Chapter Text
Cloud moved silently through the halls of the palace. His face was a perfectly blank mask, seemingly devoid of thought. People often called him a soldier without a heart... people called him a lot of things… a living weapon. Honed and detached, seemingly killing without remorse.
He had served Niflheim for longer than anyone could track. He never seemed to age, and he rarely spoke. A man that had seemingly just appeared out of nowhere, and never seemed to change. He didn’t make conversation, and the only thing that seemed to be on his mind was battle.
Some speculated that he was an Astral, walking amongst humans… others called him the last remaining daemon, as the Starscourge had long since been gone, strangely around the time that the previous chancellor had vanished…
Even to himself, Cloud’s view on time was skewed… blurred… his memories were faint about where he had come from. They would come and go. Dissipating the moment he tried to examine them too closely. So, he tried not to think about them at all. There were flashes of what he thought were memories… sprawling fields of flowers… icy mountains with biting winds… a woman who looked like him, and the unmeasurable feelings of love that he’d held for her… loneliness… so much loneliness… a group of faceless people that he’d once called family… a man that he cherished above all others… that he would have given anything to protect. The feeling of failure that came with the flashes of toothy grins, sparkling blue eyes, and a mane of dark hair… feelings of love that he kept buried in his heart, shut away for no one else to see. It felt like it had been a lifetime since he’d shared his heart with anyone.
He supposed that he would come across as a living weapon… a heartless soldier that did the Empire’s bidding with little to no question.
He had helped raise generations upon generations of the Aldercapt royal family…though his involvement was usually kept at a distance, and for self defense training. He had only ever been especially close to Iedolas…. Who had since grown into a man with a family of his own. Though… he still looked to Cloud for guidance on some matters. They had a relationship that was close to that of an especially close uncle and nephew… possibly even a pseudo father-figure, though Iedolas’ father was loath to insinuate that he was anything less than the most important man in his son’s life… they both knew the truth though.
The royalty viewed him differently than his fellow soldiers did. They were thankful for his continued involvement with their bloodline, and his stalwart service. The public didn’t see the softer moments that were between himself and the family. Moments where the golden soldier’s guard lowered a fraction, and he could just be… Those times became fewer and farther between as children assumed the roles of their parents, and then started their own continuations of the line. Iedolas and his wife had just had a child, and the blond was saddened by the fact that he had been in Tenebrae on personal business at the time of the boy’s birth. A new heir to help rear…
His thoughts moved back to the matter at hand, the reason that he was now traveling down to the training grounds. Iedolas had told him of the new influx of recruits, and how he would appreciate an extra set of eyes for talent among them…as he made his way down the halls toward the stairs, however…
A soft whimper made him stop in his tracks. He stood, silent, waiting… then another soft whimper. His feet moved before he gave it much thought. When he came back to himself he was standing in the open doorway to the bedroom of the tiny newborn prince that would one day rule over the frozen lands that they called home.
Cloud had yet to formally meet his highness, but it was obvious that the time was now upon him.
He walked over to the crib on silent feet. Listening for movement nearby of any nursemaids, or servants… there was no noise other than the prince’s whimpering. That fact made him frown, surely they wouldn’t leave such a young baby alone for long… He really was but a babe, his tiny hands were fisted and shaking as he continued to whimper… never fully crying, just little noises of distress.
The soldier stood over the crib, watching the boy for a long moment before he reached out slowly, letting his hand hover over the downy golden hair of his prince. The baby opened his violet eyes, a soft hiccup leaving him as he looked at Cloud’s glove. The blond man had little experience with actual babies… but there were dustings of memories of a little boy and girl, but they were grown children… of cruel children that had ostracized him at some point in his life… He’d always felt better when his mother-
As the blond man pulled his hand back the boy's eyes watered, his distress was obvious. Cloud’s glove was removed, and the prince instantly calmed when a warm hand was placed on his head. His skin was cold to the touch, making the soldier’s frown deepen. His gaze moved away from the child, to the surrounding areas of the crib. His eyes caught a bright yellow blanket that had an embroidery of a chickabo on the corner. He took it and turned back to the baby.
He was stopped short of pulling away to wrap the boy in the new blanket when a contented little hum left the boy, his little hand brushed Cloud’s wrist. His fingers were cold as well… but the chill didn’t seem to be bothering him now that he was with company.
Maybe they were both a bit touch starved… the soldier felt himself thaw for the first time in as long as he could remember. Even with Iedolas he had tried to keep a respectable distance to let the boy’s father be his ‘ideal’ male role model… but this felt different…
He hushed the little noises of distress when he pulled away, just enough to swaddle the little prince in his new blanket. Once finished he picked the boy up and looked down at him, feeling a stirring in his chest… a kinship budding from the obvious contentment that the child seemed to have from just being held…
Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to open up to someone…