A Shift in the Timeline

1

A woman with medium long blonde hair wiped sweat from her forehead, glaring at the fiery Astral in front of her. She summoned her rapier, glancing to her left as her father took a step forward. The cold metal of the bracelet that she wore clashed with the heat around her uncomfortably, a soft frown on her face.

She had obtained the bracelet from this timeline version of her mother - before she was taken away from the Chancellor. She couldn't stop him, she felt powerless when it happened. Her blue eyes looked over to her right, watching as her father's Shield was the first to engage the Astral.

Then the tactician, and the gunman. And finally her father himself. With her rapier in her hand she moved forward, side stepping a flame that was moving in her direction.

Her father was not so lucky. Falling to the ground, his royal attire was aflame - and painful grunts escaped his parted lips.

"Prompto!" She yelled, pointing in her father's direction.

Prompto turned his head, nodding and quickly moving back - putting her father out of his pain and helping him up. "Get to safety Noct!"

Noctis's shield was still engaging the Astral head on, which gave her time to cease her fighting and send him a soft smile. "Please waste no time!" She advised, watching as Noctis sent her a smile in return.

Prompto urged him on, summoning his gun. "What Bella said! The three of us will distract him!"

Noctis moved as fast as he could, limping over to where Ignis was kneeling. A scowl painted his face, watching his flaming enemy's movements from the corner of his eyes.

Quickly Gladio pushed Noctis forward, kneeling behind cover as both Prompto and Bella arrived in time before the Astral's flames danced around them with intensity.

As the fire died down Gladio and Prompto hopped back into the action, and Ignis broke the glass of a potion - healing Noctis's wounds. "Here you go." He muttered, standing up.

The Chosen King wasted no time getting to his feet, newfound determination coursing through his veins. "Let's do this!"

•

The world around her was light blue, as if she was in the sky and hidden deep within a cloud. Her blue eyes looked around, confusion written on her face. "W-Where...?"

"Arabella Lucis Caelum."

Hearing her name being called Arabella looked up, meeting the gaze of a being much larger than her in size. A clawed hand was outstretched below her as she floated safely to it. The being stared down at her with a blank gaze.

"My name is Bahamut," the being introduced, it's voice low and gravely. "And you are here for one reason. Save your father Noctis Lucis Caelum in another timeline."

The blonde haired girl tilted her head at this. "Timeline...? But how?" She asked, glancing to her right. A tail swished behind Bahamut calmly.

Bahamut merely chuckled at this. "With my power I will send you there and the timeline from then on with change to comfortably set you into it. I will help with this. On this journey you will meet people that you haven't before, but fret not, they will protect you and in turn you will protect them. Do you understand?"

Save her father? Another timeline? Arabella shook her head, she cared deeply about her father and will do whatever it takes to save him. "I understand." She agreed, smiling. "But! Can I at least spend time with them for a little while more before you send me off?"

"You may. Now close your eyes and relax." Bahamut responded, disappearing from the blonde haired girl's vision.

•

Arabella shot up, hearing quiet knocks on her bedroom door. She took a deep breath, calming her nerves and moving a few strands of hair out of her face. "Come in." She called out, rubbing sleep from her eyes.

She heard the door open and also heard it close. "Good morning Princess," she heard the familiar accent of Ignis greet her, causing her to smile. "Did you have a good sleep?"

Arabella looked up at him, frowning once she noticed the scar on the right side of his face. 'It still hasn't healed...' she thought, her frown deepening. "You're still hurt..."

Ignis looked away, staring at his gloved hand. "Please. Don't worry about me," he spoke, shaking his head. "You must be hungry, I'll cook something up for you while you get ready."

As the tactician turned around Arabella threw her blankets off of her, moving so her legs were swinging off the edge of her bed. "Wait! Are you going to eat?"

"...yes."

"If I have to I will make you eat some food." Arabella hummed, crossing her arms and standing up. The royal tactician said nothing, leaving the sixteen year old princess to her thoughts and privacy.

Quickly Arabella walked into her bathroom, washing her face, brushing her teeth, brushing her hair and doing her business. Once she was finished she walked out of her room, following the smell of freshly made food.

Arabella turned a corner, entering the dining room as Ignis made his way out of the kitchen. Seated at the dining room table was the King and Queen of Insomnia: Noctis and Lunafreya.

"Good morning!" She greeted with a nod to both of her parents, who nodded back in return. Silently Ignis set a plate of eggs, toast and bacon in front of her and tried to return back to the kitchen however the young Princess grabbed the tactician by his sleeve and pulled him into a seat.

Arabella grabbed a piece of toast, pushing the rest in Ignis's direction. "Eat." She commanded, taking a bite of the piece of toast she grabbed.

Ignis sweatdropped, looking from the plate to the quiet King and Queen, and then to the quiet Princess. "I-I cannot-"

Lunafreya smiled softly, shaking her head. "You know how Arabella is. Go on, eat."

The royal tactician glanced in Noctis's direction, but only received a nod in return. With a sigh he grumbled, but ate the food anyway.  The Princess grinned, happy with the results. However as she took bites of her toast she realized she would have to tell her parents about the dream she had sooner or later.

With a exhale of breath she opened her mouth to speak. "Mom, dad? I have something to tell you." She piped up, watching as Luna and Noctis looked at her.

"I had a dream that this being was talking to me and he said that it was my duty to save you," Arabella stated, pointing at her mother and father. She tilted her head in Ignis's direction, who has perked up with interest at this newfound information.

Taking more bites of her toast she smiled sweetly. "I accepted of course, but on the condition that I wanted to spend a little more time with you before I left. Now I think is the right time, please tell Gladio and Prompto when they come back that I'll always be thinking about them okay?"

Arabella stood up, wasting no time pushing her chair in, ignoring the shocked stares of her parents and Ignis, and leaving the dining room with the sweetest smile on her face. After she turned the corner she stopped, resting her head on the wall behind her.

"Bahamut... it's time."

"Very well. Then it shall be done."