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skeletinmoss · 5 months ago

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The curse of the dark Phoenix

Chapter 21: Hail to the king

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Roman looked up at the gates. Virgil was sitting on his shoulder in phoenix form.

Behind him stood his friends, both with their own animal companion/high Mage in disguise.

Just an hour ago, he and Virgil had awoken in the bed at the inn. Roman felt a little uneasy in the stomach, but that was quickly overpowered by an onslaught of butterflies. A kiss. His first kiss. And it was unlike any in the history of romance.

Virgil chuckled and kissed his forehead. "How do you feel?" he asked gently.

"A bit queesy, but also wonderful," Roman admitted, making Virgil smile brighter. Gods he loved that smile.

"Let's go before Remus finds a way to get us banned from the inn," he suggested.

They both got up and headed downstairs where animated discussions were being held.

"Virgil! Please do tell me that this is some kind of joke!" Janus exclaimed.

"I'm guessing Logan informed you that most of what's in your tea is supposedly very dangerous according to the current council of ten?" Virgil wondered.

Janus cursed, though Roman never heard the word he used.

"I will take pleasure in reclaiming my seat," Janus growled.

"You were one of the ten?" Logan asked. That hadn't been brought up on their tea date then. It surprised Roman. He'd expected Janus to practically lead with that information to impress Logan.

“Well we never surrendered our position, so we technically still are,” Janus mused.

Logan was at a loss of words.

“Though when we first joined it was a council of nine. When Arthur left the throne to his heir we invited a tenth,” Virgil recalled.

“Each high mage on the council is supposed to be a reference to a god right?” Roman asked.

Janus nodded. "With Remus as the honorary eleventh," he added. His tone fondly berating his friend.

"Which gods did you represent?" Roman asked.

"Well, for my tendency towards... creative solutions in matters of diplomacy, I was assigned the honor of representing Terox. Virgil, for his role in protecting the childhood of PriRei Arthur Pendragon he was honored with Solux until the reign of the second king. Which was when he took over the role of Mage of Stelix," Janus explained.

Roman frowned confused. Janus had used a weird name to refer to Animal too…

"Earth, Sun and Stars," Virgil offered helpfully. Much to Janus' dismay.

"I assume you prefer their names in your native tongue," Logan deduced. Native...?

"We all tend to fall back on it, though usually when no one else is around. We spoke it in the memory I showed you guys. I just translated everything to modern language," Virgil explained.

Oh. Roman supposed it made sense that the language had evolved through the centuries.

"On to more important business. Did you two figure out a disguise? The king is expecting a dark phoenix. I would rather not give him a heart attack by giving him more than he bargained for," Virgil asked.

"Oh don't you worry. I'll be super harmless. But Virgie have you and your boyfriend looked in a mirror yet? Or each other's eyes at least?" Remus wondered. Janus squinted his eyes. "My, you are right Remus. Good catch," he praised. Meanwhile Patton and Logan were staring at Roman until their eyes widened in realization.

"Interesting," Logan breathed as Patton squealed.

Roman turned to Virgil and they both gasped in realization.

Around Virgil's pupil was a band of amber imbedded in his amethyst eyes. Not just a stagnant band either. If Roman focused he could swear it looked like a ring of amber fire. And Roman could only assume that his now Amber eyes had a similar ring of purple flames around his eyes. How had they missed that? They must’ve still been a bit out of it.

“I suppose dying together was bound to leave some sort of mark,” Virgil mused fondly.

“It looks very good on you,” Roman offered.

“You too,” Virgil agreed.

“Sickening. Okay cutie, ready to be my ride?” Remus wondered as he turned to Patton. “Ah, sure. Let’s do this,” Patton said, a bit nervous.

“Virgil you wouldn’t happen to have some skin among your supplies?” Janus wondered smoothly.

“Who do you take me for?” Virgil scoffed playfully as he retrieved a snakeskin from his bag and handed it to Janus.

“Alright! Let’s see the king!” Remus exclaimed. And in the blink of an eye, where the high mages stood only moments before, now were a yellow and black checkered snake and a squirrel the size of a small cat.

“Aaaaw!” Patton squealed as he picked the Remus Squirrel up and let it climb onto his shoulder, nibbling at his hair while Logan let the snake wrap himself around his arm.

“He’s so cute,” Patton said as he reached up to scratch the creature on the chin.

“Remember that that’s Remus Patton,” Roman warned, wanting to shield his friend from suffering similar embarrassment to what he experienced when Virgil pointed out how intimate he’d been towards him while in phoenix form.

Virgil chuckled as Remus squeaked in complaint.

Patton swiftly pulled his hand back, embarrassed.

"Let's not waste any more time," Virgil suggested. "When talking to the king, don't mention that you know I have a human form unless you absolutely have to. If I’m caught, you are to be as shocked as anyone else," he insisted sternly. Roman frowned but nodded. He didn’t like it but he understood that Virgil would be able to take care of himself perfectly well should things go badly. Having to protect Roman and the others in addition would only make things harder for him. Virgil stared him down for a moment more before taking his phoenix form and landing on Roman's shoulder. Nibbling affectionately at Roman's ear, making him chuckle. It was intended to comfort him. He was being overly cautious and didn’t really think he’d need this emergency plan.

"Gues it isn't a secret anymore?" Roman looked up. The innkeeper and his wife. Right.

"We are going to meet with the king now. He'll have the final say." Roman explained. The couple nodded. "Good luck," they offered.

The mages nodded and headed out onto the main road into the capitol.

The tension of the situation made teasing and light conversation unappealing. So they traveled in silence. Getting in the city was not too hard.

The guards eyed them curiously, but they recognized the trio and let them through.

It was very early so the streets weren’t busy, but every pair of eyes followed them until they were out of sight. It wasn’t exactly every day one saw three mages walk through the capitol with A dark Phoenix perched on a shoulder and a cosmic wolf walking among them like this. At the castle gates, they were inspected. Including their bags. Luckily, Virgil had taken his satchel with him in his phoenix form this time. Being caught with forbidden herbs was not going to help them. Star was being very patient and politely asked the guards for pets. Which he rightfully received. Their weapons were confiscated, which was normal procedure when meeting the king. Still, Roman felt just a touch anxious about handing the spear over to the guard.

"Careful with that, it's rare," he pleaded. Virgil was amused. Yes, he supposed asking the guard to handle the weapon with care after smacking several cultists over the head with it was a little... contradictory. Still. He wanted it to return to Virgil's collection with as little damage as possible. Virgil nibbled at his ear again in appreciation. They were led to the throne room by a heavily armed escort. A guard went in to inform the king of their arrival and left them with three other guards.

Roman looked at Logan, eyed the guards and then quirked a brow at his friend a small smirk on his lips.

Silently pointing out that they could easily take them on if they'd wanted to.

Logan rolled his eyes and stared him down sternly.

A reminder that this was protocol.

That was true. Still. After taking out a cult, this seemed almost insulting. Virgil tightened his grip on Roman's shoulder, trying not to lose his composure. Apparently, he was hilarious.

The door opened. "The king will see you now," the guard said as he let them in.

Roman took in a deep breath. As the one carrying the guest of honor, he was going first to keep the attention away from the two others.

He walked in with his head held high, fighting the urge to look back when the door closed behind him. He tensed up slightly when Star's ears perked up and the cosmic wolf got out in front of them and went right up to the throne. Once again, requesting pats. Roman looked up at the throne where king Thomas sat. Back straight, his face marked with lines. Silver hair adorned with a golden crown.

He was meeting Roman's gaze, face unreadable. The only sign of softening was in how he briefly looked down to pet Star before focusing back on him.

When Roman was a few paces from the throne, he knelt down. Careful not to jostled Virgil too much, who also bowed his head respectfully, a sadness in his heart.

"My king, we have answered your summons as fast as we could," Roman vowed.

"I can see that," King Thomas observed as he rose from his throne. His voice even, his posture impeccable and his face composed. Star followed a step behind.

He descended slowly from the dias, eyes focused on Roman's shoulder. More precisely, the phoenix perched on it.

"I apologize for pulling you away from your mission. But between the cult and the Phoenix, I had to get an update in person," the king explained as he started to walk a circle around them. One arm behind his back, the other gesticulating casually.

"I apologize for not mentioning it sooner, my king. We found his ashes locked in a box at the arch mage's tower," Roman explained, just barely catching sight of the king's tightening fist before he moved out of view.

"We weren't sure what it meant, and we didn't want to sow unrest," he promised. That was the truth.

The king hummed, still walking a circle around them.

"How did you fare against the dark flames defenses?" The king wondered, still gesturing with his hand as he came back into view. That was when it dawned on Roman: he was casting a spell.

Virgil didn't seem worried though, so Roman relaxed.

"We met with no resistance," he admitted.

"Hmmm," King Thomas hummed, coming to a stop in front of Roman. Prompting Star to sit beside him and happily wag his tail as he got rewarded with scratches on the head.

The king made a gesture with his hand, and Roman saw a circle light up on the ground. Whatever spell he'd been casting was activated.

"What else have you taken from the tower?" The king demanded. Roman felt pressure around his throat... a truth spell.

"An encrypted journal and supplies," he swore.

"How do you know the Phoenix isn't a threat?" The king continued.

"My magic mixed with his while he reincarnated. I can feel his emotions. He has not wished us harm since we met. He has been rather helpful," Roman assured him.

"Helpful, how?" the aged king demanded.

"He has helped us find clues, protected us and without him we would have never been able to get into the night flame's home," Roman said. As vague as the spell allowed him to be.

"You are not surprised that I did magic," the king noted.

"No sire," Roman confirmed.

"Who told you that I am a mage?" He asked. Roman hesitated, but he could feel the spells grip pushing the answer out, so he gave in. "Virgil Night Flame, your majesty," he confessed.

"The nightflane died Fifty years ago though," King Thomas insisted, a slight pain in his tone under an angry tremble.

Roman glanced at Virgil on his shoulder. Unable to suppress a small smile. "He takes offense to that," he translated.

To his shock, the king responded by drawing his sword and aiming it at Virgil's chest.

"The spell should have made you reveal your true form," he announced. Roman glanced back and saw his friends were out off the circle. Which explained why their companions didn’t return to their human forms.

"You have a commendable disguise. You even have Stardust fooled. But this ends now. As king I command you. Reveal yourself!" Thomas' eyes glowed golden as he said that, and Roman felt the weight leave his shoulder. He looked up and then hurriedly dove aside to give Virgil room to form.

He was fortunate. He had ended up landing on the floor in front of Virgil, giving him a good view as the high Mage formed, and his former student raised his sword to point it at his heart.

It was a gorgeous sight. The sun had just risen high enough to come through the window. So the games forming the shape of a phoenix and then condensing into the form of a man with a lot more feathers than normal was framed in a gorgeous golden backlight.

The king's jaw tightened along with the grip on his sword as he faced what he apparently believed to be an imposter wearing his late mentor's face.

"You have grown up a lot, Thomas," Virgil greeted sadly. "You have become a great king. Forgiving to the struggles of your people, sharp of mind and brave, to point a blade at an unknown enemy and not involve any of your knights," he observed while Roman carefully got up, trying not to disturb the conversation.

"Prove it. Prove that I am wrong. That you are who you claim to be," Thomas bit, heartbreak and rage fighting for dominance.

"The last spell I taught you was a mimic spell... was it truly Terance we spoke with Thomas?" Virgil quired curiously. Thomas was shaking. "Lucky guess. But before I was forbidden to practice magic, I used it all the time. It would be a reasonable assumption,” the king pointed out. Roman could feel Virgil's anger flare up when the king mentioned being forbidden from practicing magic.

"Then tell me my king. What do you consider irrefutable proof of my identity?" Virgil asked.

The king frowned. "I... I had a nickname for you when I was little, before I could pronounce your name. Only you and my parents would know about it. I only saw you on private visits back then. What was it?" The king asked.

Virgil was full of fondness when he answered.

"You called me Ani. After the birds that you chased in the gardens," he revealed.

The sword fell to the ground. "It really is you," the king gasped, clasping a hand in front of his mouth.

Virgil was both happy and sad. He opened his arms.

"Hello Thomas," he greeted. The king pulled his old mentor in a tight hug.

"I didn't want to believe... but after years... it hurt too much to hope. I'm so sorry," he sobbed.

"It has not occurred to me for even a moment to be angry at you, Thomas. I'm just glad I didn't miss out on all of your life. But I am angry that Gustav put a stop to your lessons. I'll fix that," he promised. The king chuckled.

"The terror of the mountains and the silver tongue are here too," Virgil revealed. Thomas pulled back, surprised, and looked at Patton and Logan. Their animal passengers took their cues and let go of their perches to settle beside them and take their human forms once more. Both bowing for their king. Roman honestly hadn't expected that from Remus.

"So the plague..." king Thomas mused.

"Yeah. We have theories. But first... Thomas." Virgil took the king by the shoulders and looked at him intensely. "Do you want to pick up where we left off? Really left off?" He asked. His pupil opened his mouth to answer but then paused. Considering the question. Then, his eyes widened in realization. "You could do that?" he asked. Virgil nodded. "You'll have to trust me though," he warned. "Do you want to have a second chance?" he asked. Roman didn't like how nervous Virgil was.

"Yes," the king decided after a long moment of consideration. "I want to rule over the country my father had wanted me to inherit as long as possible," he confessed.

"What are they talking about?" Patton asked, confused.

"Not sure. But Virgil is definitely about to do something crazy," Remus offered excitedly.

"Virgil... are you sure this is safe?" Roman asked.

"It is relatively safe for a phoenix mage with considerable experience dying," he promised, making Thomas tense. But his trust in his mentor overpowered his worry because he didn't change his mind.

Roman took a deep breath to calm hus own. He couldn't let Virgil be distracted. In. Out. In... oh Virgil was feeling more confident now, too. Good, keep breathing.

He watched as Virgil and the king started to glow. He nearly lost his composure when he saw the king's grey hair turn darker, the wrinkles smooth out and the frame gain strength before his eyes. But most shocking was Virgil's dark hair graying his supple skin, losing its glow wrinkles popping up at his eyes.

He was aging. And fast…

The deaging king gasped as he realized what was going on. And then Roman felt it. A feeling he recognized. He hadn’t put it together before but having gone through it himself he knew what this was. He’d felt it after Virgil got stabbed and after they drank that tea. Acceptance. Acceptance of the end…

Without thinking he grabbed the king by the waist and dragged him out of the way.

The next moment a blinding flame consumed Virgil, and then he was back to being in his late twenties.

Roman let out a sigh of relief, and then hurriedly let go of the king. “Apologies your highness!” he exclaimed flustered.

“That’s alright… Wow.”

Roman took in the king. Wow indeed. He looked younger than Roman all of a sudden.

“That took more out of me than I thought,” Virgil muttered. And Roman once again dashed forward, this time to steady Virgil.

“You died twice in the last few hours. Not to mention all you’ve been through since leaving that box,” Roman mused. “I suggest we get a proper night’s rest,” he offered.

Virgil shook his head. “First, I want a word with the council,” he insisted through gritted teeth.

#sanders sides #virgil sanders #ts virgil #roman sanders #ts roman #prinxiety #ts thomas #character thomas #thomas sanders #the dark phoenix au

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