The Fallen Angel - Prinxiety (ON HOLD)

Chapter Eight

The prince wiped the sweat from his forehead as he continued walking despite his exhaustion. The path that he and Virgil were taking led them deep into the woods that stretched from his kingdom to their neighbor's. They'd already been walking for several hours and there was a small mountain still between them and the town of Swanhold. 

Roman felt himself panting slightly. He was fine, being in great physical shape, but he was definitely starting to feel the effects of walking for hours on end. He looked up through the tree branches, seeing that the sky was turning orange. The sun was setting and they were nowhere near civilization. He silently swore to himself as he glanced backwards at Virgil. The mage was looking more exhausted than he was, which didn't shock him. He was skinnier and clearly built with less muscle than the prince. 

If only I'd brought a supply bag with me instead of just running away from the palace, he thought, scowling. That was pretty stupid of me... but I wasn't sure I'd have another opportunity to talk to him.

The sun continued to sink lower and lower in the sky. The temperature was starting to drop too. It was clear that night was nearing, and they didn't have a plan. Roman sighed heavily and paused, turning to Virgil with an awkward expression. "Uh, it's going to get dark soon, and we should probably make a plan to rest for the night," he told him. 

"Why? I can keep going through the night," Virgil panted out in reply. 

The prince bit back pointed comments about how he looked like he was going to pass out any moment. He swallowed and shook his head slightly. "It's not a good idea for us to travel at night, we have no way of seeing where we're going and we're both clearly exhausted."

"Uh, I have light magic, Princey. We'd be able to see fine," he muttered, leaning down to grip his knees as he caught his breath. 

"Could you stop being difficult please? I'm trying to say we should find some place to rest, and all you're doing is arguing with me instead of helping," Roman said as he crossed his arms. The mage looked at him with a glare but didn't disagree that he was doing exactly that. The prince sighed heavily and looked around. "I think that Tozoku Mountain is close by, there's supposedly a pass through it. Caves and tunnels, you know."

Virgil nodded. "I've been through it..." he mumbled.

Why the heck didn't you say that then!? he thought. Roman tried not to let his frustration bubble back up. Just breathe, Roman. You're both exhausted. Bickering about it won't help now. Just get to the mountain, and you guys can get some rest in a cave or something.

"We should be able to find a place to rest there then, right?" the prince asked hopefully. 

"There's... Yeah, there's actually a small settlement in there," he replied.

Roman's eyes widened. "Wait, there's a settlement inside the mountain?" He received a nod from the mage and felt himself hit with a wave of questions. "How long has it been there? Who lives there? The mountain is right on the border between us and Hikari Kingdom! Which kingdom do they belong to?"

"Neither, it's a bandit settlement, neutral ground," Virgil said. "If you want to go in there, you'll need to figure out how to look less like a royal than you do right now. If you get spotted, we'll be swarmed in seconds, and I don't care how good you say you are with a blade. There's no way we could fight our way through an entire town of bandits while both being exhausted enough to fall over."

"You're right," he said, bringing his hand to his face as he thought hard about what to do. The sun's light was almost gone. "Why don't we head for the mountain and come up with a solution to that problem when we get there?"

He shrugged and nodded. The pair resumed their trek through the woods. As the sun disappeared and darkness fell, Roman looked expectantly at Virgil. He received a glare and an eyeroll. He placed his hands together and concentrated. As he pulled them apart, a small orb of light formed. The prince tried not to gawk at the use of the magic, but found himself staring anyway. Virgil pushed the orb upwards and it hovered between them, illuminating the area enough to see where they were going. It moved with them as they walked.

Roman wanted to ask the mage more questions about magic, but found himself biting his tongue. He didn't want to bother him. They were both tired and he'd already figured out earlier how easy it was for him to slip up and say something stupid. 

Tozoku Mountain was close by. They started seeing the base of it through the trees after a few minutes. When squinting, he could see a cave opening in it. 

He opened his mouth to inform Virgil of this, but the mage grabbed him by the arm and dragged him downwards. He slapped a hand over his mouth and snapped his fingers. The orb of light disappeared instantly. Roman looked questioning and aggravated, but his eyes landed on Virgil's face; even in the darkness, he could see fear. 

He froze and listened. He picked up on voices, growing nearer. Virgil must have heard them first, hence the quick move to hide. The mage's breathing had picked up and he was looking toward the voices intently.

"-I'm telling you I saw a light," a voice said. "There's no way that was a lantern either, it was totally magic."

"Mages typically have good loot," another replied. 

Virgil swore under his breath, looking toward Roman and back at where the rustling and talking was approaching from. He squeezed his eyes shut and pulled the prince against him. Leaning down, he spoke into his ear. "Don't move."

He made quick motions with his hands and purple emblems appeared around them. They were dim, glowing but not producing enough light to be seen by the bandits. They then vanished and Virgil looped his arms around Roman's shoulders. "Whatever happens, don't move. Don't speak. Stay as still as you can," he whispered.

"But what-"

"Just trust me!" he hurried out. 

Roman shut his mouth and swallowed. He reluctantly placed his life in Virgil's hands. He'd seen him save him before, but that was in a crowded place where other people could've intervened too. The guards had been only a few minutes behind him. Now, they were out in the middle of nowhere and alone. He looked at Virgil's eyes as they watched the trees where the bandits were coming from. Those dark brown pools were filled with fear and worry, but also steely determination. 

The prince swallowed. He trusted him.