Chapter Seven - Mystery
She was back in solid darkness, still tied to the same chair. How could she end up like this again, so soon after being freed that unforgiving darkness by the people in this palace? Meiya did not think she was in the exact same space, though it all felt similar. The room was damp and a chill ran up her spine periodically. Underneath her bare feet she felt familiar cold, smooth stone. The smell of her surroundings did not please her nose. Every now and again, she swore she could hear someone whistle, somewhere further away, through thick stone walls. It reassured her that she wasn't completely forgotten, at least.
They had kept her in this darkness ever since her last conversation with the Lord Commander. They had even brought her here blindfolded, but she still remembered the amount of stairs they had descended and the fact that they had continued their way down in some sort of carriage. She had no other way to describe it as that was how it had felt without seeing a thing.
Meiya had not had any visitors except for the soldier who brought her food every day. Simple food, less nutritious than the things she had received while she was at the servants' quarters or even in that room high up in the palace. The soldier never said anything, barely even looked at her. He just freed her hands every time, keeping one of his own hands on a weird weapon attached to his belt, and never stayed longer than necessary.
It wasn't hard to figure out that they were keeping her in a secluded dark place, the dungeons perhaps, to break her spirit. Maybe she would tell the Scientes everything she knew after she had lived off of dry bread and water in complete isolation for a couple of days. Problem was she didn't know anything. She hadn't been lying to Cor Leonis. Niflheim, Ardyn Izunia, a peace treaty… those were all pieces of a puzzle she didn't understand anything of. But they didn't believe her and honestly, she couldn't blame them. All things considered, she was a strange, mysterious figure that had appeared in the dungeons one day, learned to speak their language overnight, came accompanied by a shiny red ruby, slapped the prince and murdered someone in cold blood with a magically appearing and disappearing sword while being kidnapped by other mysterious figures. A list of things you wouldn't proudly tell your grandmother about.
Meiya dropped her head and closed her eyes. It was extremely hard to tell if it was day or night, but due to the constant darkness, she felt tired anyway. Sleep would make the time go faster. Maybe things would change tomorrow. She had to believe that they would believe in her innocence if she stayed here and continued to be a good prisoner, even though she was sick of the darkness by now and would rather let ten chocobos scream 'wark' in her ears than endure one more night of complete and utter silence.
"You want to what now?!"
Noctis tried not to flinch at his father's booming voice. Right now he wanted nothing more than to be made of solid stone like Gladio, who was standing next to him and didn't even flinch. What could possibly scare that guy anyway? Because of the current tense political climate, Gladiolus Amicitia had to remain by Noctis' side at all times, acting as his Shield. Noctis liked Gladio as much as the next person, but 24 hours a day with that guy was a bit too much. Still, at the moment he almost retreated in the shadows of Gladio's towering presence. Regis Lucis Caelum was angry. Ignis was probably right, they should have thought this through a bit more.
"Son, I have commanded the young Amicitia and Ignis Scientia to stay by your side for your safety. By the Six, I even let that irresponsible Prompto Argentum remain in the palace, just so there would be an extra pair of eyes on you and you want to go stare danger in the eyes and free it, even?"
His father's voice sounded a bit calmer now, with a tinge of worry shining through. Noctis knew he meant well, but he also knew that he had to try this plan he and his friends had thought of. That, and he had some information that could turn the tables. "Father," he began, "I realise this does not mean much, but I know in my heart that that girl is not evil. I can feel it in my gut."
"Apologies, my prince, but if we have to trust your gut for everything, vegetables would have been banned in Insomnia by now." Noctis glared daggers at Cor, who was also present in the room, but the Commander did make a point. A weak one, but a point nonetheless.
"I still have something to tell you. About… about her," the prince continued, a little hesitant now. "Right before she slapped me, when I touched her arm to reassure her, I saw…something," he said softly. He was glad that only his friends, his father and the trusted commander were in the room, because he would not want anyone else to hear this information. It could make him sound like a mad man. Next to him, he could feel Gladio shift. Oh, so this new information somehow bothered him more than the angry voice of a king? Great.
"You saw something? Son, you will have to be more specific if you want us to understand."
Noctis took a deep breath. "It's hard to explain and it… it has been bothering me for a while. When I touched her, I saw something that felt like a memory, but it wasn't. When she looked at me with fear and hatred in her eyes, I saw her, I think, but in another place, another time. And there was blood. I thought I had imagined things, but after thinking about it, I think she had seen something similar, which spooked her, and that's why she slapped me."
Worry creased King Regis' eyes. "Son, the fact that you say she bore hatred in her eyes when she looked at you is enough to keep her locked up. She could be a spy in disguise, someone you met when you were younger but have forgotten about. Someone from Niflheim or someplace else who feels wronged by you, by us somehow, and came back for revenge. There is too much she isn't telling us, she is too shrouded in mystery to be fully trusted."
Noctis shook his head. His father didn't understand, as usual. "Father, no. You don't understand. I don't think we really saw each other or some memory. When I said 'another place and time', I meant that as a place and time way back. I think she has me confused with someone else. Someone who looked a lot like me a long time ago. Think about it. The room we found her in appeared in the palace as if it had always been there, but nobody knew. There was a statue nobody had ever seen, covered in scribbles in a dead language and a girl who didn't understand or speak ours. And the rapier she summoned proves she has magic." Noctis gestured around him, a shimmer of blue light flickering between his fingertips for just a moment. "Magic similar to ours, father." He took another breath, his mouth running dry because of all the talking. "I know it may sound like nonsense, but I believe she used, or was sent here by some kind of magic that made her travel through time and end up here. And that must be for a reason, father. I don't think she's an enemy. I think she's on the run for something or someone, but can't remember."
This time, Ignis took a step forward and pushed his glasses with two fingers, while slightly bowing to the king. "Apologies for interjecting, but I think the prince is on to something, your Highness. You also heard the report of the Scientes earlier. The statue she was found with, could be one depicting the girl herself. Does that not make one think that she must have existed before, and was important somehow?"
With some difficulty, King Regis rose from his chair, a stern look on his face. "That may very well be, mister Scientia, and let's say you two are right. That still means that she is involved with some kind of foul magic that makes her travel through time. We all know what the scriptures say about those kinds of magic. It's forbidden and dangerous. I won't have a girl who can manipulate that kind of power and can summon a rapier roam this palace freely."
Noctis was grateful for Ignis' surprising help, but his father had copious amounts of the most famous Lucis family trait: stubbornness. But they couldn't give up. In his heart, Noctis knew he was right about this girl and he wanted to help her regain her memories. He wanted to know more.
"The fact that she has no memories is what we must use to our advantage, father. If enemies of hers or say, Niflheim, get to her first, they can mold her into whoever they want with the information they give her. But we can do the same. We can protect her and ourselves by taking care of her, by helping her. You have heard of her power, father. And the red crystal she was found with? Don't tell me you didn't think the same thing the moment you saw it. If we can teach her how to use that power willingly, she could be of some help." Noctis' gaze dropped. His father supported himself, one hand leaning on a cane, one on his chair. He was wearing the brace around his knee every day now, without ever taking it off.
Help, especially if related to a crystal, could be what this king and his kingdom needed.
Thank you for reading! Please leave a review if you like the story and/or if you have constructive criticism!
(look at me, a second chapter in five months! :p)
I think I'm going to slightly rewrite the previous chapters in the near future. I am not going to change the storyline in any way, just going to polish the writing etc, because I think my style and the way I see these characters did change a little throughout the years.
I know these chapters contain lots of dialogue, but I do want to establish the storyline a bit more quickly. Especially because hiatus in between chapters is sometimes really, really long in my case :p.
As always, thank you so much for being patient with me and this story. I promise it will be worth the wait.
Love, L.
