#nignis

"All of us have come together today to witness the marriage between our Highness – the young Prince Noctis Lucis Caelum – and Princess Stella Nox Fleurett from Tenebrae”

As the priest in front of the altar spoke, no one dared to whisper and silence was among the attendant crowd.

Everyone of name and rank was invited – and all of them stared in awe at Stella.

Her golden hair was framed by a bridal veil and a long, white dress – decorated with tiny, gold ornaments - coated her beautiful body.

The young woman was indeed a shining star – though, if you had looked into her eyes today, you would have seen that something was not right... not right at all...

She had lowered her gaze a little – just enough to not face the priest – but she knew...

She was quite aware of the fact, that this was not the old man´s first preach – and that it was not his first arranged marriage he´d witness, only justified by the name of Peace and Politics . .

The priest knew – and so did Stella´s Father – and so did King Regis – and so did everyone in the Royal Circle – as limited as it´s members might have been, but for the normal people, this day was supposed to be a Day of Hope – a wonderful day to be celebrated.

Stella knew she was doing it for the sake of her kingdom – just like Noctis did it for his – and even though they both had always been very close to each other, they were nothing mere than friends – but they had agreed to this.

That had been about two years ago – and today had seemed oh, so far away – and yet, here she was – standing in front of the Priest – a whole crowd of hopeful people in her back – the whole kingdom watching her.

While the Priest continued speaking, the young Princess closed her eyes – letting herself fall back to old stories and memories..praying for all of this, to be over soon.

...and the same went for Ignis, who sat – next to Gladiolus and Prompto – in the first row, his feet trembling, even though he tried to remain his composure, and even though Gladiolus was holding one of his hands, since he knew what all of this meant for the young, brown haired man..

Meanwhile, in a room just next to the big hall in which the Ceremony would take place, Noctis nervously wandered from one end to the other, seemingly troubled.

Just a few minutes away, he would have to go out there – his Father at his side – and then he would marry – wearing his best, black suit -looking “absolutely handsome!” - as Prompto had claimed – but oh, did he care..?

The black-haired male bit his lower lip, discomfort raging inside of him, waves of distress crashing down on him over and over.

He didn´t want this.. he never had..

As the door suddenly opened, he spun around – facing his father, who had a tired smile on his lips.

“Is it time yet?”, Noctis asked, not able to hide the /fear/ in his voice.

“Not quite”, the King answered, closing the door behind him, walking up to his Son.

Of course, he was well aware of the fact, that Noctis and Stella were not in love with each other – he was not blind enough to let himself believe this..but he and his son had spent hours of talking...and Noctis had agreed to this – just the way Stella had.

“Don´t worry”, the old King said, laying his hands on his son´s shoulders – trying to calm him down a little. “It will be over soon. And it is up to you and Stella to decide, whether you want to live together in Tenebrae or Lucis – or to decide against being with each other at all. We have reasons to justify whatever decision you two make”, Regis explained, looking into Noctis´ eyes, which had taken on a hue of red, mixing with the black – another indication of how Lucis´ Prince felt..

The young male now lowered his gaze – avoiding to look directly in his father´s eyes. He did not know why – but his hands, clutched to fists, were trembling.

“I know..”, he whispered. “We ´ve talked often enough...”

Normally his relationship to his father had always been well, but this day, Noctis felt downright uncomfortable in his skin– and anxious – and he could not hide it – and he /hated/ all of this.

Meanwhile, outside in the Ceremony Hall, the Priest stopped his preach – looking over to the little door which lead to the adjoining room – a glimpse of confusion in his eyes.

...and so did the rest of the crowd.

There were devices everywhere in the giant citadel, which made it possible to communicate with everyone – no matter where in the old building this person was - a kind of loud speakers, you could say.

… and seemingly, those of the side room where still turned on, from the Choir´s rehersal – and seemingly, neither King Regis, nor Noctis knew.

The crowd started whispering and the Priest coughed loudly, trying to get back the attention of everyone, but he failed as the next words were clearly audible for everyone to hear.

“Let´s just get this over with, okay?!”, now Noctis was trembling all over, taking a few steps back from his father, crossing the arms in front of his chest, as if trying to shield himself from all of this.

“Noctis...”, Regis tried to approach his son, but instantly, he got a hissed reply.

“No! Just... just leave me alone with my thoughts – okay?! You knew I never wanted this – ANY OF THIS!”

The people outside widened their eyes in shock, as they heard those words – and even Stella put her hand in front of her mouth, trying to hide her surprise.

“What is he doing?!”, Prompto looked towards Gladiolus, confusion and disbelief in his voice.

“He does not know that everyone can hear us..”, the older male answered, a look of worry directed towards the side-room.

Ignis meanwhile bit his lip. It was his duty to stop all of this – to cast a spell which should mute the device – but something held him.

He knew, his best friend was embarrassing himself right now – and he knew that all the people – no, everyone from Tenebrae /and / Lucis would hear about this...and he knew that this would end in a Royal Catastrophe – but he could not bring himself to do it.

The whispers became louder and louder. “What is this supposed to mean?!”, one man spoke up, some people joining in. Stella´s Father, who stood next to his daughter, was speechless as well – sending a pleading glance to the Priest, who could only lift and drop his shoulders, telling without words, that there was nothing he could do.

“Noctis, listen.. this marriage will only exist on documents – you can choose whom to...stay with – you hear me?”, Regis was still trying to calm the young Prince down, but he knew it would be in vain. His son had always been the kind of person who bottled his deepest feelings down – until they would all come out, someday – like an explosion. . . and seemingly, his son always had the best timing for those days.

“So what?!”, he hissed, now angrily staring at his Father´s face.

“All of this means that one day, I /will/ be the fucking King ! At every important event, Stella will HAVE to be with me – and we will HAVE to act like we were in love!”

“This is outrageous ! Lucis is bringing shame over the House of Fleurett!”, an old aristocrat shouted in anger. “Someone – Stop this – right /Now/ !” - but no one got up, the whole crowd too shocked and in too much disbelief to really grasp what was honestly going on.

“Oh no..”, Stella only whispered in despair, reaching for her Father´s hand. She knew – this meant trouble...but even she had no idea what to do.

“Also – it´s not like Stella would even WANT that – it´s not just me, you know?!”, Noctis hissed – his eyes now a bright red.

“Look – I know there is NO OTHER CHOICE than me becoming King – I know that! And even though I absolutely /hate/ it – I will do so! Because I love our kingdom – and because there is no one else who could do that, besides me!”, he straightened his back, his swords hovering next to him -reacting to the Prince´s raging emotions.

“But at least let me decide how I want to spend … whom I want to...”, his voice suddenly broke – and now, instead of angry hissing, he was sobbing, his voice full of sadness.

“She does not love me – and neither do I love her.. “, he seemingly tried to comfort himself, now looking to the marbled floor again – and for a moment, it was dead silent – also in the Main Hall.

A Royal scandal was happening – and thanks to live-streams sending this Ceremony out for everyone to see – there was no Nation who was not witnessing this.

King Regis was speechless – not knowing what to say – feeling..guilty...

He had always wanted only the best for his son..and now, here he was – forcing him into marriage, under the vain hope for “Peace” - between kingdoms which had not fought once, during the last decade.

“Y-you say it´s for keeping peace..but that´s Royal bullshit – and you know that”, Noctis continued, bitterness dripping off his voice.

“You and Stella´s Father..you only wanted this to scare off Nilfheim.. but they won´t give a shit about an alliance between Tenebrae and Lucis – they want the damn crystal – and they´ll do anything to get it... I do not WANT to fight – I don´t want a war to happen, but hoping a marriage would prevent that is foolish!”

“Oh god, what is he doing...?”, Prompto, ignoring the murmurs around them, hid his face behind the palm of his hand – seemingly dying of second-hand embarrassment.

“This is SO gonna mean trouble...”, the blonde sighed.

And while Gladiolus decided not to comment this, Ignis would not even have been able to answer..

“God damnit! They have a fuckin´ language only they can speak! Why for Fuck´s sake won´t they ONCE use it?!”, Prompto angrily stated – referring to the Royal language – Latin.

The crowd had become silent now – one half in disbelief and indignation – the other seemingly upset – half of Tenebrae´s people looking up to their King – asking for an explanation.

Stella, by now, had started crying – not because of sadness, but because she knew Noctis was right...and because even she hoped, that maybe, all of this could be prevented. There was no way that this Ceremony would be held today...so at one point she felt...relieved..

“So – what do you want to do, then? Anyone else you would want to marry?”, King Regis asked with calm voice and serious expression.

He knew argumenting now would not make things better – and calming his son down was out of option – so the only road he could walk was taking his son serious – and to listen to him. Also, he was not really expecting an answer...since Noctis had never shown interest in a different person – not in that way.

Noctis however, only gave a bitter smile, laughing sadly, wiping one tear of frustration from his face.

“This will so be the end of me..”, he whispered, but then facing his father directly, clearing his throat, before he answered:

“I have been in a secret relationship with Ignis since three years, Father.”

His voice was dead-serious – as was his facial expression – and now it was the King who momentarily lost his composure.

“I-Ignis...? But he´s your -” “Yes – I am well aware that he is supposed to be my Advisor – and I can assure you that he is doing his job more than just well – he is the best and most suitable person for this job – and our relationship has not stained the way we work together.”

If all the things who had been spoken before had not silenced the whole crowd – now it definitely happened – and everyone but Noctis´ friends – and Stella – gasped. So, not only their only Prince was gay – which meant that there was little chance the bloodline of Lucis would continue – no...he was only already in a relationship...? Immediately, Gladiolus put one of his hands on Ignis´ shoulder in a protective gesture – sending sharp glances to everyone who stared at the young, brown-haired male now – and Prompto joined in.

“C´mon y´ guys – Love ´s love!”, the blonde cheerily stated – acting like this was the most normal thing of the world -even for a member of the Royal family.

And while the whispering started again – Ignis burried his head in his hands – wishing, praying desperately – that all of this would end.

It had happened – now it had truly happened...his relationship with Noctis was probably – right now – crushing everyone´s hope for a good alliance...

While Stella´s Father seemed to understand – the Kingdom of Tenebrae seemingly didn´t – and from what some of the aristocrats said – they were deeply offended.

“Unbelievable...” “..and this from Lucis´...?” “What a shame...”

Back in the side-room, the King had calmed down from the sudden shock.

He was deep in thought..he had not known of any of this... and hearing all of this at once – especially on this day...? But now, he understood what had troubled his son that much..

“Anyway – isn´t it time for this fucking ceremony already?”, Noctis asked with bitter tone – but as soon as he had worded that question – it dawned to both Prince and King that something...must have been wrong...

As the black haired male opened the door leading to the Ceremony hall – a wall of silence – and a thousands of eyes – greeted him – and as he saw the shock in Stella´s face – and as he realized how upset some of the people were...a horrible feeling of sheer terror spread inside of him.

“Hey Noct ! You just fucked up your own, big party!”

Gun was the only one who dared to speak.

Hours had passed, after Ignis had teleported out of the church – he could not have endured one second longer – in the middle of guilt and shame and all those people looking down on him.

He was lying on top of his bed, his room completely dark – the door locked.

This meant trouble – horrible trouble – for everyone involved – and it was clear to him that there was no way out of this.

He would have to explain himself – and it would not surprise him, if the King forced Noctis and him to break up – if only to calm down the kingdom. . . and possibly, this was the least he could do...

Never in his life had he felt that scared – that...that..horrible and guilty and oh – had he ever contemplated escaping Lucis...?

As an ace-magician with perfect grades like he had – there was good chance he would be able to live a good life somewhere else – far away.

//No..you know too much... they´d kill you immediately.. and you know that...// Ignis sighed, pulling the blanket over his head and whole body.

Whenever he heard steps approaching his door, he held his breath – muscles stiffing and tensing – always afraid that now he would be confronted with this... and when the steps left, seemingly heading for another direction , he had only more time to come up with even better worst-case scenarios. . .

All of a sudden, he felt a foreign weight on his bed – and even though he knew within a second that it was Noctis – he was halfway scared – and he jumped up.

“Noctis, I-”, his eyes were widened, he was frantically searching for words.

It was dark – so there was no way to really see the other´s expression – but his racing heart instantly slowed down, when he felt that he was being pulled into a gentle embrace.

“Shh...it´s alright”, the young Prince whispered – looking at Ignis – seeing the worry and sorrow and guilt in his lover´s eyes.

“Yes, we are in trouble – but don´t worry – my father said we will be able to work things out – and Tenebrae, at least it´s leading family, is not against us”, he explained what he had just made sure after hours of political discussions with everyone involved.

“But what about the marriage?”, Ignis asked – still apprehensive – holding both of Noctis´ hands in his own.

The black haired male smiled sadly – and his eyes took on a dark-red hue.

“The public was not happy at all – believe me... but the marriage was canceled”

Ignis opened his mouth to word the next question – disbelief coming over him – they ´d get away with all of that this easily? - but before he could speak up, Noctis silenced him with a soft kiss, carefully shifting his weight so he´d bring both Ignis and him to lie down – and the kiss did not miss it´s function.

The brown-haired relaxed, his worried expression softened and he put his arms around Noctis´ waist, enjoying the other´s presence.

“Don´t worry...really... I am glad it turned out like this”, the black haired spoke, placing soft kisses on Ignis´ forehead and cheek and nose.

“Stella and I don´t have to get married...and according to what my father says...well.. he sees no problem with us being together – at least not for now”

Relief overcame Ignis – and an immense weight lifted off his shoulders. This was more than he ever could have asked for..

“Oh god... oh /my/ god... I am so happy...”, he whispered, closing his eyes, knowing he was safe – and that despite the trouble now, it would be alright...it would truly be alright...

“Haha, so am I..”, Noctis huddled himself closer to Ignis, who immediately embraced him in a protective way – and the young Prince enjoyed it with every cell of his body.

The time of hiding was gone now...

Every second they had spent together, being more intimate with each other, than they were supposed to, they had been afraid to get caught... but now they could be with each other...

...for now, no one would interrupt them and no one would care...

..and even if there were future problems – he knew he could count on his friends...and on his father..

“Ignis...? How do you say “I love you” in Latin?”, he threw him a questioning and curious look.

Noctis had been raised speaking both Latin and Japanese fluently – but honestly – never before had he heard that phrase... - and seemingly, neither had the brunette.

“I don´t know..I honestly don´t know..”, he gave a soft smile.

“But I think Japanese will do it – or..do you want me to prove it to you?”, he relocated his glasses, smiling in a provocative way – knowing that Noctis could see perfectly in the dark.

“No need to...I´m already on it...” - and with this, the young Prince crossed the last distance between them, their lips barely touching at first, but then all of this turning into a real, loving kiss.

“Noctis..I love you”