"Virgil. How may I help you?" Deceit said, a smirk on his face as his eyes trailed over to Roman. Virgil rolled his eyes at this, and said, "I need my usual, you know, the potions that I use with my armor and swords." Of course, this was a lie. Roman was never around to see the process of spell-binding a sword and using a potion was not a way to do it. Virgil shifted, glancing from Prince Roman over to Deceit. The man in a bowler hat nodded his head, heading back into the curtains where he came from, murmuring for the two to stay where they were.

Prince Roman was now looking back at a portion bottle he has in his hands, reading the labels intently. It was a red potion, and, usually, that meant a love or hatred potion. Those things can go so wrong if not properly used. Virgil looked away when Roman met his eyes, nervously scratching at his neck, a particular spell tattooed into his neck. That was the only tattoo that was visible to the public, having a very particular reason for being there.

It was a healing and protection spell for anxiety.

Virgil stopped itching the spell, now just holding his neck and leaning into his hands. Why did it feel like Deceit was taking so long? Virgil felt a shot of pain going through his body making him wince, trying to shake it off.

Virgil heard the soft clinking of glass, glancing back at the entrance to the back, Deceit emerging with a wooden crate with a lid. "Here you go, 500 gold please," Deceit says, putting a seal around the lid, effectively keeping the box closed. Virgil brought out a small sack, the sound of metal sliding and clinking against each other. He opened the small sack, pulling out 50 of the 10-golds-worth coins, putting them in Deceit's hands. "Thanks, see you next month," Virgil said, picking up the box easily, heading to the door. Prince Roman followed, a gleam, that Virgil could only call curiosity, in his eyes.

Virgil got back to the stables, ignoring the stares and murmurs. That happened every time he got in town, mostly showing that he was some 'bad news' in this town. He only visited once a month, so, it was not a big deal. Virgil tied the crate down in the wagon that he had previously tied to Storm's saddle. "Ready to go back to the castle, Your Highness?" Virgil asked petting Storm's snout and feeding her some oats. Prince Roman frowned at the formality, looking out to the shops, the 'Snakes Potions and Poisons' sticking out to him. "Well, I wanted to buy something. You can stay here, I saw a shop with jewelry in it and wanted to see what it has," Prince Roman stated, already walking off.

Virgil watched on, shrugging his shoulders. He'll be okay, he has a sword and can defend himself. I hope. This thought went through Virgil's mind, turning around, tending to Cornelius, who looked a little antsy. It was most likely the new environment that he was in. Virgil hummed to himself softly, listening to the street musicians, playing a nice melody. He recognized the tune from the band Evanescence, a simple piano tune with a piccolo and violin playing along.

A tap on his shoulder caught Virgil's attention, turning around to see Prince Roman with a beaming smile. "Your Highness, what has gotten you in such a good mood?" Virgil cringed on the inside when he said this, knowing it was for the sake of the Royals. All royalty had to be treated like this, especially if they were around lower-class people. Prince Roman's smile faltered slightly, but, was smiling nevertheless, pulling out a small black pouch, putting it in Virgil's hands. "Open it when we are at the castle. I want to see your genuine response than this bullshit," Roman whispered to Virgil under his breath, making sure no one else could hear them. Virgil simply nodded, replying with, "Ready to go then, Your Highness?" Prince Roman nodded, getting up on Cornelius, snapping the reins and leading the way.

Virgil followed suit, Storm huffing as she pulled the heavier wagon. Virgil and Roman trotted beside each other, sitting in comfortable silence. They were now a little away from the village, having Virgil speak up, "Sorry for the formalities earlier, it is simply protocol, especially when we are not in the castle. Anyway, what's in the pouch?" He shook the pouch a bit next to his ear, hearing a jingling from the contents of the bag. Roman simply smiled, replying with, "You'll see. Just wait until we get to the castle, Emo Nightmare." Virgil raised a brow towards Roman, rolling his eyes when he simply shook his head, not answering any further questions about the contents in the bag.

~^~

Virgil and Roman arrived at the castle, bringing their horses back to the stables, stocking the bins up with hay and straw for the two, dismantling the saddles and wagon. Virgil put the black pouch in his pocket, picking up the heavy crate of potions, relieved to have them before the end of the month. Virgil hummed softly, looking over his shoulder to see Prince Roman close behind, a mischievous smile on his face. Virgil wondered what he was planning.

Virgil set the crate down onto a very large table in the blacksmith shop, pulling the pouch out of his pocket. "Alright, so, you want me to open this?" Virgil asked, playing with the strings that held the bag closed. Roman nodded eagerly, watching on in anticipation. Virgil rolled his eyes, pulling on the string to unravel the knot, opening the bag to see a tiny box. In the box, there was a bracelet, no, two bracelets, with two pendants that, when put together, created the entire pendant look. One pendant was a white cloud, the other was a purple lightning bolt. 

"Uh... are both of these for me or...?" Virgil asked tentatively, looking Roman in the eyes. Roman smiled, and replied with, "They are for you and me! I figured that the lightning bolt would look well on you and found a pair of... I believe they were called friendship necklaces. I was hoping you liked the idea..." Roman said out loud, scratching the back of his head nervously, hoping to any god out there would prevent Virgil from laughing at him. Instead, Virgil had grabbed his hand after taking out the white cloud bracelet, carefully putting it onto the Prince, smiling softly at how it complimented his regal wear as well. Virgil picked up the lightning bolt one, putting onto his right hand. "I like it. Thank you, Roman," Virgil said softly, smiling up at him shyly.

Roman's face turned to a nice pink, making Virgil smirk in confidence, turning around to start working, taking off the bracelet. "I don't want to ruin this on accident, so, I'll take it off during work shifts," Virgil muttered, stretching his arms and rolling his head to pop his neck. He shook off the stretch, grabbed a few pieces of pig iron ore, and threw them into the large black cauldron, setting the wood underneath on fire. A small portion of spells on his arm glowed as he sent a hotter flame into the fire, hot enough to melt the iron. He hummed softly as he felt Roman watching him intently. "So, when do you add the potion? At the very end?" Roman asked, sitting on a stool to the side of a workbench, a couple of swords with engraved spells waiting to be spell-bound.

Virgil nodded silently, grateful that Roman could not see the face he made when he lied. Roman hummed, tracing the engravings on a dagger that was near him. 'Προστατέψτε και ενισχύστε με' is what was engraved, translating to 'Protect and Strengthen Me'. Virgil grumbled when a wave of pain hit him, making him almost drop the heavy sword in his hands onto his feet. Virgil muttered under his breath a spell that would temporarily take away his pain, well, until Roman left for a long time so he can drink the potion. Roman looked up when he heard Virgil muttering to himself, leaning against the workbench, making the former furrow his eyebrows in concern. 

Virgil sighed out once the pain went away to just a throb, enabling him to work. Virgil lifted his head, Roman suddenly in front of him, concern lacing his features.

"Virgil, are you alright?"

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