A/N: There isn't enough Lunafreya in-game, and there hasn't been enough of her relationship with Inertia in my story. I love Luna, I really, really do. She's strong without being physically strong, she's pure, and kind. And unafraid to carry out her duty. So allow me this indulgence as we near the Fall. I hope, if you didn't like her in the game, you might find something redeeming about her in my story. Much love.

Chapter 18:

"What is it that troubles you, Inertia?"

It had been days since Ravus had broken her daggers along with her heart, and Inertia sat in Lunafreya's parlor, sewing a patch onto some quilt or another. It was part of a charity event House Nox Fleuret was hosting for orphanages in Tenebrae; handmade blankets were one of their many offerings. But while Inertia tried to bury herself in her work, tried to forget the night Loqi had stolen from her her innocence - what little she had left - and tried to forget the sting of Ravus's betrayal, Luna was watching, waiting, not falling for her facade. She was as cunning as she was pure of heart, and some days, it drove Inertia crazy.

"Nothing, milady," She lied, pulling her thread through the thick quilt. She never let her eyes leave her work. "I apologize if it seems so."

"Inertia," Luna put down her own needle and thread, crossing her arms. "Don't insult my intelligence. I know you better than that."

Inertia sighed. She put her own work down, covering her face with her hands.

"I'm… tired, milady."

"Your body is tired, yes," Luna agreed. "As is your soul."

There really wasn't hiding anything from Lunafreya Nox Fleuret.

"I find myself slipping away," She murmured. Tears swam in her eyes, but she bit her cheek, trying to keep them from falling. Luna's eyes softened, and she reached out her hands, gesturing Inertia forwards. Reluctantly, she obeyed. She placed herself at Luna's feet, setting her hands in Luna's, a warm glow emanating from the both of them.

"What is it that ails you, Inertia?" Luna asked quietly, closing her eyes.

"I… My heart is broken," She could feel her breath catch in her throat.

"Have I done something to cause you pain or grief?" Luna asked earnestly. Inertia violently shook her head.

"No, milady!" She reassured her. "You're the most important person in the world to me. You've treated me only with kindness, and for that I am forever grateful."

"Well, it warms my heart to hear that," Luna smiled down at her, her eyes warm, though tears filled the edges. Inertia wondered absently if she felt her pain while their hands were clasped like this, or if the tears were of happiness at Inertia's devotion. She supposed she would never know. "Please know, Inertia, you are more than a retainer to me. You are my sister."

"That means everything to me, milady," Inertia bowed her head.

"So know that when I ask you to confide in me," Luna continued on. "It is not as your liege, but as your friend."

"Ravus and I…" She hesitated. Why was it so hard to say?

"Are in love?" Luna finished for her. She looked up at her, astounded.

"You… you know?" She asked, bewildered. "Of course you do," She smiled. "You're the Oracle, after all."

"Oh, Inertia," She waved her hands, exasperated, though she never let go of Inertia's. "It wouldn't take an Oracle to see the way you two look at each other across the room."

She felt her cheeks flush then, and she couldn't find her voice.

"The look of love is very distinct," Luna continued, chuckling to herself. "I've only ever wished for happiness for you both, in the arms of whoever may grant it to you." She grinned. "Though if you were to marry Ravus, we really would be sisters."

Inertia laughed and grinned up at Luna, who looked so radiant in the sunlight pouring in through the window. It was almost as if the nightmare of the last year had never happened - as though she and Ravus were simply in love and Luna had given them their blessing.

"That would be magnificent," Inertia agreed, nodding her head. "Tell me, milady… have you been in love before?"

Luna hesitated, looking out the window, thoughtful.

"I'm not sure," She answered simply. "I… I suspect I have."

"With Noctis?" Inertia finished for her. It was no secret between them - she had shared with her the messages they relayed to each other back and forth in their sacred book. She discussed at length his duty as future King of Lucis, his destiny as the King of Light, and the way she wished to see him again after all these years. Luna smiled.

"I believe so," She nodded. "Though I know nothing to compare it to."

"You just know," Inertia gripped her hands a little tighter, offering her comfort. "If the very thought of him makes your heart stop, or if seeing him gives you butterflies, or if you dream about him at night… you love him."

"Is that what you feel for my brother?" Luna inquired, deflecting the question. Inertia blinked. She had, once upon a time. She still did, to a degree. But the way he'd hurt her made her question every feeling she'd ever had.

"I… did," Inertia hesitated. Luna frowned.

"What happened?" She asked seriously. Inertia swallowed.

"I… Loqi…" She was crying before she even realized it.

"What is it?" Luna asked gently, squeezing her hands tighter. Inertia tried to speak through her sobs.

"He… the night before he left the manor, he showed up in my room, in the middle of the night, and he… he…" She was weeping, and Luna didn't make her finish. She let go of her hands long enough to throw her arms around her, and they sat together like that, Luna holding her as she cried, letting her sob for as long as she needed to.

"Ravus hates me now," Inertia murmured. Luna pulled away, holding Inertia's face in her hands.

"He could never hate you," She assured her.

"He blames me," Inertia bit her lip, trying not to shake. She couldn't look away - Luna's hands on her face forced her to look her in the eye. "He asked if I thought of him when I opened my legs for Loqi."

Her tears were gone now - everything in her had gone cold at the memory.

Luna's face darkened, and she let go of Inertia's face.

"I see."

Her voice sounded different - cold. Calculating.

"He was fighting me in the training yard," Inertia hiccuped. "He screamed at me to stop crying and broke my daggers…" She traced the edge of Luna's chair with her fingers, troubled. "I don't want them fixed. I don't want to see them again."

"Inertia," Luna's voice interrupted her thoughts. She looked up to find Lunafreya's face was caring, but also, somehow, grave. "Whatever you want, whatever you need, you need only ask. You know that, yes?"

Inertia nodded, slow and ashamed.

"Take the rest of the night for yourself. I can finish the quilts on my own," She smiled down at her, a beautiful, sweet smile that touched her eyes. "Thank you for trusting me with this. I admire your strength and your courage."

"Thank you, milady," Inertia bowed her head and saw herself out, quick to scurry back to her room before running into Ravus somewhere in the manor. He kept mostly to himself since their argument, but she feared if she saw him again, she might break into a thousand little pieces, just like the rest of her heart.

She crawled into her bed as soon as she reached her room, hiding beneath the covers, haunted by the memories of men who hurt her.

"Ravus."

He turned to face her, a smile overtaking his face when he laid his eyes on her.
"Sister," He greeted her warmly, taking her in his arms and kissing her cheek. "Come to see me off?"

Lunafreya crossed her arms, eyeing the train in the station he was about to embark upon. Back to the capital - back into the Empire's clutches.

It wasn't until Inertia told her of his betrayal that she'd understood how far he'd fallen.

"Brother," She hesitated, a little unsure of where to begin.

Inertia Izunia wasn't a conventional retainer by any means. She hadn't been raised in the Nox Fleuret retinue, or in any royal retinue, to be frank. She hadn't been conceived by orthodox means - she was grown in a lab. A test subject of the Chancellor of Niflheim, grown from his own DNA. For all intents and purposes, she was more of an experiment than she was a daughter. Though both definitions held true.

But she'd caught Lunafreya's eye when she nursed an ailing Umbra back to health, and kept her interest when she witnessed her proficiency for healing the Starscourge, something she thought only herself capable of.

Her purity of heart, her integrity, and her selfless kindness were vastly more important than her rough speech, her unconventional upbringing, and her prowess in combat.

With nowhere else for the girl to go, she'd taken her in without hesitation.

And it had been the most rewarding experience of her life.

She was bold, and brash, and stubborn, and disagreed with Luna on many different subjects, but, at the same time, she challenged her to be better, to question herself and consider her decisions before making them. Even still, she was always there to lend an ear or a hand. She volunteered at the local animal shelter, in the orphanages, at the homeless shelters, seeing fit to put herself in the trenches, rather than dictating others go there in her stead, a habit Luna began to adopt for herself. How easy was it to preach from her position in Fenestala Manor?

No. Real change came from the act of doing, not of speaking.

This girl, so different from herself, was also very much the same. She even thought they shared the same eyes, though maybe she'd just been around her too long.

And she was more a sister to her than Ravus had ever been her brother.

"What is it, Lunafreya?" Ravus interrupted her thoughts, offering her a quizzical look. She steeled her resolve, gritting her teeth.

"Your treatment of Inertia hasn't escaped my notice," She warned. "I believe you owe her an apology."

"Not you too, Luna," He spat. His face went dark, his eyes cold, and she was a little disturbed, to see her brother looking so hateful. "I'm sure she told you her sob story? Typical."

"You forget I see the truth in people's hearts, brother," Luna was sure to emphasize the last word. "She was raped, and you blame her for it? How dare you."
"How dare I?" He was inches from her face then, glaring down at her as a master would his slave. "How dare YOU. You take her side, when I am your own flesh and blood!"

"And yet, she's more a sister to me than you've ever been my brother," Luna challenged him. His eyes glazed over with an emotion she couldn't place.

"Why is it that you trust outsiders more than me?" He begged. "Even as our mother burned, you trusted King Regis, the coward, more than you trusted me."

"Because I see the good in people, Ravus," She took his hands in her own, desperate to bring her back toward the light. The Empire had only ever darkened his heart to the world, instead of opening it up. "You can too, if you so desire it."

"There is no such thing as good in people," He tossed her hands away, turning away from her. "Inertia's extinguished any such hope in me of that."

"Is there no chance you will see reason?" Luna's voice shook.

"She slept with Loqi, Lunafreya," His voice broke. "The girl who was supposed to be mine, the girl who was supposed to love me, slept with another man. What if Noctis slept with another? How would you feel? How would you forgive that?"

"Do not involve Noctis in this!" She threatened him. "He's a child, a boy of 16. And it wasn't Inertia's choice," Luna glared at him. "You know that. But it's easier for you to distrust her than accept that your precious Imperial friend is a coward, and a liar."

"Loqi's done more for me than any of you," Ravus hissed. He turned on her wildly, frantic. "The Empire has done more for me than Tenebrae ever has."

"Then go, Ravus," She gestured towards the train, ignoring the eyes of her people upon her, the excited shrieks of children who wished to see their Oracle, the whispers of the adults who wondered just what it was the Nox Fleuret siblings were arguing about. "Go back to your Empire and don't return here again."

"You would cast me out?" Ravus asked, bewildered. The look of heartbreak in his eyes punched Luna in the stomach, but it was clear the Empire had taken what was left of her brother and twisted it into an ugly, demented thing. "You would choose her over me?"

"You made that choice yourself, brother," She said quietly.

He didn't say another word as he boarded the train, and Luna didn't even greet her people as she made her way back to Fenestala. He had made his choice, and she had made hers. She prayed one of the Nox Fleuret siblings stood on the right side of history.

Inertia awoke with a start, sweat beading her brow.

What had she just seen?

She remembered the conversation with Lunafreya like it was yesterday; something had changed that day, the day she confided in her about Loqi's act of depravity and Ravus's betrayal. They had been close for some time, but something between them came to life, and they were closer than they'd ever been. She knew after that day they were sisters, blood-related or not, and her time here in the Citadel was her first extended period away from her Lady.

And while she'd found herself jealous of Barrick's family, she knew she had family waiting for her, too.

Did you do this? She only just noticed Griseo looking down at her from above; he hadn't been sleeping at all.

And what if I did? He cooed, a little tongue-in-cheek. She laughed, shoving him off.

Did you conspire with Gentiana to show me this?

I conspire with Gentiana on a lot of things.

She rolled her eyes. He was so dramatic.

Tell Luna… tell her thank you.

She wiped away the tears at her eyes, which Griseo helped her with with one of his many tails. She laughed as he did so, a little embarrassed.

As you wish.

"Milady?" Gentiana hated to interrupt Lunafreya in her sleep, but she'd received the message from Griseo almost instantaneously after instilling the vision in Inertia's mind. It was her duty to relay these things - no matter the cost.

But Luna wasn't asleep. It was morning, and the sun kissed the heavens, dawn emblazoning the sky, and Lunafreya was already dressed and awake. She stood at the window overlooking Tenebrae, absentmindedly fingering the gown adorning the mannequin. It was her wedding gown - a Vivienne Westwood original. It had just arrived, and it had sent her soul soaring. She was thinking about both Inertia and Noctis in equal measure, for vastly different reasons.

"Yes?" She called out, though she didn't feel the need to look back. She knew who it was who sought her presence.

"Lady Inertia wishes to thank you," Gentiana offered. "For the day you cast Ravus from the manor."

She smiled to herself, tears brimming her eyes. Four years ago she'd defended Inertia against the hatred of her brother, and yet it felt like yesterday.

"She's most welcome," Lunafreya had been struggling these last few months without her loyal retainer by her side, but she knew no one was better suited to the task in Insomnia than her. She considered her to be more than a retainer now - she was an equal.

"What is it that troubles you, milady?" Gentiana came to stand by her at the window, thoughtful, eyes closed. Luna hugged herself, a chill overtaking her body, though it wasn't from the air.

"I… I struggle rectifying my duty with my feelings," She managed. She tried not to cry - she had always known this was her destiny. Gentiana had reinforced it. But with the arrival of her dress, it was hard to believe she wouldn't get to live out her fairytale ending with Noctis. The one they'd dreamed of as children. Harder still to realize her fantasies of her and Inertia raising children together in the Citadel would never come to pass.

Gentiana was thoughtful before speaking.

"'At first, the father had mourned the fate of his chosen son," She began. She walked slowly towards the window, eyes closed, communing with the Astrals. Luna didn't rush her - she listened intently. Patiently. "Yet in Tenebrae, the two found solace. It was not the Oracle who assuaged their fears, but the girl. She holds the true power.'" Her olive eyes were open now, as she had finished communing her divine message, and she was smiling at Luna. It broke her heart, and filled it with joy all the same.

"I have little to offer a king other than the voice afforded the Oracle," Luna faltered, making her way back towards the mannequin. She gazed upon her dress lovingly, excruciatingly. "Nevertheless… and, I'm afraid you might find this foolish…" She eyed the hand sewn stitches of the gown, the intricacy of the handiwork, the love with which it was created. "But… to be together with Noctis again, even if only for a short while, it… would mean the world to me." She turned to Gentiana then, with fresh resolve. "I do not seek to guide him; merely to stand beside him."

Gentiana's smile was sad, then.

"It is an honorable wish," She agreed. "Your love for Noctis is pure and true. As is your love for your sister."

"Inertia…" Lunafreya breathed.

"Does she know of your fate?" Gentiana asked gently.

"No," Lunafreya shook her head. "Neither she nor Noctis knows of my destiny. And so it shall remain for the both of them." She felt a tear escape and trickle down her cheek. "Hopefully, one day, they can forgive me."