The Trial (Intrulogical)

Chapter 5

Logan awoke the next morning with something heavy over his waist. He could feel a presence behind him, and the room around him was not his own. The prince quickly sat up, looking around and at the person behind him, before sighing and flopping back down.

"Remus," He groaned, causing the warlock behind him to stir. Logan softly elbowed the boy, earning a squeak and a grumble, before Remus rolled over, taking his arm away with him.  

"What?" Remus muttered sleepily, "'m tired..."

"I know," Logan replied, rolling over, "now get up."

Remus whined but sat up nonetheless, pulling the covers away from the two of them making Logan grumble.

They both got up and got some breakfast, before finding some clothes they could both wear - Remus' hoodie and jeans almost drowned the prince, causing the warlock to giggle softly. 

"So, the matter at hand," Logan said as he sat down, taking his notebook from Remus' bedside table, "I was thinking we could-"

Logan paused as he looked up at Remus, who was daydreaming, mind wandering and unfocused.

"How... about we go into town?" The prince offered instead, placing his notebook back down and standing to take Remus' hands in his own. The warlock looked up at him, slowly nodding as a shy smile appeared on his lips. Logan could tell he was distracted - thinking about the days to come and the hours that would be his last.

The two headed into town, Remus' sleeves were pulled over his hands to shield the imprint that bared his skin. Though there was no point in hiding it, everyone knew, but the idea of displaying such a mark burned a hole in his heart to the point of guilt and fear. As they passed other villagers, the warlock kept his eyes downcast, not meeting the stares and glares of those once his friends. He didn't regret coming out here... the thought of being able to spend the day with Logan overtook his misery, but the aching in his chest didn't disperse no matter how excited he was.

Logan lead him into the bakery, the small shop was decorated with pastel colours and flowers, each of the treats and cupcakes decorated intricately with their own patterns and colours. 

"Ah! Logan!" A voice said from the counter, as a woman emerged from the back room, "How are you doing sweetheart?" She said softly.

"I am well Vanessa, thank you," Logan said, walking over to the counter with Remus following closely behind. "I was hoping you had some blueberry muffins I could purchase," He added, "For myself and my friend."

"You're... friends with Remus?" Vanessa's tone was curious as she spoke, causing Remus to look up at the mention of his name, "Hello dear..."

The warlock looked up at her, being met with a sympathetic smile as he subconsciously covered his hand. 

"So that's two blueberry Muffins?" Vanessa asked, "would you like me to add in a complimentary carrot cake for Jan?*" She added, more directed towards Remus, who nodded with a meek smile. 

After the treats were packed up and handed over the counter, Logan paid and took the book, before handing it to Remus. The warlock took the box with mild eagerness, a smile spreading onto his face as he looked up at Vanessa.

"Thanks..."

"Of course honey, enjoy."

Logan bid farewell to Vanessa before leading Remus out, walking down the street and to a small park lined with trees and bushes. 

"I was thinking we could sit here and eat the muffins," Logan offered, gesturing to a sheltered section in the park.

Remus nodded and sat down, legs crossed beneath him as he set the box of treats in front of him. Logan sat in front of him, gently opening the box before offering a muffin to the warlock, who took it eagerly.

As they ate their muffins, they engaged in light discussion, mostly consisting of Remus asking about life as a royal in the castle. The warlock seemed strangely intrigued by Logan's life as a prince, but most of his questions centred around his thoughts on magic. Logan couldn't help but feel sorry for the warlock - it seemed unfair that so many people had been punished for an aspect of their life that couldn't be controlled, and Remus was an example of which he witnessed first-hand.

Although he would never admit it, the prince had learned to enjoy Remus' company, and in the few days he had known him he couldn't help but feel sympathy and guilt for this poor boy. He was only 19, a young man, and would not be able to explore his life to the fullest because of some stupid law that held no real purpose other than to encourage fear and control.

"You know, you're kinda cute when you're in thought," Remus said out of the blue, breaking Logan from his wandering mind and snapping back to the present.

"I- uhm- excuse me?"

"I said, 'You're kinda cute when you're in thought,'" Remus repeated, slower this time as if to allow Logan to understand what he was saying. 

"Falsehood!" Logan stuttered as his cheeks blossomed a light shade of pink, causing Remus to giggle slightly and take another bite of his muffin, brushing off his comment as though it was nothing.

"What were you thinking about?" The warlock prompted, taking yet another bite of his muffin.

"Nothing of importance," Logan lied, before breaking off a piece of his muffin and popping it into his mouth. 

The two sat in silence for a few minutes, finding simple comfort in the presence of one another as a small commotion of people started making their way over from the other side of the park. The two could hear light chatter from those making their way over, hearing mentions of Logans name and things like: "why is the prince with a Warlock?" and "Should we go help him? Maybe he's in trouble."

Without saying anything, Logan stood, holding his hand out to Remus and pulling the other to his feet, before starting to walk away. Remus clutched the box containing Janus' carrot cake in one hand, the other still held tightly in Logans as the prince marched away.

"Logan it's okay..." He said quietly, gently pulling the prince closer, "it doesn't bother me."

Logan sighed softly and walked beside the warlock, their hands not disconnecting though neither of them seemed bothered by this fact. 

"I just... I can't stand that people would say that Remus... It's not fair," Logan said, his voice getting quieter as he spoke.

"I know..."

Logan sighed softly, before looking down at their connected hands and blushing slightly, however he made no move to let go of Remus' hand, instead choosing to squeeze it softly before resuming their walk. Remus took note of this fact as he walked beside Logan, still tightly clutching the cake box in his other hand but seemingly not bothered by the almost unnoticeable grip they had on each other. 

They chose to walk around the village, a silence settling over them as they listened to the chatter and commotion of the people around them. Their hands never parted as they walked, the touch was comforting for the both of them, one that neither of them had really experienced before. 

The warlock had never had a friend like Logan before, his friendship with Janus was one that he supposed not many people had - one decided by fate - but with Logan, Remus felt as though this was a different friendship, one that meant more for the two of them, fate didn't pull them together, something else did, something so much stronger and much more complicated. 

Thoughts swirled through his mind, repeating over and over until they merged together, creating a pile of mush and confusion that he supposed no one else would understand before he was suddenly pulled from his thoughts by Logan's voice. 

*Carrot cake is good okay-!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I like being able to delve a little into Remus' intrusive thoughts, which I will hopefully be implementing more in future chapters.