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groovyghostie · 9 months

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The Seer: Part 2

Part 1

Art by @creative-lampd-liberties

AO3

12: The Killers

It was as the group was setting up to sleep that Janus froze. He was in the woods, watching himself and the others get ready to bed down for the night. He felt a bow in his hands.

He snapped back to reality, then shushed everyone quickly. All chatter stopped. Janus looked at Roman and nodded towards the spot where he was sure he had just been, that someone was watching them from.

Virgil heard something from the opposite direction. “There’s more,” he hissed.

Then they all heard a twig snap in another direction. Virgil put up a barrier around them just as an arrow flew out of the woods. It bounced off the barrier and hit the ground.

Thomas narrowed his eyes, peering at the woods around the clearing for hiding spots that may be in use. He didn’t need to, though, because people began emerging from the woods all around them.

There were about fifteen of them in total. Some carried bows, some wicked-looking knives, and some swords. There was a crossbow and a whip somewhere in that mix, too.

A man stepped forward. He wielded a staff from which Janus could feel power emanating. He raised the staff and fired off a blast toward the shimmering purple barrier.

When it hit, Virgil grunted and grit his teeth.

Patton and Logan both looked at him in concern.

Thomas gripped the hilt of his sword, while Remy reached for his dagger.

Roman unsheathed his shortsword quickly and instinctively moved toward the man with the staff, while Remus eyed another man, shorter than the others and smug-looking. He held no weapon, and instead his arms were crossed over his chest as he leaned against a tree. There were several weapons hanging from his belt, though.

A moment of stillness passed before the man with the staff blasted more power at Virgil’s barrier, a sustained arc of blue lightning. Virgil gasped and staggered, and Logan rushed to support him, holding on to him tightly. After wavering for a moment, Virgil’s barrier glowed brighter. Then the staff-wielder increased the power of his attack, and the barrier sputtered out.

It took less than a second for the clearing to erupt into chaos, weapons being drawn and fights being initiated. Blades clashed, and arrows flew.

Roman cried out, and Janus turned to see him clutching his shoulder, then found himself pinned to the ground with a knife to his throat. He glared at the woman leaning over him, and she sneered back.

The next thing Janus knew, the bandit was gone, and he looked over to see Roman wrestling her on the forest floor. The bandit that had injured Roman’s shoulder was coming for them quickly, so Janus stuck his foot out to trip them. They fell hard and hit their head on a rock. Janus’s attention returned to Roman and the other bandit just in time to see Roman punching her in the face over and over. Roman’s sword and the bandit’s knife were on the ground nearby.

Janus sat up, grabbed his cane, and snatched the knife before scrambling to his feet. He looked around. Thomas was holding his own, as were Remus, Remy, and Logan. Virgil was practically pinned between Remy and Logan, though he had a hand on the hilt of his rapier and was firing off spells. Logan appeared to be chastising him. Then Janus spotted Patton.

Patton was fighting his hardest with the large knife that Remus and Roman had made sure he had, but he was being forced further and further back toward the treeline by three bandits. Janus loped toward them, too filled with adrenaline to let his limp slow him down more than a little. He stumbled, but righted himself quickly and stayed up.

He jammed the knife into one bandit’s back and pulled it out quickly.

The bandit fell.

Patton and Janus met eyes over the bandit’s body.

Something sharp was suddenly at Janus’s collarbone, which had been uncovered in the fight by his clothes becoming ruffled. A body pressed against his back. “I ought to kill you for that,” a rough but high voice said. Janus inhaled shallowly and let it out slowly.

Patton took an instinctive step forward, but stopped when the sword against Janus’s chest pressed harder and Janus winced. A drop of blood ran down the inch between the sword and the collar of Janus’s shirt, staining the fabric there a darker black. Janus stared at Patton with wide eyes.

The person moved away and removed the sword before kicking Janus in the back of his bad leg, causing him to fall to the ground. “Stay down,” the rough voice said.

The two remaining bandits near them cornered Patton and forced him to his knees next to where Janus was on his hands and knees. Janus stared at the ground underneath him, breathing heavily.

When he heard Thomas yell angrily, Janus finally looked up, only to be kicked in the side by one of the two bandits. He looked up from where he now lay on his side, and found that the others had been cornered and disarmed, weapons on all sides of them. The staff-wielder held Virgil tightly, and the man with many, many weapons hanging from his belt stood looking at him.

“How fortunate,” said the rough voice. “We’ve hit it rich, friends! Do you know who this is?”

There was silence.

The man reached out. “Hello, little prince. What are you doing all the way out here?” He touched Virgil’s cheek. Virgil spat at him.

The man wiped the spit from his cheek, unnervingly calm, then struck Virgil across the face, fast as lightning. Virgil’s head snapped to the side, and he breathed heavily. He spat blood onto the ground.

“Leave him alone!” Logan cried.

The man sneered at him. “How cute,” he said dryly. “Someone has a little schoolboy crush. Oh, well. Everyone except our prize here will have to die anyway.”

“Don’t,” Virgil said softly, just enough for Janus to make it out.

“Oh, don’t make so much of it. I won’t kill them yet. They could still prove useful,” the man said. He made a gesture.

Janus felt a sharp pain on the side of his head, then everything was black.

Janus blinked himself awake, his head pounding and his vision swimming.

“Jan?” he heard. “Janus, are you okay?”

Was that… Roman? “Yes?” Janus said. What he heard come out was, “Nnh?”

“Is he awake?” Patton asked, sounding very worried.

“’M awake,” Janus answered, with a fair bit of effort.

Patton breathed a sigh of relief. Janus thought Roman did too, but probably not.

Janus forced his eyes open the rest of the way. They were all tied up, all seven of them. Seven? He counted again, then his eyes widened. They were missing Virgil.

They all had their hands tied behind their backs, but not to anything. They were in a tent. Logan’s head was hanging. Thomas had his eyes closed. Meditating, maybe? Remy glared forward. Patton looked at Janus worriedly. There were two other people in the tent, facing them. The staff wielder and the woman Roman had punched. A lot. Her eye was black, her lip was split, and she was glaring at Roman. Roman was ignoring her, looking at Remus instead. Remus raised an eyebrow. Roman nodded slightly.

Remus and Roman hopped to their feet without need of their hands. Janus watched, stunned, as they barreled toward the staff-wielder and the other bandit. The staff-wielder managed to put out a hand, and Remus bounced off a wall of force. Meanwhile, Roman ran full force into them both. He managed to catch them both off-guard, and he knocked them back.

“Emile, now,” Thomas said.

The ropes around everyone’s wrists loosened at once. Janus pushed himself up, only to be caught by Remy when his leg gave out, his cane nowhere to be found. Patton sprang up to support him at his other side.

Roman and Remus both came down hard on the bandit woman, wrestling away her knife and forcing her down, and Thomas rushed to incapacitate the mage, grabbing his sword from behind the woman and the staff-wielder, then hitting him over the head with the hilt of his sword. He swiftly did the same to the woman.

“Let’s go,” Logan said, and they all looked to him. He held the mallet that was intended for hammering down stakes to attach the tent to the ground.

Janus shrugged off Patton and Remy, and Roman shot him a concerned look.

They all grabbed their weapons, Janus both his knife and cane, and they went to one side of the tent, where Logan peeked through a gap in the tent canvas.

Roman placed a hand on Janus’s arm, and Janus gave him a confused stare.

Roman looked into his eyes, and Janus felt his face warm up. He prayed it didn’t show.

Roman nodded slightly. “You’re still dizzy, right? I hope you’re not hurt too bad.”

Janus frowned. “I’m fine.”

“Nope,” Roman said. “You’re staying close to me.”

“You don’t need to protect me,” Janus insisted.

“Just let me help,” Roman hissed.

“I’m not helpless!” Janus hissed back.

Logan shushed them. “The path is clear for now. Knock out any bandits you come across, so that they don’t alert the others. Find Virgil. Let’s do it.” He walked out of the tent sneakily. The rest of them followed.

Janus carried his cane, so as not to make any more noise than necessary.

Despite his annoyance, or even anger, at Roman, he did stay close to him. Roman checked often. Remy and Patton shared a look after Remy gestured his head questioningly at them. Patton shrugged.

One after the other, they clubbed bandits over the head. Mostly Logan, Remus, and Roman.

Finally, one let out a yell. Logan swore, at which Remy and Patton both looked especially surprised.

They all fought harder, more ferociously, as one bandit came after the other. Janus wasn’t sure how many were just unconscious and how many were dead. He thought of the bandit he’d stabbed before, in the clearing. He hadn’t seen him again.

Finally, it seemed like things had died down. “We have to find Virgil,” Logan said, pushing onward despite how exhausted he seemed. Janus noticed blood dripping down his leg from a gash in his pants.

“Logan,” Patton tried.

“I’ll rest when we find him,” Logan snapped.

“Looking for something?” asked a rough voice that Janus had definitely heard before. The group whipped around to find the apparent leader of the bandits holding Virgil tightly, a knife pressed to his throat hard enough for a droplet of blood to run down to his collar. The bandit was sneering at them, rage written all over his face. “I should’ve killed you lot when I had the chance.”

Virgil’s eyes were wide and fearful, and his face was bruised in a couple places. Logan glared back at the bandit with just as much anger, if not more.

“You probably should have, yeah,” Remus said. Patton shushed him.

Janus froze for a moment. For that moment, he thought he saw a snake climbing up the man’s leg.

The man held Virgil even tighter, and Virgil visibly held himself back from flinching.

“Leave, and he lives,” the man threatened.

“Just let him go,” Logan said, trying to compose himself. “We’ll be on our way when we have him back.”

The man pulled Virgil a step back. Janus watched with wide eyes as a rope snaked its way up the man’s leg, then up his side.

Logan appeared to have seen it too. “Don’t hurt him,” he begged. “Please…”

“I will if you don-”

The man was cut off as the rope tightened around his neck. It glowed purple, as did Virgil’s eyes. In his desperate struggle to regain air, the man let go of Virgil, who fell to his knees on the rough dirt. The glow of his eyes painted the dirt purple.

Logan rushed to Virgil, scooping him up to pull him away from the man who’d threatened his life. “It’s okay,” he soothed.

Virgil’s eyes still glowed. The rope tightened and tightened around the man’s neck until he stopped moving and his face was just as purple as the glowing rope. The glow abruptly vanished, and Virgil gasped for air.

Patton knelt next to Logan and Virgil, blocking Virgil’s view of the man. “Hey, Virge, it’s okay,” he murmured as Virgil attempted to calm his breathing. Logan pulled Virgil’s hand to his chest and took a deep breath for Virgil to imitate.

When Virgil was somewhat recovered, Logan having pressed many soft kisses to his scalp, and the group was less stunned, Roman spoke. “We need to get moving before anyone comes to. Can all of you walk okay?”

Logan went to stand, supporting Virgil, but he faltered when his leg oozed more blood, the gash having reopened. Thomas gently helped both Logan and Virgil stand, then scooped up Virgil, much to Logan’s chagrin. Roman offered Logan his arm, and Logan reluctantly took it.

“Let’s get somewhere safe, then regroup,” Roman said.

“Lemme heal you guys,” Virgil protested.

“No,” Logan answered immediately. “You’re tired. Rest first.”

They searched for the rest of their belongings, then once they had retrieved them, they left, in the direction Roman had determined the mountains were.

Janus was at the front with Roman, Logan, Thomas, and Virgil for a minute, then he fell back to talk to Remus and Patton. “Pat, are you okay?”

Patton nodded. “Yeah. They didn’t really hurt me that much, just twisted my arm and bruised my knees.” He smiled tiredly. “Are you alright?”

Janus nodded back. “And you, Re?”

Remus hummed. “I was hoping for a little more blood and gore, actually.”

Janus and Patton each made a face. “Gross,” Janus said.

In front of them, Remy nudged Thomas. “Are you alright?”

Thomas nodded. “I’ll be fine.”

“Are you hurt?” Remy rephrased.

Thomas glanced down at Virgil to make sure he was sleeping, as he’d drifted off shortly after they’d begun to walk. He lifted one arm, careful not to jostle Virgil. There was a gash in his side that he’d already secured clean cloth around, but he was bleeding through the dressing.

Remy’s eyes widened. “We need to take care of that,” he hissed.

“We need to get to safety first,” Thomas responded.

“You’re losing blood,” Remy insisted.

“What’s going on?” Logan asked.

“You and Thomas need medical attention, that’s what,” Remy snapped.

“We can stop soon,” Roman butted in. “Just a bit longer.”

Remy quieted, but his expression showed his dissatisfaction. He knew when to back down, though.

It was only as they began to stop and regroup that Janus let his leg go out. He knew he wouldn’t be able to lower himself carefully, so he fell back against a tree instead. Roman, having just gotten Logan situated next to Virgil, stepped over and gently pulled him back upright. Instead of the disdain Janus expected to see on his face, there was only concern.

“You’ve overworked yourself,” Roman said softly and helped Janus to sit before sitting next to him.

“Not like I had much of a choice,” Janus huffed.

Patton sat down on Janus’s other side, with Remus next to him.

“Maybe you and some of the others should go home,” Roman said, tone gentle and careful.

Janus’s face hardened. “I have to see this through,” he said. “The vision—I need to be by your side.”

Roman nodded grimly. “Alright. Just… please be careful.”

Janus paused. “I’m trying,” he finally responded.

Remus and Patton shared a knowing look.

13: The Father

Janus awoke to the sound of someone emptying the contents of their stomach. The pre-dawn light barely illuminated his surroundings. Roman and Remus were already sitting up, as was Remy, and the rest were slowly waking. He looked around to find out who was missing. “Patton,” he said finally. He and Remus met eyes, then jumped up to find Patton as quickly as possible.

They found him leaning heavily against a tree, wiping his mouth. He was sweaty and disheveled, but he smiled as much as he could when he saw them. There was something frightened in his eyes, though.

“What happened?” Remus asked, pulling Patton to him protectively.

Patton waved a hand. “I’m fine, must have just eaten something bad.”

Janus frowned. “We’ve all been eating the same things…”

Patton hummed. “My stomach is just being sensitive….”

Remus furrowed his brow. “If you’re ill…”

“I’m not,” Patton said.

“Are you sure?” Janus asked.

“Yes,” Patton insisted.

“How do you know?” Remus pressed.

“Because I’m pregnant!” Patton put both his hands over his mouth, his eyes wide. He had definitely said that loudly enough for all the others to hear.

Remus stared at Patton like he’d suddenly sprouted a new head out of each shoulder.

“Pat, that’s-” Janus began to say. Then Remus bolted, off back toward the spot where they’d slept. Janus and Patton stood there for a moment, stunned, then Patton burst into tears. Janus hugged him and began to guide them back towards camp.

When they arrived, Virgil held out his arms to Patton, and Patton practically fell into them, sobbing.

Roman grabbed Janus’s hand and began to pull him along. “We have to go get my brother,” Roman informed him.

Janus inhaled sharply. “I’d say to give him space, but time is of the essence…”

They followed the obvious path Remus had left, broken twigs and footprints in the dirt. Finally, Roman spotted him.

Remus was crouched with his back against a tree, hands clutching the sides of his head as he stared off into space.

Janus moved forward and lowered himself to the ground in front of him. “Talk to me, monster,” he said gently. “Tell me what’s going on.”

“I can’t be a father…” Remus ground out through clenched teeth.

“Oh, sure you can,” Janus said. “You’re a half-decent husband, why not a dad?”

“You don’t understand!” Remus snapped.

Janus glanced at Roman.

Roman chewed on his bottom lip for a moment, then plopped down next to Remus. “Look, Re. I’ve known you our whole lives, yeah?”

Remus was silent.

Roman pressed on, “You may be… crass, rude, disturbing-”

Janus cleared his throat.

“Right, uh…” Roman flushed. “Despite all that, you’ve always stepped up for the people you care about. Why would this be any different?”

Remus sniffled. “I’m… afraid.”

Janus nodded. “I’m sure Patton is, too. But we’ll be there to help, right, Roman?”

“Right,” Roman agreed. “Me and Janus, and I’m sure the others, too, we won’t abandon you. You’re not alone.”

Remus swallowed heavily. “Is Patton okay?”

Janus and Roman shared a look.

“Well, we should probably check on him,” Roman said. He stood, then helped Janus and Remus to their feet.

Remus practically ran back to the campsite, Janus and Roman lagging behind him. When Janus and Roman arrived, Patton and Remus were clinging to each other tightly.

“I’m sorry,” Remus said, “I shouldn’t have run off… I was scared.”

“I’m scared, too,” Patton responded, sniffling softly.

“It’ll be okay,” Remus said. “Roman and Janus will be there. It’ll be okay.”

“Yeah,” Patton said. “It will be.”

Janus was really starting to get tired of walking. The mountains had been looming over them for hours, and they never seemed to be getting any closer.

Roman stopped. “There,” he pointed. A break in the trees. Rocky terrain. The group picked up their pace. Soon they were running, even Janus.

They breached the treeline, and there was the base of Pious Mountain. Janus froze again. There was a cave, about a quarter of the way around the mountain if they went right. He informed the others. He wanted to despair at the thought of more walking, but they were almost there.

After another hour, Roman spotted a cave. They began to run again, then Virgil cried out, “Stop!” Everyone froze.

Virgil crouched, picked up a rock about the size of his fist, straightened again, then threw the rock toward the cave. About four yards from the cave entrance, the rock fizzled away amid sparks of orange light. They all stared.

Janus saw Roman walk through the barrier, a gateway of orange light forming around him, then he blinked, and nothing had changed.

“Roman,” Janus said. When he had Roman’s attention, he asked, “Do you trust me?”

Roman frowned. “Why?”

“Because you need to just walk into the cave,” Janus answered.

Roman balked. “Are you trying to kill me?”

“Trust me, Roman, please. I had a vision.”

Roman hesitated. “Come with me, then.”

Janus took only a second to decide. “It’s worth a try.”

“What?!” Patton exclaimed. “What if you get hurt, or worse?!”

Janus looked at Patton, keeping his expression calm. “We have to try, for everyone’s sake.”

Patton wilted at that. “Be careful,” he said softly.

Janus gave him his most reassuring smile. “We’ll be back before you know it.”

Roman walked toward the barrier, and Janus followed. They stopped before they got too close, feeling the buzzing energy in the air.

“I think our best bet is for me to carry you,” Roman said.

Janus tried to think of an alternative and came up short. His face was hot. “Fine.”

Roman gently scooped him up, hunched over him, and sprinted through the barrier.

Orange light crackled around them, but did not touch them. Then they were through. Janus took a shaky breath, and Roman looked incredibly relieved. He let Janus back down onto his own two feet gently. “Right,” Roman said. “I guess now we keep going.”

They steeled themselves, then stepped into the cave.

14: The Witch

It was dark, but very warm inside the cave. They paused.

“You brought a lanter-?” Roman began to ask, then torches along the wall lit up with crimson fire in pairs on either side down the passageway.

“Right,” Janus said. “That’s…”

“I’m choosing to believe that’s a good sign,” Roman said, raising himself up to his full height. “Let’s go.”

“Slowly,” Janus said. “Who knows what kinds of traps the duchess has down here…”

So the two continued cautiously. There were a few obvious traps that they avoided carefully, but soon they came to a fork in the path.

Roman turned to Janus. “Which way?”

“Why are you asking me? You’re supposed to be the hero here!”

“You’re the one who got us into the cave!”

“Fine, um…” Janus closed his eyes to concentrate. “I don’t know… Left?”

“You don’t sound very confident,” Roman pointed out.

“Well, I can’t make myself have a vision, can I?” Janus responded, voice rising slightly at the end.

“We’re going right,” Roman said.

“What, just because I said left?”

“No, because that’s the way it feels like we should go,” Roman snapped.

“Fine,” Janus snapped back and began to lead the way down the right passageway.

“Janus-” Roman began as he hurried after him.

Something sank underneath Janus’s foot, his left. He began to trip, and the floor disappeared in front on him. Before he could even think to be frightened, he was yanked back by the back of his shirt and found himself pressed tightly to Roman’s chest. His cane was no longer in his hand, and after a couple more seconds, they heard something shatter far below them at the bottom of the pit.

Janus took a shaky breath. “You, ah… You can let go of me now,” he said softly.

Roman backed up another step away from the pit, taking Janus with him, before finally releasing him. “I’m sorry about your cane,” Roman said.

“It’s replaceable,” Janus said dismissively.

“You were right,” Roman added. “We should have gone left.”

Janus just hummed. They turned back and went to the fork again before taking the other passageway. Janus had to steady himself against the wall, and when Roman offered help, he refused.

They only saw one trap this way, a tripwire which they stepped over.

Eventually they saw a doorway, a green glow coming from within. As they entered the room, Roman gasped. It was filled with glittering gold and shimmering gems, all with that green glow glinting off of their surfaces. The light was emanating from an object at the top of a pedestal in the center of the room.

Upon closer inspection when they made their way closer, this object was a simple hand mirror. It looked exactly like the one in Janus’s bag. Something dark seemed to come from within it, a creeping sense of dread, a paranoia.

“What now?” Roman asked.

“The mirror,” Janus said breathlessly. “You have to destroy it.”

Roman looked around, then picked up a ruby larger than his hand. He hefted it and, satisfied with its mass, brought it to the pedestal. He took the ruby in both hands, held it high, and brought it down on the mirror heavily.

It shattered.

A wraith-like screech ricocheted through the cage, and Roman and Janus both covered their ears. The cave began to rumble as the screech faded.

“We have to get out of here!” Roman yelled.

“Just run!” Janus answered. “I’m right behind you!”

Roman looked conflicted for a moment, then the cave shook harder. Instead of doing as Janus said, he instead picked him up, despite his wriggling and protests, and began to sprint back toward the cave entrance. He jumped over or ducked around each trap, even as gravel began to rain down around them. He dove through the cave entrance just before it was covered by a falling boulder, wrapping himself around Janus as he rolled with his momentum.

“Roman! Janus!” Patton’s voice cried.

Janus found himself extricated from Roman’s arms by Remus, then he was being brushed off and checked over by Patton. Roman was getting the same treatment from Thomas.

“What happened?” Logan asked.

“I broke the mirror,” Roman answered. “The Dragon Witch’s mirror.”

Janus stumbled forward into Patton. He was back in the ballroom. It was on fire, it was so hot, people were screaming and bleeding and dying and dead on the floor, there was a dragon. A huge, hulking red beast, and Roman was standing between her and Janus, sword drawn, blood dripping from his temple to his jaw. Janus tried to cry out, but he couldn’t.

“Janus, are you alright?” Roman asked urgently.

“We have to get back to the palace,” Janus answered immediately. “My vision, it’s still… The mirror, I think it just made her angry.”

“I can get us back,” Virgil said. “It’ll use up… a lot of energy.”

“No, Virgil,” Logan said. “That’s very risky.”

“I have to,” Virgil insisted. “My parents are in that palace. Valerie is in that palace. Our friends are there, good people!”

Logan hesitantly nodded.

Virgil took a deep breath. “I’m going to open a portal. You’ll all have to get through it as quickly as possible, I’ll go last.”

Logan opened his mouth to protest.

“Logan and I will go last,” Virgil corrected himself.

As soon as everyone was ready, Virgil opened his arms, and a portal opened, like a tear in the air itself. It swirled with purple energy.

The adventurers filed through, one at a time, but as quickly as possible. Logan and Virgil walked through last, sweat beading on Virgil’s forehead, then the portal closed with a sound like the air was being sucked out of the area around it.

15: The Hero

Andy stood in the ballroom, off to the side, trying to disappear into the background. He took comfort from the fact that Pryce was somewhere nearby. Their cover story had finally failed when Eschive had barged into Virgil’s room to demand that he attend the party. At least he didn’t spend enough time around his nephew to recognize that Andy was not actually said nephew. Eschive decided he looked well enough to come downstairs, so Andy got dressed in Virgil’s clothes, and he went downstairs. To a party. Where multiple people would see him. And realize he wasn’t the prince. And arrest him. And torture him. And execute him-

Pryce slipped his hand into Andy’s behind a pillar and squeezed gently before letting go. Andy took a deep breath. Right. It was okay. Because Pryce was here. And the makeup made him look more like Virgil, and he had the right haircut, and their voices sounded alike. It would be fine.

“A wonderful party, isn’t it?” said a lilting voice.

Andy snapped his head over to look, and there was Duchess Adalinda Draco in all her glory. She wore a maroon gown, and her neck and ears dripped with wine-colored jewels that glinted red in the light. A gold circlet inlaid with rubies adorned her gorgeous hair. There was a glass clasped in her delicate hand, full of a translucent yellow liquid. Her lips were painted the color of blood. Andy held back a shudder at the thought.

“Your father has been so welcoming to me,” the duchess continued. “A going-away party is just the cherry on top, don’t you think?”

Andy nodded a little. “It’s a wonderful party…”

“Isn’t it just?” Adalinda asked. As she stepped closer to approach him, she stumbled slightly, and just then, Andy noticed Eschive out of the corner of his eye. He was cornered. It was a trap.

Adalinda’s drink splashed all over him as Eschive caught her. Andy looked down to find his makeup running down onto his shirt.

Eschive gasped loudly. “You’re not Prince Virgil! Guards! Seize him!”

Andy stood, shocked, as multiple guards rushed towards him. Then Pryce was in front of him, backing him toward the wall to stand between him and anyone who might harm him.

“There’s a perfectly good explanation,” he said calmly.

The king and queen had stood from their chairs and were beginning to move toward the commotion.

Suddenly, an ear-piercing shriek echoed through the ballroom. Most everyone in the room covered their ears as every glass in the room burst into shards.. They all looked toward the source of the sound to find Adalinda thrashing in Eschive’s arms. “Duchess Draco, what’s wrong?” Andy heard Eschive ask through the ringing in his ears.

Adalinda lifted her head. Red scales speckled her face. The scleras of her eyes were pitch black, her irises crimson, and her pupils slitted. She glared at Andy and Pryce, then turned her head to the king and queen.

The party guests all watched as more scales formed on her skin, as she grew in size, ripping her gown to shreds, as her face elongated into a snout, as her fingers stretched into talons, as wings burst forth from her shoulder blades. She shrieked again, this time from a mouth filled with several rows of sharp teeth and steaming spittle.

Then she breathed out a column of flames toward the ceiling.

The fire caught and spread quickly, and the chandelier fell onto several people. There was screaming and wailing as the guests fled.

“Andy, go!” Pryce commanded.

“Not without you!” Andy answered stubbornly.

Huge claws swung toward them, and Pryce drew his sword in a flash, catching them against the blade. “Andy!” he exclaimed. “Just listen to me!”

Andy ducked under a table as the Dragon Witch raised her head again and spat more fire. Then he watched as her tail swung across the floor and hit Pryce head-on, knocking him to the ground. He didn’t move. Andy went to his side immediately. He didn’t care about anything other than getting Pryce away from there.

The sound of ripping filled the room, and Andy turned to see a purple portal in the center of the room. Out stepped each of the members of the adventuring party. Prince Virgil and Logan came last, and the prince slumped into Logan’s arms as soon as the portal closed.

Janus looked around quickly, surveying the scene.

Roman, on the other hand, charged straight in, sword drawn. Thomas followed after him, though Janus could hear Remy protesting. The smell of burning flesh made Janus’s head spin.

“Virgil!” someone called. Virgil, Logan, and Janus looked over just in time to see Valerie engulfed in flame. Virgil screamed.

When the flames receded there was nothing left.

Eschive and the king and queen promptly met the same fate.

Logan started to pull Virgil toward the door, and Patton rushed to help, but Virgil fought with all the strength he had left each step of the way.

Janus looked up at the Dragon Witch. She looked back at him. “Come and get me, then,” Janus cried.

The Dragon Witch ignored Roman and Thomas in favor of Janus. She swung her claws at him, barely catching his leg and leaving three large gashes and one smaller scratch there. He fell to the floor.

Then Janus watched as Roman’s sword separated the Dragon Witch’s head from her body. It hit the floor with a mighty thud, her body hitting the floor just moments later with an even louder one.

There was silence for a few moments. Janus and Roman stared at each other with wide eyes.

Laughter. Someone was laughing. In a very familiar voice. Everyone turned to look at Remus, who was standing next to the Dragon Witch’s severed head. He laughed again.

“Of course she couldn’t finish the job,” he said. A vicious smile split his face. “Useless. There’s still one left.” He turned his head to look at Virgil.

“Remus…” Roman began softly. “What are you talking about?”

Remus turned his attention to Roman. “What do you mean? I’m the one pulling the strings, dumbass!” He stalked towards Virgil, and those not already with Virgil moved with him, trying to stay in his way. Janus couldn’t get to his feet, though.

“It took me years to get that stupid witch strong enough to stage a coup, and she couldn’t even kill all the royals!”

“Why?” Virgil asked softly, voice choked.

“Because your great grandfather stole my true name!” Remus snapped. “And when you do that to a fae, you steal their life away! I was a slave to him for forty years, and then to your grandfather for another forty!” He sneered at Virgil. “And I swore revenge against their line.”

“What?” Roman asked, unable to get any other words out.

“Keep up!” Remus said. “I’m a fae, the king stole my true name, I escaped, I meddled with Adalinda Draco’s magic… They punished me for that, my court. That’s how I ended up here. ” He made a disgusted face. “They were going to replace you,” he said, pointing at Roman, “with me. Luckily for you, Galena’s smarter than the idiot they sent to steal you away and leave me in your place.”

“Remus,” Patton spoke up. “This isn’t… This isn’t you!”

Remus sneered. “It is me, though, isn’t it? I’m not the person you met back then. I didn’t know who I was when I met you. Then I remembered, and here we are.” He turned his attention back to Virgil. “And all that’s left for me is to kill him.”

As Remus took a step forward, Patton stepped in front of Virgil, arms spread. “If you want to kill him, you’ll have to kill me first,” Patton said evenly. “Please, Remus… You can stop this now… Please.”

Remus took another step forward. “Careful what you wish for, Patty-cakes.”

Janus could see it in his mind’s eye, Remus sending a blast of green energy from his hand. The energy hitting Patton. Patton falling. So he moved.

Janus sprang to his feet and launched himself to be in between Patton and Remus, fueled by only adrenaline as his leg screamed out in protest.

It only felt cold where Remus’s attack hit him. He fell back to the floor, dazed. Patton fell to his knees at his side and began desperately trying to keep him awake. He could only pay attention to Remus, though.

“Janus!” Roman cried. He stepped in next, sword raised. He quickly turned his attention to Remus, hyper-aware of the threat he posed. “Re, I’m sorry,” he said. “I’ve been a horrible brother. I should’ve stood up to Father for you, and for Patton. I could’ve done right by you, and I didn’t. But I’m trying now. You can leave. You can run away, and no one other than us has to know this was you. If you just leave Virgil alone. Please.”

Remus stalked ever-closer, a dark look in his eyes. “I’ll kill you, too,” he told Roman.

Roman lowered his sword. “Then do it.”

Remus bared his teeth. “I’m not bluffing, Roman. Get out of my way!”

“No,” Roman answered. “I won’t.”

Once again, Janus saw Remus attacking someone. This time it was Roman. He looked to his side. The mirror had fallen out of his satchel. There was a crack in the glass, vertically down the middle.

“Remember to keep your mirror nearby!”

Janus grabbed the mirror, pushed himself up as far as he could, and tossed it to Roman.

Roman caught it with his back turned, then looked at it, puzzled. Then he saw Remus lift his hand to attack again. He threw the mirror at Remus with all his might, somehow sure that was what he needed to do.

They all heard the sound of glass shattering, but when the bright red light that filled the room faded, the mirror fell to the floor, intact and unbroken, with a series of soft clinks.

Janus’s vision, once again, faded to black.

Epilogue

Roman cradled the mirror in his hands as he stepped into his home, which now felt incredibly unfamiliar. He was still covered in scratches, bruises, and worse. Grey was rushing toward him to check on him, but Roman spoke before he could get a word out. “I need to talk to my mother and father urgently. I’ll meet them in the study.”

The walk to the study was numb, empty. The portraits on the walls stared at him with disgust. He reminded himself of the court doctor’s assurances that Janus would survive. It would be okay. He looked down at the mirror. It wouldn’t be okay.

He sat down in the armchair in the corner of the study, looking around at the room as if he were seeing it for the first time. It was utilitarian, but it somehow still comforted him to be in this place that he’d often worked in from a very young age.

His father arrived first. “Good gracious, Roman, look at the state of you! Go clean yourself up.”

“I need to speak with you and Mother first, Father.”

There was silence for a few moments before Carine entered. “Roman! Are you alright, dear?!” She carefully knelt before him.

“I have something to tell you,” Roman said in lieu of an answer. He finally gained the courage to say it when he saw Galena sneak into the room. So he told them the whole story. From Remus’s grudge against the royal family to their adventure in the woods to the confrontation at the palace. He held out the mirror.

Though the duke looked at the mirror dispassionately, the duchess touched it and began to sob. Roman joined her in her tears, and once the duke left without a word, Galena came to them and hugged them both. Roman cried into the arms of both his mother and his nanny for hours.

Virgil held Patton tightly. They lay in Virgil’s bed in his chambers. Patton had finally stopped crying a while before, but he still occasionally shivered, despite the blankets wrapped around them.

Virgil looked up as Logan entered the room, carrying a tray. He set it down on the bedside table, then he and Virgil worked together to get Patton into a sitting position. Logan sat down with them, then distributed the glasses of water and the jam thumbprint cookies from the tray.

Patton sat between Virgil and Logan, and Virgil and Logan held him and held each other’s hands behind Patton’s back.

When Patton fell asleep, Logan moved the cups, Patton’s glasses, and his own glasses to the bedside table. He and Virgil snuggled up to Patton and fell asleep, too. They desperately needed a rest.

“It was… hard on us all, Emile, but I worry about Patton, Janus, and Roman especially,” Thomas said.

“All you can do is be there for them, Tommy,” Emile advised. “They all need friends right now, and you’re their friend. Be there when you can, and ask what they need occasionally.”

Thomas nodded. “You’re right…”

“Whatcha doin’?” a voice asked from the honeysuckle trellis archway that led into the center of the temple gardens.

Thomas turned to see Remy standing there, dressed in his more stylish clothes he wore on his days off. “Talking to Emile,” Thomas answered.

Emile made himself visible to Remy and waved.

Remy smiled and waved back before walking over to sit on the stone bench next to Thomas. “How’re you feeling, hun? That whole thing was… a lot.”

Thomas gave him a tense smile. “Really tired. I’ll be alright after some rest, so I’m taking a break from training. Or… Janus told me I had to, anyway, and I’m going to listen.”

Remy smiled more softly. “Good. One of the older servants is letting Logan and me take a break. Logan won’t step down as Virgil’s personal servant, but he’s accepted some help.”

Thomas nodded. “Good.”

Remy nodded back. “Yeah.”

They both looked at the fountain in front of them, and noticed that Emile had disappeared. They still remained silent. Remy slipped his hand into Thomas’s. They rested.

Pryce opened his eyes blearily. He caught the coattails of Prince Virgil leaving the room, and he realized he wasn’t in any pain. He looked to his right.

Andy was sitting in a chair next to him, leaning against the wall and snoring softly. Pryce smiled fondly. He sat up and gently held Andy’s hand. He watched him sleep, taking comfort in the rise and fall of his chest, until he woke up and smiled sleepily at him. And Pryce smiled back.

Janus sat at his readings table, head in hands, staring at the table. The wood grain was not interesting enough to keep his thoughts from wandering to Remus.

He didn’t look up when the door opened, or when someone pulled out the chair across from him and sat down.

“Mother and Father agreed to let Emile’s acolytes watch over the mirror,” said Roman. Janus just hummed in response. Roman sighed, sounding more tired than Janus had ever heard him. Then he set down a bottle heavily on the table. “Screw this, let’s drink.”

“I so saved your butt,” Roman slurred, pointing at Janus around the drink in his hand.

“Did not!” Janus responded in kind. “I had it all under control! Takes more than an angry bandit to kill me!”

“Admit it!” Roman cried. “You need me around.”

Janus paused for a moment, looked down at his drink, looked back up at Roman. “I do,” he said softly.

“Huh?” Roman asked.

“I do need you,” Janus said. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Huh?” Roman repeated.

Janus leaned forward over the table suddenly and pressed his lips to Roman’s. Roman’s stillness worried him for a moment, but then he leaned into the kiss.

When Janus awoke in the morning, he was curled up in his bed, in Roman’s arms, still wearing the clothes he’d been wearing the night before.

The coronation wasn’t exactly a happy day. Virgil didn’t particularly want the crown. Valerie was the one who was supposed to be the next ruler. The thought of replacing her made Virgil want to vomit. Logan squeezed his hand. Then the acolyte of the Queen Goddess began to speak, to ask Virgil about his oath to the kingdom. Virgil agreed. The crowd cheered. When he left the temple, at least all his friends were waiting for him. Patton hugged him tightly.

“What did you decide to name her?” Janus asked, looking down in awe at the cooing infant in his arms.

Patton took a deep breath. “Rhiannon.”

Virgil grinned as the baby gripped his finger. “I love it. That’s a perfect name.”

Roman patted Patton’s shoulder. “Get some rest while you can. We’ll watch over her for a while.”

A chorus of agreements sounded throughout the room, and Patton found himself feeling so safe and loved that falling asleep was as easy as taking a breath and letting it out.

Logan bounced Rhiannon around the group gently, holding her exactly as Patton had shown him.

“Logan,” Janus said.

“Logan,” Roman repeated.

“Logan!” Virgil said.

Logan looked over.

“She’s not fussing anymore, silly. Come set her down and lay with us,” Patton instructed.

Logan set the baby down between Virgil and Patton, then spread himself out on the picnic blanket between Virgil and Thomas.

“That one looks like a duck,” Patton said softly, pointing to a cloud.

“Yeah,” Janus said. “Yeah, it does.”

Final Note

Wow! I'm so proud of this one, guys! Longest fic I've ever finished!!! I hope you really enjoyed, please tell me what you think! Remember you can find @creative-lampd-liberties's art here [link to art post]! Thank you so much to the mods of @tss-storytime! And thank you to you, yes you, for reading!

#tssstorytimesubmission2023 #sanders sides #roman sanders #remus sanders #janus sanders #patton sanders #logan sanders #character thomas #remy sleep #remy sanders #dr emile picani #sanders sides fic #sanders sides fanfiction #ghostie writes #mind the warnings in part 1

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