Chapter Six

Insomnia

Ellie grinned to herself while she fried some eggs. She hummed to herself and swayed her body in motion with her humming, her movements caused her to flinch lightly while she moved. She was sore. She was sore almost everywhere. It had been just over a year since she had begun her physical relationship with Ardyn, which meant that most days she was feeling the after pains. Even if they only had relations a few times a week, she still felt it- he would do things to ensure that she always felt it, always felt the reminders of him.

She glanced down at the eggs, they weren't ready. She frowned and added some seasoning before moving away from the stove-top to prepare the plates and everything else quickly. Every bend, every movement caused her to wince. She smiled wryly, if she were to roll up the sleeves of her dress shirt, or even pull her black tights off, many of the bruises covering her body would be visible. A reason why she had taken to wearing long shirts and the tights under her skirt. She set the plates before turning back to the food, it was ready. With a smile she pulled the pan from the heat and slid the eggs onto the two plates. The toaster then popped which completed the breakfast.

"Good morning Elise." Ellie glanced up to see Mabel walking into the room.

"Morning." she nodded and reached for the salt and pepper.

"You know dear..." Mabel began, while opening the refrigerator. "I'm glad that you're here with us."

Ellie paused and raised a brow. Just where was the older woman going with this?

Mabel pulled out the jug of juice and put it on the bench before reaching for the glass cabinet. Up high, where Ardyn liked it. Ellie frowned as the older woman struggled to reach for the glass, before Mabel went to get her little stool, Ellie walked over and grabbed one for her. Mabel accepted the glass gratefully and went about pouring herself a glass.

"Thank you dear, I'm getting older and it's getting harder to reach the high things..." she took a drink.

Ellie nodded, she would have to talk to Ardyn about this. If Mabel and Rupert were going to stay on working in the house, then they really needed to be able to reach the drinking utensils, and other miscellaneous items. She eyed the older woman, these past few years she had really gotten to care for Mabel. Rupert too, when you lived in this mansion with Ardyn, you needed other company before the Chancellor drove you mad, she was glad for Rupert and Mabel.

"Anyway..." Mabel carried on. "You've really shined Elise, when you first started I didn't think that you were that much chop..." she shook her head before looking up at Ellie with bright eyes. "but you've proved yourself, time and time again… to both myself and Rupert, but also the Chancellor. You have..." she cut herself before she waved her hand dismissively. "never mind dear, just know that I'm glad to have met you."

Ellie's eyes widened, why was Mabel talking like this? If she didn't know better, she would have assumed that Mabel was going to die or something, but that couldn't be it, could it? "Mabel… thank you… but.." she tried to voice her concerns only have Mabel waved her silent.

"Don't fret about it Elise, now run along, before the Chancellor's food goes cold." she nodded to the food trays before she left the room.

Elise watched her retreating back with sad eyes. Something was wrong, that could be the only explanation for her words. However, she also understood that Mabel was not as young as she once was, perhaps she was simply saying what she wanted to before it was too late? The idea made her eyes water, she would have to do something nice for Mabel, something to show how much she cared,

X

"Breakfast in bed sir," she called out to him while she shimmied into the room. In her hands was the tray so she used her elbow to flick on the lights causing him to groan and rub at his eyes, which in turn, caused her to let out a chuckle.

"I ought to fire you," he grumbled while he rubbed his eyes and he twisted in the bed. "laughing at your employer… such cheek." he pulled himself up to sit in the bed and looked at her with bleary eyes. "Is that earl grey tea?" he pulled his hands away from his puffy eyes. "and toast?"

Ellie smiled and walked towards him. He was positively adorable first thing in the morning. She placed the tray in his lap before walking to the other side of his bed and sat on the edge. She took her plate from the tray and looked around the room. Even after all the times she had been in the room, she was still struck by how normal it looked, how cosy it was. There was no space on the walls, they were covered in book cases and paintings of landscapes. In one corner was a fireplace with some chairs and a coffee table, it looked like a place where one could sit and read.

She nibbled on her toast while she watched him cradle his tea. She loved that she was able to see this side of him, he was so peaceful, so different, in the mornings. It was as though he were someone else, she had the impression of him in another time and another place when he was this relaxed. She was glad that she was privy to him like this, it made her feel special- not in a romantic sense, special that he was comfortable enough with her to show him this side of himself. They ate their breakfast in silence, the only sounds were that of their chewing and some birds who had decided to sing by his window.

"Sir," Ellie said as she pulled herself from the bed and began to collect the plates and the tray. "We're leaving for the peace meeting soon?" she lifted the tray and took it to the coffee table so that she could take it with her when she left the room.

Ardyn raised his arms and arched his back in a stretch. "Hmm… yes My Dear..." he rolled his head around and closed his eyes as he moved for another stretch. "We'll drive to the capital and from there we'll take an airship to Gauldin Quay where we'll be staying while the Emperor does business with Insomnia."

"I see," Ellie leaned on one leg while she took in his words. "It will be nice… the peace, I mean, I cannot wait for the fighting to be over."

"Dear Ellie." he smiled serenely at her. "Make sure you are ready." he looked her up and down, his eyes glittered and he held a hand out to her, she took it and he tugged causing her to let out a small yelp and fall to the bed. She braced her hands on the bed at each sides of his hips, her waist between his legs and precariously close to his hips.

"I-I, I will be sir." she trembled lightly as he touched her back, his fingers trailing up and down her spine.

He made a sound a his lips twitched. His fingers slid down towards the hem of her skirt and slid along the edge, his fingers inching upwards hinting at sliding upwards before they moved away. She trembled at his actions and her hips moved of their own accord in a feeble attempt at coaxing his hand into moving up. She felt him shake in silent laughter and his hand slid away and moved to her neck.

"S-Sir..." she gasped, her eyes slipped shut and her hips moved impatiently.

"Ellie." his voice washed over her smoothly and her body trembled. She leaned into the touch on her neck and put her weight onto her right hand so that she could reach her left up to bury itself in his red curls. She bit back a moan, she loved the feeling of his hair, it was so soft, so wonderful, she could lose herself in it for hours. She felt him grin against her lips as his hands moved to clutch at her rear.

"S-sir..." she gasped out, her neck arching back.

He kneaded the flesh before flipping their positions, causing her to let out a shriek. He grasped her hands and pinned them above her head. "Now Dear girl," he reached to his bedside table and pulled out some leather ties. "I've had breakfast, and now I'd like my morning..." He paused and she felt her arms being tied to the headboard. "Yoga..."

She resisted the urge to snort and roll her eyes. For some reason the morning sex was now 'Yoga', she wasn't quite sure how it the name had started, but it had and now it had stuck. Although, she gave a wrly grin, it almost was like yoga most mornings. She tried to move her hands, the ties held strong and she let out a sigh as lips decended on his neck. Nimble fingers flicked the buttons of her shirt and she gasped as the fabric was pulled away and cold air hit her chest.

She felt him grin against her neck as his fingers grazed her sides before a palm cupped her clothed breast. Her head fell back into the pillow with a gasp, warm lips slid from her neck downwards to her chest. Sucking hard he bit down, creating a mark.

She moaned in response and he went still, she paused and turned to him questioningly he leaned up and pressed his lips against her ear, he then whispered something into her ear. She tilted her head to him and kissed his cheek in response before nodding. He turned to her and they locked eyes briefly before he moved back down her body and took a clothed nipple into his mouth, nipping gently.

Ellie let out a gasp and at the same time there was a rap at the door. Her eyes went wide and she lifted her head to look down at him. "S-Sir...?" she breathed, trying to be a quiet as she could.

He made no indication that he heard her and continued nipping his way across her chest.

"Sir," Rupert's voice came from behind the door. "There's a man on the telephone for you."

She felt him grin against her breast, his hair obscured her view of his face but she could feel, and visualise his feral toothy grin. "S-Sir, we need to stop." she hissed under her breath, the last thing that she needed was for Rupert to hear, or see what was happening.

He lifted his head from her chest and she felt herself let out a sigh of relief. This was very short lived as she saw the gleam in his eyes. Oh no. She pulled at the ties holding her hands, it was no good, they held strong. "Sir!" she hissed again through clenched teeth.

"Who is it Rupert?" Ardyn asked casually, not at all alluding to the fact that his fingers were now undoing her belt, the button and the zip to her skirt.

"It's Verstael Bethisia, Sir."

Ardyn pulled the skirt from her legs and threw them to the side before fingering the edge of her panties. "Oh? And what does he want?" he pulled the black silk from her body and twirled it around on one of his fingers, his brow raised and his eyes glittering as he looked down at her.

She flushed and sent him a withering glare. It held none of the fire that it should have however, and only served to add to his amusement.

"He wishes to discuss some things with you before you leave for Insomnia." as Rupert talked Ardyn leaned down between her thighs, his grin widening further. He turned his head and nipped at the creamy flesh of her thigh. She let out a gasp and her legs tensed as his burgundy hair tickled at her skin. She could feel his feral grin as he turned his head to pay attention to the other thigh. She flinched and tried to move, only to feel his hands hold her down. She bit back another sound, a moan or a growl she wasn't sure which, but it caused him to laugh, his silent chuckle breathing against her.

"Does he now?" Ardyn replied with amusement. He lifted himself from between her thighs and looked down at her with glittering eyes.

Her lips tightened before she bit her lips as his fingers grasped the elastic of her panties. She knew that she should say something to him. Something to make him stop, but she couldn't and she felt herself pulse as the lacy item was pulled down her legs. She opened her mouth to say something, but slammed It shut again as Rupert spoke.

"Sir, how long do you want me to tell him that you'll be?" Rupert's voice flowed through the door.

Ardyn's fingers slid across her thigh and upwards towards her core. She let out a silent gasp and her hips thrust upwards, in an attempt to create some friction. He seemed to ignore her plight and his fingers made lazy circles around her bikini line.

"Hmm, he could wait for thirty minutes," Ardyn leaned down towards her folds. "he could also wait an hour, who knows?" his breath fanned against her, causing her to twitch. "It all depends on how I feel." he chuckled.

Ellie felt her eyes widen at his words. He intended to keep her this way for over half an hour? That really should not have surprised her, she had known him long enough, had been sleeping with him for long enough to know his ticks. She resisted the urge to scowl at him, it wouldn't do her any good anyway, it would only serve to amuse him further.

"Shall I find young Elise to discuss the issue with him?" Rupert suggested from behind the door. "He may be more willing to talk to her than myself." he added, almost as an afterthought.

Hot lips pressed against the skin close to her folds and he let out a girlish giggle. "You certainly can," she bit back a gasp as he tongue touched her folds, a gasp escaped her lips as he pulled back. "If you can find her, she's been somewhat absent this morning." Her answering scowl turned into an eyes closed gasp as he returned to his attentions.

Rupert made a sound. "Of course she has disappeared." she could picture him folding his arms in front of him and rolling his eyes. "Most days she is wonderful, Sir, but others..." she could picture him shaking his head, not that her ability to picture him was sound at the current moment. She bit her lip and pulled at the binds, she wanted to clutch at him hair damn it. "Anyway sir," he continued. "I shall endeavour to find the girl as well as pass on your message."

"You do that." Ardyn pulled away to look down at the flushed girl before him. The grin on his face seemed to grow exponentially. His finger slid between her folds, moving slowly as she twitched and let out a moan. His smirk widened, his teeth flashing brightly. "Well Dear Girl, it seems that I am needed." his fingers stilled.

She groaned and cracked open her eyes to look up at him. "Sir?"

"We'll have to continue this later, My Dear." he pulled his fingers away causing her to groan.

She watched with wide eyes as he pulled himself up to stand and looked down at her, his hand moved to his chin thoughtfully as he looked her up and down. "Such a shame." he tutted before turning to leave.

"Sir!?" she called out in panic.

His laughs followed him as he walked into his en-suit.

"S-Sir!?" she tugged at the binds holding her hands, they held strong.

The sound of the shower running could be heard.

"Sir!" she called out before catching herself. The last thing that she needed was Rupert or Mabel come and discover her in this position on the Chancellor's bed- or any position on his bed really. She tugged fruitlessly again before letting out a sigh. She was going to have to wait it out, apparently. She scowled as her core nagged her, demanded, that she finish what he started. She let out a long sigh and frowned as the sound of him humming happily flowed through the room. She felt her lips tighten. It was going to be a long wait...

She woke with a start at the feeling of a hand stroking her cheek. She let out a snort and her hand moved to cover her mouth as she started to cough. Wait, her hand? She lifted her hands so that she could look at them. There was a red mark on each wrist from the binds, but that didn't really matter as they were free. She rubbed the red skin briefly before stilling as she heard a chuckle.

She slowly turned her head to see Ardyn lying beside her, his face resting in the palm of his hand and his elbow pushed into his pillow. It was then that she took note of her position; she was still on Ardyn's bed with him lying beside her watching her.

"Did you have a nice nap?" he asked quietly. He pushed some of her hair- that must have come loose from her tie- behind her ear. She leaned into the touch and smiled lightly as his hand moved to grasp one of her wrists. He kissed the red mark on her wrist before moving to the other one.

"Yes, it was." she smiled at him shivered before stretching. "Though I would appreciate it if I wasn't left hanging next time."

He chuckled at the double meaning of her words. "I'm sorry, Dear Ellie." he looked her up and down. "Shall I make it up to you?"

As she opened her mouth to reply, there was a knock on the door. "Sorry to disturb you Sir," Rupert's voice flowed into the room, causing her to let out a low groan. "but, Verstael Besithia is still waiting on the telephone, and I have yet to locate Elise."

Ardyn leaned down to pressed a kiss to her forehead before ruffling her hair. "Well time to get going, we have a long day ahead!"

What he had whispered into her ear was their, word, a 'safe word' a special word that had yet to be used for it's purpose.

X

Elise ignored the suspicious look from Rupert as she loaded their suitcases into Ardyn's car. The man travelled surprisingly lightly, he had only one case that was not that large, in comparison to her suitcases, it was strange, given his personality. She closed the boot of the car and pulled out her notepad from her blazer's inner pocket. Flipping the pages to a checklist she ticked the box labelled 'pack suitcases in car'.

"Take care of yourself Elise," she turned to see Mabel walking towards her. "And," she smiled humbly, knowingly. "look after the Chancellor as well."

"I shall take care of him." Ellie replied, at the sound of his voice she looked up to see him saying something to Rupert, she smiled. "Always."

Mabel patted her on the arm before nodding and returning to Rupert, where she said something to Ardyn. Ardyn let out a laugh at whatever she said. He gave a light wave and walked over to the car, he opened the passenger door and climbed in. "Are you ready?" he asked.

She waved to Mabel and Rupert while she walked to the drivers side, she climbed inside and started the ignition. "Shall we go Sir?"

"Onward, Dear Ellie!"

X

To get to Insomnia, they first had to ride in an airship, where they would be dropped off by Gauldin Quay, where they would stay the night before heading to the capital. The ride to Gauldin was a long one, and Ellie found herself cleaning the car and sorting through the paperwork while she waited. She was however, quickly getting bored and there was only so many times that she could walk up and down the steel bunker where the car was being stored- she would have discussed things with Ardyn, but the Chancellor had gone off to 'make a phone call' and had yet to return.

Another hour of 'pottering around', which included double checking their inventory and looking over the various machines that were stored alongside the car, and Ellie was thoroughly bored. The car was clean, and there was only so many times that she could re-read the report on the situation on the war. It was then that she heard a familiar voice. Her eyes widened and she turned to see her cousin barking orders at an M.T.

"Watch it!" he crossed his arms and pointed to battle machine. "This is my baby, if you break it, I'll break you!"

There was something comforting about hearing his voice, even if he was shouting at someone. She felt her legs moving her in the direction of her cousin. "Loqi!" she called out. He jumped and before he had a chance to react, she was enveloping him in a hug. "I've missed you!" she squeezed him.

He spluttered at her and attempted to dislodge her briefly, and when it seemed as though she was not going to let go he awkwardly patted her back. "Would you kindly let go of me Elise?" he said after some time.

She reluctantly pulled back and looked at him. He was dressed in his armour and looked every bit the soldier that he wanted to be- the soldier that his father had been. She frowned at the thought of her uncle. "How have you been?" she wanted to ask about her uncle but held back.

He grinned. "I have been well, I'm ready to go out and fight, I want to prove myself better than Cor!"

She let out a gush of air in laughter at his words. Loqi, ever the gloater. It was then that his words hit her, what did he mean, fight? Weren't they going to Insomnia for the peace treaty? They weren't there to fight? There was going to be a wedding and then the war was going to be over. She eyed her cousin and decided to voice her questions. "What do you mean? I thought that we were there to sign peace treaties and end the war?" she felt her chest pulse in panic.

Loqi tilted his head and eyed her with a deep frown. He seemed to be assessing his thoughts and crossed his arms across his chest. "Elise..." he began, quietly, too quiet for Loqi.

"Dear Ellie!" Ardyn's voice chimed as he walked out from behind some Magitek armour. "Do get the car ready, we shall be arriving at our destination momentarily!" he then proceeded to practically skip away to the car.

Ellie gave a wryly smile, he was certainly in a good mood. She turned back to Loqi and found him staring at her with a strange expression. "Take care, Elise." he made no motion to say any more, gave her a nod and then left, presumably to look over the Magitek.

"Take care..." she said quietly, unease taking her as she turned to return to the Chancellor.

The war was ending, wasn't it?

X

Ellie hated driving the car out of airships. It was jumpy, frustrating and steep. She had done it enough times that she was confident in her ability to do it, but it was just one of those things that frustrated her to no end. It did not help that Ardyn would giggle at her through the ordeal. She had the distinct impression that he enjoyed her suffering. Not that it was an 'impression' per say, it was pretty damn obvious that he was taking pleasure in her suffering.

"Nearly there.." she said through tight lips. She moved the car slowly and once it was off the ramp and rolling onto the road, she let out a sigh and sunk back into the chair. All of the tension in her back washing away. She took a glance at her GPS, it would take them two minutes to arrive at Gauldin. She eased her foot onto the accelerator and headed in the direction her phone told her to.

"Well done, Ellie."

She didn't need to look at him, she could hear his amusement at her. She stuck her tongue out at him and focused on the road, it was getting late, they would need to stay the night at the hotel, before heading out to Insomnia in the morning.

At the thought of Insomnia she frowned. Her understanding was that the war was over and that they were here to end it. The Marriage of Noctis and Lunafreya sealing the deal, but her gut... her gut was telling her something else. She felt that this was the beginning and that it was only going to get worse from here. Loqi's behaviour to her had not helped abate her feelings, instead it had made her worry more.

"You might want to turn here." Ardyn's voice cut through her musings and caused her to jump.

That was much quicker than she had thought. She turned the car and went about finding a park. Once parked she let out a sigh and clicked her seat belt off. She pulled herself out of the car and went about taking out two of the three suitcases, his small one and the smaller of her two, they were only staying for one night after all. Lifting the cases she turned to look for Ardyn, at first she thought that he had wandered off to the hotel, but a after a long scan of the surroundings, she found him standing on the beach looking out at the sunset. She locked the car and, while carrying the luggage, she headed out to him.

Standing beside him, she said nothing, just watched him as he stared out at the blue and red expanse that was the sun setting against the ocean. His amber eyes seemed to glow as they reflected the red sky, and his hair contrasted from bright to dark he looked... beautiful. She wanted to reach out and touch him, her fingers and her stomach urging her to follow her desires, but she held herself back. It felt wrong to disturb him. So instead she simply watched as he was bathed in the light.

"Go... check in," he said after a few minutes. "I will join you soon Dear Ellie."

"Alright sir." she replied quietly before turning and leaving, though her footsteps were heavy.

X

Their evening in their room was quite typical of nights that they spent away from the manor. He would keep her up for hours and cause her to make sounds that, would have gotten them kicked out were they anyone else, he seemed to take amusement in making her as loud as he could. When he had finally allowed her to sleep, he had slept like a baby while she had had a troubled sleep. As tired as she was, she could not get the worry from her chest.

By morning she was grey and her tiredness showed. She could have attempted to sleep again, Ardyn would not be awake for at least another three hours, but there was no point. She would just have to live on coffee and painkillers. She pulled herself out from the shared bed and rubbed her eyes. Beside her, Ardyn was snoring lightly and cuddling a pillow. She smiled, he was adorable.

She chuckled and walked over to her suitcase. She could only imagine what others would think, what Ardyn would think, if they heard that she had used the word 'adorable' in conjunction with him. She pulled out a change of clothes, her usual white shirt, black skirt and blazer, and went about getting changed. She pulled her hair back into a braid and spent extra time doing her make up, it wouldn't reflect well on Ardyn if she looked dreadful at the meetings.

She frowned at the thought of what was going to happen today. She had not been able to talk to Ardyn about her fears, and they nagged at the back of her mind. She shook her head and tried not to worry about it, at least until Ardyn was awake and she could talk to him- either way she would find out by the time they reached the city. Putting her make up away she pulled out one of her books and went up to the restaurant. There she ordered some breakfast eggs, coffee, and proceeded to try and read.

Apparently her book had succeeded where her attempts at sleeping had not, and had managed to distract her for three hours. When she realised the time she put her book down and went back to the room to check on Ardyn, only to find him still sleeping. She chuckled and took her luggage back to the car- to make her job a little easier later. Once she was back to the hotel she went out to the dock to look out at the ocean.

"Aint you a sight?" she turned to see a man with grey hair walking to her. "A gem, standing out, looking at the sea of blue, you're inspiring me to make something!"

She brushed imaginary hair behind her ear and raised a brow at him. "Sorry?"

He clicked his tongue and leaned against the railing beside her. "Dino, I make jewellery, you're inspiring me to make something. Something dark and beautiful."

What was happening right now? She crossed her arms and leaned back against the rail. "You make jewellery?" she quipped. "May I see some?"

He made a sound. "I er, need a gem before I can make something, but I already have the picture in my head, it'd complement you- bring out your eyes."

"Ellie?" she heard a voice call out, she went silent for a moment, thinking that it was Ardyn, but when she heard nothing else she shook her head. Perhaps she was hearing things? Needed more sleep probably. She turned her attention back to the man standing beside her.

"You like my eyes?" she had never had her eyes complimented before, her green eyes were plain, in her opinion, nothing like the Chancellor's. She wondered if the man before her was hitting on her, or wanted something else, years of working for Ardyn had made her paranoid of people who came up to her and started to talk- they usually wanted information on Ardyn.

"Yeah darl'n they're like two bright gems set in clasp of a broach or a ring."

"Ah Ellie!" she jumped and looked over to see Ardyn standing at the bottom of the steps. He was watching her with an amused expression. She knew the Chancellor well enough though, he was annoyed about something, was it something that she had done? Or, she chanced a glance at the man beside her, had he? He put a hand on his hip with one hand and gestured at her with the other. "There you are, dear girl. We're leaving." he inclined his head to indicate that she follow him.

She nodded and turned to the man beside her. "It was nice talking to you, good day." She turned to chase after her employer who was now walking back up the stairs.

"Come see me again soon!" the man called out to her. "We'll organise making you something pretty!"

While chasing after Ardyn, she nearly collided with him as he stopped at the top of the steps. "S-Sir?" she gasped as she moved to stand beside him. "Do you-"

"Be a dear and get the bags." he said not looking at her, his eyes seemed to focused on something else.

"I-I, of course Sir." she scurried off to get his bag, suddenly very grateful that she had taken her things to the car already, it just made her life that little bit easier. When she returned back up to the restaurant, she scanned for the Chancellor but was unable to see him. Walking to the reception desk, she suddenly heard what sounded like crazed ramblings. Her shoulder slumped and she sighed.

The Chancellor was scaring random people again.

She turned to see that, yes, Ardyn was rambling wildly at a group of four youths. She wanted to roll her eyes. Did he really have to do this? Suddenly he flung something at the four before turning and strutting away hastily. Her eyes widened. "S-Sir!" she called, clutching the suitcase to her chest as she charged towards him.

"Sir wait!" she chanced a glance at the four boys as she raced past them. One was tall and really needed to put a shirt on. One was blonde and reminded her oddly of a chocobo. The blonde with glasses caught her attention, he was quite attractive, and she almost tripped as she took notice of the one that looked oddly like Prince Noctis. She was halfway down the pier when she realised that it was Prince Noctis. She gasped and came to a halt. She turned back to look at the four boys who were walking into the restaurant. He must have been going to his wedding. She smiled, hope taking her heart, and turned to chase after Ardyn. Who she found waiting for her in the car, reading a newspaper.

She stopped and after panting, she took a moment to watch him. She loved watching him be so domestic, something about him reading the newspaper. As if feeling her eyes on him, he looked up and smirked at her. "Ready, Dear?"

She nodded and went about putting his luggage away. When she was done she climbed into the car and started the engine. "To Lucis?" she quipped.

He tipped his hat with a nod. "To Lucis."

It was a beautiful day. Ellie noted as she drove. There were birds singing(probably), the sun was shining, and there was a cool breeze whipping at her face. She glanced at Ardyn who had put his newspaper down as they passed a garage with a diner. He crossed his leg and seemed to be completely focused on the road ahead. She felt her skin prickle with fear. Her worries were confirmed at the sight of the M.T's standing guard at the entrance to the city, flanked by magitek armour and the screams of citizens could be heard. She slowed the car down as she reached the checkpoint to enter the city.

"S-Sir..." she breathed quietly.

He said nothing, but his hand touched her thigh. He leaned out of the window lightly. "Oh hello!" he said to the M.T cheerfully. "Do let us in, will you? There's a good boy!" he slid back into his seat as the gates opened. He squeezed her tense thigh and inclined his head for her to proceed.

She slowly drove the car into the city. Her heart breaking at the sight of the citizens being collected by the M.T's. Blood splatter stains littered the walls of buildings and the ground, she had just missed the main fight, it seemed. "Sir... I thought... the peace treaty..."

He said nothing, his thumb rubbed her thigh as he gestured for her to continue.

With shaky hands she proceeded forward. A piece of her dying as she did.