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

Chapter Thirteen

Eventually the four of them had to start moving again. They each mounted their horse, the cursed Virgil climbing onto the back of Roman's steed just as he'd done before, and set off again, deeper into the forest. Luis and Thorn had their horses walking side-by-side ahead of them this time, and he could hear the two of them talking in hushed voices between themselves. 

He exhaled heavily, feeling an aching in his chest from the way Virgil had called out to him in his dream. He could still see the dark, endless black trees, feeling as though he were suffocating then. 

The prince inhaled quickly, desperate to get oxygen when he suddenly heard his friends' voices again. "Roman!" Thorn snapped. He was pulled out of his thoughts; he opened his eyes and met the concerned gazes of the two royals in front of him. "Are you sure you're alright to keep going? We'd called your name four times before you even remotely responded. Maybe we should stop and rest some more, and I can put you under a sleep spell so you can get some real sleep-"

"We're not stopping," he argued, keeping his voice firm but not overly aggressive. "We've only just started traveling again. We can't waste the precious time we have to find him if we stop every time I'm not feeling well."

Luis bit down on his lip and opened his mouth to speak his piece. "No offense Roman, but he'd rather you rest and take of yourself than push through your limits to rescue him."

"We are not stopping," Roman growled, squeezing the sides of his stallion to make it surge forward, passing the two of them. "I feel fine, and don't try to lecture me about what he'd want. I know he'd rather have me rest and t-take care of myself, but he's selfless like that, and that's why- that's why we need to find him, and as fast as possible. He'll put himself through god knows what tortures to keep us safe, don't you understand that?"

The younger prince nodded, looking sad and immediately making the elder feel guilty. "I'm... I'm sorry for snapping, Luis, you didn't deserve that," he amended, ducking his head and facing forward. "I'm just worried about him."

"I know," he replied softly, almost under his breath. "I am too-"

"Guys. Look," Thorn interrupted, her voice unnervingly monotone as she nodded to the trees ahead of them. 

The turned their focus to what she was gesturing toward, their eyes dropping along with a sinking feeling in their guts. The trees ahead of them were black and seemingly decaying, their trunks gnarly and chalky in appearance. The few leaves that they retained were black as well, and fluttered to the ground in seconds at any slight gust of wind. 

Roman felt his stomach twist as he froze, his horse doing the same. He stared at the trees, not being able to see through the dark shadows they were casting along the trail ahead. They looked like the trees from his dream.

"What happened to them?" Luis whispered in horror as he stopped his horse beside the older prince. "They can't have died naturally, that looks anything but natural."

"Isn't it obvious?" the dark prince spoke for the first time. They all turned their heads toward him. Thorn's were narrow and suspicious, Luis' were wide and terrified, and Roman's were carefully blank, revealing nothing about how he felt as he met the dark purple gaze of the boy he loved that wasn't really the boy he loved. Virgil's mouth curled into a wicked looking grin as he cocked his head to the side. "He's getting closer to completing his mission."

A silence fell over them. There was no telling what the dark prince meant by that, and they all knew that asking wouldn't give them an answer. 

Roman tried to remain calm, clenching his jaw and squeezing his stallion's sides to tell him to continue forward. The horse's ears swiveled to lay flat against its head as they entered the blacken trees. Fortunately, there was more light in this real forest than in his nightmare. The sun was still shining against a pale grey sky, and the trees were so dead that once they past the initial shadows, it was mostly lit. 

"This is so horrible," the princess murmured.

The younger prince nodded in agreement, looking devastated that the forest of his home kingdom was so barren and black. "It's like all the life as has just been drained from this part of the forest."

"What could that bastard be planning?" Roman muttered, only audible to himself as they passed the dead portion of the trees and returned to the normal, albeit not as luscious as they'd once been, green trees. They at least felt like they could breathe again, seeing the living plant life around them rather than the destroyed land they'd just gone through. As they continued on, a large shadow fell over their path, making the prince look up, his eyes widening in realization. "Oh... I hadn't realized..."

Far above them, higher up the mountain, was the castle. The castle he'd first kissed Virgil in. His eyes slipped closed as the memories flowed. 

"You're my Virgil," he said, shaking his head. The dark prince's heart clenched as he continued. "You're the boy who'd draw all over the walls of the castle when we were kids. You're the boy who was too scared to play hide and seek because you thought no one would look for you, but I always found you. You're the boy who doesn't need magic to amaze me, you've been doing that since the day I met you. You're the boy who feels more comfortable in black than any other color, but secretly loves purple just as much. You're the boy that made me a crown out of flowers whenever I was sad. You're not a monster. You're not worthless. You're my Virgil..."

The speech caused the real Virgil to stop because the figure and the dark prince in the astral plane were both staring in shock. The eyes of the Virgil Roman could see were flickering brown. In the astral plane, he reached up to touch the necklace. Tears dripped down his cheeks as a smile started to form on his lips. The figure growled, throwing him across the room and resuming the real Virgil's attack on the prince. Roman's eyes widened as he realized it hadn't been enough, the eyes turning purple again.

"C-Come on, Virgil," he stammered, backing away. The dark prince was trying to get to his feet, but he was dizzy and his head was spinning from trying to gain control.

As Roman was pinned to the wall, he panicked, not knowing what else he could do. He had one more thing he could try. He grabbed Virgil's face and pulled him close, pressing their lips together forcefully.

All Virgil could feel in that moment was Roman's lips on his own. He didn't feel the pain or the panic of everything that was happening. He was suddenly in control, the figure screaming and disappearing completely. The prince pulled away, watching as Virgil's eyes fluttered open. They were brown, dark brown; the almost black brown of dark chocolate.

"Virgil-mmf!!"

Roman couldn't even get a word out before the dark prince kissed him again. He brought held his face gently, smiling into it as he felt tears of joy slip down his cheeks. When they pulled away, Virgil hugged him so tightly he almost had difficulty breathing.

"You scared me," Roman joked gently as he hugged him back. The dark prince didn't respond, simply about to collapse with relief. "For a second there, I thought my Virgil was gone... I don't know how I could live without you."

Blinking back into reality, the prince felt tears drip slowly down his face. He was so sure he'd never have to live without him, and then he'd disappeared. For a year, Roman had been lost, unsure, depressed, unmotivated. For a year, he'd felt numb, but now? 

He reached up to wipe away the salty drops from his cheeks, his eyes narrowing and his expression turning to one of anger as he glared up at the castle. 

Roman felt determined.