Day 41:

Insomnia was still a mess. Structural damage had actually been avoided for the most part—a few broken windows that looked like someone in a Magitek suit had flown through them and a pile of rubble that had been identified as the former Statue of the Mystic—but the people were a mess. Not that they weren't usually. Most notably, they liked to swarm outside the Citadel waiting for Gods knew what. Something exciting to happen, maybe.

Crown City police were stretched thin. Gate guard was guarding the gates for once. So that left Crownsguard for crowd control. Not exactly what he had joined up for but he went where the king pointed.

Even if that meant standing at parade rest while someone's grandma told him how she really needed to see the king. She had been at it for about two hours. He had tried the standard 'yes ma'am,' 'no ma'am' responses, which didn't seem to have satisfied her. Maybe if he just stared straight ahead she would mistake him for a wall and totter off.

His radio crackled. "Marshal, do you copy?"

He tapped the button on his earpiece. "I copy."

"Are you listening to me, young man?"

"Prince Noctis is asking for you."

Was he going to send someone to plug this hole when Cor left so that everyone and their grandma didn't walk in?

"No respect at all for the elderly! I ought to knock your head in."

"Send someone to relieve me," Cor said.

"Monica is on her way now, sir."

Cor stepped back, motioning to the Crownsguards on either side of him to redistribute until Monica arrived.

"Don't you walk away from me, young man! I'm talking to you! Do you hear me?!"

Her shouts followed him up the Citadel steps. When he glanced back over his shoulder he thought he could see her cane shaking above the crowd. Monica's problem now. He should have warned her to bring a helmet.

Cor found Prince Noctis upstairs in his office—it was still weird for him to have an office but there was nothing else to call it—along with Ignis.

"You wanted to see me, Your Highness?"

"Yeah, hey. You know where Rei is?" He pushed a stack of papers into Ignis' hands and approached Cor in the doorway.

"Not at the moment. I've been on city watch all morning."

"Well neither has anyone else," Noctis said.

"I'm not surprised. When she doesn't want to be found she isn't."

"Right, but usually she answers her phone," Noctis said. "Well, sometimes anyway. Find her, will you? I know, I know—she doesn't want to be found. But figure it out, alright?"

"Yes, Your Highness."

"And one more thing—don't tell Dad if you can help it. You know he'll lose it. Probably run off looking for her himself, and we sort of need him here right now. Just find her and bring her back nice and quiet."

"Alright."

"And knock some sense into her thick skull."

If she really had run off, he didn't need Noctis' instructions to do that.

"Yes, Your Highness."

Noctis flapped a hand at him. He'd gotten that one down pat. Maybe he didn't talk like a king but every so often he acted like a prince. A bit.

Cor's first order of business was searching for some sign she had left at all. She could still have been in the city. He hoped she was still in the city. It would make his job that much easier.

The gate guards hadn't seen her go through any of the exits. A good sign, but not a conclusive one. According to Noctis, she had gotten aboard the imperial fleet while it was still in the air a few weeks ago. If she could do that, what was to stop her from getting out of the city without being seen?

Her bedroom looked much the same as it ever did—neat and scarcely used. Her wardrobe looked untouched. If she had packed clothes from here she had been awfully discreet about it. Then again, she hadn't been wearing her own clothes much recently. In the past two weeks Cor had seen her in Regis' clothes, Noctis' clothes, Iris' clothes, Crownsguard fatigues, and at least one T-shirt that looked suspiciously like it had come from his closet. But she sure as hell hadn't been wearing any of these fancy dresses.

So she wouldn't have packed from here. He couldn't really see her packing someone else's clothes, though. Maybe she hadn't packed at all. Maybe she wasn't planning to be gone that long.

Or maybe something else entirely.

Cor tapped his radio. "Lieutenant Ackers, report."

"Marshal. Nothing of much interest in the city. Most of the foot traffic on the streets has cleared up."

"Lieutenant, I want to know if anyone has seen Princess Reina in the past twelve hours. Put out the word. Spread it to the Kingsglaive as well."

"I copy, Marshal. You'll have answers in a moment."

In the meantime, Cor went back downstairs and downstairs again. The first level of the basement had been partially converted into a massive garage housing a few dozen cars. There was still a slim chance that Reina had gotten out through one of the gates. Everyone should have recognized her on sight but traffic hadn't been as restricted the past couple weeks. Ever since the Wall had fallen, they'd been letting people in.

In the garage, he found the Regalia and a dozen other scarcely used cars. He also found Prince Noctis' car—a custom convertible Regis had ordered for their birthday last summer—and, parked adjacent, Reina's car.

So much for that idea.

"Marshal, I have reports from the Guard and the Glaive."

"Tell me." His voice echoed in the underground garage. It was a miracle he had reception here at all.

"No one has seen her in or around the Citadel, but she was spotted down Sky Avenue with a tall, burgundy-haired man earlier today."

Shit. Anything to do with Ardyn was trouble. Maybe she trusted him, maybe she didn't, but if Cor had his way, Ardyn wouldn't be within ten miles of her.

"Why is this the first time I'm hearing about this?"

"It's downtown—shopping district, Marshal. She was spotted entering a shop and it wasn't considered unusual."

"Princess Reina goes shopping with the Chancellor of Niflheim and no one found that unusual? She hasn't gone shopping in four years!"

"Apologies, Marshal. A considerable oversight was made, it seems. Would you like me to release the order for a search?"

"No." Hell no. He couldn't order the whole Crownsguard to search for the princess and expect that to not get back to Regis. "No search and this trail stops here. Just give me the address of that shop."

He took Reina's car. She wasn't going to use it, wherever she had gone, and it was faster than requisitioning one. Traffic was awful but when wasn't it, in Insomnia? Seemed it was worse than normal, these past weeks, what with crowds of people congregating everywhere, including the streets. And downtown was always hell.

He pulled off the street and into the fire lane. If they ticketed the Marshal of the Crownsguard while he was driving the princess' car he was arresting someone. It took a couple tries to find the right shop. One would think they'd have numbers on them. And they did. But not anywhere convenient.

It was a clothing boutique. High class. Expensive. Exactly the sort of place a princess might shop, if she had ever gone shopping for herself.

"How can I help you, sir?" The sale's rep hesitated when she looked at him. Her eyes flicked over his Crownsguard fatigues but her smile remained fixed. He wasn't the sort of person who came here for fun.

"I have reports that Princess Reina came here this morning. Can you confirm that?"

She looked shocked. Then flustered. "Really, sir, I don't think—"

"Then you had better start." Cor pulled his Crownsguard ID from his pocket and held it up. "Did she come in here?"

"So sorry, sir." She bowed hastily. "I didn't recognize you. Yes, Her Highness did come in about three hours ago. She bought some things and left in a hurry. She didn't even let me tailor them for her."

"Was there anyone with her?" Cor asked.

"Um. A tall man. With reddish hair. I think I remember seeing him on TV before the signing—I thought he was an imperial but I guess not, if Her Highness was with him."

Or politics were complicated. And Reina was more complicated still.

"What did she buy?"

"A few outfits, sir. Let's see, there were a few pairs of pants—all black, you know how the royal family is—and the boots—very sensible with a low heel—a few blouses and a nice pair of gloves. Oh and a cape."

"A cape?"

"They're very in-vogue, sir. Short and cut in the style His Majesty wears. The one she bought had a hood rather than a collar."

He would never understand fashion.

"Right. I'm going to need pictures of everything she bought—or as close as you can get. And more precise times."

The trip wasn't a complete waste. He had his pictures—though it took longer than he liked—and he had the start of a timeline. So she had bought clothes, whether because she didn't like hers or because she didn't want to be recognized. Maybe both, but the fact that she'd opted for a hood and long gloves seemed to support the latter.

He still couldn't say for certain if she had left the city. Even with the description of her clothing he didn't get a hit from the gate guard. This was why Lucis needed a unified guard, inside and outside the Crown City.

Where would she have gone if she had stayed in Insomnia? Her friends and family were all in the Citadel—or close by. The only person she cared about outside the capitol, so far as he knew, was Iris. But if she had been with Iris, someone would have known.

Just to be certain, he swung by Clarus' house. Traffic was hell. Minutes clicked by on the clock while he sat. Another thirty had passed before he arrived.

Iris was home. Ever since Reina had healed Clarus she had less reason to be hanging around the Citadel all the time. But with her dad and brother both there all day, sometimes she did anyway.

"Oh! Cor." She peered around the door at him. "Dad's not home."

"I know." Good thing, too. "Seen Reina recently?"

"Rei? No. I saw her last night when I was at the Citadel, but that's it. Did something happen?"

Well that was his last lead in the city. The search zone had just opened up tenfold.

"Thanks. Don't tell your dad I was here." He turned to go.

"Cor, wait!"

He stopped, looking back as she followed him halfway down the steps.

"If something happened, I want to help," she said.

"Nothing happened." Yet. "And it's being handled."

"'Nothing' is being handled?" She balled her fists against her hips. "If you don't want me to tell my dad you came by, you'll tell me."

Cor sighed. This was a huge waste of time.

"I told you, nothing happened. We just don't know where Reina is right now."

"Did she leave on her own?"

"I don't know."

"I can help you look!"

"You can stay here and forget I ever came by." He turned back around and descended the last of the steps. He never should have come to ask her. She would tell Clarus and Clarus would tell Regis. Or, worse still, she would try to follow him. Good thing she didn't have a license yet.

He climbed back into Reina's car and racked his brain. Reina had bought new clothes to hide her identity and left the city without being seen—not impossible for her but definitely inconvenient for him.

He could go after her, but he would be going in blind. Lucis was thousands of square miles. Without some clue, he would never find her.

What would she want outside the city? Since Daemonfire, the only time she had left Insomnia had been to bring those imperial ships down. So she would leave if she thought there was a threat outside the city. Or if she thought there was a tool she could use outside the city.

Or both.

He threw the car into gear and hit the accelerator. Time to see if he knew her as well from two weeks as she knew him from ten years.