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When the fire had almost died out and Noctis was more than ready to pass out in the tent one last time, Gladio gently grabbed him by the elbow.
“What's up?” Noctis paused halfway into the tent and straightened up. He did his best to hold back a yawn.
“There's one more person who has something she wants to say.” Gladio reached into his pocket and revealed an envelope, yellowed.
“Who…?”
Gladio’s expression said it all. There was no one else out there he would dutifully deliver a letter for. Without another word, Noctis took the letter while Gladio retired inside the tent.
Shuddering against the cold breeze, Noctis sat in his chair and pulled out a blanket to cover his lap against some of the chill.
There was no name on the envelope and it wasn’t sealed. The paper had yellowed, but that was probably because paper was so precious and so people held onto it for something…special. important.
Noctis pulled the letter out carefully like it might crumble, afraid it just might. He unfolded it gently and prepared himself for whatever was about to come.
The last time he saw Iris’s handwriting had been at Cape Caem, when she would write out shopping lists for them while they were out on hunts. It still looked relatively the same, a hint of the young girl there, but the letters were now written in a rush with how everything tilted to the right more than before.
Iris was basically his little sister. He didn’t get to say goodbye like he had wanted to, and that had been plaguing him quietly all this time.
Noctis took a breath, and read.
Hey Noct,
I know I should probably address you formally, but what Iggy doesn’t know won’t hurt anyone.
We both know what this letter is going to be, and I need you to believe that I understand. I’m not a child anymore. I don’t think I’ve really been since that day in the Citadel, no matter how hard I tried to act otherwise. The time we got to spend together before you left for Altissia is still so precious to me - it was one of the last times I got to pretend, even in short bursts, that I was still just a punk kid. But I think I always understood how this fight was going to end. And while we all waited for you to return, I also dreaded it, because then you guys would all drive off, into the moonlight, and probably wouldn’t return. But you have to do just that, don’t you?
Noctis paused and looked up at the sky. At the blinking stars he had at one point watched with fear of the unknown. His emotions were still fresh from their conversation around the campfire and he hadn’t thought Iris would know. Because yeah, to him she was still fifteen and had already seen so much shit and death and terrible things, and this was something he had wanted to shield her from. He thought Gladio might, too.
Noctis was determined, though, to return Gladio to her. Gladio, all three of them, would do whatever they could to protect Noctis even if that meant giving up their lives.
But the only person who needed to do that, was Noctis.
He wiped his eyes on his sleeve and returned to the letter.
But I mean it when I say I can handle it, Noct. It’s been ten years and I’ve laughed, cried, fought, been near death. I’ve looked daemons and humans who turned out to be monsters in the face and then kicked their asses into the darkness.
I’ve helped families broken apart by this fucked up world, like mine was. Started an orphanage with Talcott in Lestallum for kids who have lost everything but the clothes on their backs. I wish you could have seen it. They would have loved to meet their king. We told them stories about you all the time, and they even drew pictures of you on your birthday every year.
Noctis smiled and laughed a little.. He could strangely imagine the place, how Iris would decorate it and make it feel like home. He wasn’t sure yet how he felt about the whole…immortalized king...thing. He hadn’t saved Eos, yet. What if he failed? What if everyone died, and those pictures eventually rotted away and scattered in pieces to the wind, useless pieces of paper dedicated to the man who let humanity down.
He forced himself to focus on reading and not to get lost in such thoughts.
You matter, Noct. After all this time, and forever, you will matter. Not just to me, not just to my brother, Iggy, Prom. But to all of us here on Eos, and we will never forget what you have done for us.
And let those boys help you. You don’t have to do this alone even though I bet you intend to. But those guys, they love you, Noct, more than anything in this world, and I don’t think they will stand by and let you do anything by yourself. Especially not my brother. Let him be your shield, one final time.
So, I want you to march right your butt to Insomnia. Walk into the Citadel, and destroy whoever you need to so we can go home. And when you see my dad, give him a hug for me. Tell him we’re doing okay. That we’ll be fine. And that I love him and miss him every single day.
Walk Tall.
- Iris
With a shudder, and a long exhale, Noctis sat and stared until his vision blurred. When a tear hit the paper and smudged the ink, he startled and quickly put the letter back in its place, and vanished it into the Armiger.
There was still a small light on in the tent, but no one was sitting up. They had left the light on for Noctis.
Noctis won’t let Iris down. He won’t let anyone down.