#ravus_week

Ravus Week

Worth Waiting For

Ravus is 10 the first time he dreams of her. She is a little girl, only 9 years old and is playing with a little doll on the boulder of a river and humming to herself. He doesn’t know where he is but he’s seen this place before, he just doesn’t know where. But all he can see is her back to him, her hair is long and dark chocolate brown and has many little braids in it and it’s so beautiful.

“Hello,” Ravus greeted her as he stood there awkwardly, in his play clothes.

She turned her head at the sound of his voice and considered him for a second and smiled and waived him over to join her.

“Hello,” she greeted back happily before he climbed the boulder and sat with her on it, not wanting to be alone. “Are you on vacation here? I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before.” She asked him curiously.

“Yes,” Ravus confirmed as he just let the sound of the river gently flowing past soothe his senses. They talked for a little bit before he woke up and he realized it was all just a dream. But that dream felt much realer than anything had before. The colors had been so vivid and he could recall all of it. He just wished he had remembered to ask her- her name.

He went about his day before he saw a magazine laying on the table in his mother’s room, it was a travel magazine that had exquisite pictures of Galahd and a picture of a little girl sitting on a large boulder on a river bank while other boys were swimming in the river and she was simply looking on and smiling. That’s where he got it from, he had looked at the magazine yesterday when his mother was teaching Lunafreya how to play the piano and he had been bored. He picked it up again and looked it over again, this time trying to see if the little girl appeared in any other pictures and was delighted when she did, this time with the other little boys who had been swimming earlier as they all ate popsicles. She was just as adorable and pretty in the picture as she had been in his dreams.

“What are you looking at Ray?” Sylva asked curiously as she looked over to see her son immersed in the magazine.

“Pictures of Galahd.” Ravus answered as he kept looking at them before his mother got up from the piano bench and came over to see for herself as Luna practiced a simple tune on the piano.

“It is pretty isn’t it?” Sylva asked as she bent and rested on the back of the couch and looked over her son’s shoulder at the magazine herself.

“Is it possible to go and visit it?” Ravus asked as he turned his head up to look at his mother hopefully.

“Not right now, but maybe someday. There’s a lot of distance between us and them and while Galahd is peaceful right now, the distance between us isn’t. Maybe when things settle down, we’ll go.” Sylva answered simply. “Why do you ask?” Sylva asked curiously.

“I had a dream about it last night.” Ravus answered.

“Oh? What kind of dream?” Sylva asked as she came around and sat next to her son on the sofa, putting her arm around his shoulders and smiled when he rested his head on her shoulder and relaxed into her and cuddled back.

“A nice one, I had a dream I was right there and talking to her.” Ravus explained softly as he pointed to a picture of the little girl. “And she was really nice and the sound of the river flowing was really calming.” Ravus continued and Sylva blinked in surprise and looked from her son to the picture.

“I’m sure she was nice.” Sylva nodded in agreement. “What did it feel like?” Sylva asked thoughtfully, knowing that when she had prophetic dreams, they had a certain feeling attached to them. And while she knew that the line of Oracle was only passed onto daughters, she also knew that since the Crystal chose Noctis, things could change in an instant and the old ways wouldn’t hold true. She had a feeling that after her own death, there was a whisper in the back of her head that Ravus could be chosen to be the Oracle too. Maybe the Astrals were giving her son hints and gently leading him, even as young as he was, but he had a good heart and seemed to be acutely aware to spiritual things so she wasn’t surprised.

“Peaceful, I felt…it almost felt like I was here at home, I wasn’t scared that I was somewhere I had never been before, like I belonged there with her. Like she was a friend I’ve always had even though I didn’t meet her until last night.” Ravus answered softly.

“Well maybe we should take a trip there after all, let me see what can be done. I can’t promise we’ll get to go anytime soon but it does look like a fun place and it’s a vacation spot, maybe we wouldn’t get too much attention by visiting.” Sylva offered and smiled wider when Ravus seemed to light up at that and kissed the crown of his head sweetly and hugged him.

“Thank you Mother, that would be amazing, could I keep the magazine though?” Ravus asked.

“Of course.” Sylva agreed and Ravus hugged the magazine before Lunafreya made a mistake trying to play the song and made a noise of frustration and Sylva got up and returned to her daughter to try to help her and not get frustrated and play the song again.

And so it became a little pattern, about once or twice a week Ravus would visit Galahd in his dreams and talk with the girl, who he learned was a girl by the name of Selena. They always met in Galahd and she would take his hand and show him more and more of it, her house, her family, her pets, the river, the food. It was amazing. During the day, he read every book they had on Galahd and it’s customs and history. And during his sister’s music lesson, he took up painting and painted hundreds of pictures of Galahd. Lot’s of pictures of the river and the cliffs and canyons and lots of Selena, in fact in all his pictures, even Sylva could see the progression and age of this girl and soon realized when she was looking at them one day that she was looking at pictures of the future Queen of Tenebrae or so her premonition told her.

That’s why Ravus kept dreaming of her, the Astrals were trying to get them to have a connection. So she made plans to go but every single time she did, without fail, something would happen, Niflheim would conquer another territory, topple another kingdom and her own kingdom would be threatened. It was only because she was Queen and Oracle that they didn’t dare directly confront her. They knew better. But it was getting too dangerous to go. So she would pray, pray to the Astrals for help and to keep Ravus’ connection with his future wife and Queen strong and for Selena to stay strong and remain pure, she just needed a bit more time to figure out a way to make this work. To form an alliance or something and she encourages her son to keep dreaming of her and makes a point of praising how beautiful and sweet Selena looks in his art.

Ravus is 13 when he steals his first kiss from Selena. They were swimming in the river and he was swimming underwater in the crystal clear waters had grabbed a hold of her and kissed her right on the lips. He had always been able to kiss her on the cheek or the forehead or on the hand before he would feel himself wake up. Selena is so shocked she exhaled her breath and it escaped in large bubbles before they flowed away in the current.

The next week when he dreamed of her again, she appeared for just a moment and kissed him back, just as quickly and innocently as he had kissed her before she giggled and ran away, prompting a game of hide and seek but he wakes up before he can find her again.

Over the next year Ravus reads every book he can get his hands on about dreams and what they mean and how to navigate them and tells his mother about them and she tried to teach him all she knew because the dream world was as close to the astral plane normal humans could get and does her best to reach her son at night through his dreams until one day, she’s able to dream with her son. Ravus happily took her hand and led her around Galahd and found Selena again and happily introduced his mother to this wonderful girl and Sylva spent the dream in just plain clothes, no royal garb, no crown or anything and sat and talked with this little girl who had just turned 12 and even she could see how close and how good of friends they had grown into already.

When Sylva awoke the next morning she prayed to the Astrals to continue to bless her family and her son Ravus especially to keep seeing his future wife and that their bond would tie them together for eternity and for them to always be happy and to guide her son to be the best king Tenebrae could have, followed by his own son and their family line. She was happy the Astrals chose a commoner, Ravus would learn humility and grace and thankfulness because of her just like she had learned from her own late husband who had been a commoner as well. Thus why he had never been king, simply royal consort.

“Mother! Did you see her?! Were you really with me?!” Ravus asked as he came running into his mother’s room and climbed into bed with her and practically bounced on all fours which made Sylva laugh.

“Yes I was! She’s beautiful, but she’s still young Ravus so you have to go really slow, really be her friend and grow with her. Next time you dream with her, try to concentrate and show her this place, make sure she knows this place and is just as comfortable here as she is with her homeland. So that when she comes here, she’s comfortable.” Sylva advised as Ravus laid down on the other pillow but faced his mother before Sylva went into detail about how he could do that.

The next time Ravus dreamed with Selena, Ravus remembered all his mother’s advice and made a door in the middle of a little field to bring Selena through to show her Tenebrae.

“What’s that?” Selena asked as she appeared and marveled and the intricately carved and inlaid door. Like it had gemstones and opal inlaid into it and seemed to glitter and glow.

“It’s a door to my home.” Ravus answered before he held his hand out to her. She tentatively took it and he opened the beautiful ornate door that revealed the gardens of Tenebrae.

“Wow,” Selena breathed as she came into the gardens and squeezed Ravus’ hand and followed him as he showed her around the gardens and picked sylleblossoms and made a bouquet for her to carry and smiled happily as she smelled them and loved the scent of them.

“Wow, what’s that?” Selena asked as she looked over and saw the palace.

“This is Fenestala Manor, my home.” Ravus informed her proudly.

“You live in a palace?” Selena asked in confusion.

“Yes, well, you see, I’m actually the Crown Prince Ravus Nox Fleuret of Tenebrae. My mother, who you met yesterday, or last night rather, she is the Oracle and Queen of Tenebrae, that’s where you are, you’re in Tenebrae. She taught me how to bring you here.” Ravus revealed excitedly.  

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Selena asked as she pulled her hand from his and turned to face him with a confused frown on her face. “We’ve known each other for a long time now, how come you didn’t tell me sooner?” Selena rephrased as she started backing away from him as she started to get overwhelmed by his revelation.  

“I wanted to, I thought you’d be happy to find this out.” Ravus blinked, growing confused and hurt that she was backing away from him and backing away towards the door. “Look, the Astrals, they chose you, they want you to be with me, they want you to be here with me, to live here some day and call this place your home too.” Ravus tried to tell her.

“No, you’re just...you’re just a boy I keep seeing in my dreams, this isn’t real, this is just a dream, you’re not real.” Selena panicked as she dropped the flowers to the ground and began to look around for the door before she found it and started to run to it.

“Wait! Selena wait! Please!” Ravus pleaded as he ran after her but she fled through the door and slammed the door behind her and when Ravus opened the door again, Galahd wasn’t on the other side, it was just the rest of the gardens.

“Fuck!” Ravus cursed and slammed the door, feeling hot tears sting at his eyes as the door shattered into a thousand pieces. “No! I didn’t mean it! I didn’t mean it! Come back! I have to get to her! I can’t loose her!” Ravus pleaded desperately as he tried to grab all the pieces that started to float and drift away like the air was just another big river and it was in a current as he tried to gather them and put them back together before they disintegrated in his hands and he fell to his knees and sobbed.

“Ravus?” Sylva called as she appeared in the gardens, having been trying to patiently wait for her son and Selena to come inside and meet Selena formally and saw her son on the ground crying and ran to him.

“Ravus, what’s wrong?” Sylva asked as she dropped to her knees and crouched next to him.

“She ran away,” Ravus sobbed.

“Well what happened?” Sylva asked as she looked up and didn’t see Selena.

“I pulled her through the door, we picked those flowers and she liked them, then she saw the manor and I don’t know...got scared? I told her who I was, who you were, told her the Astrals chose her because I know they have, I can feel it and she said that I wasn’t real, that none of this was real and she ran away and left and when I opened the door, Galahd wasn’t on the other side, it feels like our connection is gone. It hurts Mother, Astrals it hurts worse than anything ever has.” Ravus explained as he touched his heart in his chest.

“Oh Dearest, it’s ok, she’s young remember? She probably has her friends and family dismissing her dreams as just dreams, they are probably telling her that and have made her to believe that too. You need to be patient. You probably told her too much too soon.” Sylva tried to rationalize.

“She was mad at me though. Mad at me that I didn’t tell her more sooner though.” Ravus whimpered.

“Well all you can do is be patient. Look for her and be open to her. Give her time to accept everything, accept you.” Sylva advised.

“Should I try to reach out to her in the waking world? Would that help?” Ravus asked.

“Well not right now, but once she comes back to you and you reestablish yourselves, tell her that you’ll be sending her something and we’ll do what we can to figure it out, because I fear if you did something now that might scare her off further.” Sylva answered carefully.

Six months later Ravus is finally back in Galahd in a dream and he called out to Selena and he found her on the same boulder he first met her on. She’s sitting and brought her knees to her chest as she watched the rippling waters flow on the river.

“Mind if I join you?” Ravus asked bravely.

“Sure.” Selena shrugged before she wiped her tears away and scooted over on the surface of the boulder to give him room as he came and sat down cross legged next to her as his mind whirled on what to say. “I’ve missed you.” Selena finally admitted after a few long minutes before she let her head rest on his shoulder.

“I’ve missed you too, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.” Ravus apologized as he let his head rest on hers.

“So is this normal?” Selena asked after another long moment.

“In my family? Yes. For everyone else? No.” Ravus answered simply.

“So I’m destined to be with you then? You’re going to come and sweep me off my feet and I’ll live in a castle and live happily ever after? Is that what all this is?” Selena asked.

“You don’t have to. You could just say ‘no’ if you don’t want it to be that way. I’m sure the Astrals would choose someone else if you really didn’t want that.” Ravus carefully phrased and his heart pounded in his chest. He liked her. A lot. He didn’t want the Astrals to choose anyone else, he already chose her in his heart and he didn’t think he would ever be the same if she rejected this, rejected him.  

After another long moment she took a deep breath in seemed to make peace with that. “So how is this going to work then? How in the world do I tell my parents? My family? They would think I’m crazy and...I don’t know what would happen.” Selena worried as she wrapped her arms around his arm and hugged it tight.

“Well don’t say anything for now, I’m trying to figure something out. A way to reach you in the waking world. My family has Gentiana, she’s an Astral and has been living with us and guiding my mother and my sister, I’ve talked with her about you and she’s offered to help any way she can. Just be patient with me ok? I’ll see what I can do.” Ravus offered and chanced a soft sweet kiss at the crown of her head and nuzzled her head with his own and they didn’t say another word, just sat there together like that.

Ravus woke up and blew out a breath of relief. Oh good, he had found her again. She wasn’t completely cut off from him like he had feared over the last six months.

Ravus got up and got dressed and went to the family’s jewel vault and looked for something, something small, something special that he could bestow on Selena, a sign that she wasn’t crazy and that he had noble intentions, something tangible but not something that would be the end of the world if it got damaged or lost. Then he found what he was after, a locket. It’s beautifully enameled on the front surface and carved with his family’s crest on the back, it was tastefully exquisite yet small and understated that she could wear it all the time and it would be discrete. It had his grandmother’s and grandfather’s pictures in it. He carefully took the pictures out and put them in the little box he found it in. He inspected the chain to make sure it was perfect, no kinks, no damage, it had to be strong yet delicate enough to suit her and once he was satisfied that the chain matched what he wanted and needed it to be he slipped it into his pocket and left the crown jewel’s room.

Getting a picture that he liked of himself was the trickiest part. He didn’t want the ‘royal’ pictures that his family got once a year when he was dressed up in his royal get up. He just wanted to look nice but not formal, he wanted to look handsome but not stuffy, he wanted to look normal, like any other kid his age but also like...like he was worth waiting for. Thankfully his mother and Gentiana helped him with this privately. Once they got a good and decent picture of him they helped him put it into the locket. On Selena’s fourteenth birthday, Selena awoke to a woman holding a white puppy sitting at the end of her bed, who Ravus had shown her to in the dream world at his home which they had since explored many times now. The gardens still being Selena’s favorite part.

“Gentiana?” Selena asked sleepily as she woke up and rubbed her eyes and sat up in bed.

“Hello Selena, happy birthday.” Gentiana greeted cheerfully but softly so as not to wake up anyone else in the house.

“Thank you.” Selena nodded. “So it really is real? My connection with Ravus? And the Astrals choosing me?” Selena questioned.

“Yes Selena, but we can’t say anything yet. But Ravus gave this to me to give to you.” Gentiana smiled and handed Selena the locket and smiled warmly when Selena’s eyes went wide with excitement and she took it graciously from her and turned it over in her hand before she opened it, her breath being taken away when she saw a picture of Ravus on the one side as a few seeds fell out into her palm before she started to cry. “He’s so handsome.” Selena whispered as she touched the picture reverently before inspecting the little seeds.

“Worth waiting for.” Gentiana said and Selena nodded in agreement. “The seeds are sylleblossom seeds, the country’s favorite flower, you can plant them in a little pot in your room if you’d like.” Gentiana explained.

“Oh, I’ll do that, for sure.” Selena smiled as she carefully put the seeds into a little envelope and put it on her nightstand where she would get the best little pot she could find and plant them later that day.  

“I should go, you’re mother will be up soon to make breakfast. I also came to introduce you to Pryna, she’s a divine messenger. When she grows up, you’ll see her more. She should be carrying around a notebook so you and Ravus can communicate that way too.” Gentiana informed Selena as she handed Selena- Pryna for Selena to greet and hold.

“Well hello there Pryna, aren’t you gorgeous.” Selena cooed to Pryna as Pryna licked her face and wagged her tail as Selena nuzzled the puppy and noticed she smelled so good, before she just hugged and cuddled Pryna for a moment before Gentiana stood from her spot at the other end of Selena’s bed.

“Ravus was the last to hold her and cuddle her so you’re really smelling Ravus.” Gentiana explained as she came closer.

“That explains why she smells so good.” Selena smiled into Pryna’s fur and buried her nose into Pryna’s fur more.

“We should go though. We don’t have much time.” Gentiana reminded Selena.

“Wait, um, can you bring something back to Ravus for me? Please?” Selena asked and got up out of bed and went to her cork board and got a picture of herself that her mom had taken of her on the boulder by the river the week before and gave that to Gentiana to give to Ravus.

“Perfect.” Gentiana smiled before she got Pryna back then she and Pryna vanished into thin air. Selena blinked but looked down to see the locket still firmly in her palm still. She opened it again and squealed and giggled. She finally had something real, something she could hold. She put it around her neck and looked in the mirror and smiled brightly before she kissed the locket in lieu of actually kissing Ravus in that moment.  

Gentiana reappeared back at the manor and knocked on Ravus’ door.

“Yes?” Ravus answered as he opened the door sleepily before he noticed it was Gentiana and his eyes opened wider and he opened the door and invited her in.

“Here, Selena held Pryna, so Pryna smells like her.” Gentiana offered and Ravus immediately took Pryna and smelled her and breathed in deeply when he could smell her on Pryna as he scratched behind Pryna’s ears.  

“And this is for you.” Gentiana said as he offered him a picture of Selena, sitting on the very boulder he had always sat with her on.

“Our boulder, she’s even prettier than I ever could draw her.” Ravus realized as he held Pryna in one hand up to his chest and looked at the picture and smelled Pryna with the gentlest, most adoring smile on his lips before he got an idea. He put the picture down on his nightstand and then rubbed Pryna all over his pillows, hoping the scent would transfer to the pillows, Gentiana held back her giggle, he was adorable. Ravus let Pryna go, hoping she would roll in his bed before returning to Gentiana.

“Thank you Gentiana, thank you so so so much.” Ravus thanked her and hugged her tight.

“You’re welcome.” Gentiana smiled as she hugged him back.  

“So how was she? Was she nice? Was she just as beautiful as her picture?” Ravus asked when he pulled away and got the picture to pour over it some more.

“That picture doesn’t do her justice, she’ll grow into a beautiful woman Ravus.” Gentiana smiled softly. “But again, she’s still young, you have to go slow, like really slow. Grow with her.” Gentiana cautioned and urged.

“Uh huh,” Ravus nodded as he continued to stare at the picture before he traced her face.

At breakfast Ravus made a formal request to go to Galahd for his 15th birthday present since they were slightly less than a year apart in age. Sylva did everything in her power to make it happen, but alas, Niflheim had all of EOS in a strangle hold and it broke her heart when she learned that if she or anyone from her kingdom ventured outside of Tenebrae’s borders, that they would be kidnapped or killed or who knows what else. It was just too risky. She knew her son was growing frustrated as was she.

By that time, Pryna had grown and Gentiana, for Ravus’ 15th birthday present got him a special blue violet journal, the same color as the sylleblossoms that grew around the manor and in the gardens. Ravus wrote his first love letter to Selena that took up five pages, all of them written on the front and the back of the pages in his neatest and smallest handwriting. He put pressed sylleblossoms and more pictures of himself, how he had grown in that year, taken by a professional photographer, into the pages too. He carefully tied the journal to Pryna to make sure it wouldn’t come off and prayed to the Astrals that it would reach her and that Pryna wouldn’t get caught or that it wouldn’t be discovered. He couldn’t chance Niflheim finding out about her. He didn’t want to think about what would happen if they ever did. He needed to protect her.

That night he dreamed of Selena again and she kissed him again, it was soft and sweet and full of promise. And when he held her, he swore she was really real and with him and he had never been happier or more at peace in his life. This time when they walked around and explored, he had his arm around her shoulders.

Three days later Pryna returned with the notebook, the pages he had written in had been very carefully cut out. And Ravus found another five pages, all of which were covered with Selena’s handwriting, front and back. They were even scented, sprayed with Selena’s favorite perfume and on the last page, to Ravus’ utter and complete delight, a red kiss mark. Oh he wanted to run away and actually go to Galahd and sweep her off her feet and run away with her, bring her back here where she’d be safe and sound and happy with him and they could be together all the time. He poured over the pages, reading them and rereading them over and over and over again until he knew them by heart, his imagination supplying him with how the words would be said if she was actually speaking them to him. He carefully cut them out of the notebook to keep in his bedside table, he buried his nose in the scent of her perfume. Thankfully the notebook was special and magicked and no matter how many pages they cut out, it would refill itself and soon both Ravus and Selena both had stacks of letters from each other.

For his 16th birthday, Ravus brought Selena into the royal jewel’s room and they explored it and Ravus happily put his mother’s crown on her head to see what she would look like wearing it, wishing with all his might that this could be real someday that he’d see her wear it in the waking world, hopefully soon.

“It suites you.” Ravus murmured in her ear as he came up behind her and hugged her from behind and kissed her cheek sweetly as she leaned into his touch and put her hands over his folded arms and leaned back into him without the crown falling from her head as she just couldn’t help but giggle.

“It’s heavy though,” Selena realized as her neck started to hurt and she took it off and put it back where it belonged. “I’m going to have to do neck exercises.” Selena said as she reached up to rub at her neck before Ravus replaced her hand with his own hands and started massaging it for her, grinning when she moaned and breathed in relief before he just couldn’t help but kiss the back of her head again. It was becoming painful to not touch her now. Astrals, he wanted to give her so much more, but his mother and Gentiana had warned him to go slow. Advice that was becoming harder and harder to be mindful of with every new dream they shared together.

Selena turned around and kissed him again, but this time, deeper, much deeper than she usually did. But Astrals, did she taste divine and he couldn’t help but try to kiss back as his arm wrapped around her and his hand went to her hair at the back of her head and kissed her for all he was worth.

“Mmmph, how, mmph, do, we, mmph get back mmph to your room?” Selena asked between heated kisses as her own hands raked up and down his chest before her arms wrapped around his neck and shoulders as their kiss continued to progress and escalate.

“But, we shouldn’t...mmph, I mean I want to, so bad.” Ravus tried to hold onto reason but it was becoming neigh impossible as he just couldn’t get enough kisses.

“It’s a dream My Love, we can do whatever we want, we can have all the sex we want and we won’t have to worry about any consequences, I can’t get pregnant from a dream can I?” Selena questioned and pulled away to get a breath of air.

“No, yeah, ok, there’s a short cut.” Ravus admitted before he took her hand and ran with her all the way to his room, both of them laughing their asses off all the way before he came to his room and pulled her inside and shut and locked the door. Then it was a race to get each other undressed as the dream world transformed to night and the full moon came in through his windows before he finally got her naked and picked her up to carry her to the bed, gently laying her down before pulling the covers up and losing himself in her completely. Even though they were both virgins and had little idea of what they were really doing, they still somehow figured it out and managed to have sex repeatedly.

“Happy Birthday,” Selena wished him as they rested, her cuddled into his side and wrapped herself around him.

“Thanks Darling,” Ravus grinned before he kissed her again and then felt himself wake up.

“Dang it.” Ravus whispered before he felt all the cum in his pajama bottoms, it overflowed from his boxers. He rolled over and realized his bed smelled like she had been laying in it in reality and he felt himself grow hard all over again. He pulled himself from bed and took off his soiled clothes and tried to wipe off himself best he could before he got a sock and got into bed and rolled over onto his side and buried his face into the pillow to inhale all of her into his lungs as he started jacking off to her again which usually was a big part of his morning routine as of late. He came in a grunting moan and made sure the sock got all of his load so as not to make a mess of his actual bed before he rolled over and hugged the pillow, wishing and hoping with all his might that her scent will stay and that sooner than later he could hold her in his arms for real and when he could wake up in the mornings, she’d be right there with him and never leave him.

However, just a couple of short months later, Noctis is attacked by a daemon and nearly dies, and Sylva invites Regis and Noctis to come to Tenebrae so that she can cure him and save him.

Disaster strikes and his mother is cut down in front of Ravus and in an instant he looses everything and Tenebrae falls to Niflheim. His kingdom stripped from him like it had been stripped from all the other royalty in all the other kingdoms.

That night Ravus is catatonic and doesn’t sleep, he’s numb and he’s goes from being in anguish to being in denial. His room becomes his new prison cell. Now he really can not leave. In a matter of days, he feels years older as he does his best to come to terms with how things are now.

It takes a week to find Selena again. Only this time, she finds herself in Tenebrae, but it looks different. It’s darker, there’s damage to the actual manor and Selena’s heart drops. She goes inside and searches everywhere for Ravus, calling out his name at the top of her lungs in a panic. What happened here?!

She finally finds his room and lets herself in but he’s not in it.

“Who are you?” A young girl asks as she comes into the room.

“I’m Selena, where’s Ravus?” Selena asks the young girl who looks a few years younger than herself.

“I can’t find him.” Luna admitted before she started crying and Selena quickly comes to hug her.

“What happened here?” Selena asked as this younger girl clings to her.

“Niflheim attacked while King Regis and Prince Noctis were here, it was an assassination attempt on the royal family, they barely escaped. Mother was killed, stabbed through the heart by General Glauca, she was trying to protect my brother.” The young girl sobs and it’s all Selena can do to hold her tight.

“I’m so sorry, is Ravus ok? Did he die too?” Selena asks as panic grips her own chest.

“No, but I can’t find him.” The young girl sniffles.

“Well let’s look for him.” Selena suggested.

“So you’re Lunafreya then? Ravus has told me about you.” Selena said as she pulled away and took Lunafreya’s hand and led her out into the hallway so they could keep looking for Ravus.

“He’s never told me about you.” Lunafreya admitted.

“Well that’s because we’ve been secretly courting. I’m just a commoner from Galahd. The Astrals chose me to be his Queen years ago, I’ve met your mother in dreams like this and Gentiana has come to me personally and Pryna comes to me too, all the time, Ravus gave me this.” Selena explained as she took her locket and held it up for Lunafreya to see.

“Grandmother’s locket.” Luna whispered, having remembered her grandmother wore it always.

“It is?” Selena asked.

“Yes, see it has our family crest on the back.” Luna said as she took it and turned it over gently and traced the seal.

“Selena?” Ravus asked as he suddenly reappeared down the hall.

“Ravus!” Selena and Lunafreya called out as all three ran for each other and had a group hug.

“Darling, what are you doing here?” Ravus asked as he kept his arms wrapped around both of them.

“I came to find you, I looked everywhere, I found your sister, she was looking for you too. Where have you been?” Selena asked worriedly.

“Trying to find my mother, I was hoping that in this dream world I could find her still since this dream world is connected to the astral plane in a way.” Ravus explained.

“Have you found her?” Lunafreya asked and Ravus shook his head ‘no’ and both Lunafreya’s shoulders and her brother’s shoulders fell and all Selena could do is rest her head on his shoulder and hold him tight.

The next night Selena came to Ravus and found him in his bedroom, he was looking out his window and she came up behind him and hugged him and smiled sadly when she felt Ravus hug her arms before he turned around in her hold and hugged her back.

“What can I do to help? Is there any way I can help?” Selena asked, her words muffled slightly by his shirt.

“Stay with me.” Was all Ravus could answer as he held her as tight as he dared before he moved them to a sofa and continued to cuddle the rest of the dream.

Over the next year Ravus revealed his plan, if he joined Niflheim and could become someone within those ranks, he would be able to do more, he could escape the manor and gain some freedoms and try to earn something that resembled what he lost and the plan worked. He was able to be recognized for his tactical thinking and strategy. Then he became a soldier and then a commander in Niflheim’s ranks. He partially hated himself for it. But he was in survival mode and he set his sights on finding a way, any way possible to get to Selena and bring her to Tenebrae where she would be safe. Selena however was hesitant, she didn’t want to leave her family but she loved Ravus unconditionally and knew and freely and happily accepted that she was fated to be with him.

Then Ravus got word that Niflheim set it’s sights on Galahd and Ravus both realized his chance of finally being united with his beloved but at the same time he worried that her family would be casualties if caught in the crossfire and knew she would never forgive him if anything happened to her family. And so he warned her. He begged her to leave Galahd as soon as possible and to go to Insomnia, he even got as many funds as he could and taped them to every page in their own lovers notebook for her and her family to use.

But Selena’s family thought she had gone mad. They thought she had stolen the money and therefore locked her in her room and only let her out of the house if she was supervised by either her mother or her father. Selena thankfully had Pryna who would appear in her room and so Selena sent word of her family’s reaction and what they had done and it made Ravus furious and frustrated. So he told her to pack a bag, only what she held most dear in it and that he would come for her when Niflheim besieged Galahd and he would rescue her himself. And so Ravus helped with the planning of taking over Galahd and told only his most trusted men that he commanded to be on the look out for Selena Ulric, that once they found her, to not harm her in anyway, but to take her and bring her to him if he hadn’t already gotten to her before they could.

King Iodolas was unbelievably pleased with Ravus’ change of heart and sudden and very strong loyalty to him and to Niflheim and happily watched as Ravus used his advanced knowledge of Galahd to come up with the best plan of overtaking it and gifted Ravus with more power, authority and freedoms than ever before.

Ardyn however could see that there was much more to Ravus’ intentions than simply new loyalties. He had become aware of the Astrals choosing Noctis for Lunafreya and he knew that they had chosen someone for Ravus for many years now and he couldn’t stand to see the Nox Fleuret line have one more generation and so that’s why he had joined Niflheim and gotten them to overthrow the rest of Eos, he had helped Niflheim take over one kingdom after another all around Tenebrae so that neither Ravus, Luna or especially Sylva could leave and so that an arrangement for Ravus especially could never be reached. But now that Galahd was all that was left to conquer besides Insomnia itself, that meant that Ravus’ intended must have been there, he also noticed that all of Ravus’ plans seemed to centralized around one point on the maps of Galahd, upon further inspection. They all centralized over one house. That’s where she must be. Ravus asked for him and his men to be deployed in one spot that was in the very middle of everything and was actually between this house and the river itself, Ravus had mentioned one particular boulder in particular a few times. Ardyn knew Ravus had never been to Galahd before but his knowledge of it’s people and layout was as if he grew up there. The Astrals must have set up a very strong connection to his future wife and they must be communicating somehow, there was no other explanation.  With a few tricks and alcohol laced with additives, he found out that his suspicions were right from Ravus’ soldiers. And so he had to do something about it. Because within months of Ravus actually getting his beloved, she would surely become pregnant. So he program-ed his own magiteck soldiers to shoot on sight anyone named Selena and any variations of her name and made sure his own magitecked soldiers were added to Ravus’ troops.

Ardyn’s plan worked flawlessly. Selena’s house was partially destroyed, the outside wall of her bedroom was trampled and knocked down and he saw a young woman run into the rest of the house.

Both Ravus and her brother yelled at her to get down and at the sound of Ravus’ voice she turned to see Ravus and reached for him just as Ardyn’s soldiers raised their weapons and shot her dead.

“Nooo!” Ravus and her family howled in anguish before Ravus finally came forward as the rest of her family was taken away and moved to the center of town with the others. Ravus came into her house through the caved in wall and knelt down next to her and picked her up and cradled her body to himself and wept.

“Please Selena, please come back, please don’t leave me. You have to live, you have to!” Ravus pleaded. “Astrals, someone, help me!” Ravus pleaded but his men knew that there was nothing that could be done to save her and so they simply took up a permiter around the house to protect their commander. Ravus kissed and hugged and held Selena’s lifeless body before he noticed she was still wearing his grandmother’s locket, he opened it and saw how she had put a picture of herself on the other side. He saw her bag laying next to her and grabbed it and pulled it closer to himself to look inside. All that was inside was simply a change of clothes and then all his letters he had written her and pictures. That’s it. That’s what she held most dear. Him. He looked up and saw the pot of Sylleblossoms smashed on the floor next to what used to be her bed. He held her as long as he could before his men alerted him that Galahd had been conquered and that he needed to go. Ravus wanted to take Selena’s body with him but his men couldn’t let him do that. So Ravus did the next best thing. He took a knife and carefully cut off one of Selena’s little braids in her hair, the one he always seemed gravitate towards when they were together in the dream world and would often just run his fingertips down and some more pictures of her from her bag. The ones that she looked particularly beautiful in.

“I swear Selena, I’ll find a way to bring you back, I’ll do whatever it takes. Don’t give up on me and just wait for me ok? I’ll find a way so we can be together. You really are so much prettier in person. I love you, with all that I am. We’ll be together again, you’ll see, I’ll find you and I’ll find a way to bring you back. I swear it.” Ravus vowed before he kissed her one last time, his tears streaking down his face and landing on her before he went to the boulder and chipped a piece of it off to take it with him too left with his men and locked himself into his quarters.  

When he finally had to reemerge because King Iodolas summoned him, he was toasted to and given even more power, authority and freedoms, more than any other non Niflheim borne commander. But Ravus felt like he was a shell of himself.

“Conquer-er’s remorse I presume?” Ardyn noted with a smug smirk as he drank his champagne as he stood with Ravus as they watched Galahd underneath them from the window of the air ship they were on, Ravus watching as Selena’s family gathered around her and prepared her for burial.

“Yes,” was all Ravus could reply with as he watched on with a broken heart doing everything in his power to not cry and not show weakness among his enemies.

After this Ravus became even more withdrawn than ever before. All he did was look up books on magic, both light and dark and tried to learn all he could about how to bring someone back from the dead. Then he became obsessed with the ring of the Lucii. Surely the power within the ring could bring her back. He was a crown prince after all, still in his heart anyway. He was of noble birth and noble blood, surely they wouldn’t deny him. Selena was in his dreams every night, thus why he slept as much as he could. Selena spent half her time in the real afterlife, with her grandparents and family who had passed long ago and then she spent time with Sylva when Ravus was waking as well. Sylva was heartbroken when she realized that Selena had been killed but when Selena told Sylva of all that Ravus was trying to learn to bring her back, Sylva began to do the same and began working with the Astrals herself on her son’s behalf in addition to what they would be doing for Noctis and Lunafreya as well. Other than that, Selena was there in Ravus’ dreams with him and Ravus felt like he had two lives. One in the dream world and the one in the waking one. He preferred the dream world and all his time in the waking was spent on how to make his dreams come true, how to bring Selena back to life. He needed her more than ever before. His own lovers notebook forever in his possession and looked at all the pictures he had of Selena tucked in the pages, her letters to him carefully taped and put back into the book so that he could always read them.

Then it was time to overthrow Insomnia and Ravus smiled more in that time than he had in years before. Soon he could get the ring, soon he could use it to bring his beloved back. Soon. Soon all his waiting would be over. The rest of the world could burn for all he cared, he just wanted Selena back, he just wanted to take her home and never leave her side again.

Then the ring was cut off of Regis hand and it rolled to Ravus’ feet as if the fates themselves were willing it his way.

“At last, the ring of the Lucii.” Ravus breathed and picked it up and marveled at it. “I lost my mother, my country, my birthright, Niflheim was the only life left to me. But all of that was for this. The ring belongs to me now.” Ravus said before he put the ring on and was transported in front of the ring of Kings.

“Hear me, Lucian kings of old, for I am Ravus Nox Fleuret, and none is more worthy of your power than I!” Ravus announced before he seemed to be weighed and measured. But his dabbling into the dark arts, the forbidden and dark magic as well as his selfish reason that the only reason he wanted the ring and it’s power was to serve himself, to bring Selena back from the dead and not serve the kings themselves or save their city or their kingdom, he was judged as unworthy and rejected.

“No, why, why do you refuse me?” Ravus demanded.  

“We will not give you our light, you have noble blood, but not noble intentions, that is why we will not take your life for asking, but we will take just payment for your presumptuousness.” They judged and his hand immediately burst into flames, as if being lit on fire from the inside and the worst pain since loosing Selena began to engulf him.

He was revived later in the Niflheim medical ward. His entire left arm had burned off and all that was left was a stump at his shoulder and burn marks all over his left shoulder. Getting the magiteck arm was awkward and painful and it took a lot to get used to. In his dreams, his magiteck arm was replaced with his own arm and that served to be the only way Ravus could know if he was still in the dream world or the waking one. But with the arm, came magic itself and more power than he had ever had before, his left eye even changed color, from a beautiful stormy gray to violet. That took some getting used to as well.

And then disaster found him again when Lunafreya died and Ravus was, completely, alone. And then when the Crystal took Noctis, the sun stopped rising and Eos was plunged into darkness but Niflheim was defeated. So Ravus did the only thing he could do. Go home.

But then, something happened…Now that Lunafreya and Sylva were both in the afterlife and all the covenants with the Astrals had been fulfilled and their duty had been done for now, the Astrals finally gave into Sylva’s constant and nagging request that now had Luna’s voice added to it.

One morning, just as a tiny bit of light seemed to creep over the horizon to signify that it was technically ‘day’- Ravus awoke in his bed cuddled with Selena.

Ravus frowned as he blinked up at the ceiling of room and looked down at his chest to see her cuddled to his ‘bad side’. But she was there. He reached over and tentatively touched her face, he could feel the super fine but soft hairs on her face, could feel the soft and silken texture of her hair, could feel her breath as her chest expanded next to his own, he could feel the warmth roll off of her and seep into him. He could feel her fingers and her hand as it splayed over his chest, her fingers twitching ever so often. He traced her face, a face he had fallen in love with every time he saw her. A face he knew better than his own. A face he could carve from stone if he had to. There was no way this was real. He had to still be dreaming.

It broke his heart to pull away from her but he had to make sure she was real. Tenebrae still had electricity for the moment so he turned on his bedside lamp and took a deep breath as he turned back, thinking she would have vanished. But instead, he was greeted by the sight of her stirring awake. Her big brown eyes fluttering open before she focused on him and smiled.

“Good morning My Love,” Selena murmured, her voice still thick with sleep but a dreamy smile still on her face as she moved and reached out to touch his handsome face. “I’ve missed you.” Selena grinned before she pulled him down to kiss her.

Ravus kissed her with his eyes wide open, afraid that if he closed them, she would vanish again.

“What’s wrong?” Selena asked as she pulled away and saw how Ravus had frozen in place and wouldn’t take his eyes off of her.

“I, I’m still dreaming?” Ravus asked in confusion.

“Nope, not anymore, you’re awake. Your mother and your sister and the Astrals found a way to bring me here, I had two choices, reappear in Galahd, or reappear here with you, I chose you, like I always have and always will.” Selena affirmed as she sat up fully and held his face in both of her hands before she crawled and sat in his lap, straddling him and putting his arm around her.

“I’m really here this time, I’m never leaving you again.” Selena vowed as she could feel Ravus’ good arm slowly tighten around her as her front was brought to press against his. Suddenly Ravus just went for it and kissed her hard, his eyes closing as happy tears finally escaped them as he held Selena to him with as much might as he dared. Leaning forward until he had her pinned to his bed beneath him and relished in the taste of her and kissed every inch of her that his mouth could reach as his hand stroked every inch of skin he could reach. She looked like she hadn’t aged a day since she died. She was still wearing the locket even and her bag that she had packed was at the foot of the bed. She was real, she was there, he had her, finally. She wasn’t in danger, he wasn’t in danger. It was just them.

“I mmph, am never, mmph, leaving, mmph, you, mmph, ever, mmph.” Ravus vowed in between kisses that grew more desperate by the minute as his hand pushed up her delicate nighty to reveal her nakedness underneath. “You’re so beautiful,” Ravus breathed before he took a breast into his mouth before trying to take off his own pajamas that separated him and his beloved.

“Could we please get under the covers though? It’s still cold out here.” Selena requested and Ravus practically picked her up and moved her to the top of the bed as Selena began to laugh, not realizing he was strong enough to do that with just one arm. Once settled into the bed, Selena helped undress him completely before peppering his left side and what was left of his shoulder and arm with soft, sweet kisses as Ravus got into position above her.

“Are you ready my Darling Selena?” Ravus asked as he paused and found her slick opening with the head of his rock hard engorged member.

“More than ever.” Selena answered and clung to him before Ravus finally sheathed himself into her, grimacing when she cried out as her maidenhood was torn and he paused for a moment to let her get used to him before she seemed to rock her pelvis under him to get him to move again. It was like making love for the first time all over again, but with the added benefit that they both had grown to know exactly what the other wanted and needed, and it was beautiful.

Then there was a knock at the door.

“I will murder you if you come inside!” Ravus threatened at the door and Selena snickered a laugh and hid her face into his chest to conceal her blushing face.  

“Just making sure you’re awake my Lord.” Ravus’ attendant placated and backed away from the door.

“Yes I am now go away!” Ravus demanded.

“Yes my Lord.” They said, their smaller voice proof of their retreat.

“Is that how you talk to all your servants?” Selena questioned curiously.

“Not usually no, but this should never get interrupted.” Ravus answered before he got back to task of pleasing his beloved.