Chapter Seven
Roadtrip
Elise glared at the night sky through the window of the car. She was lying across the back seats of the car, a blanket covering her. She was sleeping in the car, while the Chancellor slept in a somewhat comfortable bed in the caravan a few feet from the car. She felt her lips tighten as she thought of Ardyn. He was the reason that she was in this predicament. He had volunteered her.
How had she ended up sleeping in the car? What circumstance had led to this happening?
Lets back track.
X
Ellie was silent as she followed behind Ardyn. The pair were walking through Insomnia towards the palace. Around them were people being corralled into big metal vans, while others were being let out of the city; 'to keep up appearances' she had heard a soldier say. She closed her eyes and took a breath. Why was this happening? Why was the Emperor allowing this to happen? What was the point? Where was the point in organising a wedding for peace, and then invading? Had the Emperor planned this all along? Had peace never been planned?
She jolted as she collided with something. She opened her eyes and jumped back, her eyes landing on what was in front of her- Ardyn. "S-Sorry Sir." she jumped back and straightened herself up.
She eyed him warily, he had not said anything to her about her crashing into him. She eyed his back and noticed a tenseness in his shoulders. Why was he tense? A glance around her gave her notice that the soldiers around her- those who weren't MT's- were also tense, they seemed to be staring at something, something that she was unable, to see, her gaze was obscured by his back.
Slowly, she stepped from behind Ardyn to see what had caused the dismay. Her heart stilled. Lying motionless on a stretcher, was King Regis.
She gasped as the Chancellor moved beside her. Air rushed to her lungs with a gasp. The reality of everything suddenly hitting her. This was real. The war was happening, there was to be no peace. She heard a chuckle as General Glauca strode past her. She turned and watched the large man as he walked towards a black car that was waiting for him. He had done it. She knew, she wasn't sure how, but she knew.
Movement from behind her caught her attention and she turned to see Ardyn walking walking towards the body of the, now dead, King of Lucis. She hesitantly stepped towards him, moving to stand beside him. She took a brief glance at the soldiers around, most of their faces were haunted, she understood, these men were mere soldiers, not officers. These men did not get to ride in Magitek Armour, no, these men were expected to do the same things that the M.T's did.
She glanced back to Ardyn and found him staring at the body with a frown. He seemed to be thinking about something, or perhaps remembering? He did not seem overly sad or but there seemed to be something tinged in his eyes. Her fingers twitched and she touched his back briefly before hastily snatching her hand away.
He turned to her and smiled in a way that was strange, there was an unsettling tinge to his smile and it seemed as though he was he was smiling at something that only he understood. She could only grasp at straws to imagine what. He reached forward and ruffled her hair, causing some of it to come out of the tie.
"Come Ellie," he gestured a hand out towards the castle. "I have some people to meet, and then we're back on the road."
She nodded hastily. "I," she let out a breath to try and calm herself. "Of course Sir." she bit her lip lightly and tried not to look at the body beside her.
He patted her shoulder then squeezed it lightly, it was almost tender, at least that's how she viewed it. As did the warmth that filled her chest at the touch. "Come on," he released her shoulder and grinned, it was reassuring as it was macabre. "Let's go!"
X
Ellie started at the beautiful details painted into the ceiling of the guestroom that she was currently lying in. Ardyn was currently having a meeting with Verstael Besithia and some other Generals. She had supposed to be part of this meeting, to take notes for Ardyn but the Chancellor had sent her away, 'get some rest', he had said. Apparently she had looked tired after their walk through Insomnia. Tired, while it was was a word that she would use to describe, haunted, was perhaps a better description of herself in that moment.
Flashes of the dead King flashed before her eyes and she turned around on the leather sofa that she was lying on. She stared at the brown leather of the chairs back. She closed her eyes and let out a shuddering breath. She had never wanted t be part of a war, never wanted to think about war. She missed being at home, missed getting up to make toast for Ardyn. Missed the poetry, missed Mabel... she even missed Rupert.
Through missing them, the worry came. With this war, people were going to die. Many already had and others were being rounded up and put into trucks- what were they going to do to those people? Were they to be prisoners of war? She hoped that they were looked after.
She closed her eyes. She had heard whispers that Lunafreya had been killed as well. With the excitement she had felt at the news of the wedding, had made the news more devastating. She let out a shuddering breath and held back tears. Was it too late to go home? Her hands clenched. No, no she could not go home. If she went home then there would be no one to look after the Chancellor.
She let out a breath of laughter. She needed to stay for him, the man would never eat if she were not there. He wouldn't rest. In the times of war, people needed to stay together, and while she probably needed him more than he did her, she knew that she needed to stay. For him. Even if it were for no other reason than to take a bullet for him in this war, and she would. If someone went after Ardyn, she would do all in her power to protect him.
"Is that couch comfortable?" she jumped at the voice and hastily forced herself from the sofa and turned. Ardyn was closing the mahogany door behind him and moving towards the queen bed. He sat on the grey sheets and smiled crookedly at her. "The bed seems much more comfortable, I could be wrong though," he chuckled. "I doubt it though." he patted the spot beside him meaningfully.
She smiled wistfully and pulled herself from the sofa. Her legs wobbled as she trudged towards him. He watched her every step of the way, and eventually she slumped beside him. "Aww Dear Ellie," he touched her back. "You'll be alright." he moved his hand from her back and laid back onto the bed, he crossed his legs and they kicked lazily off the side of the bed.
"It's not me that I am worried about, Sir." she turned back to look at him. His hat was removed and was now hanging from his finger as he twirled it lazily, his red hair splayed out against the grey. She turned back and looked down at her hands clasped atop her knees. "It's..." she clenched her hands again. "It's you sir," she closed her eyes.
"Ellie." his voice was quiet. The room went quiet for a few breaths. "Come here Ellie." When she did not move, he called her again, this time his voice was firmer.
She turned to him and saw him waving at her and patting the spot beside him. She slowly slid beside him and laid down, her head resting on her forearm. He pulled himself up onto his elbow and watched her with an unreadable expression. She felt herself shy under his gaze, he seemed to assessing something, what she couldn't begin to understand. All of a sudden the expression was gone and he let out a chuckle, he flicked her nose gently. "Silly girl," he chuckled. "I'll be fine, I am flattered however that you care for me so."
She flushed and looked away. He grasped her cheek and pulled her to look back up at him, his eyes glittered. "Now, my Dear, we have this wonderful little room that we can enjoy," he brushed her hair out of her face. "we leave in the morning, now however, shall I help you relax?"
Despite the shadow over her mind, she found herself smiling.
He always did know how to make her feel better.
X
She slowly placed their luggage in the car. She had been ready to leave for hours, days actually but they were at their last day so she had been waiting for hours since she woke. It had been so long, and in this time she had hardly seen Ardyn, most of the time he had seemed to have disappeared off of the face of the planet. This had left her to take stock of the soldiers and gather as much information that she could about the situation. Eventually after a week, Ardyn had turned up again and had just gone to sleep, if she had not known better, she would have assumed him to be dead with how solid he was on the bed.
She had had to wait for today to leave for several reasons, the main one being that The Chancellor had one more meeting to attend before they left. She was not sure however, whether or not to be concerned that he had refused her request to attend the meetings.
Either the man was concerned for her health(the meetings were long) or he was hiding something from her, which was entirely possible. She shook her head at the thought and looked around at the soldiers walking around the city, she just wanted to leave. She pulled herself into the drivers seat and waited. The car was safe, it was calming, it made her feel protected, more so now.
She turned her head the the passenger side as the door clicked open. She saw The Chancellor climb into the car. He turned to her with a grin. "Are we ready to go?"
She nodded and started the ignition. "Where to Sir?"
"Lestallum." he replied sinking into the chair and made himself comfortable.
"Right, Sir." and with that said she reversed the car from it's park, turned and left. As she drove through Lucis, Ardyn set the course to Lestallum on her phone's GPS. He set the phone in it's holder near her, and she glanced at the map before looking back at the road. She eyed the soldiers who were marching through the city, and was glad to be leaving.
They had left the city too late, it seemed, and they ended up having to spend the night in Gauldin Quay. Which ended up being three days, due to the Chancellor developing the 'urge' to go fishing. Why he had needed to spend three days fishing, went over her head but she did not complain. She instead chose to read for the few days.
"Are you sure that you are finished fishing?" she asked with an edge to her voice as she put their luggage into the back of the car.
"Quite, Dear girl." he patted her back as he walked around to the drivers side of the car. "Shall we be off? I have an appointment to keep." he climbed into the car.
She followed suit and took her seat, glad to be the passenger this time. "I would like to visit the street markets."
x
Lestallum was every bit the bustling city that she had seen on television. Working for Ardyn, she was able to visit many places, but she had never been here before, so it was a good experience to be somewhere different. It was a good distraction from the war as well.
She followed behind Ardyn as he made his way towards the hotel where they would be staying. She clutched at their luggage as they walked down a street. She caught sight of a street stall while she walked. She could smell the street foods. She closed her eyes and almost moaned, whatever it was, it smelled phenomenal.
"We're here!" Ardyn chimed causing her to jump from her food induced state. She turned to see him pointing to a large building.
"Coming sir!" she tore herself from the wonderful smells and followed him into the large building.
The dark furniture mixed with the bright light pouring from the window made the place feel, relaxing. Ellie decided as she carried the luggage to their room. They had received a look from the older reception worker as it was made known that they were sharing a room together. Ellie was used to that though so she held her head high and gave the woman a pleasant 'thank you' when they walked into their room.
"You have quite the gift for the passive aggressive." Ardyn commented as he threw himself onto the bed. He reached over and grabbed a magazine off of the side table and began nonchalantly flipping through it.
"Old biddy needs to keep her nose out of other people's business." she grumbled as she placed the bags in a corner on the floor.
He snorted but didn't comment.
"Sir." she turned to him and leaned against the dresser. "Do you mind if I go and look at the shops tomorrow? Some of the foods smelled amazing!"
He pulled his had off and placed it on the side table where the magazine had been. He then ruffled his hair out and looked up at her with a lazy smile. "Of course, are you going to cook something?"
She nodded. "I can."
"Well then tonight we shall suffer room service," he placed a hand on his chest and lowered his head in mock sorrow. "And tomorrow you can cook something decidedly better." he smiled, causing her to return the look.
She bent down to her bag and pulled out a book. She then took the spot beside him and snuggled into the pillows. She opened the book to her marked page and scanned the page to find where she had left off. There it was, Doreen was succumbing to Manfred's charms. She inwardly grumbled, she hated Doreen, the woman was completely insane, she just hoped that Manfred ate her soon.
"Are you reading a naughty story?" she felt the Chancellor move and place his head on her shoulder. She could feel his teasing grin.
"Do you mind Sir?" she resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
"No, not really." he made no effort to move while she read, and would give a running commentary on what was happening in the book. At least he seemed to dislike Doreen as much as she did, which seemed to make her death all the more sweeter to Ellie.
X
Ellie smiled as she picked up some herbs. She held them to her nose and inhaled, they smelled amazing, she could already think of at least four recipes that she could use them in. She gestured to the man running the stall. "I'll take some!" she paid the thousand Gil for her selection and moved onto the next stall, this one had a selection of fish and meats for sale. Again she went about making her selection, she was going to be able to make Ardyn all sorts of wonderful meals with these.
"Flowers!" a man at a stall called out as she walked through the bustling street.
She paused to look at the flowers before moving on.
"Pretty flowers for a pretty lady!" the man called out to her.
She ducked her head with a flush and turned back to the man. "Excuse me?"
He held out some purple iris' to her. "Would you like some flowers?"
She looked down at the flowers, they were pretty. "Thank you." she accepted the gift.
He winked at her. "Come back tomorrow and we'll have even better ones!"
She smiled and nodded. "I'll think about it." she bowed lightly in thanks and left to go back to the hotel. There was a lightness to her step, her shopping trip had certainly helped to make her feel better. She ignored the old woman as she walked into the hotel and made her way to the room. As she went to open the door she paused as she heard The Chancellor talking to someone, a woman. She raised a brow, who was that? She opened the door and walked into the room.
She was met with the sight of Ardyn sitting on the sofa with a slouch, talking to a woman who was standing in front of him with her back turned to Ellie. She had a very attractive back, was the first thing that Ellie noticed. "Sir?" she said softly, closing the door behind her.
Ardyn extended his neck so that he could look past the person in front of him. "Ah, Ellie! Back so soon!" he clasped his hands on his lap. "What did you get?"
"Some herbs... and meat..." her brow furrowed as the woman turned to face her with crossed arms. Had she seen the woman before? Something told her that she had.
"Miss Tummelt." The woman said evenly.
At her silence Ardyn interjected. "Ellie, greet Commodore Highwind." his voice was chastising but his eyes twinkled.
Suddenly the woman's face clicked in her mind. Commodore Aranea Highwind. While Ellie had never met the woman personally, she had read reports on her and had seen her photo within those reports. Her shoulders relaxed lightly and she gave the woman an incline bow. "Good to meet you Commodore."
Aranea made a sound that sounded suspiciously like a snort but her face gave no indication of laughter. "Good to meet you as well."
Ellie nodded and walked into the kitchenette of the room. She placed her bags on the bench and went about putting the foods away. "Commodore Highwind," she said as she put the meat into the refrigerator. "Would you like a cup of coffee or some tea? I'm afraid that I cannot offer you much else."
"No." Aranea replied evenly. "You want me to?" she addressed Ardyn.
"Continue on as you have been instructed." he replied.
Ellie watched as Aranea nodded and made move to leave. "Goodbye Chancellor Izunia, Miss Tummelt." was all she said before exiting the suite, the door closing behind her with a gentle click.
"She seems... nice enough, quiet." Ellie remarked as she went about making some tea.
Ardyn leaned back into the seat and reached over for a magazine. He began to flip through it in a bored fashion. "She's agreeable, more so than some of the other members of the army." he paused at a page. "That coat is simply divine." he examined it over before returning to flipping.
She poured the boiling water into the teacups and put in the teabags. She smiled at the rich smell of the bergamot and dipped the teabags in and out of the water for a few turns before taking them over to the coffee table in front of Ardyn. "Would you like me to start on dinner, Sir?"
He glanced up at the clock, it was a quarter to five. "Hm... no, it's still early." he pulled himself up from the sofa and headed towards their bedroom. "I think that I shall take a nap!" he turned to her with a grin. "You're welcome to join me, dear Ellie?"
How could she refuse?
X
Ellie sighed. She was going to miss Lestallum. Earlier that morning, The Chancellor had woken her up to inform her that she needed to pack their things, because they needed to leave at some point today- when he had not made her privy too, he had however told her to meet him at their car, by the observation area at noon. Which, after putting the bags away, had left Ellie to her own devices for a few hours. So she had decided to walk through the streets and try to memorise as many smells and sights that she could, she had even bought some ingredients so that she could cook when they next rested.
She had just finished buying some berries when she realised the time and rushed back to the car. When she reached the car she found no sign of the Chancellor. She sighed at the time wasted running, she could have walked and saved the energy. She let out an annoyed breath, at least she had made it in time.
She need not had felt her annoyance however as in that moment Ardyn came walking to the car with the group of boys she had seen in Gauldin.
'Noctis.' she eyed the prince up and down. He looked so much younger now that she was standing before him. In the photos that she had seen he had always looked young, but not as young as he looked now. Before her now was a boy, a boy who was too young to be dealing with wars, too young to be getting married as well. Then again, she probably wasn't too much older than he was.
"Do try to keep up!" She jumped at the sound of his voice, she had zoned out for a few moments. Ardyn sounded pleased. Far too pleased. She raised her eyes at him as he walked to the car and climbed into the drivers side.
She looked over to the Prince and his group and saw them climbing into their own car. She heard a car start and jumped again, she hastily climbed into the car beside the Chancellor and saw him stroke the wheel with a smirk.
"What is our next course of action Sir?" she asked as he pulled out in front of the Prince's entourage and onto the streets of Lestallum.
"We're going on a trip with the dear Prince." he replied with a smile. As they left Lestallum he pushed harder against the accelerator.
"What do you mean sir?" she pressed. To the best of her knowledge, helping Prince Noctis went against what they- the Empire- wanted them to do. Was he helping him? Or was there some sort of other motive? At the thought of the prince, she turned her head to look at the car struggling to keep up with them. "You're teasing them." she looked back to Ardyn.
He smiled. "The dear Prince needs to learn to do things for himself." the smile twisted into something that while it was still a smile, it looked strange. Ellie could not name the emotions held within that smile, it was unsettling.
"They're having trouble keeping up." she commented with a glance in the rear view mirror.
Ardyn grinned and the car seemed to speed up. "Oh, Dear Ellie," he said as though remembering something. "Do refer to me as 'Ardyn' or 'Sir', for the time being, they do nor need to know me as they chancellor as of yet."
She raised a brow in inquiry, but when he did not answer her unasked question, she nodded and went about hunting down her book.. A few hours later, as the sun was beginning to set, Ardyn pulled the car over and turned the engine off. Ellie looked up from her book and saw that they were parked at a rest stop. She turned her head to see the Prince's car pull in behind them.
"We'll stay here tonight!" she heard Ardyn say as he pulled himself out.
She could hear the Prince's entourage grumble complaints, she couldn't blame them, there still was quite a lot of sun, enough to get to the next stop, probably. But she wasn't going to say anything, the Chancellor, once he had made up his mind, did not give up easily. He patted her head and told her to rent the caravan for them. With a nod she went into the shop and waited in the line.
After a few minutes of waiting she looked up to see why they were taking so long. It was then that she noticed a woman who was complaining about the quality about a product that she had purchased. She rolled her eyes and picked up a cooking magazine, at least she could get some meal ideas.
"Are you interested in cooking?" she looked up to see a member of The Prince's group. The blond one with glasses.
"Yes," she pushed some hair behind her ears. "As Ardyn's personal assistant. I do all of his cooking, cleaning and everything else he needs."
The blond nodded. "I understand, I too, aid Noctis in his daily tasks." he paused and regarded her briefly. "I apologise, I have been rude. Allow me to introduce myself; I am Ignis Scientia."
Ellie smiled at him. "Elise Tummelt, Ellie, pleased to meet you." she held a hand out and shook his. It was then that she noticed that the woman at the counter was now gone and she was free to make the purchase. She turned to the counter and booked the caravan for the night and paid for the magazine. Once she was done she watched as Ignis purchased some medical supplies. It was probably a good idea, considering the kinds of trouble she had heard that they had gotten into.
As he finished and turned to her, she held up the keys to the caravan and smiled. "Shall we go see the room?"
"What kind of meals do you like to cook?" Ignis asked as he held the door for her.
She smiled in thanks and stepped through the door. "I have a soft spot for cooking breakfasts, anything with eggs, bacon and herbs."
He followed after her and they walked to the caravan. The keys did not want to work for Ellie and she found herself jiggling and turning the keys around several times before the door finally unlocked and swung open with a 'clunk'. "Well that was entirely too much effort, for so little pay off." she commented as she stepped into the tiny caravan. She frowned, the place was tiny would barely fit the four boys, let alone herself and the Chancellor. She turned to Ignis and found herself uncomfortably close to him, their chests nearly touching- it was innocent enough though, he was merely trying to look at the kitchen utensils.
"Sorry Ignis." she flushed went to move.
"I am sorry as well." he replied.
"Hey Iggy!" a voice called out. The blonde with chocobo hair came barrelling into the caravan. "This where we're staying tonight-" he caught himself as he caught sight of the two. His lips twitched and his eyebrows wagged. "Iggy." the was a teasing tone to his voice.
Ignis cleared his throat. "Prompto." there was a tired tone to his voice, he knew exactly where Prompto's mind had gone.
"Dear Ellie where are you~" Came Ardyn's sing-song voice as he fluttered into the caravan. He paused as he caught sight of Ellie, his brow raised and something strange flashed in his eyes. "Elise, be a dear and get the bags."
Her flinch at him calling her 'Elise', did not go unnoticed. "Of course, Sir." she squeezed past Ignis and caught the eyes of the other blond, 'Prompto', who sent her a sympathetic smile. She glanced at the Chancellor, who had sat on one of the chairs outside of the caravan, and made her way to the car. Was he mad at her? She had not done anything wrong, yes it had been a compromising position, but it had been completely innocent! Her lips tightened as she opened the car boot and pulled out their suitcases. She then carried them back to find Ardyn having a discussion with the others.
"There is not much room, we shall need to be clever in our sleeping arrangements." Ignis commented from his position in the caravan doorway.
"It would be easier if you weren't so huge!" Prompto nudged the tall one who was not wearing a shirt on the shoulder.
"Shut it!" The larger man shoved him back.
"It is a good point." Noctis commented.
"Maybe you can share with Prompto, since your both so tiny!" The larger man snapped.
"We'll be okay, Ellie can sleep in the car." The Chancellor said casually while inspecting a piece of fluff on his pants. He glanced up at her with a smile, she was too busy gaping to respond to it.
"I do not agree," Ignis replied. "I shall sleep in the regalia, if need be, Elise may have one of the beds."
Her gape softened into a brief smile. Ignis was something of a gentleman, it seemed.
"Hm," Ardyn pretended to think about it. "no, she's fine, aren't you Elise?" he sent a half grin and a raised brow.
She was most certainly not fine with sleeping in the car. A healthy fear of Daemons had completely wiped any desires to sleep outside. Not only that, what if someone tried something while she was asleep, not that she wasn't capable of taking care of herself, but it was still a fear. "I..." she felt his eyes bore into her. "I, yes, I... I have no complaints Sir." she acquiesced.
The four boys certainly looked like they had something to complain about but Ardyn halted any more words by clapping his hands together and letting out a sound of pleasure. "Well there you have it! Elise is fine, now let us have dinner! Elise, do you have any food packed?"
Every time she heard him say her name she felt something stab in her chest. She nodded. "Yes, Sir..." then she moved to her suit case to find the foods that she had brought. She knelt on the bag and rummaged through and found what she was looking for, some vegetables, the noddles and some bacon.
"Can I assist you?" she turned to see a pair of legs standing beside her, she looked up to see that the legs belonged to Ignis.
She nodded. "Sure, you think that you can boil these?" she passed him the beg of noodles.
He nodded and took them to the caravan to boil. She watched his retreating back before turning her attention to the rest of the food. She would need to dice them, knowing that there was no room in the caravan she took them to the barbeque and set about dicing them. Every now and then she would look back at the others, who had began to play a game of cards.
"The noodles are done." Ignis said as he returned with a bowl of boiled and strained noodles.
She smiled and adjusted the heat on the barbeque. "We'll fry them up with the vegetables and meat." she threw the diced ingredients onto the hotplate. She put the noodles aside to wait for a few minutes. "Thank you for helping me."
He smiled at her. "You are welcome." he glanced in the direction of the others playing cards. "I apologise for the bedding situation. If you need to, I am able to relinquish the bed."
She shook her head and glanced at Ardyn briefly, he seemed to be enjoying himself. "Ardyn wants me to sleep in the car... I... I don't mind." she smiled weakly. "Do not worry about me." she turned back to the food and flipped the food around on the hotplate. It was ready for the noodles. She added them then poured some sauce over the food and mixed it through.
"Could you get some bowls?" she asked Ignis. "Or watch the food while I go and get some."
"I'll go."
"That smells really good." a voice said as she flipped the food around. She looked up to see the tall dark haired man, Gladio, her mind supplied.
"Thank you."
When Ignis returned they sat down to eat.
X
"Well that was delicious, thank you Elise!" Ardyn threw her praise as he dabbed at his lips with a napkin.
"You're welcome, Sir." she bowed her head.
"You cook quite well, reminds me of Iggy's cooking." Noctis replied with a smile.
Elise smiled at him and set about collecting the plates for clean up, only to have Gladio take them from her. She looked up at the large man questioningly.
"You cooked, we'll clean, Come on Prompto!' he called out to the blond, who looked as though he was about to complain but a look from Gladio got him to pull himself from the chair and follow after.
Elise watched their retreating backs with a fond smile. They were quite kind. She glanced at her watch briefly to check the time, only to notice that it was getting late. She frowned. "Sir, If I may," she drew Ardyn's attention to her. "it is getting late, may I be excused for the night?" were they at home, he would have instantly noticed that something was wrong from they way she spoke- he may have now, but he gave no indication that he did.
"Of course, Elise, do sleep well." there was a smile on his face.
She turned her attention to the other two sitting at the table and gave a bow. "Goodnight," she lifted her head. "Goodnight Prompto, Gladio!" she then turned and headed to the car.
That was what lead her to where she was now, staring at the stars, sleeping in the car. Just what had she done to deserve this? Ardyn had never been cruel to her before. She clutched at the blanket and closed her eyes. She wished that she was home. Things were so much easier, so much more simple at home. She sighed, but she wasn't at home, and things had not been simple in a long time. She had heard the others go to bed at least an hour ago, she had been trying to sleep since. Sleep, however, was eluding her, it could have been many things that stalled her sleep, but she had a feeling that it was because she was sleeping in the car!
She let out a growl and slapped her hand against the seat. Would she just go to sleep already.
A tap at her window caused her to jump. Eyes wild she reached for the emergency gun behind Ardyn's chair and pulled herself up. She moved her arms to aim the gun at the window, only to freeze at the sight of Ardyn staring at her through the window with a grin.
"Awww Elise, whatever did I do to deserve that?" he gestured to the gun.
She relaxed and lowered her gun. "Sorry Sir, I, you frightened me."
He waved his hand dismissively. "It's quite alright." he stepped away from the car. "Now be a dear and get out, come for a walk with me."
She blanched. He wanted to go for a walk? Now? Could he not see that lack of light outside? If they went for a walk that could potentially be attacked by daemons. Flashes of Ardyn being attacked flew through her. She reached for the door to pull herself out of the car. The last thing that she wanted was for Ardyn to be attacked and murdered, she'd die first.
"Where are we walking to, Sir?" she asked as she closed the car door behind her. She shivered as the cold air hit her.
He eyed her briefly before shrugging off his coat. "Here." he held it out to her.
"Sir!" she gasped as she collected the heavy coat into her arms. She rubbed her thumbs against the fabric and looked up at him with wide eyes. "Thank you, Sir, I can get mine if you are cold."
He waved dismissively. "Don't worry about me." he took some steps towards the road. He waved his hand at her. "Come."
She hastily slipped his coat on and followed after him. While they walked towards some boulders out in the grasslands and away from the camp, she found herself playing with the coat. It was so soft and warm and comfortable. She also realised why he walked like he was dancing all of the time, with a coat this fabulous, why wouldn't you? She however, did not follow her urge to strut like him, as she was more focused on keeping an eye out for daemons.
Surprisingly they did not meet any.
Eventually they reached the rock formation. Ardyn leaned his back against a boulder and looked up at the stars. Ellie watched him and found him hauntingly beautiful bathed in the moonlight. She stepped closer to him and he turned his amber eyes to her.
"Sir, I'm sorry." she said quietly. "I know not what I have done to offend you, but please, please, accept my deepest apologies."
He regarded her silently. "Dear Ellie..." he reached out to her.
Her reaction was instant and she practically leapt into his arms. Her arms wound around him tightly and buried her face in his chest. Inhaling deeply she felt her body relax at his scent. She practically melted as she felt his hand touch her head and stroke her hair.
"I see you've made a friend, Ellie."
She paused. Was he jealous? She lifted her head to look up at him. The idea was absolutely ridiculous and insane... but was he? She lifted her hand to his cheek. "They're nice boys Sir." she stoked his cheek. "I missed you tonight." she said quietly. They had spent time apart before, but tonight had been different, they had been together but he had been cold.
He raised a brow at her and touched her shoulder lightly. Before she knew what was happening she found herself being pushed back against a boulder. She looked into his glittering eyes and felt the words on her tongue die. His grin was devilish, cheeky, naughty and beautiful all in one. She was speechless.
His hands slid under the coat and began to undo the buttons of her shirt. "Perhaps I can make it up to you Dear Ellie." he teased.
Were she thinking rationally at that moment, she would have said no, because who in their right mind would do what they were about they were going to do outside, at night where daemons could lunge at them at any moment. She would have protested, but she found herself giving into his wishes, against the boulder, under the moonlight.
And she couldn't have been happier.