there has been a little confusion about whether there will be other stories with Bound when i said it was a drabble, i will confirm that Bound is a story of its own, its a drabble in the sense that it won't really go smoothly and that it'll be pieces of Noctis and Claire's engaged married life, the ups and the downs and how their relationship develops.
Fabula will be the only lightis story that will have multiple stories.
again, i apologize for the confusion
and i'm sorry for the long wait! i was almost done with one of my stories so i dove into that and wrapped it up :3 now i have 3 chapter fics to work on, and one long drabble series~ again, thank you all for being so patient, i know this update took forever.
He did not see Claire till later that evening.
As soon as the deed was done, their future locked up and the key tossed away, they were now at the mercy of the nobles below. Shoved towards the celebration that made up the second part of weddings, Noctis found that Claire was ripped away from him and disappeared among the mass of heads. He has high suspicion that Claire was dragged off to join the other noble women as he found he was surrounded by men.
And these men around him, all of them congratulated his success in a young and beautiful wife, some offered their condolences, knowing much better than him who Claire was and what she was like, and the worst were the ones that offered him sex advice that could turn the queen to putty in his hands. Completely red faced to the advice and suggestions, much to the humor of the other nobles, Noctis managed to break away from the worse of the crowd, and by some manner of luck, most of the nobles decided to leave the future king alone, letting him soak in the realization of his marriage.
He didn't let himself start to think it, not here at least. For the moment in this rare solitude, he sighs and slumps, enjoying the relief of not hearing voices fill his ears and all the words echo in his head. Looking back at the group of nobles all flocking together, he sought the mass of black, brown, and blonde heads for the bold and different hue of a very pale pink.
He wanted to talk, get to know his wife.
The matter of what to say or what to talk about was lost to him though. He was sure something would come out, he was a politician, he always had something to say.
It's just a matter to know what he wants to talk about.
He sighed when he didn't see her amongst the crowd. She was either well hidden or she had moved on.
But where did she move?
Did she even know where her... their room was?
"I didn't think a day like this would come." Noctis started, turning to see his father approach him, his shoulders high, his suit clean and straight, and his hair clipped short and clean. His eyes were tired, apologetic, and proud. "With the threat of war looming over us," Regis continues, "and with how much malice Eldercapt held for our family just for having a crystal... I was afraid that one of us were going to be lost. And that I wouldn't see you king or married... now all that's left is meeting my grandchildren."
Noctis shifted uncomfortably at that, stuffing his hands into his pockets as a minor, unconscious distraction.
"You don't think you'll make it to meet them?" Noctis lightly teased, holding a sildent edge of seriousness beneath it. His father easily caught it and grimly nods. "Eldercapt didn't come to the wedding."
Noctis sucks in a sharp breathe, his body turning cold.
"No message?" he asks, just to be sure.
"None."
Noctis frowns as he slouched against a column, watching the guest mingle below. Its considered an fowl insult for a noble of any kind to not attend a big wedding, especially a royal wedding; and with one between two kingdoms like this, Idola might as well have been right here, spitting on their shoes and shouting to the world how disgusting they were. The only time the absence of a noble is forgiven in an affair like this is when a message is sent. An apology, a congratulation, or an excuse; they are all accepted. Scowled at, but accepted.
A message was a small effort to show that the missing noble cared enough to acknowledge the affair, and while undesired, there's no wish for any strife.
With no word or hide of King Eldercapt; this is as close to a silent war of declaration that they could get.
Despite this marriage, the threat of war still loomed. And with the Farrons originating from Niflheim, this is a matter that they would have to deal with personally, confronting the king long before the Caelum could even think about what to do. By law, if the Farrons dealt with Idola and were successful...
"Do you think he really meant it?" Noctis wondered.
"I do," Regis admits. "If Odin wanted the throne, or secure that his family was apart of royalty, his youngest would be engaged to Idola's grandson. They're close enough in age that it would be acceptable. He wouldn't have to marry his oldest to you. He simply securing a very big bump for Eldercapt."
"And he's just going to go over it," Noctis said.
"It looks like he'll try. We'll just have to wait till we hear from the Farrons on the matter."
"...You really don't think they will betray us?" Noctis asks, remembering Cor Leonis grumbles and suspicion on this wedding. His father simply smiles at his unease and chuckles. "You've been listening to Cor?"
"He's a hard man to ignore."
"Believe me, I've met with the Farrons enough to know them. While ruthless and scary, Farrons are honest and blunt. They can't stand any form of trickery. Odin would find this to be a pointless way to handle our murders if he wanted us dead. He would have challenged us himself. He just wants to stop a king."
"Now he might get a civil war," the prince murmured.
Regis nods, his eyes sharpening as he concludes. "We'll be ready when he calls." He turns to Nocits, promising him, "I am very proud of you son." Noctis simply nods as he turns away and retires for the night, leaving his father alone on the railing, staring out at all the guest.
He was both relieved and embarrassed to say that, yes, Claire found their room ok.
It was questionably unfortunate that he walked in on her while she was changing. Her dress was already tossed away on a near chair, and was replaced by light brown shorts. A black shirt that she was about to put on was frozen around her arms as Claire turns her head to him, eyeing him from over her bare, strapless shoulder. Frozen slihtly at the sight of tan peach skin and the strong curving back facing him, his eyes unintentionally went up and down it, catching sight a few pale, white scars that were bright against her skin, bringing out a sense of curiosity at their origins. When he caught her light blue eyes staring back at him, he stiffened at the realization that he was staring.
Flushing at her, he hurriedly turns away, nearly closing the door behind him, babbling a clumsy apology as the image of her bare shoulders and curving scarred back filled his mind.
"There's no need for that," Claire simply says as she pulls the shirt over her head. Hardly embarrassed at all. "We're married now, might as well get used to it."
"Still improper," he manages out, keeping his back to her just in case. "This is our first meeting after all... well, first time talking."
He feels her eye him for a moment, observing his stiff posture. Walking over to him, he jumps when he feels her hand lightly resting on his back, turning him around till they are facing one another. Letting her hands slide along his body, she stops when their hands are connected, holding them as she offers, "I'm Claire Farr... Claire Caelum, Lucis' and your future queen. Its a pleasure to meet you Prince Noctis."
His tongue felt heavy as his mind went blank at the blunt introduction. Working his mouth as he tried to find the words stuck in his throat, he managed, "Its a pleasure to meet you my queen," he returned, the words sounding off to his ears.
She nodded to him, no smile on her face as she turned and picked up her gown, taking it off the bed where she tossed it. "You can just leave that on the chair," he said, "the servants will get to it."
She simply shakes her head as she goes over to his dresser, picking up a hanger and slinging it up on the back of the door. "My mother would like it well taken cared for."
"It will be," he promised her, looking up at the dress left hanging. Now flat as it stood by the door, it looked like a lovely painting hung up against the wall with its lovely shades of purple and red mixing well together, and the small bits of roses blooming across the hem. He could still hardly believe the sight of it, and the sight of it on her. Farrons, beautiful and frightening, they often say. The dress certainly brought out the beauty.
"Its very beautiful," he offered, silently adding to himself, on you. He didn't have the courage or guts to offer such a compliment yet.
Not till they were more comfortable with each other.
Clearing his throat, Noctis turned away, catching sight of their supposed shared bed. Oh. That's right... "You can have the bed," Noctis nods, instantly making his way to the couch. He felt her eyes follow him as he crept towards it, unbuttoning his shirt to exchange it for something more comfortable. As he started to pull it off, he froze awkwardly when he realized he hadn't taken his tie off yet... Blushing slightly, he just pulled the rest of the shirt off and leaving it neat on a near chair before his hands hurriedly unwound the tie.
Looking back to see if she saw, he almost sighed in relief to see that she wasn't watching him. She was standing by his balcony, staring out that the silver city his family governed, her expression blank and calm as her pale blue eyes that glowed just like Odin's, flickered over each building and civilian. Half way out of his pants, Noctis forgot about them as he stared.
With the sun setting down, leaving a deep dark, red sky to wash over everything, making his usual silver city pink, the red brought out the intimidation of the Farron before him. Where the beauty had softened much of it around him, this was an almost bitter reminder of their prowess. Despite her lean figure, pink hair, and soft face; the ferocity that the family took pride in shown in the fading, red light.
Much like Lucis, her peach tan skin turned a slight pink under the light, and her pale pink hair bled a vicious crimson. Her eyes rebelled against the light, flaring blue against it, making glow much like her father. When those ethereal ice blue eyes flickered over to him, meeting his gawking simpler ocean blue; he snapped to attention, remembering that he was shirtless and only half way out of his pants. In one big swoop, he flung them of and pulled on the first shirt and pants he could grab. Finally safely dressed around his future queen, he kept his back to her, red faced as he subconsciously tugged at his clothes, getting rid of invisible wrinkles.
So unbecoming of the future king...
A small sound caught him off though.
A blocked, shy giggle.
Skeptical and even more embarrassed, Noctis peeked at her from over his shoulder, his frantic pounding heart beating for a different reason. She was facing away from him, her smile hidden beneath her hand, though the flare of her eyes and the curving, amused squint of her eyelids showed past that blocking hand.
It was instinct that chuckled in his ear: she was shy with her laugh.
The word cute flashed in his mind before he shoved it a way, offering her his shy apology.
"Its fine," she brushed off, her hand dropping away and letting the smile show as she turned away from him. It made him wonder if she was aware that she was still smiling. "We'll get used to it soon enough." A silent, I hope so, echoed with it in both their minds.
Now both standing awkwardly in the room, with Claire staring out at his city and Noctis peering at her; his mind flew as he tried to think of all the things that they could talk about, that could break this thick silence.
Your beautiful? No, he'd end tripping over his own tongue. And he was sure that's something she heard enough.
You'll like Lucis? Perhaps. That was far more appealing, though he honestly couldn't be too sure since he never been to Niflheim due to the tensions between them. His father often lectured that it was just too dangerous. He could manage to hear was that it was a large kingdom along a beach to a wide ocean... he almost sighed aloud in defeat at that thought. What could a silver city surrounded by a forest and lake that was small in comparison to the ocean have to offer in comparison?
Chocobos?
But there were chocobos everywhere and he heard rumor that Claire rode a rare white chocobo fondly called Angel into battle occasionally, full title was Angel of Valhalla.
He wanted to pull his hair for his uselessness at starting conversations without any political gain. Of course his teachers and fathers only taught him out to speak like a snake instead of a normal human being. He's sure that if he wasn't raised to be such a politician then starting up a normal conversation would be much easier-
"I'm sorry Prince Noctis."
What?
Perking up, he saw her deep frown as she glared out to the sky, looking past Lucis and into the distance. It dawned on him that she was glaring out towards Niflheim, the kingdom that lay north east of them. "King Idola didn't show at all, much less contact us," she continued grimly, a slight growl in her voice. "Our efforts were just wasted away."
"I'm not too sure about that," his silver tongue flickered, the sure, lovely words coming out so easily. As much as he didn't want to talk like a politcian around his would be queen, the words spoken were ones that he found to be true. No hidden or unsaid lie to be found. He was actually very proud to have something so honest to come out of his silver lips. "I saw nobles from Niflheim, Accordo, Solheim, and others. I don't know if they all agreed with it, but its a show of acceptance. King Eldercapt can tantrum all he wants, but the world acknowledges this marriage as something good for the realm."
He turned to her, his eyes sharp and sure. "We may not have stopped the strife, but I doubt it'll last long enough to do any real damage. Your family is powerful, and with this marriage, they are even more so. Bound to royalty. I really do think we'll get far and do a lot for both our kingdoms." We just got to work with each other, he added silently.
She smiled at that, her glowing blue eyes a dim, calm glow that he found soothing to look at, all previous nerves washed away in the color of her eyes. That's something he never expected from a Farron. The ability to calm and soothe with just their eyes alone. He wondered if she was even aware the effect her eyes had. "You don't live up to your reputation," she mused aloud, making him start as he was snapped out of the spell.
"Pardon?" he babbled, his silver tongue cracked and replaced with clumsy lead.
"I heard that Caelums were cold and calculating. And very scary. You read people like books, your words are harsh and true; I've heard that your eyes change to red depending on your emotions," she went on.
He chuckled quietly, "That's just us being serious. I think you see who we're really are when we're not... uh," damnit all.
Saving him, she offered aloud, "Farrons aren't exactly what the worlds makes us out to be either." He looked up at her, surprised and thankful. "Its only me and my dad that fit those descriptions, my mom and sister are far from being like that."
Thinking it over, he can see the truth in her words. Out of the whole family, including their adopt son and sibling, Averia and Serah were very different from Claire, Odin, and Hope. From what he remembered from the wedding a few hours ago, with the few handful of glimpses he got, he could see what she meant. Serah, a younger version of Claire, with a bigger, brighter smile that was far from shy was pleasant and open with all. She charmed a whole crowd around her with her pleasantries and openness. Despite how friendly she was, Noctis could see the sharp calculating look in her similar pale blue eyes, guessing and gauging the intent of each noble around her.
Their mother even more so. Averia Farron was one of many that filled the air with laughter as she mingled and talked with noble, a wine glass held loosely in her hand as she stood beside her stoic husband, looking like a red mouse standing next to a frightening white tiger. Her blue eyes that were a lovely cobalt shade, were friendly and easing, as was her smile. Instantly she relaxed anyone that drew near, easily starting up any conversation that came to mind.
Thinking about it, he note where Claire got the soothing effect in her eyes from. Everyone else seemed to fall under the same natural spell that she cast with a simple look and a warm smile.
Made him wonder if it were those eyes that calmed the ivory beast beside her into marriage. People wondered if the commoner fooled the lord into matrimony just to get his money and the high life; but watching them a few hours ago, seeing peeks of their warm, happy eyes meeting each other and the rare smiles Odin only offered to his lady and children, Noctis knew that their love was genuine.
It made him hope for something similar with his own.
And when Averia saw him get swept away by noblemen, she laughed and waved at him, offering a wordless good luck that made him flush.
Smiling, he said, "I think everyone adored them."
Her lips turned up into a mirrored smile, her eyes relaxing as she silently agreed. His smile growing, he soaked in the comfortable silence between them, watching as the sun finally disappeared, taking the red light away and leaving a dark, moonless night behind. With it came a sweep of cold air to fill the atmosphere.
"You know," she spoke up after a while. "The last thing I ever expected was to get married."
He hummed, curious.
"I always promised Hope that once Idola stepped down or was forced too, I would be apart of his kingsguard."
Noctis started, looking up at her in surprise. From what he knew, a kingsguard was royal guards of Niflheim; but much, much stricter. The kingsguard focus was entirely the ruling reagent and their family. They would take no spouse, have no children, and refuse all inheritances. Their life and purpose was solely the king's life and safety. If it came to it, they would die without regret or thought. It was because of the kingsguard that the Eldercapt line was so hard to break.
Except when Princess Nora married a low noble from Accordo against her father's wishes and had Hope. The kingsgaurd were coincidentally far, far away from any protection they could have offered. Not that there was much to offer in a drastic car accident. Hope was lucky, though with his young remembering the details of the crash, it made him very distant with people. He was a face that Noctis could barely catch amongst the crowd, hiding away in the shadows, with only a flicker of short white hair and sharp green eyes peeking out of the darkness, only coming out when one of the Farrons themselves drew near.
If she was going to be apart of Hope's kingsguard, this truly did throw a loop into the future she and her younger brother had planned. The word sorry automatically came past his lips, which she shook off with a simple shake of her head. "Its not your fault. It's Idola's own," she assured, her lips dipping down into a small scowl. "My family will be leaving early tomorrow to head back to Nifleheim to deal with this insult."
"We'll have to rise early to see them off," he noted, catching her off guard. She eyed curiously, a look of appreciation in her gleaming eyes that sent proud warmth through his body. He nodded to the bed with a small bow. "All yours," he promised.
She tilted her head down at him before nodding her thanks and going over and slipping under the covers. Grabbing his own blanket and extra pillow out of a closet, he settled on one the couch, sighing in relief as the comfortable cushions dipped easily around his body, easing all bits of the day away. Opening his eyes to peek at the head pink settled naturally on one of his pillows, sprawled out like a rosy mane; his eyes fell closed as sleep took him, assured that she was comfortable in his bed.