Night and Day
Chapter II
One last night of Insomnia
The bell finally rang which commenced the end of the school day.
Sol stretched as she walked down the hallway in peace, relived the day was finally over along with her exams finally behind her. Although she was confident she would graduate top of her class like Noct, there was still the usual stress and fear of failure that plagued her prior to the exams.
She would have to thank Ignis for his extra tutoring, the man was adamant she'd pass with flying colours like her brother, though she did show interest in passing and getting a good score. Adjusting her school back on her shoulder, Sol pulled her phone out to see if Noct texted her about his exams. To her delight he did in fact finish just as she did and was currently waiting by the school gates, and below his message was what looked to be a selfie of him and his best friend Prompto.
She smiled at the goofy look Prompto gave with her brother giving what she dubbed "half effort smiling Noct". The blond had been a god send for her brother she would openly admit to anyone, bringing him smiles and what he wanted for so long, a true friend. Now granted she was a little apprehensive about him, not forgetting the other "friends" of her brother, but upon meeting him her worries were relived. He was smiling and joking with him while being very nervous around her, which only assured her he just wanted to be friends with Noct.
Looking at her brother she was somewhat amazed by how much they grew in the school years, her brother looking so much like a prince as many of his fans would say, and even she herself thought he was a broody prince charming, or as Gladio would call him, "Prince Charmless". Sol's own looks had given her a royal look too, her black hair was short like her brother's just bed hair messier and unkempt, she was happy she grew a little taller with her cobalt eyes shining with wisdom and youth.
'Sol~', a voice called before the princess felt a pair of arms wrapping around her, catching her off guard. She stumbled but smiled in good nature as she glanced back at her hugger. Unius, her best friend was like the sun, beaming and bright. 'I'm guessing you passed your exams?', she asked while dragging her buddy. 'Yup~', she said with a toothy grin. Her best friend since they were children, Unius was the same height as Sol albeit with a little more muscle.
She wore a blue band around the top of her head, long golden locks with several of her hair in braids around the band. Deepest green eyes she had ever seen that were filled with cheer and fun, a perfect match for a princess her advisor once said. Unius threw both her hands behind her head with her bag, walking alongside her friend as they talked about their exams and lessons. They exited the school building and as the sun begun to set behind the large buildings, Sol spotted Prompto and Noct standing by the gate, the former with his camera in hand.
'Hey girls!', the blond said with wave. 'Take any good pics Prompto?', inquired Sol with a friendly smile. At this, he showed the two some as expected, impressive photos of the school grounds, the nature and a few cats he spotted on the walls of Insomnia. One photo to Sol's amusement was one showing Noct at his own P:E during a break, doing what she believed was a bicycle kick. He managed to capture the look of concentration on the prince, the sweaty forehead with the flying shred of grass around him.
'That's so cool!', Unius proclaimed with sparkle in her eyes, looking at him with obvious admiration while Noct just shrugged. 'Yes it is, you made Noctis look invested in something outside of video games', Sol teased. Her brother gave Sol a withering glare before he huffed and waited for Ignis to arrive and pick them up.
'So what's our plan for tonight?', Prompto asked he showed more of his photos to the girls.
'Iggy wants everyone at Noct's apartment tonight, says he's got something to tell us', Sol answered.
'Think it has anything to do with the wedding?'.
'I wouldn't put it past Specs to keep us in suspense', Noct mused with a smirk on his lips.
Speaking of the man, a black car rolled up by the school gates with Ignis in the driver's seat with a passenger beside him. The four entered the car with their bags in the trunk. 'Afternoon Ignis, Nigrum', Sol greeted kindly with her usual smiling look.
'To you as well Sol', Ignis replied smoothly.
'Got out of meetings did ya?', Noct asked.
'Most of them were reminders, just ensuring we're aware of the journey tomorrow', Nigrum explained as they drove off. 'The king was insistent that we are prepped for the long journey'.
These two were the royal advisors to their prince and princess, with Ignis for Noct and Nigrum to Sol. Nigrum roughly the same age of Ignis with long chocolate coloured hair that reached his shoulders but was well groomed and cared for, amber coloured eyes that held vigilance within, wearing a simple white and grey shirt with black suspenders and pair of black slacks. Sol spotted a bit of his ink work on the right side of his neck, violet and white. Her guardian and advisor during her studies of being an ambassador, he helped educate her on politics and defended her like a shield.
'Can't believe you're getting hitched already', Prompto mused as he took a few pictures as they passed by the neighbourhood.
'My little brother's growing up so fast', Sol said with a mock sniffle.
'Get off. We're twins!', argued the prince.
'But I was born earlier by two minutes and thirty-two seconds! Therefore, I am the older sister'.
'That doesn't count!'.
'Yes it does!'.
Ignis let out a sigh as the popular argument between the two returned while Nigrum rolled his eyes, giving his friend the same look they shared. 'It's hard to believe these are our future rulers isn't it?', he sighed. 'Indeed…our royal charges may have grown but still bicker like children', he agreed.
Training Hall
Gladio brought down his massive broad sword upon his assailant with a roar. His assailant however rolled from the attack and onto his knees, a katana in his hands as he swung upwards to the giant but just missing his chin as he leaned backwards form the attack.
Armis growled as he rapidly swung at his much larger and stronger enemy, their blades clashed and echoed in the halls until when both warriors swung their weapons at once, they ended up into a deadlock. 'Damn you, you're gonna pay for what you did!', promised the giant as he struggled against the smaller warrior. Armis grunted and side stepped allowing Gladio to stagger forward but when he tried to take the chance to cut Gladio's now exposed shoulder the warrior turned and took a wild swing at the foe.
Forced back, Armis leapt back to evade the large blade. Panting heavily with sweat trailing down both their foreheads, the two charged again, Gladio blocking a thrust from the samurai with the body of the great sword. He knocked the blade aside and with a spin elbowed the samurai in his jaw which caused him to stagger back with a grunt until he made a miss-step and fell on his back. But even as Gladio towered over him, Armis dropped the blade beside him, placing both hands beside his head and rolled onto his shoulders.
He then kicked forward and both of his feet collided with Gladio's chest, knocking the wind out of him and forcing him to fall backwards with a heavy thud. Quickly Armis grabbed his sword once he got back to his feet and quickly ran at his fallen enemy and brought his sword down with a cry. Gladio, however, didn't lose his grip on the sword and quickly used it to block Armis' own attack. Pushing him back with a kick to his stomach, Gladio quickly getting back to his feet and brought his blade to the upper left.
Armis grunted as he parried the attack that went over his head, spun around and resumed his stance with the blade being held by both hands upwards, glaring at the giant. He smirked. 'Die', he ordered. Their stances shifted, shoulders shook and lips quivered before finally Gladio let out a barely contained laugh as Armis hunched over in laughter. Weapons dropped as the two shared a laugh between them, Gladio shoving the younger man slight but the samurai retorted with a push of his own. Eventually the giant grabbed him into a neck hold while rubbing his knuckle into his head.
'What the hell was that? "Die"? Ya can't just spout that while standing!', Gladio said. Armis chuckled as he elbowed him in the gut freeing himself and giving him a few mock jabs to his bicep. 'You're one to talk! "You're gonna pay for what you did", I could barely keep myself from laughing!', Armis accused as he managed to land a few hits to his friend. Eventually the two fell against the walls as the laughter died out, exhaustion taking over them.
'You've gotten stronger', Gladio commented.
'Yeah, all those sessions finally paid off', Armis agreed.
'Still not as good as me but~'.
'Screw you', he laughed.
Armis is younger than Gladio by two years but his skills as a warrior is on par with the shield, he was an inch shorter than Gladio wearing a simple grey and black t-shirt with obvious sweat stains around his body with grey tracksuit pants and grey boots, hair was a dark brown with the fringes tinted blond. It wasn't natural as assured but he lost a bet with Ignis awhile back to dye them blond for a while. His role within the Crownsguard was similar to Gladio's, except instead of being the "Shield" to the prince, he was the "Sword" to the princess.
'So tomorrow, we're off to Altissia', Armis hummed, looking up through the skylight to see the day darkening.
'Yeah, where our beloved prince Charmless is going to get hitched', Gladio agreed.
Armis chuckled at the nickname, no doubt Noct would kick his ass if he heard it.
Then Armis' phone beeped from the gym bag on the bench near the weapons rack. The younger man picked up the sword and approached the bag as Gladio holstered his weapon. Returning his favourite weapon of choice he picked his phone out of the bag and tapped it to answer.
'Fortibus', he answered formally.
'Brother, are you and Gladio finished?'.
Armis smirked at his brother's voice and leaned against the wall. 'Yeah we've just finished up, you guys at Noct's place?', he inquired. 'Yes, Ignis is hoping you four will show up soon, her grace is getting a little impatient'.
'Understood, we're on the way', Armis said. Once he hung up he just caught the bottle of water from Gladio. With a smirk the two warriors left the training room to round up their fellow Crowns guards.
Gardens
Mederis stilled herself as she knelt down hidden in the foliage of the garden, her breathing and heart rate slow as a turtle as her ears were on full alert. With a soft inhale of breath from her nose and through her mouth she placed her hand on the barrel of the rifle in her hand.
"She's quiet…", she mused. Suddenly she heard it, footsteps upon the fallen leaves. On her left. Slowly Mederis slowly turned her head and just barely caught a silhouette brush past the greenery and even ruffled some of the leaves that caused a few to fall to the ground. Mederis smirked.
She took out from her concealed holster a small hand gun and turned to the left and took a shot. The gun boomed loudly scaring the birds that nested in the garden, but that wasn't all she startled. She heard the sounds of a body jumping and rolling onto the ground but also an increase in footsteps. Mederis turned around discarding the hand weapon and with both hands took aim with her rifle but it was too late for her, as her target leapt through the foliage and with both hands she grabbed her shoulders.
The tackle caused Mederis' gun to be pressed against her chest as the target forced them both out of the foliage and into the open. The assailant placed her knee on Mederis right arm to hold her in place but the soldier didn't need an arm to free herself. She smacked her head against the target's forehead, causing them to stumble off them, Mederis took this chance to roll onto her back and in a crouched position took aim.
The rifle fired a silent shot via the suppresser attachment to the barrel of the weapon but the target rolled to her left and tossed during her roll a small kunai. The black knife stabbed into the gun, forcing, Mederis to drop the weapon as the target drew another kunai from her pouch and leapt at her. Mederis however parried her attack with her left hand, kicked the enemy's left leg to knock their balance off and with the palm of her right hand punched the target shoulder.
She stumbled backwards but Mederis grabbed her left arm, twisted it until she dropped her weapon and then flung her over Mederis shoulder and slammed her onto the ground with a heavy thud. She grabbed the dropped kunai and pressed it against her neck, forcing any attempts to escape to decease. 'Mission failed', she commented.
'…Failure', the assailant admitted.
Mederis smirked as she released her arm and helped her back to her feet. 'You came close though, had it not been for CQC, I'd be a corpse by now', she said kindly. 'Hardly a consolation', her friend replied.
Cultro tugged down her mask to show disappointment and frustration on her face, putting her kunai back into her pouch. 'Take pride you managed to disarm me and leave me unarmed', Mederis said, gesturing her now useless weapon on the ground. Mederis is the oldest among the group by one month from Gladio, healthy tanned skin showing a tattoo on her right eye shaped like a tribal tattoo, her hair silver long that touched her shoulders, topaz coloured eyes. The Crownsguard doctor and old espionage agent of Cor's group, Mederis had been reassigned to watch over the royal twins.
Cultro is a bit taller than the silver woman, her black as the night with purple-blue coloured eyes, a small scar on her left eye brow from previous mistakes. Paler skin than most residents of Insomnia and her accent had a touch of Tenebrae, Cultro is the royal "Eyes" of the royal family and their assassin. Mederis patted her shoulder kindly as she turned to the left to see Gladio and Armis already dressed and showered from their own training.
'So what's the score?', Armis asked with a grin.
'5:8', Mederis commented, picking up her mock-rifle and yanking the kunai out of the barrel.
'Getting a bit sloppy there Cul', Gladio teased while ruffling her hair.
She grunted before swatting his hand away from her hair, it must be so nice to be tall. Once everyone gathered up the equipment and after the ladies cleaned themselves up, they all hopped into Mederis car with Gladio in the front seat with the other two in the back making idle chatter about the peace treaty between Insomnia and the empire.
'Can't believe the empire's throwing us a bone and offering up peace', Armis mused as he placed his hands behind his head in thought.
'Indeed it is odd, but given the current state of the military of Insomnia there would be little choice in what his majesty can do', Mederis sighed, turning a corner.
'Still a wedding between Noct and Lunafreya, kind of odd', Gladio added.
'The Oracle is under the empire's "protection" and is one of the few remaining members of her family, by allowing the prince of Insomnia to marry her this technically means Insomnia will be independent to some extent'.
'So long as the empire keeps their word', Cultro said, looking out her window. 'This all feels too…concerning'.
'What's so concerning about having your enemy waltzing up on your front door?', Armis joked.
'Cor and the other members of the Kingsglaive will be there to guard his majesty', Mederis assured. 'Clarus himself will be by his side'.
'And nothing getting past my old man', Gladio said with a cocky smirk.
'As will Vetus', Cultro said.
Armis didn't comment on that name, closing his eyes in thought, and no one commented on his "father" being there with the king.
'Regardless, we all have our duties to perform, and that is to guard Sol and Noct', Mederis stated, changing the subject.
'…But what about his eating habits?', Gladio asked.
'…We're meant to protect them Gladio not perform the impossible'.
Noct's Apartment
'NO NO NO NO!', cried Prompto as he dropped to his back in dismay.
'SHIT! NOCT COVER ME!', pleaded Unius as her eyes glowed with terror.
'I can't! I've got nothing!', bemoaned the prince.
'NO! WE CAN'T LOSE HERE!', Sol stated stubbornly.
They fought with all their might, they gave their best and then more as the four fell one by one. Defeated and their hope was smashed into pieces like glass falling to the ground, groans of dismay along with a few punches to the ground in frustration.
'We blew it', Prompto whined in defeat as Unius fell beside him while Sol and Noct bowed their heads in defeat.
'…They do know they can just restart the boss fight right there yes?', Nigrum asked.
From the kitchen section of the Noct's apartment the two guardians just watched the four youngest members of their group wallow in defeat as upon the television screen in bright red read "GAME OVER", along with a very sombre music score to emphasise their loss. Ignis chuckled as he chopped the vegetables in peace while Nigrum mixed the drinks on the counter.
'I believe this is their, eleventh attempt in defeating this boss?', Ignis offered.
'Fourteenth!', cried Unius.
Nigrum shook his head as he mixed the drinks with a small smile on his face. When it came to meals, Ignis provided the food while he provided the drinks, a passion the guardian had picked up a few years back during his training. So far he's made specific specials for the party, along with non-alcoholic beverages for the younger members, courtesy of Ignis' and strictness of Mederis. Pouring the mix ingredient to Gladio's, which he dubbed it "Behemoth's blood".
No he didn't choose the name, Cultro did. Something about this drink tasting just as bad.
Then they heard the door unlock and entering were the remaining four of the main gang. 'We late?', asked Gladio as he placed down the duffle bag for packing the remaining items for the trip. 'You've missed the struggles of the royal band', Nigrum answered, gesturing the screen.
'You guys are still stuck on that boss? It's been a week!', laughed Armis.
'Well we would've beaten it, if SOMEONE actually shot the boss instead of his teammates!', Unius pouted, glaring at Noct in particular.
'How was I supposed to know that barrel was going to explode?', Noct argued.
'It's red! Everyone knows red barrels mean explosions!'.
While the two argued, Sol got up with a groan. Clearly the boss will remain undefeated for now with those two arguing about the dynamics of the red barrel. Prompto leaned against the couch while watching his best friends argue, snapping a few shots with his phone. Sol joined the others at the counter while Nigrum handed everyone their respective drinks, passing her own mixed. 'What better drink to drown my sorrows away than Nigrum's "Starlighter"?', teased the princess.
' "Starlighter"?', Gladio asked, smirking at the princess' advisor.
'I assure you that name was not my choice, just like your own', Nigrum promised as he dried his hands.
'Why do you let them name the drinks?', Mederis asked as she took her own.
'Saves me the trouble of coming up with names, plus it's you all who drink them ', he explained. 'So long as you enjoy them you can call your favourites drinks whatever you see fit'.
Sol giggled as she sipped her own, watching over her friends, brothers and sisters really, just hanging around the apartment with their own agendas. Armis was speaking with Nigrum about the method of transport the two would use since the Regalia, the car Noct would be given for his journey, and Mederis' only had room for four. Judging by the look the older brother was giving him Sol guessed they would use his bike. She didn't blame him.
Gladio and Mederis were going over the list of things the party would be needing for the journey, the doctor already going over the curatives and medicinal needs while Gladio was assuring her he had the camping sets ready and already in her trunk. She smiled at the two as Gladio got a touch closer to the silver haired woman, making her stutter and jump slightly at his gesture. She already locked this image in her mind and already her fingers twitched for a pencil.
'Dinner is ready everyone', Ignis announced with a clap of his hands.
Dinner was had at the couches with a few chairs here and there as the group chatted amongst themselves, occasional jabs at each other while some were talking about their plans once their journey started. Prompto had informed everyone he was gonna take as many pictures as humanly possible since he picked up a new camera for the occasion, not that the party worried about the quality of his works.
Cultro voiced her hopes for seeing the Galdin Quay, hearing that the beach was meant to be one of the highlights of any road trip and even wanted to see dolphins. Much to the amusement of the group, it was even sweetened up when Mederis said that there was also a fishing spot there for plenty of game, which only made Noct declare that will be on their list.
It also helped that the Galdin Quay was the very place they had to go to for the ferry to Altissia.
Once dinner was finished, and everyone had a hand in cleaning up, Nigrum handed out everyone's drinks( he made spares) and everyone sat there while Ignis announced the big news.
'So I've visited the citadel earlier', he said Gladio and Armis carried in a few large cases and placed them on the table.
Sol felt a sense of giddiness when Unius and Prompto looked at the cases in curiosity, while Armis and Nigrum smirked to each other. Gladio just gave the doctor a smug grin and she in turn rolled her eyes but smiled none the less, Cultro shared a small smile in response.
'And as of today, we can officially be called the "Crownsguards"'.
He opened up the cases and handed to each member of the party their uniforms. The looks everyone had were sights to behold.
Armis looked at his own with a proud grin and even looked ready to shed a tear while Nigrum looked at his own with a look of pride and composure, clearly pleased by the overall work of the uniform. Mederis hummed in approval while going over a few things with it, Cultro looked like she was trying to hide back that jaw splitting smile but Sol could see the beaming happiness within her eyes.
Gladio just laughed with approval, he liked the jacket especially when he saw it would show off his mighty muscles. If that didn't boost his ego Sol didn't know what would. Ignis had already seen his before but she spotted he looked at them with pride behind his specs, not that she would be surprised, this man deserved the very best the crown could offer him.
By far though the best reactions were from Prompto and Unius, who looked at their uniforms like they were made off expensive gems, mouths agape and eyes wide as dinner plates.
'I hope those looks are approval and not dismay', Ignis said with a sly smirk. 'They spent quite some time in making these'.
'W-Wait, these are ours?', Prompto asked, unbelievingly.
'Of course they are', Sol said.
'You two are part of the Crownsguard now, you may as well look the part', Mederis said kindly.
Noct patted their backs in good nature with a smirk.
'You guys deserved this', he assured.
While they profusely hugged the prince, Sol looked at her friends who shared smirks, laughter and pride. She held her glass in her hands softly, tomorrow they would leave their home for the very first time, go on this journey together to seal the treaty and in exchange gain the peace their home needed. Her brother would get married, then he would rule Insomnia and she'd become the ambassador of the kingdom, their friends would stay with them and with luck find their own happiness.
Then, in a totally out of character moment, Noct raised his glass up.
'To this road trip, with luck it'll be a good one', he toasted.
A few glances here and there, everyone got up and clinked glasses.
Unaware of what would come tomorrow…
A/N: Apologises on the delays, but things just got a bit bad. I'm back to continue this story I promise! So let me know what you think and as always, stay awesome but most importantly stay safe!
