School and emotional breakdowns. Sorry this has taken me so long. Good thing is that I've pretty much finished all of my coursework, so I might have some free time... I hope, I pray.
Sorry, I'm not in a great mood right now. Been a bit down lately, so sorry if this isn't great.
Disclaimer: Don't own it. However, in just over two weeks, I will own a copy of Final Fantasy XIII, so yay!
Vanille woke up and looked around the barren storage room, littered with boxes. A quick glance around confirmed her suspicions.
Lightning had gone.
With a small grumble she curled onto her side and started to drift back to sleep. Typical. She always wandered off in the middle of the night. At least she came back by dawn...
That's when it hit her. They were in the middle of a country where she was very high up on their wanted list. And she had gone off in the middle of the night.
Vanille groaned and rubbed her forehead. Being friends with Lightning was enough to give you an ulcer.
Lightning couldn't sleep.
There were several reasons for this. One was the position she was in was rather uncomfortable, with her neck bent at an odd angle. The second was that the night temperature was below zero and she was lying on top of the covers. Ultimately, she was unhappy at the current situation – She hated the idea of people being able to watch her sleep, never mind being so close to someone while she was at her lowest state of awareness.
The Prince snored into her ear. She flinched, and shifted her head away from his nose. Prince Charming this man was not, the assassin smirked, trying to keep herself amused. Over his shoulder, she could just about make out the positions of the hands of the clock in the dim moonlight.
That one seems to be longer... the one at ten, and the shorter is either at one or two... maybe three.
It was a long night so far, and she had even longer to follow.
Lightning sighed and glanced at Noctis, the tiniest of smiles working its way onto her face. Her hand hesitantly rose up and gently stroked his hair; slightly surprised at the roughness under her fingers. Tiny hairs slid under her short, bitten nails as her smile slowly spread.
He muttered in his sleep and her hand sprung away from his scalp. The assassin sighed and tried to slip into a slightly more comfortable position.
"Kings?"
"Go fish."
Felix sighed and picked up a card from the small pile on the table. "I hate Go Fish."
"Well what do you suggest we play?" Lexus glanced at Felix over his cards, raising an inquisitive eyebrow.
"Blackjack?"
"Blackjack is a stupid game." Placido commented from the safety of his chair, where he was pretending to sleep.
"Go Fish is stupider."
"I don't care, I'm not playing." He smirked slightly and went back to pretending to sleep in order to be left alone. Felix responded by throwing the ace of clubs at him. "Is this your cunning plan? To give me a paper cut?"
"Something like that."
"You should get some sleep."
"Yes mother."
"Felix," Placido gave up even attempting to look somewhat asleep and sat up. "You have got stitches. Because a woman shot you. Maybe you should sleep?"
"Maybe I don't care about your opinion?"
"Cheerful, aren't we?" Lexus snickered, and put his cards down. "What's eating you blondie?"
"Nothing!"
"It wouldn't happen to be related to a pig-tailed woman, would it?" Placido was smirking from his position on the chair.
"Shut up!"
"I think it is." The scarred added his opinion. "And gimme your Queens."
"Damn you."
Fang stepped into Tenebrea with a smirk on her face. She didn't attempt to blend into the shadows. That wasn't the way she worked. If she looked as eccentric as possible, people would ignore her.
All she needed to do was wait for the opportune moment and then she'd strike. Simple. Just like hunting.
The rumours were abound of course. That Lightning was still alive, and had abandoned Phoenix. And that she had taken Vanille with her...
The smirk grew wider. This could be an extremely interesting mission.
Dawn came slowly but early in Tenebrea. The first few streaks of light shone onto the prince's eyelids, which fluttered rapidly in response. After a minute or so of resistance, Noctis finally relented and woke up with a sigh.
He glanced down and started slightly upon seeing Lightning.
"You're a bad sleeper."
"What...?" Noctis frowned as his sleep-drenched brain attempted to process the information.
"You snore."
"Oh. Sorry." He blinked at the woman. "You look dreadful. As in, you had no sleep dreadful."
"Like I said, you snore." She sighed and glanced away.
"Oh. Right. Well..." He shrugged. "You can always sleep on the journey to Astrum."
"I don't need sleep."
"Sure." Noctis grinned and ran a hand through his hair, trying to put his finger on the thought that was niggling at the back of his mind.
"I've learnt to manage without it." Lightning propped herself up on her elbows and frowned at him. "What's wrong?"
"Nothin-"
You're in the palace with a wanted woman.
"-Crap." The Prince bolted off his bed; ran over to the window and began inching it open.
"What?!" She was behind him in less than a second.
"We're in the palace." He began to explain, before getting cut off.
"Have you only just realised that?"
"Ha ha, you're so witty. They'll be coming to get me soon." Noctis cursed as he pulled harder on the window. "For pity's sake... open!"
"They?"
"Some servant probably. Just to make sure that I'm here and actually awake."
"A young male with loud shoes?" A note of worry had entered her voice now.
"Maybe, why?" He paused in his cursing of the window to hear footsteps echoing in the corridor. "Damn!" Lightning grabbed hold of the window and tugged on it as well. It jerked open, and in the time it took him to blink, she had clambered out of the window and out of sight.
Noctis breathed out and allowed the mist to form around his eyes as the door creaked open.
"Your highness...?" The servant placed his head around the corner. "Oh! You're awake!"
"Yeah." He kept his gaze out of the window. "You can go now."
"Your uncle has a message for you, your highness."
"Great..." He grumbled under his breath. The servant shifted his weight between his feet.
"I beg your pardon your highness?"
"What's the message?"
"There is meeting tonight, and your attendance is required."
"I can't make it." A long silence ensued. "... I presume he doesn't require my attendance, he orders it."
"That is correct your highness. He is very insistent." The servant paused. "It is at seven pm, in the council hall at the Senate Building."
"Fine." The Prince practically snarled. "Tell him I'll be there." Another pause. "Well go then!" A few hurried footsteps and a door slamming shut. Noctis breathed out irritated and massaged his temples.
"That was rude, even from my perspective." He blinked.
"Lightning, where the hell are you?"
"Above your window." To prove this point, two legs instantly swung down, almost hitting him in the face.
"Were you eavesdropping?"
"Yes. Now get away from the window so I can get back in." The Prince sighed and stepped back. He noted to himself how quickly he had become used to Lightning ordering things instead of asking politely. She swung back into the room and sat on the windowsill.
"So." She shrugged. "What now?"
"What do you mean, what now?" Noctis frowned. "Now, nothing." He noticed a slight flash of confusion pass over her face.
"But you said that you could get Vanille to Astrum-"
"It would take a full day to get there, never mind getting back – If we're going to go, it's not today." The confusion quickly turned to anger as her face hardened.
"I'm right. What's the point in trusting people-"
"For God's sake Lightning, I'd rather get you and Vanille away from here than go to some useless meeting!" He paused as she turned her face away and let out a noise of irritation.
"Whatever."
"Bloody hell!" He cursed fluently under his breath and grabbed his coat, fumbling through the pockets. "Never mind driving a person to drink, you're driving me to nicotine." He turned around to see the window wide open, and no trace of the assassin.
Vanille wasn't great at the whole blending in thing. Particularly in a city like Tenebrea, where she guessed she looked like a person who had escaped from the carnival.
This wasn't her wisest plan by any measure, but it was the only one she could think of. Lightning had vanished, and she wasn't leaving for Astrum unless she was dragging the assassin along kicking and screaming.
She was her best friend, and she wasn't going to leave her behind. Even if she was a stubborn cow at times – That didn't change anything.
The young girl kept her head up and a dignified air around her. Her grandmother had told her that the best way to make people believe you belonged was to pretend that you did. And then they'd believe it. And sure enough, not as many people were staring at her. She bit back a grin.
Still no sign of the pink haired woman anywhere. Vanille turned a corner – And stopped dead in the street.
Walking down the pavement towards her was a woman she'd hoped she'd never see again. A woman who had ripped her life apart. A traitor who hurt everything she cared about, and her appearance now couldn't be good. She stepped back quickly, but somehow she sensed her.
Greenish eyes locked onto her, and a smirk appeared on the woman's face.
Oerba Yun Fang.
Without thinking about what blending in, standing out, whatever; Vanille ran as fast as her legs would carry her. She stumbled, ran into people, knocked things over, but she didn't care.
Fang had betrayed the Oerba tribe several times until her own mother had demanded she be pushed out of the tribe. She had bullied Vanille horribly since they were little kids. And she had joined Phoenix.
Phoenix.
Vanille nearly skidded to a halt. Phoenix was here, in Tenebrea. They knew Lightning was alive, and they wanted her dead. And now Fang knew she was here... things were going terribly wrong.
She sprinted back to the warehouse.
Maybe that was wrong of me...
Lightning sighed and glanced around the alley. It was mostly deserted, apart from a stray cat sniffing at a bin.
Noctis had let her down – He'd promised they could get out today, and even if it wasn't his fault, it still pissed her off.
The cat twisted itself around her legs. She glanced down and sighed.
"I gotta move cat." It stayed where it was. "Oh for...." With a tiny growl she picked it up. It responded by licking her fingers. "I don't have any fish on me. Sorry cat." It continued licking her fingers, even when she placed it back on the ground.
The assassin sighed and tapped the cat with her foot, making it move off. Maybe that's what she was in the end. A stray cat, abandoned by those around it. Selfish, arrogant.
She growled and slammed her fist into the wall. Damn it, why was she thinking like that?
"Cut off your heart." She hissed. "Act with your body and your brain. That's all. Feelings don't come into it. Don't feel sorry for him!"
With a long, slow breath out, she continued on her way back to the warehouse.
"Where the hell did you get that from?"
Noctis growled and looked up at his friends. "Doesn't matter."
"Give me that." Lexus snatched the cigarette out of his fingers before the Prince could react. "We need to hold an intervention for you."
"Sure, sure, an intervention." He pulled the pack out of his pocket, which was slapped out of his hands. "Just leave me alone!"
"Can't." Placido was the one who spoke up. "Your uncle basically told us if we didn't get you to attend this war conference tonight, he'd fire each one of us."
"I'm your employer. Not him."
"He's the king, he could fire the person who made his toothpaste tube!" Felix grinned. "C'mon, it can't be that bad. I'll phone Vanille and explain about the whole Astrum thing."
"No," Noctis shook his head. "You three go to the warehouse, pick them up, and take them to Astrum. I'll be fine on my own for a while."
"But Noct-"
"Lightning was here." He explained sharply, earning a few raised eyebrows. "I told her I couldn't get her and Vanille to Astrum today, and she was... irritated."
"She's permanently irritated." The scarred man pointed out.
"More importantly...." Felix sat next to Noctis on the bed and flung an arm around the Prince's shoulders. "What was she doing here, in your bedroom?"
... Please tell me Felix did not just insinuate what I think he just insinuated.
The blonde winked.
Oh yes, he did.
"No!" The Prince wriggled out of his friends' grip. "No, no and definitely-" He was pulled into a headlock. "I didn't... do... anything like that! She just stayed the night-"
"She stayed the night?" Placido leant forwards with a slight frown on his face. He pushed his glasses higher up onto the bridge of his nose.
Etro, please save me from my friends.
"She got lost and.... oh, it's a long story! Just get her out of Tenebrea!" He snapped. "And let go of my head Felix!"
"I got it." Lexus dragged the blonde into a headlock.
"One condition." Felix choked out, while hitting the larger man's arms feebly. "You give us your cigarettes, and lighter."
"Cigarettes yes, lighter no." The group glared at him. "It's my lighter, I might need it if... I need to start a fire." Placido sighed and rubbed his forehead. "You're not taking my lighter!"
"Fine, fine, fine." Lexus snatched the cigarettes out of Noctis' jacket with his free hand. "We'll go find them... but we want the full story when we come back."
"Yes father."
Wack!
"Ow."
Lightning was expecting anger, exasperation, and possibly some laughter from Vanille about her midnight disappearance.
She was not expecting to see her friend in sheer panic.
"There you are!" The pig-tailed girl was a frenzy of activity. "Oh, hurry up Light, we've got to move!"
"What are you talking about?" The assassin walked over to her friend, who now seemed to be hyperventilating. "Vanille, calm down. Vanille!" She grabbed her roughly by the shoulders and shook her. "What's going on!?"
"I saw her! I swear Light, I saw her, and-"
"Saw who?" Lightning frowned and dug her nails into Vanille's shoulders. "Vanille, who did you see?"
"Fang!" She wriggled out of the assassin's grip. "I saw Fang, and she saw me, on the street! If she finds you, you're dead!"
Lightning snorted. "I bet I could take her."
"You'd bet your life?" The pig-tailed girl grabbed her own rod and stared into the older woman's eyes. "Please, let's just go!"
"...We were going to go anyway." The assassin glanced around quickly. "Did she follow you here?"
"I don't know, I was just running." She shrugged. "Sorry..."
"Too late now." Lightning turned back the way she came. "Astrum's to the west, right?"
Noctis played with his lighter as he sat in the study. It was old, musty, and smelt like exceedingly old paper.
Since it was full of said old paper, it was probably not the best place to be playing with a lighter.
Flick.
He glanced down at all the old documents on the crystals, the Goddess Etro, fal'cie and the l'cie.
He sighed and re-read the same sentence on the Goddess Etro he had been reading for the past hour.
A goddess who sings a song of lament for the dead.
It made her sound kind. A person who cared about those who entered her realm.
Yeah, right. The Prince snorted and turned his attention to another page, the page about the l'cie.
Those chosen by the fal'cie for a greater destiny.
"Nice way of cushioning the blow..." He sighed and flicked his lighter on and off again. "Greater destiny my...."
He wouldn't see her again. Even if he wanted to... which he didn't. Of course he didn't.
He sighed and slammed the lighter down onto the table. There were times when he hated being a prince.
"Are we there yet?"
"Don't worry Felix, you'll see your pigtailed beloved soon."
"Shut. Up."
"Nope." Lexus grinned. "This is far too entertaining."
"Look, she's cute, that's all."
"Yeah, we know you Felix. You never can resist a cute face..." Placido parked the car outside the warehouse. Felix stumbled out of the car, much to Lexus' amusement.
"Can't wait to see her, huh?" The blonde responded by rugby tackling the older, stronger man.
This was what led to Felix being dragged into the warehouse in a headlock, and from his low viewpoint, he was unable to understand why Placido suddenly cursed.
"What's going on?" He asked as the larger man released him from the headlock.
"They're gone." Placido looked around.
"We are..." Felix fell silent as he tried to think of the right word. "...so shitted."
"It's not our fault."
"Doesn't mean we're not screwed." Placido reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. "I'm going to phone Noctis. You guys try and find them, and fast."
Damn it!
Bloody impatient woman! She never stops and thinks, she just charges straight in there. I do one wrong thing, and she runs off. Does she even know where Astrum is?
What happens if she gets captured? Or hurt? Bet she didn't even think about that. Too arrogant, that's her problem. Maybe it's mine too.
I hope she's alright.
There's something missing.
This bench is giving me splinters in the back of my knees, which is hardly helping me concentrate. Vanille's still in a panic. Damn Fang, has to show up and make everything twice as hectic. Bitch.
But why is she here? I thought Phobos would have wanted to deal with me personally...
Unless we're not what she's here for. Unless we're just collateral damage...
She's here to kill Noctis.
Oh Christ. I've got to warn him – But if I go back and get caught by her or Tenebrea... and I've got to protect Vanille.
But I can't just leave him, can I?
Oh God, what do I do?Next update will be God knows when. Damn GCSE's.
Thanks for all the reviews so far, but please review this chapter as well!
And I love you all to pieces. Seriously. -Hugs all of you-
Peace out mo charas!