The Trickster's Test {Prinxiety}

Chapter 4

Third Person

"My gay sons have returned!"

Yvonne wasted no time in greeting Patton and Roman, apologizing not-so-genuinely to the woman she was just talking to before heading over to them. She had already decided that this was more important than hearing yet another complaint about the 'feel' of the fabric. There were only so many times she could reiterate how little control over that she had without snapping, and two of her favorite customers offered just the break she needed.

"Wait, Roman you're gay too?" Patton asked, "How did I not know this? Virgil, did you know this?"

"Sorry, I didn't ask?" He defended needlessly. Learning someone's sexuality wasn't his priority, and outright asking on the first day they met would have been awkward.

"Yes, I am in fact gay," Roman butts in, "Is it really that exciting?"

"Is it that exciting we now have a homo trio?"

"Quartet," Virgil coughed around the word, referring not-so-subtly to his future advisor.

"W- Is the grass green? Do my glasses make me see better?" He asks rhetorically, bordering on hysteria, "Yes it is that exciting!"

Roman's jaw slowly dropped, "Trio you say?" He stared the prince down, not relenting as the other's face turned red.

"It's not even a secret, so I don't know why you're acting like it's that big of a deal," He argues, crossing his arms defensively.

"And yet I didn't know," Roman said in a mock serious voice.

"How is it my fault that my sexuality isn't universally known?" He argued.

"Now kiddo, no one is saying that it's your fault," Patton assures him, "But if anyone makes you feel unsafe to say your sexuality I want you to tell me their name and let me borrow one of the kitchen knives," He said it so calmly that there was little chance of him joking.

Yvonne places a hand to her chest, "My little sweetheart grew a taste for blood. I'm so proud!"

"What?" He asks innocently, breaking his serious face, "I was just going to bake them a nice cake, then cut it all up in front of them. Now that I think about it, that might be a little too harsh..." He purses his lips as he continues to think, oblivious to Virgil's sigh of relief and Yvonne's disappointment.

"What did you three need again? I have a business to run and this small talk is only going to be entertaining so long as I get paid in the end," Yvonne interjects.

"Oh, right!" Patton quickly steers himself back onto their figurative track, "Prince Virgil here needs a suit for the Sunstrix Gala, purple and black are the main colors I need as per usual. Silver accents. I was thinking a silky exterior but flannel interior because of all the extra lighting they'll have for it," He rambles, already inspecting different nearby items.

"I got it," Yvonne assures him, and with a flick of her wrist he floated up, only to be gently placed next to Roman. Several bolts of fabric floated up as well, the light blue light surrounding them as they were pulled over to the group. They landed one by one in Yvonne's waiting arms, a proud smirk on her face, "How do these look?"

Patton quickly went through them, his smile only getting bigger as he did, "These all look great, but if you don't mind I'm going to check out the accessories and cufflinks you have near the back. Roman would you mind holding these?"

"Not at all, padre," Yvonne didn't complain, instantly passing them over to the guard, "Jeez these are heavy."

The prince, however, was studying the shopkeeper carefully, "You can do magic?"

Obviously, he knew about the existence of magic users, but he had never really seen someone so casually perform a spell. Logan was in the midst of teaching himself, but Virgil didn't think that was really going anywhere. Everyone made it seem incredibly difficult to learn for most, so the seemingly regular use of her powers wasn't as tiring as he would have thought.

"Of course I can, they don't call me the Dragon Witch for sh!ts and giggles," She flicked her wrists, small flames manifesting and disappearing almost instantly.

Patton rushed back over to them empty-handed, "I already have everything else I'll need back at the castle, so we can get these cut and leave."

Yvonne floats the bolts over to the counter, Patton following after her to specify the amount he needs, "What next, oh fearful leader?" Roman asks charismatically.

"What?" Virgil asks, "Is that supposed to be a nickname?"

"Obviously. Have you not caught on that giving people nicknames is kind of my thing?" The guard replies, wondering if he should be offended or not.

"Okay, sorry. Correction; was that supposed to be a good nickname?" He specifies.

Roman gapes at him, definitely offended now, "I'm sorry you don't have any taste, but there's no need to make everyone else have as sour an attitude as you, so-" He raises and lowers one arm a couple times as he tries and fails to finish his sentence. Giving up, he resorts to pouting like a small child would; which was more common a move for him than most would think given his age.

Deciding to not let the man wallow in his own defeat for long, Virgil speaks up, "Knowing Patton, he'll probably find someone in here to talk to, so instead of waiting it's best if we call the drivers back now."

"Are we not going to do anything else? We're already in town," Roman always liked walking around, checking out different stands. It seemed like a waste of time if they only went to one place.

"I wasn't planning on it," He responded awkwardly, not expecting the other to be disappointed. In all fairness, he probably should have figured that Roman would actually want to be around people for extended periods of time.

"I'm sorry to say this but I cannot stand for that," The guard declares, "We are going to get erreans if it is the last thing I do, with your permission of course," It was hard to remember to be formal in public, especially since Virgil had already stressed that there was no need to refer to him as 'Your Highness' all the time.

"Fine, but you have to carry the bag Patton's bringing over," Virgil offers.

"And have one arm be nothing more than dead weight for the first crucial seconds of any fight that may arise? That would be unsafe," Roman counters smugly, knowing he couldn't really argue against that.

"Patton, we'll drop off the bag in the carriage and then we're getting erreans," Virgil informs the older man as he approaches, getting an enthusiastic nod in response.

"Sounds great!" He chirps.

Erreans were small, cake-like balls covered in white chocolate sold most commonly in bakeries or sweet shops throughout Ouranious. In most cases it was only that, but you might find some with honey or even syrup drizzled over the top of them for extra flavor. The macadamia nuts used to make the white chocolate almost always had to be imported from Persaya, who's warmer climate was much more favorable for the tropical plants, so the dessert was often sold at higher prices than most. When one member of their group was literal royalty though, price was the least of their worries.

The trio left Yvonne's shop, pushing their way through the merchants and townsfolk over to the guard tower. There, Patton set the bag inside the carriage, quickly filling in the footmen who may or may not have been playing poker seconds ago with the guards on duty. As soon as they walked up, all they saw was two men taking care of the horses and making small talk, while the guard posted at the base of the tower was standing at attention, so there was no reason for them to suspect anything.

"If I remember correctly, there's a bakery that won't run us dry a block from here," Virgil mutters, more to himself than anyone else, "The owner's got some sort of familial contact that gives him lower prices."

"Well, lead the way, Your Highness," Roman bows mockingly, gesturing for him to start walking in the direction he assumes is the right way.

"Gladly," Virgil replies sarcastically.

A/N: Erreans are a made-up term for Oreo balls, because Oreos don't exist in this world. If you don't know what Oreo balls are, use Google, it's a food you didn't know you'd need in your life