Thorn pulled the young prince out of the room without being noticed, both of them panting as they ran through the palace. They came to a stop in someone's room, Prince Luis looking up as they did so.

"So, what's your idea?" he asked, trying to keep his voice steady.

"You want to find your brother, right?" she asked, looking outside as she started rummaging through the drawers. Luis nodded uneasily. "I want to help you. We both know the kings are going to do anything unless things get way better or way worse. We really don't want them going after him if things get way worse."

Luis nodded in agreement, shivering at the thought. The princess had found come clothing and was undoing her dress. He squeaked as his face went red, turning away immediately. She chuckled a little at his response as she changed into the clothes she picked out.

"S-So are you just t-taking someone's clothes?" Luis questioned, still keep his back to her.

"This is my guest room, so these are my clothes," she explained. "If we're going after Virgil, I'm not doing it in a goddamn dress."

That made the prince giggle as Thorn smiled. She finished getting changed, much to Luis' relief and grabbed a bag. "So what exactly is our plan?" he asked as she put things inside.

"Well, first off, Prince Roman was an idiot for thinking this was a good idea on foot, so we're getting horses," she said.

Luis' eyebrows furrowed as he thought about it. "Okay, but how? If we try to get to the stables we'll be seen," he said, looking confused.

"My kingdom is known for its horses, we trade them with others," Thorn explained. "Most of the horses in your stables probably came from ours. We're going to sneak onto my kingdom's ship, and use them. We'll be out there looking for Virgil in no time."

The prince was in awe of her confidence as she pulled the bag onto her shoulder. "Oh! I know a shortcut to the docks!" he gasped, offering his hand. To his surprise, she took it and allowed him to lead her through the palace. Luis' face was completely red, but he was more concerned with finding his brother. They snuck out of the palace successfully, bracing the rain as they headed for the docks. They got even more soaked as they got there, being splashed by the massive waves that were a side effect of the storm. Luis and Thorn stopped to look at the raging sea, neither of them dropping their hands to both of their surprise. "I guess no one's leaving until we get Virgil back."

Thorn shook her head and started to lead toward her kingdom's boat. "They'll probably have moved the livestock from the boats, so I'll go down and check them real quick," she said, letting go of Luis' hand to go onto the boat.

The princess made her way down into the boat, seeing that most of the horse were cleared out. There however were two left, both looking terrified. Thorn gasped, rushing up to the main deck. "Luis! I need your help!" she yelled. The prince quickly jumped onto the boat, following her down. "They must have been unloading them but had to leave because the storm got worse!"

"We have to get them off of this thing!" Luis shouted, rushing to the horses before the princess could even blink. He untied their ropes quickly, calming them as they bucked and caused the ship to rock more. "Whoa! Whoa, easy!"

Thorn handled the other horse as the prince grabbed his by the mane. He pulled its head down to look him in the eye. "Shh, it's alright," he murmured, petting its cheeks as it started to settle. The princess' eyes widened, looking impressed as the horse listened to him. "That's it, come on."

He led him out onto the main deck and back onto the docks, Thorn following with her horse close behind. They pulled them under one of the market place stands to shield them slightly from the rain.

"How did you do that?" she asked as they pet the quivering horses.

"I-I don't know," Luis replied, stroking the speckled brown horse's nose gently. "I've always been really good at calming people, and I love animals..."

Thorn just shrugged as they continued to calm the two horses. "I guess we can use these two," she said, smiling a little. "They're probably dying to stretch their legs after being stuck in that boat for few days."

Luis nodded in agreement as the princess pulled out riding gear she'd packed into her bag. Once saddled up, they headed for the forest.

Virgil's eyes opened despite not being closed. He blinked, trying take in his surroundings. He was in a building, a castle of some kind. It's walls were black with purple accents. Tapestries hung from the walls, covered in dust. The dark prince was confused and scared, breathing picking up as he looked around.

"W-Where am I?" he asked shakily.

"You're home, Virgil."

His head snapped toward the voice, recognizing the figure. "T-That doesn't answer m-my question," he replied, shaking as he hugged himself. "Where am I and how did I get here?!"

"How you got here doesn't matter, but I told you, you are home," he said, laughing deeply. "This, is the home of all mages of darkness. People like you have stayed here for centuries. Just feel the air, Virgil."

As much as he didn't want to listen to the figure, he closed his eyes. He felt more powerful, like he was surrounded by dark energy. The air felt more charged. Virgil's breathing leveled a little at the feeling until the figure spoke again.

"Now we can't let you walking around here looking like that," he said, snapping his fingers.

Once again Virgil felt like he was falling. His eyes were closing despite them remaining open and the last thing he saw before losing consciousness as the figure towering over him.