: AyaKagami does not own Final Fantasy XV or any of the characters used in this fanfiction, those are all property of Square Enix and any one else who has legal ownership over them. We are all just happy little fans giving the canon and all of its characters a twist, cause we love them so much. So don't go getting offended and wanting to sue, cause you won't get much from me. Just pennies…. Cause I am a petty bitch sometimes. XD
Prompto snapped a photo of Luna smiling genuinely at the fact that her brother and husband to be were having a real, civil conversation. She did not really mind crying in front of Noctis but she had to refrain from doing so before his friends, Prompto was notorious for snapping the most embarrassing moments possible without trying too hard. Noctis had mentioned that he was extremely observant in nature and used the camera as an extension of that observant nature. Instead, she decided this was a good opportunity to direct his attention away from her, she looked at Prompto and pointed his camera towards the pair on the bench, "This is really something that you should have captured on your camera. It is not everyday that the High Commander of the Empire is sitting down in a peaceful conversation with the King of Lucis." Ignis had to hold in a laugh at the comment, coughing to cover it.
"Iggy?" Gladio asked with a raised brow.
"I found her statement to be adequate in fact." Ignis replied, almost cheekily making the shield shake his head while smiling.
Aranea who was standing next to Luna, watching Ravus' body language, worried that he would lose control and actually hit the King with his metallic hand. Although he was joking when he told her what his plan was, she could not help but worry about the truthfulness of his words. They had known each other for years, so it was only natural for her to know whether or not he was telling a joke or being honest when he had said certain things. She looked over at Luna, reaching to grab her hand gently and gave it a small squeeze.
"They're doing better than I gave them credit for. I was banking on a fist fight happening between them," Aranea said quietly. This caused Luna to let out a laugh, "I honestly was afraid something similar was going to happen. I guess this means you won't have to gag Ravus tomorrow night." They smiled at each other, until they heard the sound of a click.
"Prompto…" was all that was said before the dragoon had him in a headlock. So much for trying to get his attention diverted, Luna thought to herself.
With Ravus and Noctis
"Caelum," Ravus began quietly, facing the fountain. "I have my doubts about the legitimacy of your feelings still. Especially after Aranea had told me about the young woman that came to your table at dinner last night, care to explain to me who she was? And don't bullshit the answer either." Ravus watched from his peripheral vision as he noticed Noctis tense at the mention of the woman that was at his table last night, 'Clearly I have stuck a nerve,' Ravus thought.
Noctis took a sip of his coffee, trying to relax his body somewhat at the question, he knew Stella showing up at the table was going to cause trouble, but he was not expecting to have to answer to Ravus, let alone so soon after last night; it made him wonder if Aranea had said something to the commander, thus the reason for the morning call.
'If I don't answer him, he probably is going to doubt my love for Luna more. If I do answer him, it opens the can of worms I have carefully been trying to avoid for the past two years. I have only told the guys about Stella somewhat, but enough to get them off my back for a bit. Then, there is the situation with not delving into any details with Luna, so if I open the can for Ravus, he will tell Luna which will probably work against me in the long run. Then again, things could go better than I am thinking and Luna could just kind of look at it as a that's in the past so no need to worry about it. Who the hell am I kidding with that logic? She was clearly bothered by Stella's presence last night. I know Luna is not a petty woman in nature so there is no real reason for me to be panicking but...why is my heart beating so fast right now? Am I afraid of losing her the way I lost Stella? I need to answer Ravus but I am unable to read his body language so I can't tell if I am screwed over or just have to come clean for him to keep it a secret as is the way things are with men. So the question remains, what do I say?'
Taking a deep breath, he got up to toss the cup in the garbage before sitting next to Ravus, and tossing his head back, mentally preparing himself for the worst case scenario.
"Her name is Stella Le Quiox. We met in a bar in Insomnia about three years ago and dated seriously for about a year and a three months. She met my father after insisting for months that she wanted to meet him. I never told her who I was nor who he was, since I was living among the regular population up until the official debut that happened." This last line caused Ravus to raise an eyebrow, he had heard the rumors that prince was not raised inside the Citadel after the attack on Tenebrae but he never thought that the suggestion of his mother to the late king was actually taken to heart. It warmed the cold prince's heart to know that his mother was being honored in the most unexpected way.
"So you broke up? Over the fact that you were the prince? Seems kind of like a bizarre reason," Ravus found himself commenting. This caused Noctis to smile, "It was because I didn't trust her with my most precious secret. She called it a lack of trust and blatant lie to her face from the start. In a sense she was right, but I had to protect my identity, because I made that promise to my father when I was twelve. I promised to not tell anyone who was not at my schools, that I was the prince. The families of all the students in my schools as well as my teachers and administrators had to sign an official nondisclosure agreements with threat of imprisonment, should I be exposed, given to everyone. I was not gonna break it for her or anyone, Prompto knew I was the prince because of a thank you letter written to him by your sister, but he promised to never expose me because that's what best friends do for each other, keep their secrets. It was national security secrecy and she didn't see it that way. She was insulted." He hung his head, shaking as he exhaled a breath he didn't know he was beginning to hold. 'My heart is fully settled on Luna but why does it hurt to talk about Stella?' Noctis wondered to himself.
"Did you guys sleep together?" Ravus asked in a neutral tone.
Noctis nodded slightly, speaking barely above a whisper, "We did. On the one year anniversary of when we started dating."
Ravus looked over at the young king, noticing his hands in his lap, shaking slightly, "You loved her?"
Noctis nodded this time and said nothing. 'I am going to lose Luna for this.'
Ravus placed his right hand on Noctis' shoulder, "I hope you plan on telling my sister sometime soon, you walk down the aisle with her tomorrow night and I sure as hell don't want to see that weight on your shoulders when you say I do to her."
This caused Noctis to look at Ravus, "So you're not going to tell her?" Ravus shook his head, "That is your job, however, I do appreciate the honesty. To be completely honest with you, I had every single intention of coming here to simply punch you in the face. Aranea was the one to convince me that you were actually worth the conversation." Ravus let out his own breath, "She told me that you really loved Lunafreya and that it would be worth my while to speak to the King of Lucis. She said you and your entourage reminded her of a young pack of wolves that needed to be taken seriously." Noctis let out huffed laugh, "That is pretty damn funny."
The sound of Prompto screaming in a headlock caused the two princes to look over and see everyone standing there, clearly watching them before the screaming began. This caused Noctis to sigh and Ravus to groan, getting up to stretch and make his way over to the group.
"Aranea," Ravus said calmly. "Let go of the bird brained child, you'll make him more frantic than he already is. Besides, we have to go to the tailor, I require a suit for tomorrow night." He turned to Noctis and nodded, signalling he was leaving and began heading down the stairs to the right of the group. "Come on Aria," causing her to scream and chase after him, making Luna laugh at the moment between them.
Later that Afternoon
"So Noct," Prompto began casually. "Did you pass the big brother test? Or will the High Commander be screaming his objections through a gag?" They had decided on having dinner at Maagho as a whole group so, Weskham kindly closed the cafe for the afternoon to give the royals a sense of calm before the big evening tomorrow. Aranea had been offered to join them but she chose not to, instead choosing to have dinner with Ravus alone. 'Need to keep up the illusion that we are still part of the Empire.'
Although they had laughed slightly at the joke, they knew how serious those words were and exactly where the loyalties lied. If the chancellor had heard any of those words, the two commanders would know that they were technically considered dead. Right now, they needed to not catch his attention doing anything inconspicuous.
Nodding without saying a word, Noctis had let out a sly smile.
Gladio let out a long whistle, "Wasn't expecting the high commander to just surrender his sister's affections just like that. You must have really impressed him."
Prompto nodded in response but said nothing, genuinely surprised that Noct was able to win over Ravus with one conversation. They all saw how Ravus looked at Noctis back in Lucis, the disdain for the crown prince clearly written on his facial features and in his body language, so learning that he surrendered to Noctis so willingly was odd to him. Here is hoping it is not some trap by Ravus to catch Noct off guard with the empire, he found himself thinking to himself.
Ignis decided to help with dinner preparations with Weskham, the two men catching up on any and all information from Lucis. The older man decided to go first, "I am surprised to see that Cor and Monica did not insist on coming along to Altissia. I figured Cor would be trying to make it up to his highness for not being there for his father during the fall. Perhaps I was wrong." This caused Ignis to stop what he was doing to think back to the last conversation he had with Cor before they left Lucis.
Flashback (Cape Caem, Lucis)
It had been a long day for the group, Ignis had spent all day driving from Lestallum to Cape Caem with Iris in the back seat, stopping whenever she asked to stop and explore new places of Lucis. While he didn't mind doing anything to help the young girl expand her horizons or even spend time with the young girl that had become their sister in many ways, he was growing more concerned with the mental well being of Noctis who had been showing more and more signs of depression after the awakening of both Titan and Rahmuh as well as the empire stealing the Regalia away from them. Even after seeing both Umbra and Gentiana, it only served as a way to bring down his morale rather than lift it.
Ignis had always known about the connection between the young king and the beautiful Oracle, as he came into service for the late king Regis after the royal pair had returned from Tenebrae after the Imperial annexing of the country. King Regis had been very clear with Ignis just exactly who Noctis was to the world as well as what his role was to be as deemed by the crystal but he never imagined that living inside the Citadel as well as not being able to save the princess of Tenebrae would have such a damaging effect on him deep down.
Ignis knew Noctis hid his problems from everyone except the three men in the car that accompanied him outside of Insomnia but each of them only had a small fragment of understanding their ward's psyche. Prompto knew how to get him to loosen up and experience life, Gladio heightened and improved his battle skills, war mind as well as keeping him physically active, while Ignis had been charged with the task of his daily mental health.
No one knew of the random times that Noctis would sleep walk in the Citadel and end up in front of the crystal, or how when Noctis would awaken from the sleep walking, he would be physically drained to the point that the effects are even felt now with his constant sleeping. No one also knew why the crystal was locked up a decade earlier behind an intricate security system besides him as well. Which all came down to Noctis needing to be reunited with Lunafreya at the earliest possible time, Ignis found himself growing weary of the constant side trips.
When they got to Caem, Noctis stepped out of the car and let Iris out, the young girl following her brother and the blonde member of their group head towards the lighthouse area. Ignis noticed something was off about Noctis immediately and waited to say something when the trio was out of earshot.
"Something bothering you Noct?" Ignis began, knowing the prince wouldn't start the conversation unless given a little push. He watched as Noctis avoided eye contact before replying, "N-no." This caused the older male to stand in front of the prince, removing his glasses before making eye contact, "Noctis, I have noticed the change in your mood over the last few days. The others are not here so you can tell me what is the matter. As always, you have my greatest confidence. So time to talk to me."
This caused Noctis to sit back inside the Regalia, making Ignis raise his eyebrow in confusion. The prince laid back and stared up at the sky, his deep blue eyes appearing to be searching for the words to say what he was feeling. "I keep having a nightmare. Prompto caught me the other night waking up from the nightmare in an extreme panic. It is always the same fucking nightmare though. Nothing changes in the dream. It always starts the same and always ends the same and to be honest I do not know what to make of it."
This caused Ignis to raise an eyebrow at the words stated to him by the young king but he remained silent, hoping to perhaps understand the dream more thoroughly.
Noctis continued to explain more, "I am at a rest stop in Corneix, heading into the station. When I walk through the doorway, I am in Luna's bedroom in Tenebrae. There's a white wedding dress in the center of the room and I can hear Luna's voice telling me the story of the cosmology. I can hear explosions from outside window, so I approach it. Next thing I know, I am driving the Regalia, with the top down and alone, along the Lucian coastline when I am attacked from overhead by explosions and Pryna catches my eye, along the side of the road. I end up swerving the car and it flips over, rolling several times as I am thrown from it. At the same time, a flash of Luna holding her trident and calling to me as a sword is swung at her in the middle of a fire field makes me get up." The young king has yet to budge from his position in the back seat. The only difference being that he has covered his blue eyes to block the sun.
"I get up from the wreckage and follow Pryna who has led me all the way to a gondola in the middle of a sandbank in the desert. She climbs through and I follow. Suddenly we are on a train filled with Imperial guards. I walk forward, trying to avoid any kind of confrontation. I wait by the door only to realize I am on a Lucian train as it stops; Pryna is at the top of the stairs so I get off only to be surrounded by more Imperial guards and at some train station I have never seen before." Noctis turns to face the back of his seat, a blank stare completely formed on his face. Ignis notices a hint of sweat but cannot tell if it is a cold sweat of fear or the sun's rays having an effect on him. Nonetheless the advisor remains silent, curious to hear more of the dream.
"Pryna goes down a set of winding stairs that's leading to somewhere. I can't tell where but I know that there are guards everywhere. I bumped into one and they all went on the offensive, shooting at me and trying to grab me. I jump down a flight of stairs and begin to run, pushing my way through the guards and soldiers, my sword finally drawn as I warp my way over to Pryna who has entered an elevator. They were still firing at me, the bullet holes engraved into the doors. Pryna stares at me, her eyes glowing orange and I am once again seeing Luna defending herself. Someone is swinging at her, her protective barriers broken and has been sent flying back towards the ground. She is trying to crawl towards her trident but it is snatched away. I am brought back to the elevator and it begins to vanish from beneath my feet. I fall into a black abyss. Thinking quickly I draw a kukris, to stab the sides with as a way to stop myself from falling, only to find myself on the floor on a bridge that looks like the one that leads to EXINERIS… surrounded again by Imperial soldiers. I rise to my feet, find myself completely surrounded and warp my way over to a Soldier, attacking them with various weapons as I go through them." Noctis stops talking to peek at Ignis, "I have learned through our journey that the various weapons are royal arms I have collected." Ignis nods and smiles back at his liege, knowing how proud the king is to have figured something out without his help.
"I battle them, tossing a flask of fire into a center of them and roll away to avoid the blast only to get up and find myself in front of a large behemoth in a palace like hallway. I am trying my best to fend him off, even warping to avoiding being hit but it's in vain, damn thing swats me into a wall. Pryna is barking at me from a ways down the hall. I get up to follow her around a corner, we pass through a mirror and end up in water. Before I could question it, I remember seeing Luna and Umbra jumping through the reflection of the mirror myself and Pryna jumped through. It leads to the surface where we see imperial dropships, dozens in the skies above Tenebrae and it's on fire. The manor is up in smoke. A drop ship flies past the field of vision and next thing I know, I am standing in what looks like a warehouse, surrounded by guards again."
This time, he sits up and keeps his head down low, not willing to look at Ignis. "I draw my spear, my jacket is gone, my shirt is starting to fall apart at the seams and I am ready to battle. Only…" he remains silent, causing Ignis to worry about what could be making Noct so distraught internally. He is about to continue when Cor comes up to them, a firm look of determination on his features. 'Not now, Marshall,' Ignis feels himself thinking. He knows they're at the end of the dream and the part that pertrubs his liege the most but Noctis has already risen, no longer willing to talk. "See you later Specs."
The Marshall stopped to bow to the young king, a quiet Your Highness escaping his lips, Noctis nodding and heading towards the beach house. This causes the frown on Ignis' face to grow deeper, "Marshall, I was speaking to his highness on an important matter." 'Frank and to the point might get me back to hearing the rest of this dream,' Ignis thought to himself. What he wasn't expecting was the curve ball thrown to him in return.
"You and the others will accompany his majesty to Altissia, without me," Cor stated calmly. Ignis felt his jaw drop in absolute disbelief. "May I inquire as to why?" was all he could muster up in response.
"I'm needed here. A man has come to me from Insomnia. A survivor of the fall. He was in the city after King Regis had been killed. He also helped the Oracle escape the city with another…" Hearing these words both surprised and angered Ignis, causing him to blurt out, "So is leaving Noctis alone NOW is ideal? What the hell kind of Marshall abandons 3 kings in a row!?" Cor hadn't hesitated in his response, a swift fist to the jaw, but he said nothing for the moment allowing the younger of the two to regain his composure.
"It is for his future that I do this. I went through the Blademaster at the youngest age ever to prove myself worthy to my fellow crownsguard that my age was just a number to serve. Regis sent me out of Insomnia a full 12 hours before the treaty signing, stating a need to establish a more secure hunters network. You really think I wanted to be outside the wall when it all happened? To be the one to tell my prince, his father was dead and it was up to me to teach him about his royal arms?"
Ignis remained silent, while Cor continued, "No, I would have rather fought alongside him and Clarus until the end. I would have given my life to help my best friends. My brothers." Ignis' eyes grew wide at the words coming from the man they all admired. He sounded so vulnerable and helpless, completely the opposite of what they knew him as. It appeared Cor didn't care about pretenses and even images because he was tired of hearing what people assumed was him running from his duty. The Immortal had a very mortal heart and it had reached its break point. "I am sending my final king onward in his journey, with his brothers, to reunite with his bride and to go forward and reclaim his crystal and his birthright. I am remaining here, to maintain law and order in his name as well as rebuild his Kingsglaive. When you boys get back, I know I will be able to turn over my command as Crownsguard leader, to you. Until then, guard our King well."
With that, the Marshall headed towards the road, hopping into a supply truck with a Hunter and left before Ignis could say a word….
Authors Note: And thus the plot thickens a bit. Here's hoping every has a happy New Year and had a great holiday. I will try to get back onto the ball of this story VERY soon!