Virgil's eyes fluttered open. He took in his surroundings, recognizing the gardens behind the palace. He visited it in his dreams very frequently. When Roman was asleep, sometimes they could communicate. 

The ability to communicate in dreams was a power he never understood. Virgil hadn't read anything in books about magic regarding dream walking. He wasn't sure if he was doing it on purpose or if it just happened at random. The garden was the only place he'd ever truly visited as well, making him uncertain what his abilities were.

Virgil looked around again, feeling strangely like he wasn't alone. He couldn't see anyone, but he could feel someone's presence. "Hello?"

"You'll have to do better than that to talk to me," a smooth voice echoed back.

"What- Who are you?" he replied, looking up in confusion. The voice sounded familiar. He knew he'd heard it before. He tried to place it, his eyes widening in realization. "Wait, Janus? The illusionist I spoke to, it was Janus, wasn't it?"

There was silence for a couple beats, but then a reply came through. "You have to project yourself to somewhere we've both been if you want to talk to me," Janus' voice told him.

Virgil frowned; did he want to talk to Janus? He couldn't gauge what the illusionist's angle was from their earlier conversation. Somehow, he felt that Janus could tell him more about what was going on. There was the fact that he'd been there during his imprisonment and helped Tsyla Tac summon Dorchadas, but also the fact that he seemed to know what he was talking about when it came to magic.

Maybe he could tell me about dream walking? Or my connection to Dorchadas? He's on Dorchadas' side, but maybe I could convince him to give me information regardless, he thought. I can at least try. There's no harm in talking to him while I'm asleep.

He closed his eyes and tried to remember the castle he'd been kept in last year. He knew that Janus had been there, if he currently wasn't there already. He cast his mind to the dark corridors and cold air of the castle. Virgil felt his anxiety rising as he thought about being back in that awful place. He had thought he was going to die there. 

The air around him felt cooler now. The dark prince opened his eyes slowly, finding himself in one of the bedrooms of the castle. It was the room he'd met Janus in. The illusionist had pretended to be Roman and attempted to get him to help Tsyla Tac willingly. 

Janus was standing in the room with his eyes closed. He looked toward Virgil as he opened them, taking him in with barely concealed curiosity. 

"Is there a reason you wish to speak with me?" Janus asked, his normal eye and yellow snake eye peering into the dark prince's. 

Virgil shook his head in confusion, looking down at the floor. "I don't even know how dream walking works, I didn't mean to contact you," he said honestly. "I take it you're asleep in another room right now?"

"Indeed, I am," the illusionist replied. He began to walk around the room slowly.

There was a tense silence between them for a few minutes before the dark prince cleared his throat. "Would you happen to know anything about dream walking?" he asked. Janus arched an eyebrow at him. "I don't know how this works, and I've checked every book in my father's library, but found nothing on the concept of dream walking. You seem to know a lot about magic in general."

"I do have extensive knowledge of magic," Janus said cautiously. "But why should I tell you anything?"

"Well, what's dream walking going to do? Even if I visit you or summon you, you'd still have to tell me information for me to know what's going on," Virgil said. "It's not like I can use it to a combat advantage either. Also, you don't really have loyalty to Dorchadas, I know you're lying about that."

The snake-like man considered his words and tilted his head. "You're correct, I hold no loyalty for that... thing," he said, sounding disgusted. "But as I said, illusionists don't really have a choice."

"Times have changed, my father would be understanding-"

"It doesn't matter what your king says, people like me will never be able to live among others as equals. Our... uniqueness... makes us unbearable to look at to the common people," he replied. He turned so that his snake half was visible. "Tell me truthfully Virgil, if people fear the king's own son just because he has dark magic, how will they react to someone who looks like me?"

Virgil couldn't think of anything to say in response to that statement. He looked down at the floor again and sighed. "Will you at least tell me about dream walking?"

"If I do so, will you stop attempting to communicate with me?" Janus countered, glaring at him.

"I didn't even know I was trying to communicate with you!" he said exasperatedly. He returned the glare he was receiving as he took deep breaths to calm down. "Yes, I'll stop trying to contact you if you tell me how dream walking works."

The snake-like man's frown curled into a mischievous grin. "Alright, I'll tell you what I know," he started. "Dream walking is a very ancient form of magic that isn't found much today. Many dream walkers from records tend to be lovers. It seems that mages can develop the ability to dream walk regardless of their form of magic."

"That would explain why Roman could visit me too," the dark prince muttered to himself. "How did you learn to do it?"

Janus rolled his eyes. "That is not necessary information for this," he said. "There are two ways to dream walk: summoning others to your dream and visiting others' dreams. Summoning only works if the place you've selected is also a place the other person has been, hence why you had to visit me. I've never been wherever you were summoning me from. Visiting has the same rules."

"So I just need to think of a place to host my dream, and then think of the person I want to talk to?" Virgil asked.

"If that person has learned to dream walk as well, then it should work, yes," he told him with a shrug. "Learning to dream walk comes from connections with people in its initial stages, but gradually becomes about skill and practice. Hence, why we're talking right now despite not knowing each other."

The dark prince was about to say something when he felt a tug. "Oh, I'm waking up," he said in realization. He looked at the illusionist. "Thank you, I guess."

"Whatever," Janus replied.

The room then faded from Virgil's view as his eyes fluttered open for real.