Mosaic Windows

Chapter 18: This Author Hates Miscommunication Tropes

CW: bruising

Once Roman got inside he ran for Virgil, though it was a bit awkward to do with only one crutch so it was more of a hobble. The prince didn't slow down for a moment.

"Virgil! Wait, are you okay?" Roman asked as he slowly made progress reaching him.

"I'm fine," he growled. Though his hand was still against his cheek.

"Are you sure? You were hit pretty hard. I just want to make sure-"

"Roman, I'm fine!" Virgil finally turned to him. Of course the human had a hard time believing him because his cheek was red and starting to turn purple, and his eyes were wet.

The small outburst had first quiet Roman, but he frowned and moved closer. "You were just attacked. You are not fine."

Virgil glared at him, but the fire in his eyes died as he stared at him for a few seconds too long. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Okay then we won't. Just let me get something for you, some medicine or a cold rag, or-"

"You don't need to do anything, just worry about yourself." The prince turned back around and walked off.

Roman sighed as he watched Virgil leave. He heard footsteps behind him and turned to see Patton and Logan. The medic didn't look at him and went after the prince. Patton gave him a curious look, but Roman just shook his head.

"Just give him a moment to decompress, I'm sure everything will be fine," he said.

Roman responded with, "He was just attacked, Janus could have killed him! I just want to make sure he's okay."

"You know that guy?" Patton's eyes were big, and Roman couldn't place just what emotion they were full of.

"Yeah... My brother and I don't get along with him. Our families have a bit of a history. Long story short, my brother and he used to fight almost every day since his parents are monster hunters and he wants to be one." Didn't help that their parents' divorce fueled the anger in Remus. "One day Remus scratched his face deep, so he broke Remus's nose. The parents were furious, so we ended up moving to the other side of town."

"How would he have known that we live here? Or that Virgil's a dragon witch?"

"I don't know." Roman frowned in thought. He looked up as dread washed over him once the realization hit him. But he can't say it out loud, especially since everyone is already upset with him for going into the ballroom. Nico hired Janus... and Remus told him about that right in front of Virgil. That means Virgil knows.

Why is everything going wrong?

~~~

A night to himself was just what Virgil needed, or so he thought. He had hoped that he would wake up the next morning with a clearer head, and he sort of did. But he couldn't get rid of the heavy feeling of dread weighing down on his chest.

That must have been the hunter Nico sent to save Roman. It didn't seem like he was trying to save Roman, just kill Virgil. Sure he held back when Roman jumped in the way, the idiot could have gotten hurt, but the fact is that the hunter still came after him.

Did Nico not ask him to back off? Did he still not trust him? It would make sense, Virgil's a dragon witch and his son is stuck in the castle. Maybe they were just lying during the whole visit, putting up a front to lure him into a false sense of security.

But Roman was right there, and they could have just taken him home. Virgil even offered to have him go home! Roman wanted to stay, and Remus convinced them. Maybe they forgot just to call Janus off. That's one hell of a thing to forget though.