Prinxiety oneshots

Porcilen

I decided to go a different direction with this story and use the idea that I previously had for this title a different time. Also, this was sort of inspired by the Percy Jackson series and camp half-blood. It's not strictly an AU, but it's implied they're on a quest and the context is that they met at camp. also, it's a long one, so strap in.
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Roman stood in front of the tiny, tucked away shop on the corner of the street. The sign above the door read "Trinkets and Chinaware". He hadn't noticed the store there before, but if he was interpreting the clues correctly, this was were Virgil was being held. Hesitatly, he opened the door, fingers fiddling with the handle of the sword at his hip. He got a bad feeling from the moment he stepped inside. Maybe it was how quiet it was in there, but more than that it was probably the hundreds of tiny painted eyes of the dolls on the high shelves staring down at him. The door swung closed behind him and a man entered from a back room, stepping up to the counter. He was an odd looking man. His clothes were strangely formal for what roman guessed his occupation was, a craftsmen. His top hat was almost comically large and his mustache was downright cartoonish. He stared at Roman with a manic, unsettling grin. "Hello there! Welcome to Trinkets and Chinaware! The mice are half off today." He pointed to a mouse cadge where about a dozen little tinker toy mice were running around. It caught roman off Guard for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure. "Where's Virgil." He demeaned, drawing his sword and pointing it at the odd man in front of him. The ice was clear in his voice. The man behind the counter studied him for a moment. "Ahh I thought that's what you might be here for." He smiled again, his new grin more sinister than the first. "He put up quite a fight, kicking and screaming to be let go. He was much stronger than I expected for someone so small." For a horrible moment, dread settled in romans gut. "W-What did you do with him?" He wasn't entirely sure he wanted an answer. The man laughed. "Oh don't worry he's still alive. In a way, that is." Now roman was getting angry. "What's that supposed to mean, where is he?!" The shopkeeper chuckled. "Let me show you." He ducked into the back room, leaving roman to wonder for a moment if he was only imagining the millions of tiny eyes following him, and then returned holding something behind his back. Roman watched as the man placed the thing delicately down onto the counter. It was a box. A puppet box. It was honestly beautiful. It was mostly black, with satin purple curtains and delicate silver detailing. A nob on the side indicated that it could play music. The shopkeeper turned the nob, and a faint tune begain to play. And with the tune, up popped a doll. A doll that looked uncannily like Virgil. The painted hazel eyes seemed to look at roman pleadingly, It's mouth painted in a forced smile. No, not it's-His. Roman then realized with sinking horror why he felt like all of the dolls eyes were watching him.

It's because they were.

The doll, or more accurately, Virgil had begun to dance. His porcelain body moved by the delicate strings holding him up. Roman then noticed he recognized the tune. It was playing a music box version of "So This is Love". It felt like a twist of the knife. "Wh-What did you do to him?" He whispered in abject horror. "Isn't he much better this way? I thought the song would be a nice touch." The shopkeeper asked with yet another manic smile. "No! No of course he's not better like this!" The man at the counter merely chuckled. "Oh but you haven't even seen the best part." Roman watched, fearing what was coming next, as the man carefully removed the doll Virgil from his puppet box. He sat him onto the counter, and with the press of a button he grew to full size. The pained look in his eyes was gone. Instead, there was something else there. Something roman could only describe as...love.

Roman has had feelings for the emo boy he partnered with On this quest for sometime now. The feelings had started back at camp, and they only got stronger on the quest. but he could never tell if Virgil liked him in return, let alone bring himself to ask. And here was the doll version of him walking towards him with adoration in his painted eyes. "Roman is that you?" The emo made puppet asked, blinking long dark lashes at the other. Roman momentarily forgot how to speak, and in that moment, the doll had walked over to him and was now hugging onto Roman's waist, looking up at him expectantly. Virgil's voice sounded different. It was still clearly his voice, but there was something changed about it. He sounded...lovesick. "Virge, wha-"
The doll giggled. "I love you. Did you know that? I'd do anything for you, anything at all." Roman instinctually moved his arms around Virgil's waist and the boy shuffled closer. The shopkeeper was once again grinning. "See? Isn't this what you've always wanted? Now he's all yours to keep!" Virgil giggles again. "Yep! Alll yours." Roman looked from the shopkeeper back to the doll in his arms. "No..no this isn't right.." The shopkeeper looked confused. "But isn't this what you want? Don't you want him to love you?" Virgil began to shake. He looked up at roman with tears in his eyes. "You don't..love me?" Fake or not, that hurt romans heart. He let out a sigh and rubbed the dolls back. "No, no it's not that I don't love you Virgil. But..this isn't you." The shopkeeper waved his hand dismissively. "Oh, sure it is! Look at him, he looks happy does he not? And for a very small fee he can be all yours." The doll was now back to giggling happily and cuddling into Roman. Roman thought about it for a moment. On the one hand, he could have what he so very much wanted. He could hand over whatever price the shopkeeper asked and he could keep Virgil. He could be sure that Virgil would love him in return. But on the other hand, he knew that this wasn't right. If he truly loved the Hades kid, as he knew he did, he had to want what's best for him. He had to want Virgil's freedom. He also knew that this love would never be real, no matter how much he wanted it. If he let Virgil stay like this he would never know what it's like to truly be loved by him. He knew what he had to do.