The Far Edge of Fate (Final Fantasy XV)

CHAPTER 8 - A MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE

Training the next day resumed as normal. A few junior Glaives were perfecting their warps as Aaralyn sat beside Nyx and watched, legs dangling into the Pit. One of them had the guts to launch himself from the very top of the training grounds and didn't immediately warp. For a moment he fell, flailing and screaming, barely managing to gather his wits enough to throw his weapon before he became a wet smear on the hard concrete.

In a shower of blue sparks, the Glaive hit the ground hard with a smack loud enough to make Aaralyn wince in sympathy. They retched almost immediately, vomiting grotesquely. She was immediately glad she wasn't on cleanup duty that night.

Libertus laughed behind her and Nyx, leaning heavily on his crutches. He nudged Nyx with a friendly grin.

"How come you never lose your lunch like that?" he teased. "Just doesn't add up. Here's this ancient art, secret of the royal family and all that, it's gonna make you motion sick and yet Nyx Ulric over here never once vomited thanks to it like the rest of us. I swear-"

"Libertus! Nyx! Aaralyn!" Crowe called, cutting Libertus off. The trio turned from where they sat to watch her approach. Her expression was unreadable and it made Aaralyn uneasy. Behind her, all the Glaives were standing around, watching the TV hanging above their heads with their mouths open in shock. "Come here, guys, you gotta see this," Crowe said grimly.

That didn't bode well as Aaralyn followed Crowe to join the others. They stood awkwardly as the screen above their heads flickered. A newscaster with a receding hairline and wireframe glasses spoke grimly to his captive audience.

"Things were hectic in the capital today as the Lucian government announced the full acceptance of what some are criticizing as the unilateral peace terms proposed by Chancellor Izunia of Niflheim," the anchor said. Aaralyn felt her heart skip a beat, hardly daring to breathe in case she missed even a single word. "The signing of the truce will see governing power over all Lucian territories transferred to the Empire with the sole exception of Insomnia." At that, Libertus exchanged an outraged look with Nyx. Aaralyn held her breath, every ounce of her attention fixed on the television. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "In addition, as a symbol of the newfound peace, Prince Noctis will be wed to Lady Lunafreya of Tenebrae. In return, Niflheim guarantees the continued safety of Insomnia and its citizenry, as well as a cessation to all hostilities, bringing a decisive end to this long and bitter war."

When the anchor was finished, silence hung loud and heavy in the air. The shock and betrayal was palpable in the stiff atmosphere. What were they even saying? An acceptance of a peace treaty where Niflheim got all the land it was looking for aside from Insomnia and in return, Insomnia got what...peace exclusively for those protected by the Wall? Seriously? What about those outside of it? Cavaugh, Duscae, Galahd?!

"Are you kidding me?" she finally said, her hands curling into fists. Her gloves pulled at her skin.

"All that fighting we did," Crowe said, tone equally as bitter. "All for nothing."

With this treaty, the Kingdom of Lucis would be reduced to all but a city to its name while the Empire swallowed the entire planet. And to make matters worse...

Noctis is getting married, Aaralyn realized and immediately felt like she'd been hit by a train. She was going to lose him before she'd even had the chance to have him. She'd just managed to come to terms that her innocent crush had grown wildly out of control and now she was expected to just let those feelings fester and die and force herself to watch him marry someone else?

Aaralyn suddenly found it very hard to breathe.

What horrible news. Not only was she about to lose the one person she'd felt this strongly about in years, but she was losing her home for good. If this treaty went through, not only were all the countless battles the Kingsglaive had fought been for nothing, but the people they were fighting for had no hope of being free. All those poor people who were already forced to sit and wait out the Empire's reign—forced to stay there indefinitely now.