Chronicles 21: The Summit, pt. 2

"Hey Luca! C'mon, you'll be great."

"Uh…I can't move!"

"Why not?"

"Um, I'm-I'm terrified…"

"C'mon. Take my hand. Just remember, the nervousness will go away if you just do what you do best."

"What's that?"

"You tell me. Regina and Ven told me that you're great at…?"

"Singing?"

"Yep. Now get out there and just sing."

The next day, the Leville…

Noctis stood in front of the mirror, wondering what to do about his appearance. Despite all the chaos of yesterday, the plans for the summit went without a hitch, and Roni was assigned to take care of the children while he and Lunafreya attended the meetings. He looked at his disheveled hair and scraggly beard, which came about from his sleeping and waking up due to a crying child and the immediate return to sleep afterward. The whites of his eyes were red, and the exterior was puffy, an indication of his lack of sleep. He regretted bringing the kids, but that regret brought guilt as he did say that he didn't want to grow so busy like his father did when he was a child.

"Noctis? Are you almost done? If not, I'm getting breakfast," Lunafreya told him from behind the door.

He asked her for something good, and the reply was, "Yes, but we need to put something green on your plate. And no, that's not 'hash-fries'."

"Don't you mean 'hashbrowns'?" Noct asked.

Luna sighed and said, "No potato-based items as a vegetable."

"But they come from the ground, right? So, it counts," Noctis told her, his logic questionable at best.

Another sigh and the Oracle Queen vowed to get him to eat more vegetables whether he liked it or not. With that, Noctis turned his attention back to his face and thought to fix his hair, make it look less like he was a homeless person. But the beard…It was scraggily and made him look like the famous actor, Keenan Reeve. Well, more like a broke down Keenan Reeve who couldn't make it in an acting career.

Thus, he decided to shave it off and go to the summit clean-shaven. And maybe his black suit, the Royal Raiment? As long as he didn't look like he just fell out of bed, it was okay with him.

An hour later…

Playing with the toys they had and having their mother and governess watch over them, the triplets didn't notice their father was finally ready for the day. Roni looked up and said, "Whoa…Looking good, Your Majesty."

The King nodded and the triplets looked up, seeing Noctis in his formal attire with his hair combed back and his beard…gone. Who the…? What the…? Who was that man, the babies thought?

"Oh no…" Luna said, holding Aurelius, who became teary-eyed.

Regina looked to Ventus, who looked at Luna. Roni stifled a snicker and the infants' reactions were priceless. Aurelius began crying as if he had lost a best friend. Ventus screamed and cried as if a stranger replaced his father, and Regina glowered and cried as if she was questioning the gods.

"Why are you three crying? All I did was shave," Noctis told them.

The triplets kept crying as his answer was not adequate. Luna smiled and said, "Don't worry. He's still your father. He just shaved, that's all."

"WAAH!" they screamed.

"This is gonna be great to show Prompto…" Roni snickered, recording the whole event.

Noctis sighed, muttering, "Seriously, why did I bring you guys?"

The King and Queen left, leaving Roni with three still crying children. Once they were gone, she told them, "Calm down! Calm down! Hey, I'll play 'Baby Sharktooth' if you stop crying."

Ventus hiccupped, trying to do so. Regina whimpered while Aurelius coughed, tiring himself out with the torrent of tears. Turning off the camera on her phone, Roni snickered, "Oh, that was funny. I gotta show that to Prompto."

Secretary Claustra's estate, dining hall…

Secretary Camilia Claustra, serving her third term as the leader of the Accordo Protectorate, looked over the delegates that answered the King of Lucis' call. The older woman was pleased to see so many faces, potential trading partners, tourists, and the money it would bring to the nation. One of the women, the Queen of Alexandria, Brahne til Alexandros, was rather large and dressed oddly, like a woman stuck in the years of Optimus Lucis Caelum 200 years ago. The King of Burmecia was some kind of human-rodent hybrid and dressed as if he was about to go to war…The high priest of Cleyra was the same but dressed in white. The ruler of Lindblum wasn't present, instead, using his prime minister, Artania as his delegate.

Then, there were the people from the newly revived towns in Niflheim. The President of Midgar, Rufus Shinra, was in attendance, along with many others from new towns and cities. One of them was also royal, a man named Edgar Roni Figaro, king of the newly revived desert nation of Figaro. Another was the ruler of Gestahl, an elderly man that Edgar didn't seem to take too kindly to.

Lastly, there were the people of the skies and the newly formed islets. It was a relative mix of people and races in her dining hall and the possibility of chaos from it all was imminent. That was until the Lucian King, Noctis, stood and brought everyone into order.

"Thanks to everyone for coming. And thanks to Secretary Claustra for allowing us to meet here. As you know, the Scourge is no more and places we've thought long gone have been returned. Almost as if the planet itself was reborn," Noctis started.

Everyone nodded and Luna stood to her feet. She smiled and said, "We hope that your countries will be restored fully to the world of Eos at large. And we also hope to work amicably with the priests and other religious leaders in your countries."

"And why would you?" the King of Burmecia asked.

Secretary Claustra spoke up, saying, "As the Oracle, she is effectively the religious leader of many who was here before your countries'…resurgence. She communicates with the divine and in turn, brings our petitions to them."

"A woman as a religious leader? Hmm…" the ruler of Gestahl muttered.

Noctis continued, reintroducing himself and the Kingdom of Lucis. Which had others follow suit. There were eight kingdoms reintroduced after the Scourge: Lindblum, Burmecia, Alexandria, Figaro, Baron, Gestahl, Dalmasca, and Caldisla. Five more were republics: the Sky City of Bhujerba, Oerba, Midgar, Orience, and Galbadia. Last of the group were the theocracies: the hidden city of Cleyra, Mt. Bur-Omisace in Niflheim, Gridania in the Fallgrove, and Mysidia.

Everything seemed to be going well when the queen of Alexandria asked, "So why should we even introduce ourselves? You all were the ones that disappeared on us."

Noctis was about to give an answer when Secretary Claustra said, "In our view, you all disappeared when the Scourge did. And I'm sure it was the same with the 'Mist'. As we wish for peace among our countries due to the wars we've faced, we organized this summit to learn more about you all and to hold talks of peace."

"Well, I won't trust it until I see it! Lucian!" Queen Brahne shouted.

Noctis saw her poor retainer, a Captain Steiner, hold his ear as she had shouted in it, and replied with, "Yeah?"

"To prove that you're not here to conquer all our lands, I suggest a challenge," Queen Brahne said, a mischievous grin on her face.

Minister Artania sighed and said, "If it's over that 'Killer Rabbit', then I suggest don't."

"Hey, that monster has a vicious streak a mile wide! It's a killer!" Queen Brahne yelled, causing Steiner to back away.

"Oh, get stuffed. But I see that you already are," King Puck of Burmecia said, laughing.

Queen Brahne pointed at him and said, "Hey! Low blow, rat boy!"

The two started arguing, to which Noctis yelled, "Hey. Hey! HEY!"

The pair stopped yelling and Noctis muttered, "It's like wrangling in the triplets…Anyway, what's this about a challenge and a killer rabbit?"

"Oh, it's called 'Fury' and it's an evil dreamhare most vile! I don't know how it wandered into our lands, but I blame Dalmasca!" Queen Brahne yelled, pointing at the Dalmascan Delegation.

Luna shook her head and said, "Please, let's not blame any nation. The monster could've reproduced and arrived via airships or boats. Thus, spawning the 'Fury'."

Noctis felt as if the request came straight out of a videogame and was quickly told by the Figaro king, "Well, if we're sending in challenges, then we have one in Figaro."

"All requests for hunts are to be made to the Meldacio Hunter HQ in Lucis. We will provide their contact information and the requests will be sent to the King," Ignis said, saving Noct the trouble.

"Alright. Then, if your country is willing to help us, then I don't see why we shouldn't ally with you," Minister Artania said.

One by one, except for Gestahl and Alexandria, agreed and the terms of a peace treaty were given. Lucis was to use its forces to eliminate monsters the other countries had trouble destroying. If done, they would add their names to a League of Nations, each country keeping the other accountable for their actions. Noctis wondered if Niflheim and the other nations had done that centuries ago…he wondered if his father would still be alive and the Great War nonexistent.

Luna placed a hand on his shoulder as he sat down and said, "I pray that this is the first step in having normalized and educational relations with people and creatures we've never seen."

"I hope so as well, Oracle," Minister Artania said.

Yay! The summit seemed to be a success…at the price of fighting a vicious rabbit and Noct's beard. LOL