Under Kingsglaive Training

by denebtenoh

In order to fight a terrible destiny, Lightning is trying to become a Kingsglaive and has Nyx Ulric as her instructor. With the infamous temper these two have... whatever can go wrong?

11. Betting her life on a hunch

UNDER KINGSGLAIVE TRAINING.

CHAPTER 11

Betting her life on a hunch.

oooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooo

"A private meeting with General Amicitia? What is the meaning of this?" Drautos wasn´t worried, not at all, especially not for a little and stupid girl. He would never let someone so insignificant make him stressed out, and even less if it was about Nyx´s rebellious pupil. But, if he was honest with himself, everything seemed so very suspicious: to appear so suddenly, just as suddenly as the Crownsguard had appeared in the attack at Leide. It was way too odd to be just a coincidence, and the general didn´t believe in coincidences. This didn´t smell good. At all. As his steps hastened, his heels clicking furiously upon the marble floor and resonating through the ivory walls, he began to wonder whether he had a traitor among his ranks of traitors.

The general arrived at Clarus´s office, barking orders everywhere. "Let me through! I need to see general Amicitia immediately!"

The pair of soldiers blocking the entrance to the general´s office didn´t flinch at his demands.

"I´m sorry, Sir, General Amicitia ordered not to let anyone through. He said no exceptions."

The man barked further, his face close to the soldier´s, doing his best to look threatening. "Do you know who am I, soldier?!"

"General Titus Drautos, First Commander of the Kingsglaive Forces." The soldier responded, still without moving.

"Exactly! And I command you to let me through! Otherwise…"

But he couldn´t finish his sentence, since both soldiers pointed their weapons at the flustered man.

"The general´s orders were very precise. That said, step aside, Sir. Or we will have to arrest you for disobedience."

Drautos hesitated, as he saw steel determination in both men´s eyes. So, his orders were precise? He suddenly felt cold sweat running down his forehead. He already knew Noctis suspected him, but though he was the New King, his father was Regent, and he knew he still held Regis´s trust, so he was protected. For now.

"Fine! I´ll come back with the King! And then I´ll teach you both what obeying orders looks like!" Titus turned around, still yelling threats.

"As you say, Sir." The soldiers relaxed, but only a tad. They knew the man was well known for his stubbornness.

On the other side of the door, Lightning closed her eyes and smiled. Drautos had been yelling so loud they could easily hear their entire conversation. The general´s reaction proved, at least to her, that Noctis had been right all along and the man was guilty as charged.

"This doesn´t prove anything."

She opened her eyes and saw King Regis entering through a hidden door, his eyes fixed on her frame. General Amicitia was next to such door, sealing it immediately once the King passed through it. The young woman kneeled and bowed in front of the old man.

"My King."

Regis had a fond smile on his lips when he extended his hand to make her raise.

"Please my girl. Your king is my son, not I."

Lightning remained kneeled a little bit longer as if to enhance her words. "My life belongs to Noctis and to Lunafreya. But you will always be my King." She defiantly responded, and then she rose.

The old King smiled further, not wanting to argue with her anymore.

"I know you came with my son´s words on your lips, but you should advise him he should stop being so paranoid. Drautos has served our family ever since his childhood, has always loyally protected this country with his blood. His actions had earned him the place he is in. There is nothing that would make me doubt him."

"You should read what she brought, your Majesty, before saying such things." Clarus interrupted him, giving him the envelop the pinkette had brought. Without making any noise nor any gesture, Regis inspected all the papers and pictures in the envelope, and then rose an eyebrow, looking intently at the baby blue orbs of the messenger. But Lightning didn´t flinch, knowing full well the truth was on their side.

"Your son only asks you to be more careful." She insisted. "Not to trust anyone so freely. He worries about you."

But the old King only shook his head. "Trust in my people has been the thing that has brought me so far, because I truly care for them. For each of them" Responded the aggravated King. "A few pictures and a receipt won´t change that."

Lightning gave a step forward, falling impatient for the old man´s denial. "Just be careful, your Majesty. You´re being a target and you shouldn´t trust anyone protecting you besides your Shield. You should go out less often…"

Regis raised his voice, commanding her to remain silent. "If I don´t let myself be seen by the people, the fear and despair will grow among them. The royal family´s obligation is to give hope and strength to them, and with Noctis away on his mission, who is there left to do such duty? He might be my King, but my son still has a lot to learn."

Lightning now fell desperate at seeing the man´s denial. "Your Majesty, I…"

But Clarus stepped forward, silencing her.

"I think the conversation is over, young Farron. We´ve heard your warning. We´ll be careful, or at least I, the Shield, will be ready. Please do tell my King that his father is safe in my hands. As he has always been."

Lightning sighed, accepting defeat, and bowed, knowing full well she had crossed a line. "I´m sorry, my King. I didn´t mean to be disrespectful."

The old King nodded at her, accepting her apologies.

"Please, my child," Regis said before he turned to leave, "be careful on your way out, don´t do anything stupid, and… tell my son I love him."

"I will, your Majesty."

She bowed again and waited for him to leave the place before she addressed the Shield.

"I know I can count on you, General Amicitia." Though not convinced, she nodded at her superior. "Please do understand that I…"

"Let´s leave this conversation for now." He rose a hand to appease her, and before she could protest longer, he smiled. "Regis is a tough man, Farron, a rough man who learned that trusting in your closest is the only way to success." He winked at her. "But I´m as hard-headed as he is. I heard your warning, young Farron. And I promise you I´ll heed it, even if it´s in spite of him. Which means I´ll get that permission for you out of him. Just make sure you´re careful in this new mission."

"Don´t worry, Sir. You can count on me it´ll be a successful job. I just need his approval to let me lead the Kingsglaives as I please."

"Choose well, then, while I retrieve his permission. The delicacy of this operation demands very few people to be involved, so I suggest you choose the very best. Don´t be biased by the care you feel for your former comrades, nor for the documents you delivered to us. The top priority is the safety of the Kingdom, and of His Majesty."

"Yes, Sir. I´ll make sure of that."

He was about to dismiss her and then hesitated. "But heed my own warning too. If what you said it´s true and based on what we heard just a moment ago, you too should be careful. Your enemies are closer than you think."

She nodded. "Thank you, Sir. I´ll be careful too."

oooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooo

"Uh? Sparks?"

Nyx had returned to the Kingsglaive´s quarters a few minutes ago, after dropping Serah to her place. He had hoped he could meet Lightning if he waited at their apartment, but an hour had passed by and she still hadn´t shown up. So, the desperate man he had always been, Nyx decided he needed to vent some pin-up frustration, a consequence of the pinkette´s actions… only to find said pinkette was already hitting the bag. The man had decided to interrupt her exercise over the sandbag and finally talk to her, but his mind registered her prowess, and, thinking of the magnificent skills she had showed him in Liede, instead of breaking her concentration, the highly curious and competent instructor decided he wanted to witness firsthand his former trainee´s talents. Hitting the bag, her movements were perfect, precise, quite calculated, and evidently strong, if he could judge by the way the bag moved with every punch and kick of her magnificently toned muscles. But more than that, he noticed the curve of her hips and waist, the round form of her…

Not going there!

Blushing furiously, Nyx harrumphed and approached the girl, finally interrupting her, flashing her his most brilliant smile.

"Good evening, Sparks!"

As expected, the pinkette only growled at him, not bothering in turning around. "I´m really in no mood for you right now, Ulric. And you well know I don´t like that name." With a flinch, he noticed she hit the bag harder. He gulped and forced the smile on its place.

"What do you mean? I thought you were waiting for me to have a little chat, or a small spar, whatever fits you. Plus, you let Libertus call you Sparks, why not me?"

Without stopping her ministrations to the bag, the pinkette huffed her response. "Because I like Libertus, and I´m yet to decide if I will forgive you for being such a moron. That said, if you want to spar right now, go fetch someone else. In the state I´m currently in, I might kill you the moment we start."

Nyx chuckled, but instead of leaving, he grabbed the bag for her, to keep it steady, and locked eyes with the crystal blue orbs of the young woman.

"I´m hurt, but I guess I´ll take the risk. If you need to vent with someone, I offer myself in sacrifice."

Lightning rolled her eyes, but then complied, giving her worst kick against the bag, almost sending Nyx to the floor. The man opened his eyes wide in surprise at her strength, a gesture not missed by the beautiful pinkette, who smirked and gave a second kick.

"Okay, Sparks! I get it, you´re super strong… please don´t kill me."

His words managed to get a smile from her, one that resembled a smirk more than anything, but that still made him feel overjoyed. She gave a round of kicks and punches, this time with less vehemence, to allow them a small chit chat.

"Why wouldn´t you stop harassing me?" She asked, her eyes fixed on her target, as two punches resonated in his body through the boxing artifact.

"Well, I wanted you to try how it feels to be followed around and perturbed all the time. Is it working?" His smile grew wider, tainted with a flick of childishness, but she huffed, a sideways smile accompanying her response while she gave a sideways kick.

"If you want me to apologize for what I did a few years ago, you´re going to wait seated. It was quite a pleasure to see you suffer."

"I would never want an apology from the magnificent Lightning Farron, soldier of the Crownsguard elite."

Three punches in perfect succession followed by a huff. "I´m already a Sergeant."

"What? When did that happen?" His eyes opened wide in feigned surprise.

Another roll of the eyes, but this time it was accompanied with a small, true smile, that ignited Nyx´s heart.

"You very well know I was promoted last year. Serah told you for about five pages in at least three letters. But I guess you´re as idiot as I remember you to be."

There it was, his sweet-soar teen in front of him: as angry, impatient, intolerant, and cute as ever. Seeing her again like this made him so happy Nyx could barely refrain a triumphant dance. And yet, at the same time, he couldn´t get rid of his vision of her but as a full-grown woman. He shook his head, hoping to get rid of that last thought, and gave her his sweetest and most innocent smile.

"Oh! Did she mean you? I thought she was talking about a nice and sweet sister of hers. Not the Sparks I have in front."

A glare, complemented by a kick that vibrated into his chest, and he decided to change the subject.

"But what actually hurt me was to learn, through a late delivered letter, you really had lied about your age when you entered the Kingsglaives. I always knew something was fishy with your height, but 12? Who lets a 12-year-old girl enter intensive military training like ours?"

The smile grew wider as she gave two straight punches. Lightning was quite proud of that rouse, especially because she had learned how much the truth had made Nyx go wild. "Please, do tell me it still hurts your pride to know a little girl like me fooled you."

"Well, it does, but I bet Barret´s pride was a lot more injured to know a girl that age beat him every day."

Azure orbs opened wide in astonishment, and she took the bag with her hands, her face closer to his, all too eager to hear more of the tale.

"Please tell me you did not share my age with Barret!"

"What? And miss the opportunity to see his pride fall into the mud? C´mon! even I am not that dumb!"

This time it was a burst of full laughter that escaped Lightning´s throat, and Nyx could only think that it was the most amazing sound he had ever heard. His heart was gloating in glory at the sight of her smile. The practice forgotten, they started talking in close proximity, Lightning´s face gleaming in delight. It was impressive how she traveled from the explosive and lanky teen he knew to the beautiful woman she had grown into.

"Oh, man! I wish I could´ve been there to see that face! I bet it was priceless!"

Nyx felt like gleaming in delight as he shared the story. "It was indeed. It was a type of revenge I could´ve never imagined from you."

"Well, you already had your problems with training a 14-year-old girl, what would´ve happened if you had learned my real age?"

"I would´ve got some diapers for you."

A powerful kick made him stagger, but she still chuckled at his joke, and Nyx felt he couldn´t smile any further at the risk of having that goofy smile staying plastered on his face.

"I bet you were dying to tell me so! When did you disclose my age to Barret?"

"Well, to be completely honest… it wasn´t only to Barret, but to all the class. You see, I was so mad at you tricking me as such, that, loyal to the immature coach you knew you had, I kinda…"

"Threw a tantrum and let everyone else know, so that you weren´t the only one mad at me?" Lightning finished for her coach. "Am I right?"

Nyx huffed, and caressed his neck. "Well… maturity doesn´t suit well with me, I get that already. But yeah, just like you said. I was so mad for being tricked, that I just had to let everyone know. After all, I wasn´t your sole victim."

Lightning looked up front in silence for a full minute, her eyes lost while in her mind she tried to imagine her comrades´ different reactions. "And… and what did they say?"

"Everyone was in shock, as you must know. A few were completely offended by that assumption, but most of your teammates were impressed by you, by your strength and determination. 'how can there be that much power in a body that small', they said."

A ghost of a smile appeared in the pinkette´s lips. "Those words were Yaneera´s, right?"

Nyx smiled. "Yes, she was the first one to make everyone to act cool and accept the fact that they were surpassed by someone many years younger, and that the truth about your age only meant they had to work harder. Her words appease them, but it also made them feel elated at the possibility of seeing you again… and fighting against your improved self."

A delicate eyebrow raised. "Oh? Then know I have a full class wanting a piece of me all because of you?"

Nyx laughed. "No! of course not! Well… maybe a little. But only as a practice. You´ll see many of your comrades grew quite a lot, and matured as well."

"You say many."

"Obviously, not all of them."

She kept silent for a full minute, and then smiled. "Yeah, I think I´d like that. To see them again, to see how they´re faring and challenge them. It would be very heart warming."

"Then, we should plan it, a few rounds in the arena and then some at the brewery. Do you drink, Sparks?"

Lightning glared at him, but only lightly. "I´m still underage, Nyx Ulric, you know I would never drink."

He clapped, startling her, while his smile was wide. "That´s perfect! Then I´ll be the one to introduce you to the magnificent world of beer!"

Lightning smiled at his antics, entertained by the idea. But then, a sudden thought crossed Lightning´s head, and her smile disappeared, replaced by a small frown. A thought, or rather, the memory of a dream. As if falling from a happy place, she gave a step backward, away from Nyx, her eyes falling into the floor.

"What? What happened, Light?"

Hesitant at first, she shocked her head, forcing herself to look at him again. "Nothing, don´t worry. I´m just happy I can see you again." The sad smile that replaced her previous joy made his heart hurt.

"C´mon! you know you can trust me, Sparks."

"I actually know you´re not trustworthy." Though her words were harsh, there was a ghost of a smile that made the man chuckle.

"Oh please, when have I failed you?"

Could she raise her eyebrow with more delicacy and femineity? Her daring personality made him feel even more elated by her presence.

"Okay, fine, I might´ve failed you a couple of times, but that only proves I´m human."

"That proves you´re an idiot."

"Well, this idiot made that word your favorite word, right? I made you happy!"

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her chest, but the smirk remained. "Tch, please, stop saying such stupid things or I´ll get angry again."

"I wouldn´t mind. You look quite beautiful when you´re angry."

The kick almost made him let go of the bag, but he recovered quickly, thankfully, because it was such a pleasure to see the small blush creeping up her cheeks. But her serious countenance returned again.

"Please, Sparks, share your thoughts with me. Something is bothering you, and I can bet you´re dying to tell me, but are too stubborn to give in."

She looked up at him, mulling over his words, then shook her head, apparently making up her mind, one hand anxiously passing through the sweaty pink locks.

"Nyx… there´s… There´s something you should know, but…" something evidently startled her as she took a glance behind his back, interrupting her train of thoughts, and her look of anguish was replaced by an enraged one. Unsure of what had transpired inside her head, Nyx turned around to search for the source of her sudden change of mood but found only a couple of stray Kingsglaives doing some exercises and minding their own business. What was this woman thinking that made her wary of them?

"Lightning, please. Trust in me. I can help you." But, as if she hadn´t heard him, the woman stood in her full height, and the young teen he had learned to adore disappeared in front of him, replaced by the determined full-grown woman he was starting to admire.

"I know you can. We really need to talk long and slow, but we won´t talk until tomorrow. You need to be aware of a few things before I make my next move, and, especially, I need to know you´ll be by my side. It just happens it won´t be today."

Nyx started to grow anguished. When would she stop pushing him aside? When would she finally trust him?!

"I will always be by your side, Sparks, you don´t need to ask nor explain. Though I refuse to leave you like this. Why can´t we talk at this moment?"

She was about to protest at the man´s pushy attitude, but then another swift look behind him, and her eyes became like slits. The man grew restless, turning around but not seeing what she was finding so… threatening.

"Sparks, we do need to talk. I don´t want you to remain with the idea of me being a moron."

She huffed, still entertained by the idea. "I´ve always believed you´re a moron, and every time I get closer to you, you just confirm my theory. But what I do believe now, is that you should keep yourself away from me."

Her sudden and out of the blue dismissal made him hesitate at first, hurt by the way she was rejecting him, but recovered quickly and retaliated. "Oh, c´mon! We used to be friends! What happened to that?"

Lightning took another look at the place right behind him, and the shadows that traversed it made her anxiety grow by the minute. "No, Nyx, you don´t understand, you really need to step away, at least for a while."

The man rose both his palms in a placating gesture. "Okay, fine, whatever I did I´m asking you to forgive me, alright? I´m sure I´m innocent, but I´m still asking for your forgiveness."

Her eyes fell into his, and a sad look tinted the blue hue. "You don´t need to ask for forgiveness. I´ve already forgiven you a thousand times, even when you don´t deserve it. But right now, I really, really need to be alone."

"Well, if that´s the case, we can be alone together. How does that sound?"

Lighting rolled her eyes at his words, but at that moment she understood it was of no use trying to convince him, so, without saying anything else, she passed him by, scoffed, and walked away from him.

"Sparks? Please?"

"Just stay away from me, would you? I´m in a hurry. Plus, I assure you it´s for your own benefit."

And indeed, she walked fast, away from him without looking back, getting immediately out of his sight.

After a moment of being left speechless, he kicked the boxing bag with all his might. "This woman is so unnerving!"

So, he walked in the opposite direction, huffing at her back, and doing his best effort not to let his eyes wander over her body. But right around the corner, he repented once again. He didn´t know why she was so flustered, but according to Crowe, he was the one to blame. He was truly starting to believe his mouth would be the end of him, though he still couldn´t understand why everything had ended in such a mysterious rush; they were having such a nice chat! What had just happened?! With those questions in mind, Nyx turned around and ran towards the direction the pinkette had taken, hoping he could catch up with her, but once he came out of the fortress, he lost her trace in between the streets of Insomnia and sighed. Scratching the back of his head, and after a few minutes walking further down the street without success, he accepted defeat and turned around. He had to admit: when that beautiful girl didn´t want to be followed, she surely knew how to let men know. Little he knew that, just two blocks away, and right in the middle of one dark alleyway, she had stopped on her tracks rather forcefully, when she found her way blocked by a group of people, eyeing her rather intently.

"Where are you going, beautiful?"

"Hey, Lighting! If we knew you´d get all curvy like this, we would have never let you go!"

"As if it had been your choice." She scoffed, trying to sound with as much venom as she could muster.

Allowing herself some distraction, she let her eyes roam the place they were in. Was it her or this alley was the same where Nyx had rescued her from Mossberg and his croons, those years ago? Lightning sighed and felt a chill down her back, finding herself in such a similar situation: she was surrounded by five people, just like before, but this time they weren´t stupid boys, and instead, full Kingsglaives were surrounding one single person. She inhaled deeper, wanting to control her temper. Why was it that life kept on testing her patience?

"Oh, c´mon! you´re not going to tell us how happy you are to see us?" Luche spoke with a smirk on his face, leering at her figure.

"What makes me happy is to know who are the true traitors to my king." Lightning seemed calmed, but her glare was directed to each member of the attack group.

"See Pelna? The boss was right, she´s spreading rumors about us."

"And how did you learn about it this soon?" The pinkette smirked, seeking to push their buttons. "I think your boss is growing anxious and making mistakes. Like right now, this is one of those mistakes because he´s just confirmed my suspicions about his identity."

"Don´t try us, you well know we´ll defeat you. You being Crownsguard won´t make the difference. There are still five of us against one of you. What will you do?"

Lightning smirked. "You know what, Barret? I´ve just realized that the funny thing about you guys, is that I can see everything perfectly clear. Kingsglaives are so coward they attack only in packs, having the superior number, or won´t attack at all."

The addressed man, Lightning´s former schoolmate, stepped forward, ready to attack her, when a second corporal, the only female of the group, stepped forward too and stopped him.

"That´s just about enough, guys. Look Lightning, we were sent here to stop you from doing such defamation, you have to understand that, without proof, you´ll only be called a liar and sent to jail. What is it that you´re seeking now?"

Lightning forced the sneer from her face, and tried her hardest to look serious for her comrade. "Yaneera, of all the people I met in the Kingslaive training, it was you the only one I respected. I´m not looking for something more than to protect the one I took an oath to guard, and that is my King. It´s in my name, you know? Crownsguard means my job is to guard the Crown. But what about the Kingsglaives? Isn´t your name related to the King too? Shouldn´t you be guarding him? Why are you serving lower men than his Majesty? When your uniform states you´re bounded to him?"

"I protect no one but myself!"

"Then let that uniform go, Luche, because you´re unworthy of it. My loyalty is to my King, my city, and the land of Eos. No one below that. What about you?"

"Our King has betrayed us," Barret spoke, angered by her words. "Leaving us here to protect his father, without taking us to the fight, without ordering us to protect our homelands. But a job is a job, and while he pays me, I´ll do as he says. How does that make me a traitor?"

"The fact that you can´t see the whole picture doesn´t exclude you from responsibility." Lightning insisted, her heart ignited in loyalty towards Noctis. "I fight with my King because I am protecting every single life in Eos. Including your petty self, Barret. Including even you, Luche. But of course, someone as low as you guys would never understand."

A tall and broad Kingsglaive, one that had been silent before, finally spoke.

"I don´t want to fight you, Lightning. I respect you too, and I´m really sorry Mossberg did what he did to you…"

"Mossberg didn´t do anything to me, Goldmund!" Lightning´s outburst startled the man, and then she lowered her voice, trying to control her emotions. "He didn´t do anything, Goldmund, whoever told you otherwise is lying… but I appreciate your words."

"Just elaborate more, Lightning." Yaneera intervened. "I agree with you our loyalty stands beside the King. But the King says nothing to us, cares nothing about us. Barret is right, the Kingsglaives are stationed here without a mission, without a fight, while the King and his Crownsguard get into small skirmishes, and our homelands are devastated. Last week it was Bodhum the one that was attacked, weren´t you angered that no one came to defend it?"

Lightning inhaled deeply, remembering the news she heard, the anger she felt for not being there. But she knew the reason why they had to let it pass, and gave a step forward. "I bowed my life to the Lucii King because I know he´ll save us all from oblivion. There are sacrifices to be done, and I´ll obey him wherever he says I need to be, need to do."

"What Lucii Kings have done is nothing but to bury us deeper in the mood. You are wrong in believing in them this blindly." Pelna insisted, angered by Lightning´s words of loyalty.

"What Lunafreya and Noctis will do is bleed for you, you dumb ass! And I…" Lightning exhales, fixing his stare on the two Kingsglaives who at least are listening. "I, too, will bleed for you, guys. I too will offer my life so that you all can save this world."

"Oh, c´mon!" Luche yells, stepping forward. "This is so utterly ridiculous! Let´s just kill her and take the proof she says she has against us! Those were our orders, remember?" But when he´s about to give another step, Goldmund and Yaneera interpose themselves in between the man and the Crownsguard. "What? What´s the meaning of this? Will you disobey your commander´s orders?"

"Drautos never said anything about killing her, Luche." Goldmund spoke, his gaze serious, his open attitude leaving everyone impressed, since the tall and silent man seldom spoke his mind, especially not this strongly.

"Well, he did tell me." Pelna intervened. "So, will you disobey? If you do, we three will kill you all. Isn´t that right, guys?"

"Try it, and we´ll defeat you." Yaneera stepped forward too, supporting her Kingsglaive partner.

"Oh yeah? Barret! Attack her!"

But the man stood still.

"Barret?"

"I´m sorry, Pelna, but Yaneera is my girlfriend. Obviously, I´ll stay by her side."

"What? Traitor!"

Lightning chuckles at their exchange. "It would seem the only traitors to the Crown are you two, morons."

The two Kingsglaives growl at the turn of events and share a look until Pelna speaks. "This isn´t over, Farron girl. You´ll soon hear from us."

"Yeah? Well, I hope next time you aren´t such cowards and face me in a real, one on one fight, like grownups."

Luche was about to retort, but Pelna took his arm and they both turn and take their leave. Once the two older soldiers were out of sight, the four youngsters allow themselves to relax, and the trio of Kingsglaives faced the youngest Crownsguard member, smiles on their faces and a look of pleasant surprise on each countenance.

"It´s really good to see you´re faring well, Lightning," Yaneera started, clasping the other woman´s hand and showing her perfect teeth, all too aware of the fact that the pinkette was now the same height as her. "Honestly, I always felt guilty for letting that moron Mossberg get his way with you."

Lightning´s eyebrow rose, all too willing to protest further, but the woman´s sincere smile took her by surprise, so she let her be.

"You should´ve known me better, Yaneera. I will always prevail. Mossberg was way too much of a coward and too much of a lousy fighter to make me truly fall."

The woman laughed out loud. "Yes! I should´ve known! Well, we only came with them to see how you were, to finally get a glimpse at the Crownsguard raising star, but really, look at you! You´re all grown up and all! You even have breasts now!"

Lightning growled and blushed at the same time by her comrade's praise, still uncomfortable with her words. One thing is to defend her honor from lascivious men, but from a woman that is not her sister?!

"Well, I can´t say I´m happy for the way things turned out, Lightning." Barret said, taking her hand too. "You´ve left us behind, far behind. Though I really should accept I actually missed competing with you."

"No way. You were just too pleased to stop being defeated by a little girl!" Yaneera laughed a little more at her boyfriend´s expense, and the rest of the group laughed with her.

"Well… yeah, I admit that having my ass handed over by a scrawny little girl did horrible things to my pride."

"Fortunately for me, you were just insufferable, thus no woman wanted anything to do with you." But instead of laughing at his expense, the woman gave Barret a peck on the lips. Lightning smiled at that. She never cared too much for Barret, but still admired his prowess, and Yaneera had always been someone she looked up to during the few months she had stayed with the Kingsglaives. The pinkette was glad she got to see they had grown up just fine. While the couple interchanged all too awkward words to hear, the Crownsguard turned to look at the last comrade she had met in her teenage years.

"And what about you, Goldmund? You´ve grown quite big too, and it would seem quite strong."

The addressed man blushed and placed a hand on the back of his neck, obviously uncomfortable with the attention he was receiving.

"Yeah… I guess so."

She wanted to ask further, but Yaneera intervened.

"Is it true, Lightning? Is it true you have proof against Drautos? Aren´t you joking about him being a traitor?"

Lightning looked at her peer, sad blue eyes giving her the answer. "I´m sorry Yaneera, but no, I´m not joking. You know I never joke, especially not about things like that. King Noctis found proof of Drautos´ treachery. My job was to make Regis know."

The woman looked sad, and her boyfriend was quite worried.

"To be honest, I thought something was fishy, but never thought something like this. It´s quite a shock. He´s always shown loyalty to the Crown."

"I guess people change, hearts change, and something must´ve happened to him to take such a decision." The pinkette tried to justify, understanding her comrade´s disappointment. "But that´s for the King and his Shield to find out. I´m here to find clues about the truth, and to prevent a new treachery, for that, I would need the Kingsglaive´s help."

"Why would the Kingsglaive help you to get our Commander deeper into the mud? Isn´t it stupid?" Barret immediately intervened, getting angered once more.

"My thoughts are, if their pride it´s at stake, it´s the Kingsglaive´s job to clear their own name, no-one else´s." Lightning fixed her baby blue stare into Barret´s dark ones. "Wouldn´t you agree?"

There was tension in the air for a couple of seconds, until Barret smirked and then nodded at her. "Okay… I have to admit you hold a very valid point, Missy. What would you have us do?"

Lightning smiled, sighing in the inside at his positive response. "First, I need you to understand that the whole Eos and the lives of every living creature, not only Insomnia and the Lucii inheritance, are in grave danger, that´s what King Noctis is fighting against, not only Niflheim; but also, I want you to be aware that, being Kingsglaive, your life, just like our King´s life, might be under threat, because we don´t know who is loyal and who is traitor anymore."

"Well, you know you can count on us." Incredibly, it was Barret who said such things, and Lightning managed a smile for him.

"I´ll keep that in mind, thank you."

"And what is the second thing?" Goldmund asked, apparently too eager to take part in Lightning´s scheme.

"There´s a… mission to be fulfilled, one of uttermost importance for the King´s next step. But, if the mission is approved, I can only take with me the most loyal to the Crown, because, as you might know, the mission is very dangerous. Many of us could die."

"And I´m guessing you can´t bring with you a whole Glaive´s section, right?" Yaneera grew weary by the second, but immediately understood the importance of the mission.

"No. After what you just witnessed, there´s no way I can risk having a traitor in such an operation. It must be a small group, only the most loyal to the Crown, because, after that, there´s a fight as magnificent as you´ve never seen, and to prevail, we first must succeed in this one."

There was a silence between them that lasted a couple of seconds until Goldmund spoke first.

"You can count me in, Lightning. I´ll go wherever you need me to go. I promise you I won´t let anyone hurt you again."

Lightning blinked at the youngsters' vehement words, and hesitated, unsure.

"Thank you… Goldmund… I appreciate your words."

"You can count us in, too, Lightning. We´ll support you with our lives if it means to save the world."

"It does, Yaneera. Noctis's and Luna´s objective is to let this world live, not only Insomnia. You shouldn´t doubt that."

"Then we´re with you. You can count on us." It was Barret the one answering her. "Let us know whenever you need us, meanwhile, we´ll be seeking more people for you. And keep an eye on those traitors."

"Thank you, guys. But you should let me handle the recruiting part. The less people know of my plan, the safer we are. Meanwhile, prepare and keep silent. I´ll be in touch with you, and let you know of the details as soon as possible."

They both said their goodbyes but Goldmund lingered.

"Are you okay, Lightning?"

Lightning smiled doubtfully at him. "Umh… yeah, don´t worry buddy. Thank you for standing up for me."

"Don´t sweat it, I…" He hesitated, his blush deepening, as he started to scratch the back of his head, an obvious sign of distress, but Lightning couldn´t understand why. She took a step closer, searching for his eyes that were glued to the ground. She needed to leave but didn´t want him to stay alone in anguish.

"Goldmund? Are you okay? Is something the matter?"

"There´s… there´s something you need to know, Lightning. Something you just have to know before we go further this path."

Her eyes closed just slightly, unsure, but hopeful. Did Goldmund know who the rest of the traitors were? Was he going to confess some of Drauto´s dark secrets? She gave a step closer, hopeful.

"You know you can trust me, buddy. I haven´t changed much, I´m still the girl you just met those years ago."

"I know… I know, but…"

She finally placed a hand upon his forearm, hoping to give him some reassurance. She could understand that giving away one´s partners was quite a difficult task for the heart.

"I promise I will help you, whatever it is in your mind."

He looked up to fix his stare intently on the baby blue orbs of the Crownsguard, and, inhaling deeply, Goldmund made up his mind and spoke his heart.

"You´ve become very beautiful… Lightning…" Her baby blue eyes opened wide in astonishment at his words. She thought it was a very weird way to start... "I-I always wanted to… to protect you, even though I knew you were stronger than me, I… I tried my hardest for you, to be with you and… and when I heard Mossberg had hurt you, I swear to you I tried my hardest to be stronger. Even when you were gone, thinking about… about protecting you, was the reason that gave me the strength to go on, to push harder. It´s you the one I owe I became a Kingsglaive because since the beginning I just wanted to give up, but seeing you pushing harder, seeing you running faster, fighting the strongest, inspired me to try to do the same. And I… I´m just glad you´ve come back, and that I finally get to protect you."

Lightning was speechless for a moment, and as slowly as she could, withdrew her hand touching his arm. She didn´t know, she could´ve never guessed the small and silly boy would become such a big and seemingly strong guy (if she could guess by the size of his muscles, he could easily compete with Gladiolus), and even less he was harboring such… feelings… for her. Especially not for this long.

"Emh… thanks Goldmund but I… I really don´t like it when men try to protect me. That´s why I became strong myself, to be a protector." She harrumphed, trying to recover for the sudden confession, and still hopeful. "But isn´t… isn´t there something else you need to tell me?"

"No. Telling you I have feelings for you is the only thing in my mind for so many years now." He gave a step towards her, and she really had to use all her will power to prevent herself from stepping back. Or running away. "Do you have an answer for me?"

"I… well I…" she shook her head, ashamed at how pathetic she might look, then locked eyes with her comrade. "Look, Goldmund, I appreciate what you´ve just told me but… but you must understand I have forced myself to prevent forming any feelings I could develop for anyone. I have a mission to fulfill for the land of Eos, and that´s the only thing in my heart. I can´t let anything else distract me. Would you understand?"

The big boy smiled sadly at her, and, in a daring move, he took his hand on hers. Lightning wanted nothing but to run away, even to kick his ass for harboring such a thing in his heart. But the look of sweet torture in his eyes prevented her to do such a thing. This man had always been a good boy. She just didn´t have it in her to break his heart in such way.

"I understand. You´ve always been like that. In a way, I always knew that would be your answer."

Slowly, so as not to offend him, she withdrew her hand. "What I would really appreciate is you standing by my side to protect our King and our world. Would that be okay with you?"

The man smiled softly at her. It was such a weird moment to witness someone so big smiling like a child.

"Yes, I´d like that. I´d like it if you let me be by your side."

"Yeah… well… I´m-I´m not going to be around Insomnia much, Goldmund…" It was getting beyond awkward. The hair at the back of her neck prickled. "The task I have in hand won´t let me linger here."

"It´s okay. I´ve waited for you for six years. I can wait all the time you need to protect our world. I´ll wait an eternity if you need me to."

She forced a smile on her face, not really knowing what to respond.

"Umh… thank you, Goldmund. I-I think I need to go now, you know, to find my sister."

"Okay. I´ll see you around, I guess."

"Yeah… just wait, I´ll give you a call."

"I´ll be waiting for it."

"Yeah…"

She felt so self-conscious, so uncomfortable, she just turned around and walked away, hoping she could, somehow, change his mind.

oooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooo

A/N: Sorry for the long wait, hope this chapter was worthy. We´re in the gate of what will probably be our last mission before we go to the big battle, the one that decides everything. Initially, I hadn´t planned the Goldmund scene, but while they stood talking, it seemed just so natural to me that the chubby boy that always struggled with everything, and ran by her side when she was struggling with her injuries, just had to develop some feelings for her, especially platonic after she left to join the Crownsguard. Also, I need to clarify: even though we touch a little bit of Drautos´s treachery, we won´t get too deep into it. That´s a story for another tale.

Hope you´re still enjoying this story.