This chapter was mostly written out a while ago, and I managed to bring it to a close. It revolves around Ignis and Ravus, because Ignis is going to take over this fic slowly but surely. Flashbacks are between italic sentences and I hope you'll handle the Ravus bashing that's coming, because no matter how much I like Ravus, the one from this story made some grave decisions that had big consequences. He needs to face the music. He'll be facing it for the rest of the fic to be sincere. I hope you'll enjoy!
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Stranded
Chapter 14 – The cat is out of the bag
Ignis didn't remember the walk to the airship. There was wind in his hair, and a lot of screaming, but his mother had held him tight, carrying him in her arms as though he was back to being a toddler. She sat down in a barely cushioned seat, keeping him in her lap, both mother and son finding comfort in the way they could hold on each other. They had nothing but the clothes on their backs, and it wasn't long until that too was taken away.
Two hours into the flight, Ulldor noticed that Fulmina was shivering. Her shawl had fallen in the chaos and her dress hadn't been made with altitude and cold drafts in mind.
"I can't have you catch a cold now. You can wash up and get changed," Caligo offered.
Her cold glare was rewarded with a slap, to which Ignis finally snapped out of his own shivery daze.
"Don't you dare hurt her!"
Caligo gave him a slap of his own, armored gauntlet and all.
"I'll take no heroics here, boy. You two are Iedolas Aldercapt's guests, but show me resistance and your stay will be worse than hell."
"What does the empire even want with…?" Fulmina started, having knelt by her son's side, helping him up and putting her body between him and the soldier.
"You are a genius scientist, lady Scientia. And that boy of yours, although he hasn't shown it yet, is supposedly brilliant. Why would we want either of you in Gralea, you suppose?"
Ignis had first thought they were being taken hostage, to further the negotiations, but it sounded like he was mistaken. His cheek burned, and he couldn't help his whine of protest when his mother was forced away from him.
The empire wanted her knowledge, as a member of the council, a member of the royal court. And they were ready to break her in order for her to talk.
"I won't tell you anything about…" Fulmina warned through clenched teeth as he dragged her along.
Ignis tried getting to his feet, but a younger soldier caught him and tied him to his seat as Caligo laughed at his mother.
"No need to be so hasty in your conclusions, my lady. We're not looking for information on Lucis. At least, your servant here wasn't told as such. I am to have you cleaned and dressed in imperial colors before our arrival. So you can take this shower by yourself or insist on having my help."
"You cur!"
Fabric tearing was the last sound Ignis heard before the imperial man closed a door, the snapping sound making him jump with a yelp. He didn't know everything that could be done to prisoners of war, but he knew it was all bad. He was left to shiver miserably while wondering the state his mother might be in when she would come back, squirming in his restraints to no avail.
His mother didn't come back when Uldor did, the man having him untied by a soldier and throwing him over his shoulder without a second thought. Ignis protested weakly, but his limbs were numb and the adrenaline rush he'd felt earlier had exhausted him. He was pushed in a small room, ordered to get changed and found himself in pure white clothes that looked like a uniform. Doing as he was told, his gestures mechanical from the cold in his fingers, Ignis was reunited with his mother only when they landed. She was pale, her hair still wet, tied up in a ponytail, wearing white on white with silver adorning her shoulders and waist. She put an arm around his shoulders as they were ushered out of the airship, her hand too cold on the side of his face.
He tried not to gather any detail, but there was a limp to her gait, something stiff about the way she held him to her, and Ignis -with his picture-perfect memory- had eventually drawn conclusions. That night, he was too scared to think about anything other than his mother taking a beating and it was already dark enough for his mind. His cheek pressed against her thigh as they walked, his eyes taking in Gralea and its wide streets, covered with more streets, like a web of concrete expanding in a maze-like nightmare. Constant noise, cars honking, tires screeching, people talking, murmuring, a hum of machines in the background... It sounded almost familiar, but the language on the street signs was different, the letters drawn in strange ways he had yet to study. He couldn't see much from the landing ground. Fulmina pulled him along to make sure he wouldn't slow down, noticing how closely the MTs followed them.
Then there was a bang that made them both jump and they realized it was a ceremonial way to mark their arrival.
"Lady Fulmina Scientia, reknowed scientist of Insomnia, guest of our emperor, Iedolas Aldercapt. You are hereby deemed an honorary citizen of Gralea, first city of Nifelheim. Every citizen must abide by the imperial rules."
The rules were simple enough.
You bleed for the empire.
You die for the empire.
You think for the empire.
"Mom…" Ignis whispered, his small hand clutching to the fabric of her skirt.
"Hush, my little man."
Her voice felt different. He couldn't quite ping how, but he wanted to have a look in her eyes. Sadly, he couldn't take his eyes off the man stating what their future would hold.
"If you run or if you refuse to cooperate with us, we'll have no choice but to consider you as prisoners, which would mean a one-way ticket to the labs…"
…
The first four hours of the ride had been nothing but Gladiolus and Iris playing a game between themselves while Ignis listened to a podcast detailing the 10 best ways to cook in the wild. It included roasting food under the hood of a car and Gladiolus was really eager for them to try it out, while Ravus doubted the Regalia would like that treatment. It was an old car with a lot of character, and they stalled just past half a mile after Hammerhead.
"I told you we should have made a pit stop," Ignis stated, keeping his face neutral as he held back a sigh.
"But would his royal highness listen?" Gladiolus added, avoiding Iris's instinctive slap on his arm.
Ravus clenched his teeth, wondering how long he could endure their attitude.
"I'll hire some bird and head to the tomb while you have the car towed and find some shades," he decided.
"You shouldn't go off on your own," Iris observed, looking between her brother and Ignis for back-up.
"None of you wants to be here, so I can at least try to make your lives easier, can't I?!"
He stalked off with that, Gladiolus exchanging a brief look with Ignis.
"You'll be alright with the car?"
"Yeah, you do your job and I'll do mine," the advisor answered.
It wasn't the first time he picked things up after the prince and he knew it wouldn't be the last. Iris was already catching up with the chosen king, Gladiolus following a few feet behind.
"I said…"
"We heard," Iris cut him off, grabbing his sleeve to make sure he didn't warp away. He'd done that a few times when he'd been younger and the only way to keep him in place in such a situation was to make him realize he wasn't as unwanted as he felt.
Ravus looked down at her hand, his breath catching a little. He wanted to hold her hand if only to make sure she wouldn't pull away but couldn't work up the nerve to do so. He slowed down until their steps mirrored each other's, stretching his fingers nervously. Iris noticed the crease on his forehead.
"Seeing Lucis like this for the first time is weird, huh?"
"It is your first time getting out of Insomnia after all," he managed despite the knot in his throat.
"Like you remember anything from that time when you were a kid!"
"I remember all the dust," he said, heaving a sigh. "I had forgotten how much warmer it was though."
Was his father's wall the one thing they had to thank for the temperate climate of Insomnia?
"Are we really going to ride chocobos?" Iris asked.
"That tomb is a good ten miles away, I don't think any of us would like that walk under that sun."
"The ride is going to be rough too," Gladio cut into their talk. "Don't go imagining there's an AC coming with the bird. I think we're far enough from the road to call them."
Iris released Ravus's sleeve as she realized how close her brother was and the prince wondered if he'd get a chance to talk with her at any point in the trip. He wasn't sure why she'd come after that awful scene back in his room. The birds answered the whistle's call and their ride was mostly uneventful, the trio running into a pack of sabertusks Gladiolus insisted on evading by making a wide circle around their hunting grouds.
"I know we could take them, but why run ahead of trouble when we already have a broken car on our hands?"
Ravus had wished he could let some his anger out on a few beasts, but he wasn't going to disagree with his bodyguard. He was growing tired of being the bad guy. At least his mount didn't treat him like some parasite that had no right to live.
There's desperate, and then there's me, he thought bitterly.
The Tomb of the Wise was hidden past a hunters's camp, which was in the same state of ruin as every broken house they'd seen on their way up here. If this was all Lucis had to offer outside of Insomnia, it was a far too barren country to justify why the empire even cared about the territory it represented.
"Where did the few cars we see go?" Iris asked her brother as he helped her off her bird despite her initial protest.
"There's a few safe places in between the desolation. Galdyn Quay, Lestallum, and those hot springs where I bought you that keychain."
"And brought too many girls if I remember correctly?"
True to himself, Gladio smirked in answer, unable to hold back his tongue.
"And not a single one of them regretted it!"
Ravus and Iris both rolled their eyes at him and when they realized how easily they'd fallen in their usual habit, a light blush tinted their cheeks. Seeing the awkwardness coming back, the prince's Shield clapped Ravus on his shoulder.
"Okay, Rave-highness. You didn't forget the keys in the car?"
"Of course not!" Ravus instantly took offense.
"Then get moving. We only have minimal camping gear with us thanks to your little tantrum earlier and Iris is not sleeping under the stars tonight."
The prince opened his mouth and slowly closed it. His bad attitude had landed him here and if he didn't learn to control his temper, he might completely lose Iris and his chance to ever have a friend outside of her. The concerned brunette was growing nervous as she saw him struggling to pull the key out of his pocket with the cast on his wrist. She still resented him for what he'd done, but she was growing more and more concerned about the pretense Ardyn had ordered her to keep. If someone had to know what was really going on in the citadel, it was Ravus, if only for him to realize that he couldn't trust the counsellor! Shifting from one leg to the other, Iris cleared her throat right as the prince took his first step toward the Tomb.
"Can I go with you?"
"I…" He wanted to ask her why she even felt like accompanying him. "Of course you can. My father never said any of these tombs were off-limits."
The pair threw a glance at Gladio who shrugged.
"I hate those moldy places," the shield grunted. "And I'd rather make sure we have a quick exit when you're done with the magic. You know what I'll do if you make her cry again, right?"
"Brother!"
Ravus simply gulped, not sure he could handle all this pressure. This was his first test in years as the chosen king, as the rightful and only heir. He felt wrong, twisting the key around in the lock, pushing on this door that only a handful of hands had pushed before him. He needed to use his shoulder and some of his weight to move the door ajar, coughing as the scent of moldy dust reached his nose. He stepped into the dark room, Iris right on his heels.
There was an awkward moment after their eyes had adapted to the darkness, Iris wondering out loud how he was supposed to proceed while Ravus wanted to ask for her forgiveness again.
"You really don't have to be nice with me, Iris," he told her. "I know I…"
"Me being angry with you doesn't mean I want you running headfirst into danger," the girl reminded him.
"Ir…"
"Ravus, I don't want more of your apologies. I simply don't have the heart to leave you alone to deal with all this," she explained, gesturing at the room.
It was gloomy, with the statues staring at them and the effigy of an ancestor long forgotten holding a sword in his eternal sleep. Ravus took a deep breath, lips thin from pinching them together too hard and raised his good hand to touch the stone, like his father had told him to. It felt cold under his skin, but while he tried to sense the same tug as the crystal, nothing happened. Time stretched, old doubts insinuating themselves in his head. This had to work, he was Regis's son and his father had collected this sword before him. He'd said it would work.
After two minutes of nothing, Ravus pulled his hand back, glaring at his own palm, fingers twitching a second. Iris held her breath while he tried a second time. But nothing happened. No magic, no blur, nothing.
"Don't tell me he…?"
Only two royals can hold the sword at the same time, Regis had explained to Noctis and him.
"So what would happen if I could…" Noctis tentatively asked.
"I'm the chosen King, the royal arms should be mine!" a four-year-old Ravus opposed.
"I wonder… what if you boys could share them?" Regis offered.
They had never agreed on anything like sharing though. Not for toys and certainly not for the royal weapons.
"Ravus?" Iris tried calling his name.
"It's not working…" he managed through clenched teeth, running both hands through his hair as he tried to regain his composure.
"Why wouldn't it…?"
"I don't know. My father said I just needed to be in phase with my magic and I can still…"
Snapping his fingers, he created a small lightning bolt that vanished into the air as quickly as he'd called it.
"Nothing's as it should be," Ravus snapped, his arms gesturing wildly. "My dad was all strange lately and I can't make him proud no matter what I do. I can't even manage this!"
Iris's heart clenched as she thought of the last time she'd seen the King.
"There has to be an explanation."
"Well, all I can think of is that Noctis came here after leaving Insomnia."
There was venom in his voice and Iris couldn't control her surge of anger. How self-centered could the guy get? She grabbed him by the ear, pulling him back in front of her hard enough to elicit a yelp of pain.
"If he did, don't you believe he was justified after the shit you pulled?"
"I…! Ow, I'm… You're right. It's just… I'm failing at everything right now…"
Was he worried about failing his people too or was he only thinking of what Regis could think? Iris was starting to wonder if he was owed the truth about his father yet. She freed him, her eyes remaining disapproving as his face crumbled into a contrite expression, but she spoke before he could give her any excuse.
"Noctis is your goddamn brother! If you didn't have all those bruises left, I think I could punch you."
"Well, I won't fight back if you do," he whispered, massaging his ear.
She hated seeing him so defeated. It was so hard to swing from one emotion to the next, Iris was starting to wonder if she even understood herself anymore.
"Maybe another day," Iris declared, not sounding as playful as she had intended, paling slightly as her thoughts focused on what she needed to tell him. "Right now, I need to confirm something with you, Rave."
Seeing the change in her eyes, Ravus couldn't help taking a step closer to her, even though she wouldn't let him hold her.
"What is it?"
"Can Ardyn spy on us?" Iris inquired.
His eyes turned round as saucers and she swallowed, her mouth too dry as she remembered the counsellor's threats.
"Why would he…? He can't!" the prince said. "I swear he can't despite his weird magic."
Her shoulders relaxed at the certainty in his voice, but her hands stayed turned into fists. Was this really enough for her to speak up?
"I know why your father has been so weird lately," she started, trying to keep her breathing even. "I need to get this off my chest, but first… I need to make sure you won't do something to warn Ardyn."
"What?!"
"I need to know I can trust you, Rave."
There was nothing fake about the pain on his face as he took the full brunt of her admission, but he nodded slowly, teeth clenched in self-loathing.
"I earned that. The gods be damned, Iris, how do I…? I love you. I would never…," he cursed and corrected himself, his good arm shaking, "I swear I will never do anything that could harm you or your brother."
"Words are nice, but I don't think they're enough…"
"Then what would be enough?!"
"I'm not sure! But surely you wouldn't do anything to hurt your own father to be Ardyn's dog, would you?"
Ravus almost froze at that, a mix of shock and anger threatening to take over. Iris stood in front of him, holding herself with her arms, small and clearly terrified, but still holding him in place with her accusatory glare. He ran one hand over his face, pulling on his hair in the hope it might take the guilt away.
"Shit. I'm really a monster to you now… You can't stay like this, Iris. I don't know what you need to say about my father, but…"
Gladiolus barged in then, finding them in the middle of their stand-off, his chest puffed up and eyes dark.
"I heard arguing. I knew I shouldn't have let you alone with him."
At his sight and the thought of the masquerade their father was exposed to, Iris couldn't help a few tears and her brother turned livid.
"I told you not to make her cry!" he snapped.
"No, Gladio, no, it's… Gladio, I need to tell you something. Alone."
Ravus took the hint and walked out, his mind boiling with whatever could have happened to make her so warry. Ardyn was involved and so was his father, but he couldn't begin to fathom how… Still inside, Gladiolus lost all his sharpness as Iris rushed into his arms.
"On that day I went to see the King… He was… He was stabbed by the chancellor and…"
"WHAT?!"
"Listen to me first, brother," she asked, her hands gripping to his jacket. "You need to know all of it."
…
Ravus had been sitting on the last stair to the tomb, nervously making one crazy hypothesis after another as he waited. It took only a few minutes before a violent cracking sound made him jump to his feet, whipping around to watch the right door to the royal tomb being broken off by Gladio's furious charge.
"You…! You bastard!"
Ravus barely had the sense to raise his arms, but his Shield broke his meek defense with a slap so he could punch him square in the face. The prince was pushed six feet back and nearly lost his balance, tasting blood in his mouth.
"Was it funny to watch me fight your brother? Was it funny to…!" Gladio roared in anger, unable to channel it into words and Iris covered her mouth as Ravus was pushed to the ground by a kick and forced to shield his head with his arms as his bodyguard's wrath took the better of him.
"I…"
"Shut up! Your little games paid up when Iris revealed the whole thing to the King. You got your father stabbed and impersonated by your dear chancellor."
Ravus stopped protecting himself to look up in shock and Gladiolus kicked him hard enough for bones to crack.
"Gladio, stop!"
"Why? Are you afraid I'll lose my job? Do you think I care for his cute little ass? Our father is protecting a monster instead of our King while I have this weasel to look after."
Ravus let out a choked whimper as his brain tried piecing together the news he was hearing. Gladio was raising his fist again, but Iris rushed to the prince, covering him with her body to halt her brother's rage.
"Hurting him won't change the situation."
Talons on the sand almost covered her words, but it didn't prevent a newcomer from catching them on the fly.
"What situation?" a new voice interfered.
They looked up to see Ignis dismounting a chocobo, appraising the sight of a beaten up Ravus, Gladio standing over him with his knuckles red and bruised, Iris shaking like a leaf.
"Iggy. Good timing," Gladiolus welcomed his friend. "Maybe you can help me hide his body."
"I thought I heard a behemoth stampede and thought I'd better check it out, but this is worse than what I had imagined. What did Ravus do?"
"He framed Noctis to get rid of him," Gladiolus quickly explained. "Ardyn pulled a few strings, but our dear princeling was a hundred percent agreed as long as it got his brother out of the picture. So we've got our culprit walking free and blamed our friend for nothing."
Ignis made an admirable effort to keep his countenance and failed after meeting Ravus's gaze, reading shame all over his bruised face. His eyes turned so cold, Ravus could have sworn the temperature had dropped.
"You knew," Ignis whispered, taking four careful steps forward to crouch in front of the prince. He was careful not to kneel because that might have looked respectful and he was fed-up with the brat. "You knew I was chasing away my best friend and an innocent man and you still gave me those orders…"
Iris felt Gladio pulling on the collar of her uniform and was too surprised by Ignis's cold anger to resist, Ravus finding himself alone in front of the seething advisor.
"I…"
"What did you lack in your miserable life so badly that you needed to get rid of the one man who gave a damn about you? Cause Noct gave a damn, believe it or not. I obeyed your orders because he begged me to. Tell me, what did you miss? Was it your mother? Your magic? Or fighting skills?"
"Ig…"
A back-handed slap interrupted him and Ignis barely raised his voice as he warned Ravus.
"Don't. Speak. My. Name. I was loyal. I fed you every day. Wrote your speeches, ironed your stupid clothes. I was a prisoner for years and how did you repay me? Reinstate me into child labor so I can bow at every of your whim while… Do you even remember what happened to my family because of yours?! My father gave his life, my mother was raped on a daily basis by imperial men while hoping for a rescue that never came and after that you told me to wag my tail for a paycheck. And I wagged left and right like you asked."
The Amicitia's siblings looked in horror, not sure they recognized this Ignis. He spoke slowly, calmly, but he had never sounded this invested when speaking to Ravus. He pulled him by the hair in a sharp motion and the prince whimpered and grabbed at his scalp with one hand, raising his other arm in a pathetic attempt to protect his already bruised ribs.
"What's your sad story, chosen King? What makes you so broken you have a right to risk Gladiolus's life and have your own brother exiled?!"
"Not…nothing," Ravus uttered through his quivering voice.
"That's some pathetic confession," he snickered. "I've learned things in the empire. Things that would make you scream. You think your life was torture? You think you know how pain feels?"
"Iggy," Gladio started, holding Iris in place as she struggled against his arms in hope she could get between Ignis and Ravus.
The advisor realized he might have been taking this too far, even though it didn't feel that way and he dropped the boy, standing back to his full height.
"I had a point, but I might have gotten sidetracked," he admitted, straightening his shirt while Ravus curled up on himself in a pitiful shivering and whimpering mess.
"I know he was wrong," Iris whispered. "But that doesn't mean he earned…"
"Iris, you're a kind soul, but I can't forgive his actions. I don't care if Ardyn whispered the ideas into his mind like the snake he is. You were too young to remember… Lucis has been a prison for me ever since Noctis was exiled and now I know for certain..."
The tall man took a step back, rolling his shoulders once before cracking his neck in the hopes the nervousness settling in would disappear.
"Iggy, are you… leaving?" Gladio asked. "I can't deal with that brat alone and you know it."
"I'm sorry, my friend, but with what we've read on the news, I think there's a prince who needs me more than this one. Just try to eat actual food."
"Wait, you can't…!" Iris started.
Ravus struggled to push himself up, spitting blood mixed with tears, sniveling pitifully.
"I know it's not worth much," he managed, "but I deeply regret…"
"Oh save it!" Gladio snapped. "This scar and all the nerve damage I have to deal with everyday are not going anywhere thanks to regrets. I can't even look at you right now."
"What a fine King he'll make," Ignis added.
Ravus broke down into sobs and Iris couldn't bear it anymore, rushing to his side while the two men still standing exchanged a long look.
"Do you think you can handle this trip with chocobos as your only transportation?" the former advisor asked.
"Are you taking the car as your retirement payment?" Gladio suggested.
"Can you blame me?"
Gladio really couldn't given the circumstances. Ignis stalked off without one more word, knowing that staying any longer to look at that pitiful boy he'd called his liege would make him do something he'd regret. At least for Iris's sake. His steps were far from steady, but they stayed purposeful as he distanced himself from his last link to Lucis, hurrying to the garage where the car would hopefully be fixed before that Ravus regained his senses.
Ignis remembered only one time when he was this angry.
Snow creaked under his boots and after three years of acclimating himself to the cold, Ignis had to admit, it was getting easier. Warmth had grown so rare in his life, he barely remembered how it felt anyway. He'd argued with his mother. Again.
"Where do you think you're going?"
He didn't have to look up to recognize Aranea Highwind's voice. She'd become his bodyguard on his first week in Nilflheim and after the initial fear, he'd come to realize she was just as much a prisoner as he.
"Isn't this your day off, Ara…" He paused as he noticed the severe limp in her steps, stopping dead in his tracks. Aranea was a headstrong girl, two years his senior and already training harshly under Glauca's orders. When she wasn't the victim of a certain mad scientist.
"Yeah, I just had to visit V's labs."
She flicked her eyes at him, hoping he'd understand she didn't want to talk about it and Ignis accepted her excuse with clenched teeth. He'd been witness to a few of Verstael's experiments since his arrival and he knew how harsh the scientist could be. The man cared for science first and people later. In fact, he seemed more in love with his machines and transhumanism engineering than anything else.
"Should you be walking?"
"When you leave the premises for something other than school, I follow you, Ig, that's the rule," the silver-haired girl reminded him, entirely brushing aside his concerns.
They would usually play together whenever they could get away from other Niff's eyes, Ignis finding a reprieve in her presence, even though his mother disapproved of this friendship. She was terrified Aranea could turn him into another imperial. Meanwhile, the boy wondered what being Lucian meant. Had his friends forgotten him like he was starting to forget them? There was a hole in his heart, larger by the day.
"I wouldn't run away," he whispered, trying to hold down his bitterness.
"I'd catch you," Aranea offered, as was her usual joke.
"Or maybe you'd run with me? This life can't be nice."
He'd never suggested such a thing before and his friend was taken by surprise. This time her limp stretched into a fall and he tried catching her, only for both kids to collapse on the ground. Their foreheads hit and they both groaned, pushing the other away. This was too close for comfort, but Ignis froze when he saw Aranea wincing as she rolled on her side. She literally yelped as she tried to get back to her feet, her left leg bending in a scary way. He sat on his heels, trying to ascertain the situation.
"What's wrong? Is it broken?" he asked timidly.
He knew she didn't like to be found lacking and he didn't like angering her. Her smiles were rare, and they made him feel incredibly warm inside.
"He said it wasn't, but it hurts…" the girl managed, her voice quivering as the pain overwhelmed her.
She had a tremendous tolerance for pain as Ignis had learned when she took a beating in his stead once, which convinced him he needed to trick his bullies in a way that would warrant Aranea's safety. He'd given them such a scare with her help, no one under the age of fourteen had dared to cross his path ever since.
Right now, they were in the middle of the forest, his bodyguard curling up on herself with tears welling up in her eyes and Ignis was afraid any help he could call would mean punishment for her.
"Is it only your leg?"
"What else would it be? He wants me to become a freaking jumper," she half snapped at him.
When he touched her shoulder to help her sit up, her first reaction was to slap it away from her and Ignis flinched, reminded of his mother's reactions as of late. Fulmina was growing distant despite her best effort. Her son was growing taller with every passing year and she was terrified to see him turn into a man. The nickname of "little man" was gone without a replacement and the nights he could snuggle close to her for comfort were also gone.
"I apologize if I…"
"Oh please, Iggy, I'm hurting, I'm not some rabid court creature."
"I don't have a potion with me," he deplored.
Aranea reached one hand out, agreeing to take his help so she could sit up in the snow, her hair sticking out of her braid oddly. There was something in her eyes that made Ignis's throat tighten and he couldn't quite understand why. Her lips were thin from being pinched together too roughly. Her breathing was quick and came out in shudders as they determined taking her boot off would make things worse.
"What happened?"
"A new kind of target practice," Aranea started explaining. "I was the target this time."
"What was he using for…?"
She shook her head, her shoulders trembling as she closed her eyes tight.
"This doesn't concern…"
"How can you be my bodyguard if he hurts you like this? I can't let this…"
"Iggy, you're a child. No matter how brilliant you are, do you think anyone will listen?"
She should have known better, because when he saw injustice, Ignis was always ready to try. As soon as he knew the girl was safe back in her barracks, or at least as she could be there, he got to work.
The boy started with his mother, who raised her voice to the point the guards came in alert and Ignis couldn't contain his anger then, which earned him a black eye and one appointment with Verstael.
"You question my work, Scientia?"
"I question your methods," Ignis protested with all the arrogance youth could confer.
"You need to see it for yourself," Verstael decided, catching him by the shoulder and dragging him up a flight of stairs, pushing him against the railing whenever Ignis threatened to fight against his vice-like grip. "Here!" the man exclaimed as they reached the top.
Ignis was hurled forward and couldn't hold back a gasp when the scientist grabbed him by the waist to lift him in the air. The boy fell silent when he saw what this small balcony was overlooking. A maze stretched beneath them, filled with automatized traps and a few lurking daemons.
"You remember the full week you were stuck home since Highwind was on a mission? That was after her first go in my Realer-Than-Life simulator. She's made a lot of progress since then, only getting away with a hairline fracture in one leg. She nearly jumped up the first wall, but she's not quick enough on her feet yet."
A daemon had been clawing at one wall and lurked over it, instantly getting hit by metal balls the size of a tennis ball. Ignis's stomach dropped to his knees as he understood what Aranea had been through. Alone, inside a maze that covered one square mile of danger.
"Not a lot of recruits can make it through and it's a shame I can't oversee your training. But a brain of your caliber must understand how much hard work I had to put into this facility. Or maybe you'd give one go at the maze?"
Ignis was ashamed as he remembered his fear and the way his head immediately shook. He knew better than to believe Verstael would follow on this sort of threat since his mother's brain was still useful to the empire. They'd enrolled him in strategy classes and he knew they might use his tactics if he got too caught up in the subject. He was a tool and a title and nothing more.
…
"I'll need one more hour to fix her," Dino told him when he got back.
Ignis tried to find himself something to do, too agitated to stay idle. His phone had no new messages and he switched for the other phone he'd kept on him at all times, one he'd never used in fear it would be tracked by someone in Lucis. There was no message on it either, but the connection came up without a hitch and after sending out two texts, he couldn't bear with the silence anymore, hitting the call button of the only number registered.
It rang thirteen times before that her voice answered.
"Something's wrong?" she asked her before even saying hello.
The longing became unsustainable and Ignis fought with the knot in his throat.
"Are you okay?"
He knew she should have been on the field that fateful day the Oracle snatched the airships from the sky and made a show of putting the empire back in its place. While Noctis's name was on the news, no imperial officers had made it into any newspapers and the very sound of her voice alleviate some of his fears.
"I… You're making the switch?" she tried, her voice shivering.
The codes, all the codes they'd made to protect each other. He wanted them gone and no space left between them, he needed to see her, hold her, hide with her until his mind cleared. Find himself again.
"Nea, please, answer my question," he begged her.
"No. I mean. I'm not okay. There's no more Finns, there's…"
"Are you still in…?"
Her sob came on through the phone and his heart shattered at the thought he couldn't comfort her in any way right now.
"Altissia," she managed through her tears. "Might as well take risks, Iggy."
"I'll race on water then."
"What?!"
"I'm running away," he whispered, remembering the look on her face back on that day.
Run with me? We can do better than this. We never belonged anywhere but together.
"I'll catch you before you can even try," Aranea said.
"There will be no getting rid of me if you do."
"How long can we have this truce?"
Truce meant no Lucis, no empire. Truce meant that brief dream allowed by Noctis, when Ignis was only seventeen and could actually live with her for a couple weeks. They'd tried reinventing their world together until their roots called them back to reality. Truce meant no reality. How long?
Forever, forever, forever, his heart told him.
"As long as you want me."
Her answer was a strangled sob and Ignis cried with her at the idea they still had to wait.
"Just a bit longer," he promised.
I'll be in your arms. And we'll be home.
To be continued…
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Next chapter might come out sooner, unless I work on Unexpected, my attention is still divided between all of my stories and since my stress is high, I write a lot lately in between my work. Let me know what you think of the direction this story is taking. Ignoct bromance is coming up if I can get Ignis off the Lucian continent. I have a really big weekend coming, a big event for which I coordinate volunteers while being kept in the dark quite enough to feel anxious. It will turn out fine, but let's say I can't wait for mid-august.
I hope I'll be back with an update soon-ish. Stay awesome in the meantime!