A/N: I hope you enjoy it :D and I would be grateful if you reviewed as well ^^
Chapter 9
Lightning's POV
"Were you the one who tried to_"
I stood up at once, suddenly saw the jacket that was covering my shoulders fall and lay on the ground, I was surprised.
So the reason why I didn't sense any cold… is because…
"Your… jacket…"
I bent down to pick it up, as he did the same, and our hands touched.
My pulse quickened and I blushed.
What the hell are you doing Lightning! Snap out of it!
My inner self was panicking.
I pulled my hand away from his, and I wish I didn't, because he raised his gaze to look at my face, thought he would see it bright red and start to get suspicious of it, but he somehow…
"Ha ha… I'm sorry"
He chuckled, and then picked up the black jacket from the floor, and rested in on my shoulders again stating:
"With the clothes you're wearing now, you'll definitely freeze in this cold."
Ok, this should be… understandable…
But why? Why am I feeling this awkward?!
I can't even look him straight in the eyes! I'm too embarrassed!
I thought this side of me… died long ago…
I instinctively backed off, he was surprised and took some steps toward me asking:
"What's wrong?"
I reached my palm as if to stop him from coming any further, my face was heated up and there's no way for me to allow him to see it:
"I-I'm fine… you don't need to worry!"
"Ah, ok"
He replied, the tone of his voice as cool as always.
And what followed next, was a deep, heavy silence with neither of us saying anything.
I turned my back on him, and glanced downward, gripping the tips of the jacket so it won't fall.
I mustered the courage to speak finally:
"Why didn't you… ask me again… whether or not I was the one who_" I shut my eyes close "_tried to kill the king?"
Now, the truth will be revealed.
He walked toward the railings; he bent slightly and rested his elbows on it.
"It's because… deep inside I believed that… it wasn't really you who did it"
His statement shook me to the core, because his reply was unexpected.
He uttered as if he knew that I was in a loss:
"Seeing the current you now… is what made me say for sure that you didn't do that, willingly at least"
Noctis!
I was about to run toward him and hug him for what he said, finally… someone understood… me!
He glanced back over his shoulders, I jerked because he caught me by surprise, but then he wore a shocked look for some reason.
She's… crying… again?
Is what he thought seeing the drops of tears twinkling in the moonlight, her face was so clear and her beautiful aqua-green irises were shaking slightly.
"Why are you crying?"
But she looked as if she didn't know, blinking her eyes that the tear drops streamed down glimmering elegantly like diamonds.
I'm crying?
She reached her fingers to her cheek, it was wet.
I can't believe that I cried out of relief.
"Was what I say wrong?"
Noctis struggled to get a clear answer from her.
What would I lose if I told him the truth? And why wouldn't I tell him? If he believed that it wasn't really me that tired to commit the assassination, then I believe he would understand.
She finally decided to tell him:
"No… what you said was… true"
She wiped her tears away.
"Earlier, it wasn't me who controlled my own body…"
He closed his eyes, expected to hear as much.
"I don't know how… but my body moved on its own will."
She paused for an instant.
Weird, why isn't the voice of that girl saying anything to me? And why am I able to reveal this to him? Not like when I tried to speak to Vanille when my lips wouldn't move.
She started to get confused. And Noctis kept his silence.
She smiled and uttered:
"You're probably thinking that I'm crazy"
"No" He gave her a serious look "I don't"
She froze in disbelief, but then he went over to stand beside her, holding his jaw:
"So you're saying that there's another person, or let's say, power taking over your body… hence, you're no longer responsible for your deeds."
"Yes… Yes! That's it"
The pitch of her voice rose with every word.
Could Noctis be… my one and only hope to solve this puzzle finally?
"I see…"
And then he raised his face to the sky, she stole a glance at him.
"I apologize… for not being able to do anything to help you."
His words crushed the tiny hope she had, after believing that he might know something.
She dropped her head.
"No, it's ok… I can't ask more than this from you. Believing me is enough already."
Even so, she couldn't hide her disappointment.
Noctis kept staring at the sky, looking at the beautiful mysterious light, being out of words.
"Thank you."
Her words were brief and sincere. She raised her face and stared at the sky too.
I can understand you Lightning… since I also… am getting dragged in some strange phenomenon... Not only you...
He beamed sadly, as he muttered:
"For someone who can see the spirits of the dead… what you said is far more realistic, I guess..."
His eyes were filled with agony as he watched the white faint spectral lights that ascended the sky fading slowly as they reached the heavenly light.
"How beautiful"
Noctis looked at Lightning, saw her staring at the sky too, she aimed her index finger and smiled:
"Despite everything… this night sky is the most beautiful… I have to admit"
Oh, she probably means the stars_
But just as he had that thought barely crossing his mind, Lightning said:
"Not only it had the stars and the moon to illuminate the darkness but also that eye-catching white light as well, wrapped in thin golden thin strings, this kind of sight, is indeed uncommon"
Noctis stared back at her, wide-eyed. He repeated her words with a slightly shaking voice:
"Eye…catching…light…"
She laughed, still not realizing how stunned he was:
"Yes, back in my world, we had nothing like it"
No way… this can't be…
Noctis became pale as he stared at her, still pointing with her index finger at the sky.
But does this mean that Lightning… can see… the spirits of the dead too?
Lightning noticed that Noctis didn't utter a word for a long time, she turned to look at him, saw his face, she let out a sudden sigh. He might be looking straightly at her face but his eyes seemed lost in somewhere else:
"Noctis?"
She called his name hesitating.
"That light… you saw… isn't something normal people can see"
As soon as she heard what he just said, Lightning became mystified, she inquired:
"What do you mean?"
He aimed his index finger at the sky, started to say with a nonchalant tone:
"I don't know how, but ever since I was a child, I started to see that light in the sky, at first I thought, just like you now, that everyone else could see it, but when I asked about it, people kept saying that the young prince is so shaken with his mother's death that he starts to see illusions."
He clenched his fist as he dropped his head down,
"So I slowly stopped asking about it, and about any other matter that troubled me, I would keep it inside buried within me, till it got forgotten, I guess that was how I started to become more silent and a sort of a loner in everyone's eyes, I didn't care about anyone anymore, and I started cursing myself each time I looked up at the sky above and saw that light."
He stopped… telling others about his worries…
Lightning knitted her brows as she remembered what he told her before:
~ No matter how strong we human beings pretend to be, we'll end up lost without someone to turn to~
And Noctis spoke once more:
"But now, as you see, I'm not the same as I used to be, I changed thanks to Prompto, Ignis and Gladiolus, they're my best buddies. They made me realize how important friendship is, because as I told you before, one can't survive alone with no one by their side"
He had a faint smile on his lips.
Then why… you still look so lonely to me?
That question popped in her head as she watched his moves and listened to his words.
"Still, I was afraid to be considered as an idiot if I was to tell them about that light."
It was as if he heard her question, his answer came naturally that it made her surprised a bit.
"So you kept it a secret…" She guessed.
"Right. Truth is, I said nothing for all these years and I even intended to make it die along with me, until you earlier, mentioned it…"
"Didn't you learn of anything about it?"
"To be honest" He held his jaw "I tried to look in the old files of this world's history, and I caught hold of something related to an old mythical legend from another country. It spoke about that light being the door to the afterlife, and that the other smaller lights are the souls of the dead…"
Lightning had a chill running down her spine as she listened to him.
"A gate to the… realm of the dead?"
He nodded at her:
"Exactly, but that's all what the file said, it was too old and besides it didn't belong to Lucis, but to Tenebrae, I couldn't even understand the old language so I gave up"
"The question is… why are we, no, am I seeing it?!"
I'm not even from this world! I don't know anything about it and I'm a complete stranger. So, even though he was able to see a light or whatever, why should I be dragged into it too?
She held her head and her mind was getting in an infinite maze.
Where are you damned voice?! Say something!
She was yelling inside her mind, waiting for the girl to answer her.
"Screw all of this… on this rate I won't…"
She just forgot about Noctis being there, who was now watching her strange sudden change in behavior.
She sighed.
"I apologize but, I really don't feel well… so if you excuse me"
Uttering these final words and not even waiting for him to answer, she started to walk toward the door leading inside of the room. He couldn't possibly stop her seeing how instable she was:
"Well, I guess, she needs to rest" He glanced at the sky for a last time before he went back inside the ball room too "I should join my father now"
Lightning's POV
No matter how I look at it_
Lightning managed to leave the ballroom successfully. She was now walking in the corridor, remembering the way she came from in the first place with Noctis.
All what's happening to me now is just getting more and more confusing, making my head ache badly that I want to slam it on a wall!
She sighed heavily.
Oh great, the last person I wanted to see…
"Ah, so we meet again, princess"
She shrugged as he started to come toward her with his perfect smile.
"Cid… Raines"
"I'm glad you still remember me, I must be so lucky"
He laughed when she just glared at him intensely:
"Listen, I don't want to waste breath talking to someone like you, so move"
"Aha ha, so sharp that I might get cut by your words and glares"
"You wanna try?"
She had a murderous look in her eyes.
"Hm, that would be interesting but seeing the way you were walking, I don't think that you'll even be able to punch me"
"Damn you" She became red from anger as she tried to push him away, but her feet betrayed her, wide-eyed, she gripped at his clothes to avoid falling down.
"Ha ha ha, see?"
He seemed so satisfied seeing her so powerless.
Why now from all the times!? Darn this bad luck of mine!
She gritted her teeth, as she started to pant.
I wonder… what made me this… weak…
"Just… disappear…" She said with a faint voice through pants.
His lips curled to a smirk.
"What? Weren't you going to punch me?"
My eyelids… are becoming… heavy…
She was still gripping at his clothes with her both hands.
"Or could it be, that you're admitting defeat before even trying"
I know what he's trying to do, making me lose my composure, this bastard…
She clenched her hand into a fist as she pulled herself together then she put all what was left from her strength into the punch that she aimed at his face.
But he gripped her wrist, still smirking he said:
"See? It's impossible"
She was dropping her head, she grinned:
"You know… even if my body becomes weak… my brain still works perfectly fine…" she panted "Your plan to distract me from realizing the situation failed, lord Raines"
He jerked to her words. She looked at him with confidence:
"You're supposed to be at the party right now, and as far as I can tell, this location isn't even close to the ballroom, and somehow, guards disappeared for some reason as wel, it's suspiciousl when this corridor leads to_"
But before she got to finish her phrase, she got punched in the stomach. She gasped as she felt an incredible pain, making her fall to her knees and lose consciousness.
He caught her in his arms, eyes void of emotions he muttered coldly:
"I'm sorry my lady, but… it's still early for you to figure it out…"
End of Chapter 9
