Hello, all! Welcome to Frozen Heart, Chapter 9. This is rather exciting, since it's the first chapter to heavily feature Ardyn. I had some fun writing the first interactions between Ardyn and Lydia here, and we get the first taste of their past together as well. I hope you enjoy.

Thanks so much for the new favorites and follows. Also, a special thanks to the guest for a lovely review! It's always nice to here that there are people reading and enjoying my stuff. I do this for my own enjoyment, but if I can entertain even one or two other people along the way, that makes it so much sweeter.

Disclaimer: I don't own FFXV.

Chapter 9: Ghost of the Past

The first summer...

When Lydia met him, she went by a different name. The Lucis wasn't the technologically advanced, fast-paced country that it was during Regis's rein. In fact, it wasn't even Lucis yet. And back then, Ardyn Lucis Caelum had yet to fully understand or accept his destiny to lead his people.

A 13-year-old half-goddess sat outside under a tree, enjoying the afternoon breeze while she used a needle and thread to mend her mother's cloak. It was nearing summer's end, and she would be needing it before long—especially once she and her family headed back across the continent for the winter.

She was so engrossed her work that she almost didn't notice when a boy about her age darted past her as if running for his life. He was going so fast that when he had to skid to a stop and stumble forward in the grass when he saw her.

The girl's eyes flickered up as he turned toward her and approached. His disheveled red hair and cheeks red from exertion were surprisingly amusing, but she refrained from laughing.

When he spoke, he said something she didn't expect to hear.

"I'm hiding from my younger brother," he said, sounding a little out of breath. "May I stay behind this tree until he passes?"

At this point, she looked up at him fully and regarded his sincere blue eyes. A smile spread across her face. Well, she supposed she wouldn't mind sharing her spot with him for a bit.

"Be my guest," she said softly before looking down and returning to her work.

The boy eagerly ran around her to settle behind the tree. "Thank you—um—Lady. Please pretend you never saw me!"

She scoffed and went back to mending. They fell into silence, and he was so quiet that after a few minutes, she forgot he was there. That is, she forgot until a another younger boy came running past. This one couldn't have been more than 10, and his hair was black as the night. The way he awkwardly skidded to a stop was reminiscent of the way his—she assumed—brother did the same a few minutes ago.

"Hello, Miss," he said, gasping for breath. "Have you seen another boy run through here recently?"

She gave him a small smile. "I'm afraid I've been alone here all day. Perhaps you ought to check that way?" she suggested, pointing out in the other direction toward the lower wheat fields.

With that, he bowed his head and ran off the other way, leaving her to return to work once again. Or so she thought.

A few seconds later, the boy she was hiding poked his head out from behind the tree. "Thank you," he repeated from earlier. "You just saved me from a humiliating loss."

"Hide-and-seek, I assume?" she asked, not looking up from her mother's cloak.

"Well, I don't have much interest in the game," he said dismissively. "But I've been asked by my parents to keep my little brother occupied for the day. And he gets bored of playing chess."

"I could see why," she murmured.

"What's your name?" the boy asked.

Finally, she looked up, only to find him kneeling in the grass next to her as if they were old friends. "I do believe it's customary to give your own name before asking it of others."

Suddenly, the boy looked a little flustered, and he looked away uncomfortably. "Um—my apologies. My name is—"

"Ardyn!"

They both nearly jumped out of their skins at the sound of a loud, shrill voice. After a few seconds, the younger brother came running back up and jumped on the older boy, tackling him to the ground. "I found you!" he said, eliciting a tormented grimace from the elder. Then he shot an accusing glance at her. "And you! Falsehoods are very impolite, you know."
"Now, what's impolite, Somnus, is accusing young ladies of telling falsehoods," the elder brother, Ardyn, retorted.

With the hint of a smile on her face, she said, "Impolite perhaps, but not untrue." So they were the young boys of House Caelum. Quite the pair.

Somnus grabbed Ardyn's hand and started pulling him away. "We need to return to Mother and Father. Let's go!"

"All right, all right," Ardyn said in an exasperated voice, getting on his feet. Then he turned toward the girl and bowed his head respectfully. "Well—until we meet again—My Lady," he said before turning away with his brother and heading back over the hill.

Present day...

"What a coincidence!" the man who looked very much like Ardyn said, for some reason sounding wholly amused as the group walked up to him.

This prompted a gruff reply from an equally unamused Gladio. "I'm not so sure it is."

Taking no heed of the comment, Ardyn asked, "Aren't nursery rhymes curious things?" He was met with silence, but continued as he gaze out over the landscape. "Like this one: 'From the deep, the Archaean calls. Yet on deaf ears, the Gods' tongue falls. The King made to kneel, in pain, he crawls.'"

"So how do we keep him on his feet?" Prompto asked, the eagerness apparent in his voice.

Ardyn smiled knowingly and walked past them lazily. "You need only heed the call. Visit the Archaean and hear his plea." Then, turning around to regard the group fully, he added, "I can take you."

All these words were being said, but all at once, Lydia had a tremendously difficult time processing them. She couldn't focus—could barely breathe. Suddenly, her body felt like it was made of stone, slowly crumbling to dust as she stood before this evil illusion.

There was no way it could be anything else. Ardyn was dead—dead and gone for the last two thousand years. Nothing more than a ghost of the past to her. She'd learned to live with it long ago. What sort of fresh hell was this?

Lydia remained still as a statue when Ardyn's eyes scanned the group and then fixed on her. She saw no recognition in his dark gaze, which was to be expected—that is, if there was any chance he was the real deal. But she did feel a certain curiosity in his eyes, as if he was studying and learning every aspect of her from where he stood. She couldn't quite place the reason, but a chill traveled down the back of her neck in the few mere seconds their gazes locked.

As she slowly overcame her initial shock reaction, Lydia came to the realization that Noctis, Gladio, Prompto and Ignis were having a discussion on the side without her. As it seemed, it was about whether or not to trust this guy. Come to think of it, had they met him before?

"We take a ride," Gladio suggested, "But watch our backs. Right?"

Ignis nodded. "Fair enough."

And in confirmation, Noctis concluded with a soft but assured, "Let's do it." Then, looking over at her, he added, "So... I guess this is where we part ways?"

Still a little dazed and confused, Lydia took a few seconds to collect herself and answer. Luckily, it didn't take a lot of strategizing or critical thinking for her to glance up at Noctis and reply, "No. A-actually, I'd like to come with you."

The Prince looked surprised, but didn't object. "Oh. Okay, sure. Well, we'll be thrilled to have your help."

"Pretty sure we're finally starting to grow on her," Prompto said in a light-hearted tone.

Lydia glanced back over at Ardyn and saw a smile growing on his face as he regarded the group. "I see your little quartet has grown into a quintet since we last met. How exciting this will be. Please..." With his long and drawn out, "please," he gestured to the walkway and bade them to follow.

She had to admit, his excessive politeness and formal language was quite true to form—but why did she get the feeling his attitude sounded a little... condescending?

"I'm not one to stand on ceremony," he continued as they followed him out to the parking lot. "But such an occasion calls for an introduction. Please, call me 'Ardyn.'"

Lydia swallowed and tried very hard to be inconspicuous as she walked behind Noctis. She was well-aware that she was being pathetic. It was obvious this so-called "Ardyn" had no recollection of her—she'd made quite sure of that—so her stiff, nervous attitude and behavior would only make her look suspicious. She could barely remember the last time she felt so exposed and confused. It dawned on her that she didn't even know how to deal with it.

"Come with me to the car park. That's where I left my automobile. She's a dear old thing," Ardyn said affectionately. "Pales next to your Regalia, perhaps—but she's never let me down."

A moment later, they arrived at Ardyn's car, and he gestured to the air with his gloved hand before turning around. "So," he said. "We take two vehicles. A convoy of sorts. Shall we?"

"Fine," Noctis said, crossing his arms. "Let's do it."

Ardyn's smile widened. "Then allow me to do the honor of assigning your driver. I choose—you!"

Noctis, understandably a little weirded out that Ardyn would care who was driving, shrugged and said, "Uh... okay, sure."

"Outstanding," the older man said. "You drive your car, and I'll drive mine. With that decided, let us be off."

And so, Lydia and the group once again piled into the Regalia and headed out onto the open road. Only this time, instead of following their own path, they followed in the tracks of this mysterious stranger she still couldn't quite bring herself to believe was Ardyn.

But who was she kidding? Sure—for whatever reason, he'd cut his hair and adopted a very bizarre sense style of twenty layers even though it was 80 degrees outside. Sure—he looked a little older than he'd been when she last saw him. The Ardyn she left behind years ago had only been 22 or 23 at the time. This man looked a bit more mature—maybe early 30s. But still—there was no mistaking it. She would have known him a mile away if he looked 50—or even 80.

But the question still remained if he was truly Ardyn... or if it was just some trick designed to torment her.

A familiar voice brought her out of her inner thoughts while they rode in the car. "Lydia, are you all right?" Ignis asked, tilting his head forward slightly in the seat next to her to get a better view of her face. "You seem very distracted."

"Come to think of it, you've been acting weird ever since we ran into this 'Ardyn' dude," Gladio observed. "Not that I blame you if that's what this is about. The guy's a creep."

"Well, I'd say that's a little harsh," Prompto said.

Gladio gave a quick shrug. "I just call 'em as I see 'em."

Once everyone was silent, Lydia let out a sigh and shook her head. "I appreciate your concern, but I'm fine. I just—have some things mind, that's all."

"I'm surprised you decided to come with us," Noctis commented. "You seemed so eager to get out there and find your mother."

"Yeah, well, plans change," Lydia murmured. "And if Titan gives you a hard time, I can always help whoop his ass."

There was a short pause after she spoke, and her words seemed to spark some level of curiosity in Prompto. "Come to think of it—how exactly did Ardyn know about all that stuff?"

"If you'd like my opinion," Ignis said, leaning back in his seat. "I'm concerned he may be working for the Empire."

"Huh?" Prompto gasped. "Well, why didn't you tell us that before we got in the car?"

"Because we have no other options. Noctis needs to see the Archaean—that's non-negotiable. And right now, Ardyn appears to be the only chance we have. I say we go where he leads us—hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. If it comes to a fight—well, it's likely nothing we haven't handled in the past."

Noctis didn't sound very confident at all as he released a low huff of air. "Whatever it takes."

Logically speaking, Ignis's hypothesis made some degree of sense. But she had a hard time imagining why Ardyn—if he was Ardyn at all—would be working for Niflheim.

"Have you guys run into him before?" Lydia asked, hoping that having more information might help her make sense of all this.

"Yeah," Gladio said. "Before the attack on the city, in Galdin Quay."

"He certainly left a strong impression," Prompto added.

"What did he say?" Lydia asked, sounding more impatient than intended.

Noctis smiled in the front seat and drawled out jokingly in a fake fancy accent, "He said he was 'a man of no consequence.'"

"Hm..." Ignis said as Prompto and Gladio snickered on the side. "And despite that, it's possible this man is turning out to be more 'consequential' than we realized."

"Yeah, we'll see about that," Gladio retorted.

After that, Lydia fell silent. She wasn't interested in talking, and she felt frustrated that the guys couldn't provide anything that was actually helpful. If she pressed them about it further, they would only be tempted to ask more questions. And she had no desire to reminisce today.

So, Lydia ended up keeping her mouth shut for the rest of the ride. At sunset, Ardyn took everyone by surprise by slowing down by pulling into a rest area. Noctis let out a sigh of annoyance before slowing down and entering behind him. "Why the hell are we stopping?"

Ardyn got up and patiently waited for the Prince to park the car next to his. "What say we call it a day here?" he suggested.

No one seemed very charmed by that idea. "'What say' we continue to the Disc?" Gladio said in an annoyed tone as he pushed out of the car and slammed the door.

Ardyn chuckled. "The Archaean's not going anywhere."

"Neither are we, under your stewardship," Ignis shot back. Lydia cast him a quick side-glance. A surprisingly short reply from someone usually so composed.

"Sooo..." Prompto said, the awkwardness thick in his voice. "We make camp—with Ardyn."

"Oh, hell no," Noctis murmured.

Gladio grumbled in distaste at the idea, but was the first of the four boys to cave. "Well—might as well go set up the tent."

He started toward the trunk, only to stop when Ardyn objected. "Ah—actually, I'm afraid I've never been much for the outdoors. I shall foot the bill, so let's stay in the caravan over yonder."

They all considered that a more favorable option than staying in the tent, so no one argued with Ardyn's offer. That said, Lydia knew they were in for an uncomfortable evening in so many ways. And she was about 99.9% sure she wasn't getting a wink of sleep that night.

Everyone became unusually quiet after they unpacked and settled near the caravan. As the sun went down, Ignis went to work putting some dinner together, while Gladio pulled out a book to read at the table. Prompto scrolled through pictures on his camera, and Noctis grabbed the best possible modern defense mechanism—his cellphone—and started going through texts and social media.

Lydia, on the other hand, couldn't even distract herself. All she could do was sit around and try not to stare at Ardyn while he absently flipped through some kind magazine on the side.

It was almost unbearable. And Lydia could bear plenty.

Finally fed up with sitting around and doing nothing, she let everyone know she was going to the store across the lot and took off. Eager to escape the silence. Desperate to escape him.

Contrary to expectations, the air felt stifling outside and she breathed a sigh of relief under the warm lights inside the store. There weren't many people, save for the cashier at the counter and one female customer looking at chips in one of the food aisles. And Lydia relished the low hum of the ceiling fan creating a slight draft in the building. It soothed her as she made her way down one of the short and narrow aisles, not looking for anything in particular but hoping the ritual would help her collect her thoughts. One thing she had learned over the years was that a little distance from your problems could work wonders at helping you solve them.

She walked over to one of the refrigerators in the back and picked out a soda, and then headed over to look at some of the local merchandise. There was nothing fancy or overly interesting here—just some tiny candles, shot glasses with random names on them, bookmarks, sunglasses, and other little shelf knick-knacks. On the lower level, she noticed there were a few books stacked forward as well. She was about to reach down to pick one up when a voice at her back made her entire body jolt.

"Looking for a souvenir?"

Lydia turned around abruptly, only to nearly crash right into someone's chest. She narrowly escaped that awkward encounter by stopping her forward momentum at just the right time. When she retreated and found her back pressed against the shelf, she cast her gaze up and found "Ardyn's" eyes. With him so close to her, she realized that his irises glowed a dark amber color—and fear shot through her a second later when it occurred to her that the Ardyn she remembered had blue-grey eyes. Not amber ones.

The man before her looked a little impish just then, his strange eyes filled with mischief and amusement—until he drank her in and seemingly noticed their height difference for the first time. She released the breath she'd been holding when he took a step back.

A second passed before Lydia could find her voice, but she managed. With a smile that she tried very hard to make look believable, she said, "I always enjoy admiring the local culture."

So much for distance...

One corner of his lips turned up, and he ran his index finger along the edge of the shelf next to her. "Quite fascinating, indeed. I used to travel Eos and buy a hat at every souvenir shop I could find."

"You like hats?"

"Oh, I sunburn easily," he said, a small chuckle in his voice as if he was amusing himself with some private joke. "But I take care not wear them anywhere they might get lost—or damaged."

When she didn't answer, he added, "I didn't want to be presumptuous, my Lady." His voice was thick with what sounded like feigned concern. "But I couldn't help noticing you seemed—distressed—at the caravan. Your friends looked worried about you."

Well, if they were playing games, she could certainly play along.

"So you decided to be the gentleman and come make sure I'm all right, is that it?" she asked, stepping past him and making her way to the checkout counter so she could buy her soda. She actively avoided looking at him while she pulled out her wallet and paid for the drink.

This meant she didn't see the expression on his face when he asked, "Is that the impression I gave you?"

Meanwhile, he did her best to stay composed as she thanked the cashier and started toward the exit. She pushed the door open, only to find its weight lifted from her grasp when "Ardyn" placed his hand on it from behind her. "Actually, no," she said honestly. "I was under the impression you were just snooping."

There was a smile in his voice when he replied, "How very perceptive."

"Yeah, well—I'm older and wiser than I look."

"Then it would seem you and I have something in common." That comment gave Lydia temporary pause. It could have meant anything, really. But in this case—well, a million different thoughts and possibilities were running through her mind.

But she figured this person, whoever he was, couldn't be the forthcoming type. So instead, she simply said, "I wouldn't have guessed. I mean, it's not like you talk like you're from the second century or anything."

He tsked. "Making jokes about a man's speech. Rather unbecoming."

With a shrug, she said, "It was 'rather unbecoming' of you to sneak up on me in the store like a stalker—but I'll forgive you if you let it slide that I made fun of your casual usage of 'yonder.'"

Lydia crossed the parking lot and came to a halt at Noctis's Regalia—which was relatively far-removed from the caravan. Still refusing to look directly at Ardyn, she leaned against the car and popped open her soda.

"A bit late for a caffeinated beverage, wouldn't you say?" Ardyn asked in a low tone, standing next to her with his hand braced on his own vehicle next to the Regalia.

She took a sip of her drink felt a chill as the fizz tingled in her throat going down. "I have no plans to sleep."

"No?"

"I like darkness," she said. "It's quiet. It gives me time to think."

"Hm," Ardyn replied, sounding almost thoughtful. "I tend to find the night is the noisiest time of all. Too many unpleasant sounds."

Lydia squinted with sudden interest. "Such as?"

"The voices," he said in a nonchalant tone. He didn't seem to notice the way it made her shiver.

A beat passed between them, and Lydia paused lifting her drink to her lips when she felt a buzz in her pocket. She pulled it out and found a text on her screen from Noctis: Are you ok?

No doubt making sure Ardyn wasn't coercing her or intimidating her. She dared a quick glance back at the caravan, and saw the four guys sitting outside at the table. None of them were looking in her direction. At any rate, it was surprisingly thoughtful of Noctis to be discrete—even if it wasn't necessary.

She messaged back with a quick, I'm fine. No worries, before stuffing her phone back in her pocket.

"Speaking of the Prince," Ardyn said a few seconds later, bringing her back to reality. She frowned. He couldn't have possibly read her message from where they were standing relative to each other. It must have been her glance over at the caravan that gave it away. "I do believe he set out from the Crown City with three companions, did he not? Where did you come from, I wonder?"

She scoffed. "Is that any of your business?"

"Forgive me for being curious."

"In my experience, 'just curious' rarely means 'just curious.'"

There was another pause. "I can see you and your friends don't trust me."

"They—" she began, about to say, They aren't really my friends, but stopped herself partway. She wasn't about to let herself be manipulated. Not even by him. Especially not by him.

"Why should we trust you?" she asked instead, finally willing herself to look into his eyes again. "You waltz into the Prince's life with your smug little smiles, and here you are trying very hard to get me to talk about myself when you're clearly more than satisfied to stay shrouded in mystery."

He raised his eyebrows, amber irises sparkling under the nearby streetlight. "You seem to be under the assumption that I wouldn't respond truthfully to questions. If there's something you'd like to know, please do ask away."

She gritted her teeth. What a pompous bastard. While this man bore a striking resemblance to her Ardyn, her head was becoming more and more convinced that it wasn't him. She couldn't bear the fact that her heart still said otherwise.

"Okay," she finally said, pushing herself up into a sitting position on the hood of the Regalia. "Then where are you taking us?"

"Why, to the Disc of Cauthess, of course. As we discussed."

"Why?"

"Because I want to help his Highness fulfill his true calling as King."

"And how exactly are you planning on getting us in to see the Archaean?"

"By asking nicely."

Lydia gave him a tight smile. "And once we're inside, are you planning to let us walk out unharmed, or are you going to double-cross our asses and try to get us killed?"

In return, he gave her a look that seemed like he was pretending to be offended. "Do I look like the type of person who would do something like that?"

"That's not answering my question," she said, folding her arms across her chest and regarding him critically.

In response, the man who looked like Ardyn Lucis Caelum surprised her by moving in eerily close to her. He didn't try to touch her, nor did she shy away—but the air became heavier due to the narrowing gap between them. "I have no intention to interfere with the young Prince's ascension," he said. "Do you believe me?"

As Lydia regarded him, she acknowledged that there was no lie in his eyes. But she'd been through a lot—and she wasn't an idiot. There was something not right about this man. Perhaps she wasn't asking the right questions.

Still, if Ardyn was serious about taking them to the Disc and letting them leave safely, making an enemy of him now would be foolish. This was their only opportunity to see Titan, and Lydia didn't want to ruin it for Noctis by acting rashly.

She looked up at him from where she was sitting, refusing to budge an inch—even if that stone-cold beautiful gaze killed her. Setting down in drink next to her so she could lean her palms on the car, she said, "I believe you."

Ardyn leaned away from her and lifted his hand to rub the scruff on his jaw thoughtfully. Then without saying anything, he turned away from her and seemed to lazily mosey back toward his own vehicle.

By this point, Lydia was just tired and frustrated—not only from asking questions, but also from the sea of mixed emotions she felt while looking at this man. She was usually much better at being composed—detached. Tonight, she was fighting just to keep eye contact without giving herself away.

With a sigh, Lydia put her head back and looked up at the sky. Despite the presence of streetlights, they were far enough away from busy civilization that she was still able to see the stars. They seemed to mock her as she gazed up at them in her longing and loneliness.

A moment later, she noticed Ardyn looking back over at her from where he was standing. And he cast his eyes up to see what she was looking at. "Ah..." he murmured admiringly. "There's nothing more lovely than a clear night."

Actually, she thought it was rather depressing—but she didn't say so.

"There are multiple constellations in view this evening," he continued, seeming lost in thought as if, all of the sudden, he wasn't speaking to her, but rather the sky itself. "There's Glacies now." He gestured vaguely, and she turned her head to see the Glacian constellation light up in space.

A few seconds later, she lowered her gaze and looked directly at Ardyn. "What did you say?"

He met her eyes briefly. "Glacies—the constellation of Shiva..." Then all of the sudden, he shook his head slightly and said, "Oh... of course, forgive me. 'Glacies' is its ancient moniker. I nearly forgot. Most simply refer to it as 'Shiva' or "The Glacian,' today."

She swallowed to prevent her breath from catching in her throat. "Where did you learn that?"

There was a pause as he looked away to think. A few seconds passed, with Ardyn looking genuinely pensive, before he smiled and said, "Odd. It seems to be escaping me. Still—rather fascinating, wouldn't you say? Stars."

Lydia couldn't bring herself to answer.

"Glacies" was a name some used to refer to the Goddess Shiva some thousands of years ago—back during the days of Solheim. Long ago, it was the widely used title of her constellation—and it was the one name Lydia kept with her wherever she went, as a reminder of her mother.

But no one had referred to the Goddess or her constellation as such in a very, very long time. None except Lydia... and the one other person she told about it.

When Lydia declined to say anything else, something seemed to pop into Ardyn's mind and he asked, "What did you say your name was, dear?"

Her eyes flickered back toward his. "I didn't," she said, making a strong effort to compose herself. "But it's Lydia."

"May I use it?"

Him asking permission to use her name caught her a little off-guard. It was many years since anyone had extended her such an old-fashioned courtesy. She couldn't tell if it was authentic or not, but at least it amused her a little.

"You can call me whatever you want," she said, pick up her drink to take another sip. "As long as you don't call me 'Lady.'"

She meant it half as a joke, although Lydia had to admit that she wasn't sure she would be able to handle him addressing her that way. There was a time she liked it if he called her "Lady." Now, hearing him say it in that voice which sounded like Ardyn's but strangely did not—she felt it would only hurt and confuse her more.

As he tilted his head and responded with an overly polite, "As you wish," to her terms, one thing became clear. Unless this was some sort of elaborately crafted illusion that she couldn't see through, this man was the Ardyn Lucis Caelum she believed to have lived and died 2,000 years ago. But if that was true, there was a burning question that she needed to have answered: What the hell happened to him?

So... hope you enjoyed our first Ardyn-focused chapter. Like I mentioned, writing his character is definitely going to be... interesting. He's an insanely complex character who is a victim of the Gods' corruption but has also done a lot of really horrible, unforgivable things due to the way the betrayal and darkness have twisted him. And Lydia knew him as someone very different than the bitter, manipulative person he's become - so that is sure to complicate things. And right now he doesn't even remember her! Yikes... well, we'll learn more about that later.