Prompto and Gladiolus had fallen asleep in the back seat of the limousine.
Noctis, Ignis and Stella were wide awake in the midst of the clock ticking towards seven o' clock in the evening.
They were instructed by Lord Regis to come back to the castle as early as the sun set, as it was dangerous for young royals to roam about in the public past their curfew hour.
Ignis was intently engaged with reading something on his lap top, while Stella and Noctis gazed up towards the starry night twinkling through the car window.
"Looks like they'll be passed out for a long time." Noctis poked Gladiolus to check if he would wake from his deep slumber.
Stella laughed half heartedly. "Will they be staying with us for dinner? They live at the castle, right?" she wondered.
"Yes. Everyone, including their families live at the castle. Both Ignis's and Gladiolus's parents serve the throne, so they were like my brothers growing up. Prompto, on the other hand, is a foreign fugitive. But he's still my childhood pal, although dad always joked how he's been a bad influence to me since my school days." chuckled Noctis.
"So he's like a wanted felon? Oh, I get it now. That's why he kept referring to his roots as a 'commoner'... So you met him at school?" Stella buzzed.
"Yeah. I befriended him. He's a skirt chaser, but he's a real mood maker to have around. And we really didn't mind his different social status, so I convinced dad to let him stay at our castle. It's safer for him that way, as he is a wanted man... He still visits his family now and again though." Noctis seemed to be getting better, at chatting with ease about his personal life with Stella.
It was a clear sign that he was opening himself up to her increasingly.
"Looks like the bond between you guys, is even stronger than brotherly blood. I'm jealous, because I'm also an only child, but I don't have really close friends like you…" said Stella enviously.
"Don't worry; I'm sure you'll find your niche soon. I was exceptionally luck to be surrounded by my friends from birth, all thanks to family ties passed down from generations. My friends were sort of… given to me really, since birth. And I'm grateful for that." expressed Noctis affectionately.
When the limousine pulled up to the entrance of the castle, Ignis shook Gladiolus and Prompto awake to attend them back to their bed chambers.
"I don't feel like dinner. I'm gonna go crash straight to bed." murmured Prompto tiredly.
"Same here." agreed Gladiolus in pain. "My stomach doesn't feel so good after so much burger dumping. I think my intestines are infected with commoner's bowl disease or something…" Gladiolus clutched his stomach in agony to scramble lifelessly to the bathroom.
"Ignis, you should dine with us tonight." suggested Noctis.
"Will the king allow it?" Ignis raised his eyebrows in sheer surprise.
"Yeah. I reckon he's realized by now you're much more mature than the rest of us to dine with foreign guests." acclaimed Noctis.
"It'll be a pleasure to do so, if I am allowed." Ignis looked almost thrilled at the thought of finally getting the chance to chat with the Tenebrae's.
The king gave special permission for Ignis to join dinner with the Tenebrae family.
Tonight's menu was fried turkey, pumpkin salad served with pie pastries on the side.
"I don't feel like greasy food anymore…" hummed Noctis in Stella's ear, as the two exchanged the inside joke.
"So… how was the Museum Tour? I got a text message from the bodyguards notifying me of your… 'abandonment' of their company." King Regis lowered his voice slowly, as he scooped up his portion of pumpkin salad onto his dinner plate.
"Oh… Father actually, it turned out that we got along just fine without their security assistance. We had back-up plans to stay protected from the public eye." Noctis mouthed his words as he dully ransacked the food in his plate, he too, wasn't feeling too thrilled about eating tonight.
"May I inquire, what exactly was this back-up plan?" the King accentuated his speech, as he raised his eyebrows to his headline. His thick brows were suggesting that he was already speculating on the possibility of another round of the boy's naughty behavior.
"Plan B. It was invented by me and Ignis. But the details of it have to be maintained confidential. For copyright infringement reasons, father." simpered Noctis.
"Well, well, well…" tut-tut the King.
"I understand the generation gap between us, so I won't ask any further, but I hope this 'Plan B' isn't anything that is misbehaved… After all… it still gives me shivers when I remember the time when you and the boys... practiced thunder spells to attempt to voltage shock the electric eels in our chef's aquarium… 'We were charging its battery' you said… 'its part of Ignis's science project to recharge electric eels back to its full power storage'… those were your 'excuse' words, Noctis…" King Regis perplexed his memory into words, as though he was retelling his anguishing nightmare.
"Oh! Dad! I mean, father! Don't bring that story back up again! That was ages ago! We were immature back then. We know better now, right Ignis?" Noctis wailed in self-denial.
"Actually, it was during winter of last year." Ignis the betrayer corrected.
The Tenebrae family burst into tears laughing their lungs off, as Noctis slumped in remorse humiliation into his seat.
"Duke Fleuret of Tenebrae, I wanted to ask whether other foreign guests other than the royals from Tenebrae and Lucis, will be attending the treaty banquet in few weeks time?" Ignis inquired Stella's father with his to-die-for angelic manners.
"Oh, yes. I received an official notification that Idola Eldercapt, the leader of Niflheim, will be attending the party. Why do you ask, Ignis?" commended the Duke politely.
"I was just wondering whether there will be honorary guests from other nations I can interview for my upcoming school project. It's one of the exclusive advantages of hanging out with the prince." replied Ignis in a well-mannered fashion, as he smirked at Noctis to pay homage.
"Unfortunately, I must express that I highly doubt you will get the opportunity to interview Idola Eldercapt of all people, Ignis. Idola is not only a busy man, but he doesn't particularly seem to have affection towards young children, nor does he make time for them to aid their school projects." declared the king.
"Oh yes Lord Regis. I've read a little about Idola Eldercapt during social sciences classes. And I was well aware of that. I just wanted to make sure that no one else from Solheim or Accordo might be attending... Thank you for the precaution though, sir. I appreciate it." Ignis dug his fork into the pie pastry in delight.
Stella was exhausted, and she also didn't feel that her bodily condition was up to scratch.
Her first attempt at eating commoner fast-food seemed to be having a toll on Stella's fragile physique.
"Stella, wait up for me!" Noctis called out to her as he ran towards Stella in the spiral staircase.
"Hey Noctis." Stella whirled around to greet her new friend.
"Listen… uh…" Noctis peered three hundred and sixty degrees around his surroundings, to make sure that no one was within distance of hearing their conversation.
"I think we should sneak out. Tonight." Noctis whispered.
"Tonight?! But… aren't you… tired…? And also… all of us seem to be feeling a bit… slushy on the inside from all that junk-food… maybe tonight is not the best time, Noctis…" Stella rumbled passively.
"That's exactly why tonight is the best chance we have at this Stella. When everyone is tired and sluggish, we're more likely to dash pass them unnoticed. Prompto has a sensitive ear and if he sees us escaping past bed hours, he will literally go the whole nine yards to follow us into the depths of the library. He can't help himself with anything adventurous. And as for Ignis, he's a sleepwalker when he's in his optimum condition... Strange fella... Gladiolus… his feet vibrate the ground too loudly in the dark for some unknown reason. If we go with him, we're doomed. So I reckon we should go tonight, when all the boys are busy sleeping their eyes off." Noctis accelerated his undertone with a thrilled glint in his eye.
"Ok… if you insist Noctis… after all, who have I got to trust but you? You do know the people here and the castle layout more than anyone… so… I trust you… What time are we sneaking out into this secret lair?" Stella hissed her voice low as if she was sharing a naughty gossip with Noctis.
"I'll come escort you from your bedroom at around one A.M. sharp, so we can tip toe past the guards together to the Grand Library. It'll be better if you're by my side, because you don't know how to stunt the guards or know all the short-cuts in the castle. I have a lot of years of experience of sneaking past during late hours. And… I've only been caught a few times by Cor… but he's not around today. He's away." hinted Noctis excitedly.
"Ok! Sounds… fun…! I'm looking forward to it. Anything I should prepare or take with me?" she muttered.
"Just practice holding your breath for a long time, in cases of emergencies. And wear something black. And nothing that glitters or glows in the light. In case of emergencies, I'm gonna use my sleep or sleepga spells in the worst circumstances, just in case we bump into the night guards that patrol around the castle for security. Also… don't be afraid to cast sleep spells on the boys… like I said… Ignis sleepwalks… but I think he's too tired to do so tonight… I hope… and get a good night's sleep to wake up at one A.M. That's all. See you soon, Stella." advised Noctis quietly.
He gave one last faint smile at Stella, and dashed back towards his own bed chamber.
"Good Night Noctis! See you in a few hours!" Stella mumbled back into the dark corridor, hoping that everything will go as planned during their secret midnight expedition.