Roman looked around the room frantically for his dark prince, panicking. "Roman, where is he?" Luis questioned worriedly.

The prince stopped, giving him a worried look. "I... I don't know..." he said quietly.

The search party looked outraged by this response. "You're harboring him! You distracted us while he escaped!" one of the men cried. The others cheered and raised their weapons. Thorn and Luis moved to stand with him.

"Men, I promise, I have no idea where he is, but we need to find him because he may be in danger," Roman said frantically. The men scoffed, throwing out insults about Virgil being a monster and the cause of the storm. He felt angry and worried, growling. The prince stepped forward, raising his voice. "LISTEN TO ME!"

They all stopped, shocked by his outburst. "None of you know him like I do," he said, pacing in front of the group, glaring at them. "Do you even know his name?! All of you are so easily corrupted by hatred and blame... you forget that it was King Fuath that caused the conflict at the banquet by speaking out against the hosting King Patton. It was also he who forcefully dragged Prince Virgil by the arm to the party in midst of him having a panic attack. If you've never experienced one, I understand why that may not be such a big deal to you; during a panic attack, you can barely breathe. You can't really hear anyone else because your own thoughts are drowning everything out. You don't have control."

The men were listening with wide eyes as he continued. "Prince Virgil clearly knew he'd be unable to control his magic during such an attack, and removed himself from the party in order to prevent any harm or disruptions, but King took it upon himself to drag him back into the room, creating a disturbance himself. None of you stopped to consider all the facts of the situation before branding the prince with the label 'monster'. Having just spoken to him, I can tell you that all he wants is to turn back the clock and prevent this all from happening," Roman said, shaking his head as he looked down. It was quiet for a bit before he continued. "Prince Virgil is one of the most amazing people I've ever met, and I need to find him. If you don't want to help me, just return to King Patton's palace. I shall find him on my own."

There was a heavy silence as the prince left the room, hurrying around the castle to see if Virgil was hiding somewhere. Luis didn't follow, looking at the search party to see what they would do. His eyes widened as they turned and left, walking to the balcony to see them heading back to the castle. Sighing heavily, he leaned against the railing.

"We knew they weren't actually going to help us," Thorn told him, placing a hand gently on his shoulder. The younger prince tensed under the contact, slightly wishing she had left with the others. She noticed the discomfort, withdrawing her hand with a sigh. "Hey, Luis? Guess what."

The young prince looked at her curiously. "What?" he mumbled. Thorn smiled, waving her hands a little to start a spell.

"I think you're a lot like a rose," she said. "I mean, Roman's flower is a rose, but I think you're most like them. Do you know why?"

Luis looked confused as he shook his head, watching as a budded stem of a rose formed between her hands. She took it, swirling her fingers over top of it to make it bloom. "You're usually shy, but when you open up to people, you're very beautiful," the princess said with a smile. The young prince gasped a little as she handed the rose to him. "And you know what?"

"W-What?" he asked, feeling nervous in her presence again. She smiled a little more, moving closer and taking his hand. "Huh-"

"Every rose has thorns."

Luis' eyes widened as Thorn laced their fingers together, face flushing bright pink. She looked up to see his face, smiling a little nervously. "I want to apologize for the assumptions I was making back at the camp," the princess said, looking down guiltily. "It's kind of a defense mechanism... when most guys are interested in me, it's because they want what's under the dress, so I try to make it clear that I'm not a prissy little princess they do that with. I shouldn't have assumed that's what you wanted when you've only been nice to me, and you honestly don't seem like the type of person that would want that from someone else."

He smiled, shaking his head as his gaze fell to their hands. "Does that mean you're interested?" Luis questioned hopefully. Thorn nodded, a small smile on her face. It was then that the young prince realized he'd not gotten a good look at her eyes since first talking to her. He placed the rose on the railing before reaching up to gently push her bangs out of her face. She let him, making him happy that she trusted him. Thorn's eyes fluttered open as her hair was shifted by his hand, meeting his.

His heart jumped in his chest, a breathless smile crossing his lips. One of Thorn's eyes was strikingly green, while the other was a light hazel. "Is this why you wear your bangs over your eyes?" Luis asked her, a touch of amusement in his voice.

"It usually freaks people out, so yes," the princess replied, looking down.

"I think it's gorgeous," he countered, removing his hand from her face. They shared flustered smiles until a roar shook the earth. Luis looked out at the sky, eyes widening as he spotted what looked like the snout of a giant dragon poking out of the swirling clouds. He gasped, seeing a much smaller dragon flying around the area. When the young prince narrowed his eyes, he noticed there was someone riding it. "Oh my god... it's Virgil!"

Thorn followed his gaze, her eyes widening as he dashed off. "Roman!! Roman, we know where he is!!" Luis yelled. Almost immediately, the Prince of Cliste rushed into the room.

"Where?!" he gasped out, panting from running around so much. The younger prince grabbed his arm, dragging him to the balcony and pointing. Roman's mouth went dry as his blood ran cold. "Oh my god..."