Untold Omens
Chapter One: The Missing Act
For generations, the House of Amicitia served the crown as their trusted shields. Sons and daughters of the line endured training at a young age in order to fulfill their role as the sole protectors of their king or queen. With their focus entirely devoted to the crown, the Amicitia relied on the Hesters to act as their chamberlain to handle and maintain their daily livelihood.
The current chamberlain, Jared Hester upheld his role for two generations by the time Clarus Amicitia, shield to the current King Regis Lucis Caelum, took over as head of the Amicitia house. While the man hoped to continue his role for a third generation of Amicitia when Gladiolus succeeds his father, it was unlikely he would be able to do so due to his health and age. Another Hester will have to take Jared's place and continue service to the Amicitia as their chamberlain.
Logically, the next successor would be his son Alder Hester. However, be it fate or luck, Alder had a daughter who was close in age to Gladiolus and so it was decided that the next successors forge a bond from childhood. Under normal circumstances, their machinations might have worked flawlessly, except… there was nothing normal about the circumstances around Aracelis Hester. To those around her, she seemed nothing more than another small nobility that serves the crown.
In actuality?
"I've reincarnated into an auditing nightmare," muttered Aracelis under her breath as she dragged a hand over her face and covered her mouth. Her eyes glared down at her grandfather's handwritten ledgers for the Amicitia family.
At age sixteen, Aracelis had close to two decades to adjust to her new life in Eos. For the most part, Insomnia was very much like any major city back in her old life. Tall buildings, dense population, bureaucracy and of course who can forget good old fashion patriotic bigotry and nepotism. If not for the reigning monarchies and the magical walls around the city, she could very well have thought she ended up in some foreign country back home.
Well… that and the whole going through puberty again bit.
"Stupid muscle-headed Amicitia and their penchant for property damage and weapon repairs!" muttered the girl darkly as she resumed transcribing everything onto her laptop. Her grandfather was far from being tech savvy and had been handling the Amicitia accounts in the most archaic manner.
As the person who will eventually take over his position as chamberlain to the Amicitia, she was the prime candidate for the arduous task of scanning and transcribing everything into her systems… not that any of it matters in six years' time. Who cares about paperwork and numbers when the world is plunged into a decade of endless darkness? The only reason she bothered with the busywork was for the sake of maintaining appearances.
"Wooh, someone's in trouble!" sang a girlish voice playfully before Aracelis drew her attention away from her screen and glanced up to the door of her grandfather's office.
"Iris," said Aracelis in surprise as she pushed her glasses back up the bridge of her nose and greeted the small 10-year-old. "What are you doing here?"
"Gladdy won't be around at all today!" giggled the young Amicitia as she scurried in and plopped down on the chair across from Aracelis' desk; her hands gripped the edge of the chair between her legs. "Which means you can train me today!"
"We spoke about this already Iris," sighed Aracelis as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "The way I fight is not fitting for a Lady of the Amicitia family."
"But I've never seen anyone that's not dad beat Gladdy!" protested Iris.
"…Kicking him in the balls is not exactly a fair fight," retorted the older teen dryly.
In her previous life, Aracelis took up Krav Maga as a means of self-defense. Where she lived, pepper sprays and tasers were considered illegal, even if used in self-defense, and at the time she was not in a financial position that allowed her to move to a safer neighborhood. She was neither a bodybuilder nor a professional athlete. Krav Maga gave her a fighting chance against bigger and stronger attackers, whereas other disciplines would require years of training and physical conditioning before she could even use it.
Of course, even with a fighting chance, if she faced with more than one opponent at a time she would have to flee. Unlike the Amicitia, Aracelis was not built for combat, be it this life or her last. Her slender physique made it impractical for her to be a fighter. If she had to use a weapon, the only logical choice would be guns. Unfortunately for her, Insomnia regulated firearms heavily. She needed to be 18 with several months of psychological evaluations before she could even apply for a permit. Crownsguard and Kingsglaive were the only exceptions to the rule. As the chamberlain successor to the Amicitia, if she attempted to apply to either group, she would come off as not only questionable, but suspicious.
"Yeah, but it doesn't mean it doesn't count," chirped Iris. "Please Arie! Pretty please! I promise I won't use it on anyone except Gladdy!"
"Pft," snorted Aracelis in amusement. "Even if I teach you, you're not going to be able to do anything to your brother until you grow a couple of more feet."
"Ariiieeee!" whined Iris with a pout as she jumped up onto the chair and planted her small hands on the desk.
The image was absurdly cute and Aracelis found it hard-pressed to refuse the young Amicitia. She managed to hold out for mere minutes longer before her resolve caved. After saving her work and properly storing away her personal laptop, she followed the younger girl to the estate's private gym and… proceeded to teach the girl yoga instead.
"This isn't what you used on Gladdy!" complained the girl as struggled to get into the bridge-wheel pose.
"Got to build your basics first," chuckled Aracelis as she maintained the pose with even breaths.
Despite yoga's pretentious hipster reputation in her previous life, it was legitimately a good method to segue into building flexible and essential muscles for combat. Sure, compared to intense cardio workouts and weight-training it's unimpressive to spectators. However, it wasn't like Aracelis was trying to impress anyone. As long as she reached her goal in the quickest manner, she could care less about what others thought.
"Ngghh, gah!" screamed Iris as she dropped to the ground in defeat.
"Catch your breath and try again," chided Aracelis absently as she slowly lifted one leg at a time until she achieved a handstand. Her body trembled and her breath hitched as she struggled to maintain her balance.
"… What on Eos are you two doing?" a confused voice asked from the gym's entrance.
"Gladdy!" yelped Iris in surprise as she scrambled to sit upright from where she sprawled a moment ago. "I thought you were going to be gone all day!"
"And you are supposed to be studying," retorted Gladdy or more commonly Gladio, with his arms crossed. "Not bothering Arie to teach you weird stuff."
"As if you don't teach weird stuff yourself Gladio," drawled Aracelis as she allowed her feet to fall to the ground and righted herself up again. "Shouldn't you be training the prince today?"
"You were going to see Noct today?" Iris chimed in.
"Prince Charmless played hooky," rumbled Gladio in annoyance.
"…And you're letting him?" noted Aracelis with a raised brow.
"He wishes," scoffed Gladio. "I need you to access his expense reports and narrow down where the hell he spends his time."
"And… what makes you think I can do that?" frowned the bespectacled-brunette "I work with your family accounts, I don't have access to the prince's expense reports."
"…I don't know, you're smart. Figure something out for me!" exclaimed Gladio.
"The prince is a privileged and sheltered 14-year-old boy," rationalized Aracelis. "Where do you expect him to go? He's probably at the movies with his friends or bombing his allowance money at the arcade and—"
A cheeky grin crossed Gladio's face as Aracelis groaned in realization.
"…You want a list of all the theatres and arcades by the prince's school now, don't you?" sighed Aracelis as she slipped a hand underneath her glasses to rub her face in annoyance.
"See, I knew I was right coming to you," grinned Gladio cheekily as he rested an arm on the doorframe.
"You figured that out already on your own," glared Aracelis in accusation. "You're just too lazy to look up the information yourself!"
"But you do it so much better, organizing the most efficient route to hit all of them in record time," reasoned Gladiolus.
"Do it yourself," refused Aracelis.
"Have a heart Arie," pleaded Gladio with mock puppy-eyes.
"Gaah! Arie make him stop! He's being creepy!" gagged Iris as she jumped up and ran behind the older girl.
"Hey!" shouted the older Amicitia with indignation.
"Well you are!" teased the smaller girl sticking her tongue out childishly.
"She's got you there," snorted Aracelis in amusement much to his annoyance.
"Whatever, can you get me that list or not?" grounded Gladiolus.
"Fine, fine," sighed Aracelis in resignation as she walked towards the bench to pick up her towel and hoodie before the Amicitia siblings followed her back to her grandfather's office.
For Aracelis, she'd known Gladio her whole life. As children, he attempted to lord over her with his position as her future employer. She learned to ignore him, at least until she was able to toss him over her shoulder and dropkick him. If Gladio learned anything from the experience, it was Aracelis' extreme methodical disposition. Even if she does not appear to be angry, it's only because she's biding her time until she finds the right moment to enact retribution.
It made her an excellent planner and Gladio openly took advantage of her skills out of practicality. If Aracelis had to describe her relationship with Gladio in a single word, she would say it's vexing. Not because she hated the older teen. It's more the fact they knew each other too well. Having grown up together, he knew how to drive her mad and she knew how to put him in his place if need be. It's a wonder they haven't killed each other yet.
"Here, now get out of my face," shooed Aracelis after she handed him a printout with a markup route around the city center where he would most likely find the wayward prince.
"Thanks," said Gladio as he glanced over the sheet. "Ugh… why are there so many of these places. You wanna come along and help?"
"The prince is your responsibility, not mine," grumbled Aracelis.
"I need someone to man the car while I run in and out of these places, it's going to be impossible to get around with public transportation and still get the prince back to the Citadel in time," reasoned Gladio.
"No," refused Aracelis. He probably wanted her to come along so he could man the car himself and have her run in and out of the arcades to look for the prince.
"Fine, be like that," groused the older teen. His hand crumpled the sheet in his hand before he turned his heel to leave the room.
"What a grumpy butt!" said Iris as she stuck her tongue out. "Come on Arie, let's go back to training."
"Hmm…" Aracelis frowned as she watched Gladio's retreating form. Now that she thought about it, it would take some time for him to do everything himself, especially with rush hour coming in.
"Arie?" called out Iris as she tugged at the older girl's sleeve.
"Let's do a rain check on the training for today Iris," suggested Aracelis as she patted the girl's head.
"But you promised!" whined Iris.
"Sorry, we'll train next time okay?" apologized the older teen before she circled round her desk and made her way out the door.
Down the hall, she could see Gladio studying the sheet she printed out for him as he briskly made his way towards the garage. Maybe he did intend for her to man the car while he went after the prince. With a resigned sigh, Aracelis shook her head and sprinted to catch up with the older teen. Gladio paused when he heard her coming close and glanced back with a questioning gaze.
"You owe me," noted Aracelis.
"Sure," grinned Gladio as they made their way to the garage.
Once there, Aracelis took the wheel. Though she was technically under aged, Gladio had had gotten special permissions for her to take her driving exams earlier as a birthday present. Of course, the car she used belonged to the Amicitia family, but between her and Gladio, they managed to convince Clarus it was a necessity.
"Doesn't the prince have minders?" asked Aracelis as she drove away from the Amicitia estates and out towards the highway.
"He gave them the slip," grumbled Gladio as he studied the map she printed out for him earlier.
"How?" frowned Aracelis.
Ironically, in all the years she lived in Insomnia, she never formally met Noctis. Beyond Iris' girlish crush and second-hand stories from Gladio, she didn't see a point to do so. Bad enough she had no clue how she ended up in this world, but knowing what's to come made it worse. Her grandfather of this life had died in the original story because of his association through the Amicitia family. She'd hate to see how much bigger the target would be on her and her family if she dared to involve herself in the prince's life.
As she cannot join Crownsguard nor Kingsglaive, it's best she remain a stranger to him. Even more so now since he entered high school. This is the year the prince develops his closest bonds to his future Crownsguards. She didn't want to risk any disruption. The fate of the world depended on them after all.
"He learned how to warp and phase a while ago. The little shit's been using the warp escape his guards," muttered the older teen.
"Sounds like he needs better guards," commented Aracelis as she drove off the highway and onto the local streets.
"More like a thorough ass whooping," rumbled Gladio. "As a prince, he needs to know every action he makes has consequences. He can't just act like a child."
"Ignoring the fact that the prince is a child," noted Aracelis dryly. "Corporal punishment, is rather archaic don't you think?"
"Sometimes the classics are the best teachers," dismissed Gladio casually before he sat up and tapped the dashboard. "Stop here, I see him."
"Hmm?" hummed the brunette as she drew her attention briefly away from the road to follow his line of sight.
True to his word, Noctis was idly strolling down the street. However… something wasn't right. Aracelis' eyes narrowed as she hastily double-parked the car and allowed Gladio to run out after the boy. She watched as the larger teen planted a hand on Noctis' shoulder. The young prince barely glanced back, but at the sight of Gladio, a soft scowl crossed his face. The two began a cold exchange as Noctis dismissively brushed off the older teen's hand from his shoulder.
Aracelis frowned as the wrongness continued to grow with each exchange. She heard from Gladio countless times about the prince's slothfulness, but what she saw was closer to lethargy. She never gave it much thought since she assumed it was nothing more than exasperated fondness. However, seeing them now, she found herself reevaluating her initial assessment.
From what she remembered, Noctis and Gladio were prone to butt heads with one another from time to time. However, the longer she observed them, the more she noticed the iciness between the two. Back straight and expression cold, Noctis looked as though he couldn't care less about Gladio's existence. The Amicitia teen wasn't any better, towering over the younger boy with his chin raised and his eyes glaring down.
Gladio had to forcibly steer Noctis towards the car and ripped the back door open. He waited only long enough for the younger boy to get his legs in before slamming the door shut and taking the front seat.
"Your highness," greeted Aracelis, but the dark-haired boy ignored her in favor of resting his chin on the back of his hand and staring out of the window.
"Ignore him," said Gladio as he buckled in. "Let's head back to the Citadel."
Aracelis spared a glance at the solemn prince before she merged back into traffic and made her way to the Citadel. There was something oddly familiar about the way Noctis acted despite the wrongness of it all. She focused on driving to distract herself from the niggling thoughts, but in the end it served to worry her more. By the time they reached their destination, dusk had begun to set with a lovely orange hue tinging the building's white surface as the sky darkened to night.
"Thanks for the help Aracelis," said Gladio once he got the prince out of the car.
"…Sure," murmured the brunette as she eyed him with furrowed brows. Gladio never calls her by full name unless they were in formal company. The only other person around now was the prince, it made no sense for him to act like this around him. Unless… "Will you need a ride back to the estates later?"
"I'll make my way back on my own," replied Gladio with a questioning gaze, it was unlike her to offer something like this. "You can head back first."
"If the prince requires a ride as well, I don't mind coming back to pick you up," offered Aracelis, drawing a look of surprise from Noctis and a scoff from Gladio.
"To where? By the time he's done with training, it'll be his curfew, he won't be able to go anywhere," noted Gladio in bewilderment. "Unless you want to come pick me up."
"Maybe when I no longer have standards or any modicum of self-respect," replied Aracelis airily. She enjoyed the indignation on Gladio's face and Noctis' hasty attempt to hide his snicker behind a well-timed cough. The hint of mirth suited the prince far more than the solemnness he displayed in the car. "I hope you have a good evening, your highness."
"Night," dismissed Noctis with a wave as he turned to head back to the Citadel in better spirits.
Gladio shot her a confused, yet betrayed glare before trailing after the prince. With both of them gone, Aracelis steered her car through the roundabout and out the front gates. From what she observed, it seem like the prince was still living at the Citadel instead of his own apartment like she remembered.
Not yet a glaring concern, since it's quite possible he moved at a later date during rather than the start. Yet, the exchange between the future shield and prince disturbed her. She couldn't stop herself from fidgeting and tapping an irregular beat on her steering wheel.
Rather than sit through traffic and torment herself further with these thoughts, Aracelis decided to take a quieter path back home. Except… she probably should've sat through the traffic. The street lights were much dimmer on the quieter streets and there were no pedestrian sidewalks. When a jogger came across her car, she barely managed to slam her foot on the break in time. A look of panic crossed the blond's face before he tripped over his feet and hit the ground.
"Shit!" whispered Aracelis, her face white with terror as she yanked up her brakes. With her car secured, she kicked her door open and scrambled out of her car to check the blond. "Hey! You okay?"
A hefty teen sat barely a foot away from the front of the car, stunned and shaken by the close call. At a quick glance over, he didn't seem hurt, but she rather not risk a lawsuit.
"Hey, are you okay?" She repeated, this time with more effort. The wide-eyed young man turned his attention to her.
"Y-Yeah," stuttered the teen. He waved off her concern and attempted to recompose himself. "I'm fine."
"Thank goodness." Aracelis breathed in relief as she offered a hand to help him up. "Well, I'm glad you're okay. Maybe next time you should wear some reflectors if you decide to jog at night. You know… less likely someone would hit you."
"Umm… I guess I probably should've done that," chuckled the teen sheepishly as he grabbed onto her hand. "I usually run down this block because cars rarely go through here. Guess I should've been more careful…"
Aracelis grimaced, partially from the weight, but mostly because this really was her fault. "Are you going to be all right? I can drive you home or to the hospital if you need it."
"No, no, I'm fine you don't have to go through the trouble to—" continued the teen before one of residents in the neighborhood stuck his head out from his house to check on the commotion.
"Is everything all right Prompto?" asked the man as he eyed the blond, the car and Aracelis in turn.
"Mr. Colias!" yelped the teen nervously as he scratched the back of his neck. "Everything's fine! Just a little acci—I mean misunderstanding! Nothing happened."
"Hmm?" frowned the man as he eyed Aracelis once more. "You sure? I can call the cops for you if you need it son."
"I'm sure!" continued Prompto as he did his best to dissuade the local resident from getting the authorities involved.
Any other time, Aracelis would have tried to convince him to mind his own business. However, she was more preoccupied by the hefty teen she nearly ran over. The man called him Prompto, the prince's gunslinger high school friend turned Crownsguard.
Blond hair, blue eyes and glasses were a bit too general of a description to accurately identify someone, but what were the chances of someone with those identifiers to also be named Prompto? Not to mention, this Prompto seemed like a good 30-40 pounds heavier than average with roughly 30% body fat. Not obese, but not exactly battle ready either.
"Um… are you okay miss?" asked Prompto meekly as he waved a hand in front of her face to catch her attention.
"My apologies," said Aracelis with a shake of her head to gather herself. "If you don't mind me asking, do you happen to attend Mysidia Academy by chance?"
"Oh, uh yeah, why do you ask?" replied the blond with a confused tilt to his head.
It really was Prompto, Aracelis concluded worriedly. From the looks of it, the teen wasn't friends with the prince yet. The sense of wrongness returned again, this time more daunting than when she was with Gladio and Noctis.
"Just a passing curiosity," answered Aracelis. She fought back a grimace at her next actions. "Hey listen, I feel really bad for nearly running you over, so…"
She walked back to her car and rummaged through her bag for a business card. While it was rather odd for someone her age to carry business cards, she enjoyed the convenience of not having to write down her contact information whenever she needed to share it with someone.
"Here's my card, feel free to call me if you need something," offered Aracelis as she made her way back to Prompto.
"What? No!" said Prompto in confusion before he waved his hands frantically to decline. "It's okay, I don't need anything."
"I insist," pressured Aracelis. She grabbed hold of his hand and curled his fingers over the card.
Judging by his personality, she doubted that he would ever bother, but this gave her an excuse to approach him at a later date if need be. Something is sorely wrong with this world and she must figure out why.