The Dark and the Disney

Chapter 12

Patton had been memorizing and improving his plan, focusing on any problems or things he hadn't thought about that could ruin his escape. Finally, it was done. Now all he had to do was wait for Virgil to return. He sat for a while in the lonely darkness. He took a small rock that he had found on the stone floor and started to carve into the walls. His notebook had been taken, but he kept the paper with his plans in his pocket. Virgil hadn't gotten close to him enough to check his pockets, so it was safe. He began writing small notes for anyone who would be locked in here. Little bits of determination and encouragement, but he also left instructions on how to escape the castle once they had gotten out of the dungeon. The door opened just as he had written the final letter. Virgil walked in to give him food, but instead, Patton lunged towards him and strangled him until he passed out. He fell to the ground and Patton caught him, setting him down gently. He took the makeshift cast and wrapped it around Virgil's wrist tightly and handcuffed him to one of the bars. Nodding in approval at his work, he grabbed the food, his notebook, and the small rock and ran out. He dodged past all the guards. He had been there during their meetings and training sessions, so he knew all of their weaknesses. On top of that, he was small and thin, and could run faster than the bulky guards. One of them turned to him, a little upset. Patton had made friends with that one, them being the one who guarded the cell door, and the guard had comforted him. He ran back and took their hand.
"Come with me. I'll get you out of here." The guard smiled and nodded, attacking the other two as Patton picked the lock of the tower door. Once the two guards were out, Patton and the guard ran as fast as they could to the village gate. They were soon stopped by Virgil himself.
"Now where do you think you two are going?" He had red marks on his neck from where Patton's hands had been, and he didn't look okay, but was still terrifying. Patton was about to answer, when the guard spoke up.
"We're going to the land of sunshine and rainbows. Where do you think we're going?" Virgil glared and his voice deepened.
"Excuse me, what did you just say to me?" The guard walked closer.
"You heard me. Now get out of our way." Virgil slapped the guard.
"You don't tell me what to do. I am the prince, if you haven't realized by now. Now, you can either surrender, or I will take you myself." Patton grabbed the guard's arm, pulling them back.
"Please, just surrender." The guard looked at him, feeling their heart melt. They sighed and nodded.
"Okay. We surrender." Virgil nodded and went to take the both of them, when the guard took a knife and stabbed Virgil in the chest, pushing him down and picking up Patton, who was screaming. They sprinted out the gate and closed it tight, heading to the Kingdom of Disney. Patton continued to scream, tears pouring down his face.
"Put me down! We can't just leave him, put me down!" The guard kept running, ignoring the cardigan clad clod. They reached the castle gate and the guard almost dropped Patton as he struggled in their arms.
"Calm down! We're here and now we're safe. It's okay."
"No it isn't okay, Virgil is hurt and he might die!" Patton's voice was raspy and shaky from his screaming and crying.
"So what? He has hurt too many people to be forgiven." Patton shook his head.
"He's still a person and he deserves to live! I know he has hurt people, but it doesn't make us any better to kill him!" The guard paused. Their expression softened and they sighed.
"I know...you're right, but if we go back, he'll kill us. You know that." Patton nodded and sighed. The guard wrapped their arms around him.
"It's okay. Let's just go, okay?" They picked Patton up and carried him to the castle. By the time they arrived, it was pitch black out with barely any lights out. Logan had been sitting outside the castle reading. He glanced up and nodded, going back to his book. Something in his mind clicked, and he took a double take, getting a good look at the two. A normal soldier, and...Patton? But he was inside with Roman. Logan stood up, setting down the book and approaching them. "Patton" jumped at him, attempting to hug him.
"Logan!!" Logan pushed him to the ground and glared at the two.
"And who exactly might you two be?" Patton stares at him, confused and hurt.
"Logan, it's me, Patton" The soldier helped him up and brushed him off.
"Yeah, what's your problem?" Logan continued to glare, not believing them at all.
"Patton inside. Now I suggest you tell the truth before I have to get our soldiers involved." Patton stared at him. How was he inside and right there at the same time? Then it hit him. Deceit had gotten in the castle.
"Logan, I'm Patton. That's not who you think it is in there!" Logan turned for one second before turning back to them.
"Oh, it isn't? Well if you're Patton, then prove it." Patton tried to think of something to prove it was him. Then he thought of one specific thing.
"The spot. In the center of the woods behind the castle. We met there. You had just been hired, and I was the first person you talked to comfortably." Logan's eyes widened as he knew, this was Patton. He instantly hugged him. Patton hugged him tight, glad that Logan recognised him.
"Wait, if you're Patton, who's in there?" Patton looked up at him, slight fear in his eyes.
"Virgil's best manipulator. He has a plan to...to kill Roman." Logan stood up suddenly.
"We must save him. Here, take this. I'm guessing you already have a weapon?" He gestured to the soldier and handed Patton a knife. The soldier nodded and Patton starred at the weapon in his hand. Would he really be able to use it? Logan looked at him with an unreadable expression.
"Patton, is everything alright?" Patton nodded. They all glanced at each other one last time before running into the castle.
————————————————————————
Deceit held his weapon tightly as he snuck around the kingdom, searching for that prince. So far, he hadn't been lucky, but he would find the right room eventually. There was footsteps outside and a thud. He turned to the sound for a second, then went back to his searching. He finally found the glittery, star-covered bright red door. The color hurt his eyes, but he cracked opened the door anyway. The room was neat and the bed was perfectly made, despite someone sleeping in it. He shook off the feeling of disgust at the prim and proper room as he snuck over to the bed. He raised the weapon, aiming straight for his heart, when he was choked by a knife. He was turned around suddenly, coming face-to-face with a sharp, glinting blade. He gasped slightly, dodging the attack and slicing at the person with his own knife. As they fought, Logan and Patton woke up Roman and was sneaking out. Deceit lunged at the guard and cut their arm. They cried out and stabbed at him, just barely missing. Deceit struck again, but this time the guard was ready. They grabbed the knife's handle and pointed the knife at him. Deceit gasped and growled, trying to redirect the knife and pushing their hand away from him. Patton and Logan had taken Roman down to the dungeon, which was only used as an emergency hideout. They grabbed some of the torture weapons that had been passed down to Roman by the old king and queen. The weapons were rarely ever used. Patton took a smaller knife, Logan grabbed a slightly bigger and lighter dagger, while Roman took a katana. Roman and Logan had to hold Patton back from protecting the guard. They could handle it, but Patton wanted to help anyway. Upstairs, Deceit had the advantage and had the guard pinned down. They attempted to punch him, but he sliced their knuckles open and they grunted in pain. Deceit barely had a scratch and a few bruises, while the guard had cuts and open wounds. They both had blood all over them, and Deceit was about to end it all, when they kicked him in the stomach and rolled over, taking the knife he had dropped. They aimed the knife at him this time, placing a foot on his chest and pressing down ever so slightly. He had gotten the wind knocked out of him and was wheezing to breathe.
"You will leave this kingdom immediately." He glared and tried to push them away, earning more pressure on his chest as reward. He gasped as the felt his bones bend from the weight.
"You will leave this kingdom, or you will die." They glared back and shoved the knife closer to him. He attempted to sigh and rolled his eyes.
"Fine. Let me go then." His voice had been raspy and was strained. The guard scoffed.
"As if I'd just let you go." They grabbed Deceit by the shirt collar and dragged him outside the castle and throwing him on the ground.
"And don't you dare come back." They shut the gate and walked back to the castle, passing out from blood loss halfway through. Patton had noticed the silence and stepped out of the dungeon, with much protest from Logan and Roman. He stepped into the room, seeing nothing but a puddle of blood. His eyes darted around the room as his confusion grew. Logan and Roman soon followed him into the room.
"Where have they disappeared to?" Logan pondered as his eyes also scanned the room. Patton paced the room a bit, avoiding the blood. He noticed the door had a few scratches and pieces chipped around the hinges.
"Hey Logan, what's all this?" Logan glanced up at him and came over, investigating the door.
"Hmm...Well it appears that the door must have been opened quickly or violently and caused the wood to split. Perhaps during the fight, someone forced the door open?" Patton gasped
"That means they're outside the castle!" Logan nods and leads them all outside. They split up and searched. Patton heard very faint calls. He listened closely and leaned closer, trying to hear them.
"H...elp...please...someone..." Patton ran to the sound and paused, gasping at what he saw. He ran over to the guard and began comforting them.
"P...at...? Patton?" He nodded and began petting their hair.
"Yeah, yeah, it's me. It's okay, you're going to be fine." He unwrapped the cardigan around his shoulders and cut it into multiple strips to wrap around their wounds for now. He struggled to pick them up, but eventually got a good grip on them. He found Roman and Logan, them looking terrified and worried. Roman stepped forward to him.
"Patton, is that...?" Patton nodded.
"I've wrapped them mostly, but I don't know how long that'll last." Logan nodded and took some of the weight off Patton. Roman helped, despite Logan telling him not to, and they all carried the guard to the castle. Logan set them down on a hospital-style bed and began unwrapping the cardigan pieces. They were very bloody and the material had thinned and stretched from being tied. Logan threw them away, ignoring Patton's protests. It pained him to, and he had to shake the thoughts away as he healed the guard. Patton was petting their hair and Roman was guarding, katana in hand. They winced whenever Logan applied pressure, but they mostly stayed silent. Finally, Logan had cleaned the wounds and got a needle and thread from a drawer. He looked to Patton, who wasn't paying attention to anything except comforting the guard.
"Patton, I suggest you turn away. This process may not be the cleanest to watch." Patton nodded and looked away, covering his eyes. Logan started sewing the wounds, earning a few whines from the guard. They squeezed Patton's hand until it turned purple as Logan finished.
"There. All fixed" The guard nodded and let go of Patton's hand. Patton stood up and put a hand on Roman's shoulder. He turned around suddenly and aimed the katana at Patton in surprise, who gasped and backed away in fear.
"Oh, I'm sorry Patton, I did not know it was you" Patton sighed in relief and nodded.
"It's okay. Logan's done and I figured you would want to know." Roman smiled and ruffled his hair, then walked over to the guard.
"How are you feeling?" They shrugged.
"I'm in severe pain and I just got sewed like a doll, but other than that, I'm fine." Roman rolled his eyes and laughed.
"Well you didn't have to be sarcastic about it."
"Yes I do" Patton put a hand on both their heads to silence them
"Please don't fight" They both nodded. Logan put up everything and ran a hand through Patton's hair
"I am glad to have you back, Patton." He smiled and giggled.
"I'm glad to be back." The guard yawned and sighed
"When is your bedtimes, good lord?" Roman laughed and poked them.
"Whenever you want, I suppose" They nodded and yawned again
"Yeah, where are the rooms?"
"Right this way" Roman lead the guard to a guest room and Patton laid them down, pulling the covers up and tucking them in.
"Thanks Pat." He nodded and smiled.
"Of course!" They all sat down on the bed as Roman grabbed Rapunzel and began reading. The guard has dozed off halfway through and Patton was having trouble staying awake. Logan always passed out immediately after the story was read, and Roman gently picked up the logical man and carried him to his room. He returned to the guest room to pick up Patton, who was barely awake. He set him down in his room and went to pull up the covers, when a hand lazily stopped him.
"Roman nooooo" He turned to Patton with confusion and worry on his face.
"Patton? What is wrong?" Patton grabbed his arm and pulled him close.
"Don't leave me" Roman smiled and pat his head.
"It is alright Patton. Would you like to sleep with me?" Patton nodded and Roman picked him up once more, smiling as Patton wrapped his arms around his neck for support. He set him down gently and climbed in the covers. Patton turned and hugged him tight, feeling tears form in his eyes. Roman rubbed his back to comfort him.
"It's okay, I'm right here." Patton began sobbing and smiled.
"I missed you so much" Roman pet his hair and nodded.
"As did I. Now, I advise that you sleep. I'm sure you've been through a lot today and you need your sleep." Patton nodded and felt himself slip from reality as Roman continued petting him. He finally drifted off into sleep, Roman doing the same moments after.