'Sir,' Ignis bowed to his king before leaving his office. He looked at his watch before closing the door behind him. It was time to start cooking for his highness again, unfortunately it wasn't the easiest task. Prince Noctis hated vegetables and refused to eat them each and every day. Regardless of what Ignis would be cooking up, he never ate his greens. He shoved back his glasses and walked down the stairs, on his way to the kitchen. The citadel had its own cooks, of course, but the Prince always asked for Ignis' cooking. And since Ignis was a man of few complaints, he always cooked for his highness. He swore to take care of the Prince after all, no matter how annoying or bratty he would act.
It was just like any other day. He had finished his shift at the citadel, he would cook for the Prince, then he'd train with Gladios until sunset. He had his own room, which he only used to sleep in and write political reports. He often came there after meetings to summarize their discussions in his notebook. All in all, he was a hard worker.
He brought his freshly made stew up to the Prince's room and knocked on the door before entering.
'Hey Iggy! What have you got for me today?' He was beaming, he loved Ignis' cooking. Even though he hated vegetables.
'Today, I've made pork stew. I do hope you enjoy it, Prince Noctis.' He bowed and was about to take his leave, when the Prince let out a breathy groan.
'I told you to stop calling me that. We're practically family, just call me Noctis.' He'd been saying that for the past year or more, he didn't want to be treated like a Prince. Ignis did understand, but it still didn't feel right for him to do so.
'Perhaps I could stop calling you Prince, if you started eating your greens, highness.' The corners of his mouth curled up, grinning slightly. Noctis let out a small chuckle.
'We both know that won't be happening, but I admire your attempt on trying.' Ignis sighed, but continued to smile as he left the quarters. It was just past seven and he still needed to train with Gladios. He made his way through the citadel to meet up with the tattooed man in the garden. He passed King Regis' office, where he heard an unfamiliar voice.
'I'm glad to have you as part of our Crownsguard now. You will surely be an honorable addition to the team.' He heard the king say. Perhaps another person was hired as Crownsguard. Not many passed the test and nobody had been hired in the past few years or so.
'I feel honored to work under you, my king.' Ignis stopped in his steps and turned to the closed door beside him. It was a female voice. There were no females among the Crownsguards, even if he thought nothing of it before. He felt that either gender was equal and everyone had their own strengths and weaknesses. When he heard footsteps, he turned to continue his way to the garden.
'Ah! Ignis, good to see you here my man.' King Regis had opened the door and his eyes fell immediately on the bespectacled man. 'Say, would you mind showing miss Ethrean around?' A figure popped up from behind the door, the slowly walked passed the King and bowed to Ignis. Once she was in his sight, he was suddenly at a loss for words. It was rather rare for that to happen. His eyes glided over her face, then all the way down to her shoes. He was silently admiring her physique, but his facial expression showed his usual nonchalance.
Ignis bowed back, he'd never seen a woman like her in Insomnia before. She seemed to be not from around here. Her grey-blue eyes stood out on a silky pale face. She had a couple of barely-visible freckles and rosey-gold hair tucked in a slightly messy and high ponytail. She was of average height and wore a black blouse and a high waisted dark bluem pleaded skirt which fell over her knees. Her hands were hidden in a pair of dark blue gloves and had tiny bows on the back of her wrists. Her black ankle boots completed her outfit and fit her well.
'Mr. Ignis Scientia,' she began and straightened up after her bow, 'I'm honored to meet such a capable Crownsguard member.' She finished off, softly smiling at him. The King closed the door behind him, leaving the two alone.
'Ah, yes, Miss-' He didn't completely know her name yet. She received the hint and finished his sentence.
'My name is Hestia Fraenia Ethrean, many call me Fray and my family used to call me Hessy.' She seemed to have dropped the formalness to a lower level. Not that he minded, they were all practically on the same level. He smiled back at her.
'You already know my name I see, nevertheless, a pleasant meeting. I presume I should show you around the citadel.' She nodded and followed Ignis to the garden, where they met up with Gladios. The two introduced themselves, with an occasional wink from the tattooed man. But soon enough, he was shot down after asking if she would like to have a drink with him after her shift. She apologized and they continued their way through the kingdom.