Y/N was starting to wonder if this was a bad idea. Before the whole Gladio training debacle, Y/N had made plans with Luna to dress shop on the weekend. She didn't want to appear rude and cancel on her. Plus, they had made an appointment apparently. Luna mentioned she managed to book a last minute spot that opened up. Y/N also knew she really needed a dress. So here she was at the dress shop and wanting to be anywhere but. She still hadn't talked to Ignis, or anyone really, since that day in the Training Hall. Being flung onto the mat and kicked square in the stomach was a last straw for her. Just when she was starting to maybe warm up to Ignis a bit. He was being so kind and she was letting her walls crack ever so slightly. Biggest mistake ever, obviously. This is what she got, she supposed, for daring to let him in. For trying to put her anger and hatred aside and maybe accept all this chaos. It only led to pain. Actual, physical pain! Ignis told her that she could trust Gladio. That everything would be fine. Then had the fucking nerve to try and comfort her after. He had tried multiple times over the last few days to get ahold of her. Calling, texting, even sending flowers and letters again to her doorstep. She wasn't caving this time. And now here she was picking out a dress to marry the man in. The universe hated her. She was thoroughly convinced at this point.

"Lady Lunafreya! So great to see you! How may we assist you today?" an overly nice woman greeted them midway through the elaborate dress shop.

Sure, how may they assist HER! Never mind that they were here shopping for Y/N! What was with everyone just flocking to this girl?

"Hello! I'm actually here with my friend, Prin-"

"Y/N!" she spoke up for herself. She still was hesitant about people knowing who she was. As much as she wanted to yell from the top of one of the oversized sky scrapers in this city that she was a Princess and demand the respect she was so used to getting, she was still a bit scared of being out in public. Granted they had Cor with them as a body guard, but she was certain he was more here for Luna than herself. At least she had the entertainment of seeing him look so incredibly bored and uncomfortable walking around a bridal gown shop with two girls.

"Well, it's very nice to meet you Y/N. Are you looking for a bridesmaid dress? Maid of Honor dress? Cocktail party?" the lady asked.

Y/N couldn't help the small sneer that crossed her face. She wasn't here tagging along with Luna wanting to look cute for that girl's wedding! Hell, Y/N's every day dress looked more elaborate than anything the people around here probably wore to balls and galas.

"No. Wedding dresses. For my wedding!" Y/N told her.

"Oh!" the lady sounded surprised. "Well then, thank you for choosing Insomnia's number one bridal shop! We just got a few questions and we will get right to it!"

"Lovely, thank you!" Luna sweetly cooed.

"Follow me right this way!" the sales associate began walking to a section of the store with a few chairs in a semi-circle around a small, raised, circular platform in front of a wall of mirrors. "So! Y/N, first off, what is our budget for your wedding dress?"

"There is none," she simply stated. Budget? Pffft. Are you kidding? If her mother wasn't paying, she had the funds to. And if she didn't have to pay and the King was, then she wasn't holding back. This shit show was his idea to begin with. He owed her.

"Oh! Well then," the lady sounded a bit surprised. "When is your wedding date, so we know a time frame to work with?"

"A month from now."

"A mo-…a month?" the associate seemed flabbergasted. "Wow, okay. So, we basically have to find something off the rack today with little to no alterations. You look like a typical sample size, so it shouldn't be too hard. Let's get right into what you are looking for! Is there a certain color or design or material you like?"

"White of course!" she said, a bit confused as to what other color she might wear. Well, maybe black. Like a damn funeral. That would not only be hilarious, but the best slap in their faces. "Ball gown. I like big. Heavy petticoat."

"Okay, so a large petticoat, gottcha. We can definitely make gowns more fuller if you find one you like but want it to be…bigger."

"And I love lace," Y/N added almost hesitantly. She loved lace. It was practically the fabric of her great home. She also knew Ignis liked lace too, however. That thought almost made her change her mind to something like a fitted satin spaghetti strap dress. The kind women wore that looked more like a damn nighty than a wedding dress. That would be the last thing he expected. But if there was going to be one thing about this wedding she actually liked and made her own, it was going to be the dress she wore. She would look fabulous on her wedding regardless of its circumstances.

"Sounds wonderful! Let me go pick a few gowns out for you to try and I'll have you just step over in the dressing room over there. Now, is this the groom? Do you mind him seeing you in your dress?" the lady asked, pointing to Cor.

Y/N pulled a face she wasn't sure she's ever made before and she was certain she heard Cor choke. Luna put a hand in front of her mouth, but she could tell the blonde was laughing lightly. Cor himself let out a sarcastic chuckle before answering.

"No, ma'am. I'm here on guard detail is all," he politely responded before taking a seat and attempting to rub the rare blush off his face.

"No! He isn't…he is not my fiancé," Y/N replied.

"Oh! My apologies!" the lady replied, a bit embarrassed. She quickly walked off to gather a few dresses for Y/N to try on.

Y/N walked into the dressing room and began to undress. She wore a much simpler dress today, knowing she would have to be changing out of it at the dress shop. She wasn't wearing her corset, which made her very self-conscious about her body. She probably should have worn one so she could see how it would look under the dress she picked out. She forgot the associate would be helping her in and out of the gowns she tried on today. After changing into the white robe hanging off the back of the door, she sat in the chair inside the dressing room, waiting on the associate to bring the dresses for her to try on. She almost wished she could walk the floor and look for dresses herself. That wasn't something she was used to. New dresses were always just designed for her and brought to her to wear. She didn't get to go to the store and pick out what she wanted. A knock on the door startled her from her mind's wanderings.

"Is it alright if I come in?" a voice sounded from the other side.

"Yes, come in," Y/N responded as she stood from the chair.

"Okay! I think we found some nice things to start with. I wasn't sure If you wanted sleeveless or halter-top, or a certain strap so I grabbed a few different things. I forgot to ask that small detail. So let's just get started and go from what we have!"

"Okay…" Y/N responded hesitantly. She rarely wore anything without sleeves or that showed her shoulders. Not only did she think she had broad, hideous shoulders, she considered it a bit indecent and improper of a noble. But maybe this was her chance to do something new.

"So if you don't mind my asking, why don't you tell me a little about your fiancé! Who's the lucky man!" the associate attempted to make small talk while helping her dress.

"He's um…" Y/N wasn't really sure what to say. She still wasn't' in the mood for saying anything positive about the guy. She chose to just mention his name instead. "His name is Ignis. Ignis Sciencia."

"Sciencia?!" the lady asked, sounding surprised. "The Prince's Royal Advisor?"

"Yes…that's him," Y/N answered, not sure what to think of the lady's response.

"Oh! That's interesting. So this is a grand affair, then! I should have known, with you coming in with Lady Lunafreya. I didn't really expect him to…well, he just seems so…pre-occupied. And I don't believe I remember hearing anything announced. I'm sorry, excuse me. I'm not trying to be rude. This is lovely! I'm sure he's a great man!"

"We don't wish to take from Prince Noctis' wedding. I'm sure you will hear something after next week," Y/N answered her and left it at that. A part of her wondered, though, why nothing was mentioned yet.

The first dress she tried on had a thicker strap about two inches wide. The neckline was very square and she felt like a box. Her upper arms looked like Gladio's, without the definition. She looked forty years old. She hated it.

"No, I really don't think I like this one. It's so…square," she told the associate.

"Okay! No problem! We will try on another one!"

The second dress was completely strapless. Immediately she felt uncomfortable. Her rather large chest felt on full display and about to fall out of the dress at any moment. How did girls wear stuff like this? Her hands couldn't stop grabbing at her neck and she wanted nothing more than to take the dress of immediately.

"No. I can't. This isn't…me. I can't do strapless," she said almost frantically.

"Okay! That's fine. It's just as important to find what you don't like as it is to find what you like! Let's go to the next one."

The third dress was a spaghetti strap. It wasn't even fully buttoned up before she shook her head no.

"I can't. It's just like the strapless. It's…too much neck and cleavage! I just can't!"

"That's fine! We can move on to another!"

The fourth, fifth, and sixth dresses were no better. Ever girl always went with strapless and that's more than half of what the associate brought her to wear.

"Okay, so we have decided strapless is bad. I have one more for you to try on. It's a halter top. Maybe that will be better for you."

Y/N reluctantly put the dress on. The neckline dipped a bit low, but enough of her neck was covered that she wasn't entirely uncomfortable in it. She still didn't like it though.

"Um…no. I just…I really hate my arms in this. And it feels like it's holding my tits up too high or something. This waistline is also way too high. I like it more at my hips."

The waistline of the dress came up just below her breasts. Y/N felt like she looked pregnant or something in this dress. The skirt almost seemed poofed out a bit at the high waistline. And it was mostly silk. There was barely a hint of lace on the top.

"Okay. So, it seems I need to go find something different. You didn't seem to like any of these much. Is there maybe some more details you could tell me?" the associate asked her.

"More lace, definitely. Fuller skirts. And no open neckline. I'm not comfortable with that," Y/N told her. As she put her robe on, she decided to ask the associate something. "Do you think…that maybe I can look at some dresses to try on?" she hesitantly asked.

"Oh, of course! You are welcome to look on the floor! I also have some books to look through if you wish.

Y/N followed the associate out of the dressing room, wrapped in the long, silk white robe. Luna looked up from where she was seated with a large smile on her face that slowly fell just a tad.

"Aw, where's the dress? I wanted to see!" she exclaimed.

"I didn't like any of them. They weren't for me," Y/N informed her.

"You still could have come out and showed me. The bad ones make the final dress look even better!" she giggled.

"No, I…I just didn't look good in them."

"I think you're being self-conscious! I'm certain you looked like a dream in all of them. No girl looks bad in any wedding dress. She simply looks best in one particular dress!"

Y/N chose to ignore her sweet words and continue to the racks to look at dresses. She didn't want to rush the process, but she didn't want to keep Luna sitting around waiting in a chair all day. Cor looked about ready to fall asleep or rip his skin off in boredom. She didn't want them upset with her for taking too long. But she would hate herself for leaving here today in a horrid dress she hated.

As she shifted through endless racks of dresses, the associate would every so often bring her something to look at and she would shake her head no. Nothing seemed to really be catching her eye. Finally, after turning down probably the tenth dress the associate showed her, the kind lady asked her a question.

"You know, I can't help but notice your accent. You wouldn't happen to be from Altissia would you?"

"Um…yes actually," Y/N hesitantly answered. Was she recognized? Her heart started beating a bit faster.

"I thought so! Such a wonderfully beautiful place! I'm surprised you aren't getting your dress from there! Some of the best designers are from Altissia."

"I…can't exactly go back there right now. So I'm stuck getting a dress here," Y/N informed her.

"Well, if you're looking for something Altissian inspired, which it seems to me you are based on the fact you hate everything girls here seem to love, I have a catalogue you can look through. We carry some of Pelipsy's designs and a few Vera Wangs."

The mention of those two designers made Y/N perk up a bit. Every girl in Altissia wanted a wedding gown by those two women. If she remembered correctly, Luna mentioned her gown was a Vera Wang on the ride over here together.

"That would be great, thank you."

Y/N walked back over to the seats by Luna and Cor and sat with the magazine the associate had handed her.

"Still can't find anything? I think there's a few smaller bridal shops we could look at if you wanted to," Luna told her as she sat down.

"Thanks, but I'm hoping to find something in here," Y/N responded, holding up the catalogue. "It has some Altissian designers in it."

"Oh, how nice! That should be perfect!" Luna exclaimed, clapping her hands together.

Sometimes Y/N wasn't sure if Luna's sweetness was refreshing or annoying. She went back to flipping through the pages. The dresses were nice, and so many reminded her of home. But they weren't…it. She finally found a few longer sleeved dresses and about a third of the way through the catalogue her heart stopped. That was it. That was the dress. It reminded her a lot of the Queen Gown women in her family wore for their weddings. The dress she always envisioned herself wearing. This one had longer sleeves, though, as well as a lace detailing along the neckline. It sat higher up on the chest and didn't have the low dip the Queen Gown did. It was perfect. A quick flash of Ignis smiling at her in it appeared in her mind causing her to shake her head a bit. She wasn't here for him. She was here for herself.

"Um, excuse me!" she stood and called to the associate who was adjusting accessories on a wall of hooks.

"Yes! Did you find something?" she turned her attention and asked.

"Do you happen to have this dress here?" she pointed to the dress that took her breath away.

"Um, we might. We don't usually carry a lot of long sleeved dresses. It's usually too hot for people here and not many like them. I can check though!"

Y/N sat back down nervously. She really hoped they had that dress. If they didn't she would just walk out of here with nothing. She officially ruined herself for any other dress. Maybe she could get one of the seamstresses Ignis mentioned to make it for her. Would there be time? Before she could think too hard about it, the associate appeared.

"We actually happen to have the dress! It was in a box to be shipped back to the designer because as I mentioned, this normally wouldn't sell here. It was sent in a sample crate of dresses. Lucky for you, we didn't ship it back yet! Let's go see how it looks, shall we?"

The two of them went into the dressing room to try the dress on. The cut of the top was perfect. It had a small sweetheart neckline and didn't accent her breasts. It made them look like they fit her body shape perfectly. The sleeves were long and all the way to her wrists. The lace detail that covered her neckline went down the sides of the sleeves, leaving some spots of open sheer material. A small keyhole was open in the back just from the neck to about midway down. The waistline was higher than she typically liked, but she honestly wouldn't want the skirt to sit any other way. The fullness of the gown was even perfect. She didn't want to change a thing!

"I'd say it fits you pretty good! We could actually take it in just a bit here…" the associate mentioned, pulling the dress just a bit and pinning it in the back. "That's a very easy adjustment though! We could definitely have that done for you by next month!"

"Yeah that's….that's good…" Y/N was almost speechless. She never dreamed she would be picking out a wedding dress. Her own wedding dress. That she wanted. She couldn't stop running her hands down the front of it. The soft lace rubbing under her hands.

"Sooo…what do you think?" the lady asked.

"I love it…" she whispered out.

"Perfect! Should we show your friend? She seems like she really wants to see you in it. And you can get a better view of it in the rounded wall of mirrors out there."

"Yeah…we can do that."

Y/N gathered the skirt in her hands and followed the lady out the dressing room door. She heard a small gasp from Luna as she stepped up on the small raised platform in between the mirrors and chairs. A quick glance at Cor showed even his eyebrows raised a bit.

"Oh, Y/N! It's beautiful!" Luna exclaimed. "Tell me you love it!"

"I do. I do love it," Y/N answered. She still kept twirling back and forth to get a look at all angles in the mirrors. It looked even more gorgeous outside of the small, cramped room they were in. "You don't think taking it in makes me look…" Y/N rubbed her hands over her stomach not sure how to word what she was feeling. Was the dress too tight if they took it in?

"No. It doesn't make you look anything short of gorgeous! Trust me! Ignis is going to pass out when he sees you!"

Y/N lifted the side of her lip up in a quick half smile. Again, this wasn't for him. Not fully. She still wanted him to think she was pretty. But this was her day. And this was absolutely her dress!

"I want it," she suddenly said out loud.

"Yay! You found your dress! Congratulations!" the associate said excitedly, clapping along with Luna. "Let's get you back in your clothes and I'll meet you over at the counter!"

Y/N went back into the dressing room and got out of her dress. She did so reluctantly. She loved the feel of it. The texture of it. It felt so much like home wrapped around her in a hug. As she came out of the room, her and Luna went up to the counter to pay for everything. She had forgotten to even look at the price of the dress. She knew her mother wasn't buying it for her. Hell, she couldn't even get ahold of her mother. It couldn't be more than she had in her account. She had yet to even spend anything while here, surprisingly. That's what she gets for locking herself in her room all day she supposed.

"Alrighty! So, with the added cost of adjustments, your total comes to 539,900 yen."

Y/N's eyes just about bulged from her sockets.

"Excuse me?" she almost sputtered out.

"It's 539,900 yen, ma'am."

"Yen? What does yen mean? And I don't think I've ever seen something that…" Y/N started sweating a bit as she cut off. Just her luck she would find the dress of her dreams and it was an outrageously unrealistic amount of money. Was it because it was imported? Surely this dress wouldn't be this much in Altissia.

"Oh! Have you not bought anything here yet?" Luna asked her kindly.

"No, I haven't. Why?"

"They use yen in Insomnia. It's a different currency here. That's probably why it sounds so expensive. It's only a little over 5,000 gil. But, you haven't converted your currency yet, I'm guessing?"

"Oh! No, I was never told anything like that. How am I supposed to buy it then?" she asked nervously. Would they hold it for her so she could transfer and convert her money from her account? And how long would that process even take? Would she even be able to do it?

"Excuse me," Cor said lowly as he stepped up to the counter beside her. He turned a small looking box with buttons on it toward himself and inserted a card before typing a code in the box. A receipt printed out of the cash register that the associate wrote on before folding.

"This is the number for our store if you have questions. And here is your account number I circled for you. You will need that to pick the dress up. I imagine the alterations will be done in about two weeks' time. If you need a rush on it, just get ahold of us!"

Y/N hesitantly grabbed the receipt from her.

"Um, thank you," she told the cashier before turning to Cor. "Did you just…buy the dress?"

"King Regis asked that I purchase it for you. Under his personal account. Consider it a gift. Are you ladies ready to go?" Cor answered her, ready to get out of the store and back to his office.

Y/N was a bit speechless. Sure, she had thought about the King buying her dress. She figured he owed her and could do her the favor of getting her something. But she didn't exactly mean it. Well, not entirely. She wasn't going to mention it anymore though. Far be it for her to argue someone she hated purchasing something so expensive for her. She wasn't too proud to accept lavish gifts like that.

"Actually, I was texting Noct earlier. He wanted to know if we wanted to meet him for lunch. All the boys are out right now at the mall. I think it would be nice to get out together! What do you think Y/N?"

"Oh…um…" Y/N really didn't want to go. She didn't want to see Ignis yet. And she especially didn't want to see Gladio yet. She swore off going to his training sessions and didn't care what the consequences were. So far nothing had been said to her about it, but she still hadn't resolved the issue. If it were just Noctis, she would think about it but…

"Oh, please! I may have already told them yes. His friends are quite nice! If you get uncomfortable you can just cling to me or Ignis. I'm sure he wouldn't mind!" she giggled.

Bless her damn heart. She had no idea the conflict going on right now between Y/N and them. She didn't seem to have a way out of this, aside from faking illness or something. Maybe if she said she was tired…

"Okay, I'll drop you guys off at the mall and head off then. Gladio and Ignis are with him so they should have you girls covered," Cor spoke up as he made his way to the exit.

Great. This was not how she wanted to end her day.

"Hey guys, Luna said her and Y/N are meeting us for lunch. Hope you don't mind," Noct announced,

"Both of them?" Gladio asked, sounding a bit put off.

"Yeah. They went wedding dress shopping today. She said they were about to wrap things up and then head over here."

"I thought she already had a dress?" Gladio asked.

"Not Luna, you ditz! Y/N needed one. So she went with her or something since she has, like, no friends here," Noct informed them.

"Oooooh! Looks like I finally get to get to meet the lovely Princess Y/N!" Prompto cooed in a smooth, joking voice.

"Don't know if I would call her lovely…" Gladio grumbled lowly.

"Huh? Why not?" Prompto asked, genuinely confused having heard his friend. He hadn't been around for any of the harsh talk about Y/N. The fact he hasn't even seen her yet was surprising. But Noct had been extra busy lately between Prince duties and wedding plans.

Noct glanced at Ignis and caught him rolling his eyes. Something was up between him and Gladio lately, and Noct had no idea what. Neither seemed to want to talk about it, or to each other. They had been oddly distant this whole outing. Ignis also seemed a bit distant and on edge. Like something was upsetting him.

"Um," Noct started. "suffice to say Gladio doesn't get along with her well."

"Why not?" Prompto asked, almost pouting.

"Cause she has a damn stick up her ass," Gladio answered, not afraid of what Ignis would say back to him. Surprisingly, Ignis chose to ignore him and kept looking away.

"Well, she's a Princess, ain't she? Aren't most of them a bit…hoity?" Prompt asked carefully. "No disrespect Iggy!" he quickly added, holding up his hands.

"None taken," Ignis responded, knowing Prompto meant well.

"She's just-" Gladio started before Ignis interrupted him.

"I'd prefer you let it go, Gladiolus."

"Yes, because that seems to be getting us somewhere fast, now doesn't it!" Gladio snapped back at him, referring to the silence that had been between the two of them the past few days. "Never thought you would be one to let a girl get between our friendship."

"I'm not the one letting her get between us," Ignis answered.

"What is going on between you two? You've both been so weird," Noct asked.

"Yeah it's like…super uncomfy," Prompto added.

"Apologies. Y/N and Gladio had an…incident the other day that hasn't set well with me."

"Like what?" Noct asked, getting a bit concerned. He knew how openly Gladio seemed to hate Y/N. He hoped nothing extreme had happened.

"She had her first training session with me and let's say the princess broke a nail," Gladio answered.

"You kicked her in the stomach!" Ignis furrowed his brow and turned to Gladio.

"Whoa, what?" Prompto asked, surprised.

"Gladio, what the hell?" Noct piped in.

"Oh I barely touched her! It was just to double her over so I could shoulder throw-"

"You shoulder threw her?" Noct exclaimed.

"My point exactly!" Ignis said, looking pointedly at Gladio while waving a hand at Noctis.

"What was I supposed to do?!" Gladio asked, exasperated.

"She's not a glaive, Gladio!" Noct answered. "Take it down a notch! Or like, five! I would have killed you if you did that to Luna!"

Ignis raised his brows and looked at Gladio, pointing his hand at Noctis again as if to say See! I told you so!

"Whatever dude. She hasn't shown up since, so who knows if there will even be a next time."

"Sometimes, you're a bit much, Gladio," Noct told his friend. "You're like double her size and she has no fighting skills what so ever. Just…cool it a bit, okay? And maybe, I don't know, apologize?"

"Tch," Gladio tsked, rolling his eyes.

"Well, either way, get it together. Both of you. They are gonna be on their way soon. I said we would meet them at the front fountain," Noct told his two friends as he started to walk down the hallway of the large mall.

Gladio and Ignis glanced at each other a minute before following their friend. Ignis held back a little and Prompto noticed he kept glancing at his reflection in the passing store windows, smoothing hand over his hair and dress shirt every so often.

"Don't worry buddy," Prompto quietly told him, smiling. "You look great!"

Ignis glanced at him and smiled sheepishly.

"Thank you Prompto."

"And I'm sure I'll like her! Maybe she just needs a friendly face since she's…ya know, so lonely here," Prompto shrugged.

"Perhaps," Ignis smiled, glad the younger man seemed so positive about meeting his fiancé. He only hoped things didn't escalate when she arrived. He still wasn't sure she even wanted to see him yet and his stomach was in knots.

A/N:

Originally there was more to this chapter and it went on further, but as I was going through adding more details and polishing things up, it became a bit too long for the flow of this story. So next week we will get to see our sunshine boy interact with the princess. I also moved a particular incident that originally happened at the dress shop to a different part of the story in future chapters. Again, it felt like too many "bad things" happening chapter after chapter haha But, the angst still flows. And it will continue flowing for some time now. Only a few chapters until the pleasant little surprise tho! Like I mentioned before, it's a fun surprise but still angsty as hell *insert evil laugh*

I also plan to post a pic of the wedding dress I had in mind when the Princess found her dream dress.

Thanks as always for the love! You readers keep me happy and encouraged!