Fire & Blood

Oh dear, here she comes. The Princess, the next in line to becoming Empress as Iedolas’ son was no longer with the living. Ardyn never really liked her, found her a bit… headstrong in a way, she wouldn’t be as easily manipulated as Iedolas was for sure, even if they did absolutely brainwashed her into thinking the Lucians were nothing but the enemy. Though, it wasn’t exactly lies, but they never allowed her to see the world for what it was outside, how Niflheim was the only nation sick enough to use daemons to develop their army.

Ardyn never knew when the dragons came into play either, he kind of wondered how she came into having them, Iedolas wouldn’t tell him, and they weren’t to be slain either. They reminded Ardyn a bit much of the Draconian to be honest, he wasn’t a lover of dragons for most part.

“You hate the Lucians that much, do you?” He questioned her, he always wondered if this was an act— he knew she was rebellious enough for Iedolas to keep her under watch at all times. A prisoner in her own home. “You could have got hurt, dear.” Oh, he had a feeling she would have hated those words, “It was the Emperor’s decision to not include you.” A lie, it was really Ardyn’s decision, the whole thing was Ardyn’s idea.

“Also, we really can’t control who and who can’t be there, not when we’re dealing with the enemy.” His tone was so condescending toward her, Ardyn really did look at the Emperor’s daughter like she was below him, and was always going to be below him. Really, the only individual keeping her father alive was him, himself. “Hmmm… what you can do, I wonder…” Ardyn took a step closer to the woman, looking down at her as if she was nothing but a naughty child, “—you can stay here, and out of the way, Princess.~”

"Was that ever in question?" Daenerys narrowed her eyes at the mention of her father and almost laughed in the Chancellor's face. She didn't believe that for a second, not when it concerned the man who had attempted to burn her alive for what he believed to be theft of family heirlooms. Truthfully, they were pieces that she had the right to, it would never be theft in her eyes.

That tone from him... it stoked a fire deep in her heart and Daenerys wanted to see the man bleed for how he spoke to her. She would have to bide her time for now, at least that was her plan until he began treating her like a child. Truthfully, she was short and just barely met the middle of his chest, but she was far from being one.

"You very well could control who was and wasn't there, I'm not an imbecile." A smirk came over her face and she tilted her head as she turned and started walking away. Above, the three serpentine beings banked to her position but it was Drogon who landed.

Climbing onto his back, her smile had turned sinister by the time she looked at Ardyn once more. Her voice carried beyond the courtyard, marking the area with her enthusiasm. "You say stay out of the way but I hear 'burn Lestallum to the ground.' Should I simply go after the train of Insomnian refugees? They're moving along the roads like scattered ants."

     The way their steps echoed through the streets as they walked was almost unsettling. It was dead quiet, now that there wasn’t any life, human or daemon, left in the area. Seeing the destruction and how everything succumbed to time once more reminded Noctis of Insomnia, the atmosphere here was very similar compared to it. And Insomnia had been dead quiet too, after the dawn was brought. Another parallel that made Noctis think, but was interrupted as Daenerys slipped through rusted doors and into an abandoned store, causing him to follow with fast paced steps.

     He heard her mumble as they both looked around, it looked like she was taking notes, and he assumed it was for the supplies that were still good. Noctis approached her, ready to ask if there was anything he could do, but instead she spoke. What she said, it… all sounded so wrong. Upside down, turned around. He never really know much of what his father discussed with his council, but he knew they had the wall and magical barrier for a reason, which was to keep Insomnia safe, should Niflheim attack, which they could’ve done at any time, for they were already erecting and occupying bases all over the rest of Lucis, which the crystal’s magical barrier couldn’t reach.

     Noctis looked at Daenerys in disbelief when she told him what the Emperor had told not only her, but to his people as well — he didn’t know much about what his grandfather and ancestors before him had preached to the lucians but Noctis knew his father had better things to do than spread negative propaganda about Niflheim. It made him wonder how the people of Gralea and the rest of the Empire reacted to the news of the peace treaty — because he remembered how happy people in Insomnia were. And then the invasion happened, shattering this dream of peace over night.

     There was a look in Daenerys’ eyes, if only for a fleeting moment, that Noctis mirrored as he heard of all those things. He wanted to say something but he didn’t know what. It all sounded so unbelievable, he didn’t even know what to think. It was as if his mistrust conflicted with his empathy. Hadn’t she faced him when she spoke, he probably wouldn’t have believed her, pushed it away as if it was a lie to gain sympathy and then stab him in the back the next chance just because he let down his guard. And still, her words lingered in his mind, even as she walked past him and out of the store.

     For a moment, he just stood there before he caught himself and walked outside as well, meeting Daenerys again.

          “So, uhm… What are we gonna do from here? Just look through all those.. shops, see if they got supplies we can still use… and then, what?” A pause. “The sun’s going down too.” It’s not like there were any daemons to worry about anymore, but soon it would become hard to see anything outside and Noctis was tired from everything that happened in Insomnia still.

Daenerys glanced to the sky and found that he was right. Seeing it darken made her feel nauseated with anxiety - would it return the next day? Rumor said he'd brought the dawn back to Eos but the darkness brought too many memories with it. For a moment, she wondered if she'd be able to handle sleeping in it anymore.

"We should find a light source and continue on, yes. Nights in Gralea are quite cold, we'll need to hurry." Actively ignoring the clothes on the ground near her, Daenerys continued down the street. As it were, there was only one shop that still had a glass front and she paused in front of it.

Of all the places, it wasn't surprising a pawn shop would have remained mostly intact. Bars were in front of the glass and she supposed that was part of why. So she tried the door and pulled. It came open with some resistance, scraping loudly against the concrete. If anyone attempted to get in, they'd know at least.

"Pawn shops are notorious for having all kinds of things. Perhaps we can find something inside, if not, then there has to be weapons or even clothing and blankets upstairs that we can use." Bringing Drogon back would be nearly impossible - he was likely out hunting by then - and she doubted she could call him.

Daenerys glanced back at Noctis and gave him a smile, a nervous glint in her eyes. Night wasn't as friendly now as it was ten years ago, it would take her years to unlearn that vigilance. Once inside, she flipped the light switch.

Nothing.

It wasn't surprising. Gralea had gone without power for a while now but she had thought for certain that the citizens had changed to solar po--... Solar power. So far, they'd only had perhaps eight hours or so of sunlight. It would take a while, if at all, for it to be viable again.