Chapter Text
Bdubs glared at them all, hurt and betrayal coursing through his veins as he watched his "friends" agree to Cleo's plan. He was supposed to have a lovely evening with Ren, but now he was stuck laying against this grimy floor, cheek pressed into the cold stone, waiting for his fate to be sealed by the Resistance.
He wasn't afraid. He knew that Ren would find him eventually. He knew that Ren would send out search parties. He knew that it would come at a cost, though.
What price would Ren be willing to pay to have him back? Surely a lot, he was his King's most prized treasure, the best Royal Architect there ever was! Surely there would never be a price too great for him?
He knew that if Ren were in his situation, he would give everything he'd ever owned to have him back.
He just hoped that his King would do the same for him.
"You," Cleo snapped, jabbing a finger towards him, "Are going to cooperate. Or else."
Bdubs could see the Soup Group exchange uneasy glances, but he swallowed down his own fear. "Or else, what?"
"Or else you won't see your precious little King ever again."
Bdubs froze. He still didn't quite know what that entailed, but he certainly didn't want to find out.
He took a moment to study the faces of the people before him. His friends, who had taken him and locked him up and were about to do Void knows what to him. By cooperating, he gives them what they want, to have information, to know the Court's secrets, and to eventually steal the throne from his rightful King. He wasn't like them - he wouldn't betray those who he was supposed to be loyal to.
But taking one look at Cleo - eyes steely, unwavering, a cold green like his King's Royal Emeralds - every once of resistance in him completely dissolved.
He would never admit it, but he was scared. Scared of the unknown.
"I- I'll comply."
Cleo nodded, looking down on him through the bars. Bdubs couldn't help but shrink back a little.
"You will answer every question that the Resistance has for you," Cleo stated, clearly and simply, "You will tell the whole truth to ever question that you are asked. You will not tell anyone about what happens here. Is that clear?"
Bdubs nodded hastily.
After he had agreed, Cleo unlocked the cell and stepped into it, closing the door carefully behind them. They strode towards him, their heeled shoes clicking loudly, every footstep sounding like a gunshot to Bdubs. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block everything out.
When Cleo reached him, Bdubs felt himself getting dragged up into a low kneel. He opened his eyes; the world was the right way up, and the Resistance was standing before him, watching him.
"Go ahead," Cleo said to the resistance, talking above Bdubs as if he wasn't even there, "Ask him whatever you want."
The Soup Group looked at each other uneasily, presumably thinking of things to interrogate Bdubs about. Bdubs stared at them searchingly, trying to find a scrap of anything - a reaction, a whispered question, a silent plan - that might quell his fear of the unknown, the fear that was making him shake like a leaf.
Finally, Pearl stepped forward.
"Hi there, Bdubs!" she smiled, trying to talk to him like he wasn't tied up in some kind of cell. He frowned.
Pearl took no notice and continued. "So, my fellow Resistance members and I think that it would be a good idea for you to tell us everything that the King has told you about the reign. Any secret plans, any weaknesses, whatever. And if we see fit, we'll ask from there."
Bdubs opened his mouth, like a fish trying to gasp for air, but no sound came out. "I-"
"Hurry up, Bdubs," Cleo admonished. She was out of Bdubs's eyeline, and he could tell that she was doing something behind his back. He didn't want to wait to find out what.
"I- King- King Ren told me about... about his plans for the economy. He wants to have complete control... with- with, uh, Royal Emeralds, and owning people's shops and- and- he's just taking it a bit too far I think."
"In what way is he taking it too far? How does he want control?" Pearl interrogated, stepping closer towards the bars.
"He wants to- to be able to cut people's Royal Emerald access completely off, when he decides to. At a moment's notice, he can prevent their shop from running, take all their money, completely shut that p-person off from buying anything. He's planning on trying it with you guys first."
He paused, closing his eyes gently and letting the weight of what he'd just confessed hang over him for a little bit. He'd just revealed that his own King had planned to shut the doors on whoever he saw fit, to abuse the power that he was entrusted with, and ruin someone's life on a whim. Because he wanted to. No wonder the Resistance were rebelling against this, he would too if he had any sense!
But he would never go against his King. He could never. Never, in a million years. He was the King's most trusted advisor, his right-hand man, his boyfriend. The King trusted him with everything he had, and Bdubs sold it all away. Just because he was afraid.
Bdubs was officially the worst boyfriend ever.
"I tried to stop him..." Bdubs whispered, swallowing back the tears, "He- he said he would consider. B-but I just feel... so bad... so bad for him..."
"Why do you feel bad for him, Bdubs?" Impulse asked.
"I- I just-"
But he couldn't speak. If he hadn't betrayed his King already, this would certainly be enough.
"I'm not answering," he stated, finally, resolutely staring down the Resistance through the tears in his eyes.
"Bdubs," Gem said, as if she were talking to a scared animal, "Just tell us. Why do you feel bad for the King?"
"Tell us, Bdubs."
"Come on, Bdubs, don't make this harder than it needs to be..."
"We just need an answer."
He couldn't, he couldn't, he couldn't! No matter how hard he tried, he wouldn't betray his King. Not as much as this. He would never be forgiven for it.
The tears wouldn't stop flowing, no matter how hard Bdubs tried to stop them. The rope was cutting into his wings. He couldn't cope.
"N- No! I- I'm not... no!" he yelled.
"Answer them, Bdubs," Cleo warned.
"NO! I don't need to tell you- you anythi-"
The cold cut him off as it enveloped him in waves, setting his nerves on fire. The cold made him shiver, forced shaky breaths from his lungs, puffing into the air in short, spluttering bursts. Small chunks of ice fell from his head, dripping onto the wet stone around him.
Bdubs bowed his head, trying to curl up into a ball and stop everything from happening all around him. It was too much. He looked as pathetic and wet and cold and sad as he felt. The rope was still cutting into his wings, making them ache from where they were bound to his back. He just wanted it all to stop.
The tears barely made a difference anymore.
The sound of the bucket clanging to the floor made Bdubs curl in on himself tighter.
"Bdubs," Cleo began, and her tone of voice seemed slightly softer, "You should answer their question, then we'll get you a towel and a blanket. But you need to answer them first, okay? You don't want me to get another bucket, do you?"
Bdubs paused, trying desperately to muster up the strength in his exhausted brain to reason with himself. This was a horrible idea! It would give the Resistance everything they need to take the Court down! Giving them this would practically give them the victory, the diamonds, the power, everything that they could ever want.
And Ren would never forgive him.
How would Bdubs ever be able to forgive himself, letting Ren down so drastically; letting himself fail just because he was scared, and cold, and miserable? Could he really not stay strong for a little while longer, until they got bored and left him be?
In the end, really, Bdubs was just selfish.
"Ren-" he croaked, voice shaking and shivering in all the wrong places but Bdubs couldn't care, "He- He's s-sick... I see i-it, it's subtle, b-but the reign - it's really t-taking a toll on him. He's n-not the Ren I know, or love, I d-don't even know who he is, but he's certainly not Ren. He's just the King - d-driven by greed and power and too sc-scared to let anything go in case he falls harder than he's ever f-fallen before. He's weak, one threat will b-break him, and even his eyes seem greener, completely o-overtaken with lust for the Royal Emeralds. Ren's gone. I- I just want him back..."
The silence stretched out over the room, shrouding the atmosphere in a smoky tension. Through the bars, there was movement, but Bdubs couldn't bring himself to look up. He felt broken.
"That's all we need from you, Bdubs, thank you," Impulse said softly, cutting the tension with a knife, but a butter knife.
The door to the cell opened, but Bdubs remained where he was. The clicking footsteps returned, and faded slightly as Cleo walked through the cell door, locking it behind her.
"We'll give him some food, water, and a towel in a little bit," she told the Soup Group, and Bdubs recognised the hint of remorse in her tone. "First, we'll go outside, and discuss what will happen next regarding his ransom."
Bdubs heard footsteps shuffle out of the room, before silence greeted him once again.