Work Text:
But burn the pages to ash my love...
Theseus is terribly bored at this ball, despite the fact that his family seems to be having fun. Even Wilbur is smiling and chatting with Eret, who had come to visit with Puffy for a few days.
It was nice to see the history between them had softened into mutual understanding.
Purpled is sitting beside the throne that Tommy currently sat on, his legs crossed under him, a cookie stolen from one of the cooks held triumphantly in his hand.
"You're going to ruin your dinner." Tommy smirked, dropping the royal charade for a moment to wink at his adopted son. The 23 year old really didn't care all too much, he was honestly surprised Purpled wasn't fast asleep like Ranboo, the toddler had fallen asleep before the ball had even begun.
"I'm too big a man!" Purpled replied, shocked.
"Oh my god you've warped him." Puffy smiled, as she walked up. "Hello little prince! Where is your brother?"
Purpled jumped up and hugged Puffy, words somewhat muffled in her mane. "He got sleepy and went to bed. I wanted to stay up and watch dad be cool."
Tommy chuckled at that, though his eyes caught on movement outside, shadows under the main entrance to the throne room.
The voices warned him of danger, frantic and disturbed, making Tommy stand with enough fervor that the crowd stopped their idle chatting to look at him expectantly.
He was already a step away from the throne, motioning for Puffy to take Purpled to where Ranboo was, when the doors slammed open, a bloody messenger stumbling in. He swayed a moment, a low groan barely audible even in the stunned silence.
Tommy sprinted over, catching the man before he hit the ground, wings curling around them to shield the blood soaked man from the eyes undoubtedly on them.
"Attackers in Trenddin…'' There was blood escaping from the messenger's lips as he spoke, each word sounding like agony. "They spared no one, the town burns." Glassy eyes met Tommy's, "I'm sorry sir. I'm so…. sorry."
Tommy swallowed harshly, instincts and voices alike screaming for Tommy to destroy the ones who dared hurt his people.
More importantly though, was the dying man in his arms.
"There's nothing you could have done. You helped countless more by coming here." He can see that death's grip has already taken hold of the man, who really was more of a boy, probably not much older than 15. His jaw clenched as he realizes this, how dare some army decide to attack children! He wanted to curse the gods, but he needed to focus on the boy.
"I don't want to die alone." He whispered, a small sob catching in his throat.
"You won't, I'm here." Tommy soothed, it was the least he could do, he hadn't been able to save the village the boy had lived in, he couldn't bear the idea of denying this one last request.
It wasn't a request he was unfamiliar with, and for a brief moment he wonders if Wilbur is comparing this moment with the times Tommy would stay in the medical tent of the L'manburg revolution, simply listening to their men's cries as they faded to the other side.
Hell, Tommy had done the same on the battlefield as well, dragging men to safety so they wouldn't die afraid and alone.
"Thank you." The boy whispered, voice faint, his grip on Tommy already weakening.
"It's okay, go to sleep." Tommy whispers, tears dripping down his face.
May as it be that he's been in this spot countless times, it never made being there any easier.
He quietly hummed the same song he sang to his boys frequently, an old lullaby passed down from the locals of L'manburg.
He felt the voices grow solemnly quiet as the boy exhaled his last breath.
Tommy picked up the boy, wings spread, a stormy look on his face.
Wilbur meets his eyes, a silent understanding passes between them.
Tommy walks out past the prying eyes, and he can already hear Wilbur barking out orders once he's in the hall. He walks out of the castle and down to the docks, there's an old fisherman with a spare boat who looks at the body in arms with pity, giving his boat for Tommy to use.
He's gentle about laying the body down, despite the fact that he knows the boy doesn't feel it.
He pushes the boy out to sea, watching him float out under the stars, he pulls his bow from his inventory, readying it, an arrow notched high.
He releases it with an exhale, watching with frown as the boat slowly is set ablaze from the bow's flame enchantment.
He waits until the boat is no longer visible, not even the light of the fire can be seen.
The castle is quiet when he returns, most of the guests have gone back home or to their rooms.
Eret and Wilbur wait for him in their war room, something Tommy had made in a fit of paranoia.
He quietly thanks the stars for his brother and the white eyed monarch.
Eret smiles sympathetically, her hands fiddling with the edge of the table map.
"I wish I could be of more help, as it is, I worry about staying too long and bringing the wrong attention to your door." They said, voice apologetic.
"It's fine, Eret. You and Puffy should head home tomorrow morning, I've seen my fair share of wars, this one will be swift and we will win." Tommy says, an edge of something in his voice.
The voices plead for chaos, aching for his hands to reign down death and destruction.
He tries to stay calm, but his hands still twist his singlet ring on his finger and twitch at every noise.
Wilbur is careful when he puts a hand on Tommy's shoulder, "Eret I think Tommy should get some rest, it couldn't be easy giving a funeral for that man."
"Boy. He couldn't have been older than 15." Tommy said instantly, voice hard.
"Boy." Wilbur amended, as Eret slipped out with a sad smile.
"I'm going to destroy whoever did this. Did you figure out who it could be?" Tommy studies the map, noting that Wilbur had already marked Trenddin with a black flag, a battle lost.
He hates that stupid little flag, it doesn't do justice to the horror of an entire village wiped out.
"Marketh is the only place it could have been, and considering they've already attacked you before, with those raids." They both know what raids Wilbur is talking about, the raids that killed Purpled's mother, the raids Tommy had put an end to, becoming a formidable opponent, one who could defend the city by himself. Marketh had stopped sending raids once Tommy had started leaving only one member of them alive, though usually maimed and bloody.
"We need to send spies, to be sure." Tommy mutters, eyes drawn to where the capital of Marketh is.
"I've already sent 3." Wilbur assures, voice carefully gentle, as if he knows Tommy wants to do nothing more than fly to that damn capital and rip the throats out of the bastards who killed his people.
His blood is boiling, how dare they hurt such a small village? It was no military feat to kill a bunch of women and children in a village that would have hardly mattered in a war.
Wilbur reaches out to touch him but thinks better of it.
Perhaps it is better that Wilbur doesn't know of his sins, of the decapitated heads he sent back to Marketh as a vindictive sign for the kingdom to leave him and his people alone.
Perhaps Marketh was justified in attacking, it probably was humiliating to have such a young man, a newly appointed king, destroy your raiders single handedly.
Not that Tommy cared too much, when he was done Marketh would be nothing but a burn scar on the map.
Of course, Tommy would show mercy to the women and children, despite the fact that the voices whispered against it treacherously.
He may be a monstrous creature in the plainclothes of a good king, but he still had self appointed rules.
- Do not hurt the innocent, the ones who are defenseless.
- Do not make death last longer than it needs to, you are an executor, not a torturer.
- Defend your family, to the very last breath, and then some.
Wilbur sighs, breaking him out of his thoughts, "Toms, I'll be honest. I have half a mind to let you go destroy them, if only as a show of power for other neighboring kingdoms. But we need to have a plan of attack." His older brother is rubbing his face, there are streaks of grey in his hair, from countless nights with Tommy, trying to be a good advisor for hjm, no doubt.
Tommy feels a bit guilty about it, at this point his people are Wilbur's people. He's probably feeling the same thing he is.
"What's our plan then?" Tommy says finally, he sounds tired, even to himself.
"Here, this valley here, there's no nearby villages, so there is a threat of innocents being hurt if you…" Wilbur trails off, but Tommy knows what he is thinking, there's too much of a similarity with their Uncle, there's something in the way Tommy walked, in the way he fought, that reminded his brother of their Uncle.
He wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing, Tommy was still trying to figure out how to forgive Techno and his father for never seeing the injustice that was the exile.
Well that isn't entirely true, you and Dream both know what really happened in that burning cottage.
He wrinkled his nose to rid himself of that distasteful murmur.
He had been practicing how to keep the voices quiet, and usually destroying something far off at the borders, or even better, in the strip of no man's land that lay to the north.
He usually would go up there for a few days at a time, bringing destruction to the forest.
It was better than the idea of hurting any of his people.
Recently though, the voices had been angrier, wanting more from him, and Tommy was starting to worry that he was going to lose the control he had worked so hard for.
"I suggest you go to sleep Toms. The two of us can depart in the morning, leave the children with the castle staff, and quickly rid ourselves of this annoying army. " There was a dangerous tint to Wilbur's voice, and Tommy frowned at it.
Wilbur was better than what he was before, during the times the two of them, along with some other loyal followers, had built a camp in that awful ravine. Tommy likes to think that it's partly because of him, that being in a better situation was helping Wilbur.
He knows it's more of the fact that Tommy doesn't back down from Wilbur and his siren like 'suggestions'. It's the way Tommy is ruler of his own destiny, and doesn't allow Wilbur to warp it in the way that he did before.
"Wilbur," Theseus' voice is sharper than the blade he keeps at his side, his wings fluffed slightly under his cloak, "I am well aware of what I am doing. I will fly there tomorrow myself, you will stay here and see Puffy and Eret off." Theseus didn't play the same political games that Wilbur so often did, which is probably why ambassadors feared him. He much rather say his thoughts bluntly.
He had seen his fair share of manipulation, and he never wanted to be near it's poison again.
Which was hard, because there seemed to be a part of his brother that drank that poison like second nature.
Wilbur blinked, lips pursed, before looking confused. "Oh, alright Tommy. To be honest, I don't really know what has made me so worked up." Wilbur seems slightly dazed, and Tommy gently leads him out of the war room. "Why don't you go with Puffy and Eret and visit Fundy for a bit. You need a break." Tommy keeps his tone light.
Sometimes a break from one another was the best thing the brothers could give each other.
Wilbur nodded, "perhaps I should." He looked more tired than he had before,
"Goodnight Tommy."
"Goodnight Wilby."
He could hear Wilbur's smile as he walked away, and that made the teasing sure to follow when peace was reestablished worth it.
...and you will not be able to read them.
Tommy wakes up before dawn, readying his armor and weapons in silence.
The familiar ritual of putting on his armor wasn't a long one, as his armor favored speed over having intense layers of defense.
He slides his sword into its sheath, pushing his door open in the darkness.
There's no one in the halls, despite that, Wilbur meets him by the gate to the city.
"Be safe." Wilbur says hugging him.
"Of course, I'm big man innit, careful is my middle name." Tommy jokes, squeezing his brother's hand before unfolding his wings, ready to take to the skies.
"Don't lose yourself to your voices." Wilbur said, as Tommy stepped away. Tommy glanced at him, before nodding. "I won't."
He takes off, not minding the cold of the early morning air, he soars about his beloved city and the trees, going higher to shorten the time. Not that he didn't love flying, but he had a purpose, he needed to get to the battle before that army.
He landed in the valley, already able to hear a quiet noise of a crowd moving. From the sound of it, they weren't here yet, probably just over the hill closer to Marketh.
The sun was starting to crawl up the sky, tips of golden light, lighting up the trees behind Tommy. The valley remained in the shadows, for now. Tommy waited, folding his wings behind his cloak, watching the army approach with an empty look. It wasn't a large army, though it wasn't completely tiny either. Probably about 400 people stood ready to fight.
Tommy watched as their general had them hold at the opposite side of the valley, clearly all eyes were on him.
He held a bow in his hands, whispers in his head to shoot, to destroy the army that dared lay a hand on his people. They remained at a standstill, until Tommy raised his bow and shot the general off his horse, watching him fall with an impassive face.
Chaos for the king!
Long live the king!
Pogchamp that guy died.
He released a few more, taking down people as they started to rush him, their swords drawn with yells.
It would have been impressive and terrifying if Tommy wasn't Theseus, the man who lived and breathed war, who had chosen the life of a king to protect people.
After about a dozen people taken down, Tommy dropped the bow, pulling out his sword to meet the nearest person who had run up.
He made quick work of them, preferring efficiency over putting on a show.
He tore through the ranks, the voices in his head screaming cheers as he let blood soak his hands and shirt.
There was mud on his boots now, blood mixing with the dirt to create what now was dirtying his clothes.
He pulled an arrow out of his shoulder, snapping the shaft with a glare.
There wasn't much left of the army, but still they fought. Seeming to think if they all attacked at once they could take him down.
Tommy took to the skies, reigning down death as he weaved in throughout the now dwindling army.
He watched the group, now only about 70 people stare up at him in awe and horror.
"Go back to your home, by now you've seen what I can do. Next time I won't spare any of you." Tommy's voice yelled out, before sharply flying up and above the remains of the battle, flying towards Marketh.
He brushed the guards aside with a sweep of his wings, not bothering with either of them he closed the door of the king's throne room behind him.
He stared down at the king of Marketh, an old bitter man.
"You're a monster." The man looked at him, seeing the blood that coated him, the way his wings stretched behind him.
"Perhaps." Tommy shrugged, throwing his sword at the king, impaling the man against his throne.
"To be sure, I am a vengeful one." He pulled the sword out, watching the man slump to the side.
He didn't turn back, smashing a window and leaving that way.
He flew a safe distance away from Marketh's capital, building a nether portal, leaving lit TNT behind so that no one would follow.
He wrinkled his nose at the overbearing heat of the nether, disliking how it accelerated the daring of blood on himself. That would be a pain to get off later.
He stepped through the portal, not bothered by the fact that people tripped over themselves to get away from him, he knew how he looked.
He bathed quickly, body sore from the fighting, a few feathers falling, either from stress or nicks he had gotten while fighting.
His hair was still dripping when there was a knock on the door, he opened the door to Wilbur, who smiled at him, clearly glad to see he was okay.
"Hey-" he's cut off from whatever he was going to say when two blurs push past Wilbur and launch themselves into Tommy.
Ranboo and Purpled's combined weight almost knocks over Tommy, so he drops to one knee and let's his boys clamber over him.
"Did you beat all the bad guys?" Purpled, pulled away, talking fast as Ranboo simply burrowed deeper in Tommy's arms.
"Yeah, I did big man." He closed his eyes as Purpled hugged him again and Wilbur gently put a hand on his shoulder.
The voices were quiet save a few awww and dadinnit 's and Tommy was thankful.
He smiled to himself, once again glad he had found this little village and became its king, because this? This is where he was meant to be, in the heart of his kingdom, holding his sons and feeling the warmth of his older brother.
Read and enjoy it while you can my beloved, for you never know when it’ll turn to ash.