WARNING: Edin, mention of food

"Virgil! Virgil!"

Virgil opened his eyes and glared at the wall across from him. He groaned and dragged himself out of bed.

"Virgil!"

"One second!" Virgil yelled back. "Give me a second to breathe." He muttered under his breath as he struggled out of his pyjamas and into some clothes.

"Little Devil, get down here right now!" Edin yelled.

"Okay!" Virgil yelled. "One second!"

Virgil ran down the spiral staircase, trailing his hand along the wall to keep balance.

"Yeah?" He asked as he got to the bottom of the stairs, pulling on his waistcoat.

"Where were you last night?" Edin demanded. "Because you most certainly weren't at the house."

Virgil raised his eyebrow and pushed past his step-siblings into the kitchen. "What gives you that idea?" He ran his hands under the cold tap and splashed his face with some water.

"We heard your voice." Thalia said. Virgil looked over at them both from drying his face.

"Did you now?" He asked. "Anyway, I'm going to make breakfast now so if we could continue this conversation after that-"

"Where were you last night?" Edin repeated, advancing towards Virgil. Virgil raised an eyebrow at him.

"I was in the forest, if you must know." Virgil said, opening the cupboard. "Like I said, I just wanted to see the castle."

"Who were you talking to?!" Edin demanded.

"No one." Virgil said, shrugging. "Now, omelette or scrambled eggs? Actually, I don't care what you want." He shook his head and grabbed a frying pan. "Anyway, what was the palace like? And the royal ball..."

Thalia twisted her hands behind her back. "It was beautiful." She said.

"Shut up, Thalia." Edin hissed.

"No, no, let her talk." Virgil said, brandishing a spoon at Edin. "Women are the future, you know."

Edin turned practically red, as if Virgil had insulted him in some way. "Delusional little-"

"How are your hands, Thalia?" Virgil asked, ignoring his step-brother. He knew it could get him seriously hurt but after meeting Prince Roman the night before, Virgil felt like he could do anything.

"They're fine." Thalia said hoarsely.

"If you need help rebandaging them, just ask me for help." Virgil said, rooting around for a whisk. "I'll try to fit it into my very busy schedule."

"Don't ignore me, little Devil!" Edin spluttered.

"Sorry, did you say something?" Virgil asked, straightening up and looking at Edin. Thalia snickered and burst into giggles behind her hands. One harsh look from her brother stopped this, though.

"Anyway, what was the ball like for you, Edin?" Virgil asked. "Meet any pretty noblewomen there?"

Edin went pink with indignation again. "No." He said sharply. "I did dare this one idiot to drink five cups of punch in one minute, though."

"Oh?" Virgil asked, not really interested. Keeping Edin talking meant keeping himself out of trouble.

"Yeah." Edin said, a hint of pride in his voice. "And he did. Such an idiot. He was off his face within a second."

"Very interesting." Virgil said sarcastically. "Well, I hope you had fun ruining someone else's night like you ruined mine." He looked up at his step-siblings through his fringe. "Will I be able to go to the ball tonight?"

Edin laughed. "What are you, soft in the head? As if we'd let you."

Virgil nodded. "That's what I thought." He said under his breath. "Guess Janus will just have to sort it out, then."

This chapter feels... weird. I don't know why.
Bye,
Blaize