Patton was humming a soft tone as he finished up the last of his cleaning in the infirmary. The whole castle had spent the day just getting everything cleaned and set up for the prince's departure the next day. Sure only a select few were leaving, meaning the rest of the staff were responsible for the castle, but that didn't mean Patton was just going to leave them with all this to do. He assumed Virgil felt the same as he hadn't seen the kiddo once that whole day.
Patton stretched himself out as he carefully closed everything up before making his way down towards his room. He had just managed to pass the kitchen when the sound of clattering caught his attention. He frowned as he slowly made his way in, spotting a familiar face carrying a bucket.
"Kiddo?" Virgil froze like ice as he suddenly jerked up, splashing water in the action, to see Patton standing there in front of him. "What are you doing still up?" Virgil hesitated slightly before just gesturing with the bucket making Patton's eyes darken.
"Are you still cleaning?" Virgil nodded before trying to walk past Patton, only for the older fae to walk with him. "Why? It's late. I've just finished everything myself." Virgil groaned before gesturing with the bucket again making Patton chuckle.
"Go to bed, Kiddo. We're leaving tomorrow. You don't want too exhausted for the trip. Trust me." Virgil simply gave him a look making Patton sigh, and hold his hands up in defeat. The human was stubborn after all. Virgil quickly walked off leaving Patton there alone in the hall, a worried yet tired look in his pink eyes. "Just please make sure you've gotten rest. Ok, kiddo?" Virgil gave Patton a wave before quickly disappearing down another hall.
He quickly made his way to the armory, wanting to make sure everything was ok. He had spent all morning cleaning and recleaning everything he had to, before going to the garden to make sure it was taken care of. He then spent the remainder of the afternoon packing and going over everything to make sure he had anything he might need should something go wrong. He had to have Patton give him another bag or two just so he could fit everything AND have room for his clothes. Now he was just focusing on making sure Roman's things were good and ready. As Logan had told him since he was going on a mission as the Summer Prince, he would need to present as such and be prepared for any trouble.
Virgil carefully set the bucket down, groaning at the water that splashed about. He hesitantly grabbed the large sword. His eyes shined as he gently tugged the heavy blade out of its leather confines. He couldn't help but smile, as he laid the sheath beside him. It wasn't like he enjoyed violence as he had heard swords so closely tied to. But he did enjoy the image the sword gave him... imagining the prince holding it tightly as he fought to protect his people.
Virgil grabbed the cloth and dipped it into the suds before just doing his best to clean the blade. He sat there for a while lost in his thoughts as he melted into the repetitive movements. The sword itself looked as if made of silver but held a glimmer in it as if the metal sparkled instead of reflected light. Virgil knew it wasn't silver as that and iron were dangerous for fae but the odd material looked pretty in his opinion. Gold accents ran up the blade in runes and designs before hitting the golden hilt with a sort of white marble grip. Of course, it was all wrapped up with a red rope making it hard to see the marble at all.
After cleaning it up, Virgil made sure to oil it, not wanting to leave it to rust or anything. He didn't know what time it was, or how long he had been sitting there. He couldn't feel his exhaustion creeping up on him. When he was done with the sword he carefully put it back into its scabbard before putting it over his shoulder and grabbing the bucket.
He carried it all back to the kitchen, dumping the bucket before hurrying back to his room. He gently set the sword beside the rest of Roman's armor, which he had cleaned up for the next day. Virgil groaned as he laid himself down on the bed finally letting himself relax. He's been working nonstop since the moment the mission was brought up. He hadn't allowed himself any time to rest as he had to make sure they were all prepared. Not to mention there was absolutely no way he was going to leave the rest of the staff stuck doing his job while he was away.
Virgil felt the exhaustion finally seep into his skin as he let out a soft breath, falling further into the quiet that surrounded him. He hadn't even put himself under the covers. He just laid down to relax and he was falling asleep.
His bones felt like lead. His lungs burned with every movement. He didn't want to get up but he knew he had to. When the sun started to rise, he forced his eyes to peel open, groaning at the pain his body was in. He forced himself up, wasting no time in starting a bath for himself as he went about pulling his clothes for the day. He let the warm bath water soak away as much of the soreness and exhaustion as it could as he just relaxed.
He knew he didn't get much sleep but he did rest up and that was enough for him. He was just happy he got everything done in time. He pushed himself out of the bath maybe a few minutes after not wanting to spend too long just sitting idle. He grabbed all of Roman's things and quickly made his way to the prince's room, heaving out a heavy breath as he pushed the door open to see the prince still fast asleep.
Roman laid there on his chest, hair falling over his face, as he held the pillow loosely with one hand. The blanket was only up to his waist giving Virgil full view of the prince's shirtless back and all the markings that trailed down his shoulder and side, as he usually didn't sleep with a shirt.
Virgil quietly placed all of Roman's things as gently as he could on the dresser before walking over to open the blinds and letting all the light in. There was a soft grown from the bed as Virgil went to the bathroom to start the bath.
"You know, Dear... You don't always have to open the blinds just to wake me up." Roman teased lightly as he hugged the pillow tighter to him. "You could just make some sort of a sound." The light flickered on making Roman groan and cover himself with his blanket. "Or blind me... That works too." Virgil chuckled as he pulled the blanket back, making Roman falter a bit at the look in the human's eyes. Virgil held his hand out making Roman snap out of his mind a bit before just giving him a weird look. "What?" Virgil huffed as he pointed to the bathroom and Roman laughed with a slight roll of his eyes. "Ok. Ok. I get it. I have to get up." Roman stretched with a yawn before glancing over to see his armor resting against his dresser and he frowned.
"Poppet... Do you know how to put all that on?" Virgil hesitated a bit as Roman pointed over at his things. "My armor... Do you know how to do that? I could just ask Tourmaline to do it so you can watch-..." Virgil quickly shook his head before hugging himself a bit making Roman roll his eyes again and nod. "Ok. Well, if you're sure then... Let me just wash up first before we start getting ready."
Roman chuckled lightly as Virgil just stared at the armor with a bit of a frown. He had done a lot of research even asking Logan a few questions when the fae had brought the armor up in the first place. However, reading it and putting it all into practice are two completely different things. Virgil held the cloth tunic with an odd look in his eyes as he glanced over all the armor. It wasn't anything heavy. Pretty lightweight and formfitting, but even still there was a proper way of putting it on.
"Are you sure you wouldn't like me to call on Tourmaline to assist?" Roman teased lightly only getting a pout in return. "Well? We haven't gotten all day." Roman gave out a loud laugh as he caught the shirt Virgil threw at him. Virgil made a frustrated sound as Roman just shot him a playful glare. "Surely you don't expect me to dress myself?" Virgil faltered slightly as he just curled up into himself. He knew the prince was teasing him. Roman had that way with him for some reason but he was already on edge and frustrated. Virgil sighed as he just shook his head making Roman's eyes soften a bit at the sudden change in the human. "Poppet? Is everything alright? You suddenly don't look very well." Virgil gave a forced laugh before just gesturing to the armor and Roman sighed with a nod. "Honestly, it's not that hard."
"Here." Roman slipped the tunic on before laughing as Virgil just watched him with a tilt of his head. "Well... Are you going to grab the next thing?" Virgil's eyes lit up as he ran about grabbing whatever Roman told him to before helping the prince to put it on. A good while later as Roman was just fixing everything up, Virgil grabbed the sword with a somewhat dopey grin. Sure the prince had to help him but he had done it and he was proud of himself. Roman shot the other a very quick glance noticing he had his sword before using his magic to send it flying at him, out of Virgil's arms. Virgil squeaked as Roman caught it, sheath and all, with an odd look in his eyes. "Be careful, Dear. Just because it's in a scabbard doesn't mean it can't still be dangerous." Virgil blinked for a bit before groaning in annoyance as he quickly walked over to make sure everything was right. Roman just stood there in silence watching as Virgil fixed the belt so that the sword rested on the prince's hip.
"Are you ready to go, Poppet?" Virgil tensed a bit hearing how Roman's breath practically brushed against his skin, before giving a subtle nod. "Good. Then let's get going. We've been wasting enough time." Virgil sighed as Roman walked out of the room. He didn't know why he ever expected a thank you. It didn't matter, as long as they did what they had to. Virgil yawned as he shook the sleep from his hazy mind. He wasn't tired. He was just... still waking up. That's all. They had a long journey ahead of them surely that would help to wake him up.
"Hurry up, Kiddo. It's not that bad." Patton lulled as he tried his best to boost Virgil's confidence. "You've got this."
"Patton!" Patton jumped as he quickly ran off, seeing as how Logan had called to him. Virgil just groaned as everything burned. They'd been going for quite some time. They had a carriage, which held a large chest in the back filled with odds and ends, as well as the two horses that pulled it both having satchels attached to their saddles. The prince rode in the carriage while the rest of them walked... and walked... and walked. Eventually, Roman had gotten bored of just sitting so he had left to join them in their walking, leading the whole group as they went... but leaving a very exhausted Virgil stumbling behind.
The sun was beating hard on him as they ventured further and further into Roman's kingdom of summer. The ground although mostly flat as much as a dirt road could be, was still bumpy and uneven. His feet would catch on the stone making him trip and slow down, what was already a snail's pace. He could hardly see the group ahead of him, having fallen behind so much. The whole world had blurred out into a haze, causing his footing to stumble out from underneath him. And this time, gravity went with it.
"Logan, where would be about-..." The sudden sound hit his ears making him stop in his tracks. "What was that?"
"It seems the pet wasn't up for the task." Roman's eyes darkened as he turned around to see Virgil face first in the dirt. One of the three servants he had brought nudged him with her foot before just laughing. "He's out cold. Humans are so weak." The three servants all seemed to burst into laughter as Patton sighed sadly over everything.
"My apologies, your highness." Patton started as he carefully put his bag in the chest so that he could have his hands free. "I tried to tell him to get some rest but... It seems he hadn't. He had just been working so hard lately he must not have gotten enough sleep. Plus with this heat..." Patton rambled on completely oblivious to how the prince had started walking over to Virgil. "It must have been too much for him. I can carry him the rest of the way if you would..." Patton stopped short as he turned back to see Roman carefully picking Virgil up off the ground. "Your Highness?" Roman didn't even respond. He simply gestured to the bags he had pulled off of the human, making Patton race to carry them, before walking off without another word. Everyone seemed to go quiet at that.
When they finally reached the cabin Roman wasted no time in carrying the human up the steps to the spare bedroom. He laid Virgil down over the blankets noticing how red and overheated the poor human was. He was at a loss. This was the second time Virgil had worked himself till he was sick and gave no notice. How was Roman supposed to protect him and care for him if he was always hurting himself?
"I just do not understand you, Poppet." Roman sighed as he gently brushed his thumb just under Virgil's eyes, noticing the scar that had quite clearly faded. "Just... get some sleep. Please?"