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potassium-pilot · 7 months

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FFXIVWrite 2023, Prompt 16: Jerk

Dia would be lying if she said today wasn't long. Borel Manor was a welcome sight to her eyes as she drew closer to it. One turn of her key and the door unlatched, leaving her to open it and finally go in.

"Hi, it's me! I'm here to rob you!" She yelled after she closed the door.

Silence greeted her back. She knew Aymeric was home. Naegling was sitting at the door for some reason.

"I'm only taking the valuables, don't worry!" She yelled again as she walked to the parlor. "Don't tell me you're offended by a simple robbe--"

She stopped speaking when she saw Aymeric speaking with an older Elezen gentleman. His snow white hair was cut shorter than his host's, and he had striking pale blue eyes.

Oh, sweet Spinner, is that fucking Thordan?

"Welcome home, Dia", greeted Aymeric.

"Oh...forgive me, I didn't realize we er, had a guest", Dia apologized.

"No apologies necessary", assured the older gentleman before he stood and bowed. His voice was a rich and sonorous tenor, albeit aged. "My name is Count Georgiaux de Maincrel. It is a pleasure to meet the Savior of Ishgard in person."

"Oh, you know who I am."

"Few do not." Georgiaux approached her with a confident gait and a warm smile on his face. "I had come to visit my nephew and ask him to join my family for dinner tonight."

"N-nephew?"

"Ah, forgive me- I had assumed this was known. Yes, I am the first in line of House Maincrel, eldest brother of the man you knew as Thordan VII."

"Ohhhhhhh..."

"Of course, Thodan VII, as we all know, is simply a title he gave himself by tradition of the Church. His real name was Bertolain de Maincrel, my youngest brother."

Dia nodded. "I see..."

"I understand that you and Lord Aymeric have an arrangement of sorts here, one that allows you residence within this manor. Is this the case?"

"'Arrangement' is one way to put it, I suppose."

"Then I would like to extend the invitation to dinner to you as well."

Trying not to make her discomfort obvious, she answered, "Thaaaaaat's very kind of you, but I don't wish to intrude on anything or make any plans change."

"You would not inconvenience a soul with your presence. I understand this is rather last-minute, but I do hope my family and I will see you both tonight." With that, Georgiaux bowed to her, then to Aymeric, who stood up. "Have a wonderful evening, both of you."

"I'll escort you out", Aymeric offered, walking to his side and leading him out of the parlor. Dia's nerves got the better of her, making her shake as she went to the settee and sat down. She put her hands over her mouth and started breathing deeply in her nose and out her mouth. Rapid footsteps could be heard rushing down the hall and back to her.

"Now I know what you're thinking, Dia", Aymeric started. Dia said nothing, looking to him.

"You must be wondering why I would associate with a brother of Thordan."

"You mean Bertolain?" Dia joked.

Aymeric gave a nervous laugh. "Yes, that was his name, wasn't it?" He cleared his throat before continuing, "He had only visited me once before, after the end of the Dragonsong War, to tell me that House Maincrel holds no ill will towards me. From there, we mostly interacted through Starlight cards and what fêtes we found ourselves attending. After a more recent one, I invited him to come by the manor at his leisure, and he chose today to do so. I would have warned you had I known earlier."

Dia continued saying nothing, focusing solely on her breath.

"Are you angry with me?"

"Are you going to dinner with him?"

Aymeric took in a breath to say something, but found himself wordless.

"Are you?"

"I-I certainly do not need to go, and if you've no wish to go, under no circumstances are you required to go, and--"

"Stop."

He obeyed.

"Don't give me the answer you think I want to hear. Do you want to go to dinner with Lord Georgiaux?"

He bowed his head and answered with a tinge of guilt in his voice, "Yes."

"Then I'll go with you."

He lifted his head back up, curiosity sparkling in his eyes, before asking, "Really?"

The last time you went alone to a relative of his, you got thrown into a dungeon.

"I don't want you going alone to this."

He blinked. "I...are you certain?"

"If I didn't want to do this, I wouldn't."

Aymeric smiled and nodded. "A fair point." He went to the staircase. "Dinner is to be served in three bells, so we will need to make ready."

"Yikes, that soon? All right."

------

Maincrel Manor was located in the levels just above Foundation, but beneath the Pillars. The area overlooked Empyreum and had shops, small cafes and restaurants, offices, and manors of lesser houses along the streets. They approached the manor they needed to find and Aymeric knocked on the door. A wizened old Elezen man in a butler's uniform opened the door.

"Ah, Lord Aymeric and Mistress Sito. Welcome to Maincrel Manor. Please, come in." The butler moved out of the way to allow them entry, Aymeric and Dia walking in and looking about the place. He looked to the couple after closing the door and told them kindly, "Pray allow me to inform my lord and lady of your arrival." He walked past them, leaving the two of them there.

Dia's Echo triggered a sense of urgency, as though something was to hit her very suddenly. Quickly, she held up a hand where the dangerous item in question landed in it.

It was a ball. Blue with a rough texture, but nothing more. Dia sighed in relief.

A young boy with raven black hair and a dark blue shirt and black pants appeared running towards them, eyes the same color as Aymeric's looking to her.

"I'm-I'm sorry, miss! My brother threw the ball too fast, and I couldn't catch it in time."

Dia smiled and knelt down to give the ball back to him. "No worries. You should be careful playing with toys in the house, though. You might break something valuable. Like a face." Aymeric watched her approach to this child with amusement.

"R-right. Sorry again." The boy ran off to another, who whispered way too loudly, "Alaimberic, the Savior of Ishgard's here!" It took everything for Dia not to laugh.

"That's enough, you two", an elderly Elezen woman, dressed in a blue bustle, hair grayed by age with green eyes, appeared to order, "Wash up for dinner, both of you." The boys obeyed and ran off. The woman looked to Dia and Aymeric. "Pray forgive my grandchildren. Boys can be such rowdy creatures at this age", she tried to laugh it off.

"Think nothing of it", Aymeric assured, "Mistress Sito was able to catch the ball before it could do any harm."

"Ball?" She asked concernedly.

"Don't worry about it", Dia attempted to change the subject. "Forgive me if I'm mistaken, but are you the Lady of the House?"

"I am! Lady Rosioune de Maincrel." She began a deep curtsy as she said, "It is an honor to meet you, Savior of Ishgard."

"Oh, thank you. You can just call me Mistress Sito, if you'd like. I know 'Savior of Ishgard' can be a mouthful. 'Hey, You' also works in a pinch."

Rosioune laughed politely. "Oh, I would never have guessed a hero of your stature would also be such a wit."

What the fuck does that mean?

Once she stopped, she looked to Aymeric and offered, "Of course, it is also an honor to host the Lord Speaker, tonight. My husband has told me much about you, my lord."

"Thank you, my lady. I look forward to knowing you all better tonight."

"And we, in turn, look forward to knowing you, and Mistress Sito, of course. Please, come sit in the parlor. I can assure you that no further intrusions shall be caused by my grandchildren." The two of them followed Rosioune to the parlor where a purple settee set on top of an ornate rug awaited them. "Pray take a seat. My husband will be out in a moment." They sat together in the settee while the Lady Maincrel took a seat in a loveseat nearby.

"You know, my husband found that he was too old to begin navigating a new political system as such, but our son Meritrel took to it quite nicely."

"Ah yes, Lord Meritrel. He's co-sponsored a bill alongside me for a new museum to be erected by the Pillars to Firmament Society."

"Oh, yes. That society has become a part of his every day life."

Before she could continue, the sound of loud crying rang through the house. "Oh, is someone not happy?"

"No, someone is not. I believe that's poor baby Dia."

Dia blinked. "Baby who?"

Rosioune laughed. "Yes, baby Dia, named after you."

"After me?"

The Lady nodded. "You've become a rather popular namesake since you ended the Dragonsong War. Perhaps you may think it bold of me to predict that tales of your heroics will outlive everyone alive today by many, many years."

"It is, but I certainly don't mind in the least."

Rosioune smiled. "She is Meritrel's third child. A darling baby, though she is usually more quiet than this. His wife, Tamilie, has been a devoted mother to the child, and has yet to leave her side in the weeks since she caught this disease."

"Oh, she's sick? I can heal her."

Aymeric's eyes widened.

"Do-do you believe you can help with this illness? We've seen a chirurgeon and he insists that only time will tell."

"I once cured a camp full of sick people infected with a voidsent-inflicted disease. If I can't cure it, I know I can at least provide relief from the symptoms."

Rosioune took her offer with gusto and said, "Follow me." Dia and Aymeric followed behind the Lady down a hall to a room. She knocked on the door and asked, "Tamilie? May we come in?"

"Come in."

That was Georgiaux's voice. Rosioune opened the door and found her husband holding the baby in a rocking chair, trying his best to soothe the infant. "Where has Tamilie gone, Georgiaux?"

"Oh, the poor woman was exhausted. I decided to aid her that she might find a measure of rest."

Rosioune sighed. "My dear, Mistress Sito insists she can help heal Dia. May she see her?"

"You-you can?" Georgiaux asked Dia desperately.

"I can certainly try. I'd like to help."

Georgiaux stood up and handed the child to Dia, who took her in her arms. Aymeric watched over her shoulder. The baby only cried louder.

"Yes, yes, I know", Dia cooed to little Dia as she hovered a hand over the baby, "Everything hurts so bad, doesn't it?" Her hand glowed blue with Esuna and she inspected very closely. A few minutes of silence passed as no one dared utter anything that might interrupt her. Dia broke the silence by whispering to herself, "Ooh, that's an inflamed lung."

"Inflamed?" Georgiaux asked.

"May I ask what your chirurgeon did?" Dia asked.

"Well, he certainly didn't inspect her to the length that you are, Mistress Sito. He gave a glance over, insisted it was a simple cold and that time would take its toll."

"Well, he was about to kill her", Dia refuted. "One of my free company mates caught this once. It's nasty, even for a full grown adult. This isn't a disease a baby can fight alone. Her immune system's simply not developed enough. Did he provide medication? Painkiller?"

"No, he insisted such a thing was not necessary."

Dia shook her head. "Good help is hard to find." Her hand glowed brighter and something close to thirty seconds passed. "And...I think that did it. I'm going to heal the scarring, then she should be good to go."

To the elder Dia's credit, she did stop crying. "Don't you feel better?" she cooed once again. The little one said nothing, just stared blankly, her eyelids growing heavier. "Oh, but you're also sleepy, aren't you? Yeah, you are." She carried the baby to her crib and let her down.

Rosioune rushed to the crib and placed a hand along the baby's forehead. "Her fever's gone down. She's going to sleep." She looked back to her healer and said, "I don't think I could have handled the death of another grandchild. Thank you, Mistress Sito."

"Another?" Aymeric asked in shock.

Georgiaux bowed his head. "Meritrel's brother, Artimeric, had a son not long ago. He died before he could name him."

Dia looked back to Georgiaux with a sad look. "I'm...I'm sorry."

Georgiaux let out a sharp breath. "Naught to be done for it. Come, dinner is certain to be prepared soon, and you deserve a cellar of wine for your efforts, at least."

"Oh, that's not necessary, but thank you", Dia refused.

"At least a bottle, then. Let's eat."

-------

The dinner itself was pleasant. After it, Aymeric was discussing further with Meritrel, Tamilie- who was awakened for dinner and held baby Dia close to her- and Rosioune about all sorts of current events in the parlor. Dia excused herself to use the bathroom. After she left, she found Georgiaux sitting outside in a patio alone. Dia, against her better judgment to leave him be, approached the patio door, and opened it. "Are you well, Lord Georgiaux?"

The wizened lord looked to Dia. "Oh yes, thank you."

Once again, even though the voice in her head told her to close the door and go, she insisted, "Gil for your thoughts."

Georgiaux smiled amusedly. "I was simply thinking of what you did today."

"Oh." Dia closed the patio door behind her. "What about it?"

He closed his eyes and bowed his head. "I did not deserve the kindness you extended to my family today."

"Sure you did. Babies don't deserve to be sick."

"Mistress Sito, I know perfectly well what it was that my brother had done to you."

She was struck into silence.

"To the nation of Ishgard as a whole, really. What he did was reprehensible. Though House Maincrel has publicly condemned Thodan VII, we know that many believe that we are simply looking to ease public tensions. He was my brother, after all. Were we in another world, perhaps we would be more supportive. But I cannot abide by the idea that we would ever support a man who would temper the whole of Ishgard under the thrall of a primal. He sought power for power's sake and was consumed by it. As his vanquisher, I'm certain you've your own feelings on the matter. Such was the reason why I had hoped to invite you here- that I may assure you that you will not find a face in this house who would regard my brother as anything more than a traitor."

He looked her in the eye. "Yet, even with the history you have with him, you still offered such kindness to my family. Tell me this, and tell me true, Mistress Sito- should my chirurgeon have known about this?"

Dia frowned and hesitated for a moment before answering, "If he's a well-trained chirurgeon, he should have at least offered something to help alleviate symptoms, even if he could not truly cure the disease."

"Then you see now what a stain my brother has left upon my house. What you've confirmed for me is that I must seek a new chirurgeon for my house. He's not the only one who would seek to harm my family because of what he's done."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be, Mistress Sito. 'Tis not your doing that we find ourselves here. Beyond anything, I am grateful to you for your earnest aid."

"It's no trouble, really."

Georgiaux nodded with a smile. "If I may, Mistress Sito, why did you seek to join us this evening? Again, I'm grateful for your arrival, but I'm afraid I know not what brought you here if you did not seek to hurt us."

Dia let out a long sigh. "Can I be perfectly honest with you?"

"Please."

"All right. I thought you were going to do something terrible to Lord Aymeric."

Georgiaux let out an incredulous laugh. "Why am I not surprised?"

"I'm afraid Ishgardians aren't the only ones making assumptions about your house. I care for Lord Aymeric greatly, and if something were to happen because I didn't join him, I would never have forgiven myself. I guess I thought it too good to be true that you really just wanted to try and be closer to him."

"Thus did you seek to join us- to protect him, if needed. Now this is making sense. Rest assured that I too care for Lord Aymeric. Though not quite as monstrous as his aims to rule over Ishgard as a god king, Bertolain also kept a fine nephew from me, and it is my aim to know him better before I should pass."

"I'm glad to see I was wrong, then."

Georgiaux smiled. "As am I that I was wrong. I assumed that my brother has made our house an enemy of you and of House Borel. You've been a kind soul. Thank you, Mistress Sito."

"Of course."

"May I ask one more thing?"

"Might as well."

"What are your intentions with my nephew?"

"Huh?"

Georgiaux laughed. "Now that I know of my nephew, I'm afraid I've a new role to play: that of a nosy uncle. Surely, you understand this much."

Dia laughed back. "Sure, go for it."

"He loves talking about you, particularly when you're not there to protest. He's mentioned that you've lived in his house for some time- certainly not the most traditional method of courting a woman, but you are certainly not a traditional Ishgardian woman. Yet, he refuses to tell me when he intends to marry you."

She kept a laugh back.

"So I ask it of you, instead- do you intend to do such a thing?"

"Well, while I'm being honest, I don't think either of us have plans for such a thing. We're letting things happen as they go."

"I see."

"He's a good man, though. He's very kind, nothing short of a gentleman. I don't deserve him, grateful though I am that I have him."

"I believe you deserve each other more than you think."

In the parlor, the discussion was beginning to die down. "Ah, forgive me if I've taken up too much of your time", Aymeric apologized.

"Nonsense", Rosioune insisted. "This was lovely. Thank you for joining us, Lord Aymeric."

"I'm glad we could join you. Let me see if I can fetch Dia that we can allow you all to retire for the evening." Before he could get up, however, everyone could hear her and Georgiaux laughing in the hall, walking back to the parlor. Aymeric stood up and turned to face her.

"Hi! I was just telling Lord Georgiaux that we'll need to get going soon", Dia explained.

"I had reached the same conclusion. Shall we?"

Dia nodded before looking to Rosioune. "Thank you for everything, Lady Rosioune. This was lovely!"

"Of course! I hope the both of you might return soon." The Lord and Lady escorted Aymeric and Dia out of the house, the two of them making their way back to Borel Manor.

"So, how was your impromptu discussion with my uncle?"

"It was nice. He offered to pay for the wedding we're not having."

Aymeric let out a laugh. "Of course he did."

"Otherwise, the whole of it was enlightening. I'm glad I came."

"As am I."

Dia reached her left hand to his right and touched it gently. He took hers before Dia leaned into him a bit closer. "You should keep an eye on House Maintrel", she advised quietly.

"I thought the same thing. From what I saw with how you handled baby Dia, 'twould appear that my father has given them enemies, even with their public condemnation of him."

"Glad we agree."

"Thank you for what you did to help her, by the way. Lady Tamilie looked positively relieved and the baby slept soundly all through dinner."

"I don't care what Thordan did; a baby should not have political enemies."

Aymeric let out a laugh. "I couldn't agree more."

"Wasn't she cute though? Honestly, how'd half that house get your eyes?"

Aymeric laughed even harder.

"I felt like I was--...never mind."

"Dia?"

"It's not important."

"Come now, Dia. Is it such a bad thought?"

Dia took in a breath. "I felt like I was looking at our own daughter."

Aymeric's heart raced at the thought. "Oh..."

"Granted, that baby's growing red hair like Lady Tamilie's, but quite a bit of it was the same."

"I understand your meaning."

"And I'm not naming her 'Dia'. She can get her own name."

"Of course."

The two of them walked along, the events of the night and the river of wine from the Maincrel Manor cellar leaving them pleasantly buzzed

#ffxiv #ffxivwrite #ffxivwrite2023 #aymeric de borel #f elezen wol #original characters #fanfiction #i refuse to believe the church in this game isn't doing the same thing as the catholics irl #where a pope just picks a papal name #there's also no information about his real name or his family name #so in my tradition #i'm making shit up #if they ever release his real name or his house name then oh well

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