M.E. 756
It was dark, cold and desolate. I stood alone in the vast room, no walls or anything else visible for miles. In the distance, I heard the sounds of a baby's cry; she sounded sad, lonely. I ran toward the sound, to the small light that flashed in the distance. I was getting closer, I was almost there, but the light disappeared, leaving only darkness in its wake.
It occurred to me then that people had it all wrong. We're told that the light breaks through the dark, that it engulfs all evils within its path, but the opposite is true. It's the darkness that gives way to the light, that chooses to step out of its way; and it is the darkness which will inevitably engulf the world. This is where our prophecy was born, and this is why we deem those who shine in the dark as gods and kings, while those who thrive off of it are deemed daemons- monsters among men.
Where do we cross the line, when do monsters and men become one, and where does the beginning of the end truly start? Most people avoided these questions, but they were the ones that defined me. They embodied me, circling in my mind as I ran across the darkness toward where the light had onced shined.
I was so close, I could almost make out that faint shape, almost take hold of the small hand that reached out to me. Just a little closer, just one more step, and I-
"Ow! What the hell, Noct!" I yelled out, throwing the pillow on my face to the floor, and allowing the light streaming in my room to hit my face.
"Noctis is downstairs with everyone else, as you should be, so I'm afraid not." The semi-dry voice cut through the air, forcing me to my senses. "Though I wouldn't have to resort to such methods if you were capable of getting up on time by yourself, or the other twenty ways that I tried, Lady Clara."
"Sorry, Iggy," I said, rubbing my hands across my face. "Bad dream."
"It's of no bother to me, but King Regis might not appreciate your innate lack of punctuality." Ignis said, disappearing into my closet and coming out with my outfit for the day.
"Iggy, those are black with white stripes, I need white with black stripes." I said, not even looking as I slowly moved to the edge of the bed.
"My apologies, princess, but I'm afraid we've no time for your jokes, not when you're due for a drive to Altissia in a few days."
"Wait, that was today?" I jumped out of bed, ripping the clothes out of Ignis' hands and ducking into the bathroom to change. "Why didn't you lead with that?" I asked from inside.
"Honestly? I wasn't sure it would make a difference."
I rolled my eyes at that- rather un-princessly, as Ignis would say- grabbing Ignis' hand and dragging him behind me as I ran out of the room and through the Citadel.
Blue sky and glaring sun, the kind that makes you smile and squint at the same time, greeted me as I stepped through the open doors. Light shadows cast from the towering buildings of the kingdom offered the only reprieve, and that's where I found my brother and father- no doubt they moved into the darkness while waiting for me.
"I'm here!" I announced as we popped out of the front doors, panting for breath. Noctis and my father, who were standing at the middle of the large staircase, didn't even look my way as they continued their conversation. I could tell it was something serious, and something that would leave neither party in any semblance of a good mood afterward. I considered whether I should interrupt for a moment before remembering that I would be the one stuck with grumpy and annoyed Noctis if I didn't. It made the choice a lot easier.
"You guys talking about how much you 'wub' each other?" I said, throwing my arms around both their necks.
"Get off, Clara. You can tease me when you actually show up on time." Noctis said, shaking my arm off.
"I'm afraid not, my love, but I should hope your brother will take what I said to heart?" King Regis- my dad- said, directing the question to my brother, who had already walked to the bottom of the stairs.
"Don't worry, dad." I said, patting him sympathetically on the back as we began our walk toward the Regalia. "I'll be sure to remind him if he-" I paused, staring ahead to the car in front of me, or rather the person standing awkwardly in front of it. "It's you." I said dumbly, walking slowly toward the figure in front of me.
"Oh, uh, hey, Clara. Long time no see, huh?" Prompto said, shifting his weight repeatedly and fidgeting with the sweatband on his wrist. "I'm guessing no one told you I was coming, right?"
I shook my head. "No, but it should have been obvious; you're Noct's best friend, maybe even his best man, of course you were going to be here- you… you deserve to be here." Prompto's fidgeting was mirrored in mine, as I spun the ring around my finger again and again.
"Thanks, but still, I should've- or maybe Noct could've- you should've- I mean, I'm driving, so- oh..." A small sound of surprise escaped Prompto's lips as I interrupted him, pulling him into a tight hug.
"It's so good to see you."
"It's good to see you too." Prompto replied, wrapping his arms around me too.
"Since when do boys get hugs before the father?" My dad said from behind me, finally making his way down the stairs. The worst of his condition slowed him down, but, if only for that moment, he stood as tall as he ever had.
"Sorry, dad." I said, moving over to give him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "It'll only be a few days, but I'm gonna miss you."
"And I miss you already. Both of you." Dad said, opening his other arm for Noctis, who reluctantly moved in.
"Let me give you something, dear; an early birthday gift of sorts." My father said when we had all separated. "Alas, the other earring was lost to time, but I think you'll still find it helpful with your... particular skill set."
"Thanks, dad." I said. The earring had an almost bronze metal that held a grass green jewel in the middle, and the moment I attached it to my ear, I could feel its enchantment flowing through my body.
"Hey, we have the same birthday; where's my gift?" Noctis complained, holding his cupped hands in our father's face.
"I got you a bride. Heaven knows you couldn't have done it yourself." Our father replied, a smile in his eyes. "Don't pout, I got here on time."
"Whatever. I'll be in the car- napping." Noctis said, jumping over the door and into the back of the car next to Gladio and Ignis.
"Well, I suppose this is goodbye. When you see us next, Noct'll be married." I said, looking over my shoulder at the car. I was sure the guys must have been waiting, and Gladio hated waiting.
"Yes, I'm sure he will. I love you both, more than you know."
"Until next time, my king." I said, curtseying to him.
"Until next time, little princess." My father said, bowing in kind.
I turned away from my father and walked to the passenger's side of the car where Iggy had jumped up to open the door for me, and sat beside Prompto, buckling up for the long ride.
"Prompto, keep your damn eyes on the road!"
Our drive along the mostly empty road was pleasant enough.
The weather was nice enough that we were able to put the top down, and the bustling silvers and light reflections of the city quickly gave way to the duller browns and greens of Leide.
Light conversations were started here or there without much rhyme or reason, ending just as quickly and usually with a warning for Prompto to keep his eyes on the road.
Eventually the conversations faded out, an uncomfortable silence and tension filling the car, even beyond the open top.
"Hey, uh, does anyone want to listen to some music?" Prompto asked from the front, keeping his eyes stiffly on the road.
"No," Gladio said sternly.
"Oh, come on Gladio," I said, reaching for the dial. "Dad's got the good stereo." I flipped through different channels for a while with Gladio throwing a mini-fit in the back.
"Look, if you're gonna argue then at least pick something." Noct groaned from the back, leaning his head over to go back to sleep.
I rolled my eyes, choosing to ignore him as I continued to flip through the stations. I was just about to give up and turn it off, when I finally happened upon the perfect station. All at once a jumpy, upbeat track flowed through the speakers, rumbling across the whole car as I spiked the volume up.
I looked up at Prompto, wondering if he even remembered, only to find that he was already looking my way. Our eyes met and we both chorused out words that had been spoken between us many times before.
"It's our favorite song!"
Prompto and I were completely absorbed in the song, moving around and dancing as best as we could within the confines of our seats and buckles.
It was so nice to finally act normal around Prompto again, I'd completely forgotten how easily distracted he could get. It took less than a minute for me to remember.
"Prompto, keep your eyes on the road."
"Prompto, you're carrying royal cargo."
"Prom, look out!"
An anak calf suddenly sprinted across the road, jumping the car hood and forcing Prompto to swerve in order to stop the car from getting hit.
"Whoa, that's a sign!" Prompto yelled almost immediately as the car came into near contact with a road sign instead, causing him to swerve once more in the other direction.
I felt it more than I anticipated it- the inertia as we were pulled from one side to the other, the death grip I had on the seat, and the painstakingly slow process of the car tipping over.
"Clara!" Noct yelled as he grabbed my arm, pulling the other back, and warping out of the car. I'd only ever accessed the Crystal's power once and I'm still not sure how, so that was always the protocol between me and Noct; if there was trouble he'd bail me out. For a long time that just meant covering my back, but one day he just became serious about his training, kept at it until he could do it with another person, even one without a clear connection to the Crystal. Sometimes it got old, always seeing him poised to grab me and warp, but I appreciated that he cared and it certainly came in handy.
Somehow the car managed to flip just a couple times, landing right-side up with our friends still in one piece inside. From the other side of the road, Noct and I rolled a few feet across the ground, dust coating our clothes and splitting us apart when we were halfway to stopping.
"Ugh… you alright, Clare?" Noct groaned, already dusting himself off from across me.
"Yeah, thanks, Noct." I said, grabbing his hand and letting him pull me up. "Let's just hope the guys are okay too, so Gladio can kill Prompto."
"She's banged up pretty bad and there's no service, we're gonna have to push her to the nearest station." Gladio said, dragging himself from underneath the Regalia.
"Great, the king trusted me enough to drive his car and I wrecked it… he's gonna kill me!" Prompto said, falling dramatically to the floor.
"He's not going to kill you, Prom… much." Noct said from inside the car where he had his feet propped on the dash.
"Prince Noctis, get your feet off the dash and help us push, a man of your stature should behave more… becomingly." Ignis said, pushing Noct's feet off the car. "Besides, we need space for Lady Clara. A princess should not be seen pushing a car in the middle of the desert, it's unsightly."
"Oh, come on, Ignis. I can help push the car." I said more as a courtesy.
I really didn't want to push the car.
"No, it's fine. There's five of us and only three sides to the car that we can use. Two in the back and one on either side, we'll rotate from there so take the first shift riding." Gladio said, wiping the sweat and oil from his brow. "You've got the least muscles around here anyway, Skylight. You're better off in the car anyway."
"Seriously, you put a hole in the roof with lightning one time." I grumbled. Gladio had been trying out a bunch of different nicknames on me for ages and he really seemed to like this one. I didn't.
"It was a big hole. I mean, your elemental magic is really strong. You don't even need deposits. You must get it from your dad, huh?" Prompto asked from the back of the car where he was pushing with Noct.
"Yeah, I guess." I replied, turning back to face the front of the car. It was a lot hotter out here than it was in Insomnia, and the lack of AC or car roof only made it worse, so I grabbed a hair tie from my overall pocket and pulled my bushy, black hair into a ponytail.
I sat back in my seat, closing my eyes and tuning into the boys' conversation.
"I thought the car was supposed to move us."
"Wouldn't that be nice… Un... Believable..."
"Not exactly a fairy tale beginning, huh, prince Noctis?"
"Clearly, we let ourselves get carried away."
"Hey, these things happen! It was a good song..."
"Screw the song. Let's just hope this isn't some omen."
"Gladio, a favor?"
"What?"
"Push this thing by yourself."
"All by myself, eh?"
"Yeah, you won't even notice if we just let go."
"Prompto, don't even think about it, or we'll strap you to the front."
"Try to save some breath for the pushing."
"Clara, come on, switch. Iggy, I'll even take the side."
"Oh, please, you already switched sides twice."
"Yeah, Noct, it's my turn anyway."
"Indeed, it's his 'turn'"
"My hands are killing me- killing me!"
"I could kill you with mine instead. Would that make it better?"
"Easy there, tough guy."
"Any luck, Clara?"
"Got a signal, but the line's busy. Just our luck, huh, Noct?"
"Yep, sounds about right."
"Wait, wasn't this place supposed to be closer, like way closer?"
"I assure you the map is correct."
"Well the map said Hammerhead was right there."
"Literally next door."
"Yes, it always looks closer on the little map, doesn't it?"
"On a map of the world, maybe."
"The world's a big place."
"Filled with wonders."
"And one day, we're going to see all of it. You, me Gladio, Ignis, even Prompto. Promise?"
"Promise." The boys all chorused, at different levels of grumpiness.
And so it began, our fairytale beginning and the beginning of everything.