"Come on, Angel, are you really even trying?"

Angelica growled and charged toward her mother. She repeatedly swung her daggers, but her mother dodged every one and countered with her own strikes. Valerie's dagger cut across the girl's forearm, leaving a light cut. Drops of blood trickled from the small wound.

"Watch it!" Angelica snapped. "I don't need an arm injury prohibiting my sewing!"

"Fine. Let's lose the weapons, then."

Their daggers dispersed into tiny crystals. Valerie then lunged at her daughter, throwing a punch that Angelica swiftly ducked under. The girl then threw her leg up, trying to land a kick to her opponent's face. But Valerie quickly caught her foot and threw her back, which the girl responded with a backflip. The two continued with hand to hand combat until Valerie managed to pin her daughter on the ground. Angelica panted, knowing it was useless to struggle at the way her mother had her face down with her arms behind her back. After releasing the girl and helping her up, Valerie smiled.

"Well, your combat skills have definitely improved in the last few years."

Angelica smiled as well. "I did have the best teacher to learn from. Couldn't have gotten this far without your guidance."

Angelica used a potion to heal her light cuts and scrapes. The two then left the training room and headed out of the Citadel. After arriving home and getting cleaned up, Angelica continued her work on her combat outfit. She was in need of something to wear specifically for training and assassin work. With that in mind, she began creating the ideal outfit weeks ago. She was finally about done with it and currently adding the finishing touches. She managed to complete it before bed and showed it to her mother.

"Wow," Valerie said with approval, looking over the clothes. "You've really outdone yourself, Angel. And let me guess, the 'S' stands for Solani."

Angelica smiled. "Yep. This is what I can wear for training and combat. Plus, the dark colors help conceal me in the dark."

"You've already got the mind of a top assassin. Nicely done." The woman let out a sigh. "Now if only you could get a boyfriend."

"Mom!" Angelica interrupted. "You know I don't have time for some silly romance. I have my duties, you know."

Valerie waved a hand dismissively. "Pssh, there's always time for romance. And you happen to have four good-looking friends to choose from." She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. "While the prince is probably unavailable for someone of our status, there's still the other three. Prompto's a real cutie, Ignis is quite the handsome intellectual type, and Gladiolus is just a hunk. So, which one do you like best?"

Angelica rolled her eyes. "For the last time, Mom, they're JUST friends. And please stop talking about them like that. They're not slabs of meat to choose from at the market."

"Well then how about Lance? He's in the Crownsguard now and seems to have his eyes on you. He even sent you flowers the other day."

Angelica only groaned in annoyance. The guy from high school, Lance, had trained and become a member of the Crownsguard. Angelica hadn't known before that he learned to fight. She had little interaction with him back in school, aside from the occasional flirty talk and gestures he sent her. He annoyed her to no end, and ever since he became a Crownsguard, he's been in and around the Citadel, chatting her up whenever he got the chance.

"Personally, I'd give him a chance," Valerie admitted. "He's not bad looking and he seems pretty nice."

"That's the most I'd ever give him," Angelica muttered. She shook her head. "No, I'm not interested. Now can you please get out of my room so I can get some sleep?"

Her mother sighed in disappointment. "Alright. But just remember - you've only got one life to live. Why not enjoy it? I really love to see you happy." She headed for the door. "Goodnight, my Angel."

She closed the door behind her. Angelica smiled to herself. "Night, Mom," she softly said.

Though she would never admit it, she truly loved and cared for her mother. She felt a hint of regret in her heart, knowing she couldn't fulfill her mother's wish. Relationships of all kinds were too dangerous for Angelica. She preferred to mostly keep to herself so that she wouldn't frighten or harm anyone.

To be honest, she actually had a bit of a soft spot for Ignis. Something about him just attracted her right from the beginning. But she knew the advisor was loyal to Noctis and his duties, just as she was. There was no time for love in either of their lives. So, she pushed away all those feelings of fondness. Ignis was merely a friend, like the other guys. Angelica laid in her bed that night, thinking about everything until she dozed off.

The following morning, Angelica had little work to do, so she quickly found herself in the kitchen helping her mother. She was rushing back and forth, carrying stacks of dirty dishes to the sinks to be washed while Valerie was overseeing the other cooks' preparations. The back door suddenly opened and in came Ignis with a clipboard in hand. Valerie immediately noticed and approached him with a friendly smile.

"Well hello, Ignis," she greeted. "What brings you here?"

He smiled lightly. "Good morning, Miss Valerie. Apologies for the interruption, but I have some work for Angelica."

The woman turned her head and called, "Angel! Someone's here to see you!"

Upon hearing her mother's voice, Angelica rushed away from the sinks. She nearly ran into one of the cooks as soon as she turned, having to dodge to the side to avoid them. She hurried over, straightening her tie as she went over to the pair. Her blue eyes immediately landed on the prince's advisor.

"Ignis, do you need something?"

The bespectacled man pushed up his glasses and flipped through the pages on the clipboard. "Yes. Apparently, there is an upcoming ball to be held here at the Citadel. His Majesty requests a new suit for both Noctis and himself. The deadline is three weeks. These are the designs."

He handed her the clipboard. "A ball?" Valerie questioned. "Sounds wonderful!"

Flipping through the pages and studying the drawings, Angelica hummed. "These designs are exquisite, for sure. The patterns will be a bit tricky, but nothing I can't handle. I'll have to take new measurements though." She looked up at him with a small smile. "Thanks for bringing this by, Ignis."

"My pleasure."

"Miss Valerie!" A male cook came running over with a bowl of fresh fruit in his hands.

On the way, he tripped over his own feet and stumbled forward. The bowl was sent soaring through the air along with its contents and right toward the three. The bowl flew straight at Angelica, but without even a second glance, she stretched her hand out and caught it in the palm of her hand. She then turned her gaze away from the papers to catch the falling fruit before any of it hit them. She finally held the bowl with all its contents out for the cook to take. Ignis stared, completely stunned by her reflexes.

"Be more careful, would you?" Angelica told him.

The cook quickly took it back from her. "So sorry, ma'am. Miss Valerie, we're running dangerously low on oranges."

Valerie sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Then place orders for more or go shopping. Honestly, am I the only one who can think independently in this kitchen?"

"I'll get out of your way," Ignis said, swiftly turning to leave them to their work.

Walking back down the halls, Ignis's thoughts were replaying the event in the kitchen. He had always found Angelica to be a bit strange in behavior, and there was much he still didn't know about her. But the recent discovery really struck him. She has the reflexes of a highly trained warrior. Why isn't she in the Crownsguard? And why has she never mentioned this before? I'm starting to get the feeling that she's keeping something from the rest of us.