Deserter

THIRTY

{Chapter Triggers: lots of weapons (swords, knives), minorly graphic description of death, character death/dying, the k word, breaking promise (and being upset about it), symptoms of a concussion, regret at not acting sooner. Those are all I can think of/figure out from reading through the chapter, I apologize if I missed any and feel free to inform me.}    

Just before Deceit had attacked Virgil again, Patton pulled Roman down next to him.

"Watch Logan." Was all he whispered before he got to his feet and slipped silently across the marble floor.

Deceit knocked the prince to the floor and Patton gritted his teeth, moving faster.

He snatched his weapon off of the marble floor and lunged for Deceit as the man brought his sword up.

The blade caught their enemy in the center of the back, just below his shoulder-blades. With the full force of Patton's body behind it, the dagger drove deep and shoved Deceit forward.

Losing his balance, Patton hit the ground next to Virgil. The prince scrambled to his feet and drew his sword, standing protectively in front of him.

Deceit coughed harshly as he turned around, stumbling. He tried to take a step towards Virgil and fell to his knees.

"Last chance, Anxiety..." He gasped out, his breathing ragged and voice raspy. "Go back to the others... they will tear this castle... brick from brick to find you...."

"Let them try." Roman growled. Virgil waved a hand at him.

Deceit cackled weakly as Virgil walked up to him. "Going to kill me?"

Virgil tilted his head, eyeing his teacher coldly. "No."

The warlord sagged and fell to his side. Virgil took a step back.

"You'll die soon enough. I'm not giving you the mercy of a quick passing."

He snapped his fingers, getting the attention of the others. "Roman, watch him until he's dead."

Roman tapped his fist to his chest and drew his sword, walking over to stand between Deceit and the others. Virgil turned away.

He was met with the sight of Patton curled up in a ball on the floor, hiding his head between his arms. The position was strikingly similar to the way he'd found the healer outside Rounne. Sheathing his weapon, Virgil quickly went over to the man and knelt next to him.

"Pat..."

Patton peeked out, revealing a tear-streaked face. Virgil gently pulled him into a sitting position, his expression silently asking what was wrong.

"I-I... I said I'd never- I took an oath-" Patton glanced at the slowly fading Deceit and made a strangled sound of pain. 

Virgil sighed softly and took hold of his shoulders. "Patton, look at me."

The healer blinked tears from his eyes.

"Sometimes... war requires you to do things you said would never happen. You find yourself crossing lines to keep your loved ones safe."

Patton sniffled and nodded. In that moment, Virgil found it hard to believe that the man was nearly thirty years older than he was. He was battle hardened and sharp, and Patton was sweet, soft. Scared.

"You saved my life." Virgil said quietly, assuring the healer. "I'm sorry it had to happen that way."

Patton wiped his eyes and lurched forward, pulling Virgil into a hug. The prince froze for a moment, then hugged Patton back and let the man cry into his shoulder.

He looked up after a few moments and saw Roman watching him. A glance at Deceit confirmed that the man was gone.

"Roman- the army." The battle outside could still be raging. Virgil shooed the knight away with a hand. "Go."

Roman saluted again and quickly left the throne room.

Patton slowly pulled away from Virgil, swiping at the tears on his face again. He sniffled and got to his feet, refusing to look at Deceit's body.

He looked around the rest of the room and spotted Logan. The head strategist was on his feet now, but was clearly unstable. It worried Patton, knowing he had hit his head earlier.

"Logan, how are you feeling?"

Logan blinked a few times and rubbed the back of his head gingerly. "Fuzzy. Like my brain is stuffed with cotton."

Patton cringed and went over to him. "Open your eyes wide, please."

Virgil watched quietly as the healer began to fuss over his colleague. He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Stand down, soldier, it's only me," King Thomas said quietly. 

"I'm lucky I made it to you in time." Virgil sighed, dragging a hand across his face. He was exhausted. "Are you alright?"

"Rattled and tired, but uninjured." The king smiled a little. "You?"

"I think I could sleep for a week."

King Thomas chuckled, then his face grew serious. "Virgil... what are you going to do now?"

Virgil frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Well it seems you only returned to Plaule to warn us of this." Thomas made a vague gesture towards Deceit. "Now he's gone, but will you stay?"

Virgil paused, thinking. He really hadn't thought that far. An overwhelming part of him had thought he wouldn't last the day.

"I suppose I can-" Thomas began to smile and Virgil continued. "I will not take the mantle of prince back."

"It will always be yours, no matter how far you push it."

Virgil crossed his arms. "I'd rather work for the castle. Do something similar to Roman, maybe. Be one of your advisors."

The king chuckled and tapped two fingers on each of Virgil's shoulders. "Congratulations, Sir Virgil, you have been promoted Chief of Defense."

Virgil fought back a grin. "And what would that entail?"

Thomas shrugged. "Whatever you think it does. You are the most knowledgeable on the enemies of the throne, I trust that you know what will need to be dealt with."

Virgil nodded slowly. "I do."

The brothers stood there for a few moments in silence, then Thomas sighed heavily and pulled Virgil into a hug.

Hugs. The bane of Virgil's existence for so long.

"I should have looked for you." The king murmured, holding Virgil tightly. "I'm sorry."

"You had no way of even knowing I was alive. You have nothing to apologize for."

Thomas let go of him and looked at him seriously. "I could have tried to find out more."

"With all due respect, your majesty," Virgil smirked. "If I didn't want you to find me - and I didn't - you would not have found me. Remember when we played hide and seek as children?"

The king grinned. "And we had to restrict you to one wing of the castle because you would just disappear for hours on end?"

The prince - the Chief of Defense nodded. "Exactly that. I always was the sneaky one."

"You were. It scared the daylights out of the servants." Thomas chuckled and put an arm around Virgil's shoulders. "It's good to have you back, Virgil."

Virgil looked around the throne room, smiling slowly.

"It's good to be back."

{Hugs are the bane of my existence too}