"No. No. No."
Noctis sighed for the umpteenth time.
The overhead projector switched off, leaving the room in semi-darkness before the lights were turned on again.
"I want a video that's cool," he said, glaring at the faces seated at the conference table. "Not some out of date corporate shit that was used 50 years ago. I mean, embossed fonts? Who the hell uses that anymore? This is a wedding, not an advert for lawyers."
"McKann has always been the official royal video and photographer-" said Ignis.
"Well, get someone else!" Noctis snapped. "Someone who's in sync with current trends. Someone who doesn't think that Times New Roman is great for title cards. Someone who's at least not colourblind. Because it seems like these guys are all that based on what I've seen. Dammit, I can't believe my dad actually liked their work! If it's something that I don't want to sit for five minutes to watch, then I don't want it."
"Your personal branding could do with an overhaul," said Iris. "I mean, sure there are some things we can't change, but that doesn't mean we can't have a bit of fun with your public image."
"Why not we get Aranea?" Prompto suddenly said.
Three sets of eyes locked on to him.
"Aranea Highwind," he went on insistently. "You've met her, Noct. She was at that fishing tournament over at Vesperpool a coupla years back. She won that Hotshot Digital Award for her romantic short film on Insomnia."
"The which one now?"
"Y'know the one where she got a bunch of classical dancers performing on the streets while kissing each other? That film was a PR piece which sold Insomnia as a city of love and discovery. Tourism skyrocketed after it went viral."
"Ooh, yes...I remember that!" trilled Iris excitedly. "Totally gorgeous...especially that part at the train station!"
"And that wasn't the only awesome thing she did. One time she brought an entire camera crew all the way up to Rock of Ravatogh to shoot a music video. There was this lava spill which happened while they were filming...and yet she kept on at it. That made Mutant Chocobo famous, and-"
"Mutant...Chocobo?" interjected Ignis, voice dripping with confusion and disdain.
"Yeah...killer industrial rock band whom nobody noticed until she stepped in and did her magic. You want fresh? You want gutsy, shit-your-pants filmmaking? Then call her."
"I believe we could dispense with overly avant-garde concepts. We still need to maintain a certain gravitas befitting a royal function."
"Oh, she's done other stuff too. I saw a featurette about daemon infection directed by her. And then Hope Foundation - the NGO chaired by Lady Lunafreya, I'd like to add - commissioned Aranea to come up with a video asking for donations for a new paediatrics ward. My point is, she's got a diverse portfolio, a great eye for style, and she's no wet behind the ears director. 50 million eyeballs on your wedding, Noct. Wouldn't hurt to stretch an extra budget to get the best of the best."
"And I suppose that 'extra budget' is going to come straight from your pocket, Prompto?"
"Hey, it's just a suggestion. Noct did ask for someone else."
"You're suggesting someone who hasn't been active for two years. For all we know, she might've already retired."
"Ooh...been checking out her website, have we?" Prompto said slyly. "Say, didn't you and her once-"
"I'm only asking that we consider the possibility that she may have retired for real."
"Retire? When she's at the top of her game? C'mon...something terrible must've happened if that were true."
"I remember her now," Noctis suddenly said triumphantly. He held up his phone to show her publicity photo. "Back then she just came over and started chatting me up. Said that she's shooting the event, and she needed vox pops for filler material."
"Yeah!" said Prompto. "Iggy's got a huge crush on her and was so heartbroken when he found out she's married, haha!"
Iris gasped. "How come I've never heard of this?"
"It wasn't a crush. Merely...a professional fascination," said Ignis rather stiffly.
"Get her," said Noctis. "Setup a meeting. See if we could bounce some ideas that'd stick."
"Very well, Noct. I shall see to it right away."
"Alrightey-o!" said Prompto. "It just so happens that I know where her office is."
Ignis scowled at the ostentatious signboard boldly proclaiming 'Izunia Productions'. It was replete with a stylized coat-of-arms, flanked by a panther and a bird, along with a scroll at the bottom bearing the slogan.
Mundus vult decipi - The world wants to be deceived. How very fitting for the couple who runs this company. He honestly doubted anyone ever bothered finding out what the slogan really meant.
He stared at the bird for far longer than necessary, and only when Prompto tapped him in the shoulder that he was dragged back to the present.
They reached the double glass doors leading into the office. It was wide open, but there was no one manning the receptionist area.
"Helloooooo….!" Prompto tentatively called out.
There wasn't a single person in sight. A small fountain burbling in the corner was the only movement in what seemed like a deserted office.
"Do you suppose they've moved out?" Ignis ventured.
"If they did, they would've mentioned it in their website."
"Well, did they mention that they've fired their entire staff too? Because it seems to me as if they've done just that."
"If you pricks are here for more stuff, then do me a favour and take that signboard out front. There's nothing left in here for you. Oh...except for this…"
Ignis and Prompto stared at each other. It was a female voice who spoke. As one man, they turned towards the receptionist desk, where a lone hand peeked out over the top, middle finger raised up high in the universal salute of telling people to just bugger themselves.
"We are here on behalf of King Noctis Caelum," said Ignis. "We'd like to speak to Aranea Izunia."
The hand had disappeared back into its temporary refuge. "Hah! She's not here."
"Where can we find her, then?"
The swivel chair behind the desk slid sideways across the floor as if it had been kicked, hitting the far wall with a loud clatter. There was some form of shuffling going on, before a head popped up, blinking blearily at them both. The rest of the body followed as it slowly unfolded itself up. Its hair was done up in a messy bun, but there's no mistaking that distinct shade of ashen blonde.
"You can talk to Aranea Highwind instead," she said. "That's me."
"Aranea? It's Prompto. We spoke before, through emails. And you met us during the-"
"Vesperpool fishing tournament, yeah," Aranea said. "I remember you guys. Hard to forget a cute prince zipping around Eos in a souped-up hot rod with his gaggle of handmaidens."
As she moved closer towards them, Ignis could see her eyes were puffy, as if she'd just been crying.
She reached Prompto and hugged him, catching the younger man completely off guard. He shot a perplexed look at Ignis, one hand hesitantly creeping up to pat her in the back. She eventually released him.
"And you must be…" she said, turning towards Ignis. She stopped short after recognizing him, staring at him with unveiled surprise.
"Ignis Scientia," he hastily said. "We've met before as well. I was part of Prince Noctis's entourage."
She shook his hand. "Yeah, of course I know you."
"So - uh, what happened here?" asked Prompto. "I thought you've got a whole crew working for you."
She rolled her eyes. "Used to. That question warrants a proper sit down. Why don't you two park yourselves somewhere and gimme a minute to refresh myself?"
Fifteen minutes later, the three of them were seated on the floor of the meeting room, now stripped of its furniture save for the whiteboard and curtains. They were sipping on bottled water and eating cheese biscuits because it was the only thing Aranea could get out of the vending machine.
"Ardyn happened, that's what," she said. "He defaulted the loan payment and the bank came to seize everything that's not nailed down. Funny thing is, he got away scot-free, while I'm the one in trouble. Because I'm the guarantor."
"But how could you agree to such a thing?" Ignis asked. "Surely you should know the risks involved."
"Yeah, lesson learned...right? Never agree to sign those loan papers with your no-good weasel of a now ex-husband."
"Ex?"
"Yeah," she said, smiling wryly. "Thing is, when I started this company, I was idealistic but broke. Ardyn came along, offered to invest, took a chunk of the shares, while leaving me to take care of the chief operations. But then early last year he started taking over the driver's seat...despite the fact that he knows next to nothing about this business. So of course he ran it to the ground, staff and clients bailed, then eventually the bank people came along…"
She trailed off, chewing on her lower lip. "I put up a fight, naturally," she said. "I mean, I had to watch something I built from the ground up...with my blood, sweat and tears...being destroyed bit by bit. So of course I had to say something. But he waved those agreement papers and told me to take it to court if I wanted to contest it. Then he hit me with another set of papers...goddamn sonofabitch…"
Prompto flinched. "Sorry, you said 'hit', and I thought that he actually hit you...y'know, physically."
"And lose his chance at getting a clean break with his assets intact? If he did, it'll become a police case and he'll be forced to pay for a bigger divorce settlement. No. He's way smarter than that. As it were, he kicked me out of the house and declared me persona non grata. Me! What kind of messed-up jerkweed does that?!" Her expression changed as she realized something. "Oh. Him. And to make matters worse, he took off to Gralea with Julian."
A long pause, as Ignis and Prompto waited for her to explain who the hell Julian was.
"And what is that? Your pet dog?" Ignis asked.
She shot him a look of irritation. "No, you idiot. My son!" she said indignantly.
"Son?" he said, the word tasting like ashes in his mouth. As if it wasn't bad enough to have one Ardyn Izunia in this world...now there's two.
"I didn't know you've got a kid!" Prompto exclaimed. "Is that...is that why you haven't done a lot of work lately?"
"Between trying to keep my company afloat and raising him, I can't do much else. I could've brought in another investor to bail us out, but we were already in the red by the time I realized that."
"I apologize for calling upon you at such an inopportune moment," said Ignis. "Had we known that-"
"That I'm broke, homeless and all-around screwed over?" she said. "Can't get anymore worse than this, right? Look, enough talking about my problems. This is obviously not a social call. What does His Royal Highness want?"
Ignis hesitated, still clearly perturbed by the poor timing.
"Is it a new job or what? Look, in case it still hasn't sunk in to you both, I need the money. Like, really need it. D'you have any idea how much a good lawyer costs these days? So lay it all out to me, fellas."
"It's his pre-wedding documentary. He needs someone to produce it. The plan is to broadcast it over the weeks leading to the actual event itself."
"Hm...interesting. So build up hype, drum up interest and anticipation," Aranea said, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "I can just see it now: snippets, interviews and blooper reels. Ooh, the audience are just gonna eat it up! And the final climactic reveal on the wedding day."
"The thing is, Noct very specifically wants a fresh, contemporary style. He wishes to do away with the traditional look his father used to hold in such regard."
"Of course he does! Just look at his target audience! They're not the Times New Roman generation. Nobody uses Times New Roman anymore...except for lawyers and dead people."
Ignis said nothing. He was actually rather fond of Times New Roman, and uses it on his reports all the time.
"So...you'll do it, then?" asked Prompto.
"Heck, yeah. Best way to forget your troubles is to keep yourself busy. I'll come up with some concepts straight away."
"Excellent," said Ignis. "Shall I tell him to expect you at the Citadel tomorrow afternoon, then? Say...2pm?"
"Done and done."
They left her packing up her things and made their way back to the car. Prompto suddenly stopped. "Whoa, wait. So what the heck was that just now?"
"What was what?" Ignis said.
"She's all super friendly with me, but when it comes to you, she acts like you're a complete stranger."
"I tend to have that effect on people, in case you haven't noticed."
"Yeah, but-"
"We're losing daylight, Prompto. Unless if you prefer to walk all the way home, better hop to it now."
Aranea sighed as she studied the budget calculation she'd made. Lawyer fees had already eaten up a substantial amount of her life savings. Add in taxes, loans and living expenses to that mix, she was really in dire financial straits. Noctis couldn't have dropped on her lap at a more opportune moment. With this job of his, she was hoping to make enough to at least keep the debt collectors at bay. If she played her cards right, she might even be able to fleece off something extra to get another attorney. A better one this time.
She leaned back in her chair, watching the ceiling fan spin languorously. There was a water stain spreading in one corner, and if she tilted her head and squinted her eyes, she could just make out the shape of a duck...or maybe it's more of a lopsided butt.
She caught sight of her own reflection in the vanity mirror. The overhead light painted her with unflattering shadows, making her look sallow and withdrawn. What a sight she must've been just now - especially in front of Ignis. It had been a real kick in the head seeing him again. They'd parted on bad terms last time, and she'd honestly thought that he was gone forever. The irony was that they'd both gone full circle right at the point where she was hitting bedrock.
The alleyway behind the motel was empty when she checked. She lugged her suitcase out through the window, wincing at the effort. She took one last look around the room before grabbing her slingbag and then easing her way out. Her feet touched the ground, and she started walking.
She'd purposely left her car a little way away in order to avoid being seen by the front desk manager. She'll lose her deposit by doing it this way, but at least it'll be cheaper than paying for the full duration of her stay. As she hurried across the parking lot, she passed by a group of teenagers sharing a joint. None of them paid her any attention. A lone woman scurrying away from a motel at 4 in the morning warrants no explanation at all...at least for those who didn't care.
She started her car. It'll be a two hour drive from here to the Citadel. She'll have enough time to find another place to crash, doze off for a bit, and then start work.
Traffic at the freeway was sparse. She overtook an oil tanker before settling in at a comfortable speed. The stereo was warbling a song she didn't know nor care to find out - she'd only turned it on to keep her company. There was a message from Prompto she'd yet to reply to:
It's gonna be awesome working with you! ^_^
Sweet, sweet Prompto. Ever since their first meeting, he'd been begging her for tips - how to get the best framing, what camera she liked to use, who was her favourite director...
She'd tried to answer them the best she could, but gradually over the years their correspondence tapered off, until last year he sent her a PM enquiring about her new work. She didn't answer back then, but she will now.
We'll hang out once I'm in the city. Take me to all the good spots, ya hear me?
As she typed her reply, she idly thought of the disapproving look Ignis would give. Texting while driving. Definitely a cardinal sin in his books. He had an aversion towards bending the rules unnecessarily, and she liked that about him. A man who made his values clear meant that you knew where you stood with him.
She tossed the phone back onto the passenger seat, just when the radio announced a song called 'Lonely Traveler'.
"Hah, just like me," she muttered, speeding up a bit as she passed the road signage saying Insomnia 90km.
Next episode: Trust Ardyn to spoil everything...