Chapter Four - Prince

Noctis had been busy for days, carrying out different tasks he had to do for his father. He had a relatively calm and easy life as the prince and heir of Lucis, but lately he could feel that his father was preparing him for the throne more and more. As to be expected, now that Noctis was already twenty-two summers old. It was his duty to learn everything about his country and to actively participate in his father's rule. Still, some tasks were incredibly boring and he kind of missed the time he used to spend with his friends. Luckily, Gladiolus and Ignis were also fairly busy with their responsibilities. Prompto was the only one who seemed to have a lot of free time and apparently he had decided to spend that free time trying to get Noctis to ditch his duties.

"Prompto, I already told you! I have a meeting I need to attend. It's about the upcoming renewal of the peace treaty with Niflheim. I have to be there and you know that." Noctis gave his friend a decisive look and walked past him. "You really need to find something to do. Gladio, Ignis and I all have our responsibilities and we can't babysit you all the time," he said, before Prompto could even give him another tempting offer, which would make the prince realise even more that his activities were tiresome and that he could be doing a million other things.

"I only wanted to let you know that she woke up, okay..." Prompto looked at his royal friend and sighed. "You know, the girl they found in the dungeons, in case you forgot. She woke up this afternoon. Cor already went to talk to her and he's keeping her under guard at the servant's quarters. I thought you'd be interested, now that we know her name and all... but never mind."

Noctis stood still and turned around. "They know her name?" He had been so busy that he had neglected asking for updates on the girl's status. He knew that they took care of her among the servants and that they hadn't imprisoned her in a cell, but that was all he knew. Over time, he'd kind of forgotten that she was still here. Feeling bad, he ran after his friend. "How do they know her name? Who is she?"

"Her name's Meiya and she suddenly gained the ability to understand and speak our language, like it happened overnight. That's all they know, though. Or that's all they're telling us." Prompto ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm going to pay her a visit. She's not in a cell, but she must feel incredibly lonely. And you saw her, Noct, she doesn't look like a criminal or some evil force, does she? I feel bad for her and I think it's our job to make her feel a little bit more at home. She's about our age after all."

Noctis watched his friend leave and muttered something under his breath. He couldn't deny that the girl made him really curious. She was a complete mystery and he didn't quite like the fact that Commander Leonis and the others were the ones authorised to solve that mystery. He knew that he absolutely had to attend tonight's meeting, as it was very important for the future of his kingdom, but he also wanted to visit the girl and ask her questions. Now that she could understand them, communication would be a lot easier. But maybe he just had to trust his friend. Prompto seemed to have made it his calling to help the girl and make her feel at ease, so maybe he had to let him do that. With a little bit of luck, the meeting would be over early and he could take some time to visit their guest after that.

Meiya was vast asleep, dreaming one dream after another. Many of them involved the red gem she had seen before she passed out. She heard different voices speaking different languages. There was a woman crying and a man with a loud, intimidating voice. Meiya couldn't really make sense of what she saw and what she heard, but it all seemed familiar somehow. The images were unclear and the voices were coming from far away. Suddenly the atmosphere changed and she felt fear. The voices started screaming and she saw the crimson red color of blood, nothing else.

She woke up screaming, fighting with the blanket keeping her warm. Meiya felt cold sweat on her forehead and arms and she had to straighten the simple dress she had received from one of the servants. She needed some time to realise that she was still in the strange palace of a strange kingdom, surrounded by people whose language she could suddenly speak. On the outside she tried to appear calm, but inside she was incredibly scared and confused. Nobody knew what happened to her and she couldn't even remember when and where she was born or if she had any family. Even though everyone took care of her, she could feel that she was an outsider and that they would treat her as an enemy if they decided they did not like what they found out.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you?"

Meiya hadn't even noticed the young man in the room, until he started speaking. Startled, she pulled up the blanket and stared at him. It took her a while to figure out that he asked her a question and she shook her head. "No, I...I had a nightmare," she said slowly, having less trouble with the new language now, as if resting had increased her knowledge of it.

"Oh, good... My quarrel with the Custodes in front of your door was a bit loud so I was afraid I woke you that way. They just wouldn't let me inside, you know?! I'm sure it would've been no problem at all if only I was a royal or a member of the Amicitia family or something. I swear, lineage is everything these days." The blonde guy came closer and grinned sheepishly while sticking out his hand. "The name's Prompto of the not so noteworthy Argentum family! But I must add that I somehow did manage to become the prince's best friend."

A little overwhelmed by his energy, Meiya shook his hand and gave him a shy smile. "Pr...Prompto?" she tried, struggling with all those weird sounds. She couldn't remember seeing him before.

"Oh by the Gods! Yes, it's Prompto and yes it's a stupid, difficult, completely useless name!" The man really looked annoyed and she felt guilty not being able to pronounce it correctly. "I do apologize, sir. I meant no offense." Still, she couldn't help but smile.

"None taken! You can't help that my parents were complete idiots. I feel honored that my name made you smile just now. It's still better than being called 'Gladiolus', I guess."

Meiya laughed out loud and even though she did not know this Prompto and she didn't completely understand his joke, she felt relieved that someone other than the Commander came to visit her.

"Your name's Meiya, right? It's such a beautiful name. A rare one too, in this area. I'm sure you're the only Meiya I know. Are you hungry? I could get you something good since I'm friends with one of the kitchen maids. She likes blonde guys, go figure."

Meiya kind of liked to hear this guy talk, although he jumped from one subject to another and sounded like he would explode if he ever stopped talking. She realized that she was a bit hungry and nodded. "I would like that, sir. If it's not too much trouble, I would really like some food."

"Of course it's no trouble! And please, don't call me 'sir'!" The blonde patted her on the head and smiled. "I'll be right back with your dinner!" He spun around to open the door, but it already opened before he could do anything. A man carrying a foodplate entered hesitantly.

"...Noct?!"

Noctis entered the servant's quarters, a place where he'd never come under normal circumstances. Passing by the kitchen and seeing the maid making dinner for their guest, he had told her that he wanted to visit and that he would bring Meiya her dinner personally. Somehow he wanted to make a good impression on the mysterious girl. He noticed Prompto, who seemed to look utterly disappointed.

"Oh well...here's your dinner, I guess," his blonde friend said. "It surprises me to see you here, Noct."

Noctis stepped out of the dark shadows in the room and walked towards the girl to give her the plate. "Yes, the meeting was over early and I wanted to know how our guest was doing, so I decided I had to come see for myself." He smiled softly as he looked at the young woman with the long red hair. She was staring at him, but it was not a curious stare. Her gaze was hard and cold.

"I brought...I brought you some food," Noctis said, placing the plate on her nightstand. He then put his hand on her arm. "I trust you are well?" But he didn't get an answer. For a moment, her gaze seemed distant, as if she saw something else while looking only at him. Then, she suddenly slapped his hand away from her arm and tried to crawl out of bed, away from him.

"Don't touch me! Stay away from me, you monster!"

To be continued...

Oh btw! I'm using influence of Latin to come up with some words for certain 'jobs' in and around the castle and Custodes and Scientes are examples. So it wasn't a spelling error for 'scientist', although it basically means the same thing! :) Custodes are guards, soldiers, and Scientes are the researchers, the 'smart people' :p.

Thanks for reviewing and commenting! This chapter took a while, but I'm still very busy and exams are coming up, so I need to prepare haha. But know that I'm not neglecting this story! :)

Hope you all still like it! Comments and reviews are welcome as always. I'll try to get the next chapter ready in two weeks, but if it's not ready by then, I'll probably have to wait a month until after my exams to finish it.

Love,

L.