a/n: Because Time has not been generous to me lately, I might not be able to reply to all of the reviews. Gomenasai~! ): but I will find time to answer any questions or comments containing it. :D (reminder: updates follow an irregular schedule since I have to follow an irregular schedule of mine as well.. if you know what I mean. hehe.)

Disclaimer: Nomura-sama and SE owns Versus XIII~!

"Oblivious Fate"

By: rorudesu-chan

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Chapter 23: First Words of Reconciliation

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Noctis had wanted to ask himself if he owned the voice he was speaking with right now. He was so sure that he wasn't this confident before he began his speech.

"…and with regards to any calamities that may occur in the future, I propose that a stock amount of basic necessities be saved beforehand. These stocks will then be shared within allied kingdoms if one nation is ever in dire need of such donations. This statement holds true in the case of a sudden outburst of war in a country's territory…"

Noctis' eyes jumped from the sight of the audience to the seven paged speech he held in his hands. His fingers were clammy and a bit shaky. But nevertheless, the Prince kept a stiff upper lip and did his best to deliver the message of his kingdom to the rest.

A shy smile curled upon the Ambassador's lips as she listened to his every word. She was proud. She never really thought she would finally witness the day that Noctis stayed true to his responsibility as the Caelum Prince.

"I hope this ends soon," a feminine voice whispered.

"I'm pretty sure he's nearing the point of summarizing already." Stella replied.

Natalia was relieved, walking away from the diplomat's side. "That's good to hear then."

"Leaving already, Natalia?" Stella asked.

"Of course not." She said, turning her head towards the Ambassador. "I'm going to meet him after he's finished."

Stella nodded with a blank look upon her face.

After fifteen minutes of a nerve-wracking speech, Noctis finally said, "For listening to the Caelum Kingdom, I thank you all. Good evening."

The Prince sighed heavily after leaning away from the microphone. He asked himself, was he triumphant in delivering the Caelum kingdom's message? The answer seemed like a 'no' at first.

But then, hands simultaneously clasped together. Noctis was indeed successful. The faces of kings, queens, princes, princesses, dukes, duchesses, ambassadors all lit up after hearing the end of the speech. They were astounded, that's why. In previous kingdom conferences, everything was just the same, inspirational speech—protecting, preserving and such. But this certain prince managed to catch the attention of all those who hoped for a better and peaceful future for their own countries because his words felt real enough that it could be attained by order and cooperation.

He was in awe as well. Noctis stood before the podium, looking at the crowd of nobles who felt like their wishes and desires for peace and harmony were about to come through because of his proposals.

BUT,

With everyone else's problems leaving fantasy and coming to reality, his dilemma was quite far from a complete solution. True, he felt like he could almost taste the victory of his mission. But then Noctis had recently begun to realize a question.

After conquering Tenebrae for the Crystal's sake, what happens next?

He asked himself this as he stepped down from the podium and walked towards Arkenis who proudly stood at the bottom of the stage's steps.

"Job well done, Prince Noctis! Job well done!" The Caelum military official happily exclaimed, his hands clapping enthusiastically.

Noctis nodded. "Thanks,"

"Noctis!" a light tone called out.

'Somehow, he wished it wasn't hers.'

"Ah! Princess Natalia!" Arkenis exclaimed.

'But it was.'

The Prince felt a pair of arms, delicately slithering around his neck and a womanly chest colliding with his masculine one.

"That was a great speech! Con-grrratula-tionsss!" Natalia sang, burying her head sideways into his well-toned chest. She breathed in the scent of the Eau de Cologne that was misted upon his black tuxedo. Lacoste? Calvin Klein? The Princess could only guess his perfume which was intoxicating her—in a very sexy way.

"Ahem…" Arkenis coughed. "There will be more praise for your well done speech once you get home, Prince Noctis."

"Leaving already, Arkenis?" Noctis asked. He seriously wanted to just yank Natalia's arms off his neck in the most polite manner as possible. But it seemed as though she had plans of holding it up there for as long as she could—which was probably like, forever.

"Actually yes." The officer said, straightening the cuffs of his suit which was already creased even before the conference began. "I'm rather obliged to check up on someone."

Noctis' eyebrows puckered up.

Arkenis suddenly feigned a grin. "What I meant to say was that there's something I ought to do. It's very important, you see."

"Alright, do what you can for our kingdom." Noctis replied. His suspicion and curiosity had faltered.

On the other side of the stage, Duke Thibault staggered his way again to climb up. His servants wanted to assist him. But he refused saying that help should only be done privately, not publicly. So with his walking crutch gripped strongly by his right hand, he stumbled his way towards the podium once more.

The hall was boisterous again. The crowd of nobles stood waiting before the stage. They were all eager to know who would the next speaker be, hoping that he or she would be as eloquent and believable as the young, Caelum Prince.

Stella, realizing that she no longer held any interest for the succeeding noble to speak on stage, excused herself from the crowd. As she moved through the people, her beautiful blonde hair was luckily spotted by a certain Prince who at that moment was scanning the area. He felt like following her, wondering where she would go. But first, he had to escape the infatuated embrace which was still mercilessly snared around his neck.

"Lovely speech, yes?" Somna said, greeting the approaching Stella.

"Yes. Quite promising, I suppose." The younger Ambassador replied.

A stout waiter who held a tray of sweet cocktails passed them by. Somna skipped on her heels, catching up to the waiter who walked briskly. She managed to scoop two glasses of the party liquor in her hands.

Stella received the pink colored cocktail which the brunette reached to her. Somna drank a mouthful of the liquor, leaving a crimson mark upon the rim of the glass.

"Sweet…" The older diplomat said. "But it needs a little kick."

The blonde licked her lips after sipping a small amount of the cocktail. "I agree with you, Somna… So," Stella said, glancing at her. "Have you finally seen him?"

Noctis finally spotted her. He then approached rather quickly.

The brunette took another drink from the cocktail. "Yes, I…" She said, pausing in midsentence. Her eyes blinked twice, a bit surprised. "I see him."

"Hm?" Stella asked, wondering why Somna suddenly responded a 'present' tense answer to her 'past' tense question.

It didn't take quite long for her to realize though. Somna was looking not at her, but at something behind her. Stella tilted her head around with little hesitation at first.

A handsome, enigmatic face met her beautiful, cheerful one.

"Good evening, Stella." He grinned.

She nodded with a shy smile. "Good evening, Noct."

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a/n: Well..? How was this chapter? Please don't forget to Review/Comment/Criticize~! THANK YOU~! :D

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*~REVIEW REPLIES~*

(22. International Kingdom Conference)

ken08002: I'll do my best in describing Noctis' skill. So far, I'm actually finding myself rather amused and challenged with how I construct his fanfiction personality. Hopefully, I'll be able to create a version of Noctis whose strength against his enemies remains without his god-like abilities.

Stella Nox Fleuret: Thank you so much for loving this story! It means so much to me when a reader, such as yourself, appreciates what I've created!

drifter17: Hehe! Most of you really did not expect for Natalia and Stella to be friends! On my part as the author, I find this fact rather amusing yet flattering at the same time. I've always wanted to have this kind of effect on you guys when you become surprised at something unexpected... ;) As for the drama... just wait and read how Natalia and Stella's (along w/ Noctis') relationship plays out in the future chapters to come...

Warangel88: I'm glad you noticed Stella being indenial in the previous chapters.. As for her jealousy, we'll see if she'll continue to hang on to those 'suppressed' feelings of hers towards Noctis... :D