"Why would you do that?" Roman demanded stomping towards Janus, "You threw Logan to the wolves, why would you do that?"

"I wasn't going to allow my brother to get hurt."

"Oh, but you'll let Logan get hurt? You realize it doesn't matter, right? Tafe hurt Ann before, he'll do it again."

Janus glared "I don't care about Logan, I care about keeping those I do care about."

Roman moved to lunge and Janus flinched backward, preparing himself for the attack, only for Remus to come between them, "Roman stop, calm down. Logan will be fine, I promise, but you need to calm down. And Janus," Remus turned to him, "Roman and Logan are really close, kinda like Virgil and Remy except they're not dating." Roman cleared his throat and Remus looked back at him, the look his twin gave him told him the truth, "Oh. They are dating, finally grew a pair I see."

"Shut up," Roman said, turning slightly red, the words held no actual meaning. He looked at Janus, "Why'd you just sacrifice Logan like that? Ann wouldn't have wanted that-"

"Don't talk to me about what my brother wants. Ann is self-sacrificing. He doesn't understand that being selfish is okay at times. I did what I thought was best."

"Yeah well you thought wrong," Roman told him, he opened his mouth to say something but else but simply shook his head and turned to move towards Patton. Patton opened his arms out for Roman who immediately fell into them, accepting the friendly hug.

Remus and Janus looked towards each other and Remus smiled a little with embarrassment and nervousness, "He's very protective. He wasn't always like this, I promise."

"You haven't spoken to him in two years Remus, he could have changed." Remus shrugged a bit in response, he was well aware of this already. Janus sighed slightly, leaning back against the bars of the cell before motioning to Roman and Patton, "Go get caught up, I know you want to."

"You're not gonna be mad?"

"No, of course not. You haven't seen them in years, go talk to them. It's not like I'm going anywhere."

Remus smiled, "Thanks Jannie. We can try introducing you guys again in a bit, I think Ro just needs a minute." Janus simply nodded and Remus went to go talk to their new cellmates.

Logan finally managed to free himself from the hold of the soldier and grabbed his glasses out of the man's hands. The soldier moved to grab him again but Tafe shook his head and it was a clear enough sign to not bother with it. Logan huffed angrily as he approached his uncle, and helped Virgil escape him as well. Once again, Tafe did not bother to have anybody grab them, simply motioning for the two young boys to continue walking or else.

Virgil hung tightly to Logan's arm, breathing ragged and tears in his eyes. He was shaking slightly, thinking it was because of the chill of the old castle, Logan removed his coat and handed it to the prince. By now, Tafe had taken back the cloak they had stolen from him and Virgil had been left with nothing but the thin and oversized shirt. Despite the shaking not having been from the cold, Virgil accepted the coat, wrapping it tightly around himself and burying everything except his face into it, he did not stop shaking.

"You're alright Virgil," Logan assured gently, rubbing circles into the other's back, "He hasn't hurt you, you're alright."

Virgil opened his mouth slightly to speak, sounds left but no actual words. He was trying hard to say something, he was, but eventually, he just whimpered and gave up with a shake of his head. "There's no need to force yourself to speak or even communicate at all. Only do so if you're comfortable. If you'd rather sign, or even write, then do so." Logan reached into Virgil's bag, which still hung from his shoulder, and pulled Virgil's pad and pencil out, holding it out towards him, but Virgil shook his head and Logan put it back.

Virgil pulled Logan's hand under the coat, Logan watched him, but was unable to see what the younger was doing exactly. It wasn't until Virgil started tracing letters into his skin again and he had spelled the word out did he understand, 'S-C-A-R-E-D'

Logan glanced around, really wishing for Patton to be here. They were much better at comforting people, especially Virgil, than he was, "That's alright. I am too. But, it seems like neither my uncle nor your grandfather have any interest in harming us much further. Physically, we should be fine."

Virgil looked up at him, the look in his eyes clearly told Logan that he did not believe that. Logan frowned, before leaning closer to Virgil so only they could hear him, "I'll do my best to keep my uncle from you, I do not know how much more I can offer. But I do hope at least that will be enough to calm you, even if it's just slightly."

Virgil nodded, yes, yes that would definitely help. He flashed Logan a small smile to show his gratefulness, it slipped quickly, but Logan understood. Neither said anything anymore, their conversation done for the moment as they continued down the hall. Eventually, they reached a large door, a pair of soldiers opened it for them. The rest of the group moved in, but the two young boys hesitated until Logan felt his uncle's hand on his shoulder and Virgil tensed next to him. They moved into the room, the doors closed behind them. Tafe finally moved to walk in front of them now, him and Markus moving to a set of three large ornate chairs, each of them sitting on separate and taller platforms. They were in a throne room, they realized quickly.

The two boys stared at their family members for a few moments, they didn't seem interested in staring back, simply having a conversation with each other as they waited for whatever it was they were waiting for. They mostly seemed to be talking about the campgrounds, obviously not wanting to reveal battle plans or other valuable information while having Virgil and Logan in their presence.

A few minutes passed, Virgil and Logan stood still and wary in the center of the room when a door opposite the one they had entered through opened, and in walked Ira. Virgil quickly grabbed Logan as he watched the witch with caution. Virgil glared at her, unsurprising really, she killed his mom. Ira just smirked at the sight of him and gave a wave as she made her way to the last available throne in the room.

"Ira, it's about time you've arrived," Markus said to her, ending his conversation with Tafe.

"Students don't teach themselves, Markus. Speaking of which," her eyes glided back over to Logan and Virgil, " I assume I'll be seeing these two in my beginners class?"

Tafe and Markus nodded, "Why of course," said the latter, "They need to be learning from someone, don't they?"

Logan scoffed, "First of all, I have never needed nor had a teacher when learning about magic. Everything I know I have taught myself, I can thank you for that," Logan said, sending a pointed glare to his uncle, "And second, I am not a beginner magic-user. I have been using advanced spell books for nearly three years."

"So has my youngest fifteen-year-old student," She said with a laugh, "You're not special here Darling, I consider you a beginner. And until you surpass those expectations, that is the class you will be placed in."

'I'm not learning magic from her' Virgil signed, nobody except Logan understood, but Logan was kind enough to translate for him.

"And here I thought you were done with the stupid waving hands," Tafe muttered as he crossed his arms in front of him with annoyance.

Markus frowned as well, "Virgil, you used to be so talkative, you were speaking earlier. What is this?"

'I don't like talking. I like being mute.'

"And why, have you adopted this way of life? When was it?"

Virgil blinked in confusion. It wasn't exactly a secret he was mute, at least not amongst other important government officials. His father didn't really like the fact getting past the border because of all the stigma surrounding it, and that's why those from the Light Realm hadn't known, but he had figured the other two would know. Even if Markus had been... absent, it wouldn't be hard information to come across.

He turned his gaze to Ira, after all, in a way it was her fault he was like this. "Oh," Ira said, catching onto what Virgil was wordlessly implying, "You blame me, how childish. Does that mean you're still grieving, your mothers' death, Anxiety? And yes, I may have been the one to kill her, but I never made you mute, that was all you."

There were so many things that he could've responded with. First of all, his mother's death wasn't the only reason he had become mute, he had killed someone that day. Yes, they were a horrible person, yes it was to save himself and his brother, but he had done it and he couldn't undo it. He had not only lost his mother that day but he had taken someone's life. He had only been twelve. When all those emotions had finally been shifted through though, he found he preferred being mute. He stuck with it, he liked it, he needed it.

'Not everything is about you bitch,'

Logan chuckled slightly at Virgil's response, and of course, the others in the room did not. Though they did assume it was something meant to insult them, they weren't impressed.

Markus stood up, moving forward only for Virgil and Logan to immediately take a step away from them. Markus raised an eyebrow, the man did not seem to understand why Virgil was afraid of him. "We've heard you speak before Virgil, you can speak now." Virgil shook his head, hissing at his grandfather instead. The action surprised everyone except Logan, and partially Tafe. He already thought of Virgil as an animal.

'I don't talk for you.' Virgil signed as if it did any good when Logan was still the only one to understand, neither minded this. Logan had a pretty good understanding of what he should or shouldn't translate for Virgil.

"Croft," His uncle commanded, Logan, suppressed a tired sigh, "Make him speak."

"I won't make him do anything I have already assured him that he doesn't need to speak. I will not be going back on my word, not unless I am wrong. Which I am not, I am rarely ever wrong." Logan responded he placed a hand on Virgil's shoulder, "The reason Virgil does not speak is because he does not want to. He is not comfortable doing so. Forcing himself to do so could have a variety of effects, none of which would be good. It would most definitely trigger his anxiety, which would make his magic unstable and dangerous. It could create a link in his brain making him connect talking with bad experiences, which would only make his mutism harder to break. There are hundreds of effects, but when it all comes down to it, it's dangerous. If you want Virgil to speak, your best course of action will be letting him do so at his own pace and accommodating for him just as everyone else has."

Tafe huffed a laugh, "Of course, because that has definitely worked."

"Yes, it has." Logan nodded, "You see, those who want to know what Virgil has to say have either found a translator, learned his language, or have learned to ask him to write it down. And because of that nobody, except those who choose not to accommodate, has trouble understanding him. And he accommodates as well, by writing things down, or learning to communicate in other ways. You see, the system works quite well if you apply it."

Logan's uncle glared at them for a moment as Markus and Ira considered Logan's words, "How will he perform magic?" Ira asked, "Many spells require words."

Virgil rolled his eyes, 'First of all, you're not gonna teach me magic. Second, I've managed just fine doing magic without speaking.' Logan translated

"Have you now?" Ira was not convinced and it showed. Virgil resisted the urge to once again roll his eyes as he performed a very recognizable verbal spell. Except Virgil hadn't spoken, he had performed the spell without the need, the hand movements were slightly different, and the boy's mouth did open, but as was normal for when Virgil performed magic, he did not let out a sound.

Neither Tafe nor Markus seemed at all happy to see the magic. Ira seemed impressed, however that did nothing to stop her from casting her own spell that sent Logan flying back several feet. Virgil's spell faded as he immediately ran to Logan's side, and looking over his friend for injuries. The older boy had had the wind knocked out of him, and later there would be a bruise where the spell had hit but he was otherwise fine.

"Ira, please" Tafe said, not seeming very concerned at all, "I promised his mother I wouldn't let him die."

'Why?' Virgil signed, 'Why did you do that?'

Again, they didn't understand. But they had been able to assume what was said, "Unless you are told to do so otherwise, neither of you are to use your magic on anybody else."

'I wasn't going to-' But Markus had stepped towards them quickly, and grabbed Virgil's hands to stop him. Virgil froze immediately, seemingly stuck. No, no, no, no, no. Someone was touching him. Someone was touching him. And it was someone he didn't like. It was someone he feared. He didn't like this, he didn't like this at all. He was finally able to pull away from his grandfather, he hadn't been holding him tightly, and immediately moved away.

"He doesn't like that," Logan muttered as he stood up and slowly approached Virgil to help calm him, "You shouldn't touch him. It isn't polite to do so without asking."

Markus raised an eyebrow, when Virgil was little he hadn't had this problem, he decided not to comment. "We wanted to speak to you both of our expectations of you." Logan and Virgil both paused, unsure of what to do or say to that. "You may already know this, you may not. Our plan is to conquer both the Light and Dark realm, and take it for ourselves. Take the throne for ourselves, and govern correctly."

Virgil lifted his hands to argue but Logan quickly pushed them down, now was not the time. "We're going to be splitting the kingdoms into three parts, make three kingdoms, rule together." Markus continued, "And you two will be our heirs."

"Heirs?" Logan asked hesitantly.

"Well, Logan will be mine and Virgil Markus's but yes." Tafe responded, eyes now gliding over to his nephew, "I have no children of my own, you're my only choice." The words were meant to hurt, but honestly did very little harm, "Wouldn't it be nice Logan? To actually have something to inherit? You're father and brother couldn't give you anything, obviously, neither could your mother if the situation came up. But I could, especially now."

Logan rolled his eyes, "I see no value in anything you have to offer. If I wanted that, I'd earn it myself. It has been my plan since I was eight, it shall not change."

"You really think the prince handing you a seat in his council is earning it?" Tafe asked, "That's not earning anything, it's just networking."

Logan didn't respond, Markus continued, "As our heirs, you will both be Princes's. Virgil, you already know those expectations, I'm sure you could explain them to your friend. You will be trained to rule after us, and continue to rule properly under the supervision of a carefully decided council if needed, understand?."

Virgil's eye twitched with annoyance and Logan was still restraining his hands, he was going to get them into trouble. "You two will do as we say, when we say it. You will go to classes with Ira, you will eat meals with us, you will attend meetings with us when allowed, you will not set out to hurt anyone unless given an order to do so." Markus began to walk the length of the room, "You will both be assigned guards, they will follow you everywhere. They will report to us if asked. You are under no circumstances allowed to have unsupervised visits with your friends upstairs. You are not to help them escape. If you break any of these rules, there will be severe consequences. Is that understood?"

Logan looked around the room, as if searching for something, before he nodded slowly. They all turned to look at Virgil, who looked furious. "Is that understood Virgil?" Markus repeated, a threat hidden behind the calmness of his voice.

Virgil shook his head no before tearing his hands out of Logan's hands and beginning to sign wildly. The look on his face told them it was not the answer they wanted to hear, it was not an answer he should have given. They didn't know what it meant, they knew they weren't going to like it. "Logan," his uncle barked, "What is he saying it?"

Logan looked hesitant, "Uhm... I'm not sure, I haven't learned all those yet, he was moving to fast," he lied. He was not a very good liar, he never had been, but he wasn't going to tell them the truth. Logan may not be good at reading emotions, but he did know that if he translated what Virgil had signed they'd both be in trouble.

The adults in the room glared, Ira especially, before Markus sighed, and flicked his hands, signaling to a pair of soldiers to step forward to the two of them, "These two will be escorting you everywhere you go, like your bedrooms. You'll remain there until dinner. If you try to leave, we will know."

Logan and Virgil backed away as the two large and muscled men moved to stand next to them, hands already on swords, "Janus!," Virgil demanded as he held onto Logan again.

"You want to see your brother? That's too bad," Ira said. with a smirk.

Virgil ignored her, looking to his grandfather instead, "Let us see Dee," he demanded again.

"No," Markus told him, "You'll go to your rooms and remain there."

Virgil glared at his grandfather and Logan pulled him slightly, "Come Virgil, lets just go. We can see them another time."

"My nephew is right, the two of you will have all the time in the world to explore the castle and visit your friends tomorrow," Tafe said, before signaling to the soldiers to leave. They did, Virgil and Logan following behind them.

'So much for their plan,' Logan thought, he knew they should've just waited for backup.