~3rd Person POV~

Waking the next morning, Ignis decided to take a small stroll around Lestallum. The slightly humid air seemed to provide comfort for him in a strange way after all that happened yesterday. He had some trouble sleeping last night due to a nightmare caused by Zodia's sudden departure from this world. The man was finally able to gather his thoughts after an hour and headed back to the hotel. Arriving in the lobby, he saw everyone was awake except for the princess.

"Ha! Guess who's the one sleeping in now, speccy?" Noctis crossed his arms in victory.

"Now all you have to accomplish is eat your vegetables," Ignis comebacks. Noctis' triumphant look falls to a frown as he grumbles to himself. Grinning faintly from his victorious comeback, he heads up the stairs to check on Zodia. His knuckles rasped against the wooden door, waiting for any type of response from the girl. No word or sound came from inside the room. Concerned, Ignis opened the door with a small creek and peered in. His emerald eyes traveled to the bed, spotting the princess tucked under the covers and curled in a ball. Her hair cascaded around her form like a shadowy blanket.

Ignis closed the door behind him and slowly approached the sleeping Zodia. Hearing her deep and even breathing brought reassurance to him, letting him know she was not out of his reach. While keeping his eyes on her, he sat next to her sleeping form and ran a hand through her silky hair.  She inhaled deeply and let out a sigh at his touch. Next, his hand was on her cheek and stroking her smooth and soft skin. This was enough to rouse Zodia out of her sleeping state and slowly open her eyes.

A smile graced her lips as she spotted Ignis. Her smaller hand covered his gloved one as he continued to stroke her cheek. "Good morning, Iggy," she greets.

"How are you faring?" He questioned. Zodia smiles and lets go of his hand. Ignis drops his hand from her cheek as she sits up and stretches a little. "Much better. I guess I'm the last one to get up." The royal advisor nods and gets to his feet. "Do not rush yourself. We will wait until you're ready, Zodia."

"Alright, I'll meet you all in the lobby once I'm done." She got off the bed and headed into the bathroom. Ignis left the room to join the others. The group asked how the princess felt once he had rejoined them. He gladly passed on the good news to ease everyone's worries.

After ten minutes of waiting, Zodia made her way down the staircase and greeted everyone with her captivating smile. "Good morning!" She cheers. All flew to their feet at the sight of the boisterous princess. A round of "good mornings" traveled all around as they greeted Zodia. After a small conversation, the young princess quickly changes the topic—her gaze directing towards her older brother. "Before we check out the Disc, we should look for the royal arms and ruins that Pisces shared with me."

"So, where to?" He asked without questioning her trip to the Celestial Court. "We can either head to Malmalam Thicket or the Rock of Ravatogh. Each location contains a royal arm and zodiac ruins," she replied.

"It would be wise to take caution to either destination. Both are treacherous and brimming with monsters," Ignis states.

"Not really much of a choice. We either climb a mountain or trudge through a deep and dark forest," Prompto shutters at the end.

"Let's head to the Rock of Ravatogh. It'll be hell, but we can put it behind us and then head to Malmalam Thicket," Gladio joined in.

"Yeah, let's go climb a mountain," Noctis declares. The five leave the Leville and head to their next destination. On the way, Prompto spun around in his seat to ask Zodia a question. "Did Pisces tell you which zodiacs were next?"

"Sadly, no. But, he did say if we needed help finding more royal arms to call upon him. Apparently, he's very knowledgeable about Lucis' past and the Caelum bloodline."

"It will prove to be helpful in our endeavor to claim the royal arms," Ignis said.

"Helps knowing where to go and what to expect," Gladio adds. All agreed with the bodyguard and fell silent until they arrived.

~Zodia's POV~

Leaving the Regalia, Noctis pulls out a whistle and blows lightly. Five Chocobos soon arrived, which completely confused me. "When did you..."

"This mornin' while you were getting ready. Took the chance to rent some Chocobos," Noctis replies with a grin. The Chocobo that approached me had sapphire feathers. The bird gently nuzzled her head against my cheek, making me giggle lightly. A small, cheery chirp came from her as I trailed a hand through her soft feathers. The sound of a camera shutter caused my attention to fall on Prompto.

"This is totally gonna be the best pic of the day!" His jubilation made the other three men peer over his shoulder to see the picture. They all broke into smiles seeing the photo Prompto was able to capture. Embarrassed, I hop on my Chocobo and quickly face the other direction. I could hear the four of them chuckling behind me at my reddened state. Gently tapping my heels on the Chocobo's side, the bird and I started with a small trot.

"H-hey, wait—Zodia!" Prompto shouts. I heard the four scramble to mount their own birds and take chase. "Do you even know where you're goin'?" Gladio asked as he was the first one to catch up. Smiling confidently, I gave him a small nod. "Of course, Gladio. Thanks to Ignis, I've memorized the entire map of Lucis and its regions."

Gladio glanced towards Ignis to confirm my statement as the advisor rode next to me. "She speaks the truth, Gladio," Ignis said with a genuine smile.

"Then, how come you never helped me with my schoolwork?" Noctis questioned.

"You needed to learn to do your own work, brother dearest. I know that you just wanted me to do it for you."

"Dude, remember when she wrote down all the wrong answers on a paper to help us study?" Prompto asked.

"How could I forget? We both failed that test." Noctis sent a small glare in my direction. A few giggles pass through my lips at the memory. "Actually, Ignis took the paper from me and did that on purpose. He wanted to teach you a lesson."

Noctis and Prompto groaned in disbelief at the royal advisor's past actions. "Really? I needed to pass that test!" Prompto whines. With a stoic expression, Ignis fixes his glasses while keeping his eyes trained on the rocky trail before us. "I simply wished to teach you both a lesson on not using Zodia's kindness to help in such a small endeavor."

"It was definitely not small..." Noctis grumbles under his breath. Ignis sighed and fixed his eyes on the prince. "Your failure to study such a topic is not an affair to blame your sister on."

"First time I'm hearing this," Gladio chuckles.

"I've got tons of stories about Noct that none of you know. I'll share them with you sometime," I beam.

"Don't you dare," Noctis snaps.

"Oh, trust me—some of those embarrassing stories will resurface when I need leverage," I wickedly grin. Noctis falls silent and averts his attention. Prompto tried to change the subject but was stopped when our Chocobos refused to move forward.

"Guess our hike begins," Gladio comments. We hop off our Chocobos and leave them in a safe place while we made our way up the Rock of Ravatogh. Making our way up to the summit was difficult enough before Spiracorns and small hordes of Saphyrtails blocked our path. The creatures are fighting amongst themselves, but they also began targeting us.

A couple of Spiracorns charged at us once we were in sight. Summoning my staff, I cast a protective barrier around all of us. "Where'd you learn that one?" Gladio asked.

"The barrier? Iris found a book that had the spell written down in it while she was shopping in Lestallum. Apparently, the vendor thought it was gibberish and was going to throw it away. She snatched it up and gave it to me last night."

"Perfect timing," Prompto said.

"Get ready. Once I dispel the barrier, they'll be stunned for a short time. Take the advantage and strike," I warn. They summon their weapons and I release the barrier. The Spiracorns are stunned in place, allowing the others to attack head-on. I concentrated my spells on the Saphrytails, keeping them away from the others so they could deal with the Spiracorns.

The battle was easily won once Noctis used his armiger against the monsters. Now, our next obstacle was choosing a path. "This way or that way?" Prompto questioned, gesturing to the two paths before us. Noctis, being the complete opposite of me, pointed to the left path while I pointed to the right.

"You're wrong on this one, sis," he states.

"Mm... I'm kinda hoping you'll prove me wrong. But, then again, you suck at directions."

"Maybe we should listen to Zodia. She did guide us to the tomb behind the waterfall." Prompto stood next to me, signaling his decision. Gladio and Ignis soon joined my side while Noctis sent them a look of disbelief. "I'll prove you wrong," he snaps. With that, he trekked up the path but came back a few minutes later. Raising an eyebrow, I smirk at my brother. "Dead end?"

He grumbles incoherently as he trudged up the right path. Gladio crossed his arms with a deep chuckle. "He's never gonna admit he's wrong." Smiling, I turn and face the shield. "It's also difficult getting an apology from him."

"Indeed," Ignis agrees.

"I can still hear you!" Noctis hollers.

"Good! Maybe you'll learn how to apologize and admit when you're wrong while you're tuning in!" I shout back with a giggle. He stomps off like a child and leaves us behind. "Careless as always," Ignis comments. I shook my head at his childish behavior and did something I hadn't done in years. I warped in front of my brother, who was now shocked from my sudden appearance. "Wha—how the hell did you...?"

"Remember, we're siblings. I'm just not as fond of warping as you are."

The others caught up with us after my sudden disappearance. The only ones who looked stunned were Noctis, Gladio, and Prompto. Placing my hands on my hips, I glance between the three shocked men. "There's no need to be so shocked. I am a Caelum as well."

"We had no idea you could warp! How come Iggy's the only one chill here?" Prompto pointed to the royal advisor. "Well..." I started. Connecting my gaze with Ignis' for a few seconds, I continued. "I'd always warp around the servants when I was ten. That was when I figured out how to control it. Ignis caught me every time as if he knew where I was going to land next. Never figured out how he did it. After that, I rarely used it."

"Ten? You were ten when you were able to control it? It took me until I was sixteen! I should've gone to you instead of the marshal," Noctis said.

"If Cor heard you, he'd add more hours to your training," I giggle.

With that, we continue scaling up the Rock of Ravatogh. Our path grew steeper as we ascended. Noctis almost slipped, but Gladio was able to help him before he hurt himself on the steep slope. Ignis gently took a hold of my hand and helped me as we began our trek up.

"Killer climb, dude," Prompto grunts.

"It's killing me," Noctis whines.

"Feeling a steep pain," Ignis joins in.

"One false step and you won't feel anything ever again," Gladio warns.

"Wait, Ignis—was that a pun?" I ask. The only reply I got was a smirk from the man. I let a small huff of laughter pass through my lips as we finally made it to the top of the slope. Looking down at our accomplishment, one question came to mind.

"So, how do we get down?"