Virgil woke up to a staticky feeling crawling up his arms. He scrunched his nose up with an annoyed groan as he shook out his arms, still half-asleep, only for the feeling to get worse. He groaned again and opened one of his eyes lazily to look at one of his arms only to freeze, breath catching in his throat as he shot upright in his bed. With both eyes now open, and arms held out in front of him, Virgil had a clear view of the dark vine-like lines crawling out from his fingers and extending up to his elbow.

Virgil hadn't even realized he had screamed until Quintin had all but broken the door down in his attempts to get in only for Virgil to automatically shoot a hand out at him and force him out of the room, the door slammed shut, and with a loud click, the lock fell into place.

"Prince Virgil!" Quintin yelled, "Prince Virgil are you alright?!"

Virgil hastily knocked the pattern for yes as he jumped off the bed with panicked breath.

"Then open this door!" Quintin yelled.

"Nnnooo" Virgil managed to force out, he was tearing apart his wardrobe for something to use to hide his arms and hands.

There was a tense silence for a moment, "I'm getting Logan." Quintin eventually said. Virgil tried to speak again, tried to get another word out, but it was no use, his voice wasn't letting him and even if it was Quintin was already gone.

"Virgil," Logan said through the door a few minutes later, Virgil was still throwing things around in an effort to find something that could help. He said nothing, "Virgil, open this door, please. Whatever it is that is bothering you, I can help, just open this door." Virgil didn't open the door.

With panic flowing through every inch of his body Virgil managed to finally dig out a pair of long wool socks. The door was rattling as Logan tried to use a spell to get it open and, not seeing any other option, he pulled them up to his arms, stopping just short of his elbow, and grabbed a coat off the chair he had thrown it some night prior.

Just as his arms were both fully covered, the door flew open. Virgil yelped as he took the biggest, heaviest, fluffiest pillow off his bed and threw it into Logan's face as hard as he could. He felt slightly bad as Logan's glasses came off and fell to the ground but he continued to move, dodging out of Quintin's way, stealing Franklin's sword, and booking it down the hall as fast as he could.

He could hear yelling behind him, and Quintin shoving Logan into a room but didn't dare look back. He already knew that everyone had automatically assumed he was trying to escape, which he wasn't. That'd be a stupid idea considering he had no plan in place. No, Virgil wasn't trying to escape. He just knew that he really needed to get to Markus and Ira and he couldn't let anyone else know what was wrong with him. His Grandfather may be turning a blind eye to Ira's use of forbidden magic, and others might be as well, but doubted that he'd still be safe once certain people saw the black lines on his arms.

Virgil made it to his Grandfather's study fairly quickly and he didn't even bother to knock as he forced the door open before slamming it behind him. His grandfather, jumped to his feet in an instant, "Virgil! What is the meaning of-" Virgil threw the sword to the ground, interrupting his grandfather as it hit the floor with a loud cruel Clang!

Markus froze as Virgil turned to him, he was the first that morning to see the absolute panic and fear in Virgil's eyes. Virgil looked to his Grandfather and had just enough left in him to roll the sleeves of his coat up and pull off the socks before he collapsed to the floor as if he had suddenly melted. Markus stared at the vine-like lines for a moment before swiftly moving into action.

He knelt down in front of Virgil and picked up the wool socks, helping him put them back on before pulling the leaves of his coat back down, "We'll go to Ira, she'll know how to fix this. And you're classes with her will end until further notice, we can't risk this getting worse." He told Virgil before opening the door to his office, opening it just in time to see Quinten and two other soldiers coming towards the office in a rush, "Ah, perfect. Quintin, I need you to help me bring my grandson upstairs, I don't think he'll be able to walk on his own-"

Quintin interrupted "Your highness Prince Virgil has escaped."

Markus glanced to Virgil, who was still on the ground crying, "Is that where you got that sword?" he looked back at the guards, "He's here now, carry him up, please. And the rest of you find out whose sword this is and make sure to cancel whatever panic Virgil has caused, I don't need Tafe hearing about this."

Markus moved back into his office and knelt by Virgil again, "You can't let anyone know about this, alright Virgil?" Virgil nodded in understanding as Markus let Quintin in. The young prince flinched when the guard picked him up, and at first struggled a little in his grasp but quit soon after.

They arrived in the overheated classroom a few minutes later, his grandfather paving the way, "Everyone out," Markus told the students that stood in front of cauldrons and tables. They all stared at him before glancing at Ira who stood by her desk. "Now!" Markus yelled, and Virgil flinched.

Ira sighed as she took off her reading glasses and dropped them, a rope catching them and letting them hang from around her neck, "Pack your things and go, I'll clean the mess." The students listened this time, and were soon filing out of the room. Quintin placed Virgil down in his regular seat, and though by now Virgil had managed to calm himself enough so he wasn't crying he was still filled with anxiety.

"Quintin, we'll take it from here. Go help Franklin with Logan or something." Markus said, the man only nodded as he left the room and shut it behind him. Markus waited for his footsteps to fade away before he looked to Virgil, "You can take them off now."

Virgil only nodded and sniffled as he did as he was told, placing the socks on the table and pushing the coat completely off. He showed the witch his arms with teary eyes as he looked away and to the floor as If this was something to be ashamed of. His breath hitches in panic when he feels long bony fingers wrap around his left arm and tires to jerk away only for the grip to tighten slightly.

"When did you notice this?" Ira asked

Virgil looked up at her for a moment before his eyes glanced down to his hands, he stared at them in silence until Ira let go of them and he had the freedom to sign. 'This morning. They feel staticky.'

Ira nodded, and translated best she could for Markus before taking his arm again, "Don't worry too much. You don't get to become a powerful witch like me without knowing a thing or two about corruption and how to stave off the effects. All you need is a potion. I'll collect the ingredients together, and next time we meet I'll teach you how to brew it."

"How long will that take?" Markus questioned

"I'm not sure, we'll find out together, won't we?" Ira replied easily, "Until then wear gloves."

'Like Dee?'

Ira shrugged, "Yes, I suppose it would be similar to your brother given you'd both be wearing them to hide something."

Virgil didn't know how to reply to that, so he didn't, and instead let his arms fall into his lap. Markus must have noticed he was uncomfortable because he jumped in with a response, "It wasn't uncommon in my time for unmarried teen youth to wear gloves. It was symbolic, to protect their purity. Tell me, have you had sex?"

Virgil's face quickly turned a dark shade of red as he recoiled so much he nearly fell out of his chair, 'That is not a conversation I need to be having right now,' Virgil said.

"I am also not interested in hearing the answer to that," Ira said as she turned away and started to clean up the mess left behind by the students, "You're fine for now Virgil, just avoid forbidden magic until later. Meaning, for now, your homework can wait."

"Speaking of," Markus said, "I think Virgil should take a break from all your classes."

Ira slowed down as she collected bottles and vials before continuing, "Virgil, you may leave. Your grandfather and I need to have a word with each other."

Virgil glanced to Markus, who nodded at him and Virgil pulled his gloves and coat back on before heading back out of the classroom on shaky legs. He sighed as he leaned back against the wall and stared down at his sock-clad arms before holding them close to his chest and squeezing his eyes closed tightly. How was he ever going to hide this from Dee?

Janus stared at his feet as he sat with his arms and legs crossed in front of him, nervously chewing on his lip as his mind wandered aimlessly. Virgil and Logan had visited earlier but had been ushered away about an hour ago and since then Janus has been deeply worried about his brother.

"What got you all riled up Jack the Fibber?" Roman asked from across the cell from him. Logan had managed to convince his Uncle to let him bring Roman a storybook and for the most part it's been doing a pretty good job of occupying him.

Janus glanced up at him but shook his head and said nothing for a moment. Remus glanced over at him from where he and Patton sat. The two had been playing a game of pass with their shoes for the last couple of hours, which had occasionally turned to a game of dodgeball in which the two would end up begging their two other cellmates for their own shoes in hopes of getting more ammo before the other could. And of course, Janus couldn't say no to his boyfriend's flirty grin, and Roman had absolutely no power when it came down to Patton's puppy dog eyes, and the two would submit their shoes and watch the event play out until one of them eventually got hit and the game was done, the shoes would be returned, and the cycle would begin again.

"Jan?" Remus spoke softly, holding the shoe in his hands and momentarily putting a pause on their game, "What's wrong, besides the obvious of course."

Janus looked up again, locking eyes with his boyfriend and sighed tiredly as he ran a hand through his messy disheveled hair. This boy would be the end of him one day. "He was wearing gloves," he stated simply.

"Who?" Patton asked.

"Virgil, he was wearing gloves. He hates gloves! Refuses to wear them for some reason-"

"It's a sensitivity issue I think." Remus provided somewhat helpfully.

"He won't even wear them in the winter. He once nearly gave himself frostbite when we were playing in the snow! Another time when he was first learning fire spells, he purposely lit them on fire. That's how much he hates gloves!" Janus explained to them, he was nearly tearing out his hair he seemed so worried, "He wore them once for his naming ceremony because our aunt made his outfit and he didn't want to hurt her feelings or some bullshit like that."

Roman shrugged, "I mean, they're just gloves right? Does him wearing them have to mean something?"

Janus sent a fiery glare at him, "Yes. It does, he wouldn't wear them by choice. And he wouldn't wear them for our grandfather, he'd just take them off when the old man wasn't looking."

Remus frowned and stood up to go sit by his boyfriend, placing a comforting hand on Janus's shoulder, "What are you saying JJ?"

"He's hiding something," Janus managed to eventually mutter, "And he's scared to tell me. He tells me everything! And whatever he doesn't tell me he tells you! What could possibly be so bad that he's hiding it from both of us." Janus gestured between himself and Remus before letting his hands drop into his hands.

There was silence for a long minute as the other three thought of what to do or say before Janus spoke again, "What if he doesn't trust me anymore? What-what if Markus manipulated him enough, and now he's mad at me and doesn't want me to be his brother anymore?"

"Ann would never do that," Patton said from their corner, "I know Ann. And you're like his most favorite person in the world! He looks up to you so much your highness. I don't think anybody could ever say anything to make him change his mind about you."

"But what if he did? Markus has done it before, I wouldn't be surprised if he did it again."

Remus shook his head and pulled Janus into a hug, "Virgil isn't mad at you. Did you see his face when he saw you? And he was so eager to show you all the new spells he learned. You're his big brother Jan Jan, he can't hate you. It would tear him apart."

"You. Dont. Get it." Janus insisted, "Markus is smart, he knows how to manipulate people. He manipulated my dad and uncle for most of their lives! He manipulated my mom. And when we were little he manipulated me and Virgil. Hell, I wouldn't even be surprised if we shared the same trait name with how much of a fricken..." Janus couldn't bring himself to say the word, liar, because if he said the same word that describes him, to describe Markus... it would be like admitting they were the same. "UGH!" Janus yelled in frustration, burying himself into Remus's clothing, "He hates me. He hates me and that's why he's not telling me shit anymore. Markus manipulated him, and now he hates me."

Remus shook his head again, "No, Janus-"

"Wow," Roman all but drawled from his side of the cell, "And I thought Virgil was the one with the trait name Anxiety." Remus and Patton gave him a look but he continued regardless, leaning forward a bit as he set his book to the side. "Hey Remus, is it possible for someone to have two trait names?"

"Roman," Remus growled out, "You're not helping."

"I'm just saying! With how he's acting, you think they'd call him Janus Deceit Anxiety Black- or would Anxiety come first? It's really hard to tell."

"Kiddo," Patton tried only for Roman to raise a flat palm in his direction. 'Shush. I'm talking.' It said.

Janus pulled his head out of Remus's shirt to look in Roman's direction, almost surprised to see the smirk on his face, "What a great ruler you'll be. With all these trust issues going on, and the lying, and the anxiety and everything." Both Remus and Patton whispered more warnings but they were once again ignored, "I mean, on their own, sure they could be helpful. The lying is good for negotiations and dealing with people you don't like. And the anxiety is good for being cautious and not being impulsive, etcetera etcetera. With brothers, yes, it could work. In one single person. No way."

"Roman, I swear to god-"

Remus was ignored, again, "And how can you ever lead a kingdom with your brother by your side if you can't even trust him? Your own brother?"

And those were the words that set off the reaction, Janus jumping to his feet with an anger burning in his eyes, "Listen, Roman-"

"No you listen your highness," Roman shot back, him standing up as well, "Your brother crossed a country for you. He nearly got kidnapped by bandits with me. He fought a dragon-witch. He got tortured by Tafe and Ira's lackeys. And yet he still insisted that we keep moving every day so we could find you and get to you and save you. If you think even for a second that a decaying old man, an overconfident traitours general, and a murderous witch could turn your brother against you then you don't deserve brother like him."

Janus glared at Roman, mouth open as if to say something but yet again Roman beat him to it, "Look, Virgil went through absolute shit to get to you." He told him, fingers pinching the bridge of his nose, "And I know that you had to go through so much that was just as bad if not worse than what he did. But let me remind you that Virgil is also the reason you and Remus have access to a doctor again. And he made them bring us clothes and blankets. He's responsible for turning my sweet innocent Logan into a cookie thief and bringing them to us. And he's why you got to go to that memorial thing. Do you even know how much he probably has to bargain for all that? How much he's probably putting himself out of his comfort zone for you? Hell! He even spoke for you for crying out loud! His first words in I don't know how long was yours and Remus's name. And according to Logan, most of his words always involve you." Roman groaned, "He doesn't hate you. I don't think there's anything in this world you could do to make him hate you."

Janus stared at Roman, eyes wet with tears but also still wanting to be so mad and angry at the other Crown Prince. "Then why is he hiding from me?"

Roman looked to Janus with almost a sort of pity in his eyes, "Because he's scared, Janus."