The Captive Prince

Chapter 3

"The dragon is gone."

Roman startled awake, it wasn't long after he was forced to sit down did his body cry out for rest. He didn't resist for long. Now, his eyes stung with the adrenaline of Logan, Patton, and Dee's return. Their presence sparkled in violet white as they crossed the barrier. Embarrassment sizzled on Roman's face.

"It was gone long before Patton and I arrived," Logan continued.

Virgil scowled in the direction of the rogue but eagerly rushed past the others. "I'm going back out there."

Roman rose from the log. The dragon called him a coward, they called him weak, yet in the face of opposition, it ran and hid in its forest of dread and decay. He would almost laugh if it wasn't for the molten bubble forming at his core.

Logan swiveled around to meet the ranger. "No, you are not. We have the Prince, our next mission to return him to his kingdom. There is a void in succession that will be exploited if Prince Roman does not return."

"The King is fine."

"The King is stressed," Logan said bluntly, his voice echoed through the camp. The rest went unsaid, the King's attention was divided. The kingdom itself was weakened.

With one string pulled, the rest of the Dragon Witch's plan would unravel shortly after. It would only be a matter of time before the Prince's kidnapping would come to attention. Who's to say it hasn't already.

Seeds of chaos planted by Remus would be watered in dragon flame.

This time, Virgil stopped. His fingers twitched on the bowstring even as he relaxed his pull.

Even Roman paused in consideration. Why did he ever think his step-father wouldn't be worried about him? Yet his biological father didn't send the guard to look for his son? Instead, they sent a small group of adventurers to rescue him. Perhaps, they wanted to keep his absence out of the public eye.

Away from the Duke who some were calling to have as heir instead. Remus was related to the Crown through blood--unlike Roman. Though his destructive tendencies made him a less compatible ruler.

He had to return to them, even if that meant taking the safest route. The more shameful. Roman's failed efforts to free himself and he still needed help. And yet, he would be lost if he didn't.

The prince would be going on an adventure and he was outside the palace, outside designated noble hunting grounds, why would he not be excited about that? Why couldn't he be excited about that?

Logan's focus turned from Virgil to the rest of the party. "Pack up, we're leaving." He paused in front of Roman and gave the prince a curt bow. "Please, make yourself comfortable, your Grace. We are here to serve you."

"Oh, I uh- Thank you," Roman stammered, falling back from his thoughts to face the mage, before rising to gilded charm. "But you really don't need to dismiss yourself into servent status..."

"I know." Logan drew his attention to Roman's hand then up toward the back of the camp's barrier wall. His keen eyes taking in the magenta sparkles rising from their translucent shield until he reached the part where Roman tested Logan's magic, the purple flecks slowed their ascension and twinkled into a delicate outline of Roman's palm. His jaw clutched as he averted his gaze and walked away.

Roman's glamour faded as Logan returned to his corner of the camp. With a flick his wrist, indigo sparkles outlined the organized mess and began storing themselves away. Logan sat back on a grey tree stump lined with yellowish mushroom shelves, and opened his spell tome. The golden mirror rested on top, holding the pages from the wind.