Virgil had materialized in a cell he had seen twice now, except this time he was inside it and not outside. In front of him sat Remus and Janus, his best friend and older brother. Remus was sleeping on a cot with a thin cot pulled over his shoulders, as well as Janus's cloak. Holding onto his hand, Janus sat next to the cot, he was leaning back against the wall, eyes open and staring up at the ceiling.

Remus looked sick and injured but not nearly as bad as he did days ago when Virgil had gotten the first view of them after the attack. Janus was pale and his hands still in poor condition but he was obviously healthier than Remus was. Virgil threw himself onto his friends, trying his best to wrap his arms around them and only for his arms to pass through them as if he was made of air.

'Janus' He signed, trying to get his brother's attention, but it wasn't working. It rarely ever did. It was rare that a seer could interact with the vision they were seeing, they were all but a ghost normally. The only way Janus would see him was if he was actively trying, and even then only their brotherly bond made that possible.

'Janus, Janus, please. Are you here? Are you real? Please. Tell me you can see me. Please, Janus. Where are you? Talk to me. Is Remus okay? Why can't I touch you!? Who is doing this?! Janus talk to me! Please! Why am I here?! Talk to me! Please, Janus! Talk to me!'

The world around him began to fade out, he fought against it like he often did but like every other time he tried, it didn't work. Moments later another sick feeling washed over him as the real world came back into view.

Four men holding him and three others hostage, oh how he hated reality.

Virgil had been asleep for hours when he finally began to come to again. The first thing he noticed was that the world seemed to be shaking slightly, then he realized that was because he was on a horse, and finally he realized a pair of arms was wrapped around him and were preventing him from falling off. Immediately Virgil began to panic, pulling at the grip that held him and struggling to get off the horse before a voice stopped.

"Ann. Ann, it's only me. It's Roman," Roman said as Virgil turned to look at him, "Hey, calm down okay? I know you don't like people touching you but we needed to keep moving and this was the easiest way."

'Wanna get off'

"Okay, but Patton's gonna yell at you as soon as he sees you walking. You look awful and caught a weird fever" Roman began to slow down but then Virgil felt it. The whole world beginning to spin like a top and the worst case of sick he'd ever felt. He was having trouble staying balanced with Roman's arms around him there was no way he'd be able to even ride a horse on his own let alone walk. He held back the urge to puke as he leaned back against Roman, making the other change his grip on him. "Ann, you doing okay? I can go slower if we need"

Virgil shook his head though, even with the headache and the feeling of nausea and everything else that felt wrong with him he knew that they were already going pretty slow compared to their normal pace. Patton and Logan were a ways ahead, Lucy's reigns in Patton's hand as she carried both Virgil's and Roman's bags now that Jezz was carrying two people instead of one.

'Move hands please' Virgil signed.

"What?" Roman asked.

'Move hands, uncomfortable with where they are'

"O-oh!" Roman said with realization as he adjusted his hands again, "Sorry, how's that? Better?" Virgil shrugged slightly, "Uhm, here how about you just show me where I can hold you?" Virgil thought about that for a moment before moving Roman's hands away from his waist. It didn't help completely but that wasn't going to happen anyway, he didn't like being touched. Didn't even let people like Patton or his brother hug him without warning. He was going to feel uncomfortable anyway.

When he was done he continued to lean against Roman, the other didn't comment on it. Virgil signed a quick thank you and Roman replied with a short 'no problem'. After that, though the conversation stopped. Virgil kept his eyes closed as he tried to calm the feeling of nausea and sort out his thoughts while Roman's eyes wandered the path and took in the scenery. He hummed a song quietly, Virgil didn't ask him to stop, and did his best to keep Jezz from bouncing to much.

Twenty minutes passed before Patton and Logan stopped for them to catch up, "is he awake?" Patton whispered.

"I dunno," Roman replied, "He was awake earlier. Ann you still awake?"

Virgill nodded his head.

"Hey kiddo, you wanna open your eyes and let us know how you're feeling?"

'Roman's the one who got tied up by bad guys, check on him' Virgil signed without opening his eyes

"We have already checked Roman for injuries, it is you whom we are concerned for," Logan answered

'Jesus Christ, you pass out time and suddenly everyone's worried about you'

"Unconsciousness is not a sign of adequate health, therefore we have the right to be concerned for you"

'It was just because of the visions Specs, I'm fine'

"Visions cause you to lose consciousness? How come past visions didn't do that?"

'No. Having four different visions of different intensities in one day causes people to pass out. I had four in one hour. Not to mention that spell. All wore me out too much'

Logan made a noise of understanding before continuing, "Earlier when Roman was in danger you mentioned how not all visions are the same, would you mind-"

"Nuh-uh. no way." Roman said, slightly loudly making Virgil flinch, Roman lowered his voice, "If you wanna have a nerd conversation then you two can ride together. I don't wanna listen to half of a conversation and barely be able to understand the other half."

Virgil smiled slightly, finding Roman's words slightly funny before he opened his eyes for the first time to look at Logan sympathetically, 'Sorry Lo, I'm really not feeling good right now, maybe later?'

Logan sighed but understood, "Perhaps, later would make a better time,"

Virgil thanked him and closed his eyes again. He could hear conversation begin among the other three for a while, then somewhere in the middle Roman spoke to him quietly so the other two couldn't hear, "You can go back to sleep if you want, no one will mind"

'Can't sleep while being touched, but thanks' he signed to him.

"Okay well, try and rest at least. If you need anything, just ask"

Virgil smiled thankfully and gave Roman a thumbs up, after a minute or two Virgil shifted slightly against Roman, unknowingly snuggling into the other slightly. Roman adjusted his grip so it was just a tiny bit tighter, neither mentioned it and the ride continued on.

"Ann," A voice whispered to him. Virgil nodded to show he heard, "We're stopping for the night, need help getting down?" Virgil opened his eyes and shook his head to the speaker, Roman, who nodded in return and began to hop off of Jezz. He looked back to Ann who, as Roman's feet had touched the ground, also began to get off. He was struggling though and shook his head whenever Roman offered to help.

Eventually, Virgil fell the rest of the way to the ground. "Ann! Are you okay kiddo?" Patton asked from the other side of the camp. Virgil sat up and nodded as he rubbed at his head.

"Could've just asked for help you know," Roman said with a smile as he offered Virgil a hand.

Virgil shook his head, 'Too much touching,' He signed as he stood up. He paused at the feeling of sick but pushed it away and made a slow and nauseating trip to where Logan and Patton were, Roman followed from behind in case he were to fall again.

"Feeling any better kiddo?" Patton asked as he looked through the food they had and thought about what they could

'Little bit. It'll pass by tomorrow, don't worry'

"This happens often?" Logan asked as he worked to light a fire.

Virgil shook his head, 'Hasn't happened in years.'

"Hmm, could you explain your visions now?"

"Nerd talk," Roman whispered to Virgil making him laugh slightly, Logan ignored the comment though.

'What do you want to know?'

Being a seer is an odd experience. There weren't many seers in the world, not anymore at least. It wasn't hereditary either. No one in Virgil's family had been a seer until he came along, and if he were to have children of his own blood him being a seer did not increase their chances of being a seer. It was just a thing of luck if you could call it that. Another Russian roulette of genetics that Virgil had somehow won.

They can't pick and choose what they see either, nor when. Though usually, it warned them of danger. Sometimes they were clear and easy to dissect and understand, like when Virgil saw the horses coming. Other times things were harder to understand, like cut-up shots of random items that would leave Virgil feeling paranoid over what they meant.

And other times Virgil wouldn't understand it exactly but the vision would push a specific feeling towards him. Like during the attack, Virgil hadn't exactly seen anything that could give him specifics he had just known. He had felt more than seen that he was in danger and that people were in the castle.

Sometimes visions weren't really visions. This morning Virgil had mostly just heard something yelling Roman's name another feeling of danger being pushed into him. Or there'd be no sound at all, just pictures and video. Sometimes it would be a memory, a name, a random house that wouldn't seem special at all until Virgil saw it in person, and then he'd just know that it was a part of his vision.

It was odd, and hard to explain everything. Hard to explain that honestly, visions were normally not so much of what you see or don't see but of what it makes you feel. What emotion or thought it had pushed into him.

Sometimes, though rarely for Virgil, he would get a vision of something that would happen in the distant future. Normally he just had visions of what was happening at that moment or what was about to happen. A split-second warning for him, a moment for him to prepare, it was rarely ever enough time.

He had learned a long time ago that trying to prevent visions from happening was a lost cause. Something that couldn't be avoided. You can't change the future, attempting to do so could just make everything worse.

Death and pain.

Two specific parts of visions that were awful to see. Virgil didn't even have the words to describe the experience honestly. It was another thing you just knew. Pain was awful, you knew what it felt like and physically it hurt. You knew what had happened just through the feeling it would push through you.

Death was worse. Death felt different than seeing someone get knocked out or hit. It hurt. There was physical and emotional pain. Even if Virgil didn't know the person if they were a complete stranger to him. An overwhelming feeling of pain and sadness and so much more that it made Virgil have a panic attack as soon as it was over.

Controling a vision was difficult as well. Virgil was rarely ever able to do it and it took a lot of energy and messed with his mind whenever he came out. It was difficult for him, and mostly whenever he could do it, it was only lengthening it. Other stronger seers could actually change where they are in their visions and even touch people or things like what Virgil was trying to do early this morning.

Lastly having too many visions in a short amount of time, like what happened this morning, could cause some not so nice side effects. Like dizziness, nausea, passing out, and magical burn out. It was a miracle the spell had even worked this morning, Virgil had only tried it out of desperation and stupidity. And he had paid the price now, hadn't he?

Virgil laid in his sleeping bag, head resting on a bag filled with clothes acting as a pillow. His breath came out evenly as he faced the fire, his back to Patton who also slept. Roman stared at them from the other side of the fire, poking at the flames with a stick. Logan was sitting on a rock reading a book he had brought along.

Roman didn't understand why Logan had brought books, they were boring and added weight to the horses. But Logan had insisted on it and brought along three books from home, some of Janus's old spellbook had been added making a total of six books. Roman was honestly impressed, normally when Logan went on long tris like this he'd bring at least eight or ten. But then again, normally when Logan went on long trips like this he was in a carriage and wasn't spending every other night sleeping outdoors, there was more time for reading then. Not so much now.

"Is there something on your mind Roman?" Logan asked, turning the page of his book.

"Why do you ask?"

"The average amount of times a human blinks in a minute is twenty. You've blinked five."

Logan was so observant.

Roman shook his head, "Just thinking."

"You thinking?" Logan asked, looking up at him with a small smile. He closed his book, placing it in his lap. He didn't even mark the page. Did he remember what number it was? "Indulge me Roman, what are you thinking about?"

"Ann," Roman said, not much hesitation in his voice as he spoke the name.

"And why is that?"

Roman shrugged, "I'm worried about him,"

"Virg-Ann has already assured us that his sickness is not serious, contagious, or long lasting. It will be gone by morning, it's just-"

"Just an effect from the magic I know," Roman interrupted, "that's not why I'm worried"

"Then why?"

Another shrug, "I-I don't feel good about this quest I guess. What if we don't find the people that did this in time? They'll attack the Light Kingdom next and Logan you've seen the damage they've done, we might not be able to handle them."

"This doesn't sound like it's about Ann, it sounds more like you're worried for the safety of our kingdom. Your kingdom"

"And..."

"And what Roman?"

"And what if we do find them? They might catch us. Ann might not be able to save everyone. We might not get to our brothers. He'll be a king at sixteen. Sixteen Logan. Could you imagine?"

"Your mother managed something similar" Logan said, hoping to ease his friends worries.

"Ann's not my mother." Roman looked away from the fire and placed the stick on the ground next to him, crushing the embers under his boot. "Ann is... different. He's reasonable like you and her yeah. But he's scared, he does things that could get him hurt, and he's still a kid Lo. When it works, he uses his magic for fun more then anything else."

Roman sighed, "He speaks about the people he's close to as if they're gods compared to him. Mightier and worthier. He doesn't like people touching him, won't even let Pat give him a hug. I mean, he won't even speak and we don't know why."

"Roman we've talked about this, it could be-"

"Yeah but we know it's not, don't we?" Roman asked, it was somewhat truthful. Roman had asked Prince Hollis if Virgil being selectively mute had anything to do with their culture, he had told him no and then quickly shutdown any other questions about Virgil's refusal to speak. "He's not a mute because of his culture, it's not a coping mechanism for his anxiety. It's-It's something else... fear? Maybe?"

Roman sat up straighter as Logan watched him, "My parents were training both my brother and I how to be kings. Ann's father was obviously training Crown Prince Janus for the same thing. But royals second in line to the throne, don't usually get that type of education. At least not in the Light Realm. What if it's the same here? And Ann doesn't know any of that yet.

"What are you saying Roman?" Logan asked

"I-I don't know." Roman said, hunching over slightly, "Maybe- maybe I'm saying that... What if Ann isn't ready to be king?

Logan looked at Roman, eyes a little wide with surprise at the suggestion. It was obvious though that his friend was distraught, and deeply concerned over the youngest member of their group. He sighed, Logan hated it whenever he needed to treat his friends emotional spills. Patton would be much better suited for this job but he was asleep so it must be up to Logan. "Virgil will of course have had some sort of leadership training. Probably poitcal and strategical courses and such as well. We've seen how he felt about which direction we choose, and how he dealt with the unkind man in the market. He will not be completely helpless if him being crowned king is what it comes to."

"I know but-"

"But," Logan continued, "If he does need help, you and your parents will be there to give it, as will his uncle. I know for sure of that. Your parents may have slightly intimidated him but they have always been truthful to their word. Ann will be fine Roman, I assure you of it."

Roman sighed, slightly more relaxed at the words, "Thanks for listening Lo," he said to his friend with a thankful smile.

Logan nodded, "Of course Roman. Now please, let me return to my book." he said as he lifted the book to eyelevel again and once again began reading. Roman chuckled as he picked up the stick again and continued to prod at the fire.

Across from them, not to far away, a pair of blue eyes stared into the forest at hearing what the other two boys had said.

Patton watched the blurry outlines of tree's. Did Roman and Logan really believe Ann was ready or capable of being king? How did Ann feel about this? Was he the only one confident that Ann would one day make a great leader if the time came for it? He certainly hoped not. Ann was going to need all the confidence he could muster, they were walking into a storm. They needed to be prepared.

They all did.