Put back together

66. Do you hear those sleigh bells over the screams of terror?

Roman took the now loose hanging leather reigns, partly  because having something to hold on to made him feel slightly safer, partly to keep them out from under the skids.

"If we die I hope we won't get punished in the same level of hell," Virgil muttered.

"What?" Roman asked.

Without answering Virgil grabbed the reigns and began humming a soft melody.

Slowly, barely noticeable at first, the sleigh began to move, getting faster as Virgil got louder until he began to sing in a language Roman didn't know and the sleigh moved at about the speed of a walking horse.

It... wasn't as bad as Roman had expected. Virgil had way more control over the movement than he'd expected.

They rode towards the dark tree line and Roman relaxed slightly.

For a moment he contemplated climbing into the inside of the sleigh to check on his boyfriends and Emile but decided against it. Just because the sleigh ride shaped up to be a lot safer than he had expected didn't mean that he could trust Virgil yet.

As they reached the tree line Virgil stopped singing for a moment, the song he'd been singing over, and the sleigh kept moving with its momentum.

Roman relaxed into the leather cushion of the coach box and pulled his coat higher over his face to shield it from the wind.
He glanced over to Virgil who seemed to be contemplating. So far Roman was pretty sure that he was using magic by singing so he was probably contemplating what song he could sing.
As long as he decided before they crashed into a tree, Roman didn't care.

Virgil began again, louder from the get-go this time with something that sounded more like talking than singing.
A jolt went through the sleigh and it moved faster again, speeding up with Virgil's voice and dodging the trees.

Roman subtly examined the wound where he'd been stabbed earlier and froze.

He could watch and almost feel the muscle knitting itself back together and the skin stretch to heal. It itched and prickled weirdly.

Suddenly Virgil began to actually sing and the sleigh gained even more speed.

"Woah!" Roman let out. "Slow down!"

Virgil didn't seem to hear him.

They sped up further.

"Slow down!" Roman tensed as the trees began to melt together as they dashed past, dodging closer and closer. The snow whipped against his face again.

The sleigh raced over a fallen tree, covered in snow and flew into the air.

Roman screamed.

They were headed straight for a tree, they were going to crash, they-

A bright, green flash of light filled his vision and suddenly they crashed into a flowery field, their momentum making them race past a large group what looked like people but was gone to quickly for Roman to actually see.

Another, ice blue, flash and they were back on the mountain, nearly toppling over to the side before crashing back down.

"Slow the fuck down!" Roman yelled, holding onto the reins for dear life. "You're going to get us all killed!"

He could hear his own panic in Virgil's voice but he still didn't slow the sleigh.

He sped it up.

He sang faster and faster, the more scared he seemed, as if having completely forgotten that his voice was making the sleigh move this fast in the first place and that he was the only one who could slow it again.

Another pink flash of light and they hit something slimy that let out a high pitched scream and rolled over the front of the sleigh before hitting Roman in the chest.
Slime hit his face and he managed to stop screaming long enough to spit some of it out.

"Stop the fucking sleigh!" he screeched.

His answer was another beige flash of light and suddenly they were falling through the air, towards a city of high grey towers and some made of glass.

Some small black thing flew past them.

Maybe it squawked but Roman couldn't hear over his own screams ringing in his ears.

The ground got closer and closer and Roman scrunched his eyes shut.

He heard the light more than he saw it this time.

Snow flew up and hit him in the face and he blinked his eyes open to clear his vision.

They were back on a mountain but he couldn't be sure if it was the same one they had started out on.
He hoped it was.

"Virgil, stop the fucking sleigh!"

They were going to die. They were so going to die. They had escaped the revolutionaries but they were still going to die.

The sleigh hopped a little and Roman heard wood burst.

Roman whipped his head around but he couldn't see what had broken. The wind brought tears to his eyes and stung.

What had he been thinking to let Virgil take control?

Emile had said that he was far gone, it had been obvious too, so why the fuck had Roman thought for even a second that he could trust this mad man with their lives?

Whatever had possessed him, he hoped that it too was trapped on the sleigh with them.
It seemed like a good punishment.

And suddenly the world around him slowed down.

"What-?" Roman looked around.

They were still moving, the snow was still falling but so slow it might as well have stopped.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Roman hissed at Virgil, his voice cracking a little after screaming so much.

Virgil didn't react.

Roman glanced over at him and realized that he was slowed down too.

"What the actual fuck...?"

Roman pushed himself up from his slumped position.

With a start everything went back to normal and he was thrown back against the hard cushion, his breath getting knocked out of him and his head slamming against the wood.

His vision blurred.

Suddenly the sleigh tilted, few up in the air again, spinning out of control and crashed into a snowbank.

Roman was thrown in the air and landed hard on his back, sinking into the snow.

Slowly he blinked up at the light grey sky.

He could still feel the world spin around him and didn't dare to move until it finally came to a halt.
Then, he slowly sat up, his head and back throbbing, and looked around.

The sleigh was a few metres away, laying on its side, the skids broken and their pieces scattered in the snow.

Roman managed to get up and stumble over to it.

"Guys?" he wanted to ask but his voice failed him halfway through the word.

Coughing he looked around again.

Virgil was a few metres away, staggering to his feet.
He shook off the snow like a wet animal and slowly came over to Roman. His eyes seemed unfocused now.

"I can't believe we survived," Virgil croaked.

"Now I can fucking kill you," Roman barely managed to answer.

Holy shit, this was fun to write! Hope i was also fun to read!

Fun fact: In sallerowan castles it's custom to have three garden exits. One secret that only the current regent or lord of the house knows, one main gate and a small well guarded one. Where this custom came from is ling forgotten.

As always feel free to comment, ask questions or roast me for spelling errors!

Have a nice (gay) day!