Releasing a deep sigh, Ignis begged for sleep to carry him off to his private dream world. However, his mind raced with the millions of thoughts that plagued him: homework, chores, the semi-apprenticeship under his uncle, how to entertain Prince Noctis…and what was all that shuffling noise?
Ignis rolled over and flicked on the table lamp, instantly blinded by the sudden assault on his senses. Squinting, he scanned the room until he spotted Noctis sitting by his open closet door.
"Prince Noctis," Ignis whispered loudly. "What are you doing?"
Noctis looked over his shoulder, wide-eyed at getting caught yet he carried on with what Ignis finally saw was putting his shoes on.
"I'm going to the garden," Noctis finally declared as he laced up his shoes.
Ignis put his glasses on and looked at the alarm clock.
"It is in the one in the morning, Prince Noctis."
Ignis fought the whine rising in his voice, resisting sounding undignified. But the irrational prince made the job difficult.
"What could possibly make you want to go to the garden at this ungodly time?"
"Fireflies!"
Noctis's face lit up with a wide smile going from ear to ear. He had an odd fascination with animals that either emitted light or glowed in the dark. Combine the fact that fireflies dance around the air while blinking light from their butts, the prospect seemed like a magical temptation for the young prince. Then Ignis felt a pang of responsibility for he started this obsession by reading to him a book about fireflies.
"You'll get in trouble," Ignis warned.
But then Noctis quipped back, "Only if I get caught!"
The statement was not untrue. Now Ignis was left with two options: go back to sleep and feign ignorance or follow Noctis, ensuring he didn't wind up in more trouble. He sighed reluctantly, choosing the latter option only because his deception was easy to see through so lying in any form was immediately ruled out.
Ignis slipped out of bed and, like Noctis, he didn't bother to change out of his pajamas. He just slipped on his loafers. Opening the door slightly, Noctis peered up and down the hall. Smiling at the empty corridor, Noctis proceeded to quickly tiptoe toward the garden. Ignis trailed close behind though his legs trembled the whole time. Sweat rolled down his face as his heart felt it would burst. Finally reaching the garden, the boys slipped in, and Ignis silently shut the door behind them. A sigh of relief huffed out and the sense of security calmed his nerves a bit. Turning around, Ignis quirked an eyebrow when he saw no sign of a single firefly…nor Noctis for the matter. Once again his heart went into a sprint.
"Prince Noctis?" he partly yelled out the whisper. When he was greeted with silence, he bit out, "Prince Noctis!"
"Shh!" Noctis ordered with his index finger pressed to his lips. "You can't yell like that. If anyone hears us, we'll definitely be in trouble."
Then Noctis suddenly disappeared again through a set of bushes, leaving a wildered Ignis red-faced and flapping his arms in disbelief. Gathering his wits, Ignis ran after Noctis as he began crawling into a hidden passage. He stood stupefied by the find, never knowing the Citadel contained such secret corridors. But then he swallowed the lump in his throat at the prospect of getting lost, never to be found again.
"Prince Noctis, this isn't a good idea."
"Ugh," Noctis groaned, sending a ripple of echoes down the tunnel. "You got to quit doing that!"
Ignis braced himself for the onslaught of "you can't tell me what to do, I'm the prince" and "I don't care if you're older, you're still a kid."
"Stop calling me 'prince.' It's Noctis…just Noctis."
Ignis lost his words, unsure of how to respond but his heart lightened at the child's permission to drop the formalities.
"Don't just stand there, Ignis. Don't you want to see the fireflies or not?"
Without waiting for a response, Noctis crawled into the shadows and out of sight. At this point, Ignis just assumed all of Noctis's questions were rhetorical. Left with no other option, Ignis crouched on all fours and slipped into the tunnel.
The dim lighting made it difficult for Ignis to see Noctis, relying only on the moonlight leaking through the grates. From what he could ascertain, there was only one path to follow. At least they were not destined to get lost underground but only the Six knew what awaited them in the end.
"Huh?" Ew!" Ignis whined as he trudged through a small stream of what he prayed was only rain water.
Suppressing his whimper, Ignis kept crawling despite his pajamas becoming soaked through the legs and up to the wrists. Where exactly was Noctis heading to? Just as Ignis thought they'd never reach the end of the tunnel, Noctis stood up and began climbing a ladder. Ignis tested his grip and winced when his wet hand slipped around the metal rungs.
"Noctis, please be careful!"
However, the boy showed no signs of slowing down. Ignis bit his lip and inhaled deeply through his nostrils, praying to the Six to survive this ordeal. Slowly, Ignis ascended the ladder, carefully position his hands and feet all the while willing himself not to look down.
"Hurry up, Ignis!"
Tilting his head up, Ignis found Noctis peering back down at him. Then in a flash Noctis's smiling face disappeared. Ignis groaned, cautiously picking up the pace. Finally reaching the top, Ignis felt small hands grab his arm and futilely drag him to the surface. Ignis crawled out and landed on the ground that comprised mostly of dirt and moss. Tall trees encircled them. It was almost as if they had found themselves in the middle of a small forest in the heart of the Crown City.
Threading his arm through Ignis's, Noctis pointed out into a batch of shrubbery.
"Look!" he whispered as if someone would hear them.
Ignis squinted through wet glasses until he finally spotted a light blink through the leaves. Then another. And another! Ignis looked down at Noctis's giant grin. The grin grew wider as they stood still and a swarm of fireflies began to dance around them, flashing their lights like magical orbs. It seemed like a scene out of Cosmogony. Noctis then plopped onto the ground, pulling Ignis down with him, never breaking his grip around Ignis's arm.
"I like it here," Noctis said in a dreamy, hushed tone. "You can't see this in the Citadel."
A frown tugged on Ignis's lips, momentarily forgetting the ethereal beauty fluttering in the air. Never had he considered how deprived Noctis was, being cooped up behind the palace walls.
"Can we stay for a little bit?"
Ignis did not need to peer into Noctis's face to know he was gracing a pair of puppy eyes, pleading to not leave…not just yet.
"Just for a few minutes, but we can't be away for long. Okay?"
"'Kay!"
Ignis sensed his gleeful smile as Noctis rested his head against Ignis's shoulder, relishing his few minutes of freedom.
. . .
"Ah!" the boys hissed as the curtains were yanked back, clamping their eyes shut.
Slowly they sat up in bed, blinking away their sleepy haze. However, once their eyes landed on the king's stern, furrowed-brow gaze, the children snapped to attention. Well, Ignis sat up, stiff as a board, while Noctis hunched his shoulders, fearing what storm was about to be unleashed. King Regis stood in his robe with his arms crossed. Behind him, Ignis's uncle stood with a scrutinizing gaze – the look of the human lie detector. They were so screwed!
"Where were you boys last night?"
Rather than answering, the children bit their tongue. The men waited for a response, but King Regis's patience left him quickly with a single deep exhale through the nostrils.
"Get over here," he seethed out, marching for the bedroom door.
Ignis scrambled out of the bed with Noctis latched to the back of his pajamas. His eyes widened once he spotted the mess of smeared mud near the door, which ended at the pair of dirty shoes that the boys had hastily discarded. Entering the hallway, they stared speechless at the trail of mud that extended down the long hallway…though it came from the opposite direction than the one they had departed on. Narrowing his eyes, he cast a suspicious glance at Noctis, wondering exactly how often Noctis actually had snuck out on his own to know that he should take different routes in and out of the Citadel. In the darkness, Ignis would never had known about a smaller side tunnel until Noctis veered into the small space on their way home. At any rate, Ignis only figured that their shoes were wet and any puddles they left would dry up. He had been too exhausted to notice they in fact had tracked mud all over the marble floors.
"I will ask again. Where did you two go last night?"
Ignis stared at the ground, feeling the hardened gaze trying to see through him. All possible answers led down a road to disaster. He could not admit leaving the Citadel. He was physically unable to lie. So he settled on silence, which only served to frustrate the adults more.
"So be it. If you refuse to speak, then you can silently clean after yourselves. You both will mop these floors…after you have bathed and eaten breakfast."
Ignis looked down at his clothes. Brown and green stained the legs and he suspected on their rears as well. The outfit was quite possibly no longer salvageable. The boys bowed, acknowledging their understanding but still held deep frowns at the impending task.
As the king began to walk away, Mr. Scientia approached them and stated, "This is unlike you to deceive others, Ignis. I am disappointed in what I witnessed."
And there it was – the stake through the boy's heart. Disappointment – an emotion that somehow is held onto longer than just anger. Perhaps it's because the effects of a broken trust resulted in a greater domino effect.
After being dismissed, the boys returned to the bedroom to prepare for the shower. Upon hearing sniffles, Noctis turned to find tears trailing down Ignis's cheeks. In his shame, Ignis kept his eyes to the floor as if still being scolded. Feeling some snot running out of his nostrils, Ignis wiped his nose hard with the back of his hand. Guilt twisted Noctis's heart. He could not recall ever seeing Ignis cry. Noctis slowly walked over and wrapped his arms around the older boy.
"I'm sorry," Noctis whispered. "And thank you."
"For what?" Ignis whimpered. He wanted to yell at Noctis, to reprimand him, but he had no energy left.
"For coming to see the fireflies with me. They were beautiful. I would never have had a chance to see them if we didn't sneak out."
"Was it worth it? Did…did it make you happy?"
Noctis pulled back without breaking his embrace and flashed a bright smile.
"Yes! I hope we get to do it again," he confessed.
Ignis sighed, resigning to the notion that Noctis was bound to pull this stunt again. If it was really that important to the boy, Ignis resolved to help Noctis fulfill his dreams safely.