Departure (12 Years Later)
It was afternoon when Noctis and his three-man entourage left the Citadel and he exchanged a few last words with his father on the top of the stairs. This was the day he left for Altissia to marry Luna. Not of his own free will, - at least not completely. The marriage was part of the peace treaty between Lucis and the Empire of Niflheim.
"Remember your manners in the presence of your bride-to-be," King Regis had said.
"Same, Your Majesty," Noctis had replied, bowing in jest. "Remember yours when our honoured guests from Niflheim arrive."
At that moment, Regis' face had taken on a serious expression, and his gaze had slid over Noctis' shoulder towards the Regalia far below at the foot of the stairs.
"You know I reluctantly agreed to the escort from Niflheim. Try to bear with him."
Thus far, Noctis had hardly paid any attention to the man next to the Regalia. Out of the corner of his eye, he had only noticed some suit wearing pencil pusher. A low-ranking politician from Gralea, for sure. Boring, but nothing to worry about. With a final waving of his hand, he turned away from his old man. It was only after Noctis had completed another part of the countless steps that he raised his eyes again to the stranger and realised that he must have seen someone else before. The man waiting to accompany them wore eccentric clothing, the likes of which he had only seen once before in his life.
Abruptly Noctis stopped, and a moment later Ignis did, too.
"Noct?"
"I know this man. He saved me back in Tenebrae." Noctis glanced back at his father, but Regis was already too far away. The stranger had been standing face to face with them both back then. Why had Regis not mentioned that he would be the escort?
"Are you sure?" Ignis asked. "I remember your father telling me that a servant of Lunafreya had brought you to him."
"It was him", Noctis confirmed. "No doubt 'bout it."
By now Prompto had also noticed their conversation and was waiting for them.
"Admittedly, he doesn't seem like someone you'd easily forget."
"His clothes are a real eyesore," Gladio commented off-handedly.
The fancy dressed stranger took off his hat and bowed with exaggerated gallantry. "It is a great pleasure to make your acquaintance. More than that, however, I am pleased that the one and only Prince of Lucis remembers my insignificant little self."
Ignis adjusted his glasses and continued his way to the Regalia at Noctis' side.
"I would hardly call him insignificant. He is, after all, the chancellor of Niflheim."
"Woah! Are you serious?" Prompto asked. "He doesn't look like a chancellor to me."
"I admit that few know his face. He is suspiciously absent from the media. I only saw him once in the Citadel when he came to present the treaty to King Regis."
The chancellor took the opportunity to introduce himself.
"Ardyn Izunia, at your service. Call me Ardyn if you like. I was never one for titles."
"I'll gladly stick with chancellor Izunia." Gladio replied, strategically positioning himself between Ardyn and the others.
"Please, suit yourself," Ardyn replied and turned to the prince again. "By the way, it is most unfortunate to see King Regis in this state. The magic of the Lucii has truly taken its toll on him. Fortunately, thanks to the peace treaty, he will not need to suffer any longer."
Noctis did not like talking about Regis' frailty, especially to strangers. It reminded him of how maintaining the Wall brought his father closer to death every day. Compared to his childhood father, Regis was a shadow of his former self now, and Noctis hated it. He couldn't deal with it. So he avoided the subject.
"You haven't changed at all since then," he said to Ardyn.
"What do you want me to say? I am timeless." The chancellor turned to the luxury limousine behind him. "As is your vehicle. Although I wonder if there will be room for all of us."
"I will be driving," Ignis declared as he strode to the driver's side.
Noctis opened one of the back doors. "There's enough room for three in the back."
"Easy for you to say," Gladio interjected.
"But we can't have the Prince of Lucis crammed into the back seat, now, can we?"
Noctis passed over Ardyn's objection. This entire goodbye was already taking far too long. Mildly annoyed, he got in the back. "Guys, don't make a fuss about this, okay? I'll sit in the back. The chancellor can have the passenger seat. Let's get going already."
"If you insist," Ardyn replied.
Prompto slid from the other side of the car to the middle of the back seat, and Gladio took the remaining space whether he liked it or not. A tension emanated from the two of them that almost spread to Noctis. Prompto's nervousness might be unjustified, but Gladio's mistrust was not. In purely factual terms, they were in the presence of an enemy. Nevertheless, Noctis remembered, perhaps more clearly than ever, how the chancellor of Niflheim had defended him from the soldiers of the Empire and brought him back to Regis.
Ignis had barely manoeuvred the Regalia out of the Citadel's courtyard when Noctis had to ask the question lingering on his tongue.
"Why'd you do it?"
"Excuse me?" Ardyn replied in surprise.
"Why'd you save me, even though you work for Niflheim?"
"Oh, that." The chancellor placed his hat on the dashboard and ran a hand through his messy, magenta coloured mane. "Even in my position, I do not have to approve of everything Niflheim does. You should know that I still make my own decisions. I suppose the best way to describe my relationship with the Empire is that I owe them a favour or three."
"Those must be pretty big favours," Prompto remarked.
"Indeed."
Noctis could describe the atmosphere with Ardyn in the car as awkward at best. Due to the fact that they had set off relatively late, the sun soon sank towards the horizon. They had passed about half the distance between the gates of Insomnia and the first outpost when the evening twilight became visible in the sky. It was looking increasingly unlikely that they would make it to Galdin Quay without spending the night at Hammerhead or Longwythe Rest. It was about this time that the Regalia began to run rough.
"What's wrong, Iggy?" Gladio asked.
"The engine cuts out every so often. I'd recommend we stop at the garage in Hammerhead."
Prompto leaned forward. "You mean if we get there?"
"Did you know that I own an old convertible myself?" Ardyn mentioned casually. "I've had it for a very long time, but it never let me down. A truly reliable thing."
"So was the Regalia before you got in," Gladio retorted. "Why didn't you bring your car?"
"And would have given you the opportunity to outrun me? I don't think so."
Suddenly the steady hum of the engine died and the acceleration broke away.
"The way things are, we're not outrunning anyone," Ignis said.
He steered the Regalia to the side of the road to let it slowly roll out. Hammerhead laid in the far distance, barely getting closer even on the last few metres. They had little other choice but to get out.
Noctis looked towards the setting sun as he closed the door of the Regalia behind him. The surrounding wasteland of Leide was deserted. As soon as night fell, they would become easy victims for roaming daemons on the open road. "What's the plan, Ignis?" he asked.
"Give me a moment to call a tow truck." Ignis pulled out his mobile. "No signal."
Noctis' gaze drifted to a toppled power pole nearby. "No wonder," he added.
"Hammerhead is not too far away," Ignis continued. "We could push the Regalia all the way there."
"Or," Prompto interjected, "we could hitch a ride."
Ardyn leaned against the A-pillar of the car, chuckling.
"You honestly want to trust in the kindness of strangers?"
"No harm in trying, is there?"
Ignis turned from the outpost in the distance to the flattened crest of a nearby hill. "Given that it's already evening, we might as well spend the night in that haven over there, and push the Regalia towards Hammerhead tomorrow. If we find reception again before then, towing would obviously still be an option."
Prompto paced up and down the road with his mobile in hand, looking for a signal, but without success.
"Camping sounds good to me," Gladio concluded with a smile.
Prompto stared at him, slightly startled. "Camping? With the chancellor?"
"Any objections?", Ignis addressed Ardyn.
"To be honest, I'd prefer to stay with the car. Camping is not really my thing, as you young people say."
"You do realise that the car offers you little protection from daemons?" Noctis asked.
"I am aware of that."
"Ignis, leave him the keys."
Noctis did not have to explain to his advisor why. With a nod, Ignis signalled his agreement and dropped the car keys into Ardyn's palm.
"I advise turning on the headlights only in an emergency. Without a running engine, the battery will not last long."
"Do not worry. The daemons will hardly notice me," Ardyn promised.
Gladio was already walking ahead to the haven. With some distance Ignis, Prompto and Noctis folllowed him as well. However, Noctis stopped once more to look back at the chancellor. Knowing that he was willingly exposing himself to the dangers of the night left an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"What are you waiting for, Prince?" called Gladio to him. "He is a Niff. If he wants to spend the night among daemons, let him."
So Noctis let him.
He fetched Gladio's camping gear from the armiger, and the four of them had tent and chairs set up in no time. As much as the sun had burned down on the Regalia during the day, it was just as cold during the cloudless nights in Leide. Around the campfire, however, the cold could be endured. Ignis roasted a few slices of bread for them, and Prompto examined the photos he had taken during the day. "So, what do you think?" he finally asked the group. "About the chancellor, I mean? I dunno about you, but he gives me the shivers when he looks at me."
"This guy is highly suspicious. I'm surely not letting him out of my sight," Gladio replied.
"Strictly speaking, he has given us no reason to suspect him so far. He may be accompanying us on behalf of Niflheim, but he has also helped Noctis in the past. We should not forget that."
"He is the chancellor of Niflheim," Gladio grumbled. "That's suspicious enough."
"I agree with Ignis," Noctis said after a moment of silence. "Let's give him a chance."
"Oh, man ..." Prompto groaned. "I have a feeling this is going to be a very looong trip to Altissia."
Noctis turned in his camping chair and looked down the hill to the road where the Regalia was still parked somewhat carelessly. In the dim light of the stars, he spotted Ardyn, hat and coat removed, leaning against the passenger door and staring up at the sky, lost in thought.
And off we go.
The conversations between the boys are a lot of fun to write, but I regret having to mention who is speaking so often, because it slows down the reading flow.
If you feel like the lines of dialogue are easily enough assigned to the speaking character without the constant mentions, let me know.
