Thomas Sanders One Shots

Princes, Knights and Wizards

"What do you mean 'We'?"

Patton smiled innocently. "Well, I wasn't going to go on my own... Please?"

It took a lot of pleading, and some cookies, but Pat eventually persuaded them to pile into the car with him. It was a short, quiet drive but they finally arrived at the daycare centre, where Patton had signed them all up to help out for the day. Obviously without consulting them.

As they entered, Logan made a beeline for a quiet corner, pulling out a book from who-knows-where and sitting on the floor. However, around 12 pages later, a small child ran over, looking up at him and waving. Logan smiled, thinking for a second before setting his book down and picking a smaller, hardbacked book from a multicoloured shelf, opening it and watching as the child sat next to him, smiling up at Lo through tiny glasses.

Patton watched for a few minutes before directing Virgil to another quiet corner. A small table and chairs sat in the centre, surrounded by a group of children who were scribbling on pieces of paper. Doodles that resembled people, buildings and pets piled up, broken crayons spilling over the edge of the table and bouncing off the carpeted floor. Virgil sat on a ridiculously tiny chair, watching the children nervously, worrying about everything that could go wrong. One of the children slid a piece of paper towards him, holding out a black crayon. He carefully took it, hesitantly drawing a small storm cloud with a lightning bold shooting out of it. The child's eyes lit up and she picked up the paper, showing it to Pat, who smiled warmly at his friend.

"Pat? Who's that young fellow, sitting on his own?" Roman motioned towards a young boy who was sitting at a separate, smaller table and drawing. "His name is Isaac. He comes here often but he mostly just sits on his own. You should go and talk to him! He loves knights and princes!"

Roman nodded, quietly made his way over to the solitary boy and glancing at the large dragon that he was colouring in. He kneeled next to the boy's chair, catching his attention.

"Hey! Isaac, isn't it? I'm a prince and I live in a palace in a faraway land. I'm also a friend of Patton's and he told me how brave and strong you are so I would love for you to join my Royal Cavalry." The boy's eyes lit up. "Weally? Wow!" Roman couldn't help but smile at the child's reaction. "Have yoo evah seen a dwagon?"

"Seen one? I've defeated some of the most powerful and dangerous dragons there ever was, escaping with barely a scratch. This one time, a dragon-witch was attacking the nearby village so I ran up to it, stabbed it through the head and-"

"Roman! Not the kind of story that you tell children." Patton glared slightly at the prince as he strolled past, keeping an eye on the other children at the same time.

"Right. Sorry, Pat." Roman replied sheepishly.

"Mistah Pwincey? Do yoo...want to pway knights wiv me?"

"Of course, my little paladin."

The child's smile reached form ear to ear, and he immediately ran to grab the cardboard sword that he had left on the side.

They spent hours playing, defeating invisible dragons and saving imaginary princesses. Roman used a play sword, not wanting to risk his sharp, metal one, and made sure to take lots of photos with his new friend.

They sat, giggling at nothing, as Virgil watched from the drawing table. He smiled slightly as he decided to investigate the source of the laughter. Tidying the crayons and papers, he stood, immediately getting spotted by Roman. "Oh no! It's the evil wizard, Virgil! Shall we fight or retreat?"

"Pwinces and knights nevah wetweat!" Isaac ran towards Virgil, hitting his leg repeatedly with the fake sword. Behind, Roman mouthed 'Roll with it' and smiled hopefully. Virgil pulled his hood over his head, smirking as he pretended to collapse on the ground with a flamboyance that could match Roman's own. "Oh! You have defeated me, brave knight!" The child giggled, playfully stabbing Virgil in the chest with the sword.

The evil wizard quickly stood, scooping up the small knight. He fought bravely, swinging his sword at the demon but it was stronger than him, easily overpowering him. "Fear not, Isaac! I shall help you remove this beast!" The Prince pointed his sword at the wizard, tackling him from behind and sending all three of them sprawling across the soft floor. The Prince whispered something to his knight, who immediately sprang up, throwing his sword and slowly approaching the wizard. "Yoo don' have to be bad, yoo kno. Yoo can be good! Wike me an Pwincey!" He pulled the evil wizard into a hug, pushing Virgil's hood off his head, releasing the fringe and snuggling back into his jacket.

Not knowing what to do, Virgil looked up at Roman, surprised at the fact that this kid was hugging him. Not scared like everyone else that he'd ever met, but actually hugging him. His eyes welled up with tears and he returned the comforting embrace. A few seconds later, the child stepped back, his huge grin lowering as he locked eyes with Virgil. "Aw, what's wrong, Mistah Wizard?" Isaac placed a tiny hand on Virgil's, using his other one to wipe away the tears that unwillingly rolled down Virgil's cheeks. The emo shook his head, smiling genuinely at the young, concerned face.

"Nothing."