Chronicles 18: The Newbie, pt. 2
Five weeks later…
After the return of the Lucian King and his retinue from the north, the public and those in the Citadel learned of the continent of Mist and its wonders. According to the retinue, there were four kingdoms, each with its own quirks, but all had a curiosity about the other continents. Noctis told Lunafreya about it, who in turn told her brother, who then told the new president of Niflheim, Rufus Shinra, who lastly told Secretary Claustra of Altissia. He asked for a summit, meeting in Altissia to discuss the matter. Also, the northern kingdoms had expressed interest in attending and wanted an invitation.
While Noctis was busy securing the summit, Lunafreya was busy securing the succession to the role of Oracle. Since the two families had become one…for the most part, the Queen was hesitant in naming any of her children as the Oracle-in-training. When she talked with her brother, she learned of his wife's, Celes Chere, pregnancy. The child or children would become Nox Fleurets, extending the Oracle's line once more. And they would work with their cousins, the Lucis Caelums. It was a fabulous idea, one that the Queen hoped would lead and protect the world in the future, based on the out-of-body experience she had.
Due to this, the royal parents hadn't any time to spend with the babies, who had turned seven months. When Monica told Noctis how he had missed their month's birthdays and their first steps, the King was distraught and became depressed. But Gladiolus, his Shield, refused to let him wallow, telling him that he had more than enough time to make it up to them. Sadly, the man was growing just as busy as his father had when he was younger, and the guilt ate him up.
Or that's what Roni suspected anyway. When she was introduced to the King, he stared at her as if she was a long-lost friend. Several times, he shook his head, almost as if he was trying to get out of a hallucination. But Roni had never met the King before. Not even when he was a prince. But her memory only went back about five years. So maybe she was an old classmate or something…?
That day, the governess had about enough as the babies had disappeared again. She ran into the kitchen, covered in marker ink, glitter, and…something brown. Roni hoped it was chocolate, but the governess's reaction told her it wasn't.
"I've HAD IT!" she yelled, face red.
"Uh, had what?" Roni asked, nervous.
She and the others saw the woman bellow, "Those kids! The royal kids! They're far worse than when Noctis was a child! They constantly teleport whenever it's time to take a bath or when it's learning time! Then they always find their way out of the apartments! Then they always throw things at me! Just now, Aurel threw a dirty diaper at my head."
"That explains the smell…" one of the other cooks, Gula, muttered.
The governess stormed off, yelling, "I QUIT!"
The door slammed and Ava said, "Well, I guess we'll need another person to look after the kids."
Gula looked to Invi, who looked at Roni. Roni jumped and said, "Not me. I'm not qualified and…"
"Oh, it's not gonna be that bad. Most of it is hands-on learning!" Ava said.
The trio pushed her into the royal nursery, locking the door and the woman began banging on it. Screaming several curses and declaring, "Invi, Ava, Gula, when I get out, I'll make you pay!"
"We all had to do this, newbie!" Gula yelled.
"You…son of a…!" Roni shouted.
"BAH!"
Feeling a tug on her pants leg, she looked down and saw Regina. The baby grinned and babbled, drooling as she was teething. Her brothers were nowhere to be found and the silence that came worried Roni.
Picking her up, Roni asked, "Where are your brothers?"
"DAH!" Regina yelled, pointing at something.
Looking in that direction, Roni saw her pointing out of the window and she walked over there, baby in arms. She saw nothing, but someone yelled, "WAH-YAH!"
Ventus had managed to find his way outside and he was…flying? The heck…?
"Ventus!" Roni yelled, putting Regina down and opening the window, which led to an enclosed balcony.
The brown substance-covered baby giggled as winds swirled around him. More giggling and Roni saw that Regina was floating as well. But flames surrounded her, making her look like something from comic books. She attempted to float out of the Citadel, but Roni caught her before she could fly outside.
Putting her in her highchair, Roni saw her whimpering and crying as she wanted out. But Ventus had to be brought back in first. Pulling out her phone, she said, "Ventus! Ven! Look!"
She started playing "Baby Sharktooth", but the blonde wasn't interested. He was more interested in the skies around the Citadel, but Roni couldn't let him out. Not like that. The King and Queen would kill her if anything happened to their children…literally kill her.
"HEE-HEE! HA-YA!" Ven babbled, flying around.
Getting an idea, Roni rushed for the royal bed-chamber and towards the stash of chocolate the queen had. How she knew where it was, she didn't know. But she had to get the boy back inside and chocolate was his favorite.
She returned to the window, not paying attention to Regina who started slamming her hands on the hi-chair's table, melting the plastic. On the balcony, she yelled, "Ventus! Ventus! I got chocolate!"
The baby grinned, flying straight at her and bowling Roni over, knocking her to the floor. He then crawled to the fallen bar of chocolate, munching on it and not minding Regina's cries.
Recovering, Roni noticed that there was one missing: Aurelius. Looking around for him, she didn't see where he went but hoped that he wasn't in as bad of trouble as Ventus. The sound of something falling over and Roni saw Regina managed to tip over her highchair, freeing herself and damaging the baby furniture. The baby girl grinned, very proud of herself as she managed to melt most of it. To which Roni was deeply disturbed. She was certain the royals didn't have those abilities, but…
The two babies immediately started fighting over the chocolate. Since they were distracted, Roni went looking around the apartments for Aurelius. She checked the royal bedchambers, the closets, and even the bathroom. Nothing.
"Where is he…?" Roni asked.
"Oh my GOD!"
Gula's voice rang out, but the woman couldn't check as the door was locked. Ava opened it and said, "Roni! Aurel!"
She rushed into the kitchen area, seeing Aurel sitting on the floor, giggling, and clapping his hands at a seriously odd sight. The water from the sinks' faucets was dancing around and seemed to be controlled by the baby's arm movements. It looked like something from the sci-fi cartoons and movies and it scared Roni.
"What? How…? How is he doing that?" Invi asked.
"I dunno. But the trio's using elements like the show…what was it called? Apotheosis!" Ava said.
Roni heard screaming and went back to the nursery. Regina and Ventus had set one of the cribs on fire and were screaming as they didn't know how to quench the flames. Roni yelped, rushing back to the kitchen for a fire extinguisher. The other chefs panicked, and the Citadel's fire alarm went off.
Turning on the extinguisher, Roni doused the flames and immediately sprayed Regina as the girl suddenly burst into flames, turning into a "fire-daemon-baby". Just as she got the flames under the control, the members of the Kingsglaive burst in, looking ready to fight. Roni dropped the extinguisher, raising her hands in innocence.
"What's going on?"
The King stepped into the apartments, seeing it virtually trashed and burned. He looked at the triplets, who congregated around his feet. Regina was covered in foam, Ventus still had chocolate on him and Aurel was soaking wet. Picking up Aurel, he asked, "What happened?"
"Um, Majesty. Ms. Lois quit and we tried to keep them under control, but…" Gula started.
"We?" Roni asked.
Noctis looked disappointed, saying, "She's gone?"
"Yes. She left after Aurelius threw a dirty diaper at her," Roni replied.
He looked at her and then at the babies. Roni didn't want to be blamed for what happened. And she hoped that she wouldn't be fired.
"Well…we do need another person to look out for the kids…" Noctis said.
Aurel giggled and Noctis muttered, "And you're soaking wet…"
He sighed and told everyone, "Guys, you're dismissed for the day."
The group left, but he bade Roni to stay behind. The King then asked her to explain what happened, which she did to the best of her ability. When she finished, Ventus started laughing, floating in the air with the winds swirling about him. His father was shocked at first, but it quickly disappeared as he said, "Huh. Didn't think they'd get those kind of powers…"
He oddly took it in stride and Roni wondered why. The King then dismissed her, electing to clean the kids himself. Hopefully, the man wouldn't get pelted by dirty diapers…
And the kids have powers! Kinda like Jack-Jack from the Incredibles. Hopefully, this won't be some kind of omen…
-miano53