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Chapter Text

It was an odd, odd dream, and it felt endless, too. From a forest to the front of the Imperial Palace, he had walked and fought his way through all of it with the help of a long eared Carbuncle. It looked a lot like a fox, save for the jewel encrusted on its forehead. Its eyes were a warm shade of brown and so very friendly, it always seemed to be smiling reassuringly at him; it made the cutest noises, too.

The Carbuncle said they needed to get him to his safe place, and so they journeyed and the little thing gave him a cellphone so they could communicate, and supplied him with various weapons to be used against his nightmares. The dream only got stranger as he seemed to hear his father’s voice, and suddenly the eight-year-old prince was as tall at the monarch of the kingdom, and he fought a giant made of iron that was at least twice his – now bigger – size. He earned himself a feel scratches, but they magically disappeared once he was transformed into just a little kid again.

Noctis ran from where he stood to the Carbuncle that jumped in place far ahead, celebrating his victory, celebrating that he would finally be able to wake up. In a flash, the hours passed, day became night that became day once again, and his safe place was revealed in a burst of colorful stars and circles: Regalia, his father’s car.

He opened the door. The creature looked up at him, long ears and tail swishing slightly, waiting for him to go in and awake. Noctis bent forward, waved and bid his farewell, entered the car as his new friend watched on patiently.

When the door closed, it was just him and the car. There was nothing to look for outside the window; no Imperial Palace, no Carbuncle, no sky or a tiny bit of cityscape. Only white, blinding white that made him squint his eyes at it. Maybe it meant he was waking up; his head did feel lighter after all. He leaned back on the leather seat and sighed, wishing to go to sleep.

“I am glad Carbuncle got you here safe and sound.”

His eyes shot open, small body lurching forward, blood rushing around his eardrums. He focused his frightened gaze on the person sitting behind the driver’s seat, his heart thumping erratically in his chest, hands trembling, pupils shrinking to mere dots. His companion stared at him peacefully, face void of emotions, stare nearly calculating. Blue. Pale blue eyes watched him; the dark eyelashes that surrounded them made them seem much lighter. Icy, even.

“It is not your time yet.”

Her body turned towards him and he swallowed, fighting the urge to press himself to the door or even try to open it and run into the white void on the other side. He had to be brave, had to be tough, it was his duty as prince of Lucis. “Who– who are you?”

Not a word was said. Instead, she stretched her gloved hands in the space between them, letting her fingers trace his full cheeks before cradling his face completely. Noctis allowed himself to study her appearance. A high collared long black dress, no sleeves in sight. Long gloves that went past her elbows. Glossy, pale rose lips that stretched into the tiniest of smiles. A headpiece of old gold, blackened in some areas, sat on her head. The twisting vines tangled in her hair, that curled over her left shoulder and it was surprisingly–

“I am no human.” If possible, he grew more still than before and ceased to breath altogether. “Open your eyes.”

“But they’re already open–”

“Wake up, Noctis.”

Her voice mingled with his father’s as she tapped her index fingers to his temples. He fainted, falling straight into her arms, and at the same time, bolted upwards in his bed, the first traces of sweat starting to show near his hairline. The king rushed to his side accompanied by a nurse, fussed over him and brushed his fringe back. Noctis stared wide eyed at his lap, taking in large gulps of fresh air, letting it fill his lungs, but it did not seem to calm his nerves down.

He was offered water and he drank from it greedily. The nurse was dismissed once his agitation had faded, and he was forced to lie back on a pile of pillows. King Regis took his smaller hand in his as the boy worked his throat, eyes focused on the ceiling. Long minutes passed in silence, no eye contact was made, and the king finally found his voice again.

“Tell me, my son.” He started slowly, calmly. “What did you see?”

His gaze dragged back down, sluggish, and settled on the bedside table. “That.” He referred to the little Carbuncle doll sitting there, its eyes lacking the life the one in his dream had. His brows knitted, head lolling to the side as if he had no strength to keep it up. “And someone...”

“Someone?” Regis inched closed, his hold growing a little tighter. “Who was it?”

“Pink hair...” Noctis rambled, his words getting mingled together and difficult to understand, breathing getting heavy. “A crown...”

The king lightly shook his son’s shoulder in an attempt to keep him awake. “Don’t fall asleep again, Noct.” He pleaded, scared that the young prince would not wake up so soon again.

The boy sighed through parted lips, his eyes drawing shut once more as he drifted into a peaceful, normal sleep state. “The Goddess...”

Chapter Text

It had been a week since the accident, since he fell into that long slumber, since his mother passed away at the hands of a monster. Noctis still was healing, being kept inside the walls of his home and away from school until the doctor deemed he had fully recovered. Sometimes Princess Lunafreya of Tenebrae came for visits, though soon it would be his turn to go see her.

He spent most of the time napping the day away or playing with his toys. Sometimes, as was today’s case, he would go to the back of the Imperial Palace where there was a garden in the open air. It had many flowers, which his mother liked to water them herself when she was still alive, usually humming a foreign melody to his ears. He would stare at the colorful flowers in wonder, longing, as his thumb rubbed over the jewel on the forehead of the Carbuncle doll, wishing for it to come to life and play with him.

Noctis did not have many friends. He could think of Lunafreya, and now Carbunble. His father perhaps, though he had little free time to play with him. His mother used to play with him and sometimes tell him stories before bed.. She would come to this very place and tend to the flowers here, always with him by her side passing her the gardening tools she asked for. He always dreamed of buying her a house where she would be able to have as many flowers and trees as desired. That was a silly dream, but one he had longed to fulfill.

He stretched his legs out before him and laid back on the grass, feeling the light dance on his face. The place only had enough sunlight around midday, or else it was cool and engulfed by shadows of the trees and tall walls of the palace. The sun was warm, heating his exposed skin and making his cheeks flush, and he closed his eyes to enjoy the feeling. Noctis could sense one of his caretakers nearby, out of sight, and he zoned her out, letting his mind wander and his body get lighter and lighter.

Soon, he was asleep and dreaming, though it was hard to tell so. He was sitting in his garden and the only real difference was that Carbuncle was curled around his bare feet, sleeping soundly, soft snores coming from it. He reached out and patted it, ran his fingers through its short, soft fur, and the creature shifted under his touch. Noctis could not tell if this was the real one or just something his mind made up, still he spent several minutes in that process, caressing its spine until it rolled on its back and let him play with his tummy.

“It is not the same.” He lifted his gaze and looked at a tree where someone seemed to be walking out of its bark. “I cannot summon him to come and play. Archaens are very important.”

It was she, the Goddess, visiting him once again.

She stepped out of the shadows and into the light, posture perfect and hands folded before her navel. Her black dress stretched on and on behind her, dragging over the green blades of grass with every step she took. The sleeves were long and partially covered her hands, held in place by a golden ring around her middle fingers. The vine-like headpiece she wore got tangled with her fine rose colored hair, and now that he was calmer, he saw that crystal strings hung from the side and went around the back of her head to the other, forming arches.

As she came to a stop before him, he pondered for long seconds if he should stand, bow or throw himself at her feet. She saved him from doing any of that as she lowered herself to his side, sitting beside him, and Carbuncle looked up at her with perked ears before hopping onto her lap. “Are you really the Goddess?”

“Yes,” she replied easily, lithe fingers treading through white fur. “Why would I not be?”

He shrugged his small shoulders, leaning his arms onto his bent knees. “Shouldn’t you be in the sky?”

Her soft laugh was soothing, one would say. “How do you know I am not here and there at the same time?”

His eyebrows pinched, bottom lip jutting out as he pondered over her words. “People can’t be at two places at once.”

“But I am not human, remember?” She patted Carbuncle on the head, and it leapt towards the young prince to rub itself against his shins, throat rumbling softly as if purring.

“So if you’re in the sky,” he started, leaning forward in anticipation, “can you talk to my mom?”

The Goddess nodded. “I only am here because she wished dearly for me to look over you.” There was a renewed sparkle in his blue eyes and he smiled silly at her. “I do not have much time to talk, but remember your mother loves you.”

“What?” He squeaked as her hands reached for his face, bare fingertips brushing his skin. “Why not? Why do you have to leave?”

“Open your eyes.”

“No!”

“Wake up, Noctis.”

A light tap of her fingers to his temples was all it took for him to pass out in her arms, and wake up with a gasp from his nap just in time to see his father rushing towards him accompanied by the doctor and his caretaker. He rubbed his eyes and his father placed his hands on his shoulders, calling his name until blue irises set on his aging face.

“Son, are you alright?” Regis looked at his exposed limbs searching for any sign of injury. “Miss Muriel said she called you many times but you weren’t responding.”

Noctis took in a sharp intake of breath and whipped his head around, black hair flailing with the motion. “I saw her again, dad.”

Confused, the king frowned his forehead and combed his son’s locks back into place. “Who, Noct?”

“The Goddess.” He said without hesitation, catching everyone else out of guard. “She came to me again. She said mom loves me.”

The doctor and caretaker turned away from the sight when Regis wrapped his arms tightly around the prince’s shoulder, pulling him impossibly close. Noctis rested his face on the crook of his neck, hands gripping his father’s cloak and eyelids drawing shut. They remained embraced, rooted to the spot under the midday sun, still mourning over the loss of a loved wife and mother.

Chapter Text

The doctor gently poked the prince on the side of his ribs. Noctis stirred with a sigh, curled his fingers around the covers and did not wake.

“Well, Your Majesty,” he started, running his fingers through the thin beard that covered the lower half of his face. “It seems he is not responsive only when the Goddess is talking to him.”

Regis set his jaw and roamed his gaze over his son’s sleeping figure, hands tightly clasped behind his back. Ever since that time in the garden, his son had said the Goddess came to him in a dream some other three times. That was alarming for many reasons, the first one being that no one really knew if that was the Goddess. Noctis could say that, but there was no way to prove it. No one could get inside his mind and see if it was a fake or not, and if they could, no one would be able to tell. There was no accurate depiction of the Goddess to begin with.

Some said she was tall, thin and bony, with straight pale hair that fell to her waist, high cheekbones and dressed in simple white gowns. Others said she was a curvaceous figure with flowing hair that wore a long shimmering dress that represented the sky. No one ever imagined or said her to be as his son had described: pale rose hair, dressed in black, eyes so blue and clear they were like crystals.

Needless to say, the king had his reasons to worry. The doctor annotated some things down on his notepad and quietly left the room after a bow, leaving the other man alone with his son. It was hard to tell what was going on. Why would the Goddess, if it really were her, be visiting his son? Surely, she must have many other things to do, like watching over the entire planet of Eos. Who could assure him that it was not someone else that was entering the boy’s mind and playing tricks on him? What if the young heir was hallucinating? It all did start after his mother passed away, so it made sense. Perhaps these visions were remainders of his coma.

Brushing dark fringe away from a face with still too much baby fat, King Regis planted a kiss on his son’s forehead, and watched him for a little longer before exiting his chambers, closing the door silently behind his back.

Knitting his eyebrows, he looked around the long, dimly lit hallway, feeling a shiver run up and down his spine, and a breeze blow in his ear. A split second of pondering was what it took him to whirl around and barge inside the bedroom again, going up to the bed and grabbing the child’s shoulders as if to give him a shake, lifting the small body just an inch from the mattress.

Nothing.

His head lolled back as if boneless. Letting go of him, Noctis fell limply on the mattress.

“They were talking about you.”

The prince looked up at the deity who was staring off into the distance. Immediately, Carbuncle, real or not, materialized from thin air, jumping to his lap and standing on hind legs as if trying to hug the child.

“When did you get here?”

“Just now.”

Noctis petted the creature on the head, poking the crystal on its forehead, and let it go to prance around the field. They were together in what he had always imagined would have been his mother’s perfect garden. Spacious, vast, with millions of plants and flowers of various colors. Dressed in black, they stood out among the lilac, pink and blue hues that surrounded them in that specific area.

“Who was talking about me?”

“Your dad,” she tilted her head down towards him with a small smile on her lips, her rose tresses flowing gently with the breeze. “He worries that I am a figment of your imagination. Or something else.”

He glanced down at the bunch of flowers on his hands that he tried and failed to braid into crowns like his mother used to, frowned his lips, and quickly met her eyes again. “Well, are you?”

The Goddess set her eyes forward again and loosely crossed her arms. “I am if you want me to be.”

“Well, I want you to be real, Lady Goddess.” He said resolutely, tilting his chin up and away in a way of saying that they would discuss that no longer. She laughed quietly, bringing herself down to a sitting position beside him. She took the flowers from his hands and did her magic, fingers working with grace and care as she turned a couple of plants into something more. “You are my friend as well?”

Her blue eyes raised to look at his, her hands never ceasing its seamless work. “I notice that it was not intended to be a question, but it came out like so.”

Noctis shrugged sheepishly, wringing his hands together in agitation. “I don’t have many friends, so... I just wanted to know.”

She smiled. Not pitifully. She just smiled, and it was beautiful. “Of course I am your friend.” She poked him on the nose with her index finger, eliciting a giggle from him. “You are a wonderful boy. If only you were not so shy.”

The Goddess lifted the flower crown and let him inspect it from a distance, before moving to place it on his head. “You are bound to meet the funniest boy in your life. Just keep your eyes open.”

“Really?” A wide grin bloomed on his face; her warm palms cupped his cheeks softly. Somewhere ahead, Carbuncle yelped as it chased after a butterfly. “That’s all I have to do?”

“Yes,” her voice was just a whisper. “Open your eyes.”

And they did, growing large as saucers, and his brain was too slow and his limbs too sluggish to stop her.

“Wake up, Noctis.”

His eyes shot open, body jumping up from his bed. His dad was fast asleep on a cushioned armchair in the corner. The smell of lavender lingered in the air.

Chapter Text

“Is it true what they say, Noctis?”

The prince looked up from the dog to meet Luna’s gaze, and Umbra danced away from him, running after Pryna and tackling her to the ground, wrestling and playing.

“What?” He still sustained a few injuries from the attack some weeks prior, such as a bandaged arm and knee; thus, he was forced to be led about in a wheelchair and was never unaccompanied. Noctis, when inside or outside the palace, was always in the company of no one other than Gladiolus Amicitia, a boy three years older than him who would become his shield. He was very skilled in swordsmanship, and was the son of the king’s shield, but they did not get along well. Said boy was standing outside the glass doors just now, gaze listlessly observing the courtyard of her palace ahead of him.

The crown princess of Tenebrae, four years his senior, scooted to the edge of the couch to be closer to him and whispered, “That you saw the Goddess.”

He simple blinked and said nothing for a while. The dogs growled a few feet away, masses of black and white rolling on the fancy tapestry, biting and pawning at each other. Yes, he saw the Goddess, or so he believed. The woman said nothing against his claims that she was an ethereal being, and she did say so herself that she was no human. There was no way to confirm it, however, which led his father and the council to be skeptical of that.

With a nod, he replied. “Yes, it is.” He wished he had sounded firm, but there was a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

Luna did not seem to notice. Clasping her hands together and laying them on her lap, her eyes sparkled as she went on. “I wish I could see her too! I can talk to the Gods, it’s such a shame I can’t see them.” Brushing her shoulder length hair away from her face, the princess inquired, “What does she look like?”

Noctis pursed his lips and puffed his cheeks. “She has blue eyes. As blue as a clear sky, you know.” She nodded, edging closer. “Her skin is fair, and she’s always dressed in black, too. Every time I see her, she’s wearing a different model.”

“Black?” One slender finger was brought to her chin as she mused over that information. “That doesn’t seem to fit Lady Light at all.”

“Lady Light?”

She nodded her head, “That’s what she said her name was.”

“Oh,” he looked down at his hands. She never said what her name was, and he did not dare call her by the name that was given by the humans.

“What else?” Luna asked, driving his attention away from the growing anxiety swirling inside his chest.

He took a deep breath and recomposed himself. “Her fringe is long and swept to the side, the length of her hair falls over her left shoulder in waves.” Inhaling once, Noctis quickly added. “And it’s pink.”

Princess Lunafreya blinked in amusement, seeming a little taken aback. “Pink?” Her lips stretched into a smile he could not categorize. “I would never have guessed.”

Neither would he, had he not met the Goddess herself. They did not talk much, as much as he wanted to do otherwise, and when they met, she cut their time together short, usually for no apparent reason. Lady Light, as called by Luna, always brought messages from his mother; they were usually simple and short, little “I love you’s” and “I miss you so much.” To his credit, he never woke up teary eyed, thought there was always a strange feeling in his heart as it beat rapidly, yet somehow, felt oddly heavy and empty at the same time.

His lips parted to speak, but he stopped himself short upon noticing her glazed lilac eyes. Noctis waited until it was over, waited until she blinked quickly and repeatedly and placed a strand of her hair behind her ear as per usual. Twelve years old and she already was the youngest Oracle in Eos. Such a burden to carry, but if anyone could do it, it was Lunafreya.

She frowned, her delicate features scrunching up cutely. “I don’t get it.”

“Get what?”

“The message. It wasn’t clear. I can’t even tell who it was that was speaking to me.” Her frown deepened, and his eyebrows knitted in response. Surely, it did not mean good news.

Still, the princess stood up and brushed her hands down the white skirt of her dress to smoothen the fabric. “Well, I am going to report it to my mother and the council. Will you be fine on your own for a while?”

He assented, taking her hand in his delicately and giving it a squeeze. “I’ll see you later, Luna.”

She smiled graciously and courteously, her dress flaring out as she whirled on her heels and headed for the door. A sharp whistle accompanied her steps, and both dogs immediately ceased playing to follow her to the exit, where one of her own servants awaited for her.

Noctis watched them go, feeling a little detached from it all. Luna was great in nearly everything she did and could rule a country at such an early age. He doubted he would be doing the same thing by the time he turned twelve, but the prince could only wait and see.

Chapter Text

His stay in foreign lands lasted some time and his father found the time to visit him in Tenebrae one day. In the woods by a stream that rolled down between lush blades of grass, the princess pushed his wheelchair around as his father and her mother watched on, accompanied by guards and her older brother that stood close by the monarch of the kingdom. After the stroll through the beautiful scenery, they were to have their afternoon tea in the colorful garden of the castle.

They halted a few steps away from the waters, and her dogs ventured into them with no fears and no cares. Luna called out to them, whistling loudly, exclaiming that Gentiana was not going to be pleased about that, but sometimes it was easy for her usually well-behaved dogs to tune her out and do things as they wanted. They wagged their tails and shook their fur, making droplets of cold water fly about.

“These dogs are impossible.”

Noctis whipped his head to the side, finding the Goddess casually standing to his right. “Yes, they are.” Examining her with slightly narrowed eyes, the boy continued. “I haven’t seen you in a while... Lady Light.”

She shrugged her shoulders and if he had blinked then, he would have missed it. “Some things came up.”

“What things?”

She vanished, only to appear before him in a flurry of dark feathers. “You are still too young and I wish I could give you the life you deserve, Prince Noctis Lucis Caelum, but that, sadly and ironically, is out of my reach.” He frowned, looking up at Her with confusion on his face; her own seemed far too void of emotions and did not match the tone of her voice at all. “I may have created it all, but this is beyond my control.”

He stuttered for a while and leaned back and away from her, from her slightly knitted eyebrows, from the cold fire in her eyes and, most importantly, her approaching hands. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m sorry it has to be like this. Please, forgive me.”

“What’s happening!?”

In a fit of anger that might as well be unlike him, Noctis tried to swat her hands away as if they were mere flies, trying to prolong the moment until she answered his questions. He heard the dogs happily round around his wheelchair, and Luna’s voice was a faint and distant sound in his head, but he would fight Her and he would win, because they were inside his mind after all and he had complete control over it.

Or so he, and his father to some extent, believed.

Her eyes flashed and everything around them slowed down, practically coming to a stop. The prancing dogs seemed to halt mid-step, the moving waters of the stream rolled away slowly and whatever birds had appeared during their little quarrel hovered above their heads, flapping their wings at an excruciatingly lazy pace. His gaze flickered to the King of Lucis, taking in his expression, the increasing furrow of his eyebrows as he noticed his son’s eyes had a dull and faraway look to them. How was it even possible? How could She talk to him now when he was still awake? How could She freeze time so easily? Was this not in his head as he had believed?

Lady Light gently pried his fingers away from her wrist and her hands were moving towards him once again like looming shadows. “Open your eyes.” Noctis wanted to scream, to fight back once again, but it seemed the only thing he could do was move his eyes and blink. Frozen as he was, he could only watch as She did as She pleased. The closer her fingers got to his temples, the more he could hear the sounds of the running water, his father’s voice growing louder and clearer as he called out his name, as if everything was going back to its usual pace. It was unsettling. “Wake up, Noctis.”

He lurched forward with a gasp for air, his eyes wide and frantic, blinking repeatedly to ease the strain. He caught his father’s gaze and parted his lips to call him, but airships were spotted overhead above the canopy and chaos ensued. Armored soldiers jumped from them, wreaking havoc all around as shots were fired and from his peripheral vision, he saw the Queen of Tenebrae fall as she stepped in to save her son from getting burned. Regis engaged in a short battle with one of them to buy them some time, took his son in his arms and reached for Lunafreya’s hand, pulling her along as he ran through and away from the commotion of flames and smoke.

However, Luna let go of his hand and slowed down to a stop, and his father did not turn around even as he screamed her name, the knights running around her as if she was just a part of the scenery and continuing to advance on them. His throat hurt, his eyes burned and he could not reach her, even as he tried to stretch his arm and fingers as far as they could go.

Tenebrae had been invaded by Niflheim, and the Goddess could not control that.

Chapter Text

Noctis did not believe he had ever slept this badly in his entire short life.

Even when he had gone through something as traumatic as losing his mother to a monster attack and had fallen into a deep coma, his dreams had been mostly pleasant. He went through some hard times in his head and encountered a handful of blue creatures that he had to fend off, but for most part, he visited beautiful places and saw magical creatures. It all had been so nice that, if it were not for Carbuncle, he could have gotten lost and forgotten that he needed to wake up.

Now, however, his dreams had turned into nightmares. He usually woke up with his throat aching from screaming so much and eyes burning from the smoke he saw behind his closed eyelids. Images of flames engulfing Sylva’s body were by far the worst, but his mind sometimes changed facts and he saw Luna getting shot, Ravus getting stabbed and his father suffering various injuries. Not once, though, did he see the Goddess. Not in memory, and even less in a surprise visit from Her.

He did not eat as much and grew apathetic. The prince stopped looking forward to the training sessions he had with Gladiolus and holding a sword became a chore he started to dislike greatly. His father was now overworking and had even less free time on his hands to spend with him; having their meals together became a rarity and a luxury. Ignis was busy with his training to be his future adviser and was not much into the kind of games Noctis wanted to play.

That night, for once, he was greeted with something other than the woods of Tenebrae where he last saw his friend. Everything around him was pitch black, yet he could clearly see his hands as if it were day. He was ankle deep in water that shimmered like liquid gold and went past him sounding like faint twinkling bells. He walked and walked, but seemed to get nowhere. Nothing in the scenery ever changed and it felt like he had been walking for long hours.

Then, he saw her. Or rather, Her pink hair that stood out in the darkness, Her black dress blending in the heavy shadows. He moved forward, feet picking up their pace, the water going up until it reached his knees and his speed slowed. She turned once he stopped, bent at his waist with his hands on his knees, fighting to catch his breath.

“Why?” He asked coarsely when She said nothing. “Why did it have to happen?”

The Goddess only shook her head. “You are far too young to understand how the universe works, Noctis.”

He choked on his breath, hands curling into tiny, shaking fists. “Why did you take so long to come see me?”

Her expression softened, the tension on her shoulders dissipating as she beckoned to him with a hand. “I did not mean to make you wait for so long.”

Noctis hesitated, but walked over to her nonetheless despite the many times he halted and his step faltered. His eyes looked up at hers, the knot in his throat seemed to grow in size as he remembered everything and he slowly lifted his arms, tentatively wrapping them around her middle. One of her arms draped over his shoulders and a palm rested on top of his head, gently ruffling his messy, dark tresses. His lips quivered and he softly bit down on them to stop.

“I can see everything, you know.” Lady Light said, her voice a quiet whisper. “I can see the things that are set on stone, things that will not change despite the actions taken. I could tell you them all, but nothing you could do would alter the future.” He pressed his forehead into her stomach, fingers fisting the material of her dress. “This was one of those things, as was the Marilith attack.” She paused to take in a breath. “I’m sorry.”

The prince shook his head, eyes squeezed tight as tears managed to spill and trail down his cheeks. If it was not Her fault, then why was She apologizing? Now that he knew nothing could ever save the Fleuret family from the hands of Niflheim, he felt even more distressed. Perhaps She had known all along what would happen, even before he was born or conceived. Perhaps she was aware of these things before Eos was even created.

His body was shaking and so she pressed him closer to her. She said nothing, not even comforting words, not even shushing sounds. Lady Light only held him and let him cry, his tears disappearing into her dark dress, the water soaking his legs and lapping leisurely past them. For once, she did not pull away. For once, she did not tap his temples and demand him to wake up. She kept quiet, silent, allowing him to hold onto her for dear life as he cried his eyes and heart out and screamed his grief into her stomach.

She played with his hair and held his form firmly to hers as his body relaxed completely and he fell asleep inside his dream.

Chapter Text

Bleary eyes blinked at the homework set before him, but Prince Noctis could not bring himself to do any of it. In an attempt to stop him from building walls around himself after the invasion he witnessed in Tenebrae, the doctor thought it would be best to allow him to go to school again, so a month after the attack, the prince was forced out his bedroom and home and into the hallways of the school once again.

He set the pencil down and lowered his forehead to the papers he had been given by the teacher. He liked reading, though it made him feel sleepy, and he enjoyed learning about animals and history, but math was boring and he would much rather do anything else but that. Noctis opened his eyes to the blurry simple equations on the worksheet and sighed, using his blunt, short fingernails to scratch the back of his head. He was tired. He had not heard from Luna in a while now, his father was too busy, Ignis was caught up in his work and Gladiolus was not the kind to mess around.

Noctis had no friends, and the people that looked after him throughout the day were no fun to play with.

Closing his eyelids for just a second, he breathed in deeply and tried to relax his shoulders. All he really wanted was someone to play with him.

A squeak caught his attention and he quickly lifted his head, distractedly wiping away at the drool that gathered on the corner of his lips. Blinking the sleep away from his eyes, he frowned his forehead at the sight before him. Grass stretched on ahead, clouds lazily floated above and cast shadows over him, protecting his pale skin from the sun. Slowly, Noctis pushed himself to his feet and wandered through the meadow, stepping over white and yellow flowers scattered randomly through the field.

He turned towards the sound as the squeak reached his ears again and yelped as something collided with his stomach, forcing his body back until it was sprawled on the grass. Dazedly, Noctis looked up and saw a familiar black, tiny snout sniffing him before diving to nudge his cheeks. He laughed, hands coming up to pet the white fur of the fox like creature, happiness bubbling from within his chest. “Carbuncle!”

“That’s right.”

The animal leapt away from him to let the boy sit up, scurrying towards the long dress the Goddess wore. She smiled at the prince as he patted dirt away from his dark clothes and crouched down so they could be at eye level. “How was your first week back at school?”

“It was fine,” he replied with a shrug and rocked back and forth on his heels. “I met this boy yesterday.”

“Really?” She asked, though she knew of it already. “What was he like?”

Noctis hummed, hands now in his pockets. “He has blond hair. He’s about my height, but looks bigger because he’s kind of heavy.”

“Heavy, uh?” Her fingers gently swept through his raven locks in a poor attempt to brush down the chaotic strands that pointed in all directions. “You didn’t tell him that, did you?”

“Uh...”

Lady Light smiled and took his small hand in hers. “Some people are sensitive about their looks, Prince Noctis, even if it looks like they don’t care.” Letting go and standing up, the Goddess glanced up at the sky briefly before swiveling her gaze down to him once more. “Well, no matter now. Just remember to think twice before you comment on these things, okay?”

The prince fiddled with his fingers, briefly wondering if he should apologize to the boy, and quickly decided he would think of it later when he was awake and had no one to keep him real company. His feet carried him at a rushed pace towards her, grinning up at Light when he reached her side before running past, leaving her behind. Carbuncle was just up ahead jumping among little blue flowers and he joined it without hesitation, going down the hill with a blinding smile on his face. There was not much the two of them could do together, but the prince was fine with just chasing after it, loud bouts of laughter escaping from his mouth as he shielded his eyes from the sun.

Lady Light sat under the shade of a tree, legs folded beneath her and hands on her lap, all small smiles and gentle eyes as they followed their moving forms, emerging from tall grasses and disappearing behind berry bushes. Time seemed to drag endlessly, but eventually they both grew tired and moved their smaller, spent bodies in her direction, plopping down unceremoniously and gracelessly, chests heaving as they fought for air.

Blue eyes set on her face and, slowly, the Goddess turned to look at him, quirking an eyebrow at the sight of his furrowed forehead. “Aren’t you going to wake me up?”

She cracked a smile at his reluctant, small voice and turned her attention to the scenery ahead. “No. You can stay for a little longer.”