Thomas shook his head. "It can't be your fault."

Virgil shook, feeling an anxiety attack start to form. "Y-you don't get i-it...'"

Logan frowned. "Let us get you into the castle." He called to one of the guards, sending them to get a maid to ready a room. Thomas lifted Virgil like he was giving him a piggyback ride. Neither minded and Virgil found it quite comfortable, slipping in and out of sleep as Thomas and Logan brought him to the castle of Sanders Isles.

Thomas laid him down gently on the bed while Logan went to fetch some food and water for their visitor. Virgil sat up with a hiss of pain.

"Are you alright?" Thomas asked him, worry written all over his face, a mix of worry for Virgil and concern for Roman. He was surely in the Cove of Lies already.

Virgil nodded, rubbing his eyes. Logan waltzed in, holding a plate of toast and jam and a glass of water. Virgil took the water, drinking half of it quickly.

Thomas sat on the bed while Logan sat on a chair next to the bed. Virgil looked at them.

Logan was first to speak up. "First off, who are you and where are you from?"

Virgil took a shaky breath, swiping his sleeve over his mouth to remove the water that remained. "I... I am Virgil. I am a guard f-for... for the throne room of Snakes. I am born and raised against my will and mother's will in the Cove of Lies."

Logan and Thomas stared, trying to see how this nervous man could survive in the Cove of Lies. Thomas was first to speak after this shocking information. "Virgil, although I would like to trust you, we will have one guard assigned to your room, one inside, one outside."

Logan nodded. "Fair enough. I shall tell Patton and have him assign them." Logan stood up, nodded to Thomas and walked out.

Thomas turned to Virgil. "Why are you here?" he asked.

Virgil sighed. "I thought I could save Roman... I guess I was wrong." He laughed bitterly. "I'm wrong a lot."

Thomas frowned. "Now that we know, couldn't we—" He was cut off by Logan walking with the bubbly head of the royal guard.

Logan was obviously annoyed. "Patton insists he stay inside with Virgil as his guard and have Zoldyck stationed at the door. As a backup for when Patton is needed, we can allow Hill to guard the door and have Zoldyck inside."

Patton smiled happily when Thomas agreed. He walked to the new man and held out his hand. "Hi! I'm Patton, head of royal guard! Betray us and I'll beat the shit out of you!" he said cheerfully. Virgil hesitantly shook Patton's hand, slightly scared at him.

Thomas chuckled. "That's Patton for you. Well, I must go make my daily address, I'm due in a quarter bell. (One bell= one hour.)" Logan nodded and walked out with Thomas.

Virgil bit his tongue as the door opened once more about five rings later. (One ring= one minute). Patton stopped rambling as a young man with curly red-brown hair and glasses similar to Logan and Patton's. Patton smiled at him and turned to Virgil. "Virgil, this is Alex Zoldyck, he will be your door guard."

Virgil did a two-finger salute, which he's adopted as his 'thing', with a small smile. "'Sup."

Alex waved shyly. "Hello."

Patton smiled. "I'll take door duty for half a bell so you two can talk." He got up and walked out, closing the door gently.

Alex awkwardly sat in the chair Logan had sat in only rings ago. "So... hi?"

Virgil laughed slightly. "Hey. Before we even start talking, what are your pronouns?"

Alex smiled, more comfortable now. "Just he/him, thank you. What about you?"

Virgil bit his tongue. "I'm bigender. I go between he/him and they/them. I'll make sure to tell you. Today, I'm male."

The younger one nodded. "Nice to know."

The two kept talking, eventually coming out to each other, Virgil as panromantic, Alex as gay asexual. By the end of the half bell, the two were the best of friends.

Little did they know that it was the best thing to happen to them.

For anyone confused about this bit considering the ship with Virgil is Prinxiety, Alex plays a big part in not only saving Roman, but also giving Virgil someone to rely on later in the book and later books. Also, the OC Alex was kindly submitted to me by....

IIsAlienPotato

Thank you for letting me use him! He'll be playing quite a significant role here!