Choice
oneshot fanfic by Dawn. Fire. Angel

Well, this originally was going to be a preview for the reviewers of 'Eclipse' but after stuffing up with a reviewer's preview (.f.R.1.3.D.a. – sorry!!) I decided to just post it up here.

Anyways...

Disclaimer: blablabla... I own absolutely nothing except for Noctis and Stella's (not mentioned) family names et cetera. I'm not making any money out of this!!

Review please!

.:Choice:.

"Noctis?"

The Prince of Arcaia looked up and saw one of his good friends and advisors, Laris, walk up to him. The young blond had an anxious look on his face, a look Noctis tended to link with 'trouble'. Uh. Oh.

"Um, your parents are calling you," Laris mumbled, his face flushing red when Noctis grimaced. "I think it's got something to do with—"

"The Fleurets, I know." Noctis sighed, and ran a hand through his hair. His gaunt face was pale and the shadows under his eyes stood out, as dark and purple as bruises. Laris, who was watching his friend with concern and worry in his brown eyes, felt sympathy for the Prince. He had just lost his best friend a year ago and was now expected to choose a bride. Laris and Marcus, who slept in a chamber off the Prince's room (at Noctis' request), often heard him yelling in his sleep, and more than once had to go over to his bed and talk him out of the nightmare.

The scary thing? It was still going on.

"I'll better go before they send a battalion up here," Noctis muttered, and walked past his friend. His movements were quick, although they weren't because his parents intimidated him but because he was anxious to get this over with.

Laris hurried after Noctis with a sigh, shaking his head. This wasn't going to go well.

--

"Father, you can't -"

"Noctis, this is for your own good, and for the good of our country. The Fleurets are very formidable enemies, and even better allies. We need them to win this war against Cocoon. It's necessary... and even more, it would help you get over Larielle."

Noctis, predictably, flinched at the sound of her name. Orien sighed, and rubbed his forehead. "Noctis..."

"Father, this isn't going to work. I'm never going to forget her, and you know it. It's useless to try and make me get over her... don't give me that look, Father – it's true."

Father and son stared at each other for long moments as Cleotrina, Noctis' mother, shifted uncomfortably. Her hand found her husband's, and he squeezed it affectionately.

Will that be me, next time? Fighting with my own son to marry so we can win the war, and my wife would seek my hand and I would have to comfort her? Noctis asked himself. He closed his eyes, and looked down. And it would never be her, would it?

The silence dragged on, and it was broken when Orien finally spoke, "Where is the child who once so happily played with his father? Where is the Noctis I thought I knew?"

The Prince glanced at him, and then at his mother before whispering, "That child... The Noctis you once knew is dead when you assigned her to a Crystal and forced her to lay down her life for our Kingdom." He took a deep breath, and exhaled, then continued, "I will do as you ask of me, Father, but no more. I shall neither love nor cherish the woman I choose, but I will do it all for the sake of our country." His eyes met his father's, and it was Orien who now had to avert his gaze from the blazing cobalt blue that were his son's eyes.

Trina leaned forward and captured her son's hands in her own. "Noctis... it would be unfair to the woman you choose."

Noctis exhaled again. Don't say it! Don't say it!

But his mouth had a mind of its own.

"Maybe you should've thought of that before you sent her to her death," he snapped, snatching his hands away from his mother's. He whirled around and strode away angrily.

Laris, Marcus and Bradley, all of whom were looking fairly uncomfortable at the end of the room, hurried after him as he swept by them. Of all three, Bradley was the only one who remembered to bow at the King and Queen before attempting to exit the room.

But then again, neither Laris nor Marcus was used to such formalities.

"Noctis."

Noctis paused at the doorway, and turned his head to show that he was listening. "Yes, Father?"

Orien's voice was low, shaking with fury, but he hid that well. "You will not speak to your mother or I in that way. Apologize."

The teenager kept his stance for a few seconds, then turned, and bowed deeply to both his parents, his right hand crossing his chest to lay it over his heart. "Forgive me, Your Majesties." That done, he straightened and left the room.

Orien sighed, and massaged his temples.

"Are you sure this will be best for him?" Trina asked him.

The King nodded, exhaling loudly again. "It will have to be, even if I have to beat it into him. He cannot mope around anymore – his time to ascend to the throne is almost here. They will be sending assassins soon... we will have to change his mind by then."

Trina sounded doubtful as she answered, "I think his mind is already made up. But as long as he marries one of the Fleurets, our country should survive, and possibly triumph. I hear Cocoon has gained an extremely good soldier and assassin... I have a feeling that person would be the one to deal us the killing blow."

Orien closed his eyes. "I only hope Noctis could hold up well enough."

--

Aliana knocked on her brother's door. Narcissa wrung her hands nervously, and exchanged glances with her twin sister. When Noctis finally called, in a muffled voice, "Come in," they slipped inside carefully.

"Noctis, you can't blame Mother and Father for what happened to her," Cissy blurted out as soon as Noctis sat up. His face was stony and set. Aliana stepped on her sister's foot, causing her to yelp and shoot the former a glare.

"She's right, Noct – they tried to stop her when she came back from training, but she told us, publicly, she would not want to live in suspicion for the rest of her life."

"But they still made her sign the contract – we all knew it would be too late as soon as her blood fell," Noctis said flatly. "She couldn't quit if she tried."

"But..."

"No more buts, Ana." Ana bit her lip, and Noctis's features softened. He beckoned his sisters closer and wrapped his arms around them. "Sorry," he whispered. The twins looked into his face and saw that he was crying. "I just..." his arms tightened around his sisters, and they carefully hugged him back.

When he finally let them go, Cissy cheekily pretended to massage her ribs. Noctis grimaced at her, and Ana smiled.

"Do you think... that I should just go along with what they want?" Noctis asked. Ana and Cissy exchanged glances. "Should I pretend to fall in love with her... even though I know I can't?"

Ana sighed. "It wouldn't make you feel better, would it?"

Noctis shrugged. "I don't know."

Cissy breathed in deeply. "I think... you should go along with it. Don't pretend to the woman you choose... just be honest with her. Tell her what happened, so she understands."

Noctis unclenched the fist they hadn't realized was clenched, and they saw the small, sparkling promise ring he had given her some time before she died. Ana raised her eyebrows at her sister; they didn't know he had that.

"You're right." They almost always were – wise for their ages, Noctis often turned to them for help when he needed some. It was strange, turning to girls younger than him, but they were his sisters and he knew he could trust them. Always.

--

The next night, the Prince was forced to attend a ball, where all the women he had met in the past year or so were dressed up in frilly, revealing dresses and had their hair done up, giggling whenever he walked by.

Oh, what joy.

Laris wrapped an arm around Noctis and ruffled his already messy hair. "Cheer up, at least half of these women are sizzlin', man!"

Marcus coughed, almost hiding the words, "One-track mind." Keyword: almost.

Laris grabbed Marcus in a headlock and began to knuckle-rub the dark-haired bodyguard's head as the latter laughed helplessly. Noctis buried his face in his hands, exasperated and amused at his friends' antics.

"You know, I think Noctis would be happier if he knew that the girl was – h-hey! Ow! That hurt!" Bradley yelped when both Marcus and Laris leaped at him to shut him up. But it was too late; Noctis's face became a blank, emotionless mask, and his already dark eyes darkened some more.

"It was meant to hurt, idiot!" Marcus snapped quietly in his ear. "See, you went and undone all the work we did to make him at the least normal..."

Noctis laid a hand on his friend's shoulders. "Enough," he told Marcus. "I am fine."

"Yeah right," Laris muttered under his breath. "And I'm the Cockatrice King."

"Don't you mean Chocobo Queen?" Bradley teased in an attempt to lighten the mood. Laris lunged at him again, but Noctis held him back with one hand.

"Heel, boy," Marcus mumbled, hiding a laugh.

Laris narrowed his eyes at the older man and was about to switch targets when a knock on the door interrupted their play. Noctis let the blond go, calling, "Enter."

Aliana and Narcissa peeked in. "Mom says you've got to come out now," they said simultaneously. Noctis' friends grimaced – they never got used to the twins speaking together, in exactly the same tone, at exactly the same time, and exactly the same expressions on their faces.

Narcissa, seeing Laris, tossed her hair over her shoulder and smiled at him. Aliana rolled her eyes and aimed a nudge at her sister's side. Laris smiled at them, causing Narcissa to blush and avert her gaze.

"I'm coming," Noctis said even as he walked towards them. His friends followed. Marcus ruffled Aliana on the head as he passed her; he had a soft spot for the younger twin ever since she was old enough to talk. Laris, on the other hand, bowed to Narcissa and brushed his lips across the back of her hand, so her face could rival a tomato. Noctis could've sworn he saw steam come out her ears.

Laris smirked, and passed.

Noctis turned on his friend as soon as they were out of earshot of the twins. He grabbed Laris by the collar of his shirt and slammed his back against the wall. His eyes flickered red. "I know that you know Cissy has a crush on you, but I swear to you, break her heart and your neck won't be the only thing broken," Noctis promised him, his eyes glowing with strange, protective light.

Laris blinked. "What, a man can't show courtesy to the Princess, is that it?"

"I don't see you doing the same thing to Ana," Noctis shot back. "Just don't hurt her, or the last thing you see will your guts spilling out your stomach."

The blond sighed. "I would never hurt her, and you know it," he mumbled unconvincingly.

"Oh, do I?" Noctis raised one eyebrow. Then, the Prince swept away from them, his fingers fumbling with his bowtie.

Laris exchanged a grimace with Marcus and Bradley before hurrying after the almost-adult.

--

"This has to be the most boring ball in the history of boring balls," Bradley said, hiding a yawn by holding a wineglass to his mouth. Even so, Trina shot him a mock-dirty look, which he returned by innocently widening his eyes. Then, he grinned.

"Your mom's really cool. And hot," he added under his breath to Noctis. Noctis narrowed his eyes at his friend.

"Idiot," Laris, who was leaning against the wall nearby the Prince, hissed over the comlink. "That's his mom. You don't tell someone that their mom is hot."

"Yeah, but she is," Bradley shot back. Noctis sighed, and rubbed his forehead.

Marcus joined in the conversation. "Did you see the Hunter sisters? I'm watching them right now, and damn they've got nice assets, if you know what I mean."

Laris snorted. "Looks like I'm not the one with a one-track mind. At least I'm still doing my job," he said pointedly.

"Hey, I'm doing my job too! But I happen to enjoy the sights while looking out for dear Nocty."

But Laris was suddenly preoccupied. Narcissa had gone up to him to offer him a drink, which, after glancing at Noctis, accepted politely. He smiled, and sipped it, surreptitiously flicking off the mic so no one could eavesdrop on them.

Noctis rolled his eyes, then something caught his eye. A bright white light, shining seemingly out of nowhere from the ceiling...

The Prince stood. Five pairs of eyes shot to him. He flicked his eyes to the balcony overlooking the ballroom, and strode to the stairs. Surprisingly, no one tried to stop him.

When he got there, he suddenly knew why.

The young blond woman whirled around when she heard footsteps. She had been gazing at the ceiling, the exact spot where the 'light' was shining.

It was Stella (although he had, by this time, forgotten her name out of the so many women he had met) who spoke first, although her first words to him weren't of greeting and constant flirting. "Prince Noctis, are you looking at the light too?" Noctis stiffened, and whirled around to walk away from her, but her footsteps came after him. "So am I. I saw it from downstairs," she told him.

Noctis bristled slightly, but said, "Yeah, When did you start to see the light?"

Stella tilted her head sideways adorably, and smiled. "Since I was a child."

The Prince shrugged. "It can mean that you're going to die." Something he realized he didn't want to see. Then, he added, "It's rather better not to talk about those things."

But Stella didn't take heed of his words, and said, as if to herself, "Occasionally the 'light' will be seen by someone and that person will be gifted with 'power'. This is from the link created between the deceased city and ours by the Goddess Etro. The Goddess Etro guides us after death and shows us our way to the afterlife. Once the gate opens, the spirits of those will burst into light orbs and enters heaven. But not many are able to see the light and those who do are granted power from Realm of the Dead. It is based on a legend of Tenebrae," she added, as if that might change things.

Noctis didn't look at her as he said, softly, "It's the same here."

The Princess looked at him curiously. "Prince Noctis, do you possess this power?"

"Being like the others would be better. It's troublesome."

The dark-haired man jumped when the blond hurried in front of him, then slowed her walk to something dream-like. "I see," she murmured. "It is a magnificent power but a sacrifice must be made in order to get it. That would be a nightmare."

Noctis flinched. A sacrifice has been made on my part, all right, but not because I wanted it to. "It's not a big deal," he lied through his teeth. "It's just a silly belief. But it is better if people do not know about the light." He had to sit down... He walked over to the leather bench and sat.

Stella looked at him curiously. "Why?"

"Because it'll be a pain if people found out... you are?" he asked her. He felt that he had spoken too much to this woman...

"I'm Stella," she told him. Noctis blinked. It was her... Stella Fleuret. ... No wonder she had looked quite familiar.

Feeling apologetic, he said, "Stella, I'll be taking my leave soon."

Stella smiled sweetly. "I'm sorry for taking up your time Prince Noctis," she said sincerely.

"Just Noct is fine," he told her.

The Princess grinned. "I'll be leaving soon too, it feels like I was able to meet you because of the power." She hesitated, then said, "Please come to Tenebrae if you have the time. I'll show you around."

"That sounds good. I'll give it some thought," he told her. She grinned again, and darted off.

Suddenly, there was a rush of noise, and a tinny whisper that he could barely make out. He knew the voice was a girl's... and yet...

"Who are you?"

Amused, Noctis gazed up at the light. She's there, she's watching me. "That's my line," he told her, and turned to return to the party.

--

After the party, Orien and Trina cornered their son as he tried to make his escape.

"Have you chosen?"

This was it. The moment they have been waiting for.

For some reason, Noctis felt strangely peaceful as he gazed into his father's, then his mother's, eyes, and whispered the name of the woman he had chosen.

"Stella Fleuret."

That's it folks! It's long, it's pointless, but that's it.

Please review! Even though it's just a preview and whatnot. :D I took the lines directly from the youtube translation, so credit goes to Kunoichi1695 and Whitesparkles. It was the cutscene where Stella and Noctis were talking and all that. –shrugs- I thought it'd fit, and it did. Fortunately.

Luffles to all of you!