This day had been surprise after delightful surprise. Certainly it qualified as a good day. A good month, really, what with Lucis scurrying around and tripping over their own legs as they tried to flee and realized they were boxed in. A good year, if one counted all the preemptive preparation that had led to this point.

A good decade.

No, a good century.

One of the best. It tied with that first century, but only because that one had been half wonderful and half hell on Eos. Well. So had all the others.

But this one. This one had potential to be the best century that Ardyn had lived through.

After so many spent planning, ingratiating, finding his fit and slowly—ever so slowly—tweaking strings as he wove his web, everything was beginning to come together. Lucis would fall to Niflheim tomorrow night, their precious crystal stolen away by a madman who believed he was the Chosen One—Iedolas, of course, though the same descriptors might easily have been applied to Ardyn, under certain circumstances. The only difference was that Ardyn actually had been Chosen.

And, of course, that as far as madness went he had Iedolas beat hands down.

After their precious kingdom crumbled into dust there would be just

One

Caelum

Left.

Besides Ardyn, of course. Ah, and he would be driven, little Noctis would. So driven to take what was rightfully his and vanquish the darkness to serve his Gods and masters.

Dance, puppet, dance.

Let his power grow and grow until it was worth consuming. And then. Ah. And then. Ardyn would kill him and end this charade, this plague masquerading as a blessing.

When Ardyn had arrived in Lucis with the diplomatic party that morning, every peg had been sliding into place. The point of no return was fast approaching.

But there was something else… A surprise. A snag in his plans.

A delicious, delightful surprise.

The prince and princess were in the Crown City once more, after having left on their father's instructions. And only one thing would have brought them back.

The little Dreamer.

So she had seen. So she knew. So she anticipated everything that would happen tomorrow night and if she knew then she would dismantle whatever she could as fast as she could. Oh, but Ardyn had been making plans for millennia longer than she had been breaking them.

He could twist her, he could crack her. He could drop this hint here or there and make her think—make her doubt. And so while she was making plans against him—though she didn't yet realize it—he was making plans against her. Of the two of them, he had the advantage of knowing precisely what he was up against.

Or so he had thought.

But he dropped his hints, set his bait on the table…

And she sat back in her chair and smiled.

Everything he offered up she already had—and then more. So much more. Not only was she unsurprised to learn that he knew of her Dreams, not only could she control them—contrary to reports from all of his sources—she knew who he was.

And that, more than anything, caught his attention.

The rest of the world fell away. What was the conflict of kingdoms to him? What was the press of time?

Here.

Here was a puzzle.

And it was just begging to be poked and prodded.

So he danced with her. He extended his hand and pulled her away while her darling friends and family looked on, aghast. Poor fools. This was a dance beyond their station.

He looked down at her—she was a tiny little thing, wasn't she?—and sharp blue eyes stared back up. How very curious.

He leaned in closer, placing his hand on her bare back as the orchestra hummed. "Do you know, I had every intention of remaining discrete. And here you've drawn me out, little Dreamer. How uncouth of you."

Reina laughed. "So sorry to ruin your plans."

"Let's not start this night with lies. It's so… common."

The song began properly; he stepped and she reacted, following the slightest motion on his part. She was a good dancer. Or she knew things she couldn't possibly know.

Ah. But she did, didn't she?

"Very well," she said. The smile remained fixed on her face, but all emotion drained out of it until he might well have been staring at a statue. Magnificent. How did she make her face do that? It wasn't quite as disturbing as bleeding Starscourge from her eyes, but it was still lovely to behold.

"You know that I know everything the emperor has planned," she said, "And from that you have extrapolated the obvious: that all of your traitors in Lucis are gone. You also know that I can look ahead at will. Even if you change plans, I will see them. I will counter them."

"Quite the conundrum," Ardyn said. "Whatever are we to do?"

"That is rather the topic of discussion, isn't it?"

Likely he could have made plans in little enough time that she wouldn't be able to Dream them. But what a shame to rush such a sweet reward. So the little Dreamer was standing guard over Lucis. Poor little Dreamer. Willing to give so much to protect an artifact that had already cast her aside for her brother.

Hm. Why did that ring a bell?

"You have no idea what you are fighting for, do you? Saving your brother just so he can die." Ardyn put on a look of mock pity. "If only you knew the truth."

She laughed again.

"Oh, Ardyn. I know everything."

Ardyn's eyes narrowed. She called him by his name so casually, as if they were old friends. "Oh you do, do you?"

"Yes," she said, simply. "You already taught me everything you know.

He had taught her…?

Curious and more.

"So allow me to make a proposition," she said, "We have the Ring of the Lucii. I might easily command the full might of all one hundred and thirteen generations of our family from your brother until now. I also wield the strength of the hundredth generation. And soon—ten years from now—the ring will be replete with the crystal's magic. My strength will outstretch that of the Astrals. What might ours do?"

Ardyn's brain skipped a beat at her casual disclosure of information that no one alive knew. It took a moment before the full weight of what she said sank in.

Was she really…?

Oh, this was rich.

"Are you negotiating a détente? Daddy-dearest won't like that."

"What my father does or does not like is immaterial at this moment."

Oh?

This day really did keep getting better.

"Allow me to be perfectly frank." Even the pretense of a smile dropped from her face. The expression that she wore instead was one all too familiar to him: spite and malice, merciless and sharpened to a point. It wasn't the impotent anger of her father as he sat on his throne and tried to wiggle out of death. It was the look of someone who would break the world to accomplish her goals because she had nothing to lose.

"The only thing that I care about right now is keeping my family and friends safe. You and your Astrals and your crystal and your Starscourge and everything else can go to hell. Eos and everyone on it mean nothing to me if my family is dead."

Ahh. There it was. The motivation he had expected from her, but with so much more rancor.

"But," she said, "If they are safe then I am free to think of other wrongs that may exist in our world. And I'll have all this power to put to use against them."

Ardyn was smiling. When had that started? Maybe it had just never stopped.

"So you ask me—what?" He asked. "To turn on the empire and help you dismantle them?"

"No, though if you choose to I won't try to stop you. All I ask is that you do nothing at all. I don't need your help to take Niflheim down," she said.

"Such confidence." Ardyn smirked. "Do you know? I think I believe you."

She met his gaze impassively, but the hint of a smile tugged at her lips.

Ah, but of course, in return he wasn't permitted to kill the Chosen King. A trade off he wasn't certain he was willing to make. She would share with him her power—poetic justice, really, that the gift of the Gods should be turned and used against them—but he hardly needed it.

What he might need, eventually, was to not have her against him. A little Dreamer who could see into the future and pick apart his plans before they came to fruition was certainly someone to have on his side. But…

He could always kill her now, take Lucis as intended (more or less), and continue on with neither her help nor her antagonism.

He pulled her tighter against his chest as they made the next turn of the floor and leaned closer.

"And what is to stop me from simply seizing everything I want right now? You have taken something of a risk, stepping into this dance with me tonight."

It was peculiar to be on the receiving end of perfect, self-assured confidence. All she did was smile, like she had been waiting for him to ask. Had she really already known exactly how this conversation would go?

"No more than the risk you took walking into Insomnia to deliver the terms of this armistice, knowing we could do nothing to you." She tilted her head back, neither put off by his insinuated threats, nor the rapidly diminishing space between them. "You aren't going to kill me."

"And why is that?"

"Because by now you're already wondering… how do I know information that only you should have? Why did you share it with me?" The only other place he had ever seen a smile like that was in the mirror. "And what else do I know about you?"

That.

Was an excellent point.

"Are you going to tell me?" He smiled in spite of himself—intrigued, amused, enthralled.

"When Insomnia is safe, I'll tell you anything you like."

"Anything?" His smile widened.

She laughed again. "How else do you think I learned your secrets? Quid pro quo. Tit for tat. There was nothing about me you did not know."

She was a singular woman. Peculiar.

"Wouldn't you like to know why?" She asked. "All you have to do… is sit back and enjoy the show."

He considered her curiously for a moment. This evening had taken all sorts of turns he had never anticipated. And...

"It's been a while since I didn't have to lift a finger to enjoy a spectacle."

The song was drawing to a close.

"Then we have an accord," she said.

Ardyn lead one more turn, then spun her into a low dip so that his nose nearly grazed her sternum. "We have an accord, little Dreamer."

A round of scattered, bemused applause greeted them when they straightened as everyone present tried to decide whether or not they were meant to approve of the display. As if it had ever been for them.

"One more dance," Ardyn said. "To seal the deal."

That look again—a little smile on an otherwise neutral face, as if it had slipped out without her noticing.

"One more dance," she said.

AN: Ardyn POV, important character moments, AND a long chapter? I sure am spoiling you this week.

But wait!

There's more!

Episode 1 of the Remnants audio drama will stream live tomorrow in honor of the two year anniversary of Fractured (two years we've been here! Jeezus. Major kudos to anyone who has been along for the whole journey so far). You can find it on our YouTube channel if you're following us. If you're not: why? Afterward I'll post the link on my profile so you can access it there.