Chapter Three

The Party

Ellie leaned against the kitchen bench while she read through, and sorted, the mail. She sorted by what Ardyn would find interesting to what he didn't want to read. Most of it was correspondence from Verstael Besithia, the Emperor or other members of parliament. She had been working for him for two years now, so she was familiar with who sent him mail and in what order he wanted to read it in. Verstael Besithia, the creeper, his letters came first; might as well get it over and done with, Ardyn had once said about his correspondence. Then came any other mail, military reports, etc. Then to finish it, the Emperor's letters, Ardyn always seemed to find something in them amusing and would always finish them with a chuckle.

She laid the mail on his food tray, next to his breakfast of flake-crusted brioche egg toast. She smiled, she had gotten better at cooking, between her own explorations and help from Mabel, she had developed into herself as a cook. She made his coffee and took the food out to his dining room. He was sitting at the table, in a bright teal dressing gown with matching slippers, reading a newspaper. At the sound of her footsteps he looked up from his paper and smiled at her.

"Good morning Ellie!" his voice was cheerful, even with his dishevelled appearance. "Is that for me? Why you do spoil me." he winked at her before moving the newspaper to make way for the tray. He let out a hum of approval before starting on his food.

Ellie sat across from him and watched him with a small frown. He looked as though he had had a long night, his eyes were sunken, he was pale, paler than usual, he just seemed to be different than usual. More tired, exhausted even. She was tempted to take the mail from him and send him to bed, but she doubted that he would appreciate it, or maybe he would, you never knew with him.

"Oh Verstael." Ardyn shook his head before scrunching the letter setting it on fire with a small fire spell.

Ellie's eyes widened and she jumped forward in her chair, the words on her lips died as he chuckled. "Do not worry Dear Ellie," he grinned and patted the ash from his hands onto the table. He turned his attention back to the other letters, he read the letters while eating, he moved through the pile easily, he did not burn any others, instead opting to toss them to the floor. He lifted the last letter, the one from the emperor, she watched as his eyes scanned the page. He suddenly let out a chuckle, that was not unexpected. She leaned forward at the table, waiting for him to regale her with some silly thing that the Emperor had said, or wanted him to do.

"Do you have any pretty dresses?" he asked putting aside the letter.

Ellie frowned, and raised a brow, what was this about? "I have one sir, I..." she found herself pushing a hair behind her ear nervously. "I haven't had much need for one working here..." it was true, she had barely left the house in two years, unless she was leaving with Ardyn for a job or a trip where he needed her assistance. She had developed a routine of doing everything for the Chancellor and her suits had been more than enough for her job,

He leaned his elbow on the table and cupped his chin in his hand. "Well then," he said with a lazy smile. "We need to have a shopping trip."

"A… A shopping trip sir?" her voice was cautious.

He grinned, showing his teeth. He lifted the letter and waved it at her. "We've been invited to a party,"

Ellie tilted her head and processed what he had said. A party? Probably some Imperial higher up do. She had been to a few in her time working for Ardyn, but never before had she been required to wear a dress, usually she had worn a nice suit and had talked when the Chancellor required her to, or she had spent the time taking war notes from officials. To be asked to wear a dress was, something different to her. The last time she had been required to wear a fancy dress was back when she had been going to parties with her Uncle.

"I suppose that I could find some time to acquire a dress, I won't allow it to interfere with my work." She jumped as he let out a laugh.

"Oh Ellie," he chuckled. "Always business… we'll go shopping tomorrow, the parties next week! I'm sure we'll have lots of fun!" he winked at her before he resumed his breakfast.

She flushed and ducked her head.

X

"The Chancellor's taking you clothes shopping?" Mabel tilted her head to the side with a raised brow, wonder etching her face. "Ellie dear, are, are you to be his companion for the party?" she seemed either confused or scandalised by the notion. Not that Ellie blamed her, she was confused as well.

"Perhaps it is work related?" Rupert interjected as he walked into the kitchen. He stepped to the butlers pantry and retrieved a bottle of red wine.

"It's a little early isn't it?" Ellie asked blandly, before looking at the clock, it was only eleven. Even if she liked a drink every now and then, eleven was a little too excessive for her.

He sent her a look. "It's for the Chancellor." he said coolly.

She felt a grin tug at her lips. "I'm sure it is sir." she pulled herself to sit on the kitchen bench, she ignored Mabel's glare and crossed her legs. "Is it a good year? I suppose it wouldn't really matter if you're drinking it this early, at your age you deserve the wine."

His lips thinned and his grip on the bottle tightened, he looked as though he wanted to say something, but he seemed to decide against it. With one last look at the two he walked from the room. Ellie grinned and headed towards the butlers pantry, some eleven o'clock wine actually sounded pretty good, now that she thought of it. She scanned the bottles and eventually settled on a bottle of moscato.

"You know Moscato's a bloater." Came Mabel's voice from behind her. "Wouldn't want that to interfere with your dress fittings tomorrow, would we?"

Ellie rolled her eyes. "Honestly Mabel, it's one glass." she stepped into the kitchen and found a glass. "You want one?" when Mabel shook her head, she shrugged and poured herself one. She lifted the glass to her lips and sipped. "Oh yum." she grinned then finished the glass, she entertained the idea of drinking more but decided against it.

"Good luck tomorrow dear." Mabel encouraged. "You know what the Chancellor is like shopping."

Ellie nodded. "Yeah, he's something else." she gave her glass a quick rinse and put it to dry before leaving the room. She walked into the dining room and wondered what to do with the rest of the day. The Chancellor had apparently decided to spend the rest of his day in bed and while she wished that she could do that, she knew that she probably shouldn't. She wasn't being paid to sit around and do nothing, though it felt like it today.

"What to do… what to do..." she thought about things to do, the gardener had already come this week, so she didn't need to do anything in the garden. She had already taken inventory and done the monthly purchases. She thought about the study and wondered when she had last tidied it. She frowned, it should have been clean in there but it had been over a week since she had dealt with the room, and she knew Ardyn, and she knew what he was like, so it was likely that it was a mess. With a sigh she walked back into the kitchen to collect the rest of her Moscato, and another bottle, just in case it was as bad as her stomach was telling her it was.

When she reached the room, she was surprised, she shouldn't have been because it was as messy as as she expected it to be. She was surprised however, due to the sheer amount of mess there was. There were books scattered everywhere, not only that, some of them were left open and stacked atop each other, others were placed haphazardly across the floor. It was horrific.

She poured herself a glass of wine. It was going to be a long, long, job.

X

Ardyn was surprised when he woke up. He wasn't surprised that he had woken, gods knew that he had no choice there, he was surprised that he woke up to singing, or at least it sounded like singing, it could have been the radio. His mind instantly went to Ellie, the only one in the house who listened to lyrical music, but she was usually quiet about it. She liked to be respectful of the others in the house, bless her.

He sat up, his comforter slid down to rest at his hips. He pulled himself out of the bed and briefly entertained the idea of changing his clothes, but decided against it- he would probably end up back in the bed anyway. So he slipped on his black slippers and headed out of the room.

'She's in the study.' he took three steps across the hallway and cracked the door open. He peered in and felt his face split into a grin at the sight. He opened the door wider and leaned against the frame, he was going to enjoy this.

"Got confidence you'll rise above, Give me a minute to hold my girl~" Ellie swayed her hips from side to side while she sang along to the song, She put a book back where it was supposed to before she reached for another one. She scanned the book, 'Kings of Lucis, Volume One: Somnus' she frowned at it and tossed it back on the desk, it was the only book that lived on the table and was not put back into the shelves. She reached for another book and climbed up the stair ladder to the top of a bookcase, she slipped the book in and slid down.

"Pick a place to rest your head, Give me a minute to hold my girl~" she pushed some hair out of her eyes and continued swaying her hips, doing little dips every now and then while she moved around the room. "~Give me a minute to hold my-" she froze, her eyes went wide as they locked with his glittering ones. "I-I..."

"You don't need to stop on my account." his voice was smooth, but filled with amusement. "You sing quite well, and dance too, practising for the party are we?"

She remained frozen in place, her mouth opening and closing as she tried to formulate what to say. "I… sir, I..."

His eyes glanced to the empty bottle of wine in the bin beside his desk, and the open on resting beside a glass on his desk. "Having a party in here? Without me?" He placed his hand to his heart in feigned offence. "Perhaps I shall go and cry, whatever did I do wrong?" his voice was exaggerated and comical.

Something in what he said sent Ellie out of her stupor. "Sir! I'm sorry about this, I-I have no explanation to give you! Nothing other that my apologies!" she bowed. "I'm so sorry sir!"

He stepped towards her and patted her on the head, causing her to tense and look up at him with confused eyes. "Sir?" she flinched lightly while he continued to pat her on the head, a fond expression on his face.

"It's quite alright dear." he stepped back and watched her with a hand on his hip. "Perhaps you'd like to get me a glass?"

Ellie straightened. "Yes sir!" she moved to step past him but he stilled her with a hand to her shoulder.

"Do bring more wine."

She spent the rest of her evening sipping wine, reading poetry, discussing the world and its state, and simply enjoying her time with Ardyn.

X

She awoke with a start. Where was she? She rubbed at her eyes to wipe away the last traces of her sleep. It was then that she noticed that she was leaning against something. Something soft. She tilted her head and was met with a fabric that looked suspiciously like the Chancellor's blue pyjamas. Her heart stopped and she slowly slid away from Ardyn. She quickly glanced around the room, she was on the floor still in the study, which on a bright note, was much cleaner. Her eyes moved back to Ardyn who seemed to be dozing against the bookcase. She looked down, she was still in her suit though it was crumbled.

She looked back up at Ardyn, he was such a surreal sight. His face was relaxed, his eyelashes fanned down on his cheeks. His head rested on it's side and his hair was wild. Sticking everywhere in different directions as well as covering his face. She found herself leaning forward and reaching up, her fingers brushed his cheek, she pushed the hair out of his face and behind his ear.

"Awake dear?"

She jumped, she snatched her hand away from his face. "Sir?"

His amber eyes opened and he gave her a small smile. "You drool in your sleep, quite adorable."

Her cheeks heated up. "I'm sorry for troubling you." she clenched her hand on her knees. Her body tensed as a hand touched her cheek, she felt the hair being pushed out of her face, before coming back to rest on her cheek. A thumb brushed against her skin.

"It's no trouble, Dear Ellie." his lips twitched. "Now, you'd best get ready, we have a big day ahead."

She suddenly remembered that they were supposed to be shopping today. "O-Of course sir." she jumped up to stand.

"I'll meet you downstairs in ten!" she heard him call out as she fled through the door.

X

"Sir are any of these to your liking?" Ellie gestured to a row of suits.

Ardyn pulled a suit off the rack. He inspected it up and down, a frown on his face, he touched the suit with his free hand and rubbed against the fabric. "Hmm… no." he slipped the suit back and reached for another. He had the same response to the new suit, then proceeded to do it another four times.

Ellie frowned, they had so far been to three shops. Three suit shops. Three shops. Three. She shouldn't have been surprised, this was typical of him. He was fussy about his outfits and it could potentially take hours, even days of shopping trips to find what he was looking for. She watched as he put a suit back the she followed him out of the shop and into the bustling streets of the city.

They walked along the street together, people in the street cleared out of the way for them. She was used to this, people were either in awe of Ardyn, or frightened, either way they had no trouble walking down the street, people cleared for Ardyn.

"There are three more suit stores near here..." she looked at the map on her phone. "...we could check them out or we could head back to the car and find another shop, there's a few… about twenty minutes away..." she trailed off and looked from her phone and saw Ardyn heading off ahead of her. There were lots of people out today and the only reason that she could see him was because people were clearing a path for him.

She sighed and chased after him, at least he appeared to be heading into a suit shop? She was wrong, while it was indeed a formal shop, it was not a suit shop, it was a dress shop. She followed him inside and was met with an interesting sight: Ardyn was fingering the hem of a red silk dress while the shop lady watched him wearily as though she had no idea what to do with her situation. Ellie frowned at the lady who was uncomfortable with Ardyn even though he had done nothing wrong. She then gave him a lopsided smirk and holding her elbows walked up to him.

"I think you would look rather fetching in it Sir." she joked.

He turned to her with a raised brow and returned her smirk. "I think it would bring out my eyes, don't you?"

"It would." She reached up and touched a lock of his hair. "And it would bring out the lovely shade of your hair." she released the lock and returned to holding her elbows. She leaned her body weight on one leg and pointed her hip to the side.

His lips twitched, his eyes moved from hers to the woman at the counter. "This one, in a four, but perhaps a little tailoring at the hips and bust."

Ellie blanched and went red as she realised that he was talking about her. How did he know her size? She went redder as she realised what he had said about her hips and breasts. Yes they were a little larger than they probably should be, but that was how she was made, she couldn't help that. She crossed her arms over her chest and followed the lady who was now taking her away to get her measurements.

Ardyn eventually found a suit for himself… after another five shops.

X

Ellie twisted the curler in her hair and held it for a few seconds before releasing and smiling at the loose curls that had become of her usually straight hair. She pinned a section behind her left ear before lightly spraying some hair spray atop. She looked at herself in the mirror and was pleased with what she saw. Her hair and make up was light and natural but effective, and the dress, the red strapless, side leg split dress that Ardyn had picked looked amazing. She loved it. At first she had been sceptical but after wearing it she had changed her mind.

'Maybe I'll meet someone at this ball tonight.' she thought with a small grin. Taking one last look at herself, she nodded and left her room.

"You look lovely tonight dear." she almost jumped out of her skin as she nearly walked into Rupert.

"Gosh Rupert," she gasped clutching her chest. "Don't give me a heart attack!" she laughed before giving his shoulder a light squeeze. "Thank you though." when he nodded in response she headed down to the main foyer, where she was met with the sight of Ardyn in his…. Regular dark suit with large coat?

"Sir?" she asked in confusion.

He smirked. "Aren't you a sight? Are you ready? let's go!"

The car ride to the 'party' was quiet. She drove the red car while he flipped through a magazine. He seemed completely nonchalant about the whole thing and she was a little confused. What was happening? Why go to the effort of buying clothes and then not wearing them- though that sounded like him, he usually did nonsensical things such as that- then there was buying her the dress, why do that if she was his driver for the night? What did he want to achieve from this?

"That Nox Fleuret boy will be there tonight. His sister being the oracle must put him in an interesting personal position." he flipped through his magazine. "Oh and your cousin and Uncle should be there as well..." there was a tone to his voice, something, an implication, something that would be passed off as him making conversation was in fact a message.

"Shall I try for some light conversation? A dance perhaps?"

He smiled but said nothing else.

X

Ellie tugged at her dress and tried to listen to her Uncle while he droned about the usefulness of the Magitek Soldiers and how less Niflheim soldiers were dying in combat now. She tugged at her dress again and wished that she could blend into the walls. She knew that she should have been suspicious when Ardyn had worn his regular suit. She knew it. Apparently the 'party' was a gathering of the elite, a dinner party, not a dance or anything of the sort. She felt- and looked- quite ridiculous, she stood out like a sore thumb and felt quite silly being the only one prancing around half naked.

"You must be doing rather well for yourself?" she jumped at her Uncle's question. She hadn't been paying attention to him, what was he talking about?

"Sorry?" she gave him an apologetic smile.

He raised a brow at her and gestured to Ardyn and then her, though she had the distinct impression that he was gesturing at her dress rather than her. "The Chancellor bought you that dress, did he not? I was merely enquiring as to your welfare, you seem to be doing well for yourself."

She frowned at him. What was he implying.

"I am, however, surprised that you chose this path as the one for yourself." He frowned for a moment before shaking his head. "As long as you are happy and looked after, I can hardly say anything can I?" he reached out and touched her shoulder, causing her to tense lightly, was he trying to give her affection? "I wonder what your mother would have thought of this..." he shook his head. "No matter."

Her brow raised high and her lips tightened. Did he think that she was sleeping with Ardyn? Her eyes widened, was that what everyone thought? The idea was almost laughable. In the two years that she had been working for him, she had never seen him bring back a woman or man… so unless he spent time with people while he was away, he wasn't entertaining people, and certainly not her. He had never even made a pass at her, a friendly hug and pat on the head here and there, but that was it.

Her silence did not go unnoticed by her Uncle who took it as a cue to go get a refreshment, leaving her to stand by herself. She glanced around the room, it was dark, typical of an imperial style, the curtains and walls were black with gold cuts, the tables and cutlery were similar colours. Everything matched, everything was arranged in a way that was neat, proper and regal. The way that the Emperor liked it. Speaking of the Emperor, she glanced to the other end of the room where Ardyn was listening to the old man talk about something. She watched for a while before glancing around the room, there were various groups talking amongst themselves she would have gone to join a group, but being Ardyn's 'personal assistant' put her in an interesting position of pariah-hood, any who she caught eye contact with would glare or quickly look away.

She sighed and stepped back closer to the wall, perhaps she could observe and see if she could gain any knowledge from her observations- she could learn a lot from watching, last dinner she had learned about two generals who were having affairs on their wives, with each other- Ardyn had apparently 'had fun' with that titbit of information.

"If it is your intention to hide, then you should know that you stand out." she jumped lightly and turned to see Ravus standing beside her, he was wearing a black suit, but his white hair stood out as well as she did.

"You're one to talk," she smiled and crossed her arms with a tilt of her hips. "who do you have to hide from?"

His eyes flashed and he glanced quickly to the side before looking back at her. "None of your-"

"Business?" she finished for him with a giggle. She took a glance at Ardyn and the Emperor, then back at Ravus. "It's okay, I'm avoiding people to, or people are avoiding me, potayto, potahto." she waved a hand dismissively at him.

He let out a sound that seemed suspiciously like a snort. "I can see that," he eyed her. "A person of your position in the Chancellor's life would be a solitary one."

'A person of my position?' her eyes narrowed. Did everyone think that she was sleeping with him, or was she just being paranoid? "What do you mean by that?" there was a sneer in her voice that was unintentional.

"I meant no offence." he replied evenly. "With the way the world is, times can be hard and a woman should do what they can to survive."

Her lips pursed and she felt the urge to slap him. "If you'll excuse me, I see my cousin Loqi over there, we haven't seen each other in some years.."

He nodded at her. "Family is important."

She clenched her fists and walked away from him. She suddenly wanted to throw a fit of rage, did everyone think that she was sleeping with him? She had a very important job, she cleaned, she managed his schedule, she sorted his books and mail, she sent missives for him and she remembered every piece of information he gave her. None of that included being naked or bent over desks, or whatever else people thought she did with him. Her cousin was chatting with a young lady, who when she saw her, scowled and left, leaving her cousin confused until he saw her.

"Elise." he flipped his hair out of his face.

"How are you Loqi? I haven't seen you in ages." she smiled warmly at him.

"I am doing quite well, I have risen the ranks and am more superior to those Lucis 'soldiers', I am superior to that Cor." Ellie grinned, Loqi was safe, he was arrogant and sure of himself and he enjoyed talking about only one thing; himself. She was glad that he hadn't changed in all of the years that she had known him. "I will end this war."

"I'm sure you'll do well." Ellie agreed.

"So I've heard that you're fucking him." ever the blunt Loqi.

Ellie choked on air. Her eyes widened and her jaw hung open. How dare he ask her that? Her fists clenched as rage and embarrassment took her, but before she could respond, a maid rang something that sounded like a gong, to indicate that they dinner was ready.

X

Ellie leaned against the railing on the balcony and looked out at the imperial city and the cold mountains surrounding it. The dinner was drawing to a close and she was waiting for Ardyn to finish discussing something with some of the other officers before they could leave. She heard him let out a laugh, he was so animated while talking.

She sighed and dropped her head so everyone saw her as a fanciful prostitute, wonderful. There wasn't anything that she could do to prevent such rumours. She frowned, let them talk, what was the worst that could happen? She wondered if he would find it amusing?

"Now why the long face?" she heard from behind.

She turned to him with a wistful smile. "I'm alright sir." she lied.

He frowned."Now don't lie Dear Ellie." there was a darkness to his voice. "Tell me."

She felt herself let out a laugh, she pushed some hair out of her face. "Apparently we're sleeping together."

His brows shot up and he threw his head back in a laugh. "Oh dear Ellie, is that all?" he held out an arm for her. "Come now dear, let us go home."

Her cheeks reddened as she suddenly felt quite silly with herself. She linked her arm with his and he took her hand and squeezed it. "Let them talk, their lips do little else." she felt his lips touch her forehead before he lead her through the room. She felt herself smiling and her back straightened as she walked beside him with pride.

He always knew how to make her feel better, she would always be grateful to him for it…

A/N: I hope that you liked the chapter, let me know! Thanks for reading!