I don't want to say much about this chapter, outside of Silvergold and some heavy retribution for the empire. I hope you'll enjoy it. I'll go sleep like a good girl now.

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Stranded

Chapter 12 – Stars fall in her wake

Prompto was shivering in his sleep again. Cindy couldn't help checking on him every night and every night she grew a little more worried for the man. His bloodwork was good, but he was still affected by his anemia. On the fourth night, she couldn't stand it and gently shook him awake to ask if he minded some company. The fact there were bombings in the distant might have been a factor, but the pilot refused to accept the idea.

"Shit, even when I'm dreaming, I still feel groggy as hell," he grumbled, bending his neck to look at her. He always, always slept with his back to the door.

"I'm real," Cindy corrected, pinching his cheek to make her point.

"Ow! You want to join me so you can beat me up?!"

"You look cold," she observed, crouching by his bed so their eyes were levelled. "And my mushy heart can't stand it," she continued with a playful tone.

Her eyes were serious despite the cheeky smile tugging on her lips and it was still in a daze that Prompto raised the covers, allowing her to join him on the small mattress. He didn't have the strength to roll over and realized Cindy was intent on warming him up. She slipped one arm around him, between him and the bed, her chest pressing against his back, her nose tickling his neck. She was spooning him, her lips grazing his nape for three delicious seconds. He tensed at the closeness, barely refraining himself from shaking.

"Everything okay with you?"

"Luna didn't pay you to do this, right?"

Cindy would have felt insulted if he didn't sound so genuinely surprised.

"You need to stop that pity number, Argentum. I'm here of my own accord, but more self-doubt like that and I'll leave of my own accord."

"That's pure manipulation now. You think I can only function on a reward and punishment system?"

"I think you should stop acting like you aren't worth anything. You came all the way to Tenebrae to claim yourself a new life, a real life. How will you start it if you keep like that?"

Prompto tensed even more at that.

"We've known each other for a few weeks, Cin. Sorry, but I'm not sorry of still being wary. Especially when you've decided you have me all figured out. I don't like being a cute wounded kitten for lonely girls to play around with."

She pushed against his back, unable to accept the way he looked at her kindness.

"I'm not lonely! I was trying to be nice!"

Prompto didn't turn around to look at her as she sat up and motioned to leave. He drew his shoulders further inward and dug his head into the pillow, wishing he could hold his tongue and think twice before lashing out.

"I don't know how to handle that," he sighed.

It came out muffled, but Cindy still halted in her steps.

"What was that? Speak up mister "I don't wanna be a charity case" she asked, making air quotes at him.

Prompto couldn't help wondering why she was even still there. He pushed himself up to look at her, his arms struggling pitifully, his short locks pointing in every direction.

"I'm sorry. Nice is… really scary for me."

She heaved a sigh, looking back into his eyes for a long time. There was a nervous flicker in her left hand and he couldn't help noticing the haunted look on her face.

"It's scary for me too," Cindy confessed.

She turned on her heels right then and Prompto had no idea what to say to hold her back, watching helplessly as she left.

…

On the following morning, Prompto went out of his way to be polite and full of care for the pilot. It was his attempt at a truce and Cindy decide to show him how kindness was supposed to be repaid, thanking him and teasing him in turns. Luna barely noticed their change in behavior, focusing on Noctis's treatment and Camelia's demands to deal with the empire. After a whole six hours of delicate attentions, Cindy was growing a bit overwhelmed.

"You don't need to hold the door for me," she sighed by the middle of the afternoon.

Prompto had accompanied her out to collect groceries and since he couldn't carry every single bag for her, he made it a point to help her with everything else. He did so with a flourish every time, giving her a slight bow that nearly send him tumbling when his dizziness got too strong.

"But I need to see the look on your face when I do," he shot back.

Cindy froze with a deer caught in the headlights look on her face.

"Wha…?"

"Makes for a better reason to feel so dizzy all the time."

He gave her his most dashing smile and she hurried through the door to make sure he wouldn't see her blushing. She could hear him laughing as he followed and swore she'd get her revenge. What she couldn't tell was that Prompto too had blushed, up to his ears.

The whole shopping trip had been because Cindy wanted to prepare dinner for Luna, even though she was more used to microwaving mug cakes, ramen and ordering take outs than cooking.

"This kitchen is too small for two persons," Cindy told the gunman.

He bumped into her on purpose, which made her drop a small amount of pasta on the floor. They were in the kitchenette of the hotel suite Luna was given for her prolonged stay in Altissia. They had three rooms, a living room, two bathrooms and this mockery of a kitchen, with a retractable counter, the tiniest fridge Cindy had ever seen and less walking space than a closet.

"Look at you, wasting food," Prompto wagged his finger at her, while she pushed the fallen pastas with her foot to prevent either of them from tripping. "This room, girlie" the gunman went on, taking his best cowboy voice, spitting away an imaginary strand of grass "it ain't big enough for the two of us."

"Then stop behaving like a child and leave!" she insisted, giving him a playful slap on the hip.

"And let you burn the place down?"

"I'm not that bad. Like you know how to cook!"

It was true that since the team had left Tenebrae, Noctis and Luna had handled the "real" cooking between themselves with Cindy pitching in on occasions.

"My dead root stew is the best of Gralea," he declared with such a serious expression, Cindy burst out laughing. "And my nail crackers…"

"Eeewwww, stop! Grate some cheese and help me out but please stop messing around!"

He laughed with her, his smile faltering slightly when he asked:

"So, isn't this the part where you see the beast and run away?"

He couldn't help but feel worried about her comment of being scared of people being nice with her. He'd been deceived and manipulated and drugged and abused in more ways than he cared to think about, but he didn't like the idea she might have been through anything remotely similar. She shook her head at him and pushed the cheese and garlic in his hands, the pair teaming up and managing not to bump into each other too many times. Or letting it get too awkward. Prompto kept wondering if the pleasant camaraderie would shift in a reflection of the last night before the covenant. Some days, when he saw Cindy with oil on her hands and hair or dark bags under her eyes, he had to fight the urge to hold her. Not kiss her senseless or take rushed pleasure from her. He simply wanted to hold her.

Later that night, they were left to hang out together once more, Luna sleeping by Noctis's bedside one more time. Cindy didn't like leaving Prompto on his own unless he slept, ever since that time he'd hit his head from falling and had shown concussion symptoms. Luna had fixed the damage but sadly, the dizziness and regular shivers remained.

Cindy was sitting on the couch, scrolling down through news her phone while Prompto thumbed through his pictures of the week. The camera almost never left his hands when he was off duty. He was lying on the floor, the tip of his tongue poking from his mouth as he focused on the various shots, making his first sweep of what should be kept and what should be deleted. He insisted he loved the fluffy carpet, but Cindy had a suspicion he was feeling dizzier, and maybe colder too. He had three layers of shirts on and she still noticed a shiver here and there.

What really caught her attention was when he stopped on a picture for a good five minutes, not swiping back or forth, just studying it. It had happened before, but he would usually move the camera to one side or another.

"What's so special about this one?" Cindy asked candidly.

Prompto looked up with alarm in his eyes, a blush following and then a sheepish look.

"I… You look lonely in it. And sad."

I hate it because it looks like your resting face. Is that how you always feel when you think no one's looking?

"I said before I'm not lonely. Let me see that one."

He gingerly gave her the camera, Cindy realizing he was absolutely right with his assertions. He'd taken a picture of her sitting on a bench outside of the hospital. Her eyes were lost in the distance and she remembered having argued with Luna earlier on that day. Her face was pale, her lips thin, dark lines circling her eyes and her hair was wild. She remembered how tired the princess looked. How she cried instead of finding sleep and how she refused to stay in bed for more than two hours, since she had to plan a counter-attack against the empire somehow. She'd pushed herself to the point she was shaking like a leaf and lived on caffeine alone.

"I had to slip sleeping drugs in her food and she was so mad at me."

Prompto had no words for her, seeing how much she still worried about her friend. He'd learned over the past few weeks that Cindy had only one good friend outside of Luna, and that was because the lady in question had been friends with her mother. Her grandfather had run all over the skies back in his time, with the grand dream of creating a floating city that would be out of reach from the Astrals and the blight. Crumbling debts and family attachment had tied that dream to the ground, Cindy growing up between airports and gangs of thugs.

She shook her head to push away the impression Lunafreya had been ignoring her lately and put the camera on the couch next to her, grimacing as her foot shifted and started to ache. She folded her leg to reach for her left foot and tried massaging it, a habit she'd taken since the scars were itching and aching regularly.

"Need help?" Prompto asked with fake candor in his eyes.

"Are you offering me a foot rub?" Cindy asked, the teasing barely held on the back of her tongue.

"What's that judgement on your face? My fingers are nimble and strong. I could give you a demonstration," he added, rolling his eyebrows suggestively at her.

Her right foot pushed him back down as she laughed through her objections.

"Can't you ever keep your mind out of the gutter?!"

"It's easier when I don't have such a gorgeous girl around all the time."

Cindy mentally chided herself for wanting to take the compliment. He was inappropriate and rude all the time and she still let his kinder words get to her. Why?!

"You'll have to do better than that."

Prompto rose to his knees, eyes bright and a boyish smile on his features.

There you go girl, encourage him.

"How about I give you a foot rub to start? No oil, no touch beyond the tender skin of your ankle?"

His hands inched forward, but he still kept his distance.

"You're ridiculous. And that sounded almost creepy."

"And you like it."

Cindy frowned, her throat tightening as a very old memory took hold of her.

"I don't!"

Prompto's smile vanished as he saw how she paled.

"Okay, I'm sorry, I… You're hurting, I want to make you feel better, and I only know how to be silly."

Cindy tried to temper her fear, knowing Prompto had no idea why she reacted that strong just now. It was just those words.

"You swear feet aren't one of your fetishes?"

"Yuck!"

"Very well then. But it's only to confirm you can give a decent foot rub."

"Great Aldercapt, Cindy, I'm not going to bite you."

He had something inappropriate to add, but she seemed skittish now and he didn't want to make it worse.

"Okay, but stop acting like a beggar and sit up here with me, otherwise I'll just feel bad."

"So, no more sleeping pills for the princess?" he asked after making himself a small space on the couch, his camera having been moved to the low table for security.

"Honestly, I just wish she would unroot herself from Noctis. I get that she loves him. But she's starting to look obsessed!"

"Young love makes people stupid. At least that's what my mother would say."

"That's… that's cute. Cheesy, but cute"

"Careful, my mom is sacred and so is every of her words. Also, regarding the Noct obsession, you did accompany Luna on all those meetings with Camelia right?"

Cindy heaved a sigh.

"Good point. That first secretary is insufferable. But Luna is going to run herself into a wall."

"Isn't that what she always do? I don't understand where she gets all this energy."

"I'll share a secret with you, Prom. She. Eats. chocolate."

"What?!" Prompto dropped her foot to cover his ears in pretended offense. "My dreams, my beliefs… All crushed. Princesses eat chocolate too?!"

Cindy tickled his neck with her good foot at that, which caused him to retaliate instantly by tickling her under her knees and it escalated to her sides while she tried to keep him away. He stopped short of holding her in his arms, sensing she was still on edge for that, although he wanted nothing but to have a taste of her warmth.

"Don't do that again," the mechanic asked, looking for her breath.

"You started it!"

She coughed and shook her head at him.

"I need water. Where did I…"

Prompto leaped at the occasion to be of service again, remembering she'd left her glass in that tiny kitchen. The movement brought a new wave of dizziness, stronger than usual too and Cindy caught him mid-fall with a gasp.

"Sorry."

"You poor, poor frail thing," she tried teasing him, hoping the beating of her heart would slow down.

She pushed on his shoulders to help him straighten himself, only to realize he was trembling.

"You're still cold?"

"Guess I should miss all that fat I had as a kid," he joked, before apologizing for leaning on her.

"We'll make you some hot cocoa, that oughta help," Cindy suggested.

She had helped him walk around the suite before, and so had Luna a few times too, even though Prompto hated the impression he needed such help. If he'd been drugged or had gone through tests, he would accept it, but this…

"I don't think sugar…"

They took two steps, Prompto trying to stand by himself and utterly failing at the third step. His left leg went numb and quivered under his weight, Cindy suddenly having to compensate for more than she could handle. It was a shuffle of limbs as they avoided a real fall, almost tripping on each other's feet and crossing the space of the living room in the weirdest waltz mankind had ever seen. Cindy's back hit the wall with her hands firmly tugging on Prompto's jacket. His face dug into her shoulder, his arms instinctively wrapping around her frame. His breath ghosting her skin through her shirt reminded her of that other time when they'd been as close. Why did it feel safe between his arms? Was it because he was so easily lost? So genuinely unsure of himself?

He lifted his head, their cheeks brushing, a strand of her hair sticking to his beard.

"You did that on purpose!" Cindy managed.

"I did not," he retorted, his voice a mere whisper against her forehead.

His eyes were staring into hers, his scent invading her nostrils. He was still shivering and she wanted him to stop doing so, to feel better so that maybe she could start feeling better about surviving this covenant. And helping in drawing a target on Altissia for the empire to attack apparently.

"Yes, you did," she insisted, not sure what she was thinking as she snaked one hand up his neck to guide his head down.

"I swear not…" Prompto said, licking his lips nervously.

"Then I'll give you a good reason to be dizzy."

He swallowed back the question he wanted to ask, because it would sound too insecure and she was intoxicatingly close. He almost missed her mouth, because he wasn't pretending, but Cindy guided him, the first kiss feeling too pure for the words they usually exchanged. By the third one, it was the same heat they'd shared before the covenant and it bloomed and burst, the dizziness growing contagious as they recognized the touches they'd barely shared. He was the first one to moan, but she followed him closely with a nasal sigh and she had to keep him steady when they parted for air.

"You're going to kill me, Cin."

"That's not my intention. Would be a crime to kill such a good kisser."

"I'm beyond dizzy now."

"Like you'd get that excited for nothing but a few kisses!"

Prompto could have argued that the way she'd cupped his face with one hand and tugged on his collar possessively was quite enough for someone as deprived from any loving gesture as him, but he held his tongue again, his hands pulling on her wrists so he could held them on either side of her while kissing her as thoroughly as he dared. Cindy vied for control and as soon as he felt her tensing, he went back to holding her waist, wiggling his hips just enough to be obnoxious.

"I take it back. Your sweettalk needs some serious work."

"Teach me," he suggested, kissing her nose. "When is chocolate involved?"

"Moron."

"I'm cold, cute minx."

"What are you going to do about it?"

"Puppy eyes?"

The look he gave her was far too adorable, but Cindy refused to melt.

"We're going to the kitchen. And if I cross the threshold of your room, you had better keep your junk in your pants."

He frowned. "S' that how sweettalk works?! Because it sounds a lot like my normal talk."

"You're a bad influence on me," Cindy argued.

Prompto decided to try his luck and stole another kiss from her, relishing every second of the feeling she was relaxing against him despite the harsh words she used.

"I said…"

"Just one more," he cut her off.

She obliged him, actually holding him back when he tried to pull away. It felt good and she wanted to be held just a little more. She couldn't remember the last time she'd messed around with someone. Or if she'd ever seriously wanted to do so.

"That makes two mo…"

"Please."

"My foot hurts," Cindy admitted.

She coughed another time and with a reluctant sigh, he agreed to move to the kitchen, keeping one arm around her.

"Can I ask for snuggles?"

"Turn off the puppy look."

"Pretty please with a mountain of sugar on top? I have good bedside manners."

"Do you now?"

"I do now and all the time! Despite snoring. But everybody snores."

Cindy chuckled at his antics and agreed to snuggles. She had no idea she would grow addicted to it after a single night. But they were both still faced with heavy fears and the comfort they could give each other was better than shivering in a bed on their own.

…

Lunafreya stared at the drafts of her plans. From the 16 hours she'd spent out of the hotel suite today, only 4 had been with Noctis, another 4 to heal the wounded from the latest raid and 8 hours to make recon about the attack's site and find an angle from which she could reach the empire. She wasn't sure when she'd last eaten and she knew she looked nothing like a princess. But Altissia was starting to resemble Tenebrae on the day her mother had died… She remembered what the soldiers had tried with her, how Cor had had to save her, how it had taken weeks and Cindy's friendship for her to find some sort of composure after the massacre.

She clapped on her cheeks to slap some sense into herself.

"You're a winner now. You can summon both Shiva and…"

The thought of calling upon the Tide mother made her stomach churn in protest. Her Noctis was leaving the hospital the following day for a rehab center. She couldn't forget the sight of his body with those giant scales coming out of his back. His shaking right hand spasming in thin air and the pain on his face when he tried reaching out to her. Soon he would have to face the accusations and public eye at all time and she wanted to keep him somewhere safe and peaceful until he was solid on his feet again. But Altissia's cultured and peaceful districts were slowly being turned into war zones. The further from the center of town you were and the less people you'd meet on the street. A few canals had been destroyed, stones turned over by bombings, towers brought down and bridges torn off.

A state of emergency had been called on the city of water and Luna knew it was her fault. She was here. The empire wanted to get rid of her, like the nasty thorn in their side that she was. Why else would they break the accords they had with Accordo?

If I can't practice summoning, how will I control it?

Casting ice was one thing, but Leviathan was on a different level and the Oracle doubted she could keep her from destroying everything in sight if she did take a chance and summoned her. She wanted to protect this city, not destroy it further.

"I need to draw them to the coast," she whispered to herself. "I'll shield myself with my light to make them confident. And when their fleet is all over me…"

You're not living in a comic book.

But she could picture an ocean of ice, the stalagmites growing into the ships, scales hitting the airships. The emperor was making Eos's people suffer with his greed. Her ancestors had tried to talk. King Regis had attempted reconciliation. Every time, more people had died and she knew the Astrals didn't want the complete extinction of the human race. Otherwise, the blight would eventually corrupt the gods themselves, like it had done with Ifrit.

"Should I use a boat this time too?"

The memories of the covenant were still fresh and Luna didn't want to risk anyone this time. Prompto couldn't be brought on a battlefield, he still needed to recover, Cindy wouldn't let anyone else drive her up to this suicide mission and Luna didn't want to repay her kindness by endangering her life. She had been a bad friend lately, letting her duties as Oracle and warrior princess take over everything else.

Why would you need a boat when you have me?

She looked up out of sheer reflex, even though the voice was coming from deep inside. Shiva had never spoken to her like this after the covenant.

"Are you ready to help?"

From the corner of her eyes, Luna stared at the tainted water a few feet from her. She had been working on a ledge by a canal, in a dead end that was both quiet and far enough from the usual raiding sites to feel safe.

Are you ready to fight? And take the risk to go without that pretty boy to catch you?

"I'm ready. I was always ready."

Luna felt a strong wind pushing her head into her face and she hastily gathered her tangled locks to the side of her head, tying it in a low tail with the rubber band she'd used to roll up her plans. She knew the city by heart now.

Give me all the light you can give. And we shall show them about our own prophecy.

Lunafreya had a minute of doubt, but as soon as she let her defenses down and felt Leviathan's wild magic in her, she knew exactly how far she could go. Cold seeped into her heart, her eyes blinking away tears. It was too far, it might change her, but she didn't see another way. The pain and rage of a million years coursed through her veins, pulling her forward. She took off her shoes before to step in the water. And there was no sinking, just the fresh touch of a cool surface yielding slightly under her touch, but keeping her up. Step after step she walked, leaving only a trail of ripples behind her.

The wind started howling, but the waves under her feet moved as though they were stairs and while more and more people looked in awe through their windows or from a corner of the street, Luna called forth her trident and let the light cover her skin and her hair.

"What are you doing?"

"Shut up, don't you see she's magic?"

"This is crazy."

The wind howled stronger and the people's voices couldn't reach her anymore. The only sound was the water clapping and engines purring over her head. When she exhaled, her breath came out in puff of frost. There was a pounding in her head by the time she was standing in the port and all the airships and boats had converged on her position, words running about what she was doing.

Luna took a look around herself. It made her head turn since she wasn't looking only through her own eyes, but as though every animals in the sea lent her their own eyes. She could see how far the ships went, she could tell how many there were, she could…

More light, Oracle, you're burning through it fast.

She's going to kill me, Luna realized.

The empire fired then, the various soldiers unable to believe that this woman, the one woman who'd simply led an army before was walking on water to face them all with nothing more than a trident.

The shots drew arcs in the sky, bullets tearing through the air and a wave surged forward, turning to ice and causing a rain of ice shards. Luna was protected by the light of her shield, bullets bouncing off of it, her body shifting as the shocks slowly bruised her skin.

Her eyes shone with a golden hue, her trident drawing a wave as the sea unfurled beneath her feet. The wind was harsh and cold by now and in a flash of ethereal light, the wave rushing into the ships became pure ice. The crash rang all over the port, while stones cracked and hulls broke inward. Lunafreya received another wave of bullets, raising her trident to shield herself somehow. They still bounced off her light and the ancestral rage made her roar in pain, magic pulsing under her skin, eating away at her energy.

Another wave surged as she squared her shoulders to resist the elements raging around her. Her lips were blue and the frost she exhaled was also on her nails, almost reaching her trident. Her hair had frozen over and she shifted her hold on the trident, drawing multiple arcs in front of her with it. Water rose following every of her movements, tracing thin lines in the air as ice slowly frosted over it. At first it was a cross, reaching over to form an ellipse and while it grew larger, drawing on more water, more lines crossed over it, and over and over. Luna imagined it growing and it did, before rolling on itself to gain momentum. It was a shimmering sphere of water now, of about 20 feet of diameter, deadly ice shining all over it and with her next exhale which covered her face with frost, Luna set it free.

It rushed forward, the water underneath sizzling to ice instantly, the magic brimming and furiously progressing towards the imperial army. There was a ripple through the frozen surface, while energy ripped over the improbable sphere of water. It blew into a thousand waves, rushing harder than a stampede of raging Anaks, thundering, destroying anything in its wake.

The ships still intact froze over. Those that were starting to sink were pushed aside as though they were made of paper. After the freezing came a second and a third wave, taking away more metal inch by inch. Luna stood unflinching, guiding the following waves upward. She was taking their ships down too. When the first soldiers fell or rushed out of their falling ships, they seemed about to drown. Only then did Leviathan fully materialize, her body one with the gigantic succession of waves, her spine hitting the largest ships in the sky. Everything was falling. Everyone was falling. Drowning. And Luna knew she'd fall too.

When the water touched her calves, it was the sign her light had run out. And from the corner of her eyes, she spotted a single ship, with red markings on it, flying away after steering clear of the carnage. She heard people screaming before falling further into the water. She was submerged, her trident vanishing into nothingness. Luna wasn't aware what was up or down. Her eyes were closed shut by the frost eating up her face. All she could tell was that she was falling deeper. The pressure on her body kept growing and growing, until it was a dark void of wet and freezing scales closing all over her. Her lungs burned and her muscles ached. Still squirming and bellowing, Leviathan was shot by a missiles and caused a new wave as she collapsed unto herself.

Luna's consciousness faded with the goddess, the snow on the water drawing sylleblossoms on the boats' corpses.

…

She faded and faded. Her heart slowed.

…

Her heart stopped.

…

To be continued…

I… This is Altissia, so I have to do something like this, don't I? Don't throw stuff at me, Noctis will be in next chapter with a full reaction to this and we'll get to know what's happening with Luna and the whole city. Things just escalated to this and I can't let Luna be this badass without serious repercussions.

Reviews? Cowers in fear.