#hello fellow goblins

“You’re going to be seriously hurt if you don’t let me up!” He grits his teeth and grabs Patton’s wrists to throw him off,” I need to get to Logan!”

“Prince Logan’s going to be fine. The others are already looking for him, and you need to be resting!” Patton gets up onto the bed and pins Virgil’s wrists above his head. The guard struggles under him, but can’t break free in his weakened state,” the dragon doesn’t stand a chance once Roman finds it. Let them deal with it!”

That only makes Virgil struggle harder and yank his knees up to ram into Patton’s backside. The force knocks the servant off of his balance and Virgil takes the chance to throw him off and get to his feet. He stumbles and grabs his knife from the nightstand, stuffing it down its sheath,” sorry, Patton, but Logan comes first.”

“Virgil, wait!” He chases after him but the guard, even in his weakened state, is faster and by the time Patton gets to the stables, he’s already riding out on Logan’s dark horse into the night. Patton tugs on his pony’s reins as Roman runs in and grabs the horse already tacked for him, courtesy of being a prince.

“Patton, get back to the infirmary! You’re supposed to be watching Virgil,” Roman swings up into the saddle and races off before receiving an answer, his mind focused on Logan and how scared he must be in the talons of that great beast.

Dragons were one of the most revered of the ancient beasts, said to be created from the deep magics that brought everything together in the world, they acted as guardians of the ancient times, hoarders of magics that the world could only dream of: the power to control the wildness of nature, stop death, destroy countries with a single word. The dragons held the knowledge to all of these and more, but were slain when humans feared they wouldn’t share their secrets. The deep, mystical powers of the earth were locked away after that; as with no one to direct their power, they ran rampant, winds tearing the roots of the eldest trees up, waves drowning ships in watery graves, the earth devouring towns under rock and mud.

Logan must be terrified to be held captive by a beast with such power at its disposal.

Roman growls and kicks his steed into a faster gallop, he had seen the dragon’s shadow head this way and judging by the time he had measured, it couldn’t have gone far. Roman wracked his brain, trying to think. Dragons need a lot of space to rest, and this one had a captive so it would need somewhere to… oh no.

The castle. The old rickety castle that was falling apart brick by brick. Logan could get seriously hurt if something happened during a fight there, but Roman couldn’t think of anywhere else close enough for a dragon to have seen and been able to get to by nightfall. He’d have to risk it, Logan didn’t have a lot of time if that dragon got hungry. Roman tugs on the reins to guide his horse towards the castle, the world rushing by in a blurr. The wind whistles past his ears, Roman can feel the sweat starting to stick under his helmet, the steady weight of his weapon strapped to his hip, the beat of his heart pounding for his one and only. Logan had to love him after this, right? I mean, how can he not? Roman was risking his life for him, fighting a danger greater than either of them have ever seen, and carrying him home. He was rescuing him from the grips of something catastrophic, defeating his nightmare and proving himself as a worthy partner, king, ruler. Lover. When did Logan become so important to him that he was willing to risk his life for a chance of his love being reciprocated? When did that challenging sparkle in his eye become the sole reason he lived? Is this what his father talked about years ago with both of his sons? Is this what he meant when he said that someone would make him feel different than anyone else? Is this what Remus teased him about before Roman left to earn Logan’s hand?

“C’mon, Robro! At least let me come help!”

Gods, what Roman wouldn’t do for Remus’ help in this fight.

He pulls the reins back as the castle comes into view and stops his horse, looking up at the closed drawbridge. Annoying.

He hops down and ties his mare to a tree to let her rest, approaching the deep black waters surrounding the stone walls that tower over his head. Luckily for him, the water had drained over the last few days since his initial visit so he was able to hop across the stones barely visible on top of the water. His eyes search the walls for the vines that had been growing and went up to the battlements. They seemed sturdy enough to hold his weight. He tested it before nodding and starting to climb up right as Virgil’s steed breaks into the clearing.

The guard curses and ties Logan’s horse up with the quickest knot he could manage before he stumbles to the edge of the moat,” shit-”

He put a hand to his chest where he could feel his bandages soaking with the blood oozing from his wound. Logan, Logan was more important right now. He had to get to Logan, warn him about Roman-

Virgil stifles a gasp of pain as he’s dragged back by someone on his leg. He turns over and sees a tearful Patton holding his calf,” Virgil, stop! You’re in no shape to fight a dragon!”

“P-”

“You need to rest! Badly! Can you not feel your pain, your wounds? You were struck across the chest and crushed under the bedframe! I-I’ll fight for you, but you need to rest!”

“Patton, that’s-”

“Quiet! I-I won’t let you go into this fight! You won’t survive.” He pulls him back and winces at Virgil’s pained breath,” you’ll get shredded in there! Let Roman take care of this for once!”

“Roman’s the problem, Patton!”

“No, he’s going to rescue Logan, he swore he would on his honor. Trust him!”

“HE’LL END UP KILLING HIM, PATTON. Logan’s-” he’s cut off by a wheezy breath as Patton pushes him down to the ground to change his bandages,” he’s-”

“In the southern tower? We know, Virgil, Roman’s got this handled, trust me. If anyone can save Logan, it’s Roman.”

“NO, Patton, he’s tHE” He takes a breath and hisses at the disinfectant pressed against his scratch marks, “He’s the dragon, Patton! Logan’s the fucking dragon!”

“Language!” Patton frowns but lets up on the cleaner,” what do you mean he’s the-”

A roar sounds out and flames blast from behind the stone walls, frying the vines to a crisp as the dark blue dragon raises its head and beats it’s powerful wings.

“That- That’s Logan. There isn’t time, Patton, you have to stop Roman from killing him! I saw the look in his eye before I passed out, he’s furious. Please, Patton, you have to help Logan, please I beg-”

“I got this, Virgil, don’t worry, but you need attention too, look at yourself.”

“Patton, I’m not the main focus right now, I’ll be fine, but Logan won’t unless you get in there and save his ass.”

Blue flames burst from above the castle walls again as an angry roar pierces the air and the drawbridge crashes to the ground, the chains snapped. Virgil shoves Patton away and coughs,” go!”

Patton hardens his gaze and nods, rushing into the castle through the now broken drawbridge. The scene inside was straight out of an oil painting: Roman had his sword drawn and raised against a blue dragon backed into a wall. Patton could see ruby blood dripping from slashes in its wings and the superficial wounds Roman’s sword had inflicted.

On the other hand, Roman looked relatively unharmed other than the bruises on his limbs and the burns on his armor. There was blood trickling down over his left eye from his hairline, and his helmet was dented, but he seemed okay.

“Release the prince, foul beast, and I’ll make your end a quick one!” His bloody blade jabs at the dragon, who raises its foot out of range and steps back, twisting its ears back.

Patton found that he couldn’t move as the dragon huffs smoke from its nostrils and hisses angrily at Roman.

“So be it, then. Perish!”

“ROMAN, NO-“

The blade comes crashing down on Patton’s small dagger and the prince scowls,” What are you doing?!”

“You can’t kill it, Roman, you can’t!” Tears spring to the servant’s eyes and he turns them to Roman’s furious ones.

“This isn’t the time for your empathetic nonsense, Patton! I have to defeat it to save Logan!” He shoves his servant aside and jabs his blade at the dragon once more, but finds nothing but open air. He growls and looks around until he spots the beast climbing the southern tower. He pulls out his slingshot with the sharpened stones Remus had given him before he had left. You know, just in case. He aims and fires straight into the dragon’s eye. It screams out and flaps its damaged wings as it crashes to the ground, it’s tail smashing into the base of the southern tower. Where Logan was hidden away.

He tosses his sword aside and charges for it, taking the stairs three at a time to reach the top room where he knew his love was hiding. The door! He reaches for the handle and throws it open,” Logan!”

All he found was a change of clothes bundled on the floor with blue scales scattered around,” Logan?!”

The foundation rocks as Roman tears the room apart,” Logan, where are you?!”

“Roman, you have to come down, the tower’s collapsing!”

“Not without Logan! He has to be here, it’s the only place!” The prince yelps as a beam falls from the rafters and barely misses him. He stumbles back to avoid the falling debris but when he turns to run, he finds that the doorway was blocked. He was trapped. Tears spring to his eyes; he can’t die yet! He still has to save Logan and marry him just like in the stories his mother read to him! He still needs to help Patton find hi true love and go home! Remus would kill him if he died before seeing his wedding! He still needs his happily ever after!

His fingers ache as he flings the old window open on rusty hinges. One of the panels flies off and lands somewhere nearby,” Patton, the door’s blocked!”

The servant wipes away his frightened tears and looks at the dragon. Could Virgil be right? He had to trust he was, or this wouldn’t work.

“Roman, you’ll need to jump!” He calls up to Roman then shoves himself against the dragon’s chest,” c’mon, buddy, I need you to move!”

“Patton, I’ll DIE”

“Trust me!” He pushes against the dragon’s side again and mentally cheers when he moves on his own.

Logan looks up and shifts over with Patton’s gentle encouragement,” you’re doing great, Logan honey. Just a little more, ok?”

He drops to the ground and sighs weakly, his wings coming to cover his wounded sides. He could feel Patton gently moving his closed eyelid to examine the eye that had been shot and his ear swivels forward when the servant hisses softly in sympathy. Patton looks up when he notices Roman hadn’t moved, “ROMAN, JUMP”

The prince finds his body obeying without his permission and Roman did not scream like a little girl as he fell through the air. The air’s forced out of his lungs when he lands on something firm but squishy and Roman sees spots in his vision in the second he has to recover before another force rams into him.

Nimble fingers undo his armor straps and a sigh of relief escapes him as the weight falls from his shoulders. He gasps when the ground shifts underneath him, rising and falling in a pattern that he vaguely recognizes as breathing. His body burns as he gets to his feet and he can barely hear Patton talking, but he can’t make out the words.

“- eak out, okay?”

“Wha, Pat, why’s the floor movING-!” He yelps and grabs onto Patton as the ‘floor’ yanks out from under them and the actual ground meets Roman’s back. Logan rolls over them and tucks his head underneath with his eyes closed. Patton whimpers as heavy debris crashes down outside their shelter and grips Roman tightly.