Beta read by: SinikkavonWolperting

Request for: TheBigbyWolf

Summary: Noctis struggles to keep his cool when his class takes a little field trip to the local museum to learn about the history of the crystal. C:

Sorry this one is a bit short, but I had a hard time trying to stretch it out more than this without dragging it on. ;w; But I tried. Also, I really hope I got the history and facts accurate, I am ashamed to say that I had to do a bit of research for this one. _

Noctis seemed to naturally drift towards the back of the herd, whether it was out of instinct or intention, he didn't know, but he did know that he didn't wish to be hovered around on this little 'trip' of theirs. All the other kids in his class chatted among themselves, walking close behind their teacher as they traveled the streets towards their destination. Every last one of them were overflowing with unreasonable excitement, thrill that he was seriously lacking. But, he figured he had a good reason to be, he could already predict the amount of unwanted attention that would result from this day.

He groaned to himself as he stuffed his hands in his pockets and leaned his head back to stare up at the clouds, which to him were far more interesting than this stupid field trip. And, he wondered why he was even here, not like he needed this lessen; out of all those here, he probably knew the most on this subject. For once in his life, he thought that maybe a day of training with Gladio would be much more appealing. Hell, he'd even choose to be having an etiquette lecture from specs himself if it meant sparing him of this torture.

He gasped as some exclaimed offhandedly when he bumped into them after their abrupt stop; either that or he wasn't paying attention, most likely the second possibility. "Hey, watch where you-" she stopped mid complaint and blushed noticeably and stepped back, "Oh, Pr-Prince Noctis," she stammered as recognition spurred up, "Sorry, I didn't know it was you." The girl quickly apologized as she fiddled with her hands nervously.

The prince said nothing and merely shrugged it off, already growing annoyed with the way he was being sucked up to. It was everyday with that crap, and he grew sick and tired of it. Just because of his royal blood, people had to treat him like he was some strange and rare specimen, not like a fellow classmate and human being. "Don't worry about it," he sighed, walking a few feet away to stand apart from the small crowd.

"Alright, everyone, remember to stick together; no wandering off alone unless you are accompanied by either myself or another adult that's a part of this group," the teacher clapped his hands together to ensure he held everyone's attention, "And if everyone is ready, we'll be heading inside," he turned back towards the building and began heading up the stairs.

The raven-haired gazed up at the large 'Museum of Lucian History' engraved above the entrance and felt another wave of dread pulse through his veins...this was going to be quite the day. If he was lucky, maybe he'd find an opening to hide or something. "Noctis, don't get left behind," he rolled his eyes but skipped up the stairs regardless of how much he opposed the idea of it.

Upon walking in, his uninterested gaze glanced from one display to the next, all of which had some description beneath, a quick summary of what ever was being shown meant and how it played a part in their history. All of which was old news to him. He yawned, more so out of sheer boredom than actual tiredness. "Hey, I bet you already know loads about this stuff, huh?" another girl stepped up behind him, with way more energy than he was comfortable with. "Ya know, I'm not the best with this kind of stuff, maybe you could help me out sometime?" she gave him an innocent and forcefully sweet smile that made him want to throw up.

Shrugging, he glanced away in a show of indifference, "I dunno, maybe sometime." 'Yeah, right,' he thought, but at least had enough courtesy not to voice that part.

But, that seemed to be good enough for her, and much to his chagrin, enough to encourage her to continue to pester him. Grabbing his wrist, she less than gently tugged him towards another exhibit, one showing a map of Insomnia as a whole, covered in red dots. "What are all those for?" she asked pointing to a particularly dense cluster of the blemishes. Without a word, he pointed to the description, honestly, was it really that difficult to read before asking needless questions? "Oh...yeah," she bashfully uttered upon seeing the word, 'wars' and not bothering to read beyond that.

When he saw her mouth open, ready to spew out another frustrating comment or question, he pulled his arm away, "I'll be back, I have to...go to the bathroom," he swiftly came up with an excuse on the spot.

"But, you can't leave the group," her face fell into an almost pout.

"It's just the bathroom, not like I'm going far," he spoke incredulously, jamming a thumb in the direction of the restrooms, "Besides, I'm coming right back." he spun on his heel and delved into a speed walk, making a bee line for the door. The moment he was through, he leaned against the door and took a few deep and calming breaths. Not nearly five minutes into this terse adventure and he was ready to make a run for it; he thought for sure he would have been able to hold it together longer than that, guess his tolerance wasn't as fortified as he had previously assumed. "Just gotta make it a few hours," he reminded himself with a hand running through his hair, "You can be a nice person for that long, no problem."

Now, with his nerves no longer on edge, he pushed the door back open, clenching his teeth when he saw that same girl wave him over to the rest of the group. Luckily, it didn't seem like the teacher noticed his absence yet, so there was one thing going for him. Going against his natural reaction, he returned the small smile, face twitching with the effort, and gradually joined them, purposefully walking to the opposite side that she was positioned at. Apparently, the instructor was babbling on about some war, mentions of Solheim and 'the darkness' went in one ear and out the other. He already knew all this, having it etched into his memory at a young age; apparently it was important for him to have this stuff down to a t.

Either way, he was sick of hearing about it. "Alright, a show of hands, who here knows the purpose of the Crystal?" he clapped his hands together in his own show of enthusiasm and gestured to the fairly accurate model of said artifact as he scanned over the small crowd of children; only a few raised their hands, all of which were eager to tell what knowledge they had on the subject. "Yes, you," he pointed to some boy in the back only a few feet away from Noctis.

"Uh, it protects the city," he said with an unnecessary amount of confidence, a smirk on his face that made Noctis want to say some less than pleasant things.

"Very close," the man replied, obviously not wanting to hurt the kid's feelings by telling him how vague his answer had been, "But not quite." He stepped closer to the exhibit, circling part way around it as he looked it up and down, "Yes, in a sense, it does protect the city and all of its citizens, but not in as a direct way as you may think." He stared at it as his lecture drawled on, "It was a gift, a gift from the astrals to mankind. Well, to part of mankind to be more accurate, in order for us to stand a chance against Starscourge, a repellent of sorts," he shrugged at the word choice.

"But, what does it do?" Some other kid asked, tilting his head quizzically and skeptically to the side, "Just looks like a normal rock to me," he walked up to poke a finger to scaled structure.

"No, touching," their instructor swiftly herded him back with a wave of his hands. "And that's a great question," he straightened himself up, preparing to start another brief speech. "As I said, he provides us with the means to protect this world, a power so great that the clutches of the everlasting night can be held at bay and kept from consuming the world as we know it. Now, that isn't to say that it doesn't come with a price..." he trailed off slightly, eyes darting over to the prince, a few other sets of eyes following suit, "But, that's a lesson for another time," he forcefully ended it there, unsure if it was alright to discuss the payment required for such power in front of one who would one day have to take on that responsibility.

Noctis caught the near sympathetic gaze and simply turned his attention away from it; he didn't want people's pity, that was for sure, "I don't mind," he muttered waving a hand for the man to continue his lesson, if not, he knew the others would just pester him about it, so it was better this way.

"Are you sure you're alright with that, it's a bit personal, so I'll understand." The prince just nodded and folded his arms, trying to look as nonchalant as possible on the subject, "Well, ok then. You see, it does provide the royal bloodline with unbelievable power, and in return, it seeks protection. As long as it is kept safe and protected, it will return that security," even as he spoke, he flashed glances at the kid, "And, as a sort of side effect, I guess you could call it, it thrives off the currents king's life force; it's a subtle exchange of services, but it is a delicate balance," he finished off with a sorrowful sigh.

The raven shifted under the various gazes bearing down on him, some full fascinated and in awe, while others were somewhat sympathetic. "Does, does that mean Noctis will have to take on that job?" asked the same girl from earlier, a hint of fear in her voice. Their teacher replied with one curt nod.

"It's not that big of a deal," Noctis turned his head away from the group, their gawks and intrigued stares grating on his nerves now; why was this always the reaction this news solicited, couldn't they just nod and move along for once? "So, you lose a few years, you die anyway, so it's really not that different from anyone else."

An awkward and uncomfortable silence followed suit, only making the moment even more unwanted, and now he wished he had said nothing. Lucky for him, his discontent was noticed, "Ok, next stop of ours is The Ring of Lucii display," he ushered the crowd along, quickly moving their easily manipulated attention over to something else and set the prince with a somewhat apologetic look when it was his turn to walk by the man. "And, does anyone know anything about this fine piece of our history?" he wasted no time in getting right to it.

This time it was another girl that answered, one of the more...intelligent peers among them, which wasn't saying much in Noctis' opinion, "It works as a link between the Crystal and the current king, allowing them to use its power," she answered with far more poise than needed, just emanating what a know-it-all she was.

"Exactly," he snapped his fingers to show his unwavering approval at the answer, "The ring works as a connection between its wearer and the crystal, allowing them to harness the almighty power it embodies. But, like the crystal, it has exceptions and prices. It's a bit picky about who is and is not allowed to use it. And, also like the crystal, it only favors those of the royal bloodline, all others will be denied its forces, and frequently punished for seeking it. In a way, it is sentient, deciding who is and is not worthy of harnessing it."

"What kind of stuff can it do?" "Is it like super powers?" "How is it connected?" an array of various questions started sounding out, becoming a disorientation of curious voices.

"Hey, settle down, one at a time," he held up his hands in order to calm the riling bunch, never picking up on a coherent question, "You?" he pointed to someone in the back.

"So, it's like a person...in the form of a ring? That doesn't make sense," he folded his arms as he glanced at Noctis, "And it just chooses people like him?"

He sighed out of frustration, "No, it's not like a 'person,' that's stupid." Noctis said a bit more bitterly than he had intended, but at the moment, he didn't care, he was unimaginably annoyed.

"Well, I can see why you would think that," their instructor spoke up before an argument could spark up, "It does contain the beings of the previous kings, the ancestors of the Lucis bloodline, so in a sense, it is like a person, but a lot of them. Think of it like a council of sorts, a council that continues to grow and provide their assistance when needed," he kept his answer fairly simple, not wanting to go to far into detail yet, that could be saved for the classroom. "Anymore questions?" he scanned over them, looking for any raised limbs. Seeing none, he relaxed his shoulders slightly, "Alright then, I think it's time for a short break, then we'll move on to something a bit less...controversial. We'll start discussing the origins of the Crown City; how it came to be and how it grew into what it is today."

Noctis felt a minimal amount of tension drain from him with the satisfaction of hearing that; it meant all the focus would finally move on to something else; no more discussion of his future duties to linger on anymore, well not for the time being that is. In a way, it felt more like a breech of privacy, something he wasn't too keen on being common knowledge. Though, now he felt the dread knowing that they'd go further into detail in class at a later date, which he knew would be just as horrible. If he were lucky, maybe he'd be sick that day and could miss out on such a thrilling day.

But, with a moment to himself, at least he'd be able to collect himself, and hopefully the other kids would find something to distract themselves with, anything to keep their minds busy and away from thoughts of him and his business. Sighing, he sat on a nearby bench and stared at the model of the crystal, a pang of animosity towards t stinging his chest. As much as he hated it, it was something he couldn't avoid, the king wouldn't live forever, especially not with the way his health had been heading as of late. And, yeah, he tried to play it off and pretend like it wasn't an issue, but he could see it, the fade in his eyes and the falters in his steps. His well-being was declining swiftly, and the moment it ran out, he'd be up next to take his place.

Looking away, he cast his eyes to the floor, feeling sick from looking at it now, because of that damn thing, his bloodline was pretty much cursed to bear its burden for the rest of time, remaining a permanent target for outsiders and in constant danger of being overrun. He rubbed his eyes tiredly and pushed himself back to his feet at the sounds of the crowd moving on, and with one last fleeting glance at the exhibit, he strolled after the others, placing his mask of indifference back on for show.


If anyone has requests as well, feel free to leave a comment or PM me with what you want, or message on Tumblr (I go by the same name on there). I just ask that it's nothing x rated, but romance is still alright, and just know that I'm best with hurt/comfort, but it doesn't have to be that, can be just about anything. Also keep in mind that these are things I'll be doing in between chapters/stories of my own works, so they may take time, but I'll try my best to get to them eventually.

And I have this unspoken rule, that if I already wrote yours, then feel free to request another, but if your name is on the list, then it will have to wait until I get to your first one. Basically, just don't want the same name on the list more than once.

Queue as of now:

mutini

Silverheartlugia2000

itsscrow

cinqluna

'Anonymous'

'Anonymous2'

Prompto_Cam

'Anonymous3'

Mirai Lianna

Touched

Musiclife1988

Shiary

ScribeOfRhapsody

ellaygee

Hollypopstop

Kloudia1

laurelilith

Kestrealbird

Snow

mabver321

MasterThiefWolf

Tabbys_desire


Bagpipes52K: Yessss, I agree, ad these set in the past are actually a lot more fun to write than I thought they'd be. And I think there are a few more on the list for this time period.

websky: Thank you. ^-^ Hope Regis was well enough in character, you know, considering he barely makes it past the opening. lol

MasterThiefWolf: ;w; Unfortunately a few of these will be kinda short since I can't think of decent ways to stretch them out longer.