The prompt list was made by @hiddendreamer67
AN: I really liked this chapter and had a lot of fun writing it, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
”What do you mean he ran away?!” Asked the king to his advisor.
”This letter was found on the prince's room” Dee said, handing him a pink envelope ”It clearly describes he was not ready for a responsibility as important such as being king”
Emile took the letter and read it ”My poor son, I really hope he's okay, Thomas” he said, catching the attention of Roman's teacher, who was also the person in charge of communication with other kingdoms ”I need you to send a letter to king Remy, he needs to know what happened, tell him to keep his eyes opened, Roman might go to his kingdom, and... the wedding is canceled until my son is found”
”Of course sir” Thomas took Roman's letter and walked out of the room to his own, once he was there, he left the card on his desk and picked up his stuff to write, he still didn’t believe Roman could have done something like that, he was excited to see Patton and his relationship with his father was good, it made no sense.
After some time, the smell the letter had filled the room, Roman used his rose fragrance on the letters he wrote, it was his personal touch, but this smell wasn’t the one of roses, it smelled more like lavenders, which was weird, why would Roman change his usual smell for something so important as a ‘I ran away’ letter?
Something was not right about all of this, Dee was planning something, that was for sure, there was one time when he coughed him collecting magical plants, Thomas knew them well because he had studied magic at some point, he even tried to make a growing potion for the borrowers living on his house, Thomas thought as he finished the letters for king Remy and prince Logan.
He went outside and was about to give them to the royal messenger when an idea popped into his head, Patton looked exactly the same as Roman, if he could finish that growing potion, Patton could take the prince’s place until he figured out what really happened.
He hurried back to his room and looked for his magic materials, and started working on the potion, wasting no seconds until it was ready, now all he had to do was convince Patton to do it, but that was something he would do tomorrow.
Patton ran through the walls, he was excited to see Roman again, the borrower never thought he could be friends with a human, much less the prince himself, he was so distracted on his thoughts that he didn’t notice when he crashed with someone, Patton looked up at him “Sorry Virge, are you okay?”
Virgil cleaned his clothes and picked up the stuff he had borrowed “I’m alright” Virgil and Patton borrowed in the same zone of the kingdom, so they knew each other since years, they even managed to get a place to live together, Virgil looked at the other borrower “Where are you going with such a hurry?”
“Oh” however, Patton didn’t mention his encounter with Roman, as he knew Virgil would freak out “I just need to borrow something urgently, I need it for something I’m making”
“What is it? Maybe I have some left” said Virgil.
Patton was starting to panic at this point, he didn’t like to lie and he wasn’t very good at it “I-I checked and you didn’t have any either”
Virgil raised an eyebrow “You checked my stuff? That’s not likely of you”
“I’m sorry, I told you it’s urgent, and now I really have to go get it so bye Virgil” he said running away “I’ll see you at home!”
Virgil shook his head slightly and sighed, but continued his way, Patton would explain if he wanted to.
Patton sighed relieved as he made his way to his meeting spot with Roman, he got out of the walls and saw the human was already here, sitting and waiting for him “Sorry I’m late, I got distracted on the way here”
The borrower looked up as the human turned to see him, but he wasn’t Roman, he was Thomas “Oh hi Thomas, where’s Roman?”
Thomas lowered his hand for Patton to climb on it “I don’t know, one of the people in the castle found a letter in his room saying he ran away”
“Wait what?” he asked as he climbed on the human’s hand “why would he do that? it makes no sense”
“I know, that’s why I don’t believe it” Thomas raised his hand, leaving Patton at eye level “I think something else happened to him, but I need your help to find out what”
The borrower looked confused “how would I be any help?”
“Well…” Thomas sighed trying to find the words for what he was about to say “I need you to replace him until he appears, and listen to me before you say no, or that I’m crazy or something”
Patton nodded “okay, explain”
Thomas smiled when the borrower gave him a chance “Roman has to marry the prince from the neighbor kingdom, Logan, in order to fix the financial problems of the kingdom, they have been friends for a long time and the agreement had already been sealed, but, with Roman’s supposed disappearance, the wedding has to be canceled, and Logan’s father, king Remy, isn’t a very patient person, if the wedding isn’t done by the end of this month, he will break the deal and the kingdom will be bankrupt, I need you to act like Roman until I find him to keep the deal before it’s too late, please”
The borrower tried to proses all the information “B-But what about my size, surely someone will notice”
“I have something to fix that, with you at human size and with a wig to make your hair darker, you will look just like Roman, no one will ever know”
Patton thought for a moment, he wanted to help if the prince was really in danger “I-I’ll do it, if you’re sure something happened to him, I’ll do anything to help Roman”
“Thank you, now if you don’t mind, I need to put you in my pocket to go back to the castle”
The borrower gulped but nodded, it was the easiest way to avoid being seen, Thomas opened the pocket of his cape and left Patton inside, he stood up and started to walk back to the castle.
Thomas had left Patton in the prince’s room while he went for the growing potion, the borrower was amazed with every detail, the room was huge even for a human, and everything was so fancy, Patton used the sheets to climb down from the bed to the floor, he walked around and looked at everything closely, almost regretting Roman’s offer of staying here.
The human went into the room with the potion, surprised and scared when Patton was not on the bed “Pat?”
Patton got closer to the door for Thomas to see him “I’m here, sorry I just wanted to walk around”
“Don’t worry, I just can’t have another prince disappearing” Thomas sat on the floor as the borrower got closer “are you ready?”
“Are you sure it works? And that it’s safe?”
“It is” Thomas used Patton’s small cup, that he asked for before, and poured some of the potion on it “You just have to drink it and you’ll be human sized in no minute” he extended the cup to Patton.
He sighed and took it, looking at the liquid “Here I go then” without thinking it twice, Patton drank the potion, he left the cup on the floor as a warm feeling spread through his body.
He looked up at Thomas just to see he was already as tall as him while he was sitting, he continued to grow as he looked around, amazed at how everything was becoming his size with inch he gained, he stopped growing and looked at Thomas as he stood up “I told you it worked”
“Wow” he was looking at Thomas eye to eye “This is awesome! I never thought I could be human sized one day!” Patton walked around the room, he stopped once he was in front of the desk, one particular object caught his attention, he picked it up “What is this?”
Thomas looked at what Patton had on his hands “Roman made it for you, he wanted you to have a nice suit and he really tried his best to do it”
“Was I really that small?” said the ex-borrower looking down at the piece of clothing, Roman did a very good job with it “Do you think he’ll be alright? Wherever he is…”
“He will” said Thomas, reassuring his friend “He’s a very strong and smart person” he walked to a box on the desk and opened it, getting a wig out of it “And with this, you’re ready”
Patton took the wig and put it on, he looked at himself in a mirror and smiled slightly “We’re still missing a small detail for this plan” he said turning to see Thomas “I don’t know anything about being a prince”
Thomas smiled “Don’t worry about that” he walked to a bookshelf and picked a thick book, opening it and bringing it closer to Patton “It's all here in the Princes Book of Etiquette, let's begin”
He sat on the bed and Patton sat next to him, paying attention to the book the other one had “no nagging, bragging, sweating, fretting, slipping, tripping, slurping, burping, twittering or frittering allowed. Stay present, stay pleasant, stay proud” Read Thomas.
“I- I don’t think I can remember all of this” Said Patton.
“Of course you can, I believe in you” said Thomas “To be a prince is to know which spoon to use” he kept reading, turning the pages and showing the pictures to Patton “to be a prince is a thousand pair of shoes, to maintain a regal gait, leave the parsley on your plate, and be charming, but detached and yet amused” Thomas stood up, leaving the book on the bed and offering his hand to Patton “to be a prince is to never be confused”
Patton took his teacher’s hand and he dragged him around the room “Do a plie and never fall” he kept saying, Patton tried his best to follow his instructions “don’t ever stray from protocol, all through the day there's just one way you must behave. Do keep a grip and never crack, stiff upper lip and arch the back, bend from above, and always wear your gloves, and wave” Thomas handed Patton a pair of gloves and he put them on, imitating Thomas on the way he waved.
Thomas got behind Patton “shoulders back and, tummy in and, pinky out and, lift the chin and, slowly turn the head from side to side” he indicated Patton the way to do it, smiling when he followed.
“I see now” he said, smiling back at Thomas.
“Breathing gently, stepping lightly, smile brightly, nod politely, never show a thing you feel inside” said Thomas as he opened the prince’s wardrobe and got out a couple of outfits “To be a prince is to always look your best” Thomas looked between the clothes and Patton, handing him and outfit and pushing him behind a screen “to be a prince is to never get to rest, sit for a portrait, never squirm, sleep on a mattress extra firm, speak and be clever, never at a loss for words” he said while Patton changed “Curtsy to every count and lord, learn how to play the harpsichord, sing lullabies, and always harmonize in thirds” he said singing the last word.
Patton got out from behind the screen, changed and already looking like a prince “Thirds, thirds” he sang, harmonizing with Thomas.
“Do a plié and don't” continued Thomas.
“Ever, ever, ever fall!” said Patton, finishing Thomas’s sentence and doing the plié perfectly this time.
Thomas smiled and continued “Never show dismay” he extended his hand to Patton.
Patton took it “And be there when people call!” continuing with the rules again.
“Be prepared whatever royal life will bring” he said as he started doing simple ballroom dancing steps “do keep a grip and don't”
“Ever, ever, ever crack!” said Patton, following the steps his teacher did.
Thomas spun Patton “Take a dainty sip”
“Never ever turn your back!”
“There's a time and place and way for everything!” Thomas let go of Patton and walked to Roman’s wardrobe once more “To be a prince is to never make your bed” he said taking out one of the prince’s crowns and walking to Patton “to be a prince is to always use your head” Thomas put the crown on Patton and looked at him, he was sure this was going to work, it had to, and Patton was going to be an awesome temporary prince, he already knew all the manners.
