Sorry for the ridiculously long wait, I've been super busy. Anyway, on with the story!
Summary: Once upon a time, there was a beautiful maiden. This is not her story.
"Inside my head, I can hear your voice. Even now my heart is shaking. In my memories, you are always smiling gently at me." – Hatsune Miku
Of course he showed up here. How did I not see it coming?
I wanted to glare at him, but for some reason, despite my annoyance, I smiled. I actually smiled at this random guy I barely knew, when I hardly ever smiled for my own sister. And I couldn't stop once I started. I clearly wasn't in control of what I was doing, because instead of slapping myself (or him), I laughed a little.
What the hell?! I screamed in my head. I was just getting more pissed.
"Well, since we're so conveniently stopped here, why don't I give you a ride home?" Noctis offered with a smile.
"I'm only about a two minute walk away. I'll be fine," I replied with a voice I didn't recognize at first.
It was softer than mine, sweeter too. Kinder, a little gentler, but still with a little rasp…the sound you would imagine for a freshly fallen rose petal drifting through the air. It wasn't mine all right. It was Claire's.
"Your house is right on the way to mine. Let me give you a ride," he insisted.
"Oh, alright." I felt myself blushing as I got on behind him, wrapping my arms around his waist with my game bag on my wrist.
Okay, I had officially lost any and all control over my actions. It was like being a passenger in a car. You could see and hear everything that was going on, you could feel and smell, but you couldn't do anything to control what you did and where you went. I sighed internally and decided to let this strange personality that had taken over do as it pleased since I damn well couldn't do shit about it.
"So, straight home?" Noctis asked.
"I wouldn't mind taking a detour," I said, holding him a little tighter and smiling more.
He flashed me a grin. "Yes ma'am."
"How many times have I told you by now? Call me Claire."
"As you wish, Claire."
Without another word he sped off. I laughed and enjoyed the sensation of the wind flowing through my hair. I watched my neighborhood fly by as he drove. Somehow, I knew where he was taking me. Sooner than I thought we would, we arrived at the neighborhood park. It puzzled me why it was always empty. It was so lovely.
I let go of his waist and slid off the motorcycle, Noctis following suit. He took my hand and led me over to the big old oak tree that stood near the center of the park. I looked up at the branches fondly, wanting to climb up and sit among the leaves as we used to.
As if sensing my desire (like he always did), Noctis climbed up to the lowermost branch and offered a hand to help me up. I set my bag down at the tree's roots and took his hand with a small smile, hoisting myself up on the branch beside him. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and sighed contentedly.
"I miss times like this, Claire."
I nuzzled his shoulder gently. "I do too, Noct. I want it to be like this all the time. Just you and me."
He grabbed my chin and lifted it gently, bringing my eyes up to meet his. I felt my face flush as he slowly lowered his mouth to mine. As our lips met, I felt a spark that was familiar and completely new at the same time. I felt my arms wrap themselves around his shoulders, my body turning to embrace him better.
He was a gentleman as always, never asking for more than a kiss or two. It was one of the many reasons I…finally! I could feel my senses returning to me completely. I moved my fingers experimentally, my arms still firmly around Noctis's shoulders. I pulled away from his embrace quickly, moving to jump down to the ground. A tiny 5-foot drop.
As I was about to shove myself off the tree branch, a sudden dizziness overtook me.
It's just a headache, I thought. I'll be fine.
My body disagreed though, as it decided to sway and fall off the branch instead of my smooth dismount I planned. I couldn't tell you for sure if I had landed on the ground or if Noctis had caught me. Why? I was out cold before I ever saw what happened.
It was dark, like my dream-vision thing from earlier. There was no music, only silence. I pushed myself up from the ground I was laying on, feeling that it was smooth marble. My feet made more noise than I expected when I stood up. Was I wearing high heels? It felt like I was.
Not just high heels, but apparently I was wearing a long dress of sorts. Of course, I couldn't see a thing so I didn't know. I reached to run a hand through my hair but didn't feel anything. I reached to the back of my head to find that my hair was styled up in what felt like a neat bun.
There was a loud noise and a light flicked on. I squinted in the sudden brightness, and as soon as my eyes adjusted I looked around. I was in a large bedroom with marble floors and a titanic sized bed. It looked soft and plush, as did the blankets and pillows. There was a single writing desk to the right of the bed, filled with bottles of ink and quills, pieces of parchment, and extravagant looking seals.
On the left it was completely open, save for some plush armchairs around a small fireplace. There were two doorways, one leading to a walk-in closet and the other leading to a marvelous hallway. I walked into the closet to see my reflection in the large mirror. I looked like something out of a fairy tale, dressed up like an elegant noble in a long blue gown and an extravagantly styled bun.
"Effortlessly lovely, as always."
My dream ended with those words. Who do you think said it? That damned Noctis of course. Why was he everywhere?
I looked around to see that I was still at the park. Said damned Noctis was standing over me worriedly. I quickly stood up, ignoring the dizziness in my head, and started the short walk home.
"Lightning, where are you going?"
I turned and glared at him. "Away from you."
With that, I ran off, leaving all my stuff there. I didn't care. He'd probably find me and give it to me later anyway. It was an uneventful two minute walk home, and I was grateful for it. I finally got inside and happily kicked off my shoes.
"Claire, you're finally back!" Serah smiled at me.
"Yeah, I am. Did you already eat dinner?"
"Yeah, no need to worry about me eating."
I noticed the extra notebook sitting at the table. I raised one eyebrow.
"Who's over?" I asked.
"Oh, Vanille came over for some help with our math homework."
The bubbly redhead bounded happily into the room as she said that. Her eyes fell on me and she smiled brightly.
"Hi Light!"
I smiled a bit. "Hey Vanille. How did the homework go?"
"Okay. Serah helped me figure it out eventually."
"Good to hear." I yawned quietly. "I'm going to go to my room. Just yell if you need me."
"Alright. G'night, Light," Vanille said with a smile.
"Good night, Claire," Serah told me with a small kiss on the cheek.
I kissed her forehead and walked up to my room. I plopped down on my bed and stared at the ceiling. Then I realized something. I had forgotten my damn bag there. I groaned, knowing Noctis would come back over here to return it. Whatever, I didn't even care.
I yawned once more and took off my jacket as I pulled the covers over me. I closed my eyes and dozed off, ignoring the possibility of another dream about him.
Once again, it was dark and I was on the ground. Wait, no, not the ground. It was too soft to be the ground. I was on a bed, a really soft and expensive one too. I sighed happily and burrowed myself in my sheets, feeling warm and comfortable.
I felt something shift beside me. I reached a hand over blindly and felt soft hair. I figured it might be Serah, but it was too short to be Serah's hair. A dog maybe? No, there was skin there too. I didn't really care who it was until a heard a soft chuckle.
"Are you enjoying my hair, milady?" Noctis asked gently, being quiet so as not to disturb me too much.
I stretched and smiled. "It's very soft."
He grabbed my hand that was in his hair and brought it down to his lips, kissing it. I curled up to him and kissed his cheek, loving how perfectly we fit together, physically and mentally. We were a perfect mix of agreements and disagreements, having things in common and things that were contrasting. I sighed happily and just let him wrap his arms around me.
"Claire?"
I looked up at him. "Hm?"
"There is something I must tell you."
"Then tell me."
He took a deep breath. I immediately sensed his seriousness and propped myself up on my elbow, now wide awake.
"My parents have arranged an engagement between me and Liliana Kingsley."
My eyes widened like disks. "You can't be serious. You can't marry."
"I wouldn't marry her for all the money in the world," he assured me as he ran a hand through my hair. "I'm telling you this because I want you to run away with me."
"Noctis, I think you've been reading too many love stories. We can't actually do that."
"Of course we can." He kissed my lips sweetly and held my hands. "I love you, Claire, and I know you love me. So let's run away together, so we can be happy. You can be my princess, and I'll be your prince."
I let out a laugh. "I'm not exactly a princess now, am I?"
"I suppose not," he said with a chuckle. "But is that a yes or a no?"
