OKAY so the reason why this took forever is because I bought Horizon Zero Dawn and have been playing it nonstop. That and the ending to this changed from how I had originally planned it but we'll see.

It was the first day of the weekend, and Luna was on cloud nine. It had been two full days since Noctis, Luna, and Prompto had been at the arcade, and it had been two days of the royals being timid but affectionate.

Whenever they had gone to the eatery next door to the arcade, they had sat beside each other and let their legs touch since they couldn't continue to hold hands while they were eating. Prompto gave the appearance of knowing that something had evolved between them after having witnessed their hug, but he kept his mouth shut, although that didn't stop him from sending teasing looks Noctis' way.

For safety's sake after they were done eating, Irene went ahead and grabbed the trio's attention so she could take Luna home. It made Prompto pout because he had been fully meaning to have them go back to the arcade, but both guys knew they had pushed the boundaries of her security. It didn't take long for Noctis to get Ignis to their location after Luna and Irene left, and it had taken a little while to take both Prompto and Noctis home considering the traffic.

During school the next two days, Noctis and Luna shyly flirted and touched.

Lunch had been mostly light hand holding, while after school studying was more flirtatious in speech. Every time Noctis did it, he'd blush profusely, but Luna would make a quiet comment about how she found it cute and endearing.

Last night during their studying session with Prompto, she had asked him if he wanted to come over for breakfast in the morning. Prompto joked about how it'd be interesting to see Noctis attempt to get up before 12pm on a weekend, which earned him an elbow in the side. The Prince had shot him a dirty look, but told Luna with a soft smile that he'd try to be there on time.

Thirteen hours later, and at 9am in the morning, Noctis was standing outside of Luna's apartment door, feeling sluggish and exhausted, but excited all the same.

He hadn't knocked on the door yet, mostly because he was gaining the courage and stamina. Even though he had gotten to sleep early that night, he was still tired as hell. He had had Prompto call him at 8:30am just to make sure he was actually awake, and after the third time of his friend calling, he finally heard it. Other than the teasing about this being their first date, Prompto got off pretty quickly and let Noctis get ready.

Just as he was about to knock on the door, Irene was opening it with Umbra right beside her.

"Prince Noctis," Irene greeted in mild surprise.

Noct gave her a small wave. "Good morning, Ms. Irene."

"So you're why Luna has been cooking for the past five minutes."

"Y-Yeah," he answered with a tint of red on his cheeks.

Irene gave him a wry smirk and a wink, and ushered Umbra out of the apartment with her not far behind. The dog licked at Noctis' hands when he passed before trotting towards the elevator door, patiently waiting for the retired Kingsglaive.

"I was just taking Umbra out to use the bathroom," she explained. Giving Noctis a light, yet stern look of warning, she allowed him inside. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

Noctis nodded in understanding and walked into the apartment, making sure to shut it behind him. The hint of embarrassment in his gut dissipated when he saw Luna in the kitchen facing away from him, and he made his way over to her. "You didn't tell Irene I was coming over?"

"Oh!" Luna whipped around and put a hand to her heart when she saw him. "Noctis! You scared me."

Chuckling, Noctis sat down at one of the bar stools and made himself comfortable. "Sorry. You said nine, right?"

"Yes, I did. …I'm actually nowhere near done, I'm afraid."

The thought that crossed her mind was mirrored on her face a second later and it made Noctis anxious. If it hadn't been for her sweet smile and the fluttering of her eyelashes, Noctis could've said no, but he was in deep with barely a toe in the water.

"You know…" she mused. "You could help me."

"Do I have to?" Noct joked with a quirk of an eyebrow.

"If you want to eat, then yes."

Noctis gave her groan in reply, but snickered when she slapped his shoulder with a spatula.

As he settled in to help her, he became a little more relaxed. It was only when they were inching closer to crossing certain boundaries that he became super shy and easily embarrassed, or whenever someone else was around. When it was just them hanging out, he felt at home.

She showed him how to cut up some veggies for her omelet, and giggled at the faces he was making as he did so. Irene came in just as he was finishing cutting up some peppers, but she went with Umbra into her room. She kept the door open in case she needed to hear anything, and also to let Noctis know she'd hear everything. After he had cut them up rather nicely, Luna had him take over making his scrambled bird beast eggs while she rummaged around her fridge for some fruit.

It took over twenty minutes to get their entire breakfast done, mostly because of the few instances where they'd "accidentally" bump into each other, or a little bit of flirtatious talk.

By the time they were sitting down to eat at her dining room table, Noctis was glancing in the direction of Irene's room.

"Is Ms. Irene not gonna eat?"

Luna was unfolding her napkin and placing it on her lap when she answered, "She already ate earlier. She gets up around five every morning. Plus I think she was wanting to give us some time to ourselves as best as she can give."

"R-Right."

A hint of red appeared on his cheeks at the thought of being truly alone with Luna, and Noctis decided as he was eating his breakfast sausage that he was gonna make it his mission to stop blushing. It was starting to get really embarrassing.

They ate while they talked, and there were numerous times that the both of them would laugh so hard they couldn't breathe.

Now that Luna had been in school for a little while, she was able to get into all of the gossip. It was mostly Prompto she gossiped with, but Noctis was willing to listen to whatever.

She had gotten more relaxed in her role as Diana as time went on. Noct still hated her hair and her colored contacts, and she still looked weirdly tan to him, although if anything she was only a shade darker, but Luna seemed more comfortable with it all. Irene had been teaching her how to apply her makeup, and she had been doing it all by herself the past few days. She had started talking to a few other people at school and had made one or two friends, but only really hung out with Prompto and Noctis.

They were the trio Noctis had secretly always wanted.

Finishing up their breakfast, they soon rinsed off their plates and the cooking utensils and put them in the dishwasher, neither of them hearing Irene's phone go off in the other room.

They awkwardly stood by her opened front door a few moments later, and the tension in the room was palpable as they grew silent.

Luna was watching with tender eyes and with her hands clasped in front of her while Noctis bravely attempted to meet her gaze and hold it.

"I had fun," Luna affirmed with a smile. "I'm glad we did this. We should do it more often."

Nodding, Noctis shoved his hands into his pockets. "Yeah, me too."

It grew quiet again, and before Noctis could freak himself out, he leaned forward and kissed her cheek. It was a light peck, but it was enough to make them both blush.

"I'll talk to you later," he murmured as he returned to his own personal space.

Luna's smile grew beautifully, and it made his heart rate quicken. "I'll see you later," she repeated.

He gave her a nod, and as he was walking back towards his apartment-hearing her shut her door behind him-he couldn't hold back the ecstatic smile that was forcing its way onto his face.

It didn't last long, however, because before he could even get to his door he heard Irene calling his name. Turning around, he saw the expression of remorse on her face and the happiness in his gut fell away.

"Prince Noctis."

"You can call me Noctis," he consented. "You know that, Ms. Irene."

The older woman's solemn expression became more pronounced, and she sighed before squaring her gaze at him. "I received a call from the King."

Noctis' own eyes narrowed in chagrin. He had a feeling he knew what she was gonna say. "About what?"

"Apparently one of your hidden guards saw you two together, and could tell that you guys were getting close. They reported it to the King and now…"

Her hesitation annoyed him. "And now, what?"

"And now he has forbidden you two from seeing each other."

"Wait," Noctis scoffed. "We're not allowed to see each other?"

Irene nodded, and the strength she exhibited in her body as she stood against him fought against the disappointment on her face. It was clear to him that Irene didn't like this either.

"In what capacity?" He asked.

"You two aren't allowed to date."

Gritting his teeth, he clenched his fists. "Did he say why? Did you tell Luna?"

"Noctis, you can't get mad that he's doing it for your safety. For her safety." She sighed. "I haven't told her yet, but I think it'd be better coming from you."

Noct didn't say anything else. He had been glaring at the floor when she spoke, unmoving, and he resisted against the wish to confront his father.

Noctis gave her a nod and entered his apartment without a word.

"Wait a minute. So you two aren't allowed to date. Like at all. Like not even in secret?"

Rolling his eyes, Noctis muttered a harsh "yes" as he attacked Gladio with his Engine Blade, only to have it blocked. He growled in frustration and attacked again, and Gladio easily blocked it for a second time.

"But you guys have been doing so well! I've seen the way you two look at each other-"

"-Yeah, and apparently everyone else has too," Noctis interjected loudly.

From where Prompto sat against the wall in the banquet room, he could tell that Noctis was very frustrated.

The Prince had been battling his sworn sword for a good half hour, never stopping, never giving up. As soon as they had walked in, Noct didn't stretch, he merely asked Gladio if he was ready to go and started attacking. He was in full assault mode. If he wasn't attacking, he was moving and planning his next strike.

A part of Prompto wondered if he'd slip up and lose his focus, but Noctis' agitation and aggression was so centralized in winning against Gladio that the fact he still wasn't was infuriating him. Prompto could see the increasing strain of his emotions clear on his face.

"Why don't we have ourselves a break," Ignis suggested, holding his hand to his mouth as he boasted his voice across the gigantic room.

Gladio blocked Noctis' sword, pushing back against him and forcing the teenager several feet away. After making sure that Noctis was okay and on his feet, he dropped his weapon to the ground and put his hands up in surrender. "I agree with Ignis," he voiced. "We should take a break. You've been going for too long."

"No! I can still fight," Noctis argued as he widened the stance of his feet and readied his weapon.

"But you shouldn't. If this hasn't worked out your aggression, nothing will."

Ignis' voice of reason had Noctis grimacing and lowering his face. He took in several deep breaths, trying to calm his heart rate, and slowly dropped his weapon to the floor. After a few moments of attempting to relax, he stiffly walked over to Prompto and Ignis, and plopped down in between them. Gladio strolled over to them and joined them on the floor, the four of them making an unintentional circle against the wall.

"So what exactly has you so angry? The fact that you can't date her, or that you had finally just maned up?"

Glaring at Gladio, the Prince dropped his shoulders and laid his head back against the wall. "Both, I guess."

"You guys had just started holding hands too," pouted Prompto to his right.

"I think the King's right," Gladio admitted as he laid his hands on the wood behind him, leaning back with his legs out in front of him.

"What?" Both Prompto and Noctis snapped, although Prompto's was a little more of a shriek.

"How can you say that?" Prompto continued. "Don't you want them to be happy?"

Sending the young blond boy a look of contrition, Gladio elaborated, "Them dating and being open about it would put her in danger. The Nifs are bound to already be watching him considering they know they were close before, and regardless of the fact that she's undercover, I'm sure they'd be even more interested in her than they already are if they were dating."

Noctis was staring at the floor, unblinking as he took in his friend's words. His arms were crossed across his chest, and after several quiet moments between all four of them, he turned to Ignis. "What do you think? You've been awfully quiet on the subject."

Ignis took a second to bring his thoughts together, and sighed in resignation when he came up empty. "I agree with Gladiolus in that it'd put her danger," he started as he pushed his glasses up his nose. Returning Noctis' gaze once he was done, he continued. "I don't want the Lady to be in more danger than she already is, but… but I also want the two of you to be happy. It's easy to see that the Lady is not as nearly as depressed as she was when she first arrived, and neither are you, Noct. If there was any kind of confirmation that her being in Insomnia was safer than we're afraid to admit that she isn't, then I'd be completely for it. Unfortunately, we're stuck in this situation, and the Lady's safety is the utmost priority."

"Well I still think he should go for it!"

"Prompto, come on-"

"No, Gladio," Prompto argued. "Niflheim could appear at any time. They're looking for her right now, no matter if they're dating or not. She is in danger no matter what happens, and I think they both deserve to be happy as much as they can. It's not their fault that life is being super shitty right now."

The conversation seemed to die at that point, with all eyes on Noctis as he kept his thoughts to himself. He had gone back to staring at the floor, with pieces of his hair still sticking to his sweaty face.

A minute or two passed, and the door to the banquet hall opened. The woman they had all been talking about entered, making sure to shut the door quietly behind her, before marching straight to them.

Her hair was a freshly dyed shade of brown, with some light blonde highlights on the ends. It also looked like she had gotten a trim, with both sides of her head looking like they had been buzzed short, while the rest of her hair right on top was tastefully cut to reach just above her cheekbones. It framed her face pretty nicely with the strands parted towards the right side of her face. She was breathtaking, even if she didn't look like herself.

Ignis bowed his head to her in respect when she reached them. "My lady, how was the trip to the salon?"

"It was delightful, Ignis. How is the training session going?"

Noctis refused to meet her gaze, earning a perplexed expression in return as she sat down with them.

"We're taking a break right now, but we'll probably get started again soon. It's Prompto's turn anyway," answered Gladio.

Luna took in a deep breath and picked a piece of lint off of her jeans. She wasn't used to the fabric, and they felt horribly constrictive. "That's actually something I wanted to discuss…" Everyone's attention was on her, but Luna only had eyes for Gladio. "If it's alright with you…. I would like to start training as well. Back home in Tenebrae, in an effort to be proactive against any possible abuse, Ravus and Gentiana showed me a few moves. I want to start improving upon them, and to also learn more. If you guys are going to put your lives on the line for me, I don't want to be some damsel in distress who can't even protect herself."

Gladio's mouth opened and closed, very similar to a fish, as he tried to comprehend what she said. "Wait… you, uh, you want to train?"

"Yes," she confirmed. "I want to fight when the time comes. I'm tired of being a victim, and acting like one. Just because I have to be in hiding, doesn't mean I can't know how to protect myself."

"Lady Lunafreya, I don't know-"

"Please, Gladiolus. Call me Luna. You don't have to fight me personally if you don't want to, you can train me through Noctis and Prompto, I just please ask that you do."

The sworn sword looked pensive as he weighed the options, and the magnitude of what she asked of him. If she were to get hurt, it'd be on him.

Glancing at Ignis, and seeing the apprehensive approval on his face, Gladio succumbed. "Fine, but you're gonna train with Prompto first. He's the weakest, and I don't want you getting hurt."

Luna smiled as she jumped up and made her way over to one of the weapons, not even caring that the boys were watching her intently. She grabbed for a lance, felt the balance in it, before turning and asking, "Well, let's get started."

Sharing a look of bewildered disbelief with the other guys, Gladio turned back to her and warned, "I think we should start with something a little less deadly, ad get you in some practice gear…" Standing, he made his way over to the training pads case, handed her some, and then went to the weapons case and found a wooden sword. He pointed to the still sitting Prompto with the wooden blade. "Get up. The lady-Luna, would like to start her training."

Prompto's eyes went wide, and he spared a glance to Noctis. "I-I don't want to."

A pout graced Luna's face as she put on the pads, and before Prompto could even think about giving in, Noctis stood in his stead. "I'll do it."

"You will?" Nearly everyone voiced in shock.

Shrugging his shoulders, Noct traded out his Engine Blade for Gladio's still outstretched wooden sword, and swung it around in a circle. "Prompto doesn't want to do it, and I'll make sure Luna doesn't get hurt. She came to me first about wanting to be trained anyway."

"Are you okay with this?" Gladio asked Luna.

"I don't see why not. I trust him."

"Well all right…" the sworn sword sighed. Waving to the two of them and making sure they were far enough away from the still seated Prompto and Ignis, Gladio clapped his hands together. "Let's get started."

The next ten minutes were mostly Gladio showing Luna how to block simple attacks. Noctis would move forward, strike downward towards her, and she would raise her wooden blade and block it, making sure to mirror his strength as best he could. He would then go for the side, or try to fake her out, constantly moving as slow as needed, and Luna would block them all with Gladio's guiding.

When it was clear that she understood the simplistics of it, they moved on to her attacking. Once again, they moved slowly and Gladio pointed out Noctis' openings and weaknesses, using it as a moment to showcase them to Noctis as well. Luna caught on pretty quickly, impressing everyone. After a few more well placed attacks and blocks, Gladio decided for them to move on to an unguided fight.

"Don't worry," he said. "Noctis will go easy on you. Right, Noct?"

Noctis gave her a nod, and met her gaze. "Yeah. Don't be afraid to hit full on; I'm used to it from training with Gladio."

Returning his nod, Luna gave him a smirk. "Got it."

It began when Gladio moved back a few feet, not wanting to be too far away in case anything happened. The two love birds danced around each other for a few paces, and when it became apparent that Luna was waiting on Noctis, he went in for a straightforward strike. What came next was shocking, causing all of the guys' mouths to drop open.

As soon as Noctis' blade came down, Luna evaded him and returned the strike to his ribcage. Had they had actual swords, the tip of her blade would've hit him right in between the ribs.

Hearing Gladio whisper, "Oh shit," Luna's smirk grew.

"I told you they taught me a few things," she explained.

Playfully narrowing his eyes, and feeling better for the first time since his talk with Irene that morning, Noctis returned her smirk and deepened his stance. "I won't hold back on you then. 50% sound good?"

"50% sounds perfect," she flirted back.

"Uh… guys…"

Neither of the royals heard Gladio in that moment, both so focused on each other. It didn't take long for the fighting to start again, and the sound of wood hitting each other echoed in the large room.

The three amigos sat back and watched as Luna held her own, with barely any sweat to her brow. Whenever Noctis attacked, she either dodged it or blocked, and there were even a few moments when the block would end up in her retaliating. She got a few good licks to his side, having taken Gladio's pointers on Noctis' weak points to good use, and it seemed like Noctis' 50% was an even match for her until he got her in a hold when he faked her out. Struggling against him for all of two seconds with his arm around her midsection, locking her arms in, she slammed her foot down on his toes, found the angle to elbow him in his stomach, and broke away when she was able. Noctis fell into himself, using the sword to keep up right, and long before he would even be able to continue, Luna brought her sword down against the back of his neck, stopping a few inches right above him.

"I think it's safe to say Luna won," Gladio declared rather loudly.

Ignis clapped, and Prompto soon joined in as Luna raised the sword off of Noctis and relaxed.

Straightening up, and ignoring the small pain in his gut, Noctis stared at Luna dumbly, completely in awe of her.

He had only done 50% of himself, but this was still amazing. She was amazing and yet she was barely even trained.

He, on the other hand, was kind of turned on.

Noctis attempted to tamp it down, and after a couple of years of sexual fantasies about her he knew how to get rid of it when needed.

"That was pretty awesome," he said as he cleared his throat.

"It was," Gladio agreed. Walking up to them, he took the swords from them. "And I think it's safe to say that training for today is over. Especially you, Noct."

Normally Noctis would've been offended at that, but he was still forcing away his arousal, and so far he was surprisingly losing.

Telling Gladio he agreed with him, and then turning to Luna and telling her she could stay if she wanted, he started heading towards the door to the banquet hall. It didn't take long before he heard her light steps following him out of the banquet hall.

"Are you okay?" She asked worriedly as she caught up to him. Putting her hand on his shoulder and arm, she brought him to a halt. "I didn't know I hit that hard…"

Noctis cleared his throat again in case his voice even dared to crack with everything else that was going on in him. His arousal was slowly going away. What little blood that had pooled into his lower anatomy ventured to other, more safe areas, but his heart was still pounding like crazy. He was sure his face had taken whatever blood that his dick had gotten, and it was thankfully less embarrassing.

"I'm fine," he finally got out when he cautiously met her concerned eyes. "If anything, I'm just more surprised than in pain, but Gladio's right. I was pushing myself pretty hard even before you got here."

Luna seemed to accept that answer, but he could tell there was another bothered thought in her mind. It didn't take her long to voice it either.

"Are you sure you're still okay though? After lunch when you saw me taking out Umbra, and even now, you've been acting rather strange and distant. Irene didn't say anything to you, did she?"

Noctis' eyes flickered to her hands, which were still encompassing his upper arm and elbow. Returning his eyes back up to hers, he gulped. He didn't want to tell her, and yet…

Taking in a deep breath and closing his eyes, Noctis willed himself to tell her, but he couldn't.

"Do you want to have dinner tonight?" Noctis asked her with a nervous, yet tender smile. "It could be at my place. I could… I could cook something. Or I could have Ignis cook us something."

Eyes wide, and lips rapidly spreading into a smile, Luna nodded. "I would love to. What time would you like me to come over?"

"Seven sound good?"

"Seven sounds lovely."B

It was an hour till dinner, and Luna wasn't sure what she was doing.

The way that Noctis asked her to dinner had sounded like a date, and she was almost sure that it was. She was almost certain that tonight would be the night the flirting would come to a head, that they'd slowly transform their relationship into something more. Ever since she had come to Insomnia, which was now two months ago and nearly over a month since Noctis had known she was here, she had hoped this would happen. She had hoped for him.

Letting her fingers run through her hair as she attempted to style it, Luna watched herself in the mirror and contemplated if she should do anything else with it.

"You look nice."

Luna's gaze moved a few inches and saw Irene standing against the doorway through the window. Sending her a smile, her hands moved down to smoothe out her sky blue dress. "Thank you. Noctis invited me to dinner tonight so I wanted to dress up."

"Has he talked to you yet?"

Luna turned to Irene and raised an eyebrow. "...I'm guessing not if you're asking me this question."

Sighing, Irene raised sad eyes her way.

She was late.

Luna was supposed to be here thirty minutes ago, and she wasn't here. It was Luna of all people, there was no way she would be late.

Staring at the food Ignis had prepared and brought over an hour ago, Noctis grimaced at the anxiety in his gut and looked away from it.

Standing, and making the chair make a loud noise as it skidded across the floor a few inches, he stood from his dining room table and walked to his front door. His dress shirt felt constrictive, and his dark wash jeans felt no different as he opened the door and walked out. He made it to Luna's door in record time and knocked, trying to hold back his anxiety.

It only evolved when Irene answered the door.

"Noctis."

"You told her, didn't you?" Noctis tried to hold back the urgency in his voice and failed. "Why did you tell her!?"

Irene put her hands on her hips and straightened her back. "She had a right to know, and when it became clear you weren't gonna tell her since you asked her on a date, it became my job to do so!"

"I don't want to talk to you. I want to talk to Luna."

"You don't get everything you want, Prince Noctis. She needs to be protected, and right now it's clear to me you don't care about her safety."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Noctis countered. "If I didn't care about her safety I wouldn't be training three times a week to become a better fighter. I don't just care about her safety, I also care about her too. She can't be stuck in this apartment, not having a life."

"But at least she'll have one-"

"That's enough."

Irene turned around and Noctis looked beyond her to see Luna dressed in her comfy pajamas coming out of her room, a timid Umbra behind her legs.

"Luna," Noctis breathed.

"Irene," she whispered while sending her guard a look. "Let me speak to him alone."

The retired Kingsglaive stood still for a second, as if debating it, before walking deeper into the apartment. Luna took her place at the door, and Noctis felt his anxiety grow.

"Noctis."

"Can we talk in the hallway, please."

Her blue eyes studied him, a sheen of melancholy brightening them in a way he didn't like, almost as if she wanted to cry. She exited the apartment and closed the door behind her, but didn't dare move any closer to him. It made him antsy, but he didn't dare invade her space.

"Luna…"

"Why did you tell me that we weren't allowed to date?" She whispered, her hands behind her back and resting against the door. Noctis noticed their positions were just like when he first found out she was in Insomnia, and he hated it.

"I was going to… I just…" he ran a hand through his hair and stared at the floor. "I was afraid."

Luna watched him from underneath her lashes. "Why were you afraid?"

He couldn't answer her immediately. This would be crossing one of those boundaries that made him nervous, and while he had planned on this dinner actually being a date, he had still planned on taking it slow.

"I…" Noctis gulped, and willed the words to come. "I was afraid that if I told you… this would happen. You would stop… us… from happening because my father said for it to stop. Luna," his eyes pleaded with her, and he could see that she was hurting just as much as he was. "I want to be with you. We're all training so we can protect you, my father has guards who watch us and would defend us, Irene lives with you… we-we could make this work if we just hid it. Please Luna."

She sagged against the doors, eyes closed and body heavy, but it appeared that Luna's resolve was stronger than his confession.

"I'm sorry, Noctis," she apologized as she hesitantly met his gaze. "I want to be with you too, but the King-"

"-Screw my dad! He can't keep you locked in here. That's not protection, that's solitary confinement. He can't keep us away from each other."

"Now Noctis, please. He's trying to keep me safe in the ways he only knows how, and I know you are too, but we need to do as he says. If he thinks that us being together would put me at harm then we need to do as he says."

His brain was at war with his heart, and his mouth refused to reply in any way or form. He was still, not even looking at her, but his heart was falling to pieces.

He had finally come to terms with what he wanted and confessed it to her, and yet nothing could be done. She felt the same, but she was still rejecting him.

Feeling her kiss his cheek, Noctis blinked back the tears that threatened. She had barely returned to herself after kissing him when he turned and left, going straight back to his apartment without a word.

"Have your lackies found anything interesting?"

The eccentric flare the Chancellor added to his voice made Drautos frown in distaste. "I believe so. He burns every handwritten report he gets, and someone new has moved in beside the Prince. We can't get any eyes or ears in there, but it's questionable as to why there's someone else worth keeping safe as much as the Prince."

The air in Sanctuary was stagnant, and Drautos wished his communication to the Empire wasn't stuck in some run down apartment building on the outskirts of Central Insomnia, near the wall.

"And do you believe it is the Oracle?"

"I do not know for sure," Drautos admitted through his phone. "But it can't be coincidence that not too long after the Oracle goes missing, the Prince has a new friend at the same time he has a new neighbor. I believe we should send in live MTs during school hours to go in. I can get a keycard so it won't look broken into."

"We can have them there by noon tomorrow. They'll be entering along with the representative for the Empire. He's supposed to be meeting the King two days from now, you know. What excellent timing. Do keep us updated, won't you?"

"Yes, Chancellor."

Next time on Eclipse:

-a special guest finally makes an appearance

-the start of shit goes down

-Noctis gets annoying before he gets better