"None of us said a word about Noct or Mia... They just showed up and then... Poor Jared..." Iris sobbed.
The group seemed to gasp in unison. Noctis and Euphemia looked at each other in shock, unsure of what to say. Prompto leaned forward from his position on the bed, while Ignis stepped forward. Gladiolus clenched his fists and bent down. "What do you mean?" He urged. "What happened to Jared?!"
"They killed him!" Iris shrieked. "There was nothing else we could do!"
Behind them, the door to the hotel room slowly opened, revealing Jared's weeping grandson. Talcott kept his fists clenched as he cried. He couldn't seem to look at the King, or the Princess, despite his incredible admiration for the two of them. Noctis approached Talcott slowly and bent down in front of him. "Listen, Talcott." He sighed. "It wasn't right... I should have been here to protect you all."
Talcott wiped his eyes with his sleeve. "I couldn't stop them!" He cried, his face still buried in his clothing.
"I'm not going to let the empire get away with this." Noctis placed his hand on the young boy's shoulder. "They'll pay for what they've done here." Noctis's face hardened. "I promise you that."
Talcott looked up at Noctis for the first time. He stared into his eyes, and cleared his throat. "I believe in you..." He nodded slowly and looked down. With nothing more to say, he retreated to his own hotel room to grieve on his own.
Iris looked up at Gladiolus, her eyes red and puffy. "I'm taking Talcott, and we're going to Caem." Prompto placed his forehead in his hands in response. "We can't just stay here and do nothing." She sobbed. Gladiolus bent down and embraced his younger sister.
Noctis looked down. Although concerned for Iris and Taclott's safety, he couldn't help but allow them to move on and help the cause they all fought for. "I understand."
Euphemia sat down on the edge of the bed. It seemed selfish, however, she couldn't help but be grateful at the fact that neither her nor Noctis were in the Leville at the time of the attack. She pushed those thoughts away and cursed herself for even thinking of it.
That same night was long and silent for the rest of the group. Noctis and Euphemia retreated to bed, not before Euphemia had taken a cold bath. Her fever disappeared after her recent nightmare, however, she found that it returned within the time it took to arrive back at Lestallum. By the time she reached the bed, Noctis had fallen into a deep sleep. In spite of this, she could hear this thoughts racing and his heart pounding. His power, even in his resting state, radiated off of him. He was having a nightmare.
Euphemia scooted herself into bed beside him and placed a hand on his forehead. She closed her eyes and focused deeply on his mind. In his dreamstate, he fought thousands of Imperial soldiers. With each and every battle, his clothes tore, his weapons tired, and his desperation increased. She focused on calming him to the best of her ability. Eventually, Noctis settled. After all he'd done for her, she felt it was the least she could to do help him, even with something as little as putting his mind at ease. As she tucked herself in, Jinora hopped onto the bed and curled up at the siblings' feet.
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Euphemia found herself up and moving before the sun arose. She opened the door to the bathroom after a cold shower and allowed herself to take in the smell of a fresh breakfast prepared by Ignis. As she looked around, however, Noctis and Gladiolus were found on the balcony, talking amongst themselves. Prompto chomped away happily at his fresh Chocobo eggs, while Ignis cleaned up his cooking supplies and placed them in their proper cabinets. Euphemia opted to head over to the balcony and find out what the plan was for their journey to Caem. "Good morning." She placed her hands in front of her and clasped them gently.
Gladiolus chuckled. "Stop being so formal, Mia. This isn't the Citadel."
Euphemia grimaced. "You remember when you joked about how I was raised to walk with books stacked on my head?" She raised her eyebrows. "Well, I actually was! I can't help it!" She hissed.
"Mia, Gladio and I are gonna head to Caem on our own." Noctis interrupted their useless banter.
"What? Why?" Euphemia crossed her arms and rested her weight on one hip. "We were just talking about staying together, and you want to split up again?"
"We're taking Iris to Caem, and we don't all fit in the car." Noctis shifted his position to turn toward his sister. He leaned backward onto the railing and crossed his arms in response to her attitude. "You, Ignis, and Prompto will stay here. We'll be back to pick you up tonight."
Mia couldn't help but feel relieved at the news of another rest day. She loved to sit in and read her books, while she listened to Ignis slave away in the kitchen at his own will. Another day alone with Prompto sounded fantastic in her mind. "Get some rest while you can, Princess." Gladiolus smiled. "Once we get to Caem, we're getting on that boat and heading for Altissia. You do remember you have to perform the Sacred Rite, yeah?"
"Don't remind me..." She sighed. "Leviathan is known to be stubborn. She may not even listen to me. Let's just hope Luna and I will be enough to convince her."
The King and his bodyguard departed for Caem within the hour. After a long goodbye from Iris, Euphemia retreated to her hotel room with full intent on taking another nap. The night before was the first night she'd managed to have a sound, peaceful sleep. She couldn't help but feel it was due to the fact that she slept beside her brother, the very person sworn by the Gods to protect her at all costs. Perhaps, Ardyn couldn't quite reach her in his presence, especially now that Noctis's protective instincts were at an all time high. When she arrived back at the room, she found Prompto napping on her bed as well. Jinora slept at his side, Prompto having been one of her favorite people. Dogs typically gravitated toward him. He had an incredible affinity for animals, and Jinora seemed to sense that. Euphemia sat down at the small table across from Ignis, who quietly flipped through the pages of his own book. "Iggy?" She whispered.
"Hm?" He raised his eyebrows, yet refused to take his eyes off of his book. Euphemia didn't mind, however, for her Crownsguard often only paid attention to her and Noctis. It was about time Ignis had a moment to himself.
"Don't you think it's dangerous to stay here?" She tilted her head and crossed her legs nervously.
"As far as the empire knows, we took our vehicle and headed far away from that base." Ignis flipped yet another page. "We're perfectly safe here for the time being, so long as we stay in this room and await the car. After all, it's the Regalia they'll be following." He eyed her carefully from behind the cover. "Mia... Noctis can handle himself. Set your mind at ease."
Euphemia took a deep breath and nodded. "Right." She stood up slowly and headed off toward the other bed. Despite her incredible desire to lay beside Prompto, she refused to do so in Ignis's presence. She simply laid across from him and stared into his peaceful, snoozing face. She smiled while her cheeks reddened. Within a few moments, however, her face softened. She couldn't seem to shake him away from her thoughts. She closed her eyes tightly and covered herself from head to toe. Soon enough, her exhaustion got the better of her, and she fell back into a blissful rest.
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Prompto treaded down the stairs of the Leville's lobby, in hopes of finding himself a decent meal outside of the hotel. With Ignis resting peacefully, he didn't dare disturb him. As he rounded the corner of the spiral staircase, he spotted the piano in the entrance, and a familiar blonde head tapping her delicate fingers along the ivory keys. She played with such skill. It was as if the movement of each finger was second nature, in which it required no effort at all. Eventually, the young girl began to sing softly.
"I miss you when I least expect it..." She smiled, seemingly at the sound of her own voice. "I miss the way you feel on my... lips..."
"And I don't know when I'll see you again."
"I miss you when I least expect it..."
She paused. She took a breath, and continued, her demeanor changing from that of joy to sorrow. "So when are you comin' home...?" She looked down at her fingers. "Home... When are you coming home...?"
Feelings were fleeting but now I'm surrounded...
Visions of you shaved into the side of my head...
And as I sleep on the other side of the country...
I wonder how it feels to be safe in the palm of your hand...
And I just want to go home...
Home...
I just want to go home...
Home...
I don't take spoonfuls of romanticism in my tea...
But this is not a love song, it's my truth I have to speak.
Oh, you are so important to me...
And I won't let you go.
I won't let you go.
'Cause wherever you are is home.
Home...
Wherever you are is home.
Home...
She leaned backwards and raised her voice. The soothing sound of her melancholy caused a chill to rush up and down his spine.
I miss you when I least expect it...
I miss the way you feel on my lips.
And I don't know when I'll see you again.
So won't you please come home...
Home.
Won't you please come home...home...
"Home..." She whispered the last note as if they were her last words. With so much sadness, she sang. Prompto stood back, never having known the Princess of Lucis possessed a talent for music. Then again, it was likely there was quite a bit that he didn't know about her.
Euphemia closed the piano, seemingly satisfied with her work. As she stood up and turned around, she spotted Prompto standing at the bottom of the stairs, dumbfounded. She jumped nearly three feet in the air and clutched her chest. "What the hell are you doing?!" She hissed.
"I didn't know you could play the piano. Or sing... Or hit those notes." Prompto clasped his hands behind his back awkwardly. "You sound... really good."
Euphemia raised one eyebrow. She twiddled her thumbs and shrugged her shoulders. "It's just a hobby. I play a lot of instruments." She approached him slowly and sat herself down on the bottom step. "There's a lot you don't know about me, huh?"
"Well, yeah. You're the Princess of Lucis. Everyone's favorite young lady." Prompto raised his hands dramatically. "And the King, he... he didn't let me into the Citadel until two days before we left for this road trip. So... When you got..." He hesitated and looked down.
Euphemia grasped Prompto's hand gently. "Shot. When I got shot."
"I couldn't see you anymore." He sighed. "You couldn't leave the Citadel, and I couldn't come in, so..." He looked into her eyes, as if he was searching for something within them. "Now I don't know anything about you."
Euphemia giggled. "Yeah, well, I'm not all that exciting, if I'm being honest." She felt a chill run down her body. "Oh, jeez..."
"Oh yeah..." Prompto grunted as he stood. "Not interesting at all." He placed a hand on her forehead and grasped her hand. "Let's get you in the tub. Ignis probably has it set up already."
"I'm fine, I don't want to make a fuss..." She groaned.
"Noct will be here soon." He dragged the young girl up the stairs. "You gotta be nice and cool for the ride to Caem!"
Euphemia rolled her eyes as she stumbled up the stairs, and yet, she couldn't help the incredible shockwave that rushed through her at his touch. She smiled gently as she recalled her stature.
She couldn't allow him to get hurt. Fear rose up into her throat as she began to realize that her childish crush on Prompto could soon get him killed.