You've Got To Be Kitten Me - Prinxiety + OC [COMPLETED]

Chapter Eighteen

"So what are you doing wandering around the palace at night?" the dark prince asked as the cat jumped up onto an end table that held a vase of strange flowers. "It's often scarier at night, there's this constant feeling of being watched. I wish it didn't do that but this place is meant to be scary, so I can't exactly stop it. Since Virgil's here I'm limiting its effects the best I can, but it's probably not enough."

Virgil tilted his head in confusion. "Oh, I mean it's probably not enough to make him not scared of me," Namor explained with a sad smile. He began to walk, the kitten quickly jumping down to follow. "See I really hate that people are inherently afraid of me. I don't actually want to hurt anyone, but it's kind of my job to be Roman's 'evil' counterpart. You can't appreciate happiness without sadness, and you can't appreciate good dreams without bad ones."

He stopped at a balcony, leaning on the railing that Virgil quickly hopped up onto to get a better look at the dark prince's pale face. "It still sucks," he murmured. "Hell, I've tried to explain to Roman that I wasn't evil and he's just brushed me off. It was after a particularly bad nightmare when Thomas was a kid that he started seeing me as some horrible creature who only wanted to make him miserable and afraid. I didn't even mean to turn it into a nightmare... but I find things nice that the majority of people would find scary or creepy."

I understand that, the anxious kitten thought. He doesn't want to hurt people, but by doing what he thinks would be cool he does just that. It's sort of how I hurt Thomas when I voice my worries too much.

"You know it's crazy, but it feels like you know what I'm talking about," he said, smiling at him with amusement. Virgil let a purr rumble in his chest as he nodded. "Oh, you do, is that it? What does a little kitten know about hurting Thomas and being treated like a villain?"

You'd be surprised, he thought with a louder purr that sounded a little bit like he was laughing. You'd certainly be surprised.

"Well, Virgil will probably want to know you're here, but he's asleep so I don't want to go into his room," Namor explained. "If I get close to him while he's sleeping he might get nightmares and I'm already trying my hardest to prevent that from happening."

It was then that the kitten realized how exhausted he looked and the slight shivering that he had. It was clearly against his nature to prevent the nightmares, and trying to stop an entire castle's influence was difficult on him. Virgil suddenly felt a stab of guilt, knowing how that felt. Holding in anxiety attacks took a similar toll on him, but rather than having to suffer through it, the mind provided him a coping mechanism. Turning into a kitten helped to make his anxiety effect him less. It made it manageable until he calmed down and could handle it normally again.

"I can show you where Virgil's room is if you'd like," he said, pulling him out of his thoughts.

The kitten nodded, making Namor smile as he began walking. It was quiet while they walked, given that the dark prince was exhausted and Virgil couldn't exactly make conversation.

As they reached the door, he noticed a nervous expression on his face. Mewing to get his attention, Namor jumped. "Oh, right," he said, chuckling shyly. He reached for the doorknob, cracking the door open just enough to the kitten to slip through. Virgil purred gratefully at him as he inside the familiar room. He smiled warmly, this sharpened canines showing. "You're quite welcome."

He then pulled the door closed, leaving Virgil to pad into the bed room and hop up onto his bed. Curling up, he was determined to sleep; if the dark prince was going to go through the trouble of keeping his dreams pleasant at the expense of himself, he wouldn't make it in vain.