The Cursed Prince

3

TW: blood and emotions

Virgil washed the dishes and set them on a drying rack before drying his hands. He was going to turn to get ready for bed when he saw a horse running towards the house through the kitchen window.

He squinted and realized with a start that it was Sandy. He threw on his boots and cloak before running outside.

Sandy was frantic and was covered in shallow injuries, but what scared Virgil the most was that his father was missing.

"Sandy! Calm down, it's okay," he tried to calm the horse, grabbing her reins and moving forward to pet her neck. "It's okay, god what happened?"

He led Sandy closer to the house and quickly ran inside to grab a wet washcloth. He came back out and started to clean Sandy's wounds, luckily there were little and some were already starting to dry.

When he was done he set the washcloth on the stone in front of his house and hopped onto Sandy.

"Take me to dad," he told her, urging her to move.

It was pitch black outside but Virgil didn't care. He frowned in worry when he saw their carriage but Sandy didn't stop and Virgil didn't see Logan anywhere near it. If he didn't find his father then he can investigate later.

Sandy slowed down to a trot as they went deeper into the forest and Virgil looked around for any sign of his father. His stomach turned when he saw what he really hoped wasn't blood on the dirt path but Sandy continued, following what looked like footprints.

Virgil thanked whatever was above that they hadn't disappeared yet and he and Sandy followed the footprints. Soon they arrived at a castle that took Virgil's breath away.

He jumped off of Sandy and walked forward. He turned to look at her before he opened the door.

"Please stay here, but if anything happens you can run away," Virgil told her.

She pawed the ground in response as he turned around and opened the door.

"Hello?" he called out, his voice echoing in the empty corridors. "Dad! Are you here?"

"What about him?" a voice whispered behind him, so quiet he almost missed it.

He turned around but didn't see anyone. Assuming he was just hearing things, he continued forward.

He thought he heard footsteps in front of him and followed them.

"Hello? I need help, I'm looking for my father!" he shouted.

"Virgil?" he heard his dad call.

Virgil gasped and rushed further up the stairs. He opened a door and saw his father trapped in a cell.

"Dad! What happened?" he rushed forward, reaching for Logan through the bars.

"Virgil listen to me, you need to leave now," he insisted. "He's a beast, I won't let you get hurt again."

"Who? It doesn't matter, I'm getting you out of here."

Virgil looked around for something to help and saw a set of keys hanging nearby. He quickly ran towards them and reached out to grab them.

"Virgil!"

He gasped when a large paw grabbed his arm, pulling him away from the keys and turning him around to face the beast. He couldn't help but scream before trying to punch him, but his fist was caught in the other paw.

"What are you doing here!?" the beast yelled.

"Saving- saving my father from you!" Virgil shouted back. He tried to kick the beast but it did nothing.

"Your father is my prisoner, leave now before you become one yourself."

"Virgil, just leave!" Logan implored. "Please, I'll be okay."

"No! I'm-I'm not letting you stay trapped here." Virgil struggled to free himself. "I... I would rather take your place!"

"Virgil don't!"

Virgil blinked away tears of panic and looked at the beast. "Take me in his place, I'm his son."

"Stop! Don't you dare hurt him!"

"You will have to stay here for the rest of your life," the beast warned, "are you sure it's worth it?"

"Virgil please," Logan begged. "Please, you're still so young. You'll be okay on your own. I promised I would keep you safe, Virgil please!"

"Yes, I'm sure," Virgil answered the beast.

"Very well." The beast dragged Virgil over to the cell and pushed him inside.

Logan grabbed him in a hug, feeling how bad Virgil was shaking.

"Please don't," Logan begged.

The beast grabbed him and pulled him out of the cell and away from Virgil. He shut the cell door and dragged Logan out of the room, despite his struggle and protest.

"Wait please! Don't do this to my son, he- don't trap him here!" Logan tried to desperately free himself.

The beast threw him outside, startling Sandy.

"Don't come back here or you'll be trapped with your son!" the beast threatened.

He slammed the doors shut and locked it. He turned and started to walk back to Virgil. On his way, a hand grabbed his arm.

"Maybe you should take the boy to a more comfortable room," Patton suggested. "You shouldn't keep him in a cell."

Roman sighed, "Fine."

He walked back up the stairs, though he started to feel guilty when he heard crying. He walked back into the room to see Virgil curled up in the corner as he cried, trying to stifle his sobs.

Roman cleared his throat and Virgil looked away from him, wiping his tears away and smudging his eyeshadow.

"Come with me," he commanded, trying to be soft without leaving any room for argument.

Virgil didn't even turn to him when he asked, "Where will you take me."

"To your room." Roman extended a paw towards him.

Virgil glared at him and got up on his own, pulling his cloak around him. Roman sighed and led him out of the room.

"You're welcome to explore the castle as much as you'd like, you can go anywhere except for the master bedroom."

Virgil didn't say anything as they walked. He just stared at the floor and bit his tongue to keep from crying.

Roman opened the door to a different room and led Virgil inside. The room was big, though it was a bit dusty. The bed was huge and there was a wardrobe next to it, on its other side was a nightstand with an unlit candle.

There was a door to the bathroom across from it and a balcony across from the door. Further from the bathroom was a fire pit with a fire fork next to it.

"This will be your room from now on. You can come to me if you need anything."

Virgil just walked forward and laid on the bed, his back facing Roman.

Roman rubbed his arm. "Though you may be my prisoner, I will not punish you further for what your father has done. If you need anything to make your stay nicer, just ask. Good night."

He closed the door and started to walk away.

"Well, what a great first impression," Remus joked.

"How long have you been there?"

"I followed the kid the moment he walked in. You should work on your social skills."

"You're lucky you're my brother or I would smack you."

"You can't even see me, ya dumb beast."

Roman growled slightly, but he didn't do anything. Remus was right though, he did need to work on his social skills.