Mosaic Windows

Chapter 4: This Is Why We Think Before We Speak

CW: self deprecation

The room was quite fancy, fit for royalty! A giant wardrobe, a mirror, a lot of space in the middle of the room with a fancy rug, and a door that no doubt led to a giant bathroom. The bed itself was very comfortable, silk sheets! Which made it hard to want to get up.

Roman knew he shouldn't get up, but it was taking a while for Patton to come back and quite frankly, he didn't feel all too comfortable here. So he threw on his bag and carefully got out of bed, stumbling to the wall to lean against. He limped to the door, really wishing he had something to help him walk.

He sighed heavily when he opened the door to find a long hallway. It probably would be easier to crawl, but the thought of being caught like that would bruise his pride, so he took a deep breath and started to limp down the hall.

The walls were covered in mosaic stones, like the window at the end of the hall behind him. Well, the window was a pattern of roses and two phoenixes flying together... they really like roses and phoenixes here. The wall itself was full of square and triangle stones of different colors, but mostly purple.

When Roman turned the corner of the long hallway, he almost cried seeing the stairs. How was he going to get home like this? Guinevere and him rode miles out of town! ... Maybe someone here would be kind enough to give him a ride?

Now that he thought about it... where was everyone? This was a castle, right? There has to be a lot of servants, even though this seemed to be a small castle. Maids, chefs, knights! And what of a king or queen? There is a prince, whoever he might be.

So why is it so quiet...?

Roman remained silent, straining his ears. He heard muffle talk coming from a room down the hall, so with a small whine, he slowly made his way there. He passed a giant double door and really wished that the voices were coming from there, but they didn't seem to be.

His leg was begging to rest by the time he finally got to the room the voices were coming from. He kept pressure off of it and leaned against the door, putting an ear against it.

"I don't know, it's been too long since we've met anyone outside the castle..." Said an unfamiliar voice.

Another unfamiliar voice spoke up,"Well he can't return home with a broken leg, and none of us can take him."

"Then what do we do, Logan? He can't stay here! Look at me!"

"Deep breaths kiddo, deep breaths." That sounded like Patton.

"Yeah, yeah..." Roman didn't hear anything for a moment. Then he heard the unfamiliar voice say something that made his blood go cold. "He's at the door."

He stepped back, only for the pain in his leg to make him fall to the ground. The door opened and he saw a man with red hair and a blue vest full of stars with a black tie tucked underneath. He didn't seem surprised to see Roman there, only concern on his face for a moment before his look became unimpressed.

"Are you alright?" he asked, reaching a hand down.

"I-I'm fine," Roman said, reaching up to take the hand. However as he did so, he saw the other unfamiliar man in the room. Well, 'man' would be such a loose term for it since he has wings and horns. Roman scrambled back and shouted, "Oh my gods!"

The winged... thing took a step back, raising his hands to show he is not a threat but it ended up scaring Roman even more.

Patton moved in front of it. "It's okay! He's not dangerous!"

"That's a dragon witch!" Roman pointed at it. "How is he not dangerous?!"

"Well for one he saved you," the redhead told him. "And he also doesn't know how to use his magic."

"Also has limited magic," Patton mumbled, bouncing on his heels awkwardly.

Roman looked at the three of them with confusion, the dragon witch seemingly very uncomfortable. It did make Roman slightly less scared, and feel a bit guilty, but the fear still won out because that's an actual dragon witch!

"Wait, I'm sorry, did you say he saved me?" he asked in disbelief.

The dragon witch cleared his throat, making him tense up again. "I uh... I heard you scream. I carried you in, but that was all I did." He frowned as he looked away. "You can stay until you recover, but-"

"I'm not staying here! Are you crazy?! It's already way too late, I need to get home!"

"It's half a day's walk to town from here," Patton told him, coming forward and offering his hand. Roman took it and together the two of them got him off the floor. "It's way too late to go now."

"What about by horse?" Roman looked to the redhead. "You must be the prince, right?"

"What? No." He looked truly surprised. "I'm the royal medic, Logan Croft. He's the prince." Logan gestured to the dragon witch, who's frown deepened. "And as for horses, we are not in possession of any."

"How do you guys not have any horses?"

The prince spoke up again, "Look, normally I would send you on your merry way back home, but your leg is broken. We have no way of taking you home ourselves, so you're stuck here until someone comes to find you or you're healed. Once that happens, you're free to leave and we'll never have to meet again."

"Who are you to keep me here? You claim to be a prince but I see no circlet nor proof of any kind! No one has ever heard of you!"

"Now now," Patton chided, putting a hand on Roman's shoulder. "No need to be hostile, we're just trying to help you. Let's get you back to bed and I'll make you something to eat. I know you have questions but we can explain everything later."

"But-"

"Nope!" He turned Roman around and pushed him towards the hall, grabbing his arm so he wouldn't fall. "Now let's go, I have some cupcakes!"

"That... does sound good."

Logan sighed and closed the door, turning to Virgil as the prince walked to his desk. "Isn't he a pleasant one?" the medic asked.

The prince groaned, sitting at his desk and burying his head in his arms. The sound of thunder rumbled overhead. "I hate this day so much..."

"It... doesn't have the most pleasant memories tied to it. Have you eaten? Proper food I mean, and not Patton's cupcakes."

Virgil waved his hand. "I'll get some food later."

Logan hesitated before placing a hand on Virgil's arm. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, I just want to be left alone."

"If you insist." He turned around and started walking to the door. "Let us know if you need anything, your highness. You know Patton and I are here for you. As Patton would say, family sticks together."

The dragon witch sat up as the door closed. "I don't understand why you two include a monster into your family..."