Warning: Panic Attack

Logan pov
Virgil started breathing hard again. His legs were drawn up and he was hugging them. He started rocking back and forth slightly and mumbled to himself. I knew we had to calm him down before his condition got any worse. 

"Virgil" I say, trying to get his attention. The other two were looking at him now as well. "Virgil, take deep breaths" he didn't show any signs of hearing me. He just continued to slightly rock back and forth, mumbling to himself. I should have noticed sooner. 

Looking towards Patton, I nodded, letting him know that it was his turn to take over. He immediately wrapped his arms around Virgil for a second time and started rocking with him. He was mumbling something into his ear over and over again. Virgil's eyes were tightly shut and he continued to mumble, not being able to breathe properly. He had tears streaming down his face.

He started trying to steady his breathing, but hiccuped a bit and more tears started to fall. The frustration was clearly shown on his face as he tried again. This time it was more successful. He started taking deep steadying breaths and I didn't realize I was holding my breath until now. I let it out as Virgil was slowly rocked to sleep. His head landed on Patton's shoulder and I knew he was out. He usually passed out after an anxiety attack like that, so I wasn't concerned. Roman on the other hand jumped up.

"Is he going to be alright?!" Panic was clear on his face.

"Shhh!" Patton aggressively whispered. Roman fell silent, but he still looked at Virgil with concern. "He's fine. He just needs to rest. That took a lot out of him." Patton looked down at the sleeping Virgil in his arms lovingly. I pushed down a sudden feeling of jealousy that was rising within me. Patton is just a friend, I silently chastened myself. 

"What was that?" Roman asked.

"Virgil has anxiety" I stated because that usually clears things up. Roman looked as if I had just spoken gibberish to him.

"What is this… anxiety you speak of? Is it a villian I can vanquish?" He asked excitedly, pulling a sword out from a scabbard on his side. I had forgotten that he was from an entirely different timeline. This is going to be an interesting experience. I rubbed my eyes, feeling a headache come on with all of these new variables I had to take into account.

"It is a mental illness that he has," I saw his mouth open, "and no, you cannot 'vanquish' it as you say. He has been dealing with this for most of his life and we have learned to adapt and help him through it."  Roman sadly sheathed his sword.

"Can he not see a healer? You said it was an illness. If it is mental, as you have said it was so I assume that it is true, then shouldn't leeches do the trick?" I heard Patton audibly gasp.

"No. Though doctors still use leeches in this day and age, we do not use them for many cases. Mental illnesses are not something that you can fix by using tools or bugs. It is a more complicated illness that is difficult to explain and understand." I sighed, how am I supposed to explain this. Virgil would know, but he is currently unavailable. I have never personally experienced this. I prefer to avoid emotions whenever possible due to my history, but I did look into mental illnesses once Virgil became our roommate. It helps to be prepared. But there is no easy way to put this into words. 

"We will have to wait until Virgil wakes up to discuss this further, now if you'll excuse me, I have to see if I can somehow find an extra plane ticket for later today." I excused myself from the conversation, walked over to the desk and pulled my computer back out from my briefcase. Placing it on the desk, I opened up the airline's website. Finding an extra ticket was more difficult than I had hoped, but I eventually found one and made it so that it was next to the rest of ours. 

While I did this I heard a conversation going on behind me. "Are you really a prince?" I heard Patton ask in a shushed tone.

"Yes I am the Prince of Rome. I was named after my grandfather, Romulus." I turned at that, not believing what I was hearing.

"Romulus started his rule on April 21, 753 BCE" I stated, my eyes wide open. Prince Roman nodded, chuckling.

"That is true. Why are you so surprised?" He flashed a quick grin at me.

"That was almost 3000 years ago" his playful smile dropped into a face of shock. I could see  tears starting to well up in his eyes. He closed his mouth and looked down at the sleeping Virgil in Patton's embrace. He seemed to be lost in thought as he stared at our little emo. Patton was running his hand over Virgil's back as he looked at Roman in concern.

"How do you even know English?" I questioned. Roman glanced up.

"I don't know," he wiped his eyes and looked back at Virgil, watching him sleep. He looked so peaceful compared to when he was awake and Roman looked transfixed by the way his features softened and the pattern of his breathing. He took a few seconds before continuing, "I remember hearing things. Voices. They spoke in different languages. I heard Virgil speak in this language, and I knew it. It's… it's hard to explain. Much like the… the mental illnesses that you had mentioned before." His voice drifted off often while he spoke, still studying Virgil. I nodded, processing the new information.

"How many languages do you know?" I found myself pulling out a notebook from my bag and started taking notes.

"I don't know the names, but I can introduce myself in different languages." I nodded, letting him know that I could work with that. He started, "Ich heiße Roman. Nomen Romanorum. That is my original language, I think… it's hard to remember. Anyway, Je m'appelle Roman. Mi nombre es Romano. Mi chiamo Romano. Numele meu este Roman." He went on and said his name in many more languages as I quickly jotted down all the names. If I didn't know the name exactly, I would sound it out so I could look it up later.

"That is impeccable. You know more languages than, I believe, are still used in this day and age. That is quite miraculous. This could help so many archaeologists with their findings!'

"I still don't know how to read or tell these languages apart. If you ask for one language, I could be speaking another so it might not be as impressive as it would seem." Roman looked disappointed in himself. 

He shrugged it off and continued to stare at Virgil. "If I may ask," he started again, "can you tell me more about Virgil?" He looked up at me and Patton. We glanced at each other and slowly nodded.

"Sure," Patton responded, being careful to not wake the little bean sleeping on his shoulder, "what do you want to know?"

"Everything!" Roman's smile quickly resurfaced. Patton and I shared another look.

"Well, we can't exactly tell you everything because it's not ours to share, kiddo. But we'll tell you what we can."

"My apologies. I just,' he sighed and looked at Virgil again, "I have waited almost 3000 years to meet my soulmate, trapped in stone all that time. So I'm a little rusty with human interaction. I just... I want to learn all I can about the love of my life."

"Can I ask you more questions in return?"

"Of course!" A broad smile formed on his face. "You mentioned earlier about travel, so I am guessing you guys are tourists. If you are, where are you from and how do you know Virgil?"

Patton jumped in, "We are from Florida, a state in the U.S." he noticed Roman's confused look. "On the other side of the globe?" He tried, but Roman just burst out laughing.

"Globe? What fantasies are you talking about good sir?" I stared at him. I wonder...

"You do know the Earth is round right?" I asked him. He laughed harder and wiped tears out of his eyes.

"Thank you, I needed a good laugh." He chuckled to himself, "the Earth is round. That's funny. If only my cousin could hear that one! He actually believed that kind of stuff ya know. It was really funny how convinced he was." I stared at him.

"Roman. The Earth is round."

"Sure it is," he said in an unserious tone of voice, "just like how the dragon witch doesn't exist. You guys should join the players in the town square!" He let out another laugh.

I glanced back at Patton and we shared another look. His look told me that he would try to explain it to him. I nodded.

"Roman," he began cautiously, "we aren't kidding. The Earth really is round and dragon witches don't exist." He explained softly to the prince. The prince looked at him, still smiling. I saw a flash of panic go through his eye.

"You’re joking," he said one last time. Patton gently shook his head. The prince turned towards me. I slowly shook my head as well and the prince's face fell. "Excuse me for a moment gentlemen," he said before going to the bathroom.

With Patton still under Virgil, I stood up and walked over to the locked bathroom door. I heard crying coming from inside.

"Are you alright Roman?" I asked through the door.

"Just fine," he replied. The tone in his voice suggested that he needed to be left alone, so I walked back over to the desk. Patton must have gotten the message because he didn't try to go to Roman. We both knew he needed space to process this new information.

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