Light invaded the cool darkness of the loaned bedroom like the Empire's influence over the territories of Eos – rudely. Noct groaned and burrowed under the sheets in a well-practiced maneuver, seeking refuge from the piercing brightness slipping in through the gap in the heavy curtains.
He didn't even remember falling asleep last night – must've nodded off sometime after his talk with Luna…
Right. Prophecy of Kings, purging the darkness to bring back the dawn… dying. How was he supposed to tell the others about this? Would Prompto ever know what happened to him. Would he ever know what happened to Prompto?
Had his dad known?
He really didn't want to face the answers to any of these questions, but the others would be waiting for him and he didn't think he could handle a lecture right now.
With another groan he pushed himself up out of the tangled sheets, squinting against the glare from the window. Judging by the light outside, he'd say it was almost midday, definitely not early morning. Of course, with the days and nights all out of whack, that didn't necessarily mean anything. Still, it's a little off-putting how he hadn't heard from any of the others. Usually Ravus or Gladio would've beat his door down by now, nagging him to get the hell up and quit wasting time. He wondered where everyone was.
After pulling himself together as much as he could he stepped out into the hallway. All the other bedroom doors were closed but there was a commotion coming from down the hall where he remembered seeing a kitchen of sorts on his way through last night. Maybe Ignis was making something. Noctis didn't exactly feel up to eating anything but maybe he could satisfy his curiosity instead.
"Ignis?" Noctis turned the corner expecting to find his friend bent over some heavenly-smelling concoction on the stovetop. Instead he was faced with an elderly woman dressed in a traditional looking dress and blue apron with her pale hair tied back in an orderly bun. "Oh, sorry."
The woman looked up and gave him a gentle smile. "No harm done, Prince Noctis. I bade Lord Ignis to rest this morning. He was most insistent on seeing to the relief efforts in the night. I'm afraid the poor dear pushes himself much too harshly. In this regard, he and Lady Lunafreya are not so different. It pleases me so to see the three of you reunited at long last."
"I'm sorry, have we…"
"No need to apologize. I doubt you'll remember me after all these long years." The woman stepped back from the stove to offer him a respectful bow, "I am Maria, a retainer in service to House Fleuret. You were but a small boy when last we met and now just look at what a fine young man you've grown into."
"Ah, thanks." Embarrassingly, Noct could feel the blood rushing to his face.
As Maria returned to her work Noctis spotted Umbra sitting in the corner of the room, watching them quietly. He offered Noctis a happy tail wag but otherwise stayed where he was.
"So, what can I do for you?" Maria pressed, probably after noticing him still lurking about the kitchen doorway, looking entirely too lost for some supposed chosen savior.
"Oh, um…" Noctis floundered for a moment. "Don't suppose you could tell me where the others went? Uh, two tall guys in black?"
"The men you arrived with went into town not long ago, seeking supplies for your journey." Maria took a pan from the stove and stooped down to scrape the contents into a dish set at Umbra's feet. The dog waited until she backed away before digging in, tail wagging with gusto.
"Oh, right. Thanks." Noctis watched Umbra eat, still unsure of what to do with himself. In the rare occasions Ravus and Gladio left him to his own devices Prompto had seemingly always been there, dragging him off somewhere, camera in hand. The thought was just another twist of the phantom knife in his heart and now he didn't really know what to do with himself. He might've tried to catch up with Ignis but the guy had probably been up all hours of the night making preparations. Luna most likely didn't have a much better chance at sleep and… he wasn't quite ready to face her alone just yet.
Maria spared him a knowing glance as she began stirring something with a wooden spoon. "If you don't mind my saying so, Prince Noctis, you look as if you have something on your mind."
Despite everything, Noctis found himself smiling ruefully. "You could say that."
"In all my years of service I've never known brooding on an empty stomach to be very productive." Maria poured the contents of another pan onto pale sheets of dough, which she folded over on the plate, before moving to place them at the table in the cozy dining room attached to the kitchen. "Won't you have something before you depart with your friends?"
Despite his nonexistent appetite, Noctis couldn't help investigating. Whatever was on that plate smelled amazing – and strangely familiar. Thin pancakes filled with some type of cream were nestled beside a heaping portion of different fruits and berries. He recognized the vanilla crepes as one of his favorite breakfasts during his first stay at Fenstala Manor.
The nostalgia hit him harder than he expected. The faint echo of Luna and Iggy's child-like laughter haunted the quaint dining space, as if summoned by the memory of his first experience with the sweet crepes. At the time his mouth had been much too full to join in. He sat more heavily than intended in the ornate wooden chair.
"That's really kind of you."
"Think nothing of it, dear. All I ask is that you not hesitate to call should you have want of anything else." Maria bent into another bow, before turning toward the door. She paused to give Umbra a quick ear rub on her way out. "I understand you will go hence to the imperial capital."
"Yeah." Noctis watched as she stood once more, taking with her the canine messenger's empty dish.
"You young people walk a difficult path and I fear there will be more hardships ahead. But I pray that fortune will smile down on you, Prince Noctis, and I urge you to look to those who would take up arms at your side against the darkness. The burden you carry was never meant to be borne by one. Please, take care on the road ahead."
The small boy seated across from her was in a bad way, auburn hair hanging limply over his too pale face and urging Lunafreya to sweep the fringe aside as she placed her hands on his frail shoulders.
One could almost mistake the dark patches discoloring his arms for ash born of the raging fires that still smoldered in the morning light if not for the sickly pallor of his skin and fever brightness of his eyes. This child would not have lasted much longer without her intervention.
She was more thankful than ever that she had managed to provide some comfort to the afflicted refugees before she pushed on with Noctis to complete the covenants and reclaim the Crystal. Ignis had been hesitant to encourage her to offer healing so close to their coming departure but she had reasoned anything might befall them on the journey ahead and it might well be some time until she could return to the people here. Besides, she would have ample time to rest on the way, it was not as if they were going to walk.
Lunafreya sighed, breathing deeply and centering her energy. It was rather irksome to be coddled so, especially since she was hardly the only one taking risks. Her brother had a rather reckless self-sacrificing streak of his own to contend with, one he refused to acknowledge. She could only hope he'd receive more push back from Noctis and the others when they convened later today to discuss how they were to move forward and infiltrate the Keep.
Golden light seeped from her hands, banishing the dark stains from the boy's skin and returning color to his face. His eyes grew wide as his body's suffering came to a close.
As soon as she pulled away from him, the boy's parents seized him in a crushing hug. The father made a point to bow respectfully to her before ushering his family out of the small tent set up for her purposes. "Thank you, Lady Lunafreya. Praise be to the Six for your return."
"Please, go in peace."
An elderly woman entered next on shaky legs, led by her daughter to the now vacant chair.
Lunafreya took a moment to glance out at the small crowd lined up outside. She had best hurry if she did not wish to keep the others waiting.
"So… we're not taking an airship?" Gladio sounded out his question in such a way that his feelings over the less than ideal news were made clear.
"Word has it the night skies over Gralea are unsafe, plagued by flying daemons no less. I recommend traveling by rail. The express train we just rescued is too damaged for use by civilians but likely your safest route through the Rift," Ignis patiently explained, before adding, "And it has the space to transport your Regalia."
"Wait, aren't you coming with us?" Noctis snapped out of the quiet daze he'd been immersed in since Ignis had joined them in the guest cottage. Everyone looked surprised at the revelation except for Luna, who merely frowned, having already voiced opposition to her brother's alternate arrangements.
Ravus' expression pinched in suspicion. "What are you planning?"
"There is a device inside Zegnautus Keep that's meant to interfere with your connection to the Crystal. I'm going to shut it down," Ignis explained.
By the look on Noct's face, Ignis suspected he'd already come into contact with a similar dampening mechanism. "I can't let you go in alone."
"I'm afraid there's not much choice, this disguise only works for one." Ignis snapped open the case he'd picked up from Biggs and Wedge. An MT faceplate stared out at them, nestled atop a bundle of fabric and the trademark armor worn by MT units. "Due to my actions in Altissia, I suspect my previous security clearance will no longer be sufficient to allow peaceful entry into the Keep. Posing as a MT should allow me to move in without raising the alarm. I'll rendezvous with you inside once I've disabled the dampening device."
"You really think that getup is gonna fool anyone?" Gladio gestured to the side of his own head. "Someone's bound to notice your eyes glowing the wrong color."
"Yes, about that." They watched as Ignis removed his contact lens. Without them his eyes burned brighter, appearing more robotic and missing the white sclera of human eyes. "Now to see if my custom settings can still be altered."
Moments later the optics switched to an uncomfortably familiar magitek red.
In the charged silence that followed Noct glared down at the contents of the case. "I don't like this. If you're found out you'll be outnumbered without backup."
"And as long as that device is active you'll have no access to your magic and my disguise will be near useless if I'm accompanied," Ignis reminded. "I've been surrounded by MTs enough to know how to imitate them flawlessly. Alone my chances of discovery will be minimal."
Ravus let out a frustrated breath. "This plan is dangerous."
"You expected storming Zegnautus to be somehow otherwise?" Ignis smiled wryly.
"But wait." Noct looked as though he'd stumbled onto an answer he hadn't known he'd been looking for. "I thought you said passengers weren't being allowed to continue on from this station."
Perhaps in a last stitch effort to prevent his departure from the group, Luna pointedly observed, "And unless I'm mistaken, I don't believe any of us are abreast of the procedures involved in operating a train."
This was not a detail in which Ignis had neglected to prepare for. "Actually, there are two associates whom I've been meaning to introduce."
Hey, everyone! Just want to drop a quick heads up that I will be taking a break on posting for this story until I finish up with the Zegnautus Keep chapters. Hopefully, it won't be too long until I can share what happens next.