UNDER KINGSGLAIVE TRAINING.
CHAPTER 6
On her Way to the Future.
Warning: we´re returning a few hours from the last chapter, to see what happened in that room before Nyx arrived. The italics mean thoughts and sometimes that there´s a flashback. Hope I don´t confuse you too much.
ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooooooo
Lightning was getting annoyed. She was dying out of sleepiness, but couldn´t complain much. Serah was sound asleep on her bed, while poor Crowe was bobbing her head on the sofa, doing her best effort to keep herself awake, barely remembering her job of first keeping a teenager´s eyes wide open, according to doctor´s orders. Dawn had come upon them, and Lightning had been waiting for it like never before in her life. The doctor would soon tell her she could go, and the first thing she wanted to do was sleep.
But she had promised Nyx they would go to the training grounds. As much as she had loved the idea of starting her training soon enough, she was regretting the decision now. Her mind felt numb, she didn´t think she could take a step and not fall asleep right there and then.
But she had promised Nyx. Thus, she had to be strong, so that the moron wouldn´t change his mind: she´d have to make the effort and not leave him any other choice but to start her training right away.
She yawned, and took a look at her bed, at the bundle of sheets beside her: Serah was curled up, sound asleep, taking all the sheets and blanket in her tossing. Lightning didn´t mind, they had always slept that way, and besides, she shouldn´t be sleeping anyways. The taller pinkette finally decided to get off of her bed and walk around the room, least her exhaustion got the best of her.
She heard a sudden knock on the door and prayed to Etro they had decided to let her go earlier.
"Come in."
But instead of the doctor or any of the nurses, a man dressed like a Kingsglaive entered, followed closely by a woman with eyes closed and long black hair, entering next someone Lightning would´ve never thought she'd find right in front of her. At least not this soon.
Lunafreya Nox Fleuret, Crown Princess of Tenebrae, and most importantly, Eos´s most powerful Oracle, stood in all her glory in front of the young pinkette.
With the Oracle appearing so suddenly in front of her, Lightning immediately understood the time she had dread so much had finally come. She had actually been expecting her, knew her destiny was to meet her… but she still had hoped she could have more time…
The Kingsglaive spoke first. "Good morning child. Are you Lightning F…?"
But before he could finish his question, the Princess walked purposefully towards the teen, silencing the man with emotion behind her voice.
"Yes, yes she is." Her eyes shone with a spark that Lightning couldn´t place. Happiness and sadness combined ignited the light behind the woman's blue orbs. "I remember her eyes… and her hair."
Lightning scoffed. "Yeah, I know, it´s quite the rare treat. People always say that."
Luna chose to ignore her comment full of irony and addressed her Kingsglaive. "You can leave us now, wait at the car. We´ll meet you there soon enough." The man bowed at her and turned around, while the Princess walked eagerly towards the teen. She was a couple of steps away from the teen, and, hesitantly at first, raised a hand as if to touch her hair.
"May I…?"
Lightning didn´t know what passed through her mind, she was never one to let people touch her, but for a reason unknown to her, she allowed the princess to do as she pleased.
And why the hell not? I´m already bound to her life.
The blonde passed her fingers through the delicate pink tresses, making Lightning shiver at the touch. And then, without asking for permission, the princess embraced her, so tightly, that she hurt the teens´ ribs. But Lightning allowed her to do and prevented herself from emitting any sound of pain. The hug lasted but a second, and, as if realizing her mistake, Luna released the pinkette and gave a step backward, still appraising her.
"I´m sorry for disturbing you and your… sister? Like that." Lightning nodded, still silent. "I promise I´ll be quick, so we don´t raise the child from her sweet sleep." Luna´s smile grew wider, as if in awe at the girl in front of her. "If you allow me to be honest with you, there was a moment I thought the vision was wrong, and I wouldn´t get to meet you. And yet, at the dawn of our promised journey, here you are."
Lightning didn´t know what to say to that, so she took another look at Serah, and chose to keep her silence. Fortunately, Serah was a heavy sleeper, not a single sound would wake her up. Finally, the Princess gave her a last smile and turned around, walking a few steps away from her, as if to stop breaking her bubble and leaving the girl a moment of respite. Gentiana at that moment stood straighter as if sensing something, and Luna immediately looked at her. The brunette nodded and, without a word, stepped out of the door, leaving the girl, the princess and the sleeping pair alone in the room.
"So, you know why I am here?" Luna asked.
Lightning nodded slowly.
"How do you know? If you allow me to ask."
The teen felt hesitant at first but decided that sharing her knowledge with the Oracle herself, was the best thing to do.
"There was a woman who came to me during a dream. A dream I had the very day my parents died. She… she told me I should find you. She told me you were my destiny, showed me… things… images… of a horrible future…"
Lightning's voice faded a tad, and Luna nodded slowly, understanding the teen's doubts. She had seen the vision too, had trembled upon it. She couldn't fathom the effect of such omen could have over the soul of an innocent girl.
Or maybe she could…
At that moment Crowe moved, breaking their conversation; the brunette yawned and opened her eyes slowly, obviously resistant at abandoning her sleep; the moment the Kingsglaive took notice of the Princess, though, she immediately stood up only to kneel in front of the woman, and brought her hand towards her chest, startling Lightning and Lunafreya.
"Your Highness."
"I´m sorry we disturbed you." Luna apologized, aware their voices must´ve awakened the exhaust Kingsglaive.
"No! On the contrary, I´m sorry I wasn´t aware of your presence before. What can I do for you?"
"At ease, Kingsglaive. I came to talk to your young friend."
"W-with L-Light? But why…?"
The princess smiled sweetly at the startled woman, trying to appease her, and directed her eyes towards the pinkette once again, a movement that made Crowe understand she was in the middle of an intimate conversation. One that she hadn't been invited, so she stood in silence, allowing the scene in front of her to unfold without interruption.
"I´m sorry I kept you waiting, Lightning, and didn't come sooner to meet you. You already know what must be done, and I´m sorry to say it´s something I cannot change, no matter how hard I try. But I came here for a proposition, too. To help make you stronger, so that you can face that destiny with everything there´s for the world to offer."
Lightning´s delicate eyebrow rose. "What do you mean?"
"We, my husband and I, that is, will make a trip all around Eos, helping the victims of the war, and stopping all the Niflheim troops we find on our way. But it´s a very dangerous trip, so we´ll try to be as discrete about it as we can, thus, we´re only taking a few of the Crownsguard with us. I thought you would like to train with them, get to know them and acquire the best they can give you in matters of knowledge and ability, to prepare you for war. They are the best of the best, after all. What do you say?"
Lightning blinked at the proposition, staring at the princess, not knowing what to say. She was well aware she couldn't refuse. The Princess was her destiny, her future, and Lightning had already come to terms with that destiny, came to accept it. But still, there were a few things that made her hesitate.
"My… my sister…" Lightning turned to look at the small beauty still sound asleep on her bed. "I don´t want to leave her alone."
"It would be only a matter of months, we´ll be returning from time to time and you could see her during those moments, I…"
"No."
The harsh voice stopped the princess' explanation. Lightning´s eyes were hard, full of determination.
"I´m not leaving my sister behind. It´s the only condition I gave the woman in order to accept my future. I´ll die willingly if Serah gets to live a good and long life. If you want me to go with you, you´ll have to take Serah with us."
Luna blinked at her blunt words. "The vision doesn´t precisely mean you´ll lose your life."
"You´re a better interpreter than I am, I´ll give you that, but I´m pretty sure that´s what the woman showed me."
"Goddess Etro." Luna corrected the girl.
"What?"
"It was the Goddess Etro the one showing you that vision. I saw her too. I saw you talking to her as clear as you're talking to me now."
Lightning blinked twice at the revelation but recovered fast. "Well, whatever. I made a pact with her. And there are things I won´t change from that pact. And that includes my sister´s involvement in it."
Luna hesitated for a moment, looking at the small bundle of sheets again. This wasn´t a trip made for children. They would be risking their lives, and the battles and situations would be hard on their bodies and minds. The idea was to clear their minds and souls, to gain the Astral´s favor, and having a child on board would only put more stress on their souls. Then again, if that was the only condition the girl would be asking, she could always ask Gentiana to see for the child during the rough moments, and in case something was to happen to her.
"Alright, your sister will come with us. While you train with the Crownsguard, I´ll see Gentiana teaches your sister the way of seeing for herself, so that you won´t need to worry."
"I´d like that."
"Another thing you would like to make arrangements about?"
"Amodar."
"Oh, yes, your Godfather." This time Luna smiled, having anticipated such a request. "You shouldn´t worry about him, though; as we speak, Prince Noctis is convincing him too, of letting you go. In case you say yes, of course."
Lightning hesitated a bit. "He´s not an easy man."
"Fret not. Noct took his best advisor for the task, and the man is of high intelligence. I´m completely positive he´ll know how to draw a yes from your godfather." She winked at her. "Anything else?"
"My… my coach."
"What about him?"
"I had promised him we´d train together. I´ve fought so hard for his approval, I wouldn´t want to leave him just like that."
"Who is your couch?"
"Nyx Ulric."
Lunafreya visibly paled but recovered fast.
"You want him to come… with us?"
"No. But I know he´s been asking for a training for himself, one that has been denied for the sake of someone less deserving. The favor I ask of you is that you make sure he gets that training. He deserves it. Or maybe he doesn´t, but I owe him that much. He did save my life, after all."
Luna smiled at the teen. For her actions, she already knew the girl had a strong-willed and determined personality. But she hadn´t been aware of such a kind heart beating on her chest. The Oracle of Eos had no doubts anymore. She had found the right person.
"You´re a good girl, Lightning."
At that moment, Luna´s cell phone rang. She picked it up and smiled.
"Clarus, I´m so glad to hear from you. Yes, we found her, it is her, thank you so much for the heads up. I´m on that process, but actually, it was perfect of you to call at this moment, because I´ve got a favor to ask."
While the princess talked, Lightning finally met Crowe´s eyes, ones full of astonishment, and a tint of sadness.
"So… you´re leaving us." It wasn´t much of a question than a statement.
Lightning looked down, she didn´t know why but she felt ashamed. Ashamed of leaving them behind, now that they had become friends.
Crowe smiled, still awed at these little people getting attached so easily and so fast to her, Nyx and Libertus. And they to them.
"We are gonna miss you, and your sister."
In spite of herself, Lightning smiled but tried to hide it with a smirk. "I still haven't said yes, you know?"
Crowe scoffed, her own attempt at easing the tension. "We both know you'll eventually say yes."
Lightning didn't know how to answer to that. Everything was still so weird for her. And Crowe didn't push the issue any further. She understood the teen's confusion. They stood in silence for a few minutes while the princess talked, neither of them able to say anything else. Crowe knew she didn´t have the right to ask, but in a short span of time, she had developed quite the attachment to Lightning. To both Farron sisters. She was impressed to know she would be sad once the girls left their lives. And Crowe didn´t want to think what their leaving would do to the boys…
And Lightning… well…
"It´s done." The princess finally emerged from her conversation. "You shouldn´t worry anymore about Nyx. We have the permission from the King himself for this training. Will you have an answer already?"
Lightning sighed, hesitant. "How much time do I have before I give you a response?"
"Unfortunately, there isn´t much time. We are scheduled to leave today in the evening, in order to hit our first meeting point at dusk. So, I need you to answer me at noon, in order to make the arrangements for both of you. I´m sorry, darling."
Lightning opened her eyes wide. She had only hours! She had less than a day to decide! She was about to say something, when another voice, outside the door, interrupted her.
"For your information, that´s my pupil inside, so I´m entitled to know. What is the Princess doing there? And with Lightning?"
Nyx had arrived and was obviously mad at being left outside. The three women looked at each other, all of them knowing how a flustered Nyx would behave.
"I-I think I should go and try to appease this problem." The princess said to both of them and gave Lightning a card.
"This is my phone number. Please, as soon as you come to a decision, let me know so that I can make the arrangements we need for you both. I really hope your answer is a positive one." She smiled one last time and went out to save both of her friends from a serious confrontation.
oooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooo
Five hours after their meeting with the Princess, Crowe stormed inside Nyx´s apartment, fuming, never feeling so angry before. At least not at her best friend. And her anger peaked impossible altitudes the moment she found him lying on his sofa.
Completely drunk.
And still drinking.
"What the hell do you think you´re doing?"
Already sluggish, he raised his half-closed eyes to find his fuming friend and smiled a lopsided smile.
"Hello there, sister! Nice to see you in this fine day in the life of a loser such as me."
Crowe rolled her eyes at his drama. "I´ll ask again, what do you think you´re doing?"
He turned around, mockingly raising his bottle of wine.
"Having a chat with a best friend, here. Hello bottle, would you drown my heart to the bottom, please?"
At his antics, she finally exploded. "You left us at the hospital, Nyx, and didn´t even appear on the training grounds, Pelna had to cover for you."
"He´s the best already." He huffed at the name.
"But you´re the one who´s going to go to the advanced training programs, wasn´t that what you wanted?"
He allowed his head to fall on the couch as if a ragged doll.
"I just want to die."
The brunette had had enough of him. "Oh c´mon, Nyx! It´s just a woman who broke your heart. Big deal. Get over it already and stand up! We´ve got a car to catch."
He stood up slightly at her words. "You heard Gentiana?"
"Of course I did! Everybody heard her! Including Lightning."
But instead of reacting at her words, his eyes started to fill with unshed tears, but he forced them back, as his hand, the one without the bottle, clutched at his chest.
"I feel my heart broken, Crowe, I do feel it; it´s a physical pain, like something stabbing my chest, as if there were a heavy rock pressing against it, not letting me breathe."
Crowe rolled her eyes again, but his words had touched the sensitive part of her, even if just a little, and she approached her friend, trying to comfort him. And failing miserably.
"You´re just being silly, and I´m getting tired of your stupidity. You accuse Princess Lunafreya of breaking your heart, but did you know today you broke a young girl´s heart? Lightning was waiting so eagerly for you, and she actually saw you coming in. Only to watch her stupid couch leaving us behind." The more she spoke, the woman became angrier and angrier. "You broke your promise to her, and it had to be me, instead of you, the one accompanying her to render her declaration. Mind you, she was beyond sad for that."
"Did she cry?"
She scoffed at that while collecting the empty bottles lying scattered on the floor. "She certainly didn´t. You know her better than that. She just scoffed and said 'you were the greatest moron she´s ever met'."
In spite of his heartache, he smiled at that. "I´m getting the feeling she´s liking that name more every day. But fret not, if she didn´t cry, she´s not heartbroken." He covered his eyes with a hand, trying to hide them from the light.
A hard pillow embedded itself on his face.
"Hey!"
When he looked at Crowe, he recoiled a little, never having seen such a furious expression on her face.
"Don´t be a prick! You truly broke her heart! She spent the whole night waiting for you, telling me her plans with you, and BAM! You just left her there!"
But her words were met with less than she expected. "It would seem I´m good at disappointing the women of my life."
A splash of cold wine fell on his face. The cold liquid suddenly attacking him made him finally stand up from his position.
"Damn it, Crowe! What´s wrong with you?"
"You´re what´s wrong with me! You´re just a moron, Nyx Ulric. And a drama queen. But you´re right, you always disappoint your women, just like you´ve disappointed me a lot of times before. But you know what? I´m still stuck with you because I believe that, behind all that hero crap and loads of guilt you still carry with you, there´s a guy who cares for the people truly, and who would do anything for those he loves."
He finally confronted his friend, her words and his level of intoxication allowing all the pain he had been holding to come out at that moment, as he seated on the sofa, his posture hunched. "I didn't know, Crowe, how could I ever know the Princess had feelings for me? Now I lost her forever… and now I hurt Lightning…" He covered his eyes with the base of his palms. "That little lady doesn´t deserve to be hurt by someone as low as me."
Crowe´s glare softened a bit. "The Princess is out of your reach now, you lost her for being a clueless idiot, alright. But you gotta stop disappointing the people who love you, or who at least care about you. And you can start with a pretty little girl whose heart you recently broke."
But Nyx didn´t move, so she sighed, reaching for the door.
"Lightning is leaving today. In case you want to know." She closed the door with a bang.
ooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooo
Lightning and her sister were sitting on a bench near the entrance of the Royal Garage. Four dark walls framed the imposing statues of the Ancient Lucii Kings, that, even as magnificent as they were, gave the whole ambiance a rather gothic and dark feeling, making Serah feel the chills every time she took a glance at the looming figures, that being the reason why she was clinging to her sister´s arm rather desperately. But Lightning didn´t mind. In fact, she was too preoccupied with the absence of someone in the garage, to notice her sister's plight.
Nyx had run away from her at the hospital. And Lunafreya was to blame. Lightning had been so mad at him, she had immediately called Luna and accepted her proposition. But now she yearned for her mentor to at least come and say goodbye to them.
But as time went by without any sign of him, Lightning had started to lose all hope, while she kept glancing at the entrance of the enormous garage. The preparations for their departure were being set, people moving all around them, shouting and carrying things, while she just sat, one hand grasping tightly Serah´s hand, and one grabbing her personal belongings, their baggage already on the car. At that moment, the powerful machine of the supercharged Audi R8, the famous Star of Lucis, roared to life, startling the small pinkette sitting beside the teen. Said pinkette stared again fearfully at the four enormous statues surrounding them, her eyes frightful, as she searched for the other girl´s comfort.
"I don´t like it here, Claire, when will Nyx come?"
The taller pinkette rolled her eyes and huffed, her grimace intensifying at the mention of the name.
"You should already know he´s not coming, Serah."
"But he promised he´d come to save me!" The little girl retorted angrily.
"Well, he promised me, too, a lot of things, and he just broke that promise."
"But he said he would save me if I need it to, and I need him now!"
Lightning grew even more annoyed, and without wanting to, she snapped at her sister.
"Just shut up, Serah! Life is like that; people lie to you and break their promises all the time. You should already know that. He lied to both of us, he doesn´t care about you nor me, so stop being a child and suck it up!"
Serah said nothing more, but her eyes started to fill with silent tears, while Lightning huffed again, and took a last glance at the entrance, and this time she promised to herself she wouldn´t look back anymore.
That prick, he doesn´t deserve it.
"How are you doing, girls? Serah, what´s wrong?" Princess Lunafreya approached the siblings and kneeled in front of them, cleaning the little girl´s tears with her thumbs.
In between sniffs, Serah spoke. "Nyx promised me he would protect me if I needed him, but he´s not coming even to say goodbye." Her words elicited a huff from her sister, and Luna looked intently at them both, her chest feeling suddenly heavy; she sat next to the younger pinkette and held her to her breasts, trying her best to comfort her; Serah complied to the movement but never let go of her sister´s hand.
"I´m sure he was dying to come and say goodbye, baby girl, but he´s a very busy man. Something must´ve come out for him."
"Yeah, like a bottle of beer, must surely." The teenager spoke, irony mixed with hurt in her voice.
On behalf of Serah, Luna was going to protest at her harsh words, but sighed, not really knowing what to say, and she, too, glanced at the entrance.
Oh, Nyx! You´ve already broken my heart; please, I beg you, spare the hearts of these two beautiful girls. Don´t teach them yet how horrible this world can be.
The moment the Regalia started its engine, it brought the three girl´s sight towards it, as four males, accompanied by Amodar, approached their bench. Noctis Lucius Caelum, the Crown Prince of Lucis, stepped in front of them all, a big smile on his face; he took Luna´s hand to help her stand, and then kissed her knuckles softly. Said young woman smiled too at the look of pure devotion of her husband and best friend, feeling a tinge of happiness lifting her spirit. If just a bit.
"Are you ready, girls?" He crouched in front of the pinkettes and addressed the Princess and the two siblings with what was unintentionally his most charming smile. He was just too excited to hit the road again.
"Lightning, Serah, please allow me to introduce you to Prince Noctis. He´ll be riding in the car ahead of us during the journey."
"Nice to meet you, girls; I´ll be your royal escort for the next months. If that´s okay with you."
Serah´s face had been full of tears, but at the mention of the word 'prince', her countenance immediately brightened up.
"A-are you really a prince?"
His smile grew wider. "Yes, little one. I might not look like it, but I am a prince. The prince of this city."
He extended his hand to greet Serah, who gladly took it, but as he extended his hand towards Lightning, she kneeled in front of him instead, her hand over her chest, in a fashion much similar to what she had seen Crowe do in front of the Princess.
"It´s a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness."
Luna and Noctis blinked in surprise at her action, but the latter recovered first and, taking advantage of his already crouching position, took the girl by the hand, forcing her to look at him.
"I´ve been told you´re going to train with us while we travel, is that correct?"
Lightning hesitated, eyeing Luna wearily. "Y-yes, your highness… if that´s okay with you, I mean. I´d like to become a Crownsguard."
He smiled further at her words. "You´re very much welcome in our parrying sessions, but there is something you need to understand first. We are going to travel a lot of time together, and you´re going to be one of the closest members of our party, closest to my wife. So, I want you to be more than a trainee, or a Crownsguard, I want you to be one of her best friends so that you´ll be able to protect her with everything you are. That said, please, these demonstrations are not necessary among friends."
Lightning gave him a bewildered look. His words were confusing to no end.
"But I already promised I´d give my life to her if need be. I don´t need to befriend her in order to do that."
He smiled at her logic, and stood up, dragging her along with him.
"You are right, you don´t have to, but with us, it doesn´t work like that. I´m begging you, your Prince, to befriend her, because just think about it, wouldn´t it be more enjoyable if you travel for fun, rather than for work? I´ve never liked to travel with my staff, I rather enjoy the ride with my friends. And the members of my Crownsguard are my best friends. And now, you´re part of the Crownsguard too." She blinked in surprise, and Noctis laughed; he then turned, gesturing the other three men to approach. "Let me introduce you to my own best friends forever. That blonde with the chirpy attitude is Prompto, the huge man is Gladiolus," Noctis flexed a little by the waist so that he was level with the pinkette in order to whisper in her ear, "don´t let him scare you. He can kill a behemoth all by himself, but he becomes a pudding whenever he is around girls, he´s actually a rather nice guy." Lightning smiled at the information, and satisfied, Noctis straightened up and continued the introductions. "And the one with the glasses is Ignis, my great advisor. These are the people that would give their life for mine. But also, the people I would give my life for." Prompto and Gladiolus waved and smiled at them, but Ignis got closer to the two sisters and kneeled in front of Lightning.
"Hello there, I´m Ignis Scientia, it´s very nice to meet you, Lady Lightning."
"I-Ignis? Your name is Ignis?"
"Yes, it is, it´s a pleasure to meet someone as beautiful as the name implies." The man smiled widely at her, and took one of her hands, brushing her knuckles with his lips, the action making Lightning blush madly, and Serah to look forlorn. Luna giggled at the girls´ reactions, while she took her place at Noctis side.
"Emh… am I missing something?" Asked the prince at their exchange, eliciting another giggle.
"Do you know what Ignis means?"
"Does it mean something?"
"Yes," said Gentiana, approaching the group. "It means 'Lightning' in Latin."
For a moment, Noctis remained silent, until an 'O' formed on his mouth.
"So, you mean our magnificent Iggy is named after a girl?" Prompto was the one asking, and snickered, accompanied by Gladiolus and Noctis, eliciting a roll of the eyes from the Princess and the High Messenger, who decided to break their foolishness and addressed the Royal Couple.
"It´s time to go, Your Highnesses, lest we risk being on the road once night falls."
Luna nodded at her, and extended a hand towards Amodar, who had been witnessing their exchange, silent the whole moment, must surely already feeling the weight of their departure. She took both of the man´s hands, trying her best to be comforting.
"I know you love these girls as if they were your own, so I´m truly thankful to you, for giving us the opportunity to raise such fine children. Though I can´t make sure of Lightning´s safety, I at least can promise you with all my heart I´ll see they are nurtured properly and happily."
He gave her a hesitant smile, trying his hardest to control his gurgling emotions. "I know the only way they could be in better hands would be if they were with their parents. Since that´s impossible, I´ll be forever in your debt, your Highness, for giving them the life they deserve and that I can´t give them." He brushed his lips upon her knuckles and went to collect his girls; the tall man kneeled in front of them, giving them a last, body-crushing hug that made the two girls groan but made Serah giggle, and that still managed to draw a smile from Lightning. Once he let them go, he caressed both girl´s cheeks.
"Now hear me out you two, you must prove them the Farron House is one of the brightest houses all around Eos. You are your parent´s gift to the world, I know you won´t let them down, but I still can threaten you in case you even think of doing it. They´re watching you from above, so better behave. And remember I´ll always find out all the mischiefs you both do, and then you´ll have to face me each time you return home. Got that?" Both girls nodded, Serah already with tears in her eyes again, but though Lightning´s face told him she wanted to cry too, it impressed him how strong she was proving to be, being stronger than him holding up her tears. He was already shedding them.
"Okay, one last hug." He embraced them heartily, wanting to transmit all the love and worry he felt for them until Gentiana approached.
"It´s time, Amodar. I´m sorry."
He looked up at her and nodded, cleaning his eyes from tears as he stood up.
"Please, take good care of them. Lightning´s destiny is grime, but I know she´ll face it with a heart of stone."
"Of steel, Amodar." The High Messenger smiled sweetly at him. "I promise you I´ll make sure of that."
He nodded and stepped back, while the woman took both girl´s hands. As they walked towards the car, Lightning´s body tensed as she felt the impulse of searching one last time for Nyx, but forced herself to not look back, her chest tightening.
He didn´t come. The moron…
The Regalia, driven by Ignis and carrying the four young men, rolled first, followed closely by the Star of Lucis, where the little girl of the party was enjoying its luxuries, Serah already touching everything and hitting each button she could find. But Lightning´s eyes were fixed on the road that opened ahead of them, and unreadable expression on her face, one that Gentiana and Luna were concerned about. Both cars passed through the gates of the Royal grounds, and as the Regalia´s motor roared in anticipation, ready to hit the road faster, another roar and another sound reached the pinkette´s ears.
"Spaaarks! Spaaaaaarks!"
Lightning´s eyes opened wide in astonishment, and she looked frantically around her, startling her sister while searching for the source, but finding none.
"Sspaaaarks! Stoooop!"
The Star of Lucis took speed too, and the pinkette finally lowered the window and took her head and almost half of her body out of the car, Luna jumping at her and grabbing the girl´s coat lest she would fall off the window.
"Lightning! Wait!"
Lightning had to strain her position harder, but she could see them already. Libertus was driving a very old car, forcing its machine to the fullest, and had Crowe as a copilot, but the one making all the ruckus was none other than Nyx Ulric, whose body was halfway out of the window already, an exaggeration of her own position, yelling at her and waving a white cloth in his hand, while Libertus honked the car, both trying their hardest to call the attention of the driver.
"Spaaaaaarks! Please stoooop!"
"Stop the car…" Lightning said in a whisper, her face still void of emotion but her eyes gleaming with intensity.
"Spaaarks!"
Serah had found him too, and her face brightened up considerably.
"It´s Nyx! Princess Luna he came! I told you he´d come!"
Luna´s heart skipped a beat at the sight of him and felt herself glued to the floor of the car, refusing to meet the eyes of her brunette advisor.
There was a sudden explosion that startled everyone, and then dark and dense smoke started to come from the front of Libertu´s car, which lost speed in a fast and worrisome momentum. Lightning could see Nyx and Crowe screaming desperately to a very bewildered Libertus, who seemed to be pushing and pulling every button and lever, but their efforts proved to be futile. The car was losing speed and every fraction of a second left them further behind, Lightning immediately understood they were going to lose sight of them soon.
"Stop the car!" It was Lightning´s desperate voice commanding the driver, but he hesitated and looked at Luna through the rearview mirror. The woman only nodded, not trusting her own voice. The Star of Lucis finally stopped, and as the driver called the Regalia to let them know, Lightning immediately opened up the door and took a sprint towards the now-stalled old car. Nyx jumped outside the window, his desperation rendering him unable to wait and actually open the door; as soon as his feet touched the ground, he took his own sprint towards the pinkette. Lightning had been running at them, but at the sight of the man´s desperate efforts to reach her, she stopped abruptly, her eyes glaring at his approaching form rather ominously. Once the tall man got at her level, huffing at having to run that fast, she glared even more.
"I thought…" he tried a first time, panting, "I thought I wasn´t going… to make it."
"You are late and almost didn´t make it." She spoke with a rather rash tone, both hands balled into fists, her eyes glaring daggers at him.
"I know, I´m sorry, alright? The important thing is… I´m here, I managed it."
"I´m mad at you." She immediately spat at him, and he sighed, straightening his posture but lowering her head in shame.
"I know."
"You left me all alone in the hospital."
"You were with Crowe." He tried to diminish it with a wave of his hand, but his action only made her yell.
"But you had promised me something! And you broke that promise. You really don´t deserve to be here."
He sighed again, defeated, as he rubbed his neck with a hand. "I know."
"And you almost didn´t say goodbye today."
"I know, alright?" He finally spat too. "I know I´m a moron and I´m sorry, how many times do I have to tell you so that you believe me how truly sorry I am?"
Once his outburst was done, she remained silent for a moment. "You are a moron indeed."
"Yeah, we stated that already, didn´t we?"
She crossed her arms in front of her chest, creating another wall and making him flinch. "Why did you come here for, anyway?"
"To say goodbye to you, of course, and to give you this." He extracted a small package and offered it to her. Lightning hesitated at the look of it, and since she didn´t approach, Nyx opened the small box, letting the young girl see the beautiful pendant of a lightning bolt made of silver and onyx. For an unknown reason, he felt very nervous about her rejection and started sweating bullets. "I was going to give it to you once you returned to your usual training after the doctor gave his consent. I had wanted to make it in gold, but you know, it was too intricate, and the attendant said the cost would be too high and they couldn´t make it on time and I thought… well… besides that, I liked it too because it´s made of onyx, you know? Like Ó-Nyx…" He chuckled lightly at his own joke.
"Just shut up." She used her coldest voice, but her eyes shone fascinated as her fingers caressed softly the surface of the object. "It´s beautiful…" She almost said it with reverence and played it with her fingers once she took it as if checking out the way the light reflected off of it. Nyx felt elated the moment a small smile illuminated her features when she put the small pendant around her neck, but felt his heart melting when she looked up at him, eyes filled with tears that refused to fall.
"Oh… Light…"
But that was the only thing he could say, since the pinkette, out of nowhere, punched him in the gut, making him double over himself. The man fell on his knees while inhaling as deeply as he could.
"I guess… I deserved that…"
"No, you deserve more. But I like your present, so I´ll leave it at that." She said; in spite of her harsh words, the smile lingered on her face.
He looked up at her, still flexed by the waist. "We are even, then?"
She took a good look at his gift and smiled. "For the time being, yeah, I forgive you. Try not to mess it up too soon, though."
He held his hand towards her when a body hit him hard, crashing against him. Serah had finally reached them and gave the startled Glaive a hug so sweet it almost made him laugh, and almost made him fall.
"I knew you´d come! I knew you wouldn´t disappoint us!" Nyx´s chest felt tighter at her words, and he surrounded the tiny body with one arm, as if afraid he could break her.
"I´m sorry it took me so long to realize I should´ve been here with you starting this morning. But I won´t let you down ever again. I promise." The small pinkette partially let go of him to look him in the eye, eagerness and hopefulness like he had never seen before plastered on such a sweet face.
"Do you promise?"
"Yeah. I promise."
"Won´t you break that promise again?"
He took a glance at the teen. "No. I won´t break it ever again."
"Hey! Don´t forget about us!" Crowe and Libertus approached the group, the former giving Lightning a hug, Serah participating on it too. "Now you beautiful girls, be okay and behave. I want you to be happy, understood? Lightning, please, don´t train too hard: you have to let me teach you a few things before you become the best in your field."
Lightning chuckled. "I really can´t promise you that, Crowe, I´m supposed to become one of the bests already."
"Just don´t rush it, okay?" It was Libertus who intervened and took Serah for a hug. "Be a good girl, and take care of your sister, you know how stubborn she can be." His words made Serah giggle.
"I will!"
Libertus then looked at Lightning, and opened his arms wide, inviting her in.
"Do I deserve a hug this time?"
Lightning hesitated a bit, but with a sigh, she opened her arms too and allowed the big man to envelop her in his. But only for a moment.
"Hey! I want a hug too, Sparks!" It was Nyx the one protesting.
She glared at the man. "You´ll have to earn it."
He glared back. "Fine! But you´re giving me that hug once you return!"
"I said you´ll have to earn it. That means you´ll have to work for it once we both return."
He was about to retort when he noticed the Princess approaching, and his heart ran a hundred miles per hour. He stood up slowly, his eyes fixed on hers, and he noticed she was blushed, hesitant to approach him. He noticed, too, that she had never looked so beautiful before. When she stopped, meters away from him, and it seemed she wouldn´t advance any further, he gathered all his courage and spilled his heart right then and there.
"I did… Luna, I did feel about you like that. I´m sorry I let you think I didn´t but… I know I´ve been such a fantastic moron not to notice, not to search for that glimpse of hope… I was afraid, I guess, afraid you wouldn´t feel the same. Afraid to wake up and notice the princess would never fall in love with a mere bodyguard…"
"Nyx… I… I´m…"
"But I understand now… I really do…" He interrupted her because he didn´t want her to finish. He didn´t want to know they still had a possibility. The temptation would be too much for his heart. "I promise you, Luna…" Nyx noticed Crowe giving a step towards him, as well as seeing the form of the Prince coming out of his car. He had no time left. "I promise you, my Princess, even when I can´t love you the way you deserve to be loved, my heart will be yours forever. I´ll love you the way a Queen must be loved. With all of my life."
"N-Nyx… I´m…"
He broke eye contact and fixed his stare on the ground, refusing to meet her eyes again, least his strength would leave him and then he would kidnap the Princess out of an impulse, and take her to a faraway land where no one would ever find them. At the thought, he immediately closed his eyes and kneeled, forcing his raging mind to stay still, one hand on his chest; after a moment, his comrades imitated him at the sight of the Crown Prince reaching his wife´s side. His proximity made Nyx open his eyes to be fully aware of his presence. And of the way he stood so close to Luna´s side.
"Your Highness."
"At ease, Kingsglaives." It had been Noctis the one who spoke, his hand taking the smaller one of the Princess, Nyx immediately noticed. "I´m very grateful to you for taking care of these children. But I still have something more to ask of you. Please, don´t leave them alone. We´ll be returning a few months for each year, so I´m asking you to be there for them once we return. They´ll need friends and family waiting for them."
"You don´t need to ask this from us, your Highness." It was Nyx who spoke on behalf of them, standing up with his eyes fixed at the front, refusing to meet the prince´s eyes. Or the Princess'. "We´ll be here for them, or at least my brothers will be since I won´t be here for a couple of years. But I´ll make sure they´ll be taken care of properly every time they return home."
Noctis nodded at the man and turned to leave, but noticed the sight of the Princess lingering on the Kingsglaive, and his countenance became an unreadable mask; he gave a step closer to her as if trying to whisper to her ear.
"Do you want to tell them something, Luna?"
She was startled by his voice, and even though it was soft, almost condescending, she could perceive the tint of grievance in it. She hesitated for a moment, searching for Nyx´s eyes, whom still refused to look at her, and then she sighed, looking at her hand intertwined with her friend´s and husband.
"It´s okay, Noct. The things you said were more than enough." She finally looked up to see his blue eyes, steel behind her own. "I think we should go now." He understood and gave her a small smile that still had a thankful glitter behind it. He took advantage of their intertwined hands and brought her hand to his lips, kissing her fingers.
"Let´s go then." With that, he guided her towards the car, his hand on the small of her back. One that Nyx glared profusely at; he immediately berated himself over such feeling until someone punched him lightly on the chest.
"That´s what happens when an idiot falls in love with a princess. Didn´t you know?" Lightning was glaring at him, but now it lacked the animosity, and instead, there was this faint tint of empathy behind such glare. "You get your heart crushed to the ground. But don´t worry. You´ll get over her very soon."
"I´m not…"
She hit him again. "Don´t you dare deny it, or I´ll be mad at you again." He smiled at her words, keeping his mouth shut, and remained silent as both girls said their last goodbyes and reached the Princess, waved their hands and entered the fancy car, leaving the three Kingsglaives behind. And this time, Lightning´s smile was wider, and even remained in place, when facing the road that stretched for miles ahead of her.
ooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooo
A/N:
There´s one thing I´d like to clarify: Ignis means Fire in Latin, but while I was searching through the internet, I found a place where it related ignis to lightning, and I adored the relationship, imagining how would Iggy feel to know he had found someone who shared his name. Especially someone as fantastic as our Lightning. Don´t get your imagination too high, though, he´s not going to fall in love with her… probably. So, for the purpose of this fic, we´ll establish 'ignis' means 'lightning', is that okay with you?
Shootout to a wonderful friend of mine, whose words and cheer-ups are the reason I´m posting this baby with such regularity because her words awake my inspiration. Thank you, Andy Farron! For helping me with the encouragement and help! Without you, I think I´d still be in chapter 3!
Before I keep forgetting, I don´t own Final Fantasy nor am making any money out of this.