☆⌛ Sophrosyne ⌛☆ A KH/FF/FEA Reader-Insert

Prologue

You were pulled away from your dreams by a loud knock on your door, followed by two other knocks. "Princess (Name)." Even in your groggy state you could make out the voice of your most faithful knight, though it was odd that he'd be waking you up.

'Either something's happened or I've slept in. I certainly hope it's the latter.'

"Come in, Rai." You sat up straight with a slight yawn. The door opened, revealing the familiar silver haired knight.

"Excuse me for intruding," he said politely as he closed the door behind him.

You watched his expression to see any warning signs of bad news. With Rai it was always subtle, just the quickest aversion of his eyes, or maybe a slight twitch of the right corner of his lips. If you hadn't known him for so long, you doubt you would be able to make heads or tails of him.

Finally, you broke the silence while rubbing your sleep heavy eyes. "Is something the matter? You know you needn't wait for me to prompt you to speak."

"Thank you, Princess (Name), but I thought it would be fair to give you time to collect yourself after rousing you from your slumber. That being said, I must apologize on disturbing your much needed rest. I do not come bearing bad news."

A relieved sigh left your lips as you slouched slightly. "Rai, I swear that you're going to give me a heart attack one day looking so serious. So why did you wake me?" If you were sure of anything it was that Rai wouldn't bother you without a reason.

His aquamarine eyes softened slightly as he saw you relax. "I merely came to wake you for the evening meal. You slept past your morning and afternoon meal after all. Honestly, I'm surprised that Myde hadn't already woken you."

"Ah right, our sunrise routine," you mused as you thought of the blond haired bard. "I saw him last night while I was training because he went to get a glass of water. He told me he'd let me rest tomorrow since I was still up so late." You covered your mouth as a yawn escaped and then stretched your arms above your head.

"How is your training with the Tempus Crystal?"

"My ability to use Tempus is still shaky, perhaps worse than before, and even Howl admits that it may be some time before I am proficient with using it. I don't understand why, I go through the steps like my mother showed me, but then..." Your words trailed off as you summoned the crystal. Tempus was a spherical crystal that could easily fit into the palm of your hand. The crystal itself was filled with milky white mist, making it impossible to see the intricate detailing within. When your mother possessed Tempus, it glowed a bright blue color and contained a dark blue clock-face within.

"Perhaps it is just not accustomed to you."

Your voice was barely a whisper as you looked down at the milky white orb hovering above your hands. "Perhaps Tempus misses my mother as well."

The bed shifted slightly as Raito sat down besides you. Carefully, as he was wearing his armor, he wrapped his arm around you. You let the crystal dematerialize as you leaned into Rai slightly, ignoring the goose bumps the cold metal gave you.

"She was a great woman. There are many people still mourning the loss of the king and queen, myself included."

"They did love you. They cared for you as they cared for me and I was just happy to have someone my age around to spend time with."

Rai smiled slightly as the two of you reminisced. "You mean to get in trouble with?"

"No, Myde was my partner-in-crime," you corrected. Even as a child, Rai was more mature than most and kept out of trouble fairly well. In contrast, your other childhood friend conspired with you on a regular basis. "You always just insisted on tagging along and then taking the fall with us to lessen our punishment."