A Dragon's Treasure

Chapter 13 - What You Deserve

Roman woke up in the morning and was surprised to not be assaulted by Remus. It was pleasant to be able to wake up on his own time schedule again, though it sometimes made him feel lost. He had spent so long being told what to do that being given so much freedom was strange. Roman looked around the room, wondering if this would be a good time. Remus had been on the right track when he had suggested that Roman try art, and the prince actually found that he rather enjoyed certain artistic endeavors, but he liked keeping it a secret. The only one who knew was Patton and that was mostly because Patton helped him get the supplies.

Hidden under his bed was a sketchbook, charcoal pencils, and an ink and quill set. It was an experiment of sorts. The two of them had discussed it after making cookies. Roman would do a few drawings in pencil, where he could erase lines and fix his mistakes, but then he would do one in ink, trying to help himself learn that even mistakes that couldn't be fixed, could still be turned into something beautiful. It was hard to admit out loud, but Roman started finding a lot of solace in his habit.

After an hour or so, he put his drawings away, hiding them under his bed again before checking his hand for cleanliness. Once he was satisfied, he stood up and stretched, again, he was surprised that no one had come to find him, things had not been quiet for him in the past few weeks. Maybe he should go look for someone? Yes, that was a wonderful idea. Maybe he could sneak up on Remus and scare him for once.

As Roman began making his way through the cave system, he checked all of the places that Remus would normally be, but he didn't find him. In fact, he didn't find anyone. He wasn't necessarily looking for Janus, Patton, or Logan, but it still felt weird. Finally, he poked his head into Janus' study where he was working on some kind of magic thing, Roman probably should learn more, "I don't mean to bother you, but have you seen Remus... or Logan?"

Janus turned to look at him, cleaning his hands off on his smock. "No, I haven't, but the two of them have been spending a bit of time in the library. Logan does seem to have a fondness for knowledge." That was the understatement of the year. "Have you looked there?"

"Not yet," Roman replied, "But thanks for the idea." Honestly, he probably should have checked there first. Wasn't Remus showing Logan how the library was organized since Janus had a very specific order about his books.

He made his way to the library and when he opened up the door, he immediately regretted it.

Remus and Logan were certainly in the library, but his best friend was pinned against one of the shelves being heavily kissed by his doppelganger. There was not enough magic in this world that could remove that image from his mind. He felt grossed out and slowly made his way back to Janus' study.

"You're back? Did you find them?"

"Yes, and the two of them were being disgusting."

"Experimentations again?"

"Worse, kissing."

Janus snorted, turning to look at Roman. He must have looked distraught because Janus' face softened. "Would you prefer to discuss this, or a distraction?"

Roman had never really been given that option, so it took him a moment. "I think... I think I would prefer a distraction. It's what I am most used to."

"Very well, follow me." Janus took off his smock and began walking out of the study. Roman watched confusedly before following behind, struggling to follow the twists and the turns in the tunnels until they reached an opening. Roman didn't even know this was here, it was a wide-open field, surrounded by mountains on all sides.

"What is this place?"

"An exercise area, though I used it mostly for training after the purge." Roman flinched at that, bowing his head. His family had been the reason that Janus was alone in such a large cave system. "I don't blame you, Roman, but there is a lot you have to unlearn about your history. It takes time, but you just might be able to do it." He smirked a bit before tossing Roman a sword still in its sheath. "I'm sure someone with your history knows how to spar."

Roman looked surprised, "But... what if I hurt you?"

"Even if you could, you can't," Roman looked confused, but he didn't have much of a chance to think about it as another sword came swinging towards his head. It was only from years of training that Roman was able to dodge, rolling out of the way. He almost lost his breath at the sudden attack and he could feel his adrenaline spiking.

"What are you doing? I wasn't prepared."

"Few are for battle, but you were very quick on your toes nonetheless, now come on."

Roman stumbled backward and quickly pulled the sword from its scabbard. It was weird to be complimented when he was stumbling, but the truth was he had reacted rather quickly. "Is this how you normally fight? Complimenting your opponents to throw them off?"

"Every word from my mouth is the truth, however, it does seem to throw people off balance." Janus smirked as he made another swing closer toward his hip. Roman blocked downward and shifted his body, before swinging his sword with a swift arc up towards the chest of the man he was fighting. There was no fire behind his swing as Roman was still a bit confused why they were even fighting, but after a few seconds, his thoughts slipped away and he got into the rhythm. Even Janus' compliments became part of the rhythm and Roman barely noticed his building confidence.

Back at his home, training had always been fraught with everything he did wrong, everything he needed to improve on, but with this, Roman caught his own mistakes and was able to correct them.

Janus swept his leg, hooking his foot around Roman's ankles and pulling until Roman's own gravity knocked him backward. Janus pointed his sword down at the ex-prince in quiet triumph, and yet, Roman laughed. He smiled and stretched out his arms above his head. "It seems I'm no match for you."

Janus smiled back, lowering his weapon and holding out his hand. "You did very well, Roman."

"Why?" He asked, taking Janus' hands.

"Why what?"

"Why are you complimenting me?"

"You did a good job, why shouldn't I? You deserve kind words."

Roman looked dumbfounded at Janus, mouth hanging loose.

"I can tell you don't know this, a travesty really, so let me explain something. Instructions and constructive feedback can be helpful, but denying someone positive feedback does nothing but hinder who they are. You have spent years being denied the confidence that grows with your skills, instead being told you always have to be better. So let me tell you this," Janus grabbed his shoulders, looking closely into his eyes."You are impressive, you have done an amazing job, and if it is your choice, I think you can continue to improve. You are allowed to make mistakes, and if you aren't asking for ways you can improve, I won't hand them out." Janus ruffled the hair on the top of Roman's head.

"Ready to go again?"