Chapter Twenty-one

It was Ignis' turn to look stunned when Gladio, Prompto, and the two messengers walked through the door. Gladio and Prompto were soaked, but despite this, Prompto looked alive and quite well, as though he'd just woken from the best sleep of his life. The fever that had set into him as he slept was nowhere in his eyes of face. He looked ready for anything.

Ignis rose quickly from where he'd been sitting in bed, bowing to Lady Gentiana. Umbra came up to Ignis giving him a quick lick to his palm. Then without warning, he vaulted onto Noct's bed and snuggled right up next to Noct's injured leg, resting his head on Noctis' thigh.

Noctis did not react.

"The King of Kings has stepped into the Accursed's cruel trap," Gentiana said. "I am here to offer assistance to the King of Kings and to his loyal friends." She bowed in return, and then held out her hand to Ignis. He took it, shaking slightly. At her touch, a coolness passed into his palm and through his body. He shivered slightly. The fever was leaving him and in its place he felt a restful peace, contentment, and energy that he had not felt in days.

"Thank you," Ignis bowed deeper. "We owe you a great debt."

Gentiana simply smiled, then turned to Noctis on the bed. "I ask you all to please give His Highness some privacy, so that I may take the time to help him in overcoming this malady."

Ignis bowed, as did Gladio and Prompto, and they left, easing the crates from the doors that it closed. They waited a handful of minutes, none of them saying anything, other than smiling stupidly at each other, trying not to get too excited at the long-awaited divine assistance.

Noctis was still in the pressing darkness. That brief visit from Prompto had been a wonderful respite, but now he felt more alone than ever. Now that he remembered Ignis, Gladio, and Prompto, he ached to be back with them. To be back with Luna. If she was still – alive, that it. The guys obviously believed in him. Unless they didn't know he had – If they did would they still – want to be around him?

Something just outside Noct's awareness picked up and moved. It prickled his skin, and he was suddenly on edge.

"Who's there?" Noctis called. "Prompto, is that you?" His voice cracked with misuse.

A wind slowly picked up, circling around him, slowly and then faster and faster until it howled around him, slicing the darkness and shattering the silence of this oblivion. It was a familiar wind. Like the wind through the fields of Tenebrae, where his father had wrapped him in extra down blankets to keep his sick and injured body warm. The same winds that drove Luna to sneak into his bed on particularly cold nights where they stayed, snuggled under the covers with a flashlight, reading and telling each other stories.

It reminded him of – "Gentiana," Noctis said. "Luna, is she -?"

"She is alive and well, O King of the Stone," her voice echoed through the darkness.

"How? I thought –" Noctis started and then stopped. He couldn't bear to think on it again.

"I have seen the nightmare put upon you," she said. "It is nothing more than darkness trying to step upon your light. You must fight it."

"How? I have nowhere to go," Noctis said. "I'm stuck here. I can't even sense where I am."

"The curse of Ifrit, the Flaming One, has been lifted," Gentiana continued. "The darkness can no longer hold you. Only you can overcome it."

Noctis nodded, his resolve hardening. "I won't give up. And tell Luna – tell her I won't let her down."

"The will of the King be done," her voice echoed again. "Until we meet again, O King, in the land of many waters."

The wind raged and howled around Noctis, pulling at his hair, skin, and clothes. He felt a coolness move through him and the oppressing heat he had come to know so well dispersed and the fires within quelled completely. As darkness and silence fell back around him, Noctis found a quiet peace, and for what felt like quite a while, he was aware of nothing once more.

"Why is no one with Noctis?!" Dr. Stone shrieked when he saw the three men standing on the sidewalk outside their hotel room. "What's going on?"

Gladio, surprising them all, put his hand up and stopped the doctor. "Give her a little more time," Gladio said. "The Oracle's messenger is in with his highness now."

Dr. Stone opened then closed his mouth, unsure of what to say. Then, taking a breath, he sighed in relief. "Thank the gods," he said surprising everyone. "I didn't know if he'd make it; if I'd fail our king. Thank the gods."

The door to the hotel room opened and Gentiana stepped out. "The King is resting now," she said. "He still needs much time to heal his body and regain his strength. The King lives."

She bowed to the group and they returned the gesture, grateful for more than they could put into words.

"Umbra will remain with him until he has fully recovered."

"Thank you," Gladio said, all three of them bowing once more.

Dr. Stone stepped forward, taking a knee and bowing, "Thank you."

"The King knows of your efforts to save him," she said kindly. "He is grateful to each of you. And to his loyal friends, he knows you remain ever at his side."

With a swish of her skirt, Gentiana turned and was gone.

When they reentered the room, Noctis lay as he did before, but his heartrate, BP, all his vitals seemed stronger, normal even. His fever had broken and his leg, though still swollen, looked vastly improved. His eyes were still sunken and his body was still pale, but he looked more like someone with a bad flu than on his deathbed.

Dr. Stone did a thorough check on Noctis, but by the end it was clear, whatever Gentiana had done, Noctis would recover. Stone didn't even seem to mind Umbra laying alongside Noctis, nor that he was laying with his head on Noct's injured leg. The dog had willingly let the doctor check Noctis, but resumed ever by Noctis' side, unwavering.

"I'll keep him on his nutrients and antibiotics, since we don't know how long it will take for him to wake. But I can take him off the other meds now," Dr. Stone announced in good spirits.

Prompto fist bumped Gladio and Ignis, their elation clear. So much good news so quickly, Gladio almost forgot about the empire's movements. He pulled out the Crownsguard attire and handed it out to Ignis, Prompto, and even Dustin.

"I thought we were trying to stay incognito," Prompto said jovially, looking down at his uniform. "Why now?"

"Didn't get a chance to tell you all," Gladio said. "Empire's on the move. Reports put them in the area just before the storm hit."

"Still don't get it, big guy," Prompto urged. "Now we'll just be wearing signs that say: we are here."

"Cor's coming," Gladio said. "With Crownsguard backup."

"More good news then," Ignis noted, sliding his arm into his own Crownsguard jacket. It felt good to feel whole once again.

"It's really a test of who gets here first," Gladio remarked. "But we need to be ready, whatever happens."

Dr. Stone shrugged. "I still don't like it," he said. "He's still not well enough to move him."

"Only as a last resort," Ignis agreed. "But we must make preparations to move Noctis once Cor's team arrives. Just in case."

"Let me call Cor," Gladio said. "Give him an update on Noct's status." He stepped out onto the sidewalk, already dialing Cor's number.

Less than an hour later, due to the renewed energy and joy at having Noctis doing better, the last of the items from the hotel room were stowed in the Regalia, just in case. The storm still raged and despite the morning hours, there was no visibility beyond the lights of Taelpar. Even within Taelpar, visibility was muddled by the large drops of rain. Now came the waiting game. Again. This time, however, it wasn't a wait for the unknown. They knew what was coming. Both good and bad. And somehow, because of that knowledge, they could bear the wait.

Ignis dried his hands after the last of the breakfast dishes were put away. He walked into the main room and checked on Noctis, scratching Umbra behind the ears as he did so.

"Good boy," Ignis whispered.

Umbra looked up at him and whined a little, then sat up, his paws beating back and forth on the bed like he wanted to play.

"What is it, boy?" Ignis asked.

"What's with him?" Gladio asked from his perch by the window. He had been watching, vigilant and ready.

"Not sure," Ignis replied as Umbra began to jump in a circle. "Careful of Noct. There's a good boy."

Umbra walked right up to Ignis and began to lean into him, much like a cat, as though he wanted to be pet or picked up. Ignis looked into Umbra's eyes and understanding seemed to pass somehow from Umbra to Ignis. Ignis nodded, then took the book from the small band affixed to Umbra's side. It was the journal that Noct and Lady Lunafreya passed back and forth to each other.

"Iggy, what are you doing?" Prompto asked.

Ignis did not answer. He knew how private this was to Noct. He knew how much Noct would not want Ignis to pry or see any of the personal notes between him and Luna. But Umbra had made it quite clear. Ignis, and only Ignis, was to open it.

Prompto walked over to peek, but Ignis held him off. "No," he said. "I won't have us invade his highness' privacy."

"You're doing that already, Ig," Gladio remarked, not even looking over.

Ignis sighed. To explain would take too long, and Umbra seemed rather insistent. He opened the journal and a small blue charm slid from its pages onto the floor.

Ignis leaned over and picked it up. He gaped at it. In the rush of the siege of Tenebrae, Noctis had not been able to take it with him. It had been left behind. How had Umbra -? Ignis stopped, fingering the small charm thoughtfully. Lady Lunafreya had kept this with her. All this time.

He closed the book and reattached it to Umbra's side, Noct's privacy still intact. He looked down at the charm, running his finger over it. He chuckled slightly when he recalled the name Noctis had given him.

"Carbuncle," he smiled. Then he placed it on Noctis' pillow beside him.

"Bless you, Lady Lunafreya," Ignis whispered. "And bless you, Your Highness. It's about time you came back to us."