Duo Corda, Unum Animam: Memoriis (June 2013)

[Claire Gallows]

Lux ex tenebris (Light From Darkness) Pt. 1

She had to remind herself to keep breathing. It had been quite hard to do so, to keep her calm while the men talked. She had to watch over them while not reacting to a single thing they said. She listened while they talked of cohesiveness between the kingdoms and how that could be accomplished. The first and foremost idea was by marriage. Between the prim and proper blonde by the name of Stella and Prince Noctis. Her Noctis. The idea infuriated her and when the King had dismissed her, she had stalked off, right out of the castle, intent to get as far away as the grounds would take her.

He had been gritting his teeth through the whole meeting, as well as gripping the arms of the chair he was sitting in, knowing full well that she was suffering through this just as much as he was. With him voicing to his father, that it hadn't been the Lucis kingdom that started this war, which was ignored as it always was. When it came to the talk of marriage, he saw the smug look that Stella gave to Lightning, causing him to bluntly tell his father that 'marriage' would never happen. He then turned and left the meeting as well, muttering under his breath.

She had noticed the tension he had carried through the entire conference, and she wanted nothing more than to go to him to comfort him but all she could do was simply stand there, stoic and emotionless. Thankfully Odin's quiet calm had centered her and kept her from lashing out at the conversation, in particular at the smug blonde at the table. Her jaw tensed as she left the castle, hands clenched as she passed through the training grounds without a look over her shoulder. The further she got, the slower her steps got, growling under her breath the entire time, a mix of cursing those trying to make decisions for the prince as well as damning herself for having fallen so hard for him and allowing something like this to hurt so bad. "Should've just stuck with the job, Light, you should've known better. And now look, you get to watch him get married off to that prissy bitch."

He seemed to know right where she was going as he followed her trail without even looking up. "If he thinks for a moment that I am going to marry that woman, after all she has done…he is losing his mind." Muttered as he looked around for a moment, and closed his eyes with a tilt of his head. Suddenly he teleported to her location, making sure to appear a few feet in front of her, just in time to hear those words. "I will never marry that woman, Light."

His sudden appearance shouldn't have surprised her but it did and she jumped, stepping back a few paces. "Damn it, Noct, how many times do I have to tell you not to do that...one of these times you're gonna get shot or stabbed or something." Growling at him, trying her best to be angry instead of showing the pain she was feeling. Her eyes glistened with the threat of tears for a moment before she sucked in a deep breath and pushed it all out of her mind, slipping back into the emotionless soldier she had been throughout the meeting. Her words though, were pleading and full of emotion. "Noct, I can't lose you...I can't do it..."

A light smile crossed his lips to her reaction to him suddenly appearing in front of her. "You have told me about...ten times counting this time. Seems I haven't learned not to do this." Softly spoken to her as try as she might, he could see the pain in her eyes, as he stepped up to her with his hand coming up to cup her cheeks. Thumbs wiping away any tears that might fall, he looked into her eyes for a long silent moment. "You won't lose me, Light." Letting a tender smile reserved for her to shine through. "Not to anyone."

His smile had her scowling, huffing at him. "You'll learn when you end up with a blade driven through you because you thought it a smart idea to startle an armed woman." She said, peering at him for a moment. He stepped up to her and she leaned into the hand to her cheek but managed not to shed any tears, the facade she had put on having been quite convincing. "G-good...I can't...if I lose you, I'm done. That's it for me..." She shakes her head slowly, lowering her gaze for a moment before looking back up to him. "Promise me?"

He tried hard not to laugh to that, but let himself chuckle softly. "You would just hover at my side till I was better, and you know it." He continued to caress her cheeks, even if she didn't shed any tears, as he continued to just stare into her eyes. "Shhh. If I lost you. I would be done for as well." Softly spoken in return. "I swear that you will never lose me to anyone." He followed his words with a lean down to softly and slowly kiss her lips.

She rolled her eyes at him. "I'd probably even heal you myself...even if that's not really my forte." Healing was far too delicate of work for her abilities, but she would have no choice if she accidentally shot or skewered him. She pushed the thought out of her mind. Keeping her eyes on his, she reminded herself to keep breathing. His words reassured her and she slowly nodded. "You wouldn't lose me...I would still be here to watch over you..." She trailed off, sniffling softly at the thought, not wanting to think about having to watch him with her…Stella. "I swear you will never lose me either." Quieting when he kissed her, she returned it gently.

For the moment, he just continued that gentle kiss with her, as his hands shifted to slide along her arms to her sides. Simply enjoying the moment, he forgot about the meeting and what had been talked about. All of it drifted from his mind right then and there before he slowly pulled back. "And I will always be here to watch over you, with you at my side." Whispered against her lips to try and get her to think on that future instead.

Even with the gentle kiss to her lips and his hands at her sides, she couldn't shake the feeling. It drifted away just slightly before it all came back when he broke that kiss. Biting at her bottom lip, she nods deliberately. "I...I hope so...your father didn't seem too convinced of that..." Even thinking of the future hurt, she knew how easily all of this could be taken away from her, whether by the King's choices or by Etro or by the man standing in front of her, and in this moment, she felt unbelievably vulnerable standing in front of him with that thought in her mind. "Please don't ever go..."

Slowly opening his eyes as he watched her for a long silent moment, he caught her biting her lower lip again. He also saw the fear in her eyes to losing him, which caused him to frown softly. Listening to her words, he had an idea of what was scaring her so much. That his father could step in and do something, or that Etro could take her from him. He feared both of those things as well. "Silence. I will always be here for you." Moving his arms around her to hold her close now, not caring that she was still in her armor. "And should you ever be taken from me. I will come for you."

Still chewing at her bottom lip, she carefully considered his words before taking a deep breath and letting it out in a drawn out sigh. "I just...I never thought I'd care about someone the way I do about you...and the thought of losing you...especially to that wretch of a girl--I won't call her a woman because she's nowhere near mature enough to deserve that title--, I just wouldn't be able to handle it. It'd break me...but I trust you to do all you can to keep that from happening. And I will do all in my power to stay by your side no matter what." She offered him a slight smile to the thought.

"Shhh." He murmured down to her as he softly tried to get her to embrace him in return, with one hand moving to caress her hair. "What a pair we make. I never thought that I could love someone as much as I love you and need you in my life." Whispered words were spoken beside her ear. "You won't lose me to her or any other woman, Light. My heart. My body and my soul will always belong to you. No matter how far apart we are from the other."

[Claire Gallows]

Lux ex tenebris (Light From Darkness) Pt. 2

The Next Day

He spent the rest of the previous day with Lightning, walking the castle grounds while he tried to help calm her back down, as well as to get her to know that he would never leave her, nor would he ever let anyone try to tear them apart, at the moment. Today though, he had taken a break from going over the last reports that had come in, and was walking through the castle, mostly for the peace and quiet, with a light nod to the guards that he passed by here and there.

Stella had watched when he had followed Lightning out of the castle the night before and for a while had even followed them for a short time to see what she could find out. She didn't know what the Prince saw in his protector, but she was determined to figure it out and eliminate whatever it was. The following day, she made sure that Lightning would be busy with training before she went to wait for Noctis. Silent footsteps followed behind him, her sweetest smile given to the guards as well when she passed them. If she was going to be a part of this kingdom then she would have to get in good with them as well. "Noctis, hey, let's talk." Stella called to him, that same excessively sweet smile plastered across her lips.

He had known that Lightning was busy with the troops, yet didn't know that Stella had been the one to arrange it. That was before he got the feeling to being followed, and knew that it wasn't his protector, which was confirmed when she spoke up. It took him a moment to turn and face her, as he had to push aside the scowl that appeared, as well as those dark red eyes. Slowly turning now, as he fixed Stella with a forced smile. "Hello, Stella. What do you want to talk about?" He already knew what this was going to be about and just wanted to get it over with.

With a tilt of her head, she gave him a bright smile. "Ah, you stopped. I hadn't thought you would." Catching up to him finally, she looked up at him, standing closer to him than he probably would be comfortable with. "I just thought that maybe...we should spend some time together, you know? Perhaps we could go for a walk and get to know each other better, since we'll be spending so much time together in the future." She rocked forward and backward on her feet, hands held behind her back while she waited for him to acquiesce.

He took a full step back when she got a little too close than he wanted her being. "I am a busy man, Stella." Keeping his eyes on her, as well as keeping some distance between them, he remembered the last time she tried to talk with him, where she attacked when she didn't get her way. "The last time we spent time together. You attacked me, so I would rather avoid that." Narrowing his eyes just slightly, a slight growl came from him. "As I told my father, I will never be pushed into a marriage with you, before I already know what you and your kingdom want. My kingdom reduced to a puppet state."

When he stepped back, her lips pursed, eyes narrowing for a brief moment before she replaced the look with one of quiet serenity. "I know you are a busy man, Noctis, which is why I've arranged for the rest of your duties to be taken care of for the day. That way you and I can spend time together." She maintained the distance between them, not wanting to step in closer and set him off further. After all, she had a face to maintain and pissing him off would do nothing to help that. A wave of her hand as if shooing off his words before she gave him a saccharine sweet smile. "That was simply a misunderstanding. Surely you've gotten over that by now. I feared for my own safety and I know you...and your abilities...can be quite," she takes a slight step toward him, "Imposing." The growl didn't have her backing off any and actually had her nearing him once more. "And as your father told you, you've got no say in the matter. We may as well try to make this..." a tilt of her head as she looked him over, "Pleasant."

His eyes narrowed a touch more at her. "You have no right to interfere with my kingdom and my duty to my people." Another growl to her daring to even think she could do such a thing, glad at the moment that she chose to keep her distance from him, as he was might have slapped her for doing so. "A misunderstanding? You attacked me because I refused to bow to what you wanted me to do." Yet another growl at her, as he took a step back each time she moved forward. "And my father knows that I am not one to be forced into something. I command the loyalty of the people and of the soldiers here. So you can forget about any possible future you have with me. It will never happen."

She wasn't put off in the least by him getting angry with her. In fact, she found it almost amusing. "I would say since I was able to do so, with your father's assistance even, that I do have a right to do so." One hand on her hip, she continued to move toward him, slowly but surely. Another sweet smile played on her lips for the prince. "Your father knows this, but he also knows he has the ultimate say in things. You may as well give up, unless of course you would like to lose the right to the throne." A thinly veiled threat, she clasps her fingers together in front of her, still maintaining that almost disgustingly sweet calm demeanor.

That was the wrong thing to say to him, as his eyes slowly started to flicker back and forth now. "Even my father knows not to mess with what I do here for the kingdom, and one of these days he will see right through you and your lies. I know that it is your kingdom that sent those so called advisors here." His own tone suddenly took a sharper and much darker tone. "Any real citizen of Lucis would never advise me or my father to what you want. As for me giving in?" He smirked to that. "I will continue to fight you and your army. All you want is the crystal for your own, so that you and your kingdom can rule over the lands."

She was unrelenting in both her sweetness as well as her taunting and the anger in his eyes did nothing to halt that. "Yes, yes, young prince. We shall see who will be right in the end. This is a battle you cannot win, that much I promise you." She steps up close to him, locking her pale blue eyes on his. "You could make this so much more pleasant for yourself, you know. I could make you a very happy man if you let me. We can rule together and you'll finally know peace." Her hand reached for his slowly, barely inching forward as she spoke.

He wasn't going to back down on this and give her the pleasure of winning. Ever. "No. This is a battle you cannot win, because for that to happen you will have to make me submit, and that will never happen." He hissed, smirking thinly at her. "You could never make me happy, because there is only one woman in these lands that is able to do that." Another step back as she reached for him. "And that woman will never be you. I have already made my choice, and nothing will stop Lightning from becoming the woman that will always be at my side." He paused just a moment. "As my lover, and as my queen."

She let out a long suffering sigh, exasperated. "Darling, really. Must you make this so very difficult?" Her voice was far too sweet for how angry she was starting to get. "You mean the guardian? The emotionless soldier, always walking around here in that tin suit of hers. What do you even see in her? She's not even pretty."

His eyes narrowed further, as his hands closed into tight fists now. "Do not call me that ever again." He growled at her, with the red in his eyes darkening further to her talking down about Claire. "Yes. I mean her. As for what I see in her? She accepts me for who I am, not for me being the prince of these lands." He smirked once again. "She is far more beautiful than you could ever dream of being."

Her eyes flashed with a burning fury, fuming that she wasn't getting her way as she was used to. "Your. Choice. Doesn't. Matter." She hissed at him, raising a hand as if to backhand him.

[Claire Gallows]

Lux ex tenebris (Light From Darkness) Pt. 3

At that moment, Noct's protector was there. It had be simply a feeling Claire had gotten, that she needed to find the Prince. And sure enough she had been right. How long she had been there, well, she would never say, but she had heard enough and when Stella went to try to slap Noctis, Claire was there, true to her namesake, quick as lightning. Her fingers wrapped around Stella's wrist before twisting it into a painful position. "I would think twice about that, princess."

He was just about to snap a hand up to catch that slap attempt, before Lightning appeared before him. He had no clue that she had been there, nor how long she had been listening in. But her appearance got him to smirk slowly. "Another thing. I accept her for who she is." He took a step to Claire's side, not yet calling her off.

"What? Darling?" Stella smirked at him, amused at the reaction she was getting from him. "I accept you for who you are. I know you're quite like me, even. I would gladly embrace you as you are, even with your...what is the rumor...dark side of sorts?" She yelped when Claire took hold of her wrist, pulling back on it hard to try to free it from the painful twisted position it was in. "Unhand me!" She squeaked at Claire, the pitch of her voice rising with each word. Claire only tightened her grip, twisting hard to put more pressure on the girl's arm. "Noctis, call the bitch off! She's hurting me!"

With Stella's words, Claire let out a low growl, and with a quick movement, had Stella's arm pinned behind her back and her body shoved up against the closest wall. It was hard enough to knock the wind out of the girl but Claire didn't care, as she leaned in until her mouth was right beside the winded woman's ear. "Watch your tongue, girl. I don't care who you think you are, you raise a hand to the prince again and I will cut it off, do you understand me?" She chose to keep quiet about the relationship comments though, opting to try to be professional for the time being. Stella gave her a jerky nod, tears falling freely down her cheeks. Giving Stella's arm one more painful shove upwards, eliciting a high pitched yelp, Claire let go of her and took a step back. "Now get the hell out of here."

"You have no right to call me that name, and you never will." Smirking at her, as Claire held that wrist of Stella's. "And she is the only one that can handle my darker nature." A soft look went to Claire as all that anger faded in a moment, before returning as he looked back to Stella again. He said not a word to Claire doing her job for the moment. "I would, but that would be cutting her legs out from under her when she is doing her job. She is my personal bodyguard, and it is her duty and honor to keep me safe. From everyone that wishes to harm me. Now leave, before I give her the order to attack."

Stella whimpered, unable to concentrate on Noct's words with her arm twisted in such a way. When Claire let her go, she took in a gasping breath before pushing away from the wall and turning to glare at the prince and his protector. "It's pathetic that you need a woman to protect you. Absolutely pathetic." She shakes her head, wiping away the tears from her face. "Your father will hear about this and I will make sure she doesn't work another day for you ever again. Treating a foreign dignitary in such a way." Gaze burning with fury, she glares at the pair, shaking her head.

"You know, princess. 'Dignitary' implied some sort of dignity. Something you seem to have nothing of. Get the hell out of here before I make that face of yours as ugly outside as you are inside." Claire snarled at her, starting toward the glaring woman once more. Stella scrambled back a few steps, trying to put as much room as possible between herself and Lightning, her eyes wide with genuine fear, a few tears still falling. Without another word, she turned quickly, stalking off down the corridor, and disappearing from view though Claire remained tense. Quiet for a long moment before speaking, she purses her lips. "I shouldn't have done that..."

He watched the unfolding scene with flat out amusement now, as a sly smirk crossed his lips. "Better than me being the one to smack you around again, Stella." He shrugged his shoulders at her, before watching Claire start her stalk, his head tilting. He had never seen her so angry before. He turned a look back to Stella. "She will always be my protector. My father has no say in that." As the woman ran off, he eyed Claire again. "You saw her as a threat to me and merely done your job. Thank you." Soon, he moved to her side.

She inhaled deeply, trying to calm the rage she felt at seeing Stella say and do the things she had. Though part of her was infuriated at the woman's audacity to be so close to Noctis. Her Noctis. The man she had fought so hard for...so close to another woman. She shook her head, pushing out the thought and exhaling slowly. Working to remove one of her gauntlets, she wedges it between her arm and side before pushing a gloved hand back through her hair. Once more sweaty and quite honestly gross from training outside, she eventually regained her calm before though she avoided Noct's gaze the best she could. "Yes, but I shouldn't have put my hands on her, nor said what I did. Now she's going to go back and make your father hate me even more."

Watching Claire more closely than he had before, he caught that look of pure rage in her features to how close Stella had gotten to him, not at all blaming her for how she reacted. Hell. He would have reacted the same way if any man tried that with her. His Claire. It actually got him to smile to that thought, that both of them had fought so hard for the other. He sighed softly as she tried not to look at him. "Lightning. She attacked me, and you protected me. That is all that matters to me."

Still fidgeting with her hair, she continued to focus on slowing her breathing, steadily calming herself until she was able to face him without her voice shaking. "Yes. That's all that should matter. But after the King and I's last discussion," which she wasn't sure if Noct knew about, "I've been on egg shells...just waiting for him to find a reason to..." She shook her head cringing. Far too many times had she seen the King's men take away someone he deemed less than satisfactory, dispatching them in ways that served as lessons to the rest of those loyal to the throne. "I need to be careful."

He frowned softly for a moment as he watched her and listened to her. "I heard about it, Lightning." Softly speaking to her, he shook his head. "And I know how...we handle things like that." He looked away from her as he had done that very thing from time to time when it was needed. "If he tries that, I will stop it from happening." Said as he looked back to her.
The hand that had been messing with her hair came to settle at the back of her neck, gently rubbing at the tension built up in her muscles. How she chewed on her lip was indicative of how the whole thing worried her and she shook her head slowly. "That's...um...that's a noble thing to say, but doing so may be a different story." She glanced down the hallway to where Stella had disappeared to, quite sure she was tattling to Noct's father by now, with her fake tears and exaggerated stories. It was enough to make Claire’s blood boil again and she had to remind herself to stay calm. "I'm just trying to get by at this point..."

Shaking his head again as he stepped up to her. "Claire." First time he had ever used her real name, since he learned of it from her own lips. "Have I ever lied to you, or broken any of the promises I have made to you?" Softly to her before he looked down the hallway for a moment, already knowing that Stella was trying to convince his father to what she said happened. It got him to sigh softly. "You have me, Claire." He turned to start back the way he was heading earlier.

She sighed softly, still chewing at her lip. Though him using her real name had her looking up at him, brows rising. She had never heard him use her proper name prior to today and for a moment, she didn't know what to say. "N-no...but I also know some things are out of your control. You can't control everything, Noct, whether you like it or not." Looking down the hallway for another minute more, she sighed and went to follow after Noctis. "I do have you. And I'm eternally grateful for that. But I've also lived a life where it seems every time I have something good, it's taken from me. I don't expect that this will be an exception."

"I know that, Claire." A smile to saying that name again, before slowing down to let her catch up, so he could slip his hand into her own. "But I stand by what I promised you. I will fight with everything that I am to keep you safe." He looked to her with a squeeze of her hand. "And I have you and am forever grateful that you are in my life now." He then frowned when he heard her last words. "Don't talk like that."

She mustered up a small smile for him, trying her best to push the whole situation out of her head and just enjoy a moment of peace. "I know that Noct...look, can we just not talk about it right now? Them being here...her being here...it's all got me set on edge and I'm just trying my best to keep my cool." It was a moment of frank honesty, actually showing how badly this was affecting her behind that facade of cool, calm collection. "It's just something I've come to terms with. I'm at peace with it, really."

He nodded softly as he looked to her. "Sure, and I know how you feel." Freely admitting that to her, as he squeezed her hand softly. "What do you want to talk about?" Not really watching where they were headed now, as it really didn't matter. "We can talk about anything that you want to or nothing at all."

Slowly exhaling, she squeezed his hand back, turning her gaze toward where they were walking. "I don't even know what I want to talk about. I just...anything. Anything but them or her or your father. She's going to turn him against me, well, worse than he already is. And we're screwed if that happens." She shook her head before closing her mouth. "I said I was done talking about it. New subject, anything..."

He chuckled softly with another squeeze to her hand. "Nor do I at the moment." Shaking his head softly as he looked to her. "How do you stand wearing that armor all of the time?" Not a very good subject, but it was something other than the mess that happened moments before.

She chewed on her lip again, continuing with her pattern of quietly inhaling and slowly exhaling. His hand was squeezed again, before she gave him a small and grateful smile. "Honestly...it's a funny thing." She offered out her taken off gauntlet to him. To him it would weigh heavily, quite like thick plate armoring. After a moment of letting him see it, she would put a hand out to take it back, guiding his hand underneath hers to show how lightly it weighed once in contact with her skin. "It’s feather light when it's on...makes it easy to wear for long periods of time."

His brows rose to as he took note of her quiet inhaling and exhaling for a moment, as he took the offered gauntlet from her, taking note of just how heavy it was, as he tossed it up and down a few times. With a glance to her as she took it back, he chuckled softly to how light it seemed when on her. "Interesting. Still don't see how you wear it all the time. Kinda like you in the outfits that you wear on your days off."

Taking off the other gauntlet, she held them loosely between her fingers, letting them dangle for a moment and leaving her arms covered only in the black gloves that stopped above her elbows. "I'm just kind of used to it. It was a constant thing in Valhalla...I didn't sleep and attacks came at random, so..." She trailed off, shrugging. "I feel weird wearing normal clothes at this point. Let alone anything girly, oo, can you imagine trying to get me into a dress?" She actually smiled at him, quite brightly at her words, almost giggling.

Lowering his hand as she moved to take the other gauntlet off, with a tilt of his head as he turned to walk backwards to watch her fully now. "I guess I can understand that, from what you have been telling me." Softly though another frown crossed his lips to hearing she didn't sleep when she was in Valhalla. "I can see why, always dressed in armor." He looked her over at that dress and girly comment. "You would look absolutely stunning in a dress, breathtakingly so."

She hadn't caught the tilt of his head as he watched her, concentrating instead on slipping the smaller pieces of armor from her frame, stacking them in her arms. "And I know what you're thinking, I can tell by that frown. So let me explain...sleep isn't necessary. Time...as you know it, doesn't flow as it does here and a day here in which one would need a standard amount of sleep, well, it doesn't go that way in Valhalla. A month could pass here and I wouldn't need a wink of shut eye there." She shrugged. It was simply a fact of her life while she had been there, as normal as breathing. Her cheeks turned a deep red at his comment and she looked up at him, blushing, still disheveled from training, and arms full of plate armor. "You...you think so?" Blushing the whole way, she followed him down the corridor, content for the time being to forget about everything with Stella.

[Claire Gallows]

uis Separabit (Who Will Separate Us?) Pt. 1

She had been summoned. Not by Noctis, but by the King himself. This was not good. Breathing deeply, she stepped into the throne room, rolling her shoulders to straighten her posture as she entered. There was a military precision to her steps, each boot fall coming crisply as it echoed through the looming silence of the room before her. What was so important that he would interrupt the training session she had been in the middle of? She wasn't sure and quite frankly, she didn't want to find out. But here she was, worried as hell and quickly approaching what she thought to be certain doom. "Your Highness, you wished to speak to me?" Once she reached him, she took a knee, kneeling respectfully, head bowed.

Regis sat on the throne as he waited for Claire to show up, as he had heard all about the event that had happened between Stella, his son Noctis, and his personal bodyguard, whom he was still hearing the rumors going around that his son had chosen to be with. When she finally arrived, he narrowed his eyes down at her for a long silent moment. "Stella told me what happened the other day, about you putting your hands on her and threatening her, while she was a guest in my kingdom. Is what she is saying true?" He would be slightly fair on this as he had no reason to trust this woman that was kneeling before him, as he saw her as unworthy to be with his son, despite his son's claims that she was a worthy and honorable woman.

She swallowed hard, his words weighing heavily on her as she continued to bow before him. "It isn't as it seems, Your Highness..." She started, trying not to trip over her words. Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she might have caught a hint of blonde hiding out of the King's view. That bitch, Claire was sure of it. Slowly drawing her gaze up to the King, she remained in that kneeling position in hopes of proving her subservience to him and his kingdom. "I was only trying to protect the Prince." She offered out, trying to keep the confidence in her voice. Her gaze flickered about quickly, taking note of any of the King's personal guards that might have been present, should he choose to rid himself of her presence in the worst way she knew he could. Breathing slowly, she held her eyes on his, willing him to believe her.

His eyes narrowed sharply at her when she spoke, as he caught her looking off to the side for a moment then back to him. "And why should the prince need protecting from a guest? Stella has been here multiple times before you arrived here, and there has never been a problem." Tapping a finger against the arms of his throne, he looked to his guards for a moment, then back to Claire. "Tell me why I should believe your words over her’s."

"He told her that he wished not to marry her and it angered her in such a way that she thought it would be okay to strike him. I couldn't allow that..." She spoke as clearly as she could, holding her positioning, perfectly still. "I was...I was just..." She exhaled slowly to try to calm herself before breathing deeply. "I was just trying to keep that from happening." His last words were cause for pause and she didn't know what to say to that. This clearly wasn't going in her favor and for a moment she considered whether speaking again was a wise idea. "I...I'm telling the truth..." was all she managed, her shoddily held together confidence crumbling quickly.

"Yes. I know of my son's refusal to marry her, and it seems to have grown even stronger since you have come into the picture." Watching her oh so carefully again as he pondered his words. "And yes I know he has chosen you to be his protector, for that I have yet to see why." His eyes narrowed again, as he might have heard the truth in her words but if he did, he didn't show it. "From now on you are no longer to see the prince, unless it is ordered by me. Dismissed." He waved her off.

"He wishes not to marry someone he does not love." She phrased her words carefully, trying not to be argumentative since she knew that could be rather detrimental to her whole being alive thing. "We did not choose each other willingly, milord. I was sent by the Goddess to do her bidding, that's all I'm doing." When his eyes narrowed, her lips parted as if to argue with him before they quickly closed. Staring at him as she tried to process his words, she blinked a few times before swallowing hard. What could she say to that? When he waved her off, she slowly and hesitantly rose before giving him a deep bow. "Yes, Your Highness." She murmured before turning to hightail it out of the throne room.

He growled to that. "In time he will learn that this is the best way." His words were growled at her as she started to hightail it out of the throne room, before looking to his personal guards. "Keep an eye on her. It is clear that her influence is corrupting the prince." His head guard nodded before bowing, then turned to follow her out to do as his King wished and to keep Claire away from the Prince.

Her first thought was of Noctis, and how badly she wished to find him. But...she couldn't. Without looking over her shoulder, she knew she was being followed and her fingertips swiped underneath her eyes to stave off a few tears. She knew just where the Prince was and she circled around the castle in such a way that wouldn't be overtly obvious to the guard following her. Passing by the Prince's location, she caught just a glimpse of him, her heart aching as she passed without stopping to speak to him before heading back out to the training grounds. The current exercises had the troops on high alert with recent attacks by forces unknown and she soon found herself at the edge of the castle's grounds. "What am I going to do..." She murmured quietly, rubbing her hands over her face.

Meanwhile, Noctis had been confined to his room the whole time to keep him from trying to step in and defend Claire from his father's judgment, which had him angered and pacing his room. It wouldn't be until word reached him that he was allowed to leave, which was the very moment that Claire walked by him with just a mere glance. Yet he could see by the look in her eyes in that glance what the verdict was, which got him to watch her as she headed out, as he didn't want to go his days without being able to see her. He made up his mind then and there that he wouldn't let her suffer like that. As he turned to head the other direction, with a glance to see if he was being followed.

Half-heartedly, she continued in the training exercises. She was unbelievably distracted and the troops took notice, one of her lieutenants going so far as to pull her to the side to ask if she was alright. "I'm fine." She had snapped at him, before ordering back in line. Before long, she was throwing herself back into her work as she fought her hardest not to think about Noctis. Once the guard that had been following her was sure that she was staying at the training grounds, he left to go back to the King, leaving her behind with the guards she was training. Toward the end of the brutal training, she sent them to run the perimeter of the castle grounds, giving herself a chance to find somewhere to step away and deal with the never-ending pangs of heartache ripping through her chest, quite sure she was never going to be able to see Noctis again.

[Claire Gallows]

Pt 2

Seeing that he wasn't being followed before taking a moment to look out one of the windows, just out of sight as he seen the guard that had been following Claire walk by. Waiting for him to disappear, he moved to start down the various hidden passage ways, before coming to the one that lead outside. With him looking around a moment, as he made sure no one was around as he pulled the hood up on that cape he was wearing, he slowly moved to look around for her.

She had found her way to a familiar path, a quiet little trail that meandered through the edge of the woods at the far reaches of the grounds. She and Noct had walked it many a time together, quietly talking as they grew closer over the past months. It hurt to walk this path alone, her chest physically aching as she tried to catch her breath and calm herself. "Divine Etro...why does this hurt so? Please make it stop..."

He had a feeling he knew just where she would go and took the long way around to reach it so not to draw any attention to himself, it also helped matters that he knew these lands better than most of his own men. Slowly he would start walking up behind her, with a frown to her words. "It hurts because you love him so passionately, Claire." Said once he was sure he was within hearing range yet not within eyesight range. Not yet at least.

She hadn't expected him of all people to show. So when she heard his voice, she was quite convinced that she was hallucinating. Maybe she had snapped finally. "It was never meant to go this way..." She murmured quietly, hoping to hear his voice again, even if it was a figment of her imagination. She closed her eyes, drawing his face into the forefront of her mind, praying to the Goddess that this was all a bad dream or a joke or something.

Slowly he continued around the last bend to her current position, as he came to a stop to watch her for a moment, before shaking his head. "Perhaps not, but I do not regret anything that has come to pass since you arrived in Lucis. The Goddess Etro sent you here for a reason, Lightning. You have performed that task very well, and while doing so. You have become more than just my protector." He came to a stop a few feet away from her. "Remember what I said to you, the moment you told me that you love me, and that I love you." He paused to give her time to face him. "Nothing or no one will keep us apart."

She blinked back a few tears, trying to convince herself that she truly was hallucinating. Not wanting to contemplate the trouble that could happen from him being so near here, she slowly turned her gaze to him. She didn't know what to say to him and all she could was shake her head. "I've done all I can, Noctis...I'd give my life for you, you know that right? I have a feeling it would come to that should we choose to defy your father." She bowed her head slightly at the thought, fingers fidgeting at her armor.

Slowly pushing the hood back once she did turn to face him, he saw fully the torment she was in now with that order to stay away from him. Causing him to near mirror the pained look, as he slowly started towards her. "I know you have, Claire." Softly to her. "I do, and you know that I would give my life for you as well." He then shook his head as he came to a stop in front of her, as he used one finger to touch her chin to try and get her to lift her gaze to his own. "If it ever comes to that." He paused for a moment. "Then I will fight my way to you, and make him see that he will be forced to go through me to get to you."

For the time being she managed to stave off the tears that threatened to spill over her lash line. The touch to her chin had her wincing, the realization that such contact would soon be non-existent weighed heavily on her mind. "I can't ask that of you, Noct. It hasn't been an easy path for you and I...but I don't want it coming down to that. I think..." she started slowly, carefully choosing her words. "I think for the time being, it may be better if we not see each other." The very words hurt to say and it felt like embers were burning in her lungs. "Perhaps in time, it'll blow over...but I'm not one to go against orders and put you at risk."

He shook his head at her again, as he shifted that hand to lightly catch her chin. Watching her as she suffered right before his eyes, he shifted that same hand again to cup her cheek. "I know the path we have been walking together has not been an easy one. We both knew that from the start that we would have to fight, and be tested from all sides. Each time we have prevailed." He murmured softly to her. "This is just another moment that we must fight together on." Another soft murmur. "As for us not seeing the other?" He looked around for a moment, before looking back to her. "If no one sees us together, then we weren't seen together." He hoped that she caught the hidden message in his words.

Another wince came when he cupped her cheek. "How much can we prevail through, Noct...how do I prove myself to someone who refuses to see anything but my faults? I have no way to redeem myself in his eyes." She sighed softly. His final words had her pausing and she tilted her head just slightly as it slowly clicked in her mind. "That could be trouble, you know? How do we go about not being seen together without drawing suspicion?" She asked quietly as she quite easily caught his meaning.

"Stop wincing to my touch, my beloved." He whispered to her. "We must continue to prevail through everything that is thrown at us, Claire." A pause to that for a moment. "You will prove yourself to him, and he will see the error of his ways." He said softly before caressing her cheek with his thumb, still looking into her eyes. "Perhaps so, but we know these lands and we can both slip off unseen." Finally smiling to her.

She tried to relax, really she did. It didn't work very well but the effort was there all the same. "I'm trying...I'm really trying..." She closed her eyes as he caressed her cheek, managing not to flinch at the touch. "We can hope...I do not see that happening, but we can certainly hope." She sighed softly, reopening her eyes to seek out his again. "So we continue this in secret then..."

He sighed softly to seeing her trying so hard to relax for him, which got him to frown softly to see that it wasn't helping. "I know you are, my dear." Though when she didn't flinch to his touch this time, it got a light smile to cross his lips. "That we can, and we must never give up on that hope or us." Murmuring as he locked his eyes with her own. "Just for now, because I can't face even one day without seeing you." He moved his other hand out from under the cape that was around his frame to rest against her hip, to try and coax her to move closer to him, as well as to embrace him like they had always done.

She chewed at her lip, looking him over for a moment as she tilted her head. "It's hard when it seems like the whole world is against us. It's so...trying..." Another soft sigh issued from her lips. "You would see me out and about and should any trouble arise. You know I would be there. It's not like we're forbidden from seeing each other in passing." She shrugged, trying to come up with something. It didn't work very well and she sighed again. Stepping in close to him, she gently nuzzled her face against the crook of his neck, sniffling. "This will pass, right?"

He looked her over and smiled despite the moment, as he tilted his head to the look of her still in her armor. Tired and covered in a day's work of training the troops, but at the moment it didn't matter. "Yes it is very trying, but the fact we have not given in shows they we both want the other." Softly to her. "Very true on all of that, Claire." Murmured again as he shifted to slip his arms around her when she moved up against him, with one hand combing through her hair. "But it would be moments when you are close to me like this that I will want." Whispered quietly beside her ear. "It will pass."

[Claire Gallows]

Et prétium redemptiónis (The Price of Redemption)

“Commander Farron, w-we’re under attack! Princess Stella’s been taken…” The panicked guard came stumbling into the gym before bending at the waist to put his hands on his knees while he fought to catch his breath. Keeping her pace on the treadmill, she turned a look to the young man, a brow arching behind scattered bangs. It was raining and hardly ideal conditions for fighting. Sigh. With a lithe hop, she leapt from the machine though she was hardly hurried in her movements. An annoyed hand smacked at the power button, the whirring dying down as she huffed in exasperation and made her way toward the winded guard.

“Take me there.” She commanded, nudging the man out of the gym and down the hallway toward the armory. As the guard briskly walked beside her, she pulled off layers of workout clothes along the way, ignoring the sidelong glances the young man gave her. Once in the armory, she suited up, deftly snapping armor into place as she listened to the gawking guard while he gave her a situation report.

“That foolish girl. What did she think she was doing, getting caught out there like that?” She growled under her breath with a shake of her head. Toward the edge of the main city it seemed there had been a breach of the outer wall and already her forces were clashing with the intruders. Somewhere in the midst of it, Stella, in all of her genius thinking, had gotten caught up in the fighting and now…now Claire had to go save her dumb ass. Heaving a sigh, she directed everyone to move out. What a mess.

The scene she arrived to was pure chaos. She hadn’t seen enemy numbers like this in quite some time and within moments, she was engaged in a clash of steel against steel. They might be outnumbered…it really was a strong possibility. But still, she fought, working her way through the frenzied fighting and rain both, until the downpour couldn’t wash quickly enough the blood of her foes from the normally pristine gleam of her gunblade. Dragged down with the squelch of her armored body sinking into mud, she jabbed her elbow out, catching her enemy’s sternum with a spiked vambrace and as she turned to pull herself free of the dying man, she caught a glimpse of golden blonde, a stark contrast to the dark and muddied helmets and other protective gear of those fighting.

Stella.

Scrambling to her feet, she redirected her momentum and cut a hard path toward the woman, finding herself overpowered by a veritable *** of fighting. Drawn in, she fought to keep an eye on Stella’s position, and her lack of attention on the current task at hand had her paying dearly as she felt a white hot burning in her upper thigh. Damn this armor. Who makes armor with weak points like that? Seriously. Her stomach turned as she felt the warmth of her own blood drip down her leg and with a furious shriek that would have sent a banshee cowering, she turned on her heel and drove her blade into her assailant, not stopping until the hilt met the man’s body. Aquamarines burning with rage unrivaled, she glared into his eyes as the light left them, sure to make the last thing he saw the unrepentant fury of Lightning Farron.

Yanking her blade free from the corpse, his blood spattered across her armor as she did so. Thankfully the rain washed it away quickly and she pressed on. Her physical stamina had taken a hell of a hit with that deep gash to her leg but her mental fortitude carried her on and she cut through her foes as if they were little more than an annoyance. The clash of weapons had grown to thunderous din, indecipherable from the thunder that rumbled through the clouds overhead and soon it was interspersed with traded gunfire. A flick of her wrist shifted the gunblade into gun mode just as she reached the cowering Stella. Thankfully the blonde had enough of a sense of self-preservation that she found a spot to hide. So well, in fact, that Claire counted herself lucky to have been able to find her and extract her.

“Come on.” She murmured to the girl, hooking an arm under Stella’s and hauling her to her feet. Keeping a protective stance around the woman, she did her best to shield her as she tried to get her out and away from the fighting. Under a hail of bullets that clinked and tinked against her armor, jolting her body with each impact, she managed to smuggle her out without a scratch on the trembling blonde. Running on pure adrenaline and at times having to drag the stumbling woman, Claire soon had her far enough away from the battle that they could actually breathe again. Stella was positively hysterical, bawling and clinging to Claire as if the pink haired woman might abandon her right there. Though tempting, Claire knew it would do nothing to help her case with the King and resignedly, she re-positioned her arm around Stella’s shoulders and steadily guided her back toward the rally point.

-Two Hours Later-

She had seen Stella off to the infirmary, making sure the shaken girl was taken care of even though she had not a scratch on her. A little worse for the wear and growling under her breath, she slowly makes her way back toward her room. Anything to get out of this armor and see to the wounds she had taken for the spoiled, ungrateful girl. Wincing even as the power she drew from her Eidolith worked to knit her back together again, she heaved an exasperated sigh at the sight of the stairs in front of her. It was not going to be fun walking up those.

Noctis had been out in the training yard while Claire had gone off to save Stella, and it was there that he awaited word from the troops that had went with her. He had desperately wanted to go but was unable to do so as he knew that this had to happen, and it had to be Claire that went out in the lead. Even if he didn't like it one bit. While he waited, one of his father's personal guards caught her before she started up the stairs. "The King wishes to speak with you."

She massaged at a sore spot in her shoulder before her fingertips slid down her opposite arm and wrapped around her elbow. Another wince when she found what would be another bruise by morning; she turned a cold stare on the man that stopped her. She opened her mouth to snap at him, wanting nothing more than a shower and a solid eight hours of sleep. "Fine." A single word was all she got out as she turned on her heel to march her unhappy ass to the throne room. And by “march”, she more so limped her way there, as her self-healing concentrated on that particularly nasty gash in her upper thigh. Stepping into the room, she stood at attention but made no move to head further into the room.

The guard took note of her ragged and battered appearance, before turning to lead her towards the throne room of the King, with a glance over his shoulder to make sure that she hadn't collapsed on him and that she was keeping up. He held the door open for her with a slight nod to her when she moved past him to head inside. King Regis looked up when Claire was brought to him and motioned her forward. "Come closer."

She kept up just fine; her pride wouldn't permit anything otherwise. Nodding in return to the guard as she passed him, at the King's request she moved further into the room. Her jaw clenched, tension rippling through the muscles along her cheeks as she approached, her chin held high and expecting bad news. "Yes, Your Highness?" She asked curtly, her tone quite evidently irritated though her words were respectful.

The King watched her as she walked forward and took note that the reports were true, that there had been a battle in which Claire had been the lead fighter and took quite the beating. Steepling his fingers as he waited for her to come to a stop, he also took note of the pain she was in. "I have heard that you personally lead a rescue mission to save Stella's life when she was attacked, and made sure that she was returned safely." He chose to start there, before he waved his personal guards off, and waited for them to leave. "It seems my son was right about you, as well as being right about you being one of our best warriors." He paused for a moment. "Before I render my judgment on this…tell me the truth. Is it true what Stella has been telling me about you and my son?"

She did her best to hide the pain she was in, but each step taken sent sharp stabs through the entirety of her leg. It was the least of her concerns though and as she stood before him, she had to fight to keep her heart from pounding in her ears. "That is correct, sir." She spoke clearly, the formality of her tone disguising the clear disdain she held for the entire situation. She shot a look to the guards as they left, unsure whether to be nervous or relieved by the development. His words were listened to and she stayed silent for a long, long moment as she considered her words. "That depends on what Stella has told you." She said simply, not particularly feeling like incriminating herself.

He nodded lightly to her confirming that she was the one that lead the rescue mission, before his brow rose just slightly to her wishing to know what he had heard. Pausing again as he again took note, this time of her trying to hide the pain that she was running through her body at the moment. "She has told me that the two of you have grown quite close since you have been here, as well as that my son wishes for you to be the one that he wishes to be with." He paused for a moment. "And that you share those feelings towards my son. Are those rumors true?"

She paused again; quite surprised that Stella would have talked about Noctis and Claire together to the King. For a moment, she chewed at her lower lip, unsure of what to say to that. She felt less like the decorated military commander that she was and more like a nervous girlfriend trying to win over her boyfriend's parent's approval. Swallowing hard, she nodded. "Yes sir. I love your son with everything I have." Honesty was the best policy after all, right?

Regis leaned back in his throne as he watched her body language for a long silent moment, before he nodded lightly. "I see." He finally broke the silence. "I can see now why he has chosen you. From the reports I have seen, you are a very powerful warrior. One that has protected the prince and the kingdom even against everything that has happened, as well as gone out of your way to lead the mission to save the one that I deemed to be fit for my son." Another long pause. "Your ban from seeing him is lifted, and as long as you stay true to what you have proven to me and to him. I will no longer try to interfere. You are dismissed."

She bowed her head lightly to the King, exhaling a slow and nervous breath as he spoke. His words surprised her and it took her a moment to collect herself before she could speak again. "Thank you..." She spoke quietly, appreciative of the high compliments from the King himself. The last long pause had her blinking in surprise and she stared at King Regis in disbelief. "Wait...what?" She blinked a few times, unsure she heard him right.

A very light bow of his head in return, as he then moved to his feet, having expected her to turn and leave when she had been dismissed. Already moving down from the throne to go and take care of others matters when her last words got him to stop. "You may go and see the prince whenever you wish, and I will not interfere if you are the one he truly wishes to be with." Looking to her for a moment, there might have been a hint of a proud smile yet it was fleeting as he moved to head off.

She was still staring at him in disbelief as he rose to leave as well. Certainly he had misspoken. When he stopped and looked to her, she tilted her head to one side before slowly and shakily nodding. "Y-yes sir." She stuttered out, for a moment thinking she had seen some sort of pride in that rare smile before he was leaving once again.

[Claire Gallows]

Pt 2.

Turning on her heel, she made a mad dash for the door, intent on running out to the training grounds since she thought she had seen Noctis out there when she and the troops had returned that afternoon. She ignored the soreness and the stabbing pains, completely disregarding the fact that running was not a good idea. Excitement had pumped her with enough adrenaline that it didn't matter that Odin was yelling in her ear that she needed to slow down and take it easy. It didn't matter, none of it did, because she could see Noct freely now and she burst out the doors of the castle and onto the training grounds, gaze darting side to side to find him.

Back in the training yards, Noctis was just wrapping up the last of the new recruits training for the day as it had been keeping his mind off the last few weeks of being unable to see Claire whenever he wished to do so, even with them sneaking off to see the other at least once a week. "You are all doing better, but you still need more training. Dismissed for now." Watching them bow with a light one in return, he watched them head off. He had no clue that Claire had been sent to his father, nor that he had lifted that punishment from her. He sighed softly as he moved to start getting the left behind gear ready to be put back up, for once unaware that Claire had come looking for him.

It took her a moment, but she caught the sound of his voice as he dismissed the trainees and took off at a dead run in that direction. The entire way, Odin cautioned her and though the bolts of stabbing pain through her thigh were worsening, she cared not, only wanting to get to him as quickly as possible. Along the way, she managed to shed bits and pieces of her armor, leaving them strewn out behind her. Heaving off the last heavy piece of plating just before she reached him, she let out an elated squeak and promptly ran right into him as she threw her arms around him in a tight hug.

Still unaware that she was on the training grounds, until he heard the faint sounds of armor hitting the ground and looked up from what he was doing for a moment to look around, he turned just in time to see Claire shedding the last of her armor, just as she dropped the last piece of her armor. He had barely enough time to brace himself as she crashed into him with a squeak and started to hug him tightly. "Lightning. We could get in trouble." He spoke softly as he hugged her back for a long couple of minutes before slowly starting to shift back from her, looking at her rather confused.

She was just glad she hadn't knocked him to the ground. Holding him tightly, she buried her face against his chest, fingers clenching at his shirt as if he may very well disappear. "No..." She said softly, shaking her head before pulling back reluctantly to look up at him. Adrenaline wearing off and Odin still fussing at her, she chewed at her lip but gave him a smile all the same. "We're...allowed."

That caused him to pause to the no that she murmured against his chest, before looking down at her still. With his hands on her arms, he paused when she started to pull him back closer, with him slowly allowing it. He was just about to ask her when she uttered those last words, causing him to just stare at her for a long silent moment, before wrapping his arms fully around her. "I see." Softly as he held her in the same manner that she had been holding him, as if she'd disappear from him.

She didn't want to let him go no matter what. Not now that she had him back. Slowly breathing, a content smile settled on her face as she simply stayed against him for as long as she could. "I...I...me and your dad...we..." She couldn't get the words out and laughed almost nervously. "He said...that we can be together again..." She murmured quietly, not caring that she was yucky and gross and covered in drying blood and mud and whatever else, she had him now and that's what mattered.

He looked down at her the whole time as he slowly stated to stroke her hair, with a soft smile finally crossing his lips. The first one since his father forbid them from seeing each other, before nodding softly to her words to her seeing his father. Yet his brows rose to her last comment, catching the full weight of what little she said, as he just stared down at her again. "I am glad he has finally seen the truth about you." Whispered before taking a moment to slowly step back and look her over. "Come on. Let's get you inside, so that you can rest and relax. I know you are sure to be tired and would like to rest." Murmured to her.

She gave him a matching smile right back, glad to see him smile again. She was practically beaming as she watched her words sink in and she gave him a gentle squeeze just before he let her go. As he looked her over, she wrinkled her nose, not too thrilled at the prospect of him seeing her so disheveled, but oh well. "Tired...quite. But I don't want to rest...I just want to be with you..."

He leaned down and kissed her cheek, before moving to take her hand in his own. Glad to see her smiling again as well as he had caught glimpses of her in passing and noted how utterly withdrawn she had been. "Please. You have had a rough day. I want you to go and rest, Lightning. You have earned that. I will gather your armor for you, and bring it to you. We can spend time together when you have rested. Please…Do this for me, as it will do me good to know that you are resting." Very softly to her.

His lips against her cheek had a faint redness creeping in and she gently squeezed his hand. It was the first time she had really relaxed in weeks. "I'm fine really." She murmured quietly, though the efforts of the day had taken their toll, as evidenced by the paleness in her face. "I'll make you a deal...I'll rest if you come with me to keep me company. How about that?" She gave him a hopeful grin, squeezing his hand once again.

Another smile to seeing that faint blush crossing her cheeks, which was a sight he had been missing for far too long. He also noted how pale she appeared, before he sighed softly. As he knew the toll of the day were catching up on her. "Very well. I will come and keep you company, but only if you hurry up and head up to which ever room you wish to rest within." This time he pressed a kiss to the top of her hand, before he moved to gather her armor for her.

She stuck as close to him as she could, not wanting to stray far and thinking that at any moment his father may change his mind and she would be relegated to having to love Noctis from afar once more. Catching his sigh, she wrinkled her nose at him again. "I'm fine, I promise. It would just make me happy if you were there too." Watching as he gathered up her armor, she tilted her head just slightly. "Let me help, it's heavy." She moved to pick up anything nearby, really not wanting to go ahead of him to where ever she would more than likely be spending at the very least the next full day.

He took note that she stayed close to him at the moment, as he held that same fear that his father could send word that they were to be pulled apart again. He started to protest again, before silencing himself. "Alright. I will be there." Murmured to her as he didn't stop her from helping to pick up her armor, before turning to walk with her once it was all gathered up. As at the moment, despite the armor being normally heavy, he didn't feel the weight of it.

She thought he might protest, and was quite prepared to simply knock him upside the head if she had to. Not that she wanted to, but she would! "Good. That's all I request." Really, it's all she wanted in the world. It mattered not that she was utterly exhausted, drained from the day's battle, she still couldn't get over the fact that she was so close to him without fear of being 'caught'. Heading back inside once they had picked up her mess, she gave him another grin as she made her way for the stairs. "My place or yours?"

He had a feeling that she would have hit him, or started to pout and yell at him. He had nearly protested just to get her to do that as he had missed their little spats, but this time he gave in to what she wished for. "It is all that I really want in the world." Softly to her as he moved to head up the stairs once they were inside and up them slowly. Her last comment got him to laugh softly, but in a much needed nature. "My place." Smirking, he gave her a sideways glance.

She wasn't sure she had the energy or strength to do any of that, but certainly she could have mustered some up in order to oblige him. Grateful, though, for him giving in, she sighed softly, content. The stairs were taken slowly, muscles aching the whole way but it was worth it when they reached his quarters. With a soft huff, she drops what she was carrying, quite unceremoniously, before looking to him once again. "This is surreal."

He would of let her actually win this time if she were to of attacked him in such a weakened state, but it didn't come to that as he nudged the door open and stepped inside. With a glance to her at the soft sigh, he smiled yet again. "Yes it is. Now go take a shower." Winking at her, he moved to place her armor that he carried on a table. "No offence, but you look like hell." Teasing her just a little bit, he smiled.

She wrinkled her nose at him. "Bossy, bossy." She huffed softly, though she was hardly serious. A faint smile ticked across her lips as she watched him set her armor down, much more nicely than she had been to it. "I don't look like hell. I look like awesome." She posed for a moment before wincing. "Okay, maybe I do look like hell. Yes...shower." She groaned softly before making her way into the bathroom.

He looked over his shoulder at her. "Of course I am bossy with you." Smirking at her as he looked her over when she posed, with a tilt of his head for a moment. "Fine. You look awesome, but you still look like hell." He then took note of the wince, with a soft concerned look crossing his features, before watching her head for the bathroom. Just watching as she disappeared inside, before picking up the rest of her armor to set it with the rest. He then moved to sit in the chair by the bed to wait.

"We've gone over this, darling; you can't be bossy with me because it only makes me not want to listen even more." She stuck her tongue out at him. "Yes, yes, I look like hell. I mean, really...what did I even do all day? It's not like I went out and saved some idiot blonde from a fate she more than likely deserved, in the process shielding her from..." she counted on her fingers before giving up on putting a number on it, "A *** ton of heavily armed jackasses who seemed all too keen on shooting at me and trying to stab me." She grumbled under her breath at the thought, a hand brushing again the still healing leg wound as she got into the shower. Water turned on, she stepped in, hissing as it hit her skin, eyes squeezing shut tightly before she slowly and surely cleaned herself up. Finishing up, she turned off the water and got out, wrapping herself in a towel and heading back out to the bedroom. "Nnngh. Ow."

“You are taking a shower!" Called towards the bathroom door with a grin, before chuckling softly to her continued grumbling. "Well maybe now she will be forced to play nice with you, seeing how you saved her life, and now that my father is more than willing to stand aside and let us be together." Called to her once more as he remained in that chair by the bed, and shut his eyes. Letting out a slow sigh as he relaxed even further as he was just glad that all this looked to be behind them at the moment. Allowing the two of them to be happy and together again, with him looking up when she came back out. "How bad are you hurt?"

"Am I really?!" She called back sarcastically with a soft giggle to follow. "We can hope so, otherwise I may have to punch her in her ungrateful face." She huffed softly, as she came out. Fingers clutching at the towel wrapped around her, she shrugged gently. "Not bad...I promise." She shifted a touch uncomfortably, not looking him in the eye. "Fine, really."
"You were!" He called back to her, before shaking his head to hearing the giggle, then a smirk to hearing that she wanted to deck Stella in the face, something he would love to see and watch, quickly shaking that thought from his mind, as he looked to her. "Claire?" He called softly as he motioned her over towards him. "Let me see, please."

She couldn't help but smile when she came back out of the bathroom to see him sitting there. That right there had been enough to make the day's pain worth it. She shrugged a single shoulder and slowly shuffled toward him, leaving behind wet footprints in her wake. Her gaze ticked upwards as she listened for a moment before dropping her attention back down to Noct. "Lots of bruising." She murmured, pausing again as if listening. "Couple of cuts." And a longer pause before wrinkling her nose and covering up her last words with a cough and a clearing of her throat. "Mighta been shot. Who knows?"

He smiled back to her as he kept that promise to her to come with her to either his room or her own when he convinced her to rest. Once she slowly shuffled her way over to him, getting him to tilt his head slightly as he looked her over, this time to assess her injuries, with a light nod. "I should send you to see the doctor." Narrowing his eyes at her for a moment, he pointed a finger at her. "Were you shot, or was it a grazing shot?"

She narrowed her eyes at him for even mentioning the doctor. "If you do, he's gonna be forced to sedate me. Stella's down there and I'm not particularly thrilled about the potential for being stuck in the hospital wing with that hysterical broad." She shook her head, cringing. Softly huffing, she paused a moment and shrugged. "I say grazed, Odin says it's deeper than that. Who knows?" Slowly and almost reluctantly, she dropped the towel she had been wrapped in, turning a slow circle. Black and blue really wasn't her color and the bruises that littered her body were evidence of that. Thankfully any open wounds were in various states of healing and repair, thanks to Odin of course, leaving behind only the worse ones like the still healing gash in her thigh and what appeared to be both an entrance and an exit wound through her side. "I'm fine."

Oh how he knew that she hated to be sent to the doctor any time she got hurt to be checked out, as he moved to his feet. "Hush now. I won't send you there unless I deem it serious enough for you to go." Softly to her as he slowly looked her over yet again, taking note of the smaller cuts that had healed up by now. Though he did wince to the more serious ones, more so the bullet wound she spoke about. "Hold still." Murmured as he took a step towards her and pressed a hand to her skin, and closed his eyes. Murmuring for a moment, as he allowed those faint healing energies he possessed to intertwine with those from Odin if he allowed, helping heal her just a touch faster.

"Don't tell me to hush." She huffed at him. Hardly considering any of them serious, after all, she was still standing and everything, she heaved an exasperated sigh. "I promise I'm fine." She grumbled as he stepped toward her. Wincing as his hand met her skin, her shoulders relaxed just slightly as she felt the pain ease up. The bruises might linger for a day or two, but at least there were no more open wounds in her flesh. Dear Etro, Stella owed her big time. With a soft groan, she nodded. "Okay, okay, I'm good."

[Claire Gallows]

Descensio (Descent)

Pt. 1

That had been an abrupt departure from Valhalla. No sooner had the battle concluded was she taken away. She hadn't even had the chance to say goodbye to Serah. As usual the Time Gate's aim was terrible and once again, she ended up on the ground with a thud. She wasn't sure how long she had been gone, though by the Lucis calendar she'd been away nearly four months. Dumped unceremoniously on the training grounds, she simply laid there for a long moment as every muscle in her body fought against any sort of movement she tried to make. Staring up at the early morning Lucis sky, she could hear voices of those around her and heavy boot steps as whoever had been out on the grounds came rushing over.

While she had been away yet again, Noctis has taken over training the troops, until she returned as he was a little more gentle on them this time around and wasn't the hard-ass that he had been before. At the moment, he was on his way towards the training grounds, and it was a few of the older soldiers that had seen her rather sudden appearance, as well as the ones that were rushing over to check on her. "It's Lightning! Someone go and get the Prince on the double!" Barked one of the elder commanders, before kneeling down by her. "Hold still. Prince Noctis will be here shortly."

The words sounded like they were in another language and so, so far away. Why hadn't she been able to say goodbye? She seemed to be fixated on that point, closing her eyes for a long moment while she tried to cling to the quickly fading image in her mind. As the commander knelt beside her, she only made out a single word from his sentence, Noctis. Her eyes popped back open and she blinked rapidly a few times, immediately moving to sit up. "Noct...I've gotta get to Noct..." She murmured almost desperately. It was evident she hadn't slept for some time.

The commander pressed a hand to her shoulder to push her back down. "Hold still, Lightning. He'll be here in a moment." In a firmer tone that before as he could tell that she was in no condition to move at the moment. One of the younger soldiers had already taken off and nearly ran into Noct on his way to find the Prince, causing Noct to catch the young male before he got bowled over. "What is going on?" Already out before the soldier could talk. "Lightning returned...Training grounds." The poor youth managed, before Noct nodded lightly. "Sit down before you pass out." He patted him on the shoulder before moving at a fast walk towards the training grounds, with a relieved sigh passing his lips.

Firmer tone or not, she felt the hand against her shoulder and pushed upwards even harder. Normally, this would have been no problem for her to get up, but everything hurt. From her head down to her toes, everything ached and throbbed and as the pain pulsed through her exhausted body she felt her vision going fuzzy. "N-no...no, no, no..." She murmured, shaking her head back and forth as she slowly sunk back again. Blinking repeatedly, she tried to focus her eyes even as the tunnel vision had her head spinning. In the Unseen Realm, she could go days or weeks without sleep or food, but it all caught up to her once she was under the laws of the Seen and she fainted before her head even touched the ground again.

"Where is he?" Muttered the elder commander, as he continued to try and keep her from sitting up, before motioning one of the other men to bring over a folded blanket, which was placed behind her head. Just as she fainted is when Noct arrived and looked down at her. "Lightning…" He murmured before looking to the other men. "Get her inside to the doctor, and be quick about it." The other soldiers wasted no time in carefully moving her limp body onto a stretcher and taking her to the doctor, with Noct being right by her side the whole time.

She was eerily still when he arrived. The only movement came from the almost imperceptibly slight rise and fall of her chest. As she was moved and taken into the doctor's office she remained still. It wasn't until she was moved from the stretcher onto the medical cot did she even stir. The doctor fretted over her, checking her vitals and shaking his head from time to time, muttering under his breath. Rather than out of frustration as he might have been the first time she'd seen him when she arrived in Lucis, his muttered and head shaking was out of genuine concern. "We should let her rest...she's exhausted to the point her body wants to shut down." He said carefully to Noctis. That seemed to rouse her though and she nearly shot bolt upright, aquamarines as wide as saucers. "Noctis!" She called out as she locked her eyes on his.

Noctis was busy pacing as the doctor looked her over with a light nod here and there to the doctor's words. "Very well. She shall get the rest that she needs. Thank you, doctor." He had barely dismissed the doctor when Claire woke up before he looked to her and placed a hand to her shoulder. "Lay back down, Claire and get some rest." Softly to her, as he tried to coax her into laying back down. "Once you get some rest. We'll talk." Keeping his eyes locked on her own. "Please."

She grabbed for his arm as he touched her shoulder, her fingers grasping clumsily as she tried to draw him closer, shaking her head all the while. "No, no, no..." She repeated over and over. "I c-can't sleep..." She whispered frantically, her hands shaking barely able to close around whatever she was grasping at. "Please no..." She begged and pleaded, clearly not thinking straight due to fatigue.

"Try to rest." Softly to her again as it took him a moment or two to slowly lay her back down, with a kiss to her brow. "I'll be right here when you wake up, but for now you need to let your mind and body rest." Softly to her again as he shifted to slip a hand through her hair, as he looked down at her. "Please…rest."

Reluctantly, she let him lay her back though she refused to let go. The kiss to her brow had her relaxing if only slightly. He, unfortunately for her in her delusional state, knew all of her weaknesses and the hand through her hair had her involuntarily closing her eyes. From time to time she would force them back open but it was easy to tell they were out of focus and she was fighting a losing battle. Finally, she slipped back into darkness and she stilled again. The doctor lingered outside of the clinic's doorway, arms crossed over his chest as he waited for her to doze off before stepping back into the room. "Classic signs of extreme sleep deprivation combined with malnutrition. If you would like, I can sedate her so she stays asleep...I would also recommend an IV just for the sake of getting her some crucial nutrients while she recovers..." He said quietly, his eyes on the sleeping woman the entire time.

Sighing softly once he was able to finally coax her into sleeping, he continued to stroke her hair while she slept. Allowing that concern to cross his features once he was completely sure she was in a deep sleep. "No." He looked over his shoulder to the doctor. "There will be no need to sedate her, but go ahead with the IV, just tell me what to do and I will help you out." Looking back to the now sleeping Claire, he looked her over for a moment.

When she was out, she was out, her mouth hanging slightly ajar with her chest steadily rising and falling with each breath taken. The doctor gave Noctis a stern look, his eyes narrowing until the skin at his temples crinkled. "It wasn't a suggestion, Prince. This level of sleep deprivation...just doesn't happen. It's not medically possible..." He shook his head, looking back to Claire as she rested soundly. "If I give her a sleep aid, I can guarantee her rest and how long she will sleep for." Pausing a moment. "I'll send a nurse in to help get her out of her armor, I expect she'll need more than just a single night's rest and it would be best if she wasn't in that armor."

He narrowed his eyes rather hard and sharply at the doctor, for a long and very hard moment. "And my words were an order. You are not to give her anything other than an IV to help her get the crucial nutrients that she needs." A touch growled at the poor doctor. "As for her armor, she is very picky about it. I shall remove it for you; just get the needed IV ready." Not bothering to debating the issue anymore, before he slowly started to work on removing Claire's armor.

The doctor, regardless of Noct's stern tone, rolled his eyes at the prince, shook his head and set about preparing the IV. "Order or not, young Prince, I've been with this family long enough that my word is usually taken as the best advice." He chided the young man, his hands busily working while he talked. "I've known your father since he was a boy even, if you'd like, we can speak with him and see what he thinks about you blatantly disregarding my advice." He muttered under his breath before sighing softly and giving Noct a level look. "My boy, I just want what's best for her, especially if she's expected to be our future queen." He moved to Claire's side, waiting for Noctis to remove her upper armor before tourniquetting her arm and disinfecting the crook of her arm. Expertly inserting the needle, he attached the line and taped it in place before stepping back. "I'll take my leave now." He said before shuffling out of the room to leave the two in peace.

His eyes rolled skywards for the moment as he listened to the doctor chiding him, about not wanting Claire to being sedated, before peering at the old man. "You know I respect your words, old man." Taking a moment to calm himself before he fully snapped. "Just leave her to me. I will make sure she stays asleep." The mentioning of Claire being the future Queen got him to smile a bit. "Thank you." He murmured as the doctor left, before moving to fully remove Claire's armor. Setting it to the side, he sat down beside her and settled in to watch over her.

Hours passed before she even moved, the time ticking by slowly, the only real show of the passage of time coming from the portly nurse that came in to check on Claire every hour on the hour. Checking the IV bag, she clucked her tongue against her teeth and gave Noct a soft pat on the shoulder. "Do consider eating soon, dearie. Dinner's on in the grand hall unless you'd like me to bring you something." She said gently as Claire stirred just lightly. Not enough to wake, just finally shifting in her positioning ever so slightly.

As those hours trickled by, Noct would look to the portly nurse that would come and go, with a light nod to her, with him finally dozing off, until her words snapped him back awake, as well as the pat to his shoulder. "Sure…Please bring me something." Murmured to her as he stretched his tired and rather sore body, as sleeping in a chair was not an easy thing to do. Once he was awake enough. He looked to Claire's still sleeping form for a moment.

With another soft pat to his shoulder, she scooted out of the room only to return ten minutes later with a serving tray. Atop it sat a plate, filled with foods she knew he liked as well as a full pot of coffee. Setting it down on the table, she wringed her hands as she looked over Claire as she slept. "It'll be late before long...and I know you won't be convinced to retire to your quarters so I brought you coffee as well. None of that decaf stuff." She gave him a smile and a wink before disappearing again.

Another light nod to the nurse, he just watched Claire's sleeping form, before looking to the nurse when she returned with the food. "Thank you." He murmured as he was still half asleep, before taking the offered tray, with another light nod to her words to not being able to talk him into heading to his chambers. Looking down at the food for a moment, before finally starting to eat rather slowly, he was more picking at it than anything, with him setting it to the side for a sip of the coffee. Keeping his eyes on Claire as she slept, yet it would only be barely another couple of hours, before he would slowly drift off to sleep again. Not once did he leave that chair to move from the room.

[Claire Gallows]

Pt. 2

At around midnight, the nurse came to clear his food, checking the coffee's temperature with a sigh as she looked over the two of them sleeping. Opting to leave the coffee pot behind, she checked Claire's line and vitals, notating them and slipping out for the night. A few hours later, Claire stirred. Groaning, she shifted restlessly, her lips moving wordlessly for some time before actual sounds came forth. "Ser... ... ... you'd like him I think... ... I have to...get back...to him..." She went quiet again, stilling for just a moment before her fluttered like she may wake. "SERAH, NO!" She yelled, sitting upright and practically pulling the IV from her arm in sheer panic.

This time he remained asleep when the nurse returned to check on Claire, even when she took the tray and left. Continuing to sleep till he heard Claire just starting to speak in her sleep, with him starting to stir himself, he had just waked enough to look around when she sat up right. Causing him to move to his feet, he caught her shoulder. "Claire. Calm down." Trying to shake his head to get rid of the remaining haze from sleeping the way he had, since she returned.

She clung to him like he may very well disappear from her arms and her entire body shook as his touch began to calm her again. Her heart pounded against her ribcage and she wasn't even aware of the tears sliding down her cheeks, cutting wet paths over her skin before splashing against her collarbone. "Come with me...come with me please..." She murmured to him, trying to weakly tug him toward her as if that would solve all of her problems.

"Shhh." He murmured as he moved his arms around her to guide her head to rest against his shoulder, as one hand moved along the small of her back, with the other caressing her hair. "You are home again, Claire." Another whisper, as for the moment he just held her close in his arms, as he continued to try and get her to fully calm back down.

"Home..." She was back asleep within moments of her head coming to rest against his shoulder. Residual sobs racked her body and though they didn't wake her, the tears still flowed freely past her closed lashes. Relaxing in his hold, she sort of slumped against him as she once again fell back into that seemingly restful sleep.

"Aye." He whispered to her as he slowly laid her back down on the bed, before lightly wiping the tears from her cheeks and eyes. He then moved to carefully replace the IV in her arm, with a soft breath of air leaving his lips, as he returned to sitting by her in the chair. This time however, he shifted to take her hand in to his own. To give her a possible anchor to keep her mind at ease so she could get the sleep that she desperately needed.

A few more hours passed before the sun began to rise again and somehow, some way she'd slept soundly, her hand holding his tightly despite her relaxed state. Bright and early in the morning, the doctor returned, slipping silently into the room. He had expected to see Noctis still there, and though he sighed, he was ready for it, wielding two cups of coffee, still steaming as he moved further into the room to set one beside the prince. "Restful night?" He mused quietly.

He actually slept soundly throughout the night right along with her as all it took was holding her hand in his sleep. As he was rather clueless to what time it was when the doctor returned, before slowly starting to wake at the voice. It took him a moment or two to focus on the voice, before looking to the coffee. "She woke during the night, but I got her back to sleep." He murmured to the doc, before lifting that coffee for a long sip.

While checking over the readouts from her vitals overnight, the doctor arched a brow at Noct. "That could have been avoided had you allowed me to medicate her. Solid, uninterrupted sleep is what she needs in order to heal fully." He said, carefully replacing the IV bag with a new one. "I believe she'll need at least another twenty four hours of sleep before she's ready to wake. If you're going to insist on staying in my clinic for the entirety of that time, I'll have to insist on a more suitable sleeping arrangement. I've no desire to be your chiropractor as well." He grinned wryly as he took up his own cup of coffee.

Watching the doctor as he went about checking Claire's vitals, he sighed softly for a moment, with a glance to Claire. "Do you have a bed that we can both use at the same time?" Again he ignored the idea of drugging her so that she would sleep. "Give me that, and from now on I will follow your advice when it comes to your clinic." Looking to the elder male, he seemed set on doing anything but drug Claire.

"As much as I fear your father would frown upon the idea of you two sharing a bed, quite honestly he can deal with it..." The doctor said simply, shoulders rising upwards then dropping in a shrug. All the while Claire didn't budge an inch. "I'll have the nurses bring it out later and move her over so you two can rest together. If her body decides to rest longer than that, we can see if it would be feasible to take her to her quarters. I just wanted her somewhere easily observable for the first day or so." He nodded simply and sipped at his coffee. Passing by Noct on his way out of the room, he chuckled softly. "You're stubborn like your mother, you know. It's nice." Then he was gone.

"He will have to just deal with it." About the same time as the doctor said those words, before smiling to the old man, with a light nod. "Thank you." Murmured as he looked back to Claire again and moved a hand through her hair, with another nod to the doctor's words about his mother. He waited for him to leave. "I have missed you, Claire." He murmured softly to her.

She was out too hard to respond to him but he might have caught the faintest of smiles ghost its way across her lips. Just before noon, a trio of nurses, including the one from the previous day, came in toting a broader cot. The portly middle aged nurse stopped beside Noct for a moment while the other two set it up. "Will you be taking your meal in here again?" She asked quietly, figuring he still wouldn't want to leave for lunch.

He remained by Claire's side, still holding one of her hands in his with using the other to run through her hair, before looking to the nurses when they returned with the larger cot. "I will." He murmured before looking to her. "If you return and see me sleeping. Just let me sleep."

She gave him a light nod, looking over Claire as she slept. "I'll get your lunch and we'll move her over then. Then the two of you can rest, you look like you could use it sweetheart." She murmured softly. Making sure the cot was as it should be; she tilted her head and chuckled wryly. "It's not been used in ages...last time we needed it was when your mum had you and your father refused to leave her side." She reminisced nostalgically, Noct's treatment of Claire bringing a smile to her face as she led the trio of nurses out of the room again.

He nodded lightly in return. "Thank you." He murmured as he looked back to the sleeping Claire again, with him trying and failing to hide a yawn to being told that he needed more sleep himself. "She always fussed at me if she caught me sleeping in a chair." Mused as he shook his head again, with a light nod to her mentioning that his own parents were the same way Claire and he were right now.

Coming back with lunch, and of course more coffee, the nurse set it all down before moving to Claire's side. "Time to move, you two." She said softly, leaning down to scoop Claire up in her arms while the other nurses made sure the IV line wasn't in danger of becoming tangled up or pulled from her arm. Moving toward the other cot, Claire was set down gently and she groaned softly as she settled. The main nurse turned her attention back to Noct. "You as well now, rest and we'll check up on you as needed."

Not saying or moving till the nurses’ return, before leaning down to kiss Claire's cheek, then moved to sit down out of the way to allow them to do their jobs. He then turned to actually eat the lunch that was brought to him. "I will rest better once I know that she will be fine and has fully recovered." He murmured to the older nurse.

The nurse beamed when she saw him eating his lunch, nodding to his words. "You needn't worry darling. This one's a fighter. At this point she just needs rest." She tried to reassure him before motioning the other nurses out of the room. "It'll all be well before long, never fear." With those parting words, she left the two of them alone. The closing of the door seemed to catch Claire's attention, and her eyelids fluttered before opening slightly. Squinting at the intrusion of light into her eyes, she pinpointed the source of his voice and a small smile crept onto her lips. "Hi..."

"It is hard not to worry." He said softly in return to the nurse, with a glance towards Claire before nodding lightly. "I hope so." Softly before starting to eat again, and had just finished eating when he looked over his shoulder to hearing her speaking. "Hey." Slowly moving to his feet as his eyes told that he really hadn't been getting much sleep since she had returned. "You should be resting." He said as he moved towards her.

She lifted a hand to rub at her eyes a bit, nodding to his words. "How long've I been out?" She asked softly, her voice scratchy sounding as she tried to blink the sleep from her eyes. Truth be told, she was still exhausted and her eyelids were already drooping again. "C'mere...I sleep better with you at my side." She managed to get out as she set her head back down against the pillow, repeatedly blinking just in the hopes of keeping her eyes open until he made it to her.

He shook his head softly. "Off and on, about a day now." He murmured to her as he moved to get her a glass of water, before softly easing her to sit up. "First drink this." Cradling her with one arm, he lifted the glass up for her to drink from it. Waiting till it was all gone to set it down. "That's the plan." Whispered as he carefully laid her back down, he then removed his boots before joining her on that larger cot. With him helping her to rest against him, so the IV would remain in place.

She leaned against him as she drank slowly, making it through a third of the glass before pausing and groaning softly. But she knew he would want her to finish the whole thing, so slowly she finished it. Nodding faintly to his words, she scooted her aching body just slightly to give him more room before snuggling close and quickly falling asleep again. And unless she was interrupted, she would gladly stay that way until she felt well enough to wake up on her own.

Slipping his arms around her once she had fully settled in against him, with him back to caressing her hair and back. It didn’t take long for feeling her up against him again, as well as feeling her sound asleep to fully put him at ease. Soon he drifted off into a matching deep sleep alongside of her, with one arm snaking just a fraction more around her, as if to prevent her from disappearing on him again.

She didn't budge from that spot until the next morning when the doctor came in to check on them. Hearing the door shut with a soft click, her eyes slowly opened and she peeked up and over a sleeping Noctis to eye the doctor. He chuckled softly and gave her a light nod, his voice dropped low as he spoke. "Good to see you awake, m'lady." She gave him a tired little nod and didn't move much for fear of disturbing Noct as the doctor came closer. "Feeling better?" He asked softly, tilting his head as he checked her over. She gave him another soft nod. "Quite."

He slept through the night once against, more soundly than he had in the last four months since she disappeared. Yet this time not even the click of the door nor the doctor's voice stirred him, nor did the faint movements from Claire as she spoke and answered the doctor's questions. As the only movements from him, was the faint and gentle breathing coming from him.

The doctor checked the IV bag's level, tutting softly before looking back to her. Glad to see the prince actually sleeping, he continued to keep his voice low. "That's good. I'm going to see about removing your IV once this bag is through...you're decently malnourished but I want you to attempt to take it easy when you go back to eating actual food. Liquids to start." He said quietly as he looked back to Noctis. "He was quite worried about you...do look after him as well, would you?" She nodded and he left once again. Brushing her fingers over his hair, she pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead and sighed, letting her lips linger against his skin just for now.

Slowly he started to stir to the faint sounds of voices around him, yet for the moment he continued to sleep through the conversation between Claire and the doctor. It wasn't until Claire shifted up to press a kiss to his forehead that he finally started to rouse himself from sleep, with his eyes blinking open slowly to look up at her. "Hi." Murmured softly as he didn't move and inch from how he was holding her.

She gave him one of those rare smiles of hers as he stirred and she gently pressed her lips to his forehead again before kissing down along his nose until she made it to his lips. "Hi, love." She said softly in between gentle and almost chaste kisses, content to stay as close to him as possible, she didn't move at all. "I've missed you..."

Seeing that rare smile from her got his own that he always saved for her, and her alone crossed his lips. He closed his eyes again to her kissing down to his lips, with him kissing her back. "I have missed you horribly." Whispered back to her as he held her as close as possible in return.

"I'm back. I'm here now..."She said softly, as if trying to convince both of them that it was really true. Breathing slowly, she sighed happily before ever so slowly drawing her lips back from his. "It's over...I won't be leaving anymore..." She said softly before brushing her lips against his again. "I'm not going anywhere, anymore. I promise."

[Claire Gallows]

Utraque Unum (Both Into One)

A month came and went as things finally returned to normal in Lucis. With Claire back and recovered, she dove right back into the swing of things, resuming her previous post as a commander of the Lucis forces. The kingdom was in peace negotiations and for the first time in the two years she had been there, it seemed like the fight was winding down. Two years of non-stop fighting, barely any time to breathe or rest, all culminating in victory for Lucis? Could it be? Her aquamarines slowly trailed over the troops as they wrapped up their daily exercises, the early November air crisp with the coming of winter, her hands on her hips, hooking her thumbs through the belt loops of tattered jeans, low slung on her hips. After four straight months of living, fighting, and breathing in her armor, a reprieve was welcomed and with the King's permission she'd taken a more casual approach to training. It seemed suiting given the circumstances. "Alright boys, get on out of here." She rolled a wrist, motioning them back to their quarters. "I know, I know it's early, but I expect to see all of your bright and shiny faces at oh six hundred."

During that month as things finally returned to normal in Lucis, with Noctis making sure that Claire was ready to get back to her post as the commander of the forces. He took the time to work on something else. Something that had been on his mind since the last time she disappeared on him, and now seemed the right time to finally put this plan into motion. Slowly coming up behind her once the troops were dismissed, as he could never get tired of watching her training the men. "They are glad that you are back." Murmured softly to her.

She chuckled softly when she heard him behind her, jumping ever so slightly at the sound of his voice. Interlacing her fingers behind her head, she rocked up onto her toes and arched her back for a full body stretch. Not something that would have been easily done in her armor. It was sort of nice. Lowering herself back to flat feet, she huffed out a breath and turned on her heel to face him. "Yeah they'll be glad when I'm running them into the mud tomorrow. Supposed to rain." She mused, a good-natured grin on her face. It was good to be back. It was good to be home.

He chuckled as well to her jumping slightly before tilting his head as she arched her back, not saying anything as he admired her from behind now. Shaking his head as he had missed every little thing about her. From their moments of bickering to their more tender and passionate moments. "Hmm. Perhaps you should give them the day off tomorrow. Special occasion and all."

Her shoulders rose and fell in a light shrug, scooting her way on over toward him. Boots shuffled against the stone walkway under foot and she came to a stop right beside him. Turning and shifting to slip and arm through his, she tilted her head a bit, looking thoroughly confused. "Special occasion?" She asked, her brows knitting as she tried to think about what she might be forgetting. Dates really escaped her what with all of the anomalies in her time line and all, so it's not like thinking did her much good. "Hrm...remind me of what I'm forgetting..." She whispered to him, her cheeks reddening.

Watching her as she started to make her way towards him, with a soft smile crossing his lips, as he shifted to link his hand with her own. Not saying anything just yet as he slowly turned to walk with her into the castle. With a light grin to her trying to figure out what she was forgetting. "Let's see." Murmured softly as he shifted to let her hand drop, before moving behind her. Letting her now see that pink crystal that hung from a necklace. "Just the date that I ask the question that I have been wanting to ask you for a long time." Murmured softly to her. "Will you marry me?"

She drummed her fingers against the back of his hand, squeezing it gently as he lead the way. Managing to walk with her head resting against his shoulder, she hummed softly and contentedly. It was a moment of peace. Blinking at him and straightening up as he dropped her hand, she stayed still as he moved behind her. Utter confusion was etched across her expression, tilting her head at the necklace and corresponding crystal pendant that dangled from it. "Well, no...that would be today's date but they've already had training for the day so it makes no sense to give them..." She trailed off once his question finally registered with her. Blink, blink, stare. "What?"

He was smiling softly as they walked together, with a soft squeeze of her hand in return. Shifting just slightly when she rested her head to his shoulder, as he enjoyed the moment of peace. Once he had dropped her hand and watched her straighten up, and knowing that she was confused now. "Talking about tomorrow." Murmured to her as he clasped the necklace around her neck, before moving his arms around her, to place the mate to the pink one in her hands. A blue crystal with a necklace attached. "Marry me, Claire Rose Farron." Murmured as he slowly turned her to face him now.

She continued to sort of stare at him, her head canted and her brows knitted. Certainly she wasn't hearing him correctly. Her teeth tugged at her bottom lip as he clasped that chain around her neck, feeling the pendant come to rest against her sternum. One hand came up to press her palm against it as he placed the blue pendant in her hand. Gripping it tightly as he turned her to face him, her eyes were wide as she looked into his own. "Like...for real?" She said in disbelief. Sure they had been together for two years by her count. Sure she loved him with everything she had. And sure she could see herself with him for a long, long time. So why did it seem so unreal? That much she wasn't sure of. "Y-you...you...you want m-me..." She murmured softly, her head swimming as she spoke.

Oh he knew he had her utterly speechless at the moment, as he knew she felt that this was something that would never come to pass. Yet here he was making that wish of theirs happen, well at least the starting of that dream and desire for them to be together fully. Smiling to her when she turned to face him. "For real, my beloved." Whispered to her as he looked in to her eyes, as they had been together off an on for near three years now. It was time in his book to finally make this happen. "I have always wanted you, just as you have always wanted me." Murmured again to her. "All you have to do to commit to our union, is to place the necklace I placed in your hand, around my neck." Murmured. "To show that you wish to marry me."

Her hand shook as she tightly clutched that necklace, swallowing hard as her eyes managed to get even wider than they were before. The hand against her sternum slipped away and she every so slowly took one end of the chain in each hand. Sliding her hands up until they met at the back of his neck, her fingers fumbled with the clasp, her tongue peeking out from the corner of her pursed lips as she concentrated. When the clasp finally caught, she released her hold and slowly slid her hands down the fronts of his shoulders, her fingertips brushing over the contours of the blue crystal. "Y-yes." She murmured in a soft whisper, not trusting herself to say more than that.

Watching her as she clutched that necklace, and as her eyes widened more as she swallowed hard. Stepping back just a touch when her hand moved to slowly took the ends of the necklace in both hands, before leaning down as she moved to clasp it around his neck. All the while watching her eyes, and once she clasped it. A smile crossed his lips as his hands moved up to rest on her hips, waiting till that soft 'Yes' passed her lips, and kissed her softly right then and there. Letting it linger for as long as possible.

She swallowed hard before licking her lips nervously. When his lips pressed against hers, she relaxed and slipped her arm around him. It was all sinking in and for a moment she thought her heart was going to hammer itself right out of her chest. "Yes..." She repeated, leaning up to press her brow to his. "Yes, yes, yes. I will marry you." She said louder than before, tilting her chin to press her lips to his again. It gave her long enough to catch her breath and it gave her long enough to think. Sighing softly against his flesh, she opened her eyes to look into his. "A-and...your dad...he's...he's okay with this?"

He smiled the whole time as he watched her, more so to the idea that they were to be married now slowly starting to sink into her head. As he could hear and feel her heart thumping against her chest, as his own had started to beat harder as he had to wait for her answer. That smile grew to her saying yes more and more, before kissing her softly back, as his arms arms moved around her, holding her close. "He is okay with this." Murmured as the moment she said yes to him, and clasped that necklace around his neck. She would feel a faint pulse from her necklace, creating a faint presence that he was there. He would feel the same only with her presence. "We are one now, Claire. All we need now is to pick a date, to make it official."

Relaxing even further once she knew the King approved, she hugged him tightly then leaned back just a touch. Blinking downwards to the pulse she felt against her chest, she exhaled a slow breath, trying to process the second set of emotions she was now feeling. "Whoa..." She murmured softly before looking back up at him. Somehow her grin got bigger and she slowly nodded. "I um...wow...I never...I've not...ever thought about...when I would if we..." She shook her head, a rather girlish giggle slipping past her lips. "In the fall?"

Feeling her relaxing fully now as he hugged her back as tightly, and didn't want her to pull back when she did, before looking down into her eyes again. Letting her take all the time she needed to let her mind wrap around that new feeling coursing around her. "I know how you feel, but I told myself that I wasted enough time, and decided to make this happen." Murmured softly to her, before smiling back at her. "In the fall it is then."

She slipped a hand away from its perch at the back of his neck, using it to push back through her hair for no real reason. It never helped to tame the perpetually disheveled strands but it made her feel better. Another slow breath was taken, her thoughts going a million miles a minute. This was really happening. "S-so...by this time next year...we'll...we'll be married..." She murmured softly, trying to get her mind around that fact. "Holy crap."

He chuckled softly as she ran a hand through her hair to try and tame those unruly locks of pink hair, knowing that it was one of her traits that he found amusing. Yet loved her all the more for, as he just watched her as her mind was catching up that they were in fact going to be married. "Yes dear. By this time next year. We will be married." Pausing a moment, before slowly pulling back from her, and slowly out of her arm's swatting reach. "And you will be known as a princess, which means you have a year to learn how to act like one. All those frilly girly dresses that you hate with a passion. Have to learn how to start wearing them." Teasing her before he took off running.

Not like his hair was any better, in its state of constant bedheadedness. They were quite the pair, truly. Sighing softly as he confirmed what she had said, she dropped her hands to her hips. That is, until he decided to tease her, at which point she swung a swat for him, missing by a long shot. The very thought of getting into a frilly foofy dress was sheer torture and it made her shudder at the mental image. Claire Farron was no princess, and she certainly wasn't made for dresses and the like. "Like hell." She growled and took off after him.

He had been smiling the whole time as he knew that he had that same bedheadedness look going, just another reason why they were a perfect match to the other. Watching her a moment before the tease, and laughed when she swung at him, knowing how much she hated to wear a dress, and knew that she wasn't a princess. Now laughing softly as he ran from her. "We'll see, princess!" Called over his shoulder to her.