~Zodia's POV~

Awaking the next morning, I learn of our next destination from Gladio. He informed me of his call with his little sister, Iris, before the four of them met me at Hammerhead. Hearing that she was safe caused a wave of relaxation to travel through my stressed body.

"Glad to hear she's safe, Gladio," I said, smiling at the bodyguard. He smiles back and pats me on the head, ruffling a few strands of my hair. "You should've seen Noct and Iggy when they heard what happened to the Crown City. Never seen those two so broken."

"Now you've gotten me curious," I reply. Gladio chuckles and removes his hand. "Don't get too curious to a point where you get distracted."

"Trust me, I'm not that curious."

His smile widens as he continues packing up the campsite. I offered to help, but Ignis insisted I let him and the others handle the work. Knowing begging wouldn't work on the man, I decided to walk around the campsite. Not far from the haven, I found a few duscaen oranges we could use for a new dish.

"Zo, ready to go?" Prompto asked as he ran over to me. I nod and held the oranges in my arms. Back at the Regalia, Ignis noticed the fruit in my hand and snapped his fingers. "That's it!"

"What's "it"?" I ask.

"I've come up with a new recipe!" He said excitedly.

"I could taste test it for ya," Gladio states with a slight chuckle.

"Looking forward to it, Iggy," I beam. He smiles back as I place the oranges with the other ingredients. Completely packed, we climb into the Regalia and head to Lestallum.

The breeze whipped through my long black hair as I sat between Noctis and Gladio. Ignis checked on me from the rearview mirror while Prompto spun in his seat to see how I was faring. I gave both of them a simple smile to ease their worried minds.

As we got closer to our destination, we passed through a tunnel. "It's like we're warping to another dimension!" Prompto said with an eerie voice. "Wonder where we'll end up," Noctis replies.

"Hopefully somewhere peaceful," I mumble. Gladio heard me, making him laugh a little. "That's gonna be a tough wish to grant."

"I'll say," Noctis scoffs. Ignoring my brother, I looked towards the city that greeted us on the other side of the tunnel. "Wow!" Prompto gasped in amazement.

"Nice," Gladio adds.

"This place is pretty big," Noctis chimes in.

"Haven't enjoyed the city life in a while."

"They've even got a cable car!" The blonde squeals.

"I'd like to see where it leads," Ignis and I said in unison. Our eyes met briefly in the rearview mirror until I tore my gaze from him, heat rising to my pale cheeks. "You're both in sync today," Gladio smirked. I wave off his words and stare across the outlook as Ignis parked the car. We get out of the Regalia and take in our new surroundings.

"I've read about Lestallum but never imagined I would actually visit," I comment. We walk into the city and stop to view all that surrounded us. Tons of people were walking through the streets of the city. "One hell of a crowd," Prompto states.

"This must be the main thoroughfare," Ignis exclaimed. Gladio pulled out his phone and checked it. "She's at the Leville. Let's go." Sliding his phone back into his pocket, we follow Noctis to the hotel. We walked through the backstreets until our destination was right in front of us.

Entering the lobby, we wait for Gladio's little sister. About fifteen minutes pass and we hear footsteps running down the stairs. "Gladdy!" Turning to face the young girl, Gladio smiled in relief. "Iris!"

"Look at you guys, holding your own out there."

"What can I say? You look good," Prompto compliments. When her brown eyes landed on me, she gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. "A-are you...?" She starts. Tilting my head in confusion, I beckon for her to continue. "Are you the princess?"

I nod, smiling at the bubbly girl. Another gasp escaped her lips. "It's such an honor to meet you! Gladdy's mentioned you, but I never knew you were so beautiful."

"Thank you, Iris. My name is Zodia. It's wonderful to finally meet you." My words had made her even more jittery. Her eyes traveled to my outfit and they widened. "Would it be alright if I took you shopping in the morning? Your clothes are torn and dirty."

"I'd love to, Iris. I've been needing a change of attire for quite a while now." She jumps with joy and thanks me profusely.

"Alright! Are you guys staying here?" She asked, glancing at the others.

"That's the plan," Ignis responds.

"When you have time, we have catching up to do," Gladio said. Iris gives her brother a small nod. "Sure."

Iris leads us up the stairs and into a room. Once inside, I sat on the bed with Ignis beside me. Two figures stood in the doorframe as we all situated ourselves. "Jared and Talcott! Is it good to see you," Gladio beamed. The young boy took a step towards Noctis and smiled. "Prince Noctis! Iris is safe with me!"

"Please excuse my grandson. He has yet to learn his manners," Jared apologizes. Noctis smiled and chuckled at the young boy. "I like it."

"Of course you do, Noct," I smirk at my brother. He just shrugs and smirks back at me. My words grabbed the attention of Talcott. The boy walks over to me and gazed at me with curios brown eyes. "Are you the legendary Princess Zodia?" Taken aback, I look at him in confusion.

"Legendary?" I puzzled.

"We have heard of your deeds the day of the summit. Word of your ability to summon a zodiac has spread like wildfire between the refugees. All of us are being careful not to leak the information to the public. Who knows how many would target you for such a power," Jared cleared up the confusion.

"The only people who are aware of my abilities are the refugees, everyone here, and the Empire. If Niflheim figures out that the refugees know, it will cause you all to be in danger."

"We should not linger for long within the city. Our presence is putting everyone in danger," Ignis states.

"Who knows what the Empire will do to try and get their hands on Zodia," Prompto said.

"Like hell I'm going to let them use my sister as a weapon," Noctis growls.

"They're targeting both of you. But right now, Zodia's the main target. Knowing Niflheim, they'll try and take control of her powers and use it against us," Gladio exclaimed. Talcott sprung forward and placed a hand over his heart. "I can become your knight, Princess Zodia!"

"Sorry, Talcott, but she already has a knight in shining armor and he's sitting right next to her," Gladio chuckles. Talcott's mood deflates and he returns to his grandfather's side. When I was about to speak up, Ignis took my hand and gently squeezed it. I silenced myself and let him hold my hand in his gloved one.

"Your Highnesses are very kind, but we shan't impose. A very good night to you, Your Highnesses," Jared politely said, closing the door as he leaves with Talcott. Once we knew they were gone, Noctis began to question Iris. "So Iris, what was it like inside the Crown City?"

Hearing the question made the memories of the horrific scenes reappear in my mind. My body began to shake as I remembered Father falling to the ground, motionless. "Zodia," Ignis called my name softly. Not being able to make eye contact, I look away as tears stream down my cheeks.

"Zo, I'm sorry. I shouldn't've-"

I silence Noctis with the shake of my head. "Don't be. Iris, do continue."

Ignis gently pulled me close and cradled my head against his chest, stroking my hair in a soothing motion. I heard Iris take a deep breath before continuing. "Not pretty. The Citadel took a beating. But a lot of outlying neighborhoods made it through in one piece."

"The Empire had tactical targets in mind," Ignis said while still comforting my shaking form. We all grew silent after hearing what Ignis said. The silence was ended when Iris faced Noctis with determination. "You know if there's anything else, you can ask me."

"Yeah, uh, thanks," he responds. Another wave of silence followed until Gladio cleared his throat. Noctis was confused at why. "What?"

"So... about Lady Lunafreya. I keep hearing she was in town," Iris states.

"Yeah, Zodia told us. Without help from a member of the Kingsglaive, neither one of them would've made it out safely."

"I'm glad to hear that. Get a good night's rest. If you'll allow, I'd like Zodia to sleep in my room." Iris looked towards me. Wiping my tears away, I nod and I get to my feet. Ignis still had a strong grip on my hand as I stood up. Bending over, I give him a short but sweet kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow. Sleep well, everyone." I left the room and followed Iris to hers.

"You can use the shower first. After all, you've had a long day," she said.

"Are you sure? I can wait."

Iris shook her head and nudged me towards the bathroom. Giving in, I enter and take a refreshing shower. Iris lends me some clean clothes until we find a new outfit for me. Though it was early, both of us decided to lay around until our bodies were consumed by the dream world.

-Next Day-

Iris and I woke up at the same time and got ready for the day ahead. Leaving the room, we head down the steps to see Ignis, Gladio, and Prompto talking with Jared and Talcott. We said our good mornings until Iris pulled me by the arm and we left the hotel.

"Don't worry about the gil. I've got everything covered today. It'll be like a girl's day out. No guys, just the two of us," she excitedly said.

"That... sounds peaceful and pleasant. I've never had a girl as a friend. My whole life has been spent in the Citadel and I only had the four guys."

"Wow, I never knew that. Most of the Crown City thought the rumors about the princess were false. They believed it was just a mystery to keep the media busy. When Gladio told me, I didn't believe it but then Noctis told me about his baby sister. Ever since, I've been wanting to meet you."

"Well, I hope you weren't disappointed by our small meeting yesterday."

"Not at all! Since leaving the city, seeing you and the others have been a sight for sore eyes. The prince and princess are safe, along with my brother and his other friends. That's all I could ask for."

"You're too sweet, Iris. I hope we do become close friends."

Iris froze in her tracks and looked at me with hopeful eyes. "Really-we could become friends?"

"Definitely."

She began to cheer and jump for joy. We chatted until our feet led us to a small clothing shop not far from the market. Entering the store, we began to browse countless of outfits. Iris picked out a few and I tried them on. When I reached the last outfit, I knew it was perfect.

Stepping out of the changing room, I showed Iris the beautiful ensemble. "Oh, my gods-you look amazing!"

"I have you to thank. You're the one who chose it out."

Iris took me to the counter and paid for the new clothes. I hung on to my old attire, deciding I would fix it when I had time. Turning to leave the shop, Iris began to ponder. "How about we go get some breakfast?"

"I could use a decent meal about now. The last meal I had was a day ago."

"Then, let's go!"