The dance was slow. Kyrie taking her time to indulge the patron whose gaze she had fixed upon herself. Her long, dark extensions falling delicately across her skin and landing softly over her breast. The heavy breathing and flushed skin that came from the man's face beneath her being all that she needed to know that in every move she made, she was doing everything right. A sultry smile creeped onto Kyrie's face as her lips rested no farther than a breaths distance away. The man tensing for a moment before relaxing heavier into the plush chair as she pressed her hips slightly into his. Like a night just like any other, Kyrie would make a man feel like he and only he was the center of her universe. As the timer Kyrie kept in her mind ran dry, she seductively backed herself off the patron, playfully bending over as if to beckon him to follow.

"Nah, that can't be all Carmen." the man pleaded, disappointed that his time was up.

Bending towards the man again, Kyrie responded, "It only goes as long as you want it to baby."

The man leaned back for a moment grabbing his wallet as he was fully prepared to pay her more, "...shit..." he said under his breath. The last of his dollars sitting shamelessly against Kyrie. Jokingly he pulled out a credit card "You take card." he chuckled, disappointed in himself.

"You know I don't" she said as a faked smile crawled across her face, backing away from the man and walking away. The disappointed air he was left in being the very thing that always brought patrons like him back. For her, his money was safely tucked away in her belt. For him, the itch that would always need to be scratched would need to find an atm. As she walked, she suddenly felt a strong grip around her bicep as she was stopped dead in her tracks.

"C'mon. can't I just put in an I.O.U? I'm good for it you know." the man sad, almost beginning to beg to keep Kyrie's attention.

"Mouse." Kyrie said, and in what felt like only a second, the large bouncer that guarded the Seeing Eye was towering over the man. His large arm wrapped around the neck the of the disgruntled patron. Without question, Mouse dragged the man out and booted him from the establishment, much to the amusement of other patrons. The "hands off" rule was always to be respected.


The night progressed into early morning yet again. A theme that always came sure as ever. Kyrie cleaned up her area. Having made a fair amount of money that night as well as having made a more than substantial amount taking on the strange contract with Clarus, she had decided to take a personal week for herself. She was able to clean up her area in peace as the dainty Lily had evidently been subjected to doing the dirty work of some of the other women who worked within the Seeing Eye. The young woman having not yet learned to stand up for herself in a dog eat dog industry. Despite having the desire to help her, Kyrie knew Lily would never learn or manage if she didn't figure out the ropes on her own.

"Carmen." the Madam said loudly, the room in which she generally kept closed opened slightly.

Kyrie stood upright, a little surprised to hear the Madam calling her name. Something that the Madam hadn't done since she was green and new to the work she did. "One moment, Madam." she responded, giving her area another look to make sure it was all in order. Satisfied, she quickly walked back to the Madam, not noticing a small sea of jealous glances that followed her.

"Close the door Carmen." the Madam said quietly. Without question Kyrie did so. "Take a seat please."

"Is something wrong Madam?" Kyrie asked. Even if the manner of work she did was unusual compared to most, there were still many formalities that existed similarly to standard careers, to include a sudden bad work break up.

"Not at all Kyrie. I just wanted to speak with you about your client." the Madam responded, her attention focused on Kyrie.

"It certainly went Madam. Everything was fine until he ran out of money. Then he grabbed me and I called mouse. Simple as that." she answered, a slight bruise starting to form where she was grabbed.

"What a prick. I'll have him blacklisted." without even a seconds hesitation she began to message Mouse asking for all detailed information about the man, as well as the time stamp of when he arrived. "How about the other night with your contract? How did that go?"

Kyrie shrugged, "I mean, that went fine. It was certainly ritzy."

"Really? I thought I had put you on some contracts before." the Madam responded as she turned her attention to a spread sheet. Marking up schedules for the week.

"I mean sure, similar, but that was THE prince Noctis' birthday event...thing. I don't know. It was super formal and honestly, kind of drab for a birthday. Clarus was lovely though." Kyrie said thinking back to him wanting nothing more than warm company.

"Was he now."

"Totally was. Speaking of...do you happen to know exactly who set out for my contract? Clarus didn't call for it. And I mean...obviously the high king or really anyone at that party it seems didn't call for it..." Kyrie sat wondering quietly as she waited for the Madam to respond.

The Madam turned slowly to face Kyrie as she continued texting. The younger woman picking at her nails as she awaited her senior's response, "I do Kyrie. But that is probably a conversation for another time."

"Madam, please. I've worked for you long enough. Who wrote out the contract? For the king's Shield to have been with me would have been done to ruin a career I would imagine. Or maybe start some rumors." Kyrie then stated.

"Another time Kyrie. Drop it from your head. I'm just glad you managed to somehow stay out of the papers because you're right. That would have and very well could have stirred up some trouble." the Madam responded sternly.

Kyrie sat in an awkward silence unsure of exactly what else to say to the Madam. The Madam was not the type to just throw contracts from high caliber clients to unknowing patrons. She was the sort to make sure every last detail was accounted for, to include the amount of security that there would be to ensure the safety of each woman involved on her end. Kyrie watched as the Madam typed her name into the usual time slots on the spread sheet, "Madam wait. I'm going to take the next week off. I think I've earned myself a little vacation. It's overdue anyway."

The Madam nodded, "No problem. If that's everything then, you can go home. Oh. Figure out a good pole routine. When you come back I want you on that for a couple of days. One of the girls is quitting and I don't want the poles vacant. Can't have Lily do it either until she figures out a better routine."

Kyrie smiled and stood up, "That should be fine. I guess I'll see you in a week than!" as usual, the Madam gave Kyrie a weapons check and she and Mouse saw Kyrie off. Kyrie didn't look back for a second, but couldn't help but find the entire situation involving Clarus to be completely strange and out of character.


Kyrie's arm began to feel sore as she stepped into her flat. When she removed her thin jacket, she could see that the light bruising began to show more clearly. Great she thought to herself as she rubbed the sore area. She walked over to her pseudo medicine cabinet and pulled out a small tincture she had learned to make. The remedy making the bruise feel less tender in almost an instant. It wouldn't be able to remove the colors that may come from it, but at least it wouldn't hurt much. With a mug of hot tea secured in her hands, she went into her bedroom, closing the crimson red curtains as the five AM sun began to show itself over the horizon. She pulled open her laptop and began looking through the mass of soundtracks she had that she would use to do her pole routines.

Though it had been a while since she had been forced to do work on the poles, she wasn't one to complain. It was nice to not always be subjected to sitting in someone's lap to make a buck. As she skimmed through her playlist, her phone went off. Who the hell messages someone THIS early she thought to herself as she checked the phone.

?: Hey. You available at all this week?

K: That depends. Who is this?

?: Forgot me already. Ouch.

K: Well, you must be pretty forgettable ;)

?: Guess you can't bill this "blue blood" afterall.

Kyrie sat for a moment trying to think of who exactly she called that. When she remembered, she laughed out loud. The fact that the prince's Shield would actually talk to her outside of the event showing a complete carelessness for his reputation as far as Kyrie was concerned as she added his information to her phone.

K: I should bill you for messaging me this early in the morning Mr. Shield.

Mr. Shield: Couldn't think of a better name than that? Shame.

K: Oh yeah? Is there one you'd prefer?

Mr. Shield: Yeah there is. Tell you all about it over brunch.

K: Sure why not. How about tomorrow than.

Mr. Shield: Works for me. Where can I pick you up?

K: How about we meet at the city square memorial?

Mr. Shield: See you then "Carmen".

K: ;)

Kyrie smiled at her phone as she sat in her thoughts. The music that played in the background of her laptop seeming all too fitting for the scenario she were in. She nodded as she decided that it would be the perfect song to create a new routine to. Taking a final sip of tea, she reset the song and made her way over to the pole that sat in her bedroom across from her bed, flipping on a light switch that lit up the floor to ceiling mirror that sat nearest to the pole and soon, began thinking of a new routine. With a generalized idea in her head of what she was going to do, she settled herself in for the rest of the day, shower and sleep beckoning her.


Gladiolus smirked as the conversation between he and "Carmen" ended. Despite her threat of billing him for messaging her so early, he had a feeling she would have been awake given the line of work she was likely involved in. Gladiolus was unable to figure out exactly who may have been the person that hired her at all to service his father, only that the people who were escorts of any credibility, all seemed to work in the same building which doubled as a stripe club. The interaction that Kyrie had with his father was clearly done as a means to distract his father, as well as stir up trouble, he just wasn't sure how. There was no mention of Kyrie in any of the papers following which Gladiolus knew was outside of the norm. Any person associated with the high king in any way, was always under the public eye.

The young Shield rose from his bed and readied himself to go out for the morning. His duties never seemed to cease as the protector of the future king and even if he wanted to rest, he wouldn't be able to. He had witnessed this many times throughout his life as his father rose early every morning and would go for a run, followed by a large bit of training physically, and mentally. A Shield never rests. As Gladiolus exited the Amicitia estate, his father followed right behind him. The far older man seeming just as focused as ever to begin his training for the day.

"We'll be training today." Clarus stated bluntly, stretching his arms as he readied to run with his son.

"Fine by me old man. Just don't break a limb trying to keep up." Gladiolus said, a jab at his father's ego.

Father and son began their eight kilometer run. When Gladiolus was young and was first designated to become the next Shield, he hated every moment of it. His life of ease, soon turned into a life of intense training, discipline, and harsh beatings and lessons. All things to prepare him to physically be an imposing force. Though he may have hated his father in the beginning for forcing him into such a position, it was one that was forced upon every born male in the Amicitia household and thus, he was never alone in such a burden. His father was far more lenient than his grandfather. Much of Gladiolus' promiscuous flings, and blatant disregard for rumors could have easily been blamed on his father failing to care about such trivial things, wanting to instead let his son learn lessons as needed. As he grew, Gladiolus held the responsibility of becoming the next king's Shield with the highest honor.

As the pair finished their run, they ended up at the royal training quarters, just like they did everyday. Sometimes they would train together, other days they would train alone. As Gladiolus grew, he learned to appreciate spars with his father. Even if Clarus was far older that the young Shield, he was still readily able to spar with his son and often times, would beat his son in duels. Far few people were able to give Gladiolus a run for his money when it came to fighting. Most simply couldn't keep up with the continuous strikes Gladiolus would make as the man simply never seemed to tire.

"You're slow today, Gladio!" Clarus shouted as he struck downward with his long sword. The heavy clashing that the two Shield's weapons made sounding no different that sharp thunder and is pierced the air.

"Just today? You're slow everyday, old man." Gladiolus shouted back as he swung broadly at his father. His sword narrowly missing his father's chest.

Clarus moved backwards, giving him some fair distance between his son and rested his heavy long sword over his shoulder, circling around the young Shield confidently as he waited for his son's lack of patience to get the better of him. Clarus knew that Gladiolus lacked good timing as he was always eager to strike without first thinking of exactly what he might be striking at, "Slow everyday? If that were truly the case than I likely wouldn't have been the one with a woman in bed before you." The elder Shield said, picking fun at his own embarrassment.

"Oh yeah? When I found you two, she was still dressed. How'd you fuck that one up." Gladiolus said as he mocked his father's movement, letting his long sword rest over both of his shoulders "Don't worry though. I got a date with her to show that we Amicitia's can at least show a woman a good time."

The words shocked Clarus for a moment. All he knew, was that his son had been the one to have Carmen removed from his hotel room. He stopped circling his son and relaxed his stance as he furrowed his brow and rubbed his eyes with his free hand, "Gladio the whole point of NOT trying to affiliate with the likes of women like that is to-" before he could finish his sentence, Gladiolus was charging at him and rammed him broadly with his shoulder and for a moment, the two eagles the men had affixed into their skin clashed. Clarus hit the ground with a heavy thud. His sword disappearing from sight as he did.

"Yeah yeah dad. 'Maintain a respective image'. Look, it wasn't me in bed with an escort. It was you. And you have no idea where she even came from. Me taking her out might at least open those doors." Gladiolus stated bluntly as he extended an arm and helped his father "If she was out to ruin your reputation or even mine, I'm pretty sure the papers would have made that clear by now."

Clarus nodded. His son wasn't wrong, "Yes...perhaps you can find some answers." as the words left his mouth, Clarus quickly threw a punch to Gladiolus' torso which forced the air from the young Shield's body "...You don't need to be a little shit about it though, given that I'm not the one who appears to be rebounding." the elder Shield laughed out as his son doubled over and coughed.


The next day, Kyrie rose earlier than she'd prefer. Being a night owl, she generally wasn't awake in the morning at all but for the young Shield she made an exception. She readied herself far more casually than normal. With no need to dress up as she wasn't headed to work, she wore simple leggings and a tank top with a blazer. The most difficult decision she would make for the day as far as her appearance went, was whether or not she would wear hair extensions or not. No one recognized her when her hair was without them which was always useful. Insomnia was a large place, but it wasn't without the crossing of paths. At the flip of a coin, she decided against wearing them and soon began her short walk to the memorial that sat in the city square.

The walk for her was extremely short no more than a few minutes as the crow flies. She could easily see the memorial from her own home windows. When she arrived, she noticed Gladiolus standing against the base of the memorial. The man fixed on his phone, appearing to play a game or maybe checking the latest social media antics. She doubted that he would be able to recognize her without her face made up perfectly for the night and long hair extensions in her hair. She was simply going to appear to him as another random person standing by a common meeting place. She walked directly by Gladiolus as the man failed to even look up from his phone and waited on the other side of the memorial, seating herself along built in concrete benches.

Not even a minute later, the large mass of human that was Gladiolus seated himself next to her, "Man. I must be REALLY be unmemorable Carmen. Twice in twenty-four hours? Ouch." he joked as he placed his hands behind his head and shook his head.

Kyrie was pleasantly surprised, "You surprise me Mr. Amicitia. I didn't think you'd be able to recognize me."

"It's Gladio. I'm pretty good with faces you know." Gladiolus said as he smirked confidently "You eaten yet?"

Kyrie shook her head, "No I haven't. Should we get going then"

"Definitely."

The pair found a local hole in the wall not far from the memorial and spent a better part of the morning getting to know each other a bit as they ate their respective breakfasts. The meals more than filling. Kyrie was shocked at just how much the large man could eat. She'd never seen so much food pass in front of a person just to get immediately consumed. Given his sheer size she wasn't completely stunned but it was still a bit shocking for her to see in person. Despite that, Gladiolus didn't eat like a pig. He simply ate as one would expect. With his meal complete, the Shield let out a large stretch as he paid for the bill and the two began to walk around the city square and people watched a bit. The man standing well over a foot an a half taller than her.

"So Gladio. Is everything about you as big as your appetite?" Kyrie said gesturing at him.

The comment made Gladiolus laugh as his eyes widened and he cocked an eyebrow, "Did you really just say that out loud?"

Shrugging Kyrie peered at some of the more detailed work that covered the memorial statue, "Why wouldn't I ask? I assume you're really only here for that reason, am I right?"

"Wow. No. Well, maybe but right now, no. What kinda conclusion is that to come to?" he asked as he gestured to get the pair walking again.

His strides were a bit larger than Kyrie preferred as they took several steps. She gently let her fingers crawl around his arm until her arm was locked comfortably in his without any objection. The muscle that covered his arm were solid, yet still felt very human, "Look. I know you know what it is that I do for a living, or at least you have some sort of clue as to what it is that I do. Your type isn't exactly the kind to come looking for dates from people like me unless you've got ulterior motives. Make sense?"

Gladiolus nodded, "Yeah. I could see that. But if that were really something I wanted right now, don't you think I'd've done it in a less public place? Let's be real here. I'm not an moron. I know you wouldn't give out your personal number for work either 'Carmen'."

"True. So can I assume that this is a date than?" Kyrie asked with perhaps a bit too much excitement in her voice as she leaned into the Shield a bit more.

"Yeah. You can assume that." Gladiolus smirked out "I won't lie to you though Carmen. I do have to ask you a few questions about something. Is it alright if we do that?"

Kyrie slowed her steps briefly as she thought about whether or not she really wanted to deal with that sort of thing. She looked up at Gladiolus. The large man looking down at her with a sideways glance confidently and welcoming, "Sure I guess. Can we not do that in public though? I'd rather not..."

"Didn't plan to. Mind if I take you to my office? Nothing formal or anything. I'll get you some lunch too if it helps."

"Twist my arm why don'tcha" Kyrie teased.

Without even realizing it, Kyrie had walked with Gladiolus to his vehicle. The white vehicle sitting as imposing the the young Shield himself as it shined brilliantly in the sun. Not necessarily the most hidden of all vehicles but who was Kyrie to judge a man by his car, afterall, her's was as red as she could make it. Gladiolus opened the door for Kyrie and hiding all her reluctance, she entered the car. The smell of high dollar cigars mixing with the leather. Once Gladiolus entered the vehicle, the car immediately revved up and was off to head towards what Kyrie could only assume would be the capital building. As they drove in near silence, Gladiolus could feel the tension in the air. The only disturbance to it being the mass text Gladiolus seemed to be receiving. The vibrations from it rattling around in the center consol.

"Someone sure does need you, don't they?" Kyrie said as she checked her phone for no reason in particular.

"Hm. Yeah." Gladiolus pulled his phone out of his console and checked who was sending him messages, noting that it was a name he'd rather not be seeing. He grimaced and put the phone back to the center console "It ain't anyone important."

"Ooo that was an ugly face. Must have been SOMEONE important." Kyrie said as she nudged him gently with her elbow.

"Nah. Not even close. I don't know about you, but I ain't into talking to exes. Broke it off with a girl. Not really a good relationship to start. She's been messaging me non-stop ever since. Not gonna say she's acting a bit psychotic, but if the glove fits..." Gladiolus said honestly. His phone vibrating yet again as they pulled into the parking garage for the capital. Gladiolus pulling out the noisy device to read and shut off the phone.

"I have an idea." Kyrie said playfully, making Gladiolus tilt his head towards her.

"Yeah? And what's that?" he asked as his phone vibrated yet again.

Kyrie quickly exited the car and ran over to the driver's side before Gladiolus could exit, "Is this as far back as your seat goes?" she asked as she squeezed herself into his seat, smashing her figure onto his.

"Have you seen me? Yeah it's as far back as it goes." Gladiolus laughed out as the already cramped driver's seat became even more cramped. As the phone vibrated again, Kyrie grabbed it from his hands "Hold on. What are you doing?"

"Just go with it." Kyrie said as she steadied the phone in front of the pair. Her hands smashing into the steering wheel. She tilted her head slightly to one side as she brought Gladiolus face down, his chin resting on her shoulder. "Wait!" she then said as she adjusted her breasts to make her cleavage more visible "There we go. Smile Gladio." she said as she snapped a photo. The picture not showing anything above her mouth. A way to disguise who she was in the picture. Kyrie quickly sent the picture to the ex in question

G: He's busy right now sweetheart.

Psycho: ...ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS RIGHT NOW GLADDY! CALL ME!

G: Ew. Turn your caps off. You're screaming at my eyes.

"There." Kyrie stated proudly. "That'll give her something to cry about later." Crawling off of him and back out of the car, Gladiolus followed, all the while laughing.


Gladiolus led the pair through the capital building. None of the Crownsguard seeming to even bat an eye at their young commander as he walked with Kyrie attached to his arm. Kyrie took no notice of any of the guard. Her attention being pulled to the dark, elegant artwork that was both hanging from the walls and carved into the marble and granite. She'd never been inside of the capital building itself, nor had she ever dreamed of it. The gold that trimmed things ever so carefully making her feel almost completely out of place. Even the elevator they rode in was delicately adorned with highly detailed carvings of the old gods, as well as Lucian traditional art. The floors that ran throughout the building were even polished to the point of being mirrors. Something she'd not expected. Not a single detail was out of place.

When the pair exited the elevator on the floor Gladiolus' office was on, they ran in to a familiar face. Kyrie recognized him from her night with Clarus: Captain Drautos. The man walking with a small band of Kingsglaive. Several of which she recognized. Another she didn't. Luche and a dark haired man walked directly at the Captain's side as Tredd and a few others trailed behind him. Captain Drautos made eye contact with Gladiolus. The two men exchanging no more than a nod. When the Captain's eyes fixed on Kyrie, he seemed to be able to tell exactly who she was with ease. His eyes studying her features closely. Tredd and Luche seemed almost completely oblivious to who she was. When the pair passed the small group Kyrie could hear Tredd state to a comrade, "Man...must be nice to live out the office porno life."

Gladiolus heard whispers from Tredd easily, "Captain I suggest you get that little punk straightened out. Or send him my way." he stated without turning "Just keep looking forward." he then told Kyrie as they heard the group behind them suddenly stop before they turned a corner. Gladiolus' office being the first door they ran in to, he let them in at a regular pace. The Shield in no rush to disguise her if he had to. When Kyrie entered the room, she was pleasantly surprised to be surrounded by a bit less formality and a bit more "bachelor". Though there was standard office furniture, there was also the random weight set that sat well used in the corner as well as several containers of pre-workout adorning a shelf. "Sorry about that." Gladiolus said as he sat in his office chair. The thick leather seat well worn from his use.

"Happens all the time 'Gladdy'." she teased as she sat on a sofa in his office "So what questions did you have for me?"

"Gods. Please don't start with that too." Gladiolus said as he shook his head "It's actually about my dad, Carmen."

"Oh? Yeah sure. What about him?" Kyrie asked, noting the concern in Gladiolus' voice.

"He didn't call for you."

"It was really strange, but yeah I know. I found that out after I arrived." Kyrie responded as she sat staring the Shield in the eyes. The amber color sucking her in like a moth to a flame.

"You know who did?" Gladiolus stated best he could. The deep stare that she was giving him making him heart jump a little bit too hard and bringing a slight heat to his face.

Kyrie shook her head, "Unfortunately no. I have no idea. All I know, is that the person would have to be a high caliber person. My Madam would NEVER allow for us to pick up prank work. Ever. She knows who the client was, but she hasn't disclosed that to me."

"There anyway to get that info out of her?" Gladiolus asked as he stood up and moved to the other side of his desk and leaned heavily against it.

Kyrie shook her head as she rose out of the sofa and walked towards the Shield. "She wouldn't tell me" she said with a slightly dejected tone. She noticed a button that sat on the Shield's shirt had found it's way unbuttoned. Carefully she move her fingers to the misplaced object. Her eyes staying fixed on his as she buttoned it back up.

"Pretty sure you're the only woman to ever button my shirt back up." Gladiolus quietly said "Not really sure if I'm disappointed about that or not Carmine." The Shield was able to get a good look at many of the features on Kyrie's face as the two stared at each other. Her light brown eyes and freckles all pulling in his attention. Not a single flaw on her skin and for a moment, air ceased to enter his lungs.

"...Kyrie..."