Gone

Chapter 35- Festival

Twenty days.

Twenty days since they had been attacked. 

Do you know how much can happen in twenty days? 

People can die of both dehydration and starvation if they're weak enough. In twenty days people take an average of four-hundred thousand breaths which honestly seems kind of low. Gophers are pregnant for about twenty or so days. Radishes and Arugala can grow in about twenty days. Flies can live anywhere from fifteen to twenty-five days, and cockroaches can survive a whole week without a head. That last bit about headless cockroaches wasn't really important to the topic, it's just an interesting fact. So, in twenty days a gardener could have planted a radish, a gopher could have given birth, two-point eighty-five cockroaches would survive without their heads, and a fly could have gone through its whole life.

Apparently, a kingdom could be attacked in twenty days too. Its king could be killed, the crown prince kidnapped, and half its population either dead or missing. Two all but warring kingdoms could negotiate a truce in twenty days. A brother could come back from the dead, two princes could become orphans, and four boys could cross over half a kingdom. A lot really could happen in twenty days.

They had made their way into the town by now. It was quaint and small, not at all what Roman had expected a Queen to grow up in. Virgil was holding Patton's hand and pulling him around, pointing to things and signing excitedly to him. It was the happiest they had seen him since meeting him, they could see the excitement in his eyes, and that bit of immaturity and childlike wonder that Logan and Roman both had fallen for was showing through now. 

Virgil eventually led them towards a small boutique store with white walls and light blue umbrellas hanging over the windows. The other three were slightly confused as to why Virgil had brought them to such a store but followed regardless. A bell over the door rang and announced their entrance as they came through the doors. A woman's voice could be heard giving commands to the few workers before she appeared from behind a clothes rack filled with dresses and suits. 

She was dressed in a light blue dress that hung loosely at her ankles and had small white flowers decorating it. Her eyes were closed as she took a deep breath and tucked loose graying brown hairs behind her ears. When she opened them and her eyes landed on the small group her professional composer was immediately gone as she let out an excited scream and teleported, yes teleported, to the group. She ripped Virgil right out of Patton's hand as she enveloped him in a tight hug, swinging the young boy back and forth, and mumbled a series of words in a language the other three didn't understand

Virgil laughed slightly as he finally managed to pull away from the woman, and teasingly wiped away at the places where the woman had pressed motherly kisses to his face. 'I missed you too Auntie' Virgil signed to the woman who was bouncing on her toes and smiling at Virgil, small tears in her eyes.

"Virgie, oh my darling," His aunt spoke, "You would not believe how worried I have been. When we heard about your father and brother we all panicked. And nobody knew where you were, we thought you were dead Virgil."

Virgil laughed again 'Not yet Auntie.' The prince turned around to look at his three friends, who stood behind him with various looks of awkward confusion, 'These are my friends. Logan, Patton, and this is Roman. You met his brother this summer, do you remember?'

His aunt nodded before hugging each of the boys in turn. Logan froze at the action, Patton returned the hug, and Roman was as dramatic as always and instantly went into prince mode as he complimented Virgil's aunt and kissed her hand. "It's very nice to meet you Ms. Virgil's-Aunt," Patton said with a smile.