The following morning...

Makina found herself in the boys' room after Ignis told her Noctis was still fast asleep. It was close to noon and the prince had yet to stir. She wondered why he was sleeping for such a long time, deciding to check on him while Prompto, Ignis, and Gladiolus tended to their own business within the town.

She sat on the couch by the round coffee table and pulled out her phone. She decided if Noctis wasn't up in the next thirty minutes, she would wake him herself.

To pass the time, she perused the various photos she had on her phone. Most of them were of her with Noctis, Prompto, Gladiolus, and Ignis, but there were images scattered between consisting of the worlds and dimensions she's visited. She always took photos if she ever found herself in a new world/dimension. Although finding new places was a result of trial-and-error, she enjoyed it nonetheless. She enjoyed it so much that she would purposefully cloud her mind sometimes to find new places to explore.

Her attention was torn from her phone when she heard Noctis mumbled not only Lunafreya's name in his sleep but also hers. Watching his sleeping form, she saw how tense his body was and the way his face was scrunched up in pain. She wasn't sure what he was dreaming about and knew she had to free him from the nightmare.

Makina sat on the edge of the bed. She placed a hand on Noctis' arm and gently shook him. "Noct?" She called out softly. Receiving nothing but a painful groan, she raised her voice and shook him harder. "Noct, wake up."

With a sharp inhale, Noctis woke up. He immediately sat up with beads of sweat on his forehead. He looked around the room in a dazed state before his eyes locked onto her. He visibly relaxed and exhaled heavily. "You're okay..." He slumped forward and leaned his body against hers, placing his forehead in the crook of her neck.

Makina felt the urge to pry and couldn't stop herself. "Why wouldn't I be?"

He closed his eyes as the images from his nightmare played on repeat inside his head. When he told her about the car accident in his nightmare and how her mangled, bloodied body was trapped underneath the burning vehicle, his complexion paled. He then proceeded to tell her a little more about his nightmare and how he struck down Lunafreya.

She stopped him. "Hey," she said just above a whisper. When he lifted his head from her neck, she placed a palm against his face and trailed her thumb across his cheek. She saw the panic in his eyes and tried to calm him. "There's nothing to worry about. I'm okay, Luna's okay, everyone's okay. Just take a few deep breaths to calm yourself, all right?"

He nodded. "Okay." Doing as she instructed, he finally was able to calm down.

Once seeing he was fine, Makina lowered her hand. "Now that you're awake, are you hungry?"

"Food does sound nice."

"Then let's go."

They left the Leville and ate at Surgate's Beanmine. In the midst of eating, Noctis received a text message from Iris. She told him they would be departing from Lestallum tomorrow and would have the entire day to themselves in Lestallum. He was about to reply when he received another text from her that had an image attached to it. When he read the message and looked at the picture, he nearly choked on his skewer. He coughed, which grabbed Makina's attention.

She eyed him curiously. "Are you okay?"

He cleared his throat with a nod. "Y-Yeah." He then blew up the image and turned his phone to her so she could see it. "You bought a dress?"

Makina looked at the image to see herself adorned in the black dress she bought when she went shopping with Iris. She didn't realize the girl had taken a picture of her in the dressing room while she was trying it on. "Oh, yeah. I did."

"And you didn't tell me?" Noctis asked, almost sounding like he was offended.

"It's just a dress," she sighed at his strange behavior. "Since when did I have to tell you when I bought new clothes?"

He lowered his phone, sinking back into his chair. He placed his phone on the table, eyes bouncing between the image and the princess. His cerulean eyes brimmed with eagerness. "I-It looks..." He clears his throat. "Good on you."

She crossed her legs with a grin. "You want me to wear it for you, don't you?"

Noctis looked away as his cheeks started to turn red. "M-Maybe..."

"It should be back in Iris' room. After we eat, we can head back to the hotel so I can change."

The prince relaxed, happy to hear she would show him the dress. From the moment he saw her wearing it in the picture, he wanted to see it on her right away. "Sounds like a plan."

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "You're not having dirty thoughts, are you?"

"Hell no!" He promptly denied. "Do you think I'm some creepy pervert?"

"No, but you're a guy. I mean, even girls do it. We're not innocent little angels. And it's not like we're complete strangers. We are dating, after all."

Noctis put his phone back into his pocket. "Speaking of dating..." He picked up his last remaining skewer and poked the pointy tip of the stick. "How about we go on a date?"

"You've got something planned?"

"No, but I think we can make it up as we go. We're pretty good at last-minute dates."

She nodded. "All right. A date it is, then. But first, I'll change into that dress for you."

He was becoming bashful again. "Wanna wear it on our date?"

She sighed. "Just say you want me to wear it."

"Fine," he mumbled. "I...want you to wear the dress on our date. Happy?"

She smirked. "Very."

After finishing their meal, they returned to the Leville. Makina retreated into the room she was sharing with Iris and changed into the black dress she bought.

Next, she tended to her hair. She switched out her ponytail for a braided half updo. She added her black ribbon as the final touch before slipping on a pair of simple black pair of kitty heels. She adjusted the necklace that came with the dress and the chain that held her mother's ring, then moves to examine her appearance in the mirror. Satisfied, she exited the room.

Making her way down to the lobby, she returned to Noctis. "Hope I didn't make you wait too long."

"Not really. You were only gone for a few-" Noctis glanced at her, only to fall silent with a wide-eyed gaze. His jaw was slightly ajar as he admired her. He was blown away by her beauty. The picture pales in comparison to the real-life version of her.

Makina realized he was speechless because of her wardrobe change and tilted her head in confusion. "You've seen me wear plenty of dresses. Is it really that mind-blowing to see me in another one?"

The raven-haired boy rubbed the back of his neck once he snapped his jaw close. "Well, yeah. I've seen you in other dresses, but you really do look great in everything. I can't help but be surprised. I'm more shocked at the fact that you chose to date a loser like me when you could have anyone else in the world."

"Mmm...I wouldn't say I could have anyone else in the world. I'm not everybody's cup of tea. As for the loser part..." She took his hand and held it with a grin. "I consider you more of a nerd than a loser. But you're my nerd and I wouldn't want it any other way. Now let's get this date started. I think we should start at Partellum Market. Some ideas might come to mind while we're perusing the stalls."

"Y-Yeah..." Noctis didn't fight and allowed her to drag him out of the hotel.

While Noctis wasn't one for PDA, he found himself holding her hand and not caring who saw. It was one of the few things he would do when he went on a date with her. Unconsciously, he weaved his fingers with hers.

At the marketplace, the couple walked around. Although they had explored the market before, they noticed the wares would change from time to time and new items would be for sale. The two soon found themselves in front of a stall that sold jewelry and knickknacks. The prince wasn't one for jewelry or small trinkets, but he did enjoy looking for things he thought Makina would like.

Out of the various items on display, Noctis' attention was drawn to a silver bracelet decorated with butterflies. The silver wings were decorated with purple gemstones and diamonds. He felt the piece of jewelry matched her aesthetic perfectly. He bought it while she was focusing on a pair of earrings. After handing over the gil, he took the bracelet and turned to her. He grabbed her attention by taking her left hand in his own. Using his other hand, he put the bracelet on her wrist. He released her hand when he hard the bracelet click. "There."

Makina lifted her arm to examine the bracelet. She loved the design and smiled. "Look at you being sweet all of a sudden. I might get a cavity."

He pursed his lips childishly. "Whatever..."

They continued to venture through the market for another hour. It wasn't until she heard a woman mention a bakery did she grab Noctis' arm. "We're finding that bakery."

Noctis hadn't heard the woman who passed them and was confused. "Huh?"

Without answering him, she dragged him along while searching for the bakery. She wound up asking one of the locals where it was and went from there. Finding the bakery, she ordered a dozen cupcakes. She took the box with a smile after paying for it.

"You're going to eat all those by yourself?" Noctis asked.

"No way," she laughed. "I got them for everyone. But I do want to enjoy mine now. How about we go to the outlook?"

"Sure."

At Pegglar Outlook, the couple found a bench to sit on. Makina opened the box of cupcakes and smiled when seeing each one was covered in a different color of frosting. "These look amazing. I almost don't want to eat one."

"If you're not, I will." Noctis took a cupcake topped with green icing.

"In that case..." She took one with red frosting and put the box on the other side of her. She then took a bite of the cupcake. A smile crept onto her face. "These taste so good!"

"They taste like every other cupcake I've had," Noctis said. "I still don't understand why you love them so much."

She sighed. "You still haven't learned to appreciate cupcakes." Taking a glob of red frosting, she smeared it across his lips. "Whenever you do learn to appreciate cupcakes, I'll stop smearing frosting on you."

Noctis got her back by wiping some green frosting on her bottom lip. "Consider that payback."

Makina licked her lips. "Payback tastes pretty good."

The prince finished his cupcake just before the princess finished hers. He looked over at her and saw she still had some green frosting on her lips. "Hey, um..." He tried to tell her. "You've got some..."

"Oh, no." She tried to check her face. "Am I a mess?"

"Just a little."

She groaned. "I didn't grab any napkins. Maybe I should-"

"I've got it." Noctis didn't have anything to wipe the frosting off her face, but he had one way in mind. He leaned towards her, placing his lips over hers. His tongue traced her bottom lip and wiped away the clump of frosting before plunging into her mouth.

Makina tasted the frosting the moment his tongue brushed against hers. She kissed back with the same intensity. As one of his hands snaked its way behind her neck to pull her closer, she placed a hand on his chest.

A minute later, the kiss ended.

The girl hummed in satisfaction. "That was, by far, the sweetest kiss I've had. All I could taste was cupcake."

"I'll say." Noctis retracted his hand.

Her hand fell from his chest as he scooted back on the bench. "All that for a bit of frosting, but I don't mind." She grabbed the box of cupcakes and placed them on her lap. "I think that kiss was the perfect way to end our date."

"Yeah," Noctis agreed. A yawn came from him. "Now I need a nap."

"Maybe you should marry a bed."

"And let another guy have you? No way."

His words made her smile. "You really are cute when you're honest. You should try it more often."

"No way," he replied. "And why do you keep calling me cute?"

She reached out and pinched his cheek affectionately. "Because you are."

He lazily swatted at her hand. "Why not call me handsome?"

"Well, can't you be handsome AND cute?"

"I guess so..."

She placed a quick peck on his cheek before standing. "C'mon, Prince Charming. Time to head back to the hotel so everyone can enjoy the cupcakes."

Smirking at the nickname, Noctis stood up. "With pleasure."

The couple returned to the Leville.

They found the others gathered in the lobby.

Prompto was the first to spot the prince and princess. "Whoa!" He gasped. He held up his camera and took a picture of the girl. "Lookin' good, Makina!"

"Thanks, Prom." She held out the box of baked goods. "Want a cupcake?"

"Don't mind if I do!" Prompto took a cupcake when she opened the box.

She then moved over to Gladiolus and Ignis. "Don't be shy, you two. There's no shame in enjoying a sweet treat every now and then."

The two older boys were convinced and accepted her offer.

Next, she headed over to Iris and Talcott. Smiling, she showed them the cupcakes.

"Oh, wow!" Talcott beamed as he gazed at the cupcakes. "It's like a rainbow!" He took a blue frosted cupcake while Iris picked up an orange frosted one.

Makina closed the box. "If you want seconds, just ask."

"I'm surprised the whole box isn't gone yet," Gladiolus commented. "Thought you would've scarfed them all down by now, cupcake."

"Trust me, I would've eaten the whole box if I wasn't feeling generous. Besides, I can go buy more if I want to." She double-checked to make sure the box was closed properly. "I'm going to change. I'll be back in a few minutes."

She headed upstairs to the room she was sharing with Iris. As she closed the door behind her, she saw Pluma jumping on the bed while giggling. She smiled at the kitsune. "Someone's having fun."

"Makina!" Pluma stopped jumping, its tail wagging. "What's in the box?"

"Cupcakes. Want to try one?"

"Yes!"

The princess carried the kitsune over to the coffee table. She placed it down before allowing it to pick out a cupcake. While it enjoyed the sweet treat, she went to the dresser and grabbed her normal attire. That was when she noticed her phone was missing. She had left it on the dresser when she changed earlier.

Putting her clothes down, she stared at the vacant spot. "Pluma, have you-" She turned and saw the demon was gone. Not even the cupcake was on the table. Bewildered, she looked around the room. She checked everywhere for Pluma but found nothing.

Suddenly, she felt a chill. Her attention was drawn to the door. It was wide open. She remembered closing it. Wondering why it was open, she peered out into the hallway and saw no one. Something felt strange and she needed to investigate.

She returned to the lobby but discovered it to be empty. "Guys?" She was utterly baffled to find no one, not even the staff manning the front desk. Her heels clicked against the tile, creating a haunting echo.

Feeling her heart beginning to race, Makina kept looking. She was about to head back upstairs to check the boys' room but spotting a familiar figure standing at the entrance of the hotel stopped her. "Vylen..." She muttered the man's name with a growl.

Vylen said nothing and left the Leville.

She pursued him through the streets of Lestallum. She ran up and down stairwells, through alleyways, and empty streets.

As she chased after him through the main thoroughfare, she slowed her pace as the scenery around her morphed into the streets outside the castle in the city she was born in, Riahla. She felt her body become petrified at seeing the city.

"Do you miss Iona-your beloved world?"

Makina spun on her heels to see Vylen. "Of course I do. It was my birthplace."

"Do you wish you could revive this planet?" He asked.

"I...I don't know," she answered sorrowfully.

"I was certain you wouldn't have any reserves as to reviving Iona, but it seems I was wrong. Why are you unsure?"

She placed a hand over her heart. "There's a part of me that believes Iona was destroyed for a reason. I think reviving it would result in a terrible outcome."

Vylen smiled earnestly. "You are quite wise, my queen."

She glared at him. "And you owe me an explanation for what you did to me. I hope your reasoning is good or I will strike you down."

The man erupted with laughter. "You are just like your mother. She was a wonderful woman, one of Iona's greatest queens. It is heartbreaking she is no longer with us."

Her eyes widen. "You knew my mother?"

"And the many queens before her." Vylen slowly removed his sunglasses to reveal his lilac-slit eyes. "As well as the kings that stood by their sides."

She gasped. "Y-You're..." Her mother's words echoed inside her head. Valtreus, the draconic god of Iona, would use a human vessel to visit the royal family. He always appeared as a handsome young man with lilac-slit eyes and black locks. "Valtreus."