A bright, blinding light shot out from the crystal in Patton's grasp. A hot, searing heat scorched his hand, causing him to drop the stone, throwing it away and onto the forest floor. He used his arms to block the light, turning away as it lit up the forest. As it began to fade, Patton peeked open and noticed the forest was as bright as it would have been during the middle of the day. He blinked the spots out of his vision and turned back to the stone as the light finally faded away.

A man stood in the center of the clearing, a circlet on his brown locks and a dazed look in his eyes. He stood there motionless before he began to sway, staggering to keep himself upright. He grimaced and held his head in his hands before shaking it and looking back up at Patton.

The others were silent as this man blinked and stared at Patton with a look of confused. "What? Who are you? Where...?"

"Thomas!" The mysterious figure, Joan, raced forward and wrapped their arms around the man. "You're alright! Oh, thank the heavens!"

The man, Thomas, looked down at Joan and smiled, wrapping an arm around the other. "Hey, buddy. You okay?"

"Me? You're the one that got himself trapped in a stone by an evil sorcerer! I TOLD you talking to him was a bad idea!" Joan pulled away and grabbed the sides of the other's face. "You talk to me about these things before you decide to try and be the hero, okay?"

"Yeah, sorry. I thought... I thought I could get through to him, ya know? Give him another chance. Everyone deserves another chance."

"I'm sorry, one moment." Virgil stepped forward and pointed at Thomas. "You... are you telling me that you're the king and you were trapped in some magical rock?" They both turned to him, Joan's hands dropping from the king's face.

"That can not be!" Roman cried out in alarm. "The king... You told me to keep it hidden, to keep it safe! To make sure no one could find it!"

Thomas stood there for a moment before his eyes widened. "The sorcerer! He grabbed me, then he... he shifted. He looked like me! Except for those eyes... Then he started to laugh and the stone started to glow and..." He closed his eyes and shook his head. "That's all I remember."

"I saw it. You told me to stay hidden, no matter what." Joan looked at Thomas with determination. "I saw him do it. I waited and pretended I knew nothing. When he asked me to go on some fake quest to get me out of the castle, I pretended like it was you asking me a favor. Then, I followed him here." Joan pointed to Roman across the clearing. "He was given the stone and I knew that I just had to get it to try and get you out!"

"You followed me?" Roman questioned before turning to Patton. "They followed us here?" Patton watched from the sidelines as Joan told their side of the story without a word. His eyes never left their form for a moment. "Patton?" Roman called out once more. "Are you alright?"

"They... You said you'd help me leave my village so I could live my dream." Patton spoke softly. "You said you wanted to help! You said, you said-!" His voice cracked and shook as he let out a sob. "You made me choose. My family or my new life, you said!" Patton placed a hand over his mouth as he hunched over, unable to hold back the raw emotional ride that the night had dragged him through. He shook his head and stumbled back before reaching out for a tree to lean against as he didn't hold back his tears this time.

Thomas turned on his best friend immediately with a rage in his eyes. "Joan, no, how could you?!"

Joan held up their hands defensively. "I never was going to do it! I had to get you back, no matter what!"

"Joan, this is... unacceptable! You can't just go around threatening people to get what you want!" Thomas threw his arms out in his anger. "That's literally the type of person we're trying to stop!"

"I didn't know what else to do, Thomas! They had someone patrolling the grounds nightly and I tried getting in but I couldn't and..." Joan shook their head. "I knew I could ask for your forgiveness after, but at the time, I was out of options." Thomas huffed and stared at the other for a moment. "I didn't know what to do." Joan exclaimed, their voice dropping to a softer tone. "There's a man pretending to be you at the castle and I was alone and you were gone and I didn't know what to do... I was desperate."

Thomas let out a sigh and shook his head. "Joan..." He reached out and pulled them into a hug. "You're smarter than that, I know you are."

"I know. M'sorry." They mumbled into the king's tunic. "I'll make it up to you."

"I'm not the one you need to make it up to." Thomas pulled away and turned to Patton who was trying to collect himself on the side. "Besides, I already know your punishment." Joan looked up at Thomas cautiously. "You're the one who has to explain this all to Talyn."

"Shit," Joan recoiled back and hunched in on themself. "Shit, I didn't think about that."

The king turned to look at the group around him before looking back at Patton. "I do not know him. Could one of you comfort him?"

Virgil turned to Roman immediately as a response. Roman blinked in surprise before he sighed. He was the best choice out of everyone there. Slowly, he walked through the clearing, careful as he was still barefoot and in his pajamas. Goodness, the king was watching him wander around the woods in the dark in his sleep attire, how embarrassing. If there weren't more pressing matters, he'd have begged for a greater force to strike him down where he stood.

He approached Patton and held out his hands in front of him. "Patton?" The other slowly looked up, his eyes shining in the pale moonlight from tears. Roman could only imagine how red his eyes and nose were at this point. "It's okay. Everything's fine now. We're not mad, okay? We get it." He turned and pointed to Virgil. "We aren't mad. You're okay. Your family is nice and safe, we'll make sure of it."

Patton gasped for air, his lungs stuttering as he did. "R-really?"

Roman nodded and stepped a little closer. "Really. You thought you didn't have a choice, I get it. We forgive you, right Virgil?"

"Of course we do," Virgil didn't hesitate to reply. "I know Logan and after we explain, I know he won't care either."

"See?" Roman held open his arms a bit. "Everything is okay. We can't be mad at you for trying to protect your family."

Patton stared up at him as Roman held his arms out a bit more, the silent offer for a hug still there. Patton took a step forward before falling into Roman's chest, the messenger's arms quickly wrapping around him. The cooling silk of Roman's pajamas was helping with Patton's pounding headache a little bit. "Thank you..."