A/N: Third Chapters up! I've just been super stressed with my part time job recently which was why this chapter took so long, sorry. But, I did make it a bit longer than my usual chapters :) I also keep wanting to fix certain ideas and plots in the story so I have to constantly return to my previous chapters to make sure it doesn't clash with anything I've said before haha. Well hope you enjoy this chapter.
Disclaimers: All Final Fantasy characters, settings, etc. that appear in this story are the property of Square Enix. My original characters and my imagination are the only things I own.
Two months passed since the eventful day with the Amicitias. Clarus kept his word and the captain never found out about the little stunt Reina and I had pulled. Following the encounter with Galdio and Iris I was faced with many eventful weeks nonstop.
First, I was now responsible for training Iris. I wasn't surprised that she was already very skilled with hand-to-hand combat and was also handy with a sword. To be honest she could easily pass the cadet test with a bit of brushing up. Most of our training sessions were held in one of the spare training rooms within the Citadel, or in the backyard of the Amicitia house with Gladio watching us like a hawk. It wasn't like he didn't trust me or anything, rather he didn't trust his little sister to be responsible enough to know her limits.
'Note to self, don't ever think of laying a hand on Iris unless you want to be mauled by a wall of muscle.'
Other than training Iris, I now had occasional run-ins with Prince Noctis Caelum. Naturally this was bound to happen since Gladio was training the Prince and I was now spending a lot of my spare time with Iris and Gladio. Before this all transpired I had only ever seen him once and that was inside the Citadel when I had just become a member of the Glaive, and at that time I didn't even know the scrawny kid was the Prince.
My meeting with the prince went something like this: on the second day of training Iris, the Prince came into the same training room looking for Gladio to let off some steam. Iris and I moved off to the side and let the two men have the floor for a duel. After the sparring session Prince Noctis decided to stay and watch me train Iris all the while talking to his big friend about this game they were both into. Once the training was over Iris took me by the arm and dragged me to the Prince and introduced us with her usual cheer. I had never really been in the presence of royalty before all by myself. Usually I had other members of the Glaive with me and they were always giving me an earful on how to or not to act. Without their help I was totally stumped on how to act, so I did what I thought was considered the appropriate action; I took a sweeping bow and addressed him as 'your royal highness'. The moment those words left my mouth Gladio roared with laughter and the Prince visibly cringed. I just looked between them dumbfounded and a bit shocked.
"Good to know you still think of this scrawny brat as a prince." Gladio roared. That got the Prince to throw jabs at his friend and he threw in a snarky comment about how Gladio got his ass handed down to him by me, leading to the shield playfully head locking the prince and messing up his hair.
That was how my friendship with the Prince started, and now he joined our small training sessions in his free time brining along his advisor Ignis Scientia from time to time. Once when the prince and the advisor came by, the Gladio suggested having a two on two duel just for the fun of it, of course with Iris as a spectator. After that match my muscles were aching for a week. That day ended with a long and interesting drinking session with the gang, and the Prince's best friend Prompt Argentum also came to join, all sunshine and bubbles about how I kicked Gladio's butt in front of Clarus. That earned him a noogie from Gladio. From then on I would be called out to join them in their nightly adventures, and I would happily comply as long as I wasn't on duty or hanging out with my Glaive friends.
Hanging out with them put my mind at ease. I didn't have to think about the war, the fighting or the bloodshed.
When I was with them the times truly felt peaceful.
Today was the thirds week Tuesday of the month, the day all Glaives were to be present at the HQ for group training and assessment. It was more to make sure we were all in top shape and weren't slacking with our training. After all, what good would a Glaive be if we weren't in any condition to head to war?
Dressed in my Glaive uniform and fully armed I walk out of the locker room and head for the open training ground usually reserved for the Glaives because of our need to practice our warping abilities.
"Hey Vel!" I turn my head to be met with my blonde pixie-cut friend Reina. Next to her Maxim walks in pace with her with his arms around her waist making me jokingly roll my eyes with a small smile. Oh the happy couple.
"Hey." I reply with an earnest smile. Every time I see them I can't help but smile at their joy for each other. "Where's Nyx?" I ask after realizing one of our usual friends missing.
"Oh, he went ahead with Libertus and Pelna. " Maxim replied.
"It's been a month since I've seen Pelna or Libertus. Wonder how they're doing?" I say with genuine curiosity, then my expression turns into a sheepish one. The real reason I haven't seen them or any of the other Glaives in a while was because I was too busy hanging out with my new friends. Reina instantly caught on to my expression and gave a knowing look.
"That's because you've been hanging out with your new friends you traitor. I can't recall the last time I saw you so drunk that you puked or grabbed for Nyx's hair or—" Reina chattered away until I interrupted her by clearing my throat.
"Reina, I can't recall the last time I saw you in the Captain's office for ditching duty. I wonder who it's thanks to?" my eyebrows arched.
"At your service, ma`am." She said pretending to salute me.
Maxim just laughed at us like usually. He gently placed a hand on his girlfriend's head and sweetly ruffled it. "How about tonight then?" He asked while looking down at Reina. Reina's eyes instantly lit up, there was no way I could turn this down.
"I'm all yours tonight." I confirm.
"Okay let's ask everyone after training!" Reina added.
With that we all headed to the training ground so as not to be late.
The official training regime was conducted by Captain Drautos. We were paired up to spar according to our strengths and weaknesses. Reina being in the magic division, was responsible for support in the rear, so naturally she was paired off with other mages.
"Reina you ready?" I look to see Crowe walking towards Reina with a smile. I envied that Reina could be paired with Crowe, the courageous woman who would never take shit from anyone. Me, being in the frontline meant I was usually assigned with other frontline Glaives, those who had better control over their warping abilities. This naturally meant I was paired with all the reckless guys.
Partner of the day: Luche.
The Glaives were called out in four pairs. The others waited by the sidelines and watched the sparring matches while the Captain walked around assessing our techniques and battling styles to help us improves or point out our openings. But for some reason, the Captain seemed to be on edge today compared to other days during training. Even the perfect Crowe got an earful from Drautos.
My immediate assumption was that something probably didn't go well during today's meeting.
After a while of watching, Luche and I were called out as one of the last pairs to the ground with a few others.
"You ready Luche?" I call out from the opposite side facing him.
"Bring it Princess!" He mocks with his blades drawn and ready. I rolled out my eyes at the nickname, it always got on my nerves and I had to stop myself from yelling 'I'm not a princess' every time someone called me that.
"I bet you won't even be able to hit me." I give a smug smile as I reply. From the corner of my eyes I could see Nyx rolling his eyes at me from the sidelines, mouthing the word 'show-off'.
Our sparring session started. Luche is the first to warp towards me and we lock blades. I know that physically I wouldn't be able to hold off Luche too long because of our difference in strengths and Luche knew it too. So, I quickly throw one of my Kukri blades towards the sky and warp out.
From there on, our training session quickly turns into a game of whack-the-mole. I constantly warp to dodge Luche instead of holding my ground to fight, occasionally throwing spells at him from midair. Luche started becoming increasingly frustrated as he missed hit after hit, which in my opinion was quite entertaining. I toss one push knife into the air again and warp towards it. While hovering in mid-air I take the opportunity to glance at the sky being dyed red by the setting sun before turning my attention to Luche's position once more.
But when I look down to the training ground all I see are dead bodies and a field engulfed in flames.
My eyes go wide and my body goes ridged.
'Velvet run!' I can hear them in my head. I can see them in their last moments again.
My family.
"VELVET!" an urgent voice rings in my ears this time. But this voice is different, it sounds too real to be just in my head.
"VELVET!" Another voice. But this time I'm able to deduce who it belongs to.
Nyx.
I snap back into reality and realize in my moment of paralysis I had started descending to the ground. I quickly toss the push knife horizontally far across the field, angling it slightly downwards so that it still lodges into the ground but still gives me enough distance to brace for impact after I warp. Unfortunately I was too close to the ground already to land standing up, which meant I landed into a heaping mess on the floor, rolling across the ground on my side to break the impact of what could have been a big fall. Everyone stopped whatever they were doing.
I pant heavily as I feel cold sweat trickling down and starting to soak my back. I shook my head which was now pounding and looked around me to see what had happened.
The bodies, the flames. It had all been an illusion of my memory. I let out a big sigh of relief and sit up and look at the sky again. The red color of the sunset was probably what setoff the vision.
That was when I saw my superior making his way to me. I could already tell he wasn't having any of my shit today. I braced myself for the Captains anger. He promptly grabs me by my upper arm and yanks me to my feet. I try to balance myself on my wobbly feet but the vertigo from the sudden movement has me falling on my knees, jarring it painfully against the hard training ground.
"Get up." He barks angrily.
I push myself off the ground with both my hands and get to my feet. Then I place my hands behind my back and stand up straight. The Captain grabs the front of my shirt and yanks it forward so that I am facing him up close.
"You think this is a game soldier?" I don't answer and just look down.
"Don't make me repeat myself ever again. The ability you borrowed from the King is not a toy do you understand?" I mutter an almost inaudible 'yes sir'.
"Pull yourself together, we are at war. While you are goofing around here Niflheim is taking over nation by nation." Gruffly, he let go of my shirt and turns to rest of the Glaives.
"And this applies to all of you, pull yourselves together!" With that he leave the training room slamming the door behind him without even dismissing the training. Everyone stood there in silence.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath, disappointed in myself more than anything for letting the hallucinations get to me like that.
This wasn't this first time it happened. The very first hallucination I had was when I came back from my first battle two years ago. Usually I was able to ignore the onslaught of images and voices of my dead comrades that haunted me. But, when it was my family it was hard to ignore the anguished cries.
If I were to suddenly get these visions during the actual battle it could get me killed, or someone else in my stead.
"Geez, what's gotten into him?" I snap out of my thoughts as the silence is broken and a hand is gently placed on my shoulder. I turn to see Libertus scrunching his face in distaste at the Captain's sudden outburst of anger.
"You good?" Libertus gives a caring smile and pats me on my head gently. I smile back.
With the silence broken people start to break up into small groups, murmuring to each other about the current situation and the captain's sudden anger.
"Yeah sheesh, it's not like it's the first time someone's failed to warp." Crowe added giving Libertus a look, who rolled his eyes back at her.
No one knew what to make of the situation. Crowe was right, it wasn't the first time this happened. Usually the Captain didn't care much about our screw-ups as long as we weren't badly hurt.
"Maybe he found out about you and Reina ditching duty and got a scolding from the King himself during the meeting?" Nyx joked.
"Don't think so, and hopefully not." Reina visibly shuddered at the thought. Her reaction got me to chuckle a bit, and soon I was feeling relaxed again.
Maxim just laughed at Reina and turned to talk to the group. "Well, since training's out early want to go to our usual place for a drink?"
Everyone chorused in agreement and we all huddled out of the training room.
Right before I was about to exit the said room, Nyx grabbed my shoulder.
"You sure you're okay?" His joking tone from the previous conversation was gone and was now full of concern. He was the only one who knew about my hallucinations, and the only one who knew how debilitating they could really be.
"Yeah, it just caught me off-guard that's all." I give a reassuring smile and we move on.
Our team split up into two groups, the male and the female team. After everyone freshened up the teams respectively headed to the slums. To be honest it was always a bit sketchy walking by that area but that place had the best food and the cheapest drinks. In the end we only managed to get our usually gang to go drinking, consisting of Nyx, Crowe, Libertus, Pelna, Reina, Maxim and me. Everyone else refused claiming they had some business to attend to. It seemed that all the Glaives were really busy these days. Even Luche said he couldn't make it, though he apologized for the training mishap and said he felt bad that I was the victim of Drautos' bad mood.
The three of us girls walked through the streets until our usual place came into view. To no one's surprise the male team had arrived earlier and were all already holding a glass of their favorite drinks.
"Kept us waiting girls!" Libertus called out. The girls all took an open seat.
"You rather us early and smelling sweaty?" Crowe challenged. We all just laughed at her usual sharp tongue.
I ordered a glass of Kahlua Milk, my favorite go to cocktail. When the milky drank arrived I gulped it down savoring the coffee flavor that nursed my bad mood. As I put the glass down an arm plopped on my shoulder.
"Kahlua again? Man up and drink something stronger, it's the weekend tomorrow!" Nyx took a swig of his alcohol.
"Heh, says the man with the beer. Plus I should remind you to add a 'W' and an 'O' in front of the word 'man'." I joked.
It wasn't like I couldn't hold my alcohol, just that I had a training session with Iris tomorrow and some great teacher I would be if I showed up hungover….
.
.
.
Okay I take back what I said about responsible drinking. Maxim and Nyx ordered a round of Tequila shots and if there was one things I hated, it was Tequila. I could never get used to the burning sensation as it coursed down my throat along with how similarly it smelt to hi-potion.
After the first round of shots came the second and by the end of that we were all slightly tipsy except for Crowe and Reina who both refused the second round of shots.
The mix of Tequila and Kalhua was starting to hit me and I was starting to feel giggly and a little giddy.
"Ready for shot round three princess?" Nyx challenged.
The nickname 'princess' seemed to be a running joke amongst the front-line Glaives because I was the only female soldier to be placed in front-line. And I HATED it.
"Stop calling me that, argh— seriously it's not like you guys even treat me like a girl." I said annoyed.
"Hey, what's wrong with calling a princess princ— Argh! Get off!" I had effectively shut up Nyx by grabbing for his hair. I loved playing with it because it seemed to be one of the only things that annoyed him.
Everyone was laughing at us, especially the sight of Nyx trying to pry off a girl half his size from his hair.
From one corner of the table Crowe sighed "Okay Velvet that's enou—"
Beep-Beep-Beep—
Bzz—Bzz—
Da-da-da—
Ringgg—
The laughter stopped. I could feel all the muscles in my body tense at the ringing of our phones. I eyed our table and could visibly see everyone had sobered up, even Nyx.
There was only one reason all of our phones would ring at the same time. Our duty called.
We all respectively reached for our own phones. I unlocked my white phone and saw a text message by the title 'URGENT' waiting for me to open it.
I willed myself to not freak out, it could just be a false alarm. I took a deep breath and moved my index finger towards the notice and touched the screen.
[NOTICE]
To All Glaives,
Niflheim activities have been spotted beyond the southern wall of Insomnia. All Glaives are to report to the Citadel in three hours with their letters ready to be turned in. You will be deployed beyond the wall after a mission briefing. By the orders of King Regis Lucis Caelum CXIII
-Captain Drautos
I just stared down at the text. 'It could be a false alarm' I just kept repeating those words over and over again in my head. But for some reason my gut feelings told me that wasn't the case. Recalling the Captain's emotional outburst during training today only seemed to add on to my suspicion. At the meeting today he was probably told about the possibility of war, which was why he was on edge during training.
I could already feel my hands trembling and soon the trembling became very visible as my phone shook too. My memories started to conjure up memories from all the wars I attended. All of our dead comrades and among them one of my best friends Xantus who I followed around like an older brother. Soon those images started to morph into the blazing street of Kharlan. I closed my eyes and tried to will the images away.
I flinched opening my eyes when I heard a deep sigh from no other than our hero. He ran his fingers through his hair and replaced his phone back into his pocket. Then grabbed his drink and chugged it down in one big gulp. The previous trace of jolliness was all gone, without doubt Nyx was going through hell in his mind too.
"You heard the orders." Nyx grabbed for his jacket and pushed himself off the stool with his hands and turned to walk out. Shortly everyone followed his example and stood up and left. Only Reina, Maxim and I were left in silence.
Maxim seemed to be at a loss of words at the mail. For him this battle was his first because he had only joined the Glaives recently. I'm sure all sorts of thoughts were running through his mind.
The silence was cut off with small gasps and sobs. I turned to my left to see Reina who started breaking down into tears and could hear her mumbling Xantus' name. Xantus was a big brother to us when we first arrived in Insomnia and he died on the field protecting Reina, who had broken formation to save a child who was unfortunately there at the time of the battle. He died with honor doing what he believed was right until his last dying breath. Of course Reina was also faced with punishment. She was demoted from being a palace guard to going in between more minor tasks like a station guard and patrol duties, which were usually assigned to cadets or patrol police. She took her relegation with a smile, claiming it was a small price to pay for what had happened. But I knew that behind her cheery smile she always blamed herself for Xantus' death.
I walked over to the all blonde and embraced her. No words could ever make up for the loss our dear friend and family member. For Reina, who mostly stayed in the rear of the battle, she was constantly plagued by the thought of losing her friends who were out in the front facing tremendous danger.
I hugged her as she mourned for all the comrades we lost in the two years we've been here and for the comrades we would lose with the upcoming fight.
Reina had wept in my arms for a good hour. I sent Maxim home not wanting him to crumble under the emotional pressure too, he also probably needed time to sort his emotions out and get himself together.
I returned home after walking Reina back home. By the time we reached her house she had considerably calmed down even managing to pull a smile a few times, although it was all just a show she put on to reassure me. She said she would be okay but I knew deep down she was dreading the upcoming battle, maybe even regretting that she joined the Glaives. To be honest her big heart was not suited for the job of a soldier.
I sighed and sat at my desk running my fingers through my hair. Just recalling Reina's break down reminded me of how close I was to having one on my own. The death of my family and the wars have left me mentally scarred, the moment I started recalling bad memories it could all spiral into what felt like bottomless pit of negativity. I thought I had gotten better over the years but today's training incident and the text regarding the battle confirmed for me that I was far from over it.
I heaved another sigh.
I had to stay focused… I had to stay strong, at least for my friends' sakes.
I turned my focus to the clock on my table. An hour and thirty minute left until I have to report to the HQ. I reached down into a drawer and pulled out a few lined papers. It was time I wrote the letter.
All the Glaives call it 'the letter' but it was essentially our will we wanted to pass on to our loved one if we were to die on the field. All Glaives were required to write it when we headed to big battles like the upcoming one and hand it to the Captain before the mission briefing. It was possible to write it to more than one person, though most Glaives didn't. Most of us didn't have families left so we didn't really have anyone to write to other than our fellow members.
After coming home from the war that took Xantus' life I received his letter, and it was one of the shittiest feelings in the world. The weight of responsibility, the knowledge of what they were thinking before the war and the thoughts of death were always very emotionally raw that it hurt. After that I told myself that I would never write it to a fellow Glaive, I didn't want to burden them with my last words.
I tilted my head back to stared at my mold blotched ceiling. I really didn't have anyone to write to. Another sigh and I pick up my pen and scribble the word that come into mind.
With the letter grasped in my hand I solemnly walked towards our meeting point. The streets are buzzing with people and the night sky was clear of even the smallest cloud. I was sure I would miss this sight while out fighting, after all the battle field was always clouded with dust and smelt of burning flesh.
Seeing the people walking past me clicked something in my head. I had forgotten to tell Iris. There was a big chance she already knew about my deployment since her father was probably at the meeting. But still I guess it was best to tell her myself. I stood there juggling the thought of dropping by her place to tell her directly, but then I realized I probably didn't have the guts to see her worried face. That only left one option.
I reached into my pocket for my phone and searched for her name and tapped on it. I could hear the phone ringing as it sent the call, I patiently waited for her to pick up. One ring, two rings, three rings, four rings…
Hi it's Iris here, I can't pick up at the moment but please feel free to leave a message and I'll get back to you ASAP! -Beep-
Great… She isn't picking up, guess I'll have to leave a message.
"Hey, it's me Velvet. Um… I don't know if you've heard from your father but I won't be able to help you train for a while because of my deployment. Doesn't mean you can slack off though okay? Have Gladio help you out with our usual training routine while I'm gone. I'll know if you've been slacking off alright? I'll call you when I get back. See you."
I hung up.
Guess that will have to do. There really wasn't much I could say to her since I didn't know when I would be returning or if I would be returning at all. Letting out a big sigh I continued my way to the HQ.
"Has everyone handed in their letters?" the Captain paced around the room scanning all the Glaives standing to attention.
"SIR, YES SIR!"
All of us were accounted for, all geared up and ready for deployment. The room fell silent after our answer as the Captain eyed us one by one before stopping in the middle of the room.
"Niflheim troops have been spotted in the southern outskirts of the wall. Our mission is to drive them away and make sure they don't get past the canyons near the outpost. Is that clear?" The Captain reiterated our mission
"SIR, YES SIR!"
He looked into our eyes, some filled with fear others filled with determination. His eyes, for a moment rested on me, before wandering to my fellow members. "Not all of you will make it back, but I plan on doing everything in my power to make sure most of you will! Now, FOR HEARTH AND HOME!"
"FOR HEARTH AND HOME!" Everyone chanted.
Even through the chant all I could think of was one thing…
'How many of us would make it back?'
Finally entered the Kings Glaive plot! I guess the plot pace will be a bit faster from here on.
Next chapter: hopefully I don't end up in two pieces...