Virgil's eyes opened with difficulty. He groaned as he blinked, feeling every part of his body hurting. He raised himself up onto all fours as he tried to remember everything. He knew what happened, but the only thing his brain would let him think about was the look on Roman's face. The dark prince scrunched his eyes shut as he began crying, gripping the necklace tightly.

"You've certainly let him down, haven't you?"

He didn't need to look up to see who'd spoken. Virgil kept his head low, refusing to look up or move.

"Such a shame, he truly admired you," the figure said. "He looked up to you, like you were everything to him."

That got Virgil to look up, his tears dripping down his cheeks as he watched the figure walk. He couldn't do anything but listen to him as he continued to talk.

"Shame, the truth of your monstrous nature is finally shown," he said, making the dark prince flinch.

"S-Shut up," he replied quietly. "I'm n-not... I'm not a monster..."

"He'd disagree, as would everyone else," the figure retorted, kneeling down to his level. Virgil felt himself shaking as he glared at the black mist. "And you almost murdered that king."

He winced as he remembered it. "N-No I didn't!" he gasped, but the black figure grabbed him by the throat and lifted him into the air.

"Yes, you did," he muttered. "Don't you remember what you did to Luis? It's only a matter of time before you kill Roman."

Just the mention of the idea was enough get Virgil to panic. Coupled with the black figure's misty hand gripping his neck, his whole body shook and twitched. The clouds above darkened as purple lightning flashed more frequently. Rain started falling as the black figure let him fall to the ground. He coughed, rubbing his neck.

"I-I'd never hurt him," he said, glaring at him. "I'd rather die."

The black figure looked surprised but he smirked. "Oh, so passionate," he commented. "You must really care for him, to be willing to die."

Virgil didn't reply as he gripped his necklace. His wet bangs fell over his eyes as he hung his head. "I'd do anything for him," he muttered. "He's worth more than I could ever be."

"Aw, how sweet," he replied with a sarcastic laugh. "Enough of this chit chat, you're going to listen to me."

The dark prince stood up as he gasped. He didn't understand. "What-"

"You're going to be hunted down like the monster you know you are, so you're going to need to go somewhere, and I know just the place," he said, smirking as he snapped his fingers.

Virgil felt himself falling, though he was still standing. His eyes fluttered shut, but didn't close. The figure smirked as his eyes turned purple. He circled the dark prince, chuckling deeply to himself.

"Good," he practically purred, reaching out to brush Virgil's bangs out of his face. "Now, follow me."

Roman leaned against a tree, inwardly cursing that it had started rain again. He knew it had something to do with Virgil, which made the prince growl and keep going. He just wanted to find him, ask him why he'd never told him, and tell him everything was going to be alright.

Why didn't he tell me? Roman thought as he trudged through the forest. He looked down sadly, not being able to help it as thoughts and possibilities crossed his mind. What if he doesn't trust me? What if he doesn't feel the same way about me as I do about him?

"I feel like I failed him," he mumbled to himself as he continued, wiping the water from his face despite it being replaced with more raindrops swiftly. "I... I have to find him and make it up to him."

Despite how cold and wet he was, Roman pressed on through the unfamiliar trees. He was hoping for any sort of sign of him. The prince got an idea as he shivered, eyes widening. He smirked, snapping his fingers and creating a hovering flame. He morphed it into an orb and tossed it into the air, where it stayed near him. It lit up the world around him as well as provided warmth.

"Much better," he said with a smile as he sighed. The smile only lasted a moment before it fell. He began to think about how Virgil more than likely couldn't even perform a simple spell.

Roman frowned, looking down at his hands. He wasn't even sure what magic the Prince of Croy had. It was like he could create magical storms, but also create and control dark matter and mist. It must truly be terrifying not to know what you're capable of. Roman had known from the beginning he was able to use fire magic. He'd learned quickly, and he was practically a natural. While he was learning to make warm breezes and light fires, Virgil was probably trying not to lose control and hurt someone again. He felt guilty and privileged.

Prince Luis was also looking at his hands. He knew those feelings all too well, wishing he could've done more for his big brother. "Are you alright, son?" Patton asked him, putting a hand on his shoulder to make him snap out of it.

"Y-Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," he replied, looking down.

Another king joined them, looking around for someone. "Luis, have you seen my son anywhere?" King Logan asked, raising an eyebrow as the prince's eyes widened.

"Yeah, he wanted to go for a walk in the gardens to clear his head, and he should be back soon since its started to rain," he said quickly, smiling to try and be convincing. Logan didn't look convinced, but nodded anyway.

As the two kings walked away, Luis looked down nervously. He looked out the window, hoping Prince Roman was even remotely close to finding his brother.

"You look even more nervous and scared than you did an hour ago."

He looked up to see Thorn smirking at him. He blushed bright red as he laughed in embarrassment. "W-Well, I just had to lie my father and King Logan about the location of his son," he explained quietly. "Prince Roman is out there looking for my brother, without the permission of either of them, and with no one to help him. I can't help but be nervous."

The princess followed his gaze as he looked out the window at the dark and stormy world. She started to smirk, leaning in close to Luis' face, making his breath catch in his throat. "I've got an idea."