petrichor and stardust - an analogical AU fic

four

Patton had insisted Virgil stay for a few months, even though his injuries would only heal in one. He said it was so he could observe if his injuries had healed properly, but Virgil felt like he had other motives. He decided not to question it though; he was given a place to stay, after all. But now he had to get used to seeing Logan every day.

Virgil woke up the next morning with a very sharp pain in his right side. He clutched it as he remembered what caused that injury specifically. When he was escaping the Rogues, they had caught up to him at one point not too far from camp. Virgil had tripped and wasn't able to push himself up in time before a steel-toed boot came out of nowhere and kicked him hard in the side. He was knocked onto his left side, gripping his opposite side as a few rogues closed in. He slipped a knife out of his boot and stabbed one of them in the shin before standing up, sprinting as fast as he could.

He shook himself out of the memory, trying to focus on how to stop the pain. He peeked over his right shoulder and saw something on the table. He carefully shifted onto his back and fully turned his gaze to the table. There was a card, a cup of hot tea on a saucer, a tiny bowl of sugar cubes, along with two pills. Virgil groaned as he got up, still clutching his right side. He observed the card, which had "Virgil" in messy handwriting on the front. He opened the card one-handed, reading its contents.

"I wasn't sure what tea you liked, so Patton suggested I give you green tea, as it does have anti-inflammatory properties. It is also considered to be rather sweet, but I did leave some cubes of sugar in case you needed them. Do feel free to come to me if you need anything. My quarters are on the third floor. If anything, you are free to ask Patton to come and get me. You'll normally find him in the courtyard. Sincerely, Logan. P.S. The pills are meant to help with the pain that you are no doubt experiencing at the moment. Patton informed me of your injuries."

Virgil placed the card back down, drawing a chair. He sipped a bit of the tea before deciding it could use two sugar cubes. He plunked them into the drink and stirred them with the rather fancy spoon by the tea saucer. Virgil then grabbed the pills in one hand, drink in the other, and managed to put the pills in his mouth and swallow them down with tea. While waiting for the medicine to kick in, he quietly enjoyed the rest of his drink.

He lounged around in his bed until the pain dulled, which was when he pulled himself up and walked over to the bathroom, straightening himself up. Virgil wasn't sure what he wanted to do, but he didn't want to stay cooped up in his room. It was homey, yes, but there wasn't much to do in it. Still wearing his clothes from yesterday, he left his room.

He wandered over to the entrance of the courtyard. He could see Patton and Logan sitting on the bench, a knight with a red sash entering from the left side of the courtyard to join them. Too anxious to go bother them directly, he sat at the edge of the lake, watching the ducks float on the water. While scanning the surface of the lake, he noticed a small lotus that was still blossoming nearby him. Virgil stared at the lotus for a moment before he heard grass rustling near him.

Patton walked towards him, plopping himself next to Virgil. Patton was beaming, which caused Virgil to raise an eyebrow in suspicion. "Wanna come shop in town with me and Logan and Roman?" Patton asked, receiving no response for a moment. Virgil mulled it over, but he eventually nodded and stood up. Patton shot up excitedly, quickly running over to his friends on the bench, probably to inform them that Virgil would be going with them.

Roman, the knight with the red sash, had led the other three to a secret exit that led to outside the castle. They walked through the town, which was stunning to Virgil since so many people were able to exist in the same place without fighting. It was refreshing to see.

Virgil hadn't realized the palace was in the middle of a big town. He grew to wonder how the hell he got from the outer walls all the way to the heart of this place.