Disclaimer: not mine

Chapter 18

Noctis stood still as Ignis moved around him, fitting the suite to him. He'd lost a lot of weight on the run and then when in Imperial hands, muscle too, and while he'd been regaining it, his old clothes still didn't quite fit right. Especially for public appearances.

He was terrified about the press conference, how people would react to him now that he couldn't speak. There was no sign of injury on his throat to explain it which meant it wouldn't take long for someone to work out he had gone feral. He might act like he didn't care what people thought about him, but that wasn't true, he did care. It had been bad enough before, people thinking he wasn't good enough, but now?

"Shh, it will be alright Noct," Ignis soothing voice snapped him out of his thought and he realised he'd been crying silently. "If it's too soon then that is fine, you know your Father would never push this." A hand was pressed to his cheek and Noct leant into his touch, forcing himself to calm down. He'd been warned that his emotions would occasionally be hard to control for a while but he hadn't really had any trouble till now.

'Sorry,' he mouthed, and Ignis gently brushed blood tinted tears from his face.

"It's alright," Ignis smiled at him and Noct leant in to press a quick kiss to his lips before straightening up. "Ready?" he asked, and Noctis nodded, so he got back to work.

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Ignis leant against Gladio, grateful for his strength.

"What's wrong?" the vampire asked gently.

"I'm worried about Noctis…I think he's rushing things. He was crying today when I was altering his suite for the press conference," he admitted softly.

"The docs warned he could have emotional control issues for a while. Guess we all forgot because he's seemed so in control. He's come so far so quickly that it's easy to think he's better but he's still recovering," Gladio assured him, moving him over to his couch where Gladio flopped, yanking Ignis down with him to sprawl inelegantly. "Considering his condition when they brought him in…"

"I know. I just…I want him to be happy and healthy," he admitted sadly.

"And for the most part he is. This is a big step Iggy and the fact Prompto's terrified too probably isn't helping, not that I blame the kid, this is a massive change to anything he's ever known. Once it's done, he'll never be able to show his face outside of the Wall without the Hunters coming after him. He has to have at least some friends among them and for them to call him a traitor will hurt. They have us to help and we will all get through this. We won't let the Empire win."

"When did you get so smart?" he teased, and Gladio mock hit him.

"Hey!" He smirked but then sobered. "Remember, you weren't doing so good yourself back then, so don't push yourself too hard either."

"Yes Mother," Ignis settled against him, relaxing.

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Cor watched from his place as the Council filed in, watching them all closely, as were Clarus, Regis, and Captain Ulric. Today, they were informing the Council that Noctis was not only alive but in the Citadel. They had taken care of one traitor, but had he been the only one?

The meeting went as usually these days, and of course, Regis producing another heir was brought up, and the King stood to respond, looking around at the various Council members.

"There is no need for a new heir, Noctis has always been, and remains, my heir," he nodded at Ulric who personally opened the door and there were gasps of shock as Noctis walked in, his Retinue which now included Prompto, around him.

Cor moved in with the chair used by the Crown Prince or Princess, placing it at the correct place at the table, bowing to Noctis before he sat, the boys taking their places around his chair.

Silence fell as the oldest member of the Council slowly stood, leaning heavily on her cane, one of the Guard moving to offer her his arm. She stood, stooped, yet strong, and smiled at Noctis. She was older than Mors would be if he were still alive and was completely loyal to the Crown. "Welcome home Prince Noctis, seeing you here brings joy to this old heart," Lady Livia rasped out, and Noctis stood, offering her a small bow in return before retaking his seat.

His silence had a few murmurs sounding in the room. Noctis held up his tablet, his thanks clear in large print on the screen. Cor saw the slight tremor in his hands but doubted anyone else picked up on it, Noctis keeping his head high.

"Prince Noctis?" Lord Cyrus called in concern.

Noctis nodded to the man and typed on the tablet. 'Yes, Lord Cyrus?'

"Are you unwell Highness?"

Noctis glanced at Regis who made a discreet hand motion beneath the table, offering to give the news. Noctis typed again and then held the screen up. 'I'm fine, can't speak,' the answer was rather informal for a Council meeting, but the screen could only fit so much at a large enough font for them to read.

"Is it permanent?" Lady Amerila asked but Cor watched her closely, something about the way she said it…

Noctis simply shrugged. 'Unknown,' he typed.

"And who is this with you?" She pushed.

Regis stepped in. "Noctis has filled the last position in his Retinue with Prompto Argentum, late of Meldacio."

That got a definite reaction, gasps and even some hisses of alarm. Prompto didn't flinch but bowed to the Council since he'd been introduced.

"It is due to Mr Argentum that Noctis is alive. He saved my sons' life multiple times during their journey back to Insomnia. Yes, he was a Hunter, but we have investigated beyond just questioning his past. He has never killed without reason and most of the hunts he took were of daemons and beasts, nothing sentient. In saving Noctis, he has given up everything he knew, because it was the right thing to do," Regis explained sternly.

That got more interested looks, lowering the anger thankfully. "He is Oathbound?" Cyrus asked curiously, and Regis nodded at Prompto to answer.

The blond took a single step forward, he did not cower before them, he remained utterly calm, and Cor figured it was that calmness that had helped him deal with Noctis when the truth had come out about his heritage. "Yes Sir, before we reached Leide. With nowhere but Hunter outposts, Prince Noctis decided I needed access to the Armiger in order for us to make it across the desert." He then stepped back.

"And how did the Prince come to be injured in such a way?" someone called, but Cor didn't see who.

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Regis did not wish to tell them, but there was no other way, not when the Empire would reveal it when the time suited them. He glanced at his son, silently offering to allow him to leave, but Noctis shook his head slightly, his hand under the table tangling in Ignis' pant leg, the closest he could get to holding hands with any of them in the room. Ignis could affect Noctis' emotions to a small extent beyond sexually and no one would notice, which was why he was always stationed as close as possible, especially now.

"Noctis called the Citadel after the funeral, a fact we kept secret for his safety. In response, the Glaive was deployed throughout Leide in order to intercept them. Due to Drautos' treachery, the Empire was also there and unfortunately were able to overwhelm them with sheer numbers, even when now Captain Ulric's team arrived to offer support. Mr Argentum was electrocuted and then held down as a distraction for Noctis. My son faced General Glauca himself in battle but was defeated, already exhausted from the heat and fighting."

Regis paused to sip form his glass, giving himself a break before reaching the worst. "The Chancellor himself joined the field with two dreadnoughts of troops. Noctis went down and Glauca…" Regis took a deep breath, glancing at his son again, assuring himself that he was there and healthy. "Glauca collared him."

The room was dead silent for a second before pandemonium broke out, the boys shifting protectively around Noctis. Gladio looked seconds away from calling his shield to further block Noctis. Cor and Clarus shifted closer to Regis even as Nyx motioned some of his people in.

Cor saw Noctis do something on his tablet and then an ear piercing noise filled the room, everyone clapping hands over their ears until it stopped, Noctis standing, hands on his hips as he glared at them, eyes glowing slightly with magic. Mute or not, he was an intimidating sight.

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Nyx watched the Council members, calling his people in to keep things under control only to wince in pain at the high pitched noise that filled the room. Ouch. It was bad enough for him, he was glad his hearing wasn't as sensitive as a full vampire's. He'd never seen the Prince look like that! From their reactions, neither had the Council.

It was easy to forget that Noctis was a Lucis Caelum a lot of the time, but right then, he looked like the kings of old. A glance at the King showed he was proud of his son for bringing the Council back under control. Standing tall and strong, he looked so different to the unresponsive body they had found months ago being dragged along by the barely conscious Prompto.

He noticed a few of the Glaive discreetly rubbing their ears, even the human members, but they stayed alert and in position.

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"Your Highness," Lady Livia whispered, and Noctis looked towards her curiously.

She got to her feet slowly and hobbled towards him. He didn't know how old she was but even for a vampire she was ancient. Gladio shifted aside to allow her by, usually he'd offer her an arm but not in the current situation. A withered hand reached up to press against his cheek, and Noct was surprised by the touch, but he remained still, watching her. She stared into his eyes and then smiled at him.

"Welcome home Prince Noctis," she told him and Noctis smiled back at her, letting go of the magic. "I am so happy you survived, your Father is quite the grump without you around," she told him and Noctis laughed even though it was silent. He leant in and kissed her cheek, making her chuckle. "Such a gentleman." She then looked at the others. "Grow up children," she chided before making her way back to her seat, Iggy stepping up and offering her his arm which she took, causing more whispers since the Council was aware of what he was.

He'd always liked her and was glad she had refused to retire from the Council every time she was asked. He felt warm fingers brush his, letting his own curl briefly against Prompto's, accepting the support. He knew the meeting had to be very stressful for Prompto who'd never been exposed to such things before. He was proud of how well he was handling it all.

"Stop staring at the boy, he's not an exhibit," Lady Livia told the others from her seat, and Noctis saw Ignis smother a laugh as he walked back to join them.

Slowly, the Council settled, retaking their seats.

"Now then," his Dad spoke up. "Does the Council have any other business or shall we conclude the meeting?"

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Prompto collapsed on Noct's bed, exhausted, which was silly since all he'd had to do was stand there and not laugh at the really old vampire lady who had taken the rest to task. He liked her, he'd have to ask Iggy who she was. He felt the bed dip and turned his head to smile at Noctis who looked utterly drained. "You okay?" he reached out to brush a stray strand of hair off Noct's face and his Prince nodded.

Noctis rolled onto his side, cuddling in, and Prompto wrapped an arm around him. He smiled when Noctis kissed him, wriggling slightly when a hand moved under his shirt.

"Noct?" he asked and then cool lips were pressed to his own.

He tightened his grip, kissing back, and then Noctis was shifting to lean over him before straddling him, Prompto biting back a groan as Noct settled. His hands gripped Noct's hips before slipping up his sides under his shirt and Noctis yanked it off, grinning eagerly, and Prompto grinned back, he had a pretty good idea what he wanted and he was okay with that. Sure, they'd fooled around in that shower back in the iso room, but that had been it beside kissing. He sat up enough to take his own shirt off before flopping back, letting Noctis do whatever he wanted. When Noctis reached for his belt, Prompto just lifted his hips off the bed so that Noct could pull them down.

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Ignis paused, staring blankly at his computer screen, before smiling gently. Good, they both needed that. He knew they hadn't had sex since coming to the Citadel and was happy they were making good use of the time alone. Noctis could use the stress relief with the press conference in the morning.

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Prompto stood silently at Noctis' back as the cameras flashed, everyone going crazy at the sight of Noctis. It was crazy! He'd expected something but not to this level. No one was interested in him thankfully, not one question being asked about the addition to the group. The King was right at Noctis' side, answering the questions for him, and they all knew Noct hated the attention his silence brought.

Then the first question was asked over why he wasn't speaking and Noct flinched slightly.

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Regis leant back in his chair, watching the recording of the press conference. Overall, it couldn't have gone any better. The press and people had been shocked and then ecstatic to see Noctis at his side, looking completely healthy. They had made no mention of the collar but had admitted to his brief captivity, merely saying he had been rescued by a loyal retainer who had also been tortured. Thankfully, no one had asked many questions about said retainer and the others had done a good job of blocking Prompto from many of the cameras, the fewer good pictures of him the better.

Now all they could do was wait and see what angle the press used and how the population took the news that their Prince was alive, home, and mute.

TBC…