A/N: Hello, everyone. I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you so much for your support and your reviews so far. It means a lot that so many people seem interested in this story already, and I hope you continue to enjoy the story as it evolves. Thank you!

Insomnia was my home. It is my home. I've lived there for years, and our family has presided over it for centuries. It was where I grew up, where I made my first friends. It was where I fell in love.

Prompto had always been a special boy, and though I'm not really sure when it started- I certainly can't speak for him anyway- or how things ended up like this between us, but I never could forget the first time I ever met him.

April 22, M.E. 750

(Six years ago)

"Noct! Noct, stop! Just because you learned to warp now doesn't mean you can do whatever you want!"

"I'm tired of rules, I'm tired of being ignored, and I'm tired of being told what to do! Tell Iggy I'll miss him!" Noctis yelled from in front of Clara. He pulled his arm back preparing to warp again, but turned at the last second to add, "Not!"

The tall buildings blurred together as I ran toward Noctis with all my strength. It seemed less like I was running past them and more like they were falling behind me as I stood in just one place, unable to catch up to Noct. Even on foot Noct stayed ahead of me, so it naturally took only one warp for me to lose him completely.

Noct seemed to take learning to warp as a sign of his own strength and freedom, and had determined himself to never step foot in a lesson again. Our father was not so amused- and Noct was grounded indefinitely- but the one thing they seemed to have in common was that it was a sign that Noct was really regaining his strength.

It wasn't that Noct didn't necessarily hate school or anything, he just wanted to go to public school, to be treated like a normal kid. Or as close as he could get. Our father loved Noct, and he'd seen the progress his son was making, but he was afraid. I was pretty sure that Noctis had to have known, but he still decided it was the time of "no surrender" and took off from our private lesson the moment the teacher wasn't looking. I went after him to try and convince him to stop, but I had just ended our third encounter with each other and I still didn't have any luck.

"Lady Clara!" A voice called out from behind me as I bent over to catch my breath. "We finally found you, thank goodness you aren't hurt." Cor said, catching up to me and putting a hand on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry… Cor… I tried to... stop him." I said, gasping for air.

"It's not your fault; we all know how the prince can be these days," Cor said, already scanning the distance for my brother. "Did you catch which way he went?"

I nodded my head lightly, pointing down some street that Cor didn't know I didn't actually recognize. Cor simply stared out, as if he could see Noct's movements right in front of him, and ran ahead. Despite my tiredness, I smiled to myself and brushed myself off as I ran again in the opposite direction that Cor disappeared to. I knew a shortcut.

"You'll run out of energy to warp at some point, Noct; and you can't run forever." I yelled through a familiar chase. Too tired from warping, Noct had broken into a run. Any other time, I would've caught up to him easily now that he was in stasis, but- for all intents and purposes- I was too. The only difference was that my legs were killing me from all the running I'd done that Noct hadn't.

"Noct, look out!" I yelled suddenly, spotting a flash of blond hair moving straight toward us in the corner of my eye.

"I'm not falling for that!" Noct yelled, right as he barreled toward the boy. By some miracle, Noct managed to sidestep the boy, only startling him at best.

I was not so lucky. Having been right on Noct's tail, I was left with no time to react as he suddenly spun around the boy and kept running. Needless to say, we crashed.

"Ow…" The boy groaned from the floor, rubbing his head lightly, and moving one hand towards the floor to try and push himself up.

"Here, let me help you up," I said, pulling Prompto to his feet.

"Thank you," The blond haired boy began before lifting his head to see who was helping him. A barely audible squeak escaped his lips as he laid eyes on the princess of Lucis. "Princess Clara! I- you," The boy stumbled across his words, as he ripped his hand from Clara's, moving into an awkward half-bow. "I'm so sorry, Princess. Please forgive me, I promise that I'll look where I'm going from now on!"

I stood agape in shock for a moment. Having been raised almost entirely in the castle, there weren't many times I'd met with someone so… unused to my presence. As the greatest part of the shock faded, however, I considered the boy in front of me more clearly. From the subdued way he bowed to the shake of his whole body, I could tell that he was a boy who'd seen many hardships- perhaps even being bullied if the faint bruises across his body were any indication.

"Tell me," I began, kneeling down to his bowed height in an attempt to seem both more comforting and regal- and hide the scrapes on my knees. I couldn't relate to the boy's suffering, nor could I end it, but I could at least show him a moment's kindness. "What's your name?"

The boy looked shocked for a minute, lifting his head to meet my eyes. "Um… Prompto, your highness. Prompto Argentum."

"Prompto Argentum," I said aloud, turning the words in my head, "…'Quicksilver.' Am I right?" The boy- Prompto- nodded his head lightly. "It's lovely."

"Thank you, princess; but… it doesn't fit me at all." Prompto said, turning his head away almost in shame.

I smiled, gently taking his hands again. "You'll grow into it. Maybe not now, but soon."

"Princess, Clara!"

I cringed inward as I heard Cor's thundering voice calling after me. By now, Cor must have found Noct before I could, in the complete opposite direction to where I'd found him.

"I'm afraid I have to go, but I hope we can meet again someday, Prompto." I said, turning and running toward Cor's voice- otherwise known as my imminent doom. Even as I left, Prompto stood in the same spot, staring at my fading figure.

M.E. 756

(Present)

"What the hell do you mean, 'Insomnia has fallen?'"

Those were the first words out of my mouth when Ignis broke the news to me. Gladio informed me that that had been Noctis' first reaction too.

I couldn't wrap my head around it. What about the peace talks? Our father? The marriage? Luna? There was no answer to any of it, only a somber silence that threatened to swallow us all. In the face of all that sorrow, all the anger and confusion slipped away. I pushed away the thoughts sipping through my mind-my head hurt wherever they landed- and asked the question on everyone's minds. "So… what do we do now?"

"Well, I don't know about you, but I won't believe it until I see it," Noct said, getting up and moving towards the door.

Gladio opened his mouth to retort, but Ignis gave him a pointed look, signaling that he could handle it. "If that is truly what you want, Noctis, you know we will follow you anywhere. However, I ask that you reconsider. There is no turning back… and you may not like what you see."

"I know. But it's not like we're going to Altissia any time soon anyway," Noct said calmly, almost with an air of arrogance, but I could see through it. We all could.

"Then we shall depart."

The sky was bitter gray, acting almost as a camouflage to the many Imperial troops and air-ships that flew above and past us. Even the Imperial blockade defending the way to the Crown City almost didn't seem to exist. It was odd, unnatural, and yet not at all out of place. A small path led us around the blockade and into a hidden pocket. We wouldn't be able to enter Insomnia, but we'd be able to see it. As we stepped out of the Regalia, a cold wind blew against us, and the sharp raindrops that had been falling on the Regalia now fell on us, stabbing goosebumps into our skin. It was as if the very world was trying to stop us. Telling us to turn back, or maybe that there was no turning back, that the cold that settled in our stomachs now may never leave us again.

Still, we forged ahead.

Wave after wave of Magitek soldiers greeted us at every turn, but thankfully they weren't equipped to signal the other human soldiers that were stationed in front of the checkpoint. The humans may have been preferable, but it was better to have one or the other to face instead of both.

Eventually, the bleak mountainsides and the hard metal of the imperial structures gave way to a large cliff overlooking the distance between us and Insomnia. At first glance, it seemed out of focus, blurred by a dark mist from the rain, but the closer we got, the more things came into focus.

It was on fire.

Insomnia, our home, was on fire.

The smoke billowing reached beyond even the tallest buildings in the city, hiding the once beautiful skyline they created, and from it ship after ship appeared, colored in the same black color as the rest of the city. I stood, looking at the fire, still burning bright; listening to the faint sound of gun fire; watching the brief flashes of the Magitek weapons, raining destruction on the city. I wondered if anyone would have survived, if anyone could have survived.

I was vaguely aware of the sound of a newscast echoing in the background and Noct yelling for it to stop. I felt for Prompto as the device went tumbling to the ground, but I knew it didn't matter: there was no news station that could report anything we didn't already know, nothing that we couldn't see with our own eyes, feel in our own hearts. No news station could report on the pain that we felt in that moment.

As the scene played out from behind me, I looked ahead at the city. I could feel something odd in the air, like there was a small voice calling out to me. It was eerie like a whisper I couldn't quite understand, and yet it felt familiar- almost comforting. I felt my body take a small step forward, but didn't quite remember ever telling it to. My body became numb as I took step after step, unaware of how far I had gone or how the voices behind me had faded completely. I closed my eyes and focused only on the voice. In the darkness of vision, an image formed in my mind. I wanted to see it. To see who was calling to me. The voice beckoned me to come closer.

Closer…

Closer…

Closer…

"Clara!" Noct's voice cut through my haze, shaking me out of my stupor. A bolt of anxiety raced through me as my right foot slipped off the edge of the cliff, sending small pebbles rolling down into the watery abyss.

I would have fallen in if Noct hadn't caught my left arm, pulling me back from the edge and causing us both to tumble to the floor. Gladio, Ignis, and Prompto stepped forward, but left a decent space between them and us.

"Clara, what the hell were you thinking?!" Noct screamed at me in a fashion that was all-too-familiar to me, but not much of what he said really stuck. All the adrenaline had rushed out of my body and the despair had finally set in.

Our home was burning.

Our father was dead.

Luna was dead.

The streets where Noct and I had run around, escaping our guards for a taste of freedom.

The castle we had grown up in, shared countless birthdays, laughs and tears, and secrets.

All of it was gone, and there was no getting it back.

Before I knew it, the tears began to flow and my body was racked with sobs as Noct pulled me in close.

"It's gone… Noct, it's all gone…"