Both Virgil and Roman watched nervously as the king paced around in front of the throne and the queen quietly sat on her own. Both were still trying to take the information in.
"I just- I can't believe anyone would do this," the queen sighed, almost talking to herself as she rubbed her face. "What could they possibly gain from hurting him?"
"That doesn't matter at the moment," the king stated. He turned to the two and asked, "What did they look like? Do you know them?"
Roman shook his head. "I'm afraid their face was hidden. Though, they had blue and black wings, and pale skin. And they are a nature fairy. Virgil almost caught them, but they went into a tree and presumably got away. It's thanks to him I wasn't hurt."
Virgil forced himself not to grimace at that. If he was better, then they wouldn't have gotten away. His mind was racing a mile a minute, was the fairy the one who tried to poison him? Were they trying to get to him through Roman? If not, what were they hoping to gain?
"Thank you, Virgil," the queen told him. It felt wrong, she shouldn't be thanking him, the fairy was still out there!
"I-it was no problem," Virgil replied, but he refused to look up from the floor.
"I'll send guards out immediately to look for them," the king said. "You'll need more guards, and a stricter curfew until this is over."
"Father, you can't-" Roman tried to protest, but was silenced when the king raised his hand.
"It's just until we can find out who's behind this. It won't be permanent, I promise."
Roman stepped back and nodded with a sigh. "Okay."
Virgil looked over to him in worry before looking back at the king as he spoke up again.
"We'll need to call a council meeting immediately about this, so we can find out what more can be done. For now, please return to your room. And Virgil, stay with him to keep him safe."
The borrower nodded. "Of course, thank you."
Roman sighed as he turned around and started to walk off. Virgil quickly turned to follow him, trying to hide his pain that was caused by every step on his injured ankle.
Halfway to his room, Roman groaned, "I can't believe this."
"It's for your own safety," Virgil reminded him.
"I know that, it's still annoying though. Who was trying to hurt me? And why would they want to?"
"That's what everyone wants to know."
"I just wish I was more helpful during the chase. It feels like you did all the work."
"I didn't catch them though."
"You were really close though, closer than me. If they hadn't gone into the tree, I'm sure you would have caught them."
Virgil smiled at Roman's confidence in him. "You helped me too, when I almost fell you caught me."
"I'm sorry that we won't be able to go to Daisy's Honey. I have a feeling that starting tomorrow, you won't be my only guard."
"That'll be okay. The more guards, the safer you'll be."
Roman pushed his door open, heading inside. "Yeah but I only liked it when it was just you."
Virgil looked around the room to make sure everything was in place. "The king said it wasn't permanent. It's only until we find out who's behind this. Plus, it's a small colony, so we should hopefully find someone of that description."
Virgil thought back to the wings. It was really odd, he hadn't seen that pattern before. The main color of the wings were blue, but the black edges were odd. It looked like the black was slowly spilling into the wings, as if corrupted. He didn't know that wings could have that pattern.
Roman sat on the bed. "I suppose. What if this fairy is connected to whoever tried to poison you?"
The borrower frowned as he walked around the room to make sure there wasn't anyone or anything that could harm Roman. "I had thought of that, but I don't know."
"What if they had messed up and were trying to poison me? According to that note, it's clear that I'm their target."
"Which is why we need to be cautious." Virgil turned to the prince, satisfied that they were safe in the room.
Roman thought about how odd it was that the note wasn't addressing him though. It was as if he was an afterthought, and whoever that fairy was wanted to get to someone else. He hoped he was wrong though, he would rather he was in danger than someone else.
~~~
Virgil's ears perked up when he heard a knock at the door. Before then, he and the prince had either tried to figure out who the mysterious fairy was and why they were targeting Roman, or they just sat in silence.
The borrower held a hand up to keep the prince setted on the bed as he walked over to the door. A hand hovered over his knife as he opened the door with his other one. He opened it just a crack and saw the king and queen.
Relieved, he opened the door all the way and greeted them, "Your majesties." Now that the door was fully opened, he saw two fairies behind them. Guards.
"It's late, Virgil," the queen said, "you should head to your room to rest. We have these two guards to protect the prince. Thank you for everything."
The borrower gave her a tired smile and nodded. "Of course. Good night." He turned back to Roman and gave him a smile before heading to his room.
He heard the king talking to Roman once the door was closed, something about how one of the fairies was a nature fairy and the other a healing fairy. Apparently the best combination for the situation.
Once Virgil knew Roman would be okay, he zoned it out and started walking to his bed. He planned to just fall onto the covers to sleep, but he saw something on the nightstand that made him freeze. There was a white folded up note.
His breath hitched, hoping that whatever it was it wasn't bad news. He was just paranoid, that was all, the note could have been from anyone!
He took a deep breath to calm himself and picked it up, hating how his hands shook slightly. He scoffed at himself for being so ridiculous, but the second he opened it his heart dropped.
It was the same handwriting. The note simply read, "Meet me outside, by the trunk of the tree late into the night. Don't bring anyone, and don't tell anyone. Failure to do any of this will result in the death of your precious prince."
Virgil internally groaned, so the mysterious fairy was after him after all.
YOU ARE READING
The Borrower and the Fairy Prince
Fanfiction*Completed* Virgil has never had it easy, not since he was kicked out of his home by his own father. He's struggled to survive, and has fought for food. He sees what should have been an easy meal, some berries on a tree hanging over the river. It sh...
