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naminethewriter · 7 months

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What Dreams Are For

Chapter Two: Rumors

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Story Summary: Dreams are weird. Especially when you’re metaphysical. There is a distinction between your own dreams and that of your whole. Even though Roman doesn’t know at first that he’s trapped in a dream, he does know that something is wrong upon waking in an unfamiliar room. He thinks he’s in the Imagination but can’t say for sure. Just what has he gotten caught up in?

Cast as the evil Prince and forced to act out the twisted storyline of Thomas’ dream, Roman, with help from Patton and Virgil, needs to figure out what is happening while constricted by what his hateful character would do and say which is not at all pleasant.

We dream for a reason. And as much as Roman likes to be the center of attention, this dream isn’t about him. Someone else is crying out for help.

Content Warnings: Teasing, Partial Mind Control

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The doors are pulled open once again, revealing two servants – Roman feels his posture straighten as the NPCs come into view – as well as a taller figure, his raven-black hair tied back into a ponytail and clad in armor that he does not look comfortable in. He lacks his usual dark make-up under his eyes, but it is undeniably Virgil who enters the room and bows deeply to both Roman and Patton.

“Your Royal Highness. Royal Advisor. Good morning.” His voice is deep and gravelly. “I have the report on the performance of the new trainees of the Royal Guard if you are able to spare me some time.” While he seems composed at first, Roman quickly notes that Virgil’s eyes are darting around the room, especially towards the windows and the second door on the opposite side of the room, close to where Roman and Patton are still standing. Their compulsion has made them step apart somewhat as the doors opened.

“I am amenable to hearing you out now,” Roman answers as soon as his brain has processed Virgil’s unusual appearance. “If you are as well, Royal Advisor?”

Next to him, Patton nods. “Yes, of course. You are welcome to join us for breakfast as well, Sir Virgil.”

“No, that’s alright. I’ve already eaten,” Virgil says, waving off the servants that had moved to clear him a place at the table. “I won’t be long either, I’m leading a trainings exercise soon.”

“Admirable as always, Captain,” Roman praises and takes his seat again. Huh, so Virgil’s the captain of the royal guard then? Honestly a good fit in his opinion, even if the man himself would probably disagree.

“I am honored to receive your praise, Your Royal Highness.” Virgil once again bows. As he straightens up again, he clasps his hands tightly behind his back, his posture very clearly indicates that he is on high alert. He is anxiety after all, Roman muses as he waves his hand in the direction of the servants still at the door to dismiss them. They leave without a word and again Roman feels the control of his body return to him. Before he can say anything to Virgil however, Patton barrels into him, hugging him tightly.

“Oh, Virge, I am so glad to see you, kiddo!” Patton exclaims, his eyes looking misty again. Virgil, who had stiffened up at the sudden physical contact, relaxes a bit, his shoulders dropping. He doesn’t return Patton’s hug, but he does bring up a hand to the other’s shoulder and squeezes.

“Yeah, me too Pat. I wasn’t expecting you.”

Roman raises a brow. “Who were you expecting then?”

“Well, Remus I guess.” Virgil’s answer is hardly more than a mumble but Roman just manages to hear him. Patton finally lets go of Virgil and takes a step back, watching his face.

“Why were you expecting Remus?”

Virgil scratches the back of his neck nervously. “’Cause he’s done stuff like this before? Like, he would kidnap me in the middle of the night and I’d wake up in the Imagination. Though normally he either leaves me a note if he just wants to prank me – which more often lead to him forcing me to do a scavenger hunt to get back to the Mindscape, or he’d be close by with some stupid plan he wanted my help with. I thought since he recently showed himself to Thomas, he might have thought I’d go along with his annoying shit again.”

“Language!” Patton chides and Virgil rolls his eyes. His words had been calm but Roman can see his hand tighten on the handle of the sword strapped to his belt.

“So, when you woke up in an unfamiliar place, you just thought it was Remus’ doing,” Roman summarizes and Virgil nods.

“Yeah. Like I had a feeling things were off, like I said, usually Remus would show up not long after I woke up, and the whole ‘being restricted in front of others’ isn’t usually part of this, but I was hoping Remus just learned some new – very annoying – tricks since I left. But if you’re here…” He trails off, biting at his lip.

“If we’re here this is something bigger, you think,” Roman finishes his thought and again Virgil nods.

“Something like that. If he’s behind this in the first place.”

“You think he’s not?” Patton asks, fiddling with his fingers nervously.

“I’m not sure. This doesn’t seem like his usual pranks. And I haven’t been to his side of the Imagination in years, but… It feels different than that.”

“I agree,” Roman hums. “It’s not his side or mine but it’s still… connected somehow.”

“So, you have no idea what’s going on either?”

“Not really, no. I can’t get creative control at all, something’s blocking me.”

“That’s… not at all comforting.” Virgil stands rigid, staring at the ground, still biting at his lip. Roman wishes he had answers for him, but he is just as lost as the other two.

“I know. We need to find Remus. With his help I might be able to do something.”

“We can’t be sure he’s even here though, can we?” Patton sighs, sitting down on the chair next to Roman’s. Roman pats his shoulder in an effort to comfort him as Virgil speaks up.

“I’m pretty sure he is. On my way here I heard something about a Second Prince who apparently is not very well liked by the other knights.”

“That does sound like it could be him,” Roman muses. “If we assume this isn’t his doing and he was cast as a character in this story just like we were, then being the less liked prince would be fitting.”

“Hold up, what do you mean ‘character’ and ‘story’?” Virgil interjects, brows furrowed. “I thought you didn’t know what’s going on either.”

“I don’t. It’s just speculation on my part. Since we“—He points at Patton and himself—“have to act a very specific way around the servants, I figured that we might have been assigned to fulfill certain roles in a kind of story, at least while others are around. I set up something similar in the Imagination once. I was working on a play but was stuck on how to proceed, so I recreated the story there and made some guidelines on how the characters acted before taking the lead role for myself and just… let it play out. The guidelines ensured I wouldn’t break character, but they couldn’t restrict me as harshly as this place does.”

“That’s… kinda creepy, dude.”

“Oh, shut it, Gerard Gay! How I deal with my writer’s block is none of your business!”

“Kiddos, please don’t fight.” Patton’s voice sounds so drained that Roman instantly feels bad. He apologizes quietly, as does Virgil, before standing up to give Patton a small neck massage. The father figment sighs in relief as he lets some of the tension in his shoulders drop.

“So, what do we do now?” Virgil asks.

Roman shrugs. “We need more information first, I think. Try and find out more about that second prince you mentioned. Maybe some leads about the others.”

“Well, about that. When I heard about that prince, they also mentioned one other. A ‘stuck-up brat that finally learned his place.’”

“That… doesn’t sound good,” Patton mumbles.

“If he’s connected with Remus, maybe it’s Janus?” Roman guesses.

“Could be. I’ll try and get some more info out of the other knights, I guess.”

“I think the servants avoid talking about certain things with me,” Patton sighs, “so I don’t know how useful I will be. A few times they got really quiet as soon as I got close.”

“Well, you might be able to find some hints in the paperwork they make you do. Since you’re kind of the administrator of the kingdom at the moment.”

“But I don’t understand those papers! It’s so many words and there’s so much of it!”

“Look, padre.” Roman moves around the chair and kneels down, looking up at Patton while holding his hands reassuringly. “Since we’re supposed to play along with whatever setting we’re in, there is some information that will be provided for you. I, for example, was able to tell where each door I passed on my way here leads, despite not ever being here before. If you concentrate on your work, that should also work for you. I’m guessing it just comes to me more naturally since I’m connected to Thomas’ creative core.”

“Alright, I’ll try it. Thanks, kiddo.” Patton smiles up at him and Roman pats his shoulders one more time before stepping back.

“Then let’s try meeting again around dinner time,” Roman decides, clapping his hands once. Patton cheers though it’s still a bit lackluster.

Virgil starts moving towards the door. “I’ll get going then. If anything happens, call me, understood?”

“Promise, Stormy Knight.” Virgil huffs at the nickname, glaring at Roman halfheartedly before he slips out of the door. Roman sighs, getting back to his seat.

“Let’s finish breakfast, padre. We got a long day ahead of us.”

~~~

Virgil wipes away the sweat from his forehead. Training was tough but he found he enjoys it quite a bit actually. A set routine of movements that aim to protect himself and others, a reassuring thing for his usually worried mind. He is in need of a break however, so he steps away from the open courtyard where they had lined up training dummies, and into the shade of the palace walls. He leans against a pillar and takes a drink from his waterskin.

Not far from him, two other knights are talking and while Virgil isn’t usually one for eavesdropping, he is supposed to gather information, so he discreetly inches a little closer to them and listens.

“Don’t you think we should increase the number of guards around His Royal Highness?” one of the two says. “It’s pretty obvious that the Second Prince is dangerous.”

“Keep your voice down,” the other hisses, looking around nervously, but thankfully not spotting Virgil. “He’s still part of the Royal Family, you know. You can’t just badmouth him.”

“I’m not badmouthing him! On the contrary, I think he’s an excellent fighter. He kicked our asses every time he came by. Which is exactly why I think we need more security around the place.”

“You’re implying that the Second Prince could attack the Crown Prince, what do you call that if not badmouthing!”

“Everyone knows he went insane, it’s not like I’m saying something scandalous.”

“Would you shut up already!” Having had enough of his friend’s loud mouth, the second knight pulls the first further away, urging him to drop the topic. Virgil doesn’t follow them, he’s heard enough.

~~~

Patton’s back is starting to ache as he sits behind ‘his’ desk and goes over paper after paper. Roman had been right, if he concentrates enough, he can tell what they are for and how he should deal with them but it’s still a bit much which is why he left his body on autopilot for a little while. He hadn’t been able to find any useful information in any of the papers anyway.

“Would you like some tea, my Lord?” Patton startles, looking over to the servant that had appeared at his desk while he had been lost in thought.

“Yes. That would be delightful,” he says after a moment. His mouth doesn’t let him say thank you, but he hopes his appreciation still comes across. From her smile, he guesses she understood his intentions well enough.

“Shall I fetch some pastries as well?”

“I need to keep my hands clean, I’m afraid.”

“Oh my, of course. My apologies.” She bows, her face red.

“It’s quite alright. I simply have more work to go through in the King’s absence and cannot take the time for an extended snack break.”

“I understand. It’s truly a shame.” Her utterance makes Patton pause.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Oh, my apologies. Again. I simply meant that if the Prince’s former advisor hadn’t turned out like that, he might have been able to take some work off you. But considering what became of him, it’s probably for the best that he didn’t get access to the important paperwork my Lord is dealing with.”

“…Right.” Patton has no idea what – or who for that matter – she is talking about, but he doesn’t seem to be allowed to ask her more because he dismisses her a short moment after. He ponders her words as his body goes back to grinding through the paperwork.

~~~

Roman doesn’t like the noble he’s currently having tea with. A marquess had asked him for an audience regarding a business venture he wanted to start that needs royal approval. The man had talked his ear off for the better part of an hour now and done his best to suck up to Roman in any way he could. The prince had endured him with a smile but is quickly reaching the end of his patience.

“Marquess,” he cuts in as the noble takes a moment to breathe. “I’m afraid I do not have more time to spend with you but if you leave your proposal with my butler, I will be sure to look your venture over again at the earliest convenience.”

“Of course, of course. I am incredibly grateful that Your Royal Highness took time out of your busy schedule to meet with me.” He passes the stack of papers he brought to the butler Roman had indicated and watches him leave before leaning a bit closer. “I hope I am not overstepping, my Prince, but I noticed you still haven’t replaced your former advisor.”

Roman stiffens. He’s not sure why but the mention of said former advisor invokes a deep anger in him and he stands sharply.

“You best be on your way now, Marquess.”

“My apologies, Your Royal Highness.” The man quickly stands and bows deeply but opens his mouth again a moment later. “I was just thinking about my nephew, he is about to graduate the Royal Institute, at the top of his class no less. He’s a bright and loyal man, I’m sure you won’t be disappointed if you were to give him a chance. He certainly would not dare betray you like your last one did.”

Roman grits his teeth as he stares at the nobleman who smiles innocently at him. “Until next time, Marquess.” Thankfully, the other’s smile drops as he seems to realize that he might have said too much, and he hurries away after one last bow. Despite being left alone in the room, Roman can’t help but bring down his fist on the table, making the now empty teacups rattle.

~~~

“That’s… not much,” Patton sighs after all three of them finished sharing what they had learned over the day. Roman huffs, sinking down into the red and golden couch he had inspected for the first time that morning. Eating dinner together hadn’t worked out, so instead, Roman had ordered Patton and Virgil to his private quarters afterwards. Now they are gathered around his fireplace, still lost on how to proceed.

“It’s something,” Virgil mutters, sitting on the backrest of one of the armchairs. “We know that the Second Prince stands in opposition to Roman and has only recently fallen out of favor with the knights at least. And then there’s that former advisor that was kicked to the curb or something, which also seems to have happened recently. Could be that the two incidents are related.”

Roman stares at him. “When did you become Sherlock?”

“Shut up, princey. I was just summarizing what we already said.”

“Don’t talk bad about yourself!”

“Sorry, Pat.”

“Anyway!” Roman says, loudly, to get the attention back on him. “We still don’t know enough to really tell what’s going on.”

“No shit.”

“So,” he continues, ignoring Virgil’s comment, “I think we have no choice but to continue playing along until one of us figures out more.”

“I wish Logan were here, he’d know what to do,” Patton mumbles. Roman grabs his hand and pulls him in the seat next to him, offering a hug that the other gladly accepts.

“We’ll find him, I’m sure. For now, we’ll do what we can on our own.”

“Yeah…”

Neither of them sound quite convinced themselves and Virgil watches them worriedly. Being stuck not knowing anything is going to get to them sooner or later.

“I’m on patrol tomorrow. Maybe I’ll come across something then.” Roman nods in acknowledgement of his words but doesn’t respond and they all fall into silence for a bit.

“We should probably go to bed,” Patton eventually speaks up, separating himself from Roman. “You know how important a proper sleep schedule is! Well, at least according to Logan.”

“You’re right! Worrying won’t get us anywhere and if we’re well rested, I’m sure we can figure out more tomorrow then if we remain tired.” Roman stands, trying to force more confidence into his words than he’s feeling, and it manages to get a quick smile on Virgil’s lips.

“You’re gonna need your beauty sleep, that’s for sure. Otherwise the people might just decide they want another prince after all.”

“How dare you tease me in my own home! Out with you, this instant!”

Their bickering gets Patton to laugh and soon all three of them are giggling.

“I’m really glad you’re here with me,” Patton smiles once he’s calmed down a bit. “I don’t know what I would have done all on my own.”

“Yes, I’m glad you’re here, too,” Roman agrees. “I’m sure together we’ll figure out what to do.”

“I guess it’s better than being alone,” Virgil shrugs and Roman lightly hits him in the shoulder.

“Just say you love us, you dork.”

“As if.”

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