Mistaken

Chapter 4: Coffee

"Judging from the way you spoke about Gladio, I take it you know His Highness' royal retinue on a personal level?" Dave asked curiously, looking between you and the boys. Prompto was secretly dreading this part of seeing you again. It stressed him out wondering what you were going to say your connection to Noctis was. As far as he was concerned, the only reason why you had gotten close to the others was that the two of you were an item.

"I dated one of them Dave," Your casual reply took everyone off guard. Holy shit...

"And you're not going to specify who?" Dave raised an eyebrow curiously.

"I'll give you a hint," You laughed, shaking your head, "I didn't date His Highness. Since you immediately looked at him," That's a lie and you know it. Prompto knew you had picked up who Dave actually looked at after stating you dated one of them.

"That would be quite the royal scandal mind you," Ignis sighed, frowning a little.

"It definitely would make the headlines. Glaive by day, Royal Romance by night," You continued, making Prompto feel a little downtrodden. Why is this making me feel like I'm not even here?

"That dark humor of yours sure hasn't changed over the years (Your Name)," Gladio teased.

"I'll take that as a compliment Gladio," You huffed, "Well I'm going to freshen up,"

"Wait a minute. His Highness and everyone else has been waiting for you to come back. They have been helping us in the meantime for the past three weeks," Dave wasn't the kind of man to yell, so his slightly raised voice and stern tone was quite frightening. You had only taken three strides away from the group, who were seated at their breakfast table. You turned to face Dave, your expression completely different from the gleeful one prior.

"I imagine the conversation will be a lengthy one. Being on the road for the past six weeks is quite exhausting. I lack proper sleep, but surely I can at least enjoy a warm shower?" You were successful in making your point, leaving Dave looking like a very guilty man.

"I have to say. That is probably the first time she has spoken to me like that," Dave admitted, swallowing hard, "She's used to be such a bubbly and fiery young woman,"

"Now she's just fiery?" Gladio guessed.

"Yes... She just hasn't been the same since half a year ago,"

As per usual, Ignis was quick on the uptake. "What happened to (Your Name) six months prior?"

"Ah!" Dave gasped suddenly. "I've said too much," Prompto heard him mutter.

Ignis didn't get a chance to use his superior investigation skills. Marcus began chatting with the boys with a couple of other hunters joining in. Prompto zoned out a little as the hunters were singing praises of Noctis' work thus far with his companions. Prompto wasn't as observant as Ignis or intuitive like Gladio, but even he didn't fail to notice the way Dave's eyes would change whenever he looked or interacted with him. In fact, now that Prompto thought about it, it was the same with everyone living in Meldacio; Marcus, the shopkeepers, even Aimee the waitress. The emotion best to describe their uniform expression was sympathy. As far as he was concerned, he had potentially made a huge mistake by not believing you or at least hearing you out. Despite Gladio's advice to try not to think about their past relationship too much - as Prompto said, it was easier said than done. His mind wandered to your shared memories, wishing once again he was back in that time, rather than now. However, he found it hard to believe everyone would sympathize with him, when he may have misunderstood the situation. What if you hadn't been lying and it was all just a setup? Loving photography as a hobby, there were programs you could use to digitally edit a photo - it would have been easy to replace him in a photo with someone else. The very thought sent a shiver down his spine, and yet again, regret weighed heavy on his heart.