destroyed by the water, the upside down tables and chairs of the restaurants and the broken glasses of the windows. It was a distressing view, but Nyx could only feel relief.

The Gods were gone. Somehow, they accomplished the impossible. But if the battle was won, so it wasn’t the war. Izunia was still alive and he would have spread the Darkness upon all Eos. 

As a matter of fact, he looked for Noctis and noticed him up there where what was left of the altar was located. He stood all alone with the Crystal next to him. Even from the distance, the ring on his had was extremely visible, as much as the sad expression on his face.

His eyes met Nyx’s, and he smiled. That look meant a lot for them both. It meant “I will be back soon I promise”, “go, we’ll settle the rest”, “hold on until the day I will reclaim the throne”, “take care of them” and also … “take care of her”. Nyx somehow understood all the layers of the glance and simply nodded, clenching the jaw in a nervous and silent movement.

Then, Noctis quickly glanced back at Ignis, looking for Prompto and Gladiolus who were running in their direction. A soft smile warmed up his expression. In that moment, Nyx noticed that something was different in him, already. His way of standing tall was different, his shoulders were straighten up, his face looked more mature. And when he turned his back to his friends to enter inside the Crystal, Nyx observed the awareness in his walking.

The young prince would have been a great King once he would have come out of the Crystal. He would have lived long enough to rule well on Eos, sharing his burden with his loyal friends. With him, too.

While he was thinking at this, Luna’s fingers slid between Nyx’s ones, delicate as feathers. The Glaive turned to watch her positioning next to him, holding up to his arm. Her eyes were glowing like diamonds under the rays of the sun, a sun that would have shown rarely in the next years.

Nyx found inspiration in watching her, knowing that she would have lead Eos during Noctis’ absence, spreading hope in his return.

So, it was it. The moment of the separation had come. Darkness would have fallen upon them. But it would have been temporary.

Nyx and Luna stood in silent reverence as they watched their future King dissapear inside the Crystal, leaving the burden of the world on their shoulders.

[finalfucketry]

The Path Including You - Ch. 1

G

Noctis Lucis Caelum/Reader, Lunafreya Nox Fleuret/Reader, Noctis Lucis Caelum/Lunafreya Nox Fleuret

No Warnings

After growing up together, now married Luna and Noct have a big favor to ask. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   Under law, you were a retainer to the house of Fleuret, ever faithful to the Oracle line. As your mother before you, and her mother before her. Nearly every generation raised in the lower wings of the castle, very rarely seeing even the princess or prince. Until your 9th birthday when you were introduced to a likewise 9 year old Lunafreya. Unofficially, you were a loyal friend, one of the few she'd been able to have with her training leaving her unable to do much outside the castle. At first, you had been too scared to even go near her, lest you break some kind of social code. It wasn't until you spotted her reading in the library, a gigantic tome on her lap, that your relationship deepened. When you locked eyes, you panicked, and turned to disappear into the stacks.

“Wait!” she halted you with her voice, sounding far too loud in the quiet of the library. You turned, trying to remember every formality your mother had ever taught you.

“My Lady...?” you prepped. You chanced a look at her as you kept your head lowered, she was smiling.

“Would you read with me?” she asked. Unlike when your mother or her brother talked to you, it sounded like a real question. You were so surprised you forgot to address her properly, and simply nodded. She scooted over on the enormous chair and looked at you expectantly. You scrambled over and sat next to her, nervous at first. Until you looked at the book she was reading. Nestled inside it, small and hidden, was a sticker book, which she was working hard to decorate. The sight sent you giggling, which set her off as well, and you spent several minutes trying to hush yourselves even though you were alone.

     The visiting royalty caught your attention, after you discovered one of them was only a few years younger than yourself. You discovered this when you rounded a corner one day and ran straight into the side of a wheelchair being pushed down the hall. You had just enough time to assess the boy in the chair looking curiously at you, and the man pushing him smiling kindly at you, before you yelped and dove out of sight back where you came from. When news first circulated of their arrival, your mother crossed her arms and looked at you sternly as she told you to stay out of their way. You did your best to obey over the next few weeks, you should have figured it wouldn't be that easy.

      Mindlessly, you were walking in step with Pryna through the garden. You were mesmerized by her tail and not bothering to look where you were going. She stopped suddenly, making you nearly trip over her, and sniffed the air. Then she took off through the bushes, startling you. Still, you wanted to see where she was going. She went through brush not big enough for humans, and you lagged. You saw her feet disappear behind a hedge and pushed your way there, finally breaking through and falling onto the grass. When you looked up to follow the sound of the dog, Lunafreya was sitting on a bench, petting her. When you stood to brush yourself off, it caught her attention and she smiled, waving you over. You shuffled a little closer.

“U-Um. My Mama said I'm not supposed to get in the way,” you said, glancing around. Another face peeked out behind Lunafreya, a patch of dark hair and curious blue eyes. The boy you'd seen before. Lunafreya smiled mischievously and pointed to the bench next to her.

“Well if you sit over here, you won't be in the way,” she reasoned. You smiled and went over to take a seat, Lunafreya reaching up and plucking a leaf from your hair. You and the boy peered at each other from around Lunafreya's ahoulders.

“You're the girl from the hallway...” he noted. You looked down shyly and mumbled an apology he didn't hear.

“My dad says 'Sorry'” he announced suddenly, making you meet his eyes again curiously. He puffed his chest out and put on a deep voice, to imitate his dad you suspected.

“Do find out the young lady's name next time you see her, and give her my apologies for startling her,” he finished with a soft giggle that spread to you and Lunafreya. You relaxed a little.

“So?” he asked. You frowned.

“So, what?”

“What's your name?” he pushed.

“________” you answered, putting out your hand like you'd always been taught. He reached for it, but it was hard to reach around Lunafreya. She smiled and grabbed both your hands, making them meet and forcing the two of you to lean into her. Her hand stayed wrapped around the two of yours.

“Noctis,” he returned. That was the beginning of it all, really.

      There were times you would see them together, in his bedroom, or her pushing him around the halls, and they appeared to be deep in conversation. When you stumbled in on them like this, it was a stark reminder that they were both part of something you'd never be. Not just royalty but saviors in their own right. It left you aching and in those times you tried to escape without being seen, to not feel like you were intruding. Every time, Lunafreya would turn and offer her hand out to you with a smile, and in turn Noctis would gaze curiously at you and offer his own wide grin. In those moments you were reminded that while they were part of something you were not, you had something equally important with them. Together.

     When you knocked on Noctis's door, you only heard a mumble in response. You assumed that was meant to invite you in... You pushed a tray into the room and smiled at the sight of him curled up under the blankets.

“Your Highness?” you tested. There was a few moments of silence before his sleepy voice came from the bundle on the bed again.

“Why do you call me that?” he asked, and peeked out at you, finally working towards waking up. You blinked at him.

“Because... You're a Prince?” you said slowly, a little confused. He yawned and smiled sleepily at you.

“Yeah but it's kinda weird when you say it,” he said. You climbed up on the bed with him.

“I get scolded if I don't, but... I guess I can just say Noctis when Mama isn't around...” you conceded. He hummed in agreement and nuzzled into his pillow.

“You can't go back to sleep! I already brought in breakfast! I had to push it all the way here!” you complained. His eyes were still closed, but he was smiling at your complaints.

“I'll eat it later.”

“It'll be gross later.”

“It's already gross...” he mumbled.

“Hey!”

“I'm still tired...”

You huffed and scooted closer.

“You're always tired!”

“No this time for real...”

You sighed and prodded the lump under the blanket. It quivered and you smiled. You poked harder a few different times, and this time he let out a laugh of protest and squirmed. You started to tug the covers off and he held them in a death grip. You were stronger, pulling him up into a seated position. By now, he was mostly smiling and laughing, being a pain for the sake of it. You launched forward to dig your fingers into his sides, making him squeal and struggle out of your grip.

“N-No fair!”

He caught your hands and they ended up locked, both trying to dance around each other. Neither of you noticed Lunafreya enter the room until she crawled up onto the bed behind Noctis.

“Luna! Help!” he cried.

“Luna! He keeps trying to go back to sleep!” you countered. She eyed both of you with a smile before sneaking up and wresting Noctis's arms behind him, locking them in place.

“Hey! What?!”

You smiled triumphantly as you went back in and your fingers skittered over his sides and his stomach, under his shirt that was beginning to ride up. You enjoyed the laughter that burst from him, ringing out into the room. You and Lunafreya couldn't help laughing too.

“O-Okay!” he sputtered out, and you backed off just enough to let him talk.

“I-I won't go back to sleep... Promise...” he panted. You smiled, finally satisfied and removed your hands. Luna released his arms and he caught his breath for a minute, reaching up to swipe away the teariness in his eyes.

“But now...” he said, leering at you. When he lunged you yelped and backed up towards Luna.

“Luna! Help me!” you cried. Your back was pressed against her, and when you felt her hands latch onto your wrists and pin you down, you gasped and met her mischevous look. Noctis laughed and straddled you to help pin you down.

“Wait-!” you tried to protest but broke out into a fit of giggles immediately as Noctis returned the favor. Except he exercised zero restraint as his fingers dug in wherever they could get to. You shrieked and tried to writhe away, but with their combined strength there was no way you were escaping. You didn't last as long as he did before giving in.

“Okay! S-Sorry!” you gasped out. His assault paused and you caught your breath.

“I'm sorry..!” you pleaded again and he rolled off you in laughter. You laid back, Luna joined the two of you, all slowly trying to control your laughter with your heads nearly touching reclined on the bed.

     Fire and betrayal tore Noctis from both your lives in an instant. As well as the queen. While the invaders were still present, your mother kept you in the lower levels of the castle. To stay out of sight was to stay alive. You could only hope the same rules applied to royalty. A few weeks passed before things quieted down, and even though the empire was still a presence, they seemed content simply marching and guarding. You wept the first time you saw Lunafreya was alive and mostly unharmed. Many of your nights were spent sneaking into her room and holding her tightly through the night while she cried where there was no one there to tell her to be strong. When the invaders came to the conclusion that Lunafreya and Ravus were far too young to be a real threat, they allowed them each other's company. On those nights Ravus would evict you from the room and take your place. At least you knew Lunafreya was in loving hands.

     When news of the engagement came, Lunafreya was sat at the vanity, reading while you brushed through her hair. It came by way of Ravus, who looked as though he didn't know quite how to feel about the situation. It was the first time in your life you had ever seen Lunafreya blush, and though it was slight and quickly faded, you still had to quell the pang of jealousy in you. Still, if Lunafreya were to marry anyone, you would rather no one other than Noctis. She stopped reading, instead becoming lost in her own head as you brushed methodically. She only came out of it when she examined your face in the mirror and saw trails of tears running down your cheeks. She halted the brush and turned, grabbing your face with worry.

“I wish you and Noctis all the happiness in the world, My Lady... But...” you weren't sure how to continue, you felt selfish. She stood and placed a kiss on your forehead, urging you to continue.

“It means you will be swept away to Lucis, and I'll miss you terribly,” you finished. Not to mention, knowing her and Noctis would be together again without you made you feel empty. Her hands wrapped around yours and squeezed.

“It would be a great honor if you would accompany me to Lucis and continue service as my retainer,” she assured. You sniffled and smiled.

“But you have your future doting husband and all his own retainers,” you listed.

“Then accompany me as my friend,” she urged. She brought your hands to her lips.

“I know Noctis would wish to see you,” she continued. You assented, feeling much more relieved.

      Lunafreya gasped as you tightened the strings on the back of her dress, you stopped and looked over her shoulder.

“I hate to say it, My Lady, but... This may not be the right dress... I think perhaps you should try the next stylist,” you offered. She sighed and nodded, helping you shed her dress.

“At this rate we'll be lucky to be married by next century,” she said, shaking her head. You smiled and fixed the dress back on the figure while she redressed.

“You need only find something comfortable, you'll look beautiful in whatever you choose,” you promised. She picked up the registry of artists around the continent who had been summoned to design a dress.

“I've heard there's a lovely artist in Altissia who's work is very much above and beyond,” you suggested, turning to the page.

     The soft flowers brushed against your face as you both laid in the field, escaping for just a moment.

“Luna? Are you happy to be getting married?” you asked. She seemed to think carefully before answering.

“If I am to spend my life with someone, I am glad it will be Noctis,” she said finally. You nodded in agreement, you would probably be okay marrying him.

“Do you like him?” you pressed.

“I love him, as much as you can love your dearest friend. As much as I love you. I know he feels the same, and that is enough for me,” she answered. She sounded content. That meant it was enough for you too.

[chalabrun]

no time (lunardyn)

Word Count: 3,476 Pairing: Lunafreya Nox Fleuret/Ardyn Izunia Rating: E Warnings: Explicit sexual content Summary: They're not in love. She has a duty to the Chosen King, to the people, to the Star. He's the very thing she's going to aid in destroying someday. These are distractions, nothing more.

At least, this is what she keeps telling herself.

                                                READ ON AO3

She knew when he was melancholy. For some reason or another, in all his ghostly wanderings and badgering, there were moments when no sharp words sprang to his silver tongue or cunning settled in his looks like coiled serpents. Such was a day. Clouds hung low in Tenebrae, mists traveling around the floating mountainscape and hanging like veils over the land, pale and translucent. Ardyn stared out such a window, the beginnings of a smile frozen on his features but she knew far, far better. It kept people away, that mask. But Oracles easily saw through such ruses.

“Chancellor, a moment of your time?”

Ardyn’s features became mischievous at the sound of her voice, sweeping off his hat and holding it in a  performative motion to his breast. “Why, Lady Lunafreya, what have I done to earn the most esteemed pleasure of your attention?” he queried grandiosely, smile Cheshire-like.

Luna didn’t answer him at first before she advanced into his personal space, a pleased rumble beginning in his throat when it came further to her pinning him to the wall, that prodigious Oracle blood loaning to such inhuman strength for so small a girl. “Do not hide behind riddles this time, Chancellor,” Luna besought him, their breaths mingled heavily together as his eyes dilated widely. She coaxed a knee between his legs, craning up and grateful for her heels that minimized his height somewhat. “...Let me take care of you.”

“And what have I done for such affection, hm?” he purred sensuously in her ear before he felt those lips kiss along his throat, a shudder racing down his spine as she added her teeth and tongue, so very grateful this wing of Fenestala was so very deserted. “Ah—you clever little minx...” Already he could feel his cock straining in his trousers, humping her thigh in some desperate bid for friction. The words were gasped from his lips, Ardyn nuzzling into blonde locks almost gratefully.

This strange affair had begun abruptly as that night’s tryst, roughly three years ago when she’d a heated argument with Ravus about leaving Fenestala and being denied once more. Ardyn had been there, sometimes a constant at Ravus’ side, and had come upon the distraught princess. A saccharine tease had died on his lips when he recognized how terribly lonely she was, how touch-starved, and without thinking a tear had been wiped from her cheek and she’d looked upon him like she’d been struck by lightning. That touch turned to morning tea the next day, a secret meeting in a cafe in Pagla, to needless dancing lessons in Fenestala’s ballroom when Ravus was away in military campaigns.

No one really saw them, for she looked anonymous with her hair down, with no make-up on. And a year later, their strange and distant sweetness had been consummated as strangely as this.

“Ardyn, did I not say to cease the riddles?” she suddenly asked, interrupting his bliss with a touch to his cheek, Ardyn breathing pleasurably and warm. Amber eyes cracked open, a haze of lust softening them.

“And to what must I say? Shall I explain this old sadness in my eyes?” Ardyn challenged softly, closing in on her soft lips and pecking them chastely at first, then leaning back and contentedly coaxing her hand near his mouth and taking it with his own calloused hand. “Regale you with tales behind the innumerable scars you’ve seen?” Jeweled amber pierced her azure gaze, taking her index and forefinger into his mouth and purring headily as he sucked on her digits with soft moans spilling between his tongue and teeth that he knew were arousing to the Oracle. Poor thing rarely received attention as it was.

“And what if I wished to hear it?” she murmured close to him, Ardyn releasing her fingers with a wet pop and licked his lips lewdly. Without being prompted did Luna deftly undo the fly of his trousers, hiking his vestments high enough to do so. Musculature she craved twitched pleasurably to her touch, Ardyn bowing his head and purposefully moaning into her ear until it flushed the tips pink. Burying her digits in his pubic hair did she find his straining cock and began to stroke it, earning a buck of his hips. “I only wish to take care of you.”

“Take care of me, hm?” he hummed softly, Ardyn’s hands moved past her waist and took generous handfuls of her rear, sucking a mark into her neck and lapping at her sweet flesh like a beast, fondling her rear generously. “Not here.” He smirked distantly when she jolted with a faint squeak. “Your room. Perhaps we ought be grateful for the sheer lack of staff, hm?”

Even though part of her burned with bitterness at how frugally Niflheim forced them to live—for the sheer lack of company she found in the servants—he was right. They’d been prolonging this affair publicly more than was proper. “Very well, Chancellor.”

Just as Ardyn had the door shut did he pin her against a bookshelf, but not antagonistically. Luna shuddered richly when her dress incrementally rose as he fell to his knees, the Oracle watching as he manually spread her legs and kissed her inner thighs that made her blush and bite down a moan. The man was practically ravenous as she heard lusty growls in his throat, maneuvering her legs over his broad shoulders and genuflecting for better leverage. Luna jolted from the suddenness, hands scrambling to find hold in corner where two different bookcases met that provided a sturdy enough hold for her to cling to for purchase.

Luna’s bosom heaved and her toes curled as she cursed the damn heels she wore. Ardyn tore off the lace panties she wore, and while the woman wished to protest the motion, when the older man buried his face into her sex the notion died on her tongue and her thighs squeezed his cheeks and he chortled huskily. “Dear me, Lunafreya, are you so undone already?” he teased, stubble becoming milky with the her pearly essences smeared there. It caused Lunafreya to blush deeply at the lecherousness of it all. “Gods, how I’ve hungered for you. Truly, you parading as such a pure thing awakens the beast in me.”

“Mm...” Luna’s voice shuddered incoherently, panting and staving away a mewl. A strong arm cradled around her rear and hips to prevent her from sagging, part of her surprised at his prodigious strength. “Ardyn!” she mewled as his tongue dug into her sex, back arching and nearly knocking off little trinkets she lined the shelves with. The stubble paired with moist lips made her thighs clench, a hand relinquishing a chance for propping her and instead resigning to digging into his maroon mane of hair.

His words had a stirring effect on her. Like a rabbit caught in the gaze of a serpent, only it was exhilarating. That she could have such an effect upon the Chancellor made her bosom heave, her aroused mind cloud with flattery. Stroking an ego that was rarely there. “Oh, gods…!” she moaned heatedly, trying to shrug the sleeves of her outing dress off by doing the zipper until it became a voluminous garter about her waist.

Ardyn growled again, and some silly, incoherent segment of her imagined she was a maiden being ravaged by the wolf. The thought of such fanciful savagery was improper for a grown woman, let alone the Oracle. But it seemed fitting. Scandalously, transiently fitting. The thought of Ardyn being so beastly shouldn’t have fueled her arousal so much, but it did.

And gods above, he knew it.

Ardyn’s deep gold eyes slowly emerged and locked with hers for a long, lustful moment, while his lips became slack and for all her pleasured squirming did she freeze and gulp audibly. Still so utterly enraptured and frozen until he suddenly feinted too fast for Lunafreya to realize, the woman finding herself pressed into the shelves that jutted into her bosom, but not cruelly. Just enough that those tiers would leave shallow indents into her skin. But enough that she felt his body loom over her, his cock still contained in his trousers strained and yearning for her.

The man brought her closer, enough for his height and bulk to almost completely envelop her, her soft rear molded to his groin that Ardyn ground into while an arm wrapped around her waist to anchor her there. She felt like a schooner adrift at sea and he was the ocean lapping against her. In this moment, she remembered how small she was compared to him. How she practically straddled his thigh whilst he fumbled to free his cock, purring lustrously as he slid its pre-cum veneer between her cheeks that made her shiver from the warmth, the stickiness.

“Do you wish to understand this pain, this agony then, my dear?” he began, and she felt small. The rabbit remembering predators larger than itself. With a grunt did he slide his cock between her inner thighs, the erection giving her womanhood some straining relief when he began rocking his hips and another hand rose to grope her breast that elicited a shy mewl. Strange, as even through the brutish want to rut did a gentility exist in his fingertips: asking, waiting, for her silent and complete assent.

“How I would delight in nothing more than silencing those whorish masses that mewl for healing? Those men whose looks linger too long? Those who dare treat you familiarly?” His voice was a ravenous growl in her ear, taking the lobe between his teeth that caused Lunafreya to suck in her breath sharply. This… No, it wasn’t the pain he’d spoken of earlier. The old pain. The immortal one. But… Gods, even in the brutal life that had taught her better, that learned to see through syrupy words in all their illusion, this, it…

She’d never thought their affairs as something tender. They had never even shed their clothes this far. Pleasured by hands and mouths, but they’d never exposed each other to this extent. Ardyn’s growl and a thrust so hard she could barely stand on the tips of her toes (not that she hadn’t been straining enough as it was) brought her back to reality. A reality where Ardyn had become wolfish, and...dare she say possessive. The very idea caused her cheeks to burn.

“Do you envy the men who are familiar with the idea of me, of my station, or who I truly am?” she challenged suddenly, even while Ardyn’s mouth was so stuffed with hair and skin he couldn’t answer at first. “Is it the Oracle you lust after? The princess you so adore? Or...is it me? Simply me who is neither of those things.”

Ardyn grunted as his feet shifted to brace himself, Luna gasping as she was all but swept off the floor and had his arm about her waist tighten while the other trained his cock to her womanhood and targeted it just right to thrust as he wished, she suspended for a moment before that hand braced under her arm and gripped her shoulder like a sash before she sagged enough that he was partially sheathed, announced by Luna’s sharp gasp.

The man himself sighed contentedly as they settled into a rhythm, hips undulating before thrusting sharply as he acquired more depth into her sex. “A-Answer me!” Luna cried out in unison of a hard, full thrust that caused her head to loll against his shoulder. No longer was she rammed against the shelves, but in the corner and against the Chancellor.

Ardyn breathed raggedly in her ear, growls seeming to underline each throaty exhalation. “Oh my darling, you know nothing of the nature of beasts, do you?” he purred lustily into her ear, stubble of his chin scraping her neck. She knew what he was. She knew the monster, and still, she craved the monster under her bed more than she could stand sheer loneliness. The loneliness of a once mirrored charge. That thought caused him to smile wickedly. “I lust for the Oracle, I adore the princess, and I wish to possess you. I am not content with only one. For I am greedy, and I am lust itself, dear Lunafreya.”

That should’ve frightened her. His words were like dripping poison and she knew what precipice she stood upon, what the gods saw in this damned consummation between accursed and oracle. An unholy union she wondered if the Infernian’s flames would take her for.

Luna cried out when he thrust hard, but not from pain. She hadn’t known this level of pleasure of before. As though Ardyn were an incubus she’d invited into her bed, and it was by sheer will that she didn’t sound as though she were sobbing. Though this wasn’t their first sexual escapade, it was the first time she’d been penetrated by a man, let alone a phallus. Vaginal walls clenched around him, Ardyn heaving into her ear that only maximized her pleasure.

“I wish to see you, Lunafreya. Must you always turn your back to me?” This surprised her, and they stilled in tandem. Turn her back to him? Why in the name of the Star… Perhaps it had been from a life before. When he’d been healer, like she. They paused and she stared down for a long moment before nudging her cheek against his own, Ardyn responding by nuzzling back longingly and the moment was so tender she thought her heart might burst.

“Ardyn, let me down...upon my bed, if you please.” Sweeping her into his arms, he laid her reverently upon it. He disrobed himself while she shrugged off the last of her pesky dress. Now, truly bare before each other, azure eyes watched him as he slowly stripped off his clothing methodically, through its many layers. Remembering her own complex ponytail, Luna undid it and the two adjoining braids, blonde hair fanning like a halo about her. When Ardyn saw her, he almost stopped, but his eyes were so tender she could feel herself melting.

He crawled over her, Luna’s heart throbbing at the exquisiteness of his body. An older man’s body to be sure, softness pronounced on his belly with bulky muscles undefined everywhere else, but part of her preferred this. A real man, not some chiseled statue hewn from stone.

The only clear thought in her mind was simple: she wanted him. It was as simple and complicated as that. The distance between them made her swear he looked...lonely, almost. Smiling sadly until she couldn’t take it. She embraced him with her legs spreading and hitching around his waist, letting his cheek rest upon her bosom where he might listen to her heartbeat and collected respiration, stroking through that mane. Ardyn’s eyes slowly closed and he nuzzled her breast, until lust reminded them why they were there.

Rolling his head, he lapped at her nipples hungrily, pleasurable rumbles roiling in his chest. Luna’s back arched and she moaned, a prolonged and keening sound. “Ah—Ardyn!” she gasped in a half-scream, especially as he thrust into her again and he grinned down at her, smothering her cries in hungry kisses that consumed like flame.

Luna felt like gelatin beneath him, flesh and softness and muscle of Ardyn’s body pressing into her own warmly while worshiping her with kisses. He gathered her into muscular arms while his hips gyrated hard into her. She wondered if he felt less alone, them like this—skin to skin. His cock sheathed so deeply inside of her she wondered if this is what hell felt like. The place she was destined because she was human, because she couldn’t be the woman the gods wanted her to be who ignored her humanity in favor of her duty. Here and now, so then would she damn herself in the devil’s embrace.

It was with a cry that she felt herself climax, body seizing up beneath him and perspiration slicking the skin between them. As she did, Ardyn seemed too as well, growling when his own body shuddered and thrust powerfully in her as he milked his own orgasm with her heat and tightness.

While the afterglow lingered, the frame of mind that entranced her in this encounter fell away into duty and a rushed need to return to life goaded her. She attempted to pry Ardyn off her, but was only met with resistance. He buried his face in her neck stubbornly and clung to her, Luna grunting with exertion. “Ardyn, please! If Gentiana finds us like this—”

Ardyn snarled resentfully. “Let the damned gods find us! Let the Lord of the Skies smite us for our transgression!” he snapped with teeth bared into her skin. He words were broken by a growl, embrasure around her tightening possessively. “The gods have stolen everything from me! I’ll be damned before they take you as well! You, darling oracle, belong to me.” The anger in his words just distantly receded, a neediness and vulnerability marking him. He buried his face in her neck and she swore she could feel him shivering.

Resignedly, a grimness settled upon her face like winter frost, staring into the complexities of the ceiling that arced above like the night sky. The sky she found solace in with Noctis—the boy she was destined to serve, whom a great part of her still loved.

“Are you in love with me?”

The sudden question caused Ardyn to rear back, Lunafreya deadpanned by the even the signs of scourge whenever a part of him became unhinged. Maybe it was a foolish question to ask, but with the threat of Gentiana’s ability to manifest at any moment, she couldn’t afford to dally in post-coital intimacy as she was sure Ardyn wished to.

They had their duties. And hers were lead by masters who were not as clement as the ones Ardyn manipulated on puppet string.

Slowly did he peel himself from her, aghast. On his knees on her soiled sheets while she stared on almost impassively, calculatingly. She curled her legs away from beneath him, able to sit up and gaze at him unflinchingly.

“What...did you say?” he demanded in a chilled rasp, disbelieving.

Lunafreya rose from the bed, pawing through a dresser drawer nearby for undergarments to change afresh into, taking a wash cloth to swipe away excess sweat before neatly drawing a robe over her shoulders. She could draw a bath, then. As it was nearly noon and she was needed in Pagla by two.

“I simply asked if you loved me,” she stated again, bluntly, combing through an itinerary she and Gentiana had prepared over the weekend. Healing, and a memorial service for newly perished in Niflheim’s wars. Nothing novel, but utterly necessary. “Chancellor, if you would be so kind, please dress yourself. I have no intention of causing a scandal.”

In the vanity mirror as she was combing through her hair, she saw Ardyn appear from behind her and remain like a phantom, arms wrapping around her waist. Though she didn’t protest the gesture, she didn’t lean back to encourage him. Instead, she stared dispassionately at her own reflection and continued combing through tangled blonde locks she drew over her shoulder.

“Lunafreya...” Ardyn rasped, it impossible to see his eyes when his bangs cascaded over his face.

“I must leave within the hour. Please collect your things and go.”

This caused him to visibly stiffen, the hold around her waist relinquished and feeling his comfortable heat recede. The harder she stared into the mirror, the more his form faded into a ghostly translucence until he vanished into thin air. For several moment she absently combed through her hair before glancing over her shoulder, seeing all evidence of him vanished, even his clothing.

It was a strange thing, love. The love she bore for Noctis, for her people, and the world; it felt impossible for her to love more. For her family, absolutely. Gentiana, Ravus, Maria… But, where did Ardyn fit into all this?

She knew. Even if it was a cold, cold realization.

A dalliance. That’s what this all was. Luna didn’t know Ardyn’s true emotions and perhaps she wished not to. For it wouldn’t matter in the end. She would be the instrument that would bring peace to him and light back forevermore into the world.

Her duty was to Noctis. Not herself. To the world, to the Star, to the gods.

The brush was lain upon her vanity table, vision blurring.

If that was so damn true, why on earth did it feel like her heart was being torn to shreds?

She felt tears cascade down her cheeks. Hot, salted, real.

It hurt.

It always would, in the end.