Unwilling vows - 9

Chapter 9 of ...

Associates till death do us apart

Eidolons' parade

Noctis had fallen asleep a while ago, too tired to keep his eyes open anymore. Lightning was lying down next to him, trying to find in his now peaceful face the truth he couldn't tell. All his wounds were gone, but the mental scars would linger for some time over him. She'd never see him that vulnerable before. For a moment, she'd thought he was going to cry, but he couldn't.

"You're always so hard on yourself."

He coiled up against her, holding her tight in his sleep, burying his face in her chest.

"Whoa! Noctis, let go, don't…"

He snored in response, obviously sleeping.

"I don't believe it. And there I was, idealizing you…"

He moaned softly. She sighed. How was she supposed to sleep in such a posture? It wasn't just awkward now, it was simply nerve wrecking. He was too close, he felt too strong, being able to hold her like that, not even letting her get away from him. Alright, he was shaken, he needed comfort but she still needed her vital space.

"Noctis, you're going too far.", she warned him.

As if he could hear anything…

"Please, give me some room, your breathing's way too hot.", she whispered.

He clenched to her, his warm breath stroking her throat and chest through her shirt. She'd never been in such a situation before with anyone. It felt wrong.

"I know you're sleeping like a rock, but if you don't stop now, I'll make sure that you'll pay for this, freshly back from the battlefield or not."

He didn't move an inch. She held back her breath, trying to bear with it. He wasn't lying on top of her; he was just acting as a scared child would with his mom. But she wasn't his mom. And when she finally fell asleep, she muttered under her breath.

"This better stay a simple friend's embrace, otherwise…"

…

Noctis woke up slowly. He hadn't felt that nice for weeks. His pillow was soft and cozy. The body against his was curvy and warm. He tried to recall who it could be, since he rarely slept with anybody. Stella was a onetime exception and reality soon hit him, reminding him that it couldn't be the young princess of Tenebrae. He moved one hand and hair stroked his fingers. The locks were cut short on this side. Her right side. Lightning, he thought. He woke up totally at that thought and jumped backward, his eyes wide with surprise. He didn't remember getting in this pose.

"Had a nightmare or something?", his wife asked him.

"What? No, I…"

"So, it's not because I smell bad or something."

"Huh, Lightning?"

"You were clenching to me so hard, I thought you would never let go."

"I'm sorry, I did it unconsciously and…"

"Guess this war really was awful for you to act like this even in your sleep. Why don't you tell me what happened?"

He sighed and slowly sat between the covers.

"Alright, I'll tell you, but just once."

"You can take your time; I just want to see you back to your usual self. You should really lift this nightmare you went through off your mind."

"Okay…"

He wasn't used to talk about the wars he fought. Stella never asked him that and he couldn't help it, he just had to compare Lightning with Stella most of the time.

"When I thought we had come to a truce, a small group of rebels came into our camp. As everyone thought peace was already won, the soldiers let them in. They waited till they were before my tent to attack. I just had the time to look up from the letter I was writing to you before that one of their arrow hit me. They used both guns and bows. There were as many l'cies in their group as simple humans. They couldn't accept the peace because of Stella's death…"

"Stella was their princess, Heather told me that, but I don't understand why they…"

"I've killed her.", he interrupted her. "That's why they were mad with vengeance."

"You what?!"

"I was the one who killed Stella. It was an incident, but you should try to tell that to her relatives and country folks. She had turned into a Cie'th, she tried to attack me, I just… I acted without thinking, it was self-defense."

He said that with a ton that sounded full of doubt. He was convinced himself that this murder wasn't his entire fault.

"I couldn't explain anything to anyone at the time, since no one knew why I was with her at that moment. You see… No, I guess it's not the point."

His face was torn by grieving.

"It's okay, I get their reasons now. Don't say anything you don't want to."

She was stunned by the news and tried to take it in. He seemed so mad about Stella's death, now, there was no questioning it. He was the one to kill her. And she seemed to have been pretty important for him. Lightning wasn't sure if she wanted to know exactly how Stella counted for Noctis. Lately, she was feeling a bit jealous when someone would mention her. The king got back to his war's story.

"One of the l'cie summoned his eidolon. It was called Eifreet. This thing was the most terrible monster I'd seen in my life. He spitted fire at everyone and burned down the camp while attacking me. My summoned swords saved my back out there, but it wasn't enough to fight against that thing. My soldiers were dying everywhere around me and all I could do was fight to save my own life. Eifreet toyed with me as if I were a mere puppy. I was mad, but so scared at the same time. He had stopped my blades; his head had gotten through my shield. I guess the eidolon would have eaten me if I didn't get back to my senses and threw my blades at his master. As soon as the l'cie died, Eifreet vanished."

Noctis paused, looking for his breath. He couldn't look at Lightning, he was trying to collect his thoughts. Not to let out too much. Not to show just how much he was shaken by all this.

"I had burns all over my body, I could barely breath. It was too late for the soldiers. I was shot and lose consciousness. When I got back to myself, Shawn was the only one near and we were held prisoners. His wounds were even worst then mine. It was a week ago. Yeah, just a week ago. The rebels were keeping us in an abandoned factory. They were five, all healthy and ready to beat us down. We were already done for, at that time, I was sure there was no way to get out of this hell. But then, I reminded how you wanted to show me around Cocoon. And I still barely knew you; there was no way I would let you fight a war in a world you still don't understand.

Shawn was all crazy about seeing Heather again, it gave him the strength to stand on his own. So, I decided it was time that I show those rebels what it meant to defeat a fal'cie. Usually, I don't use my powers on l'cies or humans to attack them; I just summon my swords to defend myself. But, I guess I wasn't really thinking straight anymore. I destroyed the whole factory."

"You did?!", she asked doubtfully.

"You know, I don't really control my powers when I use them to attack my adversaries.  That's why you should never see what it may look like when I get serious, but, fal'cie wouldn't go down that easily. There's a reason why I can defeat them on my own. Anyway, after that, I met with Tenebrae's king and he agreed to keep his promise of peace if I was ready to forgive his country for the loss of my men. I did, even if I really wanted him to pay for all those lives. I guess that someone must stop this cycle of vengeance for peace to come and I was the one who killed their princess in the first place. It just wasn't fair that my men had to pay for my mistake."

"If you're getting so dangerous when you get serious in using your powers, you couldn't help it. You don't remember how badly you were hurt yesterday? A soldier must always be ready to die."

"Yeah, but they never truly are ready. Who could be?"

Lightning decided she should have him changing the subject. If he kept upsetting himself on a matter he hadn't any power onto, he was sure to get worst.

"Noctis, why didn't you get treat in Tenebrea after you met with the king? Why did you walk all the way back here instead?"

"Even if he said the peace would be kept, I couldn't trust his men. Or anyone in Tenebrae. There was no way I'd let any of their other l'cies near of me. Shawn agreed with me. We kept ourselves alive with potions on the way. I've already been in worst situations, at least, for the injuries I got in the last wars. I'm quite lucky that there always were l'cies to heal me after the fights."

"They really are convenient on Pulse. In Cocoon, we used to chase them and every of their relatives to eliminate the threat they were supposed to be for us. I never really understood, but most of my people fear them. Serah must hide her brand every day and night to be sure to keep on living. She can't use magic in front of anyone. Even if she wanted to help or protect people, for her own safety, she is forced to stay as she's supposed to be, a mere human."

"Fal'cies really are devils…"

They both sighed. Lightning was a bit shocked by all that Noctis had just told her, but she had been able to keep his mind away of the worst part of that terrible war.

"Noctis?"

"Hmmm?"

"Do you feel any better now?"

"Now that you ask, well, yeah, I do feel a bit relieved. I'd never thought you'd be such a good listener."

"What is it supposed to mean?!"

He smirked at her anger and she managed a small laugh as he lied on his back once more.

"It's your turn now. What happened here?"

"Ah, nothing much. I got lost fifth time in the castle before to force Klaus to get me a map. And I'm still using it. Heather spent her free time reading me again and again the only letter Shawn sent to her. The phones are finally working and I received one or two calls from Serah. Your mother called too, asking if I had any good news for her. I told her to get lost and it seemed I caused another diplomatic incident with one of your nobles."

"Wow. You must be really bored."

"Well, though I missed you, I've been enjoying myself a bit at traumatizing the court."

"I won't doubt it. Anyway, how do you find the castle?"

"I'm not sure right now. I've been here for only a few days. I didn't even have the time to see everything."

"Alright, guess we should have a tour today then."

"I don't know. What d'you say if we save it for after our visit to Cocoon?"

"You've just arrived and you already wanna go back to Cocoon?"

"It would give us some vacations. And I'm sure you could use to get your mind off all the politics for a while. I've already talked with Klaus about it. He's able to give us two weeks to visit Cocoon and Pulse."

"Two weeks?! But we would need months just for Pulse."

"I thought the same for Cocoon. Guess I'll just show you the nicest places right now. What d'you think?"

"Sounds nice."

"Alright. Then prepare your luggage, we're going first thing after breakfast."

"What?!"

…

It was then that Noctis discovered that when Lightning decided something, he'd better follow right away. He'd thought he could sleep in a bit, since he was coming back from the battlefield and all, but Lightning wouldn't let him. He found himself giving orders all around so that his car would be ready to take off and that someone responsible enough would take care of everything while he and Lightning would be out, traveling on Cocoon and Pulse. They had to disguise their travel as their honey moon travel, since they never got the chance to have one.

"It's so romantic, your highness."

"Heather, would you stop to find everything I do and say romantic?!" , complained Lightning.

"I can't help it.", the maid replied before to turn back her gaze to Shawn, who was still resting, his wounds restraining him in his bed. "Anyway, you should take care out there. The war may be over with Tenebrea, but the King still looks quite tired."

"Well, I won't leave him a minute to dwell and mourn about anything that happened during that war. I'll make sure he's going to smile again."

Lightning went out with that and Heather sighed heavily.

"Don't know what happened to her, but it's like if she was a total different person then the Queen I'm used to."

"Maybe someone put her under a spell or something." Shawn suggested.

"Shawn! How do you feel? You hurt somewhere? I was so worried! Oh my poor little Shawn!"

"Heather, please, don't hug me like that, I'm still convalescent you know. Owww!"

…

Nautilus, the city of dreams, was full of lights and cheers and Noctis hadn't seen anything that lively since months. He didn't know where to fix his gaze.

"Come on, the parade is going to start!" , a kid told the young couple.

"A parade?"

"Yeah, there's the eidolons parade each day. We made just in time to see it."

Lightning wasn't really fond of the parade thing, but still, the light and visual effects were something to be seen once in a lifetime. It was part of Cocoon's history after all.

"Eidolons? Wait, I thought l'cies weren't able to use their power in front of people here? How can there be…"

They entered the center plaza of Nautilus where the great Parade was held and Noctis fell silent at the sight of the shooting stars running and dancing in the sky.

"Who said there were real eidolons?" Lightning answered his silent question.

Noctis was blinking, unable to speak. Blue women were dancing in the sky, before to be chased after by red ones. Every move was full of grace and even if he was down below, he couldn't dare to close his eyes if it meant losing sight of this incredible parade. The people were all in awe, just as the King of Pulse. The music and the dance fitted perfectly together. It really felt magic. But suddenly, the show turned into a nightmare. The red dancers merged into a burning shape that turned out to be Ifrit. The heat seemed to rise and the bull turned his yellow eyes to the prince, breathing out fire. Noctis gasped in shock and backed away, to Lightning surprise.

"What…"

"It's just like the real thing." , he whispered.

He was shaking now. Lightning took his hand in her, shaking her head.

"It's not real, Noctis. It's just a reconstitution of one of Cocoon's legend."

"What king of legend involves eidolons?"

"Look closely."

Ramuh appeared and Lightning began to explain to her husband all that the fighting between all the small and bigger eidolons meant.

"So Ifrit is the l'cie from Pulse attacking Cocoon and that Ramuh guy is the l'cie from Cocoon protecting his world. Why are we always the bad guys in your stories?"

"The government thought it easier to keep the people quiet by making them fear Pulse, I guess. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to brought you in Nautilus from the start."

He chuckled.

"No, that's alright. If we forget Ifrit, this show's alright. All the things we did back home involved l'cies and real magic. We kept technology for practical purpose instead of entertainment. It's a nice parade. If you think as someone from Cocoon."

"Excuse me, but, he's your friend sick or something. I couldn't help myself but lend a ear to your talking, and all that he's saying. Did he hit his head or something? He fears the hologram, he talks about l'cies as if they were normal and…"

Lightning half turned to the stranger who dared to refer to her husband like that.

"Enjoy the parade and scram, would you?"

"Huh, Lightning, you really think it's right to…"

"Noctis, let's just get one thing clear. We shouldn't be talking too much of l'cies or Pulse if we don't want to be recognized."

"Alright."

"What should we do next then? A chocobo race maybe?"

"A race? Their races here?!"

Now, he sounded interested. And Lightning would rather race then watch this parade anymore. Now, she realized just how much it could get to him to see how Cocoon feared Pulse.

"Come on. I guess we should hurry. I don't know when the next race will be."

"Okay. Lead the way, Light."

She looked at him with surprise. It was the first she'd heard her shortened name in his mouth. And it felt right. For once since he was back from that war.

To be continued