The next morning Roman dragged his friends down to the breakfast part of the bed and breakfast. The sun had barely risen but they needed to keep looking for Virgil or they needed to keep moving. His friends understood that, so while they were all tired they all got up and got ready. There weren't a lot of people awake yet, the few that were were either workers or travelers, wanting to get a head start on the day.

They were a little over half-way through their meal when a boy threw the door open, "Mia! Mia we need you!" he yelled loudly as an older man hurried into the room with a large bundle of blankets in his arms.

The boy began to clear a table as the woman who healed Logan's shoulder late last night rushed into the room and ran straight up to the two who the group of friends had assumed were father and son. They placed the bundle of blankets, now clearly a barely conscious body, onto the table. "He had this on him," the boy said handing the woman, Mia, a dark-colored satchel and papers. Mia looked over the papers when the boy pointed at them, hand to her mouth as she read over them. Her body prevented anybody from seeing the form's face but the three friends stared in hope, waiting for her to move so maybe they could get just a glance at who sat on the table.

Finally, Mia moved away from the blanketed body to grab her medical bag and they caught sight of their face. "Ann!" Patton yelled loudly appearing at the other side almost instantly.

The unfamiliar boy jumped in front of Virgil before Patton could get to close though, "Who are you!?" He demanded loudly.

"He's our friend!" Patton said trying to get past the boy.

"That's not what I asked,"

"Kyle," The man he came in with called to him as he stood over Virgil, "calm down," was all he said. He didn't tell his son to stop or step away, just to calm down. It almost surprised Logan how they each reacted. Virgil shifted slightly on the table, he still hadn't even noticed his three friends.

"Prince Virgil has been traveling with us the past few days in an effort to locate and save the missing citizens of the kingdom, we can tell you what's in his bag if it proves it to you?" Logan offered, his voice quiet as he spoke the name. Kyle looked back at his father who nodded, Logan mirrored him, "One notepad, a pencil, a knife, seventeen gold pieces, two novice wizards instructions books, a yellow pouch filled with a yellow powder, sour candies, pocket watch, his identification papers, and a yet to be sewn on patch of the Dark Realm emblem." Logan said, his two friends slightly surprised he knew even that much, the father and son seemed surprised as well, "There are more items as well, those are the only ones I know though"

The father and son still looked hesitant, but before he could be stopped Patton dodged past Kyle and immediately hugged Virgil. Virgil panicked at first attempting to push his now crying friend away until he realized who it was and let out a sigh of relief as he loosely wrapped an arm around Patton and leaned back with his eyes closed again, the magic from earlier had weakened him greatly. Virgil opened and closed his mouth repeatedly as his body shook, "P-p-p-"

Patton stood up slightly and shook his head at Virgil, "It's okay Ann, you don't need to speak if you don't want to. Nobody's gonna make you talk, you don't have to even sign or anything." The other boy seemed so relieved to hear that, his whole body untensing slightly as the noise died on his lips, "It's okay, you're okay Ann. You're okay now, it's gonna be okay now." Patton leaned back down and hugged Virgil again, crying into the younger's chest as he kept reassuring Virgil that he was safe now and that he didn't need to talk or do anything, that they would make sure whoever that was didn't come back.

"Kyle, move away," the father said to his son, the boy hesitated but eventually nodded and moved away. Mia returned now, not sparing a glance at anybody as she began to make orders to the employees and the small group in front of her.

A few hours later Virgil was asleep in the room the friends had slept in the night before. Mia had all but locked them in the room, saying they weren't allowed to leave until Virgil had gotten rest. Besides that, she had told them no magic, nothing strenuous, and to meditate. Virgil had seemed confused by how meditation was supposed to help him but had only nodded. Fortunately, whatever spell that had been used on Virgil had done no permanent damage and as long as he followed the doctor's orders he'd be all better within just a couple of days. As would Logan, who besides not using magic had been told to avoid moving his injured arm too much.

Now, Virgil lay tucked under the covers of the bed sleeping peacefully. Patton was sitting on a chair, their arms folded by Virgil's legs, his head resting on them as he too slept. Logan was, again, reading a book in the corner of the room while Roman had left the room to go on a walk. Though when he had opted to take his ukulele and music sheets both Patton and Logan knew he would most likely be finding a spot under a tree or near a lake to play music and de-stress.

They had decided/been forced to stay in this town an extra day. Virgil and Logan both needed the rest, especially Virgil. Besides Mia, Patton had once again become the only one allowed to touch Virgil, and even Mia hadn't exactly been given permission. Virgil had just dealt with the anxiety it brought because he knew there could actually be something seriously wrong with him. There wasn't, but it never hurt to be sure. Logan had to admit, that as childish as he found the high-fives and fistbumps he had felt upset when Virgil had said he wasn't comfortable with giving them after Logan had tried asking.

It was a little past noon now when Roman threw the door open with a large smile on his face, "Guys guess what I heard!" He shouted loudly, unaware that Virgil had still been asleep just as he had been when he had left.

The sixteen-year-old boy was awoken by the shout and quickly sat up in the bed, fingers clinging tightly to the sheets. Logan shot Roman a glare as Patton sat up slowly and stretched with a yawn. "Did you have to enter so loudly?" Logan asked Roman.

Roman blushed, "Sorry Ann," Roman said quickly, "I didn't mean to startle you or wake you or anything"

'It's okay. Why did you shout?'

"I heard another a bunch of the stories from here," Roman said bouncing up and down on the tips of toes excitedly, "There was this old woman and old man, telling them by the beach. They had this fire next to them and they would use plants and stuff to make the fire explode or change the color or the amount of smoke that came out. And after every story, they would sing! All the people watching knew the words, too it was awesome! I mean, the songs weren't in a language I know so I didn't know what they said but they were really pretty" Roman fell onto the end of the bed, his ukulele hitting the mattress softly.

Virgil smiled lightly as he brought his knees to his chest, 'What stories?'

"Well there were a few," Roman began, "There was one where an underdog knight saves a princess from a castle, a classic plot but a good one. And a story where the sun and the moon were once lovers but an evil and jealous witch cast a curse on them so they could never be together. Luckily though, a kind witch was able to change the course, but not fix it completely, she made eclipses a thing, and every time there's an eclipse the lovers share a kiss. And she made that thing happen where sometimes the moons out during the day time, so the moon and sun could be with each other sometimes"

"That's non-sense Roman," Logan said from where he sat, "The sun and moon were not created by a witch, nor are they beings once in love, they're two items far too high for us to ever reach."

Roman rolled his eyes and continued, "And then there was this one where a woman's house caught fire one night when children were being reckless- which is stupid because who would let their children play with fire- any way she became a ghost thing and her whole face and body were all burnt and scarred. She would walk up and down the streets and she would ask children what they thought of her, children knew they weren't supposed to call people ugly so they lied to her but she would always know when they lied and whenever they did she would steal their souls, but she would also steal their souls if they told her the truth it was awful. One day though, she met this blind girl, not knowing the girl was blind the woman asked the girl what she thought of the woman and the girl replied, 'well, I do not know what you look like but I imagine you are very vain' the woman, still not knowing the girl was blind asked the question again and the girl said 'Looks do not matter to me, is appearance something that is valued in our world' puzzled the woman told the girl yes the girl asked the lady if she thought she was pretty. The woman told her yes she was very pretty. The girl took off a hat that had hidden her face and now the ghost lady could see that the girl's eyes were missing like she wasn't just blind, her eyes weren't there. And she asked the woman again what she thought. And the woman thought again about whether beauty really was all that mattered because this girl was obviously very wise and it was kind of like one of those beauty is within stories"

Virgil smiled faintly at Roman, 'Remus likes that story too,'

"he does?!" Roman asked, eyes wide as he smiles eagerly for more information.

Virgil nodded 'in the song though the woman actually tells the girl she thinks she is ugly and the girl kinda kills her spirit and sends her to hell before continuing on her walk like normal and picking red flowers for her mom'

The other three laughed as they finished translating the signs, Logan having to say some of it out loud to the other two, "That definitely seems like Ree" Roman said, still smiling faintly.

Patton smiled, "Wanna tell us about another one of the stories you heard?" Patton asked him gently

Roman nodded as he sat up on the bed, a pillow in his lap, "Well there was one about a forbidden love," Roman said softly, "A prince had met a girl just a few years younger than him while she was picking berries and he had been hunting with his brother. The prince was lost though and asked the girl to help him get back to the palace, she helped him and on their walk, they began to talk. Once they reached the palace they planned to meet again. They met several more times for years before the prince proposed to the girl," Roman frowned now, the sad part coming close, "But when they went to tell the king, he forbade it. The girl had magic, it could taint his son, the king told him. Despite his father's orders though, the boy and girl married, when the king tried to punish them he failed, the power of love had protected them-"

Virgil snorted with laughter at this, covering his mouth in an attempt to hide it, "What? Don't believe in the power of love Doctor Gloom and Doom?" Roman asked

'That's not how the story goes is all'

"That's how the old man and woman told it," Roman said with a shrug

'That's not how my parents told it'

"Well, stories and legends are often told many many times, so often that there are different renditions of each myth. Like the story of Red Riding Hood, or Goldilox, there are many endings to those stories" Logan reasoned, Roman and Patton nodding with agreement.

Virgil rolled his eyes, 'Sure, but if you ever wanna know the original story, tell me'

"And how do you know the true original version?" Roman asked, "What, does the castle have special access to scrolls by the authors or something?"

Virgil shook his head 'No princey, the forbidden love story you just said is my parent's love story.'

Roman's eyes widened in shock, "What?"

'Yeah, and your facts are all wrong'

"How does the original story go Virgil?" Logan asked, curious as to why the story of a king meeting his queen had not been documented to put into history books.

'Well for starters my dad didn't meet my mom while he was hunting. He could see her from the palace when she went on walks every morning, she was visiting the city Hollis lives in for the summer. My grandpa had my dad and uncle homeschooled so my dad asked some of the other boys to be like his spies. He had a major crush on her. He followed her into the forest so he could make up that lie and talk to her. My dad's not very smooth though, mom found out so quick. You're right that they had lots more meetings before getting married, most of the earlier one's secrets. Then my mom's dad tried to get her married to another dude, not knowing that the prince wanted to marry her. So, they decided to wed. My grandpa said no. He wasn't a good man at all, you know that, and hated magic, it was pretty much illegal. My father vowed he'd marry my mother anyway though. In an attempt to stop them he threw her in the dungeon. My uncle helped her escape in exchange for one of the puppies her dog had just given birth to, Hollis loves dogs so that's why. Anyway, mom and dad got married and it wasn't loved that stopped my grandfather but three laws, religious beliefs, and about three hundred years of tradition. Instead, he tried to have her killed a couple of dozen times but ma was a badass and survived everything he threw at her. Ended up even outliving him a few years, shame it couldn't be longer'

"That's a beautiful story!" Patton said before anybody else could comment, "Isn't it cool how so many people know about your parent's story?"

Virgil shrugged, 'It'd be better if it was told right but it's whatever'

"The Light Realm doesn't tell stories like you do here." Roman said, "Here it's a community thing. Everyone helps to tell them and sing songs. In the Light Realm, only one person tells the story, it's amazing here Ann!"

'You should see us when we're not missing half our population and on the brink of collapse'

"I'm so glad we get to explore your kingdom instead of ours" Roman admitted

"Agreed, your kingdom provides a great learning opportunity I would not have been able to have if we went through the Light Realm" Logan added

'I think I'd like you realm though' Virgil signed, 'Remus told me lots about it, I'd like some of it I think. Your food and dances sound interesting, Remus sometimes made Dee dance with him, it was funny to watch because Dee always got so nervous and would step on Remus's toes and then Remus would whisper something in Janus's ear that would make him mess up again'

Roman laughed again, "Oh god my brother's insane," he said with a hand covering his face, "How did he ever woo your brother? When we were thirteen I caught him flirting with a trashcan"

'He said he liked his hat and then asked if he could have one, he was still in the dungeon then too. After a couple of days but I think eventually he just started saying the first thing that came to his head and never stopped'

"It took him a couple of days?" Virgil nodded "I'm surprised it took him that long" Roman said

'He was scared'

"Like, how you were scared when Roman encountered and imprisoned you?" Logan asked

Virgil shook his head, 'differently'

"How?" Patton asked, the conversation a lot more serious now.

'Wouldn't let anybody touch him, not even the doctor, they always had to hold him down when the doctor came in. He'd have panic attacks about it.' Virgil signed, making the other three look at each other with concern. Remus had never been shy about touch, he used to take up Patton on all the hugs offered, make incredibly long-secret handshakes with Roman, and try and sneak attack Logan but always failed and ended up getting hexed 'And wouldn't let anyone but me into the cell. I think once he realized we weren't gonna hurt him, he calmed down because one day he just told Janus he could come in. We thought it was weird but the guard said Remus had been acting really chill all day. A few days after he asked if you guys were looking for him, it wasn't until a few days after we got word that you had announced his death. He wasn't mad or anything, just said Roman will make a good king and got a little distant'

"You knew we thought he was dead?" Roman asked, staring at the sheats.

'We knew you had announced his death'

"That's the same thing," Roman said angrily, "You knew, and you didn't tell us"

Virgil glared slightly 'Well to be fair telling your enemies you know their son is alive and is in your dungeon isn't exactly a great way to avoid a full-blown war.'

"You could've sent him back or something"

'I told you, we tried. But he didn't want to. He asked if he could stay in the Dark Realm'

"Why didn't you try and change his mind?" Roman asked, "Why didn't you force him back? Send a letter saying he's refusing to leave or something"

'Because from the little he told us of the night before Jan found him it made it sound like it had been an attempt on his life' Virgil signed quickly, Patton mumbling out the translation when Roman refused to look 'Because eventually, we all learned that he wasn't afraid of us, he was afraid of the Light Realm... He was mad at your parents Roman, mad at you and Patton and Logan and whatever other friends he had before me, Jan, and Remy. Because we weren't sure if he'd be safe with you, but we knew he'd be safe with us and one less enemy on that side of the border is always better'

Roman was frozen before he spoke, "You're lying... you tricked him into staying. You blamed us... We would never do that to Remus"

Seconds later the door was open and Roman had left the room, Patton following soon after while Logan and Virgil laid in the room. One angry, the other perplexed. The angry boy laid back down in the bed and covered his head with the blanket, deciding to hide there until the feeling would pass.

The perplexed one was beginning to wonder what had happened that night Remus went missing.