Chapter Text
“Are you okay? Did he hurt you?” Phil asks, his concern feeling nearly uncomfortable in all its foreignness.
Techno mutely shakes his head, an honest response to both questions. The king seems to frown at that, but he retracts his hand without further word when Techno chooses to stand up without taking it, ears flicking nervously.
Wilbur stands with him, sticking to his side, and they both hold onto each other’s hands again, this time Wilbur holding on a little tighter, as if Techno might rush off and do something drastic if he doesn’t keep him close. Phil glances down at their joined hands for a split second, as if making a sudden consideration. Wil’s heart jumps with the action, unable to do anything but assume the worst.
But nothing comes of it. The king simply turns his head to look at the movement of people around them, his expression carefully calm.
“Maybe we should head off before anything more happens, yes?”
Both twins nod in agreement, but Wil’s lip is twisted with a furrow in his brow, all his worries in his mind reaching down and squeezing at his throat until a question comes bubbling out amongst the noise around them.
“Where are we going?” He asks, sounding just a little strained with it. Again, the king’s concern is given to him, this time in the form of an attentive look, and Wil moves his gaze away to glance past him. He cannot meet those eyes.
In looking past the king, though, Wil’s hesitance fizzles out at seeing the sight of the buildings and streets up ahead, leading away from the arena, the beginning of the world beyond. This right here, in itself, is such a small taste to what there will be, and when Wilbur looks towards it, he suddenly feels so small.
The arena is- was, a grand thing, but it must be nothing compared to the entirety of the whole kingdom.
It is nothing to the sight of a castle far off in the distance, the towers and walls of it appearing downright daunting with how they’re held up so high on the mountain, overlooking the towns below, like- like a king to his people. That would make sense, now, wouldn’t it? That would be right.
Wilbur’s never been able to see the castle before, from here. The arena only ever offered a sight straight up, the clouds being the only factor of change. Now that he’s able to take it all in, see what sat behind the audience stands this whole time-- he won’t lie, he feels a bit overwhelmed. It’s a little too much.
Techno doesn’t seem to be faring any better. Wil thinks he might still be rendered frozen over the fact the king used his name.
God, he would laugh at this entire situation if it weren’t so terrifying.
“You’ll be heading to the castle.” Phil answers, the response nearly drifting past Wil’s ears. He might as well just have responded that they were going to head to the heavens itself, because that’s what it feels like.
Phil steps around the two of them, passing by Techno’s side, and as he does, Techno and Wil turning to follow, his wings stretch out, feathers brushing at Techno’s shoulder for just a stray moment. It’s an instinctual sort of habit, for Phil, something meant to be comforting, but Techno flinches away from it, eyes wide at the gesture, his arm knocking into Wil’s with his steps veering a bit to the side.
The king doesn’t give any mention for the reaction. He moves on smoothly without a blink, lips pressed a bit thin.
“We’ll get you checked over for any injuries, then get you settled in for the night, alright? Although, first, I do need to call over a ride for you both-” Phil begins to explain, leading them away from the commotion around the arena entrances, towards a more open area where there aren’t as many people moving around.
“Phil!” Someone calls out, and Phil’s wings suddenly fall, drooping in a relief he doesn’t even seem to realize he’s showing. He looks up with a smile growing across his face, and Techno and Wil follow his gaze to find the carriage put to a halt on the road across from them, the queen herself stepping out through the door.
She makes her way over to them without a hint of pause, her smile beaming, but the joy not quite reaching her eyes. There’s something odd in her look. Something angry. For a moment, Wil nearly resonates with it, never having seen such contrasting emotion put beside a smile, much like how he’s had to do so many times over.
Then he just looks away, hoping to avoid the heat of that same anger.
“There you are.” Phil says, greeting her with his hands embracing hers, a kiss brushed over her cheek. “I was told you arrived earlier, why is your carriage here?”
“I was by the south entrance.” Kristin simply explains, tilting her head towards that direction. “I heard you were over here, so I thought it’d be better to just ride over. You’ll need the carriage anyhow, won’t you?” Her attention moves to the twins behind him, her pretending content mood fizzling apart as she takes in the state of them, watches the way they both avoid her eyes.
Her eyes land upon Techno’s chains. Phil feels her grip go tight, expression faltering into something a little more honest for the situation.
“Remove those.” She orders, the words spoken like they were yanked from her throat, declared with all the power of someone knowing it will be followed through.
Phil means to call someone over to do just that, to heed that request, but within the next second, Techno is stepping away, wary at hearing the sudden threat in the queen’s voice, an unveiled display of fury. Wilbur finds himself being held close, the same chains mentioned clinking against his arm as he’s pulled in towards Techno’s chest.
“Oh, I’m-” Kristin blinks, pulling together a soft smile again, clasping her hands politely before her. She keeps herself open, keeps every aspect of her as nothing but calm and kind. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to sound so cruel.” She apologizes, with all the grace of a humble care. The wariness does not falter, and Kristin does not fault them for it. Even in all the lessons for etiquettes she’s suffered through, sometimes her heart still lashes out too harshly. She cannot help it, for such emotion is what has made her queen. “It’s just- those are probably uncomfortable, aren’t they?”
Wilbur takes a half-step closer to Techno, shifting his body so as if to hide the cursed chains from sight. Neither of them are looking away from her now, but it is less out of bravery, and more out of a honed sort of sense to keep your attention upon the danger. Kristin both respects the action and pities the fact it’s become a part of them.
Phil lifts an arm to call a guard over, requesting for the keys needed to get rid of the chains. They take only a minute to come, for plenty of chains have been unlocked tonight, and the keys are freely passed around to where they’re needed.
“Here.” Phil holds the key up and takes a step forward with the intent to open the lock on Techno’s wrists, but Technoblade hardly makes a move. Wilbur seems to be considerate at the sight of such an offer, but all he does is shift his weight on his feet, as if he’s unsure of whether to snatch the keys up or pull his brother over to the king.
“You should just give it to them. Let him do it himself.” Kristin suggests quietly, and Phil’s already halfway in doing so. He turns his grip on the key and holds it out, and Wilbur instantly reaches up to take it, Techno’s fingers pulling at the back of his shirt as he grasps the metal into his palms.
As soon as the key is his, as soon as Phil has let go, Wil turns his back with a frantic grip onto Techno’s hands, rushing to be rid of the chains as fast as possible, before they can ask for the key back or change their mind. Technoblade keeps his eyes over his brother’s shoulder, looking at the queen and king as Wilbur’s fingers shakingly pry apart the metal wrapped over his skin, letting it hit the ground with not a drop of care.
Wilbur breathes out hard, a wavering smile blooming over his face. He presses his thumbs into the sides of Techno’s wrists, wanting to massage away the soreness left behind, wanting to have him forget the weight of the chains at all. Technoblade allows himself a single glance down at his freed, scarred hands, and despite it all, he still ends up looking at Wil’s hands instead. Such a moment to cherish, having this freedom granted at last, but Techno cannot help but hope from now on, there will never be a possible chance for Wilbur to wear these same chains.
“I could’ve sworn you said you were going to deal with this tomorrow morning.” Phil turns to begin a conversation with Kristin, some attempt at giving the twins a chance to have a moment to themselves. “Giving the guilty party a night in the cells would’ve been a fine way to have them wait for their sentences.”
“True. But I admit, I felt restless.” Kristin confesses, the feathers of her wings shifting behind her. “I want this all wrapped up as quickly as can be. Tommy also wasn’t exactly inspiring patience back at home.”
“When does he ever?” Phil asks, but it’s nothing but fond. “I would hope he’s in bed by now.”
“He was when I left.” Kristin hums, the anger in her eyes fading for a second at the thought of her son. “I’m sure he’s going to be uncontrollable when the news of new company hits him tomorrow.”
“I can’t blame him. It’d be impossible to hide this from his ears.” Phil chuckles, and he looks over his shoulder, the action making both the twins lift their heads to him. “Are you both ready to head off now? You can take Kristin’s carriage, we both will be here for a while, so it’s not as if it’s a bother.”
“A carriage?” Wilbur repeats, looking back at the carriage the queen had stepped out of. Technoblade also takes it in with a furrow of his brows, his tail swinging restlessly behind him. Phil gives word to a guard to have them escorted over, with further instruction to have them checked for injury, and then put to rest.
“I’ll see you both later tomorrow morning, most likely.” Phil gives as his goodbye, Kristin leading him in the other direction so that they may take care of business. “We can talk more then.”
“Rest well.” Kristin gives as her farewell, her kind tone sounding as genuine as can be. The way that she turns and strides away, like a warrior stepping off into war- it makes the lasting words feel out of place.
Both Wilbur and Techno are led into the carriage that Kristin had left behind, the door shut behind them, the two of them left sitting on plush seats across from each other. A curtain sits over the glass of the windows, and a single lantern hangs from above their heads, the candlelight warmly bright.
As the carriage jolts to begin moving, Wilbur automatically reaches for Techno, and they both hold their hands together between them, hunched close like two souls whispering secrets.
They whisper nothing for the first few minutes. It is somewhat quiet in the space around them, the privacy being a given chance to finally breathe and process all the events of tonight. Wilbur can still see the higher up’s head rolling across the ground, the king holding the sword high.
Technoblade is still holding the terror of helplessness in his heart.
He wonders upon so many different possibilities for them now, none of them perfect. He looks to Wilbur and the subtle joy written over his expression, and while it breaks him to destroy such a thing, Techno cannot let him stay naive. He cannot accept this gift as merely kind mercy.
“What do you think is going to happen to us?” Techno whispers against the noise of the turning wheels under them, the horses footsteps stomping at the dirt ahead.
Wilbur lifts his eyes towards his twin with a confusion melting over his frown.
“You heard what he said.” Wilbur murmurs in return. “We-” He hesitates in saying it, like the words can’t help but get stuck in his throat. “We’re going to be freed.”
“We’re being taken to the castle.” Technoblade says, sitting up straighter with a glancing look to the curtained window. “If we were going to be freed… why would he want to take us to the castle?”
Wilbur pauses.
He wants to insist again that they’re just going to be checked up on, like how the king said, how he had told them, but Techno brings a valid point, and in it, he reveals an implied danger to such a detail.
If they were truly free, like how they were promised, why the special treatment? Why were they not put with the other fighters? Why…?
Wilbur suddenly feels like an idiot, his heart slammed with a frustrated disappointment that has his mouth tasting so damn bitter. He breathes, tail flicking hard against his seat, and Techno moves his hands to interlace his fingers with Wil’s, as if to try and ease the shift of mood.
“I don’t want to imply the worst.” Technoblade tries to soothe, but even he doesn’t sound so sure. “I just want you to expect it, to not be caught off guard.”
“I should’ve fucking known.” Wilbur mutters, swallowing back a tight feeling in his throat, eyes burning up with a harsh, horrible resentment. Was the key to the chains before just a bribe? It had worked so well, for all that Wil’s ever wanted was to rid that weight from his brother. “It’s all too good to be true, isn’t it?”
“It’s still an improvement. I mean- You saw how he reacted to the cages. To us. At the very least, that’s…” Techno trails off, as if Wil can catch on.
Wilbur looks at him with a frown. So what, if he gave some great act? What is that supposed to mean?
“He thinks we deserve more, for being the best fighters.” Technoblade explains, leaning closer, hands squeezing tight. “If this is a trick, well, under him, I’d assume we’d still be doing the same routine, but it’d be an upgrade. Better conditions, better rewards.”
“We’d… be royal entertainment.” Wilbur realizes, taking in the weight of what that could mean. “Is that why we’re-? He said all the fighters were being relocated. He’s moving us to the castle because- he wanted our skills. He wanted us.”
“That’s what I’m thinking.”
Wilbur scoffs, unsure of how to feel. Being directly under royalty- they’d naturally be given more than any other fighter could get. Wil has no doubt they’d be dressed up nicer than he’s ever had, with meals that would keep them strong, rather than just keep them going. They could be given rooms, instead of a cage. A bed, instead of just the floor.
It’s almost freedom. Is that why the king described it as such? Did he assume they would take such things, and have no other choice but to appreciate it for the vast improvement of it all?
“But it’s still the same.” Wilbur breathes out. “An arena or a castle- that’s not…”
“It’s enough, isn’t it?” Technoblade tries to have him agree. “I mean, we’ll probably be treated better than any random civilian.”
“But we’d still be fighting.” Wilbur grits out through his teeth, head falling low. “I thought we were done fighting.” There’s a shake of desperation in his voice, and Techno shifts close to press his head to Wil’s, a low comforting rumble coming through his chest. “I thought- He said-”
Wilbur feels like such a fool, and even more, he feels so greedy, for not having this be enough. He’s going to be given a life of near luxury. He’s going to be able to be at his brother’s side, with his skills rewarded beyond anything he’s ever had.
It’s just not enough. Wil can’t make himself be grateful for it, he just wants more. He wishes that they could have the choice of escaping from this carriage, breaking through the door and running off into the night. Out there, on the streets, they would have nothing but each other and the clothes on their back. But it would be theirs.
“It’s fine.” Wilbur tries to brush over it, the screaming anger for more, festering in his chest. He pushes Techno up, trying to compose himself. “I just- I got too eager for a second, I guess. This is still good.”
“I know you were hoping-” Techno begins to say.
“It’s alright.” Wilbur stresses, cutting Techno off, and he feels all the worse for it. “It’s alright.” He breathes deep, and tries to focus on the positives here. “I suppose we’re finally being recognized for our worth, if the king himself is wanting us as his fighters.”
“I always knew I was the best in that arena.” Technoblade brags, Wil’s lips curling up into a smile at the played-up smugness. “They didn’t deserve our royal-quality skills.”
Wilbur huffs, shaking his head. He wants to make some sort of joke back, keep the mood high, but he can’t manage it. He feels so stupid for being so hopeful.
He feels so furious for not being given what he was promised. For his brother not being given what he deserves.
He wants-
He-
Techno seems to sense whatever sort of turmoil Wilbur has running through his head, and he scoots to the side with his hand pulling at Wil’s arm.
“Come here.”
Wilbur moves over to sit next to him, to curl into his side like he can hide from his own thoughts. Techno’s arms wrap tight over the back of his head, his chin resting over Wil’s curls, and here, in such an embrace, Wil can almost pretend that it’s just the two of them. Just them, nothing else. The world and the consequences in their future are nothing of importance. Techno is all that’s ever really mattered.
“With higher reward comes higher risk.” Technoblade says slowly over his head, like he’s reciting it from somewhere. Wilbur blinks his eyes open from where he lays against Techno’s chest. “If we’re going to be underneath royals from now on, we can’t act out.”
Wilbur goes still at realizing what he’s saying. His heart feels cold, the anger of his greed thrashing hard in his chest. He squeezes his eyes shut again at Techno’s next words.
“Wilbur. There can’t be a repeat of today. Of when you yelled.”
Wilbur pushes off Techno and sits up. “I wasn’t trying to insult the king then. It wasn’t- it was the things they were saying-”
“Wilbur.”
“-acting as if we asked for this-!”
“Wil.” Technoblade repeats, gripping onto Wil’s forearms, eyes burning with a worry that makes Wilbur so guilty. “Please.” He turns his head in a shake of refusal. “We don’t know what will happen from now on. What they could consider proper punishment if we don’t follow in line.”
“Royal entertainment.” Wilbur mumbles, thinking of the expectations that come with such a thing. They might be treated better, yes, but only because they are now of a higher standard. If they don’t act as such…
Wilbur knows the Queen is someone accustomed to the horrors of war. Lady Death, they did call her. Does one get such a name from being merciful and kind?
“Promise me that no matter what happens, you will behave.” Technoblade insists.
Wilbur hesitates to say it. “But what if-”
“Wilbur, promise me.” Technoblade almost yells, his grip turning painful at where he’s holding onto Wil, so tightly, so desperately, like he knows he’s going to lose him. “You will do this for me. You will try, you will keep yourself safe. For me. Promise me.”
Wilbur chokes back the whisper of greed, the aching hunger for freedom, for justice for his brother. He chokes it back to the point where he nearly can’t breathe, and he nods, mouth opening and faltering against the words trying to form.
“I…promise, Techno.”
Technoblade releases a breath of something that’s almost relief, and he gathers Wilbur back up in his arms, holding him close with their hearts laid against each other, fear flowing through them both.
For now, here, it is just them both.
The worst is still not yet here. That fact is little comfort.
They will take what they can.