Hearth and Home | Nyx Ulric | FFXV

Chapter 6

Silence overtook Aeliana's room as she sat in front of her vanity, readying herself for the council meeting that will be taking place soon. She opened her jewelry box and took out a pair of crystal earrings passed down from her mother when she was a little girl. She gently started to secure each earring one by one as she let out a deep, harsh sigh. She was nervous. What if she was right and these nightmares are prophecies of what is to come? If these meetings did give her the clues she was looking for, how would she put it to use? What could she do to save her kingdom if even the people that were close to her didn't believe her?

Nyx. Aelia still felt a pain in her chest after what she foolishly said to him. She understood why he never talks about the tragic event with his sister. His situation is completely different from hers. She is trying to save her family from what may or may not even come, and yet he's lost all of his, due to the evils of the Niflheim empire. If anyone could understand, it would be you. But you don't believe me.

Aelia glanced over to the two daggers sitting in a black decorative box on her bed. She wrapped each blade delicately with long, wide purple ribbons. Aelia stood up from her chair and made her way towards the box. She ran her fingers over the thick fabric that took the shape of each blade. Aelia felt her face start to warm as she thought back to the time when she purchased these daggers with Crowe. Do you think he'll like it? ...Nyx? He'll love it... Because he loves you.

"... I love him too."

She closed her eyes, her whisper very faint. A single tear ran down her cheek. Whatever it takes, I will do it. For hearth and home... for him.

Aeliana's eyes popped open as she heard a loud knock on her door.

"Aelia, it's me! Can I come in?" Noctis. Aelia shook her head as she wiped the tear away from her cheek.

"Yes!" She called out. The door slowly opened as Noctis stepped through with a small tin box in his hand. Aelia grinned and walked towards her brother as he shut her door. "I feel like it's been forever since I've seen you, little brother," she said as she wrapped her arms around him in a hug.

"It's only been a few days," Noct chuckled as he hugged her back. "In any case, I missed you too."

Aelia pulled away and smiled as she cleared a strand of loose black hair away from his blue eyes with her fingers. "What brings you to my part of the Citadel?" she asked.

"Well, Ignis said you asked him to make a dessert for you and I offered to bring it over. Here's your Fluffy Shiva Cake," Noctis answered, handing her the tin box.

"Fluffy Chiffon Cake," Aeliana giggled as she took the box from him. "And yes, I did ask him to make it for me. I don't trust my baking abilities. Not for something like this."

"You shouldn't trust it for anything. Remember the time when you almost burned down the Citadel because you were trying to bake cookies?" Noct smirked as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"I didn't almost burn down the Citadel!" Aelia gawked. "... I just slightly set a fire in the kitchen. That's what you all get when you leave me unsupervised in front of an oven."

"... and the time you burnt a pot trying to boil water," he cackled.

"SHUT UP, LITTLE BROTHER!" Aelia shouted, not able to hide her laughter. "Fine, let's just say we all learned lessons back then. That's why I asked Ignis to help me today. It's Nyx's birthday and he loves this dessert."

Noctis smiled and nodded. "I see. Did you get him anything?" he asked curiously.

"I did." Aeliana gestured toward the black box on her bed. She placed the tin carton on her vanity as she followed Noctis towards Nyx's present. "They're a set of rare daggers. The weapons dealer said they were called the Kukris," Aelia explained as she took one of the cloaked blades and slowly unraveled it.