Exeuntes, a Story Based on Final Fantasy XV

Chapter XII: Accession, Part I

An Introductory Note:

I haven't updated in a month once again, whoops! I'm really sorry about that. I'm amending my goal once again to uploading at least one chapter every month. Since this chapter turned out to be longer than I had hoped, it will be split into two parts for easier reading (and because I don't have everything completely written for Part II). So, without further ado, we begin the main story once again.

Song for this chapter:

18. Meant to Be by Bebe Rexha

Pictured: Front entrance of Il Palazzo Altemeria (the Altemeria Palace) on the day of the coronation; general populace seen in large numbers.

September 7th, 2020 - Edited yet again; I'm still not too happy about this chapter but I'm much too lazy to do a complete rewrite... I hope it's still better than it was before.

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"Hurry up, Rhea! We're going to be late!" Nathan shouts, already waiting inside the gondola taking them to the palace.

"I should have factored in your tardiness when announcing the time at which we would be leaving..." Domani thinks aloud, looking displeased as he checks his watch.

"Sorry guys! I was making sure I had everything I need," she replies, climbing into the gondola.

"Going to be a tight fit..." Vincent notes, taking a seat next to Domani.

"I assure you, it will only be for a few minutes, I'm sure we can all handle it," the man sitting next to him responds.

"At least I get to sit next to His lovely Excellency," Jordan teases, moving his body closer to Nathan's.

He instinctively pulls back as Jordan barely brushes his arm, "I... I'm going to sit over there," Nathan says, pointing to a small space beside Rhea.

After taking his seat, the gondola finally starts moving, another one swiftly replacing it. The gondolier, as expected, is a member of the Accordoan Royal Guard. One of the more experienced ones, Nathan reckons, observing him closely. He sees Jordan sneaking glances at him in his peripheral vision which only adds to his confusion, "Why does he keep doing that?"

Now's not the time to be thinking about such unimportant things. He pulls out his phone to continue reading the coronation plans Domani sent earlier, it looks like it's going to be a long day...

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A few awkward minutes later, the group finally arrives at a side docking station near the palace. The sight of the palace surprisingly doesn't faze Nathan as it did when he first saw it days earlier. There's even a sense of... familiarity.

They are helped out by the gondolier (guard, Nathan corrects mentally) one by one. Once they are all on the dock's solid ground, Domani leads the way by heading to the top of a hill beside the palace grounds, clearly showing that he had already memorized its layout.

"Where we off to first?" Nathan asks, interrupting the silence that had continued even after they deboarded the gondola.

Domani turns around to face the group, "The Presentation Hall, we will be entering through the West Entrance," he informs.

Once he begins walking up the stone steps again, the four of them follow. They observe the unspoken rule again: keep quiet. The peacefulness doesn't last long as a guard stands in front of the palace grounds' entry point: a gondola elevator. "Entry passes and identification papers, please."