Trent mentioned silent treatment was one of your many antics as a teenager, sharing the numerous occasions Mykos would butt heads with you on purpose to get you talking. Unfortunately, Mykos was not around to break through your silence, leaving the rest at loss on what to do next. Your silence continued for the next four days, building anxiety within the group. Gladio sighed heavily, plopping down on one of the chairs outside Churrobo, letting the humidity of Lestallum tickle his tanned skin.
"Any word out of (Your Name) yet?" Noctis asked, taking the seat opposite of the shield.
"Absolutely nothing," Gladio replied, sitting up a little and noticing a new accessory dangling from his liege's neck, "That's new," Gladio commented, nodding his head towards Noctis' neck and grinning when the Prince blushed.
"Ah... yeah. Got it yesterday from the market," Noctis replied vaguely.
"So who bought it for you?" Gladio asked, his grin growing wider when Noctis was unable to meet his gaze.
"Iris," Noctis mumbled softly, bringing his gloved hand to cover his mouth, redirecting his attention elsewhere.
"Wouldn't have guessed," Gladio teased, settling back in his chair. Three guesses what that letter 'I' pendant represents. Gladio' mouth twitched in amusement as Noctis struggled recomposing himself. "Since when?"
"Huh?" Noctis panicked. "Uh... well... two days ago?"
What had Gladio chuckling to himself was the fact that although Noctis was a full-grown man in his late twenties, he never lost the awkwardness of an inexperienced teenager when it came to the opposite sex.
"Anything else?" Gladio pushed, wondering if Noctis understood what the older Amicitia sibling wanted to hear.
"I..." Gladio watched as Noctis took a deep breath, before looking straight into the shield's eyes, "I can't promise I won't make her cry, because there are many things we have yet to go through together. But I will protect her, treasure her, and treat her with the utmost respect she deserves," It was no surprise the Prince was nervous and hopeful for Gladio's support on the new budding relationship. Yet it seemed those nerves went out the window the moment the next-in-line had to ascertain his feelings were genuine. Relieved and filled with glee that Iris' long love for Noctis was mutual, Gladio chuckled again, watching Noctis relax a little in his seat.
"I'd be a hypocrite if I told you not to make her cry. Considering the track record I have with opposite sex," Gladio grimaced, receiving a small, sympathetic smile from Noctis.
"Then you had to go ahead and find someone who is potentially the best match for you but..."
"Is currently transformed into a hot-blooded teenager who childish silence is driving us all mad,"
"Say... There wasn't anything on (Your Name)'s phone mentioned anything more on the Phoenix Hunters?"
"Nope. It was mostly about Arielle, which is a little intriguing. I get that she's the leader and cause of Phoenix Reborn becoming into a public nucience. But sending out an ex-member solo to resolve their juvenille antics just doesn't make any sense,"
"There wasn't any mention of Phoenix Reborn in any of the council meetings I attended. Father hadn't mentioned anything either," Noctis' disgruntlement was warranted, considering he was supposed to be across everything and anything to do with ruling Lucis .
"Hey where is (Your Name) anyway?" Gladio asked curiously, nodding his head towards the other two who had joined them.
"Apparently she went out this morning with Trent, Mia and Iris on a cruise," Prompto replied.
"Where to?" Gladio felt his worries sky rocket when both Noctis and Prompto shrugged. Looking to Ignis didn't any shed any light on your whereabouts either.
As if right on cue, Noctis' phone rang, breaking the uneasy tension hanging over the group. Gladio didn't have to guess who called, seeing Noctis' expression softening when he answered.
"Hey," Noctis greeted, his forehead creasing a little as he listened carefully. "Hey, hey, hey. Slow down. I'm not catching any of what you're trying to tell me," The entire entourage listened carefully as Noctis got up from his seat, nodding to Ignis to pay the bill, humming to signal he was still listening. As they followed Noctis, Gladio was quick to pick up the destination was the Regalia. Judging from the seriousness of Noctis' expression, something had happened.
"Of course Gladio is with me," Noctis replied, "You want to speak to him?" Noctis looked up at Gladio, nodding quickly and hanging up with a quick 'bye'.
"What did Iris tell you?" Gladio questioned.
"Our favorite teenager got separated from Trent in Greyshire Glacial Grotto," Noctis sighed.
"How'd you know it was Iris?" Prompto asked, eyebrows raised and rather impressed. "Hang on... The Grotto? Isn't that..." Prompto trailed off meeting Gladio's gaze.
"Yeah. It's where Trent's twin brother died protecting her,"
Thanks to Ignis' swift but safe driving, they arrived at the stairway descending down towards the waterfall, which concealed the entrance to Greyshire Glacial Grotto. It had been almost a decade since the group last visited, having spent almost a year collecting all thirteen of the Royal Arms. The rite of passage as the future heir to the throne as Regis referred it as. Yet for you, it held the last few moments spent with your late lover. There truly was no way to describe the anxiety and despair Gladio felt inside as they were briefed by a worried Iris and Mia at the cave entrance. Thanks to remembering the cave well, they managed to meet up with Trent near the slope in which Gladio could only assume was where you had gone. Judging from the pained look on the older twin's face, he was dealing with his own daemons instead of being furious for losing you in the cave.
Gladio lead the group deeper in the cave, still remembering the layout quite well, and noting some significant differences to when the royal entourage first visited.
"Trent," Gladio began, stopping in his tracks, causing everyone else to stop behind him, "What exactly happened to have you both return here?" Turning to face Trent properly, hearing the hunter inhale and exhale deeply.
"The first thing Flor said to me since moving into the hotel room with Mia and I, was that she wanted to come here," It pained Gladio to really push the topic, given that it wasn't just you who lost someone precious to you that day.
"But why? She's only 15," Gladio pressed, knowing Trent wouldn't know any better than he. It was a massive risk bringing you back as an emotional teenager. From memory, you were 19 when Mykos died. It made no sense to the shield that your current 15-year-old self wanted to return.
"I have a feeling whatever memories Flor had leading up to her being reborn, some of them are seeping through or she remembers everything," Trent shared. "She didn't seem to recall much about the incident... until recently?"
"Are you saying there are gaps in Flor's memories from whatever happened in here?" Prompto didn't hide his shock.
"It is common for memories to be suppressed in the depths of someone's mind due to trauma," Ignis suggested.
"But are you okay that you're back here though?" Gladio redirected the focus back to Trent who was unable to make eye contact throughout the conversation.
"I have no choice in the matter. It's probably the first thing she's genuinely asked me since this entire fiasco happened. If you were in my shoes, and you knew it could potentially help your little sister move forward, what would you do?"
"I'd be where we are now," Gladio answered almost immediately, "If Iris wanted me to join her on returning to the darkest part of her past, I'd be right there regardless of how much I don't want her to relive the moment,"
"Then why are you asking me why Flor and I came back here?"
"The difference in the situation we're in, is that I didn't lose a twin in the process of visiting this icy hole," Gladio pointed out, "This isn't just you walking (Your Name) down memory lane. Coming back here is as painful for you as it is for her,"
"You're not wrong there," Trent admitted, taking another deep breath, "But seeing this cave again does confirm a lot of my concerns though,"
"Care to ellaborate on those concerns?"
Gesturing towards the ice slope near where they all stood. "The ice," Trent began, "Those ice formations are new and no where near as smooth as the time we entered the cave,"
My thoughts exactly.