There is nothing good or bad, but thinking makes it so.

That's all I remember of my mother. She's always been the person I least understood in my life. But I do remember her telling me those words. I don't know why she did so. I don't quite remember anything else regarding the time I had with her. But I've always remembered those words. They are all I would ever have left of her, when she was taken from me.

I never saw her die. I never got the chance to say goodbye.

Instead, for the first time in my life, I became aware of the forces at work that sought to consume me. That burdened me with a duty I would never be able to escape.

It was also the first time I ever met him. Back then, he treasured my innocence. Back then, he wanted me to be happy.

And indeed, very few have granted me the joy he did as I grew up with him. But now, even he is lost to me.

In a sense, I can see now why those days led me here. So I can't help but reminisce.

The royal palace in Lucis, the only world I ever knew at that time. I had fleeting visions of other places, of other people. But few stuck with me. All I knew was the my mom and my dad loved me very much, and even if they were going away for a while, they'd always come back. They'd personally promised me this, with teary eyes, in my earliest memory. I'd later learn it was the memory of a time where I'd almost died.

I had barely learned to walk when we ventured outside of Lucis as a family. My parents took their eyes off me just for a little bit. I didn't mind, I was too young to comprehend my surroundings, much less care about them.

And then I was attacked. I woke up in my home, my mother shrieking in relief when I saw her. My father came running in. And they said they'd never let anything hurt me again. That they would always come back for me.

They lived up to that promise for a while, according to what I've been told. But my memories of my time with my mother are so fleeting. So hazy. It seems to me as though I lost her mere minutes after she'd promised to never leave me.

The day she left me forever, it had started raining. Her and father were out somewhere, but I knew they'd be back. They'd promised me they'd be back.

And my father did come back. But I didn't see my mother.

There was chaos at the gates. Father was staggering. He looked so sad. Behind him was a boy in a wheelchair, who seemed to be still as a doll. And there was a girl, who looked a lot like me. She was crying so much.

I saw them all head over to my home. And then I recognized them.

The dark haired boy and blond-haired girl used to have two others, didn't they? There were four of them, right? And what happened to mommy? Why wasn't she here? I ran over to father and asked him. I was confused. I didn't know.

My father turned away from me without a word, and those two children followed him.

And I knew then, that I would not see my mother, or the missing two kids, ever again.

My father had headed to Tenebrae on official business, and had met with the children of the ruling Fleuret lineage; Noctis, Lunafreya, Ravus and Cynthia. He learned that Noctis was currently confined to a wheelchair because of a near-fatal accident he'd had. Regis then proceeded to meet with the current rulers of Tenebrae, when they were all ambushed. Niflheim forces had tried to kill them off, and they had succeeded in murdering my own mother, and the mother and father of the Fleuret family.

Dad managed to escape with Noctis and Lunafreya, but Ravus and Cynthia were left behind.

I was too young to understand or fully process this. Even now, I cannot shed many tears over what happened. Because I wasn't there. Because I never truly understood.

Instead, what I remember is what came next. Noctis stayed with me. Lunafreya did too, of course, but we never got too close to each other.

But with Noctis, I started to feel as though I had finally found someone to care about, and stand beside, for the rest of my life.

It wasn't an immediate thought that crossed my mind, of course. In fact, I spent many of the next few days confused, wondering how long he was going to stay with me. My father was nowhere to be seen, and no one else seemed to be in any position to answer me.

And then we were joined by an adult a few days later, who finally paid some attention to me and my questions.

He introduced himself as Gentiana, the housekeeper and guardian of the Fleuret household. He then confirmed to me what I had been suspecting. My mother was not coming back, and Noctis and Luna were to stay with me because they couldn't go back home.

Gentiana finally began breaking the ice between Noctis and I, inviting us over to play with and talk to each other. He ensured that we always had something to do, something to look forward to, and little by little, Noctis and I opened up to each other. And despite everything that had happened, I started becoming happier.

It didn't take too long for him to leave, however. But he promised he'd return, and I eagerly awaited for him to.

And return he did, as a changed man. I too was a changed woman by then. However, we had discovered something we had in common during all the time we spent together. Something that all the time in the world could never change. So I didn't even hesitate to run up to him and kiss him as deeply as I could.

"I love you." I said to him, wrapping my arms around his body as tightly as I could.

"I love you, too." he said to me.

I didn't know it then, but Noctis had already taken on a solemn duty when he'd come back to me. He had chosen to protect me, and guide me to my destiny the best he could. In fact, he probably knew, even then, that what we had couldn't last forever.

And he hid that from me. He allowed me to be innocent, and naive. He devoted himself completely to keeping me happy, and even when he was preparing me for my duty, he didn't make it clear to me. I learned so much when I was spending time with him, without even meaning to.

Did he do all this because he cared too much about me? Was I so fragile in his eyes, that like my father, he chose to keep the truth locked away for so long? Or was he just being selfish, trying to make the best of the good times because even he did not want to face the burden that awaited us all? I still don't know the answer to those questions, and I probably never will.

I still remember what he'd said to me when I still had my guard down. When I was an open book for him, ready to give him anything and everything of mine.

"You know," he'd begun. "I'll always love you. That will never change."

I giggled and kissed him. I then said, half-jokingly, "Sounds like you're about to break up with me right now, you know."

"No." he said with a chuckle. "Look, Stella, it's just that..." his face turned a little uncharacteristically serious at that moment. "I want you to remain happy. Whatever happens. Don't worry about me. Don't worry about anything. Just live your own life, okay?"

"Noct..." I replied. I then kissed him again, feeling worried. "My heart won't ever let go of you, okay? Don't say things like that."

"Stella, I..." he began. But then he stopped, and smiled. And then he hugged me, tightly than he'd ever hugged me before. "Thank you. But I need you to promise me, okay? Promise you'll always take care of yourself."

"Noctis, what are you...?"

"Please." he said.

"Okay." I said. "I promise I'll look after myself."

After that day, we began to grow apart. And I grew resentful. I knew Noct wasn't opening up to me, and after a while, I couldn't stand it anymore. One day, in a moment of weakness, I lashed out at him, and ended our relationship. He quietly accepted my decision, and returned to Tenebrae. The nation had long since been conquered by Niflheim, but the arrival of a mysterious stranger had allowed it to retain a significant measure of autonomy. That mysterious stranger would soon reveal himself to be Nyx Ulric, supposedly the last Oracle of the realm.

One day, I got to see his inauguration as Oracle myself in Altissia. And another day, I met Noct again in Tenebrae. Those were some of the last moments of peace I knew, before my entire life started falling apart.