[Ardyn x Reader] After Insomnia's Fall

Chapter VI: In Enemy Territory

"I want a box of antibiotics and a box of painkillers, please." You tell the clerk while you place the 5000 gil on the table.

"Don't worry, child. It'll only be 4200 gil." He tells you from behind the counter, smiling kindly, the bag where he puts the order crinkling, setting your teeth on edge.

"I'm so thankful." You answer him wholeheartedly. "You can't imagine how much it means." You thank him picking the change, putting on the black hood once more and picking up the bag to return to your house.

A week has passed by and you haven't spoken with Ardyn again. His absence makes you feel extremely lonely, and your desire to see him does nothing but gain strength the more time it passes. But you don't know where he is, or with whom, or what he is doing. Not to say that he doesn't pick up the phone either.

You haven't gone hunting yet, since the reward for the Bandersnatch is enough to cover the expenses of this month and the next one. Deep inside, you wanted to relieve your stress by hunting, but the idea of risking your life for a simple whim wasn't significant enough.

You haven't had that vivid dream again and you decide it's best not to talk about it with anyone for now, except with Ardyn... someday. Neither has there been any more tremors, and in the radio no one comments anything about the meteorite anymore.

The climate reflects your mood; The sky has been crying since last week, the cold freezing your bones. The street is puddly and the water has soaked your boots, your feet almost numb. However, the cold is what least concerns you now; The worsening of your grandmother's health being your main problem.

Your grandmother coughs have multiplied, coughs so dry it hurts just to hear them. She has lost her appetite and you, worried and novice in how to treat ill people, don't know what to do. You have tried cooking a dozen different dishes: Rice, sea bass saute, noodles, fish sticks... and she is not able to finish any of them. Not only the meal time is a problem, but the starscourge, in more than one occasion, has taken control of her at night.

You still remember a couple of days ago how your grandmother had burst into laughter in the middle of the night. A guttural laugh, which seemed to come from hell itself, went over the house as if it were its palace. Her eyes had become jet-black, her nails turning into claws that threatened to skin someone with a swift movement. Though she was peacefully sitting on the chair at all time, you took precautions and stayed the whole night in the same room as her, guns in hand. Even Nebula had snarled at her and had cooperated with you on her watch during the night. You didn't want to hurt her, but you would if you had to, before she came near your brother.
You already had enough with almost losing your whole family for you to add another number.

Your schedule, then, was completely upside down. You would be awake during the silent night and sleep as much as you could during the day, as long as duties didn't wake you up.

The villagers have become more likeable, kinder. They made you discounts on purchases even though the original price was on the tickets, and they would just put a stamp on the back of it that you really didn't know what it was for, but it seems to mark the discount. They would smile at you more often, give you presents and even stop you on the street to tell you how much they admire your efforts. All their actions reached your heart, their empathy making your heart overflow with happiness. Their attitude contrasted with the mistrust that had emanated from them until now. Anyway, if the change was for the better, why would you even complain?

You get home and you see Nebula sheltering from the rain, while destroying your favorite flowers.

"There are no more flowers, right?" You reproach him as you walk past and up the stairs. You leave the painkillers and antibiotics on the kitchen counter, and you sit on the old couch to watch TV for a while, taking advantage of the fact that the others are still asleep. Without taking off your soaked boots, you turn on the tv, the images slowly appearing on the screen. A recording of Lady Lunafreya. How timely, you think.

Little by little you identify Tenebrae, the kingdom of the Oracles. An old man is sitting on a wooden box, leaning on his cane and held by a young man. Lady Lunafreya approaches him, her hands glowing with a yellowish light, almost divine. Forehead resting against forehead, she pronounces:

"Blessed Stars of life and light, deliver us from darkness blight"

You can't keep on watching. You turn off the TV and throw the remote to the other end of the sofa. You feel impotent and weak. Your grandmother is dying, she's turning into a monster. And yet, nobody comes to help her. Since you came here, you have written a score of letters to Lady Lunafreya, begging her to heal your grandmother. But she hasn't come, nor will. And now she's getting married, and while she rejoices with a big celebration in Altissia, the others die slowly.

The Starscourge gets worse every night, and you know right now that even the magic of the oracle will not heal her. You would need an even greater miracle, but none of the six will come to help you.

A loud noise draws your attention. The sound of an engine breaking the distance pierces your ears. But it's not an ordinary engine. It's one that brings you memories that you'd rather keep locked up. It's one you know well since the fall of Insomnia.

Through the window you see a red aircraft landing near the entrance of the village, where rocks don't cover the pavement, raising a dense layer of dust. You get off the couch and place the guns in their holsters. You quickly wake up Victor and your grandmother. You can never know what the soldiers might want, either from the Empire or from Lucis, and it's best to keep up your guard no matter what.

You leave the house and you order Nebula to flee. You stare at your partner, stroking his fur. "Do not let them see you." That's all you ask from him. Nebula rubs against you and runs near the wall, its speed making him reach quickly the northern exit. He turns back for a moment, looking doubtful. You nod with confidence, and it's the only gesture he needs to turn his back on you and run away.

In the end, you were really going to add one more number to your list.

It doesn't occur to you what they may want in such a quiet area. From the ship descends a dozen armed soldiers and a blond woman with a striking red and black armor, a spear in hand. As she leaves the aircraft, the soldiers advance, submachine guns pointing to the ground but prepared for shooting. The woman raises her hand and with a mute command they stop. The village chief leaves his home and joins the other villagers, who have also come out of their homes intrigued by the new guests. The woman advances towards him and exchanges words that the rain silences. Suddenly, dozens of eyes stare at you. You stay stuck in the place where a few minutes ago played your best friend.