Disclaimer: Author does not own any of the characters and locations used in the Final Fantasy XV universe. I am but a humble fan that clearly needs to get the fix of writing something for others in the fandom to enjoy. I don't have anything of value to my name so please do not sue me Square, I give you money and play your games legally. I just enjoy the fanworks. If there are no other complaints then please sit back and enjoy the story as always.
Noctis sat at the dinner table waiting for Luna to return to the table after excusing herself. He thought they were having a pleasant enough evening, she listening and laughing at all the adventures of their group from when they left Insomnia all the way to now. She seemed to be having a good time, commenting occasionally or asking questions about the people and places that they had met or been. He had figured she just needed a break from the laughing and giggling at his expense but she was taking a while to return to him from the bathroom.
"Maybe she got sick?" he wondered aloud. He was stuck wondering for a moment longer before he noticed Aranea walking past their table, coming from the direction of the restrooms. He was about to get up in a defensive position before he noticed her raise her arms in mock defeat, "Relax pretty boy, my job is already finished here. I needed a word with the princess and I was able to sneak it in the bathroom. That was the only way none of the chancellor's eyes see that she was interacting with someone from the Empire without his knowledge." Noctis raised an eyebrow and was about to reply to her comment before she walked off and he noticed Luna coming back his way.
Luna sat down, looking visibly shaken up about something that was bothering her, so Noctis decided to break the ice and speak first, "What was it that she told you? Did she threaten you Luna?" Luna looked up and shook her head is denial, "She came to me with pure intentions. She simply wanted to explain to me what she was doing before they executed their plans. It just threw me off that she here on behalf of Ravus and not on behalf of the chancellor. It makes me wonder how much the empire's leadership is fractured and doing things behind the other's back. Ravus basically told her to tell me that the Empire will attack the sea goddess when we perform the rite. He also is aware that should the empire fail to deny you the blessing of the goddess that he will be the reason why it fails. All the blame falls on him," she finished haggardly.
Noctis reached his hand out across the table, offering to hold her hand as she continued on with what she had to say. He knew she was shaken up by the encounter in the bathroom with the Commodore but she was trying to not let it get the best of her. She took his hand and smiled at him, squeezing tightly before continuing on, "She even referred to Ravus by his old title from when we were children. Prince Ravus. Honestly, I thought that there was no one left that knew he was formerly a prince before the Empire attacked. She had made it seem like she knew more than that, like she was from Tenebrae. Noctis, why is it the words she spoke have moved me?" Her eyes were focused on the dark haired man across from her, squeezing his hand even tighter than before, not breaking eye contact with his midnight oceanic blue eyes. He flashed her a gentle smile, "Luna, as much as your brother irks me as a person, it doesn't change the fact that he is your brother. He may be the commander of the enemy army and he may not like me or have any kind of respect for me, but at the end of the day, the only person that could possibly keep that man grounded in his roots, is you. You are the Princess of Tenebrae, in name and official acknowledgement throughout the world. Yes, you are the Oracle and all that but first and foremost, by birthright, you are the princess of Tenebrae. Let him do what he has to do, sooner or later, he will return to you."
Luna smiled deeply at his words, remembering what the Commodore had said to her, 'He gave up his crown to the empire willingly because he knew after the death of your mother that you would become the Oracle. He knew the empire would never let you out of their grip and would have done whatever they could to you if he didn't choose to surrender willingly. He gained their trust, rose in the ranks but deep down, hidden from all, you were always his number one priority.' "Luna? Are you alright?" Noctis asked solemnly. She nodded, "I think I will be now that we have spoken of it. Thank you for listening to me." He nodded in response but said nothing.
"Noct?" The voice had drawn his attention away from Luna in an instant. A voice of a woman he swore would never see him again. Especially after finding out the truth of who he was. A voice that haunted him in his deepest fantasies. He turned in the direction of the voice to see the one person he knew couldn't possibly be standing before him. Her looks had barely changed but there she stood, in a stunning Venus plunging V-neck black cocktail dress with a sapphire heart-shaped necklace around her neck. Her lavender eyes looked into midnight blue.
"S-Stella…" Noctis stammered out breathlessly. "It has been a long time since we have seen each other," she replied with a smile. "I see you're on a date at the moment. We should chat sometime." Stella winked at him and wandered off with her party, a group of ladies that were all dressed up for a night on the town.
Luna watched the Lucian prince in mild surprise, 'I have never even seen Noctis look at anyone like that. He looks like he just saw a ghost. He looks paler than he usually does. Is he watching her? I understand she is beautiful but I am right here.' Luna felt herself get annoyed by the sight of Noctis watching the other woman that she cleared her throat to get his attention back on her. Noctis turned his head to stare at his fiancee sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment, "I am sorry Luna." She smiled but didn't let him off of the hook yet, "Who is she? She is a beautiful woman, has a remarkable aura about her and even gives me the impression that she knows you. Should I be concerned about her?" She raised her eyebrow in curiosity as Noctis froze at the implication of the question, 'Does she think that Stella is gonna take her place? That I don't want to marry her? I might have to come clean. Now or else my marriage is gonna start off on a bad foot.'
He cleared his throat before taking a deep breath and looking into the blonde's eyes, "She's my ex-girlfriend. Her name is Stella. She dumped me after finding out I was the Prince of Lucis and I honestly didn't tell her for about a year. Honestly, she is the only girlfriend I ever had. Otherwise it's you Luna." Luna had felt her jaw drop at his honesty. He had absolved her fears and somehow made her seem more important. 'In four sentences he has managed to make me feel like I am worthwhile and she is nothing. But I cannot help but feel like he is hiding something from me still.' "Why stare so hard if she means nothing?" 'Gods, did I really come off as a jealous woman with that sentence?' Noctis frowned, "Are you going to let her spoil our time together? Or is this you showing a new side of yourself?" Luna was taken aback by his words, pulling her hands out of his, "I wouldn't be showing a new side of myself if you didn't look at her as if she was the most gorgeous woman in the world when you have been giving me the impression that I mean the world to you. So excuse me, Prince Noctis, if I feel the pangs of jealousy and insecurity kicking in." With that she got up and began to make her way out of the restaurant, leaving a completely dumbfounded Noctis sitting there.
Temporary Imperial Base
"I need to see the High Commander, now!" Aranea shouted as she made her way towards Ravus' private quarters. She surely didn't give a damn about the fact that she was barging into the man's personal quarters in what most people would consider a revealing black dress that was form fitting and low cut in the breast area. She just knew that the alcohol in her system made her senses feel like Ravus needed to be around someone who made him more human. She also knew it would piss off Loqi to see her coming from the direction of Ravus' personal quarters in the morning. She knew the younger man was attracted to the disgraced prince but as always, Ravus proved to be as dense as a brick.
"Ravus!" she shouted as she punched one of the guards outside his door. "Get your fine ass out here! Now!" She turned around at the sound of footsteps coming from the direction of the bedrooms, frowning immensely at the sight of the very annoying general, "Highwind!" Loqi sneered in a hushed tone. "It is after ten pm, you know that the Commander makes his way to his chambers to sleep at this hour. Why not have some common decency and be quiet?" This only caused the dragoon to grow slightly agitated, she knew she was not intoxicated, hell she could easily drink more than half the army under the table and not get drunk. She was more riled up about the words that had come out of the princess' mouth before they had parted ways only a short while ago.
Flashback
"Lady A!?" Biggs shouted as he saw her get up mid-drink. "Where you going? You just sat back down?" Aranea barely had time to turn back around, grab her clutch and reply, "I am going after the princess, the bill is already paid." She quickly stole at glance at the prince, who had a mildly defeated look on his face before she hurried out the exit. If she had waited any longer in the restaurant, she would have missed seeing the young woman going down a set of stairs to the right of the restaurant. Aranea quickly sprinted after her, ignoring the looks of the couples that she almost bumped into in her rush.
"Lunafreya!" she shouted as she watched the blonde haired woman running down another set of stairs. She could only assume Lunafreya was on her way to the gondola in the nearby cafe. If she didn't catch her before she hopped on one, she would never get an answer as to what was suddenly wrong with her. Quickening her pace, she lifted her dress above her knee and began running as fast as she could to catch up with the younger woman. To her surprise, she saw Lunafreya cross a small bridge that led to a secluded balcony and sit on one of the benches. When she got closer to the princess, it surprised her to see the tears falling down her face.
"What did he do to you?" She felt herself angrily let out. Lunafreya looked at Aranea, trying to wipe away the tears that were falling. "He didn't do anything to me. I just…" Lunafreya felt her head fall, blonde bangs hiding the crystal blue eyes. "I feel like a horrible woman for getting jealous of the woman that stopped by our table. I cannot help but feel ashamed for feeling such an ugly emotion when he was nothing but open and honest to me." Aranea pulled out some tissue from her clutch, offering the princess who calmly and quietly accepted them, "Thank you."
"It's fine, really. I am just glad you didn't run off in a complete state of frenzy. Finding you would have been rather tricky," Aranea laughed to herself. "Although, I probably would have brought your brother into the city if it meant finding you before Izunia."
Lunafreya looked at Aranea in shock, "You would call my brother over the chancellor?" Aranea nodded, "I would. After all, I told you where my loyalties lie. Just like I can surmise your loyalties will always belong to Lucis. With the Prince. Am I wrong?"
Luna shook her head, "No, my loyalties belong with all of Eos. Noctis is the chosen king, who will bring an end to the scourge, and usher in a new dawn. I am merely a tool to inspire the king into following his destiny." Now it was Aranea's turn to shake her head, "You cannot be that dense. That poor boy is in love with you."
"What makes you so certain? If only you could see how he looked at that woman, you would have so many doubts yourself." Luna exclaimed sadly.
Aranea scoffed, leaning back on the bench and crossing her arms in complete confidence, "Honey, I do not let anyone rattle my confidence. I have a great deal of self pride in myself as well as in my looks. No woman can rattle me." Luna stared at her in awe before the dragoon continued, "Who was she?"
She watched as the blonde wiped her eyes and sniffled, "He said her name is Stella and that she was his ex-girlfriend." Aranea raised an eyebrow, "So what got you so worked up?" "The way he was staring at her. I couldn't tell if it was a longing in his eyes for her or the sudden flash of pain in his eyes but it hurt to see a woman get two different emotions in less than thirty seconds. I have known him for twelve years and never once saw those emotions. It didn't help that I stood in the empire to protect him when Tenebrae was attacked twelve years ago."
Aranea felt her body tense at the mention of their country being attacked, "Wait a minute." She stood up and leaned before the princess before taking a deep breath, grabbing the woman's hands in her own and steading her gaze on the woman before her. "Are you telling me that you could have escaped?"
Luna nodded her head slowly, "I was running with King Regis in the grove, he had Noctis in his arms. I looked back at the soldiers chasing us, then to my own hand, and let go. I stopped running and watched as the king continued running but not before turning his head shouting my name. The last thing I clearly remember was the screams of Noctis, calling my name."
Aranea felt tears fall into her hands, her thoughts taking her over. You're telling me that this girl had the golden chance to escape and be safe the entire time but chose us over him? The sadder part still is that her brother has no idea how much she chose to sacrifice for us because she wanted pretty boy safe. I wonder if Ravus understands that.
Aranea stood, pulling Luna to her feet as well, "Come on, Your Highness. Prince Charming is waiting for you. Don't make him wait for you anymore. I want you to go back to him. Embrace him, accept his love for you." She began to wipe Luna's tears away, "I understand you were jealous and that is perfectly normal for a woman in love with the love of her life. Don't let those emotions control you. He told you without hiding it. He may still be hurt from her words or what she did to him and he to her but that doesn't mean he is in love with her still. I have been watching you two the entire night. That poor king is head over heels in love with you. Embrace that love he has for you. I promise you, he is an open book with his heart on his sleeve, he is terrible at hiding it."
This caused Luna to laugh, "I guess you're right. Thank you for helping me see that fact." Aranea nodded and began to guide her back to the restaurant that they had come out of. Standing along the wall, Noctis had his phone in his hand pressed against his ear, sounding a bit panicked as he spoke. "Hey!" Aranea shouted, making him turn to face the pair of ladies walking his way. "I will call you back Ignis," was all he could say as he ran up to them.
"Luna!"
"Noct-" she was cut off by his embrace.
"I am so sorry," he replied. "I shouldn't have stared so hard. I am so sorry." The couple pulled apart, the young king noticing the puffiness of her eyes, "I made you cry. Jeez, I am the worst boyfriend in the world." Luna giggled at his words but shook her head in disagreement, "No, Noctis. I let my insecurity get the best of me. I am so sorry for making you worry."
Aranea rolled her eyes slightly, "Seriously, can you two stop apologising to each other? It clearly obvious you both are sorry so please, stop saying it out loud. Go. Have a good night together." She pushed Noctis into Luna's arms, "If you make her cry again though, I will tell His Highness about you making his sister cry. You got that, pretty boy?" Noctis nodded firmly and smiled, "Yes ma'am." He took Luna's hand and they began to walk away, quietly talking together. Aranea made her way back towards the restaurant to meet back up with Biggs and Wedge but not before Luna had tapped her on the shoulder, "I am getting married tomorrow night at the church. Bring Ravus with you." With that, she ran back to Noctis and they went on their way, leaving a very dumbstruck dragoon.
'What the fuck?' was all that Aranea could think...
Back in the Present…
"What the hell is all the noise about?" Ravus asked, groggily. "I just finally fell asleep and wake to you and your antics. So for the love of the Six, what the hell has you being so loud at this hour?" Loqi continued to glare at Aranea in complete annoyance, "Now you have done it."
"Zip it, Tummelt. Better yet, go back to bed junior." Aranea walked passed the young man and grabbed the commander's arm, dragging him back to his room, ignoring the protests of both men. "Just be quiet and come on!" She slammed the door in Loqi's face and turned towards the white prince. He was in a white two piece sleeper set, his top was clearly thrown on as a measure to cover himself, as Aranea knew he liked to sleep without a shirt because of the magitek arm he had now.
"What has gotten into you?" he hissed, clearly his annoyance level was through the roof.
"Fine, I will definitely not tell you that your sister is getting married tomorrow night," she replied flatly.
Hearing those words cleared him up quickly, panic and shock all across his features before he grabbed her shoulders, "What do you mean?"
Aranea smiled, "It means exactly what I just said. Lunafreya is getting married tomorrow night, and she asked me to bring you."
"How?" was all he could say.
"I take it you weren't paying attention to where the pair was spotted this afternoon? Cause if you were, you would have noticed he was outside of the Vivienne Westwood boutique that her dress was on display."
"He's really going through with that sham of a wedding the empire concocted?" Ravus took a few steps back and walked to sit on his bed, raking his flesh hand through his hair.
"No," Aranea replied. "I am going by the genuine happiness on your sister's face. As well as the big ass rock on her hand. He is going to marry her because he wants to, he is in love with her, Ravus. There is no denying the love they have for each other."
Ravus nodded, "I have always known, I just didn't want to see it. I feared that if I acknowledged the love that she had for him, it would only serve to encourage her desire to run away from the empire and bring Tenebrae into the spotlight for attack again. I didn't want to encourage the love she had for him. I know they are fated to bring the new dawn but the price she already pays for the covenants is too much for me to watch her bare. I cannot watch my sister continue to throw herself into the fray for him." The venom in his voice was clear to Aranea.
"Lunafreya chose to be a prisoner twelve years ago," she stated quietly. This caused the white haired man to look up at her. She noticed that in the moonlight, his hair had developed a type of glow that made him seem otherworldly. "What did you say?" he replied. Aranea took a deep breath and repeated her words, "She chose to let go of Regis' hand and protect her country. Her people. You. Just this one time, Ravus, support her dreams. Support her." He nodded quietly and solemnly replied, "I will. Where do we have to be?"
Author's Note: School is back in session. I wrote this in the first couple of weeks and during my break. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and hope you continue to look forward to the next chapter. Thank you guys for all the adds to your subscriptions and favorites list.