A Royal Adventure

12: Golden Child

No POV

SONG: Teeth
By: 5 Seconds of Summer

Remus closed the book, not wanting to get anymore tears onto the page. Remus placed the journal on his lap. They had set up camp. Remus sat on a log across from Roman, a fire burning in between them. Remus sniffed, whipping his runny nose with his hand. He looked at Roman. He was holding his hand together, his elbows resting on his knees. His eyes looked red and tired. It was obvious multiple tears had already fallen from his face. They both looked at the fire. Roman swallowed hard, fighting back more tears.

An uncomfortable silence filled the area. Remus wanted to comfort Roman, but again, it wasn't his thing. He wasn't any good at it unless it's Janus and/or Virgil. Otherwise he never shows his soft side.

"Roman," Remus says softly. Roman doesn't move. "I'm so sorry. Maybe we shouldn't have read that." He says, placing the book in the satchel. He set the bag aside and watched Carmel and Midnight sleep.

"You brought it." Roman snapped.

"I wanted to find answers." Remus responded.

"You still brought it. We knew where Mom and Dad were going, we could always just go there instead." Roman said. Remus hasn't seen Roman like this in a very long time.

"Roman, I brought it because I wanted to read it. Plus, I wanted to go on this journey alone. I was never planning on going to The Dark Land. I wanted to know why we were so different." Remus explained calmly. Roman didn't care. He was so upset. He wasn't mad at Remus, he was mad that his parents left them and that that was all they had to say about it. They just wrote a letter to him and Remus about how much they loved them, not really explaining why they left.

"Why'd they leave?" Roman said.

"They were looking for answers about...me." Remus says softly. He looked at his hand and fidgeted with his fingers. He thought it was his fault, and so did Roman now.

"So it was your fault." Roman said, without thinking. Remus looked up at him.

"My fault? It's not my fault I'm like the way I am! I couldn't hide my real self anymore, Roman! No one said you had to like it anyway." Remus' voice gave away a little. It cracked.

"I never said I didn't like it. I just said I didn't like you." Roman said. Remus has never heard Roman say that before, so he was caught very off guard.

"You...you...you don't like me anymore?" Remus stuttered. His voice continued to crack and fracture. Roman didn't respond and he hadn't moved an inch from his original spot.

"Well, you were always mom and dad's favorite." Remus said, crossing his legs and arms, looking at the fire. Roman had finally looked up at Remus.

"OH REALLY!?" He shouted. "They just said they loved you! That they were proud of you!" Roman said, placing his hands next to himself. His shoulders were a little scrunched up. Remus looked at Roman, his eyes drilling into Roman's.

"They said the same thing to you!" Remus said.

"You know, maybe coming here was a big mistake." Roman said softly. Remus's heart crashed into billions of fragments. He kinda liked hanging out with Roman on this.

"Seriously?" Remus asks, his voice cracking again and again. Roman looked at the ground, his limbs loose. Tears rolled down his face again. No, Roman doesn't mean that, he just doesn't think before he says things.

"Well, then maybe you leaving is exactly what you need to do, Roman." Remus says. He gets up and sets up his bed. "I may be the villain in your story, but I'm the hero in mine." Remus says as he turns his back to Roman and cries himself silently to sleep. Roman grabs his bed and places it down away from Remus. He feels horrible. Icky, almost. He moves like he's attached to syrup. He's slow and thinks about every movement he makes. His body is jello, weak and begging for rest. His eyes feel like heavy weights, bringing them down. His hair is ratted and messy.

Sweet Cole Sprouse of hairbrushes! Roman remembers saying to Thomas when Virgil wasn't around. Roman chuckles to himself, but softly so Remus doesn't hear.

Roman then cries himself to sleep as well.