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...As you wish. I've certainly nowhere else to be and little in need of my attention at the moment.

[Maybe he wanted company, too. Just maybe.]

Cool. Time to monopolize it then.

[He shifts to sit up again, half to force himself awake. Though he doesn't especially want to talk about what's been on his mind, so... hmm.]

Know any ancient card games?

Hm...none I can remember off the top of my head.

[~~triple triad~~]

I do still have that chessboard with me, though.

[Oh noooo, chess. Not chess.]

Ugh, you can try. Ignis sure as hell did, but I never got the hang of the rules.

[Maybe he shouldn't have been learning alongside a genius tactician, but it's not like he had a bunch of other friends lining up to teach him.]

We've time enough for me to make my best effort, at least. [The board appeared out of his armory with a flash, Ardyn setting it up in practiced motions.]

Besides, it's not terribly difficult.

Says the man who walked here on his own two feet.

[To the invalid who's just grateful he can get to the bathroom and back without passing out.

Still, rather than objecting further he shifts himself over on the bed to make room for the board, seemingly agreeable to at least trying.]

Oh, I assure you it isn't going to hurt terribly. Just humor me for a bit, and if you don't like it that's fine.

[kids today.]

[OLD MEN THESE DAYS...]

Fine, fine. Hand me some pieces, I think I at least remember how to set it up.

If you insist. [He passed the black pieces over to Noctis, continuing to set up white on his own side.]

[It's quiet for a minute as they set up, but once Noctis is finished his side, he holds his hand out to Ardyn.]

One piece per year would be too much, you'd have none left. I'm thinking one per thousand?

That does seem fair enough-

[Ardyn answered without thinking about the request, then froze in place in the middle of picking up one of his pawns.]

Wait...what?

[Noctis blinks back at him.]

What? [??? What did he say. Or is it the pieces? He glances down at the arrangement.] Did I get it wrong?

No, that's...that's right, but...

[Ardyn looked at the piece in his hand, then back at Noctis.]

I don't...remember telling you about that.

About... the handicap? I could've sworn you did. One piece in excess of...

[...Wait. Wait, hang on. He glances down at the board, the words buzzing in his head.]

Victory... means nothing if not achieved on equal footing...

[They're not his, they're not Ardyn's, they're...

...ah. Shit.]

Oh my god. [Noct stares down at the board for a handful of seconds, then grabs his pillow and just. Yells into it, the noise muffled. And again, for good measure. Then he fishes the Ring of the Lucii out of his pocket and holds it up in front of Ardyn, eyes narrowed.]

This is bull, I'm not even wearing it. Tell your brother to shut up and keep his memories to himself!

[He knows it's not Ardyn's fault and probably can't be helped, but dammit, enough is enough.]

Believe me, I wish I could. [Ardyn smiled hesitantly, a little shaken by the unexpected turn the conversation had taken. At least he had a second to collect himself while Noctis was yelling angrily into a pillow. He ran a hand through his hair, laughing quietly to himself. Almost to himself, he added:]

...You know, actually, I never did tell him.

[Noctis resists the urge to grumble, setting the ring on the opposite bedside table rather than back to his pocket. Perhaps a little distance time-out will encourage the old kings to behave themselves.]

Tell him what?

You see, the truth is...that was never actually part of the rules at all. I lied to Somnus for years convincing him I had to sacrifice pieces at the start because I was the elder of us.

[The uneasy smile turned crooked and something resembling embarrassed, Ardyn rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.]

He was actually terrible at the game when we were children, it was the only thing that put us on even ground. He had no mind for strategy, but would sooner have eaten the chessboard than broken what he thought was a written rule.

[What.

What!!!]

...Okay, now it's funny.

[At least a little bit, anyway. Still pretty damned disconcerting, but the slice of humour and the mental image of Somnus getting hoodwinked like that is balm on the wound for sure.]

[Laughing quietly, Ardyn shrugged his shoulders.]

He complained about it all the time, but I don't think he ever actually questioned the rules enough to catch on.

Joke's on him then, I guess.

[Take that, Founder King. And keep your memories where they belong. He feels a little better for it, though, so if that was Ardyn's mission, then consider it accomplished.

He leans back and reconsiders the board.]

Okay, so... walk me through it.

[Ardyn proceeded to patiently explain the different movements of every piece, which is such minutiae that the details of it deserve to be painted with broad strokes in narration and definitely not because i haven't bothered learning anything about chess.]

--and the goal is simply to reach a position that the other player's king can't escape capture. It's less complicated than it sounds with some practice, but if you need any sort of clarification at any point, just ask.

Sounds a little close to home, in retrospect.

[said in a dry tone, as he gazes at the set of figures and tries to figure out if he's already forgetting half of the explanation because he's tired or because the thought of tactically working through this is already making his head spin. He has Ignis for many reasons, and this is literally one of them.]

But okay, uh. I'll give it a shot, I guess.

Don't worry. We'll take things slowly, there's no reason to rush through it.

[aw, buddy.]

Sure. Though when we go too slow and I pass out on the board I'm gonna tell everyone later that we tied.

[Even if he's losing. And he will lose, absolutely. Within the first few moves he makes he's probably already losing.]

[he's absolutely losing but at least ardyn's going out of his way to go easy on him]

I won't even dispute it.

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