Chronicles 17: The Newbie, pt. 1
Two days later, the Citadel…
After getting hired by the Queen of Lucis, Roni Mills spent the next two days learning the layout of the place and getting through security. She also had her things taken from the northwestern district of Insomnia to the staff quarters in the Citadel, located on the 30th floor. The dark-haired woman in black with bits of red in her attire dressed more like a Goth than a chef and the tattoos she had on her arms, covered by a black leather jacket she wore, didn't scream "I'm a chef". Thankfully, no one in the Citadel cared all that much, as the King's Sheild, Gladiolus Amicitia, was infamous for the many tattoos and scars that made him look more like a mobster than someone close to His Majesty.
Getting into the black chef's uniform and brushing her semi-short, curly black hair, Roni made sure that everything was in place. Her jewelry, minimum, only consisted of diamond studs in her ears. Taking a breath, she left her room, a simple one in the staff's quarters, and headed to the royal apartments.
After getting into an elevator, Roni pondered why her boss sent her there. She didn't have much memory from before the Scourge's disappearance, waking in up Lestallum during the Endless Night and a man named Libertus finding her. Her boss, a man named Omnis, helped her out, even opening a restaurant in Insomnia when things started going back to normal. Or as normal as it could be as the newspapers had reported the return of ancient towns and the appearance of new ones.
The ding of the elevator snapped her out of her thoughts, and she arrived at a hectic sight. The staff in the royal apartments were frantically searching for something, one of them yelling, "Find them before the Queen gets back from the church!"
"What's going on?" Roni asked a Crownsguard.
He looked at her and said, "Huh. Newcomer?"
"Uh, yeah. Roni Meyers, new hire," Roni told him.
He then said, "Good. Then you can help us find the trio. They went and teleported themselves somewhere around here and if Ignis finds out, we're all dead!"
The last place they had seen the triplets was in the nursery, where their governess had turned her back for a second to get their bottles. The next thing she knew, they were gone. Since then, the woman had been a blubbering mess, believing that she was going to be fired or worse.
"Alright, we've covered the kitchen, the nursery, the bedchambers, the library, and the King's office, so, they're not on this floor," Monica, leader of the Crownsguard, said.
She assigned those present to different floors, with Roni getting assigned to the 60th floor, where the gardens and the throne room were. After heading there, she stopped in the hall, muttering, "If I was one of the babies, where would I hide?"
A thought came to her to look in the throne room and she did. Entering, the sight was…worrying, to say the least. Roni had found the triplets, all three attempting to sit on the throne. For some reason, the room itself seemed familiar somehow, but the woman was so sure she had never been to Insomnia, let alone the Citadel.
Going back to the kids, the trio was fighting for who could sit on it. The loud babbles and screams, followed by the three hitting each other, prompted Roni to step even further inside. The statues of the Astrals and other imagery on the walls brought nostalgia and it was as if she was stepping into familiar territory. If so, did she use to work for the royals before the Scourge?
"WAAH!" one of them screamed.
It was the oldest boy, Aurelius, who pushed Ventus off. Ventus, the youngest of the trio, wasn't too happy, screaming and jumping up and down as he held onto the seat of the throne. Regina, the only girl, glared and attempted to bite Aurel. But the boy teleported out of the seat and Regina had a very smug look on her face for a little six-month-old in pigtails.
Aurel began crying as he realized he was off the throne and his sister was firmly planted on it. Ventus slapped Aurelius, whose cries became louder. Regina then telekinetically threw something at Ventus, who started crying as well. The boys' scream-filled cries reverberated off the walls and Roni could've sworn she heard the wind outside howling.
Her phone went off, with Monica asking if she had found them yet. Responding with a yes and fighting in the throne room, their leader told her to find a way to calm them down. Another idea came to her, something about playing a certain song that was the babies' favorite. From the corner of her eye, she could see someone in white and tan with reddish hair.
"Maybe playing that 'Baby Sharktooth' will work," the specter said in an odd accent.
'Oh no…I can't be hallucinating. No way,' she thought.
The specter had noticed that she could see him and suddenly appeared before her. He waved a hand in front of her face and asked, "You can…see me?"
Roni didn't want to respond. Instead, she walked through him and took his advice, despite being a ghost. Turning the music on her phone, the song "Baby Sharktooth" began playing. It started off sounding like the soundtrack from the movie "Sharkane" and then to an upbeat tune. The babies heard it, stopped crying, and looked in Roni's direction.
"Huh?" Ven said, confused.
Crawling, he seemed to want to know who the new lady was. Regina and Aurelius stared, almost trying to determine if she was a threat. The specter seemed to be on Roni's side, saying, "It is alright. She means no harm. Unless you're not trying to eat vegetables."
'Hold on. How does it know that I'm assigned to do that?' Roni thought.
The song finally got to the lyrics, with the repeated "Baby Sharktooth, do-do-do-do-do-do!"
Aurel and Regina joined him, teleporting to the source of the music, and occasionally looking to the specter. Roni wondered if they could see him too and she knelt, as the babies had made it to her legs. She turned off the music to introduce herself, but the babies immediately began whining and hitting her, trying to get her to turn it back on.
"Okay, okay! I was going to say I'm Roni, one of the new chefs!" Roni yelled, getting hit in the face and yelping as Regina bit her hand.
"OW! Alright! I'll play it!" she yelled.
The music started playing again and the babies began dancing, mostly plopping up and down in attempts to stand. One, however, did and the specter said, "Ah! I see that the eldest is the bravest."
Aurel stood up, clapping his hands, and laughing as the song played. Roni's eyes widened and the other two tried their hand at standing. Ven fell over and Regina plopped back down on her backside. Aurel kept clapping, trying to do the dance to the song.
The specter danced with his shoulders, singing with the song, "Papa Sharktooth, do-do-do-do-do-do!"
"And now it's singing with the song? Why?" Roni said aloud.
She didn't see that the other two finally got to their feet and Ventus headed to the specter, babbling, "'Arpin'!"
What shocked Roni the most was that he had started walking, on his own and keeping balance. Holding her hand on her head in disbelief, she said, "What the…? Whoa! WHOA!"
"Oh, my goodness!"
Monica and others in the Crownsguard entered the throne room, seeing only the babies and Roni and not noticing the specter. Little Regina and Aurel saw them and wobbled towards them. The Crownsguard was shocked, and Monica said, "Oh, Their Majesties will be very saddened about this."
"Why?" Roni asked.
"The two missed their first words and now their first steps," one of them told her.
Monica picked up Ventus, who squirmed and whined. The specter had waved goodbye, disappearing, and said, "Try to behave for the newbie, will you?"
Realm of the Crystal, vast plains…
Ardyn returned, grinning as he helped the trio finally get on their feet. Noctis and Lunafreya did want them to get better, so some ancestral intervention couldn't hurt. But it garnered the attention of a newcomer, someone that he was certain couldn't see him. But the way she stared, it was as if she could, like the kids.
"Seriously, you shouldn't have done that," Aulea said, scolding him.
The former Adagium saw the mother of the King, looking a bit miffed. Ardyn shrugged and said, "I doubt that she'll say anything unless she wants people to think she's lost her mind."
"Seriously, don't. I thought you were off the path of evil," Aulea begged.
"Oh, I am. But being cooped up here in this plane of existence gets boring after a while," Ardyn said.
"Ardyn…" Aulea said, glaring.
Ardyn raised his hands innocently, telling her, "I won't mess with the newcomer, I promise."
"Uh-huh…I'm going to keep an eye on you…" Aulea said, not trusting him to keep his word.