Disclaimer: Welcome everyone! This story was chosen as the favorite among the readers of Chronicles. I hope you enjoy reading.

Please note that since this story is now a full fanfiction, there will be some notable changes and extra written scenes that the drabble chapters in Chronicles did not disclose. So expect some new lines that have not been writing in the drabbles before.

Notice how the story was given a new title. One of the reasons is because the story does not revolve solely on Lightning therefore I needed a title that would suit the entirety of this story. It took a long time to come up with the perfect title, but hopefully it was good enough.

For those who are not sure, this is the Lonely Queen story you all wished to see more of! Yes my friends, Lonely Queen is now a story of its own and this is it!

Happy reading!


SANCTUAIRE

"Why? Please just return with me!"

"Foolish boy! Stop dreaming; did you truly think I would ever bond myself with the likes of you?"

"Everything…we had everything."

"No. You have nothing. You never had a thing you stupid boy."

"We shared—"

Dark, maniacal laughter.

"You believed me? What idiocy."

"Am I not enough?"

"You? You are nothing! Nothing but a tool! A boy with a mind that is easy to manipulate; just look at this palace! It is burning because of your weak mind! You were so easy to trick, so easy to manipulate. You are too weak to be king or even live. Now…it is time you died."

"No, please!"

-XIII-

"Help the people! Put out the fires! Quickly!"

"Sire! The prince is…!"

"He is capable of protecting himself! Help the people first!"

"The fire is spreading still Your Majesty!"

"Use whatever you can, just spot the blaze!"

"My king! Aid has arrived!"

"Let them in, and please hurry!"

The sound of clopping reached the king's ears as assistance came close to him in the form of the army of his country's closest ally. The king felt his heart slowed slightly into that of relief.

"Majesty."

"Thank Etro. I am grateful for your assistance."

"I will offer aid to the best of my ability."

Fire continued to spread. The soldiers continued to bring the citizens to safer locations, away from the vicious blaze. The king's eyes moved as the powerful embers reflected itself in them.

"Such…betrayal… How could I allow this to happen?"

"You can regret later. Your people are more important."

"Yes… Yes Your Highness. You speak the truth…"

"Speak to me; I will aid you in any way."

"My son…please… Help him. This will destroy him… Please… Help my son!"

-XIII-

Chapter I: Esprit Cassé

It was no longer certain for how long he had traveled.

It felt like an eternity, a road with no end no matter how far he walked or how fast he carried himself through the journey. He needed to rest now; the sun was setting.
A long time ago, which in truth had only been three years; he would have had a nice warm bed to lie down on and a father to speak to, friends to comfort him, and a home to return to. But now because of this everlasting sorrow in his heart, he was doomed to remain this way.

A beast.

He had been a man once; a man with a title that had been out by many. But he was a modest man, his title was not that important to him. He had been just a prince, many adored him and his father but to himself he was just a man, so was his father.
But he met her one night; she had been lovely with blonde hair and purple eyes. He fell fast and hard and even his father approved of his choice when he announced to him his choice of wife.

But it had been all a lie.

She did not love him; she only did it to gain control of his kingdom, of his riches, of him. His heart had been shattered, but despite the betrayal, he could not bring himself to hate or forget her. Stella. Many hated and slandered her name for what she did to the Caelum royal family, to him.
Noctis kept silent but every passing day he fell deeper into his depression. His friends and his father tried to help in any way, but nothing lifted his spirits.

One day, it happened. His heart became even more blackened with sadness that he all but lost his human body. Though he still had the ability to return into the shape of a man, he ruefully learned that he liked his new body and life in the wild. The life of a wolf.

He was no normal-sized wolf; he was the size of a large steed or chocobo. The sight of him was frightening, but he kept away from human settlements. When the goddess gave him the body of a beast, his father desperately tried to find a way to fix him but Noctis insisted that perhaps this was meant to be. After a few days, he left home, bidding his friends and father farewell and ran into the wild. For three years he lived like a true wolf and it surprisingly suited him just fine. Rarely did he ever return to his true form of a human.

However, there had been a drought in the past weeks.

He had not eaten or drank anything for a long time. He did not rest either due to his anxious search for food and water. Now he felt that he was losing his strength. He limped all the way to the nearest tree he could find in the dense, but hot forest.
He was exhausted, he needed nourishment; he wanted to eat or drink anything, as long as he felt full in the belly. But the terrible weeks he had weakened him to the point that he could not hunt properly now.

He laid his tired body down against the tree and tried to rest. He was panting hard, and his body was now growing so thin from the lack of food and drinks. Perhaps during the night, when the day was cooler, he could hunt. Yes, that would be the ideal thing to do.

The black wolf closed his eyes and went into a daytime nap. He could feel the sun rising high somewhere in his sleep. Once the night air comes, he will awaken and begin his hunt for food, and water.

His keen ears were aware of the crows cawing above him, perhaps waiting until he is deceased before feasting on his flesh. Perhaps that would be the best thing; if he died now he would be free of burden, and be with her.

He must have slept for hours because he soon felt his shade grow cooler. But when he opened his eye to peek at the day, the sun was still high in the sky. Suddenly, his instincts went on high alert when he saw the shape of something standing above him.
Instantly, he jumped up and his hackles rose. His eyes finally saw what had been standing above him; men. Hunters no doubt, by the looks of the clothes they wore and the weapons they carried. Noctis snarled warningly at the hunters.

The men took a step back but did not seem to try and retreat.

Regaining their composure, the hunters stepped forward again with their weapons raised and posed, intending to either kill him for his fur or to capture him and turn him into a working animal or show attraction. Either way, he was not going to get captured.
Noctis growled aggressively and jumped over the hunters to make his escape. As expected, the men chased after him, intending not to lose their prize. Noctis wanted to fight back but he was too hungry and thirsty. Fighting would be a terrible mistake, no matter how large in size he was.

He would need to shake his pursuers off before he could slow himself down, but the hunters seemed determined to detain him.

One of the hunters grabbed an arrow from his quiver and took aim at the large black wolf. The beast kept running but he kept his arrow pointed. He counted the seconds the released the arrow. The arrow flew and hit the wolf's flank.
Noctis howled in pain but despite the pain, he continued to run. The pain was burning into his flank but he could not stop now. Not yet. Once again, Stella's name came into his mind. One would think it was idiotic, to remember the name of the very 'witch' who betrayed him. But now he had no time to think of anything else as he tried escaping.

Noctis howled as he started slowing down and the hunters started gaining on his tail. Finally, his tired body could take no more and he tumbled down onto the ground, rolling over. He snarled at his own weakness. The men ran over to him, surrounding his weak form. Their weapons were ready to skin him alive.
He closed his eyes and prepared for his inevitable doom. Whatever it was that the hunters were about to do to him, he was ready and he had no regrets. Not anymore. The hunters raised their arms with weapons in hand then brought them down for the kill.

Clang! Slash!

The sound of metal hitting metal and flesh was heard but the wolf felt nothing. Where was the pain? Where was the feeling of his flesh being torn open? Where was the searing agony of blades tearing through his carcass?
Noctis opened his eyes and looked up at his captors. His eyes became wide with astonishment. The hunters were on the ground holding their wrists or sides in pain. Before them was a majestic pure black stallion with a snowy white mane and tail. The horse neighed as it reared wildly as if in warning. Noctis looked up at the figure that rode upon the back of the majestic creature.

Before the wolf could even see the rider, more humans on chocobos arrived, surrounding the hunters like they had surrounded the black wolf.

"You men are trespassing on these wild lands; have you forgotten it is prohibited to hunt the animals in these lands for nothing but a trophy?" One of the men said to the hunters sternly. The leader of the huntsmen glowered at the men on chocobos—Noctis now recognize them as royal soldiers. "It's none of your business. We hunt wherever and whatever we want!"
The soldier turned to the rider on the black stallion. "Highness?" He asked. The stallion's rider lifted a hand and the soldier pulled his chocobo back to join his comrades. The stallion stepped forward then its rider jumped off. Noctis' wolf eyes stared at the sight of the stallion's master; a tall and strong-looking woman dressed in a dark cloak stood there, staring at the hunters blankly, not in the least bit intimidated by the burly men or the large horse-sized wolf.

"We won't take orders from some woman! Men like us don't have to obey common whores!" One of the hunters yelled arrogantly.

The soldier looked enraged. "How dare you, you peasant! Show respect; before you stands the queen of Bodhum! Queen Lightning Farron!"
The woman—queen—held up her hand again in dismissal and the soldier backed down. The hunters spat bitterly. "Queen? Pfah! What shit!" The lead hunter got to his feet and stood over the cloaked queen. The woman only stared at him calmly, saying nothing still.

"If you are queen, show us what you can do!" In an instant all the hunters got up and attacked. Noctis tensed at the sight of the burly men charging at that one woman. However, he held still when the queen moved swiftly. She sidestepped every tackle then returned the gesture by kicking the men in the stomachs then hitting them between the shoulder blades. The black wolf could have sworn he had seen a bit of silver underneath the queen's cloak when she lifted an arm or leg. The hunters were all down, groaning or unconscious from the pain of the queen's attacks.

The woman nodded at her men and the soldiers moved in to take the hunters into custody. While two of the soldiers rode off with the hunters in tow, the queen turned to the huge black wolf.

Noctis held his breath as their eyes connected; he could feel an aura of power and authority coming from this woman. No, this queen. That aura was stronger than that of the hunters put together. Noctis snarled, warning the queen to keep away from him. Instead she took a step towards him, the action almost made him jump.

"Majesty, that is a wild animal; it is not safe. Please step back and let it run off!" One of the soldiers warned. The queen glanced at him and the man closed his mouth immediately. She returned her eyes back to the beast then held a hand out to him. Noctis finally saw it; the black glove that covered her hand and protecting her was a silver spiked armguard with gold knuckles.

"Come here."

The wolf was frozen again; the voice of the queen was deep and strong. It sounded sensual without meaning to; she was definitely a woman of power. She kept her hand held out to him but Noctis refused to move.
The queen whistled lightly and her stallion moved towards her. She dug into one of the saddle bags then opened her hand to the wolf again. The beast's nostrils flared; there was meat in her hand. He tried to resist but his empty belly demanded food. Slowly, he limped over, moving carefully and not trusting the queen at all.

She seemed to notice then merely placed the meat down and moved back a few steps, pulling her stallion along.

The wolf reached over and took the meat in his jaws, gulping it down greedily. The taste of food was wonderful, like a godsend for the starved beast. The woman moved towards him again, with more caution this time. The wolf tensed and his body language changed to that of a stern warning. The queen's eyes moved to his flank, where the arrow dug itself into his flesh.
She sidestepped the wolf until she was close to his flank. She beckoned to one of the soldiers. "Hold the wolf's jaw down while I take this arrow out." "Highness?" The soldier's eyes widened with horror. "Do as I say!" She ordered, ready to grab the arrow.

The man swallowed and got off his chocobo.

He moved closer to the wolf at a slow pace and the beast snarled at him. The queen sighed then tossed more meat at the wolf's front paws. The animal moved for it and that was when the soldier jumped and pressed himself down on the wolf's enormous jaws. Immediately the queen wrapped her hand around the arrow and pulled hard.
Noctis snarled and growled at the pain and tried to throw the soldier off his muzzle. Suddenly, the agony was gone altogether.

He turned to look at his flank and saw nothing by a wound where it had been. He lifted his head and found the queen holding onto the arrow before she tossed it away. The soldier instantly jumped up and moved away from the wolf, running back to his chocobo as the queen walked closer to the wolf. Carefully, she placed a hand on his large muzzle in a comforting gesture. "You're fine now." She said gently and placed more meat down before him and walking back to her stallion. "Odin." She called and the black horse bent his head down, allowing his mistress to climb back on.

Noctis struggled to his feet as the queen and her soldiers rode off. However, his tired and battered body refused to obey and he fell to the ground once again.

"Highness?" The soldiers asked when their queen stopped her stallion and watched the wolf as it limped and fell back down onto the ground. With a sigh, she turned her horse around back to the wolf. The soldiers protested but the queen ignored them.
The wolf watched at the woman came back to him, dismounted her horse, and then approached. She bent down to take a good look at him, observing ever detail her keen eyes could find.

"… You look like you're about to lose it any moment." She said to the wolf, looking at him right in the eyes.

Noctis growled but he felt too tired to actually threaten the human. The queen shook her head then touched his muzzle again. She was careful with her touch, almost gentle. The wolf was surprised by this sort of touch. Lately, the humans he met were cruel or scared of beasts like him, but this woman was neither scared nor did she seem cruel, so far. She spoke to him again.

"Need some help?"

"…?"

Noctis tilted his head at her, as if he had no idea what she was saying, but he did understand her. He just did not trust her. She was a stranger to him, and he was a beast no one dared approach. He backed off away from her but only ended up hitting the ground.
The queen pat his muzzle again then looked at her soldiers. "Go ahead without me. I will be back soon." The men exchanged reluctant expressions but they obeyed their queen and rode off on their chocobos.

The wolf seemed surprised at the action but he kept his eyes on the queen before him. What was she planning?

The woman stroked his large muzzle and smiled a small smile that seemed almost impossible to see. He sniffed her hand and was surprised at how nice she smelled. Usually humans smelled of many things, but in general their scents were never pleasant. But this queen, this woman, smelled like a flower. A rose, he figured. He remembered the smell of a rose so well; his mother loved flowers and grew all kinds in her garden.

"Easy now." The woman said to him when he tensed all of a sudden.

The wolf whined quietly and tried to relax but he could not bring himself to trust this stranger, even if she did technically save his life. Still, the woman remained close to him. However, her stallion began snorting and huffing as if he did not like that his mistress was so close to such a wild carnivorous animal.

"Odin, hush." The woman said, holding a hand up to the stallion, gesturing for him to quiet down. The wolf watched in wonder as the horse obeyed the light command; however the steed still did not seem happy and was wary of the wolf. Or perhaps he was jealous that his master was paying attention to another animal other than him.

The wolf looked at the woman in front of him and stared into her eyes. They were blue and seemed almost electrical. But what stunned him the most was how sharp and mysterious they looked, as if nobody and nothing can look past a shield she had put up. He knew; he too had that kind of persona in him before he met…Stella.

The wolf whined pitifully and the queen raised an eyebrow.

"In pain?" She scanned his body, checking for anymore damages. Seeing only the arrow wound, she sighed and walked over to his flank again. Noctis watched her cautiously. She tore a piece of her cloak and then wrapped it around the wound. "That shouldn't be a problem anymore, for a while." She said, gently tapped an uninjured part of his flank.
The wolf tilted his head again. What was this human doing? What was she planning? He noticed her hand reaching over to touch his side. He snapped his jaws at her and she instantly moved her hand away before she lost a finger or worse. But instead of leaving him, she pet his muzzle as if to reassure him she meant no harm then touched his side. She felt the bones that were starting to show through his body. She exhaled deeply and seemed to muse over something.

Returning to her stallion, she retrieved some rope from the saddle.

The wolf snarled and stood up, ignoring the pain in his flank. The woman spoke to him calmly as she moved closer with the rope in hand. "Don't worry, I just want to make sure nobody will panic; if they see you with a rope on they will keep calm enough." The wolf was still tense. "I don't know if you can understand me or not," she said, "but if they see you're with me they won't panic."
The wolf was confused now; what did she mean? Make sure people won't panic? Where was she taking him?

As he was thinking, she carefully slipped the rope around his neck.

Noctis struggled but the queen held fast and tightly, making sure he did not break away. She had to calm him down before she could take him anywhere.
"Calm down. I'm not going to harm you." The wolf snarled; he did not believe her, did not trust her. The queen grunted when he pulled back but she yanked back. "Stop struggling, you'll tighten the rope on your neck."
Noctis could feel it hard to breath; as she said, the rope was digging into his neck. His struggles slowed until he finally stopped moving and stood still, but his body was on high alert. The queen nodded in approval then touched the wolf's muzzle once again. "See? Nothing's wrong. Just follow close behind me, okay?"

Gently, she pulled him over and tied the rope to the saddle, much to the stallion's dismay. Noctis stared in surprise. The queen mounted the horse then kicked him gently and the steed moved; walking at a pace the tired wolf could keep up with.

Noctis had no choice but to follow behind the queen and her mighty steed. The stallion's white mane and tail flew with the breeze as it blew past his face. The steed was a proud and mighty one and looked hard to tame; had the queen somehow gotten this stallion to calm himself before he became her steed?

Soon, the party arrived back in the queen's home. Bodhum.

Noctis had heard of this country; it was known for being close to the sea and that it had beautiful sunsets and fireworks. The black wolf looked around as the stallion trotted, pulling him along. The queen looked back at the wolf, making sure that he was still calm and not uncomfortable. People were staring at the creature their queen brought back home, but she ignored the stares and continued on to the palace.


Hooves clattered on smooth polished stone as Odin trotted back to the stables with his mistress riding on his back and her 'guest' right behind them and tied to the saddle.

Queen Lightning stopped her stallion and dismounted. She brought Odin back into his stall then untied the wolf from the saddle before she handed her horse to one of the stable boys.
The boy stared at the large wolf the queen brought back with her; it was large, the size of Odin, and looked absolutely vicious.
He watched as the queen walked away with the wolf in tow. He heard Odin snort unpleasantly; the horse was probably jealous that his mistress had taken interest in another animal instead of him for the first time.

Lightning led the wolf to the gardens then sighed as she turned to him.

"You can just stay here for now, until that wound of yours has healed and you've gotten your health back." She removed the rope from the beast's neck then nudged him forward. Noctis did not hesitate and swiftly ran away from the woman. He soon realized where he was; it was the royal gardens. He had heard that the garden of Bodum's royal family was so huge that it was like a forest.
At least he would have a lot of room to run free and stretch his legs. But what about food? He will not allow himself to be fed like a dog, no matter how starved he was.

He looked over his shoulder and found the queen speaking to one of her guards. The man seemed surprised for some reason and the queen's expression remained the same.
Noctis decided to think nothing of it as he found a nice spot to rest in for the night. He closed his eyes and allowed himself to fall among the soft grass of the large forest-like garden.

"My lady, are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Do I look as if I am joking?" Lightning said, fixing the soldier with a stern glare. The immediately backed down. "Don't worry; he will only be here until his wound has healed and when he is in full health again. In the meantime, make sure nothing harms the wolf." She said.
The solider seemed surprised. "But it is a wild animal my lady! It's dangerous to let it loose in the gardens. With it looking like a real forest, who knows when it will move on instinct and attack one of us." Lightning rolled her eyes at the man. "Then do not let anyone out into the gardens." The soldier tried to protest but decided against it and sighed in defeat. "Yes Highness."

Lightning nodded then dismissed him and entered her chambers.

Tiredly, she shrugged off her cloak, revealing her silver armor with a feathery sash attached around on the hip. She took off the shield that attached onto her left armguard and let it fall heavily onto the floor before she unbuckled her chest plate and let it join the shield.
She sat down on her large bed with a sigh; she had no idea what had possessed her to take in the large wolf. The animal's eyes seemed intelligent, more so than any other animal she had encountered, including well-trained dogs. Something about the wolf pulled her in but she could not place a finger on it. For now, she decided the reason was because she felt bad for the starved and wounded animal. Until then, that would be the reason she took him in.


Morning came quickly for Noctis. He opened his eyes and was greeted by green grass and colorful flowers. He got up and stretched; he had dreamt of Stella last night and what could have been if she had never betrayed him and if he had never disposed of her. He did not want to kill her, but he had no choice—she gave him no choice.

Suddenly, memories of yesterday came flowing back to him. He rushed out of the bushes and past the trees, only to be greeted by the sight of a palace. So he really did get escorted to the palace garden by the queen. He looked at his flank and saw the makeshift bandages there. It had all been real.

But why did the queen of all people save him? Help him?

Suddenly, the delicious scent of a wild deer caught his attention. But he was in a garden, how could there be deer here? Still, the instincts of his hunger kicked in and he searched for his prey. Immediately his keen eyes found the deer. He stalked, chased, and then pounced. He howled in victory when he caught his quarry then dug in, relishing the taste of the meat and the feeling of filling up his stomach again for a long time in weeks.

The soldiers watched as the wolf captured its prey.

The queen had insisted that instead of feeding the wolf like a pet dog, he was to hunt like he would in the wild. For this purpose, she ordered that wild deer, and anything else wolves hunted were to be captured and set loose in the gardens for the wolf to hunt; it was also a way to help the beast kept its wild and hunting instincts intact for when he returned to the wild. So far, the queen's idea was turning out nicely and might actually help, as long as the wolf did not feast on anyone of them.

Queen Lightning watched the short hunt from the library window.

She had gone in to do her usual morning reading until she noticed the wolf had actually taken the live offering. She felt a small bit of relief knowing the animal would not starve or forget how to hunt. She watched as the wolf cleaned himself after the meal before he strolled around the gardens, sniffing the grass and perhaps just getting used to the new surroundings.
Suddenly, his ear perked up and he looked up, catching a sight of her through the window. Lightning raised an eyebrow as the wolf stared at her; once again she could see some sort of human intelligence in the animal. Thinking nothing of it, she returned to her reading.

Noctis had felt someone was watching him so he looked upward only to find the queen had been looking down at him.

She seemed surprised that an animal like him would look back at her like he did but she seemed to dismiss this fact quickly and continued reading the book that was in her hands. Noctis could not remember the last time he read any good books.

All he remembered was seeing Stella in the library all the time. He had assumed she loved literature and reading like he did. But in truth, she had been digging; looking for books with information about his palace and about his family's bloodline, so she may find a weakness to him. But she did not need to; she made him weak by merely acting like she loved him only to betray him. He found it hard to hate her and many found it to be some sort of self-loathing obsession over the traitor princess he was going through.

Maybe he was obsessed with her. But how could he not be?

He looked up at the window and again and the queen was still there, reading. He wondered what she was reading; it was one of the things he missed doing as a human. Noctis turned away and trotted back into the dense part of the gardens to rest before he explored his temporary new residence.


"Lunch will be served in a minute, Highness." A redhead female servant said, smiling at her queen. Lightning nodded, not realizing that she had been sitting in the library and reading for hours now. "Thank you Vanille." "No problem!" Vanille said. She remained there for a moment until the young queen sighed and closed her book. "What?"

"You seemed so interested in that wolf. I heard from the guards that you saved him from hunters." Vanille said, clearly impressed with Lightning's kindness to animals. The strawberry-blonde stood up and placed the book she had been reading back on the shelf.
"It won't do the balance of nature any good if he was saved only to be dead later in a few hours. Our interference of the hunt would have been for nothing if the wolf died in the wild after saving him a while ago."

"Or maybe you just like animals…?" Vanille suggested. "I mean, look at Odin. I still remember what you two went through before he became your noble steed and war horse!" Lightning stared at Vanille disbelievingly. "How do you know these things?" The redhead giggled and poked the queen's shoulder. "I have my ways, Queen Farron…"

Lightning shook her head and walked out of the library, with Vanille at her heels.

"Today's meal is freshly cooked salmon and steamed vegetables. The chef figured you wanted a break from the liver dishes." Vanille said as they entered the dining hall. Lightning only nodded and took her seat at the large table. "Has the wolf been given his lunch yet?" She asked a guard that was in the room. The man nodded. "They are releasing another deer into the garden as we speak." "Good." The queen said, nodding in approval.

"Still, I must ask Majesty… Why are you keeping the beast here?"

"We got him away from the hunters to keep him alive. What good would it be if he just died in the wild anyway?"

The guard understood the queen's logic. Perhaps. "I still do not think it is safe." "Then don't walk into the gardens if you are so worried." Lightning said bluntly. "Highness…" The guard mumbled apologetically.
Lightning dismissed him just as lunch was served. She stared at the large portion of salmon on her plate and resisted the urge to pick at the food; she had not been feeling all that well today but she was certain it was nothing. Probably only anxiety or stress. Vanille noticed though. "Lightning? You okay?" "Fine, Vanille. Just tired; I didn't notice how long I had been reading."

The queen sighed and ate. The salmon tasted absolutely delicious. But for some reason, she did not feel like enjoying her meal completely. Nonetheless, she did her best to finish off what was on the table.

After lunch, she excused herself and heading for the gardens. She felt like taking another close look at the wolf that now resided there.
As odd as it may sound, perhaps even socializing with the animal would help with her anxiety; it was said that a bit of nature was good for the health. The guards and servants greeted her as she walked past. She acknowledged them with a nod as she strolled towards the gardens.

She easily spotted the wolf marking his territory on one of the trees.

Somehow, the scene seemed amusing that the wild beast would urinate on the plants here when he knew it was a human's garden.
As if sensing her presence, the wolf turned around and spotted her. He tensed and made a dash into the brushes. Lightning blinked. What had happened? Shaking it off, she followed the trail in which wolf had taken. She wondered if he had somehow set up a den in the garden. But even if he did not, he was in no danger of other animals. After all, this forest was only a garden that was as big as the real thing.

Noctis settled under the tree where he had last slept.

He had marked some of the other trees as his territory in case some of the palace's residents decided to do some studying on him. He was starting to feel better now that he had eaten and slept well; he could not remember the last time he had a good meal. He was sure that he would soon be able to get back on his own feet and return to the wild.
Suddenly, his keen ears heard the sound of rustling. He jumped up, hackles raised as he glared towards the direction of the sound. He paused when he saw who it was; Bodhum's queen stood there watching him. His ears lowered slightly as a sign of caution, and then he laid back down and attempted to ignore her.

Once in a while he glanced her way; she had not moved an inch since then and it surprised him that she did not react or recoil in fright when he snarled at her.

Lightning noticed the wolf's glances, and for some reason the action seemed human. But perhaps it was because he was a large anomaly of a wolf; yes maybe that was the case. She sat down on the grass and continued to watch the animal before her. She felt better already—she mentally noted to herself to thank whoever said that nature was good for one's health, because it was definitely true so far.
The wolf finally lifted his head and stared at her right in the eyes. The beast had dark blue eyes, and that was very unusual for a wolf; their eyes were usually yellow. Still, it had nice eyes and it calmed her down. One would think that it was a dangerous move to let one's guard down because a beast had such wonderful eyes; it could be a trap to make prey or enemies throw caution to the wind. But Lightning doubted it. If it were true, the wolf should have pounced on her in a split second.

"… You don't do much, do you?" She said finally, not sure what made her want to talk to a wolf of all things. The creature tilted his head at her curiously. Whether he was wondering why she was talking to him or he simply did not understand her, Lightning was not sure.
"I don't even know why I bother talking to you. You're a wolf, it's not like you understand me." Lightning said, partly to herself.

Noctis could not help but feel slightly offended by the remark. He barked as if to let her know that he did indeed know what she was saying.
The queen gave him a look. "Are you trying to say something?" He barked at her again. This time, she seemed impressed. "So you do understand me. Funny, a while ago you were just playing dumb, weren't you?" Noctis' ears stood up straight; did she know he could understand her this whole time? She did not know how he really was, did she? No, of course not. Nobody did except for his friends and father.

"Not a talker, are you?"

Bark.

"Didn't think so. I'm one to talk…" Lightning said, not at all happy with her little moment of perhaps a slight hypocrisy. She was not much of a talker either. She did not enjoy company or socialize much except with Odin or Vanille, and Fang, one of her generals.
The wolf sat up on his hunches and looked at her oddly. Smart wolf, Lightning thought. "I really don't know why I'm even talking to you. Understand me or not, this is not like me. Why do I even want to talk to anyone, let alone an animal I just met yesterday?"

The wolf barked again in response.

"Why were you by yourself when we found you? Usually wolves travel as a pack unless they are at a juvenile age when they leave their old pack to start their own. And judging by your age, you're not a juvenile." The queen said. Noctis was impressed with how much she knew about wildlife.
"No pack?" She asked. The wolf made a low growl and shook his head from left to right. Lightning blinked, surprised that he answered her. "… No mate either?"

That question struck a nerve.

Noctis lowered his head as one person entered his mind. Stella. She was his mate in life, his soulmate and fiancé until she… Noctis snarled to himself, forgetting the queen was watching him. "I apologize for bringing up bad memories. Just wondering." The wolf looked at her then whined in embarrassment; even though he was a wolf now, he was still a man underneath and a very shy one at that. Still, he was surprised that this woman of power was actually speaking to him as if he were a person and not as if he were a dog.

More curious than ever, he stood up then approached her slowly and cautiously. He moved his snout closer to her face until he noticed her reaching her hand out to him, understanding what he wanted to do. He lowered his head and sniffed her hand.
His cold wet nose pressing against her palm felt odd to Lightning at first but it was nice, almost comforting. Perhaps animals had that kind of feel to them if one just learned to trust them.

The wolf could smell nothing but sincerity on the queen. He had been right when he had thought she smelled like a rose. It was a nice smell, but it also let him know she meant him no harm. It was a first though; usually anyone would run away from him, but this woman just remained in place and allowed him to test her first.
He had no idea why she was being nice to him, even hospitable. He was an animal and yet she treated him like a person. He then thought back to how she treated her horse; he had not seen much yet but he sensed that the horse had been treated very well by this woman in front of him. One thing was off about her scent though. Aside from sincerity, he smelled something else. But he was not able to place a finger on it—metaphorically speaking, since he no longer hand fingers…

He stopped sniffing then looked at her again.

He tilted his head to the side then straightened up again. He wagged his tail a bit, a signal to let her know he would trust her for now.
She seemed to understand this and stood up as well. She walked away from him and Noctis could not help but follow. "How do you like it here so far? It's not much, but you'll feel better soon enough." Lightning said. Noctis was somewhat touched she would concern herself with an animal's health. He had no idea Bodhum's queen was such an animal lover. In fact, he did not know much about Bodhum or its ruler.

All he knew from what he had heard from his father was Bodhum's queen was very young; she was a just and fair ruler and she had a younger sister who was soon to be wed to the prince of Sunleth, Prince Villiers.

Once Noctis and his father were to hold a meeting with the queen but Noctis had declined and met up with Stella instead of attending the meeting, therefore he had never met or seen Queen Farron before. It surprised him that she was before him now, and indeed she was young. Probably a few years younger than him, yet she seemed more wise and mature beyond her years. Now that he thought of it, Noctis never saw her mother or father, nor did he hear any of the guards or servants speak of them. It was odd.

He looked at the queen's tunic. She was not wearing a woman's tunic, instead it was a tunic thay men or knights usually wore. He had no idea the queen was such a tomboy, then again he should have guessed from the way she fought a group of hunters all at once without blinking.
One thing was certain; Bodhum's queen was young and very much well-trained in the art of combat.

Noctis barked several times, speaking to her in the tongue of wolves. Of course she could not understand him, but she seemed to take a hint of what he wanted to say to her.
"You're new here, aren't you wolf?" She said and the animal barked, glad she took the hint. Lightning continued walking with him alongside her. "This is Bodhum. We're just a quiet country, and it's by the sea if you can believe that. I was told many people from all over come here to enjoy our fireworks and sunsets. I admit I do enjoy that once in a while. But I have been busy too often."
The wolf made a curious grunting sound. "You want to know about the royal family?" Lightning guessed. The black beast nodded his head. "I' don't know why an animal would want to know about the royal family…" Lightning seemed reluctant to tell him anything but she relented a bit. "All I can tell you is I am the only one left to look after this kingdom. I have a sister but…she married the prince of Sunleth." Queen Lightning seemed disdainful when she mentioned the last part.

Noctis was curious now; did something happen between the two princesses in the past? Did Queen Lightning hate her brother-in-law?

He kept making noises of curiosity; wanting to know more about the country he was in. It could help and since he now had the chance to meet the young mysterious queen face-to-face, it was a good opportunity.

The two of them spoke—in Noctis' case, barked—with each other for hours. The former prince could not remember the last time he socialized with other people outside of his palace. It was nice to meet a new acquaintance even though she had no idea who he really was. But he intended to keep it that way; he could not bear to change back into man after losing Stella and because she betrayed him. He loved her with all of him, he gave her everything and that was where people saw the problem. He gave too much to the point she could now take advantage of him. But she did love him for a bit, didn't she? Noctis felt his doubts but he still could not let go.

He felt less burdened as a wolf but that did not mean his heart was no longer broken.

Sensing a switch in the wolf's mood, Lightning turned to him. "Maybe you should rest now. You seem to be out of it." The wolf whined pathetically then turned around to run off back to where he usually rested.
Lightning watched as the wolf left without a second thought. Something seemed to be bothering the animal but she cannot tell what. Surprisingly, the wolf had been very good company. Finally remembering the time, Lightning headed back into the palace before the servants began fretting over nothing again. Dinner would be served soon and she had to make sure another deer was set loose in the garden for the wolf to find.

Meanwhile Noctis tried to relax his nerves. He felt so confused and frustrated; he kept thinking of those times he had with Stella years ago. He always wished she would forget her plots and just stays with him; he wished he could change her mind and make her truly love him. But she never did change her course. Did that mean she never loved him? And that he was never enough?
He hated this feeling he wanted to be rid of it. It was these dark gloomy feelings of pain that he was given the form of a wolf in the first place. He no longer cared what he was, not after what happened.


Noctis could feel his health returning to him as a mere day passed by.

The queen was generous the whole time and even kept visiting him in the gardens. He noticed how she sometimes did not seem well but would perk up to her usual self whenever they talked. Or at least, she did. He merely barked. But all the same…

Despite the cold front he saw her put up in front of other people, she was kind and gentle towards him. Soon he realized she was being herself around him; being with an animal she felt sure that she can be herself. Noctis felt grateful she could trust him with her problems, though at times he felt bad that he could not share his with her.
Still, it surprised him to learn how much burden the queen held inside her. To think she never spoke of these problems with anyone.

He was also amused at how much of a gentleman the queen was; he had once witnessed a maid trip and falling, hurting her ankle, Lightning had excused herself from her conversation with him and went over to check on the maid before carrying her like a knight would his lady. It was funny, at the same time, surprisingly. The queen was not the usual kind; she was a complete mystery.

Tonight, the queen had shocked both him and her servants even more; she brought Noctis into the palace with her.

The guards and servants jumped when they saw the large wolf following their queen around the halls. Noctis on the other hand enjoyed the feeling of being in a palace once more. It was just like home.
He was even allowed to eat at the table from a plate full of cooked food. The cooks protested, not wanting to have animal drool on their finest plates but Lightning silenced them with one look. She allowed him to dine with her on the condition that he still keeps his wild instincts intact. The fact that she was still concerned with him still remembering how to hunt touched him so he barked in agreement before the two of them dined together.

The last stop was in Lightning's room.

She went into the bathroom to bathe but Noctis was eager to see a bathtub again so he ended up slinking his way into the bathroom.
He found Lightning sitting in the large tub. The wolf could smell the bath oils and see the red rose petals on the water. His tail wagged at the sight of such a nice bathroom; the queen obviously likes keeping her chambers maintained.

Lightning noticed him after a while and gave him a look. "What are you doing in here?" The black wolf walked over and dipped his nose into the warm water. "Hey!" Lightning pushed his muzzle away and the animal barked in protest. "What? You want a bath?" She raised an eyebrow at him. The thought made Noctis perk up. He liked baths; as a wolf he would jump into rivers to clean his fur off.
He tried jumping into the tub, his playful animal side getting to him; he was acting like a dog that was ready for a swimming trip.

Lightning rolled her eyes and pushed him away again. In friendly retaliation, Noctis carefully picked up a rose petal from the water with his mouth and placed it on Lightning's head. The young queen blinked; did the wolf just tease her? She splashed water onto his face and the wolf barked playfully and lowered his front with his backside and tail in the air.
He was playing, Lightning realized. With a sigh, she moved aside and then without another thought, the black wolf jumped into the large tub.

Lightning turned her head away when he shook his fur.

Without much to do, she scrubbed the wolf down, as if giving a pet dog a bath. The gentle giant enjoyed it, liking how his fur was becoming clean once again in weeks, or even months.
Lightning was surprised at how much the wolf was enjoying having a bath. He just stood still while she scrubbed him until he was all clean.

She got out of the tub first and could have sworn the wolf looked away when she got out.

Noctis averted his eyes from her body when he saw her getting out of the tub. He may be a wolf and even though he had animal instincts that prevented him from shying away from close contact like he had a while ago in the bath, he was still a man on the inside and he was still polite enough to look away. After he noticed her covered in a towel, he got out as well and shook himself dry.
Lightning smirked when she noticed some rose petals were still on his fur.

She picked them off and the wolf barked thankfully.

When she dressed for bed, she allowed the wolf to decide whether he wanted to remain or go back into the garden. Lightning knew what the answer was when the wolf sat down on his haunches. She pets the top of his head then his muzzle before bidding him goodnight.
Noctis watched her for a bit then approached the window, staring up at the moon. He had stopped having nightmares of that day since then. He assumed it was due to the queen's friendship. She had been nice to him despite thinking he was just a mere wolf. But nonetheless, he was truly grateful. In away and to a little extent.

Still, despite how open she was with him even though she was so closed off to others, Noctis wondered if she ever felt lonely…

He shook his head from the thought. It should not matter to him after all; Bodhum's queen was of no importance to him. Not now and not ever. The only thing that mattered anymore was gone forever and Noctis intended to keep it with him despite the words of others. It may be selfish but he did not care. For once he wanted it to be about him for once. Everything revolved around everybody else! For once it should be about him! He felt pain was well! He deserved to have everything revolve around him just this once!

When the wolf lifted his head and nearly jumped when he saw Queen Lightning's eyes staring right at him. "You contemplate a little too loudly." She said, her expression looking neither annoyed nor tired. Noctis snorted and placed his paws over his eyes, trying to shut everything thing else out.

Lightning sat up and got out off her bed before she approached the large lupine and stroked the fur of his back. The large wolf sat up on his haunches and stared at the queen firmly. Rather than flinch away, the monarch held the scruff of the wolf's neck and guided him out of the room and down the hall. Noctis looked at her with puzzlement written in his beastly face; what was she up to?

The queen led him to the kitchen and had him sit still for a moment.

Noctis cocked his head curiously then noticed Lightning taking out several pieces of cold meat. She tossed the pieces at him and he gladly wolfed them down. The young queen sighed and sat herself on the floor, beside the wolf while he ate. The animal seemed to feel better now and she was glad for that. It only took several pieces of food to make them feel better at times.
Once the beast was done, he nudged Lightning's head with his nose a little roughly, as if demanding to know why she was being this courteous to him, and what was in it for her in return.

Lightning was not sure how but she felt she understood him. He may be a wild animal, but his eyes possessed an intelligence that no normal animal could ever have. And his size was physical proof that he was most likely not an ordinary wolf; perhaps he was something far beyond that? Who knew?

Lightning gently tapped the animal's muzzle and he moved away slightly.

"You are more than you seem." Lightning commented, looking directly into the wolf's eyes knowingly. Noctis tensed at her words and snarled at her. The queen was unbothered with the reaction. "I won't pry if that is what you wish. Animal or not, you seem much more intelligent than most." The queen chuckled a bit, "If I said this in front of Odin I am sure he would not like it."
Noctis thought for a moment; indeed, the queen's noble steed seemed rather intelligent, more than other mounts at least. However, so far Odin was the only horse Noctis ever encountered.

Horses were extremely rare, as chocobos were the only well known steeds.

How Queen Farron managed to find and tame a horse was beyond him. But perhaps it might have been sheer luck; horses were rare, but not non-existent. Though people preferred chocobos since they were easy to find and more abundant than horses. To have such a steed would be an amazing feat and Queen Farron seemed to have achieved it.

"Do you wish to return to the garden?" Lightning asked finally. The wolf stared at her then got up and left her to head back to the gardens.

Lightning left as well and after making sure the large wolf did indeed manage to find his way back, she headed to her chambers to rest for the night. The moon shone on her as she lay on her bed, eyes open and mind wandering. "Odd…" She sat up and rubbed her forehead. Rest was simply not coming to her. The queen turned her line of vision to her window where the moon shone its ethereal light; it was almost as if the gods were showering the world in their glow.

"Sleep in peace, Divine Etro…"


I will end it here for now.

Once again I want to thank all of those who have read Chronicles up to its latest chapter so far. You have inspired me and gave me the drive to keep writing. Now all of you get to have Lonely Queen arc as a new story. However, I gave it this new title because Lonely Queen as I mentioned before, is not a suiting title to the full version of this story.

Also please remember that since this is now a full story there will be new and extended scenes and moments that will happen and appear in the chapters. Because Chronicles is a drabbles fanfiction I could not just show everything there. So now that the LQ ac is a story of its own everything can be shown here.

I hope you enjoyed reading the first chapter of this new story and hope you would like to see more of it. I am still willing to answer any questions if you are confused about something. But as always have fun reading and I will see you all again soon.

One more thing before I take off, I want you guess to think for yourself and try to guess why this title is called "Sanctuaire". There is a reason I titled it this, and I wanted you all to know as well by trying to understand it yourself. Have fun guessing!

Until then…