Glauca's appearances in Gralea were rare despite the fact that he was the army's commander. Very few knew where he really was all the time. There were so many other military leaders that the commander could usually step away. The Kingsglaive needed much more of his attention. Regardless, the commander should always know what is occurring with the army.
Information from the Empire was rare to receive while Drautos was in Insomnia. It had to be delivered so carefully as to not even be noticed. Updates came through on a haphazard schedule. If he truly wanted to know something, he had to make one of his rare trips to Gralea.
He only started to plan the trip after a contact had requested a mission report from the Glaive files. Drautos was annoyed to be treated like a normal spy (the sort that should have been doing this retrieval), but understandably, it was far more easier if he just accessed the file and made it disappear. Of course, he read through it first to find out what the Empire was looking for now.
The incident that had started it all seemed mundane enough: a family dispute had gotten out of hand and someone set the place on fire. The victim had been a security officer at the Citadel, so the Crownsguard watched the situation from afar as the police handled it. The king acknowledged the incident because the victim worked in his Citadel, but then it continued to hold his interest. No one had to look very deeply into it before realizing that things weren't adding up.
The two that had escaped the fire turned out to be more interesting than anything else in the whole investigation. By the time Regis turned his attention to the situation, the woman had already been found and arrested, and her papers were found to be false. She and the girl had been undocumented immigrants.
There was more to the situation than Regis was telling anyone, but Drautos didn't care. He didn't see where it was worth their time and resources. But the woman admitted during the first interview that her niece used some kind of magic to cause the fire, and everyone believed it. So he and the Marshal observed the second interview at Regis's order.
Once confronted, the woman was completely cooperative in giving their real identities as Tenebraen refugees, and where she had sent the girl after that night. It came as no surprise that Regis soon had Drautos send out a couple of Glaives into Lucis to fetch her. The rest of Lucis was enemy territory; Crownsguard rarely operated outside of the city. Regis had taken the tragedy in Tenebrae hard—of course he got sentimental that two refugees had traveled across the world to hide in his city. The law dictated that the woman and girl should have been deported without proper papers, but he was ignoring that policy for them. Drautos didn't think he was the only one to disagree with that.
An escort mission for a sixteen-year-old girl should have been an easy assignment for two Glaives. But they had run into an Imperial mech, and it was better to retreat empty-handed than let the Empire know their objective. When the mission failed, Regis seemed to give up, leaving the girl alone.
Drautos never passed on any intel to the Empire because he hadn't seen where the Lucians should have even been so concerned about it in the first place. He hadn't cared. In the few years that passed, he completely forgot about the girl. He hadn't needed to do anything; the Empire had apparently found her. Judging from the request for the mission report, they had already found another file on her. Drautos passed along the mission report without his personal recollections. It was Besithia who was requesting the files, which did intrigue him. Maybe he was wrong, and there was something more to this girl.
He went to Gralea when the announcement was made that Besithia had another discovery to show the Emperor. Drautos had hoped to be included in that meeting, but he had arrived too late. It didn't matter because he already knew what the discovery was, but he wanted to see if the girl was truly worth the fuss. She had the attentions of the two most powerful nations in the world. Word had reached the Citadel that Niflheim had arrested her and refused to release her; it had Regis all concerned again. Verstael seemed to be in a good mood to have found her, but Ardyn had been made her patron while in Gralea.
Knowing Ardyn, he would force the girl to attend the upcoming military ball. Drautos's time was limited between his regular duties as commander and the amount of time he needed for travel; knowing the ball would be the only time he could get a look at her, he reluctantly decided to attend.
Rumor had it that the girl was a Lucian with important military secrets that she had been giving directly to the Emperor. No one knew what those secrets were, because the facade was complete bullshit.
Not wanting to be there, Drautos arrived late to the ball, during the first dance while everyone was distracted. He found a dark corner where he could observe, but could not be seen. Few noticed him through the night, and those that did gave him a wide berth. They either did not recognize his armor, or feared him as much as the Lucians did.
He always found these events to be sickening: the military elite showed off their wealth and bragged about their victories that have been one for them by automatons. These men had gotten pathetic since MTs had replaced human soldiers. Drautos had far more respect for his Glaives.
Almost as surprising as it was that he was attending the ball, he spotted the Deputy Commander among the dancers. It was a surprise to see him on the ballroom floor, but at least he was doing what was expected of him. His partner turned out to be the very woman Drautos was looking for. He had to wonder what Ardyn did to make this arrangement. The two looked very uncomfortable together, and thoroughly relieved when the dance was over.
Drautos kept an eye on the woman as she strayed to a dark corner on the other side of the room. Ardyn was also observing the dance from one of the dark corners. He most likely knew that Glauca was there, without acknowledging him. Whatever was said made the girl return to Ravus's side.
A short while passed before a special guest finally arrived. Somehow Ardyn managed to ensure the Oracle's attendance as well; Drautos could see the hints of his meddling, but couldn't figure out what he was trying to achieve.
While everyone was distracted by the princess's appearance, the woman had once again left Ravus's side and was approaching Drautos's position in search of something. She noticed him as she came closer and stared at his armor. He stared back, sizing her up. She didn't look like anything special—her arms were covered in burn scars, but he had seen far worse.
She looked away as she made to pass by him, but Drautos grabbed her arm and held it tight.
"You're a long way from Insomnia," He noted, letting her know that he knew the true story.
The woman refused to look at him. She held her head high. "I'm aware."
"A small girl like you couldn't have possibly killed a man. What power do you have?"
She looked up at him at that with an especially guarded look. She was stubborn. She wasn't the naive girl she was pretending to be for Ravus. Nor was she quite the scared girl Regis believed her to be. Underneath that tough act, though, she was scared. She was just smart enough not to show it.
Drautos was finally getting a good look at her. He didn't see where she could hold such power. She was just a kid, and not worth the trouble.
"None," The woman looked down at his grip.
"You lie." He tightened his grip on her arm. She bit her lip to keep from reacting. He could easily break her arm with his grip, especially with his magitek suit enhancing his strength. He very much wanted to break her arm, because he had made this trip to see her, and she did not measure up.
"So I'm told." The woman answered.
Someone else was approaching. Drautos looked up first to see it was Ardyn. She was also disappointed to see him.
"General Glauca, might I ask that you release the young lady? There will be no interrogations tonight." Ardyn grinned. "Your deputy is searching all over for her. She shouldn't stray from her date for too long."
Drautos took a moment to consider him, then did as asked. Ardyn gestured for the woman to return to the crowd. She walked away while holding her head high, acting unbothered by them.
"What game are you playing at?" Drautos turned his attention to the Chancellor.
"Be patient. We'll see soon enough," Ardyn said.
"The Empire doesn't need this distraction," Drautos warned.
"Perhaps not, but it's better than letting the Lucians have her. Although she'd probably end up killing a few more." Ardyn shrugged. "You don't need to concern yourself about her. She's my responsibility. I hope you haven't come all the way to Gralea just for her."
He gave a nod towards the crowd. The woman had returned to Ravus again, and Lunafreya approached both of them. Nothing they said could be heard by the two men in the corner, but both could see the discomfort among the three young people as Lunafreya greeted her brother and his guest. The woman did not share the same enthusiasm as all the other women at the ball had to meet the Oracle. She acted pleasant enough, but something must have been said because her smile faltered and fear crossed her face. She quickly recovered, and Lunafreya led Ravus to the dance floor again.
"Interesting," Ardyn mused with a smirk. He glanced at Drautos before walking towards a waiter with a tray of drinks. Retrieving a glass, he made his way around the room, watching as the woman stepped out onto the balcony.
Drautos knew he should have never come to the ball; it had been a waste of time. Yet considering everything he had seen thus far, he reluctantly decided to have a word with his deputy. So once the song came to an end, he crossed the floor to interrupt whatever conversation the Nox Fleurets were having.
"Ravus, a word," Drautos ordered. It was all he needed to say to get the younger man to follow him, leaving Lunafreya to the mercies of the other guests.
He led the other to the fringes of the room where no one paid them any mind, and they could talk quietly. It was a small comfort that Ardyn was not in the room.
Drautos had never liked Ravus; with his dislike for all monarchs, he thought he should have killed all of the Nox Fleurets when Niflheim attacked Fenestala Manor. But the Emperor insisted that he had use of the children. The boy had been made to forget who had killed his mother in front of him. Iedolas kept him close by recently making him the deputy commander of the Imperial Army. It also put Ravus directly under Glauca—an arrangement that Drautos did not enjoy.
Including this moment, he could count how many times he had spoken to Ravus on one hand. In Glauca's absence, Ravus made all of the decisions. Drautos found it hard to believe that there was no one else fit to be Deputy Commander.
"What are you doing here?" Ravus asked with some accusation in his tone. Whether or not he remembered what truly happened, he disliked Glauca all the same. It probably had more to do with him being a pompous upstart.
"I could ask the same of you. How did the Chancellor put you up to this?" Drautos crossed his arms.
Ravus only continued to scowl. "Andrea is not who she says she is."
"That's obvious. Ardyn and Verstael haven't been truthful about the situation. You ought to know better about getting caught up in Ardyn's schemes," Drautos scolded. "Stay focused."
His warning only irked the prince more. "Why are you so concerned with her?"
"I'm not. This game Ardyn is playing is just a distraction. She's not as dumb as she acts. The Lucians have been searching for her, too."
"Of course they have. Why else would she have come to the Empire? It certainly isn't because she's loyal to Niflheim." Ravus pointed out.
"Remember where your loyalties lie," Drautos warned. He might have sworn an undying fealty to the Emperor, but the commander doubted his loyalty was truly with the Empire. If so, Ravus was dumber than he let on. Drautos's own loyalty lied with whoever would end the war faster—and it wasn't Lucis.
He turned and walked away. He had seen more than enough of this disaster for one night. At least there had been his regular duties as Glauca to attend to; otherwise, this whole trip would have been a waste. Drautos might have been loyal enough to the Empire so long as they promised an end to the war, but its politics were always an embarrassing spectacle.
Trouble began brewing in Galahd. Regis couldn't leave it alone. Once it was confirmed that Andromeda was there, he had to have her brought to the city.
Drautos wasn't alone with his concerns—the Shield and the Marshal both tried to talk sense into the king. Before, there had only been speculation of what the woman could do; as intel came in from Galahd, there was an overabundance of proof and witnesses of this dangerous power she had. She wasn't hiding at all.
At some point, she had escaped Niflheim and joined the insurgents in Galahd. The leader kept her close at hand. From what the Lucian spies brought back, Andromeda had been used by Niflheim in Galahd before, but apparently she switched sides and the Galahdians believed her. Her involvement bolstered the rebellion again, and it was beginning to verge on full-on revolution, adding yet even more war in the world. Galahd wanted its independence. Even the Lucians were apprehensive of that.
They didn't know anything about Andromeda's allegiances, or how her power worked. It seemed to have grown over the years. Bringing her into the city was too dangerous. Regis was willing to take that risk.
Drautos sent Pelna and Luche on the extraction mission into Galahd. He expected them to return empty-handed, as the last extraction of Andromeda had gone. Unfortunately, she came willingly.
He alerted the Empire and let them know she was in the Citadel as soon as he could. It wasn't easy to get in, but he knew their spies had crawled in and out of the Citadel before on occasion. Drautos looked the other way most of the time; he still had a job to uphold as the captain of the Kingsglaive.
For two days, he wasn't bothered by the situation. The Crownsguard was handling it themselves. The Kingsglaive did not have to be involved until, apparently, Andromeda proved to be too much trouble and seemed to have attempted escape. Then Drautos had to provide a Glaive as an escort—specifically a Galahdian one. He chose Crowe for the task because she was one of the few personable ones of her squad. The Crownsguard had been rather adamant that only senior members could handle this one woman.
Crowe was not weak—she wouldn't have been in her squad if she was. Still, Drautos had planned that the two Imperial spies would have been able to at least disable her when they encountered each other. They had so easily caught Dustin unawares. Drautos hadn't anticipated that Andromeda would prove to be too tough of a target, and then join the fight herself. By the time he, Cor, and Monica had been alerted and arrived to the scene, the two women had both spies down.
What had them all the most worried was that Andromeda would have used her power, but clearly she had not. There were plenty of reports from Galahd that confirmed she was a competent fighter, albeit sometimes a little too brash. So it shouldn't have been too surprising that she hadn't stood by and done nothing. She still remained compliant as she handed her belongings back to Drautos. They had all expected her to be tougher to deal with, and he wished she was. It would prompt Regis to get rid of her faster. It was only a matter of time before something happened that would be too large to ignore.
Drautos ordered Sonitus to take over escort duty while Monica took Andromeda away. Perhaps he should have been chosen earlier for how little he talked. The captain didn't like how well Andromeda was getting along with his Glaives. It was for that reason that Pelna hadn't been chosen.
Crowe had already given a report of what had happened as medics arrived for Dustin and the spies. She had killed the man, but only sedated the woman. She and Dustin should be fully recovered within a couple of hours.
Once the hallway cleared out, Drautos addressed Crowe. "You did good, but I'm pulling you off of escort duty."
She usually did so well to hide any emotion while standing at attention, but she frowned slightly. "Why, sir?"
"I'm going to need you on another assignment soon," It was true enough, and since that was the case, he couldn't have her held up with escort duty. Usually Glaives hated escort duty; it was the second worst assignment next to gate duty. "Is something wrong, Altius?"
"No, sir," Crowe answered quickly, obviously hiding something. She relented after a second. "She's friendlier than the usual clientele."
The usual clientele for escort missions were council members and their families, whenever they received death threats for whatever reason. It was usually something the Crownsguard could deal with, but sometimes a Glaive was requested. Drautos didn't have the patience for the politics, giving whatever was requested.
He raised a brow at Crowe's observation. He couldn't afford to have his Glaives distracted. All the more reason to pull her off of escort duty. Picking a personable Glaive had been the wrong choice.
"There's another round of training you can join down in headquarters. You're dismissed," He concluded.
"Yes, sir." Crowe left the hall.
Once she was gone, he went for his office, hoping that the door had already been fixed. He couldn't make it too easy for the spies to break into.
It was only a couple of hours later that Regis asked for an escort to be arranged to go out into Lucis the next morning. The incident had been small, but he finally saw sense. Though his decision might have also had to do with the private conversation he had had with Andromeda, much to Clarus and Cor's disdain.
Drautos had the escort planned out in an hour, choosing Pelna and Nyx for the job. It didn't matter how well she got along with them; they would be dropping her off in the middle of nowhere all the same. He hoped that would be the last he ever saw or heard of her again.