Author's note: I don't really have much to say. It's really hot right now (no white Christmas for Aussies). Enjoy Chapter 3!

Chapter Three: A Guardian's Plight

Prompto glanced down at the young girl walking quietly beside him. He'd offered her his hand to hold on the way to the diner, but the girl merely shook her head and continued walking forward with a slight limp in her step. The twenty year old sharp shooter squinted slightly at the little girl, sensing that something was very familiar about her- yet he could not pinpoint what it was. With a shrug of his shoulders, Prompto allowed himself to grin widely as he jumped in front of the light brunette.

"Sooo, I'm Prompto! What's your name?" Prompto introduced himself loudly, garnering the attention of a few of Hammerhead's newly arrived customers. The girl's eyes widened as she flinched away from the loud young man. Feeling sorry, Prompto brought his arms back to his chest and bowed slightly in apology. "Ah, sorry… I didn't mean to scare ya," Prompto winced. The little girl, still recovering from his loud countenance, merely stood and stared at the blond, wringing her little grubby hands all the while.

The team's sharpshooter couldn't help but berate himself for scaring the obviously distressed child. That wasn't what he had meant to do- he was only trying to bring the girl out of her shell. He only wanted to see the kid smile, even if it was only the once. The kid looked so worse for ware, he wanted to divest even the slightest amount of joy into the girl's life. So much for that, he thought bitterly as he rounded towards the girl and gently pressed his palm to her back to gently push her forward.

"Time to grab that cold soda!" Prompto cheered, a little more quietly. The little girl walked forward with tiny steps, her arms a little more loose on her sides.

"My name's Karina Marcell… Marclell… Marlesas?" the girl frowned up at Prompto, obviously not able to pronounce her family name very well. Prompto chuckled lightly and placed a gentle hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Your name's very pretty, just like you!" Prompto complimented. Karina smiled shyly, almost bringing Prompto's movement to a stop as he recognised that rare smile.

She looked so much like…

"Prompto, where is Noct? I'm about to do some shopping and… what are you doing with a child?" Ignis trailed off with a question, perplexed at the sight of the blond sharpshooter with a small, grubby looking girl. "Is she hurt?" Ignis's perceptive gaze did a quick once-over of the child for any visible injuries. When he found nothing, he levelled Prompto with an inquisitive gaze.

Now that Ignis Scientia was standing right in front of him, Prompto couldn't help but remember Noctis' story about Ignis' first love. He'd been seventeen when he'd first met the girl. Their tactical advisor was now twenty two years of age… going on 23 in a month's time. Prompto's eyes widened as he turned to the girl beside him, ignoring Ignis's questions.

"Karina, how old did you say you were?" Karina blinked up at Prompto slowly before answering.

"This many." She showed Prompto five fingers, a slightly proud look on her face. Prompto patted the girl's matted hair for a job well done and glanced back at Ignis, whose face now showed traces of annoyance.

"Prompto- is she injured?" Prompto gulped nervously as he did the math in his head. If the girl had just turned five, it was entirely possible that Ignis was the girl's…

"Daddy?" Prompto whispered, his eyes meeting Ignis'.

"What on Eos are you talking about? Where is Noct? And Gladio, for that matter?" Ignis asked with a tired sigh. Prompto shivered at his own thoughts and returned his attention to his older friend.

"Nothing, nothing! She's got a little bit of a limp, but other than that I think she's kinda tired and a bit hungry- right?" Prompto turned to Karina, who looked up shyly at Ignis and nodded in agreement. Eyes softening at the sight of the child, Ignis nodded in acknowledgment and turned back to Prompto for further answers.

"Noct and Gladio?"

"Oh, right! They went to the nearby camp ground to find the lady that was with little Karina here before she found herself here." Ignis' eyes widened momentarily as he scanned the darkening sky.

"The daemons are liable to shred them to pieces! You let them go out there now?" Ignis exclaimed, his usually cool gaze turning into a reprimanding glare. Prompto winced and shrugged his shoulders in defence.

"Hey, don't kill the messenger! You asked the questions and I gave the answers! And besides, Karina's all alone here- if we don't find the lady she was with, then we can't leave either!" Prompto, feeling protective of the helpless child, placed his hands on the small girl's shoulders and drew him towards her in an act of defiance towards Ignis. Ignis sighed and massaged his temple with the tips of his fingers, feeling a headache coming on.

"She's not our responsibility." Ignis stated with a level voice, ignoring the wobbly frown that had formed on the little girl's lips from his words. "Or have you forgotten the oath you made in front of King Regis before we set out on this journey? Our sole objective is to see Prince Noctis to Altissia safely. We're not going to go out of our way to baby sit a lost child."

"She'll be all alone if we don't. You wanna leave a little kid out here by herself?!" Prompto asked, his brows furrowed in confusion at Ignis' pragmatic outlook. Sure, the man's sole duty until now had been to advise the prince and keep him out of harm's way, but was it really that hard to spend a few hours away from the set out road to look after a kid in need?

Ignis shook his head, his eyes softening as he noticed the girl's saddened countenance.

"I don't want to leave her to fend for herself, but our duty is to the prince- not to this girl. For now, we can tend to her, but when Gladiolus and Noctis get back, we'll have to leave her here with her caretaker, no matter what her condition will be when they bring her back." Ignis said, the inflection in his words leaving no room for argument. Prompto sighed and nodded, squeezing the saddened girl's shoulders in an attempt to comfort her.

"Fine, but we're going to leave some gil behind with them so they're not wandering around without anywhere to go."

"I'm not so cruel as to forego lending financial assistance to those in need, Prompto." The blond found himself scoffing lightly at the pragmatic man's remark.

"Dunno, you could have fooled me…" Prompto mumbled before steering the young girl away from Ignis. "Anyway, we're gonna grab something cold to drink- you coming?" Ignis sighed, his gaze lowering to the deflated girl. His heart dropped at the sadness in her light hazel eyes- her eyes were not very different from the eyes that haunted his sweetest dreams and most painful nightmares…

"Of course, I'm buying after all," Ignis offered a smile at the young girl who chanced a glance at Ignis before averting her gaze quickly. The three made their way towards the diner and quickly settled into an empty booth- where Karina scooted in close to Prompto. Ignis frowned slightly at the sight, worried about the attachment the two had formed in such little time. Separating the two would be problematic. Ignis levelled a meaningful look at Prompto before he settled into the booth seat opposite the two. "What will you have?"

"Lemonade for me," Prompto grinned. Ignis nodded and settled a gentle gaze on Karina.

"And yourself?" Ignis gently prodded. Karina pulled her knees to her chest on the seat, but looked Ignis in the eyes as she answered his question.

"Milk, please."

Ignis allowed himself a genuine smile at the girl's manners.

"Of course," the bespectacled advisor nodded as he slipped out of the booth and made his way towards the counter. Having ordered all of the requested drinks, including his own iced Ebony, he swiftly made his way back to the booth. In the short time he was away, it appeared that Prompto and Karina had settled into a game of I-spy.

"I-spy with my little eye something beginning with… M!" Prompto cheered. Karina visibly perked up at the sight of her tall glass of cool milk.

"Milk! Yummy, yummy milk!" Karina clapped her hands together in excitement, and Ignis cracked a smile when Prompto clapped along with the young girl, a huge grin on the blond's lips at the sight of the happy child. Ignis had to admit- the girl was adorable, even in her unkempt state.

Ignis placed each drink before their respective owners before settling down and taking a sip of his own cool coffee. Suppressing a groan of satisfaction, Ignis glanced at the little girl in his presence and frowned at her obvious shyness. She hadn't touched her drink, despite her excitement at seeing it arrive to the table. Prompto sipped at his lemonade and tilted his head in curiosity.

"What's up Kari?" Ignis raised his eyebrows at the new nickname but remained silent, curious to hear the child's answer.

"I made a mistake…" the girl mumbled sadly, her thumbs twiddling in her lap.

"A mistake?" Ignis inquired.

Karina stared up at Ignis, alarming the tactical advisor with unshed tears in her eyes.

"I forgot to say I w-w-wanted ch-chocolate m-m-milk," Karina sobbed quietly, her tears cascading down her grimy cheeks. Prompto gasped and shot an alarmed look at Ignis, who had quickly retrieved some napkins from the holder on the table. Leaning forward, Ignis gently wiped away the girl's tears, an amused smile on his face.

"Is that all? That can be easily remedied my dear. Prompto, could you resolve the milk situation while I take Karina to the bathroom to freshen up? She's a little out of sorts right now." Prompto blinked before standing up quickly to take action.

"I can do that! See ya soon Kari!" Prompto called cheerily before bounding toward the counter. Ignis gazed at the child huddled in her seat made his way over to her side of the booth. Seeing the girl sniffling quietly in her seat, Ignis lifted the surprisingly light girl into his arms and set out for the public restroom with plenty of napkin in his pocket.

"Come now, how about we clean up those tears, hm?" Ignis quietly spoke into the child's ear as he cradled her in his arms. There was something so familiar and gentle about the child, he couldn't help but amount all the care he could upon her. He felt like… there was no one else in the world for her but himself.

Ignis frowned at his strange thoughts and shook his head, entering the restroom and seating Karina at the edge of the basin counter. The small girl's sniffling receded a small amount, but was still present when the bespectacled man ran cool water over the napkins he'd taken from their table. Moving to wipe the girl's face, Ignis' frown deepened at the matted state of her light brown hair.

Wispy locks that looked very similar in colour to his own.

The tactical advisor shook his head and continued his task of cleaning the girl the best he could with what he had on hand. Too engrossed in his task, he failed to notice the girl's gaze settled intently on his own eyes. Curiously, the girl reached out a hand and poked Ignis' cheek as if she were checking that he was real. Ignis drew back in alarm at the contact, his inquisitive gaze on the girl's face.

"Is anything the matter?" Ignis asked, slightly confused at Karina's wide eyed expression. The girl shook her head and leaned backwards, retracting her hand from his face.

"I want mama," she spoke, her voice somewhat defeated. Ignis frowned and brought a wet napkin to the girl's grubby hands and began to gently wipe them clean, one chubby finger at a time. He blatantly ignored the fresh tears that had begun to stream down Karina's face. He had no idea what he could say that could comfort the child- he didn't even know whether the lady Gladiolus and Noctis went to retrieve was in fact the child's mother. "I want my mama!" the girl shouted suddenly, causing Ignis to accidentally squeeze the girl's small fingers too hard as a result of his startle. Karina's sobs grew louder as she fought against Ignis' hold to slide off the counter she was seated at. "You're a meanie! I want the magic lady! I want Mister Prompto! I don't like you!" Ignis' eyes widened at the child's emphatic declaration, followed by a small shove that would have usually been too weak to move him. However, he felt a bolt of hurt strike through his being as Karina cried loudly, running out of the bathroom and back towards the diner.

Ignis glanced down at the dirty napkins that lay scrunched up on the basin with a sigh.

She wasn't his responsibility, and he's done the best he could with her- he was looking forward to getting back on the road once Gladio and Noctis had retrieved the girl's caretaker. He didn't have the patience for this. He had a prince to look after- an inconsequential little girl was just an unnecessary distraction.

Ignis balled up the wet napkins into one projectile before throwing it seamlessly into the grimy waste bin in the corner of the rest room.

He heaved another deep sigh. He had better things to do than clean up after a sensitive little girl. Yet, a part of him couldn't help but feel he had some kind of responsibility towards the girl with the familiar eyes.

"You sure this is it?" Noctis frowned, scanning the camp area for any signs of life. Gladiolus grunted as he vaulted himself up onto the ledge Noctis had just ungracefully clambered onto. Seeing his shield's display of athleticism, the prince rolled his eyes light heartedly. "Show off."

Gladiolus smirked slightly as he joined the search for the 'magic lady'.

"Take my up on my morning training sessions and you'll be rocking mad skills like me too," Gladio retorted. Noctis merely shook his head at the suggestion.

"I would rather get in another hour's rest thanks," Gladio snorted at Noctis' reply.

"Right, wouldn't want you to get ugly- your boyish good looks seem to be your only redeeming feature." Gladio responded dryly. Before Noctis could reply back indignantly, Gladio held up his hand and shot Noctis a look which demanded the prince to remain quiet. "Do you hear that? In the distance?" Noctis frowned and shook his head, not having heard what Gladio was referring to.

"Daemons?" Noctis took a wild guess. The royal shield rolled his eyes and shook his head before pointing at his ears.

"Use your super special royal ears, princess. It's a woman- probably the kid's 'magic lady'." Noctis ignored Gladio's sarcastic jibe and tried to be still so he could listen closely. He knew having his earphones blasted high was not a good idea.

Noctis almost gave up on hearing the voice until a feint sound travelled into his ears.

"Karina! Karina, where are you? Oh please, don't be hurt…" Noctis' eyes widened at the familiar voice. Meeting gazes with Gladio, Noctis realised that he wasn't hallucinating as Gladio's dark eyes widened in recognition.

"Don't tell me… the magic lady's-"

"LUNA?!" Noctis yelled suddenly, his feet carrying him quickly in a run towards the source of the voice. Cursing under his breath. Gladiolus followed behind the reckless prince.

"Damn it, Noct! Shut up, you're going to wake the daemons!" Noctis ignored Gladio's reprimands and continued to run. It was Luna, it had to be! Noctis's hopeful look turned solemn as he quickened his pace. Was Luna hurt? Why did she have that child with her? Who was that child? Was she related to Luna? Noctis gulped in the arid night air of the desert as he willed his tiring legs to keep running.

"Noctis?!" Luna's voice sounded like it was close. Stopping momentarily, Noctis scanned the darkness before himself before he flicked on his torch. Gladio followed suit and moved to stand beside the prince.

"Sounds like she might be behind those rocks over there," Gladio pointed towards a cluster of small boulders nearby and Noctis didn't wait for further instruction before he sped off towards the source of Luna's voice.

"Luna, are you hurt?" Noctis called out, wincing at how ragged his voice sounded. Gladio couldn't help but chuckle as he pulled a potion out of his pants pocket, just in case. As the two men rounded around the rock, their eyes met the sight of Lady Lunafreya Nox Fleuret, in her tattered white royal garb, curled in on herself with a small shield of light surrounding her. Her skin looked clammy and pink due to over-exposure to the hot desert sun. Noctis gasped quietly at the sight of his usually strong Luna. When they were younger, she had seemed so indestructible… so capable of taking care of others- he's always assumed she knew exactly how to take care of herself too.

The sight before him hinted at the fact that his initial thoughts about her self-care had not been true at all.

"Noctis!" the blonde finally looked up at the man who was now beside her with hopeful eyes. "You should have been in Altissia by now." Luna frowned suddenly. Noctis sighed and rested a tentative hand on Luna's bare shoulder, where the decorative pauldron on her royal attire had ripped off. Noctis raised his eyebrows in question at her appearance.

"What happened to you?" At that simple question, Luna's eyes dimmed. Averting her gaze, Luna stared at Noctis' body guard with eyes full of sorrow.

"The Empire attacked the Citadel. Insomnia has fallen." Luna summarised the happenings of the past forty-eight hours vaguely, avoiding any mention of the king. She felt Noctis tense next to her as his hulking shield stepped forward, his eyes filled with rage, confusion and… was that sorrow?

"Here's not the place to talk about this. Drink this princess, then get on my back. We're going to get back to Hammerhead and then we all need to talk." Luna's eyes widened in alarm as she shook her head.

"No! I can't go with you! I lost a little girl while I was resting-" before Luna could finish her panicked plea, Gladiolus uncapped the potion and thrust it gently into the princess' hands.

"Don't worry- she's safe. She's in Hammerhead with the others. Now drink up, we've gotta go before we get ambushed by the big ones." Luna's shoulders loosened as she processed Gladio's news. Karina was safe- thank goodness! Luna nodded in thanks before she gulped down the potion in haste. Feeling her energy increase incrementally, Luna shakily brought herself to her feet with the help of a very quiet Noctis. Still refusing to look at him, in case she lost her composure there and then, Luna merely reached out to squeeze the prince's forearm in a show of comfort before she approached Gladio's side.

"Let's go…" Luna offered a strained smile. Gladio nodded, returning the awkward smile before he lowered himself, allowing Luna to cling onto his shoulders. Luna flushed slightly at the strong man's hands clasped at the undersides of her knees, hauling her up and securing her high on his back.

"You comfortable up there?" Gladio asked calmly, as if he were regularly in the business of giving royal women piggy-back rides. Luna heard Noctis sigh in frustration before she felt Gladiolus move forward slowly.

"Um, yes. I am fine. Thank you, Gladiolus." Noctis scoffed at Luna's formal manner.

"You're riding the man's back- call him Gladio." Luna flushed brighter as she glanced at an obviously peeved Prince- no- King Noctis.

"You know, if you'd just wake up a little earlier and train with me, you could have been the one carrying your dear fiancé to safety," Gladio teased, attempting to lighten the atmosphere. Luna glanced at Noctis and almost smiled at Noctis' endearing pout.

"Shut up Gladio, not everyone can be Titan's human replica." Gladio's shoulders moved up and down in a forced laugh.

"Ha… runt." Luna smiled sadly at what was supposed to be humorous banter. The two men in her company were troubled by her declaration, and rightly so. The implications of her statement did not fall on deaf ears. She didn't have to say it out loud- both of the men in her company knew they had both lost fathers. They were just trying to be strong until they reached safety.

Still, Luna couldn't help but feel a little elated despite the despondent news she had to report once they arrived at Hammerhead. Karina was safe, and whilst two men lost their fathers, Karina may have possible just found her own.

Luna couldn't help the small face that painted itself across her lips despite the sombre atmosphere around her. Karina had found her family. Now Luna only had one more job to do- hand The Ring of the Lucii to the new King.

The Tenebrae native royal glanced at the raven haired prince and found her smile faltering as she watched his tired gait. He was barely a man, remnants of his childlike features clinging to him both physically and psychologically. He was still so young…

Luna frowned and felt the pocket which harboured the dark ring grow heavier with its impending burden upon the prince.

Not yet, Luna thought as she shut her eyes tight, not just yet.