Spindle Wood (COMPLETED)

Chapter 9

"Papa?" A small twitch crossed Virgil's face. He still wasn't used to that. Made him feel so bad...

"Pat, you should be asleep." Virgil said, turning around to face him. Pat was stood on the stairs, clutching his blanket around him. Tipped gold by the candlelight, his curls stood out around his head.

"Bad dream." He muttered. He ran over to Virgil and hugged him tightly, startling the fairy.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong?" Virgil asked. "What happened?"

"Don't leave me." Pat mumbled. Virgil crouched down to Pat's level and lifted his face up.

"Hey, why would you ever think I'm going to leave you?" He asked. Pat sniffed, tears welling at the corners of his eyes.

"Because... Because..." Pat sniffed again. Virgil knelt down properly and hugged him tightly. Pat clutched at fistfuls of Virgil's shirt, sniffing into his shoulder.

"I'm never gonna leave you." Virgil said. "I promise. Neither is Dada or Uncle Remus. None of us are ever gonna leave you."

"Promise?" Pat mumbled thickly.

"Promise." Pat sniffed again and slowly detached himself from Virgil. Virgil smiled at him. "Come on. Let's get you back to bed."

"Now," Virgil smoothed down Pat's blanket and sat down by his bed, "wanna tell me what this dream was about?"

Pat wriggled around to face Virgil. "It was here," he said, "in the cottage. There was a boy. He wasn't me. Or you. Or Dada or Uncle Wemus. He wasn't anyone... but he was scary." Pat wiped his nose with the back of his hand. "It was only me and the scary boy here. You weren't there. You'd left me." Pat sniffed, tears welling up in his eyes again.

"Do you remember what he looked like?" Virgil asked. Pat shook his head, squishing his cheek into the pillow.

"It was all dark." He said. "And the boy... he beckoned me over. He didn't speak. And he was hiding something sharp." Pat sniffed. "He was hiding something sharp," he repeated and then hesitated, "and then I woke up."

Virgil smiled softly down at the 4 year old. "Well," he pressed a small kiss to Pat's hair, "it was a just a dream. This mystery boy isn't real, okay? And you're safe. I promise."

"How do you know?" Pat asked quietly.

"Because your Dada won't let anyone hurt you." Virgil said. "They'd be long gone before you even realised they were here."

Pat hugged a corner of the blanket. "The scary man..." he said slowly. "He was wearing a mask. It was a funny mask." He said sleepily. "All green. Like- Like snake skin."

Virgil froze. Pat rolled over in bed with a mumbled "Night, Papa" that Virgil barely heard. He shot up and left the room as quietly as he could, whisking the candle with him.

"You," Virgil snapped, storming out of the cottage, "seriously need to get your boyfriend under control!" He poked Remus harshly in the chest. "He's in Pat's dreams now!"

"Hey, I didn't do anything!" Remus denied. His eyes widened as Virgil's words sank in. "What?"

"Janus." Virgil repeated. "He's in Pat's dreams. Pat's nightmares! Get him under control!"

"I can't make him do anything!" Remus protested. "And he's not my boyfriend. Never was."

"Well, whatever he is, he listens to you." Virgil snapped. He was holding the candle dangerously close to Remus' hair. "Make him stop before I do." He hissed.

Remus stepped back. "I can't do anything." He repeated. "Really. He doesn't listen to me. The most I can do is tell Ro and-"

"And what?" Virgil interrupted. "No magic. That's what you said, isn't it? Five years ago, no magic! Fat lot of fucking good that did us!"

"Hey, woah, what's going on?" Roman appeared out of the black forest, axe over one shoulder. He looked from Virgil - fuming - to his terrified brother. He dropped the axe. "What's going on?"

"Remus' boyfriend is in Pat's dreams now." Virgil said scathingly. "He doesn't want to help."

"I can't help!" Remus snapped. "I want to help but I can't! You think Janus listens to me? That he ever listened to me? He barely listened to me before, when I was on his side! What makes you think he'll listen to me now?"

"Make him listen." Virgil hissed. He poked Remus in the shoulder. "Fix this, Remus."

"It's not his fault." Roman said quickly, stepping in between Virgil and Remus. "Vee, calm down."

"I am calm!" Virgil snapped loudly.

"Darling, you're being too loud." Roman said, putting a hand on Virgil's shoulder. "If you're so worried about Janus finding out, try and keep it down?"

Virgil glared at Roman and Roman was worried he was about to get hexed. Slowly, Virgil stepped back, however.

"Fine." He said, crossing his arms, bringing the candle dangerously close to his very flammable clothes. "Fine!" He looked away from Roman to glare at Remus. "Find a way to fix this. Talk to him, if you have to. But do it before I think of a much more violent way to get him to stop."

Aaaand the secret's out. I couldn't resist Demus, I'm sorry :)
Bye,
Blaize