After spending the night at Old Lestallum and regaining their strength, the royal retinue depart. They were more than jubilant to have the Regalia back. Now they didn't have to travel everywhere via chocobos and rifts.

The ride to Lestallum was rather quiet yet the silence wasn't awkward. It was nice as they enjoyed the passing scenery. Prompto had pushed himself to sit on his knees so he could snap a few pictures of the scenery.

By the time they arrived at Lestallum, their comfortable silence ended as they sensed what felt like a heavy cloud looming over the town. This confused them since it was usually a lively place. They weren't sure what was the cause of such a dramatic change to the atmosphere and were determined to get to the bottom of it.

Once Ignis parked the car, the five exited the vehicle and make their way to the main thoroughfare.

Makina watched the men and women of Lestallum pass them by. She heard them whispering amongst themselves, none of them sounding happy. "Whatever happened here must've been pretty bad."

"Yeah," Prompto agreed. "I mean, look at them! Where're all the smiles and waves like the first time we came here? Now everyone seems...tense."

The princess looked over at the shield. "Iris didn't happen to text you while we were gone, did she?"

Gladiolus checked his phone. He saw no messages or voicemails from his sister. "Nope. Got nothing, not even a text."

"Maybe she'll know what's going on," Noctis said.

They walked through the alley in the direction of the Leville. It wasn't long before they entered the hotel lobby. There, they found Iris waiting for them. "Oh, Gladdy," she whimpered sorrowfully.

Gladiolus saw how disheartened she was and grew concerned. "What's wrong?"

Iris seemed to be on the verge of tears. "I let you down. I never made it to Caem. The empire came while you were gone."

Makina looked around to see some bystanders eavesdropping. She intervened before the younger girl could say anything else. "Let's take this elsewhere."

"Agreed," Ignis said.

Everyone heads upstairs after Ignis bought a room. They gathered in the room and wondered what had happened in their absence.

Iris tried to control her emotions as she spoke. "None of us said a word about Noct or Makina. They just showed up and then...poor Jared."

Gladiolus was confused as to why she mentioned the elder man. He raised his voice. "What do you mean? What happened to Jared?!"

"There was nothing we could do!" Iris shouted back, tears threatening to fall.

Makina was about to address the shield for his outburst, but her attention was drawn to the door. It slowly opened behind Noctis to reveal the crying Talcott. He sniffled and tried to wipe his tears away, only for them to keep falling. Her eyes widen in shock as she came to the realization that was the reason behind the boy's tears.

Jared was dead.

Noctis gets down on one knee to speak with the sobbing boy. He wasn't the best at comforting others, but he wanted to say something. "It's...not right. We should've been here."

Talcott rubbed at his red cheeks. "I... I couldn't stop them."

"But I won't let the empire get away with it. They'll pay for what they've done. I promise."

The young boy met the prince's gaze with his tear-filled eyes. "I believe in you, Prince Noctis."

When Talcott turned to leave, Makina stepped in. She wanted to cheer him up. She sat on her knees in front of him and gently took his small hands in hers. "Wanna go on an adventure with me? We can even get a little sweet treat on the way."

"Really?" he asked, his tears slowly beginning to stop.

"Definitely! We can get whatever you want."

Talcott gripped her fingers and smiled through his tears. "Can we go now?"

She laughed. "Of course! Let's go."

Hand in hand, the two left the hotel.

Makina took Talcott around Lestallum. Their first stop was Partellum Market. They perused the various shops until they came to a stop at Veenon's Trading. The young boy had come across metal cactuars for sale. He eyed them for a long while before sighing sorrowfully. He was about to walk away when the princess stopped him. "I think I remember you mentioning how much you love cactuars."

He nodded. "I do. I've even started my own cactuar collection."

She pointed to the mini metal cactuar statue. "Do you have this one yet?"

He shook his head. "No, but..."

"Then let's get it!" Makina took out some gil and paid for the cactuar statue. She handed it to Talcott, who was a little hesitant to accept it. "Consider it a gift."

Talcott's eyes gleamed with joy as he accepted the gift. "Thank you so much, Makina!"

She smiled gently. "I'm glad to see your smile has returned. Where do you want to go next?"

The young boy grabbed her hand and held it tightly. He tugged her along across the marketplace for another hour before departing to peruse the various food vendors along the main thoroughfare.

While they were searching for a snack, they were being watched from a distance by Noctis and Iris. The girl smiled at seeing how happy Talcott was. Ever since Jared's death, she hadn't seen him smile until now. "It's refreshing to see Talcott smile again. Makina really does have a way to bring anyone's smile back."

The prince, eyes still focused on his girlfriend and the young boy, smiled faintly. "Yeah, she does."

As they wondered what the two would do next, they were suddenly spotted by the princess. She waved them over and they joined her and Talcott. The snowy-haired girl escorted them to a nearby alleyway, where they wouldn't be spotted. "I think all of us need a small vacation. Who's with me?"

"Fine by me," Noctis replied.

"Oh, I'm definitely in!" Iris giggled.

"Let's do it!" Talcott cheered. "Where are we going?"

"One of my secret spots," the princess grinned. Waving her hand, she created a rift to another dimension. They stepped through it and arrived at a beautiful lake surrounded by willow trees. In the distance was a mighty mountain range illuminated by a never-ending sunset. Wildlife wandered the foliage and swam through the lake, creating ripples on the water's surface.

"Wow," Iris gasped in awe. "It's so beautiful! Where are we?"

"We're on a plane of existence that is almost directly connected to Eos. There isn't a formal name for this place, but my dad often referred to it as the Twilight Dimension," Makina explained.

Noctis was also in awe of the beautiful scenery. "Why's that?"

"The sun never sets nor rises. This dimension is bathed in a perpetual sunset."

Talcott looked around. "Are there any cactuars here?"

"No," the princess laughed. "But there is someone I want you all to meet."

Makina wandered over to the edge of the lake. Taking a deep breath, she took a step forward. Instead of her foot dipping below the water, it floated mere centimeters above the surface. Slowly and carefully, she made her way to the center of the lake while humming her mother's lullaby. Large ripples form on the water's surface around her.

A few seconds later, a creature emerged from below the water. It created a funnel of water around her and swam happily through it. It came to a stop in front of her, hovering over the water's surface as well. The beast's upper body was that of a horse and its lower half resembled a fish. It whinnied jubilantly as it tapped one of its hooves against the water's surface.

Makina smiled at it and reached out her hand. She stroked its muzzle. "I'm sorry for not visiting sooner."

The beast snorted before leaning into her touch, closing its eyes.

She laughed. "I'm glad you aren't mad." Then, she leaned in and whispered in its ear. She told it who she brought and for what reason before asking for a favor. When the beast bobbed its head up and down with a neigh, she knew it understood her request and would happily do it.

Side by side, Makina returned to the lake's grassy bank with the creature. She stepped off the water's surface and squatted down to Talcott's level. With a kind smile, she asked, "Want to go for a ride?"

The young boy glanced between the princess and the beast. He wasn't frightened of the creature, especially after seeing how kind it was to the girl. He nodded exuberantly with a large smile. "Yes!"

The creature lowered its body just enough for him to climb on.

Makina then turned to Iris. "Do you want to ride, too?"

Iris was taken aback by the offer. "I-I can?"

"Yeah. There's room enough for two."

"Then yes!" Iris mounted the creature.

Once they both were on its back, the beast stood up. With a neigh, it gently trotted away from the water's edge before taking off down the lake. It remained at a steady gate that wasn't too fast or too slow. It was just right for Iris and Talcott to enjoy.

As the creature ran across the vast lake, Noctis glanced over at Makina. "I've never seen something like that."

"That's because this creature is known as a hippocampus. It's a beast from Iona," she said. "It found refuge through a rift as Iona's core destabilized and found itself here. Luckily, this dimension has everything it needs to survive."

The prince looked back at the hippocampus as it trotted around with Iris and Talcott on its back. "So, its...not going to attack?"

Makina snorted with laughter. "Of course not. I wouldn't put Iris or Talcott in any danger. Hippocampi are gentle and friendly beasts. You could even find them in the waters of Riahla. My mother adored hippocampi and would often visit the lakes in the capital to see them."

Noctis sighed. "That's a relief..."

She smiled as she looked around, admiring the beauty. "It's because of this hippocampus that my father often visited this dimension. But, there's another reason why he's rather fond of this place."

Intrigued, Noctis looked back at her. "What's that?"

"This is where he proposed to my mother." Makina took a few steps away from the lake and wandered towards a nearby willow tree. "This was her favorite place to go whenever she was stressed with her royal duties. She soon started bringing him here when they grew inseparable, and he eventually proposed to her here after many years. They may have been brought together with the plan of an arranged marriage, but they fell deeply in love with each other years before the planned wedding date. They were truly happy together." She felt a single tear cascading down her cheek at mentioning her parents. She quickly wiped it away so he wouldn't see it.

Even though Noctis didn't see the tear, he knew from her wavering voice that talking about her parents was difficult. He unconsciously outstretched a hand to touch her but quickly retracted it when she turned around to face him.

"Even though you and Luna didn't have the time my parents had, I...was hoping you two would eventually fall in love and forget about me." She folded her arms behind her back with a guilty expression. "But I didn't realize how heartless that was until we talked. I thought it was for the best of Lucis, but while trying to think what's best for our home, I didn't think about your own feelings or Luna's. I'm sorry, Noctis."

The prince was taken aback at her apology. Never did he expect this. Rubbing the back of his neck, he looked everywhere but at her. "This got serious all of a sudden..."

She couldn't help but laugh. "Sorry, I wasn't expecting to spew all this when I planned this side trip. I guess something about this place lets people relax and speak their minds."

"Or maybe you're just weird," Noctis remarked.

"I think I like my explanation better."

He finally managed to meet her gaze. "You make it look so easy."

This perplexed her. "What do you mean?"

"Making all these important decisions," he sighed. "I know the guys always joke about how you're the perfect royal, but it's actually the truth. There's no way I could've done what you did."

She smirked a little. "What? Can't make heartless decisions?"

"I wouldn't say heartless," he said. "I was thinking more along the lines of just doing your duty. It's our job to make tough decisions and you're way better at it than I am. You were just doing what was right. Our roles don't really allow us to be selfish."

"That, I can't argue with." She then removed her hands from behind her back and clapped them together. "Anyway, enough with stuffy apologies and discussing royal protocol. While Iris and Talcott are having fun, there's somewhere I want to take you. It'll be quicker if we travel via a rift."

"Well..." He looked around, knowing she was the only person who could return him to Eos. "It's not like I've got anything to do and you're my ride home so...why not?"

She snickered. "Right this way."

They traveled through another rift, but never left the Twilight Dimension. They arrived at another lake, one that which had a waterfall flowing down from the river on the cliffside above. In the middle of the lake was a small island with two intertwined willow trees. At the base of the tree trunks were four stones. Each one was carved with two interweaving dragons.

Noctis knelt down and examined the carved stones. He traced the simple carvings with his index finger. He felt as if the stones carried a heavy weight. "What are these?"

"Memorial stones," Makina replied. She sat on her knees next to him, eyes solely focused on stones. "On Iona, it is customary for memorial stones to be made for the deceased if their bodies are lost. The stones are carved with Zin and Zen. Space and time are endless and eternal. So are the souls of the deceased. Even though we cannot see them, they are still here with us."

There were no names engraved on the stones, but Noctis figured two of them were for her parents. However, he couldn't figure out who the third and fourth stones were for. "Why're there four stones?"

"Two are for my parents. The third is for your mother and the fourth is for King Regis." She grabbed the fourth memorial stone and held it gently in her hands. She trailed her thumbs across the engraved serpents. "He was always kind to me and felt like a second father. Just like your mother was kind and caring to me. She felt like another mother. I figured the least I can do is honor their memories and create memorial stones for them. I hope I didn't overstep by doing this."

"Are you kidding me?" He gently took the stone from her and placed it back beside his mother's. He stared at the stones for a few seconds in silence before responding, "I...don't really know what to say except thank you. You didn't have to do this, but you did. Having a memorial site where no one but us can reach is the best. It's something the empire can't ruin."

She placed her hand over his, squeezing his fingers gingerly. "Whenever you want to come back, don't hesitate to ask me. This place is beautiful, but sharing it with no one makes it feel lonely." Her eyes wandered over to the never-setting sun as it rested upon the horizon. "Who knew a sunset could feel so forlorn. Even beauty cannot vanquish the loneliness we feel."

Noctis turned his hand over to thread his fingers with hers. "You're not alone and never will be. I promise you that."

A warm, gentle smile graced her face. "I know you'll be by my side forever."

༻──── ⋇⋆✦⋆⋇ ────༺

After returning to Eos, Iris and Talcott were spewing about how much fun they had with the hippocampus. The four were stopped in the lobby of the Leville when they saw Prompto, Gladiolus, and Ignis relaxing. The blonde hopped to his feet and dashed over with a worried expression. "Hey! Where the heck have you guys been?!"

Talcott stepped forward, smiling brightly. "Makina took us to this really pretty place! Iris and I got to ride on this animal called a hippocampus. It was so much fun!"

Prompto's worries vanished seeing the young boy was no longer in tears. "Really?!" His gaze turned to the princess. "And you didn't take me along?!"

She smiled apologetically. "Sorry, Prom. It was kinda a last-minute decision."

Ignis and Gladiolus joined them. She expected them to be angry but was thoroughly surprised when they were calm.

The advisor saw how happy Talcott was. "It is a relief to see him faring better."

"I'll say," Gladiolus said. "Thanks for cheering him up, Makina."

"Don't mention it," the princess replied. "I'm just happy it brought his smile back."

"You did good," Noctis commented with his own grateful smile.

"So..." Makina took a quick glance at the young boy before looking at her traveling companions. "What's the plan now?"

"We shall recuperate for a day or two before departing for Caem," Ignis responded.

Her brows furrowed in bewilderment. "Caem?"

"Iris wants to take Talcott to Caem," the shield explained. "They'll both be safer there."

She nodded. "I understand. In that case, I look forward to our time off."

"Me too," Noctis said just before he yawned. "I could use a nap..."

"When do you not?"

"Never."