As we watched the warriors in the training hall, Sir Clarus began to tell us of the security measures and precautions that would be taken during the treaty signing ceremony. It was up to Sir Clarus to protect King Regis at all costs and he told Gladio that he had to keep Noct safe not only as a shield but as a friend.

"Yes, Dad," he bowed down before his father.

"And also," Sir Clarus added with a smile. "Do mind your manners around Alma. The poor girl is going to be around five men throughout the whole journey."

I blushed at the thought and shook my head to clear everything away, "S-Sir Clarus!"

"Not to worry, Dad," Gladio stood tall again, smirking. "Not only is the Prince in good hands but so are the others," he met my eyes. "Alma included."

Before I could scoff and turn away, the doors opened and in came the Marshal of the Crownsguard, Cor Leonis-my father. He is one of the three strongest warriors within the guard and has won many battles, earning him the nickname "Cor the Immortal." He was a decade younger than Sir Clarus with short black hair, blue eyes and he always carried his katana around. Accompanied by the Marshal was a familiar face I knew all too well. No one could miss his blonde hair, his big blue eyes, those freckles and his sweet mannerisms. It was my friend Prompto Argentum.

"Pardon the intrusion," Cor walked over to us.

"Dad," I smiled and ran towards him. "How are you? Have you been getting any sleep?"

He chuckled gruffly, "Yes, angel, I have. You worry too much...just like your mother..."

"Who else will worry about you?" I smiled softly.

"Well, your father hasn't hit his prime yet," he smirked, placing a hand on my cheek.

Behind us, Sir Clarus cleared his throat, "Cor. The new recruit?"

"Oh yes," Dad chased away his affectionate smirk with his signature stern expression. "Here he is." He gestured to Prompto.

Sir Clarus looked to my friend. "You're Prompto Argentum?"

"Y-Yes, sir. A pleasure to meet you, sir." He saluted him. There were times when he would get shy and uptight and it was sort of amusing. Prompto's eyes wandered behind him, meeting me and Gladio.

"Alma, Gladio!" he smiled.

Gladio placed his hands on his hips. "What are you doing here?"

"He's here for his Crownsguard uniform," I answered. "He passed the written exam and completed his self-defense classes."

"He's an excellent marksman, he is," Cor glanced at our friend.

Sir Clarus presented Prompto with his garb, "Here you are, my boy. Now," he looked to me and Gladio. "Cor and I have some business to attend to. Why don't you kids go and have fun? You're dismissed from your duties today."

"You sure, Dad?" Gladio cocked an eyebrow. "You don't need help anywhere else?"

"I just need you to be on time tonight. You, Iris and I are going out for dinner before you help Prince Noctis clean out his apartment."

"Understood," his son nodded and turned to me and Prompto. "Let's go."

I turned back to Dad and gave him a hug, "I'll see you soon."

He held me tightly, "You too, angel." He pulled away and held my shoulders. "Your brother is at Kingsglaive headquarters right now. He's expecting you."

"Okay," I nodded and followed Gladio and Prompto out of the training room and into the corridors.

"Can't believe I'm going to be with you guys tomorrow," Prompto smiled, looking down at his new clothes.

"It's sweet that you want to go as Noct's friend," I chuckled. "but you'll do a fine job in protecting him."

"Are you going to wait for him?" Gladio asked our newly recruited friend.

"No, actually," Prompto shook his head. "I'm going to go home and show my parents my new garb. Then I'll be coming over to his apartment."

"Sounds good," I replied. "You've earned it."

"Just hope they'll be home when I show this to them. But if not, I'll come right back to the Citadel," he gave us a thumbs up. He began to walk towards the elevator. "Anyway, see you guys soon. And Gladio, send Iris my regards."

"Will do," he chuckled from behind me. Once Prompto entered the elevator, Gladio and I were left alone and the corridor became dead silent. My heart started fluttering and I tried with all my might not to clutch my chest, listening to Gladio's footsteps as he made his way in front of me to look at me.

"Why so quiet, baby girl?" he asked.

"Don't call me that," I grunted softly.

He laughed, "You always look so flustered. Anything you wanna tell me?"

I sucked in a breath and looked up at his dark eyes, "No." I began to walk past him.

"Where are you heading now?" Gladio asked, tucking his hands into the pockets of his leather trousers.

"I'm going to see Autem. I haven't seen him since last week." I answered.

I headed for the Kingsglaive headquarters, spotting the Galahdian warriors practicing combat and warping. Autem was among them, seated on the steps, drinking from a water bottle. He is three years older than me, with shaggy brown hair, light blue eyes, some scruff on his face and stood at six foot four. He had broad shoulders and a muscular build. He had been promoted to the Kingsglaive last year and is one of Captain Drautos' finest warriors.

"Alma!" He smiled brightly, standing up and hugging me tightly. "I've missed you so much. I'm so sorry I haven't been home."

"Autem," I smiled softly, hugging him back.

He pulled away and furrowed his thin brows, "You wouldn't believe what happened yesterday while we were out fighting the Nifs." He looked back to his comrades. "They released some colossal daemon at sundown. Crowe and the Black Mages couldn't hold them off. Libertus has a broken leg and Nyx saved him. But," he smiled sadly. "His reckless yet good intentions got him a spot on guard duty outside the Citadel as punishment."

"What about the ceremony?" I asked.

"Dad said the Crownsguard has been taking extra security measures for the ceremony," He explained. "They've decided that the Kingsglaive will be tasked to protect the Citadel. Most of the soldiers in the Crownsguard will be looking after the citizens. As for Dad and me, we will be protecting His Majesty if there are any complications."

"Sir Clarus told me about that," I nodded.

"And your duty is to protect Noct," Autem held my hands. "Be careful on the long road. I'll be joining you after I handle things here.

"I promise," I replied.

"Gladio," He looked behind me. "I know you have a duty to protect the prince but take care of my little sister, will you?"

"Of course," Gladio nodded. "I won't let any harm come to your sister. I know the feeling very well."

I sucked in a small breath and met my brother's eyes, "And you take care of yourself as well. You need to be there with me."

"I promise," He chuckled, kissing my hair.

"Right," I furrowed my brows, "I wish...we could spend some time together before I get a head start tomorrow..."

He placed his hand on my shoulder, "We will once I rendezvous with you. Just stay with Noct tonight. He needs you more than ever."

After saying our goodbyes, Gladio and I retreated into the building, finding the nearest elevator. I pushed the button to the ground floor, and we stepped inside, an ominous silence enveloping us.

"You okay?" Gladio broke the silence; I felt his dark eyes looking towards me.

"Yeah," I murmured, looking at my feet. "I'm fine."

I heard him shift and I watched as he crossed his arms from the corner of my eyes.

"You worry too much," He chuckled gruffly. "Our little gathering tonight will make you feel better."

"I hope so," I stepped out of the elevator once it opened, spinning to face the big guy behind me. "Have fun with your dad and Iris."

He gave me a kind smile, "Thanks for that. I'll come by afterward."

My cheeks flared at his very expression and I quickly made my way out of the Citadel to make sure he wouldn't notice. Once I reached the parking lot, I clutched my chest in an effort to ease my pounding heart. I hated this feeling, whatever it was.

I asked the valet for my keys and sat in the driver's seat, heading for Noct's apartment.

The first few hours of cleaning out his apartment were filled with nothing but frivolity. I watched amusingly as Ignis tried to get Noct and Prompto to pack up but they were too busy going through the Prince's things, caught in the beautiful wave of nostalgia.

"Hehe, I loved this comic," Noct smiled like a child.

"I know right?" Prompto said giddily. "Best series ever!"

Ignis gave a defeated sigh from beside me and I held his elbow, "Let them take it in. It's their last night here."

"But we haven't made any progress," he frowned, gesturing to the living room full of half empty cardboard boxes.

"If we did all of the work, Gladio would have nothing to do," I can't believe I said that. I wiped the smile off of my face and looked away.

"Alma," Ignis observed my expression. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I shrugged it off and began to gather the rest of Noct's clothes, music albums, comics and video games, placing them into each respective box. We were nowhere near finished but it helped me take my mind off of whatever I was thinking about.

And then, there he was, entering the living room with a bag in his hand.

"Gladio," Noct stood up. "How was dinner with your family?"

"Great," he smirked and held up the bag. "I bought extra food from the restaurant. We can eat it afterward."

"Yum!" Prompto cheered and once again found the motivation to clean.

Once the whole apartment was clean, we closed the boxes and brought them towards the front door, placing them into a truck that would take the Prince's belongings back to the Citadel. We spent a good fifteen minutes listening to Prompto strain and grunt and Noct was no better. Gladio effortlessly picked up three stacked boxes, earning a jokingly flirtatious comment from the blonde and the big guy just gave him a weird look. Afterwards, we retreated to the apartment to eat whatever food Gladio bought for us. Before we knew it, night broke through the day and the fact that this would be our last night in this place began to sink in.

"I forgot how big this place actually is," Prompto commented, placing his empty white box and plastic fork into the trash bag.

"We made a lot of memories here, huh," I smiled sadly. taking a seat on the couch.

Ignis put his cellphone away, "The movers will be taking Noct's furniture back to the Citadel tomorrow."

Noct gave a soft sigh, "Tomorrow is the day," he leaned back against the leather cushions. "I'm gonna miss living here."

"You've got a bride to look after now," Gladio poked his head playfully and Noct swatted at his hand in slight annoyance. "No more living alone once you get married. Don't tell me you've never thought about it."

"Hey, give me a little more credit than that," Noct grumbled. "I'm terrified. I don't know what to expect."

I found sympathy in Gladio's eyes and he patted Noct's back, "You'll be okay. You've made it this far."

"Wonder what it's like out there," I thought out loud. "Outside the city."

Ignis pushed his spectacles up his nose, "I've studied the outside briefly. Culture outside of the city is thirty years behind what we have here. It'll be like looking at an old photograph."

"I'll be taking a lot of pictures," Prompto grinned. "I want to keep a record of our journey," he looked up at the ceiling. "I'm so excited, I don't think I could sleep!"

"Who said we need sleep?" Noct pulled out his phone. "Let's play King's Knight."

Ignis furrowed his brows in confusion. "Right now? It's getting late. We need to be up early tomorrow for the journey to Altissia."

Gladio laughed heartily, "Why not? It'll be our last night playing here." He shoved his giant hand into his pocket and deftly opened the game on his phone.

I went into the pocket of my leather jacket and followed suit, "One last memory to share in this place."

And then, Ignis gave a defeated smirk, joining the four of us in one last epic battle. The apartment was dark, our light is the bright white screens of our phones. We tried desperately to keep our voices down lest we wake up the neighbors but it was all in vain. Noct and Prompto seemed the happiest right now, beaming with their blue eyes eagerly fighting enemy after enemy. Ignis had stopped playing once the clock struck twelve, sleeping with his arms crossed as he sat on the chair. Noct was the next to doze off, his phone falling out of his hand as he fell onto the couch. Prompto was also battling with his fatigue but gave up once his eyes closed. His limbs were splayed out across the floor, his mouth slightly open. The only ones left who were awake were me and Gladio. I put my phone down and walked towards Noct, shrugging his leather jacket off of and placing it over his torso to keep him warm. He stirred slightly by still slept nonetheless, smiling in his sleep. He must have been dreaming of his fennec friend, Carbuncle.

"Heh, they couldn't keep their eyes open," Gladio chuckled from behind me.

I turned around, meeting his gaze, silent.

He smiled in the dark and I looked away, facing the glass doors leading to the veranda.

I heard his soft footsteps closing in, his physique towering over me, "You should sleep too, baby girl."

"I told you before," I muttered softly. "Don't call me that."

"I can't help it," he laughed again. "It just suits you."

I closed my eyes, ready to walk away but his hand closed around my wrist.

"Alma," his voice was low. "Good night."

"Good night," I replied almost inaudibly and headed for the guest's room.