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

Chapter Fifteen

They traveled without stopping through the forest, finding more and more dead, blackened trees around them as they walked. The castle Virgil had inhabited the previous year loomed in the closing distance as they headed toward it.

Roman felt uneasy and sick to his stomach. For some reason, he felt like something was wrong with Virgil. He was continuously looking back at the empty shell they had of the dark prince, but he looked as not-normal as ever. It was still strange to see him dressed in the stitched black cloak, almost blood red gloves, and with much deeper eye bags than he'd ever seen Virgil have; despite all of the new changes to his physical appearance, he mostly was used to it by now.

Whenever he looked over at the dark prince, he was looking down at nothing in particular and refusing to meet any of their eyes. Roman figured he'd get nowhere trying to question him about the plans of his master or the condition his astral form was in.

He really wanted to stop and sleep to try and communicate with Virgil, but they needed to get as far as they could before the horses needed to stop or the sun went down. It would be foolish to waste the hours of daylight they had, especially if he ended up failing to reach him. There was also the problem of whether or not he should even try to reach him. What if talking to him got him punished? Had his captor figured out about the first time he'd talked to him? Had he hurt him because of Roman?

Stop thinking about it when you can't do anything, he thought to himself, shaking his head to clear it. You're going to save him, you just have to have a bit of patience...

The prince smiled a little at his thoughts, amused. Patience? That wasn't his forte, as evidence by the fact that he was sitting on his stallion right now instead of awaiting orders from his father or King Patton.

He wondered what they made of their disappearance. Surely they'd noticed they were missing by now, and they'd have a very obvious idea of why and to what purpose. Had they sent a search party after them? Or were the kings simply trying to keep the guests that had traveled to their kingdom for the celebration under control? If news spread that the prince that had supposedly died a year ago and was known to possess dark magic was somehow alive again, it would most likely insight a panic. All those who had tried to understand that Virgil had no intentions of hurting anyone would be drowned out by those who assumed his dark powers tied him to bloodthirsty and greedy tendencies. It's difficult to reason with people who are fearing for their lives, however unreasonable their fear may be.

Eventually, the sun slipped low enough toward the horizon line to turn the sky shades of gold and amber. The horses needed water, and they were all feeling tired after the long ride. Thorn and Luis got started right away working on the camp, while Roman made sure their prisoner was still secure and that they had somewhere to put him. 

"He shouldn't try that..." the cursed Virgil muttered while he was escorting him to a tree to bind him against. The prince froze at his words, getting the sickening feeling that he knew who he was talking about. "Escape is futile. He'll only bring himself pain."

He felt curiosity surging through him, but he forced himself not to act on it and simply continued to bind him against the tree. Once he'd securely tied him there, he turned to see that their camp had been mostly set up; well, at least his cot was. Thorn was looking toward him and nodding. "You need rest the most, and I can tell you want to see if you can contact Virgil," the princess said as he approached the cot. "Luis or I will take first watch, just get some rest."

Roman gave her a grateful nod as he climbed onto the bed, feeling his heart racing and his skin crawling with unease. "Hey Thorn?" he called as she began to walk away. "Could you use some of your sleep magic?"

She nodded and came back over, waving her hands over his body; suddenly he felt calm. Every part of his body slowly went limp and then his mind slipped into an unconscious state. Once asleep, he found himself in a dark, cold room. He could hear someone running toward him. He looked up toward the staircase, his breath catching in his throat at the sight of Virgil, the real Virgil, running as though his life depended on it down the stairs and toward him where he stood by the door. Roman looked up to see a dark, shrouded figure coming after him. 

"Virgil!" he gasped, but it was no use. 

He watched as the dark prince hit the ground, a metal net wrapping itself around his ankles. He looks back, seeing the person that was following him. 

"N-No... no! Please!!" he screamed, clawing at the ground as he tried to pull himself toward the door. His captor just grabbed the metal net and began hauling him backwards with ease as he sobbed and cried, desperate to try and make one last attempt to get away. All the prince could do was watch, knowing that even if he reached out to him, he couldn't actually save him."NO! PLEASE! R-ROMAN!"

His heart twisted. The figure was speaking, but Roman's gaze was fading to black. He blinked his eyes open again to see Virgil strapped to a table. He was screaming in pain and crying, making hot tears of his own spring to his eyes. Eventually the tortures stopped, the figure muttered something to him, and then left the room, leaving him alone in the dark on the table. 

"Virgil! Virgil, I'm here," he tried, moving toward him to stand over the bed. 

He knew the dark prince couldn't hear perfectly, but he had been able to sense him speaking to him before. He shifted his head toward his voice, blood trickling out of the side of his mouth. "R-Roman...?" he mumbled, hope in his voice. 

"Shh, shh, I'm here, fall asleep love," he replied reassuringly. "Fall asleep and we can talk, I promise. Please understand."

Virgil's eyes slipped closed. A few dizzying moments later, Roman was standing in the royal gardens again, just like all the other dreams. He looked around for the dark prince, seeing him sprawled limply on the ground. He rushed to his side, kneeling down. "Virgil! Virgil, oh my god, please say something," he breathed, brushing his hair out of his eyes and holding his face as he cradled him against his chest. His eyes flickered open and a broken smile spread across his cracked lips. A tear rolled down Roman's cheek. "Hey baby..."

"R-Roman," he said, having to stop to cough up blood painfully. 

"Shh... don't speak if it hurts," the prince said, rubbing his forehead gently. "I've got you."

He nodded and cleared his throat harshly. "I'm... I-I'm alright," Virgil whispered, looking up at him with wide eyes. "It's so good to see you, Roman. I j-just wish- I wish we could see each other... for real..." 

"I know, I know baby, I'm on my way," he reassured him. "I'm so sorry you have to wait, I'm trying to get there as fast as I can."

"It's alright, Ro... I'll be fine..." he mumbled, looking like he was falling unconscious in a way that would break their connection. He groaned in pain and winced. Roman held him closer, shushing him gently. "I don't want to go yet..."

The prince smiled sympathetically. "I know, but you've got to rest if you want to feel better. Get some rest, I love you, Virge. I promise I'm coming to save you."

He nodded and fell limp against him, his eyes slipping closed. "I know... I love you too."