Chapter Ten
Lending a Hand
Ellie took a shaky breath as she leaned over the fire. They were camping at a camping ground for the night and she was trying to cook their dinner. Trying being the key word. The heat from the fire was going to her head and making her woozy. She turned the bubbling broth, the broth wasn't helping either, the smell going straight to her head.
"That smells amazing!" Ardyn praised while he set the tent up.
She turned to him and smiled before turning her attention back to the broth. She had been surprised when Ardyn had offered to put up the tent. He had never done it before, mostly because she had always just done it before he even had a chance to offer. She wasn't ungrateful, on the contrary, she was feeling quite tired today and the extra help was much appreciated.
She hadn't stressed over her illness for some weeks now, simply because it had gone away confirming her thoughts that it was a bug. But in the last three days it had seemingly come back in the form of nausea. Which made her wonder if it wasn't the same illness, but some new bug that she had caught- it was possible, she had been stressing about the war lately and she had never spent as much time out on the road as she had been. Perhaps she was not used to the foods that she had been preparing? Maybe they weren't agreeing with her? Perhaps it was a symptom of stress?
She moved the broth away from the fire and set it on a flat rock to cool. "It's ready Sir." she called out to him and reached for two bowls that were beside the rock. She filled the bowls with some food and walked them over to the boulder that they were using as a table for the night. "It's hot, give it a minute." she said.
Ardyn finished putting the tent up and walked over to their makeshift table. He sat on the ground across from her. "Thank you Ellie!" he smiled and reached into his jacket, he proceeded to pull out what appeared to be a crossword puzzle book. He picked up his spoon and stirred his food to cool it while he read over the first crossword. "That would be gysahl." he pulled a pen from a pocket and penned the answer in.
Ellie leaned over and glanced down at the page. She read through the list. "I believe that twelve down is grievous."
He looked down at twelve down. "Thank you Dear." he jotted the answer down.
She smiled and blew on her food to cool it down. She loved moments like this, moments of domesticity where they just sat together and did simple things like going over paperwork, or reading books or doing just random things, not even necessarily together. It was nice. It made her remember the simpler times. She smiled and ate her meal.
Later, after they had eaten, Ellie climbed into the tent and was lying on the bedroll reading a book. It was one that she had not read in the longest time. Her eyes flashed as she thought about the last time she had even looked at the book, it had been the first time that she and Ardyn had been intimate. It was the book that he had read on her bed. She blushed and tried not to think about the memory while she read. Ardyn was still doing his crossword outside so she was going to take the time to enjoy her book.
'Oh Jose...' she smiled as the protagonist met his love interest for the first time.
Hours later, she jolted awake as Ardyn climbed into the tent. "I-I what?" she blinked her sleep away. "Oh Sir..." she relaxed and patted for her book as she remember what she had been doing before she fell asleep. She sat up again when she was unable to find it she looked over to Ardyn to see him dangling it before her, a grin on his face.
"Still reading this one are we?" he asked smoothly. "Such naughty things..." he tutted and pulled the book away when she reached for it.
"Sir, give it back please." she reached helplessly for it. She knew that she wasn't going to get it, he had his teasing eyes tonight- she'd have to work for it. "I'm... I like that book."
He chuckled. "Oh, I bet you do Ellie." he leaned back and flipped open the book to a random page. "Jose cackled in laughter as the other prisoners assaulted the younger one with mops. I watched in horror and fascination as Io seemed to be enjoying it, he gasped and was moving his hips to create friction-" he glanced up at Ellie with wide eyes and the hint of a smirk on his lips. "Dear Ellie, sweet innocent, Ellie..." his chuckle turned dark. "Only you're not innocent are you?" he placed the book to the side and beckoned her with a curled finger.
She smiled at him and crawled towards him. His grasped her chin and pulled her closer. She continued to move until she was nearly in his lap. She reached forward and placed her hands on his thighs as she lifted her face to his. Her smile widened as his eyes darkened and she brushed her lips against his. He made a pleased sound and she pressed forwards, pushing harder against him. Her hands kneaded his thighs and she felt a hand reach up to pull the tie out of her hair, the hand then buried itself in her hair. She moaned as the fingers threaded themselves through the locks. She pulled away from his lips and moved her attentions to his neck.
"Is that how it is Dear?" he let out a breathy chuckle and leaned back, allowing her access.
"Would you like me to stop?" she mumbled against his neck.
She heard him chuckle but he said nothing. She reached for his shirt and begun undoing the buttons as she nibbled the skin of his neck. The hand in her hair rubbed soothing circles. She pulled back from his neck and finished undoing the buttons on his shirts. She heard him suck in air as her fingers came into contact with his chest. She closed her eyes and felt warmth bloom in her chest, she loved being able to make sounds like that come from him. She leaned forwards and licked a line up his chest, she felt more than heard his gasp. Though he was not vocal, she loved every sound, every twitch that he made. It was a stark comparison to when he was in control, when she was in control he was silent and barely made sounds, but when it was him, when it was he that was dominating, he was loud and enjoyed teasing her.
She looked up at him and saw him watching her intensely. She reached for the buckle of his pants. "Enjoying yourself, Sir?" she asked with a tilt of her head and a coy tone to her voice.
He smiled. "I think I am, Dear Ellie."
He most certainly did.
X
Elise awoke with a start. She grasped at her chest as she gasped air in and out of her lungs. She clutched at her chest as the her surroundings began to spin. 'Oh no.' she thought as she started to shake, bile pooled at the back of her throat and she scrambled to get out of the tent. Once out of the tent she was able to run twenty paces away before lurching into a bush. At first she was standing by the bush but soon enough she was holding onto ground and leaning into it to be sick.
She was there for a total of ten minutes before the need to be sick went away. She spat at the ground and wiped the tears from her eyes. "This needs to stop." she murmured as she pulled herself up to stand. With legs like jelly she headed back to the tent.
She crept quietly into the tent where Ardyn was sleeping peacefully, a gently snore coming from him. She smiled, he was so adorable when he slept. She quietly pulled a bottle of water from her bag and moved quietly back out of the tent. She went back to the bush and rinsed her mouth out. When she felt that she was clean, she went back to the camp and started a fire so that the could re-heat the broth from the night before.
An hour later, when the food was ready and Ellie was dressed, Ardyn emerged from the tent. "Good morning Ellie~" He all but sang, he was in a good mood it seemed.
"Good morning, Sir." She greeted serving his food into a bowl. "Breakfast." she set the food out on their 'table rock'.
"Thanks Ellie." he started to eat. While eating he noticed Ellie walking around getting everything ready for their departure. "Have you eaten already?" he asked.
Ellie paused. "I... I'm not hungry Sir, I'll eat a granola bar when I do." she went back to packing away.
"Hn." she didn't see it, but she could feel his eyes boring into her.
"Where are we headed today?" she called over her shoulder in an attempt to change the subject.
"I'm taking you to an excavation site, you'll be helping out there and I'll pick you up in a few days."
She frowned, she did not feel comfortable with that happening, especially after the last time she had left him. "I see..." she turned to him and found him watching her intensely. "Where are you going Sir?"
He made a sound in the back of his throat. "I have some business to attend- war things, dull and boring." he reached for his food and ate. "I think that I'd rather be helping with the dig to be honest." he winked at her.
She walked up to him and offered him more, when he turned her down she went about cleaning the food scraps away. Once that was done she started on the tent. "As soon as the tent is done we leave." she jumped and looked over to see Ardyn helping her disassemble the tent.
"Thank you." she smiled.
X
Ellie sighed as she leaned her elbow on the door of the car and rested her chin in her palm. They had been in the car for over and hour and she was feeling tired. No, tired was not the accurate term. She was anxious. She felt as though things were happening that she had no control over, more so than usual. Ardyn seemed to be hiding things from her and if that wasn't enough to stress about, there was her mystery illness. She needed to go to a doctor, she knew, but she didn't want to think about what the result could be.
"Well he certainly wanted it to happen to the Chancellor's assistant, whatever it was." her eyes widened as a memory flashed before her eyes. Her stomach twisted painfully. Had Besithia done something to her? Was this why she was feeling sick? What was happening to her? Panic began to fill her, her palms began sweating and she could hear the sound of blood pumping in her ears.
What was happening?
What was wrong with her?
What was happening?
"We're here!" Ardyn announced, snapping her from her thoughts.
She sucked in a deep breath through her nose and then released before looking around at their surroundings. The appeared to be in a forest that looked like it was crossed with some sort of swamp. It was damp and cold. She looked over to Ardyn who was climbing out of the car and followed after him. While they walked she looked at her surroundings. She could see a large castle-like structure, the blueish grey stones shining brightly in the sun. There was something hauntingly beautiful about the structure.
"Highwind!" she heard Ardyn say. She turned her attention back to the Chancellor and saw him walking towards Aranea Highwind.
"Chancellor Izunia." The commodore tilted her head to him. Her eyes landed on Ellie. "Miss. Tummelt."
"Commodore." Ellie returned the greeting.
"To what do we owe this pleasure?" Aranea asked as she folded her arms across her chest.
Ardyn placed a hand on Ellie's shoulder and moved her closer to them. "Ellie will be staying to help you with your investigative work." he patted her back. "I'm sure she'll be a valuable asset. I'll be back to collect her in a few days, I trust she'll be in one piece?"
Aranea nodded her head. "Of Course." she glanced at Ellie briefly before looking back at Ardyn. "Is she able to defend herself? The ruins aren't exactly safe."
Ardyn chuckled. "She certainly is, her cousin can attest to that."
Ellie's cheeks reddened. "Sir!" she blanched, then scowled when he laughed at her.
"Right... Well when you are ready, we'll look after her." Aranea nodded to them before turning and leaving to attend to the other soldiers who were running around the ruins.
"Sir?" Ellie turned to Ardyn, worry etched on her face. "Please be safe, I..." she wanted to ask him about Besithia, ask him his opinions on her illness, but she couldn't find the words. She was unable to find the words, let alone say them. She shook her head. "Please be safe."
He smiled at her and winked. "I'll be fine, you needn't worry." he crossed his arms and let out a chuckle. "You however, need to take care not to bludgeon the others, we need them alive Dear Girl." he winked at her.
"Sir!" she gasped indignantly before deflating. "I'll never outlive that, will I?"
He turned and started towards his car. "Who knows? Maybe if you hit me with your rod I'll forget?" he teased.
Ellie resisted the urge to stomp her foot. "Maybe I will when you get back!" she called out, causing him to throw his head back in laughter. She quickly chased him to the car and took her suitcases from the boot. When she was done he started the car and pulled out. She nodded to him in goodbye and she stayed and watched him as he drove away.
Once he was out of sight she turned away and headed to Aranea who was talking to two men in black coats. She cleared her throat to get their attention and once she had it, she spoke.
"Umm, where can I put my things? And what do you want, or need for me to do?" she smiled and straightened her back, in an attempt to be professional.
Aranea scratched her head and looked around the campsite. "Um.. you can set up in on one of the tents over there, we have one spare... I think..." she looked at the ruins. "As for what you'll be doing... well you can go in with us, make notes, see if there's anything that we haven't noticed. We'll also need assistance with the nasties in there, so bring your weapon." she looked Ellie up and down. "You uh... do have a weapon, don't you?"
Ellie nodded. "Yes, a mag-rod."
Aranea raised a brow. "Good. Well, go set yourself up, nothing happens here until nighttime."
Ellie frowned. What did that mean? She walked over to the tents and went about finding out which one she could use. She had a feeling that these next few days were going to be long ones. Had she known how long, she probably would have taken longer naps during the day.
X
Ellie gasped as she walked through the barrier that, due to the moonlight, allowed her to pass through. The ruins were, beautiful. They held a dark coolness to them that was strangely inviting, she felt at home here. She could easily picture herself spending hours reading here. She picked up a stone from the rubble on the floor. The stone reminded her of the moon, the rock having a silvery shimmer to it.
"What do you think?" Aranea asked as she watched Ellie examine her surroundings.
Ellie put the rock back and looked up at the ceiling. "Perhaps the people who lived here believed the moon was a deity?" she looked at some small carvings on the wall, they reminded her of a lunar cycle. Whoever these people were, they certainly loved the moon.
"We suspected something similar when the temple only opened to the moonlight." Aranea commented as she stepped towards Ellie. "You would need years to study it though, years that we don't have," she tilted her head and gestured towards the depths of the temple. "the Empire is only interested in the mythril anyway."
Ellie frowned. "Such a shame, when this war is over, I should like to come back here and study." she looked up to the ceiling.
Aranea let out a snort. "You think that the Chancellor would let you?" she smirked as Ellie looked down at her. "I don't know how you do it, spend so much time with him, he gives me chills."
Ellie felt her lips tighten and an urge to defend Ardyn too her. She straightened her back and rose to her full height. "If you have any problems with the Chancellor, I would prefer that you keep them to yourself." she pinned the other with a look, her green eyes flashing. "You seem a nice enough person and I know that you're a professional so please, keep your opinions on Chancellor Izunia to yourself."
Aranea's eyebrow's jumped at her words and she went quiet for some time, before she let out a breath of laughter and raised her hands defensively. "Alright, I'm sorry, truce?"
Ellie deflated, then nodded. "Okay."
x
The next day when she came back to the camp after picking some herbs, she was shocked to see Noctis and his entourage talking to Biggs and Wedge. She nearly dropped her herbs in shock, but was able to save herself and started to walk to them. Prompto was the first to notice her, his face lighting up- and going a little red- as he saw her.
"Hey Ellie!" he ran over to her.
"Hello Prompto." she looked over to see Noctis and Ignis walk over to her, she noticed that they were missing Gladio. She greeted the other two before enquiring. "Are you missing someone?"
"Yeah, Gladio had something to do." Noctis answered as he scratched his head- a nervous habit? Or just something he did a lot?
Ellie nodded and did not ask any further. "What are you guys doing here?" she asked instead.
"We need some Mythril, Chancellor Izunia took us here so that we could get some." Ignis answered.
Ellie jumped at his words. Ardyn had been there? She was a little hurt that he had not come to say hello to her. Perhaps he was busy? But even still... she shook her head. "Was he well?" she asked.
"We do not know him as well as you," Ignis began. "but he seemed well enough."
Ellie smiled, glad that he was okay. She glanced down at her watch, it was still the day, they would be waiting a long time if they wanted the mythril. "You know that you'll be waiting a til nightfall if you want to get the mythril?"
Noctis nodded, a bored expression on his face. "Yeah, do you know what we can do til then? I wouldn't say no to a nap." he leaned back and crossed his leg- how he did that without leaning on something and without falling was beyond her.
She pointed to the camp. "You can nap if you want, you can even borrow my tent." she pointed to a tent close to a tree. "That's mine, you're welcome to it."
Noctis nodded gratefully. "Hey thanks." he walked off towards the tent.
Prompto looked out towards the fishing spot. "Hey, do you think I could get some nice photo's out there?" he pointed. "I'm going to go look." he ran off before Ellie could say anything.
She watched Prompto run off before turning to Ignis. She lifted the hand that was holding the herbs and gestured to the patch of herbs and wild vegetable growing in the distance. "Would you like to help me get something for dinner?"
He nodded. "That would be nice." he followed her to the growing patch. When the reached the area he went about picking some berries from a bush. "How long have you been working for the Chancellor?" he asked trying to make conversation. He tried not to wince as images of Ellie and Ardyn doing things the night that he had seen them.
"A few years now." Ellie replied as she picked some mint, she lifted it to her nose and inhaled. "The Chancellor loves mint tea." she smiled warmly as she thought about making him his tea before bed each night.
"What do you do for the Chancellor?" Ignis asked, he wanted to know about the woman across from him. She was so pleasant and kind, the polar opposite to the Chancellor who was unsettling and had an aura that was, in his opinion, cruel.
"I could ask you the same thing about the Prince." she replied, turning to him with a wryly smile. "I rather think we're quite similar."
He tilted his head and returned the smile. "Touche."
"How long have you known the Prince?" she asked as she picked some wild onions. She placed them in a basket that she had left there earlier and mentally planned the stir fry that she was going to cook for dinner. She looked back at Ignis as he answered her question.
"I've known Noct... most of my life." he went quiet and smiled as he thought about there first meeting, when they were children. Ellie watched the smile with sharp eyes, calculating eyes. "We were children when we first met, I've been with him since."
Ellie let out a laugh, when he sent her a confused look she raised a hand while she finished her chuckle. "Another thing we have in common." she smiled at him and picked some greens. "I met The Chancellor when I was a child too, he was... my friend, my only friend really- except maybe Loqi."
"Loqi?" Ignis' brow rose above his glasses.
"My cousin." Ellie answered.
"Ah."
"Well I think that we have enough." Ellie changed the subject. She lifted the basket and walked over to Ignis so that he could deposit his findings to it. "Shall we get ready for the evening?"
X
"Wonderful, isn't it?" Ellie asked Ignis as they walked through the temple.
Ignis nodded. "It is, I am surprised at how beautiful this place is, I am at ease, it makes me wonder when the monsters will appear."
"Please don't say that-" it was then that the monster's made their presence known. "Iggy!" Ellie laughed before pulling out her Mag-rod.
"I don't see what's so funny!" Prompto snapped as he pulled out his gun.
"It's-" Ellie shook her head and smacked a skeleton creature in the head. "Never mind, let's just deal with this!" she proceeded to bludgeon the monster in front of her, while the others attacked the other creatures. She jumped back as the creature slashed it's clawed hands at her. "Die!" she shouted as she moved for another attack. After a few more hits, the creature perished.
"Iggy!" Noctis shouted. Ellie looked over and watched as Ignis rushed over to the Prince, threw him a potion, checked that he was okay, and then helped him kill the creature.
"Thanks Iggy." Noctis said as Ignis walked over to him. He clasped a hand on Ignis' shoulder and smiled at his friend.
Ellie watched keenly as Ignis smiled back. Her eyes narrowed before she raised an eyebrow thoughtfully. Once everyone was checked and okay, they continued on through the ruins. As they progressed, Ellie took not of how the three fought and she noticed a few things, Prompto as the ranged attacker was good at what he did, and Noct would occasionally call on him, but it was Ignis who the Prince relied on the most. Ellie also noticed that Ignis was always close to Noctis, constantly ready to offer him assistance. It was interesting to observe, to say the least.
The deeper they went into the temple, the more dangerous the monsters became. Then it happened, while they were walking through a corridor, there was a sound, like metal scraping, then she heard Ignis let out an indignant cry of 'Noct!'. She turned to see the Prince trapped and fighting a monster. She pulled at the bars that were blocking them from Noctis, they did not give. She glanced at Prompto who was lining a shot at the monster and Ignis who had gone pale and was trying with everything he had to move the bars. She and Aranea looked around for some way to deactivate the trap, only there did not seem to be anything- Ellie wondered what the original purpose of this trap was.
Eventually, once Noctis had killed the monster, the trap deactivated itself, allowing Ignis and Prompto to rush the Prince. Ellie watched as Prompto patted him on the shoulder and asked if he was alright, while Ignis had a potion ready and was fussing to ensure that Noctis was alright. She smiled while she watched them, it seemed that she had more in common with Ignis than she thought.
"Yo can we have a rest? A few minutes maybe?" Prompto looked over to Aranea.
The commodore nodded. "I know a place."
The room with the lake on the ceiling was beautiful, Ellie thought as she walked to the railing to gaze upon it. She wanted to reach out and touch it, it was enchanting, so peaceful, so wonderful. She glanced over to see Prompto taking photo's of the water scene, Aranea cleaning her weapons and Ignis helping Noctis patch up a cut on his arm. She smiled and looked back at the fish swimming above her.
"It is lovely, is it not?" she heard a voice say some time later.
She turned to see Ignis standing beside her. She nodded and leaned her forearms against the stone railing. "It's beautiful, I wish that Ardyn was here." she said softly, forgetting to use his title.
"Forgive me for being presumptuous," Ignis leaned against the railing beside her. "but how long have you been in love with the Chancellor?"
The question made Ellie pause. When had she developed those feelings for him? She had loved him for so many years that she could hardly pinpoint when it had happened. It had been like a flower, growing steadily over it's lifetime until is suddenly exploded in a bloom of colour. She turned her head so that their eyes locked. "I don't know," she said honestly. "You could say that I always have. I could say the same for you though, how long have you felt that way for your Prince?"
She could see his eyes widen through the glasses. "I'm sorry?" confusion laced his voice, which matched his face.
"You didn't know... did you?" she said quietly. She reached out and touched his bicep and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I'm sorry..."
"Noctis is getting married to Lunafreya." Ignis said simply.
"That's not what I asked, or was talking about." she turned to him. "It's okay, I won't say anything, you're secret's safe with me."
"I did not agree to your insinuation." There was an inflection to Ignis' voice, it said more than the man intended.
"But you didn't disagree." she shook her head. "It's alright, I'll protect your secret, we can be fools in love together." she smiled warmly at him.
"We'll head off now!" Aranea called out, gaining the attention of the four.
The rest of their trek through the temple seemed to relatively normal, there were still monsters, of course, but now that they knew how to handle them, it was simple enough. That is until they reached the Quetzalcoatl. The blue creature was not as easy as the other creatures had been. Mainly because it was hard to land a blow because each time that they got close to it, it would fly off. They were eventually able to damage the wings enough that the creature was forced to land. Except now they had to deal with it's claws.
Ellie grunted as she jumped out of the way of the creature's tail. "Oh no..." she breathed as she tasted bile building up in her throat. Now was not the time for her to be feeling sick. She jumped out of the tail again and the taste hit the back of her tongue, she spat in an attempt to alleviate the urge.
"Iggy!" She heard Prompto call. She looked over and saw the man in question pinned to the ground by the beast.
"Ignis!" she clutched her rod and charged. Being the closest to him it made sense for her to charge, but that wasn't the reason she put herself in the way of the beast. As she saw Ignis on the floor she was filled with a protectiveness. He was her friend, she hadn't known him long but she felt a bond to him. He was a wonderful person and she was going to help him, he deserved it.
She smacked the rod into the creature's foot, causing it to let out a shriek which rang in her ears, causing her to flinch. But it did not deter her, she continued to attack the creature. She switched on the electric pulse and went crazy as she hit it. She did not stop when it released Ignis, she continued to charge at it. Her crazed charge distracting the creature and giving the other's an opening which they used to finish the creature off.
When it died, Ellie pulled herself back with a gasp. She dropped her rod as her body trembled, adrenaline pulsing in her ears. She felt the bile rise and before she knew what she was doing, she had ran to a corner of the room and was emptying the contents of her stomach onto the floor.
She let out a shaky breath and pushed her hair behind her as she lurched again. She could hear voices, some of them talking about mythril but she couldn't focus on them. She gagged as the taste filled her mouth again and she collapsed onto her knees. She jumped as she felt a hand touch her back and start to rub soothing circles.
"It's alright," she heard Ignis say. "I have a potion and some water for when you're ready."
She spat at her pile and turned to look at the man kneeling beside her. "Thank you..." she said shakily. "Can I please have the water? Thank you." she said as he passed her the water.
"Are you alright?" he asked, worry etching his face.
She shook her head. "I don't know..."
"Hey you alright?" she heard Prompto call out.
She moved to stand, grateful as Ignis helped her. "Yeah," she called out, her voice croaking. "J-just not used to killing things..." she felt Ignis tense beside her, he knew that she was lying. When he didn't call her out, she was instantly relieved. "If you have what you came for, can we head out? I could use a nap."
Noctis nodded.
X
Ellie spat into the water as she rinsed her mouth out. It was the morning when they had left the temple and she was now by the fishing spot, it had been ten minutes since they had emerged and she had been trying to get the taste of bile out of her mouth since. She drank some water and gave one last spit. She heard the sound of a leaf crunch behind her and turned to see Ignis walking towards her.
She smiled weakly. "Hello."
He nodded at her and raised a hand in greeting. "How are you feeling?"
She scratched her arm nervously. "I'lll be okay, I'm used to it by now." she slipped.
"You weren't well last time I saw you either." he commented.
She blushed, apparently Ardyn hadn't been the only one to notice. "Yes, just a bug, I'll get over it." No matter how often she said it, it still did not convince her.
"We're leaving momentarily." Ignis said suddenly. "I came to say goodbye, and..." he reached out and touched her shoulder. "Take care of yourself."
She touched the hand on her shoulder and nodded. "You too, Ignis."
He pulled away, inclined his head and then walked back towards the temple where the the others were. Ellie followed after him and waved to Prompto and Noctis as they left. Suddenly Prompto stopped mid-step and came racing back to her. He held out a photo to her, winked as she took it, then went racing back to catch up with the others.
She watched Prompto for a few moments, until he was out of sight, before she looked down at the photo. It was of herself and Ignis, when they had been talking together against the stone railing. They weren't smiling at each other, but she got a warm feeling from the photo and took it back to her tent to find a place to put it. She settled on putting it one of the breast pockets of her jacket, until she could find somewhere more suitable. Afterwards, she took her nap.
She awoke to the feeling of a hand gently stroking her face. Her eyes shot open as panic took her, she relaxed, however, as her green eyes locked with gold. She smiled and reached up to touch his face. "Good morning, Sir." she hoped it was still morning, she could see sunlight, so at least it was still daylight.
"Hello Ellie." he pushed hair out of her face. "Highwind said that you were unwell."
Panic struck Ellie as all of her worries came back to her. She trembled and sucked in breaths as her eyes watered. "S-Sir..." she sobbed, her eyes watering, causing his to widen fractionally. "Sir!" she lunged at him, clutched at him for dear life and buried her face into his chest. She shook and her tears wet his his vest. "What is wrong with me sir?" she cried.
"What do you mean?" his hand touched her head gently.
"Did Besithia do something to me?!" her cries became hysterical. "It that why I've been so sick?" she chocked a sob.
"No." He said, his voice held a something to it. What that something was, Ellie could not name.
She looked up at him with bleary eyes. "S-Sir?"
"He did nothing to you." his golden eyes looked down at her, she felt him staring into her soul.
"Did he..." Ellie began with a sniff. "Did he try...? I heard his assistants talking about it." she shook harder as panic continued to consume her.
"Dear Ellie," his firm tone caused her to stop shaking. "I promise you, dear girl, that he was unable to do anything to you." there was something that he was not telling her, but she found herself unable to ask him. Something in his tone and his words reassured her to what he was saying, and she felt herself unable say anything else.
"B-but there's something wrong..." she said eventually.
"Dear Ellie, have you considered it stress?" he pushed hair out of her face.
She frowned. "What?"
"We're in the middle of a war Dear," he voice sounded strange, soothing, like a doctor or a parent. "You need some time to relax, enjoy the world." he stroked her cheek. "Which is why I'm taking us to Altissia!" he suddenly perked up.
"Altissia?" she pushed herself to sit up, something was going on. "Why are we going to Altissia, Sir?" there was no way he was taking her on an impromptu holiday, the Chancellor was whimsical and crazy, but he wasn't that whimsical and crazy. There was no way that they were taking a break from the war, something was happening.
He smiled and laid down on her comforter, he crossed his legs and looked up at her with a grin. "Just a trip, a little holiday."
Holiday indeed.