The Marquee in Lucis ~Parte Seconde~

Now this is more like it, Fiore thought, though it's a bit cramped back here…

Although being slightly sandwiched in the middle by two men– one big and burly and the other drowsy and languid—it was better than walking another twenty miles to their next destination. It's been a while since she's been in a luxury car surrounded by potential bodyguards.

"You OK back there?" Prompto asked.

"Yeah, but goodness, you all smell awful… I think it's coming from him," Fiore covered her nose and pointed at Gladiolus.

Prompto laughed, "Well, he is 'The Great Outdoorsman.' Of course he'd smell a bit funky..."

Fiore laughed with him which prompted Gladiolus to shift in his chair, pushing Fiore on purpose, "Oh. Sorry... Didn't mean to do that."

Fiore gently slammed next to Noctis's shoulder to which he let out an irritable groan, "Could you guys not? Tryin' to sleep here..."

"No horseplay in the car," Ignis ordered sternly.

"He started it..." Fiore slightly pushed Gladiolus.

"And I will be the one to end it," Ignis replied in displeasure.

Fiore glared at Ignis for a brief moment then crossed her arms and pouted while Ignis sighed. She really disliked this man... Who was he to tell her, the Marquee of Valencia, what she can and can't do? Nevertheless, a light sigh escaped from her lips and she closed her eyes as she laid back in her seat.

Snap!

In slight shock, Fiore opened one eye to see Prompto laying his arms on the head of the seat facing towards her. He was fiddling with his camera.

"You look pretty cute," he chuckled, showing her the photo.

Noctis stretched his arms, "What about Cindy?"

"She's cute too… I mean they're both cute," Prompto said, winking at Fiore.

Noctis shrugged then dozed off again, "Whatever you say..."

Silenced engulfed Fiore while staring at the photograph until a thought ran across her mind.

"Oh, come to think of it," She said, "You didn't give me your names..."

Yeah, it was probably a bad idea to tell a bunch of eerily black-cladded men your name and get into a black car with them... Er...

The "Luxury Escort" idea deteriorated quickly. The question was raised: What if these men had an alternative motive? For all Fiore knew, they could kill her at any moment or worse. If so, she and Hein were prepared to take precautions, even if they were outnumbered.

"Oh yeah!" Prompto slapped his forehead, "Sorry about that. Name's Prompto. Prompto Argentum. Pleased to be of service, Miss Rozen!" He bowed to Fiore in an exaggerated but elegant manner.

"This big guy here is Gladio, that's my pal Noct, and that's Specs a.k.a Iggy."

Ignis and Gladiolus kept quiet and Noctis looked at Fiore with tired eyes, waved to her, then went back to sleep. Suddenly, Fiore quickly turned her head to Noctis, her deep blue eyes widen once she made a groundbreaking discovery: Noct… Noctis? Noctis Lucis Caelum?

"The Crowned Prince of Lucis?!" She exclaimed, nearly jumping out of her seat.

"Yep," Gladiolus answered, "The one and only."

Sweat glimmered down her forehead and cheeks and her heart skipped a beat or two. This was the prince? But how? He was proclaimed dead once Fiore caught wind of the fall of Insomnia and the subsequent death of the king, but yet here was the Prince, alive and well. It must have been fate—the Valencian Princess and the Lucian Prince, traveling together to Altissia. A fairy-tail story, indeed, and the rumors were true: He really was a dreamboat. Too bad he was hitched...

"So, Miss… Rozen was it?" Ignis said, his eyes still fixated on the road, "Not to be rude, but by judging your accent—"

"What about my accent?" Fiore interrupted, "You're one to talk, considering yours!"

"Yeah, but Iggy comes from a different region than us," Gladiolus said.

"And, before I was rudely interrupted," Ignis continued, "Again, your accent assumes that you are not from Lucis, are you?"

Fiore panicked in silence, My accent! Oh, Fortunia grant me grace! Please... Please don't give me away!

"Leave her alone, Iggy. You both sound the same to me," Prompto said, "So what if she comes from a different country?"

Ignis pushed up his glasses, "Espionage is a possibility."

With this in mind, Gladiolus and Prompto stared at Fiore. Concern and possible distrust brought a small, playful conversation to a halt. Dead silence filled the air aside from the quiet purr of the Regalia's engine. All but Noctis (who was fast asleep) felt tense.

"Oh, but I assure you we are not spies for the Empire," Hein said, popping out of Fiore's bag. His voice had a higher pitch as opposed to his regular tone. He too feared that Ignis was becoming smart to their little rouse; he appeared to be the kind of man to ask a variety of questions and analyze even the smallest details which brought anxiety to the Royale Personnel, not to mention the Marquee as well.

So in an attempt to gain the group's trust, Hein placed a hand over his chest, "Milady and I solemnly swear that we are not spies of the Imperial Empire." Hein motioned Fiore to do the same.

"Oh, yes! I bet my life that I am not a spy!" She exclaimed, also holding her hand to her heart.

The light gleamed from Ignis's glasses, "...How bold of you, Miss Rozen. Then I suppose I'll hold you to your statement. However, we will not hesitate to execute you and your companion here."

"Watch your back," Gladiolus warned.

Fiore knew that they were intimidating her, but she would not let them scare her. As a Valencian, she would stand her ground, even in a foreign country.

"...Likewise," She responded snarkly. Hein nodded as well.

The continued silence was unbearable, so much that Prompto couldn't take it anymore.

"Geez," He let out a false yawn and stretched his arms in the air, "It's getting late... We should probably set up camp soon."

"Camp...?" Fiore asked.

"Problem?" Gladiolus crossed his arms and smirked.

"I... was never too fond of camping."

"This girl's never stepped out of her little bubble... Figured. Well, welcome to the real world, then. Where we don't get to choose where we sleep all the time."

"We'll stop here," Ignis parked the car off to the side of the road and pointed towards the rocky terrain.

"Wait, wait!" Prompto pulled out his camera, "This is a perfect spot for a group photo! Noct! Wake up!"

"...Hmmm...?" Noctis rubbed his eyes, "What'd I miss?"

"Oh, nothing important. Here, go over there with Iggy and Rocky over here!"

"Rocky...?" Hein scratched his head then snapped his fingers, "Oh! He means me! Very 'punny' of you, Prompto!"

Both Hein and Prompto laughed whie Gladio put a hand over his head because of Prompto's awful pun. Noctis shrugged, got out of the car, and shifted lazily towards the Gladio and Hein who was already out of the car. Prompto then noticed that Fiore and Hein were still sitting in the car; her arms crossed. Slightly irritated, Ignis decided to open the car door for her. It was rather a kind gesture, considering she was a 'lady,' but Fiore perked her nose up and pouted.

"I didn't need your help... I can open a car door," She said irritably.

"Yes... quite," Ignis replied bluntly.

Prompto waved to the two, "Iggy! Fiore! We're waiting!"

Fiore walked ahead of Ignis to which he simply sighed. Now since everyone was in the range of the photo, Prompto set the timer.

"OK! Everybody ready?"

Snap!

"Oh! Absolutely love that pose, Fiore!" Prompto called. It was a regular group photo, with the exception of Fiore doing an obscure pose. The rest of the group seemed puzzled... What the actual hell was she doing?

"And do you mind if I call you FiFi?" Prompto asked with a puppy-dog expression.

With every bone in my body... She thought, but then she giggled, "...Of course, Prompto!"

Truthfully, she hated being called FiFi, but since she liked Prompto she'll let it pass. And thus, the team would set up camp for tonight, however, a thought occurred to Ignis that with someone like Fiore around, it may prove to be more troublesome than ever.

~Parte Seconde Fin~

Author Notes

And so "The Marquee in Lucis" Arc has ended. Next is the camping arc. Oh, boy... This will be interesting...

For now, Ignis and Fiore don't seem to see eye to eye yet. That's intentional because I don't want them to fall for each other that fast. These things take time...

FiFi... Fiore's new pet name. And speaking of which, I basically have her initial personality down for the most part. I'll just have to experiment with her backstory and incorporate more character content.

On that note, in case anyone was wondering her accent is either Italian or French.

As usual, reviews are very appreciated!

Chao!

~Bon De Soren