#ravusweek

Weeks later, Ravus lingered, nervous, behind a closed door. 

"The girl is the Oracle. The other one is - useless. Why are we keeping him around? He's just a rallying point for these idiots who think they can still have a prince." A woman's voice. Then, a slow, elderly man.  "Maybe make an example of him for all those would-be resisters popping up here and there." The woman responded eagerly. "Oh, that's perfect. A grim display; the more painful the better."

They were both interrupted by a third voice, in a lazy, languid tone. "He may yet be useful. Give it time. No rash decisions." Ravus' mind raced. He pushed down the fury and terror that rose in his throat to walk away silently.  One word continued to sound in his mind over and over. Useful. He looked at his hands, turning them over.

Another door; another group of people casually dismissing his fate as if he were an extra piece of furniture. Ravus hated listening at doors; hated sneaking, scuttling, pretending not to hear things.

He hated it less than he loved Luna. Less than the idea that, with their former prince continuing to escape execution, the people of Tenebrae might have something left to cling to.

“Such a sullen boy.”

“Too busy creating his own problems and trying to start fights over nothing.”

“Why can’t he be more like his sister? So pleasant.”

As he walked the halls of the manor, Ravus swallowed each insult in proud silence. They burned all the way down.

Many of the men of Tenebrae wore their hair long; flowing. Not in braids like in Galahd, but free and unbound.

As a sign of ownership and of Tenebrae’s complete defeat, they'd shaved Ravus’ head the day after the General murdered his parents.

It grew back white.

He wore it long after that, as long as he dared, and endured the slights and taunts about his vanity in silence. In service.

Very few people saw him, isolated as he and Lunafreya were inside the manor. It didn’t matter. He stood with and for Tenebrae nonetheless.

Left with no adults to turn anything toward him but animosity, Ravus thought often of his mother’s final moment - flinging her arms wide to shield her children from Glauca’s fury.

Sylva hadn’t been granted the mercy of any last words, but Ravus had understood her just the same.

He kept her with him, the best he could.

Useful. The word echoed as he struck at the practice dummy, again and again, until it was too dark to see.

As he ran increasing numbers of laps inside the tight borders of the grounds they were allowed, it thrummed to the rhythm of his feet.

Useful. It trailed at the end of a steamy breath in the snow as he struggled to pull himself up over a beam, then did it again, until his arms failed and he dropped to the ground.

He heard it in three different languages as he stole books, stayed up late to creep into the family library unobserved, to continue the education he'd barely begun when his world was cast to ruin.

Useful. It echoed, and Ravus forged himself into a weapon, not just because it was the only way to stay alive, though that was the immediate reason. He hated, too, and loved, just as fiercely as he feared.

As the years passed, the fear diminished, though the threats did not. No longer a terrified boy, Ravus often needed to remind himself that the satisfaction and splendor of a quick, rash death at the pleasure of his anger was not worth the inevitable punishment that would be levied on his sister and his countrymen afterward.

Useful. The word still had meaning, though it now served as a taunt, a fulfilled prophecy. They'd indulged his little swordplay for too long, they said. He'd gotten too strong, too quickly, while they weren't looking. He knew their battle plans. They had no choice but to make him High Commander, as it happened. Forces both inside and outside Fenestala Manor demanded it.  

Ravus no longer listened at doors as a matter of survival, but he still did it every now and then, though the new bulk of his six-foot-eight frame made silence more difficult.

Ravus is an emotional man. He tries his best to hide it and with success, too. Yet those who are dear to him know that his cold facade is just a cover up. 

Given this, his emotional outbursts are intense. One must be made of sturdy mettle just to be able to witness him at his rampage. Despite this, however, he never resorts to hurting anyone even though his rage has taken a violent emotional turn.

His emotions are never at a middle-ground. It’s always either extremely soft and vulnerable or an earth-shattering intensity. It’s a wonder how he can keep his composure. When he’s very much vexed and would want to punch somebody in the face if he can, he’d try to stop himself, except if it’s Noctis or Ardyn. But then, he won’t do that, of course. He’s a proper lord. Unless he deems it necessary, however.

If it’s an enemy however, they must be prepared to dig their own grave and hide, because Ravus would be merciless.

He’s very honest and won’t stop himself from speaking what is on his mind, even though he knows it can hurt. He puts absolute trust in his loved ones that they know he doesn’t mean any harm. 

This gif makes me laugh! I’ve written a post where Ravus eats all of the lemon madeleines during his tea time with Lunafreya and Queen Sylva. This fits it so well! Link to the story is at the end of the post.

He can be quite controlling at times. He never does it for harm though. He expects perfection from every one he adores. But most of all, he wants to control his life. 

Speaking of control, V knows how things will always go inside their private room. And it doesn’t mean she’s the one in control. A needy Ravus is an intense Ravus. So when Ravus goes home to Tenebrae for his vacation, expect the next few nights (or days) to be *ahem* quite sleepless.

The lord of Tenebrae hates it if a decision has been made without his knowing. He lets the others decide, but he wants to be in on it too. After all, for Ravus, communication is key.

Table manners for Ravus are a must. He’s one of those people who would judge anyone’s character just by their table manners.

He eats with an air of royalty and always conducts himself properly around everyone. Please don’t chew loudly. It irritates him to no end.

Ravus has a habit of apprehending people who disobey rules and instructions. Be it a soldier or an officer in Niflheim, a Tenebraen retainer or even Umbra and Pryna, nobody escapes his scoldings. 

Lunafreya usually gets scolded by her older brother, not because of any bad habits, but for pushing herself too far too much. He hates seeing her getting weaker by the day. Noctis, to him, does not deserve his sister’s suffering. 

Ravus apprehends V for swearing. She’s grown accustomed to living alone and accompanying men bigger than her on hunts that she’s picked up a few bad habits. Being a man of etiquette, Ravus sees this as his duty to straighten out his lover’s unruly behavior. Of course, he lets her slip a few curses here and there, but if he catches her on her own and cursing a table for stabbing her toe, he’ll have none of it. He loves her nonetheless. He thinks it’s amusing to find a woman both so feminine and masculine at the same time. 

Ravus is very meticulous about his surroundings, particularly his study and bedroom. 

His bedroom must always have matching bedsheets and blankets. Also, there should be no dust or else Ravus would turn into a sneezing mess, and no one wants to see him with watery eyes and sniffles. Although V thinks he’s quite cute when he has his allergies. He becomes extremely childlike, basking in V’s efforts in trying to make him feel better. 

His bathroom should be spic and span. No hair on the drain, please. 

There are no particular scents in his bedroom except for the natural scent of flowers coming from outside. He likes to relax surrounded by the perfume-like scent.

He hates it when people leave a mess in his study, or when they rearrange his books. Speaking of books, he keeps them in alphabetical order and by genre. If Ravus was not a prince, he’d either be a librarian, a naturalist, a healer or a scholar...with a penchant for sword wielding.

I think I’ve gone overboard again. Ravus might accuse me of over-sharing, to which I admit I am very much guilty of. I suppose I am going to have to cut it here again and proceed to put the rest in another post. Can’t help writing long things, to be frank. I hope to write posts with as much sacrosanct words as possible. I do hope you don’t mind me posting such long posts. 

Lord Ravenous Nox Fleuret : Tea & Madeleine post

A woman entered the bedroom carrying a silver tray. She wore a gold sequin short sleeved shirt with a v-neckline, black midi skirt, gold sandals with heels with a simple gold choker; she still respected and wore the colours of her family proudly even in Tenebrae. On the tray was a small Ulwaat berry cake decorated with white buttercream icing and 2 plates with a small knife and 2 spoons on the side. She had prepared this cake for the King herself knowing that he loved the dessert, fully aware that this was his childhood favourite.

The young woman was Bellatrix Lucis Caelum, younger sister of Noctis by 2 years and daughter of King Regis. The 5ft 3in Princess had fair skin with a golden undertone, an oval shaped face, with a chiselled jawline and high cheekbones, sharp almond shaped dark olive green eyes, rosy full lips, black waist length straight hair and a curvaceous body with toned legs and arms. She once had a baby face with such brightness in her innocent eyes, but now the windows of her soul held so much wisdom and endurance.

But with time and pain, she had aged well, by the grace of the Divine. The scars on her body she had gotten from fighting against General Glauca while protecting Ravus, as well as the many other scars on her wrists were still present yet dried up. The horizontal scar she had on her left cheekbone from Caligo at the signing ceremony was also healed, but the vertical scar she had gotten from fighting Ardyn was still a dark red. Her brother would tease her now that her laughing lines were more noticeable, telling her that she had gotten wrinkles even though she hadn’t turned 30 yet. But Bella didn’t mind the teasing, the 18 year old her would but she found her wrinkles, scars, stretchmarks beautiful because Ravus thought she was beautiful no matter what she looked like.  

She grew up alongside Ravus and the late Lunafreya after her father helped them escape Tenebrae 22 years ago. Both children from House Fleuret grew close to the young Prince and Princess, though Ravus would be very protective of his sister. Though Ravus was 10 years older than she was, Bella admired him greatly as a friend. After the death of her father and during the destruction of Insomnia, together Ravus and Bella escaped the city, after helping the citizens escape too. Throughout the journey, they both fell in love with each other as expected from them both since they were so close as friends and greatly admired and respected one another. They both knew their siblings were arranged to get married, but no one would have imagined the Prince of Tenebrae and the Princess of Lucis falling in love. Even after her brother went into the Crystal, Ravus stayed by her side in Lucis to help train and fight alongside the Glaives against daemons.

Now that the dawn has returned to the world, they decided to ask Noctis for his blessing that they would marry. Though very overprotective, he couldn’t say no to his sister’s happiness. In a way both Lucis and Tenebrae were unified, not by the marriage of Noctis and Luna but by Bellatrix and Ravus; bittersweet fate Ignis called it.

The Princess walked towards him, sitting down beside him and placing the tray onto the table, whilst placing her hands on his. He looked at her and her mouth curved into a smile; that smile which never seemed to change, one which was as bright as dawn itself. The corners of his mouth quirked up too as he held her hands which looked small against his. Though his hand was rough, she admired it and loved holding his hand. She loved everything about him, his mismatched eyes, the lines which formed when he laughed or smiled, the freckles on his cheeks which reminded her of starry constellations, even the burn marks from where the Ring of Lucii burnt him and the scars on his wrist. She would always love them and place gentle kisses on them whenever she could.

He looked down at her hands seeing she was wearing the rings which belonged to her mother and her would have been mother in law. Bella wore her mother’s ring on her right wedding finger, the ring looked a lot like the Ring of Lucii but the crystal was from an asteroid which fell from the starry heavens when the late Regis and Aulea were on a date. The ring she wore on her left wedding finger was a white gold diamond round halo ring with a single blue sapphire in the middle, which Ravus proposed to her 6 months ago on one of the many hills in Tenebrae which was covered in Sylleblossoms. This ring belonged to the late Sylva Via Fleuret and he felt it was the best way to honour her memory by giving it to the other woman he loved the most.

“You’re going to look more handsome than you already are in that outfit, Ravy.” She stated in her soft harmonious voice. His eyes twinkled at the mention of his nickname which only Bella would use to address him as blood rushed to his pale cheeks. “I can’t even call you Prince Charming anymore. King Charming would have to do.” She winked and he chuckled.

“I cannot believe you still call me that after 20 years.” He replied.

“Well it is true.” Bella said in a sing song tone of voice. “Now, I made your favourite cake.” His mismatched orbs sparkled when he saw the cake on the tray and she had cut them both a slice, though his was much bigger.

“You still remember.” Ravus sighed.

“I also still remember you stealing my cake when we were younger.” She giggled. “You loved cake more than anything else, I mean you still do.”

“Now you are on par with cake.” He mumbled and she furrowed her eyebrows whilst setting down the plate in front of him.

“I don’t know whether that is sweet or just plain weird. My brother’s undying love for fishing, Gladio’s obsession with cup noodles and your unconditional love for cake. By now I should be used to it, but it’s still hilarious.” She shook her head. “Well I hope you like it, Ignis and I have been trying to get the recipe right for weeks.”

The Tenebraen King cut a piece of cake and placed it into his mouth. He chewed and closed his eyes whilst sighing. Bella’s hands were slightly sweaty from his expression since she worried the cake wasn’t good. She ensured the sponge was soft so he could cut it with his only hand, and that cake was soft and airy but also not so sweet since the Ulwaat berries were sweet as it is. The buttercream was also sweet but not to the point where it would hurt his teeth either.

“I don’t like it.” He opened his eyes and saw his fiancée’s bottom lip quivering as she sniffled; goodness she was still so cute even at 28. “I love it.” Instantly her eyes brightened up and she grinned.

“I’m glad!” She exclaimed and started to dig in. They both enjoyed their cake together in silence until the woman’s mood suddenly changed. She looked up at Ravus with a frown and sighed after swallowing some tea.

“Ravus…” The man looked up at her with his mouth filled with a big piece of cake. If her mood hadn’t have changed so drastically, she would have been dying of laughter; but this was serious. “We’re getting married in a week...” She began and he chewed on his cake then swallowed it down in a big gulp. Ravus watched the Lucian Princess as she fiddled with her hair, a habit whenever she was nervous. “Are you sure you want to spend the rest of your life, with me?”

The man wasn’t surprised by the question because he knew that since she was young she was so insecure about herself, doubting if she was ever good enough. His eyebrows lowered as he took her hand in his again and she looked up at him.

“Yes, I want to spend the rest of my life with you, loving you more than anything.” He replied. “I know you are still so insecure about yourself. But believe me, Bella. After everything that has happened, after I lost my mother, after I lost Luna, there was no person so devoted to me than you. Even during the Starscourge, you showed utmost devotion to me, even though for 10 years you took responsibility as a Queen of Lucis though your brother was not present. You have loved and respected me, treating me not as a Prince or a King, but as the boy you grew up with and the man you fell in love with. You saved me, in more ways than one…” He glanced at the scars on his wrists. “After losing all my family, you reminded me to live, not just for myself but for them. There is no other woman more perfect for me than you.”