⛦Final Fantasy XV⛦The Divine Necromancer

Chapter XXII - Confession

"Go-on-do-laaaa~!"

Kat almost jumped out of her skin at the sound of someone deeply singing behind her. Her hands were on instinct wrapped around Gladiolus's muscular arm, which made him look at her strangely. Behind her, by the water on a gondola stood a man; a gondolier. She received a strange look from the man, but Kat couldn't help herself; she certainly didn't realize he was there.

"Care for a ride?" The man wondered, trying to hide the fact he felt awkward by Kat's frightened stare.

"Can you take us to Maagho?" Ignis wondered.

"Of course!" The man exclaimed and gestured for the five of them to enter.

Kat didn't let go of Gladiolus arm and together they sat on the side of gondola while the other three took a seat on the soft chairs. The gondolier stared at Kat, wondering if he was such a bad singer that made a foreign woman give him such a stare. Kat glanced at him, feeling uncomfortable by his staring. She held herself close to Gladiolus, knowing that if anything happens, Gladio will definitely do his thing.

"Are you okay?" Gladiolus asked her in a whisper.

"Did you hear his vocal cords?" Kat wondered in a whisper. "Damn."

At this point, Gladiolus no longer knew if she was frightened or amazed by the gondolier. Noctis gave her a strange look and she retuned that strange look before she let out a giggle. Her hands finally unwrapped around Gladiolus's arm and she started to observe her surroundings as the gondola started to move. She saw so many people, cheerfully walking through the streets and laughing together. It was a city of love as much as Kat figure out. And in this city, engagement between Oracle and Prince was the main topic. It was painful to hear someone you love is paired with someone else, but Kat started to get used to that pain.

With a few turns on the water around the corners, the gondolier finally got them to the floating market station- Maagho. Scent of different kind of a food immediately filled Kat's lungs and she could hear her stomach rumbling inside of her. Once the gondola came to final stop, the five of them exited the boat carefully and their attention almost immediately fell onto the bartender whose eyes followed them.

"Welcome to Accordo, lass and lads." The man greeted them. "Cid mentioned you'd be dropping in." He added and they approached his bar. "Weskham Armaugh, as you've gathered. My word..." He examined Noctis for a bit. "You've grown, little Prince."

Weskham crossed his arms across his chest and his eyes fell onto the only girl in their company. Kat felt strange feeling go across her body as the man stared at her carefully. She felt as if he recognized her. But before she could gather words to question him, his eyes landed back onto the Prince.

"So, this is your maiden visit. Enjoying it so far?" Weskham wondered. "You doubtless have many questions, so ask away." Straight to business man. Like. Kat commented in herself.

"Okay...This country is a part of the empire, isn't it?" Noctis asked, not holding back from asking.

"You're wary, I understand." The man chuckled. "But there's no need to jump at every shadow. Just be aware that the terms of our independence grant the empire free rein to come and go as they please."

"We'll bear that in mind." Ignis nodded.

"It's admittedly a one-sided arrangement. Most everything we do requires Niflheim's permission, and they wouldn't knowingly permit the Oracle to appear before the public. How our government spun that is quite a mystery." Weskham answered.

"You really think Luna will make an address?" Noctis wondered, hope in his voice to have a chance to see her after all those twelve years.

"If every recent radio broadcast is to be trusted, absolutely."