The King's Speech

The Kingsglaive member who had brought Luna to the throne room stepped aside to stand watch shortly after they had entered. Judging by his braid and the small, triangular marks on his face, he had to be one of the Galahdian refugees Insomnia had taken in.

"Thank you," Luna said to him quietly as she walked by, but he just shot her a sideways glance. It seemed that the man was sworn to silence on duty.

Lady Lunafreya walked into the middle of the platform at the foot of the staircase that led up to the Lucian throne and the chairs of the council members. On this particular day, only the King himself was present. Regis looked down on her with a smile beneath his beard. He had aged much in the past years, but the expression in his eyes was as soft as she remembered.

The distance between them felt strange and unnecessary. During the King's stay at Fenestala Manor twelve years ago, Luna had spent much time with Regis and his son and gotten to know him as an approachable and empathetic man. Perhaps she had even seen something of a father figure in him, given that, unlike Ravus, she had no memories of her own father. However, even if Regis wanted to come down from his throne to greet her, the Royal protocol did not allow it and so Luna respected it as well.

"Your Majesty," she addressed the King. "I am most grateful to stand before you again."

"I would have welcomed you any time, had the Empire allowed it," Regis responded. "My dear Lunafreya, so much time has passed since we last spoke. You have grown into a fine young Oracle. I'm certain your mother would be proud."

She felt a smile tug at the corners of her mouth. It was nice to know that he was still thinking of her mother today. "Thank you, your Highness. I like to think so as well," she said and glanced around the throne room again, looking for more familiar faces, but there was no one else besides her, the King and the Kingsglaive. "Pince Noctis has left for Altissia already, hasn't he?"

"He has," Regis confirmed. "Unfortunately, Niflheim insisted on sending an escort with him, but I have seen to it that he is accompanied by his best men. I trust them to keep him safe."

This time, she could not help but smile. "I know from a reliable resource that he has nothing to fear from the escort. There is no need for you to worry."

"So you know the man?"

"He is part of the reason I am here today."

Regis fell silent for a moment. When he spoke again, his voice bore hints of worry regarding Luna's safety. "It is not too late for you to leave as well, Lunafreya. The Prince's Sword is in Altissia right now, setting up safety measures for the arranged wedding. I sent one of my Glaive to see you out of Tenebrae, so that you may meet Noctis far away from this powder key Insomnia has become, but they did not make it. Still, I can ready an escort for you. Please, leave now."

"I cannot, your Majesty," Luna replied and shook her head. "I chose to come here because there is a grave matter I need to talk to you about."

"What could be more grave than the news I received from Niflheim's envoy?" he mused aloud. "A message from the gods?"

She cut directly to the point. "An alternative ending to the prophecy."

He furrowed his brows at the mention, looking more concerned than confused.

"It was revealed to me that there is a way for mankind to free itself from the scourge and its darkness without the need for sacrifices. Niflheim knows of this already, but refuses to entertain the notion in fear of accidentally compromising their military strength. Likewise, the Bladekeeper himself has been proven to act against it. He desires to see the prophecy fulfilled."

"Then who are we, to stand against a god, especially the Draconian?"

"I agree that to walk this path will equal an act of blasphemy. But, with the Power of Providence, as it was foretold, and with the Crystal and the Ring far away from Insomnia, there is a reasonable chance for the Chosen King to take up arms against the Bladekeeper and succeed. Bahamut will receive little to no help from the other Astrals. I have the word of the High Messenger for it."

"Such thoughts, from an Oracle …" Regis said, baffled by the way she had spoken against the god. "I am dismayed, Lunafreya. Should you not know better than I that what was preordained cannot be changed?"

"This is what Bahamut wanted us to believe. That we, insignificant as we are before the gods' might, cannot challenge their reign. But I believe that the Chosen King can, and I wish to grant him the possibility to shape mankind's future. It should be his choice whether to place his faith in the gods or men."

"You are saying that he could survive, still." Regis released a shaky breath. Closing his eyes, he struggled to retain his composure.

"That I do." She felt sorry for tearing up old wounds deep within his soul. Although Luna had not seen it, she had heard him cry, all those years ago, in front of her mother, when he had discussed Noctis' fate with the former Oracle.

"It cannot be," Regis said, and for a second, there was a low rumble in the throne room. To anyone else, it probably sounded like distant thunder, but Luna heard the god's voice, speaking the same words as Regis had. She had not realised that Bahamut's presence was so strong in the Citadel. Regis appeared to be oblivious to it as well.
"I know what I propose sounds preposterous," she continued, trying not to be intimidated. "but you could help your son if you severed your ties to the gods."

She heard a small gasp from the Kingsglaive still standing next to the door.

"You know too well what I would give for my son," Regis said and took a deep breath. "But my hands are tied. I cannot surrender the Stone or the Ring, lest the Empire lays waste to Insomnia immediately. Capitulation is no longer an option. My men will not go down without a fight and I honour their loyalty. Can't you see that fate has run its course already?"

Luna lowered her gaze. "I had hoped that there was a way to avoid this bloodshed," she stated, although it was looking more and more unlikely that there was no way around it. Perhaps she would have spent her time better trying to convince Ardyn to stop the Emperor and his planned invasion. She did not need to tell Regis what the signing of the treaty would entail. She had seen the acquiescence in his expression.

"Trust me, my dear, I have done everything in my power to avoid it for as long as I could. Fate can only be staved off for so long, I'm afraid." The quiet clatter of the brace on his knee caught her attention. Leaning on his cane, the King rose from his throne and walked, slowly and slightly unsteady, down the steps. "But," he continued ", if it is your desire to stay, I will entrust the Ring to you as soon as I have no more need for it." Once he stood before her, Regis offered to take her hand in a gesture of comfort and reconciliation. The white stone set into the Ring of Lucii glinted as his hands closed around hers. It gave off an aura of magic, much stronger than any that Luna had felt before. "So that you may bring it to Noctis and see him fulfil his destiny. The future is in the hands of him and you both. Whatever your decision may be, as long as you see it through, you have my blessing."

There was such sadness in his eyes. Luna nodded silently, with her lips firmly pressed together in an attempt to keep her composure. His burden was crushing him, slowly and inevitably. Whether he went down fighting or not, Niflheim would make sure that he was not going to survive the invasion. As soon as he was gone, Insomnia was bound to fall, and its people were going to fall with it. Luna felt a shadow of despair creep over her soul.