Volume 1 — Chapter 4: Chiacchiere Notturne (Nighty Chit Chat)

Yang was on her way back from a looong relaxing shower. A shower she had been very much in need of given recent events. Her weekend had sent her on yet another wild goose chase, which, if she was honest, was pretty much what she had come to expect over the years. She just wished she hadn't blown off Ruby for nothing at all, especially after she had found out how much effort her little sister had put into preparing for their mini vacation.

She sighed. They would have to try again soon, and now that they were at Beacon, a weekend of bonding between sisters could turn into a weekend of bonding between classmates, which might just allow Yang to kill two birds with one stone.

The cost would go up, yes, but if it were to pacify Ruby and help her make some friends before the drudgery of school life could band people together in tight-knit cliques and packs, it would be worth it.

Besides, it couldn't turn out much worse than her previous efforts.

Ruby had been hiding it surprisingly well, but Yang could tell that she hadn't forgiven her for the weekend yet, and throwing her into the deep end to make some friends had seemed like a sound idea, but it had driven her right into the arms of Vomit Boy and a bitchy princess, neither of which Yang considered good enough company for her little sister.

Meeting the headmaster had turned out to be the real mood killer though. She had assumed that welcoming ceremonies, as useless as they were, were meant to welcome people. "Hi, so nice to have you here!" and so on. She hadn't gone there to be insulted to her face by that ridiculous man and his equally ridiculous posturing.

Who the hell did he think he was to tell them that they were nothing until he would deem them worthy of imparting his wisdom onto them anyway?

Yang scoffed. She couldn't, for the life of her, figure out what Ruby saw in that guy. His assistant, on the other hand, was a different matter.

Confident, striking, and undoubtedly in charge.

Despite her father's role at Signal, the close relationship between the two schools, and even the relationship between Vale and Lucis, Yang had never met the woman in person before, but the first impression she had made sure had lived up to what Ruby had told her after the robbery.

What had stuck with Yang the most though, was the warm and motherly tone in the woman's voice. After the weekend's failure, it hit particularly close to home…

The campus tour hadn't helped her mood either. Yang had hoped to get the dish on some of her teachers or seniors, but all it had amounted to were general directions and useless trivia. She hadn't read any of the brochures that had been handed out at Signal the year before, but the girl in charge had a very familiar looking piece of paper sticking out of her pocket.

The guide had only bored her though. What had almost pushed her over the edge were the sleazy invitations from two of the guys that had tagged along with the crowd she had used to ditch Ruby with. They had gotten it into their heads that she had been coming on to them and wanted to have some "fun" later that night. Back at Signal, she would have broken a nose or two to show how much she appreciated the offer, but she was trying hard not to start her time at Beacon on a bad note. It was a close call…

Dinner had mostly made up for it though. The food had been decent, and Ruby had an interesting story or two to tell. Her tour had been more fruitful than Yang's, and she had spilled the beans on her meeting with the bitchy princess. Apparently, Ruby had made another new acquaintance who had appeared out of nowhere, turned Weiss into a stuttering mess with a smile on her face, and disappeared again. Yang was intrigued. She might have to smoke the girl out and see for herself what her sister's knight in sarcastic armor was all about.

Not that night though. It was Ruby's turn to get some attention from her big sister.

Yang made her way back through the minefield of lecherous looks, pickup lines, and former classmates begging for attention that was Beacon's temporary barracks. She and Ruby had bunked in the far corner away from all interruptions, hoping for a bit of privacy. It wasn't a weekend full of fun and games as they painted the town red, but it was a start.

Ruby had settled down in her favorite rose-print pajamas. A sleeping mask, modeled after the eerie red eyes of the grimm, sat crooked on her forehead. Yang smiled at the sight of the mask. It was the sweet present that Noct had given it to her as a birthday present two years ago, and she had worn it every night since.

…It was as adorable a sight as it had been on the first day.

"It's like a big slumber party!" Yang said as she plopped down on her sleeping bag, making her little sister jump and almost drop her pencil.

"I don't think Dad would approve of all the boys though," Ruby said before focusing back on what she was writing.

"I know I do!" Yang said with a purr.

Her attempt of lightening the mood died in her throat the moment her eyes fell on Vomit- I mean, Jaune—Ruby had been insistent on dropping his nickname during dinner—wearing blue onesie pajamas with bunny heads on his feet. He noticed and gave Yang a smarmy smile that made her shudder, but his confidence was fleeting. A panicked look crept into his features, and he scurried away before Yang could figure out what had happened.

She hadn't accidentally given him the evil eye, had she? Not that it mattered. Yang was more interested in what had Ruby so captivated. She propped herself up on her elbow to sneak a peek. "What's that?"

"A letter to the gang back at Signal. I promised to tell them all about Beacon and how things are going."

"Aw, that's so cute!" Yang said only to be toppled over by a pillow to the face.

"Shut up! I didn't get to take my friends with me to Beacon. It's weird not knowing anyone."

Yang sighed. Personally, she wouldn't have minded a blank slate. Already knowing people was causing her nothing but trouble she could do without, but she understood where Ruby was coming from.

"What about Jaune? He's nice?" She was scraping the bottom of the onesie-clad barrel, but if it would help with cheering up her little sister, she was willing to go there. "There you go, plus one friend!"

Ruby flipped over in her sleeping bag and became very interested in the high ceiling. "I'm pretty sure Weiss counts as a negative friend. Back to zero."

"And then there's us, plus four friends" His voice echoed, and Ruby put away her letter and pencil to meet his eyes with a smile. Yang knew very well this voice as she did the same, noticing a certain spiky head before the two sisters.

"Well well, seems my sister omitted someone in her story—" For just a second, Yang's calm voice was clearly a signal of future revenge before it disappeared— How Ruby could've not said the Prince was already here? As her big sister, she had to be informed from the beginning!— and bear hugged his childhood friend, so much for the younger sister's pleases.

"Yangheneedsairstop!"

With their Prince in sight being bearhugged by Yang, the royal retainers were currently competing to allest their sleeping zone since Noct ditched them to meet his childhood friends. Even if he was the Prince, there's one single rule to respect among them….

"You say we should step away and let him be?" Prompto asked, finally completing his part of the job as he threw his pillow to his sleeping bag.

"Well…as His Highness' retainers we should step aside, after all it should be our job and duty…" Gladio started to speak solemnly, putting away his favorite book before a wide and mischievous grin appeared over his face, glancing at Prompto and Ignis sharing the same expression. "But you know very well what happens when you ditch for simping, friends or not friends, right fellas?"

"Well boys, it seems we have an important role to fulfill as His Highness' friends" Ignis adjusted his glasses with a gesture of the hand, letting the light cover the lenses to hide his eyes. "This duty is why we are here, after all"

"It's what a true friend must perform when their buddy us going to simp without hanging out with The Boys" Prompto nodded, looking at his hands as he spoke in a melodramatic voice. "The infamous Order 66: The punishment for prefer hoes before bros….let's go, my companions!" Then, after Gladio and Ignis nodded, a comical malevolent aura was figuratively coming out from the gunslinger as he suddenly headed to Noctis.

In that moment, the peace was still there as the Prince was being…well, observed by Yang from all the possible angles. "Huuuh…you're okay Yang?"

"Just judging how much you've changed since the last time" With her arms crossed, Yang couldn't hide the amusement over her face nor voice.

"It's been just six months though?" Ruby tilted her head, confused as her sister finally stopped, nodding several times.

"Mh mh mh—Congratulations!" Then, Yang gave a thumbs up and smirked. "You've got Yang's seal of approval!"

"For?" Both Noctis and Ruby asked. They weren't liking where this was going to go—

"Aw come on—" Yang facepalmed for how innocent the two teenagers were. "To finally officialize you're dat—" Before she could've continued to speak, the flash of a camera interrupted her. "Okay, who did it?"

With all the eyes turned to the culprit, Noctis sighed and shook his head. "Really man? I've told you to wait"

"Yeah but you know the saying: never turn the back to The Boys" Lowering his camera, Prompto smirked as he spoke with a confident tone of voice.

"Boys?" Ruby looked around, before she shrugged. "There's no one with you" Hearing Ruby's statement made Prompto widen his eyes for the surprise as he turned his head. He could've swore that he was seeing the silhouettes of his two friends comically popping in and out.

'They ditched me now?!' To his horror, all confidence Prompto had had vanished when the inquiring gaze of his Goddess was turned upon him. Chuckling nervously, he lifted a weak finger. "I-I-I'll return to the sleeping bags, 'kay Noct—"

His friend's arm around his neck wasn't a good sign at all. "Why so fast? At this point I'll introduce you—" The Prince smiled at the two sisters. "Ruby, Yang. This guy here is Prompto Argentum, my classmate since grade school. Quite the timid guy if you don't know him, but he's a helluva photographer for his age"

"H-Hi there, I'm Prompto" Prompto waved with his free hand, although he was clearly shaking before he weakly hit Noct with his elbow. "Dude, come on, give me a hand—"

Ruby chuckled at the interaction between her childhood friend and his friend before she offered a handshake, a gesture that Prompto accepts. "Hi Prompto! I'm Ruby Rose, and she's my sister Yang"

"Sup" Yang smirked as she crossed her arms, glancing at the blonde boy before her. "So you're a photographer, huh? Can you show us a picture or two?"

"Wha—" Prompto slightly jumped for the surprise, letting his camera slip from his hand but he quickly catches it back. "Oh, uh, errr, sorry but no, I'm not really good, heh…" Noctis quickly glanced at Yang. Yang glanced at Noctis. A knowing smile was exchanged by the two later, and Noctis blocked Prompto's arms as Yang grabbed the camera, all in just a matter of seconds. "W-W-What?! Guys, please!"

"Wow…" Yang was surprised at the sight of the photos taken as she lowered the camera to let her sister see them. "You're not good? These are the most beautiful shots I saw in my life!"

"I'm not so goo—" Prompto blinked once, then twice, at his Goddess. "Really?"

"Told you bud" Noctis freed his friend from his grasp before giving him a pat on his back.

Yang nodded with a smirk as she held the camera to its rightful owner. "Yup Hot Stuff, it's the truth" She concluded with a purr.

"Oh thanks—Wait…Hot Stuff?" Prompto raised an eyebrow, but the only answer he got was a seductive wink from the eldest of the Xiao Long-Rose sisters. He could feel his heart skipping a beat…or maybe two…or even three—

Is that Gladio?

"Oh Astrals…" Both the boys from Insomnia said at the sight of the muscle of the team talking with a girl, yet their thoughts were clearly different.

'My 250 Gil!'

'He's already going on full assault?!'

Yang and Ruby looked at each other, confused about what Noct and Prompto were talking about before they followed their gaze, spotting the culprit of such reactions. Recognize shone in Ruby's eyes at the sight of the black haired girl. "Oh, that girl…"

"You know her?" Yang asked.

"Not really" Ruby shakes her head, but she still observes the girl. "She's the one who saw what happened with Weiss, but she left before I could say anything."

Yang couldn't believe her luck. Of all the people to draw her sister's attention, it had been her savior? Perfect! She smirked and yanked Ruby along. "Well, now's your chance to get to know her!"

"Hey, wait! What are you doing?!" Ruby pleaded as she was pulled away. "Noct! A little help!"

As they saw the two sisters walk to the black haired girl and Gladio, Noctis and Prompto looked at each other before they shrugged and followed them.

Looking back at it, Blake's day had gone a lot better than she had feared it would. Sure, the airship ride had been an ordeal and meeting a Schnee face-to-face could be considered suicidal, but it had provided one invaluable insight: Weiss didn't know anything about her.

Blake's mind kept coming back to the girl in the red cape and how pitiful she had sounded, but the welcoming ceremony had vindicated her caution. As expected, the girl had met up with the tall blond and Weiss hadn't been far behind.

The rest of the day had been smooth sailing with some minor hiccups like the tour of the campus, which had been a waste of time.

Blake had thoroughly researched Beacon beforehand, collecting every scrap of information she could find: faculty, history, coursework, even details on some outstanding students and alumni.

Preparation was key to avoiding mistakes, and it had paid off, in a way. At the very least, she had known more about Beacon than her guide whose tour had been full of factual errors, gossip, and hearsay.

Her plan for the rest of the day couldn't have been more straightforward: get dinner, take a shower, and read a good book.

By the time dinner had rolled around things had looked up. The food had been surprisingly enjoyable and the dining hall large enough for her to find a remote spot free of any distractions.

Her shower had been a different matter.

Blake had barely stepped into her stall when a very persistent but not very talented girl had ruined her peace and quiet with some off-key song she had never heard before. With no end in sight and any chance of finding some relaxation gone, she had decided to cut her losses and returned to the ballroom.

Blake picked up her three-pronged candelabra and lit the half-used candles it held. It was an anachronism in times of dust-powered appliances and machinery, but no artificial light source could match the gentle glow of real flames. The heavy brass fixture's halo soothed her mind and made her feel at home. The only home she had left after breaking with her former life.

She picked up the book that would keep her company for the evening and tried to push the thought out of her mind. Maybe she would find a real home one day, maybe she would spend the rest of her life as a vagabond, but whatever the future might hold in store for her, she wouldn't find the answer that evening. Instead, she silenced her mind by sending it to another world, taking the role of another person and living another life.

For a while, it provided enough of a distraction to forget about her situation, but it wasn't to last.

The noise of her surroundings kept her from enjoying her book in gleeful ignorance, the noise of several dozen strangers capable enough to be admitted to an elite combat academy hanging out in too close proximity for comfort.

Blake was confident in her abilities, but if enough of them were to gang up on her, getting away would be difficult. Not that she had given any of them a reason to do so, yet, but the idea that they could was enough to send her mind racing.

Using her book as cover, she started to map her surroundings. Doors, windows, pillars, ledges; anything that could be used to traverse the room and allow for a quick exit was carefully cataloged in her mind. Next were the students. She tried to assess their strengths, weaknesses, personalities, moods, awareness of their surroundings; any bit of information she could glean given the circumstances.

The rational part of her brain told her that she was being silly. She couldn't start off the next four years of her life by treating her classmates like enemies, and whenever her mind caught on to what she was doing, she forced herself to go back to reading her book. But she rarely lasted for more than a couple of paragraphs before her attention started to wander again.

She had nearly finished her sweep of the room, certain that nobody had noticed. After all, she had spent years of her life living in the shadows. A bunch of combat school graduates, still green behind their ears, couldn't possibly be able to make her even if they tried.

Blake gave herself a satisfied nod before she took another peek at the room only to freeze like a deer caught in the headlights. An enormous young man was standing against the wall at her left side, his tattooed arms crossed while a wild grin was present over his face….a very familiar and scarred face. "It's been quite a while, Blake"

Her book almost fell from her grasp as Blake's lips twitched, her eyes widened for the surprise of seeing a grown-up ghost standing before her. "Gla…dio?"

"Hell if that's my name. Glad you still remember me" Gladio continued to bear that smirk as he held his hand to Blake, yet the girl was moving a little back.

"How could you be alive…?" Blake almost stammered as her memories from a certain night were returning, memories she locked back to a past she wanted to run away…

Her hands were trembling at the sight of blood falling from the tip of her blade. Lying on the ground in a pool of blood, he was still holding his hand to her, although he was shaking for the beat up and the wounds.

His face covered in blood conveyed a sense of…understanding, even the presence of a cut left eye up to the jaw was not a problem for him.

"Heh, you need more to take down an Amicitia, especially me" The Shield smirked, tapping at his scarred side of the face. "Although you left me a souvenir of some kind. I don't harbor hate towards it, don't worry"

The comment about the scar managed to break the girl's horrific and freeze posture, managing to let the phantom of a smile appear over her face. "You idiot…you're still the same"

"And I guess the same goes for you" Gladio tried to held his hand to her again, and this time she was slowly accepting it—

FLASH

…Gladio of course recognized the flash and its specific sound. And boy, he heard it too many times that he doesn't need to turn his head to know who the culprit is. "P-romp-to~" Now slowly turning his head to his friend, Gladio smiled like a wild beast as he spotted Prompto freeze like a deer, holding his camera.

"Uh-oh"

"PROMPTO ARGENTUM, YOU SHOULD RUN BEFORE I KILL YOU!" Like the most dreadful Grimm alive, Gladio shouted as he ran to Prompto, who…well, ran away from him as the two surpassed their friends.

"...Will he be okay?" Confused as hell, Blake glanced at Noctis and Xiao Long-Rose sisters and asked.

"Nah, he'll be okay….probably" Noctis said, shrugging.

"Something tells me this isn't his first rodeo, am I right?" Yang put a hand on her hip as she asked.

"Yup…"

In silence, Blake nodded as she looked at the now no more intruders bound for her little cove.

The girl in the red cape—not actually wearing her cape—, the blond whose skimpy pajamas barely deserved the title—from the corner of her eye, Blake could see every guy, and quite a few girls, within earshot transfixed on her swaying hips—, and lastly the black haired boy all dressed in black whose face is clearly familiar. Blake never met him in person before, she's sure of it, but she couldn't deny she already saw him before.

"Soooo…." Breaking the ice between them, Yang pointed to her sister. "I believe you two may know each other?"

'YANG!' Ruby thought as she pouted, feeling betrayed by her own sister.

Blake looked at her with squinted eyes and deliberately delayed her answer. "Aren't you the girl that exploded?"

Rather than taking offense as hoped—much for Noct's amusement—, bringing up her faux pas seemed to have washed away all of her annoyance and resistance in a heartbeat. "Uh, yeah," she said, offering her hand. "The name's Ruby. But you can call me Crater—" An amused snort came from his sister and his childhood friend. "Actually, you can just call me Ruby," She said as she withdrew her hand.

"Okay" Blake said with no emotions at all, but after a few seconds she revealed her name. "...Blake"

"She's so innocent, right?" Yang whispered to Noctis.

"Too much for this world" Noctis shakes his head as Ruby glared at them, whispering.

"I don't know what to do! Help me!" Ruby said in a useless whisper.

With a nod, Noctis looked at Blake. Blue eyes met amber eyes. "So, you're the girl who made Gladio think of something else instead of his muscles—or cup noodles"

"So you know Gladio…" Blake spoke, although her stance seemed to stiffen slightly than the normal, but it was imperceptible for how quick she was. "Who are you?"

"Well, she is Ruby while she is her sister Yang—" Blake's eyes darted back and forth between the two girls. Sisters? They looked nothing alike. Not that it was any of her concern. Noctis pointed at himself before lending his hand to Blake. "—And I am Noctis, but you can call me Noct"

When Noctis revealed his name, the Faunus' eyes widened for surprise. That's why the boy was familiar even if this was the first time she met him! Who could not know the name of the next Heir of Lucis? "Noctis? You're that Noctis? The Prince of Insomnia?"

"Uuuh, yeah…" Noctis withdraws his hand just like Ruby did before. "But I don't want any kind of special treatment—"

"Now I see why you know Gladiolus…" Blake lowered her eyes a bit. Since Gladio is an Amicitia, those who acts as the Shield of the King since the foundation of the Kingdom, then it makes sense for him to be here alive. Looking back at Noctis, she presented herself just like she did with Ruby. "Blake"

Noticing a clear awkwardness between each other once again, Ruby quickly changed the topic of the conversation when she saw the book held by the Faunus. "What's it about?" Ruby asked.

"Huh?" Blake blurted out, surprised by the genuine interest in her tone.

"Your book" The red reaper said with a curious tone of voice. "What's it about?"

"Well, it's about a man with two souls, each fighting for control over his body." Blake explained.

"Oh, yeah," Yang said with a raised eyebrow. "that's really…lovely."

Ruby moved closer, putting herself in the foreground. "I love books. Yang used to read to me every night before bed. Sometimes, Noctis did the same with Lucian's stories"

Blake looked at her skeptically.

"Stories of heroes and monsters," Ruby said with dreamy eyes. "They're one of the reasons I want to be a huntress."

"Why is that? Hoping you'll live happily ever after?" Blake said with more sarcasm lacing her voice than she had intended to.

"I'm hoping we all will. As a little girl, I wanted to be just like the heroes in the books. Someone who fought for what was right and protected the people who couldn't protect themselves."

Sometime during the conversation, Blake had dropped her guard. The book in her hand had lost its use as a cover and came to rest in her lap. "That's very ambitious for a child. Unfortunately, the real world isn't the same as a fairy tale."

"But that's why we're all here, isn't it?" Noctis bumped in the conversation with a proud smile on his face. "To make it better, right?"

A nice if naive sentiment that was ruined when Yang jumped Ruby and Noctis, squeezing the life out of them. "Aw, I'm so proud of my baby sister and brother-in-law!"

"Cut it out! / Shut up Yang!"

The display of sisterly…and brotherly(?) affection deteriorated into a rambunctious wrestling match. Blake couldn't believe that she had allowed two childish, squabbling sisters and a childish prince to break down her guard. Two squabbling sisters and one Prince who were drawing a lot of attention to themselves. But she couldn't notice the small smile that appeared over her face. "Well, Ruby, Yang, Noct, it was a pleasure to—"

"What in the world is going on over here!"

The sisters and the prince stopped in their tracks. Ruby was holding Yang's leg up in the air while Yang's arms were flailing comically in an attempt to keep her balance, letting Noctis free himself from the brawler's grasp. The trio wore wide smiles on their faces, but Blake felt like anything but smiling given her latest visitor.

Weiss leaned forward with her hands balled into fists. "Don't you realize that some of us are trying to sleep?" Her frilly blue nightgown didn't detract from the air of authority she projected.

The sisters resolved their standoff, leaving Yang free to come face-to-face with Weiss. "Oh, not you again!" they yelled simultaneously.

"Her again?" Noctis was clearly confused.

Ruby was caught between them, looking very uneasy. Not just uneasy. There was a hint of genuine fear in her eyes, which didn't come as much as a surprise given the girl's previous encounters with Weiss, but it seemed to deepen whenever she looked at her own sister.

"Guys, she's right," Ruby said, mostly reasoning with her sister. "People are trying to sleep."

"Oh, now you're on my side!" Weiss retorted.

Blake rolled her eyes. Leave it to the spoiled princess to pick a fight even when people are agreeing with her.

"I was always on your side!"

"Yeah, what's your problem with my sister anyway? She's only trying to be nice."

"Alright alright, just hold on for a second" Noctis pinched his nose, ready for a possible headache as he faced Weiss. "What's your problem with Rubes?"

"She is a hazard to my health!" Weiss said, stomping her foot on the ground.

Not liking where this was going, Blake decided to act as the voice of the reason…or well, its arbiter, by taking her candelabra and blowing out the candles. The sudden change in illumination—her cove had gone almost pitch black—drew three pairs of eyes toward her.

"How about we all go to sleep? It's getting late and we should rest up for tomorrow."

Weiss turned and stuck her nose up high. "That's what I've been saying all along!" She walked away without another word.

With a sigh, Noctis shakes his head. "Boy, I'm not ready to deal with this when I'll be the King…"

"We should leave too," Ruby said, receiving a nod of approval from her friend and her sister. "See you tomorrow?"

"Sure," Blake said. "Have a good night."

With a satisfying ringing to his ears, Ignis filled the thermos cup almost to the brim with Ebony before taking a sip of the nectar of the gods—at least for his palate— and continued to type on his laptop.

The faint night breeze that shrouded the dance room balcony was slightly cooler than Insomnia's, but, for Ignis, it was just like home. With a thin smile, the adviser and royal retainer resumed his work, filling documents and paperworks sent via email from the Citadel.

Oh, Astrals bless the noise suppressor technology for the keyboards, his hands were moving with a velocity that makes a salaryman a slug when he suddenly stopped, frowning at the sight of a document about a declined meeting between the Lucis Electrical Company and the board of the Schnee Dust Company. "Their insistence about a meeting with our own company increases day by day…it's worrying. It's admirable, but at the same time worrying" Ignis murmured to himself, between one sip of coffee and another, alternating the comments between each filled out sheet with another.

Unfortunately, this peace was brought to an end when various students began to argue from the inside. Rolling his eyes, Ignis couldn't suppress a sigh, but he still continued to fill his paperworks—

Until a student slammed the doors of the balcony completely interrupted the work session, making Ignis clench one eyebrow several times before he calmed down, glancing at the culprit, which was a certain white haired girl.

"In. Cre. Di. Ble! Just how could the Academy's Headmaster approve a kid in Beacon?!" Weiss stomped with one foot as she approached the edge of the balcony, stopping where the balustrade was before placing her hands on it. For the whole time, it seems she didn't notice Ignis's presence at all. "It's just an insult to all of us!"

Raising an eyebrow, Ignis followed Weiss with the eyes. Taking a sip of Ebony without breaking eye contact, the prince's royal retainer decided to speak. "Harsh life, innit?"

"Wha—" Winching as she heard Ignis, Weiss noticed Ignis' presence. The girl was blushing a little, hoping that the young man from Insomnia didn't hear everything. It would be a little…awkward for an Heiress like her. "H-How long have you been here?!"

"Well, I do not want to ruin any kind of hope, but unfortunately I've been here before your arrival" Placing his hand over the laptop's monitor, Ignis closed it before placing the cup on the table.

'Why does the world hate me?!' Inside, Weiss was screaming in embarrassment. She at least knew how to hide enough embarrassment thanks to her experience in front of the nobles of Atlas. Still, this doesn't mean she couldn't stop pointing at Ignis. "Couldn't you told me right away?! Or maybe you wanted to make fun of me?"

"And why should I? That is out of the blue" The retainer said, putting one hand in a pocket. "Besides, I won't even get anything out of it"

"Oh, you're not? That's not the first time I've heard it from a boy or man for just using my family's name—" Weiss crossed her arms, glaring at Ignis.

"I know who you are indeed" Ignis adjusted his glasses with one hand. "Weiss Schnee, heiress of the Schnee Dust Company"

"Then—"

"It is especially because you are bound to such a name that I do not want to let this topic be spread over. I know the burden of bearing an important name such as Schnee" Ignis stated, quickly glancing at the balcony's doors before returning to Weiss, placing one hand on his chest. "You have my word no one will know about this nighty chat"

"I hope so, otherwise I will make you despise the Dust forever" Weiss said with a small smirk on her face to make the threat feel real.

"Very well. Then I'll take my leave" Ignis said, grabbing his laptop and thermos. "It is a late hour to stay up, after all. Tomorrow we have our Initiation too" Then, he started to walk to the entrance until he heard the white haired girl call him out.

"Wait!" Turning his head to her, Ignis remained silent as Weiss spoke. "Your name…you didn't tell me your name!" The heiress pointed Ignis with her left index. "If you gave your word, then I must know your name!"

"..." Without suppressing the phantom of a smile, Ignis shakes his head a few times before he gave a smile to Weiss. "Scientia. Ignis Stupeo Scientia, heir of the Scientia Household"

"Scientia? Never heard that name. It's strange too since it doesn't follow the color naming rule—" Weiss said, before she realized what this meant, widening her eyes a bit. "Wait a second, so you are from Lucis?"

"Indeed I am a Lucian, yes" Ignis nodded. "I hope you don't have any problem with my kingdom"

"Not at all!" Weiss shakes her head. "It's just you're the first polite Lucian I've met in my life. The other I met…well, he isn't really a man for wear tuxedos and speak polite words"

"I'm afraid we are too few even in Lucis" Ignis commented, making the Heiress chuckle a little. "Well then, I take my leave. Good luck for tomorrow, Miss Schnee"

"You too Ignis, see you tomorrow" Weiss nodded before she smiled at him, watching the Lucian walking inside the room once again. Placing one hand over her chest, the heiress glanced at the starry night. 'Mother…Sister…'

At the same time, when the royal retainer finally returned to the sleeping zone, he could but think about the small chit chat he had. 'Weiss Schnee…she doesn't look like her sister' Slowly closing his eyes, Ignis allowed Carbuncle to take him into its soft grasp, falling to sleep.

A Fantasy based on Reality…