This is just something that came to mind from @the-pastel-peach‘s animatic and OMG if you have not seen it, do it now because it is literally amazing!
Warnings: Blood, fighting, arguing (let me know if there are more!)
It
was madness.The
courtyard had erupted into battle. People who were once citizens were now
warriors for the false king. Knights were forced to attack the ones they served
to protect. They tried not to hurt the people, but they kept coming back with
uncontrollable bloodlust.Bloodlust.
That had to be the word of the night. The entire air was filled with it,
suffocating even the smallest child hiding in the distance. The once bright and
cheerful castle now loomed dangerously over the battle. It was as if the area
was glowing with a demonic aura as the tension grew and grew.Virgil
fought his way through the chaos. He wasn’t much of a fighter, but Ro-he had taught him everything he knew. As
a royal messenger, he had to know how to defend himself. There were thieves who
would recognize that he came from the castle and try to attack him. He never
thought he would be in the heat of a battle, and now here he was, in the middle
of screams and blood.He
didn’t linger on the battlefield for too long. He, and all on his side, knew
where he was meant to go. Virgil saw Logan and Patton fighting side by side,
grime covering the once pristine clothing that the pair normally wore. He
wanted to help, but he knew he had a job. And he was the only one who could do
it.He
found his way to a secret passage into the castle. He had found it years ago
when he was wandering. No one knew this existed. He never even told his
friends. He knew it would come in handy someday. He never imagined how.As
the stone wall closed behind him, the sounds were muffled, giving an eerie
silence to the hall. There were no torches, so he had to make his way through
by memory and touch. He trembled in anticipation, his shaky fingers trailing
along the damp stone wall, the roughness threatening to cut his skin. Virgil
counted the steps, like he had done so many times before. There was a total of
two-hundred thirty-eight steps before he reached his destination. The numbers climbed
in his head with a deafening ring. 116…117…118.He
let go of the breath he hadn’t even known he was holding. He had no idea what
he was going to do when he got there. Apparently, Virgil was the only one who
had a chance of talking him out of this. He didn’t understand why, but he
refused to argue. Any hope for them was good. Maybe they were right. Maybe he
could do it…235…236…237…This
was it. He stared at the darkness in front of him, knowing this was a wall that
would open for him. Virgil took another shuddering breath before pushing on the
stone. A soft light poured through the crack of the entrance. He was glad for
his lanky frame as he slipped into the small crack, staying silent as he looked
around the throne room. “Well, if it isn’t my friend Virgil!” He heard his
voice. “Come on in!”He
froze for a moment. Last time he knew, he saw him in the balcony of King
Thomas’ room. Why was he in the throne room? Could…could he had known about the
secret passage? No…no way. He never told him, no matter how much he begged to
know his secrets of getting around so fast.Virgil
stepped around the throne, where the passageway had let out, and faced him.
Roman, the man who was supposed his friend, who had overthrown King Thomas in
one fell swoop. There was something dangerous about the man who now stood in
front of him. For a knight, he was usually quite calm and nonchalant about his
actions. Now there was tension coursing through his veins, showing in the way
he stood. A black flower crown sat on top of his head, nestled into his sandy
colored hair. His white uniform had been replaced by a dark vest with a white
undershirt, black pants and a black cloak that billowed out behind him. Roman’s
once warm brown eyes were now hard and cold as he stared him down.This
was not Roman.But
it was.Virgil’s
eyes scanned the area, finding that Roman was alone. “Where is King Thomas?” He
asked with an edge in his voice.His
face twisted into a sadistic smirk as he glared down at him, “The former king
is right where he belongs.”“Where,
Roman?” he stepped towards his friend.He
grit his teeth, placing a hand on the sword on his belt, “That is King Roman to you! Don’t you dare treat me with such disrespect!”“Okay,”
Virgil replied calmly, taking another step forward. “King Roman. Where is
Thomas?”His
grip on his weapon tightened as his eyes flashed an unearthly yellow color. He
couldn’t help but gasp. Yellow…there was only one person he knew who had those
color eyes… “Thomas,” Roman scoffed. “He’s not the king anymore. Why do you
care so much?!”By
the end of his sentence, his voice boomed but he was unaffected. He now had a
much clearer idea of what was going on. He slowly took another step forward,
eying his friend carefully, “I don’t. I’m just curious.”“Curiosity
killed the cat, Virgil!” He sang in a toxic voice.“And
satisfaction brought it back,” he retorted, moving once more.In
the blink of an eye, the point of Roman’s sword was poking into his chest. It
was stabbing into him slightly, blood already blossoming from the wound. “Don’t
make me hurt you,” he hissed, his eyes now completely yellow. “I don’t want to
have to kill you.”Instead
of backing down like he wanted to deep down, he put more pressure against the
sword, “Try it Princey.”Anger
flashed through his face as he pulled his sword back. He went to swipe at him,
but Virgil drew his own sword to counter it. He was in no way a match for
Roman. He didn’t need to defeat him though. He needed to snap him out of this
spell. “You sure you can kill me?” He teased, just like he used to during
sparring with him.He
was sloppy, but not sloppy enough to defeat him. His anger was now pulsating
through his sword, making each attack he threw more powerful. He never fought
his friend at full power. He always held back. Now he knew why.It
was back and forth, jabs and swipes thrown. Virgil found an opening where he
could deliver a final blow, but he froze. Roman sensed this hesitation,
grinning wildly as he managed to knock the sword out of Virgil’s hands. Stuck
without a weapon, he knew he was going to have to go full in.He
launched himself at his friend, gripping the sword, trying to pry it away. It
cut into his palms as he pulled. Caught off guard by this unlikely attack, the
blade managed to be taken away and thrown across the room. “I can do this all
day,” Roman snapped, throwing a punch at Virgil’s face.Now
it was down to hand-to-hand combat. He had a chance. This was his area of
expertise. He blocked and dodged each and every one of Roman’s attacks before
throwing a few of his own into the mix. This only enraged him further, causing
his strength to grow. He started to break through his defenses, landing his
hits against him.Things
quickly went downhill when he landed a punch against his temple. Virgil
stumbled back, allowing his guard to fall. Roman was quick to react, hitting
him like never before. He couldn’t even defend himself against the barrage of
attacks anymore. He had him against a wall. Each hit hurt him more than the
last. This was going wrong! He needed to do something!The
breath escaped Virgil’s throat as he was pressed against the wall. Roman lifted
him up by the throat so now his toes grazed the floor as he tried to kick
himself free. “Why? Why couldn’t you just love me,” he snarled into his face,
his voice boarding insanity. “That’s all I ever wanted! I just wanted to be
loved! By you! By everyone! No one cares if you’re not royalty!”This
was what the spell was doing. It played on his insecurities and making him lash
out. He had always been insecure of how everyone really felt about him. As a
child, he was treated like dirt because he was poor. Even his parents were
passive aggressive towards him, blaming him for existing. Virgil knew all of
this, and knew that this spell was trapping him into a life of rage and burden.
“I…do…” He spoke against the pressure on his throat. “We…do…”Something
in Roman faltered, whether it was the spell or something different. His grip
loosened, dropping him to the ground, coughing one his airway was free. He took
a step back as Virgil tried to catch his breath. “Wh-What?” He stammered, his
rage turning into confusion. “You’re lying. No one loves a peasant!”“Remember
what you told me?” Virgil croaked, “I deserve love no matter my background.
That is the same to you. You deserve love, and you are loved. You all taught
me…you taught me…that position doesn’t equal love. It’s the same to you. You
don’t need to be king for everyone to love you, because it’s already true.”His
yellow eyes flickered as he grabbed his head, more specifically the crown. He
seemed in excruciating pain as he began to scream. “Vir…gil,” he panted between
groans of pain. “The…crown…help…me.”He
leapt into action, grabbing the flower crown. As soon as he touched it, he
realized that this was the cause of the spell. The thorns were embedded into
his head, black veins pulsating softly from the pricks. As he pulled at it, he
realized that it really was stuck. Despite the sharp pain it sent through his
chest, he had to ignore Roman’s cries of agony as he pulled the crown from
where it had taken root.When
he was finally able to get it off, Roman’s screams disappeared. Virgil looked
into his eyes, seeing them melt back to the warm brown he always knew. The
crown in his hands began to crumble, fading into nothing but dust. His eyes
moved from his hands to Roman, who was staring back. “Virgil?” His voice was
soft, gentle, him.“Roman?”
Tears
welled up in his eyes as he threw himself at the smaller man. Virgil winced,
but was glad that the arms around him were friendly once more. Roman pulled
away as soon as he felt him flinch. “I’m sorry,” he blubbered. “I’m so sorry. I-“Virgil
cut him off by wrapping his arms around once more. He was shaking as he held
back sobs. It was over.It
was all over.Finally, a happy ending, this makes my weary heart happy
Of Crowns and Thorns AU
Published
Think Things 