Savage - Prinxiety [Sequel To "Monster"] [COMPLETED]

Chapter Sixteen

When Roman's eyes fluttered open back to the present, he felt like crying. He couldn't stand seeing the boy he loved so dearly in pain. He was out there, somewhere, fighting to stay alive and keep them safe on their journey to save him. It hurt him to know how much he was being tortured and abused, and he felt helplessly out of control of the situation. 

He sat up in his cot, seeing that the others had fallen asleep and that the sky had darkened. The only light came from the moon and the stars above him. He stared up at the speckled abyss, feeling small and insignificant. 

He was trying his hardest to get to Virgil in time, but with every dream he'd experienced since the cursed Virgil's arrival, he got the increasing heavy feeling that he'd fail. The prince had this unsettling thought in his mind that this could all be a trap, that Virgil wasn't really alive, and that he was being toyed with. It was only his unexplained connection to the real dark prince through their dreams that kept the hope alive. 

As he thought about their dreams, he tried to come up with an explanation for why he was able to communicate with Virgil the way they did. Not only could they meet in their dreams, but he could now observe him in his conscious state prior to joining him in their dream meeting. This wasn't something he'd ever heard of when studying magic.

Then again, Virgil seemed to be a special case when it came to what was known about the bounds of magic. According to the books his father had forced him to read, all dark magic had died out during the war long before they were born; a war that led to the banishment of the very same dark mage that someone had tried to make the dark prince summon last year. This begged the question: who was it that had been manipulating him, and why did they need to use Virgil to summon him? Surely if it was simply a matter of dark magic- and this person is likely a dark mage- why wouldn't they just summon him themselves?

Roman sighed heavily, feeling a headache coming on as all the thoughts and speculations swirled in his mind. There were too many things that had no explanation, but as infuriating as it was, some things simply didn't have one. 

He stood from his cot and stretched out his back as he wandered the campsite, wanting to keep watch. It wasn't exactly dangerous in these woods to his knowledge, but he knew he'd have a hard time falling back to sleep after a horrific vision like that. He figured he might as well make sure he and his companions were safe. 

The prince's heart jumped in his chest upon seeing a boy who looked startlingly like the boy from his dreams before remembering the fourth member of their party. The empty shell of who Virgil once was, only made up of what his captor had instructed him to do. 

He was awake and tied to the tree, having barely moved. He was sitting down, leaning back against the trunk and staring up at the stars as if looking and listening for them to tell him something, similarly to what Roman had done just a few moments prior. He took a moment to inspect the cursed version of his beloved dark prince. 

In this moment of believing he was alone, he looked scared. He looked worried and lost. He felt a pang in his heart as he swallowed, allowing himself to feel sympathy. This was Virgil, but he was missing a huge part of who he was.

His feet started to carry him toward the dark prince before he could stop himself. He sat down beside him, making him start and look toward him sharply. Wide, dark purple eyes took in his own as they met. Roman just stared back, waiting for him to look away first. When he did, he spoke. "What are you doing up? You should rest."

The cursed Virgil looked surprised that he was even bothering to ask him. "I couldn't sleep," he mumbled, clearly trying to maintain the intimidating, scary front he'd put upon during his questioning back at the palace. "What's it to you?"

"Well, it's everything to me if Virgil can't sleep," he replied truthfully, looking up at the stars. He felt the other boy's gaze on him as he continued. "He's everything to me, and when he can't sleep, neither can I. You... You're him, but you've forgotten yourself, so in a way, I still care about your well-being. Does that make sense?"

He frowned and shrugged. "I suppose that makes sense," he grumbled, shifting uncomfortably. "Why are you talking to me though? It's not like we can talk like we might've used to."

"No, we can't, but maybe it'll be easier for you to return to your old self if you try to," Roman suggested, looking toward him deliberately. "I want to ask you something, and I can't force you to answer, but I'd appreciate it if you did. Do you want to serve your captor?"

The dark prince fell silent, staring at the ground as he swallowed nervously. "I-I... I don't know," he whispered. "I don't remember you, or the others, or what happened... but I do know that he saved my life. Though he's not been exactly good to me, I do owe him my life. I would be dead if he hadn't found me..."

"Do you know that for certain?" he asked. 

"I'm fairly certain, I mean, he'd yell that at the astral Virgil all the time, so I guess it's true," Virgil said, looking up with a small shrug. "I mean, from what I understand, I over-extended my powers to close a summoning portal and then fell over a thousand feet into the ground. I have to assume I was pretty banged up. If he hadn't found me, I'd probably have died from my wounds."

Roman had to admit he had a point. "Okay, but I think you should keep in mind that saving someone's life doesn't mean they own it," he said, standing up to head back over to his cot. "You own your life, no one else does. Not even him."

The dark prince didn't seem to know what to say, simply looking after him thoughtfully as he walked away.