The Trickster's Test {Prinxiety}

Chapter 25

Third Person

"Are you alright, Janus?"

The question was tentative, hesitant. A show of concern that bypassed the need for the Correan's proper title. It popped the metaphorical bubble that had encompassed them, which made the last couple hours (had it really been that long?) pass as if they were underwater. It was a hand reaching out, an offering as much as it was a simple inquiry that no one had dared do. The only breaches of their collective silence up until that point had been the crunching of boots on leaves and brief conversation Remy held with an old family friend of the Vera's that almost exclusively handled the transport of Janus to the docks and back. It was fine, everyone left to their own thoughts, whatever they may be; it was almost peaceful, even.

"Fine," And just like that, the figurative hand is slapped away with all the warmth of the Keljian mountain peaks.

Roman nodded silently even though Janus couldn't see him, letting the repetitive clop clop clop of hooves hitting gravel and the muted sounds morning-goers surround them. They were left mostly unbothered, whether that be because they sensed their prince's bad mood or they figured it best not to bother literal royalty was unclear. No matter the reason, the signs of life still served to make the journey go by quicker, and before the sun set they had already made it to the cast iron gates.

Janus seemed to have recovered to some degree, or at least enough to cover up any lingering grief enough to get through a spare few sentences, "Remy, you wouldn't mind showing them both to a couple of guest rooms, right? I think we could all use some time to rest and get cleaned up before getting into any sort of discussion."

Remy nods, his sunglasses doing little to hide his sour expression, "Of course," The, 'will you be alright on your own?' went unspoken, but he already knew he'd be checking in on the prince later, well after everyone else had retired for the night.

Seemingly satisfied with the response, Janus dismounted and passed the reins off to the stablehand that greeted them at the gates. Remy followed suit, albeit much slower as he watched Janus stalk off towards the castle. He gestured for Roman and Virgil to do the same, patiently waiting on them to catch up before continuing on. The guards at the door nodded at them, the one on the right noticeably more confused, and Virgil suspected that if he weren't here the man would have asked Remy what happened.

"While it is customary for the king and queen to greet their guests, they weren't exactly expecting either of you, and still more likely than not have no idea either of you are even here, so I'm sure you two don't mind the break in tradition," Remy tells them, beginning to ramble a bit in what was probably an attempt to keep away any more tense silences, "You'll both be given your own rooms, fairly close to each other for your own peace of mind. I'll get you both someone to draw a bath as well as drop off some spare clothes that you can change into. The salt of the ocean has a very distinct smell and it doesn't fit either of you as well as you may think, babes. From there, it doesn't really matter what you do so long as it's not illegal and won't get you accidentally injured by one of the guards who will, except for the ones we've passed already, likely not know you are here and therefore not immediately recognize you," That last bit was admittedly more directed towards Virgil, as there was little reason for anyone here to know Roman. It still got the point across that either of them wandering too far could be dangerous, "Although, there probably won't be anyone patrolling your hall until King Aaron and Queen Julia have been informed of your stay."

"Thanks for the heads up," Roman responds quietly, eyes roaming the halls without stopping as Remy brings them to seemingly random rooms.

"Here's yours, Virgil," He directs, continuing on further away from the center of the castle. It was customary to place more 'important' guests closer to the heart of the castle for safety purposes, but considering the connection and lack of other guests, he wouldn't place them too far apart.

Having no reasonable objections, Virgil nodded at Roman before stepping into the room. It was quite nice, as one might expect, far better than the cramped quarters that they had been restricted to on both the ships they had inhabited. He exchanged greetings with the young woman that was folding an outfit on the too-big bed, who seemed surprised to be acknowledged at all, but continued to work efficiently. He helped where he could, mostly so he could get some time to himself sooner rather than later. Being kidnapped had a way of taking away your free time, and he was in need of some time to think through the events of the last few days. After timidly double checking that he didn't need any more assistance, the girl left the room silently, leaving Virgil to clean up. Days of being dragged around, locked up or at sea hadn't left him in the cleanest condition, something he was at least somewhat eager to remedy.

The bath in particular was quite the relief while the water was warm, although the mud-colored tint that took it over by the time he got up again was less than pleasant to look at. And with all the newfound silence he had that wasn't suffocated by tension or killed by voices had given him time to think, and his thoughts quickly turned towards the Correan prince that seemed to be much more knowledgeable than him about the events of the past few days. By all accounts, the Trickster's Test was an absolute bullsh!t way to handle politics, and yet it seemed that what he had been told about the game had been true. He'd have to talk to Janus about it, since he seemed quite versed in it by the way he spoke, especially about other royals. But, there was also the entirely believable possibility that Janus would use that knowledge to take advantage of Virgil; get an idea as to any kind of threat he may pose, uses he could have and whatnot. By the time a knock came at his door, he had gotten no closer to coming to a decision.

While he was surprised to have someone show up, he couldn't yet say it was an unwelcome distraction. He opened the door, finding Roman standing on the other side in a white sleep shirt that he had a part of pinched between his fingers, absentmindedly enjoying the feel of it. The lack of immediate or extravagant greeting had him silently stepping back enough to let the guard walk in.

"Figured it'd be nice if we could...recoup a bit," Roman says, sitting down on the ottoman at the foot of the bed, "Don't really know if we'll have a chance to actually talk after tonight, and I could sense your melodramatic angst from my room."

"And here I was thinking this would actually be a serious conversation," Virgil sat down on the bed with an eye roll.

"Hey, I can be serious," Virgil shot him a dubious look, "I was just trying to lighten the mood a little before getting into the nitty gritty of what is frankly a dumpster fire of a week. So, how are you faring after all this?"

He plucked a loose thread off the comforter, "Better than I would have thought, honestly. Can I ask what you thought about that attacker's words? Back at the gala?" With the way Janus had seemed to try and direct his attention to his thoughts on the matter, it had felt as though he was supposed to be coming to some kind of conclusion about the events of the night and his royal life as a whole.

"I mean, it didn't sound that unrealistic if that's what you're asking. Human beings can be really horrible sometimes, and royals lying and cheating each other for political advantage is pretty true to form when you keep in mind a lot of them are power-hungry, world-weary adults that have been taught nothing but this lifestyle."

"Do you think I'll be like them? All selfish and power-hungry?" He didn't know what his own answer would be.

"No, despite everything you will be subjected to, I think you're too good to be like that," Roman cautiously set his good hand down between them, palm up.

Virgil gently took his hand, a reassuring squeeze getting him to release a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, "Thanks."

A/N: aw look at that, a serious conversation. Couldn't be me...wait