The Cursed Prince

7

Virgil shivered as he woke up. He couldn't quite tell where he was, all he knew was the blankets on him were too hot and his body ached.

He whimpered when he tried to curl up, pain shooting up from, well from everywhere. His side was on fire, his legs ached, his arms burned, and everything was far too hot.

He pushed away the blankets and gasped for breath.

"Hey, easy, it's okay," he heard a voice tell him.

"Calm down kiddo, you're safe now," another said. He felt a hand touch his forehead and he flinched.

"Too-too hot," he cried, why couldn't he stop shivering?

"You're freezing up, you need to stay in the covers."

"No, I-I can't..." Virgil tried to fight against whoever was pulling the blanket over him. "I..." He was so tired. He tried to fight it but he was pulled back into unconsciousness.

When he woke up again he was cold, but not as cold as he was when he was outside. Of course, his injuries still burned.

He rubbed his eyes, trying to roll the joints in his arms since they felt so stiff. He peeled open his eyes and saw they were covered in bandages. Then he realized he wasn't wearing a shirt, and after a small moment of panic he checked to make sure he was wearing pants.

He was, but they weren't his, they were big on him so they weren't uncomfortable and they didn't tear at the bandages on his legs. He rubbed his face in embarrassment, at least whoever changed him had the decency to cover him up.

He heard a voice outside of the room. "He'll be okay, Roman, it's only been one night. I'm sure he'll wake up soon."

The door opened and Virgil pulled the blanket over his chest. Roman tried to smile softly when he saw him, but that was hard to do with his fangs.

"I'm-I'm happy to see you're awake," he said, and Virgil was surprised to hear how soft spoken he was.

Roman walked inside, but he didn't get too close to Virgil. He didn't want to scare him, and he wouldn't blame the boy if he was scared.

"Hey kiddo," he heard Patton say. "I'm just going to check your temperature real quick, is that okay?" Virgil nodded and he felt a warm hand touch his forehead. "You're doing much better than last night."

"What-" Virgil tried to ask, but his voice was scratchy. He cleared his throat and tried again, "What happened?"

"What do you remember?" Roman asked.

"I remember running, and the wolves, and then drowning. How- how am I...?"

"I pulled you out of the water," Roman explained. "Then I brought you back here. Patton and Janus took care of your injuries and my brother and I worked together to warm you up, getting you blankets and keeping the fire pit going."

"Thank you," Virgil mumbled.

"I'll go get you some soup and water," Patton said and Virgil saw the door close on its own.

"I'm sorry," Roman apologized. "You wouldn't have gotten hurt if it wasn't for me. I shouldn't have gotten angry, I have no excuses for yelling at you."

"Why... did you get angry?" Virgil asked.

"That rose, it's tied to our curse, my... my curse. I was human once, but a dragon witch killed my parents and did this to me, as well as the others. There were more servants, but they ran away or just went missing. Once all those petals on the rose fall off, my curse becomes permanent and I will be like this forever."

"How do you break it?"

"It doesn't matter, I doubt I ever will. I'm more concerned about you right now, you're hurt badly."

Virgil frowned, yeah he was in a lot of pain but he had so many questions filling up his mind. "Why did you... why did you run after me?"

He thought he already knew the answer, he chased him because he's a prisoner. That was it.

"I was going to let you run back to your village, but then I saw you were in danger and I couldn't let you get hurt. I have a mirror that shows me whatever I ask for, and when I saw the wolves chasing you I got scared. When I got to the lake, I scared the wolves away and saved- I pulled you out."

Virgil frowned in thought, this whole time Roman reminded him of Lukas. Commanding, scary, a monster. But right now he was soft, gentle, and he kinda looked like a lost puppy.

And it wasn't like anyone else was in the room, at least if they are they're being very quiet. Lukas was only kind to Virgil when they were in front of someone else towards the end of their relationship.

"You don't have to forgive me, but I want to make it up to you," Roman offered.

"You... you're not the one that hurt me," Virgil told him. "All you did was scare me, the rest was my fault."

"If I hadn't scared you, you wouldn't have tried to run off. I might not have hurt you directly, but even scaring you was wrong. I'm truly sorry."

"Don't apologize, just... just don't yell again." Virgil braced for any backlash, gripping the blanket tight.

"I promise, I won't yell at you again. I'll do my best to keep my temper in check for the remainder of your stay."

Virgil was surprised, and very relieved. He glanced over and saw Roman hadn't even taken a step forward.

"Thank you."

"Of course. Do you think you can walk?"

"M-maybe, but I would like a shirt before I leave the room. It's still cold in the castle."

"That's right, sorry, I didn't mean- I'll get you one," Roman stuttered. He walked over to the wardrobe next to Virgil's bed and opened it up, looking for something to keep Virgil warm.

He pulled out a simple white long sleeved shirt and handed it over to Virgil, being slow so he wouldn't scare him.

Virgil thanked him and carefully pulled it over his head, wincing at his injuries.

"After you eat, I can show you the library if that interests you. Or perhaps I can show you the garden? We'll do whatever you want," Roman said.

"The library sounds nice, but I might need some help walking. The wolves... well I'm sure you already know."

"I'll see if we have a cane anywhere."

"You're being awfully nice to me."

"My intentions were never to harm you. I promise that I'll keep you safe, and you and everyone else can hold me to that promise if I cross a boundary."

Virgil smiled, "You bet I will, princey."