Prompt: 'Virgil is out at a different kingdom and gets sick/poisoned leaving him unfit to travel home. So the boys go to him'
I chose poison >:}

Wowie.
This is gonna be a heck of a chapter I hope yalls is ready for it.
It's gotten to the point where I'm actually kinda tired of this chapter and I'm ready to get it done and over with all honesty
But hopefully, it's good and not too shitty and rushed

I HAVE SPLIT THIS CHAPTER INTO TWO PARTS SINCE ITS SO FREAKING LONG. ITS 20,000+ WORDS. THE NEXT PART IS ALREADY DONE BUT YOU DON'T GET IT YET HEHEHE.

WARNING: poison, sickness, attempted murder, actual murder, death, low-key fighting, and a small bit of blood mentioned at one point

"Another letter has been sent to your parents about your situation, hopefully, they will either be able to come here or send the means to transport you home soon." The servant said from where he stood next to Virgil's bed, "it is most likely that you will need to remain here until you have recovered though, especially if we continue to receive no answer."

"Thank you..." Virgil whispered softly, his voice soft and hoarse. His eyes were barely open and were hazy and glazed over almost. His skin was flushed a bright red, and everything felt sore. He could barely move his fingers, and what he could move only caused aching pain so he avoided moving. His insides felt like they were melting, and his lungs couldn't seem to get enough air in them, every breath feeling like it wasn't enough no matter how hard he tried to take in more air.

"It's nothing your highness, more tea will be brought to help soothe your throat shortly." The servant said before he left, or at least the sound of footsteps made Virgil assume he'd left -when had his eyes closed? His eyelids felt too heavy to open again, so he just let them lay for now.

He'd been on a trip to make negotiations with a distant kingdom -he'd had to take a ship down the coast since the weather wasn't good for traveling across the mountains during this time of year. He was supposed to be gone for a little more than a week, but now it had been almost two weeks -almost more actually. His health had begun to decline on the third day of his stay, and he had become bedridden the day he was supposed to leave for home. A letter was sent back home to inform his parents of the situation, but they hadn't received any reply -even after sending two more letters.

Virgil should have probably been concerned by that because surely his parents would do something, wouldn't they? Or at least he was certain Roman, Logan, and Patton would come to him.

He must have drifted off at some point because he found himself waking up to a gentle voice calling his name.

Oh, it must be Vernon -or at least he thought it was. Vernon was a servant at the castle he was at and had been a friend to Virgil since he'd docked. He was kind, and had been nothing but helpful when Virgil had first fallen ill and had continued to be helpful after that.

"Hello your highness," Vernon said as Virgil sluggishly slipped an eye open to look at him.

Vernon had a very sunken face, or at least that's how Virgil would describe him. His cheeks were hollow and his nose was almost too small for his face. His eyes were sunken into his skull just a bit to look slightly off, and his lips were thin and had almost no color. His hair was a dark blonde and was as straight as straw, and cut to just above the tips of his ears.

Virgil licked his dry lips and whispered a soft hello in return, wincing slightly at the twinge of pain in his throat.

"I have more tea for you," Vernon said, "let me help you sit up." He added before he moved to set the cup of tea down on the bedside table.

He then gently pulled the blanket covering Virgil back -which made Virgil shiver at the loss of warmth despite his skin feeling like it was on fire- before carefully pulling him up from where he was laying down. Virgil managed to hold himself upright once he'd been moved, but couldn't help sagging in relief when Vernon gently moved him back to lean against the pillows that had been stacked behind him, keeping him propped upright.

"There's still no news from the doctors who checked you, they can't figure out what illness you have." Vernon told him as he turned to get the tea, "but they still say you need to stay in bed and to limit visitors, so you'll probably only be seeing me and maybe a few other servants for the next few days." He continued as he carefully pressed the rim of the cup to Virgil's lips, before tilting it to let him drink -Virgil's hands shook too much for him to be able to hold the cup without spilling.

"Our king and queen send their best wishes and hope that you return to health soon, and they hope we receive word from Corona soon as well." He added, pulling the cup back a little to give Virgil a break to breathe.

Virgil didn't even try to give him a response. None of this was new information, and there was nothing he needed to say. He also doubted his ability to say much as it currently was anyway.

He eventually finished the cup of tea and was quickly helped to lay back down and was tucked under the blankets again.

"I'll check back in soon, alright?" Vernon said as he picked up the empty cup from where he'd placed it, "just get some sleep okay? I promise this will all be over soon."

He must have dozed off quickly after that,
Since he couldn't recall anything between them and when he was being woken up later that day -or at least he assumed it was later that day- to be fed some soup. He only managed maybe half the bowl, but that was more than nothing. He couldn't remember who's helped him with dinner, or if they'd said anything to him while he ate -he couldn't even remember when he'd been laid back down to sleep some more.

Everything hurt. Everything was sore and hurt when touched, and his lungs felt like they were on fire. His body felt like it was on fire really -everything was too hot, but if he kicked off his blanket then everything was too cold.

He slept the days away, having fallen into a routine of sorts, only for it to be disrupted one day.

"Virgil, I'm sorry to bother you, your highness," a voice said as Virgil's body was shaken gently, the aches and sudden pains from the movement waking him up rather quickly. "I know you need your rest, but there are people here to see you, they're demanding and say they won't leave until-" Vernon was cut off by the door suddenly bursting open and banging against the wall -which would have made Virgil jump just like Vernon if he'd had the energy to.

"Virgil!" And oh that voice was familiar and made his heart flutter.

Someone quickly fell into a kneel next to his bed, their body almost crashing into the bed frame, and a pair of hands were suddenly clasped around one of his.

"Oh my goodness we were so worried! You didn't come back on the boat and we didn't get any word from you for so long, and then the message we sent apparently never arrived, but then your message finally came -or at least one of your messages came- and we arranged a boat as quickly as we could and-"

"Calm down a bit Pat, I don't think he's all here right now." Another voice said, and wait -when had his eyes closed?

He struggled for a second with himself before managing to force his eyes open, and after the room had stopped spinning he tilted his head to focus his gaze on the three people hovering at his bedside.

Patton was almost at the same level as him, knelt next to his bed with both of his hands holding one of Virgil's, and Roman was standing behind him with Logan as well, they all looked tired with a mixture of worry and relief.

It felt like it'd been forever since he'd last seen them -although that could be his warped sense of time right now due to how much he'd been sleeping- and all he'd been wanting for a while now was to be with them. He'd been alone in the other kingdom, sans his guards of course, and he knew he would safe with them, and that he could rely on them as they could him.

Without realizing it hot tears began to well up in his eyes and a small whine slipped from his throat as he gently squeezed Patton's hand in return.

A different hand, one of Romans, reached down to wipe his tears away, his hand moving to gently cup his cheek as well.

"Oh Virgil, it's okay love," Roman said softly as Virgil's vision blurred from the tears, "we're here now, we'll figure out what's wrong, so just focus on resting -okay?"

Virgil sniffed softly before croaking out a scratchy 'okay' as more tears ran down his face.

He vaguely registered Logan talking to Vernon out of the corner of his eye as Patton and Roman continued to fuss over him -and he basked in the attention, feeling almost floaty now that they were here. In all honesty, he would have been happy with anyone from home coming to him -his parents, Bailey, even some of the servants he was close to- but he was especially happy that Roman, Patton, and Logan had come.

"Are you comfortable love? Do you need anything?" Roman asked, he was now sitting on the bed -when had he moved there? Virgil hadn't noticed- but on the other side so he could hold Virgil's other hand.

"Hurts..." he whispered softly, gently squeezing Roman's hand.

"What hurts love?"

"Everything..."

"Has he been like this the entire time?" He heard Logan ask from where he was still standing with Vernon.

"It started slow but he's been like this for almost a week and keeps getting worse -maybe if you actually cared you'd have shown up sooner." And wow that was a lot of venom in Vernon's voice. Virgil tilted his head slightly so that he was watching the two, and saw a frown spread across Logan's face.

"It wasn't a matter of us not caring, it was a matter of communication or lack thereof you could say. You're the ones who tried to send a letter by land when you should very well know that the mountains are too dangerous to travel through in this weather, hence why Virgil himself took a boat -at your kingdom's suggestion might I add." Logan said, his concerned frown turning almost annoyed -Virgil didn't like that, he wanted him happy, because happy was good wasn't it? Yeah, yeah happy was good.

"I'm not the one who sent the message, so don't blame me," Vernon said with a glare, his hands on his hips, "and aside from that you three were told to stay out, he's on strict orders to rest and be kept from stress -which you three are obviously causing, seeing as he hasn't cried once since he's-"

"Logan," Virgil croaked out, his voice barely louder than a whisper, but still cutting through their conversation and making both turn to him.

"Yes, Virgil?" Logan asked, his posture relaxing and his face turning soft and concerned as he turned towards him.

"...want." And boy did he. He wanted all of them to just cuddle up to him in bed -he didn't care if it'd hurt or make him feel too hot, he wanted them close so he could just relax with them in bed and drift away.

"What do you want?" Logan asked gently, and Vernon scoffed behind him.

"Obviously he wants you three to leave, you're causing too much of a fuss, he needs-"

"Hug." Virgil interrupted again. "Please?" He added with a pleading expression.

"Of course," Logan said without hesitation, "do you need help sitting up?"

Virgil nodded slightly, and felt Roman and Patton let go of his hands -then they were gripping onto his shoulders gently and lifting him up carefully so he was sitting while Logan moved to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Lo..." Virgil whispered as he allowed himself to tip forwards and practically fall into Logan's chest, his boyfriend's arms wrapping around him instantly and making Virgil feel all fuzzy inside as he found himself securely pressed to his chest.

"I'm sorry it took us so long," Logan said softly as he lifted a hand up to card his fingers through Virgil's hair, apparently ignoring the fact that it was tangled and greasy. Come to think of it he probably smelled pretty bad -he hadn't bathed since he'd become too sick too on his own -since he wasn't comfortable being bathed by strangers and they hadn't offered so he wasn't going to ask- and no one had helped him brush his hair either -though that one seemed kind of pointless since it's easily get tangled again.

"Is fine," Virgil muttered, "here." He added as he nuzzled his face into the crook of Logan's neck.

"Yes we're here love, and we won't leave until you're better and can come home with us," Roman said as he moved to gently rub Virgil's back.

Virgil was vaguely aware of Vernon talking again, but he'd already begun to drift off as he relaxed against Logan's chest, so he wasn't paying attention to what he was saying. He didn't care that his body was aching in protest from the position, or that his head was throbbing, he didn't want to move.

He eventually found himself falling asleep, a small crackled hum slipping from his throat as he pressed his face into the crook of Logan's neck as he finally dozed off, the soft rumble in Logan's chest from him talking lulling him to sleep.

"He's doing okay, right?" Patton asked as he looked over at where Logan was still holding a now sleeping Virgil. Vernon had just stormed from the room, leaving the four of them alone for now.

"Well, he could be worse, but he's not necessarily doing good," Logan said. "He has a fever for one thing, and his throat is messed up, but we'll need to ask him or someone else what else is wrong at some point."

"But he'll be okay right?"

"I...I can't guarantee he will," Logan said softly as he held onto Virgil a bit tighter, before quickly loosening his grip when Virgil groaned softly. "I'll do everything I can, but I'm not sure..."

"Oh Logan, it's not all up to you," Patton said softly. "We'll help, and there are doctors who can help too." He said.

"I know," Logan said with a small smile.

"Come on specs, we should lay him back down again," Roman said softly from where he was still perched on the other side of the bed.

Logan nodded, and carefully tilted forwards to lay Virgil down onto the bed, but he stopped for a second when he was pulling back and noticed that Virgil had grabbed onto his shirt. His grip was weak, but it was still there.

He hesitated before carefully prying Virgil's fingers away from the cloth, and moved his hand to hold onto the blanket instead.

They stayed with him for the rest of the day, and as the time wore into the evening, someone finally came into the room.

"Oh you lot are still here," Vernon said with a disgusted look as he stepped into the room.

"Do you need something?" Roman asked from where he was seated at the head of the bed, his fingers tangled in Virgil's hair.

"It's time for his highness to drink some tea, it's good for his throat," Vernon said, holding up the steaming cup of dark amber liquid. "He usually takes it around this time."

"Ah, okay," Roman said, "we can handle that if you don't mind." He said. He got some bad vibes from Vernon and didn't want him in the room with Virgil anymore than he had to be.

Vernon huffed softly but begrudgingly gave the cup to Patton -he was the closest- before leaving the room and almost slamming the door behind him. Almost.

"Don't let him drink that," Logan said a few moments after Vernon had left and wasn't likely to come back in. "I don't trust anything they've been feeding him while he's been here -from now on everything he eats or drinks needs to be prepared by us or a trusted guard, alright?"

"You think he's being poisoned?" Roman said as he looked from Logan to the cup of tea in Patton's hands

"I don't think he's fallen ill this suddenly and to this extent by natural causes, so if the only other option is poison then yes. Technically it could have been a long-term illness just now taking effect and showing itself, but I seriously doubt that." Logan said. "So for now just don't give him anything unless you made it or someone trusted made it."

"What do we do with the tea then?" Patton asked the tea in his hands making him feel almost nervous, his stomach twisting as he thought about what could be in it.

"We test it," Logan said, before turning to where Virgil had dozed off, and his expression softened as he looked at him.

"Hey love," he said softly as he knelt down next to the bed and reached his hand forwards to cup Virgil's cheek. "Virgil, can you wake up for me?"

A small whimper left Virgil's lips before he sluggishly managed to open his eyes a little after a moment.

"Shhhh," he shushed quietly, as soothing as he could, "I know love, I know, I'm sorry you don't feel good," Logan said apologetically, keeping his voice gentle and calm as he spoke. "I just have a few questions for you, and then you can go back to sleep, okay?"

Virgil blinked at him numbly for a second, his unfocused eyes wavering around the room a bit before he licked his chapped lips and whispered a quiet 'okay'.

"Thank you, love, you're being so good for me." he said as he gently rubbed his cheekbone with his thumb. "can you tell me how you felt when you first started getting sick? We're you dizzy? Nauseous? If so did you actually throw up? Any coughing, vertigo, or things like that?"

"Dizzy...nauseous too, but no puke..." Virgil managed to whisper, his voice faint and rough, "faint...'n achy...headaches..." he trailed off as he took a shuddering breath, his eyes sliding closed as if he didn't have the energy to keep them open anymore.

"Is that all love?" Logan asked softly.

Virgil hummed softly in acknowledgment, his head leaning heavily into Logan's touch, but didn't make any move to say anything.

"Okay love, thank you for telling me," Logan said as he gently lowered his hand and let Virgil's cheek rest on the pillow before pulling away, "you did such a good job love, you were being so strong for me, don't worry, we'll make sure you get better soon." Logan didn't get a response aside from another shuddering breath, and he assumed Virgil had fallen asleep again.

He sighed softly as he stood up and turned back to Roman and Patton, both of which had stood quietly while he'd been talking to Virgil.

"Okay, so now we know what side effects to expect, along with the fever he has even though he didn't mention it." Logan said, "Patton can I see the tea?" He asked.

But Patton hesitated for a second, glancing down at the cup before back up at Logan, "why?" He asked warily as if he already had an idea as to why Logan wanted it.

"To run my test," Logan said as he adjusted his glasses.

"Does this test involve you drink the tea?" Patton asked as he cocked an eyebrow at his boyfriend.

"Perhaps."

"Whoa, hey, didn't we just talk about how we think he's being poisoned?" Roman cut in, "I don't think you should be drinking the tea, what if you get sick?"

"That's the point." Logan said, "if the poison is in the tea it must be a small enough dose that it should give me the minimum side effects that Virgil had when he first became sick, since his condition has only gotten worse we can assume they've been continuously poisoning him, so while a single dose should make me sick, I won't be bedridden from it and will more than likely recover quickly."

"But what if they did just give him a single dose and it was slow-acting and it just gets worse by itself?" Patton asked.

"Then why are they trying to keep him here? If it was a slow-acting poison then they could have given it to him the day he was due to come home and he'd have fallen ill at home and we'd have no reason to suspect this kingdom cause we'd think it was a sickness." Logan said, his voice steadily growing louder.

"They could want him as a bargaining chip or something," Roman suggested, his voice much quieter than theirs.

"They could also use the antidote as a bargaining chip since it'd be useless to use him as a bargaining chip if we have no means to make him better!"

"That might be true but I still don't want you to test it out!" Patton said, and when had their voices gotten louder? They were almost yelling now, "Virgil's already sick and bedridden, I don't want to see another person I love like that!"

"And I don't want to see him like this anymore either! That's why I think I should test it to see if he actually is being poisoned because we don't know for sure yet if that is actually the case! I don't want to ask someone else to test it because then it'd be my fault if they did get horribly sick, which is why I want to test it!"

"So it's okay for you to get sick but not anyone else! What if someone else volunteered? Or what if we went to someone and had the tea tested, or at least tried to figure out if the tea is poisoned some other way than just drinking it! That's the most idiotic thing I've ever heard you-"

"Guys!" Roman cut in, making his voice louder than both of theirs, effectively cutting them both off.

Roman had moved at some point during their argument and was now seated next to Virgil, who had fat tears rolling down his face and a bit of snot running from his nose. He was sitting up and leaning against Roman's shoulder for support, but still looked dreadfully exhausted.

"Stop arguing okay? Or at least stop yelling, you woke him up..." Roman said, his voice softening. "I'm going to take him to the bathroom to have a bath okay? Just, figure something out okay?" He said before carefully moving to pick Virgil up, their feverish boyfriend wrapping his arms around his neck as he was lifted up and cradled close to Roman's chest.

"Oh, wait-" Patton began, guilt painted across his face, but Roman shook his head to cut him off.

"It's okay, the two of you didn't mean to get so loud, but just figure this out okay? Make good decisions." He said, giving the two of them a smile before walking into the bathroom and gently closing the door with his foot.

He sighed softly before moving to gently set Virgil down on the toilet and made sure he wouldn't slump over and fall off before he went about drawing a bath for him. He made sure to make the water not hot or even that warm, but not cold either. He'd be able to sit in the bath and not be too cold or overheat, which is what he needed. He was hesitant to add any of the soaps to the bath, with all the talk about poison from earlier -but he found the vanilla honey soaps Virgil had brought from home, so he added some that, confident that they'd be fine.

Virgil had managed to stay awake while Roman had been setting up the bath, and had been watching him with hooded hazy eyes, his cheeks a bright cherry red that was in sharp contrast with the rest of his sickly pale skin.

"Alright love, time to get undressed okay?" Roman said softly as he knelt in front of him. "Can I start taking off your clothes?"

Virgil hummed softly before nodding, which was probably the best Roman would get so he shrugged off his worries and began to gently undress him.

He was only wearing a nightshirt, pants, and his underwear, so it didn't take long to get him undressed, and Roman quickly had him settled into the tub, his head propped up against the rim with a folded towel as a cushion of sorts.

Roman picked up a washcloth and began to gently clean him up, knowing his boyfriend probably felt gross from being in bed for so long and not bathing. That doesn't mean his boyfriend enjoyed the process -the rag was apparently very rough on his sensitive skin and wasn't pleasant.

At some point Roman began to gently sing in hopes of soothing Virgil's discomfort, remembering a lullaby he'd heard a long time ago. He wasn't sure why he decided to sing, it just sort of, came to him.

"Follow the river and soon you shall find,
An old worn out forest with oaks and with pine,
Sprinkled with mushrooms and flowers and things
You'll hear winds that's whistle and small birds that sing.
Dum du-du-dum dum dum dum dum dum dum, du-dum dum dum dum dum dum du-du-du-dum...." he sang softly as he continued to scrub away at Virgil's skin, getting some more of his vanilla honey soap as he did.

"As you go further, and follow the trail
You'll find a large meadow with daisies so pale,
Far in the meadow there is a deep hole, and if you should stumble right down you may go.
Dum du-du-dum dum dum dum dum dum dum, du-dum dum dum dum dum dum du-du-du-dum..." he carefully shifted Virgil so that he was propped up on his side now, and began to wash his back as well, wanting him to be fully clean.

"Down underground you may find yourself lost, blind in the dark with the spiders and moss
But dear do not panic, don't run, and don't cry, For there are those you can find to help you get by;
A small little mole, he can lead you around, a fox that can warn you if she hears a sound," outside in the other room was awfully quiet, and Roman wasn't all that sure if that was a good thing -either they'd stopped arguing and had come to an agreement, they were arguing quietly, or they just weren't talking.

"a mouse that can scurry and offer you food, and a skunk you can talk to to lighten the mood.
Dum du-du-dum dum dum dum dum dum dum, du-dum dum dum dum dum dum du-du-du-dum..." Roman shifted Virgil so that he could begin to brush through the tangled mess it had become with a comb. Thankfully his hair wasn't that long, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been having it been longer. But that didn't mean that Roman didn't spend plenty of time getting the comb through Virgil's hair, getting it all smooth before Roman began the washing process, picking up a small cup and filling it with the bathwater before gently pouring it on Virgil's head -which he'd tilted back so none of the water ran down his face.

"Soon you'll pop out, like a plant in the spring
But now that you've left and you see the sky, and realize you're late so it's time for goodbye.
Now you walk through the meadow and back through the wood, where hum with the birds who think you're quite good,
You then reach the river and bid them farewell, and promise to visit, which they think is well.
Dum du-du-dum dum dum dum dum dum dum, du-dum dum dum dum dum dum du-du-du-dum..." washing Virgil's hair went better than expected, he was almost relaxed under Romans touch, and even leaned in closer when he began to massage the soap into his hair and scalp. It didn't take that long to get his hair all clean, all things considered, so he quickly began the rinsing process after he'd finished with Virgil's hair.

"Follow back up the river and soon you shall find,
A small cozy cottage, with a fence intertwined.
And now that you're home
You can finally rest
For who knows what adventure
Will come to you next...
Dum du-du-dum dum dum dum dum dum dum, du-dum dum dum dum dum dum du-du-du-dum..." he trailed off, finishing his song with a small smile as he looked down at Virgil.

"You ready to get out love? Or would you like to relax for a while in the tub?" He asked as he continued to gently massage Virgil's scalp. He was all clean now, but it might be good for him to relax there a bit longer -if he wanted to that is.

Virgil hummed softly, "...out." He mumbled as he tilted his head into the touch and looked up at Roman with glassy dazed eyes. "Sleep time..."

"Ah yes, we don't want you to fall asleep in the bath, so the bed it is," Roman said, pressing a chaste kiss to Virgil's temple before pulling away.

He pulled the plug and began to drain the tub before moving to get a towel for Virgil, looking for the softest one so it'd be the most comfortable on his skin.

"I might hold you while Logan and Patton change your sheets, it'd be kind of silly to get you all nice and clean and put you back into bed with dirty sheets." He said as he made his way back over to him. "We also need to get you dressed, we can't have you being just naked now can we?" He added with a small laugh but didn't get much of a response.

He quickly went about taking him out of the tub and sitting him on the counter next to the sink, where he thoroughly dried him off with a towel, before wrapping him up in the softer towel he'd found. Then he picked Virgil up again in a cradle-like position and carried him out of the bathroom.

Logan and Patton were sat together on one of the chairs, Patton seated in Logan's lap with his head tucked under Logan's chin. Patton's eyes were a bit red around the edges, most likely from crying, but they seemed to be okay now, they must have made up then, that was good.

"Can you two help me?" Roman asked as he walked further into the room. "His bed sheets need to be changed and he needs some clean clothes." He said.

"Oh! Yes of course!" Patton said as he quickly climbed out of Logan's lap and went over to the wardrobe that was tucked into the corner of the room, where he pulled out a new set of sheets and pillowcases -they'd need to ask for a new blanket.

"Thank you," Roman said, "Logan can you help me get him dressed?" He asked.

Logan nodded as he stood up and went over to the wardrobe as well, pulling out the set of pajamas that Roman could recognize as a pair Virgil must have brought from home.

Roman carefully set Virgil down on one of the chairs, pressing a gentle kiss to his forehead before pulling the towel away. "How are you feeling love?"

" 'm tired, an' achy," Virgil mumbled softly. "Wanna sleeep..."

"You can sleep soon love," Roman reassured apologetically, "we're just changing your sheets and getting you all nice and dressed okay?"

Virgil hummed softly and nodded in response.

Logan came over with the new set of clothes, and the two of them quickly got to work on getting Virgil dressed, where Roman held him up so that Logan could slide his boxers and pants on, and then Logan held him up so Roman could slip his shirt on and button it up.

While they were finishing with his shirt Virgil tilted his head back to look at Logan, a small frown on his face -which Logan noticed.

"I'm sorry if we- no, I'm sorry if I upset you earlier," he said softly, "I didn't mean to upset you, or Roman and Patton."

" 's okay," Virgil mumbled, "just...be smart." He added as he pressed his face into the crook of Logan's neck.

"I'll try," Logan said, pressing a kiss to Virgil's temple.

"And if he's not then Patton and I will talk some sense into him," Roman said, "sometimes his big brain gets ahead of itself or thinks too fast and needs to be slowed down a bit."

"Not often I hope," Logan said his tone teasing.

"Of course love, only when you're stressed."

"Ah, I see.

Virgil ended up dozing off not long after that, and Logan had passed him over to Roman so he could help Patton with the sheets. A servant had brought a fresh blanket when they'd asked, and they'd also brought along a laundry bin to take away the dirty clothes and sheets and such with her as well.

They then quickly settled Virgil in his bed, tucking him in as he slept heavily.

"That probably took a bunch of energy out of him," Logan said softly, "I'm fairly certain he hasn't gotten out of bed that much since he's become this sick, so I think all this commotion has made him tired."

"Well, if he's sleeping then he won't be in pain for a while -well he will but he won't feel it if that makes sense?" Patton said from his spot sitting on the edge of Virgil's bed.

"Yeah that makes sense Pat," Roman said with a smile, "did you two come to an agreement?" He asked.

"Yes," Logan said as he adjusted his glasses, "I now realize just how wrong things could go if I were to drink the tea, and how it's unfair to the two of you if I did- so we've decided to just dispose of the tea when it's brought to avoid suspicion and to make all of his meals ourselves on the excuse that he'd prefer food from home to make him feel better." He explained.

"Good," Roman said, "I don't like it when we fight." He admitted softly.

"Neither do I," Logan said while Patton nodded in agreement.

That night was rather uneventful, with all three of them refusing to leave to other rooms and instead just sleeping on the chairs or at the foot of Virgil's bed.

More tea was brought the next morning, which they ended up pouring down the bathroom sink, and Patton went to the kitchens to make them all breakfast, leaving Logan and Roman with Virgil.

"So I don't believe the king and queen are a part of the poisoning," Logan said, not looking up from the small book he was writing in, "they seemed far too distraught over Virgil when we arrived, and eagerly showed us to his room despite the protests of others." He continued, "either it's an act or they're genuinely concerned for him."

"We should still try to ask Virgil about it when he wakes up, he might know something, or he could at least tell us who's been around him enough to be the person behind this," Roman said from where he was seated on Virgil's bed, their slumbering boyfriend's head cradled in his lap as Roman ran his fingers through his hair to prevent more tangles.

"Yes we should, be we can't guarantee how accurate his memory will be, and he may have been asleep when people visited him so we don't know how accurate his accounts will be."

"Yeah that's true," Roman said with a small nod, "should we do some poking around? Maybe ask Vernon about the tea if we're careful about it?"

"That might be a good idea, but we'd need to be subtle..." Logan said thoughtfully.

"I'm sure we can be subtle," Roman said, "especially if it means helping him." He added as he looked down at Virgil with a loving yet worried look in his eyes.

Patton came back soon enough with a flavorful broth and slices of bread. It wasn't anything fancy, just tasty enough to enjoy, but not too much to upset Virgil's stomach. They ended up waking him to eat, and Roman help him to his chest as he and Patton took turns feeding the soup to him -his hands shaking too much to hold the spoon or the bowl steadily without spilling.

He ate maybe a third of the bowl before refusing to eat anymore and going back to sleep, staying curled up in Roman's lap with his head tucked under Roman's chin. His breathing was a bit better, but it was still rough and too shallow. And his face was still flushed a bright feverish red that stood out strongly on his paler than normal skin.

It wasn't until the next day that they finally began poking around a bit for evidence.

One of them would always be with Virgil in his room, not comfortable with leaving him to be alone in his sick state, and then the other two would be out and about in the castle looking for anything suspicious, keeping particular eyes on the kitchen and on people they'd seen interact with Virgil. Virgil had also tried to tell them who'd been in his room the most, but they didn't know how accurate his memory was. He mentioned a few servants and Vernon, along with this doctor, but they'd already known most of that information.

So far things weren't going so well, they hadn't found anything substantial or important, which was discouraging.

"There has to be something," Roman said with a groan as he rubbed his face tiredly. All four of them were in Virgil's room, having just finished dinner made by Roman.

"There is most likely something, we're just never in the right place at the right time," Logan said, "whoever is doing this has to be discreet, it's not going to be simple to find them."

"But still, we've been looking around and asking questions and haven't found anything, what are we-" Roman was cut off by a brisk knock on the door, and the room went dead silent -sans Virgil's ragged breathing that is.

"Come in," Logan called, and the door instantly opened to show Vernon standing there, a cup of tea in hand.

"I'm here to give him his tea." He said, a sour look on his face.

"Ah, thank you." Logan said, "We appreciate what you're doing for him." He said as he stood up to take the tea from him.

"Oh! Vernon," Patton quickly piped up, startling the other three at his sudden loudness, "before you go -I was wondering what type of tea that is? Virgil says he likes it, and I'm thinking about making him some when we get back home with him -we're leaving in a few days so our doctors back home can take a look at him." Patton said as he stood up, a bright smile on his face.

"Oh," a look of surprise sparked up onto Vernon's face, but it quickly disappeared, "it's made from a plant that grows on some trees near here -you won't be able to find it back where you're from," Vernon said.

"Ah I see, I'll just have to try and find something similar," Patton said, a small pout forming on his face.

"Right," Vernon said, before leaving without saying any form of goodbye, the door clicking closed behind him.

There were a few moments of silence as they waited for the footsteps to fade before Roman turned to Patton. "So... what was that about?" He asked, a confused look on his face.

"Oh! I just had an idea suddenly," Patton said, "you know how Vernon is someone we're suspicious of, yes?" He waited for the two of them to nod before continuing, "well, if he is trying to kill Virgil, or at least trying to continue poisoning him, then wouldn't it be bad if he were to go back home? So now that he thinks we're heading back home soon..."

"-He'll become careless with his actions in his rush to finish the job." Logan finished for him, a look of realization blooming on his face. "Or whoever the culprit is if it's not him." He added. "Word will spread around."

"Exactly!" Patton said with an excited grin, "so now we just need to keep a close eye on everyone who tries to be around Virgil for the next few days!"

"We also need to make sure that Virgil isn't alone, and that someone is awake at all time around him -we've been doing well on making sure one of us is here, But I think we should set up a watch during the night, or something like that, just to be safe," Roman said. "If they're in a rush to 'finish the job' then they might resort to other methods or more brash methods, and Virgil isn't in a state to defend himself against anything right now."

"That's true," Logan said, "we can take turns staying awake so that we all get some amount of sleep, it won't do us any good to make ourselves sleep-deprived."

They talked about things a little bit more before getting ready to continue that day, starting with disposing of the tea and such.

Their snooping about led to nothing that day though, and that night they took turns sleeping -Patton had first watch, then he'd wake up Roman, and after that Roman would wake up Logan. They each got roughly six hours of sleep, with their watch periods being roughly three hours long each. Luckily no one tried anything during the night or that morning, so they were able to eat their breakfast in peace.
They'd also alerted the guards that stood watch outside Virgil's room to keep anyone out during the night, no matter what excuse they had. Obviously, that could become a problem if the king or queen wanted to come in, but they shouldn't have any reason to try and come in during the night, so none of them were worried about it.

Virgil, despite being the center of their worries and plans, didn't know a thing about any of this. Well, he might know bits and pieces, but he wasn't aware of what all was going on -and they doubted him remembering even if they told him what all was happening. His condition had worsened as the days went on -although it hadn't been getting worse nearly as fast as it had been before they'd stopped giving him the tea and had been making him his food themselves. Now he couldn't support himself while sitting at all, and he didn't have the energy to lift his hands to even attempt to hold a spoon or cup, let alone use it. He'd also been getting more and more difficult to wake up, which had caused quite a panic from Patton when he'd gone to wake him and his eyes refused to open for almost five minutes. That had been terrifying for all three of them.

It wasn't that they were trying to keep it a secret from him -they just didn't want to stress him out is all. They knew he'd get worried and stressed if they told him all that they were doing and what was happening, and that wouldn't be good for his health, so they kept quiet about things during the times he was awake.

It wasn't until late that evening on the day after Patton had told the lie to Vernon, that they'd actually found anything truly suspicious.
And what was found was v e r y  suspicious.

Patton had been the one out of the room at the tie and had been snooping around through different parts of the castle where they'd made notes on which people frequented there.

Roman and Logan should both be with Virgil at the time, or at least one of them, so Patton was concerned about any of them being in harm's way, so he decided to do something a little risky.

Follow Vernon around.

Obviously, he'd need to be careful -if he looked suspicious he'd be called out by some of the staff and Vernon would know he was following him, so he'd need to look casual. Of course, Vernon could be innocent and this could be a waste of time, but he'd rather waste his time thinking he was right than doing nothing except thinking.

He ended up following him towards a section of the castle that he hadn't been in before -it was basically empty of other staff members, and very cold as well.

"Ah, there you are."

Patton froze just as he was about to turn the corner, and made the quick decision to suck behind a suit of armor nearby. Who was Vernon talking to? Nobody was-

"What took you so long?" A different voice asked.

"I was busy with a few things."

"Not the right things, since he's not dead yet."

"He's supposed to be dead by now! I don't know what's going wrong." Vernon hissed from around the corner.

"How am I supposed to know? everything's been going fine on my end." The other voice said. "maybe you haven't been giving him a high enough dose-"

"I've been giving him higher doses than necessary!"

There was a small moment of silence and Patton held his breath to stay silent, his heart hammering in his chest.

"...what if someone's caught on?"

"What!"

"Those three, the ones from Corona, they never leave his side -what if they've caught on?"

"Don't be ridiculous, how could they-"

"They've been taking care of him right? You give them the tea and they say he's been drinking it -but what if he hasn't been? They might have caught on and aren't giving it to him anymore."

"...Fuck."

There was another moment of silence, and Patton hoped that his beating heart wasn't as loud enough for them to hear -it sounded like it was beating much louder than it probably was.

"What should we do then? If they've caught on and aren't giving him the tea then he won't die for another week at least, unless they find the cure, and they said they're leaving for home in a few days."

"They're making all of his food for him right now yeah? We can't give it to him that way, so why not disguise it as medicine? Say the doctor prescribed it or something."

"If they're suspicious of the tea then they might be suspicious of me- you'll need to do it, Oliver."

"Me? But I-"

"No buts! If we want to get this done and over with we need to act fast or we're going to be the ones dead!"

"...alright."

Patton quickly ducked farther into the shadows behind the armor, lifting a hand to cover his mouth to make sure he didn't make a sound as he heard footsteps coming closer before two people rounded the corner and walked past him. He couldn't see them clearly, but he was certain one of them was Vernon -who else could it have been?

He waited there for a few minutes before carefully leaving his hiding place and making his way back towards the more populated areas of the castle and to Virgil's room.

Patton ducked into Virgil's room when he finally got there, shutting the door quickly yet quietly behind him.

"Okay, I have some info, like, really really good info." He said as he turned to where Roman and Logan were sitting together on one of the chairs.

"What is it?" Roma asked as he sat up from where he was previously curled up against Logan's chest.

"Okay, so," Patton began, lowering his voice as he gave the door a wary look before stepping farther into the room.

"I decided to follow Vernon around right? He's the one giving Virgil the tea and has been around him a lot yeah? Well, I followed him to this one hallway, in an area of the castle that's under reconstruction or refurbishing or whatever, and he met up with the other guy there -Oliver I think his name was," Patton explained as he sat down on the edge of Virgil's bed. "I hid behind some armor so I could listen in right? Well the two end up arguing, talking about poison and how they think we must have caught on because Virgil is supposed to be dead by now apparently -but since we've been making his food and not giving him the tea, he isn't." Patton continued, watching as his boyfriend's faces morphed from concern to shock, "they talked about having the other guy, Oliver, coming here at some point with a large dose of the poison disguised as medicine to give to Virgil to try and finish the job -they said they needed him dead like tonight or really soon."

There was a moment of silence as the two of them let the information sink in.

"We," Roman began, "we should go to the king and queen- I don't think either in on this, so we should-"

"No, we shouldn't." Logan cut in, "if we alert them then word might spread that we know who it is and the two might flee before they're caught -we don't know if there is anyone else in on this, so I think we should keep this to ourselves and catch them on our own, we don't want them escaping and trying something like this again."

"If things get rough then we should at least alert the guards from Corona, they could help us if these guys bolt and we need to chase them down -this place is surrounded by forest, it'd be difficult to find them with just us," Roman argued.

"I can agree to that," Logan said with a nod, "I don't think any of our guards are a part of this." He added.

"Do we just wait then?" Patton asked, "I can't think of much we can do."

"Well one of us can go make food for now, but the rest of us should stay here and if anyone comes by we need to be as normal as possible, we don't want to tip them off about us knowing," Logan said.

"I can go make something," Roman said, "any requests?"

"Something light, I want us to be ready for anything that might happen later, and eating a big meal won't help us."

Roman nodded and gave Logan a mock salute before pressing a kiss to each of their foreheads. "I'll be back soon, don't do anything stupid." He said, and then he quickly left, wanting to get the food cooked and ready as soon as possible. Although Patton called out a "don't do anything stupid either" to him as he left, which earned them a laugh.

He came back roughly forty minutes later, maybe an hour, with bowls of hot tomato soup with cheese shredding on top and half a loaf of bread on a tray in one hand, and a pitcher of water with four mugs hooked on his fingers in the other hand.

They ate their food without interruption and managed to get Virgil awake enough to eat a fourth of his bowl. It wasn't much, but they didn't want to force him to eat more -apparently, someone had tried to force him to eat more than he was up for a few days before they'd arrived and he'd thrown up, which had lead to almost half an hour of dry heaving after nothing had been left in his stomach. He'd passed out right after that, the servant helping him just barely being able to catch him before he smashed his face into the toilet seat. They would feed him a bit more later, deciding to let him take a break for now to digest some of what was already in his stomach in hopes he could handle more later on.

Roman, who'd had trouble falling back asleep the night before since he'd had the middle shift -meaning he'd been woken up and then had to get back to sleep when he was done-, ended up taking a short nap at one point, curling up against Logan's chest in one of the chairs as said boyfriend gently massaged his scalp.

He woke up sometime later, of course, seeing as he couldn't sleep the day away and needed to be awake and aware, and mumbled something about all of them needing a massage when they got back home and Virgil was better.

"I think I'll give Virgil a bath now," Patton said, at one point as the sun was almost finished with its descent along the horizon, "hopefully the guy shows up soon -if Virgil isn't available when he shows up then we can buy some time to try and catch him." He added.

"Alright, do you need any help getting him there or setting up?" Roman asked.

"No I'll be fine, but if you guys can get a fresh set of clothes ready for when he's done that'd be great," Patton said with a smile before he uncovered Virgil and carefully licked him up. "And, maybe one of you could get the door." He added sheepishly.

Roman was quick to get the door for him, and Patton thanked him before walking into the bathroom and putting Virgil down on the toilet seat. He'd partially woken up when Patton had first picked him up, but he'd already begun to doze off, so Patton gently cupped his cheek before carefully shaking his shoulder.

"You gotta stay awake love, we can't have you falling asleep in the bath -Logan might go on a rant about safety if you do." He said with a small laugh.

He watched as Virgil's dazed amethyst eyes sluggishly slid open, his pupils blown wide and leaving only thin rings of the purple collar visible.

"Do you think you can stay awake for me while I set up the bath for you? Or should I put you in the tub and then fill it?"

Virgil didn't respond, and instead, let his eyes slide closed as he leaned heavily against the hand cupping his cheek, and Patton took that as enough of an answer, seeing as it was probably the best he was going to get.

He carefully began to undress his boyfriend, only moving him when necessary, until he was fully naked, his clothes in a semi-neat pile off to the side. Virgil was shivering by that point, but had no goosebumps on his skin and was still feverish.

"I'm going to put you in the tub now, okay?" Patton said as he gently picked him back up again before lowering him into the tub. He'd previously laid a towel across the bottom of the tub and had folded up another one and laid it on the lip of the tub as well, both of which to offer some form of cushioning to try and make it more comfortable for him.

He began to fill the tub, making sure to keep the water at a nice even temperature so that he didn't overheat Virgil or freeze him, while also adding in the vanilla honey soap to the water.

Patton sat down next to the tub, folding his knees under him as he leaned against the tub, gently carding his fingers through Virgil's hair.

He paused when Virgil tilted his head slightly towards him and watched as he slowly opened his eyes a little bit and looked over at him -Patton quickly smiled at him in response.

"Hey love," he said, "how're you feeling?" He asked as he gently trailed his hand down so that he was cupping Virgil's cheek.

Virgil blinked at him for a few seconds, before licking his chapped lips slightly, "tired," he whispered, "hurts." He added with a soft croak.

"I'm sorry love," Patton said, "but we're getting close to finding something that can help you, so don't worry about a thing okay? We'll take care of you."

He watched as fat tears welled up in Virgil's eyes before spilling down his cheeks, and he quickly began to wipe them away, gently shushing him soothingly.

"Hey hey, it's okay Virgil, it's okay." He said softly as he continued to wipe his tears away.

"T-thank you..." Virgil said softly, his voice rough and cracking as he spoke, but also sounding so horribly sad and pain-filled -it almost made tears well up in Patton's eyes.

"You don't need to thank us, darling," he said, "We love you and care about you, so of course we're trying to help you."

Virgil sniffed softly before nodding slightly, heavily leaning his head into Patton's palm.

They sat in silence for a few moments, before Virgil looked over at him again.

"Ro?" He asked softly, his gaze dazed slightly.

"No I'm Patton sweetie, I can go get Roman if you want him though," Patton said with a sad smile.

Virgil frowned and lightly shook his head, "no." He said softly, "sing?"

"Oh, I don't know any good songs like Roman, just cheesy lullabies," Patton said dismissively.

"Please?" Virgil asked, his voice almost pleading as it crackled roughly.

Patton bit his lip nervously, before slowly nodding, "okay love..." he said. "I can sing you a song."

"I'll sing you a song of something in spring, I'll sing you a song about flowers and things, I'll sing you a song of the full moon tonight, I'll sing you a song of the morning's first light." Patton sang softly as he moved closer to the edge of the tub and sat up a bit more before grabbed a small cup from the side of the tub, which he quickly filled with the warm sudsy water. He then carefully poured the water over Virgil's head, making sure none of it went near his eyes, nose, or mouth as he did.

"Somewhere tonight, where the fairies all play, I'll show you a dance for the sweet month of May.
Come little flowers, over and under, twist through the green grass, and show me your color.
Come little flowers, over and under, twist through the green grass, and show me your color." He sang as he went about gathering up a pool of the sweet-smelling soap in his hand and began to gently massage it into Virgil's hair and against his scalp near his roots, keeping his touch gently but firm as he worked the soap until it was fluffy and foamy.

"As the snow starts to melt, and the birds start to sing, we'll listen to all of the stories they'll bring. Of places afar, where us humans don't go, where the snow never falls, and the stars all show." Virgil leaned heavily into his touch as Patton continued to sing to him, his body relaxed and heavy with fatigue and Patton knew he needed to get Virgil out soon otherwise he'd fall asleep. He could technically wake him up again if that happened, but he'd rather just keep Virgil awake for now and let him sleep comfortably in his bed instead of in the tub.

"Come little flowers, over and under, twist through the green grass, and show me your color.
Come little flowers, over and under, twist through the green grass, and show me your color." He took a second to grab a small washcloth from the small cabinet under the song and began to gently scrub at Virgil's skin, putting some soap on the rag as well.

"I'll sing you a song of something in spring, I'll sing you a song about flowers and things, I'll sing you a song of the full moon tonight, I'll sing you a song of the morning's first light." He sang as he gently maneuvered Virgil when it was necessary, but he tried not to move him too much overall so that he stayed as comfortable as possible.

"In the bright early morning, where no one's awake, the fairies fly around in the cold fog they make. They blanket the meadow in dewdrops and frost, where little young flowers may find themselves lost. But just follow the sun, as it raises the sky, stretch up your stems till your reaching up high." He continued to sing softly as he cleaned Virgil up while pressing gentle kisses on his temple every now and then, which earned him small sleepy smiles from his sickly boyfriend.

"Come little flowers, over and under, twist through the green grass, and show me your color...
Come little flowers, over and under, twist through the green grass, and show me your color...
Come little flowers, over and under, twist through the green grass, and show me your color..." he softly finished singing, his voice gentle and soothing, as he began to wash the soap away from Virgil's body, using the small cup from before to rinse both his body and his hair, while still making sure to not get any of the soapy water near his eyes, nose, or mouth.

"Hopefully that wasn't too bad," he said with a shy smile as he set the cup down, before reaching into the tub to pull the plug and drain the water.

All he got in response from Virgil was a soft hum, but he had a small smile on his face too so Patton assumed he hadn't been too bad."

"Now I'm going to get you all nice and wrapped up in a towel now okay?" Patton said, "we can't have you soaking wet when you go back to bed now can we."

He got up, ignore the slight twinge of pain in his knees, and grabbed three of the towels from the bathroom cabinet. He laid one across the toilet seat lid for Virgil to sit on and set the other two off to the side for now.

He went back to the tub, which was now empty sand for Virgil himself -who was almost asleep by the looks of it.

"I know you're sleepy love but you have to stay awake a little bit longer okay?" Patton said as he bent down and carefully scooped Virgil up into his arms, and he smiled when Virgil pressed his face into the crook of his neck with a small whine.

"I know I know, you can go back to bed soon dear, I promise," Patton said as he set him down on the towel he'd placed on the toilet, before pressing a kiss to his boyfriend's forehead.

He picked up one of the towels he'd set aside before and began to thoroughly dry Virgil off, making sure he was all nice and dry so that he didn't get uncomfortable from damp clothes.

When he was done he took the second towel he'd set aside and wrapped Virgil's torso in it before picking him up again.

"It's time to go see Roman and Logan, one of them can help me get you dressed, and then you can sleep," Patton said as he pressed a kiss to his temple, before walking over to the bathroom door and carefully opening it without needing to shift Virgil too much. It is really bad if he dropped him, so he kept a secure hold on him, but didn't hold him too tight and tried to keep him as comfortable as he could.

Hopefully, the guy, Oliver, had shown up with the poison by now since it had been Patton's goal to keep Virgil out of the room when he showed up. Virgil was basically asleep as it was, so he doubted he'd be too stressed by any commotion that may or may not happen or had happened, but it'd be best if Virgil wasn't there since if things took a turn for the worse it'd be difficult to keep track of Oliver and whoever else there may or may not be and Virgil at the same time.

If he hadn't shown up then they could deal with it, Patton didn't bother trying to get his hopes upon the matter -that doesn't mean he wasn't hopeful at all, he just took into account how unlikely it was vs hot likely it was.

He'd just have to wait and see.

And huzza
There's the first part
Now fun fact
The second part is already done
But imma make yalls wait for it
I'll work on the next few chapters and then release part two for this chapter when things are all good.
>:}
Anywho
Feel free to comment any requests for chapters you may have!!
Bye!!