Chapter Text
The day was October 25th and it seemed everyone in Tenebrae was waiting for an announcement from the royal family. Rumours had started to spread earlier that day stating the Queen Sylva had gone into labour with her second child. Although it was yet to be confirmed, everyone was in high hopes for some positive news. It was unknown to the citizens whether the Queen was to have a boy or a girl, or whether this child would be the next oracle. Queen Sylva’s first son, Prince Ravus, had not been chosen to be the next oracle, therefore everyone was hoping for her next child to inherit the line of the oracle.
In the late afternoon, the announcement was made. The Queen had given birth to a son, who was in fact, going to be the next oracle. The kingdom was overjoyed.
Queen Sylva sat in her bed with her newly born child, just hours old, in her arms humming to him as he slept. There was a quiet knock at the door before it opened showing Ravus shyly waiting to be called in by his mother.
“Come in Ravus, it’s okay, no need to be nervous” Queen Sylva spoke out to Ravus as he started to walk towards his mother. Ravus was eight years old and was very excited when he found out he was going to have a younger brother or sister. He had become quite impatient over the course of nine months waiting for his sibling. But now that his new brother is here he can’t help but feel slightly nervous and uneasy around him.Queen Sylva patted the empty space on her bed and Ravus climbed up getting closer to his mother whilst looking down at the sleeping baby in her arms.
“Meet your new brother Ravus. You can touch him but be careful, okay?” Ravus looked at his mother with a nod then looked back to his brother. Slowly, Ravus lifted his hand up to touch the tiny fingers of his brother. As soon as his finger made contact with the little hand, it grasped onto his finger with a gentle squeeze. Ravus broke out into a huge grin and then looked to his mother.
“Mother look! He’s holding my hand! He likes me!” Ravus exclaims to his mother, eyes full of excitement. Queen Sylva looks down at Ravus with a soft smile and kisses him on the forehead.
“What is his name?” Ravus asked after a moment of silence. The Queen looked down at the baby boy in her arms and with a smile she replies softly to Ravus.
“Lucas. His name is Lucas”.
King Regis Lucis Caelum was sat in the royal nursey with his one month old son, Prince Noctis. He hasn’t had much time to spend with his son this past week so every break he has in-between meetings he spends in the nursery. Noctis was currently sleeping in Regis’ arms while his royal nanny gets his next bottle ready.
“Every time I see you my son, you are always sleeping. Wish I was that lucky”, Regis mumbles in a hushed tone with a small chuckle. A knock at the door brought the kings attention away from his son as he called out “Enter”. In walked Sir Scientia, the uncle to Noctis’ future advisor Ignis. With a quick bow to the king, Sir Scientia read from a piece of paper in his hand.
“Your Majesty, I have news from Tenebrae. Queen Sylva has given birth to a son whom she has called Lucas.” King Regis smiled at the news, “oh that’s wonderful to hear, make sure to send our congratulations to the Queen”.
“Of course, Your Majesty. Also, this boy, umm, Prince Lucas has been announced as the next Oracle after his mother, the Queen”.
“Wonderful. Thank you, Scientia,” Regis replied with a smile and nod. Sir Scientia bowed once more before taking his leave closing the doors behind him. Noctis’ nanny walks back over to the King with a bottle in hand.
“Will you be feeding his highness today your majesty?”
“Not today unfortunately, I must return to my office for a small meeting” Regis says sadly as he passes Noctis over to the nanny. Regis stands up and puts a hand on Noctis’ forehead before turning and walking towards the doors.
“Thank you, Anna, I’ll be back later to visit Noctis again” The king says to the nanny before leaving the room.
King Regis was in his office with his Shield, Clarus Amicitia, and Marshall, Cor Leonis.
“I received news today that Queen Sylva has given birth to a boy whom has been named the next oracle” Regis stated during a moment of silence between the three of them. Clarus looked up and grinned at the king, “that is excellent news. What has she decided to call the child?” Cor peaked up at the question, curious to know the name of the next oracle. “I believe the name was Lucas,” Regis answered. After a minute of silence Cor suddenly says,
“Well, long live His Royal Highness Prince Lucas of Tenebrae” making the other two look at him as he continued to read whatever report he was looking at.
“Indeed” Regis agreed. After that they all got back to their work and continued on with their work day.
3 Months later…
News had broken out across Tenebrae. Prince Lucas has gone missing. The 3-month-old baby was nowhere to be found in his nursery, the only evidence of a struggle taking place is his two guards and royal nanny lying unconscious on the nursery floor. Queen Sylva was hysterical at this point, worrying about her missing child. She has sent many guards to protect Ravus to make sure that he is well protected. Hundreds of guards had been sent out to search the country for the missing child and his kidnapper.
After hours of searching, Queen Sylva was pacing the room where her throne was located. She couldn’t think straight, her child was gone, someone has her child. Lucas was only 3 months old and was starting to show his personality. His eyes were a mix of both blue and violet, and it seemed like a freckle or two were starting to show on his cheeks. She started sobbing again, although she wasn’t sure if she had actually stopped crying since the news. All she could do was hope her son was found.
It had been a week since Prince Lucas went missing and Queen Sylva was under a state of desperation at this point. No trace had been found of her son, it was like he disappeared into thin air. She had hardly seen Ravus since Lucas went missing, her mind too focused on the search for her son. She also didn’t want Ravus to see her so broke down and not put together. Ravus was not aware that his brother had gone missing and just thought he was under a week of tutoring.
Queen Sylva was thinking of possibilities where her son could be when there was a knock on the door. Hoping for news on her son, she opens the door and in walks one of the higher guards. “Your Majesty, I have news…news from Niflheim” the guard announces as he bows to the Queen. “News from Niflheim? This hardly seems an appropriate time!” the Queen exclaims. “The news regards the Prince, Your Majesty” the guard continues. News from Niflheim? Maybe they have found her son! The Queen was starting to get her hopes up when suddenly they were broken with what the guard said.
“I’m sorry Your Majesty, Niflheim has confirmed that they had Prince Lucas, they sent an assassin to take him as leverage against Tenebrae. However, they announced that Prince Lucas has passed whilst in their hands…” Queen Sylva stopped listening at that point, she fell to the floor screaming for the loss of her child. How could someone take a child and kill them?! How!?
There were hands on her back and shoulder and she looked up to see Gentiana looking down at her with a tear running down her cheek, Gentiana then brought her in for a tight embrace. The Queens world as she knew it was no more.
News had spread to the other kingdoms announcing the death of the baby Oracle. Everyone was in shock that Niflheim could do something so cruel and evil. If the Empires intentions were to be feared, it didn’t work. All this situation gained them was hatred and a large amount of people demanding revenge and justice for the young Prince. The day that King Regis was informed of the death of the child was on one of his few days off.
The King was in the Citadel gardens with Noctis sat on his lap. His son was now 5 months old and was just about able to sit up on his own with little support. He was growing so fast and had a strong personality. It was clear that his son was very fond of sleep as the first month of his life he was normally asleep unless he was being fed. It was a cold day so they decided to sit in the enclosed area of the garden to block out the cold, however the sun was high and bright in the sky causing a bright glow on all the plants and water. Regis was appreciating the view when Cor walked in with a emotionless face. Cor never showed emotion, he was very good at hiding his feelings, but Regis knew when something was wrong, and today was no exception, he knew Cor was about to bring bad news.
“Your Majesty, remember how it was announced about a week ago that Prince Lucas of Tenebrae had gone missing?” Cor said in a low tone, the King just nodded and braced himself for whatever was to come.
“Well Niflheim has claimed that they were responsible for the child’s kidnapping.” Oh, that wasn’t too bad Regis thought to himself.
“So the Queen knows where her son is?” Regis asked.
“Well, the Empire also stated that the Prince had died whilst they had him…the next oracle is no more.” Regis couldn’t believe what he was hearing. The Empire had stolen and killed a child not much younger than his own. His hold on Noctis subconsciously tightened which Noctis noticed as he started squirming, but Regis didn’t let go.
“How? How could someone murder a child? What have they gained from this? Other than full hatred from other countries. The poor child. Queen Sylva must be heartbroken” Regis expressed sadly looking towards Cor.
“I don’t know what to say Your Majesty, other than the Empire may find themselves at war now with Tenebrae. Whether that is what they wanted, I don’t know, but we must prepare ourselves in the event that the war is brought to Lucis” Regis nodded at this. It is possible that Tenebrae will declare war and expect Lucis to aid them. They could only wait and see what happens.