Virgil sighed and sat down on a bench outside the castle, tired emotionally and physically. It still had sunk in that his brother was gone but he still felt his heart break every time he thought of Issac. He put his head in his hands and clutched at his hair, contemplating pulling it out. There would be no use, though. Hurting himself wasn't going to bring Issac back. It wouldn't make him feel better about it either. Someone tapped his shoulder, making him jump.

"Jesus! Who're you?"

The boy smiled and held out his hand. "I'm Daniel." Virgil didn't like it. His smile was too fake, it didn't reach his eyes which were gleaming with malice.

"Virgil. What do you want?"

"Do you know who Prince Roman is?"

Despite everything that had happened, Virgil still felt his cheeks warm slightly at the mention of Roman. "Yes, why?" He asked, grabbing his suitcase and standing up, wanting to get as far away from Daniel as he could.

"He's not ill or anything, is he?" There was something in Daniel's voice that was almost... disappointed.

"How would I know? I'm just a servant and I've been out of the kingdom for the past five days." That's when it hit Virgil. Five days. In one week, Roman would either choose a new husband or would have to marry Rose. Virgil shook himself out of his trance and turned to face Daniel, feeling unpleasant shivers crawl down his spine at the look on Daniel's face.

"Look, I need to go." Virgil turned around to run off. "Stay away from me." He said as an afterthought, turning to look at Daniel before speeding off towards the castle, his bag hitting his leg in a way which he knew would cause a bruise.

***
Virgil ran into the castle and almost immediately collided with someone. This ended up with him rocketing into a table and actually getting a good look at the person he collided with. It was the other prince.

"Oh shit. Sorry, your Highness." Virgil picked up his bag and tried to run off but the other prince caught his arm.

"You're the guy my brother likes, aren't you?" He asked, his dull green eyes boring into Virgil.

"I suppose. He hasn't really..." Virgil cut himself off, coughing slightly and shaking his arm out of the prince's grip. "Is there something I can do for you, your Highness?"

"Yeah, actually. You can stay away from my brother." The other prince paused the sighed. "Is what I would say if there wasn't a motherfucker here who wanted to kill my brother."

"What?"

The other prince grinned slightly. "Yeah. I heard from a gardener that he had heard this new guy plotting to kill Roman. Now, I want you to listen carefully." Virgil nodded, still slightly scared by the other prince. "Watch my brother's back for him. He might think he's all-knowing and shit but he isn't. He's damn oblivious as well. Keep an eye out for him, okay?"

"Um, sure." Virgil smiled as he felt tears prick his eyes, obscuring his vision slightly. He had once been that protective of Issac. "I should go now." He said before running off, not wanting to let someone see him cry.

Virgil threw his bag down next to the thin board they called a bed at this castle and sat down, his head in his hands, just letting the tears run down his cheeks and pool in his hands. He made no sound apart from a few muffled, almost half-hearted, cries. Once he had let all the tears fall and his cries were reduced to silent sobs which shook his frame, he looked up. The rose Roman had given him had moved from its place on the bed to a vase full of water beside the window. It was wilting slightly and reminded Virgil of the rose in the fairy-tale 'Beauty and the Beast'. That had been Issac's favourite fairy-tale. There was a note beside the rose. Picking it up, he saw Rose's familiar curling cursive.

Hi Virgil,
I know you're not going to read this until you get back so I'll say this now.
I am truly sorry about what happened. I know this probably won't help but I hope it offers you some sort of comfort. There's a new boy at the castle, you'll probably have met him already, called Daniel. I urge you not to trust him. I've gotten an off-putting feeling about him and you know how accurate it is when I distrust someone. I saw that the rose was dying so I thought I'd put it in some water for you.
See you when you get back,
Rose

Again with the warning about Daniel. Virgil sighed and crumpled the note. Rose was right. If she ever got an odd feeling, a feeling of distrust or worry, off of a person, then that feeling was usually right. Virgil would try and keep an eye on the worrisome servant boy.