Part two: Virgil's time in the kingdom of Daaron with princess Veronica

Virgil was buried underneath his blanket, snuggled up with his pillow that was tightly clutched to his chest.

He was soon woken up to a gentle knocking on the front wall of the carriage where the coachman rode.

"Your highness, we will be arriving at the castle in just a few minutes, please get yourself ready for when we arrive." A voice called through.

"Alright, thank you Charles." Virgil called back to him as he stretched and yawned while he sitting up.

The blanket fell down into his lap and he shivered, it was much colder up in the mountains than he'd expected. He was very thankful Roman had insisted he bring a cloak along with him.

He went about straightening his clothes and hair, still yawning softly as he did, doing his best to make himself look awake and presentable.

He folded up his blanket and set his pillow on top of it in the corner of the carriage, ready for when he needed them next.

He felt the carriage pull to a stop after a few minutes, and took a deep calming breath.

The door to the carriage was opened and he carefully stepped out, pulling his cloak around him as the freezing morning air nipped at his skin.

Doraan was a durability over looks kind of kingdom, with strong stone houses and walls and streets, with only a few hardy shrubs decorating the roadside in the sense of plant life.
It had plenty of decorations though, mostly in rich reds and colds or warm brows and such in contrast with the grey stones.

Virgil didn't know what he'd been expecting, but he was surprised it was so...cozy? Not quite the right word, but it was the best he could come up with. Everyone he saw was bundled up in thick clothing, and there were even a few dogs. Actually, there were quite a few dogs, and they all looked to be similar in breed.

They were extremely large dogs, with brown and black coats of long thick fur. Logan had show him a book on dogs at one point.... where they Saint Bernards? They kinda looked like them, but a bit bigger... maybe he could ask someone about it later on. He'd have to remember to tell Patton about them, he'd probably love to hear about the giant dogs.

Virgil was lead to the castle by the group of guards from Corona accompanying him, reminding him again as to why he's even here.

The doors were opened for him, revealing the king and queen and their daughter standing there, apparently having been waiting for him for who knows how long.

"Ah, prince Virgil, the man who has managed to capture my daughter's heart without even trying." The king said with a broad smile.

He was a large bear of a man, standing a head taller than Virgil with a thick beard of burnt orange hair. He wore dark red robes with gold and white accents and decorative furs, the clothing looking very thick and insulated.

"You're majesty," Virgil said with a bow, gaining a booming laugh from the man.

"Come now, we are both royalty here, no need for mannerisms," he said as he beckoned Virgil inside, "come, let us leave the cold and allow me to introduce my family." He said, leading Virgil, his family, and both of their kingdoms guards into the castle, the doors closing behind them.

The king lead them to what resembled a tea room, but had thick pelts on the chairs and in front of a roaring fireplace, it felt more like a den really.

"Please, make yourself comfortable, breakfast will be here shortly." The king said, gesturing for Virgil to sit.

Virgil did, picking out a chair with a large black and brown pelt that felt softer than anything he'd ever touched. It was probably from on of the mountain goats Logan had told him about.

"We thank you for coming to humble our daughters request," The king said as he sat in a chair a little ways away from virgil, his wife sitting next to him while the princess sat a bit closer to Virgil.

"It is no problem at all, no thanks needed," Virgil said, "but I would still like to tell you in advance that although I am very flattered your daughter would pick someone like me, I am not looking for a partner at the current moment." He said, trying to keep his nervousness from showing as he tightly held his hands in his lap to keep them from fidgeting and forced his leg to not bounce.

The king glanced at his daughter for a second, before smiling at Virgil. "That is quiet alright, you are still young and aren't looking to settle down for a while, which is understandable," he said, "but please let my daughter try her best to gain your affections while you're staying here, maybe you'll fall for her, but it is okay if you do not." He said.

Virgil, although he wanted to say that that probably wouldn't happen, just nodded.

"Anyway, let me introduce you to my wife, Vanessa," he said as he gestured to the woman next to him. She had a long round face with sharp cheek bones and chin, her hair dark and cascading down her back like a waterfall of ink. She wore a wine red dress decorated with gold and thick furs just like her husbands.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, prince Virgil," she said with a nod, her accent much thicker than the kings was. She also looked far more serious than her husband, but not scary.

"The pleasure is all mine, your majesty." Virgil said, nodding back to her.

"And my daughter, Veronica." The king said, gesturing to her.

Veronica was very pretty, with sun kissed skin and long black hair and a side bang, the color matching her mother's hair, but bright green eyes like her fathers. Her face was round with high cheekbones and long lashes, and a small mole under her bottom lip. She had the same serious look as her mother, but also not scary. She'd be an excellent model for a painting.
She also wore a deep burgundy colored dress, decorated with black pelts that glistened in the fire light.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, my prince," She said, smiling at him. Her accent similar to her mother's but not as strong.

"It is a pleasure to meet you as well." Virgil said, politely retuning the smile.

"Come, breakfast is served," The king said with a wave of his hand as a few servants walked in.

Veronica looked a little disappointed, but nodded none the less, shifting in her seat as her food was served to her.

Virgil looked at the food laid before him. It looked like a thick porridge with tidbits of dried fruits mixed into it, along with a glass of warm white liquid and a size of what looked like jerky.
There were also several platters of hearty rolls set out on the table, with marmalade's and jams set out as well.

He waited for the others to start eating before taking a bite himself. It actually tasted rather good, the porridge being very sweet and the dried fruits adding a bit of pleasant tartness to it. The warm white liquid, goat milk he assumed, was also rather good, a little sweet even, and he wondered if they had added sugar to it.

He took a strip of the jerky off of his plate and took a bite, and was surprise at how tender and sweet it was as well. He usually wasn't the biggest fan of jerky, but this was rather delicious.

"This meal tastes wonderful," he said after a sip of the warm milk.

"I am glad you like it," The king said with a smile, "that is goat milk with honey, and the jerky is also goat meat that was soaked in sugars and honeys before it was dried. The porridge is a from a grain that we grow in our own fields here, it's also what the bread is made out of." He said, gesturing for Virgil to try a some of the rolls. "The marmalade, jams, and dried fruits were traded with another kingdom." He added.

Virgil took a roll, inspecting the shiny golden brown surface of the bread before lathering a layer of what looked like blackberry jam on top before taking a bite.

The roll was thick but soft and buttery at the same time, and went quite well with the sweet jam.

"This is also very good," Virgil said, before taking another bite.

"I am glad it is to your liking," The king said.

They continued on with the meal, chattering ever now and then about random things, like how the weather was in Corona right now, or if he had enjoyed the trip here, and such forth.

By the time they were done Virgil was contently full and felt warm inside, the coldness from that morning completely gone.

He would have been content to stay there and continue to chatter, but apparently that wasn't on the agenda.

"Allow Veronica to show you around the kingdom." The king said.

Virgil, feeling a bit more nervous now for some reason, nodded as he and Veronica were gestured to stand up.

Veronica smiled at him, and waved for him to follow her. "Come, I'll show you around." She said with a smile.

Virgil nodded, "Alright," He said, giving his own smile back to her.

He followed her out of the room, bowing goodbye to the king and queen first though.

Veronica lead him down the hallway, two of her guards and two of Virgil's guards following behind them as they walked.

"I do hope you begin to have feelings during your stay here." She said as they walked, eventually making their way outside.

"I am sorry, but I'm really not looking for a partner at the current moment," Virgil said, feeling awful do lying to her, even though he didn't want to be with her.

"Then I will patiently wait until you are, and if you're ever snatched up by someone else then I will accept it." She said.

"Thank you for understanding," Virgil said.

She lead Virgil down the streets, pointing out specific buildings or murals or statutes, and introducing him to people every now and then.

"This is the courtyard where the winter festival is held each year," She said as she lead him through a wide area in the middle of the market, "it would be wonderful if you were to attend at some point." She said as she smiled at him.

"Id be honored to attend." Virgil said with a kind smile.

She then continued to lead him through the town, the sun steadily rising in the sky as she showed him around. They eventually got lunch at some point, these large bread rolls stuffed with meat and delicious spices.

At one point Virgil told her about Remy, who had wanted to come along, but Virgil had told him it was probably better if he stayed home, since they didn't know how the other kingdoms would react to him bringing a bird along.

They continued to wander as they chattered, having finished their meal a while ago.

"I am going to take you somewhere fun now," she said, leading him into a large building.

"What is it?" Virgil asked.

"You are not afraid of dogs, yes?" She asked as she lead him down a hallway.

"No I'm not...?"

"Good." Was all She said, before opening a door and leading him inside the room.

Inside was a room full for small dogs, all of them going from Virgil's shin to his knee in height. They were all fluffy and had brown or black coats, and were bouncing around room playfully.

"I don't know if you noticed, but throughout the kingdom there have been many dogs," Veronica began. "The breed is Leonberger, they grow up to be very very big dogs." She said.

"This is their nursery," She said as she gestured around the room, "they are great companions and protective of their owners, and very intimidating to strangers due to their large size." She said with a small laugh.

"It is not unusual for people getting married to adopt one as their 'first child' of sorts, or adopt one when when they have a child so that they bond well with the dog." She added. "Or they are given as gifts to love ones to show their love and express how they wish no harm to come to them."

"Would you like to play with them?" She asked, standing next to the gate that was containing the puppies.

"Um, sure," Virgil said with a smile.

She nodded, and quickly lead him through the gate.

The two were immediately swarmed by excited puppies, jumping up at them and running around as they yipped and yapped excitedly.

Veronica began to play with them, and a majority of them chased her as she raced to one of their toy crates, leaving a quietly laughing Virgil behind.

There were still a few puppies around Virgil's feet, but they were much more mellow than the other puppies.

He kneeled down and began to pet them, only to get a face full of slobber as one jumped up on Virgil and began to lick his face excitedly, but not as excited as the mass of puppies around Veronica.

One of them was on the smaller side though, a few inches shorter than the other puppies. It must have been the runt of the litter.

He soon found himself sitting down with three puppies, one of them the runt, crammed into his lap, watching as Veronica played different games with the puppies. He pet them as they watched, feeling their soft thick fur run between his fingers as he did.

"I see you have met Tulip, Lily and Sprout." Veronica said as she came back over.

"It appears as if I have." Virgil said with a smile.

"Tulip and Lily are Sprouts older litter mates, and are protective of him due to his smaller than average size." She said.

"That's sweet." Virgil said as he smiled down at the three puppies that were basically overflowing his lap.

"They will most likely need to be adopted as a trio or at least a pair, I do not think they would take kindly to being completely separated." She said.

Virgil nodded, and gently scratched Tulip and Sprout behind their ears, earning appreciative groans from the two as they relaxed more into his lap.

They eventually needed to leave, since the puppies were going to be needing dinner and a trip outside soon and they needed to get back to the castle.

Virgil let Veronica lead him back through the town to the castle, smiling.

"I had a good day with you Veronica," he said as they walked.

She seemed to hesitate."Good enough to accept my proposal as a suitor?" She asked.

Virgil's smile turned sad and a bit guilty.

"No, I'm sorry." He said.

"It is alright, you did already mention that you weren't looking for a partner." She said, although she did look a bit dejected.

"I'm sure you'll find someone much better than me who likes you and is wanting to marry you." He said as they continued walking.

"I might, someday." She said.

"I'm sure you will." He said.

They arrived back at the castle as the sun was going down, and were quickly lead to the dining room by a pair of servants, their guards still following behind them.

The king and queen were already there, and a few seconds after the two sat down servants began bringing food inside.

"How was your day exploring the kingdom?" The king asked.

"It was quite enjoyable," Virgil said, "your kingdom is beautiful and rich in culture," he smiled. "I also liked the dogs." He added.

"Ah, yes so you've met our Leonbergers." The king smiled, "they are very plentiful here, and are very fun and energetic." He said.

"And cuddly." Veronica added with a smile as they were served their food.

They continued with their meal, chattering as they ate. It was a thick stew with a creamy broth and chunks of potatoes, carrots, and tender meat. It was rich with spices and Virgil was pretty sure it had cheese in it as well, but he wasn't certain. There were also dinner rolls laid out again, along with a couple cheese platters and even a few bowls of olives, though Virgil didn't really like olives so he stayed away from them.

After dinner was done a desert of a rich pudding cake was brought out, with layers of a sweet spongy cake and pudding that tasted kinda eggy but in a good way. It was covered in some kind of syrup and topped with candied berries, and was actually rather delicious.

When they had finally finished the meal it was getting late and the king sent them off to bed since Virgil would be leaving early the next morning.

A servant lead Virgil and his guards to a guest room where Virgil could sleep for the night.

It was a decently sized room with a small fireplace tucked in the corner for heating, thick pelts were laid out on the cold stone floors and draped across the head board of the bed and the foot of the bed. The bed itself was large and covered in thick blankets with large pillows stacked at the top.

The room felt cozy and Virgil could practically feel himself relax the moment he stepped inside.

A set of pajamas was laid out on the bed for him to change into, which he was grateful for, seeing as he had managed to forget to bring his own despite his own anxious worrying and the help of his boyfriend's.

He quickly changed clothes, since it was still very cold, and set his own clothes in a neat pile on the floor next to the bed, his cloak hanging on a hook across the room.

He then crawled into the bed and buried himself in the blankets, humming softly as he was enveloped in their warmth. Everything was so soft and warm, the bed practically swallowing him whole as he sunk deeper into the soft mattress, wrapping his arms around a spare pillow as he curled up on his side and snuggled up to it. He couldn't help missing Roman, Logan and Patton at this point, seeing as it had become a regular thing for them to end up snuggled together at night in one of their rooms, usually Virgil's since he had a much more difficult time sneaking out and into their rooms then they did sneaking into his. Which might be a security problem they should look into, but he didn't really mind for now.

Sleep came quickly to him that night.

———

He woke up the next morning to a gentle knock on the door.

"Your highness," one of his guards said from outside the room, "your bag has been brought from the carriage so you may change clothes, breakfast will be served in half an hour."

Virgil groaned softly as he sat up, rubbing his eyes, "Alright, thank you." He said, before slipping out of bed, shivering at the loss of warmth.

He was given his bag by one of his guards, and was then left to change.

He pulled out the outfit that Roman had instead he wear, saying that it would look nice on him and show the princess of Palemoore that even though he wasn't interested romantically, he still appreciated her offer.

He began to get dressed, pulling on the pair of white pants, followed by a soft lavender button up and a white vest with gold buttons. He slipped back on his normal black shoes and repacked his already worn clothes into his bag, leaving the pajamas folded on the edge of his bed.

He slipped his cloak back on before slinging his bag over his shoulder and walking out, nodding to his guards and the servant who quickly lead him to where they would be eating breakfast.

The servant insisted on taking his bag to the carriage when they entered he dining room, despite Virgil saying he really didn't mind, and quickly whisked the bag away and was out of the room before he could protest more.

"While it saddens me to see you go I must admit that I did enjoy your time here, and hope you come to visit again." Veronica, who had been sitting in one of the chairs, said.

"I will most definitely come back for a visit," Virgil said as he took a seat down across from her.

"I look forward to it." She said with a kind smile. "My father and mother will be here soon, then we will start breakfast." She added, gaining a nod from virgil.

They continued to chatter quietly while they waited, only stoping when the king and queen came in and breakfast was served.

"So, you are traveling to Palemoore next, correct?" The king asked as he took a bite of his food.

This morning it was these pancake-like pastries, though they were much puffier and sweet than normal pancakes were, almost an inch thick. They were coated with a layer of jam and drizzled with what looked like honey. They were delicious and very filling.
There was also the warm milk again, and the option of eggs to eat as well, along with the same jerky as the day before, much to Virgil's pleasure.

"I am," Virgil said, "I will be arriving around noon and staying till tomorrow afternoon." He said.

"I hope you enjoy yourself, and wish you a safe journey." The king said.

"Thank you." Virgil smiled, before taking a sip of his milk.

They continued to chatter throughout breakfast, until it was time for Virgil to leave.

The king lead them back out to where Virgil carriage was, and they continued their farewells, wishing him safe travels and promises to come visit him next time.

Virgil couldn't help but sigh softly as he relaxed into his seat in the carriage as they began to ride away.

He had enjoyed his time here, but he did miss Corona, and his boyfriends along with it. He wondered if they were sleeping in their ow rooms or if they were camped out in his.

The thought made him blush and smile, imagining them curled up on his bed. It was a sweet thought, but they probably weren't if he was being honest.

He took of his cloak and pulled up the blanket he had used the other night on his trip Daaron, covering himself as he also grabbed the pillow. It was still early and he could probably catch maybe another hour of sleep before he was too awake to sleep.

He curled up in his seat, nuzzling the pillow as he began to doze off, thinking about Roman, Logan and Patton.

Here is part two! Parts three and four will be out soon, if four ends up being too long I might make it into five, who knows.