Hello, friends! Welcome for Frozen Heart, Chapter 12. People who have been waiting for more Ardyn, your prayers have been answered. This chapter has lots of him! Of course, it wasn't exactly sunshine and rainbows, as you might imagine.

This was a really interesting chapter to write, so I hope you enjoy! Thanks so much for your reviews, favorites, and follows. I may have mentioned this before, but it's so nice to know I'm entertaining some people with my story so far. :)

Disclaimer: I don't own FFXV.

Chapter 12: The Wager

Lydia's heart pounded in her chest as she stared forward, trying her very best not to be too obvious that she could see through Ardyn's disguise. A hundred different thoughts raced through her mind as she sat, isolated on that cold, rickety bus.

Okay. First point. Ardyn was the Imperial Chancellor, so there's no way he would take this crappy form of transportation for no reason. Hell, he could probably take an airship anywhere he pleased. So he certainly wasn't here because some high official from the Empire demanded it.

Second point. He had his sights set on the Prince, for whatever purpose. He had his own reasons for helping Noctis forge a covenant with the Archaean, but Lydia wasn't naive enough to think they were noble reasons. And yesterday, Lydia was stupid enough to say right in front of him that she was going off on her own, so he probably knew she would be isolated.

Third point. This power to manipulate perception and create illusions that would fool even the most experienced and intuitive mortals—where did this come from? She had never seen anything like this before—at least not from any human.

In fact, the only creatures Lydia knew of that could transfigure themselves in such a way were powerful daemons. Did that mean...?

No. She wouldn't consider it. She couldn't imagine Ardyn suffering such a miserable fate—not after... not after everything I've done to protect him.

Still, it made her wonder what other types of abilities this man possessed that she hadn't seen. It made her wonder if, for the first time, she was truly in danger.

With a small huff, Lydia told herself to slow down and stop jumping to conclusions. She had to keep her head. If he did intend her harm, which she dreaded to think, she couldn't run. He would surely give chase if she did.

On the other hand, confronting him outright could also be dangerous. As a small, unassuming person, that's how she was used to dealing with people who gave her a hard time. But while she wasn't 100% sure how Ardyn was here or what happened to him—one thing was clear. He was no mere mortal. And arrogance was not the strategy for dealing with superhumans. Hell, even if still had the strength he'd possessed when he was a teenager, she didn't know if she was a match for him.

Her best bet was probably to keep a low profile and continue playing the innocent, unassuming role. But she feared that ship had already sailed. The way his eyes changed when she uttered his brother's name—damn, how could she have been so foolish and careless?

Your feelings are all over the place, and you desperately wish you could trust him. That's how.

But as far as he was concerned, she was a stranger to him. It wasn't fair for her to have any hopes or expectations. She only wished there was something she could do for him—and she couldn't get the answers she was looking for if she made an enemy of him now.

So instead of approaching him, Lydia sat alone in her seat for the excruciatingly long bus ride, making no indication that she noticed his presence. She even stared at her phone for a while to avoid rousing any suspicion. But not once did she let her guard down, even for a moment. She would do anything to avoid a confrontation—especially when she still didn't understand what she was up against.

While it felt like an eternity to her, in reality it was only another hour or so before they reached Taelpar Rest Area. And Lydia fought to keep herself calm and composed as she stepped down from the bus, Ardyn in disguise surely not far behind.

When she reached the inspection point, she handed over her bag willingly and let the officers search it. But these guys went a step further than the Nifs at the last inspection point, one of them looking at her with suspicion. "Turn out your pockets," he ordered, gesturing to the purple jacket she wore over her arms.

Lydia stiffened immediately, her mind racing to the Astral Coin in her pocket. If she took it out, it was likely the officers wouldn't see it as anything more than an old coin worth nothing. But right now, that coin was more important to Lydia than her own life—and if anything happened to it...

She tilted her head and folded her arms across her chest defiantly. "What, you think I have something to hide?"

He didn't take kindly to that comment. "Well, we'll know when you empty your pockets, won't we?" the officer said, his cold eyes boring into hers. Dealing with MTs was much easier than dealing with real people, since they were single-minded and didn't talk much. Human Niflheim officials were all a bunch of first-rate assholes, and she didn't have the time or energy to put this one in his place. Nor did she want to make a scene in front of all these people.

Clenching her jaw, she hesitantly reached toward her pocket. She would risk no harm to the coin, but maybe she could just...

"Come now, no need for all this fuss," a familiar voice said, forcing Lydia to pause. "Goodness, the tension is thick over here."

Lydia turned her head toward the sound of the voice, only to find Ardyn with his glamor worn off and an old but well-cared-for black fedora sitting atop his head. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. The officer in front of her seemed to be just as dumbfounded, his face going white as a sheet as soon as he saw Ardyn. "Ch-Chancellor," he stammered. Lydia's eyes flickered back in his direction. "I didn't know you were here."

"Oh well, you know me," Ardyn said in an overly friendly tone. "I rarely stay in one place for too long. Actually, I'm passing through the area to meet with this—wonderful young lady today." When he gestured toward her, Lydia tried her best not to look too confused. She didn't know why, but for some reason, he was advocating for her to keep her out of trouble. She supposed she might as well be quiet and let him do it, whatever his reasoning. She would figure out the rest later.

Lowering his voice slightly, Ardyn continued, "This is meant to be a discrete matter concerning the Empire, so I'd rather we didn't make an event of it. You can understand that, I'm sure."

Ardyn clearly wasn't kidding when he said no one questioned him. But by the look on the officer's face when he handed Lydia her bag, she got the feeling it had more to do with fear than with trust or respect. She couldn't believe she'd made it 24 years into this lifetime without realizing Ardyn was a top political official in the Empire's government. She hadn't seen his face posted anywhere—and names meant very little to her, so she supposed she'd never asked about it. But if she had... she probably would have started trying to uncover Ardyn's secrets years ago.

In response to Ardyn's inauthentic diplomacy, the Niflheim officer bowed his head slightly. "Of course," he said. "My apologies for any trouble."

"No trouble at all, my good man," Ardyn said. Then, casting his eyes on Lydia, he moved aside and gestured for her to go first. "Shall we?"

At this point, Lydia wasn't freaking out anymore as much as she felt confused and wary. She kept her arms and her bag close to her sides while walking, and tensed up when she accidentally brushed up against him. She felt him follow her into the diner off the side of the road. After walking up to the counter, she ordered a soda. But she knew she wasn't going to be able to eat anything with Ardyn here, so she simply took her drink and plopped down in one of the seats near the window.

Ardyn, who ordered nothing at all, tapped his fingers on the table and asked, "May I sit down?"

She folded her hands together on the table and leaned back. "I thought you were going to sit down, anyway, so..."

"Would hate to overstep my bounds," he replied with the tilt of his head.

Yeah, says the dude who followed me all the way here.

"Go ahead and sit," she said, nodding to the spot in front of her. He took that as his cue and slid into the seat across from her, carefully removing his hat and setting it down next to him. Then she added. "Well, I appreciate the help, Chancellor. Although it wasn't needed."

"Really?" he raised an eyebrow. "It looked to me like you were ready for a fight. I wonder what's in that pocket of yours that you're so protective of."

She shrugged. "We all have things that are important to us. Personally, I wonder why you're even here—let alone why you came to my defense." Now that he'd chosen to reveal himself to her, she felt there wasn't much point in dancing around the subject or acting dumb. Still—she had to watch herself and make sure she didn't say anything too inflammatory or confrontational. There was something about him—she couldn't quite place it, but somehow she got the feeling that he could easily snap if she said the wrong thing.

But he looked quite composed in that moment as he sat across from her. With a smile, he asked, "You're an eager one, aren't you, Lydia?"

"Eager?" she said, letting out a small laugh. "Sure, I guess. All I want is to figure out what your game is. I thought you were invested in the Prince's future, not mine. I can't understand if you're trying to charm me, or intimidate me, or what. So—why don't you just tell me what you're really after?"

He didn't answer right away, instead seeming to take a few seconds to study her face. So she took the opportunity to add more to what she was saying. "Listen, I have my own issues to deal with, okay? I don't work for Noctis. I just helped him out as a favor to someone I owed. So there's really no reason you should feel threatened by me, if that's what this is about."

Ardyn's smile disappeared, and he gave her a curious look. Not angry or defensive—just curious. "Bold of you to assume I feel threatened."

In response, she shrugged while turning her soda back and forth in her hands. Now that she had it, she didn't even feel like drinking it. "Is it, though?" she asked softly. "I mean—I wasn't born yesterday, Chancellor. You seem like a guy with an agenda. And you seem like the type who's willing to do whatever it takes to get what he wants. So if you're here—that means there are two main possibilities. One, you want something from me that you think will align with your motives. Or two, you think I'm standing in your way somehow." She leaned forward across the table, pressing her lips together with anticipation. "So which is it?"

There was another pause as Ardyn took in her words. Like the flip of a switch, suddenly all trace of fake diplomacy was gone. "Well, nothing surprises you, does it?" When she didn't reply right away, he continued. "You're an intriguing character, Lydia. And you're right about me—I am very dedicated, and I don't take kindly to those who get in my way. I find you to be a fascinating yet unexpected addition to this narrative. After all, your eyes are not those of a young woman. And your magic is—well, it's more than any mortal could achieve with their own strength, I suspect."

Lydia raised her eyebrows and leaned back in mock surprise, pretending to be him for a moment. "Are you suggesting I'm somehow 'more' than a mortal?" She didn't even know how he'd come to know about her powers. Perhaps he'd been keeping a closer watch on them during the battle with the Archaean than she thought.

"There's certainly no mortal alive who could make the connection between the Young Prince and the Founder King," he suggested, his voice growing quieter as someone walked past them.

And there it was. Lydia had suspected that's what caught Ardyn's attention yesterday, but she wasn't sure until just now. Since they met, she'd known there was something about Noctis that looked familiar. It shocked her when he stood next to Ardyn and she realized he bore such a striking resemblance to his ancestor. So much that she had apparently given herself away to someone far more powerful and dangerous than even she could predict.

But now wasn't the time to show weakness.

"Oh, I see," she said with a nod. "So this is about Somnus."

Nothing in Ardyn's expression changed, but she saw the muscles in his jaw tighten when she mentioned his name. All these years, she believed Ardyn had been destroyed by the darkness. She wondered if she would ever hear the full story of what really happened in the royal family.

In hindsight, she wondered if saying the Founder King's name had been a mistake. It was the one thing that seemed to affect Ardyn deeply, from what she could tell. "Well, I don't know what to tell you," she continued with a shrug, hoping to move away from discussion about him. "Yeah, okay. I've been around a lot longer than you would think. I know things. What should that matter? It doesn't mean anything—I'm nothing to you."

"Oh, darling," he said, sending a chill down her spine. "If you're going to lie to me, you'll have to be a little more creative than that."

"I'm not lying," she said flatly. Technically not, anyway...

He sighed. "Lydia, your bravery truly astounds me."

The sudden comment surprised her, and she looked at him in confusion. "Bravery?"

"That despite your fear of me, that lovely voice of yours never wavers," he explained.

She stiffened, but tried to keep her mood light as a small laugh left her lips. Don't get defensive, don't get defensive. "Fear of you? What, you think I'm scared?"

He didn't answer.

"That's ridiculous," she added.

"Oh, I think not," he said. "Whatever the reason, there is something about me that frightens you."

Lydia frowned. Now he was trying to intimidate her, and she refused to let him. He wasn't wrong—but she certainly wasn't about to admit it. "Okay. So, what? You're pissed that I made that comment about you feeling threatened, and now you want to turn this conversation back on me?"

He raised his eyebrows, toying with her again in mock surprise. "Why, no! I was merely making an observation. It's hardly my fault if you don't like what that observation reveals."

With a narrow glare, Lydia replied, "Well—you might like to think that. But all I see when I look at you is a pretty guy with..." She looked him up and down, examining the contrast of the elegant mantle draped over his trenchcoat with the red scarf wrapped around his neck. "A really odd sense of fashion. I do like the fedora, though. Suits you."

After a second-long pause, her face went solemn. "But seriously. You can try to study and psychoanalyze me all day, Chancellor. You know nothing about me. I guarantee it."

In reply, Ardyn leaned forward and folded his hands together on top of the table. With very real interest in his eyes, he said, "Then tell me something about yourself."

"Like what?"

"Anything."

She looked away for a few seconds to think, then gave a single shoulder shrug. "I'm a good swimmer."

Keep it light, keep it light... She couldn't let him catch her emotionally vulnerable. Otherwise, she was afraid that she'd fall apart in front of him. Her strength just had to hold out.

The amusement was plain on his face as he said, "Duly noted."

Lydia, for one, was growing tired of this nonsense. She didn't have the mental stamina to entertain Ardyn all day, and their conversation had led nowhere productive so far. So instead of replying with another wisecrack, she just sighed and asked, "What is it you want from me?"

In highsight, she came to realize she'd never regretted asking a question so much in her life. But she was none the wiser when Ardyn first tilted his head slightly and said, "I want to play a game with you."

Her eyebrows furrowed. Questions swam in her head as she contemplated his words. "A game?"

"Well," he explained. "More of a challenge—or a wager of sorts. I like you, Lydia, and I can see you're very strong. I'd like to see just how strong you are."

"Still not following," she said. Although the way he spoke made her a bit suspicious.

He continued, tapping a single finger on the table between them. "This is the starting point," he said. "Altissia is the goalpost. If you make it there alive, I'll make you an offer you can't refuse."

Butterflies fluttered in Lydia's stomach. She hoped he wasn't suggesting what she thought he was.. "I... I'm not sure I understand. Make it there alive?"

His smile widened, and her pulse quickened against her will. "Think of it as a chase. Your objective is not only to reach the intended destination, but also to survive—me."

Suddenly, her mouth felt dry. Well, if she wasn't afraid before...

Ardyn's offer caught her so off-guard that she had trouble forming a coherent reply. "So you're saying you're going to hunt me down like an animal?"

"That's a rather ugly way to put it."

"Why?" she demanded, her attempts to stay cool and composed quickly falling out underneath her.

"Because it will be fun," he said. "And I have feeling you'll put up a good fight. Most opponents I face are so—tragically weak."

When she didn't answer, he continued, "As I said. If you succeed, I'll make you an irresistible offer."

"What offer?"

"Isn't it more fun not to know?"

"Not really."

After a pause, he said, "Well, surviving should be incentive enough for you. At least, I would hope so."

Her only incentive to survive was the desire to delay restarting this hell all over again. Lydia had kept her heart under careful guard constantly for 2,000 years. And in that moment, she could feel it breaking in a way she'd never experienced before—not even when she let Ardyn go all those centuries ago. Her frozen heart wasn't just breaking. He might as well have just ripped it out and torn it in half. In fact, a part of her wished he would.

This wasn't her Ardyn. Even if it was him physically, this man was not the one she'd loved. She shouldn't have let herself dare to hope otherwise.

"And what if I refuse?" she asked, keeping her voice as low and calm as possible.

He tsked. "Well, that would be a waste, now wouldn't it?"

Translation: I'll just kill you and be done with it.

"Don't worry," he continued. "I'm a good sport, and I'll play nicely. I'll even give you a headstart and let you walk away from here without incident. How's this?" He gestured to something behind her, causing her to turn hesitantly to see what he was pointing to. The clock on the wall showed that it was still early in the day—not even quite noon yet. "Since I'm feeling generous, how about six hours? You're free to leave whenever you're ready, and I'll stay here until the stroke of six o' clock tonight. After that, the chase begins."

She turned back around and gave him a cold smile. "What, you think it's going to be that easy?" Then, with a laugh that she feared betrayed her emotions, "All right, I guess I don't have a choice. I'll play your twisted game. If for no other reason than to spite you, I'll give it my best."

Hearing this just seemed to please him even more. "I'm counting on it," he said, lowering his voice to little more than a whisper. "Please give me a challenge, Lydia. I've been desperate for one."

In that moment, her deepest, darkest desire was to do or say something that would hurt him every bit as much he hurt her. She imagined herself stabbing him through the heart and twisting the knife deep before letting him bleed out on the floor. She imagined him writhing in agony and begging for mercy as she walked away, waiting for death and darkness to take him—all with the knowledge that it was her, the one he had betrayed so easily, who dealt the final blow against his fragile, pathetic life.

But there were two issues with this fantasy. If Ardyn was here now, that meant his life was anything but fragile. He seemed so confident in himself that she had to think he never even considered the possibility of her killing him during this "game" of his.

The second issue was obvious—and it was that he didn't know her. It was virtually impossible for her to hurt him as much as she was hurting now. You couldn't break someone's heart if they didn't even care about you.

So instead, she found herself standing up at the table, watching his eyes follow her as she rose. "Well, I'll try to keep it interesting for you," she murmured, and then whispered, "You're despicable."

"And you're an excellent judge of character," he replied. "Good luck, Dear."

She scoffed as she pulled away from the table and walked past him. But she found that she couldn't bring herself to say anything else before departing, only stopping for a split second to look back at him before heading out the door of the diner.

I will not cry. I will not fall to pieces.

Despite repeating these words again and again in her mind, tears stung behind her eyes as she broke into a run. No time to wait for another bus. No time to sit around and make plans. She had to find her Mother now—and then figure out how to get to Altissia before Ardyn caught up with her.

After Lydia left, Ardyn stood up from the table inside the diner and walked outside. He placed his hat back onto top of his head before emerging into the light, but his fingertips and face still prickled beneath the sun's rays. It was shaping up to be another hot day, he suspected.

Still, he was used to the sting and he paid it little mind as he glanced around, noting the complete disappearance of Lydia. She left not a trace behind, meaning that finding her would likely prove to be a challenge. Of course, he was more than pleased at the thrill of it—and he was nothing if not a man of his word. And so he waited patiently.

While waiting, Ardyn stood under the overhang at the nearby motel. With a small smile gracing his lips, he reached into his jacket and pulled out a touchscreen mobile device, similar to the size and shape of the one he owned but rarely used. As he turned it over in hand, he mused about how long it would take Lydia to notice he had taken it.

After all, giving her simple means to call a friend for assistance seemed a bit like cheating.

He felt mildly surprised when he turned on the screen and realized she didn't even use a passcode to lock her device. So either she was extremely careless, or she had nothing of value on it. Out of curiosity, he found himself looking through her applications and could see that she was clearly a fan of mindless digital entertainment. She had no photographs, not even of herself or of friends. And when he went into her text messages, he saw that she only had conversations available from the last week or so.

"Not the sentimental sort, I see," he murmured, scrolling absently through her messages with Noctis and his retainers. "Oh, how dreadfully dull."

Not that he should have been surprised. The dullness of her phone habits in and of itself was the intriguing part. Perhaps she did have something to hide after all. Or, more likely, her life was simply so tragic that she had no interest in maintaining lasting connections.

Her contact list, for instance, was hardly more notable than her text app. As expected, she had Noctis and his friends. She also had Cor Leonis, the so-called "immortal" Crownsguard leader, and someone called "Rosella."

The mysterious Rosella vaguely caught Ardyn's interest, as she was the only person on Lydia's contact list that he couldn't place. Perhaps the half-goddess wasn't entirely friendless after all.

For a moment, he considered giving the person a call using the voice of Lydia herself. He was sure he could imitate her quite easily.

But then again—he loathed the thought of letting his own curiosity get in the way of his objective. Perhaps it was premature, or even reckless, to begin targeting someone in her inner circle. He wanted to gauge her strength first, and find out if she was truly worth his time.

But oh, how the thought of arousing her anger excited him.

She is quite the force of nature, isn't she—Ifrit? Ardyn asked, his thoughts rising above the low hum of voices and whispers in the back of his mind. I wonder how long she'll be able to run from me...

In response, a low, deep voice echoed inside his head, She is stronger than you think.

Oh, I certainly hope so, Ardyn said. But then, I still can't have her standing in my way, now can I?

Silence.

Don't tell me you're having a crisis of conscience, he continued. And here I thought you were the same God who exacted vengeance against your beloved by inflicting eternal misery upon her daughter. Are you regretting your actions after all this time?

Ifrit still didn't answer. Ardyn could say many things about the Infernian, but he definitely wasn't the conversational type.

Well, not to worry, my dear Pyre-Burner... if she survives this test, perhaps you can see her for yourself and beg for forgiveness. I'm sure she'll be delighted to hear what you have to say after you forced her to suffer for almost two and a half thousand years.

Then, with a dark smile as he slid Lydia's mobile back into his jacket, he said, out loud, "One way or another—I'll have her dead or at my side."

And that's that! I know last chapter, we had our first taste of Ardyn's perspective in a flashback, but I guess you could say this is our first official look inside his head - although it's short! I'm expecting we'll be getting a bit more from his perspective going forward as well. That's going to be tough. I'm not used to writing from the viewpoint of a villain, and he sure has a twisted way of looking at things right now. I wonder how Lydia's presence in his life is going to affect him?