A Dragon's Treasure

Chapter 22 - The Plan

The air was chilly enough to make Roman shiver. That had to be the reason. The feeling that ran down his spine couldn't at all be related to the fear that curled in his gut, because he wasn't afraid. They had gone over this plan a few dozen times, Logan's disappearance had to have gone noticed, and they wouldn't replace him as quickly or readily because it was most likely that the queen didn't see him as needing to be replaced. Not to mention that Logan was fairly active in the community to get resources he needed. Someone would notice if the queen just attempted to find a duplicate, so Logan was their best bet. None of them were sure what kind of story she would have come up with, but seeing him alive and well could only be shown as proof to that point. Hopefully.

Remus and Logan both put a hand on Roman's back, reassuring him. He was tying himself up into knots over this, but he felt like it was his responsibility. If he didn't protect his friends, didn't do the right thing, he might lose them, and he couldn't have that on his conscious. It felt like this was his responsibility alone, to protect his kingdom, and his friend. Taking in a slow deep breath, Roman tried to remind himself that they had a plan.

They would claim that Roman and Remus, who would both have glamour spells on them to hide their identities, had helped Logan when he got lost in the forest. They would find an opportunity to talk to the queen, maybe insist they should be compensated for finding and helping the royal advisor. They had also planned for a back up in the event that she wanted to pretend that Logan wasn't the royal advisor, but if things went to plan they wouldn't need to worry about that. If things went to plan, Roman and Remus would reveal themselves and discuss this like adults.

Roman was not expecting things to go to plan.

"I mean, if things go off the plot then I get to be violent!" Remus had rejoiced when they discussed this. Janus had offered to come with, but it had been decided that he and Patton would stay back in the event that they needed to plan an actual assault. Virgil said he would be around, but then disappeared and Roman hadn't seen him since, not even the comforting sound of caws that used to signal that he was on the right path.

"Are you ready for this?" Logan asked as they entered the town, making their way towards the castle.

"I don't think I could ever do anything that would make me ready for the confrontation that we are about to face." Roman was about to confront his mother about her treason, about his replacement, and he didn't know how he was going to handle that. Even if they had a plan, it didn't involve a plan for the conversation, just on how to get there. Nothing that Roman came up with ever felt like enough.

"Fair," Logan responded, and somehow knowing that Logan understood how badly this could go, that Roman would never actually be prepared, made the prince relax a bit. They would get through all of this together. He had people he could rely on, and people who would help him if he fell. Ever since he had left the castle in search of the dragon, Roman had also been finding the scraps of who he was meant to become, rebuilding himself until he liked what he saw. This was just another piece that would be a little difficult to rebuild. However, he wasn't alone.

The night before they left, Janus had pulled him aside, taking a walk through the caves, telling Roman how proud he was of his growth, and how he knew that he was going to make an amazing King. It had meant so much to have someone show their confidence in him. Janus had even said that he viewed Roman as a son, and though Roman didn't need to return the sentiment, he did. Roman hadn't felt like he had a father figure in a very long time. There was no one in the castle that had been willing to take on such a job, so many afraid of 'parenting' a prince. Having someone who wasn't just willing to take on that role, but who had done it well, made Roman feel like he had a home, like if everything fell apart, he had somewhere to go.