There were nearly two weeks left until the ball. Angelica had finished up King Regis's suit and had it fitted to perfection. The king quite liked her handiwork and appreciated her skill with a needle. But now Angelica had to restock on thread and material before she could start on Noctis's outfit. She was walking down the halls, reading over the list she had made herself. She looked up upon hearing Gladiolus's voice.

"Iris, I've told you before, you can't go wandering around the Citadel. Remember what happened before?"

Angelica saw the brunette pouting at her older brother. "Oh c'mon, that was a long time ago! I just wanted to bring Dad his favorite lunch!"

Angelica had met Iris several times before, but she had never been that close to her. And while Iris had asked to hang out with the redhead quite a bit, Angelica was often too busy with her duties for a simple "girl's day". She walked over to the siblings.

"Gladio, Iris," she greeted.

"Hi, Angel," Iris replied, smiling brightly. "Is it true what my brother said? Are you really an assassin?"

Angelica's eyes widened slightly and she clamped a hand over the brunette's mouth. She then sent Gladio a glare. "You told her?"

The muscular man shrugged. "She's my sister, she can be trusted."

Angelica glanced around and released the girl. "Just don't go mentioning it in public, okay?" she warned.

Iris nodded. "I know, I won't. So, hey, are you busy right now?"

Angelica glanced at the list in her hand. "Sorta. I've got to restock on materials for Noct's suit."

"Can I come with you?" the brunette asked. "I don't have school today. Besides, we don't really get enough time to talk, just us girls."

"Iris, I'm sure Angel's got a lot to do-"

"It's alright," the redhead interrupted with a small smile. "She can come too. It's just simple restocking."

Iris cheered while Gladio crossed his arms. "Okay," he said with a sigh. "Just keep an eye on her."

Angelica chuckled. "I promise she'll be safe with me."

The tattooed man nodded, letting his little sister follow Angelica. Leaving the Citadel, the two girls went to Valerie's car. Angelica always had a spare key to her mother's vehicle, just in case she needed to run an errand. The girl's climbed in and headed out to where all the shops and stores were in the city. It was mostly small talk between them as Iris helped the older girl carry bags of supplies to the car and followed her through the stores.

By the time they were finished, it was close to evening. They drove back to the Citadel where they carried everything to Angelica's work room. The redhead carefully put everything away in its proper place, liking her room to be neat and tidy. Iris looked around at the design sketches for various clothing and tapestries. There was one for a dress that really caught her eye.

"Oh wow!" Iris exclaimed. "That dress is beautiful! Who's it for?"

Angelica glanced over at the one she was looking at, a small smile gracing her lips. "Me. It's for the ball. Though I don't know if I'll be able to finish it in time. Noct's suit comes first."

"Well I hope you finish it. I can tell just from the picture that it'll be amazing."

"Thank you. C'mon, let's go find your brother."

The two left the room and walked down the hall. Angelica immediately spotted a certain Crownsguard member coming their way. The young man with short, messy brown hair waved to them. "Hey, Angel!" Angelica groaned in annoyance as he hurried over to them. The man's hazel eyes landed on Iris. "And you're Gladiolus's sister, right?"

She smiled kindly. "Yeah. I'm Iris."

"My name's Lance. I'm in the Crownsguard with your brother." His gaze went back to the redhead. "So, Angel, been busy with your sewing?"

She nodded. "Yes. Very busy." She lightly took Iris by the arm and hastily pushed past the man. "I've got things to do."

She walked briskly, tugging Iris along to escape Lance. They ended up going to the training room, where they immediately saw Noctis, Gladio, and Ignis. Noctis and Gladio were sparring while Ignis sat on the sidelines, reading over some files and notes. All three looked over at the girls.

"Angel, Iris, how'd you're shopping day go?" Gladio asked, pausing in his training with the prince.

"It was pretty fun," Iris answered. "I kinda like hanging out with Angel."

She hurried over to her brother with the redhead right behind her. "Maybe when we have the extra time, you can join me on more errands," Angelica suggested.

"That'd be great!" Iris happily replied. She then drug Angelica over to the seats where they sat next to Ignis. The redhead was placed in the middle of them both.

"Good evening, you two," he greeted with a small smile. "What brings you here at this time of day?"

Iris leaned forward to look at him from around Angelica. "Some guy named Lance."

"Ugh, don't even get me started on that guy," the redhead responded with disdain.

"Lance..." Ignis muttered in thought. "Isn't he in the Crownsguard?"

Angelica nodded while Iris asked, "Why don't you like him? He seemed pretty nice to me."

"That's because he doesn't hit on you," Angelica explained. "He gets on my nerves. I can't even count how many times I would've liked to break his arm." She sighed. "But my mom says that I should restrain myself, and to never bring harm to an innocent person unless it absolutely can't be helped."

"Reasonable rules to live by," Ignis added. "We in the Crownsguard are sworn to protect the people of Lucis. Never should we use our abilities on a citizen."

"Can't say I've never done that though," Angelica quietly said, lowering her head slightly. "I have brought harm to people in the past."

Iris placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure it wasn't your fault though." She quickly thought of a way to change the subject. "So, Angel, do you carry any weapons on you?"

"With Noct's power, I can summon my daggers," she answered, lifting her head. "But I also carry throwing knives with me wherever I go. I currently have three on me right now."

She pulled a small knife out from each of her boots, then slid one out from the underside of her decorative corset. Ignis had already known of that fact and barely gave it a second thought. But Iris stared, having been oblivious to the fact that the girl was armed the entire time they had been shopping. Angelica swiftly put the small blades back in their places.

"Whoa, always on guard, huh?" the brunette said.

"Of course," Angelica replied. "An assassin must always stay vigilant. I'm always prepared, just in case I need to defend myself."

Someone suddenly entered the training room. Everyone turned their attention to Lance as he smiled. "So this is where the prince does his training. I never expected to see His Highness here though." His eyes then went to the red-haired girl. "Angel, I thought you said you had things to do."

He walked over to where she sat between Ignis and Iris. "I do." She kept a neutral expression. "I'm spending time with my friends."

He smirked and leaned down toward her. "You're such a kidder."

Gladio and Noctis approached them, Gladio giving Lance a pat on the back. "Lance, here to do a little training?"

He looked back at the tattooed man. "Sure, I could go for a bit of sparring."

Angelica took Iris by the arm and abruptly stood. "Gladio, I'm gonna take Iris home. I'll see you guys later."

The two girls were quick to leave. "Well then, how about you fight Noct?" Gladio suggested to Lance.

He smiled. "Alright. I'm game."

Noctis smirked. "Don't think I'll go easy on ya."

After a bit of sparring, the two found themselves seated with Ignis and Gladio while they caught their breath. "So..." Lance began, "you guys are good friends with Angel, right?"

"Yeah, why?" Noctis questioned.

"Think you could... maybe... set me up with her?"

Gladiolus laughed. "Hasn't she been giving you the cold shoulder? What do you even see in her?"

"I don't know, there's just something different about her. I just feel like there's another side to her underneath that poker face, y'know? Plus she's pretty. Whaddya say, think you could hook us up?"

Ignis was quick to answer, "I'm afraid that won't be possible." With the other three now staring at him, he suppressed his own feelings on the matter and thought up an explanation. "Like me, Angelica has many responsibilities, and she's one to put her work first. Try as you might, I don't believe she interested."

Gladio was skeptical, noticing the tone of his voice was off when he first replied. But Noctis nodded in agreement. "Ignis is right. You're free to try your luck, but I doubt Angel's into the idea at all."

Lance sighed in disappointment. "Somehow I expected you to say something like that. Maybe I should just move on then, huh?" He slowly rose to his feet. "I'll try and do that."

Truthfully, Ignis didn't quite like hearing Lance mention hooking up with the girl. Though he hid it well, deep down inside, he had a slight attraction towards her. But he did his best to suppress whatever feelings arose in him, knowing full well his duties came first, as did Angelica's. He didn't dare take a step further in being anything more than a friend to her. And that's how it would have to remain.