Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Virgil knew the castle far better than Logan could ever hope to. He had rarely ventured beyond its walls in all the time they had lived here and so had spent countless hours exploring the maze of tunnels and paths while Logan had soared high above. He had walked in dark tunnels that hadn’t seen a living soul for years and mapped them all in his head, so much so that he could move through them blindfolded if need be and still not hit a single wall.

He knew the best hiding spots, and he was curled up in one now, knees brought up against his chest, forehead resting against them. Then again, he had never needed to seriously hide from Logan before, so could it really be called a best anything? It was quiet here at least, almost peaceful and in this little corner, he could try and think, could attempt to calm himself by walking those paths in his mind, moving through the castle at will.

There were ways out, if he was willing to take them. Ways under walls, gaps in the stonework that could be made big enough for one person to slip through under the cover of darkness as he made his way to the nearby woods for shelter - if that was what he decided to do.

This castle was not nearly as secure as Logan thought it was but that had never mattered in the past because Virgil had been able to step in and help. He had spent months searching for gaps, casting all manner of charms and protections on them so people would see rocks or other barriers, that the impression would be that this was a secure fortress. Unless you just climbed over the walls where the gaps were too big to cover or rode through the main gate as Roman had done.

Then there were the wards, bound so that anyone new who crossed them would send him a warning, alerting them to danger. Only new people though, the strings didn’t react everytime Logan moved through them. Virgil had never tested it properly, but he was fairly sure he could slip through the wards himself without setting them off. They didn’t even react to Roman anymore, although Virgil wished they had, that he had been given enough notice, that he could have stopped all of this madness or at the very least delayed it a little further. Perhaps with Roman by his side he could have pulled Logan back.

The world didn’t run on perhaps and all those theories that ran through his mind didn’t matter because it was all pointless anyway. There was no power in the world that could change the past, even magic had its limits. He could wish all he wanted that the wards had triggered or that Roman had stayed but it wouldn’t change anything. All he could do was deal with what was in front of him now and work from there.

The sensible thing to do would be to try and run. To escape whatever it was that fate had in store for him and try and fight for a new life. To either fling himself into battle in a solo and possibly futile effort to defeat the Queen Mother and save Roman... or to accept the flames and ruins of all his hopes and become someone new, live out a life of obscurity and peace. He would never pick that second choice, he was pessimistic but he could never just abandon everyone. Regardless he should accept that the choice had already been made, that it was no longer Roman or Logan, it was Roman or death.

He should use his magic if he had to, slip away from the castle and somehow work out how to get to his home on his own, without being captured by either Logan or any scouts the Queen Mother might have sent out searching for him. He should cloak himself in his magic as well as his newly acquired physical cloak and get out of here.

It was what he should do - but Virgil already knew, even as he considered it, that he wouldn’t do that. That he couldn’t do that.

To escape would mean leaving Logan behind, would mean abandoning him and Virgil wasn't ready for such a thing, not yet. Possibly not ever. He didn’t want to have to choose between Roman and Logan. No, he refused to choose between them - there had to be an answer here that didn’t involve abandoning one of them to a horrible fate. He had to be better. He would be better, his father's words ringing in his ears, the encouragement, the belief that he had in him.

Virgil breathed out, the breath catching a little in his throat but for the first time he felt someone’s expectations felt more like encouragement instead of a crushing weight. He breathed in, trying to steady himself enough for the next step. For what had to happen. Because the moment was almost upon him, Virgil knew it. The moment when he would have to fall in some direction, when he had to prove himself. He couldn’t stay curled up in this little hole he had found forever. It wasn’t his tower, not quite, but it was somewhere safe, somewhere that Logan shouldn’t be able to find him because there was no window that Logan could look through and see him, no tunnel that he could move through.

He could feel the moment growing closer.

As if summoned by his internal thoughts, the sound of wings came to his ears, Virgil lifting his tear stained face from his knees to listen intently to the faint noises. He was skilled in that too, in being able to judge exactly where his friend was by the sound of wings and claws. It was amazing what you could learn when you were that bored.

Logan had landed on his tower. By now he had no doubt worked out that Virgil wasn’t there. Despite everything, he couldn’t help but feel a slight tingle of alarm. Fear at what the dragon might drive Logan to do, and he wasn’t afraid for himself, not really. The thought that Logan might go too far haunted him though, the idea that he might do something and then not be able to face himself after, what if he hurt Virgil and then never forgave himself? How could Virgil ever save him then?

“Oh my prince, where are you?” Logan called, the stone work rattling a little around him as he crashed rather heavily into the main courtyard. Even a few rooms over, Virgil could feel the vibrations it caused and it was strange, how he had never realised quite how big and powerful Logan actually was as a dragon. The hard won control slipped a little, the edge of darkness creeping back up on him.

“I can smell you my prince...” Logan crooned, Virgil feeling himself shrink into a smaller ball and the silky tones of Logan’s voice frightened him more than any anger had ever done. Virgil could feel his breath hitch, struggling to keep it level. It was okay. He was deep enough, the dragon couldn’t actually reach him here and Logan would have to bring down a lot of the castle in order to drag him out of here by force. Strangely, the thought of potentially being buried under a lot of heavy stones did not help his mood. That voice in the back of his mind that urged caution, that sensibly argued to run, grew louder.

Still, Virgil couldn’t abandon Logan, not really. He had told Roman that he wouldn’t leave his friend even if the curse took him. At the time he had meant every word he said. He still meant it, no matter the panic that was running through him.

“Oh so you want to play? Very well... let us play, but I will remember this.”

But... this wasn’t his friend. His friend wasn’t cruel, his friend wouldn’t do this to him, Virgil biting down the urge to yelp as Logan hit against the stonework again, strong enough this time to make the very walls of his room shake a little and it seemed as though Logan’s temper had gotten worse. His fuse had certainly gotten shorter and somehow, Virgil didn’t doubt that he would bring down the whole castle if that was what it took to find him. The landscape had changed so dramatically and so quickly. It wasn’t like Logan to toy with anyone like this, let alone someone he had once considered a friend. He knew next to nothing in this strange new world.

There was only one thing he knew for certain.

Something that struck him as he watched flakes of stone shimmy away from the walls. A loose bit of stone struck him as well, flicking down his cheek like a finger and with that sharpness came understanding. There had to be a price paid. That was how this worked, there was always going to be a life given up in return for a happy ending of sorts. Only, Virgil didn’t have to make the choice between the two of them, because the third option was here and had been all along. It was so clear to him, like a bolt from the blue.

It wasn’t a case of Roman or Logan. It was Roman, Logan... or Virgil. And really, that was no choice at all. He wasn’t going to let Roman die. He wasn’t going to abandon Logan to this fate either and if this was the price to pay, then he would pay it gladly. There was still someone he could save, even if it wasn’t himself. He could save Roman, he could give up any chance of his own happy ending.

In time, he would work out how to save Logan, he had to. What was his own happiness - even his own life compared to that?

Something fluttered inside of him, a new bravery born out of understanding that this was it. He had made his choice and Virgil felt more settled because of it. He was no longer plagued by the doubts of uncertainty, and that gave him a strange kind of strength.

Strength enough to uncoil himself from the ball he had been hiding in and stand up once more. Strength enough to do what needed to be done, Virgil lifting a hand to swipe at his eyes, trying to scrub some of the tears away.

He stepped out into the courtyard, holding his head as high as he dared. The crown felt heavy on his head, Virgil resisting the urge to take it off and fling it to the ground. He needed Logan to listen to him and throwing a temper tantrum - no matter how tempting that might be - would only anger the dragon in turn, would make him want to refuse to agree to what Virgil had to suggest.

Logan twisted to look at him as he moved into the light, a cold and unfamiliar smile gracing his features as he moved towards him. Now that Virgil was within his view, there didn't seem a need to be loud and he almost floated across the space, claws so delicately scraping along the stonework until he was close enough to touch.

“Ah, there you are. Crawling out of your little hole at last I see...are you ready to behave and go to your tower?”

“No. Let’s make a deal.” He spoke with a lot more bravery and confidence than he actually felt, trying not to let Logan know how scared he actually was. A foolish wish no doubt, his friend knew all his tells but that could hopefully work to his advantage as well as being a weakness.

“A deal?” Logan asked, head tilted ever so subtly to the side as he considered the offer, Virgil hardly daring to move in case it broke his concentration and he decided to not even bother listening to him. The prince couldn’t exactly force him to pay attention to him, let alone help him and he didn’t have a back up plan at the moment. This had to work. He had read a lot about dragon’s over the years, wanting to learn as much as he could. He knew how they liked to consider themselves smarter than anyone else. He had seen this before, he had seen Logan make a deal with Roman despite not wanting to give him a chance. This had to work. “Very well. Amuse me with your offer.”

“One last quest. You... you help me save Roman, this one last time and after he’s safe, I’ll come back with you if that's what you want. I’ll let you take me away and we shall find a new castle to hide in, if that is what you want from life,” Virgil suggested. He would do it too, would give up any chance of ruling, any chance of being with the knight if it meant he lived. He would stay with Logan no matter what his heart wanted, whatever it took. If he was with Logan, then perhaps that inspiration would strike him as well, and he would do what needed to be done in order to reverse the curse and free them all from this nightmare.

Logan laughed, face so close that Virgil could feel the hot breath against his skin. It was a horrible, grating sound, something foreign and unpleasant, Virgil fighting the urge to flinch at the noise. He wanted to scrub the memory of the sound from his mind.

“Your hand is too weak little Prince,” he gloated, a cruel delight shining in his eyes. “I already have you, all safe, all mine. This castle is safe, once the thief dies in his foolish mission, there will be nobody left who knows where you are. I keep my treasures protected, to go back to your home would make it far too likely you could get hurt or get foolish ideas in your head to try and leave me.”

Virgil shook his head, drawing on his own strength, and he couldn’t back down, not here. Maybe it wasn’t the strongest hand in the world but he knew how to play his cards. He knew his friend so well and vice versa. He could use that. He could use the desire to get more control against him.

“You know me, Logan. Think about it. You know how stubborn I can be. I’ll keep trying to escape and maybe I won’t at first but you know I will never give up until I do. I will fight against you with every breath,” he promised, lifting his chin and meeting that cold gaze head on. He would not be cowed or intimidated by this shell of his friend, not any longer. He had spent too long afraid, too long consumed by fears of the worst that could happen. Well, it had happened.

“I will never forgive you if you let him die and I will never forget. But if you help me save him, then I’ll be your Prince, just like you want. I will wipe his memory if that is what it takes for Roman to stay away and it will be just the two of us.”

Logan hesitated, clearly torn between risking accepting the deal or refusing it. He knew Virgil, he knew full well that the Prince he longed to claim meant every word he said and while Virgil knew it wouldn’t be easy to escape, he was going to try everything he could. He didn't want to leave Logan but he would, he would carry out his threat if he had to - as much as he didn’t want to, he knew this would only work if he was honest because Logan knew him too well.

Plus, he had his magic now, something Logan didn’t know. It felt wrong, keeping it a secret from his friend but at the same time, it wasn’t really his friend anymore was it. This Logan was dangerous and he would be a fool to admit to having power and thus a probable way out in case he tried to stop him. It was good to hold something back, just in case. Logan, ironically enough, had taught him that.

“You swear this?” Words were spoken slowly, Logan still staring deep into his eyes, as if searching for some hint of trickery or betrayal. Virgil nodded, hoping beyond hope that his honesty, his determination was still clear on his face. He swallowed heavily, taking a moment to think about this, about what he was actually doing and what he had to give up. Not that it mattered. The price was more than worth it.

“I swear. On my father’s name, I swear once we rescue Roman, you may decide my fate and I will willingly accept it.”

“Done.” Logan extended a clawed arm, allowing Virgil to shake one of the talons, creating the pact. He felt something run along his arm, a cold sensation that swept along him, from the tips of his fingers, all the way down to his toes. It lasted a mere second, the feeling of the chill rushing through his body before the moment was gone, although the cold remained. Virgil just hoped he wouldn’t live to regret this. He hoped that Roman would live full stop. Virgil pulled his hand back, wrapping his arms around himself to try and regain some of of the heat that had been drained from his body.

“Come on. Let’s go save my idiot.”