It had been way too long a day for Virgil.

His most recent play was in the casting stage, and the director insisted he cast the roles. Saying how he knew the characters better than anyone else and knew what they should be like.

"I do the writing so I don't have to interact with people," he muttered, watching another actor cheerily leave the stage, way too sure that they got the role for the performance they just gave. He leaned back in the theater's chair, letting his head hang over so he was staring at all the rows of seats.

"We're almost done for the day Virgil. And besides, you are hardly talking to them, you're just judging their performance," a voice popped up from beside him, but he didn't lift his head. He didn't need to. The only other person in there with him right then was the assistant director and backstage manager for the play. They just so happened to also be his best friend, Logan.

"Yeah, but I'm getting tired of seeing people prance around stage like an overly cocky prince."

"Then maybe try not writing an overly cocky prince next time?" he questioned, causing Virgil to scowl and lift his head.

"You know the character's not like that. He acts cocky, but as the play goes on, he sees the fault in his actions and resolves to fix them, teaming up with the dragon-witch to do so. Everyone does the first half of the song fine, pulling off the confident prince, but that's the easy part. The hard bit is showing how he's uneasy about his decisions, despite what he's saying. Everyone just keeps playing it like there's no pause or hesitance, there's no change when they hit the bridge of the song. If they can't play it for one song, how are they going to do it for practically half of the show?"

"Hence why we've gone through roughly 30 people. I know this isn't some street performance, Virgil, but we are not Broadway either. You aren't going to have 100 or so options, we're probably looking at only a few more coming through today."

"I know, I know. I'll pick from the schmooze lineup if I have to, just... hoping someone will get it right I guess. And soon, I'm reaching my people limit for the day."

"I know, I'm actually surprised this is the first you're complaining. Now, are you ready for the next actor? Sooner we get through the sooner we'll be done."

"Yeah, send 'em in. I might keep my head back though until they actually start talking."

Logan let out a humored hum, moving to go let the next person in. Virgil only heard the footsteps as they bounded on stage. Their footsteps were light, but quick. He felt like he could sense their excitement just from that, And the way the small patter continued for a few seconds in the same place, indicated they bounced a bit before coming to a rest.

Virgil waited for Logan to take his seat next to him again, letting the other start questioning the actor. His voice wasn't great at projecting, and he really didn't feel like raising it.

"So, Mr. Prince?"

"Yes, Roman Prince here! I find that funny, don't you? Prince auditioning for a Prince?"

Virgil rolled his eyes at the bad joke, finally lifting his head to see the man on stage. He had a good stature, and looked like the part of a prince anyway. His hair seemed perfectly styled into an "effortless" look, and his hands were at his sides, his weight dispersed evenly on each foot. His fingers were tapping on his side, Virgil noticed as he carefully scrutinized, but that didn't necessarily worry him. If it was due to nerves and that was his only tick, he was still doing better than most. Besides, most people would try to hide that during an audition. He couldn't help but feel a little respect for the guy who seemingly didn't feel the need to.

"Yeah, just, we're ready when you are, Princey. Start the song whenever, and try to have fun with it, or whatever. Don't worry too much, just try and fall into the role," Virgil rattled off the same speech for another time today, feeling that same monotony sink in. He almost didn't want to sit through another audition of this, but he knew he had to. Who knows, this Roman dude could be the jewel he was looking for. He didn't find that likely, but he still had to watch. After all, Logan was there to judge how well they could sing on stage, it was Virgil's job to identify how well they fit the role.

"Right! Well, thank you!" Roman semi-awkwardly added, taking a second to ready himself before starting up on the song Virgil was practically sick of hearing.

He watched carefully; scrutinizing Roman's every movement onstage as he went through. The actor wasn't jumping around a ton, which he appreciated. In fact, he was practically doing improv, pretending to interact with a set that wasn't there. His movements were fluid, but strong, and they looked rehearsed. Which they probably were, Virgil reminded himself, but it worked for the role of a prince who would have been trained since birth on how to walk with dignity.

Overall, it seemed an average audition, but Virgil couldn't help but hold his breath as the bridge of the song approached. It was the one section he wanted to see someone do right, see a crack be made in a perfect prince act and falter during the riff. Not fall into a pile of insecurity or have no change whatsoever, but that balance between the two. He couldn't think of the right word for it, but he had time.

"When I seize my day," Roman sang out, pulling Virgil out of his head at that line. It was the first line of the bridge, what he was waiting for. And as Roman continued onto the next line, about facing his people with the regality of a king, Virgil looked closely at his face. And the moment he did, he thought of the word for it.

Uncertainty.

It could all be seen right there on Roman's face. Expressed behind his eyes, in the way his smile was not quite complete, even the small wrinkle that became present on his forehead. That was the expression Virgil had been searching for all day, and he didn't even realize it until he saw the way it looked on the young actor's face. And suddenly he wasn't seeing Roman anymore, he was seeing the prince brought to life.

Go figure, he thought. Prince pulls it off. Maybe I should've complained about what I wanted to see sooner. He knew that wasn't logical, it wouldn't have changed the dude's place in line either way. And somehow, he knew that even if he told every actor that had passed through to portray it with that uncertainty, no one would have been able to pull it off quite like this.

The ending notes of the song died out, and Roman's voice carried with them, ending right on cue. Virgil gave Roman one last look up and down before turning to Logan, hoping to have a short silent exchange with him before addressing the actor.

Logan met his eyes, giving a small, almost unnoticeable nod. Virgil tapped his finger against the armrest between their chair twice in reply, before turning towards the stage.

"Thank you, Mr. Prince, we'll be in touch," Logan spoke, giving a brief nod towards him before returning his gaze to his clipboard.

"Of course. And Roman is fine, just so you know." Roman gave a small bow, starting to walk off stage towards the exit. And he did it less cockily than the last guy, in Virgil's opinion.

Once he had left the theater, Logan looked up from his clipboard, turning slightly in his chair to face his best friend. "I take it you liked that one?" he asked, a small smile playing on his lips.

"Romano sure seems to fill the role. Better than some of the other actors we've seen today, anyway."

"And you're sure it's because he's suited for the part? I'd hate to cast someone solely because your gayness kicked in."

"Seriously Logan? I've watched like 30 guys cross the stage today, and I've cast for shows before. I wasn't exactly scoping for eye candy."

"You just were leaning forward quite a bit to get a better view."

"I was watching his facial expressions! That's my job, jerk."

"Only teasing, Virgil. In truth, I found his performance to be adequate as well. He sang all the right notes anyway, and didn't get too carried away in frivolous blocking. If you think he will fit the part, I see no harm in casting him."

"I'll probably still think on it for a minute, but yeah, make sure you don't lose his contact sheet."

"Have I ever lost paperwork? We will be fine. Now, are you ready for the next one?"

"The next one?"

"We still have to finish auditioning everyone, Virgil. There's only two more, but still."

Virgil groaned, forgetting that part of this whole thing. Being courteous to people was going to kill him.

"Fine, send 'em in. We'll see if they can do something not terrible."

'"We do still need supporting roles, so keep that in mind when watching them."

"I know, I know."

Logan went to open the door again, and Virgil allowed himself one more second to think on Roman Prince right then. He had a feeling he'd be seeing him again, and for once he didn't mind the idea of a new person. Let's just hope it all works out.

And then he was back in casting director mode, watching the next hopeful spirit on stage, ready for another performance.