Chapter 2

Vedrixia leaned against the Regalia in the blistering Liede heat. The car had broken down just a short while into their journey. Each member of the retinue looked as if they would soon melt into the interior of the Regalia, or in Prompto's case, the tar of the road.

Gladio sighed as the fifth vehicle passed by without stopping, "I think we can forget about hitching our way there. Thought people were friendly outside the city."

Piping up from the driver's seat, "You can only go so far on the kindness of strangers," Ignis said.

Vendrixia shed another layer of her Kingsglaive uniform, "Well, we're going to have to figure something out before we all have to take a potion to save us from heat stroke." She threw an arm across her eyes, attempting to block out some of the sunlight.

"Looks like we're just gonna have to push her all the way," said Gladio with a slightly revived energy.

"But I've already pushed myself," Prompto began with an air of theatrics. "To the brink… of death!"

Vedrixia nudged his shoulder with the toe of her boot, popping off the back of the car, "Come on, up with you. The sooner we get this thing rolling the sooner we can get to some air conditioning."

With that, Prompto was quickly on his feet.

"You too, Your Highness."

Noctis merely grumbled, inciting Gladio to use a bit more force with the young prince.

He slapped him on the back, "Oh, get up."

The four of them began pushing the Regalia with Ignis in the driver's seat and the boys quickly began their usual banter.

"Let's hope this isn't some kind of omen."

"Gladio, do me a favor," the young prince said.

"What?"

"Push this thing by yourself."

"All by myself?" He continued as Vedrixia chuckled quietly.

"You won't even notice if we just let go," Prompto chimed in. "Besides, my hands are killing me."

"You rather I kill you with mine?" Gladio quickly retorted.

Vedrixia felt like the tension was getting to be a bit too much, "Hey now, you had better not get any blood on my boots. I just polished these so if you're going to have a quick lesson in natural selection, I suggest you take it to the side of the road."

"I concur," Ignis commented from the front. "Cor did just send the Regalia to be waxed and surely would not appreciate and blood spilled on her."

Noctis and Prompto both groaned.

This was going to be a long trip.

Finally making it to Hammerhead, each member of the party was thoroughly exhausted. Ignis and Gladio were both stretching their legs, walking around the Regalia while Prompto and Prince Noctis laid haphazardly on the ground. Vendrixia, on the other hand, was sprawled out in the backseat of the Regalia with her feet propped up against the passenger door.

"Hey there!" A high pitch, accented voice sounded from outside the vehicle. Vedrixia raised her head just in time to see Prompto stumbling to his feet. He looked as though he had never seen anyone of the female gender before. "Y'all sure kept a girl waitin'!"

The barely-clothed blonde glanced around their group, "Now which one's the Prince?"

Noctis popped up from the other side of the Regalia behind Vedrixia's head as she took her cue to straighten up and exit the vehicle.

"A-ha! Hello, your Highness!" The blonde said, popping a hip out. "Congrats on your wedding!"

"Not hitched just yet," Noctis replied, scratching the back of his head.

"Lady Lunafreya's groom-to-be, here in Hammerhead," She said in awe.

Ignis joined in the conversation, "Apologies for taking so long."

"You'd best be savin' your apologies for Paw-Paw," She said seriously.

Gladio rounded the car, "Well that makes you…"

"Cindy," Finally, a name, Vedrixia thought. "Cid's grease-monkey granddaughter."

A crackling voice sounded from within the shop, "Roll 'er in while I'm still young!"

"I suspect that's Cid?" Drix asked Cindy. She gave a hum and nod of her head.

Cindy's aging grandfather made his way to the group, "Didn't yer daddy tell ya? She's a custom classic, not some beat up ol' clunker." His expression was enthralled in reminiscence and nostalgia. Cid's gaze shifted to the young man, "Prince Noctis."

"Uh, yeah."

Vedrixia scoffed at the boy and crossed her arms. The lack of respect the young prince could exhibit was astounding to the Glaive. She had received many slaps to the back of the head from Cor due to ill-timed sass in her youth. Being seven years older than the prince, she knew he had a lot to learn in a very short amount of time.

"Prince," Cid shook his head, indignant. "Like they took your old man and kicked the dignity out of him."

That certainly caught the Prince's attention. "What?"

"You got a long way to go, son," Cid began grimly. "And that slack jaw's gettin' you nowhere fast. She's gonna take a while, y'all get 'er in and run along."

Cindy watched as her grandfather made his way back to the shop, "Y'all heard him! Let's get moving."

Vedrixia walked around the outpost, kicking rocks and cans. She sipped on a can of Ebony she purchased with the little gil she brought with her. Vedrixia knew she would need a caffeine boost if she was going to make it the rest of the afternoon without biting off the young prince's head.

Vedrixia had just picked up a stick to swirl around in the dirt when- click.

Whipping around just in time to be stunned by the flash of a camera, she rubbed her eyes and soon saw shocked Prompto that knew he had been caught.

"Sorry," Prompto laughed nervously. "I hope you don't mind me taking your picture, Ms. Astaroth. I like to take photos on our trips for… memories… and stuff…" he trailed off, looking everywhere but Vedrixia out of embarrassment.

Vedrixia laughed lightly, "That's alright." She smiled warmly at him, "Your reputation with a camera has made its way around in the Kingsglaive, so I expected nothing less."

"Oh," He sputtered, hanging the camera back around his neck. "I didn't know."

Vedrixia turned her attention back to her stick and dirt, "Yep. And you can stop with the "Ms. Astaroth" deal. We're going to be here for a while so we might as well call each other by our first names. Not to mention, it makes me feel old." She grimaced and stuck her tongue out as if the mere thought left a bad taste in her mouth. "You can call me Vedrixia, or Drix if you prefer. And that applies to you as well, Ignis, Gladio," she spoke louder to the two boys sitting on the bench.

"I suppose you're right," Ignis said, pushing up his glasses in the most dignified manner. "This has been a most inconvenient delay."

"Yeah, and this "inconvenient delay" is making me stir crazy," Gladio ran his hands along his face, stretching his legs out.

"I may be able to amend that shortly, I must go discuss our dwindling funds with Noctis," Ignis said, rising to his feet.

As Ignis went to go find Noctis and Prompto busied himself with taking photographs, Gladio decided to strike up a conversation with Vedrixia.

"So, Drix," He began, testing out the nickname. "How long have you been a member of the Glaive?"

Drix stood up to face Gladio pacing along with her stick in front of him, "Let's see, this will make…" She drew out the word, counting in her head, "Eight years? Although I trained with Cor for four years. He wouldn't let me join until my nineteenth birthday. Something about it being too "dangerous." She scoffed, chuckling lightly at the thought.

"Nineteen, huh? So that would make you…"

"Twenty-seven," She answered. "I'm practically ancient!" Drix said in a dramatic voice, raising a hand to her forehead as if she might faint at any moment.

Gladio hummed in agreement as he looked away, never appearing fully engaged in the conversation.

"I don't know why the King thought we needed a Glaive to come with us," He said suddenly. Drix stopped her pacing, sensing the conversation was about to take a sharp turn.

She chose her next words carefully, "I don't fully know either. Cor didn't tell me any reason to need extra security, aside from it being the Prince's wedding, of course."

"Well, if Cor didn't give you any extra reason to be here, it sounds to me like you shouldn't be here at all."

And there was the guard rail.

Vedrixia clenched her fist and opened it back again, shutting her eyes and breathing deeply. Don't piss off the Guard, Cor will ream my ass. Don't piss off the Guard, Cor will ream my ass.

After thinking over her mantra several times, Vedrixia responded, "I can assure you, Gladiolus, that while neither of us may be aware of why I am here, I can assure you the need exists, otherwise King Regis would not have requested my presence. Furthermore, I promise you that whether or not I know my reason for being here, I will perform my duties as a Kingsglaive to protect Prince Noctis to the fullest of my abilities, whether or not you find a need for me." As her defense went along, Vedrixia had slowly begun to stand at Glaive Attention. Then, she noticed a faint golden glow coming from one of her clenched fists. Deciding she had elevated her blood pressure to the point of hallucination, Drix gave Gladio a curt nod and went to find Ignis and the Prince.

Author's Note:

Hey everyone! It's been a while, I know. I finally have some free time to start writing again and have started this new little story. I've got big plans for this one and hope to get back to my other stories soon as well. Leave a comment and let me know what you think! I would love to hear your thoughts on Vedrixia!