Arranged (COMPLETED)

Chapter 4

This is a picture I drew of the brand on Virgil's arm you'll hear about later

Hearing footsteps, Virgil whipped around. It was a servant from the castle.

"Are you Prince Virgil of Andasey?" She asked, trying to catch her breath.

"Yes, why?"

"Prince Roman wanted to see you. He said it was urgent."

"Could you tell him that I will be back at the castle as soon as I can?"

"Okay sir but he said it was something to do with what happened to the mirror." The girl said, confusion clouding her eyes. Virgil guessed that word hadn't gotten out yet.

"Something to do with the mirror?" Virgil repeated, trying not to let worry cloud his vision. The girl nodded. "Do you have a name?" He asked quickly.

"Joanna, sir." She said, bowing slightly.

"Right. Joanna, could you please go to the edge of the forest and get me some Rosebane?"

"Yes sir. What does it look like, sir?"

"It's a spiked plant. When you've found it, give it to my friend Logan. He'll know what to do with it."

"Yes sir." Joanna said before running away, towards the forest.

Virgil took a breath, trying to calm himself down, before starting towards the castle.

"Roman?" Virgil asked cautiously, poking his head around the other prince's door. "What happened?"

Roman looked up from his shaking hands, his face blanched white and his eyes huge.

"There was something here." He whispered, just loud enough for Virgil to hear.

"What sort of thing?"

"The thing I saw in the mirror." Roman muttered as Virgil sat down next to him. "Except this time it talked to me."

"What did it say?"

Roman swallowed. "It said 'Hello brother'. Virgil, you don't think there's any chance that my brother's in danger, do you?"

Virgil shook his head. "Logan and I think we've identified what this thing might be." He got up and started pacing, not really realising he was doing it. "It's a very dangerous demon called Malumsine. Your description of it fits well into what other people believe it looks like."

"Why is it plaguing me? It's appearing in my mirror, using my brother against me and keeping me up all night with its laughter."

"Malumsine loves to torture people, especially those in power." Virgil started rubbing at his arm again, this time digging his nails through the material and scratching his skin. "He's most likely also what caused this."

"Why is he here?"

"Someone here must've summoned him. People summon demons for many different reasons. But, to keep the castle, particularly you, safe, we need some Rosebane. It's the demon equivalent of garlic for vampires, like their poison. It's actually one of the only ways you can keep a demon from-" Virgil cut himself off. He didn't want to worry Roman.

"From what?"

"It doesn't matter. I'd better go and see if that girl's returned with the Rosebane." Virgil muttered, leaving the room quickly.

Virgil made his way out of the castle towards the stables, scratching at his arm violently now. The brand was burning and that was never good. Hearing a roar from the sky, he looked up to see a flash of bright white lightning.

"Not right now." He hissed through gritted teeth, his eyes turning purple as he concentrated on stopping the thunderstorm. There was a flash of lightning, a flash of pale purple light and then nothing. Ignoring the dizziness that would soon turn to sharp pain, Virgil kept walking, now drawing blood from the brand on his arm.

Looking down at his fingers, now dotted with red, Virgil sighed. Logan had warned him about this but Virgil couldn't help when the brand on his arm decided to start burning and itching. Hearing the beating of wings, Virgil looked up, away from his fingers.

The entire stable, including his pegasus Accentus, were in a panic, stomping their hooves and making a huge racket. Accentus' wings kept hitting the walls of his stall as he trotted around in a tight circle, neighing worriedly.

"Woah, woah, calm down. Accentus, calm, calm." Virgil said, stroking his pegasus' nose. "Calm down. What's got you so worried? Is something wrong?" Virgil asked, looking up towards the sky just visible beyond the stable. Accentus whinnied again as Virgil calmed down the other horses. "It is rather ominous, isn't it? But it's just like back at home. I don't see why-"

Virgil was cut off by a loud yell echoing through the castle grounds and a cold laugh. His eyes went wide.

"Logan!"

I am on fire with these cliffhangers. Sorry if it's annoying, I just want this book to be a little longer than some of my other recent works.
Bye,
Queenie