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Noctis bared his teeth at him, only just holding back a defiant snarl. The chancellor took hold of Noctis’s chin and raised his head, and oh wasn’t this a lovely repetition of the encounter in the hallway. Noctis somehow managed to hold his ground as he invaded his personal space for the second time in several days. He stopped several steps away from the chancellor, unwilling to get closer, but the man wasn’t having it. Never had the staircase down from the throne seemed so long and yet so short, as each step, carefully watched by all the eyes in the room, carried him closer to the chancellor and his unknown but undoubtedly unpleasant plans for Noctis. He glanced at his dad, who gave him a strained smile, and it was enough to give Noctis the courage he needed to take the first step. To thank Gladio and charge him with protecting Ignis in his stead. To explain to Prompto why he had to do it. He hadn’t expected not having the opportunity to prepare, to say his goodbyes, to apologize to Ignis and give him his blessing to take his place as the heir to the throne. It took Noctis a long moment to force his feet to move.
![of gods and kings ffxv of gods and kings ffxv](https://images.yaoota.com/Zk9Fzl-D5pfhE3LnXvCKC7kuMqo=/trim/yaootaweb-production-ke/media/crawledproductimages/e43233089f8e6a7af1dd123a50ec42e3bced37e6.jpg)
Part of chapter two of With Your Head Held High: