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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.

I guess technically any game that doesn't end in someone's win is a tie...

[He's not sure if he feels any better for it. He is playing pretty aggressively, though, and not thinking very many moves ahead.]

...Very true.

[Something about the way he was playing caused Ardyn to hesitate with his own moves; he favored something more defensive, but it looked almost as if he was thinking a little more than necessary.]

[It takes another few moments and several rounds for Noctis to notice, his gaze lifting warily to Ardyn.]

Everything okay? [A beat, and then more quietly,] Did I do it again?

[It's difficult not to feel a little panic about it; he'd managed to laugh it off before, but the flare-ups of memory are starting to grow in intensity, and he's noticing. He feels like himself now, he feels like he's following the rules Ardyn gave him and the tactics are his own, but if he hadn't noticed before, how would he notice it now? Is this him, or is it Somnus playing right now?]

[Ardyn hummed thoughtfully as he considered the question, looking over the board as if searching for something. How one approached games like this said more about people than they realized, and he’d done it more than enough to see the little details others were less aware of.]

Hm...no, I don’t think so. A passing resemblance is far from complete mimicry. Perhaps it’s merely another thing that runs in the family.

[He shook his head, moving another piece.]

You play similarly to how he used to. No patience, simply a forward assault on all fronts. Which is certainly a viable strategy, but it sacrifices the larger picture for the short term victories.

[Noctis seems to relax a little at those words, shoulders drooping in relief. If anyone would know if he's too much like Somnus, Ardyn would.]

See, this is why nobody back home could get me to play properly. I hate the long game. Toss me head-first into a fight and I'm happy about it. At least that way I know what I'm doing.

[Ignis kind of held his hand through the tactical stuff. Any time he left it up to Noct it was more sweet-and-simple at best. He could follow instructions just fine! But don't expect him to come up with a brilliant strategy ahead of time.]

You know, now that I think about it...that's the funny part of it. We both fought like the other played chess; he acted with more finesse to his actions, while I had the edge in physical strength and never cared to learn technique.

[Capturing one of Noctis' pieces with no fanfare, Ardyn shrugged.]

An odd little thing, that. But I suppose it makes sense.

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