Feathers & a Dash of Magic

Chapter 57: There's the Cheesy Reunion

CW: fever, pain, burns, and a lot of stuttering

For the first time in what felt like ages, Virgil woke up on something nice and soft. He didn't feel any chains, and that annoying weight around his throat was gone. Though, the blanket that covered him made him feel way too hot, and his body still ached horribly as if he had just fallen off of a cliff or every part of him was being torn apart and crudely put back together again.

He opened his eyes and found himself in a moving carriage, no chains and no cage, but still unfamiliar. He was laying on cushions that had been quickly put together to make a bed, a blanket over them and another pillow under his head. He still had a wet cloth on his forehead, which thankfully kept his fever down even though the water and sweat mixed and felt sticky on his skin.

Obviously someone was trying to take care of him, he vaguely remembered Miss Kayda, but was that real or just a dream or hallucination? He wouldn't doubt it if it was, but then where was he and who did this for him?

Anxiety curled up in his stomach as he tried moving to sit up, but it only brought more pain and made him nauseous. His eyes slipped shut as he groaned, laying back down and begging his body to stop hurting. He was still far too weak to move, and his aching muscles reminded him of that, spasming in pain.

"Virgil?" A painfully familiar voice asked. A voice that he's been begging to hear again for so long. "Hey love, it's okay."

His eyes snapped open and searched for him. The moment he saw Roman sitting down next to him, Darrell climbing over his lap to reach the fairy, tears filled his eyes and blurred his vision.

"R-Ro..." Virgil whimpered, trying to lift his arm up to grab onto him. But his arms still hurt terribly and were as heavy as lead.

"Shh, it's okay love." Roman took hold of his hand, reaching over to wipe some tears away that had started to trail down Virgil's face. "You're okay now."

Darrell yipped quietly and licked Virgil's cheek. He carefully stepped on the makeshift bed and laid down against the fairy's side.

Virgil heard a hushed whisper and looked over Roman's shoulder to see Elliot lightly shaking Cynthia. The siren seemed to be waking up, and on her lap was a wolpertinger that was missing its horns. Griffin was behind them, trying to curl around them as if to protect them.

Cynthia looked over and smiled wide when she saw Virgil was awake. Elliot gave him a soft smile as the siren waved excitedly.

Roman glanced over his shoulder and gave a small smile. "They were all worried about you. They didn't want to leave your side." He turned back to Virgil and his smile turned sad. "We were all worried for you."

"A-are... are y-you... ok-kay?" Virgil struggled to ask.

The witch felt warm tears gather in his eyes. "Of course I am, dear, I'm okay now."

Virgil shook his head, closing his eyes at the headache that he didn't realize he had. "Y-you fe-feel... bad."

Roman sighed. Of course, even while like this, Virgil could still feel his guilt. It was the one emotion that will never go away, no matter how much he tries. "I've just been so scared for you. If-if I was there then this wouldn't have happened."

"No... they wo-would h-have hurt y-you t-too... It-t would have been-been worse."

To Roman, nothing was worse than seeing Virgil like this. But now wasn't the time to argue about it, now he needed to help his boyfriend back onto his feet. He held on tight to the fairy's hand, as if he would disappear the moment they let go of each other. "Are you hungry? We have some food."

Virgil took a deep breath before nodding, his headache flaring for a moment. The idea of food sounded really good, but the moment his witch's grip slackened he panicked and tried to hold onto him tighter.

"D-don't... don't g-go," he begged.

Roman's heart broke even more, if that was possible, at the fear that was coming from Virgil. His fairy was trembling hard as the tears started to come faster. This was killing Roman.

"Okay, okay, I'm not going anywhere," he tried to reassure him, squeezing his hand. He so desperately wanted to stop the tears, he wanted to make Virgil feel safe again, but that was going to take a lot of time and work. "I'm staying, everything is alright."

"I'll get him some food and water," Elliot offered, standing up and walking over to the food that was left over from earlier that day.

Virgil tried to lean into Roman's hand as his witch wiped away the tears. "I-I... Where a-are we...?" Virgil asked. He still felt dazed, and nothing really felt real, but he could tell that the carriage they were in was moving. Every time he passed out, he was somewhere completely different when he woke up again.

"We're in a carriage, heading home right now," Roman told him. "Everyone helped out to get you back home."

"H-home?"

"That's right, dear. Patton is there, he couldn't come with us. Mr. and Mrs. Miller are also home, they're all waiting for us. We'll take you to the Miller's home so we can make sure you're okay, and we're going to make sure nothing like this ever happens again."

Virgil squeezed his eyes shut and bit his tongue to keep from crying, but a sob still escaped his lips. Roman could feel both relief and fear come from him, hurting his heart. He laid down next to Virgil and carefully hugged him, trying to avoid the half healed burns on his arms. Virgil tried to lean in closer, but the most he could do was move his head closer to Roman.

"Oh love, you've fought so hard. You're going to be okay now, everything's going to be okay," Roman promised.

"I-I miss-missed you s-s-so m-much," Virgil cried. He felt Darrell move and lean his head against his shoulder, which didn't hurt as much anymore. "I w-was s-so sc-scared!"

"I know, but you're safe now. Everything is going to be okay, I promise."

Being safe sounded so unfamiliar and distant to Virgil. It's only been a few days, but the idea of it has been shattered completely. Being okay was an even further concept to him. How could he ever possibly feel safe and okay ever again when he can be so easily kidnapped and tortured?