Both the boys were silent as they stared at each other, their faces resembling that of tomatoes at the moment.

Virgil kept his shocked gaze on Roman as he ambled towards the window and slowly began wiping the bar, then taking his eyes away from Roman and staring at his work.

Meanwhile Roman began slinking off his bedside and towards his wardrobe but found it quite difficult to stay focused at mix up of words.

Virgil would shoot a glance or two back at Roman before he finally finished his work and cleared his throat.

Roman turned his head at the small cough.

"I uh...finished..." Virgil shrugged.

"Oh...Oh, that's good..." Roman scratched at his arm awkwardly.

"Yeah..." Virgil chewed on the side of his cheek.

Roman shuffled his feet, as Virgil exited he room, "Uh-"

"Huh?" Virgil stopped.

"Could you..." Roman was desperate to say something but nothing came out.

Virgil shook his head, "...It's...fine- I act like a maid, I get it."

Roman melted in relief that Virgil hadn't caught on to why his mistake was a mistake, but then immediately felt guilty afterwards, "No, no! Not at all!"

"Yeah?" Virgil put his hand on his hip, "I mean, I come here and clean, that's basically the definition of a maid."

"That's not what I meant though!"

"What'd you mean then? I resemble a lady-like figure?"

"Not at all! You're-" Roman found himself at a loss for words once again.

"Well is it an insult or not?"

"It's- y- no- it's-" Roman stuttered.

Virgil squinted in suspicion.

"I'm..." Roman still didn't know what to say.

"Spit it out, why'd you call me that? Are you saying I'm lesser than I am?" Virgil's confusion was starting to turn into offense.

"Well, are you saying women would he lesser?" Roman fought back.

"No- it's just-"

"Then why are you so upset M'lady." Roman clenched his fists with a glare.

"Idiot! Here I thought you might actually be different from those one-sided elitists!" Virgil scoffed, grabbing his stuff and heading for the door, "Stay in your closed-minded world and leave me out of it." He growled before slamming the door shut.

"The nerve! He thinks he can speak to me like..." Roman found his voice trailing off in disappear as he felt his heart break. He pressed his hand to his face with a groan as he flopped onto his bed and looked up at the stone-ceiling, "Well, it seems the slayer of beasts is also the slayer of hearts..." He refers to himself.

***

The next day someone else came when Roman tried his spider shtick, it wasn't Virgil and nor was it for the next week. He hardly saw the other boy either, who seemed to purposefully make sure not to cross paths with Roman. That was- well, that was until on accident.

Roman was sheathing his sword after cleaning it, prepared to set it on the wall when an apprentice came bursting into the guild's head quarters of the knights, startling Roman, "Great lords, what's the matter?"

The apprentice was recognizable as Joan with his squeaks of effort before he spoke, "The- dragon-witch herself! She- she broke into the dorms! Everything- everything's on fire!" He shrieked.

Roman's heart dropped, Virgil lived in the dorms; and with that, Roman was bounding towards the exit of the guild and racing down the hall. He was sure that the fastest horse in the stables couldn't outrun him at this very moment, and it was most likely true. All he knew was that he needed to get to the dorms and fast. And, by the smell of smoke that was collecting, Roman knew he wasn't too far off. However, he began to slow down when he reached the scene. Once he turned the corner, he froze.

There was hardly anything. It was all charred, other than a net of victims that screamed as they were dragged off by a flock of dragons in the far distance. All the dorms had been burned to the ground and only rubble remained from what Roman could see. He felt like falling to his knees, and he almost did, but he needed to look...he needed to...

Roman turned to the knights who had gathered behind him with a melancholy face. He took a moment to let the sorrow course throughout him before he turned his face to a blank one, "Search the entire premise. I don't want a single brick unturned, do you hear me?"

The knights nodded slowly.

"Go." Roman sighed, he himself looking around for a bit. He had minimal hope and the pain in his chest was simply multiplying. He considered following the flock of dragons but knew it would be to no avail, the victims would either already be eaten, or he would simply provide himself as a snack. However, as he felt all emotions draining from his body he heard a loud holler to his right, he immediately turned on the spot and ran towards the call, seeing one of the senior knights pulling open a cellar door.

"I hear some voices- maybe possible refuges!" The senior called, "But I cant get the blasted door open-"

All Roman had on his mind was that Virgil may be in there, and if so, he had to know. So, he easily ripped the door from its hinges in a harsh tug, surprising the senior knight who had called, but Roman hardly noticed, he simply looked down into the cellar room, instantly spotting multiple people and looking over every one of them, "V-irgil?" He called in desperation.

There were a few murmurs from the other refuges as they were taken free from the cell but no response.

Roman felt his heart break all over again as he staggered back from the cellar door. He shook his head in disbelief before escaping the area, he ignored the calls of concern that came from his peers as he dashed back towards his own chambers. He knew as the head-knight that he should stay, but he couldn't bring himself to it, he felt selfish and cowardly running away, but he'd feel worse if he were to shed a single tear in front of anybody at all, so as he entered his doors he simply slammed them shut and slumped down at the window to choke down the emotions in his throat. He just looked at the bars of the window with such regret that he couldn't bare it anymore and instead slunk over to his bed to lean against the frame. He felt absolutely hollow, just like he had been before Virgil came into his life, and just as he always would be without him. It was inevitable that sleep would eventually come, and that it did after hours of tossing and turning, until grief subsided to exhaustion.

***

It was the following morning that the true grief began to really sink into Roman, as he opened his eyes, expecting a snappy Virgil to be polishing the bars of the window or finding something, anything to do. Roman almost believed this due to his eyes being swollen shut. He had refused to cry while awake so he had simply cried while he wasn't, Which didn't result well as he was practically blind now. However, he knew the ins and outs of his room and was able to shuffle his way to his window to feel a breeze on his face. He paused a moment before a whimper escaped his lips and the wave of tears came crashing down, they came out ugly and sniffled, and all it did was make his eyes sting. Next came rage and regret as Roman slammed his hand on the window sill, "May thy majesty forgive my language but god damn these absolutely idiotic, disastrous, flocking rules that are bestowed upon what- what absolute rubbish of an excuse for a society! You dare to take the one, the only one, that I love away from me because of this law? I beg of thee, I beg of thou king to lift this god forsaken rule of tarnished love away! I-" Roman began to crumble, "I- just- I want him back...please...Virgil, please, I promise, I promise, bring him back to me and I'll share to Virgil my sins that what I've shared to the heavens, I love a man, and I love him too much to go on!" Roman shouted and slammed his face into his palms, trembling and feeling absolutely week. A few moments past by before Roman wiped the crust from his eyes that concealed his eyesight. He sniffled and shook a moment before sighing and getting up, fixing his blouse and redeeming a good posture before turning to head towards the guild. That is, until his cries were answered.

As red as a ripe strawberry, Virgil stared straight down at his feet with clenched fists at the front of the door.

Roman honestly considered dropping on the floor and pretend he was dead, but instead fell to his knees to kneel down and bow his head as his own face heated, "I- I don't know- if you're really...here or- if this is a cruel wizardry trick but- I promise that I'll pay you whatever you ask for if you're to never repeat what you have just heard." Roman whispered as his energy left him.

Virgil looked up from his feet, his hands shaking but he let out a small breath, "No, no...I'm here...I- why wouldn't I be...?"

"I saw your dorm burned down." Roman looked up helplessly, regret piling up.

Virgil smiles weakly, "I...suppose you hadn't thought to check the opposing west wing dorms then...?"

"Why are you...acting so casually?" Roman looked down at his own feet.

"Because if I were silent it'd be awkward..."

"Awkward? You speak of awkward when I've just broken the law?" Fear rounded in Roman's eyes.

"I mean, you're pretty casual for just finding out I'm alive..." Virgil shrugged.

"What else can I do..?" Roman let out shakily.

"I-...that's your choice right now- How you're going to respond to this that is..." Virgil shrugged once again.

Roman met Virgil's eyes, "Please...keep mum, I promise I'll- I'll give you whatever you so please for your silence." Desperation dripped from Roman's voice.

"I'd have no reason to tell." Virgil took a step forward.

"You very well know the amount currency that's given to those who turn in- people like me." Roman's eyes began to glaze over, "Please don't lie, I hardly have that amount of money so I'm afraid I can't pay you to-"

"I'm not going to say anything, hasn't that been established?" Virgil approached the kneeling Roman and looked down at him.

Roman turned his gaze down to the floor again in submission, "You haven't a reason to keep your silence."

"Says you, knight."

"Yes, Says me, and so Says society as well."

"Society can take a walk."

Roman flinched at Virgil's words.

"I very well do hope you broke the law just now, Roman."

Roman closed his eyes with a sigh, "And Why is that?"

Virgil bent down on his knees to be Eye-level with Roman, "Because it means what you said was true, true to your heart."

Roman felt like a small, helpless child who was lost in the woods of the Unknown.

"There's no use in saying it wasn't..."

"Roman. Open your eyes."

Roman opened his amber eyes to meet Virgil's gray ones.

"No, I mean, open your eyes." Virgil repeated, putting a finger to Roman's chest, "And open your heart while you're at it. Nobody in this room is going to get hurt, nobody in this room is hurt."

Roman was silent for a moment before tears welled in his eyes and he grabbed Virgil into a hug, holding him tightly and burying his face in the crook of the other's neck, "I- thought- you were dead-" He was hardly able to get any words out as he took in the fact that the other was here and breathing.

Virgil melted into Roman's embrace happily with a genuine smile, "Yeah...don't get all emotional, please- no tear stains on my cloak." Virgil sounded a bit serious but didn't honestly mind.

Roman cling to Virgil for a moment before leaning back, "I realize- it's silly- to care for a rank like you when-"

"When you could do so much better?" Virgil huffed.

Roman shook his head, "I- I beg to differ, I really couldn't." He let out an exasperated laugh.

This made Virgil smile a bit as he took in the other's facial features.

"I know, not only should it not he allowed that I- well, I mean-"

"That you love? No, it's not allowed, but don't ever say it shouldn't be." Virgil corrected, "Love should always be allowed..." He seemed to break character from his snappy ways to a more accepting manor that priorly had been caged up.

"Virgil I-" Roman shook his head, he let out a small chuckle, "I, head of the knights, am breaking two laws at once."

"Two laws, huh?"

"To associate with a lower class- and to love them, and to love the same gender- and, to be proud of that." Roman found it hard to stop smiling.

"Well, damn it, I'm breaking a law too then." Virgil pressed a small kiss to Roman's head.

Roman shook his head, "Unacceptable."

"Excuse me?"

"No, if we are to have a fairytale ending, it must be sealed by a kiss to the li-"

Virgil pressed a quick kiss to Roman's lips which left him in a mesmerized daze, "We didn't need that to have a fairytale ending...all that we needed,
was love."

[Alrigjt so I brought soft Virgil into this because soft Virgil is a happy Virgil and a happy Virgil is a happy Princey and a happy Princey is a happy Prinxiety ❤️, also I tried to address LBGTQ+ rights the best I could in this 2 parter so I hope I did that correctly- I didn't want to offend anyone but also did want to put a sense of reality into this that this is a world that some of us still live in sadly, but I really hope this chapter can give a little bit of hope to those of you who might be dealing with similar troubles, or who used to, but anyway, hope you enjoyed ❤️💛💙💚💜]