Thanks to Firstone33 for the last review. Apparently, Roni is someone very important and will be the reason for events to come. And the woman, she's connected to her, but her identity won't be revealed in this fic, but in the other, Fabula Crystallis. So, without further ado, here's chapter 26.
-miano53
Chronicles 26: First Days of School
"Are you sure about this?"
"Yes. I'm turning in my letter of resignation."
"But…why? The children love you and we…well, we never had to worry with you around, Roni."
"I'm so sorry, Your Majesty. But it's best that I go."
"Why? Has your memory returned?"
"…Yes, and it's just best that I go…"
"Roni…please…Please reconsider. If it's what happened with the Glaives and how Bahamut thought you all abandoned King Regis, all has been forgiven."
"It's not…over the Glaives. My memory is just telling me that being here isn't a good thing. So, please. I…I need to go. Please accept my resignation."
"Alright. Of course. But Noctis will be greatly saddened. And I as well. Ever since you came, he's eaten a few vegetables…albeit reluctantly. And the children, they've warmed up to you quickly. Ignis, Gladiolus, and Prompto trust you as well as Cor and the Glaives...and Cor's not one to trust easily."
"I know. But please…it's for the best. So…I'll see you on the television? Ah!"
"I-I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me."
"I didn't know that royalty would hug a servant…"
"Well…yes. I'm sorry. I hope that you'll think of us fondly in whatever endeavors you go into."
"While the Glaives keep tabs on me?"
"Yes…I'm sure that Cor wouldn't let you completely out of his sight after how long you've been with us. He did the same to Ms. Lois."
Seven years later…
Roni, dressed in a black tank top and leather pants, look at a small pocket photo of the royal triplets, one that she kept hidden in the locket around her neck. She had a small smile and said, "It's better this way."
"Oy! Roni, what's taking so long?"
The woman, looking more like a streetwise Galahdian than someone from Insomnia, looked up and remembered that she was at work at her café, the Durandal. Despite her not wanting him to, the King, Noctis, managed to get some funds into her bank accounts to help her open. How he knew she wanted to run a café, she didn't know. But she figured that his personality was just like the man she knew…in her past.
Hoping that it wasn't taxpayers' gil, Roni kept her mouth shut about it and opened the Durandal. Despite the name, being that of a holy weapon that could fight monsters and sounded like it came from an RPG, the locals' curiosity got the better of them and they visited. There, they found the place in decorations that were a mixture of the black and blue of the Citadel, the white and silver of Tenebrae, and decorations that looked like they came from Altissia. Able to sit 30 customers comfortably at tables and booths, she made the café more like a community hangout, situated in the small town of Old Lestallum.
Roni managed to stay there for the past four years, making a decent living, even renovating the upstairs of an old firehouse to be her private apartment. Other rooms on the second floor served as storage areas and the rooftop was used as a garden for products that Roni couldn't get easily in Cleigne, things such as Ulwaat berries and Nifl blueberries. From an access stairwell that went directly up to the roof, her part-timers, mostly fledgling hunters, gathered the produce they needed.
"Roni, what's taking so long?"
Snapping out of it, she took three lattes and handed it to a trio of Crownsguards who wasn't too happy with her spacing out. One of them, someone named Yocun, asked, "You okay? You're usually not like this."
"I'm fine. Anyway, we'll see you three at lunch?" Roni asked.
A nod and the women in blue and white scrubs left. Another customer arrived at the counter, where a few customers ate their breakfast, and asked, "So, you don't have the Banora White apple cider? Or donuts?"
Said customer was a familiar face, Prompto Argentum. The photographer/Best Bud to the King grinned and said, "Hey there!"
"Um…h-how?" Roni asked.
"Hey, it's not that hard when you got contacts in the Citadel. Anywho, got any donuts?" Prompto asked.
Roni shook her head, seeing the breakfast rush coming to an end. After having one of the part-timers take over, she grabbed two coffee mugs with her shop's specialty, Kettier walnut coffee, some sweeteners, and cream. Then, she led Prompto to an empty table, one that had just been cleaned.
After getting comfortable and getting out his camera, Prompto grinned again, saying, "You look good for someone that went MIA."
"Ah…That's what they told you?" Roni asked, seeing that Prompto had a bit of grey in his goatee and hair.
Prompto nodded and Roni looked down into her cup. She remembered that she didn't tell anyone the real reason why she left, but she had to. If not, then everyone she loved and cared about would've been in danger. And Prompto finding her, it was probably a ruse to bring her back. To which she said aloud, "No."
"No what?" Prompto asked.
"I'm not going back to work at the Citadel. I already know that you all are handling things well without me. So, there's no reason in going back," Roni said.
Prompto shrugged and said, "Well, Noct went back to his absolute refusal to eat vegetables. So much so that Ignis had to sneak it into everything he makes. And the kids, Aurel's heart is much better than it used to be. But every now and then it skips beats. Then Gina…Her asthma's gotten a little better, but she gets winded still. And Ven, he's much, much better and just happens to be this ball of sunshine."
"Oh. So, they are doing well without me. What about Lu…I mean, Her Majesty?" Roni asked.
"Oh, Noct and Luna's doing good. You know, she's pregnant again."
"She is...? I thought they weren't having anymore after what happened last time," Roni said, not wanting to let him know she already knew.
Lunafreya lost a set of twins when the triplets were around five years old. Based on reports in the media, she was completely distraught and many were afraid that the Oracle was going to die from a broken heart before choosing her successor. And recent reports had surfaced, saying that the Oracle had recovered from that broken heart, showing a baby bump.
Roni would believe it when she saw it in person, but she vowed to stay away from Insomnia. Not until she had a plan. And to make one, she needed money, to which she had the café. And she had to be as normal as she can be, which owning a restaurant was somewhat normal. Maybe it'll throw them off her trail…if she knew where and when she actually was.
"Eh, well I'll be here for a while, taking pics of the country for Meteor Publishing. We should catch up later," Prompto told her.
A few hours ago, with Noctis, September 1st…
"YEA-AAAH! I'm taking my Choco to that 'old town road'. We gonna ride til we can't no more."
The 41-year-old Noctis woke up, hearing an odd Leiden song playing. He looked at his phone, saw that it was 6:30 in the morning, and groaned. He wanted sleep and the song could only come from his daughters, the eight-year-old Regina, and the adopted six-year-old Luca. The girls always woke up early, something Regina got from her mother and Luca from her birth mother. But the two had the Lucis Caelum's penchant for napping when exhausted.
Dragging himself out of bed, his phone gave him an alert, telling him it was the trio's first day in Grade 3 and Luca's first day in Grade 1. Realizing that he or the Glaives didn't have to watch over his kids 24/7, the man jumped out of bed, jubilant. He then screamed, "FREEDOM!"
In an epic, to him anyway, pose like he was Link from Fables of Delta, the King of Lucis declared, "They can take all my gil, they can eat my food and sleep in my beds, but they can't take my…FREEDOM!"
Quickly showering and changing into his usual black attire of a dress shirt, pants and shoes, Noctis ran his hands through his hair to make it presentable as he vowed to take his children to school as often as he could. It was something his father used to do before the Great War took a toll on him and he ended up riding with Ignis to school every day.
Entering the halls of the royal apartments, the man heard conflicting music. It was from when he was a child and mostly played by those in the eastern wards such as Takka and Sadda of the Glaives. It was kinda odd as Noct was sure he hadn't introduced them to old pop music that he always wondered how it passed the mustard back in the day as the lyrics were quite…suggestive. Arriving at Regina and Luca's room on his left and Aurel and Ven's room on his right, the music clashed with each other and the sound of bumping and dancing was heard in both.
Ignis arrived, just as confused. He looked at Noct and asked, "Who introduced those two to that song? And why are the girls playing 'Old Time Road'?"
"'Town'. And I'm not liking those lyrics…" Noctis said, opening the door to the boys' room as he heard rather suggestive lyrics in both songs.
The boys were dancing…or what Noct thought was. With a few hop-leg-kick-and-fist-pump combo, the kids calling it "The Shoe", along with wearing sunglasses to make themselves "cool", the boys kept dancing in their school uniforms. The dark blue blazer, dress pants-wearing princes grinned, singing along with the music.
"Feel! The magic in my hands! When I…!" Aurel sang.
Noctis rushed to the phone and speaker that blasted the music, turning it off as the next lyric was more suggestive than the last. He glared and asked, "Who let you listen to this?"
"What? It's not bad!" Ven yelled, disappointed.
"Well, it's talking about a man and his wife about to have…" Ignis started.
"UH! You two are too young to listen to this! Now go with Iggy," Noctis said, deleting the song off Aurel's phone.
The boys glowered as they left, with Aurel muttering, "Lame…"
Taking the phone with him, Noctis opened the door to the girls' room, still hearing the new song. The girls were also dressed, wearing their uniforms. Regina started dancing as if she was at a quinceñera and Luca joined her, the two pumping their arms and shaking their hips. Rolling his eyes, Noctis went to their phones and speaker and turned them off.
"AW! Why?" Regina shouted.
"Time for school," he told her.
"I wanna dance more and I don't wanna go!" Luca whined.
"Well, you gotta. I'm not about to have angry parents storming this place, accusing me of truancy," Noctis told her as the oddly pink-haired dwarven girl, a group of rather short peoples that reappeared along with many other tribes, latched onto his leg.
He dragged her around, opting to go down in a nearby elevator as Regina tried to pry her sister off his leg. It was futile and it was among many quirks the kids had. Regina's clinginess lessened over the years, but she was still a "daddy's girl". Aurel was a bit shy, but he was very intelligent…and pragmatic. Ventus was the "ball of sunshine" of the trio, usually the peacemaker and keeper and always looking at the positive side of life, kinda like how Ardyn was before he was infected by the Scourge and turning jaded from Bahamut's machinations. Luca, her personality was that of a shy one, but she opened up after a year of being a foster child. And when Noctis issued the bill and adoption papers, declaring her a Lucis Caelum, she began crying when she found out she was adopted. And that was less than a few months ago.
And then there were the two growing in Luna's belly. Noctis was grateful that they could have more, after the fiasco that caused Luna's miscarriage. That day, he was certain he was going to lose her again, and reminded him of the time she nearly died giving birth to the triplets. But he was also certain that the growing twins would be the last ones, as the woman had harrowing experiences when it came to childbirth.
Finally arriving at the entrance hall, Noctis had Luca release him as they exited the Citadel, heading for the car, the Star of Lucis, Mk. III. The first edition was destroyed when Insomnia was and the second…was all a drunken Gladio's fault. The man just had to prove he could hold his liquor that day…The headlines that came from it, Noctis thought he'd never live it down.
"DAD!" Ven whined.
The four rushed to the car, grabbing backpacks from the staff and missing phones from their father. After safety checks and Glaives giving him an optimal route, the king took off, with his kids in tow. The Glaives followed, taking to the rooftops, and leaping from them via phasing.
Galbadia Elementary, 8 AM…
"VEN! VENNIE! HI AUREL! HI GINA! HI LUCA!"
A brunet, Sora, appeared, rushing towards them in the halls and grinning. He was the son of one of the Glaives, Hayato, and was joined by Gladio's son, Riku, and Kairi, the granddaughter of an MP named Ansem Saggio. After their father dropped them off, he quickly jumped back in the car and drove off as the media was about to hound him. The school's staff did the same, escorting the royal children inside.
Due to their father wanting them to still have somewhat of a normal life, the four attended public school and started getting acclimated to being around others and learning about their subjects. But, to make sure that they didn't forget that they were royalty, Gladio had his kid, Riku, attend school with them, along with a handful of the Glaives' children. As Aurelius' future Shield, Riku asked, "So, we're all here again?"
"Yep! And we're all in the same class…with a Miss…Farron? Uh, I don't know who that is…" Kairi said, looking at a paper her grandfather gave her.
Taking Luca to her class, the group saw that she was with a Miss Aerith Gainsborough. The pink-wearing, brunette greeted her with a smile and the dwarven girl clamped up, looking terrified. Ventus nudged her inside and the girl screamed, "NO! NO! I wanna live! I WANNA LIVE! I WANNA LI-II-IVE!"
"She's not gonna kill you, Luca," Aurel told her.
He escorted her farther in and Miss Gainsborough said, "Aw, first day here?"
"Yep and she's gonna have to get used to being around other people. I'm sure she'll be fine," Aurel told her.
"Spoken like the Crown Prince. Anyway, I hope that you'll open up to everyone as those in Galbadia Elementary are treated like family," Miss Gainsborough said.
Luca looked ready to cry, but her older siblings and Glaives left before she could chase after them.
With Miss Claire Farron…
"One, two, three, all eyes on me!" a fuchsia-haired, dressed in silver and white semi-business attire yelled.
"ONE, TWO, EYES ON YOU!" the class of 20 shouted.
"For those who are new, I'm Ms. Farron, the Grade 2-B teacher. Those that are in this class will find out quickly that I'm not to be trifled with. So, rule number 1, be on time. Don't care if you're royalty or nobility, everyone is to show up on time with their supplies ready. Rule number 2, no sleeping in my class."
"Uh, does that…?" Sora asked.
Due to his interrupting her, Ms. Farron took the top off a black marker and threw it at Sora's forehead, hitting him. He whined, holding his head and Ms. Farron told the class, "Rule number 3, no talking while I'm talking, and raise your hand if you need my attention. Rule 4, don't mess with Ms. Farron and Ms. Farron won't mess with you. Got it?!"
"Uh…um…" the class said, unsure if they should speak.
"Repeat after me: 'Don't mess with Ms. Farron and Ms. Farron won't mess with you'," Ms. Farron said.
The class did so, but Sora still looking upset that he had been attacked by his new teacher. He then mentally decided that she was going to be a mean teacher and he wasn't going to like her. To which Ven muttered, "She's probably like that because she cares."
Another marker top toss and Ventus was hit square in the forehead. He saw his glaring teacher and muttered, "Sorry."
With Noctis…
After a day of listening to various arguments on how to deal with Alexandria's growing greed against their neighbors in the north, budget meetings, the MPs arguing about the going-ons in Insomnia, and getting Libertus and Gladio to pick up the kids, Noctis headed back to the royal apartments and plopped on the bed. He didn't even take off his shoes and began snoring. Next to him was the 45-year-old Lunafreya, who he didn't say hi to. The pregnant Oracle stared and asked, "Hard day?"
"Yes…" he muttered sleepily, his face embedded in the covers.
"Well, the doctor said that the twins are developing nicely. The two's sizes are nice and Dr. Gainsborough thinks that the C-Section should happen around 6 months," Luna told him.
Noctis woke up, turned his head and asked, "Why?"
"Well…she saw some things on the monitor and…" Luna said.
"And what?" Noctis asked, growing worried.
"Um. She needs to run a few more tests and…" Luna continued.
Noctis hoped that it wasn't going to be a repeat of what happened two years ago. He couldn't handle losing more of his children. And Luna…he didn't want to lose her either.
"I'll be fine. Six are to come, correct?" Luna said, taking Noct's hand.
He nodded and muttered, "But we lost two…"
"And gained one. In total, we'll have six…and Eos will be led by them in the future," Luna told him.
"I thought that they're supposed to be 'guiding lights'," Noctis said.
Luna shrugged, at the words from that mysterious voice they had both heard in their dreams. The door opened and Noctis yelled, "What did I say about knocking before entering?"
"So…tired…"
Aurel entered first, falling onto his father's lower legs. Next was Regina, who fell onto the floor, still wearing her bookbag. Ventus was next, laying on the floor next to his mother. The last to arrive was an excitable and happy Luca, who was practically bouncing up and down.
"First day of school was awesome! We got to learn about math and science and some history and even had snacks! And my homework's to write a story about our family and turn it in by next Monday! Ms. Gainsborough's the best!" Luca yelled.
The triplets glared at her out of jealousy and Noctis turned around, sitting up in bed and practically kicking Aurel off. He then asked, "Uh, what happened to you guys?"
He saw that the triplets looked as if they had gotten into a fight as Regina's hair, usually in two pigtails, was all over the place. Aurel's jacket was halfway off his body and Noct swore there were buttons missing. Ventus had grass stains and what Noct hoped to be chocolate stains on his jacket and dress shirt. Luca, however, looked mostly the same, save for what looked like bruises on her legs and ketchup on her jacket.
"What happened? Why do you look as if the school trounced you?" Luna asked.
"Tired…Ms. Farron's mean…" was Aurel and Ven's response.
Regina began snoring and Luca said, "They got a mean teacher. And then there's gym class for everybody and then the playground after lunch…"
"And homework…I'm so tired…" Aurel said.
Looking pitifully at her husband and children, Lunafreya said, "We'll have an early dinner and then bedtime. Hopefully, you all will get reacclimated to the shift in schedule…"
Snoring from four out of the five Lucis Caelums gave her an answer. Luca looked around and said, "Uh, so no dinner?"
"Not for them, I think…" Luna said.
Poor guys. A rough first day of school, which the idea provided came from a series of memes of the first day of school for kids. Go in looking neat and by the time school ends, they look as if they got into a fight or three.