The following day, there was a huge celebration for the triumph of the war. As expected the King gave his speech, while Prince Noctis stood at his side. Not that you could see anyway, the majority of the soldiers were up front, no matter how much the three of your companions pushed, they were not allowed to go further up ahead.
The King spoke of whatever he was saying passed right through your ears. You were not comfortable, it has been years since you were allowed to leave the outside with the regular folks. And obtaining those stares and giggles of girls around your age didn't help either.
To be honest, you weren't sure what the hell was going on or exactly what they were celebrating. The win of the war? How could they celebrate when thousands of soldiers were killed? If they were going to make something like this, it should have been in the name of those who sacrificed their lives for their king.
And what was it with your uniform upgrade? Only the four of you were given different uniforms, which by the way wasn't taken very well by the rest of soldiers. But you could only guess there was a reason for it. Though, you would have preferred it not to happen, since this wouldn't be easily accepted by your fellow soldiers.
"And now, let us introduce you to our next generation of warriors," the King's voice boomed all the way back to where you were which captured your attention.
Slowly people began to look at the four of you, until you all had to walk forward towards the King. Noah and James started, and if it wasn't for Alan who waited for you, you would have remained rooted to your spot. Letting out a sigh, you uncrossed your arms, straightened your posture and followed the others.
When you were just bellow the King's throne, you all kneeled down in respect. "You may rise." You all did and although you were facing the king, your eyes trailed to the prince. He looked a couple of years older than you, he did the same. His eyes scanned first Alan, then to the others until his orbs reached your form. The two of you locked eyes. They narrowed, and then just seemed curious." These young boys, have trained hard and fought in war to protect our home, our people." The King introduced the four of you with such pride that it felt as if he was speaking of his own children.
Finally, his speech was over and you all were allowed to enjoy the party. The music played and couples began to dance, giving you the perfect opportunity to leave.
But you didn't get far, Alan grabbed your arm. "Where do you think you're going?" Despite the chatter and the music, you heard his question loud and clear.
When you stopped and turned around, he let go of your elbow. "I'm leaving, just stay and enjoy the party if you want."
He shook his head. "Come on, we'll probably never going to get another opportunity and besides," he got closer so that he could speak lower, "didn't you hear? Some Kings are here and King ShinRa is one of them. Just enjoy it, come on. Besides, there's a lot of pretty good food."
As if to prove it, he dragged you towards the tables which were indeed filled with many delicacies. Upon that sight, your mouth began to water. A knowing smile reached Alan's face but didn't say anything in fear that you might just turn around and leave.
He grabbed two places which he was kind enough to fill with food, the other two did the same and were happily eating.
You did the same, you ate everything on that plate. You had never, ever tasted anything so delicious in your life. Those who had been eating and now finished scurried of to dance or to talk to other guests.
You moved away from the tables, and decided to stay away and just see around. A servant passed by with a tray filled with drinks which contained wine. You weren't one for drinking, but you were curious so you grabbed a drink. Taking a first sip, you were utterly surprised that despite the alcohol, it wasn't so bad.
"Enjoying the party?" Someone spoke, it was until you raised your gaze and noticed that it was none other than prince Noctis.
You bowed." Yes." Finally, you answered his question.
His eyes stared at you like he was curious, and he was debating whether to ask or not. "I'm... Surprised that the four of you are... Mentally stable. You guys were very young when you were shipped to the battlefield."
That's where he was going. Was he curious if you felt guilty for killing people when you were at the battlefield? Well, you should be but... You were not. It wasn't that you felt sorry for the lives that were lost, but, you were just protecting yourself, trying to survive. "We were." Furrowing your eyebrows, you swallowed the contents of the glass. It burned your throat all the way down to your stomach. Servants were everywhere with trays filled with gasses if whatever alcoholic beverages those were, so it wasn't hard for you to get a new drink. "But you get used to it."
"I suppose that is true. I must say I am impressed and as you have seen, you're not the only one." True to his word, people were watching the two of you. Though they could have been staring because prince Noctis was around.
Nodding, you returned your gaze to the prince. You swallowed the new drink and waited, though by now you were feeling a little tipsy because the longer you looked at the prince, the more you realized how good-looking he was.
You had eyes, you weren't blind to see that there were people who were just really good-looking. But, maybe it was the fact that he was a prince that made him a lot more alluring? The way he moved, there was a certain air of grace.
Feeling your cheeks warm, you cleared your throat. "I suppose it's surprising and at a certain point to have someone so young like us at the battlefield. But we weren't entirely just thrown into war without proper training."
"Which has captured the attention of many," the Prince frowned. "It is not uncommon to take young boys and train them, but none of them had been this young. You were how old, 12 or 13 when you enlisted?"
In understanding, you nodded. "Thirteen."
If you were not mistaken, sadness crossed his eyes. "So, you were the youngest of all of them?" Were you though? You never bother to ask. "You were 16 when you were sent to the battlefield?"
"Yes, that is right." His questions were beginning to make you curious but also nervous. Besides, the music and the loud chatter were begging to make your head ache. Or maybe it was the drinks, so the faster you finished with his questions the sooner you could leave.
Your eyes scanned the crowds in hopes that you would see Alan, maybe if he saw the Prince here with you he would be curious and join you. That way he would give you a perfect excuse to leave, besides he would be also suitable to answer the Prince's questions.
However, even with a bit of intoxication, there was someone in the crowed that seemed to glance at the Prince. It was an older man, you couldn't tell his age but with that beard of his, he was way older. You ignored him, and letting out a sigh in defeat, you returned your attention to Prince Noctis. "What made you join the military?" Finally he asked, no doubt what he wanted to know.
"I was very poor, I had nothing and I saw the opportunity and decided to take it." From the corner of your eye, that familiar man moved forward but when he saw you staring at him he began to talk to another group of men.
Again Prince Noctis studied your face and then your entire frame. "No family?"
Shaking your head, you returned your gaze back to him. "Well, I do have some relatives, but they're quite far from here. Besides, they're poor enough as it is, and with three children of their own. I just didn't want to be a burden. I was better off being here even when I knew the risks."
Again you saw movement, this time you frowned. It was that man again, but this time he was closer, way too close, and what he held in his hand was a small knife. The sight of that knife was enough to send adrenaline through your body, making you well aware what was going on.
Prince Noctis was giving him his back, there were no soldiers around to protect him other than you. Which, if you had to say, was stupid. So, without a warning, you grabbed him by the collar and pushed him behind you. The man didn't even give you enough time to retrieve your sword, he charged forward with full force.
The man must not have been trained since the moment he thrusted the blade forward, and you were lucky enough to jump back and missing the blade. You were focused in the man, but you could hear people screaming. That jump itself have you enough distance to avoid the attack, and to push the man's arm to the side with all your strength. Quickly you followed by wrapping your fingers around his wrist, and then you moved a little to the side and raised your foot. You kicked him strong enough on the head, the mail cried out in pain, finally letting go of the knife.
There was nothing else for you to do, since the last thing the man did was cry out in pain and pass out. Your kick was strong enough to knock him out, you let go of his arm. When you released him, two soldiers stepped in and took him out.
That's when it but you, the nausea. You shouldn't have drank at all, especially since you were so young and you were not used to it. The last thing you wanted was to hurl in front of the entire Kingdom, so you pushed your way out into the darkness. Just barely, you managed to find a spot with none around and vomited.
You emptied all of your stomach contents. When you were finished, you Rose to your feet cleaned your mouth and took a long breath.
"Too many drinks?"
That unknown voice made you freeze. Well, at least you didn't make a fool of yourself in front of so many people.