Chapter 39: We Interrupt this Program to Bring You Virgil Angst

                                    

                                          
CW: Hospital, blood, emotionally abusive parents, mentions of drugging and car crash
"Look, I'm fine," Sidney told the boys. There were two IV's in her arms, one of them was for Saline, the other blood, both almost empty though. The angel looked healthier already. "It's just a little blood loss, and the doctor said the hole will heal and close up on its own!"
"Will the feathers grow back?" Cecil asked, holding into the frame of the hospital bed.
"The scar probably won't grow any feathers, but it's a very small area. I can still fly! Just not for a month... Well, the doctor told me not to so I won't pull the stitches."
Kayden stayed quiet, his own wings folded tight against his back. He played with his necklace, it was a metal rose bud, the petals closed up. Remus had it specially designed for him, saying he'll get one with the petals open when he's grown up. The avion always kept it hidden under his shirt, and when it wasn't he was rubbing his thumb against one side.
There was a knock on the door as it opened, revealing the doctor and Roman walking from behind her. The doctor had her hair tied up in a tight bun, the tips of her pointed ears and fingers turned from brown to green.
"Alright, you should be good to head home," the doctor said. "I have your release forms here, and a prescription for some medicine. It'll help to keep infections away, and doubles as a pain medicine."
"Oh, okay, thank you so much," Sidney said as the doctor went over to pull the needles out of her arm. "What about the bill?"
"I already took care of that," Roman told her.
"But..." Sidney was ready to argue.
"No, you fell on my fire poker, and I should have stopped you from pulling it out. I moved too slow, just let me help you out. You'll be staying at our place just to keep an eye on your wing, is that okay with you?"
The angel deflated but nodded anyway. "Thank you. For everything you've done."
"You're practically family, and you know how protective this family is. Now let's get you home and to bed."
~~~
"Anna! Anna!" the little boy giggled, running to his older sister. "Look! My horns are getting bigger! They're bigger than they were yesterday!"
Anna turned around, black hair spilling from her shoulders. She smiled at her little brother, purple eyes full of stars, a dimple forming on her cheek. Only one, and only on her left side. She was so grown up and so kind.
"Oh they do, just a little bit. It looks like you have moms."
The little boy's eyes grew wide and full of wonder. "Really?" He reached up to the black horns on his head, being careful to not to scratch himself with his claws.
"Duh, silly Billy."
"My names not Billy," he giggled. "You know it's Virgil!"
"Oh, how could I forget!" Anna smacked her forehead. "The adorable little dragon, Virgil."
"Nuh huh, I'm not adorable! I'm Virgil, of the sacred Nobles! I'm super serious, an-and uh..."
"Mature?"
"Yes!"
Anna laughed. "It's okay to not be mature, Vee. You're only six."
"But I am mature! Like momma and poppa said I need to be! And I'm gonna be super smart, and I'm gonna help people, and make momma and poppa happy! They're gonna be so proud of me."
His older sister kneeled down, and Virgil saw how her horns twisted at the end. "I know they will be. And I'm gonna be proud of you too. Whatever you do, I'm gonna love, because I love you."
She booped his nose, making him giggle.
"Anna!" their mom called from the other room. "Anna, come over here please!"
"Coming, ma'am!" Anna turned to Virgil once more. "I'll see you soon."
Virgil frowned as his sister walked away. He tried to follow and ended up going outside for some reason. He walked into the garden, seeing the perfectly trimmed bushes and flowers. Though the one thing his family couldn't get rid of was the dandelions, not that Virgil hated them. In fact, he and Anna loved them the most. So stubborn, so imperfect...
However the further he walked, the darker it got. The plants and flowers became scarce, and eventually even the dandelions were left behind. He was still in their garden, right?
The grass turned gray, the horizon disappeared. There were voices all around him but it was muffled. Shards appeared in the air as he continued to walk on, shards of mirrors. He passed one and saw himself as an adult. He passed another and he was a child again. Another, his face covered in bruises. And another, his skin sickly pale and dark circles under his eyes, making him jerk back with a sharp breath.
Looking around he noticed purple flowers growing from the ground. They had hooded petals and feathered leaves.
"It wasn't his fault!" a voice shouted, making his panic grow worse.
"Anna?" he asked in a small voice, nausea growing.
"You know he would never do it! Not on purpose! I'm telling you, someone is trying to hurt him!"
There was a distant beeping, and with each second it got faster and louder.
"Why would he? Why would he use Devil's Tongue? He had to have been drugged! He almost died in that car crash!"
The beeping was from a heart monitor, still growing louder until it became deafening. Virgil covered his ears, trying to block out the beeping and the voice. The mirror shards started to swirl around, showing different versions of him from different times. They cut the flowers, the wind tearing them away and making them fly around him in a tornado.
"I don't know why, but you can't just leave him! He's hurting!"
"Stop it, stop it!" he begged, his hands over his ears and his eyes shut tight.
"You're his parents!" 
The shards closed in, shredding his clothes and cutting his skin. 
"You can't just disown Virgil!"
He shot up, blinking his eyes open. A sticky note was stuck to his cheek, he was at his desk. In that god forsaken factory. He fell asleep. It was just a dream. A memory.
Virgil leaned back in the chair, his wings and tail curling around him as he pulled his legs up. He... hasn't dreamed about Anna in a long time. Her words echoed in his head. Not just of the fight she had with their parents, but what she told him when he was a child.
Oh his sister must be so proud of him now... It would kill him if she saw him now. He's become a stranger to her... It's been two years now, she's most likely a stranger to him. He wondered briefly if her favorite flower was still the dandelion.