"I haven't worn a dress since the last Starscourge," Nyxia scowled, wincing slightly as Iris would tighten the laces at her back. The girl was remarkably strong for being petite, it was no wonder they had been calling her Iris the Daemon Hunter all this time. "Can you please fill me in on why I have to do this?"

"It's a royal ball, Nyxia. You have to be there. You're Queen of Curia now."

"But, the whole thing is being run by Niflheim. It wreaks of nothing but bad news."

"Remember, Gladio will be there with you."

"Ow... that hurts!"

There was a knock on the bedroom door, and after murmuring an apology, Iris moved to it to open it up. "See? Doesn't he look charming?"

Nyxia looked over her shoulder, feeling as if she had to hold her breath just to keep from breaking the corset of her gown. Gladiolus was dressed in his Queensguard attire, which was rather flattering on him, to say the very least - much like the Lucian garb he once wore, except with crimson lining instead of gold. She cleared her throat a little. Iris wasn't wrong, though ever since their time spent in Ravatogh, things had been a little strained and, well, weird between them.

"Your Majesty," he said, giving her a bow that she hadn't seen since she swore the three men as her Queensguard. "You look... beautiful."

Nyxia paused. She never imagined to hear a compliment like that come out of his mouth, even after their affairs.

"Thanks..." she said, absently tugging at her large, black, chiffon skirt. It was awfully...floofy...for her taste, for lack of better words. The ivory layers underneath also were a bit too pretty for her liking, but Iris had made sure to pick out something elegant, not completely gothic.

Although, the black lace adorning the torso part of the gown really wasn't so bad.

"You don't look half-bad yourself."

"The mask...where's the mask?" Iris insisted. "Oh... I'm panicking, nevermind." After her brief alarm, the woman located an ornate, black mask from the hotel room's bed. She rose it to Nyxia's eyes, then nodded in approval. She would take to putting the queen's hair up, and then adding some makeup, leaving Gladio on the side of the room, impatiently looking at his phone. Nyxia would cast a glance to him every once in a while, and she was pretty sure she caught him looking at her at least twice. Of course, he was trying to be subtle about the whole thing.

Given some perfume to spruce up, Nyxia felt like she might sweat it off in a matter of seconds, she was so nervous. Mask in her hands, she would follow Iris and Gladiolus into the hallway and towards the train that would take them into Tenebrae. Over time, the mansion that once belonged to the Nox Fleuret family had been under excessive renovations, that it was guaranteed Niflheim had intended it for it to be one of their safehouses. Nyxia faintly recalled the walls once falling around her years ago, when she was on a mission with Thage to hunt some daemons there.

Breaking herself out of her memory, she firmly shook her head. She didn't want to think about the strong possibility of seeing Ardyn at this event; for all she knew, he was the one to orchestrate the whole thing. However, declining the invitation of Niflheim's former archduke, Claudan Aldercapt, was not exactly a good way to go. While the man suggested he was nothing like his deceased brother, Iedolas, and would never take position as emperor of a ruined region, he sought to start a new, clean slate for Tenebrae, and sought to aid other cities in need, including Curia.

Basically, it was Nyxia's only chance on getting some decent help to pick her own city back up.

The train ride was quiet, to say the least. Between her and Gladio, not a whole lot was said. Upon arriving at the station, Nyxia felt a certain chill run through her spine, and her anxiety certainly did not go unnoticed by her Shield.

"Relax. You're making me nervous."

"Easy for you to say," she muttered, "you're not the one wearing a tight dress."

"You look fine. Just act cool, and the night will be over before you know it."

She sighed, letting him tie the mask on for her. For a moment, they sat in the small compartment, and his hands still lingered by her face as the train would come to a gradual stop. Then, she breathed out. "Gladio?"

"Yeah?"

"Back in Curia, in the tower..."

He seemed to tense a bit when she mentioned the moment she almost threw herself out of the tower of the palace.

"Thank you..."

"Don't mention it," he replied, his expression flat. He pulled back suddenly. She wasn't sure what she had expected to happen. It was silly to think that Gladio would have any care to get involved with her again after discovering her romantic history with the worst person in the world that she really didn't want to name right now.

Once he applied his own mask, Gladiolus led her out of the train, offering his hand to her as he would help her onto the concrete. Once they arrived at the entrance of Fenestala Manor, she felt her heart sink a bit. It looked glorious, no doubt just as it had before it fell to the hands of Niflheim before. Arm-in-arm, the pair would step inside, and though her mask mostly kept her identity a secret, Nyxia still felt very unnerved. Her fingers squeezed his arm a little. There were a lot of people here, none of which she recognized, and her Shield was all she had right now.

Relaxing, classical music sounded through the air, emanating from a live band of six that played from a platform on the far end of the grand hall. Forcing herself to release Gladio, lest she bruise him, she eyed the table of refreshments and finger-foods. "Food..." she murmured, almost pouting. Her one weakness, and right now, the one thing that might serve as the best medicine for her shakiness.

"You just ate at the hotel room," he tugged her in the opposite direction. "Mingle a bit. It might help you loosen up."

"You're the social butterfly, not me," Nyxia complained.

"You're royalty. Best get social now."

She opened her mouth to retort, but as an older woman with short, platinum hair approached in a midnight-blue dress and matching facade, Nyxia panicked a bit.

"I see you've altered allegiance to Curia, am I right, Sir Amicitia?"

"Never altered. It was in agreement between King Regis and Cingarus that I would always be a Shield, even in the event that the Lucis line ended."

"How odd." The woman looked at Nyxia, who, by default, wanted to take a step back. "Camelia Claustra. I don't believe we've met."

"No, we haven't," Nyxia answered, though it was hard to keep the bitterness from her tone. She knew her by name alone, and recognized that she was first secretary of Altissia. She wondered to what lengths this woman had gone to to protect her city, and whether she tried at all for the former Queen of Curia. Likely not.

She kept her mouth sealed shut, taking absolutely zero pleasure in exchanging any words with the woman. Instead, she half-listened as Gladio and Camelia exchanged words. She seemed curious as to how he and the others fared since the Light returned to the world...only to fall again.

Then, as she glanced to the left, she caught a wisp of movement, and even among the smells of perfume and food, she swore she could detect the scent of amberwood. Nyxia slithered away, her fists in a grip as she moved around the corner and away from the room. Drifting further away from the party, she followed the secluded hallway. She knew she should turn back and perhaps warn Gladio, but right now, she really didn't want to make a fool of herself in front of bitchy politicians.

The stone walls were humongous as she passed through them, though at the same time, they still felt narrow and hovering over her. Finally, she would come across a large, mostly empty room. It was illuminated by moonlight that cast through a giant window. She wasn't sure where to go now. There were two different doors on the other side of which to choose from, yet she was hesitant to keep going. She already had trailed so far from the main hall...

"Is it me you're looking for?"

Behind her, from the direction in which she came, she heard the voice, but as she turned to look, he was nowhere to be seen. Nyxia's felt her heartbeat quicken. She shouldn't be here, and she realized then just how big of a mistake she had made.

Holding her skirt slightly, she stepped backwards, trailing further towards the center of the room. Her heels found an area rug, almost causing her to stumble. Then, she watched the door she had just come through shut on its own. Nyxia gasped a bit, and on reflex, she would summon her staff - only, nothing happened when she held her hands out in front of her.

"You look ravishing."

Once again, the voice that spoke slowly drew from behind her, but this time, it seemed much clearer - even much closer. She turned around quickly, her breath caught in her throat as she immediately identified the man standing before her. He removed his hat - not that he needed to in order to reveal his identity. Even before she saw him, she knew that voice anywhere.

"What do you want?" Nyxia demanded, taking a step back from him cautiously.

"What do I want?" Ardyn repeated, putting his hand to his chest. "You're not the one who followed me?"

"...And that was exactly what you wanted, wasn't it?" Her aggressive voice echoed in the chamber, but he only chuckled.

"My pet, you know me too well." He took a bold step towards her, even as she tried to move away. She stumbled into a lone table - one she hadn't noticed was there before. Boxed into the furniture, she had no choice but to stand there like a dumbstruck deer as he brought his hands to the back of her head. "Why do we keep playing these games, Nyxia?" he asked. She felt the ribbon of her mask being unfastened before it was pulled away from her face. "How long will it take before you realize this is just a vicious circle, and you'll just keep coming back to the same spot..."

"I'm not your pet, Ardyn." She tried to sound confident, but he always seemed to see right through her. Her fear, her wants, no matter how much she wanted to deny them, he knew them better than the gods knew this world.

She took a step away from him - or, at least, attempted to. She had taken a less than graceful step backwards only to stumble on her skirt.

"You're certain?" he challenged, eyeing her like a hungry hawk. "My, I do feel underdressed. You look ready to attend the operas." His smirk returned as his arm snaked about her slender waist. "Shall I make you sing?"

"Stop trying to tempt me... It won't work."

Her weakened tone of confidence was beginning to contradict her.

"You certainly had me fooled back in Curia," he said. "I thought I had you won, until your Shield came to your rescue."

Nyxia watched his amber eyes flash in a way she hadn't seen in a very long time. She could tell he hated Gladiolus, and it was for more than just his involvement as a Lucian Shield. "You're jealous," she said, half-smiling. "You can't stand the fact that I moved on, and someone else claimed your leftovers."

Suddenly, she felt her back slam into the hard wall behind her. She cried out a little, the impact sending a sharp pain through her shoulder blades. That must have struck a nerve. "He doesn't love you. He saved your life, because his duty commands him to. I..." Ardyn stopped abruptly, a growl sounding through his gritted teeth. She stared at him, and though he wouldn't say it, she knew...

"After all this time?" she asked, though she couldn't be sure how to take this. He loved her still, but that didn't mean he wasn't capable of hurting her. He didn't answer her. Instead, Ardyn seemed to struggle, his daemons threatening to break loose on her as they had once before. She did the only thing she could think of to prevent that. She took his face between her hands, the stubble of his chin grazing her palms. She couldn't say she ever stopped loving him, but there were still aspects of him she hated - in the end, she had to remind herself that he couldn't exactly control it.

She could still hear the faint music from chambers away, and it allowed her a small window to distract him, but not necessarily as a means of escape...

One hand fell to his shoulder as the other would find his hand, lacing her fingers with his before she would sway slightly. She never was much of a dancer - at least, not in the formal sense, but she could at least keep a rhythm, and it was enough to soothe him into moving in time with her. It felt...slightly strange. Never in the twelve months had she spent being in love with Ardyn had she danced with him.

"Eternally."

She felt his breath against her hair, and somehow, her heart pounded to the point that it bled for him. She shuddered slightly, moving her head just enough to see if he had been looking at her - and he was. Before she could conjure any words, she was kept silent with a kiss - one much softer than she would have expected. She too willingly gave into it, their dance stopping as her lips parted and closed with his. Nyxia found herself wanting more, though she knew it was wrong. She willed the kiss to strengthen, the space between their bodies closing as she sounded a soft, lustful moan. It was as if she wanted him to prove it, that somewhere, the man that loved her was still alive, even if he might have been buried deep within the carcass of a devil.

"No..." she suddenly whispered, yanking her head away from his. Rejecting him was the hardest thing, but it was the right thing to do, and she had a gathering to return to. He stopped for a moment, though his hands lingered along her back for a moment before he would release her. She inhaled, unable to believe she partially regretted denying him. She turned her back to him, facing the large window in hopes to hide her reluctance. Suddenly, he was gone. Letting air pass out through her lips, she smoothed out her skirt. Gladiolus was probably wondering where she'd run off to. Not wanting to keep him waiting any longer, she retrieved her mask from the floor, realizing that Ardyn had left his hat behind close by.

She tensed slightly as she heard a distant call from the hallway. It was Gladio's voice, and he was searching for her.

"Shit," she whispered, using her heel to kick the hat under the table. The last thing she needed was for him to find out she had been in a room alone with Ardyn.

The door to the right flung open, and Nyxia kept herself controlled as she laced the ribbon of her mask along her slender fingers.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have run off," she said. "I was just feeling a little uncomfortable with Madam Claustra, and I just needed to escape..."

"You escaped a long ways," Gladio said, and he closed the door behind him. He seemed concerned more than angry, which was a bit surprising. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I just..." she paused, forcing her hands to stop fumbling with the mask. "Yeah."

Gladio stopped as he stood in front of her, and she tensed as his hands took her wrists. "You don't have to pretend with me."

"Huh?" she panicked.

"I know you're nervous. It's okay."

Nyxia was silent for a moment. It was a nice change to see him this supportive of her, even if it might have been a little unusual. She inhaled, giving him a smile. "You're right."

"Let's get this back on," Gladiolus said, taking the mask and putting it back up to her face again. He seemed dangerously close, though she figured it might have just been her imagination. She closed her eyes, letting her hands fall, though she felt them accidentally graze over his military-styled jacket. For a moment, it was silent, even after she felt the mask tighten around her head. She was about to open her eyes when she felt one of his strong hands press against the back of her neck. A brief gasp was interrupted with a kiss, and Nyxia felt her heart begin to race again.

For a moment, she was too stunned to really respond. Her body wanted every bit of this, and yet, she felt sick with herself for even considering it. Yet, she supposed she would be better doing any of this with her Shield rather than Ardyn...

Nyxia couldn't stop herself, her hand pressing against the back of his head to strengthen the kiss. She was just hungry for a release, at this point, and she knew Gladio would have no problem giving her just that. She moaned against his lips, her fingers pulling up his mask before it would be discarded to the floor. He removed hers in turn, and soon, she felt herself being pulled harder into him. His hands squeezed her hips, firm even through the layers of tulle and chiffon that covered them. Then, she was all but pushed onto the short set of stairs leading to the moonlit window. He mounted her, pinning her into the carpeted stairs. As he would hungrily kiss her neck, her fingers worked at the buttons of his jacket before peeling it off of his shoulders. Her breath was heavy as his hands slid beneath the confines of her skirt. Underneath the numerous layers, it took him only a moment to tear away the garment underneath before he would have a taste of her. Nyxia gasped audibly as he devoured her sex, her dress being pulled further and further up. He seemed unable to get enough, and in all honesty, she didn't want him to stop. Her moans bounced off of the walls as she stretched across the stairway, her juices trickling onto the ivory and black fabric beneath her.

Her fingers gripped at his brown hair, tugging slightly as encouragement for him to continue. A finger slid its way past her folds, and as it was followed by a second, Nyxia cried out softly. She reared back her head, her body flexing up from the stairs as he would assault her with the digits and his tongue. It was more than she could take. Within moments, her muscles were tightening around his hand, even as he moved up to kiss her neck. She squirmed beneath him, her chest rising with her rapture, until finally, she reached her release. Nyxia moaned loudly, though she was hardly given time to collect herself when he effortlessly picked her up, pushing her onto the table close by. Again, her skirt was bunched about her waist, the back of it a waterfall of tulle along the side of the wooden furniture as he would push himself into her. Even as large as he was, he slid into her like a knife into warmed butter. Overwhelmed by pleasure, Nyxia grabbed at his muscular arms, her body upright as it accepted his thrusts. Her legs gripped his waist, her heel practically digging into his back, though not intentionally. He didn't seem bothered by it, far too enraptured by the feeling of her as he fucked her.

His thrusts increased in strength, and as his heavy breaths evolved into groans, she knew he was getting close. Their bodies were meshed together, her chin pressed against his shoulder. She moaned with him, as it wasn't too much longer before she was certain she could come again, too. He was holding out to let her catch up, she was certain, and it didn't take long, particularly once he sped up. Her cries got louder, though she tried as best as she could to keep somewhat quiet. "Gladio..." she whimpered, her painted nails dragging lines into his sleeves.

"Mmm..." She heard him, and suddenly, all movement stopped.

Then, that woody scent seemed to fill the room again, as if...

No...

"Wrong."

Ardyn's voice breathed into her ear, hot and lascivious. As if to keep her from pulling away, a hand pressed hard against the small of her back, and there were two, hard thrusts. She moaned loudly, her body unable to just stop feeling the pleasure it just had moments before. Eyes wide in disbelief as she came in unison with him, she stared at the wall across from her, her legs falling from whose hips she thought were Gladio's, but it was now clear she had been tricked.

Without even fully thinking, she struck her hand hard across his face. "You bastard..." she sneered. Ardyn only smirked, his face still turned to the side from the slap.

"You enjoyed it still," he insisted, turning to look at her again, "and the look on your face was quite entertaining."

"That was a cheap move, even for you..."

"A thrill you won't soon forget, nonetheless." He grabbed the roots of her hair, yanking her head back slightly. A gasp strained through her tightened lungs. "We'll see each other again quite soon, my pet."

From the distance, she heard her name being called again. Nyxia put her hands to her face, shutting her eyes tightly. Goddamnit. What a stupid thing she had just done...

Suddenly, as she opened her eyes, Gladio's voice sounded much louder than before.

"Nyxia! Wake up already!"

"Huh?"

She was sitting in the compartment of the train, apparently having dozed off. "Oh, thank the gods..." she murmured as she came to.

"You're sweating. You okay?" He was sitting across from her as before, and she realized that beside him, the masks were sitting on the cushion.

"Weird dream..." she murmured. He gave her a questioning look before the train started slowing down.

"We're here."

"Gathered that."

Nyxia grabbed the mask, insisting on putting it on herself this time. If Gladio touched her at all right now, it would just be too much...