The Prince's Kiss - Prinxiety [COMPLETED]

Chapter Eight

There was a clap of thunder as the sky opened up, letting bucket of rain fall from the clouds. Roman looked out the window, a sigh escaping him. "What's wrong, your Highness?" Virgil asked, following his gaze.

"Oh, nothing, my apologies," he said, taking his eyes off the rain and looking at the artist. "I was simply hoping the rain will ease up with enough time for me to return to the palace."

Virgil frowned, looking outside. He hadn't thought about the fact that Roman would need to return to the palace, or how long he'd be able to visit. The royal let out a heavy sigh.

"It seems to have no signs of easing up," he said. "I should probably go now if I want to make it home with enough time to change so no one sees me soaking wet and it raises suspicion."

The prince was murmuring mostly to himself, but being in the same room, Virgil heard him. "You're... you're not allowed to be out here?" he asked, picking up on key things he'd said that drew him to that conclusion. Roman looked in shock as he remembered Virgil was there.

"I'm not supposed to be out here without my guards but... they just cause a lot of attention and everyone knows I'm the prince and sometimes I just want to be Roman," he said, voice getting quieter. He shook his head in realization as Virgil stared at him. "Apologies, I've said too much. I should be leaving."

Patton and Logan came into the room just as he stood up. "Aw, you're leaving so soon?" Patton asked with a small frown.

"Your Highness, I don't think it is safe for you to be returning home under these weather conditions," Logan said, straightening his glasses as he looked out the window.

"He could use the tunnels," Virgil suggested quietly. Everyone looked at him, a look of confusion from Roman. "They lead right into the palace."

Patton smiled as he thought about it. "He's right!" he exclaimed. "Come on, your Highness!"

"Tunnels?" Roman asked in confusion as they lead him to their basement. Virgil tried to answer him but Patton pushed them through the hidden door that lead into the tunnels before he could.

"Thank you for visiting! Feel free to come by any time!" Patton called through the door before he pulled Logan off somewhere.

Virgil stared at the door, mouth slightly open in shock. Did he really just shove the prince and I into these tunnels alone? he thought as his cheeks heated up.

"I love your dads by the way," Roman said with a laugh. "They're great!"

The artist smiled bashfully, relieved that he liked his parents rather than thought they were weird. "Thanks, I love them too, uh... this way, your Highness," he said starting down the tunnels.

"So, what is this, like, what are these tunnels?" the prince asked curiously, looking at the walls around them.

"Uh, apparently a really really long time ago, my family was very important to the monarchy," Virgil explained awkwardly, not truly knowing himself. "Apparently the members of my family were 'secret guardians' as my dad used to call them. They were a secret guard to the royal family, and provided a place for them to evacuate to if the palace was ever unsafe."

"Whoa..." Roman breathed, awed be his explanation. "That must have been a long time ago because I didn't even know."

Virgil nodded, pausing to put a hand on the wall. Looking closer, he realized the artist boy was running his hand over carvings and drawings in the tunnel walls. He immediately recognized them as royal markings.

"Do you have any idea why?" the prince asked, intrigued by this part of their shared history.

He made a face. "Kind of? It's weird, something about our family's gift of combat and the arts?" he said with an uncomfortable shift in his weight. "I don't really know what that means or why, but the men in the family were often the warriors, and the women were normally artisans at the time, and we were apparently important enough for these to be built. I don't really know what happened, like, why we're no longer close with the royal family, but I guess that's life?"

Roman chuckled, nodding in agreement. "Life is strange," he said with a sigh and a smile. Virgil looked at him as they stopped in front of a scene. "What's this?"

"We used to paint important events down here..." he said softly, reaching out to touch the scene he'd looked at too many times.

"What's this one?" he asked, intrigued to learn more about the mysterious artist boy and his family's past.

Virgil was quiet for a moment before explaining. "A long time ago, there was someone in our family that fell in love with one of the royal princes. They would use the tunnels to sneak to the palace, where they could see each other at night. One day the palace was under attack, and the only ones of the royal family that made it out was that prince and his older brother. He saved him, and brought him here where the princes and my family planned how they could take back the castle. Had it not been for that foolish person in our family, letting himself fall the prince, the royal bloodline, your bloodline, would've died."

There was a heavy silence between them before the prince reached out to place his hand over Virgil's where it rested on the painting. He looked at him in surprise, and confusion.

"I guess I have a lot to thank your family for," he said with a small laugh as he looked into Virgil's eyes. "Thank you."

The artist boy blushed dark red as his gaze wondered to their hands. "I-It's n-not like I did anything," he said in embarrassment.

"I know, I didn't do anything either," Roman said reassuringly. "I'm thanking you on behalf of my ancestors, as well as myself, who wouldn't be here if it weren't for your family."

Virgil smiled a tiny bit. "Then I accept your appreciation on behalf of my ancestors as well, your Highness."