Chapter 9

He looks so peaceful. Aeliana couldn't help but stare at Nyx's tranquil face as he slept soundly beside her. She didn't feel ready to return to the Citadel. She didn't want to be alone. Not after last night.

They spent the last night sleeping side by side on his bed, facing each other on top of the covers. Nyx was still partly in his uniform, only his undershirt and utility pants remained. She watched as his lips slightly parted as he steadily breathe in and out, his chest rising and falling with every breath. Aelia propped herself on one arm as she continued to examine him, as if it were the last time she would see him like this. She cherished this moment and felt slightly embarrassed at the same time. This was the first time she had ever been in his bed. She never thought that would ever happen. Of course there were times where she was curious of what it would be like… under different circumstances.

She remembered back to last night and felt her cheeks turn. She felt foolish. I'm sure he's sick of seeing me cry. She knew he would be exhausted from the fight against the Niffs. She knew there wasn't anything he could do for her and yet here she was. What was the point of her being here?

Aelia gently placed her fingertips in Nyx's slicked back hair and slowly ran her fingers through, landing her palm softly over his stubbly cheek, lightly enough to not disturb him. She knew the reason why she was here.

Be with the person that makes you happy. Aelia smiled as she thought back to Noctis' words. You don't know how lucky you are that they are right in front of you.

"... You make me happy."

Aeliana noticed his lips twitched into a smile as soon as she whispered those sweet four words. She blushed. "… Nyx, you're awake?" she asked softly.

"I've been awake for awhile," he replied as he fluttered his eyes open. Aelia's jaw dropped.

"Why didn't you say anything?" she gasped.

"Because that means we have to get up," Nyx smirked as he placed his hand on top of hers resting on his cheek, "and you'll tell me you'll have to go… and that's the very last thing I want."

"You're very sneaky," Aeliana grinned shyly.

"You're the one who broke into my apartment."

"You GAVE me a key!"

Nyx chuckled as Aelia retracted her hand and slowly sat up in his bed, resting her back against the wall. Nyx lifted himself on one arm, holding his head in his hand. He looked up at her as she closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the wall. He watched as she pulled her knees close to her and exhaled a deep sigh. Nyx waited until she would say something, but after waiting for a few moments, he decided to finally break the silence.

"... So are you going to tell me what happened?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Hm?"

"Last night."

Aeliana opened her eyes and dazed at the ceiling. "… It's nothing."

"Bullshit."

"What?" Aelia shot back, glaring at him.

"You know what," Nyx retorted, as he raised himself on his arm slightly higher. "You don't just come to me crying and thinking I'm going to let this go."

"Nyx, I told you but you don't believe me so what's the point?" she growled.

"Did I say I never believed you?"

"You told me that my nightmares are just nightmares. That they'll go away. But guess what? It's been weeks and every night, it's the same nightmare!" Aelia pulled her legs up to her chest. "Nyx, I just don't know what to do anymore. Maybe there's nothing I can do but just sit back and let these dreams unfold…"

Nyx softened his look as he reached out and held her shaky hand, caressing the back with his thumb. "Aelia-"

"-I came here because I was worried about you," she interrupted. Nyx closed his mouth and let her continue. "When Titus told me about the Niffs attacking our wall… when father told me he was growing weaker… when it was announced that you and the other glaives would be dispatched, I panicked. I know this is what you guys do. You guys fight to protect the peace in the Kingdom, but what if after all of these years of bloodshed, it's finally catching up to us? What if after all this time… all of these battles were for nothing?"

Nyx kept his silence. "My nightmares involve losing my father, my brother… and you. My father is dying, Nyx. The power from the Ring of Lucii, the strength from the Crystal is slowly taking his life. My brother, once he becomes King, he'll be in the exact same place. And you…" Aelia glanced down at her hand intertwined with Nyx's. "How many more battles can you fight and guarantee you'll win or at least return alive?"

"That's the thing, Aelia. Nothing is guaranteed. You do the best you can. Your father is a great King and by maintaining the Wall, he's protected our home for so long. Noctis will do the same." He sat up next to her. "As for me, I thought you had enough faith in my mighty strength that I can take care of myself out there and come home to you." He smirked.

Come home to me? Aelia shot him a perplexed look as he gave a low chuckle. "Aelia, even if I did believe you, which I'm not saying that I don't, have you considered these nightmares you're having as a gift?"

"That's stupid."

"Why?"

"Because only the men in the Lucis bloodline are 'blessed' with the power from the Crystal."

"Yeah, maybe," Nyx replied as he furrowed his brow. "... But did you ever think that there's more power out there than the ones contained in the Crystal?"

"That's impossible."

"Then it's impossible your nightmares are reality."

Aelia twitched her head toward her inquisitive friend and gaped. He shook his head. "I'm just saying," he continued. "If you believe your dreams are some sort of prophecies, then you must believe that either, one, there is magic beyond that of the Ring of Lucii and the Crystal or two, maybe the men in your family aren't the only ones who can draw power from that rock."

Aeliana relaxed her shoulders as she tried to lean back further against the wall, Nyx's words sinking into her mind. Is that even possible?

"You would be surprised. Your mother was."

Is that what her father meant? If the men in the Lucis bloodline, the Kings of Lucis, were the only ones who can wield the Ring and possess the power, then why do these dreams seem more than just dreams? Could there be some truth in Nyx's words? Do I even want to know? That's absurd and ridiculous… isn't it?

"Food for thought," Nyx smiled.

"I'm not starving," Aelia laughed. "But for you, I'll entertain the idea to some extent."

Nyx shrugged. He glanced over to his alarm clock and growled.

"What?" Aeliana blinked.

"I need to report to Titus. I'm getting reassigned," he sighed.

"What? Why?"

"Because Libertus is an idiot."

Aelia tilted her head and shot him a questionable look. Nyx shook his head. "I'll tell you about it later. I do have to go though," Nyx answered, a hint of disappointment in his tone. "Will you be okay?"

"Of course. Thank you for being my hero again, Sir Ulric," Aeliana gave him a reassuring smile. She slowly removed herself from his bed and headed to where her black boots rested near the table by the doorway. "Let me know what happens. I'm sorry I kinda let myself in and took over your night."

"I did give you a key," he replied, returning her smile. "Use it whenever you want."

Aelia nodded as she turned and opened the gray door leading outside.

"Aeliana."

She turned around as Nyx got up from his bed, walked up to her and stopped. He took one step closer and wrapped his arms around her, leaning his head just inches away from hers. Aelia closed her eyes as she took in his scent, his forehead gently touching hers. "I forgot to tell you," he whispered, "… you make me happy too."

She smiled, her cheeks turning crimson.

Aelia was disappointed to find out that Nyx was no longer assigned to train her in the mornings on her scheduled days in the training room. Instead, Crowe was chosen to substitute in. She was confused by this, as her father specifically chose Nyx to help her learn combative skills in case she would need to physically defend herself. With the threat of Niflheim hitting even closer to home as they ever had before, she figured that this was the most crucial time for her to get stronger.

Aeliana didn't doubt that Crowe was a skilled mage and gifted in what she does for the glaive. She was more than qualified to take his place. However, with the strength of her dreams growing more powerful, she felt the need to spend more time with the people she cared about the most. Unfortunately, since Nyx's reassignment, she has barely seen him around the Citadel and has hardly had a chance to speak with him since they were last together in his apartment.

"Aelia!"

Aeliana snapped back to the present as she was jerked to the ground by Crowe, slamming her back against the stiff black mat underneath her. Aelia growled as Crowe sprawled on top of her, her forearm against Aeliana's chest, applying a small amount of pressure as the princess winced. "I WASN'T READY!" Aelia sneered.

"I know," Crowe smirked. "You make it too easy." Crowe quickly removed herself from on top of the princess and stood above her, reaching down to offer a helping hand to the irritated royal. Aelia's glare remained.

"You were wide open, allowing me to warp in front you, catch you by surprise and knock you down," Crowe explained, her hand remained outreached. "If this were reality, I could have quickly taken you out."

"If this were reality, I could have your head for knocking my ass to the ground!" Aelia scoffed.

"You're not going to have anyone's head if yours gets taken because it wasn't in the game, Your Majesty," Crowe snickered.

Aeliana huffed and rolled her eyes as she raised herself from the floor, refusing Crowe's outstretched hand. Crowe crossed her arms in front of her and curiously eyed the princess. Aeliana shot her a pointed look. "What?" she hissed.

"Is everything okay, Aelia?" Crowe questioned.

"Fine."

"You just seem very irritated this morning. Do you even want to be here?"

Aeliana softened her expression and exhaled deeply. "Yes, I'm sorry. It's nothing to do with you. I just have a lot on my mind."

Crowe nodded. "I see. Is it about you-know-who?" she winked.

"Yes and no," Aelia answered. "Don't get me wrong as I understand that you're here to help me since Nyx can't. I just… wish he was here. That's all."

"Do you know where he is?"

Aelia shrugged. "I haven't seen him around the Citadel lately. All I know is that he was reassigned by Titus. Where and why is a mystery."

"You haven't talked to him at all, I'm guessing?" Crowe sighed. The princess shook her head.

"Not recently. I've texted him a few times, but haven't received much of a response. I'm assuming Titus has him busy. I just find it pretty odd and a bit annoying since the other night-" Aelia flushed as Crowe tilted her head and raised her eyebrows. "-Never mind."

"Well, if I tell you, you didn't hear it from me, got it?" Crowe stated, her face stern. Aelia nodded, urging her to proceed. "He's been reassigned to guard duty because he decided to live up to his nickname and save Libertus' ass."

"What? He's being reprimanded for that? Why the hell would he be punished for helping his comrade?" Aeliana fumed.

"Things were getting bad out there, Aelia. We thought we had it, but we didn't…" Crowe hesitated. Damnit. I promised him I wouldn't tell her…

"What are you talking about?" Aelia interrogated, her tone drenched with concern. "What happened?"

Crowe turned her head to the side and remained silent. "You can't just say things like that and not tell me the whole damn story! What happened?!" she growled.

"I promised I would leave it to him to tell you," Crowe whispered.

"He's not here and you already started this. Tell me what happened with the Niffs," Aelia demanded. She became more furious as the glaive turned around and started to walk away. "CROWE!"

Crowe remained silent. "TELL ME!" Aeliana repeated. Nothing. The mage kept walking. The princess felt her blood begin to boil. She was heated. What the hell is going on?!

"WHAT HAPPENED?!" Aeliana shouted once again. Silence.

Aelia seethed as she tightly clenched her fists, her nails digging into the palms of her hands. Her anger grew with every second Crowe that did not say a word. Aeliana let out low snarl. ENOUGH!

Instantaneously, Aeliana rapidly appeared directly in front of the glaive. Crowe stopped at her tracks as Aeliana swiftly crouched down to her knees and swung her right leg beneath the glaive, causing her to lose her balance. Crowe cried out as she hit her back against the cold floor. She widened her eyes as the princess briskly appeared above her. Aelia pressed her hand against the glaive's chest as Crowe gritted her teeth, feeling her chest start to slightly burn. She noticed Aelia's piercing eyes change to an amber hue from her normal blue. What the…

"You will answer me," she hissed.

"What has gotten into you?! How did you…" Crowe croaked. "Calm down, Your Majesty!"

Aeliana didn't respond, her hand remained pressed above Crowe's chest. "You need to calm down." Crowe repeated. She grabbed Aeliana's hand to try and snap her back to reality. However, the princess' eyes still pierced straight through her. I'm sorry for this... With her free hand, Crowe placed it on top of Aelia's chest and gently exerted a small light of energy, strong enough to push the princess off of her. Aeliana flew back and crashed against the black mat on the tiled floor, meters from where the glaive laid, stunned.

Crowe slowly stood up straight. She waited as the princess reluctantly sat up and held her head in one hand, holding herself up with the other. How did she…

Aelia looked up at a bewildered Crowe as she breathe heavily in and out. Crowe noticed that her eyes had turned back to their natural blue hue. The two remained silent, long enough for Aelia to finally catch her breath.

"... I'm sorry. I-I don't know how that happened," Aeliana spoke, breaking the deafening silence. "Did I just…?"

Crowe slowly nodded. "You warped…" she replied, faintly.

"That's not possible. Maybe you were just seeing things…"

"Aelia… you warped. Your eyes even changed color!"

Aelia shook her head. No… that's completely impossible.

"Aelia-"

"Crowe, that didn't happen, okay?"

"Your Majesty, you warped. Why didn't you tell me that your father loaned you some power?"

"Because he didn't…" Aeliana muttered. She was still in shock as she gazed at the wall behind where Crowe stood.

"Yes, he did. Otherwise you couldn't have-" Crowe stopped as Aelia shot her a frightened look. "-Or could you have-"

"Let's just drop it. It was probably a freak accident and it won't happen again." Aeliana raised her hands as she stood up and stepped towards the dumbfounded glaive. "You changed the subject. Crowe, please tell me what happened while you guys were out there. Why was Nyx reassigned for saving his friend?"

Crowe blinked and raised her eyebrows, slightly taken aback about how abruptly the princess changed the subject. As much as she wanted to confront this surreal event, she knew it was best to oblige to Aelia's requests. She's probably shaken up. That was scary enough for her as it was for me.

"... The reason why Nyx was reassigned was because he disobeyed orders," Crowe continued."I and the other mages were able to cast Tornado and basically wipe out some of the Niffs and the monsters they brought with them. We thought that would've done the job… but what we didn't know was that they brought something even more dangerous with them."

"What?" Aeliana encouraged.

"A daemon."

Aelia tilted her head to the side. "Titus said that the Niffs were planning on that."

"Yes, but we underestimated how strong and powerful it really was. Aelia, it was nothing like I've ever seen…"

Aelia crossed her arms in front of her and gave Crowe a perturbed expression. "Go on."

"We were ordered to retreat as the daemon shot off tons of missiles behind its back. One of them flew and exploded above Libertus. A boulder broke off and rolled on top of his leg, trapping him under it. Libertus couldn't break free, and by his luck, a Cerberus charged at him. Nyx ran back and got him out of there. Because he went against our orders to retreat, he was reassigned to guard duty until further notice."

"That is the stupidest reason that I have ever heard for reprimanding someone," Aelia snarled. "Why didn't Nyx want you to tell me?"

"Because he didn't want you to worry. He said that you've been stressing about some things that he didn't go into detail on and that telling you this would scare you and make it worse," Crowe shrugged.

He's got a point there. Just makes things even more real. Aelia hung her head.

"I hope that I didn't make matters worse for you," Crowe apologized.

"No. I appreciate you telling me, Crowe," Aeliana smiled as she rested a hand on her friend's shoulder. "I'm really, really sorry about what happened earlier… It's something that I honestly can't explain. It's possible it could've been just a fluke and hopefully, probably, won't happen again. Nevertheless, please don't mention that incident to anyone, okay?"

I doubt something like that could be a fluke. Crowe returned her smile. "Of course," she nodded. "Your secret is safe with me."

"Well I can only hope that since you sang like a bird about Nyx's secret, you will at least keep mine for a day or two," Aelia laughed, trying to lighten the solemn mood in the air.

"Nyx doesn't have the power to off my head as you threatened and seeing what you can sorta do, accident or not, I wouldn't want to take that risk," Crowe returned her laughed and winked at the princess. Aeliana looked away sheepishly. The glaive shot her an sympathetic smile. "That's probably enough for today, anyway."

"Sounds good," Aeliana reluctantly nodded. She turned around and walked towards the bench where her towel rested.

Crowe followed her and tapped her gently on the shoulder. "You know, we're all having dinner at that kebab stand again tonight. Nyx will be there. You should join us."

Aelia's lips twitched into a small smile. "Thank you. I'll think about it."

Aeliana watch as Crowe started towards the door, waved goodbye and disappeared. She let out a hard sigh as she shoved her towel deep inside her bag. Even with Titus' so called "intel," it was no use at all. They're only getting stronger… it's just matter of time until…

The princess glanced down at her hands and turned them around, facing her palms upwards towards her. She studied them for a moment, as if they were going to give her the answers she was searching for. It was just a fluke… I'm not a future King so I can't… there's no way. It's impossible.

"Then it's impossible your nightmares are reality."

Aeliana shivered as she hastily grabbed her small bag and made her way towards the doors of the training room, shutting them behind her.