Chapter 4

Later, the three sat in Roman's study, mugs containing coffee (for Logan and Roman) and hot chocolate (for Patton) sat in front of the three as they sat in silence. Logan decided to break the silence, adjusting his glasses as he spoke.

"Regardless of your decision, I feel the need to deem it appropriate to inform Virgil of this in the near future. He deserves to know, more than any of us, since it is his copy you decided to create without any of our knowledge." He explained, ignoring the paling of Roman's face as he spoke. "I will apologize for my reaction to this news. It was not necessary for me to punch you, Roman. I am sorry."

At the small nod from the pale prince, he continued.

"For now, we need to decide how to break the news to him softly. Knowing Virgil, he won't respond well to this news so we'll need to remain conscious of the fact that he'll most likely take this very badly."

"Is it possible to not tell Virgil and just erase the copy that Roman made?" Patton asked, his attention on Logan, who had stood and began pacing as he thought.

"No!" Roman exclaimed, giving Patton a shocked look. "He's still a living, breathing being that lives in my kingdom. We can't just erase him!"

"Then what do you propose we do, Roman?" Logan asked, stopping his pacing and looking up at the creative side. "And I certainly hope you don't say that what is currently going on is ok. You allowed this copy of our friend to roam around freely in the woods. What if it wasn't myself or Patton that had discovered him? What if Virgil had chosen to come into your realm for something and came across a copy of himself that was infatuated with you?"

"All alone with just a copy of himself in the big scary woods, he'd have a panic attack and none of us would know or be able to help him." Patton said softly, tears forming in his eyes at the thought.

"He'd never forgive me…" Roman raised a hand to his face to shield his eyes in shame. Raising his head up, he brought his hand up to push his hair back, his eyes stone hard. "I still can't just erase him. Despite my mistakes, he deserves to live."

Logan set a hand on Patton's shoulder, comforting the morality side as he thought.

"Maybe we could just talk to the copy. We should tell him about why he was created and why he's not allowed to run into his original." He suggested, looking up at the logical side as if asking for his opinion.

"I suppose. The possibility of Virgil coming into Roman's realm is still likely. They work together. And there are times when I've noticed Virgil's need to come and enjoy the sunshine that this realm provides." Logan thought to himself, his free hand coming to his chin as he thought.

"Virgil comes here?" Roman asked, this was news to him. While it was his realm, he didn't know of everything that happened here.

"I brought him here once for a picnic since I managed to convince him he needed some sunshine. We were here for a couple hours, I was surprised you didn't come and meet us or mention it afterwards. I just assumed you knew but didn't feel the need to bring it up with us. Virgil and I still come here for picnics every once in a while but I know he comes here sometimes in order to get some fresh air." Patton explained, noticing the look of complete fear growing on Roman's face.

"So he could already know about the version of him that I made here?" the prince asked, his palms beginning to sweat.

"I don't think he does. Virgil comes here to think. That field of yours is his preferred spot." Logan said, matter of factly. "Not the forest, by the way. Your copy said they preferred the forest but our real Virgil would be racked with fears of every kind of situation that could go wrong in that forest. He wouldn't be comfortable at all."

"While the field is bright and kinda against Virgil's whole look, he likes the amount of open space he can have so he doesn't feel as crushed." Patton added.

Roman frowned.

"I see," His voice conveyed disappointment in himself at his lack of knowledge. "When I created my Virgil, I gave him more of an affinity for dark and spooky. The forest was created before I made my Virgil and when I allowed him to explore freely, he seemed to just be more comfortable there. It seems that I don't know as much about him as I thought."

"Roman, answer me this. When you created this version of Virgil, did you give him his anxious nature?" Logan asked.

He continued when he received a 'no' from the prince.

"This version of him doesn't appear as vigilant when it comes to his surroundings. He's very carefree and positive and while our Virgil can be positive at times, this version that you created seems to not have a care in the world aside from you, of course." Logan deduced, setting a hand on his chin as he thought.

"I see. When I created my Virgil, I figured it would be better if he wasn't as anxious and worried all of the time." Roman shook his head. "In all honesty, I wanted to see what he would be like without anxiety."

"Kiddo, Virgil IS Anxiety." Patton explained, his voice kind as if talking to a child as he emphasised the 'is'. "It's a big part of who he is. We wouldn't have our Virgil if he didn't have anxiety."

At Roman's silence, Logan took the chance to clear his throat, catching the attention of the other two sides.

"Speaking of Virgil. He was concerned as to why Roman has been acting strange the last few days and wanted to try to help when Patton decided to go and help him but was hesitant due to the amount of surprises the two of you have a tendency to gift Virgil and I, he was worried he'd get in trouble for coming into the realm uninvited." Logan explained.

"Awwww that's so pre-" Patton gushed only to be stopped by Logan's raising his voice ever so slightly to signify that he wasn't finished talking. Blushing slightly, the fatherly side nodded for Logan to continue.

"Therefore, I took it upon myself to ease his troubled mind and come here myself and see what was the cause of the strange behaviour. But now that I know what the cause is, I feel the need to say how dire it is that we don't let this information reach Virgil at all costs."

"That makes sense. We need a cover." Roman took charge. "We'll say we have been working on a surprise but for Virgil only. So he doesn't feel wrong but also feels vindicated for his concerns."

Patton and Logan both nodded in agreement to the prince's idea.

"Then I will take my leave. I'll bring this information to Virgil. He's waited long enough for my return." The logical side nodded and turned to leave.

"Hopefully we can figure this out and no one will get hurt." Patton said before turning to follow Logan out.

As they walked out into the halls, they hadn't noticed the back of a familiar fabricated black and purple hoodie of a side that they thought had left the castle.