[KH/FF] Treachery of Fate: Imperfect Imposter

Chapter 4

The first thing that hit you when you left for outside was the sun—it shined bright in the sky with no evidence of the pounding rain you had been greeted with yesterday. The same was with the clouds which were few, scattered across in splotches of gray, some white, puffing up in wisps. There was a calming breeze, running through the strands of your hair gently, and barely strong enough to even ruffle the leaves of the trees. The sidewalks were dried too, minus puddles that lay in the actual street, with cars passing by calmly, the morning rush hour past with the midday crowd starting to form.

You jumped down the three steps one by one from the door of the apartment and skipped to the sidewalk where you slowed to a stroll, taking in the scenery. Small to medium sized trees grew in dirt patches every few yards on the walkway, flowers around them creating a circle. The buildings you passed began to vary as you went along, turning from brick and wooden apartments to assortments of small shops.

Coming to an end of the street—but not the footpath—you found yourself entering a park, the cement stopping at the large field where the path forked into two. Deciding on not taking a certain one, you continued on along the grass, watching others play as they wished, the grass dry enough for them not to slip, or for their clothes to get stained for the ones who rolled around in it. As the large field continued on, you diverted from the direction you were heading towards and back along the cement again, coming to a white marble fountain where four trails of the sort met in a cross, people sitting on its ground tier, conversing and overlooking the ones they came with.

The water from the fountain was clear; sparkling in the sunlight as it shot in the single pattern serenely. You sat at its edge and continued to watch the passing people who were oblivious to your gaze, which wasn’t fixated, being in deep thought of your situation. Having that in mind, you failed to notice the ravenette who had taken a seat just inches away from you on the same foundation.

He was hunched over, his eyes on the floor elbows propped on knees, and hands clasped together to support his chin; conversely, the action was done so tightly his knuckles were white and somewhat shaky. Sporting only a thin gray sweater and black jeans, with the laces of his gray high tops undone, he was slightly huffing, trying to control both his breath, and the angry tears that threatened to spill over. You finally broke your gaze from the scene along the park and noticed him from a twinge of his hair that flowed into the corner of your vision.

“Noctis?” you blurted out, immediately covering your mouth and turning away once he shifted his gaze to you questioningly, a hint of annoyance behind them.

“How do you know my name?” he murmured, voice weak at the beginning of his sentence, yet demanding nevertheless. Turning back to him, you took notice his eyes were a deathly crimson.

“U-Um…How could I not?” you gave an unsure smile. “You are one of the two Caelum princes.”

“Right,” the ravenette scoffed. “So what? Do you want an autograph or something?”

“Noct!” a voice called in the distance. The two of you looked towards the source to see Prompto, and the prince’s elder brother jogging towards the fountain. “Man,” the blonde huffed, his hair now slightly longer,” you’re such a pain! Oh? Who do we have here?” he curiously looked towards you.

Noctis sighed deeply, scratching his head in irritation. “What will it take for you to leave me alone?” the question was directed to you.

This time, you scoffed,” Excuse me? I was here first! If anything, YOU should be the one to sulk somewhere else!”

“Well gee, I didn’t know you owned the public park’s PUBLIC fountain,” Noctis stood, glaring at you. “Damn commoner.”

“Noctis!” both Cid and Prompto hissed, shocked expressions crossing their faces.