Chapter Text
Wilbur woke up to the soft sun on his face. He expected to shiver from the familiar coldness he dreaded, but he sighed instead, melting deeper into the soft sheets and blankets that covered him.
It had been a few days since Wilbur came to stay at the castle. Each morning felt warm; and it would’ve been suffocating had he not had Eret there in the gardens. Every morning, instead of eating in the dining hall, Eret would grab their plates, and Wilbur would grab their drinks, and they’d take them to the table outside. Each morning, Eret would sit with her chin on her folded hands, listening to Wilbur’s plans for how he was going to go about apologizing.
She’d give her input when prompted, usually along the lines of, “Make sure your words are clear and concise with Jack. Don’t sugarcoat it, but don’t sound brutish. With Tubbo, be gentle, but not enough to baby him. With Niki…” She’d scrunch her face just a bit in thought. “Try to let her talk first. That is by means the best way to get her to listen.”
And Wilbur nodded, sighing. “I-I know. It’s going to take some time before I can actually… talk to Niki, really.”
Eret nodded, tapping the top of his hand on the table. She smiled warmly at him, and Wilbur’s chest ached at the memory he was carving into his brain. He’ll need to write a book or something, for everything he wants to remember before he…
“There’s no rush. Believe me, I don’t want to rush you out of the castle any time soon.” She chuckled, and Wilbur nodded.
He probably looked frightened, the way he gently pulled his hand back. He almost shrunk in his seat- but not once did he take his eyes away from Eret. Even as she began eating, eyes focused on the papers a servant had given her, or a book one morning, Wilbur’s gaze did not linger far.
By god he must’ve missed her. And that ache lingers, after a while. Thirteen years of solitude makes you think of your mistakes, of the life you lived and the regrets you have.
At Wilbur Soot’s feet lay a general, a president, and a man. At Wilbur Soot’s feet lay Wilbur Soot, Ghostbur.
Maybe Ghostbur’s memories and happiness are infecting him.
One morning Eret wears a blue ribbon in her hair - the third morning he’s at the castle. A blue ribbon with her hair tied in a half-bun. A white dress with light fabric, perfect for the warm weather. Wilbur remembered this because he neglected his jacket inside his guestroom, but kept the familiar yellow sweater on.
Wilbur could not stop staring at that damned blue ribbon.
Maybe he had issues.
It was his fourth day at the castle that he finally gathered the courage to tell Eret he was going to visit his family in the arctic.
He’d remember the soft purple shirt and black pants they’d worn that day. They had a meeting or something, they didn’t spare him the details. The circlet was still proudly on their head, handcrafted by themself, a sign of a long-forgotten hold on them, long before Wilbur came back, now discarded.
Eret smiled. She remembered the way Wilbur’s hands nervously wrung as he started telling her his plans.
“It’s been a few days since I saw them. I don’t want Phil and Techno to think I’m dead or anything.” Wilbur cleared his throat after, then took a sip of tea.
Eret nodded, setting her document down on the table and letting out a breath. “Yes, that makes sense. Tell them I say hi, for me?”
Wilbur’s mouth opened and closed in partial confusion. What business did Eret have with Phil and Techno? But, he elected to not push. He didn’t want to risk his stay, so he nodded and stood from the table. His hands stayed on the edge, however, and it took him a moment to nod again.
Eret watched with a small smile, tilting her head just a bit. Her hair slid over one shoulder, and she chuckled. “Wilbur, are you okay?”
Wilbur pulled away from the table like it had burned him. God damn he must’ve been clingy.
“Right. I’ll be back later then.” And with another nod, he turned away from Eret, walking out of the gardens and to the Arctic.
The first thing Wilbur noticed as he crossed the fences was Michael playing in the snow.
The piglin, thought to be unsupervised until Wilbur noticed Phil on the porch, had made snow angels, snowmen- and Wilbur squinted and chuckled at an oddly big snow angel.
When he got up to the porch, he pointed at the hole, watching Michael as he asked, “And who’s angel is that?”
Phil chuckled, shaking his head fondly. “Techno wanted some bonding time with his,” Phil tried his best to imitate his friend, standing ramrod straight, arms bent at the elbows, and wings puffed just so, “Future anarchist mentee.”
Wilbur laughed at that, nodding just a bit. “Alright, alright… So I see Tubbo and Michael have had a good time then?”
“Ehh… More like Techno’s having fun with Michael. Tubbo uh…” Phil clears his throat. Wilbur turned to look at him, eyebrows knit together. “Tubbo what, Phil?”
Phil sighs, rolling his eyes just a bit and waving his hand. “Ah, it’s- look, he’s grieving and tired and just… He hasn’t really talked to anyone since the uh. The ‘incident’.”
“What, the one with Sam? I thought Techno and Eret-”
Phil shakes his head, watching as Michael rolled another snowball. Connor was out there in the snow somewhere , Phil just… forgot.
“New member. Aimsey, I think their name is? Tubbo had some kind of argument with them or whatever and uh… pushed them.”
Wilbur scoffs, hands in his pockets. “Pushed them?”
“...Off a bridge.”
“...oh.”
Phil nods, feathers going down just a bit when he hears Michael squeal excitedly.
Connor had popped out of a pile of snow, playfully scaring Michael and letting Michael “slay” him.
“So… He’s not being a big talker right now. Techno, surprisingly, seems to be the only one who gets a word out of him most days.” Phil shakes his head, “At least Connor can make him laugh though. And babysit when Tubbo just needs some time to himself.”
Wilbur looks back to the snow, to the Techno-shaped hole, and chuckles. “Yeah… speaking of um.” He clears his throat, nervous despite himself. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, per se…”
Phil looks back to Wilbur, looking over the side of his face. Wilbur’s making a point to not look at him, and his hands clench and unclench in his pockets. His shoulders hunch forward almost awkwardly, making up for the lack of his wings. He takes a breath.
“I’ve been staying at the castle not- not the van.”
Phil squints. “The castle…?”
Wilbur slowly, agonizingly, turns his head to Phil. “The castle. Eret’s castle.”
Phil takes a second to register, then his eyes widen and he barks out a laugh. “Wha- King’s castle. That castle. The one for the king. That castle?”
Wilbur nods.
“...Literally why-?”
“Phil…!”
Wilbur sighs, moving one hand out of his pocket to run through his hair. “Look I- okay. I messaged you about Fundy, yeah?” Phil nods, squinting again. Wilbur purses his lips for a second, stutters a bit, then continues. “Well, I mean- She helped me. I… After that, I didn’t know what to do and-” He looks down, fists clenching his jacket. “She was there. She offered me a place to stay and… Yeah. So,” He doesn’t look at Phil again, eyes looking over the wood of the bridge between Phil and Techno’s houses. “I’m staying there, for a little bit.”
Phil’s expression stays mostly neutral, eyebrows drawn in just slightly and lips in a line. His wings seem to have relaxed, however. “...And you’re good there? Safe?”
Since when has Wilbur’s safety mattered-?
“Yes. I’m perfectly safe. He hasn’t threatened to kill me yet.” He tries to chuckle it off, and the ends of Phil’s wings drag on the wood just a bit as he turns around. He opens the door to his house, holding it open and motioning with his head for Wilbur to go inside. “Come in for a drink. Tech’ll be out for Michael in a second.”
With a pause, Wilbur nods and follows Phil inside.
Punz had come back to Eret, kneeling in front of her on the steps of her castle, three weeks prior to seeing Wilbur.
They’d taken him back with no hesitation. Punz was a good knight. He did his job dutifully, and even moved up to Eret’s personal guard.
She was finishing up getting ready for a meeting with the elders of the eastern villages, while Punz stood guard beside her.
She sat at the vanity, touching up her makeup and choosing her jewelry as she spoke.
“I’ve got the meetings with Cooran and Eli of the Dunei and Danai. Some sort of land dispute talking about a ‘one inch overstep’, but neither can decide which inch-” Punz rolls his eyes, hands folded behind their back.
They puffed a little bit of smoke out of their mouth, blue eyes scanning the room and making sure no one was trying to come into the room.
“And then there’s the meeting with Cooran and Eli’s daughters about actual issues in the villages. There’s been a recent slew of anarchist agenda floating around, which makes me wonder if Technoblade has made rounds again or if it’s just pure luck.” Eret picks out a nice set of pearl earrings, putting them on as she speaks.
“And it seems like I’ll need to start sending messengers out to the other kingdoms or dominions of the server if I have any hopes of reconciling things.”
“I could take on Kinoko’s message, for you.”
Eret squinted at her reflection, then turned, still squinted, to Punz.
“...What business do you have with Kinoko?”
A blue hue starts blooming on Punz’ cheeks, mildly embarrassed. He keeps his eyes trained on the door, however.
They shrug, letting out another puff of smoke. “Messengers can get lost and everything.”
She tilts her head. “So, you wouldn’t mind taking on other jobs then? Like, if I were to send you to Las Nevadas or the Badlands.”
Punz grits his teeth a bit, but nods. “‘Is fine.”
Eret chuckles, turning back to the mirror. “Well then, glad to know you meant it when you said you were willing to work!”
She doesn’t notice Punz turning his head back to the mirror and staring at her reflection.
Eret continues on picking out a necklace, passing that conversation and talking about her plans.
She sighs as she does the clasp, moving her hair back to make sure it doesn’t get caught.
“I guess you can start by getting the letter to Kinoko, then?”
Punz nods, hands moving to his sides. “Of course, your majesty.”
The last ideas of the meetings went quietly, the daughters of the elders seemingly more competent and cooperative than their fathers. Things had been handled relatively easily, and anything that would need further discussion was already planned out.
Eret happily held the door open for the two, smiling and thanking them for their time.
The youngest, Eli’s daughter Enri - an ender-ghast hybrid - grabbed Eret’s forearm before leaving. “Your majesty, as you may know, I have my wedding in a few days.”
Eret smiled and nodded. “Yes, that’s why we had to push some discussion back.”
Enri chirped, moving a hand in her pocket for a moment, then pulled out an envelope and handed it to Eret. Eret made a little confused look, but opened the envelope and began reading the paper inside.
“Wedding invitation. I have a feeling you’d like to meet my future wife, your majesty.” She shrugs and tilts her head. “And it would be nice to have the king bless my wedding. I know you don’t do the whole - bless thing, but you at least do something and whichever wedding you something’d usually stays well so…”
Eret chuckled, looking up from the paper to Enri. “You’re asking me to hope your wedding and marriage goes well.” She nods. “I can do that, Enri. I’d love to meet your fiancée too. I’m sure she’s lovely.”
Enri smiled and nodded, letting out a satisfied breath. “Thank you, your majesty. I’ll be happy to see you there!” With that, she leaves. Eret waves her off with a smile, then closes the door.