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George hadn’t been there for when Dream returned with Eret, but he was there for the aftermath.
People were rushing by. Poking his head out of the door to his room, he glanced around curiously. Reached forwards and grabbed Sapnap’s arm. Sapnap glanced back at him, brown eyes wide. “What happened?” George asked.
“Dream got back with Eret. Something’s happened with Bad and the Emperor. I don’t know what.” George froze, felt his heart drop in his chest. Then, Sapnap pulled away. “I-I’m sorry, George, but I have to go.”
“Stay safe.”
“You, too.” Sapnap hurried off, armor shining in the silver moonlight shooting between the gaps in the curtains. Quickly, George turned to the side. Started walking through the corridors. With every footstep, every beat of his boots against the polished tiles, his mind wandered. What happened? Do the princes know? Why did this happen?
And what does Dream have to do with this? He knew there had to have been something. Taking a breath, George ducked into one of the alternate corridors. Glanced around. No one was around. Most everyone had already swept by that corridor. So, he looked to the patterned carvings on the wall.
Reaching up, he closed his eyes. Stretched out with a little bit of the power that he had. There was a thrum from the woven plants, and they rumbled a little bit. Whispered to him in old, croaking tones before retracting away from the hidden doorway. George stepped inside, took a slow breath as the plants closed up the wall behind him.
Continuing to walk, the way lit only by bioluminescent mushrooms, George took a slow breath. Walked with his hands clasped behind his back.
George, a familiar voice said.
Techno, he greeted. What do you need me to do?
I need you to meet me in the library. Around George, the mushrooms suddenly burst out with bright, pale pink light. Swallowing, George took a breath. Turned down the little corridors that lead to the private library Techno was speaking of.
I’m in the tunnels. I will be there quickly. He explained.
Of course.
Do your brothers know about your father?
Wilbur does. Tommy does not. Let’s keep it that way. Techno said. Mentally, George agreed. He knew that Techno knew what he was thinking. That was just how Techno’s abilities worked, part of what made him so skilled whether with simple conversations or for negotiations or for battles. He could tell what other people were going to do. So, he could do something as simple as knowing that George agreed with him.
When he finally reached the door to the private library, George tapped in a regular beat. Then, the door grated to the side. George slipped inside, glanced around.
Dream was in the room, too. Tommy was gone, as was Wilbur. Which left Techno, Dream, and George in the same room. Alone. Awkwardly.
“Dream.” George whispered, looking over. Dream simply dipped his head, then looked over to Techno. All of a sudden, something hit him. An idea. “Let me guess, the bad guys are who I think they are?” He nodded his head slightly at Dream.
“Yeah.” Dream mumbled. Ignoring him, George waited until Techno replied. Maybe he was being a little petty. But he got to be petty. George was a petty person.
“They are. They killed almost everyone and took Bad and my father with them.” Techno gestured for Dream and George to follow him. Quietly, they did follow. Techno settled down at one of the couches, drinks sitting on the low coffee table in between them with a small platter of cookies. He took one, indicated the food. “Might want to eat. We’ll be here for a while.”
George took the other side of the couch from Dream. Inhaled and crossed his arm over himself. Dream leaned into the other arm, kept his gaze away. Even with the mask, George knew how to tell. “What do you need me for?”
“Well, we know that they’re probably want to come back for the others. For me. Wilbur. Tommy. They might go for some of the others.” Reaching up, Techno rested a closed fist on his chin. Sighed. His fingers came up to pinch the bridge of his nose. Actually, now that George got a really good look at him, he could tell that Techno hadn’t slept well. Hadn’t been for a while, either. Dark circles marred the fair skin beneath his eyes, usually hidden away by his own mask. “They might go after Tommy first. Or maybe Wilbur? I mean, Tommy’s obviously their bigger target. They want him for some reason, otherwise they wouldn’t have tried assassinating him twice. No, three times? Four?” Techno sighed. Shook his head. Then, he looked up to Dream almost hopelessly. “Do you have any idea what they might want with my father?”
Sighing, Dream shook his head. “I’m sorry. I was never privy to those kind of conversations. Neither was…neither was he.” He explained. Neither George nor Techno needed to ask who “he” was. They knew. Dream’s gaze dropped to his hands, which were settled in his lap and horribly limp compared to their normal bounciness. “I’m sorry.”
Shifting, George reached for Dream’s hands with one of his own. Then, pausing, he pulled away. Looked back to Techno. Ignored Dream looking at him in the corner of his vision. They had more important things to deal with. “I’ll stay with Tommy in the meantime. Dream,” he didn’t look to him, but saw him paying attention anyways, “why don’t you organize the patrols to make sure that they don’t try and venture onto our territory? Techno, there has to be a reason they’re going after Tommy. Could there be a prophecy involving him?” All of a sudden, Techno’s eyes brightened up. Sitting up straight, he glanced back. Leapt over the back of the couch. Quickly, he went to the bookshelves.
“Of course. George, you’re brilliant! Go do that, Dream just…do as he said. George, fetch Wilbur, tell him to come and help me with this.” Techno ordered. Nodding, Dream swept out of the room. George watched him go. As he made his way to the door, Techno spoke again, “George?”
Turning, George looked back. Brown eyes held scarlet red. “Yes, Techno?” He asked in a soft tone.
“He does care for you. I know I’m not one to meddle with affairs of the heart—and they’re hardly in my interest nor my expertise—but I can tell. He cares about you. His job is just…” Shaking his head, Techno looked back to the books, “It is for another time. But don’t tell yourself that he thinks little of you. Otherwise he would not be here with us.”
Blinking, George looked to the tiles. Then, he smiled at Techno. The prince would know either way, whether he was looking or not. “Thank you, Techno. I’ll…I’ll try to keep it in my mind.”
With that, he left, focused on the task ahead.
Just hold on, Your Majesty, he thought. We’ll find you.
+++
Phil came to with cold hands touching his neck, checking for a pulse.
Coughing, he groaned. Opened his eyes. There, beside him, was a young man about Tommy’s age. Black and white scales covered their whole body, hidden by a sackcloth-fabric shirt and trousers that hung off their too-thin frame. Two eyes, one red and one green, glowed in the faint light. “Ranboo.” Phil choked out. Surging up, he gasped and clawed at his ribs. The sharp wounds he had been left with made themselves known. Lying back against the mossy stone, he took a slow breath. Looked at Ranboo with barely-opened eyes, “What are you doing here?”
“They grabbed me.” Ranboo forced out. Red, blue, and purple blood smattered his body. Clearly, he was wounded. Reaching up, Phil cupped his hand around the back of Ranboo’s neck. Pulled him down to touch their foreheads together. Sliding his hand to Ranboo’s cheek, he closed his eyes. Whispered a few words. Ranboo jerked back, but by then it had been done. Little slivers of pale green and turquoise magic, glittering in the dim light, went to Ranboo. Healed some of the worse wounds. “You shouldn’t have done that. You need to save your strength.”
“’ll be fine.” Phil mumbled. Taking a slow breath, he asked, “Who else is here?”
“They took Velvet away a couple weeks back. I haven’t seen him since.”
“We have him home.”
“Good.” Tipping his head to the side, Ranboo added, “Skeppy. Bad. They…he changed both of them.” Phil flexed his wings. Found the feathers stripped from their places. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t do anything.”
Reaching out again, Phil closed his hands around Ranboo’s. “You brought my son back, Ranboo. Your intel was right.” He smiled with bloody teeth. “Tommy’s alive. He and the others with help us get out of here.” With that, he rested his head back on the cobble tiles. “They’re strong boys.” Ranboo followed his gaze. Looked up at the small iron grate. The entrance to their oubliette. It was a tiny and cramped space. Dim moonlight streamed down. It shone down on them both like a gentle embrace, but they both knew better than to think that she who ruled it would be gentle with the ones who had put them there. Blinking, Ranboo twitched his tail. Spoke softly.
“I hope you’re right.”