A True Prince: Sanders Sides AU

Chapter 4: The Truth

"I trust that you are satisfied with what you've seen?"

Logan watched Roman with an intense gaze, a slight edge in his words.

"Oh, of course! It was just incredible: the buildings, the smells, the people! I propose that for our next lesson I'll compose a ballad dedicated to the...to the..."

Roman's thoughts trailed off. Logan had gone from overly curious to downright concerned, getting up from his chair to pace across the room.

"Logan? Is everything alright?"

Logan shook his head, his mind moving too fast for proper sentences to be formed. Roman caught bits and pieces, ranging from "Impossible," to "Trickery", to just simply "What?"

"Um, Logan? Earth to the royal resident nerd? Is everything alright?"

Logan shook his head, trying to organize his thoughts.

"That wasn't the village you saw. At least, it shouldn't have been."

"What do you mean? Everything seemed perfectly fine when I was there."

"That's the problem." Logan walked over to a bookshelf and started to pull several volumes out, setting them on the table.

"And reading is going to solve it?"

Logan paused in his work to glare at Roman, then set about pulling out vials and beakers and various ingredients.

"Ok, let's see..." Logan flipped through the largest book on the table until he found what he was looking for. "Ah," he said, "Here we are," as he started putting the ingredients methodically into the pot.

Roman glanced over Logan's shoulder and read the title on the page.

"Invisibility, huh? Got tired of looking at your reflection?"

"Roman, please. I'm trying to concentrate. I promise when I'm finished you'll have all of the answers you'll need."

Roman rolled his eyes, but kept silent. To be honest, it was intriguing to see the method of Logan's madness. A drop of this, a pinch of that, some incantations and arm movements, or as Roman thought of them, "magical muscle spasms", and finally they were left with a bright white vial of metallic liquid.

"So, now you're going to tell me what's going on?"

"We need to go to the village," Logan said matter-of-factly, as if the answer was staring Roman in the face the entire time.

"Well, why didn't you just say so? I'd love to go back there!"

"I'm not so sure," Logan muttered, handing Roman the vial. "Drink," he said. Roman did as he was told, and before he knew it his entire body was invisible.

Logan was not finished, however. Walking over to a trunk in the corner, he grabbed two more vials, both labelled in a cursive scrawl that only Logan appeared to understand. Shoving the vials, a book, and some money into a satchel, he motioned for Roman to be quiet then left the room.

Together the pair headed down the castle hallways. Although he was invisible, Roman couldn't help but feel like he would be spotted at every turn. When they were almost at the front gate, a small metallic clang caused Roman to jump. Since Logan tensed up at the sudden sound, he knew he didn't imagine it, but if someone was there they weren't concerned with interfering in the affairs of "Master Logan", so Roman and Logan kept on moving.

"Good afternoon, Master Logan," said one of the guards, bowing.

"Good afternoon, Brutus. The lessons with the Prince ended early, and I've decided to spend the rest of the day doing some light reading in the village. Could you let the gate down for me, please?"

"Of course, Sir."

Soon enough, the doors were open. Logan thanked the guard then turned to leave, Roman following close behind. When they were a safe distance away, Logan breathed a sigh of relief.

"We're safe."

"Logan." Roman looked appalled. "I didn't know you could lie like that!"

"It wasn't lying." Logan stated curtly. "We did finish our lessons early, and I am spending the rest of the day reading into the village. What you decided to do was your own choice."

"Shifting the blame onto me, thanks a lot."

"You're welcome." Logan reached into his bag, pulling out one of the vials. "I still can't see you so you're going to have to take this one yourself."

Roman did as he was told, drinking the contents and waiting for the effects to take place. In no time at all, he could see that he was no longer invisible, but his clothes were different. His usual Prince outfit had been replaced by simple peasant clothes.

"Logan!" Roman looked at his friend in offense. "You never told me you could make outfits with your magic! You've been holding out on me, haven't you?"

Logan allowed himself a small smile. "Maybe a little. But that's not important." His face turned grave. "It's time you saw the village. The real village."