Heart of Gold

Chapter 7

Before Aurea knew it, it was finally the evening of her date. The young woman wore a sleeveless black midi debutante dress with a sweetheart neckline and black strap up heels. She also wore silver crystal chandelier earrings and a silver diamond choker. Aqua put makeup on her and tried not to cake up her face; just mascara, winged eyeliner, highlighter and ruby woo red lipstick. Xion straightened her hair. The young woman's nails were done in a French manicure from earlier and she even had a facial in the morning. All of this was for a first date, but it was a date with a Prince.

The young woman walked downstairs and all her friends waited at the foot of the stairs. They all stared at her with wide eyes and their jaws hit the ground.

"Aurea you look…" Terra trailed off.

"She looks beyond beautiful." Xion squealed.

"Now here are your keys." Aqua gave her best friend keys. Aurea put them in her black shoulder clutch bag which had her phone, lipstick, tissues and a spare pad.

"Don't get into too much trouble." Axel winked and she giggled.

"Oh I promise." She said. "Now shoo all of you."

"Have fun, Princess." They sang as they walked into the living room.

There was a knock on the door and the golden haired woman gulped as her heart beat faster. She walked briskly to the door and held onto the handle. She took a deep breath and tried to relax herself.

Aurea opened the door and saw Noctis. He was wearing a navy blue blazer, a blue-grey shirt with the top 2 buttons undone, black straight leg jeans and black shoes. Her cheeks were a faint pink colour; he looked absolutely handsome and charming. His cheeks were also a faint red when he saw her. He thought she looked so mesmerising and utterly beautiful. He had never seen her like this before.

"You look…" He exhaled and gulped. "You look so beautiful tonight." She smiled at him. "I mean you look beautiful every day but today…"

"Thank you." She giggled. "You look like a Prince…Well I mean you are one."

"I got these for you…" He gave her bouquet of red roses with baby's breath flowers.

"Is this why you were at the florist?" Aurea asked whilst taking the flowers.

"Y-yeah." He answered.

"They're beautiful. You remember my favourite flower." She smiled. "Thank you, I'll just put them in the living room. Someone will put them in a vase. Just give me a minute."

Aurea briskly walked into the living room and gave the roses to Aqua. They all gave her the thumbs up and waved at her. She grinned at them whilst waving as she walked back up.

"You ready?" She asked as she walked out of the house and closed the door behind her.

"Yeah, I got the Regalia out for us." He stated.

They got out of the driveway and the young woman saw a black four seater convertible. She knew that this car was Noctis's beloved Regalia, his father gave it to him for his 18th birthday.

Noctis opened the door for Aurea who smiled sweetly whilst getting in the car.

"Such a gentleman. Did Ignis teach you?" She asked and he got into the driver seat.

"Yes." He shook his head with a chuckle.

"I had a feeling." She laughed.


As he drove, he glanced at Aurea who smiling whilst looking out of the car. He couldn't help but blush and smile himself.

"Your hair looks really nice, by the way." He stated and she turned to him whilst touching her hair.

"Oh, thank you. Xion had to do it cuz it's so long." She said. "I was thinking of getting it cut."

"But it looks nice long." He said and she blushed at this. "I remember when you hair was so short in the beginning of University."

"I remember my short hair. I wanted to start university with a new haircut." She said to herself. "But your spiky hair." She chuckled.

"Oh god, I don't know what kind of phase I was going through." He muttered.

"It defied gravity!" She exclaimed. "I always wanted to imagine what it was like when it was wet."

"It would stay that way." Noctis stated embarrassed.

"That goes against the laws of physics." She crossed her arms. "But I love your hair that way. It looks sexy."

"Ah, thanks." He blushed. "What are you in the mood for?"

"Hm, I've been craving a delicious gourmet burger for weeks." She replied and he smiled.

"Great, cuz I just reserved a place at an amazing restaurant." He stated.

"Hey, how did you know?" Aurea asked and he tapped the side of his head.

"I know these things." She crossed her arms with a pout.

"Mr know it all." He couldn't help but laugh.

"I know you too well. Plus you'd love any restaurant I'd take you to." He said.

"You know how much I love food." She laughed.


They got to a restaurant and just as Aurea was about to get out of the car, Noctis opened the door for her. They walked alongside each other and after a moment, he held her hand and intertwined his fingers with hers. She felt her heart beat faster but nonetheless, she held his hand. He met up with a waiter who stood outside.

"Ah, Prince Noctis. Right this way." The waiter made his way around the building whilst the pair followed.

Aurea's eyes widened and she gasped. There was one table with 2 chairs on the beach, with a candle in the middle. Around the table on the sand were many candle lanterns and rose petals. Noctis looked at her with a smirk on his face and she looked at him.

"Noct…" He placed his finger on her lips.

"I wanted to do this for you." He stated.

He led her to the table and pulled up a chair for her to sit on. The young Prince sat across her and the waiter gave them menus. She ordered a gourmet chicken burger with cheese in a brioche bun, cheesy fries, coleslaw and salad with mango and passionfruit juice. He ordered the same but with a meat burger instead. The waiter nodded with a smile and rushed away.

Noctis stared at her dreamily, the way her hair glistened in the candle light was beyond words. It was like her tresses were made of pure illuminating sunlight.

"Now, who's idea was this?" She asked with a smirk on her face.

"This was all me." Noctis answered. "I've always imagined what our first date would be like. Planned it all out too."

"So you've been waiting to ask me out." Aurea asked with her hand on her chest and pink cheeks. "How long?"

"2 years." Her blue eyes widened and she gasped.

"So long? Why didn't you just ask?" He looked down for a moment.

"Well I was scared you'd say no and want to stay as friends." She pouted at this.

"Noct, do you really think I'd reject you?" She asked. "So what made you ask me out now then?"

"Well the guys couldn't stop nagging about it, especially Ignis." He sighed.

"Seriously?" She asked with a grin.

"He said a girl like you doesn't come along so easily." She giggled. "Well it is true."

"You're too cute you know that." She laughed whilst pinching his cheek. "My friends couldn't stop teasing me since you asked me out. They keep calling me Princess Aurea Lucis Caelum. It's embarrassing."

"I think it's cute." He said. "Besides, that is the goal y'know."

Her eyes widened and she let go of his cheek. His cheeks turned a bright pink as her eyelashes fluttered like butterflies. "What do you mean?"

"The goal of all this is to have a future with you of course. I didn't ask you out just for the fun of it." He explained. "I really like you and I see something with you. Hopefully that doesn't give you too much pressure."

"Noctis, you're really serious about this…" She mumbled. "It's so relieving."

Noctis placed his hand on hers and held it as he smiled sweetly at her. The waiter came back with their meals and they started to eat. When they were done, Aurea placed her hand on her stomach with a sigh of delight.

"That was so delicious!" She exclaimed.

"I'm glad you loved it." Noctis smiled.

After much disagreement, the Prince decided to pay the bill and they left for the cinema.