FFXV: Subvert Fate

10 - Share His Grief

"""""""""""""""""""""

"What did King Regis want to talk to you about today?" Ignis asks her as he prepares dinner for the five of them.

"Oh," Chrys says, sounding startled by his question. Ignis turns slightly to look at her from the corner of his eye as he chops vegetables. Chrys has taken her long jacket off and she looks small, knees tucked to her chest on the sofa, bare feet peaking out from her dark pants. She winds the long arms of her sleeves down over her fingers in a nervous gesture, always so protective of her thoughts. She'd offered to help cook dinner but Ignis noticed the dark circles under her eyes and insisted she relax, which, chrys being Chrys, only makes her more tense. She also doesn't like him cooking for her and it took him a couple of weeks to understand that it is because she has never been waited on in her entire life. She shifts a bit on the couch, tucking further into herself, fingers winding and unwinding on her sleeves. Ever in motion is Chrys, almost as if she doesn't want to stop and think.

He has managed not to pry into her past so far, but he is insatiable curious about it. The fact that she has been meeting with the King on occasion on her own also has his mind running wild with theories about why she was chosen to join the Crownsguard.

"Um...., he wanted to talk about my role in Noctis's kingsguard." Her words sound true enough but Iggy has learned Chrysanthem is a master of partial truths, never lying or outright avoiding, but only telling them part of the whole, although what she tells them is always true. It's not malicious, it's just not all of the truth.

"Oh?" Ignis asks, sliding the vegetables into the skillet, an invitation in his tone.

Still afraid of displeasing him, Chrys hesitantly adds, "He is teaching me to understand how the prince will someday be able to wield the power of the kings of old." Her shoulders hunch defensively about her ears when Ignis turns green eyes to her. "I am having to adjust how I fight to accommodate the prince's ability to warp," she explains quietly. Ignis can see the self-censure on her face. Even though learning a new fighting style is difficult, Chrys gets frustrated with herself if she doesn't amster it quickly, even if she puts in twice the amount og practice time as any of the other kingsguard members, himself included.

"And... the king wanted me to....," Chrys trails off, her teeth worrying her bottom lip. The little movements on Chrys speak volumes and Ignis finds himself turning to watch her more closely. He's watching her facial expressions so carefully that he almost misses her next words.

"His majesty wants me to..." Her eyes are confused and sad. "He wants me to make sure I am there for Noctis... in times of sadness and grief."

Ignis puts down his parring knife with care. "That is... an interesting request."

She nods, eyes distracted, on something he can't see. "I'm not sure I understand..," she says hesitantly.

"I'm sure it will become clear with time," Ignis says sagely although he does not himself know the hidden meaning behind the King's words either.

Then Chrys's head swivels around as the latch on the apartment door releases and Noctis and Prompto tumble in, talking about arcade games and girls and the moment of reverie is gone. Chrys jumps up to help set the table, whisking condiments out of the fridge before Ignis can ask for any help, intuitively choosing the best options for the stir fry he has prepared. She seems to want to be useful, the confusion of the king's audience something to shake now and examine later.

When she takes the salad bowl from his hands, body whipping around in an effort to be useful, he holds on to it for a moment longer to get her attention. Her sepia eyes turn to him, wide and young and he gives her a long knowing look. She flushes and then nods, a small promise that they will talk about this in the future.

""""""""""""""""""""""""""

They join Chrys and Cid out on the tarmac, the two of them talking in low voices that stop as the four boys join them. Cid's eyes on her are interested, like he's suddenly taking note of her in a way that he didn't when they first came to Hammerhead. It's strange to see how Chrys fades in and out of the background, to notice when other notice her.

Cid turns to them as the kingsguard gathers round. He folds his arms and looks at Noctis.

"Cor left a message," Cid tells them. "Said he'll wait for ya in the tombs. They're to the northwest of here, just a short ways past the outpost. Find that first."

Cid leaves them to it, Ignis backing the Regalia out of the garage. When the rest of them go to pile in, Ignis takes rare initiative and says, "Perhaps Chrys would like shotgun this time."

Gladio narrows his eyes at Ignis, suspecting an ulterior motive but unable to place it. Prompto whines but capitulates, squeezing in between Gladio and Noct in the backseat. Chrys trades a questioning glance with Ignis before taking the passenger's seat, a wariness to her movements that suspects that she also thinks Ignis is up to something.

They hit the road under blue skies, puffy clouds sailing overhead. It isn't long before Noct and Prompto have fallen asleep in the backseat, dozing on each others shoulder's after the stress and uncertainty of the past few days. Gladio reads for a while, then gives in as well and settles in for a cat nap.

Chrys has her eyes on the surroundings and hasn't said anything since getting in, but Ignis can feel her wanting to ask him now that its only the two of them that are awake. She stays quiet though and Ignis worries that she may have indeed slipped back into her old deferential self. It will take time to extract the Chrys they know again.

"Thank you," Ignis says to her quietly. She glances at him out of the corner of her eye.

"For what?" she asks softly.

"Comforting Noctis," Ignis says. "None of us, myself included, had the right words for him at the Overlook." He injects a bit of humor because that always seems to help Chrys to be less serious. "You knew exactly what he needed."

Chrys is quiet for a long time. "I promised," she finally whispers. "I promised the King to understand his son's grief."

They are silent as the miles roll by. It remains unsaid that Regis understood he would perish long before his son was ready to understand his passing. That Regis would have known and looked to Chrys to understand his son's anger for what it is is a harrowing, humbling thing and it shows on Chrys's face in flashes of vulnerability.

"I would say you've fulfilled that promise," Ignis says to her. She is looking out at the rolling hills, chewing on one knuckle but gives the smallest of nods. There is a tightness to her eyes and Ignis has mercy and lets her be.

"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""

"Have you found it yet?"

The young man's voice is raspy and harsh, his white blonde hair creating a halo around a face that is anything but angelic with that snarling mouth.

The solider shakes his head. "No sir, there is not sign of it yet but we have at least four more royal apartments to search."

The blonde man scowls, "Keep working, we need to locate the Conduit. The king must have stored it somewhere where his son could find it if he managed to return to the Crown City. Find it."

The soldier gives a shaky salute as the blonde commander turns in a swirl of white coat. "It must be here," he mutters to himself. "It has to be."