"Hey sis! Guess who's coming 'round?"
Iris's eyes widened at her brother's words.
"You guys coming back to Lestallum?" she almost screamed, and then blushed furiously when her colleagues turned to stare at her while having their lunch break.
"Yeah! Should be there in a few hours!" Gladio confirmed.
"Awesome! I'm done in a couple of hours, so I'll be there to greet you!" Iris was beaming in delight at the thought of meeting up with her friends and her brother again.
She ended the call and came back to work, her smile never leaving her face.
"You look particularly radiant today, Iris. Something happened?" Ferguson, her boss, approached her with a smile.
"My brother and my friends are coming back to town!" Iris explained excitedly "I haven't seen them in over a month now, so it's nice to spend some quality time with them".
"I see. Well, why don't you just head back home and get ready? We're way too many at work right now and not many customers. What do you say?" Ferguson suggested, but Iris was already taking her apron off.
"I say it's a great offer! Thanks, Ferg!" she said gratefully "See you on Monday, then!"
It was a Friday, and she was off both Saturday and Sunday, which meant she could enjoy the weekend with the boys.
All in all, she thought she had deserved some time off. She had been working the last three weekends, occasionally taking up extra shifts for her colleagues, AND she had been taking care of the Quicksilver, which was safely hidden in her super-special-secret place in her bedroom.
She almost ran back home, took a long shower and decided to put on her Lucian, black skirt with matching shirt and high boots for the occasion. She was, after all, officially handing a royal item to the King-to-be.
When she was done with her hair and make-up, she noticed she had gotten a message from Gladio.
"Be there in 10 min"
For some reason, Iris felt nervous. Her heart was suddenly thumping at the thought of seeing them. She sighed heavily to try and calm down, and then proceeded to retrieve the Quicksilver from its box.
She pocketed the precious stone and made for the door, ignoring the strange feeling in her stomach.
When she arrived at the stone terrace, which had become their usual meeting point, Gladio and the others were waiting for her, chatting merrily.
Her heart kicked more furiously when her eyes fell on the dark-haired prince, and once again when she spotted Prompto's unruly blond hair.
The gunslinger was the first to notice her presence, his eyes lighting up and giving her his signature beaming grin.
"Hey, beautiful!" he greeted cheerfully. Iris pretended not to notice the murderous look Gladio gave him upon hearing his words.
"Hello everyone! Long time no see" she greeted back, giving her best smile.
She could tell they were all genuinely happy to see her, and it looked like they needed some good rest after a month sleeping in a tent.
"There's a lot we need to talk about" she said while the group of friends made their way to the usual diner.
"Oh?" Prompto intervened "Good or bad?"
"Depends on how you see it" she answered with a giggle.
Her words had obviously picked their curiosity, for everyone was now staring expectantly at her from across the table.
She blushed at the sudden attention, but cleared her throat and reached for her pocket.
She gestured for them to lean closer and, when they did, she carefully extracted the stone from her pocket and showed it to them.
"What's that?" Prompto asked, eyeing the curious object in awe.
Ignis gave him a reproachful look. "Quicksilver" he whispered.
"No!" Gladio and Noctis said in unison. Prompto kept staring at the stone blankly.
"Please, don't mind a common pleb. Just continue as If I weren't here" the blonde said nonchalantly, leaning backwards and resting both his arms behind his head.
"The Quicksilver" Ignis explained calmly "is a legendary stone created by the Six to help the Kings of Lucis in their effort to defend the Crystal from external attacks".
"Oh? How come King Regis never had it, then?" Prompto asked again, his interest piqued.
"Because it was supposedly destroyed centuries ago, for it was too powerful and because countries had begun going to war to gain its might" Noctis said impatiently "I don't get it…"
Ignis was rubbing his chin, deep in thought. "Apparently legends are only partially true. Or maybe the one stating its destruction was just a mean to make mankind forget about its existence".
"Didn't really work out that well, though" Gladio remarked "Considering that we're still at war against the Empire".
"Yeah but that's to gain control of Lucis, no?" Prompto retorted.
"Yes and no. The war is said to have started because of this very stone" Ignis explained "How did you find it, anyway?"
Iris told them of her quest to buy the Moogle, and how she had discovered the secret compartment in which the stone had been placed.
"Of all places…" Noctis said sarcastically "In a bloody Moogle!"
"Well, I believe this belongs to you now, Noct" Iris said with a smile, handing the stone to the prince.
He took it in his hands, and could barely believe what he was holding.
"How does it work?" he asked.
"I believe only a royal can obtain its powers. So that's up to you to find out, Noct" Ignis replied.
"I wanna try it out!" the prince smirked eagerly.
"Uhm, what does it actually do?" Prompto inquired without diverting his blue eyes from the stone.
"Jared told me it can manipulate time" Iris intervened "Oh Noct, if you're testing it, can I come too? Please?"
"Out of question" Gladio retorted immediately.
"Of course you can!" Noctis and Prompto replied at the same time. Gladio gave the prince an "are-you-mad?"-look.
"Sorry, Gladdy. She found it so she has the right to witness its powers" Noctis smirked at his muscular friend "I'm irremovable on this".
Gladio rolled his eyes but didn't retort, and Iris almost wanted to jump in joy. She was finally going on an adventure with them!
"It's getting late, though. We do not know whether the stone still works or not, and it might be dangerous to be stuck out there with the Daemon lurking in the shadows. Let's wait until tomorrow. We do have a hunt to complete, and we can take advantage of the situation" Ignis suggested.
Everyone agreed with the wise member of the party, and proceeded to the hotel room they had rented. Iris stayed with them for a cup of coffee, listening eagerly at the four friends talking about their latest adventures.
"Well, enough about us" Prompto interrupted "What about you, Iris? What have you been up to lately?"
"Oh, nothing special, really" the girl blushed "My life pales in comparison to yours, guys. Just been working at a local café".
"Nothing special? Can't leave you alone a sec, that you go and stumble upon a legendary, long-forgotten stone!" the blonde mocked with a smirk.
Iris couldn't help but chuckle at his comment. When she had finished her coffee, she bid them goodnight and headed back home, feeling light-hearted at the thought of embarking on her first adventure with her favorite boys.
Next Chapter: Iris wakes up too early and bumps into a certain photographer. Iris and Prompto have breakfast together before departing :D