Savage - Prinxiety [Sequel To "Monster"] [COMPLETED]

Chapter Seven

When Roman's eyes fluttered open, he first thing he felt was tears silently rolling down his cheeks. Thorn gasped as he sat up, getting the others' attention. "Roman!" Luis exclaimed as he covered his face as he cried. "What's wrong? What happened?"

He couldn't answer, making everyone uneasy. "Did you see him?" the younger prince continued more quietly.

He nodded, earning faint gasps and looks of shock from everyone. "What did he say?" Patton questioned, urgency in his voice to know what was happening to his son. 

Roman took deep breaths to steady his voice as he spoke. "He's in so much pain... there's this mage, I don't know who he is, but after the storm thing happened, he found Virgil," he explained, not being able to look up. "He didn't die like we'd thought; he was taken by him. He's been turning him into a weapon over the last year by ripping Virgil out of control and bounding his astral form to the real plane and putting a spell on him that he can't fight. That's why he 'doesn't remember' us or what happened."

"Dear god..." the king murmured, covering his mouth as tears pricked his eyes. Logan pulled him in for a hug, rubbing his back as he continued. 

"He also mentioned it being really painful and difficult to control his body in the state he's in, so it's probably best we don't try to pull him back unless absolutely necessary," the prince said, looking toward the seemingly unconscious Virgil in the room. "While he told me he needed to wake up to help cover up the fact that he was talking to me, I don't think his form is completely connected to his physical form. Putting this physical Virgil to sleep didn't make him fall asleep."

Logan scowled, looking confused as he attempted to sort out everything in his head. "What exactly do you mean?" he inquired.

"I mean, we all have two different versions of ourselves," Roman said to his father. "We have our physical forms, and our astral forms. They're usually combined, hence why it creates issues when they're divided or their ties are severed. For example, last year when Virgil was attacking me, it was because his astral self wasn't in control of his physical self."

"This is the same situation then, correct?" he clarified, gesturing to the unconscious dark prince.

The prince nodded but also shook his head. "Yes, but on a much more extreme level. The person we were dealing with then, which, this could be the same person but I don't have any idea, only had an astral influence on him," he said, recalling the events of the previous year. A chill ran up his spine at the image of his glazed over purple eyes and sinister and bloodthirsty smile. "Once I talked him back into controlling himself, he wasn't an issue. This is something similar, and yet entirely different."

"Before I spoke with Virgil in my dream," he continued, looking between the people in the room, "I had a weird experience where I could see him, the real him in the real world before he fell asleep and we met in the dreamscape. I saw... well, sort of saw the man holding him captive. He's a powerful dark mage from what I saw, but I don't know what he plans to do with Virgil. It's safe to assume he wants us out of the picture, and needs Virgil for whatever it is."

Everyone was silent for a while, processing all the overwhelming information. Roman, having already processed it, was replaying the scene of his dark prince sobbing while his breath was choked out of him, pleading for them not be hurt. It made him furious, while also making him sad that he was in such pain, and cared more that we went unharmed than what he suffered for speaking out. Luis' mind, in contrast, was running in circles trying to figure out what this mage had planned for Virgil. He wanted to know how he'd managed to get a hold of him after the explosion of the spell being reversed. He felt in his gut that whatever it was wasn't good. The kings were both trying to think of their next course of action, knowing what they now knew. 

"So, what do we do now?" Thorn asked, speaking what they were all thinking. 

Roman answered without hesitation. "We rescue him," he stated as if it was a fact. King Logan straightened his glasses, clearing his throat.

"Now hold on a moment," he said, earning an astonished look from his son as he implied something other than that. "We can't go rushing into anything."

The prince was now seething as his father's words, standing from his bed. "What the hell do you mean 'we can't go rushing into anything'?! This is Virgil we're talking about!!" he snapped, marching towards the king angrily. Luis and Thorn grabbed his arms to pull him back. "What are you even saying!?"

"I'm saying, we don't even know where he's located, who he's with, or what we're dealing with in terms of the Virgil who is here now. There's also the kingdom to consider. I'm not saying we won't do anything, but we cannot just go charging out into the forest without a location or a plan," Logan said, voice revealing slight anger at his son's attitude. 

"I can't believe you- he's hurting, he's being tortured, Dad, and you want me to wait instead of do something about it," Roman said, voice low and pained. 

Logan put his hands up in an innocence gesture. "I'm not saying we aren't going to save him, son, you're twisting my words," he said, trying to remain calm. It was blatantly obvious that the prince was hurting more than anyone else in the room. That was understandable; it was clear to everyone that Roman loved that boy more than anything in the world, and it was obviously hurting him to think about not helping him. "We're going to help him, I promise, but we have to think about this rationally."

With a sigh, the prince looked down with resignation. He knew he was right, even if all he wanted to do was to run out of the room and find Virgil right that moment.