The Trickster's Test {Prinxiety}

Chapter 6

Third Person

"Patton, William, would you mind stepping outside for a minute?"

It was a request that was technically an order, so neither complained and left Virgil alone with the man who had invited himself in, King Edrick.

The prince busied himself with adjusting the cuffs of his sleeves, which he'd most certainly do a million times before the end of the night. He wasn't an expert at facing his father since his mother's death, largely because of his worry that he would try to set him up with other royals. The king did look quite pleased when Virgil talked to the prince and princess of Lyell for longer than absolutely necessary. He had also made it clear after that ball he didn't care so much about the gender of Virgil's partner, so long as they would make a fine ruler, and if possible, land them a strong connection to one of the nearby kingdoms.

"Is something wrong?" Virgil asked, not able to meet his father's unreadable gaze for more than a couple seconds at once.

King Edrick straightened, "No, I simply wanted to speak with you. I won't be king for much longer, Virgil. You may only have a handful of birthdays before I feel you are ready, or before I need to pass the crown onto you," Already he didn't like where this was going, "And I still feel as though I have so much left I need to teach you, things that a tutor and textbooks could never prepare you for. A large part of me wanted to keep you away from all of it, but that part is selfish. You're going to need to understand certain parts of being king that I've unfairly kept from you, especially when it comes to the other-" He was interrupted by a knock on the door, which was quickly followed by a girlish voice announcing from the other side that the first guests were approaching the castle.

Virgil waited for him to finish speaking, but the moment had been broken. The king's face returned to its usual cautious indifference, saying something about how it would have to wait, he supposed.

Seemingly without noticing his son's confusion, King Edrick exited the room in order to reach the entry hall to greet his guests properly. Virgil had no choice but to follow, glancing once more in the mirror and brushing his bangs down. He appreciated William's work, but he wasn't keen on resembling a stuck-up noble who had used too much hair gel. He would forever be infinitely more comfortable with his hair down, where it could easily block his face.

Carriage by carriage, person by person, the pair greeted the first couple waves of guests as they arrived. Once the flow of people slowed, King Edrick dismissed Virgil to enjoy the party, directing Roman to go with even though the prince had been unaware of the guard's presence up until that point. He would have thought it impossible for Roman to stay quiet for so long, and since he'd had no reason to look behind him, he hadn't taken notice of him. Plenty of people had theorized King Edrick has eyes on the back of his head, and this served as yet another piece of evidence to support it.

"I have to ask; are guards allowed to eat at these sorts of things? Those finger sandwiches look absolutely divine," Roman pipes up, quiet enough to avoid attracting the attention of the nearby people that would most certainly shoot him some strange looks for speaking in such an 'insolent' manner.

While Virgil would normally have little to no problem letting the other embarrass himself, Roman acting like a mannerless simpleton would almost exclusively reflect poorly on him, so he had no choice but to be honest, "Not really. The food is mostly meant for guests, and guards are meant to appear focused on their job at all times," Roman frowned at that, "I'm sure there will be some left over, we could ask Charles to save a couple for you?"

"That's not a bad idea," Roman's gaze travels over the table, before his attention is caught by a couple guards who appear to be deep in conversation. He thought their jobs were to stand like armor suits at fair distances from each other, not conversing.